Month: June 2020

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Every Day

Frugal Things The Past Five Days

These are the things we have done frugally this past week.

I went to the market with my son. I looked for Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea because I had not been able to find it where I live.  I got 7 containers. Hubby was almost out and he drinks it all the time.  It was on sale.

My daughter in law and son relayed us across the state to get us to my home. That saved us a fortune in not having to rent a car one way. A tank of gas was cheaper. My daughter in law got to see my son`s new home and meet Ludo, their new dog.

We were going to stop at a McDonald’s drive thru on the highway going
back to our home for breakfast. My son let us know the night before that he
would have a nice taco lunch ready for us.  None of us were hungry on
the drive knowing that we had a nice lunch waiting. So we drove straight
through and saved money too. A few hours after lunch my daughter in law
headed back to her home and my son drove us to the Buffalo area to my
home. I am so thankful to them for all the driving they did to get my
granddaughter and and me here. I have a terrific family. I am very blessed. 

My son’s family gave me some empty cat litter containers.  I use them to store dry goods that are in plastic bags to keep any bugs out.

I baked a loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread for my granddaughter because she loves it for breakfast. I baked raisin, pecan pumpkin bread for Hubby because that is his favorite.

While the oven was still hot, I baked pizza for dinner for us. 

I was going to bake chocolate chip cookies for my granddaughter. But one of my markets had chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, and July 4th cupcakes B2G3F. She was very happy with these chocolate chips. Now I won’t have to heat the oven up the rest of the week. It’s in the 80’s here this week.

My travel alarm is dead. I was about to buy a new one for $18.  Then I realized I could use my cellphone alarm. Not spending money was a win.

My granddaughter loves Five Guys.  I treated my family to a take out meal  there during the week I was there.  I  was thinking about doing it the night we got back but I knew I would be too tired from the trip.  So I had Hubby thaw a pound of grass fed ground beef and I quickly made burgers.

I had my son stop at Market 32 on the way home from doing something else so that I could pick up some hamburger rolls to bring home for our return dinner last Saturday evening. That way I could just cook and then relax after our long trip.

Hubby removed two large limestone rocks from our front gardens. He did this by breaking them apart. They were too heavy for us to lift. By doing this, we didn’t have to pay to have them removed.

We watched the first two Kingsmen movies on Hulu. They were so good that I can’t wait to see the prequel being released in September. Of course, we will wait until it is on TV.

Last Friday, I took my son out to dinner while my daughter in law and granddaughter went to a birthday party. I took full advantage of my 10% off senior discount.

I had to go grocery shopping to get some things that my granddaughter likes. Hubby was reading the Sunday morning paper and found a $5./50. Top’s coupon that I was able to use. I stocked on Red Baron Classic pizzas because they were on sale for $ 3.50 each. I also picked up 5 cakes mixes for $1.00 each and 5 frostings for $ 1.99 each for my stockpile. I got 5 dozen eggs for $ .99 each. Hot dog and hamburger rolls and hot dogs were on sale too. I picked up 2 large bottles of French’s yellow mustard for $ 2.00 each.  Some of these things are usually at the best prices of the year right now.

The clips that holds the glass in on one of my cupboard doors broke. I ordered some from Amazon so that Hubby can fix it. If it happens again we will have them. I paid using reward points so I only had to pay shipping out of pocket.

Hubby did all the wash while I was away. I washed all of mine that I used while I was away using cold water and hung them to dry.

We received our gas and electric bill while I was away. It was $24. less than this time period last year. It pays to conserve.

What have you been doing frugally? Please feel free to share in comments.

I am working on a blog post about how we are changing our grocery shopping due to the extremely high prices that we are seeing in our markets. That should be posted some time next week.  
 

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Every Day

Frugal Things The Past Couple of Weeks

These are the things we have done frugally over the past couple of weeks.

 I purchased a train ticket using the senior discount which saved me about $ 8.00.

I ate a good breakfast before going to the train and took some snacks with me for the long  trip. I wanted to avoid  the cafe car and stay socially distanced. This also saved me money.

My son and granddaughter picked me up at the train station which saved  the cost of a taxi.

Since it is difficult to travel  alone on a train with luggage, I shipped all of my clothing and items that I needed for my stay via UPS. Using my AAA discount it only cost me about $16.00 for a very heavy box.

While I am visiting with family,  Hubby is getting  a lot of things done at home.

My son and grandson visited him.  He cooked them breakfast even though my son offered to pick something up. 

Hubby and my son emptied the freezer and moved it so that Hubby could lay the last few carpet tiles under it.  I am told that everything that was on top is now on the bottom of the freezer.  That will be a project for me when I get home.

