Five Frugal Things | In which I do not want to cook dinner
More on that don't-want-to-cook-dinner thing in item #5.
1. I used up two extra egg yolks.
A dinner recipe called for two egg whites, which meant I had two yolks sitting in my fridge. So, I added them into my scrambled eggs, which were part of my lunch plate the other day:
2. I used a 30% off coupon at Kohl's.
Sonia and Zoe desperately needed some shorts for summer, and since I had a 30% off coupon, we stopped in at Kohl's to see if we could find something that would fit them.
And hallelujah, we did! My kids are a little hard to fit due to their very narrow builds, so I am always very happy when we find shorts or pants that stay up.
Zoe's were $9.60/pair and Sonia's were $15/pair, so I was happy with that.
3. I got a shirt for $2.38.
In addition to Sonia and Zoe's clothes, I found a shirt for myself on clearance. After the 30% off, it was a little over $2.
That's a thrift store price right there.
4. I ate a very leftover-y lunch yesterday.
I made a salad using the last of the spinach, I dressed it with leftover cilantro lime sauce from chipotle kebabs, and I heated up leftover chicken and some sauteed veggies to go on top of the greens.
5. I made dinner, despite being very uninspired.
I am in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad, do-not-want-to-cook funk this week. If I were loaded with cash, I would have ordered out every night so far.
Despite this, I've soldiered on with the dinner making. The ridiculous price of eating out keeps me motivated to cook even when I'd otherwise throw in the towel.
Alrighty! Your turn!
(And here's hoping you've been a more motivated chef than me this week. ;))
1) We decided last-minute to go to a lakeside beach on Saturday to enjoy the beautiful weather before bug season starts (dun dun DUN), and I pulled together a picnic lunch from things we had on hand.
2) I sorted through the many bins of children's clothes before ordering any summer things and found I didn't need to get much for my sons. They're overrun with t-shirts, it turns out, which I did not know.
3) My infant daughter continues to wear her brothers' hand-me-downs. This means she is often mistaken for a boy, but she doesn't care, and neither do I.
4) Continuing to shed pregnancy weight means that I can wear my stored summer clothes this year.
5) Your plodding through dinner prep is me with packing lunches. SO OVER IT this time of year. But $5 for my two sons to eat bad cafeteria food is a good motivator to slap some peanut butter on bread and cut up some cheese.
Chances are she would be called a boy even if she were in all pink . In my experience people strangely do not pay attention. They just spit out whatever they think the baby is based on who knows what. This has happened to me with my girls and my boy, lol.
One time I had Lisey out in a sleeper that said, "baby girl" all over it, and someone still said, "Oh, what a cute boy you have there!". Ha. I figured there's no hope if that happened!
1. We finally got our state tax return in, so that went directly into savings.
2. I did not throw away any food this week (which is something I have been working on)
3. I sold a product on Teachers pay Teachers
4. Finally spring cleaned my yard and found a lot of pots and plants that I forgot I had, so that will save me from buying more....I know it's now summer, but my spring was mega-busy:)
5. My wonderful father sent me home with two freshly butchered chickens and three dozen eggs when I stopped by to visit...it pays to have a farmer in the family!
Number 4 has me laughing.. I read that as POTS AND PANS!!! lololol Was so confused for a minute!
I did the same thing! LOL Didn't even realize it wasn't that until I read your comment!
After a $$$ birthday weekend for my oldest I have been trying to be more frugal this week...
1) home cooked all suppers so far this week...
2) packed most lunches... today 1 kid is finishing off his lunch money account.. and the other 2 got cash for the food trucks at Field Day celebration....easy for me!
3)Straightened/organized the pantry shelves and wrote some items on the grocery list for future shopping
4)husband finally sold a bag of youth/infant life jackets that had been cluttering the basement.. hopefully he gets to selling more randomness!
5)prepped boxed waffle mix last night for this morning.... ( have just been SO tired this week).... all I had to do was plug in machine, dump wet into the dry.. mix and cook...
6) brought home a jug of chocolate milk left at work from teacher appreciation week... made my kids happy! No food waste, no money spent from me!
I voted for Sonia! I will go back and see if I can vote again! She did a great job!!
