Five Frugal Things
So, every other Thursday, I usually do a Five Frugal Things post. Yesterday, I was gone most of the day, though, so this might be a little challenging. I seem to do more frugal things when I stay home.
We'll see what I can come up with!
One
I took the girls to a museum during a homeschool program, which meant that admission fees were a fraction of what they usually are.
I mean, it was still more expensive than a normal homeschool day, but it was far less pricey than it would normally have been.
Two
I packed a lunch for all of us, using non-disposable containers and water bottles. And one plastic sandwich bag, because I don't have enough reusables. 😉
Three
Since I knew I was going to be out all day on Wednesday (museum trip plus dance class), on Tuesday, I made a pot of clam chowder and a loaf of English muffin bread.
I put the clam chowder in the fridge, so when we got home yesterday, all I had to do was heat up the soup, toast the bread, and throw together a salad.
Wednesday Kristen was very glad that Tuesday Kristen thought ahead.
Because otherwise Wednesday Kristen might have had trouble getting dinner done.
Four
I filled my van up with gas at Costco, since it was on my way. Costco pretty much always has the cheapest gas price around, but since it takes gas to drive (Captain Obvious, reporting for duty!), it's rarely worth it to go out of my way to fill up.
So when my tank starts to get a little low, I try to think about when I might be near Costco, or I think about whether I have any other errands in the same area that might make it worth driving.
If not, I just fill up at the cheapest station I'll be near.
Five
I wore
- Goodwill jeans
- Converse that I bought on clearance 3.5 years ago*
- a Lands' End long sleeved v-neck that I bought last spring on an end-of-season clearance sale
- my American Giant hoodie.
*I go barefoot so much, my shoes last forever
This is not a picture from yesterday, but I just realized that it IS almost the same outfit. Those are Goodwill jeans too, but the tshirt is a short-sleeved v-neck from American Giant.
Anyway, my outfit yesterday was kind of like the cheap, cheap, cheap, expensive outfit I posted about a few years ago...mostly clearance/second-hand stuff with one high-quality splurge.
Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Yay!
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Want to give it a try? Share five frugal things of your own in the comments.
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P.S. I hear that there are still some free Mrs. Meyer's cleaning sets available from ePantry, so you can still snag one for yourself. They'll be available until either they sell out, or 6pm tomorrow rolls around, whichever happens first.
And existing customers, you can get your set for 50% off here.
1. My Brother laser printer decided the life of the toner cartridge was over and stopped printing. I decided otherwise and put a piece of black electrical tape over the eye on the cartridge so it thinks there is a new cartridge. Thank you internet for this out-smarting information I found a few years ago.
2. I have a Nutella Braid in the oven for breakfast. I'd rather my people eat homemade goods for breakfast than processed food. This is only the second time I have made the recipe. I put a note on it that said it would be better with a sweeter dough so I added a bit of sugar and butter and used milk instead of water. I love my Kitchen Aid mixer for yeast dough and SAM'S Club for cheap bulk yeast.
3. A good friend has been overseas and I'm helping with watching her house. Thanks to the internet communication, via email and Facebook, has been free.
4. I love your blog posts this week. A source of free information/inspiration.
5. I just packed my husband lunch. He loves having a packed lunch and I love how much money is saved.
I didn't go out to lunch today. My husband bought me tea bags from my favorite coffee shop for Christmas. I brewed a gallon of tea for the same price as one large would have cost me.
Oh, I forgot about yesterday... With the Kroger mega sale and coupons I payed .79 for a 16 roll package of Charmin!!! I was really excited about that one.
I love these! Here's mine:
1. I turned 30 on Tuesday (yuck!), but Kohl's sent me $15 worth of coupons, plus my $5 reward and I purchased a few pairs of gloves for each member of our family. We ALWAYS seem to misplace one of them and always end up with mis-matched gloves. I've gotten smart and get the same color for myself 🙂
2. With some creative couponing and drug store rewards, I got 4 packs of bottled water for $0.65 each! These will go into our stockpile for emergencies.
3. I (I should say, my daughter) received a FREE toy from Playskool in return for a review.
4. I also received some all natural health and wellness products for $1.95 each (regularly $29.95) in return for an honest review.
5. I made a huge batch of boiled eggs last night to make some egg salad for lunch for the rest of the week, and eggs to garnish my lunch salads.
I turned 35 on Tuesday (double yuck!) and also got a bunch of free stuff, yay! Happy (late) b-day!
