Five Frugal Things | Really, just one!
On Sunday afternoon, I had a free block of time. Amazing.
This came on the heels of the first week of fourth semester, a week in which I barely peeked into my fridge. Soooo, I decided I needed to turn my ingredients into ready-to-eat food for this week.
As a result, my frugal things this week really all fall under that umbrella: food prep!
1. I made some copycat Starbucks egg bites
I had egg bites one time at Starbucks, and I thought I should try making some at home because they would be even quicker than my usual scrambled eggs, which would be lovely on work mornings.
(I try to eat a breakfast with plenty of protein because then I don't have a blood sugar crash mid-morning, and I can make it a while before I get hungry again.)
So, I tried a copypcat recipe from Once Upon a Chef and my verdict is that these are a pretty good duplicate of what Starbucks makes.
Each egg bite has 10 grams of protein, which is not too shabby. If I eat two, I'm already at 20 grams of protein.
2. I made some mashed potatoes
I had some potatoes left from the last Hungry Harvest box, so I made a pot of mashed potatoes. These are a good base for me when I'm having a meal on my own because I can easily come up with some protein/veggie topping for a bowl of potatoes.
3. I made a pot of butternut squash soup
Butternut squash is not at all a ready-to-eat type of produce, so during my cooking spree, I made a pot of butternut squash soup.
And now my squash IS ready to eat.
4. I cut up a mango, a cucumber, and some oranges
The mango and the oranges had been sitting in there long enough to become slightly wrinkly, and that's because I kept grabbing quicker-to-eat fruit.
But now they're just as fast to grab as a banana. 🙂
I also sliced up a cucumber because I will choose that + hummus as a snack if the cucumber is in slices.
5. I drained some yogurt to make Greek yogurt
The last time I made homemade yogurt, I don't know what happened, but a couple of my jars were a bit runny. I think maybe I got distracted and didn't thoroughly whisk in the starter.
I used some of the runny yogurt as the buttermilk sub in my blueberry whole wheat pancakes, but I also strained some in a coffee filter to make a more Greek-style yogurt.
And next time I will make very certain that I whisk in my starter thoroughly!
6. I cooked and shredded two chicken thighs
I realized I had two random chicken thighs in my fridge, so I salted and peppered them, let them sit like that for a few hours, and then pan-sauteed them, shredded them, and mixed some BBQ sauce in.
7. I cut up some lettuce
I chopped up the last of the lettuce, soaked it in cold water, ran it through my salad spinner, and now I have ready-to-eat greens.
I'm good about eating a little salad with my breakfast eggs if I have lettuce that's ready to go.
8. I made some croutons
I had some loaf ends from the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread I buy at Sam's (Nature's Own), so I turned them into croutons.
I mostly use this bread for peanut butter and honey sandwiches, which are my fallback when I need something super quick to eat! And while I do sometimes use the heels for sandwiches, I much prefer them as croutons. 🙂
Good on you for the food prep! Your future self will be so grateful.
First, a frugal "Ugh!" My husband's car decided it needed a new battery, so goodbye $150. We did get $12 back for recycling the old battery, so there's that! 😛 I'm just grateful the battery went kaput while he was home vs. an hour away for work.
FFT
--The next week is supposed to be unseasonably warm, so I have several outdoor projects planned. Most use supplies from Habitat Restore, like a $38 pint of Sherwin Williams white exterior paint that I bought for $2. I'm not picky about our garage trim color, so long as I don't have to repaint it again for a while!
--I redid our back porch/mudroom seating using a storage bench we already owned from elsewhere in the house. I also gave the porch a deep clean and re-homed several loose ends (tools with tools, etc.). We have a "No shoes in the house" rule, so all shoes end up back there even when they're not worn that often. Dress shoes and boots are now back in the closet where they belong.
--Extra tap lights from my "fix it" stash were also moved to the mudroom. Now we have back-up, battery-powered lighting above the basement floor hatch.
--I wanted to use my $5 birthday reward from Ace Hardware before it expired. I bought fine nap rollers that I know I will need later when I refinish the outside of our future (free!*) clawfoot tub.
*A friend bought a house with a clawfoot tub randomly in the backyard. She didn't want it, so I called dibs! The inside is in great shape, and refinishing the outside will be no different than repainting my car, so....
--My husband's company always gets W2s out the door during the first two weeks of January, so taxes were filed on the 13th. 1/3 of our refund will go to paying our property taxes* for the entire year (we'd rather have it DONE and over with) with the rest going into savings, minus $100 in play money for each of us.
*Our refund isn't that lucrative, we just deliberately bought in a rural/low property tax area.
@N, car batteries are no fun replacing. I've found Walmart to be just as good as any other place. Some have success with Costco but that's a bit of a ways for us to go for a battery. Plus when you need a battery you kinda need it now.
Also, lucky you on the refund. My company messed up on my withholding so we definitely owe at least a little this year.
@N, are you AAA members? AAA will replace your battery at reasonable market rate, at your home, and without charging for the labor. Call to check that they keep your battery in stock first, they don't do unusual ones.
@WilliamB,
My DH and I have used this AAA service before, and it's really helpful. We also have three auto parts stores in my small town (why three, you ask? no one seems to know), and at least one of them will check your car battery for free. We have used that service as well. I think it's Auto Zone, but maybe the other auto parts stores do this as well.
@N, We use AAA too and it’s always fast and efficient. We give our adult kids a membership each year in their Christmas stockings and they have the same experience.
I too have mostly food related items.
1. I peeled and cubed the two butternut squashes that were lingering on the counter. I will freeze some of the cubes for future use.
2. I have not eaten out or had take out in the past month. I feel better when I don't eat out and I have turned invites to eat out into other activities with friends/family this month.
3. A family member needed new gloves when it was so cold last week. I ended up ordering some. Since I was unsure as to size I ordered two pairs. The pair that is too small will go back via the nearby UPS Store today. My family member was surprised that I was going to do a return. A return only takes a minute or two.
4. I added more leaves to the compost bin. We generally leave them on the grass but there is a spot where they over accumulate and it prevents grass from growing there in the spring. I reduced the pile and added them to the compost.
5. I found a nickel in an open desk drawer that was a curbside give away. I also found a quarter when I walked yesterday.
@K D,
I always pick up loose change on walks or other random places. I found a dime in the bathroom sink at the gym last week. Lol!
I could do a five frugal food things every week. Actually, I often do. And probably will this week. Let's see!
--When I was at the grocery store before a basketball game last week, I bought ingredients to make ham and cheese sandwiches for the basketball player and me to eat on the drive home. I had originally been going to get my son a Subway sandwich, but for the price of one sandwich there, I got ingredients for at least four sandwiches. And that's even with buying the pre-sliced cheese, which I never get. 🙂
--When I was in the city the next day to go to the ER with another son, we stopped at Sonic before starting our drive home. I usually skip eating on the rare occasions we stop at a fast food place, but I was way tired and hungry, so I got a kid's meal. And found out they are two dollars on Wednesdays, which is the day it happened to be. Yay. (My son's meal was, uh, not frugal. Because he is 15, and eats like it.)
