Frugal Day-To-Day
We had a busy, productive week. The garden is really starting to take root and I'm enjoying caring for a smaller garden. We are growing most everything we used to, just in smaller quantity. We will see how it works out for us in the long run. The big benefit comes from where we planted things - they are protected from the deer. Hopefully, the protection will make up for growing less. Unfortunately, it looks like the soybean seeds I got (free) didn't germinate, so I planted wax beans in that spot. We seem to be having a less than stellar year when it comes to bean seeds, but everything else is doing just fine.
I used the $10 off $10 or more that Kohl's sent me to get three very pretty, I-would-never-pay-that-much kitchen towels, and some bittersweet chocolate sauce for .82 out of pocket. The $3 in free rewards points at kmart went for fabric softener. Then, on Thursday, Kmart sent me another $3 in free rewards points, so I wills swing by there on Friday when I'm in town. I have to find something else to buy - I think I have about 3 gallons of (free from Kmart) fabric softener now.
At the supermarket I used $6 in coupons and used $12.99 in pharmacy rewards to pay the remaining cost...then I got back $10 credit to use the next time I shop. I also got free tortilla chips with a digital coupon. There were five bags of groceries in all - sweet! At a different store on a different day, we used 9.20 in coupons and spent $9.50 in actual money to get what they considered to be nearly $42 worth of groceries. That was three bags of groceries. If you're wondering, our plan to spend less is going fine, but the emptying of the freezer and pantry is going very slowly. We are still able to stock up even spending a lot less than most families. All told, I used 16.20 in coupons. I've also got coupons for two free drinkable yogurts, next time I go to a store.
We received checks from Staples this week, making some copy paper and photo paper that we purchased free.
Husband and I installed the lights in his garage workshop, saving the cost of having someone do it. He also finished up painting and put up faceplates for light switches and electrical outlets. Next is the floor - it's really coming along.
A friend invited us swimming at the pool in her neighborhood's community center. It was free of charge since we were their guests, and we had a really nice time. She also gave us a swimsuit for Daughter to grow into and some dry beans and popcorn that had been passed on to her, but that she will not use. I was also given some ginger candy - yum!
We picked asparagus, spinach, a little lettuce and green onion tops from the garden. I did a lot of cooking on the grill this week to help keep the house cooler. I made turkey-bacon kabobs, zucchini-mushroom-onion kabobs, grilled chicken, asparagus and more.
We took Daughter to a free fishing clinic for kids. Each child was given a free rod and reel for attending, and she and Husband did some fishing while I did some reading and journaling. I also got answers to a lot of questions I had for Dept. of Wildlife. It was informative.
Library books. We sure do love library books. We also love library Wii games, library DVD's and the Summer Reading Program. All of it free, all of it pretty darned wonderful.
I gave Daughter a haircut. Mostly, we just layered her curly hair and trimmed some ends. It's lighter weight for summer and hopefully more manageable for her, but really doesn't look terribly different. She got to keep the length, but there is far less hair to detangle morning and night.
Some ladies that are very local to me just started a small freecycle group. The families are all close enough to one another that it's much more likely that things get picked up. This week I got a nice size bag of mostly girls winter hats, gloves and scarves. We don't need them for us, but the church does a mitten tree each year, and I will save them until mitten tree time.
The same ladies with the freecycle group have a buy/sell/barter group. I was able to list/sell some things Daughter has outgrown, which gives us the funds to get the next size up. We are currently on the watch for a larger size bike. :) I also picked up some piecework sewing through this group.
Our front door has faded quite a bit. It is a cranberry color, and the paint oxidized. With a fair amount of car wax and elbow grease, it looks some better. At least...from the road. Up close, I think it needs one more layer of waxing and scrubbing, but my shoulder is sore after two. At least it's on the way!!
We almost went out for sundaes one night, but then realized that we had vanilla ice cream in the freezer, the chocolate sauce I got from Kohls and some maraschino cherries in the pantry. So instead, we picked up some whipped cream when we went to the grocery store and we made sundaes at home. I know it saved us a lot compared to going out.
Daughter and I stayed home 4 days this week.
