Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

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frugalmom
Posts: 1710
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:52 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by frugalmom »

1. Finally got my .29/lb turkeys(this year I have not seen any free turkeys with purchase-has anyone seen this!? I used to do this deal but I have not seen this freebie these past few years!) and got a rain check for two turkeys since they did not deliver it for the start of the ad(otherwise there was a limit of 1 but we talked the manager to give us two since there was a group of women asking for at least a substitution but they would not!). So I got 23 lb turkeys!

2. Got free lunch today from my bil who was visiting. They got his order wrong and thought he ordered 3 orders instead of 3 kebobs so he had LOTS-we have enough for dinner too.

3. Preston got his braces on so he cannot eat due to the pain. So I had made Shake and Bake chicken last night, and so I chopped the meat tiny and mixed it with garlic mashed potatoes-he first looked at it and was not sure if he wanted to eat it, but after he tried it he liked it and asked for more!

4. Cut my own hair around the face bc it needed a trim-it looks fine-I am trying to convince my dh to let me cut his hair! But I guess after I used my leftover hair dye a few years ago and his white hair somehow turned pink and orange! He lived with that bc he did not want me to touch his hair to fix it! OOPS! I told him let me TRY at least!

5. I LOVE my Target comforter-it was about 45.00(or maybe 49.99-forgot now off the top of my head) but it is red black buffalo print and kind of a velour feel on top and a sherpa black on the underside. THIS comforter is sooo warm that we do not need to turn on the heater(along with the warm pillowcases it comes with). Note there is a 5.00 off coupon in Target ad for home goods rn. It is very cozy and I did check a nice flannel red black buffalo comforter from Bed and Bath and Beyond for around 63.00 or so and even though a bit warm not as warm as this Target one(although I do like the Bed Bath and Beyond look of the comforter better but my practical nature I wanted warm and cozy which won out instead of looks). I also bought a few years ago, a microfleece blanket that I use as my top sheet which makes it warmer and softer than just a top sheet-love my cozy bed! Ok this one idea does not really save money bc I bought the comforter(though saves me energy and heating costs bc I rarely turn on heater unless we are sick)-but just letting you all know just in case you need a comforter(and I have seen nice ones which can cost over 100.-to like 500.00-which that is ridiculous imho,my one sil buys the 500.00 ones) and I think 49.99 is a reasonable price(bc thick and really warm-I have checked cheaper ones but not much filling). Also if you have a flea market near you that sells like stores and have lots of ethnic(esp Asian and Mexican or Indian vendors)vendors,go there to buy your warm thick blankets! You can get 20-49.00 for thick blankets that they use in their country which are very warm and thick(feel inside the plastic case to see if they are thick or not-some can be flimsy so you need to check).I got mine free long ago when my friend gave it to me for Christmas and I still have it for many years so it lasts a long time(maybe about 15 years old now).

Note just saw the news,an 80 year old man was biking and looking great-I think they said 85 miles a week(he does spin classes too and with a team goes up mountain roads,etc) and I like what he said about the secret to living a long life-"...NOT TO DIE!" Lol-yes, he was funny and had a good attitude-I like that!
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LWolfT
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:46 am

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by LWolfT »

Let's see ...
1) We're taking advantage of the free entertainment available; movies from the library; the occasional show on $5 day at the theater; concerts at one of the are colleges. Been looking for cheaper tickets to a college basketball game, though not a lot of luck right now.
2) Been using the fireplace at least a couple of nights a week; it keeps the living room warm enough that we're able to shut the heat off for a few hours in the rest of the house. (temps hold pretty steady.)
3) Mended another pair of DH's work-outside jeans and put those back into rotation.
4)We've been very good about eating all meals at home. We've had a few clean out the fridge nights, but overall, I think we're eating pretty darn well, LOL.
5) I put my groceries/household stuff on a rewards card. Was able to use the rewards as a statement credit, so basically scored some free groceries!
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delighted99
Posts: 512
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2015 10:26 am

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by delighted99 »

1. Cooked dinner when I normally would have dined out. (It also saved us time and frustration bc DS had already had a day of it.)

2. Grocery shopped for the week and stuck to my list for the most part. This time I managed to get all I needed so no extra trips!

3. , 4. , 5... struggling with those.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by Dgflorida »

Wow! NBeaver. Great savings.
frugalmom
Posts: 1710
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:52 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by frugalmom »

1. Well, been using the TG leftovers and made my stew/soup but then they were getting tired of it so made that soup into Chili's copycat Enchilada soup. It was good at first but got quickly tired of too much of that. It was becoming like the neverending soup as I had to keep adding water! We ran out of turkey after the first day and my dd was bummed she could not make our usual turkey sandwiches. We had enough for tiny roll sandwiches on TG night(we hosted lunch).

2. Saved my brother's sangria bottle-I don't drink but I may use it for meats(like a beef loin or chicken?). My brother used it for pork loin in the past in those pressure cooker and said it was so tender-I just don't eat pork so will use other meat-hmmm maybe lamb? Any suggestions?

3. We did have a lot of rolls(my son bought 30 in a bag but it was for 5.00) left a few days after TG(usually we don't eat rolls but my son wanted it) so we had to use it. We even had it for breakfast with eggs and turkey sausage sandwiches and one day with raspberry jam.

