Skip to main content

The Frugal Five: #93

 The Frugal Five: #93


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. One strategy is to keep dinner on the table instead of eating out. Here are some of my tips and trips.   


1- Grateful for Social Gathering 

October has been a month filled with many social gatherings.    On the last Friday of each month, the social committee takes turns providing a treat for everyone.  In addition, our community garden hosted a thank-you luncheon for the gardeners for all of our hard work.   As a bonus, I won one of the raffle prizes.   There was a wedding shower breakfast and our school has conferences twice this month.    The PTO supplies the teachers with dinner each conference night and there is always enough food for lunch the next day.   


2- Vaccines 


I used my health card insurance and got my flu and COVID-19 vaccines.   This should help protect me from getting sick this winter.    Since my insurance provides this protection is free, there is no reason not to get your vaccine shots.    However, everyone will need to make their own decisions regarding this issue. 


3- Pantry Clean Out and Rotation


Since I have picked up a lot of shelf-stable items over the past few months, it is time to clean out, organize, and use up my pantry items.   I checked their expiration date, rotated them, and put a plan in place to use.  November is a big sales month, so I want to have space for the upcoming deals. 


4- Winterizing My Home

Winter is on its way and the reports indicate it will be wet and cold.   The shovels, salt, and scrapers have been pulled from storage.   Our seasoned wood pile rotated and a wheelbarrow of wood was brought up to the porch.    Windows and doors have been checked for drafts and sealed if needed.     The boiler has been checked and the fireplace is cleaned out.     We have rotated our bedding, clothes and have taken our winter gear out of storage.   Our cars have their winter emergency kit updated.    We are ready for the season.  


5- Soup Season is Here!

The menu has changed from salads to soups. We enjoy many soups, stews, and other comfort foods. Soup is a great way to use leftovers or stray vegetables left in your refrigerator. In addition, there are usually leftovers, so lunches are easy to pack. Our crock pot is regularly used, so I don’t put it away. This makes dinner during the week easy to get on the table after a long day.   


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 ...