Five Frugal Things | Weekend Edition
1. I froze some excess bananas.
Banana ripening is hard to predict! I usually buy a yellow bunch and a green bunch, but sometimes the green ones I buy ripen faster than I think they will, and I end up with an excess of need-to-be-eaten-right-now bananas.
When that happens, I try to slice and freeze them before they end up at banana-bread ripeness. Banana bread and banana muffins are fine, but I prefer to use the bananas in a healthier way if possible.
Once they're sliced and frozen, they're really easy to add to smoothies, which I make all the time.
2. I made pizza dough ahead of time.
Sometimes I get really uninspired about cooking on Sundays, which leads to eating out if I'm not careful!
But I've found it helps if I plan ahead and also do some make ahead when possible.
So, I made a whole wheat pizza dough on Saturday afternoon, put it in the fridge, and then Sunday night's pizza was pretty easy to tackle.
(This was a dough designed to sit overnight...just a small amount of yeast, so it didn't over-rise.)
3. On Easter, I wore clothes I already owned.
We didn't go to a super fancy church service, so I wore this pair of Stitch Fix jeans, this cold-shoulder Stitch Fix top, a pair of Born suede boots I got on clearance at DSW, and a long cardigan from Old Navy.
I'm not opposed to buying a new spring dress or anything, but I also don't think that it's some sort of necessary requirement just because Easter has rolled around.
4. Lisey did some budget shopping for Sonia.
I don't deserve credit for this one, but she took Sonia out on a shopping trip on Saturday to help her find some spring fashion. I gave them $80 in cash, and they came home with lots of items...a pair of white jeans, 3 tops, a long necklace, a dress, and shorts.
Lisey's quite a good budget shopper, so she and Sonia hit up consignment and second-hand stores. And also Target. 😉
5. Mr. FG and I had a $13.50 date night.
We got subs at Firehouse, and I purposely ordered the one that was on the $5.55 special. We drank water and skipped the chips, which definitely helps keep the cost down. And chips and sodas don't exactly up the health value of the meal anyway.
Bonus: I now have enough Firehouse rewards points for a free small sub on our next visit.
1. I took bananas out of the freezer to make “oat chewies” for school snacks. I mash two bananas with two cups of instant oatmeal, a glug of olive oil, a glug of maply syrup, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and then bake them in cookie-form.
2. We don’t buy special church clothes for Easter, either.
3. My girls got taller. My little one thinks of hand-me-downs as very exciting “new clothes,” so she was happy to have her big sister’s things. For my older daugher, I’ve figured out that I can get the bus to the big used clothes store. So I am going to start there.
4. I am starting to think about gardening. One of my raised bed’s is starting to fall apart. I am going to try and patch it together to get through this season, and then rebuild the bed in the fall.
5. We had brunch for Easter. We will make sure and eat up all the leftovers over the next couple of days. “Feast days” definitely up the weekly grocery bill a bit, but I do love feast leftovers....mmm mmmm
Five Frugal things for last week:
I successfully used a shopping list when I went to the store and only bought what was on it. It is amazing how that works.
I have only filled my gas tank once in the month of March.
We only ate out once last week, which is a definite improvement.
We did not buy new "Spring" outfits for Easter church services.
We stretched leftover ham for several meals and sandwiches last week, which helped our grocery bill.
Tracking our spending and eating out has definitely helped our budget.
No Easter Clothes here either..
Ate a ham I picked up at Aldi for Easter- saved meat in a bag for future uses and tossed the bone in a gallon bag for a summer supper of fresh green beans and potatoes! The ham juices are de-fatting in the fridge and will be skimmed and frozen later this morning!
Purposefully kept the leftover Easter Bread out to dry out a bit.. will be making the kids french toast this morning- also utilizing our surplus of backyard chicken eggs!
meal planning for the week to use up random things in the freezers and pantry - helps with the crazy after school activities we have going on and husband is traveling this week so mini-pantry challenge is going into effect!
Goal- defrost the freezer.
