The Sweet Life On A Budget

The Frugal Five: #58 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 the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     1- Budget Luxury  I added a little luxury to my life this week.   Over the past year, I was able to pick up a variety of different face masks and lotions for my stash for cheap or free.   I made a point of selecting a hydrating mask this week and dedicated an hour to enjoying the experience.     WOW!  What a difference a little self-care makes.  2- Luxurious Home  By keeping your home clean, neat, and uncluttered, your home will look luxurious and always beautiful.   In addition, I change each room's accents periodically throughout the year, I am able to keep my home looking fresh and lovely.  My mother-in-law would do this every season so that she could update her home and keep it for a while.    

  Rice Krispies Treats Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter 1 package (10 oz)  Marshmallows 6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal Directions: 1. In a large saucepan melt butter over low heat.  2, Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. 3. Add RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well-coated. 4. Using a buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press the mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray or butter. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served on the same day. COOK’S TIP:   Use the wrapper of the butter stick to coat the dish with the leftover butter.    Use Generic Brands to cut the cost down.  Make a batch with generic brands and let us know what you think? 

  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.      April USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $191.80 per week.  Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I will try to make this happen.    Cost-Saving Tip of the Week:  Cook once eat twice.    This week I had a few personal goals that I wanted to accomplish, so planning and cooking needed to be streamlined, so we can get dinner on the table by 6:30 every night and decrease the number of times we eat out.    My solution is to cook once and eat twice.   We are cooking beef in the crock pot and eating it over salad another night.    In addition, on pasta night, I am making extra pasta and turned it into a salad for lunches.    Here is what we did this week to make our week easi

  The Frugal Five: #57 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 the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     1- Side Hustle This past year I picked up a tutoring student I work with twice a week.    Since I am using this student as my practicum student for my next level of Orton Gillingham certification, I have reduced his rate by $10.00 per session.   However, I still make enough to cover the cost of my practicum fees, and a little extra to invest in my future business.   I am grateful for all the support from my network that I have received over the years, including the entire Spire curriculum, professional development books, a set of drill cards, and training.    In addition, I have been able to add to my resources through garage sales and Teachers Pay Teachers Free Resources.     2- Libray Love My local

  Keeping Cool without AC This is a challenge every summer, and with the fluctuation of temperatures it is important to be mindful of a variety of different techniques that can be used.   Here are a few to consider:  Cross Ventilation  The global environment is such that energy prices are on the rise again.    Winter heating prices were through the roof and summer is getting hotter.   I am looking at how to keep cool on a budget.      Since the evenings are cool, I am opening my windows at night and up the doors in the morning to lower the temperature of our home.    In addition, when the outside temperature rises higher than our home, we close it up to keep in the cool air and close the curtains to an effort to keep the suns rays out.     Keeping the Stove Off   In addition, I try to keep use the stove off as much as possible.   I do this by using my crock pot, grill and non-cook options for dinner.      If I do need to use the stove, I try to make meals that we can enjoy multiple tim

  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.      April USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $191.80 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:  I check the discounted racks weekly  for pantry or freezer bargains.  This week I was able to find Angus Ground Beef (95/5) for under $5.00 a pound.  Considering that we are focused on our health and eating higher quality products, this was a real bargain.   I didn’t need it this week, so I popped it in the freezer as soon as I got home.   In addition, baby back ribs were only $1.99 a pound which is roughly half the normal price.   This is one of my son’s favorite things to eat, so I looked for 2 packa