Frugal Friday! Week of January 20-26, 2019

Hi Everyone!

How was your week?  We were a little extra busy, as my daughter participated in a special music festival, so we were running around a little extra beyond our normal crazy!  I am so thankful for all the kind, good hearted teachers that put on an activity for our young people like this, however, and am extra thankful that it was opened up not only for the area schools but also for any homeschoolers that wanted to join in the learning and fun!

What did you do to help bless your family and save money?  My list this week is a bit shorter than usual, since I was concentrating on the music festival and not on writing things down--in addition to just not being home!  But I did manage to record a few things:

* I solved a wardrobe crisis my daughter was having by ordering her some new sweaters from the JCPenney's TALL catalog.  Evidently, my daughter grew literally overnight.  I mean, one day her sweaters all fit her, but this past week they didn't!  As in, there were tears as she was trying to find clothes to wear one morning, because while her sweaters all fit going across, every single one was too short on her (they really were--she showed me!), and it doesn't help that she plays the violin so truly does need something to wear that will remain somewhat modest when she raises her arms to play.  She IS still shorter than I am, so I had been HOPING that she wouldn't need to start purchasing speciality sizes for a while yet--but it is not to be.  I broke down and ordered her four sweaters, which we are still waiting on to arrive.  But the good news is at least they were all on sale, for $10.00 each.  And she truly does need them, as our weather here is cold and is getting colder.  At least these SHOULD be long enough on her for a good long time, and she should be able to literally wear them out, instead of the sweaters shrinking, since we are starting with extra long sweaters.  We'll see how it goes, anyway!

*The same day that we had the "nothing to wear" crisis,  we went to our local thrift shop, hoping against hope to find SOMETHING that would be long enough for her to wear--and not too wide across for her slender form.  I was delighted to find a pretty green sweater that looked long enough!  And it has ribbing that brings the sweater in, not out, so it works well for her slender frame.  The sweater even had the new price tags still on it, and she wore it this week to the music festival that she participated in.  I was thankful she had it, and we were able to purchase it using her gift certificate.

*The same day my daughter found a plaid skirt she really liked, also at the thrift shop and it too still had the new price tag attached.  It was several sizes too big for her, but she loved it, so we used the gift certificate and bought the skirt.  I have taken it in the waist to make it fit already, and I think it will work out for her.  It does have a lower hem in the back which I am not thrilled about--it just looks a bit odd to me, so I think I am going to work a little on changing that. But at least she can wear it the way it is for now, and as I have time I can change the back hem.

*I continued to try and use up food in my freezer.  This week I made a lentil soup, which used up some veggie broth that has been hanging out in the freezer for too long, as well as half a package of corn kernels. The soup was yummy, and I got a tiny bit more freezer room--yea me!

*Later in the week, when my daughter had her music festival, I used up some old hamburger buns from the freezer to make our lunches for the festival.  Food was being provided, but both my daughter and I have to be careful about what we eat and I was guessing that whatever was served would probably not work for us.  Turns out I was correct, so I was super glad that we had brought our own from home.  We live close, but there was not enough time in the busy schedule for us to drive home for lunch.  So it was nice that we had it with us so could just eat there.

Well, that was my week!  What was your week like?  I would love to hear!

~Susan

Frugal Friday! Week of January 13-19

Hello Everyone!

How was your week?  I hope good!  I am trying to get back into the habit of keeping a list of my frugal accomplishments.  This works best when I just keep a small notepad sitting on my desk.  Of course, I am too busy actually LIVING life to be spending time writing down everything that I do, but at least it helps me to jot down some of the things.  And if for no other reason, it is an encouragement to me when I see this reminder of what I am doing to bless my family.  Even small actions can really add up over time!