I'm turning 57 on the 26th! 35 sounds wonderful....
My life got easier, cheaper and more efficient (no time wasted looking for matches) when I learned not to care if socks or mittens/knit gloves did not match each other.
How do you get to do reviews on products.
1) My toddler has been a whining/crying mess the last few weeks, so instead of buying a new one I am working on fixing my old one.
2) I made a double batch of sandwich bread and froze one loaf for later.
3) I bought 20lbs of apples when they went to $.50 a lb this week. I'll make apples sauce from them and can it for later.
4) I wear sweats all day, every day. I only wear "nice" clothes when we are out and about. It keeps my nice clothes nicer for longer.
5) We have started folding the kids clothes that have been worn but aren't dirty into a pile to wear a second time. It has saved on so much laundry!
LOL Good for you for keeping your toddler. I think a different one would probably be just as squeaky, they usually are at that age. 😉
Lol about 1. My toddlers all seemed to go through a phase of being super whiny/fussy/clingy. I remember that it was super exhausting, so lots of sympathy to you.
Wow, I had no idea you could get a new toddler instead of fixing the old one! I sure wish I had known that 40 some years ago when my daughter was a toddler. There were MANY occasions when that would have been option number one!!!!
We tried sending ours back, but they said it had been sold as-is.....
Well, as usual, this takes some thinking:
1. Went to Kohl's with Kohl's Cash to shop for clearance clothes for the grandkids. Found several 18- month size long-sleeve onesies in cute prints, marked $2.40, which actually rang up at $1.92.
2. Planning a zoo trip for next week to celebrate my grandson's 2nd birthday, since his party can't be until later in the month. There will be about five adults and five kids all under age 4, and tickets are pricey, so we decided to pack a big picnic lunch ( allowed in the zoo and park area) which I will carry in my large zippered insulated cooler. There will obviously be plenty of strollers to stow it on, so we don't have to carry it around!
3. Found a large vinyl-upholstered toy box in an "espresso" color, which fits almost all the "grandma's-house" toys ( minus art supplies) and used a Hobby Lobby coupon. Here's a new one for me, despite the fact that I'm a veteran Hobby Lobby coupon shopper: I got to the checkout with the toy box, and showed a coupon for my other purchase ( the toy box was already 30% off, so the coupon couldn't be used on it). The clerk asked if I wanted to use the coupon (40% off) on the original price of the toy box. Umm, yes please! This saved me another $10. (My regular-price purchase, that I was planning to use the coupon on, was very small and would not have saved me much.)
4. Instead of buying plastic drawer organizers for a seldom-used china cabinet drawer near our front door, which holds extra sunglasses, peppermints, gloves, and other random items) I spied 2 flat, perfectly-sized Amazon boxes that did the trick. The inside of the drawer is the exact same brown of the box, and it totally "disappears" when it's in the drawer. I had the plastic organizers on my Target list, and happily marked it off.
5. Decided to NOT go to the grocery store today, will dig out chicken thighs and bake them, (in keeping with our weight-loss resolution, anyway.) side salad and split a sweet potato, and dinner is planned.
I found some clearance Christmas/winter items last week that were way reduced....got a few items for Christmas gifts next year, some things that can be used as gifts for birthdays and baby gifts and also some non-perishable grocery items....all for cheap, cheap, cheap!
1. I sorted through my upstairs books and found two bags to give away to the public library for their semi-annual book sales.
2. I decluttered my craft space and brought a garbage bag of small stuff to one thrift store that they can repackage into grab bags and a large box of large items to my favorite -- Vinnie's.
3. While travelling around town on recycling errands, I stopped into Home Depot and found just the sort of outdoor LED lights I want for around my front door at 70% off the original price.
4. I used some of my Michael's gift card that I got for Christmas to buy yarn for a crochet throw/shawl to chase away winter chills -- the yarn was on a half-price special.
5. I bought a pork roast for half-price (our grocer four blocks away is good for those deals on Sunday/Mondays) -- a little over $5. One half went into the freezer; the other half was good for two meals.
Kristen, I do not five have because I did not go out, but once yesterday.
My only frugal thing was.
I joined the Arby's club and they send me a free item almost once a day. Yesterday's treat was free loaded curly fries with a sandwich purchase.
I love freebies. I was very happy.
If you have a Caption D's in your area they have a birthday club you can sign up for. I have my whole family signed up and they send us a free meal for the birthday person at the time of their birthday. and their are lots of other places that other these. Just look up restaurants with free coupons.