--I found the last of a bag of mini bell peppers that had been in the fridge awhile--I don't buy them often, so I forgot they were in there--and were kind of wrinkly. Luckily, I was making baked pasta and Italian sausage at the very moment I found them, so I cut them up and roasted them with a sliced onion. Perfect accompaniment to the meal already going.
--We finally got the last ram lamb cut up and in the freezer. We ground some of it, along with more of the elk meat, which always makes me happy. And also reminds me every time that the only reason ground meat is the cheapest at the grocery store is because of machinery. In home butchering, it's the most labor-intensive thing you can do with the meat. But then, the labor is all up front, because it's much quicker on the cooking end. Anyway, we put 30 more pounds of meat in the freezer, which is always appreciated.
--And a last, non-food one, because it's so satisfying: I finally got a clothes dryer, got it here, my husband went to install it . . . and found we have some weird old 3-prong outlet that didn't fit the cord the dryer came with. However! My husband found the correct cord for it, ordered it, and installed it quickly when it finally arrived. Him doing that saved us having to haul it 90 miles back to the appliance store, which is the frugal part. Of course, the net effect of having a dryer will probably not be as frugal, as they use electricity, but I'm so accustomed to line drying now that I certainly won't be giving it up entirely. The dryer is just for stretches of weather that last long enough to keep me from being able to dry laundry outside for like a week, which is only a few times a year. Or those times my children forget to tell me they need those particular pants for an FFA trip the next day, or that uniform that's been languishing in their sports bag for a week but will be required to be clean in the morning. This situation is more frequent than bad weather. 🙂
@kristin @ going country,
If you give your loads of laundry an extra spin in the washing machine, it will cut down on drying time. Another way to reduce time in the dryer is to throw a clean dry towel in there with the wet laundry to soak up some of the moisture. Helps cut down on electric usage.
Also, I usually just dry wearing apparel for 15-20 minutes to get the wrinkles out, then take the damp clothing out and put it on hangers to dry the rest of the way. This also cuts down on electric usage.
I never put underwear in the dryer as it ruins the elastic; bras and panties last longer if you just dry them on racks.
@kristin @ going country, I never thought about" the only reason ground meat is the cheapest at the grocery store is because of machinery. In home butchering, it’s the most labor-intensive thing you can do." Great point. Curious if you mix the meats -- elk with ram? I grew up raising sheep and I adore lamb.
@Julia, No, I don't mix them. I keep the elk separate to use as a ground beef substitute in things like hamburgers or meatloaf, and make the ground lamb into things that have heavier spices, like chili or curry, because I don't really care for the taste of lamb straight.
Kudos on all the food prep- wow! Have a fantastic second week of school!
My frugal five this week are all thanks to my 9-year-old daughter – the real budget queen of the house!
Today was the first day of our school year here in Australia (hello, summer heat).
1. Her school uniforms were passed on by a family whose daughter moved to secondary school.
2. We braved the heat and walked instead of driving with the aircon, which also helped calm her first-day nerves.
3. She didn’t eat her lunch, so she asked me to toast it with cheese for breakfast tomorrow.
4. Tonight’s dinner is already earmarked for her lunch tomorrow.
5. She sorted through last year’s pencils and notebooks to see if any could be reused this year.
@Natalie, it sounds like your daughter is a natural saver as well as being blessed to have you as a mom to encourage her efforts!
My frugal things are mostly lifestyle related: eating out once per week, taking my leftovers to work for my meals, staying busy at home but batching errands when I need to leave the house, getting books at Goodwill ($1 each!), wearing sweaters and leaving my thermostat low, finding a file cabinet for the garage for $5. I did get a free sammie from Chik-fil-A for dinner last night which was a delicious way to end my workweek. (:
Incidentally, if you have a small glass dish, you can microwave a scrambled egg in it for 30 seconds and it makes a perfect round of egg for a quick English muffin breakfast sammie.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, my local GoodWills have increased their book prices lately, I'm a bit jealous of your $1 book! It used to be a flat rate pricing of $1 for paperback and $2 for hardback, but now they are all individually priced, and can range from $3-$7! I did find an independent thrift store that has $1 paperbacks, though.
1. Had lunch at Popeyes. What made this frugal, you might ask? I used their "rate us and get free 2p if you buy soda" deal. I bought my wings, gave feedback while I waited for my order, then bought the soda I wanted anyway and got more chix for a later meal. End result was 5p chix (2-3 meals) and a large soda w refills for $8, a nice little indulgence.
2. Food things:
- bought a lot of sumo citrus on sale;
- bought a lot of produce at a Chinese supermarket;
- made soup from that and things I already had: beans, pork stock, wilty carrots, some bits of smoked pork;
- prepped food in advance so I can just grab it;
- organized the overstuffed fridge to minimize waste.
3. Bought socks from Hanes (fantastic customer service) using two discounts.
- new customer discount
- discount offered because I left my order in the cart for several hours. Just remember to do that again.
4. Used leftover bits of yarn to make the projects for the online yarn classes I took over the weekend.
5. Used an estate sale company to sell some things. They charge 50% of net and it was worth it: I have been unable to sell the things yet they got it done in less than 2 weeks, and they did all the work including having great places to list the items.
@WilliamB,
I wish the Sumo mandarins would go on sale in my area. They were (briefly) 2/$5, now they're back up to $2.99/each.
@WilliamB, I want to hear more about the yarn class and the little bits you used.
@Julia, this was the class
https://www.lessonface.com/apply/fun-knitted-i-cord-make-sink-mates-dishcloth
It wasn't quite what I was looking for, which was all sorts of things one can do with I-cord. Instead we did the one thing - dishcloths. You use I-cord as the beginning of 2 sides, pick up sts and knit, decr 3 sts as you go to create a mitred square. The sample is a tiny square that is somehow very cute.
Then we played with pattern possibilities. I made a garter sample in cotton, green I-cord and orange square (looks like a Halloween pumpkin); and an intarsia one in cheap acrylic, white I-cord with bright yellow on one side and medium blue on the other. I'm gong to make a mosaic pattern with the rest of the acrylic, then a full sized one with the cotton for my SIL.
(Hmm, that was a lot for "more" yet I don't feel like exiting it down. I shall quote Ben Franklin (or Twain or...) at you and ask forgiveness for the long post as I haven't time to write a short one.)
That's some great meal prep. It all looks delicious.
I baked a couple of loaves of sandwich bread, and 10 English muffins, and made a batch of yogurt.
My husband replaced a part in our boiler, so now we have consistent hot water again, and because he did the work himself, it was a relatively inexpensive fix.
I darned two pairs of my husband's thick wool winter socks, and re-knit the toes in a pair of my own hand-knit socks. The darning took a while, but it's a task I find very meditative and satisfying.
