Skip to main content

Frugal Five: #60

 The Frugal Five: #60




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- Garden Harvesting

Our garden is growing fast and it is starting to produce food for harvesting.    At this point, I have a lot of yellow squash to harvest, share and preserve.   We are eating a lot of steamed, sauteed, and squash casseroles.   I am trying new recipes and may even try my hand at picking some squash this season.   In addition, my tomatoes are starting to develop a lot of fruit, so I am preparing to preserve gravy, salsa, diced tomatoes, and more.   


2- Sales and Loss Leaders 


This week ground beef (90/10) and Kielbasa were at a rock-bottom price, so I picked up as much as possible within my grocery budget.   In addition, I was able to score 4 ice creams for free after sales, rebates, and coupons.     How lucky was I this week!   


Each week there are so many things that are available for free.   Come on over and check out what I have been able to get this year.    

  3- Homecooked Dinners 

This week we are making a huge effort to eat at home and save some money.    For example, if we went out for hamburgers and french fries, it would cost our family approximately $20.00.  The same amount of food cost us $5.00 and we used higher-quality meat for our burgers.   

  

4- Homemade Frappuccino

Our family loves Starbucks Frappuccinos but at $6.00 each, it is a costly treat.    This week I experimented with making homemade Frappuccinos.   By saving the leftover coffee from our morning pot and placing it in the refrigerator with some Almond Milk, the base of our Frappuccino will be ready by the afternoon.     In the afternoon when the temperature is hot, we add some ice and Hershey chocolate syrup and blend in our Vitamix to make the Frappuccino.  I like to add a little whip to the top and it tastes similar to a Starbucks Frappuccino.   Yummy! 


5- Continuous Planting 



Although our garden is exploding with growing vegetables, it is important to continuously plant or seed your garden throughout the growing season for a fall harvest.   I pulled our pea plants and that side of the trellis is empty, so I planted more beans.    I haven’t had a lot of luck this year with bean plants, but hopefully, this planting will produce a lot of green beans.   


July and August 2023- Living Large in the Cheap Seats is out.   Our area is rich in artistic events.   It has free concerts, movies, and museum events to take in.  There are events for all ages and interests.     


Check out all of the free or cheap things to do in the Cincinnati area or just for ideas of where to look for free/cheap things in your area. 

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

Crocktober Day 3==> Sloppy Joes

  The leaves are turning colors and starting to drop.   In addition, the weather is turning cool and October is Crock Pot Month. So dust off your slow cookers and start using them to help get dinner on the table this month.     My slow cooker is a big asset and gets a lot of use over the fall and winter months.    When it is cold outside I use my slow cooker to make soups, stews, sauces, and one-pot meals.      Since school is in full swing, I can get my dinner going in the morning when I have more time.   Then, dinner is done when I am exhausted and this avoids the desire to eat out.    Crocktober is a challenge, to use your crock pot every day in October.    Although I will not use my crock pot daily, I will use it more this month and post several recipes.    Come along for the month and see what is cooking.    Day 3 Our third recipe is homemade Barbeque or Sloppy Joe....
Post a Comment
Read more