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What have you done frugal Jan 22 - 28 - Page 2  

post #21 of 40
1/26/06 at 12:57pm
The weather was good enough for me to line-dry my nappies today! They did need an extra spin first, though. The funny thing is, my next-door neighbour hadn't even realised we had a baby
I made a batch of marmelade today, as well: I'm giving my mum a breakfast themed food hamper as part of her Mothers Day present (breakfast in bed), and we were considering doing the same for my ex's wedding from the boys (wedding breakfast) so for two pounds, we have a dozen gorgeous jars of orange gloop.
post #22 of 40
1/26/06 at 1:18pm
well, this first one was a bit sneaky...but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
our grocery store had 93% ground beef on sale for $1.99/lb and we didn't have enough money right now to stock up...so we kept checking back until they were sold out and both my dh and I went in and got rainchecks (good for up to 5lbs at the sale price and no expiration date). :
now once we have the $ we can go back and get the sale price

I started a new job as an ABA therapist for autistic children (my degree is in Psycholoy...but ack!!...I am nervous about working again after all these years). I am working with 2 different boys and they don't live far from each other (but they live about 30 minutes from me) so I managed to arrange to do both therapy sessions on Saturday to save on gas.
that's frugal...right?

I picked up a twin pack of 40oz jars of crunchy peanut butter NIB from a fellow freecycler

I have been trying to use the crockpot and electric griddle for whatever I can to try and make a dent in our $300 gas bill (our thermostat is already at 65)

ohhhhh...
and we found a new favorite store
there is a small country store not far from us that buys things from Costco in huge lots (like things that are returned, discontinued, expired, etc). They have boxes of granola bars for 75c, boxes of little debbie snacks for 50c, cans of chili for 50c, huge boxes of tissues for 75c, calvin klein jeans for $10, brand name mens sweaters for $7, etc.
just about anything Costco sells at a cheaper price (and sometimes with damaged packaging). But it has quickly become our favorite place to get canned goods and to pick up something when we need a gift
post #23 of 40
1/26/06 at 1:30pm
I always get rainchecks on sold out items so I can go back on payday. It's smart shopping!
post #24 of 40
1/26/06 at 1:39pm
i made granola bars but don't think I'll do that again they had too much brown sugar.

Ds and I made our own whole wheat crackers yesterday. they were so yummy and healthy! it's a recipe from THe Farm cook book. that's got loads of cheap vegan recipes!
post #25 of 40
1/26/06 at 2:03pm
Oh I'll play...

Let's see...I found a chicken I had put in the freezer, oh, 18 months ago so I cooked it up, had a great dinner, made chicken salad with the leftovers and then made broth/soup with the remainder.

Found chickens (do you sense a theme) at the store for $.69/lb so I bought a few of them and put them in the freezer as well.

We are letting our cleaning lady go *sniff* so I made some cleaning solution for our laminate floors (you know, vinegar, water, lavender essential oil) and it works like a dream. So that's pretty frugal...

Great ideas on this thread from everyone else. Good job everyone!
post #26 of 40
1/26/06 at 3:57pm
wow! the xtra spin cycle makes a huge diff. in dry time.
thanks for the idea of line drying, have a load out in the yard right now.
went to good will and picked up a nice glass canister for flour, a book and thrifty gardening and canning and a sweet little basket for the boys rocks.

haven't eaten out in a looooooonnngg time. i think we've made it over the this sucks point and are ok with it now!
post #27 of 40
1/26/06 at 4:40pm

We took snacks in the cooler to

have before gym and karate class

tue night I made two meals off a pkg of ground sirloin and tvp

so last night when dh asked if we needed to stop and grab something I said no dinner is waiting at home

I said no to several requests by the kids

The one was a little mercenary lol "i know for a reward you can take us out to eat"

umm no. You are supposed to do x cause that is the thing to do -long story and don't give me tcs links please)

and we have what *you* picked to eat in the cooler

Tomorrow for family dinner and game night I will make pizzas from scratch

I am sending ds out to get some wings on sale and making my own barbecue sauce and simmering in the crockpot to fix his and dh's wing fix ..
post #28 of 40
1/26/06 at 4:59pm
New things this week:

Made four loafs of from scratch bread by hand! That is huge for me! Only bummer....Jake our 1yr black lab got two of the loaves during the final rising stage That is ok....the other two were pretty good I have to tweak it a bit as they were a little "thick" but i am happy!

