Sunday, March 8, 2020

My Frugal Ways this Past Week 3/8/20!


Don't forget today is spring ahead if you live in the United States.  It promises to be a beautiful day and I can't wait to get started.



Here are the ways I've saved this past week:   



I finally made my blueberry jam.   I ended up with 9 pints (all are not shown).  One didn't seal for some reason so I put it in the refrigerator and we are enjoying it now.  


Printed a coupon for free pint Hudsonville ice cream.  




We went on the last day of an estate sale and bought 4 dining room chairs that match ours perfectly. They were half off that day so we paid $50 for all four.   Sorry the picture is dark -daylight is just now coming.

Husband was able to find 2 bottles of hand sanitizer at Dollar General.  He only paid  $1.57 compared to the $40 a bottle on Amazon!  I can't believe we ran short on this but we have used a lot in the last while.  It certainly comes in handy when you are out and about and can't wash your hands.


I didn't really grocery shop last week except to purchase milk, bread, etc. 




When the prices went up so much that a normal person couldn't afford it, I quit going to plays a long time ago.  Last night, I went to a local community play with our granddaughter for $7.00 a person and we loved it.   It was Frozen Jr., her favorite.  Even with the $3.00 crown and the bag of M&M's we were good!   School and community plays will be our go to from now on.  

My goals for this week:

Put together my little greenhouse I received for Christmas.  I hope we can get it done today or at least start.  Then of course fill it up!  I have been wanting to do this forever but the husband asked if we put it together in the house, how will we get it out?  Smart man!  




What are the ways you've saved this past week?  

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10 comments:

Little Penpen said...

I can’t wait to see your greenhouse. I’ve been researching how you plant in the jugs like you go. That seems to be the best way for starting seeds outside in winter. You scored on the kitchen chairs. And the cast of Frozen looks adorable. Yesterday when I was out and about, I took a jar of Lysol wipes with me. I used them on my hands after every stop. So far, my skin is still ok! ☺️

Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and Garden said...

I've heard so much about how people's hands are hurting them. Definitely need some lotion. I like your idea of Lysol wipes -my husband would do this for sure!

Jenny said...

What a great find on the chairs! I love days like that.

-I had a dr app. this week & did not eat out! That's huge for me. I like to treat myself when I go to the city. I brought snacks & my own drinks.

I did some thrift shopping that day & found some fun deals:
2 vintage Taylor Smith & Taylor spring floral plates $3
3 Johnson Brothers ironstone plates $3
a straw hat $3 (I bought this for a friend & she paid me back)
a brand new roll of wrapping paper $1 - It's a beautiful spring green pattern. I plan to paper the inside back of my china cabinet with it for spring.
a vintage metal large Matchbox car & an embroidery pattern set both .25 each

I hit it big on free things this week when I went to visit my thrifting friend. She is helping her sister in law clean out her mother-in-law's house & had quite a few things to give to me.

-a large vintage glass cloche...I mean huge! I've wanted one of these forever but they cost at least $100 & much more!16 inches tall & 12 inches in diameter, definitely big enough to use in the garden to cover seedlings...what they're really made for but I will probably use it in decor.
-a large barrel-shaped glass lidded jar (not vintage)
2 small canning jelly jars & a smaller glass lidded apothecary jar
6 children's books
2 large tubes of Crest 3-D white toothpaste (unopened)
2 brand new flower foams...I'll be using these in floral arrangements this summer
1 store bell...she knew I'd been looking for one of these to use in games with my Sunday school class

I did let some food go to waste this week. I've been sick for two weeks now & just fell behind. I'm on the mend though & have plans to dig through my fridge & use up things before they go bad.

Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and Garden said...

I'm extremely jealous of all your finds Jenny! The large cliche for free is unbelievable. I'm impressed that you took your snacks and drinks too. Good deal.


KayM said...

Great deal on the chairs! I always enjoy school and community plays. I'm glad you all had an enjoyable time! My frugal life this last week: my garage door quit working. I asked my daughter and son-in-law to look at it. They figured out what needed replaced and thankfully agreed they could do it with help from their teen boys to do heavy lifting at one point. So, I ordered the parts. It will cost less than $100, rather than a few more hundred to get it fixed. I'm so thankful. Great deal on the hand-sanitizer that you got! Fortunately, I have some, because none is available around here at this time. I did find a recipe that calls for alcohol and aloe vera gel, which I have, so if I run out, I can make some. I needed to order a refrigerator water filter. It was going to cost $6.95 for shipping, but if I ordered 2, I could have free shipping. All in all it was $109--ouch!, but I did save $14, so I was glad about that. That's about it for frugal living this last week. Blessings...

Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and Garden said...

I've seen that recipe for the hand sanitizer and I'm going to use it too if I have to.
We quit using our water on the fridge because the replacement filter was very expensive for our model. You got a great deal for your filters..they are cheaper than ours.
I'm glad you were able to fix your garage door. Great helpers you have there!

Anonymous said...

Vickie what a wonderful deal on the chairs and how wonderful they match in with the ones you already have :). Your blueberry jam looks beautiful and I am so glad you went and saw a play that was reasonably priced. It is sad they are pricing most things out of the range of people on normal budgets I think.

Our savings added up to $184.55 last week :).

Finances/Internet listings and earnings -
- Paid and extra part payment off our home mortgage saving bank interest and time on our loan. Yay we are getting another .25% reduction on interest rates on the 13th of this month :).
- Through being under budget in a lot of categories I was able to put $700 back into the home cash emergency kitty that we spent on storm water pipes and fittings and house bug spraying.
- Listed 25 items on a free eBay listing promotion saving $41.25 on usual listing prices.
- DH earned $120 from a gardening job.
- I earned $11 from the sale of an eye mask I made on eBay.
- We earned $5 from the sale of cucumbers we grew in our gardens.

In the kitchen/pantry -
- Cooked all meals and bread from scratch.
- Did a stocktake of the food storage room as so many things are out of stock in the shops to make sure we had enough of everything. I am pleased to say we mostly do but need to stock up some more on some tinned fruit.

Purchases -
- Saved $11.10 or 5% by ordering a Wish e-gift card from RACQ for fuel.
- Bought on specials/markdowns from IGA a 6 pk of wholemeal jumbo buns for $1.50, 2 red capsicum for $1.17, 6.138 kg of rump steak for $8.95 kg and bananas at $3.49 kg saving $55.60 on usual prices in other stores.

In the gardens -
- Harvested 6 bunches of silverbeet, and 14 cucumbers or 6 kg saving $76.20 over buying them in the shops.
- Yesterday we picked another 3 cucumbers from the gardens saving $10.50 on buying them in the shops.
- We were able to clean up/weed around the vegetable garden beds and mow and spray fence lines and around buildings for weeds and termites before more rain is about to hit.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone :).


Sewingcreations15 (Lorna)

Lana said...

We have a confirmed case locally as of tonight. This is changing my thinking on so many things.

Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and Garden said...

I'm glad Lana. Husband and I sat down tonight and talked about a lot. He is growing more concerned and that's unusual for him. Everyone needs to plan.

Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and Garden said...

Your prices Lorna stood out for me! $10 for 3 cucumbers..oh my. So glad your garden came in! It certainly is worth all the work. Great job on saving this week.