1. I made a bunch of soup from a lot of vegetables that were piling up in the fridge.
2. Complained very quietly and politely about a hotel stay and got the night's stay for free. I've never even gotten an adjustment for far worse conditions in the past, so this was amazing! Also amazing because we unexpectedly needed to add another night to our trip, so we didn't end up spending any more than we'd originally planned.
3. A bunch of warning lights lit up on my dashboard as I was travelling, but I was on my way to meet up with my sister and nieces who know all about cars and they saved me hundreds of dollars by figuring out I only needed an oil change. And then the clerk asked if we had a coupon, waited while we found one and saved us another $25.
4. Didn't buy all the beautiful things I saw while travelling. I got out of a shop filled with Scottish wool and only bought candy.
5. Packed some snacks and drinks for the trip and saved quite a bit. Got a free tea on the way out of the hotel in the morning and saved it for my lunch drink on the way home.
FFT, NDN and Other Stuff Edition:
(1) I won't repeat the whole saga here, but I refer folks to items (1)-(3) in my FFT of yesterday on the Non-Consumer Advocate, describing the adventures of my next-door neighbor (NDN), her other close friend (CF), and me with NDN's heat going out last week. Very long story short: We got her heat back on, but CF and I are now more concerned than ever about NDN continuing to live alone, and are taking all the steps we can think of to keep her safe. If CF hadn't happened to notice the lack of heat, NDN's pipes could have burst, or she could have developed hypothermia. Definitely not frugal.
(2) One encouraging update of yesterday's account: CF and I will be having a Zoom conversation with NDN's nephew Thursday at noon. One not-so-encouraging update: NDN's bloodwork from her PCP visit with CF shows a couple of anomalies indicating that NDN may not be taking her meds correctly. So she may be about to need medication management as well.
(3) Between all this and the fact that we’re continuing to have an actual Central NY winter this year, I haven’t had time or opportunity to go out and spend any money on anything except bare necessities.
(4) On a lighter note, my two Sunday morning walking buddies and I took a stroll on the quad of the local party-school university, since the trails at our usual nearby park were too rough this past Sunday. I was much amused by current undergrad fashions: Every young female we saw was either dressed like a stereotypical hooker (thigh-high skirt, spike-heeled boots) and obviously chilly, or wearing big, baggy pants that flapped in the wind. In the immortal words of Maurice Chevalier in Gigi, “Thank God I’m not young any more.” I’m old and can shop at thrift stores without having to worry about the latest trends.
(5) And one of the walking buddies gave me a package of raw pistachios and a package of raw pumpkin seeds that she felt had been in her cupboard too long. (I'd told her earlier about putting some stale nuts out on my platform bird feeder.) So far, the birds and squirrels don't seem to mind a bit.
Wow, good for you! You'll eat well this week.
1. We're short on our staples but can't get to the discount grocery store until the weekend. We are cleaning out the freezer and pantry, which is a good thing!
2. Doesn't feel frugal, but I'll have to take a cab home this evening. Expensive, but a cab home twice a month is nothing compared to the cost of a second car.
3. We went to a friend's for dinner and brought dairy-free brownies. No butter and no ground nuts (a staple of my dairy-free desserts) keeps the cost low.
4. Scraping the barrel...I continue to own two pairs of scrubs and just do a lot of laundry.
5. And lastly I bravely and heroically did not buy myself more yarn in a fit of impulse last night.
@Meira@meirathebear, bravely and heroically! Love it!
@Meira@meirathebear, I'm about to take a taxi to work tomorrow too, as our one and only car had sudden issues and is in the shop. I agree with you that it is so much cheaper to do this than have a second car! Keep up the great work with that!
1. We made our meals at home. We brewed coffee at home. When I had a work training near my home, I came home for lunch.
2. I fixed the clothes drying rack so it will last a little longer.
3. My husband fixed the faucet.
4. I mended a blanket.
5. I made meals that use up ingredients.
6. I renewed my library books.
I will say that I've mostly given up on making yogurt. Yes it technically saves money and I may do it in the future but the Aldi lowfat Greek yogurt seems to have better macros than what I was making.
As for me:
1.) Listed a few more items on eBay. Hopefully I get some more sales (but I also need to put in more work and list more items.)
2.) Got a few items at the Dollar Tree which were cheaper than the regular grocery store. This was mostly for packing lunches.
3.) Put a large purchase on a CC (which was paid off immediately) for those sweet cashback rewards. The place also doesn't accept checks and I wasn't coming in with a fistful of hundreds to pay for it so it was accidentally frugal.
4.) Ordered a few pantry staples that were part of a sale on Amazon. It made them cheaper than Aldi after all discounts.
5.) Worked some overtime. This was a better return than the four items above which is kind of depressing in a way.
I am always much happier when I do food prep ahead, and it really reduces my chances of food waste. I did several make-aheads this weekend, too.
1. Thanks to someone here mentioning it, (I'm sorry, I forget who it was), I signed up for the free new smoke detectors through the Red Cross and the local fire department installed them on Sunday. I also passed on the information about the smoke detectors to another widow.
Funny thing: They pulled up in a fire truck! My neighbors immediately called, panicked that I had a fire.
2. My diligence with protecting my plants during the freeze means they all survived, yay!
3. My skinny old feet stay cold in the winter, so I have started wearing Darn Tough wool socks. I use Catch when paying to get a discount and I order when they have free shipping, as they did recently. I added two more pairs to my sock drawer this time and I'm getting rid of the old, mostly worn out cotton and polyester socks.
4. I made a salad last night with lettuce and carrots from my garden. The cucumbers were store-bought, though. I can keep winter vegetables going in the winter, but not cucumbers! The dressing was also homemade, made on the weekend, like Kristen was doing.
5. I always batch cook to save electricity but in the winter, when I'm done cooking and turn off the oven, I prop the oven door open a bit to help heat the house as the oven cools. I also grease pans that could use a little more seasoning and set them in the oven during the cooking or immediately after, so I don't have to turn on the oven just to season a skillet.
6. Bonus: I went through my sewing tools like bobbins, scissors, etc., set aside extras to donate, got rid of stuff that is no good, and put everything neatly into a sturdy sewing case that was given to me by my sister-in-law after she quit sewing, and is most likely from the 1980's. No purchases necessary, and now I can see what I have. I organized my fabric, too, which needed doing.
@JD, I also suffer from cold feet. Even in the summer, I’m wearing socks unless it’s 100 degrees outside. In the winter, I frequently wear two pairs of socks and I have moccasin style slippers with sherpa lining to wear on top of those! I hope your new socks keep your feet nice a warm! It’s no fun having cold feet.
@JD, Darn Tough socks have a lifetime guarantee. If one gets a hole, look on their website for details but basically fill out a form and mail them in and they send a new pair. My husband has done it a couple times.