Did not go overboard on the kids baskets! Candy was either on sale with coupons or free after rebate! lol
1. My sister visited for the weekend, but we ate at home. Our only food purchase was popcorn from Target while picking up a few items and going to the thrift store.
2. I found change in the parking lot.
3. I wore a dress from the closet for Easter that now fits again after losing weight. I received several compliments on it.
4. I sent some extra cloth napkins home with my visiting sister and packaged some other linens to mail to our other sister. Postage isn't free but I appreciate things getting used.
5. I bought 2 skirts and 4 tops at the thrift store for $25. One skirt had the original price tag of $44.95 still attached.
Not something frugal i done ,.. but I slice up bananas and freeze them so when i am tempted for ice cream . I reach for a few slices of bananas instead.. So sinfully delicious !
Have you tried grinding up your bananas in the blender into banana "nice"cream? It is very similar to creamy ice cream.
Frozen Grapes are a tasty treat too
And frozen cherries are delish too!
This post is so timely. I have lots of ripe bananas at home. Our freezer is kinda full, so we are trying to eat them up fast. But I think I might just need to freeze some of them before they go bad.
Mr. FAF and I went on a date yesterday afternoon and got a $6 bubble tea. We shared it, but I think it was a bit expensive (including tip).
We had some ripe bananas and I was supposed to bring some dessert to Easter, so I made some chocolatey banana bread! It was a great frugal contribution to the meal.
Make banana bread!! It's a really good way of using soft bananas and it's like 3 ingredients and really easy to bake!
I love iced bubble coffee and used to go to the mall to buy one. I discovered the bubbles are really cheap at the local Chinese grocery store, so I now make it at home for a fraction of the cost. It just involves boiling the bubbles beforehand.
Joshua's gotten into that lately too. He was making a batch just last night.
Have you tried the Thredup mystery box? Where they send you some things that need repair? I know that you have hemming mending skills. I thought it might be fun to see what kind of stuff they send.
1. And I, too, have an excess of bananas. One not great one that I'll add to yogurt for breakfast. Thanks for the reminder. Bananas have been really cheap lately.
2. A quiet Easter for us as our girls couldn't get home this year. But church was lovely and they served hot cross buns after. We had nice leftovers and fresh asparagus for lunch. There may have also been a couple handfuls of Jelly Bellies from the large jar I bought on sale at Costco....
3. I worked hard to get meals from the fridge, pantry and freezer last week and will again this week. All are rather overflowing and the fridge needs a good cleaning. Anyone have suggestions for large amounts of fresh ginger? Can I freeze it? Grated? Whole?
4. I talked to my neighbor yesterday afternoon who starts tomato plants from seed. He had already offered me plants for this year again. I would like to put out a few more beans this year but don't want two packets of seeds. He'll take half a packet although his wife doesn't care for them. I like reciprocating his kindness!
5. The same neighbor had started feeding a stray cat that was hanging around. I had been meaning to ask the name of the kitty and if I could put out scraps for it. I remembered when I saw him yesterday. It drives me crazy throwing away meat and fish scraps so "Frankie" is a great solution!
And there's snow on the ground this morning. Again. Sure kills the desire to go anywhere or do anything. That's definitely frugal!
You can freeze fresh ginger. Break it into chunks of a size you will use and wrap each in a small amount of aluminum foil. Then I throw them all together into a single freezer bag. Just take out the chunk you're going to use an hour or more before you want it or it will be difficult to slice.
Thank you!!! Got a large bag at Krogers on produce clearance for 1.00. And I have aluminum foil that was previously used and washed. 🙂 So kind of you!
I freeze hands of ginger to grate as I need for my stirfries! My mom slices hers really thing and freezes or dehydrates for making ginger tea.
I've never heard it called 'hands' but makes sense! I also have a dehydrator and never thought of processing it that way. Thank you, Jessica!
I am not a fan of frozen ginger - I think it gets watery and not very flavorful - but YMMV. I peel it, cut it thinly, and store in dry vermouth. It lasts forever in the fridge.
