Skip to main content

The Frugal Five: #86

 The Frugal Five: #86


With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet keeps going down.    Therefore, we 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.    


This week I am exploring how to keep costs down during busy weeks.    Keeping dinner on the table instead of eating out is one of my strategies to get the job done.    Here are some of my tips and trips.   


1- Side Hustle


Over the summer, I tutor a few students to keep up with my Orton Gillingham practices and earn a little money to pay for my Orton Gillingham training, observations, and supplies.     The money isn’t a lot, but every little bit helps. 


2- Hanging Laundry 

The weather has turned warm and combined with the nice breezes, it is great for handing laundry outside to dry. The saving are minimal, but this combined with the conservation of energy and the wonderful smell it gives to the clothes is wonderful.  


3- Spring Cleaning 


I know it is summertime, but this is when I have the time to Spring Clean my home.    I am going room by room, cleaning out all the cabinets, and deep cleaning the floors, windows, etc.     This gives my home a freshness that can’t be described.   In addition, I am selecting simple decorations to bring elegance to my house.    Over the past year, I printed pictures of beautiful statues from Hawaii for free and picked up frames on sale.   This, combined with the decor I already own, provides great touches to my home. 


4- Cooking from Scratch 

Since school is off for the summer, I have more time to cook and bake from scratch.   I noticed a few bananas turning ripe, so I made them into bread for breakfast or a snack.    In addition, I picked up milk when it was on sale, but it was going out of date, so I made yogurt, ice cream, and pudding.        


5- Free Flowers

We have several rose bushes in our front beds.  When blooming, I cut a few for our dining room table.     My husband gave me a wonderful flower grid which I used in conjunction with my green class bowl to present them.    It was a beautiful combination.  


What Free-bees have you been able to pick up this year?    My entire year is attached below.    


Here is my list:

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

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

Keeping Cool without an AC- Part 2

  The news is full of headlines indicating that energy shortages are on the horizon for most of the world. Over the decades, we have become reliant on the coolness of our air conditioners and have forgotten how we survived without them. It is now time to rediscover how to stay cool without our AC. Our 5 part series provides ideas on how to beat the heat this summer without the AC.     Water to the Rescue Sweating is the body's natural defense to combating the heat, so staying hydrated is essential to maintaining your core temperature. I enjoy drinking ice-cold drinks in the summer. Keeping your drinks to water or herbal tea is also helpful.    Since your blood flows close to the surface of your feet, ankle and toes, cooling down this area is helpful to cool your entire body. I like to soak my feet in a shallow bowl with a cool herbal water mix. My mix includes Epsom salts, eucalyptus, and/or peppermint oils.    Taking a cold shower and g...
Post a Comment
Read more