Skip to main content

Frugal Five: #92

 The Frugal Five: #92


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.    


I am exploring how to keep costs down during busy weeks this week. One strategy is to keep dinner on the table instead of eating out. Here are some of my tips and trips.   


1- Crocktober 

October has been labeled →Crocktober.   The weather is turning into fall-like weather, so soups, stews, and long slow roasting are making it on the menu.     I have taken advantage of my slow cooker meals and their leftovers to cut costs and avoid eating out.           


2- Collecting Free Items


Each month, Kroger has multiple digital coupons for free items.     Some coupons are just for a free item and there is a weekly digital coupon for a free item when you spend $50.00.  Since I have to pick up at least $50.00 in items from Kroger anyway, I always pick up the free items too.  I have picked up peanut butter, cheese, and bread.   


3- Oil Your Furniture 


We have many pieces of antique furniture handed down through the generations.     In preparation for winter, we have started to oil our furniture to prevent the wood from cracking.   In addition,  I look carefully at my furniture to see if minor repairs are needed.   These few acts of care help to keep our furniture in good condition and usable for years. 


4- Putting the Garden to Bed for the Winter

Our garden has provided a lot of food for our family this year, and it is time to prepare the garden for winter.   We will complete our final harvest, remove the plants, rake the soil, and apply leaf mulch to the bed for the winter.    The leaves will break down into the soil and renourish it for the spring. 


5- Freezer Clean Out


Over the past several months, I have shopped the sales and accumulated a freezer full of food.     November typically has incredible sales, so I want to make room in my freezer for these items, save a little money for November sales, and use up what we have already purchased.     Therefore, for the next few weeks, I will be working on using up the meats, vegetables, and other items in our freezer.     


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

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 ...

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...

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...