So—without further delay, here is what I wrote down for this past week:

*I used a free $5.00 off of a $5.00 purchase at JoAnn’s Fabric store.  I was kinda wanting to use it towards a set of pillow cases to be embroidered.  Well, the pre-stamped pillow cases were all $15, and this did not include the thread, just the set of pillow cases with a design stamped onto them.  Also, because I would be using the $5.00 off coupon, I wasn’t able to use a second coupon with them.  My daughter was with me, and she noticed that there was a package of a set of pillow cases I stamped for $8.00.  I decided to purchase that package instead of the prestamped ones, and I can easily draw a design onto them to embroider myself.  I have plenty of patterns, and a light box, so this is really no problem.  Bonus:  if I never get around to doing this project, I can still just use the pillow cases as—get this—pillow cases! :)  Using the coupon, my final cost was $3.00 plus tax.

*I made my own granola. This is something that I do all the time, so I don’t think about it as something “special” that I did to save money.  But if you ever look at prices of granola being sold in the stores, you quickly realize that it is MUCH less expensive to make it yourself!  And even if you add in expensive ingredients such as dried fruit and nuts, you can at least make it according to your own dietary needs and desires.  My granola is pretty basic, but it is a bit more expensive because I sweeten it with dates.  Using brown sugar would be much cheaper, but my blood sugar likes the dates better, because they come along with fiber and the fiber helps keep blood sugar from spiking like it will from more refined sugar.  Anyway, so I am happy to make my own granola, and can make it with the foods that I want to eat or that I want my family to eat.  I have made many different recipes throughout the years, but the one that I am making in this season of life also has no added oil, as I have stopped using oils as well.  So it is simply oats, almonds, bananas, dates, salt, and almond flavoring.  That’s it.  Again, I could make it less expensive with brown sugar instead of sweetening with bananas and dates, but I like the nutritional value from the fruit.

* I made my own curry powder. I was making a recipe this week, and discovered that I did not have enough curry powder to complete the recipe. Instead of running to the store, I looked up online and found a home made recipe for curry powder. It worked just fine, and now I have a stash of curry powder made up.

*My freezer challenge to continue using up stray foods hiding in my freezer resulted in this meal—a chickpea curry, served over brown rice. This is the recipe the above curry powder went into, along with two freezer bags of chopped tomatoes from our garden last summer. The recipe also called for coconut milk, and I did not have any but I used my home made soy milk and added in a teaspoon of coconut flavoring. It still had a very nice flavor, and a bonus for me was it was lower fat than coconut milk would have been.

*Also in my use up the freezer endeavors, I used up three cups of frozen black beans in what resulted in the above stir fry. The black beans are hiding in there, along with a yellow onion, garlic, yellow squash, and some colored bell peppers and kale that were hanging out in my fridge but had already been used in other previous recipes so these were in high danger of going to waste if not used soon.  The stir fry was VERY yummy, if I do say so myself! I decided I need to do “use it up” stir fry more often!  I filled most of my plate with the veggie mixture, and then added a bit of brown rice on the side.

*I took advantage of a benefit of my husband’s health insurance, and had a free to me phone consultation with a Ph.D. Nutritionist. I have talked with the same Nutritionist previously, but had not talked with her since May so it was very good to be able to report as to how things had gone since I talked with her last, as well as ask her my list of new questions. I really appreciate our health insurance doing some things like this, helping us to STAY healthy, and not just treating a person after they are sick.  One of the pieces of advice the Nutritionist talked with me about was doubling my vegetable consumption.  I am really good about eating fruit, and pretty good about whole grains as well, but while I LIKE vegetables, well, I just don’t eat so many of them.  But now I am newly inspired, so am making a conscious effort in this direction. 

*I found spices on clearance at our Aldi’s store for just .41 cents each.  I guess these are ones that were just in for the Christmas holidays.  Well, since my family likes to eat year round, not just during the Christmas season, I do end up cooking and using spices year round.  I will store these in a large freezer zip bag in the freezer, so they will still be plenty fresh when I pull them out to use them.

