It was a fairly warm week here, so it was feasible to hang laundry outside to dry. On the windy days, we used the drying racks.
In an effort to learn more about the various offerings at my library, I signed up for Freegal. I am able to download five free songs per week, and I can keep those downloads forever. I'm already making a list for future weeks! I also found a free website called Song BPM, where I can get the beats-per-minute for songs. I'm making playlists for walking, so this helps me put the songs in order so that the fastest songs are in the middle, with slower warm-up/cool-down songs at either end of my playlist. This is how I'm using my new phone that I mentioned last week.
In addition to the songs I downloaded, we borrowed books and media from the library. I am signed up for the adult reading program, and have earned the first prize (a snack-size bag of gourmet popcorn and a mini chocolate bar). Four more books and I will earn my coffee mug! Patrons can win additional grand prizes as well - I cannot because I work there, but it's still rewarding.
I made starter pots for garden seedlings from newspaper. I have 35 total, which is probably enough for this year's garden. Husband found the potting soil out in the shed, and I have a tray for the pots. We are ready to go on this front - I may start some seeds next week!
We shopped the grocery store sales this week and stocked up on a few items. We planned the dinner menu to make the best use of the produce sales, combined with items we have in our freezer, fridge and pantry.
When we were at the supermarket, Husband found these toiletries in the markdown basket. He had coupons for all of them. The coupons gave us a negative balance, and since the cashier could not 'pay' us to take the items, we grabbed the candy bars, all of which were also free. In the end, it wouldn't let her close out the transaction until she gave us the last little bit of change, so we got everything pictured here, along with three cents. I would have preferred to leave the candy and buy produce or something, but we were not expecting the overage and there were people in line behind us.
Our Costco membership will end this month, so we are stocking up on some things that we like to get there. We stopped in for extra virgin olive oil today and sampled some really tasty coconut cookies that were 7.99 for a 1 lb. bag. When we got home, I made a chocolate chip cookie recipe with virgin coconut oil instead of butter, and added chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, pecans and some flaked coconut. (I had a little of this, a little of that, so the total amount of add-ins was not really a lot.) At the same price per ounce, the cookies I made at home would have cost just over $10.75 at Costco . Some of the ingredients were things I brought home from an at-work cabinet clean-out (virgin coconut oil, white chocolate chips), and the flour, semi-sweet chocolate chips, coconut, etc. were all purchased on sale/with coupons. The egg came from our hens and the pecans were a Christmas gift from my parents, so the batch of cookies cost far less than $10.75 to make, and they are really good. Husband said he likes them better than the ones we sampled at Costco. Woohoo!
We learned that the Whole Foods near us is closing, so we purchased extra virgin olive oil to use up a gift card balance we had there. We have a year's supply of olive oil now, between our purchases at Whole Foods and Costco.
I went in for a much-needed hair cut. The salon I went to last time charges $15.50 for a haircut. They sent me a $4 off coupon, which I used to bring the price down...and then, I did a $4 tip. I *think* getting a haircut with the tip for $15.50 is good...at least, around here. I will likely grow my hair longer from this point to cut this cost from our budget, but we'll see what I think in 6-8 weeks when I look like a scruffy puppy.
Husband scored a free $5 Target gift card through a credit card rewards page he belongs to. They will mail it to us in a few weeks. This week, we received the $5 Chick-Fil-A card that he scored a few weeks ago. It will be enough for him to get lunch on a town day for little or no cost.
I filled my 90-day prescriptions this week, and saved $95 by using Good RX. There is a posting with more information here, if you would like to know more. Good RX is free to use, and saved me just over 86% on the cost of my prescriptions.
Did you have a frugal week? What did you do to spend less, save more, or make do?
We stay in our RV for 6 months out of the year- snowbirds from Canada. I hang laundry on the back of the RV all week- then on wash week at laundromat- once a week only- take in the bigger things or bed sheets. Pay about $6 max a week to do laundry there. Next year we will have our washer/ dryer combo all hooked up in here that we bought for under $100 at a yard sale !
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That's great! I'm one of those people who enjoys laundry. I like hanging it outside to dry - love the smell of sun-dried laundry! We have a well and septic, so instead of a wash day with a couple of loads, we do a load when we have enough of that color group (lighter clothes, darker clothes, etc.) so that we're not dumping a whole lot of water in the septic all in one day. Are you snowbirding in the US? Waving hello to you! :)
DeleteThe Whole Foods in my town is closing too. I think there are fewer than ten being closed, so funny to read you saying that. It's not a store I go to. This little town of about 40,000 had a Natural Grocers, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and a couple of small local health food type stores, so no wonder. Sprouts opened in the next town over and has done really well (I do go there myself) and they are opening a store here next month. I'm very excited about that!
