Lst Week's Frugality

  Last week we ate out of the pantry and freezer exclusively! In addition to that, we were given a bunch of tomatoes from my Uncle Howard!  Thanks so much!  My BFF Sandie gave us some produce when we went to dinner last Sunday!  Thanks Sandie!  Their generosity has sure helped us make it the last few weeks!

  We stretched a small spiral sliced ham into 6 meals.  Fried ham for supper 2 nights and one breakfast, ham bits in a pot of northern beans, and I used the ham bone and what was left on it for a pot of green beans, ham and potatoes that we ate on for 2 meals.  

 I only drove to work this week!  We stayed home! No special trips--stopped at the pharmacy on my way home one evening.  My Mother went to her class reunion  Saturday, so I saved $3 that I normally allotted for the Goodwill!

  I saved Marigold seeds from the tall and the dwarf marigolds!  I hope to have tons of free flowers next Spring!  The coneflower seeds will be ready to save soon!

    We are Still turning the A/C units off at night and when we are not in the living room, dining room and kitchen.  Every bit is helping to keep the electric bill down! 

 My DH saved more 2 liters of water for emergencies!  I am so proud of him!  He is not a big prepper, but he is being very helpful!
It is nice to work together!

Propagating rosemary, oregano, and ivy!

   Kudos also to DH for enduring our enforced pantry challenge!  He hasn't complained about some of my less than stellar casseroles I have come up with and has eaten PB and J sandwiches without a word!  He has been a trooper!

  I have still been tending to my violets, Christmas cacti and herb plants.  I feel like they are an investment for Christmas Gifts!  I am propagating rosemary and oregano also for future gifts.   I was given a start of ivy and am in hopes of using this for a topiary!
  
   Several months ago, I bought a small philodendron for $3.84 at Walmart.  I have been taking cuttings from it and have 2 other pots of philodendrons growing and more rooting. They will make nice gifts for a housewarming or birthday!

  That's about it for us!  What did you save money on last week?

Frugal Blessings,
Lisa
  

My Cupcake Dress Shower Cake!

My Future DIL's bridal shower was last month, but I wanted to share  the cupcake dress cake I made for it!  I thought it turned out very nice!  They are getting married in September and I am doing the Dessert Table!  More pics to come!

Lisa

Quote of the Week

            When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.
                                                                                     -Elie Wiesel

Last Week’s Frugality

   Last week was a very good frugal week!  I was able to stay under my grocery budget of $50 by $8 and we ate a lot from the freezer and the pantry last week. 

  I packed my lunch 4 days!

  We were given fresh tomatoes, zuchinni and squash by my best friend Sandie!  Thanks so much!

  I stayed under budget ($3 max) at the Goodwill last week.  Found The Cupcake Bible and a beautiful shade of (new) fingernail polish; both for $1.42!  The cupcake bible had a price tag of $12.99 on it and the polish had a price tag of $3.99 on it so I saved $15.56 on these two items alone!

 I saved marigold seeds for next year.  I have had some

gorgeous tall orange marigolds this year and hope to have more next year for free!

 I should be able to save the smaller dwarf seeds next week. I love saving seeds!

  I am propagating violets and herbs to give in baskets for Christmas presents! I love having a grow station!!

  Harvested basil to dry this week.  My basil is going crazy in the raised bed. Hope to harvest enough to do me all winter!  I want to chop it up and freeze in olive oil cubes for pesto!

  I bought apples and potatoes from the reduced bin at the grocery.  Got 4 lb. of apples for $1.50 and 10 lb. of potatoes for $1.50.  My stock up price for potatoes is $.20 per lb., so that was a great deal on the taters! 

  I found a bottle of Trop 50 (reduced sugar OJ) for just a dollar!  OJ is not a usual grocery item, but for this price I splurged!  I am diabetic so this is a real treat for me!

  I picked up several cups of yoghurt reduced to $.25 a cup to use in smoothies for my DH and I! A cheap, healthy alternative to milk shakes!

  We did eat out one night, but it was pizza from Little Caesars for $5.99.  We both enjoy this type of pizza and it is so cheap!

  I used my Kroger points to get gas.  Saved $.40 per gallon, so almost a $4 savings on the tank!

  I signed up for several free samples this week.

  We have been turning the AC units off at night in the Living room and dining room. That just leaves our bedroom unit on—hoping to reduce our electric bill next month. 

  We had egg omlettes for supper one night.  Super cheap, filling meal.  I had some onions and peppers in the fridge that I sauted for them.  Yummy with toast and homemade peach jam.

    I combined trips to save on gas. Said no to a shopping trip with my daughters to save on gas and to keep from spending!  Lol!

  All in all it was a good frugal week for us.  I am hoping this coming week will be even better!

What have you saved money on this week?

Frugal Blessings,

Lisa

Quote of the Week

    Be happy with what you have and are, be generous with both, and you won't have to hunt for happiness.
                                                                               -William E. Gladstone

Peaches, Peaches, and More Peaches!

 

 While I was taking my Mother to the grocery, I saw our local County Market had peaches on sale!  Boy were they on sale.....25lb. for $5.00!!!  That is amazing so I bought a box. we took them home and tasted them.  They were not juicy but had a good flavor. So what to do with them???  Jam and butter!  I ended up with 16 pints of jam and 7 pints of peach butter.  I was so happy, I went back and bought another case!  That produced 5 quarts of sliced peaches in light syrup, and 7 more pints of peach butter!    It is all yummy!  Who says you have to grow all of your food for canning? Not me!!


Peachy blessings to you all!
Lisa

Last Week's Frugality

   

Enough!

 I know it has been a while since my last post, but life happens and so does depression!  I have been trying to pick myself up by my bootstraps and try and get my life in order.  It's been an uphill battle but I see progress.  The last few weeks have been very rough financially.  Our car broke down and we received a whopper of a water bill!  We had a leaky toilet. It is fixed now but our bill was over $300 for a 3 month period.  So we have been strapped and will continue to be but we are working through it together!  It is so nice to have my DH help brainstorm our budget and how to increase our income.

So here's what we have been up to!

  I reused my water cup 3 days at work.  Saved 32 cents!!!!!

Made cupcakes with what I had in pantry instead of buying them for work food day. Saved 4.00!

Ate supper at home  each night.  Used pantry stores for most meals ( Rice, beans, jam, etc)

Set up a new budget for the coming months.

DH also saved 2 liter bottles to store water in. Big step for him.  I asked  him to be in charge of emergency water storage and he ran with it!  Go Tom!!

We were  given tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and cukes—ate for supper and lunch.  Thanks Charles and Sandie!

Turned off a/c in living room and dining room at night. We have 3 window units and have been trying to save on the electric bill.  It has been miserably hot but we are trying!

Had leftovers for supper one night.

My cousin Brian towed our car and fixed it for us. That saved us over $100 I'm sure. We gave him and his wife a GC for a dinner out to thank him. Thanks so much Brian and Christina!!

Used Kroger points to save $.50 cents per gallon on gas.

Used $5 Meijer rewards to buy chicken and fruit for the week.

Found 2 quarts of milk for $.35 per quart at Meijer.

Only spent $.27 at the goodwill for a small lace doily.

Returned an item to Wal-Mart that we were not able to use—was able to buy my cake boxes with it!

Got an order for 36 cupcakes!!  Thank you Amanda!!!

   Seems like when we think we don’t have enough to make it to next payday, the lord blesses us with enough!  Thank you God for working through others to provide the car repairs, the produce, and the cake order. They helped get us through!!  Life is good!!  I wish each of you Enough!

Feeling Blessed in Alexandria,

Lisa