Frugal Friday

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Making small changes that have big results.

On Friday’s I share 5 frugal ideas to help you maintain The Sweet Life on a budget.  These things will have money saving ideas and/or a way to enhance your lifestyle for very little money.

Meal Planning- The power of meal planning is fabulous alone without really applying more cost saving techniques to further cut your grocery bill.  For example, using a zero waste process to decrease the amount of items needed each week. I am starting to look at the zero waste concept and applying slowly and systematically to my meal planning process.  

Freezer/stocking up on easy meals- This week our local Kroger has Hillshire Kielbasa and Shrimp on sale.  Although we do not have this on the menu this week, we are picking up some of each and placing in the freezer/refrigerator for use when we have busy evenings  or find us in a situation where we didn’t plan on having a busy day. Both of these items can produce a quick, easy and alternative to pushing the take out button.  Here are some supper ideas: Kielbasa Hash, Grilled Kielbasa, Grilled Shrimp, Stir Fry w/ Shrimp, or Casserole Dish.

Fun and Cheap Activities- I checked my local community event calendar and found several activities which our family could take advantage of.  This upcoming Friday, June 29th is our local 4th Friday Celebration downtown. This event has an street fair feel and has many different companies setting up tables with free giveaways.  Although the event is free to get in, there are food truck and other vendors where you can purchase items. It’s a fun night to walk downtown, visit with friends, listen to music or other forms of entertainment and learn about different local companies.  


Library- Our local library has a great summer time reading program where the kids can set their goals and earn free books throughout the summer.  In addition adults have a summer reading program too. Just for signing up, you receive a free Whit’s coupon (local Frozen Yogurt Shop- Yummy) and have opportunities to win prizes.  In addition, to this summer reading program, we have several other summer reading programs to participate in such as Barnes and Noble, Half Price Books or Chuck E. Cheese.


Growing Plants from Clippings- My Basil Plant is growing very well, but I know that if I do not clip it, it will flower and become bitter.  Therefore, I am combining clipping the plant to avoid flowering and growing new plants from my clippings.

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