We always pack our dinner leftovers for lunch, and it has saved us a ton of money.
I have a clothing ban in place this year and haven't bought any clothes or shoes at all despite being pregnant this year. I'm super happy about that 😀
Gotta get those kids to cook for ya! It's good practice with fractions too LOL. I've been cleaning out my freezers and have about eaten all the frozen food so looks like I'll be making a few casseroles soon. I love soup year around and it freezes so well. My sis has been after me to make my lasagne- nope, too many calories for me but maybe later this summer.
1. I had ordered a few books on Alibris and one of the books I ordered had to be cancelled. They could replace it with the same copy, different seller, but for about $3 more. I thought about it, said no. I can live without this particular book.
2. I get Swagbucks for shopping at Alibris through the Swagbuck site.
3. I had fasting bloodwork this morning just before work, so I couldn't eat breakfast until I reached work. My co-workers always swing through Chick-Fil-A across from our office when they have to grab breakfast on the go. I packed leftovers and ate them for my breakfast. Free food.
4. I'm going to try to sell some clothes to ThredUp. We'll see if that works out. Even a couple of dollars will beat donating, since I can't itemize my donations on my taxes -- without a mortgage, I never have quite enough deductions to itemize. I still will donate clothes, but if it's something I think I can sell, I'll try that first.
5. I had some unexpected errands and a meeting after work last night, so I didn't get home until 7:30. My planned meal was going to take too long, so I substituted leftover homemade soup for me, and a bacon cheese sandwich and leftover cole slaw for the husband. No cost, and few dishes to clean.
6. Sort of frugal. I'm the only woman in my office. The men, now that summer is almost here, keep the air conditioning too cool for me. I bought 2 used cardigans, one white and one black, to throw on at the office. The vent is right over my desk, so I need this.
1. Our youngest son graduates from high school on Friday night, so it hasn't been a terribly frugal time of year. We get all of our kids a MAC laptop for graduation, and we saved $50 just by asking for the Apple Education discount. All we had to do was show a copy of his college acceptance letter. $50 isn't terribly much considering the cost of a MAC laptop, but every little bit helps!
2. Same graduating son needed a pair of dress pants for the graduation festivities. We (miraculously) found a pair that fit him (he needs a 31/36) that he liked, and they were on sale. Then, when we went to check out, the cashier graciously offered us a 30% coupon so we saved even more!
3. Got an email today that the school provides both professional videographers and photographers at the graduation ceremony, and the photos and video will be given to families of seniors free of charge! Yay for not having to buy them and yay for being able to enjoy the ceremony without having to worry about getting the perfect photo!
4. This mom of a graduating senior wanted a new dress for his graduation. I found one I loved at Marshalls for $24.99, and then found a cute matching necklace in a nearby store for 50% off. Total cost of outfit: $33.99!!!
5. Grammy is in town for graduation and has contributed to the groceries this week. So I was able to spend less while we still ate at home! Win-win!
I voted for Sonia's knitting project. It's so cute! And some of those others are so creative!
Congrats on your son's graduation!!
1. I usually stop at a local Speedway for breakfast after dropping my grandson at school. I had enough points to get a free soda and of course they give away a free donut every day.
2. I also had enough points to get .20 off a fill up of gas.
3. We did not eat out at all this past week. I cooked every night.
4. Before my last grocery shopping trip, I was using what I had in the house. I had some tilapia in the freezer so I began looking for recipes. I found a Parmesan Crusted Tilapia that the whole family loved. I will be cooking it again.
5. For Mother's Day my husband and oldest daughter bought me enough flowers to replenish one of my flower beds. They are all perennials so that bed while not have to be replanted each year.
1) Went to the mall looking for a shirt to match a skirt that I have. Couldn't find anything in my price range so I will keep looking. However, I did use a coupon for a free product (no purchase necessary) at Bath & Body Works. I got a travel size shower gel which will come in handy for camping this summer.
2) My husband and I use only credit cards (vs cash or debit) to get the rewards. We have been saving our reward points for what feels like forever. I found out that Chase discounted their Home Depot gift cards at 10% off so we redeemed our points for them. We really need new exterior doors so these gift cards will help!