*I found several Bibles in the “free bin” at a used book store.  Two of the Bible’s were in poor condition, with some pages falling out of the cover lose, but three of the Bible’s were in really good shape and they were all a more modern translation—two of them were ESV, and one was NIV.  I brought them home and we passed them on to a man at our church who collects Bibles and gives them to the homeless and other low income people who would like one but do not have a lot of resources to purchase one for themselves.  We have already heard that one of the Bible’s was given out, to a person who was very happy to receive it.  I am happy to be able to help in something like this! 

*I bought a sweater for my daughter at a thrift store using part of our free Christmas gift certificate.  The sweater was just $3.25, and lovely with a gold thread running through it.  My daughter was not with me, and I did check the sweater to see if it was scratchy inside from the gold thread, as my daughter has very sensitive skin. I didn’t THINK it was scratchy, but sadly to her skin, it seemed to be.  I was willing to donate the sweater back to the thrift store, but my daughter really loved it and wanted to wear it.  Then I had the idea to have her layer a long john top underneath the sweater, and that did the trick!  The long john top is soft, and covers almost everywhere that the sweater touches her skin, and she said that with most of the scratch taken away she could handle the small amount that was left of the sweater touching her skin. I was very happy that we found a way that she could wear it, and she really did need another sweater and she looks lovely in it. 

*I saved my favorite for last—I was able to complete a set of Bible story books I have been collecting  when I found the last two volumes (of the ten volume set) at our local thrift store for just .20 cents each! The picture above is from inside the front cover of one of the books—I just love this picture!  and indeed, all of the pictures in this old set of Bible story books are lovely. I had previously found volumes 1-8 at this same thrift store—ALMOST the entire set, but not quite.  I debated at that time whether I should buy it or not, if I would every be able to find the last two volumes to match it.  I finally decided to go for it, and I am so glad now that I did!  The first eight volumes I purchased probably a month ago, and somehow these two last books did not get put out at the same time as the rest of the set.  I am just so happy that I found them, so now have a complete set of the books. And I truly appreciate whoever donated them to the thrift store in the first place. 

So that was my week—throw in some homeschooling and house cleaning, and I was pretty busy!  What was your week like?  What ways did you find to save money and bless your family? I would love to hear about it!

~Susan

Free Wallhanging Pattern!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in and tell you about an adorable little pattern that is available for FREE just for the month of January. It is an embroidery pattern, and embroidery is a hobby I am getting more and more into these days, mainly because you can have a little project that is very portable to take with you, and since I do not have a lot of time now a days for any crafting hobby, this feature of embroidery is very appealing to me!

Anyway, I have recently learned about a really neat blogger who is offering free patterns this entire year, and when I saw the free pattern she is currently offering I knew I would love to share it with all of you!

Isn’t this little wallhanging simply adorable? I am not posting that I will get it made, but I am going to at least download the pattern while it is being offered for free this month! If you would also like the pattern, you can find it on Fee’s blog by following this link: 

Free pattern

I hope this pattern makes you smile, like it did me!

Have a beautiful week

Frugal Friday! Week of January 6-12, 2019

Hello Everyone!

Wow--I can't believe so much time has passed since my last "Frugal Friday!" It has been two months, to be exact, as the last post was the beginning of November.  The holidays are always busy though, and a good time to focus on the most important things in life, such as our loved ones and let's not forget all the blessings God has given to us and the greatest blessing of all in Jesus coming here to earth to save us--even though December 25th would not have been the date of His birthday.

So--a quick recap of the past two months!  I didn't keep a written list of frugal savings, but I do remember some things. . .

* I paid cash for Christmas gifts.  To me, this is huge.  I always think it is so sad when people charge and charge and charge for holiday things, and then January comes along and they are all strapped and feel depressed because of their finances.  This is NOT a good way to start out the New Year!