@JD, Darn Tough socks are the best! They are so warm and comfortable. Don't forget to take advantage of their life time guarantee. I send back socks regularly and get replacements! All my grown kids get Darn Tough socks for Christmas so I have plenty of replacements to do from about 10years of purchase.
@JD, a pair of thin liners socks is what better half does. Ultimax is what the socks say. YMMV
I'm sure this is a well known frugal time/food item but we've started baking a bunch of chicken, shredding it, then putting into individual bags to freeze. I make a couple things that need shredded chicken and it feels like an ultimate luxury to have the chicken ready to go!
@Cindy, That's a great idea!!
@Cindy, if you simmer the chix gently, you make stock as well. Take the chix out when the chix is cooked, then add back the bones, skin, a few peppercorns, onion skins, and celery scraps.
That is some awesome meal prep, Kristen.
For cheap entertainment, I went to book club last night. For frugal stuff, I mended things, ate leftovers from the freezer, bought vitamins on BOGO with a $3 off coupon, and bought more cat litter and coffee at Ollie's Outlet.
That's some impressive food prep, Kristen! It is much nicer to be able to grab something healthy when you're in a hurry. Cuts down on decision fatigue, too.
Five frugal things, some school, some food (my life seems to revolve around these)
1. My chem lab requires each student to have a laptop, and at first we thought DS#2 and I could share his, but it turns out you're supposed to input your data into your own Labflow account during lab, and there's not time enough for us to switch out. So. I could borrow the school's Chromebooks, of which they have a limited supply and which are very slow to start up. DH and I tossed around the idea of buying me a laptop, but then he remembered I have a Fire tablet. I usually use it for watching TV when I'm on the stationary bike. Turns out I can log into my student account and use LabFlow from the tablet, which saves us a bundle. Plus it's small and easier to hoist around than a laptop. I did NOT want another computer around here.
2. Instead of purchasing a science curriculum for DS#3, I'm having him study my chemistry with me. I print out the professor's additional worksheets twice and assign him the same problems I'm working on, so it feels to him, I hope, like we're working together. Plus teaching helps me learn a subject. The old adage, "See one, do one, teach one" really does work.
3. With the new administration, DH's ability to telework has been removed; all government employees have to report in person. Boo. However, he's making the best of it. He packs a hefty lunch each day, and his own drinks, and a good thing, too, because the only eating establishment in his building is a Dunkin' Donuts. They used to have an Einstein Bros, where at least you could get a sandwich, but nope, now it's donuts. And if you're curious, the only close-by eatery on the base is a Burger King, so that's not much better. He's saving money and his health at the same time.
4. Despite the avian flu, there was a good deal on Tyson chicken: buy 1, get 2 free. I got fifteen drumsticks for dinner tonight for about 6 bucks. Considering that normally I go for the store brand package of 14 drumsticks for 5 bucks, and these are a better brand (IMO) of chicken, I'll call it a win.
5. Added another Frugal Soup to my repertoire; I don't know why I hadn't made split pea soup in so long, but I found a very simple recipe and it's so good I'm hoarding the leftovers for my lunches.
My post from last week didn’t go through, so here’s a little bit from both this week and last:
1) I mended holes in two pairs of pants and a sweater, plus did a quick fix to a jacket zipper that was getting caught on a spot of worn fabric. When mending the sweater, I saw the label said Fall 2008. It’s a little shrunken (and/or I’ve grown) over the years, but my 10yo happily adopted it as her own. Definitely got my money’s worth out of that one!
2) I needed a new vacuum. I bought it on sale, used rewards to pay half the sales price, and got my 5% discount for using my Target debit card.
3) I’ve been making my own sushi at home. My kids and I love avocado sushi, but it’s expensive and not very convenient for us. It’s extremely inexpensive to make at home (rice, nori sheets, avocado) and I think mine tastes better, although far less pretty.
4) I’ve cleaned and reorganized my freezers, so all the older food is in front. I try to always do this, but new stuff ends up being tossed on top. I also used up some odds and ends of frozen food.
5) I signed up for a free home fix-it clinic for women. It’s a group that I’ve been interested in volunteering with, so it’s a good opportunity to get connected while honing my home maintenance/repair skills.
@JenRR, re the freezer. I only have the small freezer on the top of the fridge. I place items in according to what fits where. Everything that goes into the freezer is labelled. (green painter's tape with the item labelled in permanent black marker). On the side of my fridge I keep a list of said items, "uncooked items" and "cooked items", and their location in the freezer, i.e. left, back bottom, front, top. So I know where to look. I try to take out older items first to use up, and make adjustments to my list as I go along.
I've been making your yogurt a lot lately! I do about half sweetened vanilla and half plain. I'm finding I can use the plain like sour cream or Mayo. I've put it in dressings, dips, and tuna salad.
Yay meal prep! Last night we had a "choose your own adventure" for dinner with all the leftovers.
I have a question re: pan cooking chicken thighs. I haven't tried that method. Can you please elaborate further about the process? Or maybe you have another post somewhere about it? Thanks! My usual methods are grilling or using the Instant Pot.
Those egg bites remind me of some I made for a brunch tea party. I wish I could remember exactly what I did, but I know bacon, grated swiss cheese and wilted spinach were involved and they were delicious. It was a Father-Daughter Tea and one of the Dad's kept coming back for more of them!
I food prepped last week and made 1) egg roll in a bowl to take to lunch at church on Sunday, 2) ground beef stroganoff on mashed potatoes, and 3) cheesy broccoli cauliflower soup. I actually did mise en place and felt very cheffy (?) as I chopped things. I'm still eating on them. It was a good use of a lot of random veggies and of course some purposefully purchased from Misfits. Mushrooms, bok choy, green peppers, purple carrots...
I bunched errands, keep the thermostat on 68, I avoided opening the door to the back porch when it was frigid and just made a little pile of stuff to take all at once when it got warmer. I don't prewarm the car any longer than necessary. And that's all I can think of.
I keep sitting on fence about a salad spinner. I eat spring mix salad, which either goes pretty quickly or sits there. So, not sure if worth the kitchen space & money if don't use.
Frugal things---
● saved $0.10/gallon on gas ($2.89) & earned $0.80 rewards
● ordered large Kleenex packages & earned $10 Target gift card & saved $5 (bonus) with Hearth & Hand berry basket bowl & free shipping (which is not $35 but $45 as I kept adding small items to cart to see when free shipping)
● used free Target gift cards earned to pay for half my order
● taking leftovers for lunch to work & refilling my water bottle with water cooler water at work
● All meals at home. I've been tempted to get take out, but teen keeps me on track & we eat food from pantry/freezer. Have not paid for take out since Halloween pizza (3 months) 🙂
● DID NOT BUY EGGS for $7+/dozen. Sam's club has been out since beginning of January each time I go or look on my Sam's app & local stores getting too high. Did find 18 free range organic eggs $8 (18 eggs) at Meijer for now.
