Frugal Friday - Week 46 of 52



A super dark photo of our daughter's candy from Halloween - her brother received just as much! WOW!

I am still trying to figure out how we have gotten to November already! Never mind that it is about half over already.  We have recently had temperatures that feel more like January than November and snow right along with it.  Typically we don't have snow until the end of November.  Oh well, it makes the Christmas lights look pretty and I am enjoying the clean, white look of everything.

We have tried to stay cozy the last few weeks, as it has been so cold.  Pulling out the hats, mitten and boots and enjoying the Halloween holiday.  We have Thanksgiving coming up here in the US next week and I am looking forward to one last blast of all things Autumn (my favorite season!) before Advent is upon us.   I did have to put the Jack-o-Lantern's in the compost bin today; they had frozen earlier and were definitely on their last legs.

This year has been a hard one - the last month or so, extremely difficult. Mentally, physically and socially.  I will not share details but I will say that I am more than ready for the start of the Advent season and a bit of renewal in the Christmas season.  The semesters at school can end and we will start fresh in January.  Hopefully 2019 will be a much better year than 2018 for us. 

Here are some of the frugal things we have done this last week:

* Made soup, bread, cookies, granola and several salads at home.

* Froze leftover turkey for later use.

* Finished up the last of the green-picked tomatoes.  They finally turned red and were eaten!

* Purchased a pair of black low-heeled dress shoes for our daughter on steep discount.  She wears a size 11 US Women's (42 Euro/9 UK) and has a difficult time finding shoes without spending a huge amount.  We were able to purchase this price for about 1/3 the normal price.  She needs black dress shoes for her school's dress uniform. We were so grateful we found these!

* The bicycle our daughter has been hoping to purchase is on sale for Christmas, also at a steep discount.  That particular model has been discontinued. We were able to purchase it for her as a Christmas gift for approximately 1/3 the original price, making is less than the used bicycles she had been looking it.  It even comes with a lock and a basket.  Now the trick is to keep it hidden until Christmas!  We are keeping it at a friend's house until then.  We started a Christmas fund for the first time this year and this bicycle was not well within the amount we had budgeted for our daughter's Christmas gifts.

* We utilized another steep sale to purchase needed underclothing for two family members.

* We skipped several other sales as the items were in the "nice to have" rather than "necessary" category. 

* We utilized the library for several books and video games and a movie.

* John officiated a funeral and was paid for that.

* I was able to pull meals from our freezer for a friend caring for her ailing mother and a new mom with baby twins and two older children.  No extra spent and I felt very grateful to be able to help.

* I cleaned out two areas of our home, donating several items and reorganizing others. 

* We assembled 6 Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes using items we have purchased over the course of the year.  Our church is doing a collection this Sunday and we are happy to have a contribution.  Picking up items on discount over the course of the year makes this very affordable.

I think that's it! What did you do this week that counted as frugal?

Popular posts from this blog

Menu Plan Monday - Week of January 17, 2021

Image
Peas from my garden last summer.  We are cold and snowy with a lot of ice right now!  Not my favorite weather.  So, to cheer myself up I am starting to plan my garden for next summer!  I am hoping that I will be able to grow at least enough tomatoes and cutting flowers for both my parents (who are moving 1 1/2 blocks away from us in about 2 months - hurray!) and our house as well.   I am so grateful that we have 1/5 acre lot for our home that we can grow vegetables flowers and (currently) a single tree.  It makes me so happy and provides some very fresh produce for our family.  I love the physical act of gardening, both flowers and vegetables, and I love the taste of vegetables fresh from the garden.  A win-win in my book for sure! The name of the game this week is to eat up as much of the fresh stuff as we can so it's easy to move the refrigerator downstairs for our remodel.  They start knocking out walls and cutting holes in the outside of the house next week and we will need to
Read more

Menu Plan Monday - Week of January 10, 2021

Image
  A couple of lovely Christmas treats we received as a gift this Christmas! Yum! So, after publishing the menu last week John and I went through the freezer and refrigerator and decided that we better eat all the things that will be difficult or impossible to eat when we do not have an oven or stove top for a month or two.  That means last week's actual meals looked nothing like the menu!  That happens, I guess. With that in mind, here is what we're eating this week: Sunday, January 10:       Brunch: Cereal, Fruit and Toast       Snack: The last Christmas Cookies       Dinner: Perfect Potato Soup, Homemade Bread Monday, January 11:        Breakfast: Toast and Eggs        Lunch: Leftover Soup        Snack: Yogurt        Dinner: Beef Stir Fry, Rice, Orange and Grapefruit Wedges Tuesday, January 12:         Breakfast: Smoothies or Overnight Oatmeal         Lunch: Leftover Soup         Snack: Yogurt         Dinner: Fish Tacos, Fruit Wednesday, January 13:         Breakfast: Oatmeal
Read more

Menu Plan Monday - Week of January 3, 2020

Image
John's Birthday Dinner January 2020  This week started with John's Birthday - he loves crab legs and we typically have them for dinner on his birthday, as part of his birthday gift.  Here in the upper mid-west of the U.S. crab legs are usually on sale at this time of year, so it works out well.   We have so much produce in our freezers and refrigerator this week and we are trying to eat our cupboards down a bit so things are easier to store during the big part of our remodel.  Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, January 3, John's Birthday:     Brunch: Smoothies, Oatmeal Muffins     Snack: Soft Pretzels     Dinner: Crab Legs, Green Beans Monday, January 4:       Breakfast:  Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Salad with Tuna      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Pork Chops, Cauliflower, Carrots Tuesday, January 5:      Breakfast: Oatmeal with Walnuts and Craisins      Lunch: Chicken Noodle Soup from the Freezer      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Chicken Lasagna, Green Beans Wednesda
Read more