Frugal Friday Week #48

Welcome to Frugal Friday, where we share updates and all kinds of fresh new frugal tips!

Typically, I share our weekly frugal living here each week. At the moment, I’ve decided to take a little sabbatical from Frugal Fridays for a few weeks after dealing with criticism and certain comments. Don’t worry, I’ll be back with something new soon. I’ve just decided that a short break and a little breather will be good for now. 🙂

In the meantime, I have plenty of “frugal life” from you to share, as well as special deals I’ve found this week. Let’s dive in!

I’ve also got some questions for you too…keep scrolling down!

Question of the Week

Do you have an Air Fryer? If so, which one?

Let me know in the comments your answer to this! I realize I’m a late adopter of technology but I’m trying to decide if this is something we will use or not…what are your thoughts? Do you have one? What do you make with it?

Deals I Found

Here are a few good deals I found this week!

Here’s the most recently updated list of deals from Auguson Farms.

This pack of classroom posters is 50% off when you clip the coupon! I’m getting some new posters for our homeschool room and stumbled upon this deal while I was looking.

Spend $60 and get $15 in Amazon credit when you buy select cleaning supplies. Use the coupon code STOCKUPSAVE at checkout. There is a lot included in this sale like toilet paper, sponges, and more.

100 More Easy Meals in Jars is a free Kindle ebook right now. You can also download the Kindle app to read for free on your computer.

New Blog Posts I Wrote

• How to Regrow Store-Bought Vegetables – This project can be super helpful for stretching your grocery budget!
• How to Create a Meal Planning Binder – One of my favorite ways to save time on meal planning each week!
• Vintage Homemade Household Cleaners – These cleaners are SO frugal to make!
• Cheap Breakfast Ideas – If you need a straightforward list (with prices!) of cheap breakfast eats, this blog post has it!
• DIY Magic Erasers – If you love using Magic Erasers but think they are too spendy, here’s how to save!
• Meatball and Sweet Potato Pizza – This delicious recipe was submitted by a Little House Living reader!
• 12 Uses for Epsom Salt – I always have Epsom Salt on hand. Here’s what I use it for.
• 7 Frugal Dessert Recipes – If you need some cheap desserts to round off your day, here are my ideas!
• How to Ignore Dishes in Your Sink All Day – My fun, light-hearted, satirical post from last week. Come join the fun!

Coming Up Next Week on the Blog

Here’s a preview of a few blog posts I’m working on that will be up on the blog next week. Check back soon!

• Frugal Spring Recipes
• Quick Bread Recipes
• Essential Oil Based Gel Air Fresheners
• Homemaking Skills Everyone Should Know

How YOU Lived Frugal This Week

This is your place! Leave a comment on the post here about how you lived frugally this week. I will paste some of the replies here on next week’s post.

Yesterday I bought 2 pounds of ground hamburger meat and chicken drumsticks. I will be making meatloaf with one pound of ground beef and goulash with the other one. I will fix oven fried chicken with the drumsticks. I never eat restaurant food anymore. I like cooking my own food. I think it has something to do with my grandpa. He was a chef. – Brenda

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I saved this week by combining car trips. I made stir-fry from frozen raw whole shrimp for Valentines day. I also made a Keto cake box mix, on Monday, for Valentines day. We skipped cards and texted each other. I am making my own granola this week. I am exercising in basement over a large $4.99 sq. yard $100 Ollies store zany, colorful, zigzag carpet. I turn on old CD’s music I have and exercise. I decided not to get any more knitting lessons and use You-Tube, etc. I am knitting with acrylic more often and have joined a church knitting group. Who you spend time with does affect how you spend! For instance, I was infrequently going to a little (wool) yarn store in the past. The women who often go there spend a lot of $$ on yarn, etc. They go to an annual New York fiber festival by bus. They even buy extra tickets for newbies to buy from them because they assume some newbie will buy it! – Pamela

