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One Hundred Frugal Things We Do

We had company for the Easter weekend which kept us very busy. We had an Easter Egg Hunt for my grandson. We had to do it indoors because it was very cold and the lawn is pretty muddy this time of year. He enjoyed every minute of the searching. We enjoyed watching him.

Because I have been so busy, I have not had time to post. Our next company comes on this Thursday and will leave on Saturday. It’s a busy time for us this month with two more weeks of company visiting after that.

So today’s post will give you some things to ponder on if I am not on here regularly. 

These are the many things Hubby and I do frugally:

1. Cooked most of our Easter dinner from scratch at home. It was a ham which Hubby sliced for us. I made a 9X13 pan of the best picnic potatoes that we have ever had. We had pineapple slices that baked on the ham while it warmed through. I also cooked corn and baked rolls. The only thing that was not from scratch was the Carvel Ice Cream Bunny that I purchased on sale with a $ 4.00 off Click to Card Q.

2. I cooked the bacon for the potatoes in the morning while we were making breakfast. It called for half a pound. Everything is better with bacon.  

3. Within the past couple of weeks, I roasted a small turkey which gave us seven yummy meals. 

4. I placed another order with Zaycon Fresh for 36 lbs. of premium hickory smoked bacon. With a coupon code I paid $2.99 a lb. I rarely find bacon below that price except the Smithfield we bought last week which Hubby does not like. And this is Premium bacon.  So my sister in law is splitting the order with me. She can’t pick up orders in her area during the work day so I will do the pick up and just give it to my son the following Sunday. We eat bacon a lot especially for most of the Sunday breakfasts that I cook for my family. It will cost each of us $ 53.82. My cost will come out of my $ 75.00 per week grocery budget.

5. I stayed away from the 50% off Easter candy sale yesterday. I still have plenty for baking and the little ones left from Valentine’s Day.

6. My son helped Hubby put in the new wooden post that our new mailbox goes over. So we didn’t have to hire someone. Hubby put the mailbox together and installed it yesterday. He also put the new metallic numbers on it. A $50. giftcard helped defray the cost of all. 


7. We got our refund check from our old insurance company. We had renewed with another company and consolidated both the homeowner’s and auto insurance so we got 8 months premium back. It is a large check that I will deposit this week along with some other checks so that they earn us money.

8. We invested thousands of dollars today. It is definitely a buy time.

9. I am drinking up odd K-cups that came in a variety pack that no one was crazy about. But rather than waste them, I am using them. 

10. We sent a gift to my granddaughter that she will get this week. I  saved 33% off with a sale.

11. I cut up all of my old frayed dish towels into rags and put them in the rag bag in the garage.

12. I put two books on hold at the library for me. I also marked my calendar for their big book bag sale.


13. We are now using every ounce of our toothpaste. I have a key type thing that helps us get the product all the way to the top of the tube. Then I cut the tube to get the last remnants out. There is usually about 4 brushings worth left.

14. Not only have heat bills been high this winter because of supply and demand and the cold but we got notice that our company is raising the rates. So we will be very careful with our energy usage from now on. 

15. We paid for the fertilizing of our lawn for the entire year upfront. This gave us a 5% discount.

16. Hubby didn’t seem too keen on washing the outside of our 21 windows. I do the inside.  So I got some estimates from window washer people. When Hubby saw that they wanted $300. he changed his tune. We will be washing them a room at a time.

17. We shredded all of the paper from our files from last year that we didn’t need to keep.

18. My sister and I call each other almost every week. We take turns using our free long distance.

19. I grocery shopped on Monday. The Flips and Ehrmann’s Grand dessert were free after coupons. The turkey breast was $.99 a lb. with Top’s Super Coupon. The grapes were $ 1.48 a lb. and the tortilla wraps were $ 2.49. I don’t need anything else this week.  


20. Hubby found a great price on a router that he has been researching. Meanwhile we have used our old one that has been on it’s last leg for more than a year. My  wireless computer is always going down. It’s a real pain.


21. When I go to the bank, I will go to CVS to use my ECB’s and run some other errands down that way. This saves me on gasoline.


22. I am saving my gasoline points to use when I get very low on gasoline. So far I have accumulated enough points to get off $ 1.30 per gallon. I hope to have more by the time I need the gasoline.

23. I cleaned the inside of my dishwasher using $ .05 per pack lemonade Koolaid that I purchased years ago. First I took the arm and all the other removable parts off and cleaned them.

24. Hubby cleaned and polished the top of my gas range. We only use the degreaser pictured above. It works so well with a minimum of effort. Hubby sprays it on and them lets it sit 20 minutes. Then everything wipes clean. A little bit goes a long way.

25. I am researching a birthday gift for my DIL that will keep me within budget. We spend the same amount on every adult person in our family. 

26. I ordered a year’s worth of vitamins for us from Puritan Pride. I find they have the best sale prices.

27. We ate Hamburger Helper Taco one night for dinner. It was AWFUL!  I never buy this stuff except when it is free after coupon. I won’t even be doing that again.

28. I mailed in a $ 5.00 Beer Rebate.

29. I fixed a broken zipper on my favorite fleece jacket. 

30. We loved watching “Roseanne” last week. I used to watch it way back when she was on before. Hubby and I are looking forward to the show at 8PM EST tonight. It makes me laugh!! Everyone needs to laugh in this day and age. I watch very little network TV but this a show worth watching.

31. I froze some celery and carrots that were getting old to make future soup.

32. I still take my navy showers.

33. Every penny that we spend is scrutinized and tracked. If you watch your pennies, your dollars will grow.

34. We rarely buy anything unless it is food, clothing that is a necessity, or gifts.

My fingers are getting tired, so I will continue this topic the next time I post.

Meanwhile what do you do that is frugal? Join the conversation by leaving a comment.        

4 replies on “One Hundred Frugal Things We Do”

Hi Liz, this is Chris. Loved this post, can't wait to see what else you come up with. Here are a few frugal things I do:

1. Cook big batches of chicken or other meat and use/freeze the leftovers.

2. Try to take advantage of sales, like buying turkey breasts when they are .99/lb I will buy for the year and put in my freezer

3. Eat leftovers. Now that it is just the 2 of us, many weeks I cook for a few days, then we eat leftovers for a few days. We like leftovers.

4. Use sinking funds for Christmas and paying our homeowner's insurance. When we get our mortgage paid off, I will re-do the sinking funds to include car insurance and property taxes.

5. Hubby gets paid weekly. I budget ahead, so like for instance , what he earns in April will be used to pay for May's expenses. 4 times a year he gets an extra check that I use to put in savings. Some of it is used for savings, some medical bills, and some car insurance. When we had kids in college, those extra checks were used for that.

5. I try to buy clothes only when we need something. Recently I went to our upscale Goodwill and got some new shorts for this summer b/c I have lost weight. They were cheaper there than the store and I came home with 5 pairs. Our other clothes I try to get at Kohl's with the 30% off coupon and free shipping if I can.

I know I do a lot more things, but these are what I can think of off the top of my head. 🙂

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