I've actually had trouble a few times with that. The computers wouldn't let me get the birthday discount/freebie at a few places -- my birthday is February 29th and when it's not a Leap Year, not all systems will accept the 28th or 1st. Leap babies, unite!
Thanks Jennifer, We do have a Captain D's here, I will look into that.
I also get a free sundae from Huddlehouse.
1. Bought a package of boneless thighs for $5 to make into 6 simple lunches for me in my weight loss goal. 2. Will travel to Goodwill today for transition size jeans. 3. Got a hand-me-down Nook from Hubby and will buy, borrow, or check out books instead of buying on Amazon. 4. Purged kitchen cabinets wiping all of it down and tossed about a third of the junk in there which I will not automatically replace. 5. Making a pot of crock pot beans tomorrow with the leftover ham bone from Christmas.
I made a batch of pea soup for New Year's Eve with my leftover ham bone. Yum!
Made hoppin' John with my leftover ham bone. If anyone in your house doesn't eat black eyed peas this may change their mind. Also, I got a whole spiral sliced ham for $9 so I threw that in the freezer.
* Scored a bunch of freebies for my birthday and my daughter's birthday (same day!) tuesday : 2 free smoothies, 2 lunchs, 3 entrees to the movies (one together and one by myself later), free yoga class. I got a popcorn at the movie with money I received as a gift. Total spent that day : 2,50$ for the tip at the buffet!
* Did not spend anything on the personal front since the beginning of the year
* Made a big batch of vegetables soup for the low estimated cost of 2,60$. Will last at least 3-4 supper (+proteins)
* Had booked 5 days off and cancelled 3 (unpaid) ones. More money is always good!
* Using my Petro Points to get some free groceries
Have a good day!
1) I ate breakfast today at the shelter where I volunteer once a week. (They have the greatest breakfasts because they include lots of vegetables.) Other breakfasts have been leftovers.
2) I am doing well at cooking from my pantry and supplementing only as needed, thanks to summer and fall freezing. For example, I made a cherry dessert sauce with frozen cherries to go with your chocolate cake recipe, and used the last of the heavy cream (whipped) to supplement a small leftover batch of chocolate buttercream frosting that I'd also frozen for later use.
3) I'm reading from my bookshelf, instead of buying new books. As I read them, I am deciding which ones to keep and which ones to sell or donate.
4) I made a new household budget based on the first two months of my husband's new income, but I might have underestimated how much we make. (I'm not used to having "commission" variables in a paycheck.) Instead of redoing the budget, I'm going to keep the same targets and any leftovers will be put into our don't-touch-it savings account.
5) I'm using the Christmas gifts I got, like warm socks and bath salts. When I was younger I had a tendency to hold onto things for the "perfect moment," and ended up never using them or having something go bad. I feel like using them is the more frugal option! 🙂
Regarding your #5, I am so guilty of that myself!
1. My husband is a graphic designer, so a good camera, while not a must-have, is a really-like-to-have. He's been on the lookout for a "new" good used camera for YEARS. His patience paid off as last night he found just what he was looking for from a guy who was upgrading to the even newer model and was anxious to get rid of the old one. My husband will list his old camera on Craigslist and take the time to find a buyer who will pay less of a fire sale price.
2. We had been planning for months for a home exchange to Iceland this summer. But because of complications on the Icelandic end we have decided to put off the trip until summer 2017. (Home exchange is a long game.) We might get another home exchange or do a cheap trip to the beach, but it might be we just save the cash for next year.
3. I've been listening to Dave Ramsey this week while I nurse the baby. He excercizes my frugal muscles.
4. I meal planned and shopped at aldi this week. Supper last night was spaghetti in which I had added puréed pumpkin and chopped zucchini to the sauce. The zucchini came out of my dad's garden last summer. The pumpkin was one that we were supposed to carve at a children's party but didn't end up doing so. I roasted and puréed it before it went bad.
5. Instead of going out with friends, Tuesday night we had them over for dinner. We didn't have to pay a babysitter and I made rolls with your recipe.
1. I did not spend any money yesterday.
2. I moved money into my investment accounts.
3. I packed our lunches for work like always, which is really our only option since we literally work in the middle of nowhere.