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I did a stock up on meats (for people and the dog (I make his food, find it is pretty easy and saves a little money, and he’s a picky bugger!) and pantry items. I save it for when I get my $20 off coupon from the store. They send one about every 6 weeks. Spend 200 get 20 off. I figure I will spend that over two weeks to stock up plus weekly items, so I save up my list for that coupon and sale items. Timing is key! To the person who was nervous about posting the Taco Bell sauce tip, YOU ROCK!! That is a great tip because it satisfied the craving for take out (and um, as healthy as I eat, can’t beat a taco bell taco sometimes!)and you saved money! Win Win!! I love making copy cat recipes, but that simple one item addition is a great time and money saver all in one! – Michelle

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Hello Little House friends. Sorry I have been MIA the last couple of weeks. I’ve been sick. And we traveled to help our daughter in Dallas. I am on my “no buy” kick. Trying to only purchase what I NEED. Funny thing is right now I’ve misplaced my list. Yea, I am a list person using recycled used paper of course. And so I am not shopping until I find my list. Driving me a little crazy right now, and yes, I started another one, so I should find the missing one soon, haha! With this week and Valentine’s Day, my husband and I opted to celebrate this weekend were we can enjoy the day longer! Scored two free tickets to an upcoming movie! A free date afternoon! Was able to purchase local meat at a very good price, so saved in the freezer for later. Was able to score free paint/paint supplies on a Buy Nothing facebook page. Was perfect for my daughter’s home. So very thankful and was just the colors she needed. I was gifted fresh green onions so I am cutting them up and dehydrating them this weekend. Also drying shrimp that I purchased on sale. Good for our gumbos and my husband eats them as a snack. Dried shrimp in our area are very expensive, even though we are on the gulf of Mexico and many shrimpers not too far from us. I purchased an AeroGarden, try this out. I will gift it to my grandson but I first want to try it out. I purchased it from a friend that does fundraisers for Foster the Love children. I paid $30, and it looks like it sells for up to $100. Whether it works or not, it is helping an excellent cause. Thrift store shopping scored summer tshirts for my grandson. I purchased a used Yogurt machine. Will try that out this weekend as well. I believe, Marissa, you have a recipe on file. Will search for it shortly! Busy weekend for us! Until next week! – Debbie

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We had snow upon more snow this week so I didn’t do any driving. It’s been about 2 weeks since we did any grocery shopping but I’ll head out this weekend for Milk and fresh produce.

I winter sowed more Foxglove, poppies, phlox and a few other older flower seeds.

Inside I’ve started begonias from seed, 22 out of 50 seeds have germinated so far. We have 1 room in the house with a heated floor and I put the begonia seed starts in that room on the floor with a light above it. I am eagerly awaiting inside starts of herbs and veggies.

Propane is up 25cent a gal since December. Instead of increasing the thermostat during these super cold days, we wear wool socks, an extra layer and frequently drink hot water.

Breakfast has been mostly PB oatmeal with 🍌 and Chia seeds.
On Valentine’s day, I made homemade pizzas in the shape of hearts. Other meals have been soup, chili, tortellini, lots of soft boiled eggs and various leftovers. I purchase bountiful baskets produce every other weekend and that covers about 60 % of our monthly fresh produce needs in winter. Tonight’s meal is veggie soup with homemade bread, I’ll use cabbage, carrots, celery and onion fresh and stock and tomatoes previously canned.

I re- grew green onions in a cup of water, using the tops on potatoes and in soups and salads. After purchasing head Lettuce, I carefully wrap the whole head in previously used aluminum foil and store it low in fridge, this allows it to stay good for at least 2-3 weeks. I use this same method to store celery.

I mended several items of clothing, unsubscribed to several constant (salesy) email lists and read several books using our Library’s libby app.

I used our treadmill to walk most days ( until the snow melts) and also did cross fit workouts, snow shoveling and yoga (via YouTube videos) for exercise.