@Regina, an old cotton bag/pillowcase/towel can be a salad spinner. Put the greens in, close it tight and then spin it over your head, outside is best. It really does work and I have fond memories of watching a friends mom do this with fresh from the garden greens when I was much younger.
@Regina, I have a salad spinner from Ikea and I like it a lot! Not a big investment.
@Regina, do you live in a large "metropolis" or at the "end of the supply line"? Free range organic local supplier eggs are $5/dozen in my area. The local chain grocer and Wally eggs are $.50 a dozen less. Frankly, I don't trust the supplier for the local chain or Wally. And sad to say neither pays their employees enough to care.
I'm both impressed and inspired by your food prep work, Kristen. I tend to rely on packaged protein bars for breakfast, because I'm so food-prep adverse in the AM, which is far from being the best option I could land on.
This weeks FFT:
1) Picked up free tickets to a lecture, a
I made vegetable soup and used the scraps to make vegetable broth which is now in freezer. We had some leftover chicken so I purchased cheese and made chicken/blackbean/corn quesadillas and froze. I have lots of eggs so may try the egg bites because I have cheese leftover from quesadillas.
I am amazingly grateful for a handy husband this week.We live in Arizona where many many homes, most of them, have swimming pools.It is my greatest”Vacation” to enjoy my own pool for many months of the year, and our patio gets a good workout. The pool has a waterfall feature which I love love love and I flip a switch and sit out there with a book and a glass of lemonade many days. SOOO.. when the waterfall failed to come on, last week, OH NOOOO…
The pool person looked at it for us and said you need a new motor..$1800. !!!!!!!
My pool is 22 years old, a few years back we did have to replace the main pool cleaner motor… but the waterfall motor only runs a few hours per week..
My HANDY HUSBAND suspected it might NOT be the motor.. maybe it was the electrical switch??The OFF AND ON SWITCH?? He was able to test it out and VOILA. A TEN DOLLAR repair and my waterfall is working again!!!!!!
I know this is a first world problem, but the joy peace and satisfaction I get from our pool patio and waterfall cannot be overstated!! My HOME is my haven!!
So.. our frugal fix this week was saving $1800. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Madeline, Love this $1800 savings for you!
I'm both impressed and inspired by your food prep work, Kristen. I tend to rely on packaged protein bars for breakfast, because I'm so food-prep adverse in the AM, which is far from being the best option I could land on.
This week's FFT:
1) I keep an eye on the Facebook pages off my surrounding communities, and this week picked up free tickets to a marine life lecture, yoga in the park, and a youth symphony concert that trains under our Tier One rated Pacific Symphony.
2) My DH and I had a glorious day out for less than $20. We went out for an 8 mile coastal walk on a sunny but somewhat blustery day, which was actually really raw and wonderful. Midway we picked up a fantastic carnitas burrito to share, and then at the end stopped into a cute local coffee shop to share a coffee and muffin. I felt like I'd been on vacation for the day when we finished. Lots of outdoor exertion, plus a small local treat or two, is hands down my favorite way to spend a day.
3) Picked up my 2025 California state parks parking pass for just $20, a rate reserved for senior residents once they reach age 62. Given that just one day of beach parking can cost $20, its a great deal that a surprisingly large amount of people don't know exists. I spread the word as much as I can!
4) Mended some hard-working black leggings rather than simply ordering a replacement pair. The tricky part is I can only see to sew before I put my contact lenses in, so some early AM discipline is required, lol.
5) Continue to shop and freeze proteins as they come on sale, and then do my weekly meal planning based on what's in my freezer. So. Much. Money. Saved. by restocking regularly, and then shopping instead from my freezer each week.
Almost all of my frugal things are of The Tightwad Gazette “passive frugality” variety.
1. I avoided takeout while my husband is out of town until I had 2 planned social events. 12 days into his trip, and only the 2 restaurant dinners!
2. I suggested a fast-casual restaurant for the first outing, instead of a more formal restaurant. Drank water instead of their interesting special lemonade and tea selections.
3. I avoided a large grocery shopping trip while he has been out of town, taking the opportunity to eat through the pantry and freezer. I did get some snacks from the grocery store while thrift shopping with friends 🙂
4. I didn’t buy anything while thrift shopping. I was tempted by a $0.99 Ann Patchett book, but it’s $0.00 at the library.
5. I took a picture of a wooden key holder I liked at the thrift store for my husband to recreate at home with scrap wood, hopefully.
And one frugal fail: a few months ago I thrifted what I thought was a copy of the movie Secondhand Lions… only to put it in the DVD player and discover it was a movie called Phone Booth. We ended up watching the 2005 Pride and Prejudice (a DVD for which we do own the correct disc) and the 2020 Emma (on Prime, which I borrow from my mama). I need to track down a copy of Secondhand Lions still, I've never seen it!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, You might check your library. My library has a copy of Secondhand Lions available for checkout.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, Forgive me if you have already tried your library!
@Maddie, Yes, that's my next step!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, lol.. when better half is out of town, I eat like a bachelor - not bachelorette - at home mind you - Spam, fried bologna. Kudos for your better eating habits.
I make a variation of those egg bites for my hubby. You can vary your cheese, just cover the bottom of your cup with ground beef, sausage, chopped roast, thin slices of canned corned beef, etc... You can also add a few pieces of chopped onion/ peppers or pinch of kraut.
1. Friends took us out to lunch. I packed the bacon and chicken from my Cobb salad into my thrifted stainless container to give to our non-vegetarian dog.
2. Brought our own stainless bowls and spoons to the gelato shop. No waste and no cost for both us and them.
3. Watched “The Minimalists: Less is Now” on Netflix and developed a list of things to sell or donate once we get back into our house.
4. Paid cash at a restaurant that had a fee for using a credit card.
5. At a small market, I bought the lettuce marked $3.99 rather than $12.99 (pretty sure that was a pricing error). This was the first time I’ve seen a non-restaurant adding a credit card convenience fee.
Thanks for the egg bites recipe! I looked in my fridge a few minutes ago and noticed some leftover bacon, so maybe I'll give those a try.
My FFT include a couple of big ones this week - hooray!
1. My friend gave me a couch for free! She's an empty nester, which means her kids haven't destroyed it and it's SUCH a nice couch. We just had to pick it up. She initially said that maybe we'd want it for our basement or something, but I told her that it's nicer than anything else we own and it is 100% going in our living room! I'm so thankful! She also gave us some really nice pillows to go with it.
2. The couch came with covers, but it's a perfectly lovely couch without them and we took them off and put them in a drawer. Someday, when our kids have stained the couch or just been too rough with it (for the love, stop jumping on the furniture!) we can get the covers back out and make it nice again.
3. We ripped up the carpet in our living room and have been refinishing the hardwood that was underneath. I am really sore today from hours of sanding (not nearly as many hours as my husband put in, though), but we got the first coat of finish on last night.
