Frugal Five: #25

 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 gas at Krogers.   In addition, I used my American Express card which gave me 3% back on my gas purchase.    Although 3% isn’t a lot, the pennies add up over the course of a year.   

3- Meal Planning 

My husband traveled this week for work, so my home support was not present.    Thus, I needed to be extra careful in my meal selections to ensure that I had enough energy after working all day and waiting to pick up my son from practice to provide a healthy and quick meal for dinner each day this week.    I utilized the crockpot, cook once, eat twice meals and leftovers to ensure a successful week of not eating out. 

4- Cut my Husbands Hair

Haircuts are a minimum of $30 per cut and when you need to get a haircut at least 2 times per month, the price adds up.    Our decision to pick up a new guide for our hair clippers, is really paying divides now.    I cut my husband's hair again this week.    Time investment- less than 20 minutes, monetary cost- minimum b/c we already made our money back from the cost of the guide and electricity use is low.   

5- Comparison Shopping  

Each week, I create a meal plan based on my freezer and refrigerator contents.  Then based on the sales I round out our meal plan and create a grocery list w/ price points based on my local Kroger website.   Finally, I start at Aldi and pick up the items that look good and fall below the price point that I found at Kroger.     Then I finish up my grocery shopping at Kroger.   One key thing is to make sure you only pick up the items on your list.   

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