Hope everyone has a frugal, happy week ahead. – Jennifer

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I really enjoy all the Frugal Friday ideas! No criticisms here ❤️
There’s just one of me at home now, although several animals and I do cook for our local Shelter. One of my weekly volunteering “gigs” is at our local food pantry. We have a couple of “volunteer shelves” in the back and are encouraged to check them out and take home whatever we can use. These are items that legally cannot go out on pantry shelves but are more than fine to consume. If your area has a food pantry, you might be able to get some extra groceries for helping out just a few hours a week (for me, it’s three). I’ve gotten many items that I’ve been able to incorporate into meals for myself and others (LOVE the dried blueberries!). Such a win-win! – Beth

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We’ve probably had more “pantry challenge” (only buying absolute necessities fresh but almost entirely eating from my much-appreciated food storage) months than not this past year. I haven’t added it up, but I’m sure those months have saved us hundreds of dollars that we could then use to pay other bills.

Yesterday I ordered some seeds I need for this year’s garden. I needed quite a few types of seeds so it felt like a bigger purchase (especially after a couple no-spend months), but I had to remind myself that any food I can grow from those seed packages is likely cheaper than buying those same foods at the store or buying plant starts. Since I needed the seeds to start seedlings so they’re ready to plant in time, I didn’t get them ordered during a sale, but I did get them ordered when the company (Baker Creek) was doing a promo of extra free seeds with your order, so hey, getting free seeds counts as frugal, right? – Morgan

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Thanks for all of the frugal tips this week. We shopped at our local community store, and I didn’t put a thing in the cart! I was going to buy some dehydrated potatoes, but my husband told me he didn’t think they were a good price, so I put them back. I was happy to hear that he is learning prices. I think that is one way to be frugal…Know your prices. My husband found some things at a good price, but I decided I didn’t really need anything, that I would use more of what we have on hand. I know you make your own sauces, and we make our tartar sauce, but we have never made ketchup or salad dressings. I am almost out of both and am excited to try making homemade this weekend. It will be healthier and probably taste better. My husband needed a haircut and we don’t have a barber here in our small community, (I don’t dare cut my husband’s hair; he is very particular about his hair – even though it would save us $20), so he went to a nearby town and while he was there he did a pick-up order for us at Walmart and also shopped a bit at Grocery Outlet. This also worked into our practice of combining errands into 1 run to save money on fuel. I like doing pick-up orders at Walmart and Safeway, because it saves time shopping in person in the store, I don’t make impulse purchases, and I can see how much I have spent and adjust my order to stay in budget. (Sometimes, I do a pick-up order at Walmart and Safeway. You just need a $35 order minimum to do a pick-up order and I price comparison as I shop and load either my Safeway or Walmart cart depending on the price). My husband needed a new white noise machine, and I used a store reward to pay for most of it. I have been surfing new Facebook groups that have images of small space living to get ideas for down the line if we move to a smaller home. It’s been so cold here, we’ve all been staying close to home and not doing much. Playing games, reading, watching movies, listening to music. We did go to the library for some more books and DVDs and our librarian showed us audio books that have all in one – little compact cassettes about 2″ in size, and she gave us each a pair of headphones, so we can listen to audio books. There isn’t a lot to do where we live. For fun, we usually go to the store on senior day, the library and the thrift store. At the thrift store I found a free picture frame, a binder, and a book. I am going through things and starting to put together items for a spring garage sale. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I shop at Dollar General because they have a $5.00 coupon on Saturday if you spend $25. Before I go I make sure I have my coupons loaded on the app. They also have cash back. Tomorrow, I’ll get $2.50 back. I’m going to make a big pot of split pea soup in the crockpot. I have a popover pan that I have been wanting to use, so I think I will make some popovers too. I am trying to wash a full load of clothes when I do laundry. I checked our cable bill to see if there was anything I could cut. Nothing right now. While I did I also checked to see if they had any free offers. Someone told me that you could purchase pet medicine online from Canada and save a lot of money. I am going to see if I can find the website. – Amy

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Busy making maple syrup. Not a frugal hobby to start. But this was son’s FFA project one year. My husband continued 5he hobby. We gift jelly jars of maple syrup each year. – Chris

What have you been up to this week? Leave a comment about your frugal living this past week to help and encourage other readers!