3) My sister asked me to bring 2 things to her house for Mother's Day on Sunday - deviled eggs and salad. I got eggs for $0.49/dozen and had a $0.40 off coupon. I also had a $2 off a $10 produce purchase coupon that I used for salad ingredients as well as veggies for the week.
4) To go toward the above mentioned $10 in produce, I decided to try a new kind of pepper. It is a bell pepper that has both red and yellow stripes. They were 2 for $3 while the other colored peppers were $1.67 so I went for it. They taste just like a red or yellow pepper. When I was back at Kroger later in the week, they were marked down to 3 in a bag for $0.99. I didn't really need anymore peppers but it was too good of a deal to pass up! So I made shredded chicken in my Instant Pot and came up with a stuffed pepper filling, stuffed the peppers, and froze them for later dinners.
5) My husband and I had our 3rd wedding anniversary yesterday. We didn't do gifts, just cards. We are doing so many (expensive) house projects that giving a gift just to give one just didn't feel right. Glad we were on the same page!
I'm in a similar funk for meals. Hubs has been in NYC all week and I have had ZERO motivation to eat like a real person. It's kind of sad when your other half is gone for so long!
This week:
1. I got a free pineapple from the grocery store last week. Half of it had gone bad, which was a bummer. Instead of tossing the cores, I blended them in the Vitamix to make a DIY skin peel. You literally smear pineapple juice on your face for five minutes. It does wonders.
2. I got taco sauce on a favorite white shirt of mine. I soaked it with peroxide and the stain came right off! Did I mention this is also a secondhand shirt? 🙂
3. Last night I made dinner with odds and ends. It's really hard cooking for one all of a sudden! I'm happy to say I'm keeping the grocery bill as low as I possibly can on the home front. Phew.
4. Oh, and in said dinner I used tomatoes my in-laws grew in their back yard.
5. I pulled in more freelance work, which is always a good thing. 🙂
1. I hear ya about being burnt-out about cooking, which you know as you've been reading me saying this for the better part of a year. I'm handling this by buying main-dish foods that are easy. Last night's dinner was slow-cooked steaks (bake at 275F till about 100F inside, then brown in pan), mushrooms cooked in the same pan using the steak drippings, and smoothies made with fruit frozen before going bad.
2. Getting serious about eating down the freezer, even though this means forgoing deals on meat. Roommate's frozen jug of cider oozed despite his leaving headroom, so the freezer needs to be cleaned and not just defrosted. There are going to be a few funny meals before this is done.
3. Took home leftovers from a cookout, because no one else wanted any of them. A couple of pounds of sliced American cheese (which I may give to the neighboring household of young men for their cheeseburgers), milk, OJ, random jam.
4. Still brown-bagging it and bringing fruit and veg to work. Even a frozen meal is a lot cheaper than a restaurant meal.
5. Haven't bought new clothes, shoes, car, etc.
The huge frugal fail (before I get to my five frugal things) was that we had to buy a truck to replace hubby's. His truck finally became the vehicle that we were just done putting money into. He shopped around a lot and went back to the first place he went to for an excellent deal. I am happy to know that we now have a reliable truck for towing.
1. Our cell phone bill was a bit lower this month, so my typically monthly savings for this bill more than paid the bill, so I took the overage and added it back into my bank account.
2. A work meeting required me to drive 30 miles out of my way to meet the rest of the office before we traveled the rest of the way. I am asking for reimbursement for those miles as well as comp time for the extra time I worked that day. Should come right about memorial day!
3. We are getting ready for a camping trip over memorial day and I had originally written out a large list of items to buy for our camper, but I decided to first "shop" our house for some things like soap & shampoo. I know there's some sample sizes floating around somewhere. Just need to find them.
4. Found some new items at the Goodwill yesterday that I am putting away for holidays. The first is a new "plug & play" Pac Man game. My hubby loves that game and the kids and I decided to give him that for father's day (which also happens to be a camping weekend for us, so the kids can play with it in the camper if it rains). The other item I found were brand new three packs of EOS brand lotion. I scooped up four of them for my nieces for Christmas. The last new item that i found was a new (but vintage) donut dropper. We have yet to celebrate mother's day with my mom (but will over memorial day) and she makes donuts all the time. I hope she enjoys it.
