Sunday, February 9, 2014

Last Week's Frugality

      This week we had it out about the cable bill.  My DH is disabled and his joy is watching sports. While I have done everything I can to pay for the cable, it has become too expensive.  So we hashed  it out and he agreed to call the cable company and try to get the bill reduced.  No luck.  They wouldn't give us the intro special prices that they are advertising. So I contacted the local phone company and I can save over $50 for basically the same services.  Cha-ching!!  My yearly goal was to reduce our budgeted costs by $50 and I have been able to reduce it by $109 so far!  We cancelled the car we sold off of the insurance  policy last month. I am so happy about saving $109 per month! This is HUGE!
     I packed my lunch all week!  That is 2 weeks in a row now!  I just have to keep it going!
    I used left over pot roast to make vegetable beef soup.  We had it for supper the next night and for several lunches!  It was yummy if I do say so myself! 
    We had one meatless meal for supper. And this week I got a call from my Dr. saying my cholesterol is too high and to start eating low fat.  So more meatless meals are in my future along with oatmeal for breakfast.
    I did get 2 of the pork tenderloins at Kroger. I had them sliced pretty thin to make more servings therefore more meals. 
     I found salad mix reduced so we had a nice salad with dinner Saturday night.  I am trying to incorporate more salads and greens in our diet.
     We ate the sprouts that I grew.  I put them on sandwiches and in our salads.  Feels so good to grow fresh greens and know how healthy they are for my family!  I have another batch of the alfalfa sprouts started for next week! See how I grow my sprouts here
     I washed 2 loads of towels and hung them to dry.  The kids grumbled that they were stiff but they will get over it.  Saved about 2 hours of drying time!  Every little bit helps!
      I take my Mother to the Goodwill every Saturday, and while I find some great bargains, I tend to spend too much money.  So my new Goodwill budget is now $5.  While it was hard to stick to, I did it!  I put the things I would have liked to get in the cart then before leaving, I decided exactly what I needed/wanted the most up to $5.  It worked!  I only spent $4.65.

   I have decided to tryout selling some things on E-bay.  That way I get rid of stuff/clutter and maybe I'll make a little cash in the bargain!  Win, win!

   We have been keeping the thermostat set on 65 degrees.  Lordy, I cannot wait until it warms up some I'm cold!!
    I did stick to our $50 grocery budget this week.  I am going to have to get very creative to make this work, but I am going to do my best!

  What have you been doing to save money this week?

Frugal Blessings,
Lisa

 
  

9 comments:

  1. Lisa, you are doing an amazing job! You will have to let me know your secret on keeping your food budget so low. I'm spending about $400 a month....on 2 people! And keep in mind I don't eat much! Thanks for sharing your blog, I love reading it!

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  2. Thanks Niki! I don't always make the budget on food,
    but I try! Making things from scratch and eating simpler meals with fewer ingredients helps.
    Lisa

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  3. Hi, I'm wondering if using the XBMC media server might help you out with the cable bill. I've heard that you can stream live sports over it, so maybe you and your DH could work that out so he can watch a few games.
    I've yet to try it but Netflix has helped us cut the cable altogether.

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    1. I'll have my son check this out! Thank you! Hope you stop back again!
      Lisa

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  4. We don't have cable and watch TV on the antenna. We have cut out a lot of the extra just like you did but I haven't gotten to hanging the laundry yet. I think that I am going to try that in the summer when I can do it outside. I just have to get some clothes pins. We keep the temperature at 63 during the day which is tough but we wear sweaters and it works out okay. I have our grocery budget at $160 a month for the three of us and it is do-able. Good luck!!!

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    1. I hope to hang most if not all when the weather gets better but for now saving 2 hours of drying time is cool! I am glad to hear my family isn't the only one wearing layers at home! Thanks for commenting and I hope you stop back real soon!
      Lisa

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  5. Love your blog! We definitely think alike!

    I've been agonizing over the cable also. It's not so important to me but my hubby would freak out if he didn't have it.

    I've been also concerned about heating costs. Whew! I do what I can to save on gas (we keep our thermostat on 65 also... some of the people I work with keep theirs at 74. I cannot IMAGINE how much that would cost LOL).

    I hung several loads of laundry inside. I just hang pants and shirts as I normally would on hangers and let them dry for a few days. Then I just put them away without having twice the work of hanging them on a line and then rehanging on hangers.

    We shopped at Aldi over the weekend. We spent more than I meant to but I bet I haven't bought groceries in months so we stocked up on canned vegetables, ketchup, fresh fruits and vegetables, all kinds of stuff.

    I looked at some stuff at the thrift store, but talked myself out of it before I got to the checkout LOL.

    I baked a friend a loaf of bread as trade for one and one-half dozen farm fresh eggs.

    I froze leftover beef broth before my husband got a chance to dump it down the sink - for leftover soup. (He was cleaning out the fridge.)

    I boiled a chicken carcass for broth and put the broth in my freezer.

    These posts are fun. I look forward to more!

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    1. Gina,
      I cannot imagine what it would cost to heat our house at 74 degrees! It is expensive enough at 65! Barter is something that I have been doing with my Uncle--I make him jelly and he plants a couple of rows of green beans for me! I definitely come out ahead! Great job on the bone broth! It's nice to be able to feed your family such nutritious food! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Hope you stop back again!
      Blessings,
      Lisa

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  6. What great ideas, and good for you for sticking to your plans! Thank you for sharing this at the HomeAcre Hop; I hope you'll join us again this Thursday.
    Kathi at Oak Hill Homestead

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