Sunday, April 22, 2018

Frugal Sunday: Money Saving Weekly Recap


This was a long, exhausting and frustrating weekend.  Emphasis on frustrating.  And exhausting.  And...ahhhh never mind!

I ended up with food poisoning the first part of the weekend, which my husband and I tracked down to some sauce that came with some frozen breaded shrimp we ate (luckily I was the only one who ate the sauce so the husband didn't get sick).  Last time I consume a sauce that comes with anything frozen.  That was a very long and painful Friday and I'm still dealing with the residuals of it.  Blah!  And at the same time the son came down with a cold, so he wasn't happy about life or anything in it the day I was feeling like death warmed over.  He's started feeling better today, at least.

Yesterday, despite still feeling like my stomach had been beaten from the inside and feeling utterly exhausted (I'm still tired today), I tried to get some housework done that desperately needed to get caught up on after being down Friday and was hoping to rely on some help from the other female member of the household.  That didn't go well.  I ended up having to do the dishes three times (don't ask), the vacuum got clogged twice on things that should have been easily avoided, I had to waste a can of tuna fish getting the cat inside, after he rushed by me when I was dumping the garbage, because the daughter was determined he would get mauled by the lynx if we didn't get him into the house...and yeah...the day didn't go well.

I did finally manage (third time's the charm) to get the dishes done (which I'm so low on dish soap at the moment I was super thrilled to get that chore done), the cat was happy stuffed with tuna, the daughter finally realized she was in trouble and started doing things when I told her to (and did them the right way) and the day finally drew to a close with me falling into bed, having not been so happy to see a pillow in a long time.

Luckily, today was a bit more productive.  I got lemon sugar cookies made (for dessert, snacks and for the husband's lunch treat) and oddly enough the ones I put sprinkles on the son is actually eating, which surprised me (and thrilled me a bit honestly) as they are a pretty strong flavor.

I went to make animal cookies/crackers for school snacks this week only to find that at some point my son had gotten into the container I kept the little metal cookie cutters in and had gotten soda in the container, so the cookie cutters were one big, rusty, mass.  The entire container went into the garbage, beyond all hope, while I battled a small bout of depression over cookie cutters (I know, it's dumb, but it's just one of those things, you know?) as replacing the cookie cutters isn't going to be in the budget for a while and I was just so tired of things breaking.

Like I said...it was a long weekend.  When wrecked cookie cutters make you to want to cry, you know it was a long weekend.

Anyway,  I'm soldiering on here.  So, let's get to the money saving things that happened this week.

1.  Let's start with shopping.  Shopping was as frugal as I could get it this week, due to the above mentioned money being tight (which hopefully that'll work out here soon once we get a few bills out of the way and once we get paid).  I scored big on freebies this week thanks to the Monopoly game, which was nice!

First, let's start with the main shopping trip.  Highlights are seen above.

  • I got half gallons of milk (whole milk, which I prefer 2%, but hey it was cheap) on reduced for 50% off, so I got a couple of gallons of milk for 2.38 per gallon.
  • Pork chops, value packs, on reduced 50% off and on sale, so got big value packs of pork chops for 5 to 6.00 a piece.  I was nearly out of pork in the freezer (I had one package of pork chops and a small pork loin and that was about it), so it was definitely a welcome thing to find.
  • One 2lb block of medium cheddar cheese on reduced 50% off and I had a personalized price on it this week, so got the block for 2.39!  This will make it so we can save the remainder of the Tilamook cheese for the son and we'll eat the other cheddar until Tilamook goes on sale (or if I can squeeze the regular priced logs of Tilamook, which are pricey, into the grocery budget).
  • Gala apples (I really like getting the bags of apples as the apples are smaller and work better with the daughter's appetite, and they fit in her lunch box easier) 2.99 (personalized price).  These are usually 5.49 per bag, so it was DEFINITELY worth getting one at that price!
  • Organic spinach salad, a small can of tomato sauce, a 100ct bottle of aspirin and a envelope of gravy mix (not pictured) free with Monopoly coupons.  I have to say the salad was the most exciting one for me to get on that trip :).

