Frugal Friday Wrap Up 9/2- 9/8 2017

   

   

I would like to apologize for those of you who have seen a certain commenter on my blog who includes a link to a rather disgusting adult entert@inment site.  I am trying to delete it as soon as I see it and I would hate to have to start moderating comments, but if they continue to comment here, I may have to.  So if you are reading this and are that certain commenter, please knock it off and do not comment on my site.  Now that that little piece of bloggy business is out of the way, let me give you an update on the fires around us.  We continue to struggle with smoke and fires here and the winds are whipping up here as I write this on Saturday 9/9/17.  The wind is helping to blow some of the smoke out of the area right now, but it also promises to blow more back in later.  There is also the fear of it making the ongoing fires that are burning explode once again and jump containment lines.  I know that the media is focused on the devastating hurricanes, but we are also dealing with devastation due to fires up here also.  Please keep everyone that is dealing with any of this and our brave emergency workers in your prayers.  We all need it right now.  Now, onto the savings...

Jeffs dinner...Chicken breast, green beans from the garden and stuffing.

~We celebrated Jeff's birthday by going out to lunch on Saturday and used gift cards earned through Swagbucks to pay for it.
~We got a free magnetic tool keeper thing after coupon at Harbor Freight.
~I found 2 gorgeous leather Banana Republic purses at a resale shop for $5 each.
~We picked up a few things at the Grocery Outlet while we were up there.
~We bought a new car!  Not the most frugal thing, but the repairs on the other car were going to cost more than it Blue Booked out at.
~When we bought our car, they gave us multiple nice tote bags to put all the stuff from my old car in it to transfer to my new car.
~Our car insurance is going to cost us less due to all the safety features on my new car.

My dinner...chicken breast, squash and tomatoes from the garden and stuffing.

~Sunday we celebrated the baby dedication of our youngest grandson Steven at church and they were very sweet to bless us with a loaf of poppy seed bread.
~We also had a BBQ/potluck at Jaysn and Rachel's house with Rachel's mom and sister, along with our crew to celebrate Steven's dedication and Jeff's birthday.

~More apples, beans, squash and tomatoes were harvested.
~Monday we stayed home so there was no money spent on gas or anything.
~The little boys, Bradley and Isaiah, came and spent Tuesday with us while Chris slept after being up all night fighting wildfires and Heather had appointments.  We had to stay inside due to the smoke so we watched movies, played with Legos and bowled in our long hallway. 😁

~I have been putting the kitchen fruit and veggie peels and cores around the fruit trees to break down into compost.
~Jeff shook out our huge piggy bank and got enough money out of it, along with some other spare change, to pay for his first week of bowling.  The first week costs an additional $25 on top of the weekly fees.
~I've been planning menus and cooking based on what we have on hand for the most part.
~I baked 2 loaves of sandwich bread.

~The library had a book and a movie for me that I had requested.
~We are finishing up the TV series "Last Man Standing" before it is taken off Netflix later this month.
~I placed an order for our supplements at Vitacost using codes there to save 12% sitewide and an additional 20% on all of their own brand vitamins and supplements.  I also went through a link at Swagbucks to get 3 swagbucks per dollar spent.
~I froze a gallon of cherry tomatoes from our garden.

~I made another crockpot full of applesauce from our apples and froze it.
~Chris and Heather gave us $30 to help pay for cat food and kitty litter since we have their 2 cats here living with us.
~I've been working my points programs when time allows.
~The mail brought more free magazines.
~Thursday I stopped at Staples and bought 2 huge double roll 12 packs of toilet paper.  After my coupon, I only paid $2.03 out of pocket!  The young man checking me out was very impressed!

~I stopped at Goodwill looking for some cheap bathtub toys since I had to throw out the old ones and the grandboys were not happy about it.  I did not find any there but I did find a new package of outlet covers for .99 (Rachel needed more for baby proofing because guess who is now beginning to scoot) and a new pair of soft and cozy slippers for $1.99 (future gift or maybe mine).
~I took advantage of some really good deals at one of the grocery stores.  I bought 5 pound bags of onions for $1.67 each (will dehydrate these), mushrooms at $1.47 for 8 oz (I got 2 of these), chicken thighs for .99 a pound (I bought 5 packs and threw them in the freezer), shampoo for .50 a bottle (6 bottles), a cantaloupe for .37 a pound, a container of sour cream for .99, a huge Summer Sausage for $4.99, and bananas at .37 a pound.
~The long haired cats have been leaving hair everywhere and hacking up hairballs so I stopped at the Dollar Tree and got them a brush so I can try to get some of that hair off them.  I picked up a few other items we needed while I was there too including some lavender scented epsom salts to out in my bath and help soak away some of my aching muscles.

 ~One of the hardware stores had all their gardening stuff on sale so I picked up an seed starter kit and am going to try and grow some lettuce inside the house over the cold months.  I have a grow light that I will have Jeff set up for me.
~I gave Jeff a much needed haircut.
~After all my running around, doing the shopping and cutting Jeff's hair on Thursday, I rewarded myself with a nice glass of wine here at home. 😊 Not going to lie, it helped with the stir crazy feeling of being locked up in a hot house due to the smoky skies outside too.

~Friday, my wonderful hanai sister Shannon brought me over a air purifier to use and a bottle of wine.  She is such a sweetheart!  I sent her home with a basket of freshly picked cherry tomatoes from our garden.
~We have been watching the news on Youtube of all places since they have the live streams.  It has helped keep us up to date on the areas that have been hit or will be hit by the hurricanes since we have friends and loved ones in those areas.
~I spent Friday here at home and got my free foraged plums cut up and frozen.
~Friday night I had some Bruschetta, grapes, crackers, summer sausage and wine for dinner.  It was really good and I enjoyed it while watching some shows on Netflix.  Sometimes a girl has to treat herself and I had everything here on hand to do so.

~We SKYPEd several times with our son Josh this week.  It is always so nice to be able to actually see him while we talk.  Only a few more weeks and I get to hug that boy tight!
~I've been monitoring all of our accounts online, especially since the whole Equifax breach.

   So that is it for me my wrap up.  Yes, we spent lots of money on a new car, but it was a need and one that hopefully will serve us well for years to come.  I'm praying that this coming week will be a lot more frugal for us. I'm also looking forward to spending more time with all 3 of our grandsons!