4. I had to make a trip to Nearest Big City on Saturday because it was the only place I could get more of the specific sandpaper we needed and I was just about to eat a crappy off-brand Nutri-Grain bar in the van for lunch when I remembered that I had a free Chick-fil-A sandwich in the app. Then they had a special offer that day for a free drink, too. Chick-fil-A was right in front of the hardware store, so it was perfect. Also, kudos to CFA because I was in a hurry and knew I could get in and out of there super fast.
5. Food-related: a) I'm finally becoming the freezer meal person I've wanted to be for years. This makes dinner easier on the days that I work and made it easier to take meals to a grieving friend. b) I made a turkey last week that covered about 5 dinners in various forms, then made a ton of broth and used nature to freeze it since it was in that super cold spell.
@Ruth T, Kudos for being a better frugal person than I am. No way in Hades would I a) had the Chick-hate-a app on my phone, much less used it.
• I made beef broth. We don’t typically use a lot of beef broth so I just keep Beef Better Than Bouillon on hand, but our last quarter cow purchase came with so many soup bones. I found a recipe to turn them into broth then found recipes where I could use the broth for this week’s menu. I also froze the broth I wouldn’t use in 2 cup portions.
• Before I did our big restock at Costco, I made a menu to use to up the items in the pantry I wasn’t excited about. Example: I paired the meat from the soup bones with a bag of 15 bean soup that had been sitting in the pantry for about a year.
• I pulled apart a Costco rotisserie chicken and froze it in 2 cup portions for use later. I also put the bones in the scrap stock bag to make chicken stock later.
• I returned all my Amazon returns on time. The swelling in my foot meant most of my sandals didn’t fit for our vacation and our shoe store doesn’t have many options in stock this time of year. I returned what didn’t fit in time to get my refund.
• Continuing the daily frugals: Reading my books from the library/thrift store/free little library, doing puzzles that were gifted to me or that I picked up from the library, going on walks now that it no longer hurts to exists outside, drinking coffee at home, eating food at home.
Thank you so much for the link to the Starbucks egg bites recipe! Love them but rarely willing to buy them from there.
All your food prep will really pay off in saving both food and money.
Your food prep is very inspiring. What a good feeling going into a busy week like that.
- I dragged all of my plants in during our unprecedented snowstorm here in south Louisiana. I was so tempted to let them stay out.
-We reduced by half what we pay for printer ink each month, which was already minimal.
-Harvested bok choy from our little vegetable garden.
-Ate all meals at home.
Not so Frugal:
Ran the heat for all it was worth during our frigid weather.
And really NOT SO FRUGAL I was babysitting at my daughter's yesterday and they keep their thermostat lower than I can stand. I figure if I'm babysitting, I can adjust it. When I went to adjust it back, I turned the a/c on in their house to a low temp. Note to self: Wear glasses when adjusting thermostat. It wasn't discovered till last night.
@Carolyn, LOL.. welcome to the world of reading glasses = frugal.
This week has already shaped up to be a bit hectic but I have done some meal prep planning so most of my savings will fall in line with that.
1. Some folks had a craving for takeout fried chicken. It has been literally years since I made fried chicken so I gave in. I pulled a pan of cornbread dressing from the freezer and we ate veggies leftover in the fridge alongside it. There was plenty to feed us for two nights and I resisted the temptation to make a new dinner when there were still leftovers remaining. This is a bad habit of mine and I am working on breaking it. Not every meal must 'go together'. A hodgepodge is okay!
2. I have a bible class at church tonight so I won't be home for dinner. I pulled some ground turkey from the freezer yesterday and cooked it with some taco seasoning and those at home will have tacos for dinner. I will likely have something light like a protein coffee.
3. I took advantage of a sale and bought candles as we were completely out and I like to keep some on hand for any power outages and for the days when I clean the house - nothing like burning a candle when the house is all fresh and clean. I also used a coupon to save an extra 20% off of some items for my son bought on clearance. These will serve him into Spring and Summer and I saved a bundle buying now.
4. The New Year purge goes on at my house and we are clearing out everything. I have wanted to paint our garage for the longest time and I think that we are going to clean out the garage and paint it ourselves instead of hiring someone like I originally thought we would.
5. Preparation and planning for our garden has begun. We weren't able to plant last year as life happened. I am determined to get the space planted this year and maximize our harvest. We will be reusing the chain link fence that we took down to enclose the garden since one of my Boxer pups likes to eat my tomatoes, peas and green beans right off the vine 😉
@Angie,
My sister's giant German Shepherd used to eat our strawberries on our farm the second they turned ripe. We had to fence him out, too. My mother used to threaten to make jam out of the dog.
@JD, Hahahaha!!!
@JD, um, wouldn't that jam have been a little hairy? 😀
@JD, I had a spaniel who loved strawberries and asparagus. He was well behaved unless we were eating one of these then he would howl and cry until we shared with him. He was a character!
I LOVE doing clean-out-the-fridge meals. It is so satisfying. And it's also so nice to have the variety of things pre-prepared.
This is so frustrating; I read you post, had a very distinct frugal win to mention, left it to comment later and now forget. I had a frugal win. What was it??!!
These AREN'T the things I was thinking of but:
- I got yogurt for a great deal and made high-protein waffles that include plain yogurt for supper.
- My husband bought some "use tonight" beef that I fried up and it has made delicious wraps.
- My favourite seasonal creamer (peppermint mocha) is on clearance and it has a long fridge shelf life, so I've stocked up.
- I can't sew to save my life, but my parents relocate close to my home for the winter. I ripped a hole in my favourite jeans and my son's favourite bathrobe ripped. I took both items to her and she fixed them for me! Both the jeans and the bathrobe were purchased for less than $4 at a thrift store years ago so they didn't "owe" me anything, but they were still in great shape minus the holes.
- There are jumbo packs of tickets for local college sports games. For $50 you can get 25 tickets. Normally, tickets are $10-$15 a PIECE, so this is a great deal. Sometimes people cost-share, but we bought the tickets and then gave them to our son's basketball team so they could all go as a group and another day I did it and took my daughter, parents, and some of her teen friends to a volleyball game. It's a nice way to have fun, invite loads of people to an event, and still not spend tons of money.
Argh. What was that great frugal win? If I remember it I'll come back and add it in 🙂
@Elisabeth, I miss my mom.. she did a lot of mending, sewing, teaching sewing. I distinctly remember her complaining about black on black (buttons on black fabric). Now that I am a woman of a certain age, I know exactly from where she was coming. Ugh, getting old is not for sissies.
This has been a very expensive week. We purchased a new car, after our Kia was stolen recently. We also had a toilet over flow in our refinished basement, which required professional plumbing and professional cleaning.
1. In regards to the over flowing toilet, we called around to get the best price on professional cleaning/flood clean up. We ended up getting a company to come same-day for $400. We also utilized our Town's Highway Department to quickly come and unclog the main line, which is included in our taxes. The plumber still needs to come and completely fix the issue that caused the overflow.