4. I made dinner at home from ingredients I had on hand.
5. I wore my new apron while I cooked dinner so that I wouldn't get any food on my clothes while cooking.
1. Packed my lunch for work.
2. Husband also packed lunch for work.
3. Made time to stop at Walmart and buy some spare health & beauty products with coupons that would expire at the end of the week. (Instead of intending to use the coupons and being bummed out when I have expired coupons and pay full price.)
4. Discovered a very old scarf dresses up one of my usual cardigans, making me feel like I'm wearing a new outfit.
5. Walking outside - even though its cold - exercise without gym membership.
Your post about going to a museum on a home school day reminded me that I use library passes to go to local museums. Many libraries these days have "Discover and Go" passes for free or reduced cost entry to museums in the area. I recently saved $79 by using one of these passes to go to San Francisco's Academy of Sciences (and that was just for two people)! The only limitation is that you can usually only use one pass per institution per year. But there are so many museums to choose from that if we went to each one once per year we would be extremely busy.
1. Today I'm wearing a pair of jeans I've had for about 10 years...they still fit.
2. I'm knitting up a few more (small) cotton dishcloths. CHEAP and wonderful to use.
3. Just scored BOGO on chuck roast!! Woohooo!
4. Making a bit pot of soup with only ingredients from my freezer, fridge or pantry.
5. Dropping several bags of clothes off at Salvation Army...it will help someone else be frugal, and I don't need the stuff.
1. Ate meals at home yesterday
2. Drank free coffee at work
3. Have not spent any money this week
4. Sticking to my grocery plan-which is way under budget this week (more money in our grocery fund for another time)
5. Used a paper bag to soften some pears, folded the bag back up and put it in the drawer to use again. Also, have been washing out my freezer bags and using again (though I'm being very careful to always use meat bags for meat and veggie bags for veggies just in case).
1. Big one first: I cleaned my own dishwasher! This was like a week-long process involving a hacksaw and replacement nut (full blog post coming soon 🙂 ) but I saved a boatload over outsourcing it. (My mom said she paid $135 to have it done.)
2. Jogged to and from car repair shop instead of buying bus tickets.
3. Invested in keeping old car (1999 Accord, but only 140K miles) running instead of taking out loan to buy newer car.
4. Packed lunch for preschooler--super-cheap overnight oatmeal!
5. Made large batch of homemade vegetable soup to eat all week for lunch!
Excellent post. You are good girl!! That chowder looks amazing too.
1. I rarely wear shoes, either, and never wear them in my house. Never thought of it as frugal but I suppose it is and I'm doing it right now!
2. Decided to cancel some online subscriptions--one for a recipe site that I rarely use. That saved $20. Also decided to let my Amazon student prime expire because I rarely by anything that gets the free shipping anymore. (I've cut WAY back on buying new books!) I do use the Prime video but that is through my spouse's account.
3. After reading the post yesterday about Abstainers vs Moderators, I realized that I am a moderator who tries very hard to be an abstainer and I make myself miserable. So, I decided to forego all my restrictions about how to eat and exercise and evaluate every decision on its own merits. So, to celebrate, I had a BOGO blizzard coupon and we went and got blizzards-- it was nice because it was cheaper, it was a treat, and I know there will be another treat with another coupon. That was a post I REALLY needed to read and something I REALLY needed to learn about myself!
4. Made smoothies this morning with baby kale that looked past its peak and some sour clementines. Excellent in a smoothie!
5. Got a free Starbucks gift card from Swagbucks and signed up to put in the star rewards.
Bonus:
A friend invited me to lunch (his treat--he doesn't cook and we have him over sometimes so to reciprocate, he will take us to lunch) at Olive Garden day before yesterday and he got the soup salad and breadstick lunch. I love the soup but the salad is "meh." I got the Duo combo of the Mediterranean Flatbread-- ate two bowls of soup and brought the flatbread home for dinner with a nice salad! So, I ate for free Tuesday! (My breakfast was a large bowl of oats with apple, dried cranberries, and walnuts!)
Are you familiar with sharing Prime benefits? I just learned of it this year and we've had Prime for years. It may not apply but I thought I'd pass it along in case. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cs_gtwyph_prime_share?ie=UTF8&
1. Mended my nephew's pants - 2 pairs, and one of my husband's sport coats.
2. Organized and cleaned out my sock -n- underwear drawer. Contrary to what I thought, I still have plenty of these items, even though it seems like many have been biting the dust lately. (Really, it's like they're all catching some contagious sock disease in there!)