5. Ebay is still selling items slowly!
Jenelle - bummer about having to replace the truck. But that doesn't mean it's a fail, although it is a large expense. A fail is if you bought a new one before you needed to, or if you need to replace it through carelessness (say, never replacing the oil). Glad to hear you got a good deal.
I voted for Sonia. She's so talented.
Yay for soldiering through making dinner when you don't want to!
My frugal five:
1. I just made lunches for our day trip today.
2. We enjoyed three local parks this week for free entertainment.
3. I found several packages of my favourite sprouted grain wraps on for 50%off!!!
4. My friend made me an iced coffee so I didn't have to buy one.
5. I found a $10 area rug at a garage sale to replace one in our playroom that is annoying to clean. I then sold that beautiful, but annoying rug for $20!
Hmm, let's see:
1.) I used my personal car for a few trips for work so I put in for reimbursement and got about $55 back for it.
2.) Working extra overtime to get some more money for an upcoming vacation.
3.) Planted some food from seeds. Seeds are definitely cheaper than buying plants (though I may need to buy some pepper plants, I believe.)
4.) Repairing a nice cassette deck I own. Repair is always a good thing.
5.) A friend of ours gave us a brand new garage door opener, still in the box. They got it with the intention of replacing theirs but instead sold their house (long story.) They couldn't flip it on Craigslist or anything and wouldn't take money for it. We're going to replace our garage doors this year so we'll have the installers put this in as well.
That's an extreme way to avoid replacing the garage door! ;-P
1. We are having some work done and the majority of it is covered under a warranty. So happy that we will not have to come up with the total amount for the work.
2. Packed popcorn, oranges, sausage sticks, peanuts and licorice along with a cooler of water for a very long car ride yesterday. Only purchased one meal on the road and a couple of coffees.
3. Have a wedding this weekend. Purchased a dress for 70% off to wear and a set of earrings for 5! Already have shoes that will match.
4. Are treating dogs allergies at home. With him being 11, we know what to expect and what works to help soothe his itchiness.
5. ?
1. Homecooked dinners each night (most nights have been leftovers since I, too, lack the inspiration to cook and it's just me and 3 kids)
2. started a return for an item I bought that was too large for what I needed
3. Made my own bread from my own sourdough starter (no commercial yeast!)
I don't know that I can think of anymore. Right now I'm a bit preoccupied with a possible ant invasion, and trying to come up with ant traps or spray without leaving the house tonight (already wipe down, vacuum and mop before bed each night). People tell me ants aren't an emergency situation, but my experience with all manner of ants as a small girl traumatized me a bit.
I sprinkle baby powder around. Ants don't seem to like it too much.
The cooking funk! Can Mr. FG take a few nights? Or the older kids? Or one of them cook up something big on the weekend to take you through a few days? Please don’t suffer!
Frugal things:
We are done with diapers, so after 11 years that is a nice break to stop buying them!
Doing family things for the 11-y-o’s birthday instead of a big friend party.
Now in a good routine of submitting expense receipts the week I incur them. Otherwise...I forget.
I can already tell you that we are going to have a pricey weekend...so for Friday I am making a very frugal meal for us. Frugal stuff:
Make a short sleeve shirt out of a long sleeve shirt for Hubby, and do the same with a t shirt for me,
I made mire poix for the freezer with the about-to-go-bad celery and carrots I had,
I'm going to repair a tote bag I ripped at work ):,
Tomorrow I am going to use an REI coupon and $250 worth of gift cards to buy us a Yeti for summer camping (!), and
deposit $28 worth of change I've been saving to pay for a pr of earrings I bought myself from James Avery. (that was the plan all along...)
It's been a not fun week, so tomorrow I'm going to get a lot done on a day off!
mire poix for the freezer... that’s brilliant!
There are some great frugal happenings going on! Kristen got great deals on clothing! I must try that pineapple exfoliator and the mom that got a free video for her senior's grad is perfect for a keepsake. Wish I got one from our school.....
