The Sweet Life On A Budget

  The Frugal Five: #91 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- Coffee Drinks  I pack my hot coffee every morning for my husband and myself. This saves us approximately $4.00 x 2 = $8.00 daily. In addition, I use the leftover coffee to create cold coffee beverages, which would otherwise cost between $5.00 and $8.00 each. Since there are a lot of dupes on Pinterest, the creation of these drinks is easy.         2- Friday Night “Take Out” By Friday Night, I am spent and usually do not feel up to cooking.   Therefore, it is easy to order out of Fridays.

  So far this year we have picked up 203 free items .  High inflation is making it more challenging to find free items.   However, I have set a goal to beat last year’s number (247). I am working towards finding the most items when I have more time and giving myself grace during the months when my time is limited.    My goal for next year is to find 264 FREE Items. This works out to 22 items per month.  This may be challenging because drug stores and grocery store deals have started to dry up. I rely on digital coupons, printables from the company when available, store coupons and reward programs, samples, and rebate apps such as IBOTTA.      As always, I can secure these items through Kroger incentives, Drug Store (Walgreens/CVS)  Rewards programs, sales, Smart Source, Meijer’s sales/store coupons, sample requests, and Rebates Programs (IBOTTA/SavingStar).    January 2024 (29 Items) February (19 Items)  March (39 items)  April (20 Items)  May ( 32 Items)  June (8 Items)  July (23 Item

  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 over the fall and winter months, it gets a lot of use.    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 1  Our first recipe is a delicious French Onion Soup.   A friend shared this recipe with me when I lived in Mississippi.   This soup is delicious and tastes like resta