Last Week's Frugality

                                                      
  Hello everyone!  Hope you had a great, frugal week last week!  Mine was ok--not great but ok!

  I packed my lunch 3 days last week.  This isn't as bad as it sounds--we had hospital appreciation week so our meal was free on Wednesday!  The girls around my office ordered out and I joined them on Friday.   They went to subway and I ordered one of the $5 subs.  It was yummy with tons of veggies on it!  I bought lunchmeat that was on sale for my lunches this week. I hope to pack my lunch all week.

  I received several free samples last week and signed up for a few as well.

  I was able to add 10 boxes of pasta to our stash this week.  It was on sale for $.69 lb.  Not too shabby.  I also bought 2 bags of frozen peas and carrots that were on sale to dehydrate this week.  Cook's Spiral Sliced ham was on sale for $.99 lb. so I bought 3.  Two for the freezer and we had one for dinner 2 nights with enough left over to cook with beans this week. So 3 meals plus out of one ham.

  We had one meatless meal last week.  I scrubbed a bunch of the cheap potatoes that I bought several weeks ago and put them in the crockpot before I left for work. The potato bar meal was a success!  We had sour cream, cheese, butter, and chives!  Even my DH enjoyed this meal!  So we will be  doing this again!
 
  I found a gift for my brother for Christmas at the St. Vincent de Paul store.  He is the father of 2 beautiful little girls and I think he will enjoy it! I found a garden flag for the front yard brand new in the original package for just $.50 at the Goodwill!  They sell for 9-12 dollars retail so it was a bargain!  I also found a huge Christmas coloring book for my Grandbaby this Christmas for just $.50.

  The bucket is sill in the shower catching water.

  Well we will be saving on propane because the hot water heater went out.  We just cannot catch a break.  My son bought a thermocouple and tried to fix it but it still wouldn't work.  I guess I'll have to raid the emergency fund this week cause cold showers just stink!!!!  And of course the weather turned cooler to make matters worse!

 I received a $10 gift card from the gift shop at work for helping the volunteers with computer problems.  I really don't mind helping the ladies, but it is nice to be appreciated!  I plan on using it for a Christmas gift.

  Our local Farmer's market is open for business.  I love supporting local farmers so we are enjoying

 some yummy tomatoes and lettuce.  It is a tad more costly than the grocery but it is locally grown and uber fresh!  I love to eat fresh, and eat Local!

   I was able to make 3 pairs of earrings for gifts for birthdays or Christmas.  I used beads and findings that I had on hand so they didn't cost me anything.  I hope the recipients like them! With expenses  growing and our income not growing enough, I have no choice!   I do have quite a few frugal gifts already--I hope to have everything before Thanksgiving then I won't be going anywhere near stores in December!  I plan on making a gift or two each month for the rest of the year.  I'll keep you updated on my progress!

   We had several days early last week that were very hot but we didn't turn on the ac!  I am trying to wait as long as we can before turning it on.  Not ready for the big electric bills again.

  That's about it for me. What did you save money on  last week?

Frugal Blessings,
Lisa