Frugal Things - The First Two Weeks in February

 



Another beautiful sunrise!  We have been so blessed by these this winter.

Wow, has it been a busy two weeks.  Snow, snow and more snow and more snow again - we are about 2 inches below the historical record for snowfall this February and we are only halfway through the month!  We had very little snow before this, just brutal cold, so it has felt like a bit much.  Driving has been particularly harrowing and I feel as if I have spent most of the last two weeks in my car.  We have a short reprieve with more snow arriving on Wednesday of this week.  I am grateful.   At least our farmers will have plenty of moisture for spring planting this year.

Here are some things we have done the first part of February that may count as frugal:

* We ate the majority of our meals at home.  We made several types of soup, baked bread, and roasted both chicken and a salmon fillet.  I made pancakes for Valentine's Day breakfast.

* I sewed several buttons back on two blouses, a blazer and a winter coat.

* We shoveled our own driveway and sidewalks and cleaned our own snow off the roof of the house (to prevent ice dams, which can damage the roof and cause water leaks).  This saves a lot of money over paying someone to do it.

* We ate three meals out - two with gift cards and one at a school fundraiser.   No money out of pocket for these, as we helped serve at the school fundraiser.

* Our daughter took a small tutoring job to help pay for a school trip and summer camp.  She is good at this and enjoys it so it is a win-win for her and us, as well as the student she is tutoring.

* Purchased some items on sale to fill holes in our pantry - canned corn, canned diced tomatoes, and nuts.

* John brought home leftover lettuce salad and donuts from events at church this week.

Frugal Fails:

* We developed a chip and a subsequent crack the window of our minivan.  Replacing the window is included in our insurance but we discovered more damage caused by who knows what that is not covered.  We ended up paying more than we would have liked to have the damage fixed.  We will adjust our insurance coverage so we do not need to pay so much in the future.

Frugal Splurges:

* We used a gift card to Sam's Club to purchase some meat for our freezers.  We purchased ground beef and chicken, both of which were very reasonably priced.  We were also able to buy some bulk toiletry items to donate to our local food pantry - this is what they were asking for this month, as they are very, very low on these items currently.

* We met a cousin and her children for a fun day out midway between our home and hers.  She lives here in the Twin Cities, like we do, so there was plenty to do between our homes.  It was so much fun to spend time together and we all were greatly amused at the beginning mustache her oldest is growing!  (Teenage boys, seriously.)  It was a lovely day.  And because we are all attempting to be frugal, it was a relatively inexpensive day out for 3 adults and multiple teenagers.


What did you do this week that may count as frugal?