Ok- here are my fast frugal things and most deal with our new grad......:
1) Got my grad a solar watch. I thought Amazon would be the cheapest around but, nope, not even close. Macy's was the winner with their sales! Savings- 55%
2) Signed up the youngest for college. I looked at the FAFSA and noticed some errors. After calling the IRS, FAFSA and school, I got nowhere. So, I made a personal visit to the school and got someone in the finaid office who knows their stuff. They helped me and I found out that our son is eligible for need based aid. Savings- 80%
3) Got the grad a cake but had a gift card. Savings- 90%
4) The grad won a scholarship from a local couple. They are having a reception at their home and a photo shoot. Hey, free food!
5) Using leftover burrito shells and corn tortillas to make a Mexican casserole. Not to mention the cheapo ground beef I got from Zaycon.
1) My son asked for an ice cream cake for his birthday. I made one using generic store brand ingredients, it was a hit and cost about $6
2) We originally planned to go out to dinner on Mother's Day, we decided to eat at home and my inlays brought steaks.
3) Usually we go out for ice cream after my kids art show, this year we we went home and had left over birthday ice cream cake.
4) Went hiking this weekend at local preserve with free admission
5) Went through my closet and sold clothes I no longer want at our local Clothes Mentor.
I'd never heard of Clothes Mentor, so I just checked it out online. There's one about an hour away, so the next time I'm in that area I'll give it a look. What we have locally is a Style Encore (owned by the same folks as Plato's Closet). I'll be submitting some dresses to them this weekend--the items they don't take I'll send to thredUP. And what thredUP doesn't take, they'll donate. Win, win, win!
1. Last month we moved to a smaller house (rental). It's only 3 bedrooms instead of 4, so it's a bit of a squeeze for our family of 6, but it's $20 cheaper per month!
2. Our old house had a huge freezer, so not having a freezer will lower the electricity bill.
3. The stove doesn't have pilot lights, so we should get an extra 2 months from our propane bottle over our old stove with pilot lights.
4. Butter dropped from $9/lb to $6/lb.and I will make cookies to celebrate.
5. I found round trip tickets to the U.S. on sale for only $10,000 for all six tickets, so we'll be able to go home for Christmas!
Wow, it's crazy how expensive butter is where you are!
Butter, cheese, and milk aren't part of the local diet and are imported from NZ, so they're expensive. Really, all food except tropical fruits and veggies are expensive, but sometimes my kids want cookies.
Can you get nutelex? that's a good butter substitute
1. Was out of town for wk all week. Hotel had a decent free breakfast! Bacon, sausage, eggs, omlettes, oatmeal, breads, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, juice, etc.
2. I picked up an El Pollo Loco meal and had that for dinner 2x.
3. Signed up for Players Card at one casino. Senior discount (age 55) cost me 10.59 for dinner, plus tip. Nothing fancy but I was able to get a decent salad bar, some prime rib, wings and a nice bowl of Asian noodle soup with lots of fresh broccoli, pea pods, bean sprouts and BBQ pork. Ate here twice.
4. Didn’t gamble a penny! I work too hard for my money!
5. I drove my own car and will be reimbursed .55 per mile. Gas only 2.99 at Costco so I made sure I filled up before heading home.
Having a lot going on so eating frozen meals & stuff from the freezer & my lovely sis is cooking a bit too - so grateful & balances out some not frugal days
Wardrobe building nearly complete - got a black jacket I've had my eye on for $50 off; & a pair of jeans that are simple, dark, classic, & very affordable, I am getting much better at buying only well thought out long term goal purchases in a variety of categories - even if I've fallen off the meal planning & cooking wagon until I've moved house & life is a little less full.
We were gone for a Swedish public holiday so not the most frugal of weeks but here are a few successes.
* We ate all meals at home on our holiday
* I made a hearty meal out of leftovers before travelling home so we only stopped for an ice cream break
* I have been making it a routine to pay bills within hours of coming into the house so not to incur late fees
* We had a clear out the fridge and concoct yourself a dinner evening once this week. Hubby and kids were surprisingly creative.
* I picked up two summer tops for myself at a local flea market for only 10 dollars.