Hubby steam cleaned the master bathroom shower and did some regrouting of tile. He has also recaulked the vanity and sinks. He also steam cleaned the guest bathroom.

Today he is planning on steam cleaning all of our hardwood floors.

I should go away more often!!!!  He is doing so many things to keep himself busy.

Before I left town,  These are the things we did frugally.

We cooked all of our meals from scratch.  We had lamb chops, sea scallops,  filet mignon on the grill,  taco salads,  spaghetti and meatballs,  breakfast for dinner,  chicken fajitas,  salmon and haddock.  Most meals were served with a vegetable or salad.

We  cut chives from our garden for the scallop dish and to put in breakfast eggs. 

I hung almost all of our clothes to dry.

We had not had to water our lawn  much until just before I traveled.  This will decrease our water bill.

I cut some lilacs from the bushes to enjoy on our dinner table.

Our cherry tree was giving us cherries to freeze for pies.

I collected shower water while it was warming up to water our hanging baskets.

We were running ceiling fans on the upper  70 degree days instead of the air conditioning.

When I go home my granddaughter is coming home with me so that she can visit with us and see Hubby for a week or so.  It had been a long 7 months that we had not visited with her.  Being with her for a week now has been PRICELESS!

I will be going home on this Saturday. Family will be driving us home.

I know that it has been hit and miss here during the last couple of months because, of circumstances.  But after my granddaughter goes home,  my posts will be more regular.

Until then,  I will try to fit a post or two in.

Let me know in comments what you have been doing frugally.

Categories
Every Day

Saving Money with DIY

While doing my monthly cleaning of the cabinet under the sink, I found that we had a water leak. Fortunately, I have a good mat under there to catch water just in case we have a leak. 

Hubby checked and found that the sink strainer basket was leaking. He tightened it up because it seemed loose. Then he dried all of the pipes that were wet. I checked a few hours later to see if  all the piping underneath the sink had stayed dry. Alas, it had not so Hubby said the sink strainer basket had to be replaced.

Rather than hire a plumber who would cost about $90. just to come out to the house and then pay for the parts and labor cost, Hubby said he could repair it himself. It would involve buying the parts and a special tool to be able to do it.

So Hubby ordered everything he thought he needed from Home Depot for curbside pickup. Within a few hours, the order was ready and Hubby went and picked it up. All of the items for the repair was just under $40. including the tool to make it easy to do. 

Alas, he forgot to order the drain tailpiece that goes into the pipe under the sink. So I went to the hardware store and got one which added $ 6.25 to the cost.
 

This afternoon, Hubby and I made the repair. It was relatively easy and it saved us a fortune. It costs about $ 90. just for a plumber to come to the house here and then Hubby estimates the parts and labor would have pushed it to about $ 200. – $225. total.

So by doing the work ourselves, we saved anywhere from $153. – $ 178. Plus the satisfaction we got from being able to do it was priceless!

There are a lot of things that we hire out now because as we get older we can’t do them anymore. But the things we can do, we continue to do. 


Doing it yourself will save you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. I know it has for us.


Being able to watch a you tube video on how to repair or replace almost anything is priceless too.

Fortunately, Hubby has done so much plumbing work over the years that it is second nature to him.

Do you repair your own things around your home? Please feel free to share with us in the comments.  

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Every Day

Missed A Great Deal

I missed a great deal a few days ago. Why? Well, it wasn’t because I didn’t have the money or because I didn’t want to drive there.


Boneless skinless chicken breasts are one of our favorite meats. At $ 1.125 per lb., it is a deal that I would normally jump on. I haven’t seen a price like this since the 1990’s.

It was because my freezers were full and there was not an inch of space to put any meat let alone this deal. A full freezer is a good thing. But it still hurt just a little that I couldn’t pre-order this deal. Ouch!


However, I know that there will be other deals on poultry, beef, pork and fish. So when my freezers start getting down to the point that I can buy, I will be keeping my eyes open for the next good deal. 


I am always checking prices and putting the lowest one I see in my price book. That way I know a great deal in my area when I see it. Since the lowest price I had found on boneless chicken breasts out here was $ 1.48 lb, I knew that this deal was fantastic.

I have already checked my supermarket and online ads this week to see if there are any good deals. There are none so I will not being doing any shopping this week at all. If a deal pops up online that isn’t there now I will take a look at it. But we are so stocked on meat that it will be a long time before I have room to buy any meat deal. Perhaps by then, the shortage and limits will be over. 


I hope you are having a great weekend. We have the most beautiful weather. It is sunny and in the 60’s and low 70’s.


Have you guys seen a chicken deal this low anywhere? Have you gotten a great meat deal lately?