3. Stuck to a $50 grocery budget this week to use up some items leftover from various holiday celebrations.
4. Took inventory of fruits and vegetables and triaged which needed to be used first.
5. Planning to *maybe* go to the 50% off sale at our Rescue Mission stores on Saturday. I'm sort of looking for winter boots, but they're hard to find at thrifts around here, since we have really serious winters. But if I don't go, that's OK. There's nothing I am in desperate need of. Would like to find a laptop bag.
1. Made tomato barley soup in my crockpot yesterday. It was the second to the last meal from my last freezer cooking extravaganza so I'm starting to prepare for the next one in two weeks or so.
2. My BRAND NEW (seriously only wore it twice!) bra's strap broke yesterday while I was at work. Rather than walking around lopsided all day or driving home in the El Niño flooding yesterday, my coworker gave me a safety pin and I just dealt with it until I can return the bra.
3. I put a stash of safety pins in my glove box AND at my desk today. 😉
4. I just started my fourth book of the year (already!) that I downloaded for free from my library using Overdrive. LOVE Overdrive!
5. Looking forward to a no-spend (or leave the house) weekend. Will do some of my weekly chores, make some muffins, another batch of soup and enjoy the next El Niño storm from the comfort of my apartment. 🙂
Another useful emergency clothing repair tool is a stapler. A staple will hold up a ripped hem nicely. 🙂
I keep a few safety pin, pinned to my wallet zipper. It goes thru the little metal pull part. Yes, they've save me (and others) several times.
Guess what I got in the mail today? E Pantry package! Coincidentally, I was watching an old "Cooks Country" episode last night and they tested dish soap and Mrs Meyers won!! I had no idea it would arrive so quickly, lovely selection, great price, thank you Frugal Girl and E Pantry.
1. My husband has taken breakfast and lunch to work every day so far this week.
2. I dropped off Christmas lights for recycling.
3. I've managed to hang dry two loads of laundry this week.
4. Baked a batch of whole wheat bread (your recipe, we love it!) And froze one loaf that we won't get to right away.
5. Making a batch of chicken stock today from the whole chicken I roasted last night for dinner.
Love the 5 frugal things posts, fair play Kristen.
1.I managed to use up a lot of leftovers to make a roast veg pasta that we have had for lunch this wk.
2.Used up a gift coupon to buy a winter jacket for my son that was on sale saving €25.00.
3.Bought a few Christmas gifts and baby gifts during the sales for at least half their original price to used for next Christmas & during the year meaning I won't have to go near the shops during the pre Christmas madness next year
4. Ate at home everyday this week
5. Got books from library to read instead of buying them.
1. Did yoga using a tape from my favorite program (Yoga Zone) that I taped off of TV back in the 1990's - amazing the VCR tapes still work, and the commercials are downright giggle-worthy.
2. Needed a few things at the grocery store, so I walked instead of driving.
3. Stumbled upon the mother load of discounts in the meatless freezer aisle. Apparently they're discontinuing a few kinds of veggie burgers so I stocked up at 75% off.
4. Bought a few used Smartwool base layers on eBay. Still not exactly "cheap" when you pay $20 for a top - but much cheaper than dropping $80-$100 for a new one, and they let me keep the thermostat low and still stay WARM! Yay!
5. Bid farewell to my favorite pair of Birkenstock clogs (they were over 20 years old with holes in them, and when the buckle on one mysteriously disappeared I figured the end was here.) But instead of replacing them, I resurrected an old pair of Birkenstock shoes that I haven't worn since I stopped working 8 years ago. The shoes do require that I actually put them on instead of just sliding my foot into them, but I think I can handle that! Yay for comfy feet!
Oh wait! I forgot the best one! I cleaned out the fruit drawer and used the soft apples to make an apple pie!
Still saving lots of bucks with leftover Christmas "stuff"! Turkey meat - we strip off every last scrap of meat, then boil up the carcass for soup. Then the resulting scraps go to the chickens - they then reward us with eggs.
I make our own Bread, Yogurt and Beer.
Tea and Coffee. One teabag in a pot makes tea for both of us- so that cuts the price in Half! I use Instant Coffee for my coffee, which works out at about 5 cents a cup as opposed to coffee beans at ? or Starbucks at $5 or $6 a cup! So my cup of coffee costs about 1/100th than if I buy at Starbucks!
We have two cats and get their dry food and litter in the rectangular or square plastic containers. They hold about 5 gallons. If anyone has saved a bunch of those buckets and been reluctant to throw them away because they did not know what to do with them, I could use them. Let me know and I will pick them up in the Pasadena, Md area.. I live in Pasadena, Md.
