Skip to main content

The Frugal Five: #64

 The Frugal Five: #64


With inflation on the rise and salaries being unable 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- Free Wood Pick-Up


My son practiced his driving by going with my husband to pick up free wood this week.   We cut the wood up into different size pieces for use in the fireplace this winter.  Since we kept and process the wood from our fallen trees and were able to pick up this wood, I expect that we will not need to purchase wood for a few years.    


2- Gourmet Lunches


This is my first week back to work and I need to be prepared.    The alarm is set and I am putting into place several new nightly routines to make my life a little easier in the morning.    One of these routines is to prepare lunches for the week.     This week eggs and block cheese were on sale for a great price, so I took advantage of the sales and made bento boxes for lunch.     This week’s bento box included hardboiled eggs, block cheese, cracker-cut salmi, cucumbers, and cherries.    We had cucumbers and cherries left over from last week’s great fruit and vegetable sales to use up and they fit in great.    So for no more than an additional $3.00 of groceries, I was able to pack 5 awesome lunches for work.   


  3- Sandwiches and Crockpot to the Rescue


This week I have several nights where I will not be home with enough time to cook, so I planned for it.   One night my family will have sandwiches and another night we will have crockpot tacos.     We will also have our standard Leftover night.      Welcome back to another school year of quick and easy dinners. 

 

4- Breakfast was Provided  2 days


At the beginning of each year, the faculty is provided with breakfast on at least one day.  This year we were given two days.    On these days, I make sure not to eat at home and bring my coffee, because coffee is not always provided.    Yes→ you do not want to see me without my morning coffee.   The PTO provided breakfast on the first teacher day of school and another elementary school hosted the second day.     I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy breakfast with my colleagues.    


5- Cut my Husbands hair again 


This week, my husband didn’t wait for me and cut most of his hair himself, but it still needed a little bit of love in the back and on top.   I was happy to trim up his hair.   


Haircuts are $30 per cut plus tip, each time my husband gets it cut from a professional.    We invested in a clipper and trimmer and have never looked back.   His cut is very easy and takes only about 10 minutes to complete.     Ten Minutes of work yields about $35.00 in savings every other week.    

  


What Free-bees have you been able to pick up this year?    July is rebounded with 27 items, so I am confident of making my goals this year.    Here is my list: 

August- September  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. Check back next week for the August-September 2023: Living Large in the Cheap Seats Post. 

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 #132

Our meals need to be nutritious, clean, flexible, quick and cost effective. Between our work schedules and after school activities, we need to carefully plan our meals so that we do not end up ordering out.   The news is very scary at this time because of all the news of meat plants shutting down, grocery stories limiting the amount of meat a family can purchase and all of the talk about a depression on the horizon.    We have decided to keep our grocery budget the same, but to economize any way we can.     This week we tried to pick up some shrimp that was on sale, but the store was out of shrimp and not expecting to get any more in.    We were grateful to find wild caught salmon for the same price, so we picked that up instead for our Mother’s Day Dinner.    What did we spend?  Week 1: $96.44 Kroger: $96.44 Rebates: $3.55 IBOTTA: $1.35 Kroger Cash: $0.45 Checkout 51: $1.75 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Menu Plan #322

  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 these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Published September 2025:  USDA Thrifty Food Plan According to this plan, our family has a weekly budget of $190.50. Since  October has 5 weeks, our monthly budget is $952.50.   We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats.  Since our family has specific dietary needs, we limit our consumption of highly processed food.   Grocery Shopping Tip:     Rethink lunchmeat.     The deli will provide you with thin-sliced meat or presliced deli meat, but you will pay a premium per pound.     ($6.49 to $15.00 per pound) However, if you buy a ½ boneless ham (unsliced or presliced), the price point will drop to between ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Frugal Five: #133

  With inflation rising and salaries staying the same, our ability to make ends meet is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, we must be more careful with our money. The Frugal Five is a series that celebrates the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     This year, my focus is on Simple Abundance , so finding ways to live well while staying on budget will be challenging.    Come along and enjoy my journey of elevating joy, enjoying what you have, and finding luxury in my local area.    1- Giving Back to the Community  Supporting your community can take countless shapes. Some people choose to write a check, and that generosity absolutely matters. But many outreach efforts require more than funding—they need time, hands, and hearts willing to show up. I’m grateful that I’m able to participate in several programs that make a real difference for the people around me. One of the most meaningful ways I give b...
Post a Comment
Read more