2. I used some over-ripe bananas to make banana bread for my kids. I am eating leftovers for lunch all week.
3. In regards to purchasing a new car, we shopped around trade-in offers at multiple dealerships. We ended up trading our car at a different dealership than we bought the new (used) car from. We also put $3,000 of the cost of the car on our credit card (max they will let you do) so we will get 2% back on this amount. This will then get paid off in full this month.
4. I picked up a neck massager and some toothpaste off Buy Nothing.
5. Party City is going out of business in our area. We got Halloween costumes for our kids for this year for about $7 each.
Such a good idea to prep all those meal components so they're easy to grab when you're in a hurry! I like to do that too, but am rarely organized enough to actually get that much done.
My frugal things are probably all or mostly food related too. I'm nearing the end of my January pantry/freezer challenge and finding myself making a lot of substitutions in cooking now. Let's see what I can remember.
1. I made pizza to use up some tomato sauce I had in the freezer, and I ended up slicing hot dogs to use as one of the toppings since they were the only suitable meat I had. It was a little unconventional but very tasty.
2. Since I was using the last of the tomato sauce on the pizza, I needed something else for the last bit of pasta in the pantry. I had some pureed pumpkin in the freezer, so I looked up pumpkin sauce recipes online and picked one that called for the ingredients I had. I had never tried pasta with pumpkin sauce before, but I liked it a lot. That recipe is a keeper.
3. I had only half a serving of grits left, so I combined it with regular cornmeal to make my breakfast this morning.
4. I collected all the clothes I never wear anymore and packed them up to send to Thredup. They are currently donating $10 per box of used clothes they get to help people affected by the LA fires. I kept stained and torn items to cut up for rags.
5. The usual things, eating all my leftovers, using cloth handkerchiefs and napkins and cleaning rags, drinking water or tea from home, and generally not spending money unless I have to.
@Elizabeth M,
Hot dogs and onions were a staple on our pizza's as kids. We would have a kraft pizza kit, and we always had hot dogs and onions in the house!
Not much frugal going on this week
I took Hubby to REI to buy the layers that will be required for the Antartica expedition. We spent more on him list night than he has spent on himself in 10 years. It felt good to spoil him a bit. I have almost everything because I ski and backpack. The new tech clothing is expensive but so worth it and literally lasts a lifetime. Also, after the initial expense, outdoor adventuring is very frugal. We have plans to visit all the national parks over the next 30 years in tents, backpacking or car camping. No RV. So yeah I'll look at it like that.
I thought to myself, what we spent last night would NOT buy a Louise Vitton handbag or a gambling trip to Vegas. As people said in yesterday's post, I don't want "name brand" items around me with a value that easily falls to zero in hard times.
Oh, I did learn to soft boil eggs in an Instapot. So easy. Put the rack in the pot, turn the pressure cooker to low instead of high and set timer for 2 mins. Great eggs on toast and so easy. I think with an airfryer and and instapot I could live in a studio with a bathroom and no kitchen. I was gifted eggs from a friend so that was especially cheap.
Also, I am re-learning the sewing machine in prep for the River house Renovation projects. I bought some canvas cloth yardage for $3.00 a yard and relearned to miter dish towel corners. I am not thrilled with the material. Too water resistant. Anybody now a cheap yardage source?
I love the paradoxes of my life at this stage - sewing my own dishtowels and exploring Antartica. Lots of gratitude.
@Mary Ann, I don’t think it’s a paradox. I think it’s spending money on what you value, not wasting it on what you don’t.
Sincerely,
WilliamB
currently mending a reusable bag AND planning an Antartica cruise
@WilliamB, Right on, Dude.
I am impressed with all the food prep!
1. I cancelled or paused several subscriptions.
2. I read two library books. I had been in a queue for one of them for a while but knew I would probably only read it once, so waited rather than bought it.
3. I cooked all my meals at home.
4. I used half of a tin of beans in a meal and saved the rest for the following night's recipe.
5. I saved cans for recycling vouchers.
A lot of mine seem food-related this week.
1) Used the vegetable scraps to make broth, since I ran out. I am not in the canning mood, so half was used and half went into the freezer.
2) I noticed my plain yogurt was at the eat-or-toss date, so I made ice cubes with it for my smoothies.
3) Zested an orange before eating it and used it on meat. I may zest the rest as I go and throw it in into ice cubes. I'm big on the ice cube thing right now, despite the cold weather.
4) Mended a hole in the seam of my shirt.
5) Daily exercise at home. I really miss having a gym as I prefer weight lifting, but I know that that I'm not only keeping in physical shape, but I can tell the mental/emotional benefits as well and I hope it prevents costly medical issues down the road.
Food prep is so gratifying when it's done. And, I also appreciate all of that work when I have grab & go food at the ready.
We have a lot of travel on the horizon, so mine are mostly travel related.
1) Used Southwest points to book DS18's flights for spring break. Otherwise, they would have been $850!!! He's limited on options due to his finals schedule & a shuttle he needs to plan around. But, this was really crazy times. We save the points for times when the flights are outlandish, and... this definitely qualified!
2) We are using gift cards purchased on sale at Costco over the holidays to cover two flights to Denver in March. I'm taking DS17 on two college tours/admitted students days, that we intentionally planned together to reduce costs. We will stay with my BFF. I will need to rent a car, and there will be meals out, etc.
3) Used points (transferred from my credit card) to cover two free nights at the Marriott for when I visit DS18 at college.
4) DH won a tournament that he played in in Las Vegas. (This is his hobby, and our only rule is that the cost of said hobby cannot come out of "family" money. It must come out of previous winnings, and/or his fun money. He's been playing off of a tournament win from a decade ago.) This new win will keep him in his hobby for years. We do use the comps generated from all of the play for family rewards when we go to Las Vegas, which is awesome. *Also, very much do not recommend this as a frugal option at all, unless you deeply understand the risks & tradeoffs. One of his previous jobs was helping businesses design comp programs, so he's one of the rare folks who does understand it.
5) Got offered a part time job that I'm really excited about. It's with a company that offers 10 week training programs for certifications, and is in a field I've previously worked in. I'm very happy, as I'm hoping to eventually move into teaching at a community college or the like, and this sets me up well. I wasn't sure it was going to work, as I have a conflict for 2 of the 10 sessions (flying back from Spain & DS17's high school graduation). They have a sub for me, so it will all work out.
One of my kids abandoned a mini dash waffle maker at the house. I was on the verge of donating it, but then I had a bright idea to use it to make egg bites. I whisk together one egg plus a bit of flax meal plus a bit of cheese, and cook it in the mini waffle maker. It’s pretty tasty!
Kristen, I'm impressed your egg bites didn't stick to the pan. No matter what I do, mine always stick so I use parchment paper cups when I make them.
