Skip to main content

Frugal Five: #116

 


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 that celebrates 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- Garden Update 

The tomatoes are starting to produce a large number of green tomatoes, and the jalapeno plants have a bunch of small peppers.    The kale, basil, herbs, and yellow squash are still producing strongly.      The cucumbers are coming to an end, but I am pleased with the number of cucumbers I was able to get from 1 plant in my backyard.   I will most likely be growing one in that bed next year. It is time to succession sow my green beans.   


2- Our Rich Backyard 

I have been enjoying my coffee on the back porch and watching the birds each morning while writing my morning pages.   This process has helped me to tap into my creative side again.    It is a peaceful way to start each morning.     


3-  Little Library 


Little libraries are located around town and are small enclosed structures with used books inside.    The concept is that you can take or trade a book to read and then return it.  This is another great way to read a variety of different books and keep them out of the landfills.    


4- Take Out Fake Out 

We enjoy going out and trying a wide variety of food from different ethnic backgrounds.   However, we are working on curbing our dining out habit, so each week I research different recipes and try them.    Pizza is an easy meal to make as a take-out fake-out.    We experiment with grilling the pizza and a variety of different crusts and toppings.    This month, we have been experimenting with Chinese food.     We have tried: Moo Goo Gia Pan, Beef and Broccoli, Chicken and Broccoli, Wonton Soup, and Egg Rolls.   Some of the food is entirely from scratch, and others are made with premade grocery items.   


5-  Hair Cut Time 


I cut my husband’s hair every two weeks, and we save $90.00 per month.   This job takes about 15 minutes, and his haircut is the same as a barber cut.   On occasion, we will invest in a good pair of hair clippers, which pays for itself within a few cuts.   


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.   The new Free-bee List will be coming this Wednesday. 


Here is my list:

If you want to see my last post, 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

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...
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