I checked out with my favorite cashier, who seems to be my good luck charm as I always seem to win more Monopoly freebies when I go through his line.  And, I hit pay dirt on the freebies with my tickets!
When we went back into town on Thursday to do a couple of errands, I stopped by the store and redeemed the other freebies I got.

  • 1 loaf of french bread (this was the most exciting one for me *laugh*)
  • 1 envelope of gravy mix (I am seriously stuffing a box full with these free gravy mixes at this point...I hope the food pantry likes them)
  • 1 cheese bagel (they didn't have any plain ones when I went in, so I grabbed it instead)
  • 1 can of tomato sauce
  • 1 can of corn

Out of like seven tickets, getting that many freebies was really nice.  When I wasn't up to making the menu plan item for dinner last night, I ended up pulling out a package of thin cut steaks from the freezer and I cut up the loaf of bread and made french dips for dinner with it.  It worked out great and there was enough left over to get my husband through lunch at work last night.  I was happy with that.

2.  I signed up for a free magazine subscription through one of the free magazine outfits (I THINK it was Mercury Magazines, but I can't remember).

3.  I signed up for a product testing thing through Kroger and am going to, hopefully, receive free pet food to try out and review.

4.  I turned off the supplemental heat in my bedroom for good until next winter.  I just threw another blanket on the bed to keep warm at night.  Between that and the two cats, I've definitely been warm enough at night.

5.  While cleaning out the garage my husband uncovered a tote full of kitchen stuff.  A LOT of it was stuff I've been searching for years to find, so it was nice finally figuring out what happened to it all (and I found my soap making crock so I can get that to Shani to make soap!).

6.  I mended one of my daughter's skirts.

7.  I continued to clean and organize things this week.  I managed to reclaim some space in my kitchen cabinets (the lazy susan cabinet is still broken) by conglomerating a couple of containers of things like corn starch together.  Yay for reclaiming  a bit of space!

8.  I took the son outside to play now that it is light outside when we get home from school in the afternoon.  He's been really enjoying it (not so much this weekend as I kept him inside to recuperate from his cold) and it doesn't cost me anything to do.

9.  With the sun starting to come back in a big way (it's finally getting dark at the moment and it's 9:44 pm) the sun is starting to super heat the upstairs of the house in the afternoon.  I've actually been able to open the deck door and let fresh air into the house (and the son likes to play around the screen door, so double bonus), which is always welcome after a long winter.

And, yeah, I'm going to call it good there as the son is refusing to go to sleep at the moment and is throwing a fit in his room because I didn't put on what he wanted to watch (I put on Thomas the Tank Engine at bedtime, so he's not happy that it's bedtime tonight from the sounds of it).

So, how did your week go?  Well, I hope?

12 comments:

  1. Sorry you got food poisoning. That stinks. You still got a lot done. That is great that you keep winning free food. The weather here is finally spring so I have been working in the garden and yard lots. I did get some great sales this week as well as free food. My list is here: https://mcoia.blogspot.com/2018/04/my-frugal-list-week-of-april-15-2015.html

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  2. I know what it's like to have kids that break everything I own. It was always a joke around here that I would get all new everything when they grew up, but I kept getting kids, so still have broken stuff!! One time, years ago, one of them picked up the mixer and dropped it! Who does that? My kids. So, I get it!

    Hang in there.

    I'm glad you got some groceries for free. When we go there, we don't get nearly as many free things as that. I did get a whole ton of groceries last week, after being gone for 11 days and not shopping much before that for a week or so, so I'm very stocked up at this time. I won't need to go again for a while, except for odds and ends.

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    1. And once your kids grow up you have grandkids to break your stuff��. Kids, pets and husbands are the main reasons most women give up on having "nice" things. But then again, stuff is just stuff, and kids, pets and husbands are way better.