Also took turkey carcus and dry dinner rolls from dinner at my moms house. Made turkey soup (almost free ) and froze the dinner rolls to use as breading or bread crumbs in the future.

Also started a Stock pot for future soups with carrot peals and calery stalks (the top parts)

I have also been diluting our shampoo: 1 part shampoo to 1 part water. Works better that way Easier to lather through hair.
post #29 of 40
1/26/06 at 5:00pm
Oh.....

I also turned in overdue books and paid overdue charges (they gave me a deal ) on books from the library that I have had for 6 months :

Now we can check out books again
post #30 of 40
1/27/06 at 10:10am
I got an 11lb boneless toupie ham for $16 last night. It's enough for at least 5-6 meals and I always made potato chowder with the leftovers for lunches for dd and I. So, I'll get 12 meals out of one ham with a few potatoes and veggies. I thinking about buying a second one.....
post #31 of 40
1/27/06 at 10:15am
I used the recipe from Hillbilly Housewife to make my own tortillas yesterday. They were an unqualified success!

Namaste!
post #32 of 40
1/27/06 at 10:35am
- Baked some bread
- listed some of stuff cluttering my closet on Ebay
- reserved two books at the library instead of buying them
- started tracking every penny I spend - coffee, snacks etc are my downfall - especially since I am hungry all the time right now
post #33 of 40
1/27/06 at 7:22pm

well I kind of blew it again lol

but the grocery store had wings for 1.00 lb so i am making dh and ds barbecue wings to go with the pizza I am making tomorrow night..
post #34 of 40
1/27/06 at 11:33pm
Thread Starter 
I went to a conference yesterday and PACKED my lunch. so while everyone else went off to eat, I stayed in the room, pulled out my great book (that I never get to read!) and ate my homemade bread pb&j, nuts, homemade pumpkin muffins, and apple.
post #35 of 40
1/28/06 at 12:13am
Great job being frugal mamas. Does anyone find being frugal fun? I do. I think its fun trying to find different ways to save. I think it is addictive. My dh and i have always been conservative with food and we never throw away left overs. But it sure is fun finding new recipes to use for left overs. I really enjoy our left over soup meals more than anything. There are alot of items that we have stopped buying, not junk but just unnecessary items. It takes me alot longer in the grocery store than most because i price compare everything. Many times the grocery store across the street has produce at half the price as our reg. grocery store. I usually go there just for the savings on produce. I don't like to shop there for regular items though. I think so many people just grab grab grab and don't really give their health or pocket book a though.

So good job mamas for being frugal. It really helps in not being so wasteful!
post #36 of 40
1/28/06 at 1:54am

sahminHawaii

t takes me alot longer in the grocery store than most because i price compare everything. Many times the grocery store "

This is where having a price book comes in handy!

I was going to fix this and thought nah let it stand
post #37 of 40
1/28/06 at 4:54pm
Had a busy day today.

- baked bread
- made a batch of muffins for dd's breakfast this week
- made a double batch of pasta sauce to feed the freezer

and....didn't go grocery shopping. Hoping to stretch what we have until next week.
post #38 of 40
1/28/06 at 5:39pm
- I started making extra servings at dinner for dh and I to take for lunch the next day.
- Cancelled extra services on the cell phone ($8/mo)
- Down graded web hosting plan ($6/mo)
- Cancelled newspaper subscription since we read it online instead (refund ~$90)
- Agreed to let my Dad buy me a Sam's Club membership
- Cut dh's an my monthly "allowance" by $25 each
- Sold some things laying around the house

That's just the start!
post #39 of 40
1/29/06 at 12:33am
I'm really enjoying using the line outside to dry clothes!

I've stopped using my tea kettle because of our gas stove and use the water cooler instead. It's got an energy saving function and heated water.

Useing the microwave much more as well. Our gas bill was OUT OF CONTROL!!!
haven't eaten out in such a long time. We did spring for chips and salsa while grocery shopping today though! Sams club style so we have lots.

I'm thinking we have enough grocerys to last us at least a month right now!

oh, I switched to baking soda in the dishwasher and it's working wonderfully. I was using 7th generation. Pricey stuff.
post #40 of 40
1/30/06 at 11:43pm
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...21#post4538921

new thread for the week
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