Baked bread today and having it with cabbage soup from the freezer for dinner. Filled the car with diesel fuel, but otherwise a no spend day. Dearly beloved is headed back of NYC tonight so I'll see how many more days I can go without buying groceries and just eating from the pantry and fridge.
The brain is wider than the sky. -- Emily Dickinson
Yesterday was not so frugal...I "splurged" at the cheapo "Dollar Store" Israeli equivalent and spent about $15 USD on a "made in the USA" $20 yoga mat (which they were selling for USD $7!), six rhinestone-encrusted ceramic napkin rings (fancy, I know, but we've been getting by with four grey plastic napkin rings we got from Target for 0.25 three years ago, and it's awkward when we have four for dinner), also for about USD $7, some safety pins for $0.50, and a magnifying glass for $0.50.
After dropping off a full bag of clothing donations at a charity shop (some of the clothing I'd actually purchased at same), I then went to a NEW charity shop to check it out. This organization uses its proceeds to donate weekly packages of fresh food to needy families in town. The family pays about $3 for a package of foods worth $40 or so, which really helps a struggling family meet its food needs. In our town of about 40,000, there are about 450 families who receive donations every week. The families are referred to the organization by the local city administration, but this program is not widely known, so who knows who else is in need and does not know about it?
Anyway, I spent the grand total of $3.50 on two tops, a cardigan, a couple of hats (now that I have been diagnosed with TWO basal cell carcinomas on my face, sun protection is mandatory), and a crazy crocheted bag that looks like a face, which I will use for holding my clothespins!
Feb 02/14
---made very large and very good pot of tomato soup (not sure why but I have never made tomato soup before)
used 2/3 rds of a very large commercial can of tomatoes bought on sale for $2.00.
Used a Jamie Olivier recipe and I would recommend. Dd and I had a bowl for lunch yesterday and will have more today.
Lots to freeze in individual packets. This will be a good addition to other soups, alone, chillis or spaggetti sauce.
Glad I tried it because now I won't be afraid to buy these larger cans if I see them again.
---I started sewing a sock monkey as a bit of a joke gift for Dgs all free from stuff I had on hand
--posted a few things on Kijiji
Selah glad you got the hats they are very important to wear.
Glad everyone is doing so well!
I need to be here more I am doing well with money but, cost just keep going up and heating is really high
this winter even with trying to keep it down.,,,arrrr
Well, I saved that $5 because the clearance product was all gone by Monday am.
I started dinner too late tonight. (pork ribs) They won't be done until 7:30 or later and apparently DH cannot wait that long. So he is cooking grilled cheese and warming up the cabbage soup. He first asked if I wanted to go out and I said no.
Wow, everyone is doing great.
I don't feel like we are doing very well lately, lots of eating out (the doggies are on vacation, so we are getting our restauranting in since we typically don't leave them alone in the evenings after we've been gone all day at work), but some with gift cards, so I guess that's a wash then.
Not much else to report!!
Sometimes that is my favorite way to save! Can't buy it if it's no longer available!Originally Posted by Azure
Well, I saved that $5 because the clearance product was all gone by Monday am.
We're having a snowstorm here in lovely western Massachusetts. The college where I work is closed so I get a snow day!!! Of course, this really just means I get to spend the day clearing snow.
Been eating some interesting meals this week as part of my continued attempt to eat from the fridge and pantry. Yesterday's lunch was some chick peas from the freezer that I had originally defrosted to put in salads. Except I never went to the store to buy salad greens. So I ate chick peas with a sliced carrot covered in Italian dressing from a single serve packet leftover from some long ago pizza/salad take out experience. I also finished off the remaining blue corn/multigrain chips that were lingering in the bottom of the bag. Washed it down with the last of the orange juice. It was quite possibly the oddest combination of foods I've ever eaten, but after breaking down and spending $5.50 to buy lunch at work on Monday I was determined to bring my own lunch to work yesterday!
Been making progress in my efforts to reduce the number of loads of laundry we do around here. If I can keep this up, it seems like our usual container of laundry detergent will last closer to 5 months versus the usual 3. Woo-hoo! That would mean we've brought the number of loads down from 6-7 per week to 3-4 per week. I still think that is a lot for 2 people, but it is a definite improvement over the 6-7 we were at (sheesh, I'm embarrassed to admit that it was that bad!).
Not much else to report on these days. We've got most stuff pretty dialed in or have decided we are okay with the associated spending so food and laundry are the two current focal points. Not very exciting, but it is what it is.
The brain is wider than the sky. -- Emily Dickinson
Where did the dogs go? Florida, I suppose. Or a Caribbean cruise. You are just training them up to expect fancy vacations and next, cars.
I sometimes feel bad for leaving our dogs in the evening, but I go anyway, haha.
Well, I have saved our household a couple thousand dollars by.....not wanting to leave the elderly baby for more than an overnight, or a day, trip. I am conscious of not having many more years with her, so no big vacations till she's gone. Silly, I know, but it works - a frugal win-win.
Feb 05
--used some of the homemade tomato soup in a big pot of chilli and ate for two days then froze the rest
in individual packets.
--more Big Snow here so been getting my exercise shovelling and not spending at all...I guess that is good.
--Been trying to keep the heat down but, it is hard with the temps we have be having.
--made 16 nice new napkins for Dd from some fabric sheeting that had been used as curtains for awhile and
were just sitting in stockpile of sewing fabric. Will make a nice little surprise for her.
--been ordering coupons and sample and got a few good ones.
--sold an old tea cup I had bought for $1.00 for $12.00 on ebay.
Totally not silly. I have a 9 year old cat and a 6 year old dog. I take a trip with high school kids to Europe every year. This is going to be my last year. Don't want to leave them any more and don't want to spend the money to pay to have babysitter anyway. (Also, I'm getting tired of doing these trips but that's something else.)
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