Dry vermouth is the most common substitute for Chinese rice wine (which is ~not~ sake and ~is~ very hard to find in the US), so storing ginger in dry vermouth has the added advantage of creating gingery "rice wine" which I use in any recipe that calls for rice wine/dry vermouth/sherry and ginger. Another use is to combine it with soy sauce for dumpling dipping sauce.
Thanks for the tip, William!
Hello there... thought I'd suggest tea...as in hot lemon ginger...its even good as iced tea...
Thanks, April! I've had ginger tea but not lemon ginger. And never iced. I may try to make a syrup and freeze it. But ginger tea is now on my 'to do' list for tomorrow!
Hi Shelia, I have frozen ginger successfully, I found if you grate ginger you tend to get a lot of mess for not much output as the 'juice' seems to separate from the fibres, I then copied a lady who says she very very finely chops the ginger, scoops teaspoon measure blobs out on a baking paper lined tray, freezes the tray then puts the frozen blobs in a container. I found it worked great, I would recommend snaplock bags with the air expelled though as the last few pieces got a little freezer burn but the flavour was great in cooking/salad dressings, & because you measure it in the size you want for using there's no more prep or wastage.
Thank you! I will definitely try this. My freezer is on the bottom of the fridge so freezing things on a cookie sheet are a challenge but I'm up for it. I bet this would work for iced tea this summer also. If summer ever gets here.......Thanks again!
Lisey got your frugal gene! Or maybe she's just a smart girl. I try to cut up bananas and freeze them in a single layer, also. I love banana bread but I don't want to make it too often or my family tires of it. We also did not buy new Easter clothes. Some years we do, but not all.
1. I sent leftover snacks from the weekend to school with the kids for recess.
2. We ate a lot of junky food this weekend so I am going to the store today early to hopefully score some recently marked down produce.
3. I am using less laundry detergent per load depending on how dirty the load is. I just washed our throw blankets, that stay on the couch in the living room, with a tiny amount of detergent. They aren't very dirty. More dusty than anything.
4. I am boiling some eggs that are getting old. I will eat them for breakfast for a few days.
5. I am putting leftover Easter chocolates in the freezer to use for baking later on. I have grated them in the past, to use in pancake batter and to make homemade hot chocolate.
Consumer Reports said one of the biggest issues with laundry detergent is that people use way too much of it. So you're good by using less. In general line 1 is definitely enough in an HE machine.
I think I probably get 2x much out of cleaning supplies, detergent, shampoo, etc by using less than recommended
Also, I have tried making the homemade kind but I have found using less saves me enough money that I don't have to resort to another method.
1. We were in decluttering mode this week and I finally talked my husband into selling his beer making supplies(which he has not used in over 7 years) so hopefully that will bring in some much needed money for April bills.
2. I found some great deals at the thrift store on spring clothes. A pretty dress for my daughter for under $5 and two almost new button down shirts for my son for $2 a piece.
3. While cleaning out closets this week, I also found some toys I had stored for later, so my son has been enjoying those all week.
4. I snatched up a waffle maker from my mother's giveaway pile, as well as, an electric skillet and a small griddle.
5. I had a low spend week this past week, so I put the money I did not spend into the bank to save for upcoming April bills.
1. We did not buy new Easter clothes this year.
2. Since we had a death in the family, and we had received so much food our "Easter dinner" consisted of dishes that we had received from friends.
3. My oldest daughter invited me to a matinee on Easter afternoon. It was a movie I was interested in seeing and she paid. Win, win!
4. I had a coupon to get my hair cut which I did on Saturday morning.
5. I have been cooking from the pantry and frig all week, so no grocery shopping.
It was a frugal week all together.
I spent $0 on Easter this year.
1 - We bought no new clothes.
2 - I made a "regular" meal. My nod to Easter was sugar cookies with purple sprinkles (that we have had for ages and that the boys never want to put on the cookies they decorate).
3 - I hid plastic eggs that we've had for years and the kids searched for them with baskets we've also had for some time.
