The Frugal Five: #103

 

With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet is decreasing. Therefore, we must be more careful with our money. The Frugal Five is a series in which we celebrate the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.    

I am exploring ways to reduce costs during busy weeks. One strategy is to cook dinner at home instead of eating out. Here are some of my tips and trips.   

1- Soup is On The Menu

Last weekend, I was very sick and needed a healthy dose of soup.    I mustered up the energy to make homemade Italian Wedding Soup with bread.      This fed my soul and body.    I recovered quickly and later in the week, I cooked a huge pot of 3 Bean Chili for a Family dinner and  Potluck Lunch at work.   Soup is a great way to use leftover vegetables and odds and ends.      

2- Shopping the Loss Leaders

I purchased Chicken Breast from Meijers for $2.29 per pound and blackberries for $.99 per pint.   Then, I went to Kroger for 2 pounds of Cheese for $5.99 and Strawberries for $2.50 for 1 pound. Since these prices were rock-bottom, I picked up enough for this week and next week.      

3- Baking Bread

Italian Bread costs $2.00 per loaf at my local Kroger.    I have been looking for a good Italian bread recipe for a while, but haven’t found one→ until this week.     I found a bread recipe that takes only 1 hour and makes 2 smaller loaves.   The ingredients for the bread recipes come to much less than $2.00.     

4- Brown Bagged It All Week 

I save money each week by resisting ordering out with my lunch group.   I pack my lunch daily and on the days that they order out, I try to make my lunch extra special.       

5- Use Left Overs 

We often have bits and pieces of leftover food from our dinners.     Instead of throwing that food away, we use it throughout the week in various ways.   We may take a portion for lunch the next day or use the vegetables as a side.   Some weeks, we collect leftovers over a few days and have a leftover night.     This saves us a lot of money throughout the month.   

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:

Do you want to see my last post?   

Just click on the picture for the link. 

Please leave a comment below with your ways of saving money this week.