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Frugal Things The Past Week or So

 These are the frugal things that we have done around our household recently.

I have been cooking all of our meals from our stockpile. There has been no restaurant or take out food.

We got our one month gas and electric bill and it was about the same amount as this time last year which was $ 95. We did our best to keep it low since we used a lot of A/C and the dehumidifier was constantly running in the basement. I was happy with this since there had been a rate increase this year. 

We had our sprinkler system blown out by the company that installed it. This keeps the water in the system from freezing which causes costly repairs in the spring. A bit of prevention is usually cheaper in the long run. I am also happy knowing that our huge water bills for the summer will start going down. 

We now have our heat on but we have it set 2 degrees lower than last year. We also have it set to go down to 62 while we are sleeping.

Our entertainment has been Netflix which we are enjoying at the moment with a free month. Since we just got Netflix after a many year hiatus with them, are there any must see shows or movies that you have enjoyed?  We are also watching Amazon Prime shows. Of course it is football season too which is always enjoyed in our home.

Hubby got a huge crossword puzzle book for his birthday which he is enjoying immensely. He also got a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Niagara Falls. We are both working on that.

As you all know, I have been reorganizing our home to make things easier for both of us. I have been using as many containers as I can that we already own. I have had to buy a few but I have tried to get the best price I can on them. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a can riser shelf for my pantry. I love it because I can see what I have with a quick glance. I had two wire contraptions that let me store cans that rolled down one after the other. Since there are only two of us, I didn’t use enough product to be able to always see what I had. I grew to hate them more and more. So they are now gone and I am very happy with the new riser. 

I continue to wash clothes with cold water in our HE washer and hang most of them to dry.

Hubby saw a beautiful winter coat that he wanted me to buy for myself. I had to remind him that I found a beautiful black coat at the end of last winter that I had kept even though it didn’t fit me for a few years. I will be using it for many years since it has hardly been worn.

I continue to work out on the treadmill and recumbent bike for my exercise.

I have purchased very few groceries the past few weeks. This is so that I can save our grocery money to stock up on the Thanksgiving sales. More on that in another post. 

I have been rereading some of the books that we already own and enjoying them again. This lets me avoid going into the library.

I did not renew my ancestry.com. It is expensive and I am just not interested in working on it over the winter.

Hubby will be making me a nice birthday dinner this weekend. He is going to grill some grass fed lamb chops(which I love), make some baked potatoes with sour cream, and roast some broccoli. He is also making me a Keto peanut butter pie that we can share with my son and grandson when they come this weekend. I just love it when Hubby cooks.

When my son comes this weekend, he is going to help Hubby put all of our patio furniture into the shed for the winter. The winds are getting brutal again and I am not up to chasing chairs and furniture all over our and our neighbor’s yards. It is October and time to prepare for winter. It won’t be long before it is snowing here. We really appreciate all of the help our son gives us.

That is it for now. I have to get back to my cleaning and organizing.

What have you done frugally the past couple of weeks?

13 replies on “Frugal Things The Past Week or So”

It's interesting to hear about your cold weather prep. We don't do as much of that, but we prep for the wind at our vacation house (it's on the Oregon coast) & all outdoor furniture has to be chained up every time, regardless. A patio chair can easily get blown off of a deck due to wind.

We've been doing more of the same: line drying clothes, using cloth napkins, listing & selling things on eBay, taking advantage of select grocery store offers, meal planning, eating leftovers…

One of the wins for the week was using up the produce delivery that I forgot to customize. We did really well to use up: carrots, sprouts, asparagus, & a few other items. I'm mostly done with the roasted beets as well (I'm the only one who will eat those).

I hear you on that wind. We have nothing to chain them to here. Also, they would be destroyed in the winter snow.

Yeah on your frugal things! I always love reading them.

I wish I was there. I would help you eat those beets. I love them but don't buy them because Hubby hates them.

The beets are the only vegetable my husband won't eat, and they are one of my favorites! Ooh, a beet salad with some goat cheese & arugula… delish!

Great list, AD. We are just using up as much as we can before we move next month. Sold garden stuff that we won't need, patio block and flagstone as well. Carpet cleaner broke but we will not have any carpet in the new place so I will scrub stains the old fashion way instead of buying another shampooer.

Hi AD, this is Chris. We went to Costco this week. That wasn't necessarily a frugal trip, but we did try to just buy things we know we would use. We did get 6 bottles of wine, which is really not a need, but if you buy 6 you get a 10% discount, and we won't need to buy anymore for awhile now. We like to have a glass or 2 on the weekends sometimes. Hubby got one last big brisket to make before the end of the month in his smoker, and then he will pick back up next year. He will try to make some of the chex mix for Christmas like usual, but probably not as much b/c of the pandemic. We are going to not make as much in the Christmas treats this year since we don't want to go to all the work and then people throw it away b/c they don't want to eat it. We will do more next year.

Both hubby and I had medical tests this week and went to providers that are in network for our insurance. We pre-paid the bills using rewards credit cards, and will pay them off when the bills come, from regular savings. We have a health savings account, but are trying to save that money for when we retire and have a lower income. We can pay the bills now from our savings since hubby is still working.

This morning we got our pictures taken with our granddaughters for Christmas cards. We are sharing the cost of the photographer with our daughter and son in law, who had family pictures taken. We don't send cards every year, which saves money, but we are going to send this year because of the new baby.

Hi Chris,

That is a good deal on wine. When we were buying it, we would try to get discounts also. No one really drinks here any more. Hubby will have a Southern once in a while.

Yeah on the brisket. Enjoy that meat! Hubby will make our party mix too for the holidays but most of it will go to our children.

It does feel good to be able to pay medical bills out of pocket. That is a genius idea on the health savings account.

I love that you had your pics taken with the grandchildren.

You sound like me, I have been organizing and preparing things so it is easier for us and we can stay in our house as long as possible.

Tomorrow we will be putting the solar lights away, the outdoor furniture and cushions will be stored or covered and my perennial bed cut down.

Harvey still has to do some work around the doors and windows, but those will be done once all the outside work is completed.

God bless.

Hi Jackie,

Yeah! I am so glad that you are doing that too.

We are done with the outside work except for some things in the garage. I hate to do it and see winter coming. But there is no avoiding it.

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