4 - I've been diligently pestering an organization for a refund for a class that was canceled in January due to low enrollment. Pestering paid off as we finally got the refund.
5 - Another organization forgot to get us something we had paid for. I don't need it anymore so I traded it for something of the same value that we were otherwise going to spend money on.
It's so worth following those things up it all adds up.
This is my favorite! I love when you do Five Frugal Things. 🙂
1.) I went back to the grocery store to buy more grapes to freeze. I'm stopping again on the way home since my husband ate more of them than I thought he would.
2.) I didn't stop for breakfast on the way home from buying more grapes.
3.) I borrowed listening material from the library for the 16+ hours of driving I have to do on Thursday and Friday for work.
4.) I paid to renew my subscription to YouNeedABudget.com. It has saved us thousands of dollars this year, so it's well worth the $50 subscription.
5.) I have lost nearly 35 lbs in 90 days by using the Weight Watchers app (and by finally getting my thyroid in check - I know the speedy weight loss won't last forever haha). I haven't made any huge changes, except to buy less junk food and to buy more lean protein and fresh produce. We're saving big time on groceries!
Wow, that's amazing progress! Good for you. Are you spending less on eating out too? I always feel like when we are more careful about eating healthy, we end up automatically spending less on eating out, simply because most eating out choices aren't very healthy.
That's awesome! good for you
Congrats on your weight loss!
It was really cold in my area. I couldn't help laughing about some of the younger women at my church showing up in light floral summer type dresses in below freezing weather!
I know...it always feels too cold on Easter to wear spring clothes while also not freezing to death!
I froze bananas too!! They are so hard to predict... My kids will ask for them and then not eat them, too.
I also wore clothes I already had for Easter, but only because it was too cold for the new spring dress I bought.
1. My grocery store was giving out free samples of packaged cookies. I smiled and thanked the woman who was giving out the samples, and she very kindly responded with, "here you go!" and handed me two more! I'm not sure why other than the fact that I had looked her in the eye and thanked her, but I told her I was very grateful for the extras.
2. I said yes to taking home some leftover Easter ham. I normally say no but the family member who had made it was begging everyone to take some and kept saying, "I can only eat so much ham, people!" I'll heat it up for dinner this evening.
3. Took my son bowling one day over spring break. We go once in a while and it's always fun. The bowling alley gives a free game for every "A" on a child's report card, and this time I actually remembered to pack his report card.
4. Related to #3, I decided to put bowling shoes on my Christmas wish list. I'm not a fan of having extra stuff (including clothes and shoes) in my house, but I calculated that it wouldn't take all that many trips to the bowling alley to recoup the cost.
5. My family rented a movie the other night, and some of us (ahem) fell asleep on it. It was a two-day rental, so we watched it again the following evening. So now all of us have seen all of the movie!
Leftover ham is one of the best parts of Easter celebrations!
1.) I'm counting this but my daughter's dress was bought on sale at H&M. Instead of the size 2-3 we accidentally grabbed the 4-5 size (seriously, what's up with H&M's tags?!) so it fit her but was big. So she can wear that for a long time to come.
2.) Local grocery store has whole pork loins for $0.99 a lb! It's a three day only sale so I'll be picking up some tonight.
3.) Wife's car needs brakes and rotors. She called a couple places asking for a price and her regular mechanic that she trusts was more than fair so she went with him. Sometimes it's best to not always go for the cheapest.
4.) Went to a concert with the wife on Saturday near where my parents live. So they were our babysitter and my dad even dropped us off and picked us up from the place.
5.) Bought my nephew a small toy during the GreenToys sale on Amazon. He's a bit too little for it (he's 2 months and won't really get use out of it until about 6 months) but it went over well. It was also less than $4 and I've seen it for over $10.
Congratulations Profesora H-B
Great job!
1. For Easter I wore a ThredUp skirt, a Goodwill top, and shoes that I can't tell you how long I've had them, but I got them on clearance when I bought them.
2. My daughter hosted Easter lunch after church, so all I paid for was the ingredients for the two dishes I brought, and I already had much of the ingredients at home already.
