Skip to main content

Frugal Five: #91

 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.    There are no specials, and typically, you have to wait longer for your food.     I take this opportunity to use convenience foods.    I store frozen pizzas purchased when on sale or picked up for free.   I may stop by the store and pick up all of the fixings for the family to make their sandwiches.     Finally, I use frozen meal kits such as baked shrimp or taco kits.        


3- Create Your Own Convenience

You can create your own convenience for a fraction of the price. At work a can of soda will cost $2.00.   However, this week a case of 12 cost $4.99 or $0.42 per can.   If you order out lunches they will run you between $10 and $20.00.   Compare this to packing an equivalent lunch, for between $2.00 and $5.00.   


4- Garden Harvest and Seed Saving 

The garden harvests are coming to an end, but it is still producing.     I am able to pick copious amounts of green beans, tomatoes, peppers (jalapeno, chili, and banana), and basil.     This week I harvested a huge bag of green beans, a few tomatoes, bunches of basil, and many peppers.     In addition, I harvested several flower seed pods (zineia and miniature sunflowers), and left several peppers and beans to fully dry on the plant.   


5- Bargain Plants


Our local Home Depot, had plants on sale to get rid of them.    Since our front yard plants died this year in the drought, so we picked up a few hostas to replace them at rock-bottom prices.   The plants were originally $10.00 each, but we picked up 4 plants for $10.00 this week.   That is a 75% saving.   In addition, he saved a very unique plant to add to our collection.    


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.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Keeping Cool Without an AC- Part 5

  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.     House Adjustments- Part 2 By placing house plants, such as English ivy, ficus, and spider plants, throughout your home, you can drop the overall temperature of your house by 10 degrees. In addition, house plants are air purifiers and add oxygen to your home.     For quick relief, create a personal mister to help drop the temperature of your skin: thus making you feel colder. Some people combine a spray bottle and a fan to create a cooling effect. However, I use just the spray bottle with cold water throughout the day and it keeps me cool. In addition, we use coo...

Meal Planning: #287

  Menu Plan #287 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 location.      August  USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $185.60 per week.  We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats.  Since we have health concerns and are active individuals, we limit our processed food choices.          Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Breakfast Options:  Yogurt Muffins Egg Sandwiches Lunch Options: Grilled Chicken  Salads Chicken Salad Monday Hamburgers Roasted Potatoes Corn  Tuesday Street Tacos Salad Wednesday Enchilada Salad Chips w/ Salsa Thursday Leftovers Friday Chicken Parmesan Pasta Sal...

Frugal Five: #73

  The Frugal Five: #73 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.     1- “Potluck” lunch At work this week, we are having a potluck appetizer/dessert party for a colleague’s 60th birthday.  Everyone is expected to bring an appetizer or dessert for the party.    Since there will be a lot of food provided by everyone, I am not bringing my lunch that day and will eat from whatever people have brought.   In addition, on Friday, our social committee is providing us with a turkey lunch feast.     2- Picking up a Cheap Turkey This week at Kroger, if you spend $25.00, then you can purchase a Kroger turkey for just $0.49 per pound.  Although we do not prefer dark meat, we decided to take ...