The Sweet Life On A Budget

  The Frugal Five: #26 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 live a frugal life.     ** Sorry for the lack of pictures. My week has been really busy and I just didn't get around to it. 1- Fall Garden Harvest    With the weather turning cold, we harvested the tomatoes that were left and made dice tomatoes out of them.   This will come in handy for making our taco soup and chili in the upcoming weeks.   In addition, we are able to add a few jalapeno peppers to the dishes.  Our dried mint was placed in containers for making tea this winter and fresh clippings were added to the drying rack.     Finally, our seeds are dried and ready for storage for next season.      It was a lot of work but worth it.  2- Free Item Coupons This week several companies sent me free product coupons, so I

Fall Bucket List- 2022 Each Summer we make a bucket list to focus our summer.  This year is no different.  This summer we will have more time to enjoy each other because of switching swim teams. There is a wait time for our son's participation in swim meets.  Since we have approximately 2 months to complete this list, I limited my activities to 20.     Burn Fall Candles Drink Warm Apple Wine Drink Apple Cider Make S’Mores Host Bon Fire/ Fire Pit Go on a HIke Fall Leaves Thankful List Roast Pumpkin Seeds Decorate for Fall Watch Football Game Wrap yourself up in a scarf Make Hot Chocolate Visit or Host an Oktoberfest Make a pot of Soup Bake Pumpkin Bread Plant Mums Watch a scary movie Make Chili Make Apple Crisp  What are you planning on doing this fall to make it special?   Leave a comment below and let us know what budget-friendly adventures you are planning on doing? 

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.         Meal Preparation Plan 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/or location.      Breakfast Options:  We are trying to eat out of our refrigerator for breakfast this week.   We still have yogurt to eat up and bagels.   To finish the week, we can have eggs, toast or cereal.  Yogurt Bagels Eggs w/ Toast Cereal Monday Leftovers Salad Tuesday Popcorn Chicken Chips Wednesday Pasta  w/ Homemade Gravy  Salad Bread Thursday Sandwiches Chips Vegetable Sticks

  The Frugal Five: #25 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 live a frugal life.     1- Museum Day    Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day was September 17, 2022.   I was able to pick up a ticket for free admission for 2 adults to the Harriet Beecher Museum in Cincinnati.   My husband and I used this as a date day trip.    It was great to see the museum and spend time with the love of my life.     2- $1.00 off per Gallon of Gas  This week I hit the jackpot on saving at the gas pump.    The cheapest price per gallon was at my local Kroger store and I had a $1.00 off per gallon option from my loyalty card.   My tank was getting close to empty, so I was able to maximize my savings this week.        My car took over 10 gallons of gas, so I saved a little over $10.00 just by selecting to get my

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.         Meal Preparation Plan 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/or location.      Breakfast Options:  We have containers of yogurt to use up over the next week, so yogurt is on the menu for breakfasts, snacks, and possibly lunches.   Yogurt Oatmeal Bake Bagels Monday Cajun Rice Skillet Green Beans Salad Tuesday Pasta  w/ Homemade Gravy  Salad Bread Wednesday Pizza Salad Thursday Sandwiches Chips Vegetable Sticks Friday Shrimp Fries Salad Saturday Br

  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 been able to enjoy wonderful experiences.   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, five times a year our National Park Service offers Free Entrance 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 love going to National Parks and traveling throughout the United States, it may be in your best interest to inve

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.         Meal Preparation Plan 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/or location.      Breakfast Options:  We have containers of yogurt to use up over the next week, so yogurt is on the menu for breakfasts, snacks, and possibly lunches.   Yogurt Banana Bread Bagels Monday Ribs Roasted Potatoes Salad Tuesday Pasta  w/ Homemade Gravy  Salad Bread Wednesday Leftovers  Thursday Sandwiches Chips Vegetable Sticks Friday Pizza Salad Saturday Chicken Stir Fry Ri