4. Using up the last of my shampoo, and handsoaps by adding a bit more water over and over again and shaking it. I use vinegar too bc that makes my hair soooo soft and detangles easily-I sometimes do use a bit of conditioner to mask the vinegar smell which usually goes away,but sometimes I can notice it so I add nice smelling conditioner like a dime sized amount for my long hair. That is why I can get away with diluting the conditioner more than a few times-that always lasts so long for me-usually run out of the shampoo faster for some reason.

5. Using up my spinach greens (got these bags for 50 cents clearance-family pack bags) and apples(huge bag) from the .99 cents only store in my green juice/smoothie with celery. Not bad-added lemon and ginger too.

6. My oldest son took dad and me out to lunch today which was nice. We settled on Aghani food (bc dad did not want Korean or any Asian food which WE love!) with kebobs,grilled lamb chunks,mantu(little meat dumplings with yogurt and dahl mixture on top). Dad and I shared a dish which I am glad I did bc it was so much and we even shared it with my son. So that made it much cheaper down to 5.00-6.00 per person.

7. Bil brought over chicken patties from Costco(like breaded ones). I have not bought this in awhile bc they increased this package price I think 13.99-15.99-I forgot which but it was a big increase and could not justify buying it anymore. Well,bil bought it and did not like it, so gave it to us and we like it! That was my go-to for a quick chicken parmigiana, cordon bleu and sliced over Caesar salad,wraps and the best is I cut it in slices and serve it over white rice and a good drizzle of Tonkatsu sauce(like Japanese Tonkatsu in restaurants)-my kids love this. Also good to make sandwiches for my son-tomorrow on top of a bagel(with mayo and lettuce/tomato) or as chicken parmigiana sandwich(add spaghetti sauce and mozzarella-sometimes pepperoni). So this is a quick time saving and versatile meal-I noticed the very last visit to Costco that it went back down in price point a little bit lately but still more than it used to be! It probablly is about a 1.00 a patty(I did not officially calculate it but approximating this). Note this is a sturdier chicken patty bc there is a yellow box of chicken parmigian made that is on sale for 2.50 a box(sometimes 2.99) and it has 6 patties which is very soft. This is like a tv dinner type of chicken that melts in your mouth it is so soft,so other one is heartier.

8. Bought gifts-used books for my kids and it came gift wrapped on one which was nice. The other one had a bit of a dent in the hardcover back edge though but it is ok. Much cheaper than the original-for my books, I usually 98% of the time get it at the library,but this was one way I cut my Christmas budget this year bc books are inexpensive and a gift you can open over and over again! Plus hopefully it will teach my frugal ways bc two of the kids sometimes don't seem to get it! Lol-although my son listens to Dave Ramsey in the car with me and knows the lines!I carpool his friend as well so I have them ALL listening and my son I think is embarrassed I am listening to that instead of his music! I also enjoy listening to the podcasts-my form of entertainment!

9.Electric and gas bill came in way under again and I think this will be my average 130.00 (last month 103.00) which is much better than it used to be! Saved another 10.00 off my internet bill when changed out the router to my own now. Now the antenna still goes out for a few seconds in words or pixels/pictures-we are not near a good big antenna like in SF which you can get much more channels.Watching a lot of good movies-well keeps dh busy bc I cannot stand to sit there for too long to watch a movie, but I like surfing the web so it keeps dh occupied and I can do my own thing!

10. Kid's jacket sold for 15.00 on son's site (before we donated all of this and now we sell it to bring money in-at least the bigger items that will sell-others we still donate). My son bought a new shoe that just came out for 220.00 and selling it for 300.00 since limited edition and we bought two pairs. He already has buyers for these shoes. So 80.00 profit each pair. Got Ebates a bit over 20.00 and all of the things we sold(like piano) which I saved the cash now all that I made going into the checking acct to pay my dd's tuition (approx 1500.00) which went up about 300.00 from last quarter which I have to check into. Also got the scholarship 2500.00 funded to the school(thank goodness it did not go to our house bc someone opened the letter and actually cut the bottom edge of the envelope to see if there was a check-the letter stated it was enclosed so we panicked! But the lady got back to us quickly and stated it went to the school but the letter was cc'd to us-WHEW! But we have a locked mailbox so it must have happened at the post office or in transit-it is happening a lot more lately!
rinty
Posts: 1919
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:54 am

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by rinty »

Yellow sticker veg @10p..........cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage and swede

Yellow sticker bread, potato cakes and rolls @10p

So £1 for a gigantor bag of groceries.

TOO tired to spend any money this week ; ) so that counts

Having a Soup night each week now, sometimes homemade, sometimes not, cheap and cheerful especially eaten with Yellow sticker bread or rolls , this week a polish speciality bread which again was 10P for the whole large loaf.

Brussels sprouts from the allotment together with our own onions, potatoes and garlic this week. Cooking at home is a given. For example Monday after working and doing my volunteer stint I was KNACKERED and considered a Mcds drive thru then reasoned with myself that 1) Mcds is C%AP and 2) I had that cauliflower at home. Made a nice cheese sauce with wholegrain mustard and served with crusty bread. Dinner is 30 mins and LOVELY. DH did the same making home baked potato wedges with paprika when we fancied a snack as it was so cold last evening using our own potatoes

Got £4.50 in rewards points by spending less than £30 and that £30 was buying an item that normally retails @ £75 so that was a win.

Good frugal week.
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