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Frugal Five: #97

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  The Frugal Five: #97 With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet keeps going down.    Therefore, we must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     I am exploring how to keep costs down during busy weeks. One strategy is to keep dinner on the table instead of eating out. Here are some of my tips and trips.    1- Free Bee Pick Up     I picked up a pack of Kroger Cheese Slices (8 ct) and Private Selection Hummus (10 oz) via Kroger Store Coupon. I was also given several apples and bananas, which I turned into banana bread and an apple crisp. Finally, CVS provided an opportunity to pick up Colgate Toothpaste and Colgate Mouthwash.  2- Packing Lunches Daily  Lunches cost about $15.00 per lunch, and they are satisfying.  On Monday, I packed a delicious salad with steak and a piece of garlic bread.   On Tuesday,  I dined on soup and half a sandw
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Thanksgiving Side Dishes

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  Thanksgiving Side Dishes Thanksgiving side dishes range in price from very little to a lot of money. I keep each dish simple, and a short ingredient list is essential to keeping my show-stopping meal within the budget. In addition, I shop in season and carefully select my produce and fruit to ensure the best flavor and color. As a bonus, these fruits and vegetables are usually the cheapest choice. Finally, I limit my waste of perishables by using vegetables in several dishes instead of just one.     Green Salad A fresh green salad is on the Thanksgiving table yearly because it is light, delicious, and everyone-friendly.   We make a green salad with all of the fresh and pickled vegetables found in our refrigerator.  In addition, we make our dressing from the oil, vinegar, and spices we have already purchased.   The result is that we only add lettuce to our grocery budget for the Thanksgiving meal.   Broccoli and Carrots A simple and satisfying Thanksgiving vegetable is steamed broccol
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Menu Plan: #297

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  Menu Plan #297 NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and location.      September  USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $187.40 per week.  We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats.  Since we have health concerns and are active individuals, we limit our processed food choices.    Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Banana Bread on the Weekend Pre-cut fruit and vegetables Breakfast Options:  Banana Walnut Muffins Yogurt Lunch Options: Leftovers Sandwiches Monday Leftovers Tuesday Jambalaya Bread Wednesday Stromboli Thursday Leftovers Friday Wonton Soup Beef Lo Mein Saturday Bratwurst Saurkraut Salad Sunday Salad with Steak M- Hamburgers T- Butter Chicken W- Tacos TH- Left Overs Fri- To
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Frugal Five: #96

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  The Frugal Five: #96 With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet keeps going down.    Therefore, we must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     I am exploring how to keep costs down during busy weeks. One strategy is to keep dinner on the table instead of eating out. Here are some of my tips and trips.    1- Errand Batching    Gas prices are decreasing in my area, but they are still high and this is an area of our budget that we can only impact a little.     We still need to travel back and forth to work, school, and errands.    However, one way I can decrease the number of times I fill up at the gas pump is to batch my errands with everyday travel.   I pass by a pharmacy, drug stores, and a grocery store every day I go to work, so if we need something from one of these stores, I make a brief stop on my way home and the chore is done
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Free Bees--> October 2024

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  So far this year we have picked up 236 free items .  High inflation is making it more challenging to find free items.   However, I have set a goal to beat last year’s number (247). I am working towards finding the most items when I have more time and giving myself grace during the months when my time is limited.    My goal for next year is to find 264 FREE Items. This works out to 22 items per month.  This may be challenging because drug stores and grocery store deals have started to dry up. I rely on digital coupons, printables from the company when available, store coupons and reward programs, samples, and rebate apps such as IBOTTA.      As always, I can secure these items through Kroger incentives, Drug Store (Walgreens/CVS)  Rewards programs, sales, Smart Source, Meijer’s sales/store coupons, sample requests, and Rebates Programs (IBOTTA/SavingStar).    January 2024 (29 Items) February (19 Items)  March (39 items)  April (20 Items)  May ( 32 Items)  June (8 Items)  July (23 Item
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Living Large In The Cheap Seats--> FREE National Park Days 2024

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  I was first introduced to Living Large In the Cheap Seats by a college friend, Chris J., who introduced me to lawn tickets for popular bands.   We were able to see great concerts at a significantly discounted rate.   Later when reading Brokenomics by Dina Gachman, I revised this concept and decided to share it with you.  I have been doing this for years and have can enjoy wonderful experiences for FREE! FREE Entrance to National Parks   NPS Photo .     National Parks are one of America’s treasures and are enjoyed by many.     Although some parks are free to the public, others charge entrance fees.    However, our National Park Service offers Free Entrance six times per year to over 400 National Parks.  I like to take advantage of these days to see the parks which normally have entrance fees.  It offers me and my family a chance to widen our experiences.    However, if you use the National Parks multiple times a year, you may want to invest $80.00 for an American the Beautiful Nationa
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