Money Saving Methods (This Week in Frugality)

I have a standing appointment on Friday mornings in town, so it has turned into my town errand day.  I used my $10 birthday certificate from World Market to get some Lindt chocolate (3 bars!), Chupa lollipops and a jar of capers.  It was .46 out of pocket, and the treats will last us quite a while.  The Chupas are really good, but they also last us a long, long time, which is nice!  I admit, I'm kinda excited about the capers.  It's one of those ingredients I can't really justify because I've never used them, but I have wanted to try them in a few recipes I've seen.  Now, I can do just that!

I had lunch in town on Friday, at Noodles & Company.  An acquaintance who works there had given us some coupons for free meals, so I used one of those.  With the drink, it was just under $2 for a really tasty, filling meal.  I picked up some apples and spinach that were on sale at Sprouts.

This week I used 8.70 in coupons for groceries.  I used the Kmart gift card from a prescription transfer to get some dishwasher gel, and now they've put another $2 in credit on my rewards account.

My sweet family took me out for dinner last Saturday evening.  It was really nice, because I had done a duck program that day, and knowing I wasn't going to have to cook made the afternoon relaxing.  We went to Culvers, and Husband used a bogo coupon for burgers for Husband and I.  I went in a different line and ordered a large fries and turned in a receipt from back in January that got Daughter a free scoop of ice cream. Daughter really doesn't like their burgers, but there is a McDonald's on the way, so we got her a McDouble at the drive-thru. I know that sounds kind of awful, but she is so much happier this way, and it makes the meal more pleasant for everyone.   After Hubs and I had eaten, I used my birthday coupon for a free single scoop sundae.  For $7.55 total (including tax), we got two double burgers, one McDouble, a large fries that we all shared, water to drink and two ice cream treats that we all shared.  Lots of good junky food, lol, for about $2.50 each.

King Sooper sent me some 'valued customer' coupons.  One was for a free Tombstone pizza.  I also loaded coupons on my and Husband's cards for free Simply Right energy bars (single ones).  The other coupons we used are in the total above.

I got some free samples in the mail this week - 3 lipton tea bags and some suave shampoo and conditioner.  I also received two books in the mail - one was a birthday gift and I won the other book in a blog giveaway.  Nice!

We used a coupon at Staples to get a free ream of copy paper (free after rebate).  I will take it to church for church office use.

This week at Goodwill I got two pair of pants for $2 each.  They are nice enough to wear to church or for a library program, but they are a twill fabric that I can also use for yard work and such once they are more worn.  We also picked up some jigsaw puzzles for my tote for church and one by the bed. 

I continue to load the snack basket as needed, and I'm liking it more and more all the time for the convenience and simplicity it brings. I cooked extra of supper each night to use for lunches for us at home and for Husband at work.  It saves money and time.

The weather has gotten more spring-like (it hasn't snowed in days!) so we're back to mudding the drywall in the garage.  I am horrible at this.  It's good to learn this now, because for sure, whenever we get around to finishing the basement, someone else needs to do the drywall.  Oddly enough, my inside corners aren't bad.  The rest of it is a hot mess, though.  There will be much sanding.

Husband did some printer investigation and figured out that our factory refilled/recycled ink cartridges have very, very old dates on them, and he thinks they were never re-set when they were re-filled...and he's pretty sure that is why the printer has been acting up.  Even when it was working OK, we were not getting great results with the cheap ink, so we've decided to bite the bullet and get the name brand ink that we're supposed to use in the poor thing.  He used Swagbucks to pay for the ink, because he's awesome like that. 

One evening after supper I transplanted my overgrown, leggy-looking jade plant to a deeper container, and it looks a lot better.  I also potted some cuttings from it, and took a few more cuttings to shape it better.  This started out as one jade plant that I got half price at Walgreens (I think it was $2.50) and now I have 5 pots with jade in them, plus some cuttings rooting in water.  I also took a couple of cuttings from the Wandering Jew that I got for .75 on clearance.  With a little care, it has flourished.  I love plants that actually want to grow for me. :)

I took the bottoms from the green onions I've been saving and planted them in the cold frame.  I've done this before and they generally root and grow well for me.  I have several bunches planted in the yard, but the wild rabbits keep eating them, poor things. 

