Frugal "Friday" - The Last Two Weeks of February 2019

Our current snowfall - at or over the seats of the chairs on our patio!   I love snow and we have had a lot this winter!

March came in like a lion this year - snow and wind and cold.  Hopefully that means it will go out like a lamb, as the old saying goes, with warm temperatures and sunshine.  My commute time doubled yesterday on the way home and I was very glad I did not have to venture out again.  This morning I woke up to sunshine and plowed roads, so we will head out for a workout, groceries and a birthday party.  Our daughter wants to use the rest of her Christmas money to purchase a couple of wanted items so we will do that while her brother is at the birthday party.  I am so enjoying the young adults our children are becoming and I am looking forward to spending some time shopping with her. 

Today, Saturday March 2nd, is my Father's 87th Birthday.  He is now the longest living male in his family tree - something that has been quite a milestone for him!  My Mother had two heart surgeries this week (one planned and one unplanned) and is finally home from the hospital.  They will have a quiet day at home and Dad will enjoy a cupcake and a dinner brought over by some good friends.  I am so thankful and grateful to have my parents in my life at their advanced ages.  I know many are not so fortunate.

With Mom's heart surgeries, we have had a very busy last two weeks.  We used a gift card to purchase takeaway dinner one night (as we were both exhausted from time at the hospital) but other than that we were too busy to spend much money.  Here are some things we did that may count as frugal over the last two weeks:

* Made all but 2 meals at home. 

* My husband and I both enjoyed one meal at work, courtesy of our employment. 

* We made bread, several types of soups, baked a ham, and made muffins, waffles and scones at home.

* I completed a fitness challenge and received a really cute exercise top as the reward.  I have two medical conditions that are managed primarily through exercise, so exercising in stressful times is a must for me.  I love my workout and found it to be a wonderful distraction from my mother's medical procedures.  Plus, the support from my community was invaluable when I became discouraged.  The exercise top was a nice bonus to all that. 

* I purchased a new pair of athletic shoes on significant discount.  Being a fitness instructor, I need to replace my shoes at least twice a year and that can be extremely expensive.  I was very pleased to find a very good deal on these shoes!

* We played a board game we already own and watched two free online television shows for family entertainment these past two weeks.

* Our son passed along some information to the Library regarding a video game they had available for checkout.  They we grateful for the information and gave him a coupon for one free book at the Library's upcoming spring book sale.  He is thrilled!
* I sewed buttons back on 3 items of clothing.

* My husband bought our daughter and me each a bouquet of flowers for Valentine's Day this year.  I combined the healthy blooms from both together to form a new bouquet when they started to look wilted.  We still have lovely flowers on our kitchen table! 

* We had been paying a small fee each month on our savings account.  This past week we discovered our understanding of how the account worked was faulty and now have a solution that allows us to both increase our savings and negate the fee.  I am so thankful we took the time to explore our options rather than just writing off the fee each month. 

* We continued to shovel our own driveway and walkways and rake the snow off our own roof. 

* I worked on embroidery for two gifts or read a download ebook from the Library on my phone while waiting at the hospital.  I have a friend who offered to teach me to knit, which I may do if we continue to spend so much time in medical waiting rooms. 

What did you do this week that was frugal?