Skip to main content

The Fugal Five: #39

 The Frugal Five: #39


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.    


With the New Year upon us, it is time to set goals for how we will be spending our money.    This can look like shopping carefully, DIY projects, wasting less or just doing without.     Let’s see how we can save our pennies this year.   


1-  Used Register Reward

I had a register reward which was going to expire soon, and Walgreen’s had a great sale on multi-purpose disinfecting wipes (75 count).   Each container cost $1.99, so I picked up 3 and used my $4.00 register reward and my Walgreens cash to cover the remaining $2.00.   


2- 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.   


3- Daily Habits to Save Electricity 

Each day, I take a few minutes to turn off lights, unplug electrical items that we are not using, and opening up curtains and letting the light in.     Each one of these things do not save a lot of money, but together they save us a nice amount of cash each year.      In addition, these things help to preserve our Earth.     


4- Garden Preparation 

    

The end of January is when I start planning for my summer garden and planting seeds to grow my seedlings.    My seeds have been saved from last year's garden produce to organic produce that I picked up from the market.  This year, I am planning on growing tomatoes, peppers, green beans, peas, lettuce, onions, garlic, cucumbers, and zucchini.   This is a lot more than I normally plant and I am not sure if I will be able to get all of these plants to grow at our new home.   We’ll see what happens in summer and fall.   The plants I am starting include: tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and zucchini. 


5-  Beverages from Home 

Each day I make coffee and take a travel mug with me to work.   In addition, I make homemade tea to pack for my lunch.    Since Starbucks’ coffee prices have gone up, my daily savings for my daily coffee has increased to about $5.75 per day.    In addition, sodas at work run about $2.00 per drink, so by bringing my own tea, I am saving about $1.50 per day.  

 

Do you want to see what we did last week?   

Just click on the picture for the link. 


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


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Menu Planning: #245

  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.      March USDA Thrifty Food Plan ccording to this plan our family would have a budget of $186.20 per week.  Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I am going to try to make this happen.    Cost Saving Tip of the Week: Check your sale flyers for loss leaders.   Each week grocery stores advertise specific products at a great price to get you in the store.   Recently, I have noticed a very specific time frame for getting these deals.   Good luck and happy hunting.   Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Refrigerator Clean Out Pre-cut all vegetables for the week Pulled older items to the front for easier consumption C...
Post a Comment
Read more

Menu Planning: #250

  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.      March USDA Thrifty Food Plan According to this plan our family would have a budget of $186.20 per week.  Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I am going to try to make this happen.    Cost Saving Tip of the Week: When I purchase fruit for the week, it helps to calculate the cost per serving vs. the cost in general.   For example, this week a whole watermelon was on sale for $3.99 each.    When it is cut up, the watermelon will yield at least 20 servings which will place the cost per serving at $0.20.    Here is what we did this week to make our week easier: Breakfast Options:  Hard Boiled Eggs Yogurt Homemade Breakfast ba...
Post a Comment
Read more

2025 Updated Breakfast Under $1.00

On the USDA Website, their thrifty grocery budgets range from  $25.70 to $72.80 per week ($3.67 - $10.40 per day) per person.   The two factors that determine the amount allocated are age and sex.  With such a small amount of money allocated daily for food and my attempt to eat healthily, I need to plan each week carefully.     With the Bird Flu hitting America hard recently, the egg is no longer a humble star but is turning into a luxury.     A dozen eggs cost $5.49 or $0.46 each.  At this price, I am looking at other options for breakfast.   Breakfast is a great place to add value to your meal planning.    It can be the cheapest or most expensive meal.  The choice is up to you.    NOTE: Prices are for the Northeast area for March 1,  2025 Let’s look at breakfasts that come in at or under $1.00.     Beagle and Cream Cheese ($0.69 per serving) Kroger Prices Bagels (6ct)- $2...
Post a Comment
Read more