Sunday, November 10, 2019

My Frugal Ways this Past Week 11/10/19!

Winter has come to our Michigan home.  It's just frightful.  I'll tell you the truth the weather is just plan cold most of the time.  We've already dug out the big heavy comforter, the fleece sheets, and the long johns.  Yep, we are old and cold, LOL.  

Now we hear snow is on the way, with an accumulation of 4 to 5 inches Monday night into Tuesday.  Delightful!  We have had snow but this will stick good.  We are ready though if the forecast is right, all the summer lawn furniture is put up, the wood is ready to go for the fireplace, and the snow blower is ready to go. 





Here are the ways we saved this past week:


I made up enough hot chocolate and  Chili mix to last the winter.  

We went to an estate sale hoping to buy this great priced vehicle they had, but the icy roads slowed us down.  We ended up getting  #9 and #10 in the street numbers they handed out.  Everyone wanted that car! Maybe, if we would have left at 3 in the morning we might have had a chance, of course the roads would have been worse. We did feel better after we bought some great deals though:

Bag of screwdrivers for $5.00



A bigger Food Saver than I have now for $5.00.  Man, this thing is powerful!  

Cuisinart  blender/food processor for $15.00

6 regular sized cotton yarn and one big cone of cotton yarn -$2.00 for all!  

TV for daughters room for $50.  I told her Merry Christmas  (I realize now the Christmas present limit will be $50.00 instead of $25.00)!  


I also bought this quilt for $15.00.  It needs to be quilted but I think I can follow what the previous owner started without a problem.  Well, I think I can and that's what is important.  



Basically, she just followed the patterns on the top of the quilt and embroidered it.  Looks so pretty so I hope to finish it out this winter.

I bought some trash bags for a great deal this week.  You can read about that here.

I cleaned out my side of the closet then mailed in the postage free bag to ThredUp.

I also cleared out some toys and gave them to the Veterans Thrift Store.  

My Goals for this Week:

With half days and what may be a snow day, I think most of my time will be watching my sweet grand children.  So, I'm thinking that we will bake cookies, watch movies on T.V. , make a snowman and go sledding if the snow is just right, and then if all else fails take them to the Burger King playground, LOL.  



How did you save money this past week?

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19 comments:

Cheryl Kimbley said...

You did get some great finds. The quilt is very pretty.
Stay warm!

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

thanks Cheryl you have a great day too!

Little Penpen said...

You always find the best stuff. The quilt will be a great winter project! I’m old and cold too this year!

Mrs. Gillam said...

Hi Vickie. I enjoy reading about your weather. We moved from Michigan to central Arizona when I was 11. We are finally able to go without the AC. We're wearing short sleeves and some are wearing shorts. Plants are thriving after the summer's heat. We're looking forward to enjoying the weather for the next few months.
You got some great deals!
Have a good week!
Elaine

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

I guess we will eventually get used to this weather...least I hope so!

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

Seems like I could give you a little cold in the summer at you could give me some heat in the winter. Even it out just a little. I love Michigan but it's hard getting used to that first blast of Attic air!! Enjoy your nice weather and think of me.

KayM said...

You got some great deals at the estate sale. Sorry about the car. You really scored with the Food Saver, though. I love the quilt and it will be great to finish it. One of my best buys for the week was BOGO Free on Hot Wheels cars that I bought for the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child shoebox ministry. I bought 56 cars. This was at Dollar General. I meant to go to another store yesterday and get some more, but I was so busy packing shoeboxes that I forgot to go.

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

What a deal on the cars Kay and what a fun project. Have a great day.

tealady said...

Today we had to go shopping for a few items and we stuck to our budget. They had Betty crocker cake or brownie mix for .88 cents. We don't make these often but I can't bake a cake from scratch for .88 cents I took 5 of each. Nice pantry item for a quick baked good.

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

I actually love a cake mix so I agree that's a great deal! They are very handy. Have a great night!