Room for Improvement:
Honestly, there is nothing glaring this week, because everyone here - our entire community - is distracted by the wildfires. We stayed home a lot, because I just wanted to be out of the way as much as possible. We offer prayers and heartfelt thanks to the emergency responders who are working so very hard to save lives and property, and we pray for containment soon.
I used the $10 off $10 or more that Kohl's sent me to get three very pretty, I-would-never-pay-that-much kitchen towels, and some bittersweet chocolate sauce for .82 out of pocket. The $3 in free rewards points at kmart went for fabric softener. Then, on Thursday, Kmart sent me another $3 in free rewards points, so I wills swing by there on Friday when I'm in town. I have to find something else to buy - I think I have about 3 gallons of (free from Kmart) fabric softener now.
At the supermarket I used $6 in coupons and used $12.99 in pharmacy rewards to pay the remaining cost...then I got back $10 credit to use the next time I shop. I also got free tortilla chips with a digital coupon. There were five bags of groceries in all - sweet! At a different store on a different day, we used 9.20 in coupons and spent $9.50 in actual money to get what they considered to be nearly $42 worth of groceries. That was three bags of groceries. If you're wondering, our plan to spend less is going fine, but the emptying of the freezer and pantry is going very slowly. We are still able to stock up even spending a lot less than most families. All told, I used 16.20 in coupons. I've also got coupons for two free drinkable yogurts, next time I go to a store.
We received checks from Staples this week, making some copy paper and photo paper that we purchased free.
Husband and I installed the lights in his garage workshop, saving the cost of having someone do it. He also finished up painting and put up faceplates for light switches and electrical outlets. Next is the floor - it's really coming along.
A friend invited us swimming at the pool in her neighborhood's community center. It was free of charge since we were their guests, and we had a really nice time. She also gave us a swimsuit for Daughter to grow into and some dry beans and popcorn that had been passed on to her, but that she will not use. I was also given some ginger candy - yum!
We picked asparagus, spinach, a little lettuce and green onion tops from the garden. I did a lot of cooking on the grill this week to help keep the house cooler. I made turkey-bacon kabobs, zucchini-mushroom-onion kabobs, grilled chicken, asparagus and more.
We took Daughter to a free fishing clinic for kids. Each child was given a free rod and reel for attending, and she and Husband did some fishing while I did some reading and journaling. I also got answers to a lot of questions I had for Dept. of Wildlife. It was informative.
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| This is actually from the previous week, on fish-without-a-license day. Love that smile! |
Library books. We sure do love library books. We also love library Wii games, library DVD's and the Summer Reading Program. All of it free, all of it pretty darned wonderful.
I gave Daughter a haircut. Mostly, we just layered her curly hair and trimmed some ends. It's lighter weight for summer and hopefully more manageable for her, but really doesn't look terribly different. She got to keep the length, but there is far less hair to detangle morning and night.
Some ladies that are very local to me just started a small freecycle group. The families are all close enough to one another that it's much more likely that things get picked up. This week I got a nice size bag of mostly girls winter hats, gloves and scarves. We don't need them for us, but the church does a mitten tree each year, and I will save them until mitten tree time.
The same ladies with the freecycle group have a buy/sell/barter group. I was able to list/sell some things Daughter has outgrown, which gives us the funds to get the next size up. We are currently on the watch for a larger size bike. :) I also picked up some piecework sewing through this group.
Our front door has faded quite a bit. It is a cranberry color, and the paint oxidized. With a fair amount of car wax and elbow grease, it looks some better. At least...from the road. Up close, I think it needs one more layer of waxing and scrubbing, but my shoulder is sore after two. At least it's on the way!!
We almost went out for sundaes one night, but then realized that we had vanilla ice cream in the freezer, the chocolate sauce I got from Kohls and some maraschino cherries in the pantry. So instead, we picked up some whipped cream when we went to the grocery store and we made sundaes at home. I know it saved us a lot compared to going out.
Daughter and I stayed home 4 days this week.
Room for Improvement:
Honestly, there is nothing glaring this week, because everyone here - our entire community - is distracted by the wildfires. We stayed home a lot, because I just wanted to be out of the way as much as possible. We offer prayers and heartfelt thanks to the emergency responders who are working so very hard to save lives and property, and we pray for containment soon.
Comments
Blessings, Ella