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Frugal Five: 120

 


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- Pantry Inventory 


By writing down and tracking your pantry items, you can maintain a consistent grocery rotation and utilize the food you have already purchased.   Each month, I create a list of pantry items that are approaching expiration and make an effort to incorporate them into our menu planning.     


2- Our Rich Backyard - Fall Clean Up

When fall approaches, our family will invest some time into preparing the outside of our home for the winter.     This weekend, the weather started to turn crisp, and we started preparing the outside for the winter and next spring.     The garden beds were put to rest and green topping to decompose over the winter.   The wood debris was burned, and our wood pile was replenished from the backup pile.   The porch and patio were cleaned.   As a result, we discovered our front porch is sinking and in need of repair.     We sourced the project and hired a contractor.   Since we have already vetted this contractor, we are confident in his ability to complete the job correctly, and his price was fair.   

3-  Oiling our Antiques

 

Our home has a boiler system for heating, which results in drying out our wooden furniture.    To preserve our antiques, we will be using lemon oil to condition the wood for winter.   This will prevent the wood from cracking and enhance the color of the wood for the next 6 months.    In addition, we use wax to condition the wood for a smooth pull.   

    

4- Takeout Fakeout- Pizza at a Discount

Pizza prices have increased over the years to cost $20.00 per large pizza.      However, if you don’t want to cook, Costco will sell a large pizza for under $11.00, but you only have the choice of cheese or pepperoni.   


In preparation for those busy weeks where I come home exhausted on a Friday night and don’t want to cook, I stock up on a few frozen pizzas when they go on sale for under $5.00.     However, if I have the energy to cook, I’ll make the pizza from scratch.    Since I always pick up cheese on sale and make the pizza sauce from summer tomatoes, the cost is minimal.    


5-  Crockpot Cooking- Chicken Noodle Soup 

October is also known as Crocktober.  Costco has maintained its roasted chicken price at $5.00 per cooked chicken.  I’ll pick up a roasted chicken and pick the meat from the carcass as soon as I get home.    Then I’ll make chicken stock from the carcass by placing it in a crockpot and simmering it all day.    Then I’ll make one of my many versions of chicken soup.    This week, I made chicken orzo soup with kale and carrots from the garden.    It was delicious to have for lunch all week.  


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:

Did you miss the last Frugal Five post?  No worries, click on the picture for the link.



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


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