3. I'm totally excited to discover that there is a Goodwill outlet store near my work! Now all I need is some dedicated time to go there. No way will I be able to just duck in for a quick look.
4. I have a "my daughter was frugal" moment, too. My granddaughter has shot up in height and is very, very nearly as tall as me. For Easter, she was wearing one of her mother's (my daughter's) dresses that my daughter only wore on special occasions. She looked good, and no extra money spent. I was proud :).
5. My husband needed new shoelaces to replace those aggravating round laces they put in men's shoes, which won't stay tied. I wasn't sure how long they should be, as the originals were too long for his liking. I bought two different sizes, and the first pack he opened fit just right. I have the receipt and will return the unopened pack when I am at the store again. Two dollars is two dollars, and I know I'll be shop there again, soon.
I'm still a work in progress with the level of frugality I read about here!
I cooked four pork tenderloins for Easter and saved one outright for an easy future meal. The leftovers got made into three lunches for the week - one of which is in my lunch tote right now. The rest of the pricey cheesy potato casserole got frozen for future meal, too. Bought groceries today and it was well under the $100 mark which is what I am shooting for. Declined joining another wine club on Friday, tho Hubby and I were sorely tempted. We will visit it, instead, for a budget-priced bottle of wine when we visit my mother who lives up that way. Wanted a pedi - did my own. I would love a professional for this, but I can't justify it. Limiting myself to one cup of coffee a day, lately. Saves me wasting a pot that no one else is here to drink, or a pod which is expensive.
My frugal things seem lame. Baby steps...
Baby steps is how everyone starts! Do enough of them and you can walk around the world.
I think you did great, it's all the regular things we do over time that have the biggest impact well done.
1) Went out to dinner for my FIL's bday and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu. Two sliders + fries for $7.95 - delicious!
2) I had bought some Nature Valley Pumpkin Spice granola bars for $.90 per box after Thanksgiving. They have awhile until expiration so when I get a good deal on yogurt I will beat them with a meat mallet and use them like granola in yogurt for an easy breakfast.
3) I never take leftovers from my parents when they host holidays - I have a sister who has 2 children and I figure they can use them more than us. However, yesterday I accepted 2 slices of awesome rye bread and some ham. Made myself a half sandwich last night (with ham, cheese, and dijon mustard) and wow, it was delicious.
4) I had purchased 5 low-carb frozen pizzas for a great deal at my grocery store. I had cooked one and it was... DISGUSTING. The crust was made with chicken breast and it honestly made me gag eating it. I knew I couldn't offer these to anyone else so I was tempted to just throw them away. However, I went back to the grocery store and explain and they accepted them as a return and gave me my money back on a gift card. I had never returned food before because usually I can find some way to make it work, but not in this case!
5) I have a hair appointment this Thursday. I have not been my natural color in 15+ years. I hate the look of roots but I know I look best blonde. However, I am highly considering having my hairdresser dye my hair back to my natural color (brown) and letting it grow. I will save on future hair appointments as long as I can keep it going. I also have no greys yet so there really has been no reason to spend all this money! Hopefully I go through with it.
I definitely need to enroll in Firehouse rewards. We just recently went there and I love them more than my beloved Subway. 🙂 I do like the daily sandwich deals too!
This week:
1. I washed our counters and tables with homemade cleaner.
2. I DIY'd our nephew's Easter basket and Easter treats. I just made Rice Krispies covered in white chocolate to look like eggs. Close enough!
3. We came home with plenty of leftovers after visiting family. Mm-mm barbecue!
4. Hubs just got the news that he got a job offer! This job will pay more, so we're pretty stoked. And that means we can hopefully stay on target with debt payoff, even with my medical bills. 🙂
5. We weren't able to grocery shop because of travel and the holiday, so we're eating from the pantry until we can shop tonight. It's nice to stretch and use up what you already have.
Woohoo on the new job!!
1. Wore a blouse handed down to me and a capris I bought last year.
2. Low key Easter dinner, we invited a friend who lost his wife a couple of years ago. Have enough lamb left for a stew this week.