Anonymous said...

Vickie good pickups at the estate sale and all reasonably priced too :), sorry you missed out of the car though. Glad you have got all your fireplace and wood all organised and hope it is keeping you toasty warm :) .

Our savings added up to $119.32 last week :) .

Purchases -
- Purchased 3 pizza trays, 2 dvd's DH wanted and plastic cups for our traveling in the car using a 10 % off online sale in BigW and coupled that with another 5% off with our Racq e-gift card saving $11.55 on usual prices.
- Saved $10.20 on tic tacs by combining specials and using our Racq e-gift card at Woolworths on usual prices.
- Got a free 100g packet of sesame seeds for being a taste tester for a supermarket saving $1.60 over buying them.

Finances -
- Listed 10 items on eBay on a free listing promotion saving $16.50 on usual listing fees.
- Banked extra money from being under budget in other budget categories into our 3 month living expenses account bringing us to 52.46 % of the way there.

In the kitchen -
- Made a quadruple batch of granola and choc chip and coconut biscuits saving $61.47 over purchasing them premade in the shops.
- Blanched and froze silverbeet from the gardens for 4 more meals for the freezer.

In the gardens -
- Picked 4 bunches of silverbeet from the gardens saving $18 over purchasing them.
- We used grey water pumped from our tank to water fruit and berry trees and some lawns.
- Used saved cleanish dish rinsing water to water potted herbs with.
- Used saved shower warm up water to fill up some hand washing bottles, water some plants and clean the bathroom and toilets with.

Have a fantastic week ahead everyone :).

Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

Jeannie said...

Oh, that fire tempts me to slide up to and get warm. I miss having fires in our stove but my husband can't do the chopping or bending over to toss the wood into the stove. It is located down in the basement so we have closed off that part of the house now. Spending money on electricity is cheaper than him hurting his back. Old age really makes you value your health.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

Chef Owings said...

If my food saver broke I would be immediately buying a new one. I love it. The best money I spent this week was on unsalted butter which has been running at $5.97/lb for last several months. Kroger had it on sale for $2.99 that also was tied to their buy 10 get $5 items... SO I got 10 and then a rebate from Ibota on top of it.

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

Lorna, you had a great savings week. You've reminded me this morning to look for discounted gift cards. I'll do that right away. thanks!
I hope you get some more rain soon but you are doing a great job of stretching your water reserves. Have a great day!

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

That's so true! No fire is worth hurting yourself for. We buy a cord a year of chopped wood. It does heat the living room and gives us extra light in the winter but it doesn't begin to heat the house. I think it's a great mood booster!

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

Great deal on that butter! I'm glad you stocked up! Have a great day!

Mrs. Gillam said...

HaHa! It would be great to share some of the weather! Maybe you could send some rain when you have too much, too.

Jenny said...

I've been thinking we might try estate sales and auctions next spring and summer (although perhaps winter is a good time to go to get fabulous deals!)
*We had nice weather before the bitter cold set in so I took advantage of it and got the big freezer defrosted. We used up some older stuff and now it’s ready for hunting season and the holiday sales.
*After doing some decluttering, I listed some items for sale on Facebook and ebay. A few items have sold. This extra money is earmarked for Christmas gifts.
*Purchased some household items online that were cheaper than local and also used the Ibotta app to get cash back.
*We’ve been using the wood stove daily and have tried to keep the electric heater use to a minimum. Also have been shutting down power strips, etc. to keep the electric bill as low as possible.
*Used the library for several free resources this week.
*More on my blog here: https://www.cozyhomemaking.com/frugal-fun-homemaking-for-november-3-9-2019/

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

Hi Jenny, Love your savings! We go to estate sales in the summer but we mainly stick to garage sales then. It gives us something to look forward to in the winter I guess.
Those electric heaters really do suck up the energy but we have to use one in our bedroom to keep us warm. The heat seems to not go as far as that one room. Have a great day!