This one doesn't necessarily save us money because we wouldn't buy these at the restaurant, but they are convenient, and inexpensive to make.  If you are picking up McBreakfast, this might save you some money.  I took some half price English muffins (.75 for six), some turkey cold cuts for some (spam for the others) bought in markdown, eggs from our hens and American cheese and made breakfast sandwiches.  I estimate the cost for each one at about 40 cents, since our eggs are free and the other ingredients were all purchased on sale. 

This week I made those breakfast sandwiches,  hummus, kidney bean salad, marinated 3-bean salad, bean sprout salad, kimchee, sesame spinach, herbed pasta and guacamole.  Some of that wasn't on the menu at the beginning of the week, but it all worked out for lunches and snacks. :)

I got my free birthday treat from Sonic.  Free.

We read library books, listened to library music and the radio, and watched library movies.  However, the weather is warming up, so we are outside more, doing outside things like playing, reading library books in the hammock or at the picnic table, and petting/taming the new baby bunnies. 

My sweet Husband got me some brewing chocolate for my birthday.  I learned that you can use the already brewed grounds for cooking, baking, eating.  I baked some into homemade brownies a while back, and soon I plan to try them in smoothies and energy bites.  I like the zero waste part of it all very, very much.

We have a clothing budget, and I used some of it this week.  Walmart had a lot of girls clothing on clearance.  I was able to get Daughter a jacket and a night gown for $3 each, and four shirts for $1 each.  Two of the shirts are identical 'BFF' shirts, so one is for our next-door neighbor - they are BFF's!!  The prices for clearance clothes were actually less than the standard prices for children's clothing at Goodwill, so I was glad to find some things that fit her.  Some are for now, some for next fall. 

Room for Improvement:

I feel live I've lived in the car/truck this week.  I had an appointment (and some errands) one day, the next I had a library program, and we went to town as a family to do some things that afternoon.  Another day I had to go get a rabbit, I worked at a library for a couple hours another day, we had a parent-to-parent info session yet another day - it was a lot of running around.  Every day was legit in the sense that we needed to do those things on those days, but it really made me see how much better I had gotten at staying home more during the week. 

Related to the first one, I now know that the more we are at home, the more we accomplish.  Your mileage may vary, but I can really see a difference.

The price of bread really seems to be going up in our area - even at the outlet stores.  I am going to make an effort to make more of our breadstuffs at home.  We really prefer the light/thin slice bread for sandwiches, and I can get a 20oz. loaf of that for .99.  I can get hamburger/hot dog buns for about .40 a package, so for now I want to focus my efforts on things like breadsticks/French bread, English muffins or English muffin bread, pre-baked pizza crusts and possibly flat bread or tortillas.









Comments

Theresa said…
I really love reading your weekly savings. You are really great at finding deals and being frugal.

Enjoy your blog.
Jenny in Wales said…
Hey Laura,
Sometimes we all get busy, what I mean is when I can't get everything done I feel like I am failing, which I know is untrue, but I think you feel this way too.
Is your little one big enough to mix up and roll out flatbread, it doesn't matter how ragged the edges are it is a great learning opportunity.
Jenny in Wales
I think you did great seeing as in how busy you are!!

Mine are here. Not nearly as much as you though!

http://themoxleyfamily.blogspot.com/2013/05/frugal-things_14.html
Laura said…
I am so sorry I haven't gotten in here and done replies in a more timely manner. Theresa, thank you for your kind words! I think we can all learn from one another. :)

Jenny, I do feel just what you described. Like I'm supposed to don a cape and be superwoman, which I'm not. We haven't gotten around to the flatbread just yet, but when we do, I will definitely ask Daughter to help! :)

Thanks for stopping by, Moxleys!

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