Frugal Five #8

 The Frugal Five

With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us to live a frugal life.    

1- Reusing Grocery Bags

Each week I get several grocery bags from the store when I check out.    These bags could go into the landfill without using them for anything else, but why would I do that?    I use my grocery bags as liners for my trash cans, to wrap paint brushes, use them at Aldi grocery and for so much more.      

2- Grocery Budget: 1 Chicken makes 3 Meals 

   

Meat prices keep going higher and higher, so I tried to make three meals out of one chicken this week.  At Kroger I was able to pick up a 5.25 pound frying chicken for $7.82/$1.49 per pound.     On Sunday, I made a full roasted chicken with extra sides (3 servings).      Then, I used the carcass to make chicken bone broth which was used to make chicken noodle soup for Monday night's dinner (servings).     Finally the remaining chicken was used to make chicken salad for 4 lunches + a snack.  

3- Hygge: Adding Soft Light

A common element of living a Hygge life is embarrassing soft lighting while indoors or letting the natural light in.    I have the best of both worlds.   Our home has large window areas that allow light to enter my kitchen and the view is breathtaking.    In addition, I add the soft glow of candles throughout the space that I occupy to help create a cozy feeling that helps me to remain tranquil.   Since I only pick up candles when they are at garage sales or extremely discounted, this is a very frugal indulgence.   

4- Kitchen Love- Homemade Easter Candy

Easter is filled with treats and all kinds of delights from the kitchen.   This year we made Homemade Easter Peanut Butter Eggs.    It was a fun and economical experience.   We had already picked up the ingredients over the past few months at rock bottom prices or for FREE, so this treat didn’t add to our grocery bill.     

5- Took advantage of a Money and Free Coupons

  

Meijer’s Grocery Store provided me with another $5.00 off of a purchase coupon this month and I took advantage of it.    This week they had Salsa on sale for 2/$3.00 and Canned Vegetables for 4/$2.00.   So I picked up these items, used my coupon, and walked out of the store owing nothing.  In addition, Kroger provided me with several coupons for free items.     Finally, IBOTTA offered a Siggi single yogurt for free after the rebate.      WOW - This week was great for picking up free items!      

Please leave a comment below with your ways of saving money this week.