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The Frugal Five: #101



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- Take Out from the Kitchen  

Fridays are difficult for us to stay away from takeout.     Previously, I would make pizza every Friday, but due to dietary restrictions, I have not been making pizza.     However, I picked up Keto Wheat Flour at a reduced price.     This past Friday, I made pizza for the family and everyone loved it.   So, I went to the same grocery store and picked up 3 more bags.    It looks like pizza is back on the menu.  

2- Free Food 

Last week our school put out bananas on Friday for anyone to take because they were very ripe and would need to be thrown away by the next week.  Since there were a lot of bananas, I picked out 4 bananas to make banana chip muffins.     It was a nice treat for the family.    


3- Free Trade Show


There was a trade show in our area for the last two weekends.    We received free tickets because we were on their mailing list.    Since we have several major home projects that need to be addressed, we go each year and investigate the cost and options to address these projects.     We save monthly for these projects, but only select projects that provide a monetary advantage and that we have the money to pay for them outright.   


4- Garden Preparation

The community garden will open before you know it.     We have a planning meeting and will plant seeds for our starter plants soon.    I have taken some time this week to plan out our garden.   I have pared down the plants we will be planting so that they will get good airflow and produce a greater yield.  In addition, I have a list of preservation ideas to maximize our garden yield.      


5- Shopping Multiple Stores


Shopping the loss leaders at multiple stores makes sense when the stores are very close together.   The major grocery stores, including Aldi, are very close together.    I shopped at 3 stores this week for the great deals and our weekly supplies.   My favorite deal is the bone-in ham for $0.79 per pound.   I picked up 2 hams originally over $20.00 each for about $5.00 each.  I plan to make ham slices, ham with green beans, egg casserole w/ ham, deli ham slices, and ham sliders.   Each ham will create many meals for our family.     


What Free-bees have you been able to pick up this year?   The  2024 Free-Bee Summary has been posted.    If you missed it, then click on the link below. 


Here is my list:

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