December 2019 – Page 2 – Frugal Things Every Day

Grocery shopping was done after the roads had been salted and sanded. Finally the sun came out yesterday. We had about an inch of ice coating our trees and roads on Sunday evening. We could not even see out of our windows the ice was so thick. Then on Monday we got about 4 inches of snow. For we in the Buffalo area, this was really nothing.

My son, DIL, and granddaughter went home on Saturday because they were supposed to get hit with a huge snowstorm starting on Sunday. My son and his family also were watching the weather and they went home from NH on Saturday also.

My granddaughter had yesterday and today off from school. She is delighted. My DIL also has had these days off because of the snow. They ended up with 22 inches of snow. I am happy that they are all cozy and warm at home and that I didn’t have to worry about them traveling home in bad weather.

But yesterday, I was able to maneuver the roads and go to Top’s. This is what I purchased:

Fresh Haddock – $ 8.79

6 Hass Avocados – $ .79 each – Used 2 $.75/3 cpns. that doubled = $ .29 each = $ 1.74

3 Black Olives – 3/$5.00

1 dozen Organic Eggs – $ 3.99

2 SF Cool Whip – $ 2.19 each = $ 4.38

1 Half & Half – $ 2.69

1 Box of SF Popsicles – $ 4.99

1 Riced Cauliflower – $ 2.89

1 Large GG Mashed Cauliflower – $ 5.49

1 Gallon of Distilled Water – $ 1.00

1 bag of Skinny Pop – $ 5.49

Total OOP after 6% Senior Discount($ 2.97) was $43.50 including $ .02 tax.

Hubby loves haddock and I love salmon. I am still using the salmon that I purchased at half off for $3.84 back in July.

The Hass avocados were a great deal at $.79 each but even better when my DIL found me coupons for $.75/3 that doubled. I have been going without avocados because I refused to pay $ 2.50 each for them. The olives will be used for a meat and cheese platter that we are taking to a Christmas party soon.

I was almost out of eggs so I got a dozen. I only had one half & half in the freezer and we drink a lot of coffee. SF Cool whip was needed to go with our dessert of SF jello. SF popsicles and the Skinny Pop are my guilty pleasures once in a while. I love these cauliflower products. They are so yummy as a side dish. The water was needed for a medical device.

I am back down to spending about $ 50. each week and I am hoping to lower that in 2020. We have so much food in our pantry, fridge, and freezers that we are eating out of them continually and just filling in with what is needed each week.

Did you get any great deals this past week? Please share with all of us.

Frugal Things Every Day

These are the frugal things that we have done over the past week:

– We got our electric and gas bill and it was $35.00 lower than last year with the same average daily temperature. Cutting little things( like using lights only when it is dark out), keeping the heat down, washing large loads of clothes, etc. all adds up in the long run.

– I purchased a $50. Home Depot gift card for $40. through a Top’s supermarket gift card promotion the morning that Hubby was going to Home Depot. Hubby had to get a few things to make a repair in the house.

– I purchased a 4th turkey at Aldi’s. Top’s had sold out of their Plainville turkeys. Since I had nothing worth $25. to buy at Top’s, I purchased a Honeysuckle White at Aldi’s. Eating out of our freezer paid off by letting me have room for these. One turkey was used for Thanksgiving. The others I will cook once a month over the winter. The meat will be eaten the first night and the rest will be food savered and frozen in meal portions. The turkey portions will be used instead of chicken.

– I have a crockpot of turkey soup cooking today. We had side dishes left over that I food savered in portions and froze for future meals.

– When I went to get the turkey, I purchased 6 more lbs. of butter for $1.99 a lb.

– We purchased beautiful gray carpeting for my pantry in the basement on clearance and used a coupon code for 35% extra off thanks to my son alerting us to this deal. He had purchased the same carpeting for his office and we loved it.

– Beside carpeting the pantry, we are hoping to sheetrock it and paint it too. We just need to find someone with a truck to help us get the sheetrock. These will be Hubby’s winter project. But first I have to move all of the stockpile which will be quite a lot of work but it will be worth it.

– I baked a pumpkin and apple pie for our Thanksgiving dinner instead of buying frozen ones.

– I read a book on my Kindle that was free.

– We are researching for a better deal for our cellphone for next year. We are looking at a Spectrum plan for $ 14.99 a month but since we have such lousy cable service, we are a bit leery. If anyone has Spectrum for cellphone, could you let me know how the service is.

– I have been using our treadmill and recumbent bike for exercise. That is one of the reasons that we cancelled our YMCA membership. Why not use what you already own!

– I sewed a button back on one of Hubby’s shirts.

– When we decorate for Christmas, we will use decorations that we have used for years. Nothing new will be purchased.

– I purchased a new pair of slippers for Hubby from LL Bean going through Rakuten for 2% back. His were so worn out. I used a 25% off coupon code which saved us $19.75 and used $ 6.36 left on a discounted gift card that I bought at Raise to help pay for it. I also got free shipping. LL Bean sent me a $10. reward card for making this purchase.

– All of our Christmas shopping was done a few weeks ago. I was not going to buy anything on Black Friday either in the stores or online. However, Jordan’s Skinny Syrups had their sugar free coffee syrups on deep discount(40 & 50% off) so we stocked up. We use these every day in our coffee.

– Hubby printed out an 8×11 and 2 wallet sized pictures from Alexa’s 7th grade school picture for us. He also printed out 1 – 8×11, 2- 4×6’s and 4 wallet sizes that he gave to my son and daughter- in – law when they visited us. Doing it this way instead of buying them at school saves a fortune.

– I purchased two pairs of sneakers a long time ago at a deep discount(less than $10. each). This week I broke into the second pair to use as house shoes only. They are so comfortable.

– I have been watching Thomas DeLauer on You Tube to get Keto meal ideas.

– We are going to a large Christmas party in a couple of weeks. I am going to be taking a cold appetizer but I haven’t a clue what to make. Does anyone have a really delicious cold appetizer that they make that everyone loves? Would you be willing to share the recipe with me?

– I redeemed rebates for a $20.00 Walmart gift card.

– We finished the jigsaw puzzle that we had been working on for entertainment.

– We so enjoyed having our son, DIL, and granddaughter here for Thanksgiving which was Priceless. My granddaughter is now 3 inches taller than me. She has grown into the most delightful and smart young lady. I value every moment spent with her. We didn’t do anything special. We just enjoyed being together.

What did you do frugally this week?