3. Used free coupons and picked up a travel sized body lotion and 1 oz. essential oil (aveda).
4. Gathering a box for donation on Thursday
5. Cocktailing hair care products
Aww, that's so lovely that you were able to invite a friend of Easter dinner!
1. The kids (4 and 1) and I had to take the dog to the vet today near the time we normally eat lunch. I was tempted to swing through a drive-thru, but instead grabbed some fruit, cheese sticks, and carrots when we stopped by the house to get the dog. Better for my wallet and my (pregnant) waistline both.
2. They wanted us to do a number of things for my dog that I hadn't planned on. Since we have to go back in a few weeks anyways, I had them make a list of the items and their process to talk with my husband about what we really need, rather than being talked into something on the spot.
3. Ate leftovers for lunch.
4. I was unable to find a child-size umbrella in our town for my son's Easter gift and didn't like the prices I was seeing online, so we gave him the play toolbox that I got on clearance at Aldi after Christmas.
5. Dyed eggs yesterday with a kit that I got 90% off after Easter last year. It was a mega-kit that had 9 colors. Since we only had 12 eggs, we just used 5 colors and will save the other 4 colors for next year.
I have a tip to help bananas last a bit longer.
As soon as I get home from the store with bananas, I wrap the stem only of the banana(s) tightly in plastic wrap. I’ve found doing this helps the bananas not to ripen as fast. Glad press n’ seal works great for this.
I grew up going to Sunday school and church every Sunday and yes, we got new Easter clothes and shoes. I pretty much did the same with my kids and now I buy the grandkids new duds. I don't for myself, but the kids' things are usually getting pretty shabby by springtime and Sunday school shoes are tight. My daughter hosted dinner- it's nice to give up the hosting. Does your mother/mil still have everyone over for holidays? I baked a carrot cake and bought a bottle of wine to share. DD's inlaws and my sis/nephew were also there. A good time was had by all.
It depends on the year for us. This year, my nephew got baptized, and we all went out for brunch afterward, which was nice!
1. I accepted some free things from a friend who's leaving for several months, it included a bar of chocolate, about 10-15 kilos of rice, cheese, hamburger meat and a partial can of Pringles.
2. My body wash was getting empty so I put a little water in and shook it up. So far I've gotten 3 more showers out of it.
3. We didn't spend much on Easter, but I did buy my kids a few candies that I his around the house.
4. We didn't go anywhere or spend any big bucks this spring break, just stayed home as a family and last night let the kids "sleepover" in our room.
5. Reading my favorite frugal blogs.
I just froze three bananas today, too. My husband has been shopping for me from a list I make lately, and he always buys too many bananas.
I realized that everything I wore to Easter mass was really old. Ten-year-old skirt, shirt a few years old, shoes at least 8 years old. Perhaps I need to look for some new church clothes. 🙂
1) I was raised Quaker but we rarely went to church, so Easter is about staying home, reminding the kids of the meaning of it and doing an egg hunt, a scavenger hunt for Easter baskets and eating whatever we feel like. Always deviled eggs, though. A pretty frugal day.
2) The kids needed new swim goggles and some new balls...basketball, four square and one of those whistling footballs...all on sale or clearance. I like to give things they will need anyway as gifts. They got chocolate bunnies, too. The awesome ones. I am not frugal in my choice of chocolate.
3) I found an enzyme cleaner to soak my workout clothes in because they were super disgusting. It worked and now I don’t need to buy new stuff to just make the new stuff disgusting too!
4) I took in the waists of two pairs of sweats for my tall, skinny son. They were on sale and I had a Topcashback credit but all sweats are too big in the waist on him. Easy fix.
5) We are going as a family to the chiropractor (the impact on my chronic headaches has been AMAZING.), which is anything but frugal, but we work out the logistics to drive together (it is 40 mins from home) and today we prepped some of dinner to prevent the temptation to eat out. Chiro always makes us relaxed and sleepy and making dinner sounds so HARD. Advance planning is therefore essential. I’m glad, too. Dinner was delicious and cheap.
