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A Day in the Life of The Frugal Girl

vitamix yogurt and fruit smoothie

Carrie and Mrs. Picky Pincher told me they were both writing Day In The Life posts with an emphasis on frugality, and they invited me to join in.

So, here’s how my life went on Monday of this week.

Morning

I got up, ironed some clothes for the husband while he showered, and also packed him some snacks and made him a smoothie for breakfast, using my Vitamix (which is an expensive machine that ends up being frugal in the long run because it lasts for ages).

beet smoothie

Normally I pack him a lunch, but we were low on groceries and had no leftovers…so, he bought lunch out.

That is obviously not frugal, but it happens sometimes. He eats a packed lunch 90% of the time, and I am good with that.

After he left, I threw in some laundry and got dressed (a thrifted green Gap skirt and a black Old Navy tank top) and grabbed my earrings (pearls from Amazon) and my necklace (Lisey picked this out for me as an out-of-the-blue present this past winter and I love it!)

gap skirt

(I apologize for the very lame selfie. SLRs are not made for selfies.)

I drank my breakfast smoothie while I added pictures to a blog post and published it (the Lunchskins post).

Then Lisey and I headed out to an appointment (in-network, so just a $13 copay). I read a library book while I waited for her.

When I got home, I switched laundry and started working on menu planning for the week.

menu planning

Afternoon

For lunch, I had fresh peaches (remember my $10 bruised peach box?), a sausage that I cooked in my little cast-iron pan, and a treat in the form of a Take 5 bar, which I’d bought the night before.

Take 5 bars aren’t remotely healthy, but ooh, they are good.   The chocolate! The caramel! The crunchy pretzels! You should totally try one.

After lunch, I finished making my menu plan and grocery list, switched laundry again, and then headed out to do some errands.

I went to Aldi (because Aldi is my fave) and bought most of the groceries I’ll need this week. 

I picked up an insulated lunchbox for Lisey too, since she is going to have to start packing a lunch when her tutorial starts up.

groceries

I also stopped at the drugstore to pick up two prescriptions.   The cashier there told me about discount programs for each of the prescriptions, so I used my phone to sign up for them then and there (instant $75 savings!)

I also picked up some super-cheap notebooks at the drugstore’s back to school sale.

cheap notebooks

On my way home, I stopped at the organic market for some chicken, and I also bought an orange creamsicle soda for the husband because he was having a rough day.

Orange creamsicle soda is clinically proven to fix a bad day. Just so you know.

I paid for everything with a rewards credit card, which we pay off every month.

When I got home, I unpacked groceries, photographed them for Friday’s post, put them away, and started heating milk for homemade yogurt.

ball plastic lids for yogurt jars

By that time, I had to take my older two kids to work, so off we went.

Taking them to work does use up gas, but they’re earning their own money and, more importantly, learning some great life lessons. 

When I got back home, I finished mixing up the yogurt to put in the cooler, cleaned up the kitchen, put the rest of the groceries away, and wrote most of this post.

Evening

I made dinner, which was Chicken Pomodoro over rice, with a blueberry/peach salad and raw cucumbers.

discounted bruised peaches

Yes, we ARE eating a lot of peaches right now. 😉

We cleaned up dinner, welcomed a friend to sleep over with Sonia and Zoe, and then it wasn’t crazy long before one teen needed to be picked up from work.

Normally Mr. FG handles the evening pickups, but since he’d had a hard day, I took ’em over for the night.

I picked up the other teen too, tucked Sonia and Zoe into bed, chatted with the teens about their shifts, took my yogurt out of the cooler and put it into the fridge, and headed to bed.

Aaaand that was the end of my day.

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Lily | The Frugal Gene

Wednesday 25th of July 2018

Totally randomly stealthing your blog :) I totally want to do a Day in the Life of Lily too. Kids definitely make life busy it seems!!

Jenn

Thursday 11th of August 2016

Would you mind sharing information on the prescription discounts? My mom was recently diagnosed with both diabetes and a heart condition. Combined they require about 6 meds a month, which is a huge amount considering she wasn't on any meds prior to.

Kristen

Thursday 11th of August 2016

These were some medication-specific discounts, so they'd only work if you needed the same skin prescriptions my kiddo did.

Could she ask her doctor to see if there are any programs to reduce the cost? The doctor or the pharmacist might know.

Diane C

Thursday 11th of August 2016

Funny, Jenn, that happened to my mom, too. She was overweight, and it provided the impetus she needed to go on WW and lose nearly 80 lbs. It helped with both conditions, and greatly improved her quality of life. She later said the one regret of her life was that she hadn't done it sooner. Don't know if this applies to your mom, but if she needs to lose a little weight, perhaps this story will provide a little encouragement.

Linda

Wednesday 10th of August 2016

Loved this post! Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your life with us.

Liz

Wednesday 10th of August 2016

That reminded me to eat the last peach my husband's uncle and aunt gave to us. Ate it today for lunch with "whole grain beet chips" (a delicious on-sale whim) and laughing cow cheese. My treat is dark chocolate wafer cookies. :)

Thanks for sharing!

AFS

Wednesday 10th of August 2016

What happened to the Kid Car? I understood your plan was get them a car so you don't have to be chauffer.

Kristen

Wednesday 10th of August 2016

Oh, we definitely have the car, and that's what Joshua's driving to and from work. However, he doesn't have his driver's license yet...just his learner's permit. Once he has his actual license, then he can drive chaueffer himself. ;)

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