* I accepted a free sewing machine. :)

My friend was passing on a 1914 Singer 66 Treadle sewing machine, that used to belong to her great grandmother.  She knew that once upon a time, I had mentioned that I would love to have a treadle sewing machine.  This was several years back, but when she decided that she needed to pass on hers (several reasons why, main one is she lives in a very small house and they needed to make some space for some other things) she remembered my saying that and offered her treadle to me first. She has never used it as an actual sewing machine, so had no idea if it was operational or not.  She has only used it as an end table in her living room.  Well, I was thrilled--after I confirmed several times that she really did intend to give it away--and gladly accepted.  It was quite dusty and spider-web-y.  This picture is when it first came home to my house.  I am learning how to do a minor restoration on it.  I have already oiled the outside of the machine, cleaned out the inside, and polished up the chrome parts.  It is looking much prettier already!  My husband agreed to help me with gluing down some of the loose veneer on the cabinet itself, and once that project is finished I will be working on restoring the cabinet. It has been a fun little project to work on, and I look forward to having this lady sewing again!

* I got to fill two bags for free at our local thrift store!  My daughter also got to fill two bags for free. This is because we are both volunteers there, and once a year they clear the entire store out with a special bag sale, clean, organize, repaint, etc. the store itself, and then restock with new-to-the-store donations.  Well, before the bag sale is open to the public, they let the volunteers come in and have a free bag sale, one bag for each side of the store. We had a very limited time to do our shopping--it is a two hour event, and my daughter and I did not get there right when they opened, so we had even less time.  It was our first time attending a volunteer bag sale, and it was a lot of fun!  There was not a whole lot that my daughter and I wanted for ourselves, but then we thought about a family at our church who have recently adopted a baby girl.  So we decided to put our "purchases" combined in two of our bags, and use the second two bags for baby clothes for our church family.  It was a lot of fun to be able to gift this family with some pretty clothes for their new little one to grow into! And in the bags of things for ourselves, my daughter was able to get a black sweater that she can wear both to church as well as to her music performances, and I found two gray skirts that fit me perfectly and I have already been wearing them to church.  We also chose some books, scarves, and other various things. It was a very nice Christmas gift from the thrift shop to their volunteers!

* I found a lot of Christian books by my favorite author at a local used book store. 

O.K., so this one was where I actually did spend quite a bit of money, but the price was still MUCH better than if I had purchased these all new!  I frequently find one or two books by this author at the used book store (not the same thrift store where we volunteer), but usually just a few books and quite often they are ones that I already own.  Well, my hubby and I were out on a date, and stopped in just to browse. We were both shocked when we found all of these books there!  There were actually even more than these, but around six or so books were fairly heavily underlined, and since I really like to do my own underlining in these books as I read through I only wanted to get books that were completely clean inside of markings.  SO--these were all $5.00 each, and I purchased 14 books, so it did cost me $70.  I was so thankful that I actually HAD this much money!  It certainly beats the brand new price, which is $15.00 each, for a total of $210 if purchased new!  About half of the 14 books are for me--two of them are for my son's birthday present as they were the exact titles he had asked me to keep an eye out for him, and three or four of them will be for my daughter when her birthday rolls around. 

Specifically in the past week, I have saved money by working on eating up things I have squirreled away in our freezer!  I tend to accumulate little things in the freezer, but do not often think about using up the things I save in there--so that is one of my recent goals!

*I used five pita breads from the freezer and turned them into baked pita chips.  This I topped with a salad made of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and garbanzos with some lemon juice sprinkled in.  Then chopped olives on top, and some spoonfuls of hummus.  Yummy yummy!

* I used a cup full of forgotten frozen green beans, and roasted them with two diced potatoes in the oven one day for lunch when it was just my daughter and myself.  We stuffed the roasted veggies inside home made sweet potato tortillas.

* I found some oat patties in the freezer, and made little "hamburger" sandwiches along with baked French fries for another day's meal. 

* For breakfast one morning I put all the little bits of frozen berries that were in the freezer--a handful of frozen blueberries, some raspberries, and a couple of strawberries--into the Instant Pot along with steel cut oats to cook for our breakfast.  The steel cut oats came out quite pink looking, but were delicious and it was healthy on top so win-win!

So that was my freezer accomplishment for this week--yea me! 

What did you do to save money and bless your family this week?  I would love to hear about it! 

~Susan