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Frugal Five: #128

 


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.   20


1- Crockpot to the Rescue 

Balancing work and home life can be challenging during the week, and it is tempting to eat out each week.     However, eating out is about $100.00 for our family of 3 and that is just not in the budget.     Since we enjoy soups, stew, chilis and other crockpot dinners, I use my crockpot regularly throughout the winter to feed my family.   


What do you do to keep your family fed on a budget? Leave a comment below. 


2- Our Rich Backyard - We have Cold and Snow in Abundance

Our area received a foot of snow in last weekend’s storm and our family was homebound for several days.     Since we have a well stocked pantry and freezer, there was little we needed from the grocery store, which was a blessing.   When I went to pick up a few perishables, the store was slammed and the shelves were quite bare.      Since we planned ahead, our rock salt and snow removal gear was already in our garage.    At the end of the season, we look for deep discounts for the things that we will need in the future and that will keep with minimal effort.       Finally, we moved some of our seasoned firewood from the yard to our porch, so we could enjoy roaring fires while being snowed in.     

  


3-  Utility Bills 


 Our utility bill was quite high for last month, so we are taking a few steps to attempt to lower it.   Since our heating uses a boiler system, there is little we can do to reduce this cost.    However, we did go around our home and unplug anything that is not regularly used.    This should reduce the phantom electrical usage.     In addition, we noticed that lights are being left on without a purpose.   For example, our street doesn’t have street lights, so everyone leaves a light on to help with this community issue.   However, as soon as we wake up, the first person will turn this light off.    In addition, we are using tv timers more often because sometimes we will fall asleep to the tv and it will run for a long time.     

    

4- Remove Process Snacks from the Grocery List

When I went to the grocery store before the snow storm, I walked down the snack aisle thinking I would pick up a treat for the house.    I was shocked at the price of a bag of chips or pretzels!    The cost has skyrocketed to at least $5.00 a bag and the bag size has shrunk.     Needless to say, I choose NOT to pick up premade snacks.     I know I have popcorn kernels, cake and sweet bread mixes, jello and pudding boxes in my pantry.    We will practice a little Lovin from the Oven this weekend.   


5- Garden Planning

This year I didn’t preserve enough tomatoes to last through the winter, so next year, I am planning on increasing the number of tomatoes planted in my garden this summer.    In addition, I am investigating how to preserve more of my garden this summer.      If you have any ideas, leave a comment below. 

   


What is on Sale this Month?     This series looks at what is typically on sale during each month, so you can look ahead and make better choices. 


What Free-bees have you been able to pick up this year?   The  2025 Free-Bee Summary has been posted.    If you missed it, then click on the link below.  


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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