Thank you. I just know that someone out there has them and hated to throw them away, but does not know what to do with them.
I could use 20 or so.
David.
1. Mended my son's shirt.
2. Am wearing today, along with socks and undies, a pair of Travelsmith jeans ($1 at Salvation Army), a zip-up Cherokee cardigan sweater ($1.75 on clearance at the community consignment sale), a Land's End t-shirt my husband got free at a work event (have to roll up the tail of it because it's too long on me, but it works), and a favorite bra bought off eBay (new with tags, before anyone gets squicked out).
3. I'm growing out my hair so I can keep the ends trimmed myself and am at that unruly stage. Got the sides pinned back with some combs bought on clearance at the grocery store. Best use of 69 cents ever!
4. Am organizing the pantry and making a grocery list at the same time, so that we replace only what's needed.
5. While brainstorming for materials to make another bed for our dogs, I realized we have old throw pillows in the den closet that will do nicely with just a little sewing.
Bonus sixth thing: Found a small laundry basket at Dollar Tree that works perfectly for keeping cleaning rags separated from the rest of the laundry. It's small enough to fit under the drying rack so the dogs don't investigate it.
1. I've lost weight and have nothing appropriate for religious services or part time work at my husband's office. I bought a grey short sleeve sweater dress on clearance and a reasonably priced shirt from Dress Barn. I tried not to be my usual picky self and just get some affordable decent clothes.
2. I had a migraine but managed to still make dinner yesterday by making mini pizzas out of thawed Rhodes roll dough (It's a convenience food but much cheaper than buying takeout pizza).
3. I packed my husband's lunches this week.
4. We have quit using Kcups and a Kuerig.
5. I have started cutting down on my "quick trips" to the grocery - less trips= less impulse buys.
Congrats on the weight loss! I'm in a smaller size now, too. About half of my pants could be taken in, which was WAY less than the cost of new ones. I'm also using ebay and Thred Up to rebuild my work wardrobe.
Love your blog! Here are five frugal things I do:
1) today at work I'm wearing a cardigan I bought inexpensively from Ross and my top, scarf and watch are thrifted. Watch needed a battery. I love watches and have quite a few. $8-10 to get batteries replaced, ouch! I bought a watch repair kit from Amazon for about $20 and also get inexpensive packages of watch batteries and do it myself.
2)used sanitizing spray I made using water, vinegar and essential oils for my kitchen table and countertops.
3) I loved iced sweet tea and often get it at McDonalds when I'm out and about as a treat, any size is $1. Now participating McDonalds have 50 cent drinks from 2:00-5:00! Eating out isn't generally the most frugal option, but when practical, I try to order off the dollar menu. Arby's now also has a happy hour from 3:00-5:00 with certain items $1.00.
4) my daughter wants white Christmas lights hung up in her room,
Found on clearance half price. Also got some new tree garland, ornaments, and wrapping paper 50-66% off. Went through my old decorations and found several things to donate.
5) we live about 30 minutes from the nearest Aldi, but when I'm near one I usually pick up water bottles and tortilla chips which are much cheaper and items we go through a lot of. My son takes water bottle and granola bar for snack break at technical school rather than using vending machine. My daughter takes water to school and dance class.
Here's My Copy Cat McDs Sweet Tea
thanks to my sister I now Like the McDs Sweet Tea Occasionally.
In the Summer (Hot Weather ) make it this Way
1- Gallon Water (( put in a Glass Container not Plastic ))
I use 5-Reg Lipton Tea Bags
Then I set out in the Sun til the Tea is Brown enough to My likings ( I like it weak not too strong ).
Then while the Tea is Hot from being in the Sun,
I Add 1-1/2 Cups Sugar & Stir good til dissolved
Then chill
Way lah Yummy Sweet Tea at Home
In the Winter ( or cold months )
I Boil 1/4 - 1/2 Gallon Water then add 5-6 teabags til really Dark Brown ( cuz we will dilute it still )
Then take Teabags out
& stir in 1-1/2 cups Sugar til Disolved
Then add 1/2 - 3/4 Gallon Water to make 1- Gallon
& chill & again Wah Lah
Sweet Treat on the Cheap
1. Got back on track with normal meals and meal planning after a hectic and slightly too expensive holiday season! Did not go out for any meals this week.All meals planned,shopped for, and prepared every single day this week! Eating vegetarian 5 days out of 7=healthy and saves money too.
