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Thread: July Frugals!

  1. #1
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    July Frugals!

    I guess I'm not the only one who hasn't been frugal if we've made it this far into the month without a frugals thread. I think it's easy to have the attitude that "summer is short so live it up!" especially in the northern areas.
    For household spending, my main focus needs to be meal planning and good decisions in the grocery store. Yes, there can be lobster, but not all meals can be lobster. We did come in within budget on groceries this past week, but that was after several weeks of exceeding the budget (which is pretty generous for 2 people, btw).
    The hot weather makes food more challenging too. DH made chicken stock and soup from 2 rotisserie carcasses, which was great, but it went right into the freezer because it hasn't been hot-soup-eating weather. I made a caprese salad this weekend and a large pasta salad yesterday. Salads are my thing! Also a pitcher of real iced tea, which is the only kind I like and is good to have in the fridge.
    For personal spending (from my allowance), I need to keep sight of the things I really want to accomplish with my funds, and not fritter money away on lunches out and recreational shopping. There can be lunches out, but they need to be well considered and not just thoughtless impulses. I love to spend time with my sister, but she always wants to go shopping. That is really her idea of a good time, and it's hard to get her enthused about activities that don't have some type of a shopping component. We are planning to try a yoga class tonight, so although it will cost money ($10 each), I think it will be a more fulfilling way to spend time together. I feel fine about spending $10 on that.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    We are pretty consistent on our grocery shopping. But definitely more festivals to spend our money on. We also have separate and joint fun money so it does force you to think about how you spend your money. My sister likes to shop also and I don’t. We don’t live close enough anymore for that to be a issue.

  3. #3
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    No frugality here as I am stocking up my freezer for winter supplies like strawberries, cherries etc. Must make my strawberry jam tonight as the berries are all hulled and ready to cook up. These will all fit the frugality role later, when it is cold.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Not a frugal month here so far. But spending has been on necessities. Finding good prices are frugal so I'm putting it here.

    1. Stocking up on personal care products: shampoo, body wash, eye and face cream, toothpaste...all organics here
    2. Bridal shower and wedding gifts purchased today. Neither bride nor groom have lived away from home so I went to their bridal registry and bought all the little stuff that no one buys-I still remember having to go buy the basics. so I dropped a small wad of $. FRUGAL for the Newlyweds right?
    3. Hubby is making them a nice cutting board out of scrap in his shop.
    4. My 1 pair of capris split out at the rear pocket. I bought 1 new pair and 2 pair shorts at Ross-so not a lot of $ but that's a lot of clothes for me to buy.
    5. I baked a great loaf of bread this morning. I rarely buy bread.
    6. Dinner will be ingredients out of the fridge and freezer. I've planned 3 meals. No grocery shopping needed even though we've been gone for 6 days!
    7. I detailed my car after getting a $7 exterior wash on my errands trip today. Only drove 7 miles for 90" errands. i do a much better job than their full service for $35.

    That's my July so far.

  5. #5
    Yppej
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    I am starting to eat from the garden.

    Found a first class free tai chi place so I can try that out at no cost no obligation.

  6. #6
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    No spend day today.

    Used a free sample of magic eraser to do some household clean up. It worked well but I think our regular cleaner and a sponge or rag would do as well.

    Since the weather is so warm we are consuming a lot of iced tea. We make it using a regular black tea in the tea pot and them add sugar and cool. Then we add lemon from our lemon trees. A relative was saying to us how they always make their own iced tea but went on to explain that they buy the powder mix and add water. I think the regular black tea and sugar would be more frugal but haven't done any calculations.

  7. #7
    Yppej
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    I looked at the cost of visiting a water park and ruled that out. They hit you up not just for admission but locker rental, tube rental, and new since the last time I went, parking, and of course anything you buy to eat or drink is expensive. Yelp really helps me evaluate places since prices ($5 for a bottle of water) are discussed there.

  8. #8
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Thinkgreen: I think iced tea from teabags is so much better, and certainly inexpensive enough, that I wouldn't even care how it compares to the powdered stuff. Blecch! I am covetous of your lemon trees!
    Yppej: Good idea to evaluate all the cost components. There are probably much less expensive ways to have fun in the water!
    I helped my mother with a few things yesterday and she took me out to lunch, so that was frugal as far as my budget goes.

  9. #9
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    I made several discoveries that are frugal.
    1. I bought some low-fat sour cream and wanted to make a veggie dip. I went online to find one -
    https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/dill-vegetable-dip/

    I made a small batch with 4Tbsp sour cream, 2 Tbsp mayo and added the spices to taste. I left out the fresh onion but included fresh green onions to sprinkle on top. I thought the onions might spoil after a day if mixed in. I will use this simple recipe for making my potato salad and am going to try adding a little vinegar to make a simple salad dressing.

    2. Flower arranging solution from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifes...r-food-recipe/
    Homemade Flower Food
    1 teaspoon sugar
    1 teaspoon bleach
    2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
    1 quart lukewarm water
    For a mini science lesson, carbs like sugar feed the plant, bleach fights bacteria, and the acidic citrus adjusts the pH. As for the water temperature, experts recommend always using lukewarm water to help the stems drink faster. The notable exception is spring bulb flowers like tulips, which do best in cold H20. Now if only the buds outside would bloom a little sooner...
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  10. #10
    Yppej
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    Went to a city park and saw some animals for free.

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