ReplyDeleteMy week was okay frugal. I was sad to need to buy glasses, and needed to buy sunglasses as well as regular glasses, but I got my prescription and bought them at Walmart, so saved a little. I haven't worn glasses, so felt uncomfortable to buy them online. I live in AZ and spent a lot of time outside, so was unwilling to not have sunglasses. My daughter needed glasses too, and I did get them at the doctor's office, because I was worried that they be just right. Her one pair was almost as much as my two pair. It seems there is always something unexpected.
We don't shop at Whole Foods either. Husband got some deals on gift cards, where he got a $10 gift card for $5, which makes them more affordable, but it's just not somewhere we're in the habit of shopping. We have Natural Grocers, Trader Joe's and Sprouts...of those, we shop Sprouts the most. Sprouts is opening a store that is much closer to us too, and we're looking forward to that as well!
DeleteI am due for an eye exam, and plan to order online this time around. Husband has done it with great success, and so have a few of my friends. I can understand wanting to get them in the store too, though. :)
You are getting a great price on your haircuts. Mine are $28 and it is way less than many salons here. My daughter pays $50 for a haircut. I figure it as a necessary expense since my hair is horrible any way but short.
ReplyDeleteWe did find some good deals at the grocery store. Colored peppers were $1.79 for 3 and I cut and froze them. They will last us for months and I will not have any waste since they are frozen. Strawberries were $1.49 a pound so we bought two for breakfast with our visiting kids and grandchildren on Saturday morning. I froze what was not eaten since they were cut and lightly sugared. We ate out less last week so that was a real savings, too.
I think I'm having a bit of haircut sticker shock because I have cut my own for so long. I got it professionally cut a couple of weeks before my job interview (I really, really wanted everything to be as optimal as I could make it!), and then I got a haircut that was just awful (different person), and ended up fixing it myself...resulting in fairly short hair that I cannot really maintain. This time around, I had her leave the top longer and just clean up all the little twigs of hair on the sides and in the back...so maybe I can grow it out a bit from here to something I can take care of again.
DeleteI'm a little jealous of your strawberry sale - I've been watching for one, but nothing. I thought maybe with Valentine's day, there would be a special, but there's not. There are other tasty fruits on sale, so I'm not complaining, really. :)
Great finds in the clearance bin. The candy bars will make a nice treat.
ReplyDeleteI've never checked at our local library to see if they have any adult reading programs, but I will.
We have a lot of toiletries on hand - there was an instant rebate on Suave products at Safeway a while back ($5 off $15), and he found 28oz bottles of shampoos and conditioners - ones he had coupons for - on clearance. They paid us to take those too. We've agreed that when Daughter's school has their food/toiletries drives for the local food bank, she can take lots of toiletries. We've also joked about washing the car with "curly formula" shampoo...but really, we're using it as shampoo, body wash, and to re-fill our hand soap pump dispensers.
DeleteOur library district has a big reading program for kids and teens in the summer, and now and then, a parent would say that he/she wished we had one for grownups, so we started it about 8-10 years ago. It's low key compared to the ones for kids, but still a lot of fun. I hope your district has something for you!
Hi Laura - Just reading your blog for the first time. I found your comments on fb to be well-informed and sensible, which I really appreciate. Was wondering about the newspaper pots - won't the newspaper get soggy? I have been collecting toilet paper roll cardboard for the same purpose, and had the same concern about that. I am really into growing milkweed for the monarch butterflies, and am planning on starting about 500 seedlings. Supplementing the tp rolls with cardboard would really save money.
ReplyDeleteFirst, welcome!, and thank you for your kind words. I have used the newspaper pots for several years now. They do get a bit soggy, but that's the beauty of them, really. You can plant the seedlings, pot and all, right into the spot, and the newspaper disintegrates into the soil. So...when I fill the pots with soil, I put them into the tray, and they don't get moved around after that. I water the entire tray, by adding water in between the pots, so the soil doesn't get disturbed from above. Early in the process, I cover the tray with plastic wrap for a greenhouse effect, too. So...the pots get a bit soggy, but since you're not moving them around at all, they don't fall apart. They do hold up well enough to get my things planted, and they are free to me (I take home old newspaper from work). With your cardboard TP rolls, it may take longer for the cardboard to break down, but it may or may not matter. Thank you for helping the Monarch Butterflies! :)
DeleteDo you have grow lights, or just put them in a windowsill? I've had grow lights, and a small greenhouse for years, but when we moved, it stayed, so I don't think I'll grow my own starts this year. But, I'm curious if it works for you without grow lights, or if things get leggy.
ReplyDeleteHi, Becky - I do have grow lights, but probably will not use them for this tray. It's not shaped the same as the lights I have, so it would be a lot of trouble, I think. I have a south-facing bay window in the dining room, and that has yeilded good results for me. If I had a larger garden plot, or if I were starting a lot more seedlings, I would set up in our basement, and I'd need the grow lights to get adequate lighting. If you have some seeds, you could always start a few and see how it goes. Tomatoes that get a bit leggy can simply be planted deeper - any part of the stem that gets covered with soil will root and give you a deeper root system overall.
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