Frugal Friday Wrap Up 2/26/16

   Here we are at the end of another productive and semi-frugal ;) week.  Spring has sprung here and I am so anxious to get out and do some planting, but I know it is far too early for that and chances are we will have more snow and another killing frost.  I would hate to waste time and money on getting a garden in and then having it all die on me.  So onto the savings!

~I stocked up on more liquid hand soap at Bath and Body works while it was 5 for $18 and also got a free body wash with my coupon.  I know that I could spend less at the Dollar Tree for liquid soap but this is one of those "frugal luxuries" that I allow myself.  I gave one of the bottles of soap to my DIL Heather because my grandsons love to wash their hands with soap that smells good. ;)
~I received an email with a coupon for a free bag of cat treats from Petco.  I got the largest bag I could find that was grain free for our special needs kitty.
~My hubby and I have been wanting to get a copy of the movie "McFarland" and I found one at the Redbox kiosk for $5
~We have eaten lots of leftovers this week for dinner.
~I used up more overripe bananas to make 2 regular sized loaves and 4 mini loaves of banana bread.
~I used the butter wrappers to grease the bread pans that I made the banana bread in.

~My hubby has been enjoying hard boiled eggs lately so I boiled up another dozen for him.
~While we were at Goodwill one day they announced that all their dvds and cds were on sale at 50% off.  There were some I had been wanting there so I got 4 of them for $1.50 each and also scored a cashmere sweater for $4.99.
~I've been trying to work my points programs every day.
~Our son Chris and his family invited us over to dinner. :)
~My husband and I have been trying to get out for walks every day with our dog Caesar...free exercise!
~We continue to use SKYPE to talk with our son Josh.

~We went to a fund raiser for a young father with cancer.  We paid for our tickets and did buy our grandsons some chips, but we took our own water and some other snacks.
~We have been watching movies that we own and also ones we borrow from the library.
~My computer has again been a huge blessing since I watch several TV shows online.
~I have been planning my meals around what we have and what needs used up.
~More loaves of Sourdough bread were made this week.

~Jeff changed out a blown fuse in our garage with some we had found on sale a couple of years ago.  Thank goodness we realized that a fuse was blown or we would have lost everything in our two big freezers.
~I froze some leftovers to use for future meals.
~While shopping at Walmart the other day I found bananas for .48 a pound and the following all marked at 50% off, 2 loaves of bread from the bakery, 4 family sized deli pizzas, Italian sausage, fried chicken from the deli, and salads from the deli.
~We bought a battery charger and rechargeable batteries for our nice camera.
~I continue to save egg shells to put in my garden around the strawberry plants when the strawberries are ripening this Spring.  It keeps the slugs from getting to the berries.
~I buried the banana peels from making the banana bread around my roses.

~I needed more moisturizer with sunscreen in it and found my favorite kind, Oil of Olay, in a special value pack.  I now have 2 bottles for the price I have paid for just one in the past.  
~More treasures and needed items found at my favorite thrift store that benefits and provides training for the disabled: seasons 2, 3 and 4 of The West Wing on dvd ($4.99 each for the sets) and a few other dvds, 2 shirts for the grandboys, 2 shirts for my hubby, a brand new item that will be an Easter gift, a fun wallet for the oldest grandson, shoes for the oldest grandson (who is growing out of his shoes at an alarming rate), organizing shelving for my pantry project and some silk flowers that look very life like.
~While doing our volunteer work this week, we were given tons of groceries including 20 pounds of chicken.  We gave 10 pound to our neighbors who have 3 teenagers to feed.  Some fo the other items we received were: bottles of fruit juice, bread and hamburger buns, pasta, canned fruits and veggies, soup, crackers, cereal, coffee, apples, potatoes, cauliflower, 2 dozen eggs, chips, dried garbanzos (I will be making these into hummus),  cookies, and some other items that escape me at the moment.

~I struggle with insomnia so I took some sleep meds that I had gotten as a free sample to try.
~Since we have had unseasonably warm weather here lately, I have been able to turn the heat way down during the day and let the sunshine coming through the windows help warm up our home.
~Freebies that came in the mail this week: a magazine, calendar, and some coupons.
~I discovered that my old fashioned potato masher is a great tool for breaking up ground meat when you are browning it and also for smashing up canned tomatoes.  I don't have great hand strength so this is a huge deal for me since it does not hurt or tire my hands and wrists out.

~I belong to Pinch Me and signed up for samples that were available on Tuesday.

   Rufus may not be too impressed with my savings this week but I am not sure if that is due to the new pheromone collar that we are trying on him to see if it will help calm him down so he does not continue to destroy things or the fact that I have not given him any of his free kitty treats yet. ;)   I'm pleased though with them and I'm thinking my hubby is too.  He even wore one of the dri-fit shirts I got him at the thrift store to go to his bowling league tonight.