Categories
Every Day

In This Day of Sickness, Unrest, and Sadness

We all know that things aren’t normal right now. So many people have died or become sick. Now we have unrest, looting and rioting.


Someone asked me yesterday, “Will anything ever be “normal” again?” I don’t have those answers. I can only do my little bit for humanity. So can you! Everyone can make a difference.


So today, join me in doing something to help someone else. The little things count. Do something to help a neighbor, a child or your local shop owner. Smile at the next person you see. Perhaps that is what they need to feel better today. Take the time to thank someone who has done something nice for you. Do just some little things that will change how you feel and perhaps change the way the other person feels at the moment. These things are the way I feel “normal”. 


I will tell you what I did yesterday and what I plan on doing today. 


Yesterday I had the best day. I actually was out and about in 2 stores. But
the best part was what I found and the thank you I got. My neighbor who
has been so good to us asked me about 6 weeks ago if I would see if I
could get Special K Flatbread Breakfast sandwiches on my Walmart
pickups. Every time I have tried, they were out of stock. She said her 3
year old son loved them and they had not been able to find them in
stock. Today at one of the markets I went to, they had recently
stocked them but they were so popular that people were just grabbing
them. I managed to see that there was some left when the stock boy
showed me where they were. He says how many do you want? I said how many are left? He said 5. I
took them all. I delivered them to my neighbors telling them how excited
I was that I had found them and that they were a gift for their son. A
few hours later he came over with his Mom with a homemade card that he
had been very excited to make me with a little help from his mom. He was
so happy that he is going to be able to have the sandwiches. His
homemade card is wonderful and reminded me of all of the cards and
drawings that my grandchildren made us when they were his age. Getting
that card and the big smile on his face made my day! And I made his!


Today, I am finally going to my hair salon to get this mess of a head of hair taken care of. I am beyond excited about this!  My hairdresser is a private contractor. She has not been able to work because of the shut down for the sickness in my state. It’s been a long time without income for her. Not only will I give her a 20% tip which is my usual but I am going to add an additional $20.00 on to that to help her pay for the sanitary things that they must buy in order to now operate in this state. You all know how expensive those things are. I am happy to help her and I know she will be grateful. 

So please join me in doing something nice for someone today. If you do, please share in the comments what you are doing because maybe it will help someone else decide what to do. It does not have to cost a penny. There are so many things you can do that don’t. Make a difference in someone’s life.

Categories
Every Day

I Was So Impressed!

I had to go to the Post Office today because we were down to a couple of stamps and I had a gift to mail.  So rather than throw out my disposable mask after that trip, I went grocery shopping.

I had not gone to Aldi’s since before the sickness. I was sad because I really love Aldi’s. I decided to stop there. The reason I hadn’t gone there was because it is so small and I was worried about the social distancing. There was no reason to worry!

I was so impressed not only by the precautions Aldi’s is taking but by the selection of food. Our store is sanitizing their carts, letting you use a cart without putting a quarter in, only letting a certain amount of people in at a time, social distancing strips on the floor at the checkouts, letting you use the same cart to exit the store, and there is plexiglass in front of the cashier.

As you can see in the pictures, I made out well. Every item that was on my list I was able to get. Many were on sale. They were fully stocked. That has not been the case for Niagara Produce or Top’s. Top’s is the worst. When I would go to Top’s, there would be very little meat and the produce was terrible quality. Niagara Produce was low on meat.

The chicken breasts were on sale for $ 1.89 a lb. which is the lowest price I have found in many weeks. There was a limit of 2 which was fine.
 
I have not been able to find bacon under $4.-$5. a lb. This bacon was $ 3.49 each and there was no limit. The organic ground beef was only $ 5.15 a lb. I think the last time I purchased it, it was $4.69 a lb. So a $ .51 lb. increase is not too bad.

What I found was that most of their prices had not changed and what did go up, did not go up as high as other markets are raising them. I was delighted to see that. 

So Aldi’s will be my #1 store from now on. Sure I will shop other stores for good sale prices when they have stock, but Aldi’s will be where all of their sale items and any non sale items will be purchased. I have already updated my price book with these prices today.

The only other news here is that our region of NYS is supposed to open up for Phase 2 tomorrow. The governor is still making up his mind. He is slower than molasses in January. Phase 2 includes most retail, real estate, barber shops, hair salons, etc. Our dentist reopened today.

My credit union is not opening yet which I find ludicrous. They have had many weeks to get them ready for the safety of employees and clients. But they have not. So our region is open but my credit union you still can’t walk into. However the credit union within a mile of my house is ready to open tomorrow. So hopefully your areas have opened up and things seem a little bit more normal. Well, as normal as they can be here with everyone wearing masks and social distancing. 


Have you gotten any good grocery deals lately?