2. Decided to keep old drapes up in living room.They actually look fine now that we repainted the walls a nicer color.No need for new drapes as we refresh the living room a tad. A nice savings.
3. Learning to make pizza dough in my breadmaker so we can have pizza treats without ordering cardboard pizza ever again.
4. Cheap date scheduled for tomorrow with dear husband: A free art gallery in our historic downtown,then a trip to Savers, a block away, as we enjoy browsing the thrifts for fun, then a cheapie Mexican food lunch at a local ethnic supermarket which is interesting to visit and has very cheap fresh Mexican soups at their lunch counter every day. I may pick up some loss leader priced fruit while there.
5. Took out the movie "Lucy" at the library plus 5 more books to keep me happy and cozy during all this rain!!! FREE! FREE! Libraries never cease to thrill me!!!
It's not hard to have fun on a budget when you just think about it a little!!
1. I made blackberry/lemon muffins with a 97 cent container of fresh blackberries and a lemon from my tree.
2. I cut the tube of my moisturizer in half so I could scoop out another 4 weeks worth.
3. I discovered bulk spices at Sprouts that I can buy in small quantities. No more buying expensive McCormick's.
4. I added some things to my stockpile, bought at rock-bottom prices.
5. I started tracking and recording my grocery and drugstore purchases.
Isn't that the truth about scooping out cosmetics when they're seemingly used up? I have a tube of concealer ( in a lipstick-style tube) that was flat across the top, not too comfortable to use anymore, but I'm using a brush with it and have used it for over a month this way. It's amazing how far down the tube it goes.
1. Lunch was pork chops that we got on sale during the fall for 99 cents a pd. Planned leftovers used in my husbands packed dinner.
2. Went to Salvation Army and found some really nice long sleeve shirts and a fleece jacket for part of my grandson's birthday gifts. They were all quality brands and looked like they had never been worn or only once or twice and thankfully they were the right coloured ticket and were half price! I looked them up online and figured they were all about $20 or more a piece new and i got them for 2 to 2.50 a piece.
3. Have some chicken breasts in the crock pot for chicken salad. We received these as part of a Omaha Steaks package Christmas gift from my husbands sister. (while we are grateful for the gift, for the price and quantity of meat we received i would never buy a package myself) Also boiled up some eggs to make egg salad to go with the chicken and some deviled eggs as snacks. Low carbers here 🙂
4. Now that it has warmed up a bit (not going to go below zero again for a while) i have turned the heat down a couple of degrees. When the temps go so low we like to turn the heat up a few degrees to help keep the pipes from freezing. We normally keep it at 62.
5. Im sure there are more ways i have been frugal but they are just things that have become everyday habits so i dont notice/remember them to list 🙂
1. Cooked a huge batch of beef barley soup yesterday. Delivered some to a local family who just had a baby, served it to my family, husband and I had it for lunch again today, and it will be supper for tomorrow night too.
2. Gave my daughter a haircut instead of taking her to a salon. Saved at least $15!
3. Baked a batch of banana chocolate chip muffins that served as snacks for lunches this week.
4. Went to the most expensive of the three grocery stores in our town yesterday and stocked up on loss leaders only!
5. Bought a near-new bike for my son on a local buy/sell site for half the cost of the same one new, using Christmas money.
1) As an older student who has returned to school for a new career, I am learning some new tricks. I paid out of pocket to rent this semesters books. When my book allowance from financial aid comes back to me, I will have made a 450.00 profit.
2) That money will purchase new tires for my car
3) Yesterday I found a beautiful armoir I have wanted for a long time. I paid 60.00 at a Goodwill store.
4) I stopped at a salvage store and picked up several much needed items for about 75% off. All of these items came from Costco. 3 pk contact lens solution and a two pack of Mead binders.
5) purchased boxed Xmas lights for my special needs daughter for 62 cents at Home Depot. She asked me to decorate the house this year but we had no lights and couldnt afford them. Baby girl will have a beautiful house next year.
6) being frugal allows us to have everything we need and sometimes what we want.
also did a deal with Groupon. Strangely it arrived in two separate emails. Problem is I did not receive the second part of the deal. Groupon investigated and resent me the whole deal. My 25.00 purchase got me a 25.00 giftcard and I was missing the two free pizzas that came with it. They sent me a new 25.00 giftcard and 2 free pizza coupons. Great customer service.
