Skip to main content

The Frugal Five: #110



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 watch the pennies because they add up. Here are some of my tips and tricks.   


1- Tips and Tricks on Eating Out 

Our department went to dinner this past Friday, so I always look for ways to enjoy social events without breaking my budget.     Since we went to a restaurant with a bar, I inquired about happy hour deals.      I was pleased to discover that select appetizers were reduced to $5.00.    My friend and I both ordered an appetizer instead of a full meal.     In addition, I got a glass of water with lemon, which adds zero to the bill.    Since I typically use this trick, I didn’t think anything about it, but my friend, Summer, pointed out that it was a great frugal tip and encouraged me to add it to the Frugal Five.    Thanks, Summer!    I hope this tip helps others.    


2- Cutting Out Beverage Purchases 

Soda has gotten very expensive, and even when it goes on sale, the price is still around $5.00 for 12 cans or $0.42 per can.   This is a good purchase for special occasions, but this expense needs to be eliminated.   I have started making iced tea and taking it in my thermos to work for lunch.    My son chooses water, and my husband will use a generic caffeine water enhancer.   


3-  Candy Making 


Easter is this month, and candy prices are high and prohibitive even with the sales. A peanut butter egg is just a Buckeye in a different shape. Reese Peanut Butter Eggs are $5.49 for 9.5 oz. In addition, we are limiting the amount of candy to just a few favorites at Easter.                    


4- Low-Cost Breakfasts


Here is another Low-Cost Breakfast.     I made an Oatmeal Bake, and it will provide 6 large breakfasts.   This hearty breakfast will fill your belly and keep you from snacking until lunch.          



If you want more ideas, check out my Breakfast for under a $1.00 post.   Click on the picture above for the link. 


5-  Spring Break Travel Tips and Tricks


Over spring break, we went on several short road trips to visit colleges.  Our hotel rooms have already been booked at low prices using points and location.   In addition, our hotel provides a basic breakfast, which we will take advantage of.    As a bonus, we can pick up a piece of fruit or a granola bar for a snack later in the day and fill up our travel coffee mugs to have coffee on the go.      We are taking a cooler and picking up some lunch meat and baby carrots from a grocery store to make sandwiches, fruit, and carrots for lunch during our trip.   Finally, we will take a water bottle to fill up along the way.     


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.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Living Large In The Cheap Seats- April 16

Living Large In the Cheap Seats is starting to look a little different given the current state of crisis the world is experiencing.   The fact that we are being asked to limit our exposure to groups of people larger than 10 people really impacts our ability to get out and enjoy various local experiences.   Therefore going out in public is of a low priority in our household for the time being. However, we are hoping to change that come late spring/early summer. Therefore, I am going to focus on incorporating a little Hagge into my life with a few Small Group (aka family based) activities, Virtual Activities and things you can do now in order to secure more fun for the warmer months.   Well- hopefully.  Add a Little Hygge into your life: So, what is Hygge?  Hygge is defined as “a quality of coziness and comfortable cheerfulness that causes a feeling of contentment or well-being.”   I believe that Hygge is living a simpler li...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more