1. Made “dog food” since it’s cheaper and I can control what goes in. She is an old girl, 14.5, but needs to watch her wt due to health issues. I browned ground turkey with chopped zucchini and some frozen salt free green beans. Froze half of it. She gets half a cup w her kibble.
2. Also made her “chicken soup” and used 1 bone in ckn breast with 4 other rib cages that still had meat in them. Added some brown rice and chopped carrots and boiled. Once cool, I stripped all the meat off and portioned into containers. Froze half. She gets about half a cup w her kibble, alternating w ground turkey mix.
3. Boyfriend was lucky and won a mini shop vac, a deep fryer and a GoPro camera at an event over weekend. I’ll give my nephew the GoPro, his sister the deep fryer and we will keep the shop vac.
4. Just returned from a work trip out of town. I bought food for my breakfasts, some salads for lunch. I ate lunch and dinner out a few times. I filed my voucher and I should collect @$215.00 which I will save for an upcoming trip with the nephew.
5. Planned my breakfasts and lunches well last week so I didn’t have to go out, although I was tempted.
I have to tel you I love your username! My oldest is obsessed with shibas, and I totally see him getting one when he's on his own.
Just wanted a few days away so me and 3 of the kids went to Waco/Austin.
1) I used points for a free hotel stay. It was a really nice hotel too! I was impressed and will use TownePlace by Marriott again.
2) The kids went swimming, and I used the gym for free.
3) We borrowed cards from the front desk and played a few hours.
4) Enjoyed breakfast for free the next morning!
5) Took our own drinks and snacks with us so we didn't have to spend the extra money on those.
We still spend $200 on the trip (two days) but we got to eat out at a fave bbq place, bought fancy doughnuts, got food at the bakery at Magnolia Silos, and that also included gas. So not bad for four people for a two day trip. We had a blast too! Was good to get away. 🙂
1. Went to a seminar that had $20 off for booking early but when I booked only the full price showed. I sent a few emails about it & didn't get much of a response but persisted & sent a clear request for a refund of $20 for paying early & they finally got back to me & are transferring the money back; it is so worth following up.
2, At the seminar were some companies spruiking products, & I got some free items I already use.
3. On a similar note I recently decided to make the effort to return poor quality produce when I get it from the supermarket (they have signs up saying they will refund if you're not happy but i've never tried it out)- I don't make an extra trip but I have taken back a cabbage that went mouldy within a week & a bunch of celery that looked fine on the outside but was brown in the middle - the $3 refund is better in my pocket.
4. We got given a bag of sugared cashews at Christmas that I would never buy but I divided it up into 35g lots to swap every now & then with nut bars I eat regularly for afternoon tea; just finished the last ones today.
5. Last year I thought a lot about how much food I wasted & realized I was eating more food than I needed & buying more food than I could eat . I made a decision to avoid food waste & reduce my portion sizes - in this I also asked God to help me realize when I was full - I love to eat 🙂 Got takeaway this wk as my now monthly treat instead of twice weekly & for the second time cut it in half when I got home & put half in the fridge for the next night.
I love that Lisey took Sonia out for fashion shopping! Sounds like they got some great deals!
Helen D- Thanks for the banana tip! I'll have to try it!
Mrs Picky Pincher- Congrats on the new job! That sounds great!
Colleen- So glad you were able to return the pizzas! I'm sure your hairdresser will do a fabulous job and it will make your life easier and your wallet happier by not spending tons of $$ every 6-8 weeks.
My fab five are:
1) DH came home with a bag of free samples of a facial lotion. Each card had a sample and a coupon.
2) We purchased 2 fruit trees last year. A peach and a apple. We have no idea how to raise them but planted them around the house. The apple has grown a lot and we noticed flowers on the peach. DH wanted to know what the flowers meant as far as when fruit will arrive. All I could read was when the flowers drop off, peaches will form. So, I'm guessing we'll get peaches this Summer? Peaches in the store were very expensive last Summer, despite being local. I believe $2/lb was the lowest price.