Ooh, nice! That worked out really well for you.
First time playing, so let's see...
1. Cut out fabric to see a new batch of cloth diapers, using fabric that I mostly got for Christmas. (The ones I had have paid for themselves by now, but the boy is growing faster than I anticipated, so I'll need one size larger.)
2. Turned one banana into 2 jars' worth of baby food. It would have been 3, but it kind of went off-flavored after being blended and oxidizing for two days, and the baby wouldn't eat it then.
3. Checked out a couple of e-books from the library.
4. Found a snack recipe for an annual friends gathering tonight that involves seasonal fruit with chocolate, instead of strawberries. Bonus: the clementines and chocolate were both also on sale.
5. Got word after leaving the house to go to the grocery store that a rehearsal that would have left my husband to fend for himself for dinner needs to be postponed. In meal planning on the fly, realized I had everything to make pizza except for cheese, so I was able to just buy that instead of the more expensive frozen pizza that he requested. Just need to find time to mix up some dough.
1. I got promoted! Most of the raise is going into retirement savings/other savings.
2. I'm selling off a bunch of clothes.
3. The market had a bag of "deli turkey scraps" - turkey cut too thin, too thick, the heel end, whatever - super cheap. I've had a turkey sandwich for lunch every day this week.
4. The new puppy LOVES tennis balls. The hubs asked around to see if anyone had some old ones and got a bagful from a friend.
5. Does detailing my own car count, since I've never in my life paid to have it done? I'm counting it. 😉 Undoubtedly a pro would do a better job, but I've seen what they charge and I just can't imagine it would be worth it.
Congratulations on the promotion! Yay!!!!
1. mended 2 flat flannel sheets. Now I can put them back into rotation and now don't have to buy new. One of them is from a set from my parents. They were going to toss the entire set because the fitted sheet had a hole. Fixed that before in the cold hit, and yes -- I got a free set of flannel sheets.
2. walked in my neighborhood -- so no fancy gym membership
3. still eating holiday leftovers -- easy and very frugal
4. sewing gift bags. Bought the material for $1/yard, and I'm starting on them now to be ready for Christmas 2016.
5. I think living in a really cold house counts -- hence the need for flannel sheets.
6. Oh just thought of another. Bought some rain pants at Costco to replace old ones that were flaking away. Comparison shopped and found the rain pants and jacket set was cheaper than getting just the pants from other places. So I got the jacket for free. Wearing that now. However the pants are too long, so I sewed additional velcro so the pants will be tighter around the ankle and hopefully not drag on the floor.
1. Made my own coffee every day this week instead of buying coffee or redbull
2. Hit HT for super doubles scoring just a few goodies at great prices
3. Bought discount gift cards before buying some necessities
4. Made homemade chicken wings for dinner tonight instead of going out!
5. Filled up on gas in the town where I work vs where I live because it's 25 cents cheaper a gallon!
My 5 Frugal things ( but not in order )
1)
I too shop Goodwill / Tag Sales for Clothes / Jeans & goodies
2)
I keep an Up to date Inventory of my Pantry /Freezer. When I shop from my pantry I sub or add to my list.
(( I keep it in my Notes on my IPod yes iPod as I hv a Dumb phone. Then when I'm out Shopping the List is on my IPod.
3)
along w- my Pantry /Freezer Inventory on my iPod. I keep my NEED List ( Shopping list ) for the Stores I shop at ~> SaveMart, Target, Costco, $ Tree, $ General & Trader Joes. That way when I'm at 1 of the stores I have a ready to go list on me.
4)
I Hate Throwing Food Away. So we Stretch more Meals so out now. So after Dinner immediately put leftovers into Portions for Work Lunches OR decide if enough for another Evning for Dinner.
5)
I have a HE Front Loader Washer & have recently since Oct. cut back on Detergent use. I use Gain Original I like the Smell & the Way it cleans.
So if I fill the Washer 3/4 Full ( which is a full load bcuz u need room to let the clothes toss around n get cleaned n rinsed out good )
I will use 3/4 Scoop of a 1/4cup measuring cup.
1/2 load full 1/2 Scoop of the 1/4 cup
& I wash Everything in Cold Water Except Towels & Sheets & in those loads I add other things if needed.
Thank Kristen, I love all the Tips & things you Share & thank you to all Ur Readers with their ideas as well I really enjoy this !
Ps & Whites get washed in Hot /warm water & Only when a Full load OR
They get added to the Sheets in a load.