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  3. Oh sweetie I am so sorry about your weekend. Food poisoning is no picnic. If you need cookie cutters let me know what shapes I have mine, my moms, my grandmas. I will gladly share.

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  4. I do the product testing for Kroger and I love getting free items. My favorite do far has been free ice cream and coffee to make affagato.

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  5. I would love to send you some cookie cutters through Amazon! I really enjoy your blog and sending you a cheer-up present would make me feel like I am "giving back" for all the writing and sharing you do!

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    1. Erika, ditto what Katy said. If you're able to share your Amazon wish list, I'd gladly get you something from it to help out. You do so much onso little anI find you inspiring.

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  6. How great you might get to test catfood. I've done that before, through a Swagbucks survey, and it was nice! I'll never turn down free cat food! Too bad our stores dont do the monopoly game, that would be so fun!

    This week is going to be crazy, today I went and did my paperwork, fingerprints and etc for my substitute teacher application, then went and did my TB testing. My little guy was soo patient. I took him to McDonalds as a thank you. Tomorrw and Wednesday, I'm working, Thursday everyone has field trips, I go to the dentist, grocery shop and pick up at pre school,then it's pack meeting that night, also got to bake stuff for the school carnival cake walk. Friday is the carnival, plus my husband has another field trip. Saturday is the young womens spagnetti dinner and auction, and I'm debating on skipping it. I've already donated items for the auction, so we will see. I kind of want to see how they do though. BOth kids need haircuts and I need to sort through their winter clothes and pull out summer because it's warming up. Next week I get to do my sub training, and was able to find a sitter. It's going to cost me $40 for the 5 ish hours I'll be gone, and usually we don't do sitters, but he will be happy because he likes her.

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  7. I am so sorry you were sick - I really hope you are on the mend - I can only imagine how terrible the food poisoning was....hugs to you....

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  8. Oh, boy! What a rough week you’ve had! I hope you’re all past the worst of it.
    For crackers, I use a table knife and run it down the length of the dough about every inch. Then I do the same across the sides. Square(ish) crackers are fine, in my book. Plus, it’s faster and less fussy. No patience, here! hee...
    Our week went okay. We’re getting too old to work hard hours. Our bodies are fighting us every step of the way! My poor husband is always on his feet and limping by the time he gets home. He’ll be 59 on Fri. Other then aches and pains, the sun has been (finally!) shining and the temps are (finally!) going up! We’re like the walking dead, here! But, happy to see the sun!
    Wishing you a peaceful and healthy week ahead!

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  9. Food poisoning! I've experienced that and it's no picnic. When my husband was a bachelor, he didn't realize he should change the dishcloth everyday for sanitary reasons, and he would use the same cloth for an entire week! He got food poisoning twice because of his ignorance. Once he happened to mention this to his mother, she set him straight about food safety and bacteria issues.

    Although your week ended on a low note, at least the beginning of your week was very good. You seemed to get quite a few deals to bless you.

    I can't say that I had a frugal week when it came to receiving a deal on food etc., but I was happy about being able to transform my home-canned spiced crabapples into dishes that my family would eat. I had originally canned these in the Fall of 2016. Eventhough I really enjoy eating them, my family isn't so keen. However, I can't eat 16 remaining quarts of crabapples on my own, so I've been experimenting on how to "help" my family like them. I put some in bread pudding; I put some in apple crisps; I've added some to pies; we ate some as part of a fruit compote. Although everyone would eat what I made, the flavour of the spiced crabapples still overpowered the dish too much for their palates. So in a last ditch effort to figure out a new way to use them up, I cut the flesh off the apples and pureed them into applesauce. Then I used them in recipes that required applesauce and heavy spices like in gingerbread, or spicy applesauce cakes and loaves. I hit a bullseye! I finally found a way to use up the crabapples that everyone would like and which means I don't have to throw some of the quarts away. To me, that is a frugal saving!!


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  10. You can use that "new applesauce" to replace the oil in any of those items and that would save the oil.

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