3) I'm still managing to sell things on ebay. The thing I thought would NOT sell actually has a bid. COOL.
4) I went to Target to get DS2 cereal. It's at least $1/box cheaper than the local store. I used a gift card so it was all free.
5) My BFF was in town and we got together. DH took us to a sushi place and we got the lunch special. Good price for what we got.
I know! I'm so glad she was able to offer her fashion-y opinions to help Sonia shop. 🙂 Lisey's more up to date on things than I am now.
I admire your life style and how you raise your children. It would be nice if more families lived like you. Hooray to you for not living in debt, for not keeping up with the Jones and home schooling your children.
1. My bank didn't release my deposit in time, so they compensated me!
2. Using up Easter leftovers in dinners and meals this week to minimize food waste.
3. bought M&M's which are my favorite after Easter for 50% off.
4. Started flowers from seeds today to plant in my flower bed come spring. Much cheaper than buying that many fully grown.
1) I took a pair of jeans back to Nordstroms after the elastic started to fail. Then I found a pair of $20 jeans at Costco just like them! And then the Costco jeans immediately stretched out. Womp womp. So I took them back to Costco, and bought another similar pair of jeans in a different brand at Nordstroms. The whole experience didn’t save me money, but at least I didn’t pay for defective jeans.
2) We are eating up leftovers from the weekend before we go back to the grocery store.
3) March was our best month ever in almost ten years of business. Like by a lot. We feel so blessed.
4) I’m packing for a conference this weekend and realized that all the clothes except the jeans are Goodwill.
5) Returning a dress to thredUP I didn’t like.
1. My dress for Easter mass was purchased at a consignment shop in the fall, and I wore it at Christmas too. My 4 daughters all wore white/gold dresses (the Easter colours!) that were thrifted and handed down from friends.
2. Last week we used a bag of cooked beef from the freezer, that had been pulled off soup bones after we boiled them for stock. Each time we make a batch of stock we add to the bag. The meat was combined with two open jars of tomato sauce from the fridge (oops!) and some spices, onion and garlic to make a phenomenal ragout that we served over noodles.
3. I discovered that some kobocha squash I had purchased had rung up at about half the posted price, so when I had a chance, I went back to that store snd bought 4 more! While there I stumbled across a display of our fave plain Greek yoghurt for $1.94 for a 750 g tub! So I stocked up. 🙂
4. We were invited to decorate eggs with friends on Saturday. We brought hard boiled eggs, and brought them home to eat over the next few days. No wasting the eggs for decoration! We made a batch of our "famous" chocolate chip cookies to bring to the gathering with ingredients we already had on hand.
5. The friends we decorated eggs with had two bags of clothing and a stack of books to pass on to us for our daughters. I never refuse hand-me-downs!
6. The fitness/nutrition program my husband and I are currently doing has been really hard on our grocery budget during the last few months. We're in the final two weeks, so I'm making plans to incorporate more meatless meals, soups, stews, etc.
Five frugals:
1. Dollar Tree filled baskets with treats for kids.
2. Same Easter outfits for third year in a row.
3. Family pitched in an brought all sides for Easter Brunch.
4. Egg casserole fed all 8 guests.
5. Champagne for mimosas half off!
We didn't buy new Easter clothes either. All our Easter dresses came from thrift stores. Here are my frugal five from yesterday (actually, I have more than five, but the rest are on my blog):
1. I picked up 4 play packs from someone in my Buy Nothing Group.
2. I got 2 books from a Little Free Library.
3. I went grocery shopping at Winco and used the remainder of the gift card I won from them last month.
4. Amazon sent me my order twice. I contacted them about it and they told me to keep the extra merchandise they sent.
5. I opened up my deodorant container that was "empty" and found enough product inside it to last another 2 days.
I like the idea to prepare food in advance and to freeze it. Pizza dough is something I usuually make on saturday and freeze it. Thus I always have an alternative for a dinner when the I come home too tired after a busy working day.