Frugal things:
- Canceled Hulu Live now that college football season is over
- Submitted receipts to my flex spending to get reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses
- Planned weekly menu based on contents of frig, freezer, and pantry
- Set up our natural gas bill to be autopay instead of having to pay online or check through the mail. There is a fee for online payments.
- Got gas at BJs when picking up an order.
Should I get a salad spinner the next time I see one at the thrift store? I'm thinking from how often Kristen mentions using hers, it would be worth it. I don't like soggy lettuce and it never seems to dry thoroughly when I drain them dry on paper towel.
@Val, I use mine frequently even though I don’t eat many salads. I wash & dry my produce in it, saving the water from one veggie to the next.
@WilliamB,
Thank you for your input, William B. I think I am sold on getting one. I've walked by them several times at the thrift store wondering if they would just end up being something taking up space in my cupboard, something I don't use. I do believe it will be well worth getting one now.
@Val, I have never had one. Just looked up other uses than salad-- draining various veggies, beans, pasta, drying herbs and fruits especially berries, potatoes for french fries that are better extra dry, and non-food uses of drying swimsuits and tiny toys.
@Heidi Louise, Thank you for looking up the other uses besides salad. I wasn't even considering other uses, but it's interesting about the potatoes for fries and the use for drying herbs and berries.
@Val, I got one as a wedding gift nearly 35 yrs ago & I still use it weekly!
@Diane, Wow, it is cool that you have a wedding gift that has been used for so long and it's still holding up well with heavy use. I still have my Corelle dishes that one of my husband's friends bought us 43 years ago and use them daily. I think only one dish has broken. I am definitely going to invest in a salad spinner now that I have all this positive feedback. I'll keep my eyes peeled at the thrift store; I know I've seen them there on past visits.
Cleaned out the small freezer above the fridge and turned all the frozen overripe bananas lurking in there into GF banana walnut chocolate chip muffins. We ate a few, took a bunch to band rehearsal lunch potluck, and I took the last few to work to share. Baked goods make folks happy!
Also threw a small jar of leftover frozen enchilada sauce into the tamale pie I was already planning to make to use it up.
Into the freezer went the last two servings of soup we were tired of eating. I’ll take them for work lunch in couple of weeks.
I also made two meals over the weekend that have leftovers so I’m set for work lunches this week.
I guess it was all about food for me as well!
mine is mostly house renovation stuff.
I bought some vintage copper cabinet pulls and knobs from a lady on facebook marketplace. I got them for a steal and love them so much more than what I'm finding in stores right now.
I bought a dining chandelier from another lady on marketplace for $20 (probably saved $250+)
I got eggs from a friend that keeps chickens...I traded her a jar of homemade jam
I quit netflix because I realized we haven't watched it in forever.
I had leftover scrap wood from another project and made a board & batten focal wall with a shelf above that I LOVE. It only cost me the amount of a quart of paint.
First of all, let's all send A. Marie greetings on this, Jane Austen's 250th birthday! (It's all over the internet --that's how I know.) A. Marie, I'm sure she regards you as her #1 fan.
1. Last week, the city water dept. notified me that they thought I had a leak bc an unusual amount of water usage was recorded. But last week, the temperatures were below freezing. After checking around the house, I pretty much figured it was due to having the faucets streaming and doing several loads of laundry while I was "holed up" in the house. But yesterday, I called the water dept. and got a free check. Sure enough, my water usage is back to normal now that we're no longer below freezing. A free check is much more frugal than a plumber's house call. Streaming the water is much more frugal than burst water pipes.
2. Gave my friend the cleaning lady a small appliance, still in the box and never used. Less clutter!
3. She left me a prepared hot meal, everything made from scratch: meatloaf, cornbread, turnup greens, sweet potatoes. Which I took to work today, yum! Best. Lunch. Ever.
4. Frugal fail: despite soaking it overnight and washing it twice, the holiday tablecloth used on the kitchen table still has a huge stain on it. Will either donate it to the animal shelter for a pet blanket, or use it here for the same purpose. Haven't gotten a puppy
5. Bought a case of Big Red soda pop on sale -- 24 cans for $9.97. Will be giving it to a friend for Valentine's Day in a couple of weeks, as Big Red is their favorite. Just have to draw a heart on the red cardboard box.
@Fru-gal Lisa, thanks for the greetings--but JA's actual 250th birthday won't be till December 16. What's being celebrated today is the publication anniversary of Pride and Prejudice, which hit the bookshops on January 28, 1813.
And although I'd be flattered indeed if JA regarded me as her #1 fan, I think that the line for this honor forms on the right at the Pearly Gates. There are quite a few people ahead of me already. 🙂
But you're absolutely right that the entire Janeite world will be doing a buck and wing this whole year for JA's 250th. Events are being planned all over the UK, and this year's JASNA Annual General Meeting in Baltimore is going to be an even bigger party than usual!
I feel like we can designate the whole year this year as her birthday, honestly. 😉
@Fru-gal Lisa,
I have had very good luck soaking stained clothing and cloth items- including a vintage cotton tablecloth that had stains of unknown age on it - in cold water with about a half-scoop to 3/4s of a scoop of OxyClean dissolved in it. (I use an empty, clean plastic kitty litter bucket -the big square kind - and fill it maybe half-full with the water/OxyClean mixture). I let it soak for a week, then wash it. Seriously. I weigh the cloth down in the bucket with a 2- liter pop bottle filled with water.
I need to try that egg bites recipe sometime. Long ago I made a rolled omelette that was pretty similar in that it was baked (just had to cut it up at the end) but way too much cheese. Oatmeal is good, but you are inspiring me to work on the protein!
1. I made a salad before yoga today instead of getting a bento on the way home
2. I did a repair sweep through all of the clothes with holes I had piling up in my sewing queue
3. I went to the thrift store for some much needed blankets and got a nice 100% cotton comforter for $5 (also bought blackout curtains under the $5 total, but accidentally ruined them in the wash, sad)
4. I stuck my waning bar of soap onto a new bar of soap (thanks for the tip, Kristen)
5. I passed up a "deal" on my favorite tinted lip balm because I have plenty of regular lip balm and the tinted is still more expensive.
Currently huge bills coming for husband's medical expenses (new year, new deductible), so it's good to be doing what we can in the frugal department.
This week
-Got an oil change before the $25 off coupon expired (what a generous coupon!)
-Continued to use my gym membership at the Y to go for physical activity. A valuable investment in my health and actually USING the membership.
-Subbed for an additional class and use that as the spending money for my class raffle box prizes. That way the $$ doesn't come out of my regular income/budget.
-Used a gift card for Subway which cost us $0 for 4 meals.
-Was too busy to shop or really think about buying anything additional lol
Ooof, it's so hard when the deductible resets!
I have been canning soups, meats and broth in a jar and potatoes and beans. Thing's that take a long time to make. It's only pop a top on a busy night and 20 minutes later, adding cornbread, supper is ready.