Very "old-school" frugal stuff, but fun and saved me some money

You know when you've just about scraped out most of a tube of lipstick, but there is still some left in the very bottom?

One day, a few weeks ago, frustrated that it was such an ordeal every time I went to put lipstick on, I decided to get that last bit out, using a table knife and toothpick (yes, I did get every last bit out), and turn the remaining lip color into lip gloss. I put the salvaged lipstick into a small glass bowl, along with several slices off a tube of clear chapstick. 

I melted this in a short microwave burst, and stirred together. Since I had intended to make lip gloss I also stirred in some Vaseline (petroleum jelly). I scraped all of this into a tiny screw-cap container.

Voila! Homemade lip gloss. The container is from a cosmetic sample from Nordstrom. It's just the right size for something like lip gloss. It fits into a pocket or cosmetic bag in my purse, and the screw-on lid means it doesn't leak. Here's an indication of just how small it is. Lipstick on the left, "new" lip gloss on the right.

I really like the mixture of the 3 ingredients. The lipstick adds the color component, the Vaseline creates some shine, and the chapstick keeps the gloss from becoming too sloppy and bleeding onto the rest of my face, while maintaining the color longer. I used roughly 1/3 of each ingredient. Since I like sheer color on my lips I have really been enjoying this gloss. Again, like I said, kinda "old school" but I thought you might like to see that I am frugal in many areas of my life, not just grocery shopping!

Making a funfetti cake without a mix

My cost for the cake portion, including eggs and butter, was about $1 for this funfetti cake. I used this butter cake recipe for the batter base.

After the batter was blended together, I used a rubber spatula to fold in 1/3 cup of rainbow sprinkles. (I bolded the "fold in" part on purpose. If you use a mixer at this point you'll break the rainbow bits up and it won't look so nice.) That's all it takes. For a batch of batter that makes 2 8-inch layers, you need about 1/3 cup of sprinkles.

The batter looks sparsely populated with rainbow bits before it is baked. During baking the sprinkles all "explode" and give much more color to the cake.

The cake could have been about 40 cents cheaper if I had subbed margarine for the butter, but I happen to really like the flavor that butter adds to a vanilla cake. So I went with the real deal. I bought the rainbow sprinkles at Win Co in the bulk section. Much less expensive to buy them from bulk bins than in small containers in the baking section.

We have a family birthday this weekend . . .

. . . and I think that I can pull together a celebration meal and cake with foods that we have on hand. I am thinking of doing a Mexican-inspired dinner, followed by a scratch vanilla "funfetti" cake (using some of the rainbow sprinkles that I bought in January in the cake batter as well as on top of the frosting). We have a container of ice cream in the freezer, and soda pop in the pantry, if anyone in our group is interested. My daughters have chosen to go to the movies instead of a meal in a restaurant. So we will eat at home, and divert the money which would have been spent in a restaurant to cover the cost of movie tickets.

As you likely know, when you want to see a specific movie, on a specific day, tickets can be expensive. To bring the expense of the movie tickets into the price-range of what I had budgeted for a restaurant meal, I used the internet to carry out some research. I checked a variety of locations and times for the specific movie my daughters want to see. My research turned up 3 theaters within a 20-minute drive from our house, with cheaper tickets in the mid-afternoon at 2 of those theaters. The theater closest to us had the most expensive seats, with no afternoon discounts. (This one is in a mall and they likely have no trouble filling seats on a Saturday afternoon.)

For a 15-minute drive each way, (which will cost under $2 for additional gas compared to driving to the nearest theater), we can save $18 on the cost of tickets for our group. The mid-afternoon showing will finish in time to have us home for our simple birthday dinner and cake. Saves money and fits our schedule. I can't believe my little girls are now women -- they'll be 23 on Saturday! Where has the time gone?!

Anyway, those are our plans for this weekend. Anything going on in your area? Have a wonderful weekend!

Cheap & Cheerful meals for this past week

It's been a while since I made one of these meal posts. That's a large part due to the hodge-podge nature of meal-planning in our house for the last couple of months. But, here goes. I think I've remembered this past week's meals.

Saturday
cheddar cheese pizza
cole slaw

Sunday
roasted chicken
roasted vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions)

Monday
chicken on fried corn tortillas, topped with cheese and salsa
green peas

Tuesday
chicken and vegetable soup
focaccia (using leftover dough from Saturday's pizza, kept in the fridge)

Wednesday
chicken, vegetables, and dumplings

Thursday
stir fry of smoked chicken sausage, tofu, asparagus, celery, carrots, and garlic, with a liberal amount of toasted sesame oil (very, very delicious meal)
steamed brown rice

Friday
baked beans
cornbread
baked carrots
pickled beets (turned out to be spiced cranberry jelly -- I should really label these things!)

Saturday
barley and lentil salad
fry bread
gifted, leftover cake

Sunday
sausage and veggie soup
cheese quesadillas

Monday
leftover soup
fried corn tortillas
baby carrots and dip

A week and a half of very basic meals, based on basic ingredients (with the exception of the asparagus).

Conventional frugal living wisdom says to make your week's meal plans, then go shopping for ingredients. This type of thought process is especially helpful for the individual who doesn't know how to shop for basic meal ingredients which can be transformed into many different dishes.

Imagine if you were completely new to shopping for a household's groceries, and you didn't have a good grasp on what a family might eat in a week, or what ingredients would go into family favorite meals. You might wander up and down each aisle trying to decide what you wanted to eat, there on the spot. (BTW, this was exactly how my husband and I used to shop when we were first married. When you're poor newlyweds, grocery shopping easily becomes "date night.") This could be disastrous to your budget (which is was), and may not be enough meal ingredients to get through a week (which happened to us on many occasions), necessitating those extra stops at the market mid-week. So, planning a week's meals, then deciding what you need to make them, does make a lot of sense for households that just don't have a grasp, yet, on what a kitchen needs to be well-stocked.

However, I would hazard to guess that most of us, here, already know what our pantries need to have in them so that we can make several meals. This is how I shop. I keep my pantry filled with meal-making supplies, then I plan what we'll eat based on what I have. I like to think that this is the way people have made meals since the beginning of cooking. They ate from what they found, trapped, or hunted. They didn't create elaborate meal plans based on foods they didn't have, then go out hunting and searching for these foods. It's not an efficient use of energy to begin a meal plan with a dream, instead of ingredients on hand. Imagine the poor cave man who got sent out to find squab in caribou-hunting season, all so his lovely cave-bride could perform her culinary miracles over the open fire, and serve up a delicate and romantic meal under the stars.

Anyway (getting way off topic) the meals that we make in our house are almost always on the humble side, so humble that when there is a "very, very delicious" meal of a stir fry, it really stands out. I hope that your meals have been equally simple and satisfying in your home.

A mid-afternoon protein boost

Lately I've felt like I needed more protein in my day. I've turned to something that I read about in Prevention Magazine 15 years ago -- a tofu-orange drink. It's a bit like an orange Julius in flavor, more so with added sweetening.

to make one drink, I use:

4 1/2 ounces of tofu, rinsed
6 ounces of orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
honey, stevia, or sugar (optional)

Whirl all ingredients in a blender and serve.

The texture is smoothest, and flavor the mildest, if using silken or soft tofu. However, firm tofu has a higher protein content, so I often opt for that, and just "deal" with the texture.

For one glass of tofu-orange beverage I get 11 grams of protein (that's equal to almost 2 boiled eggs, or 1 chicken drumstick), 273 mg of calcium (about the same as in a cup of milk), 4 mg iron (the same as in about 2/3 cup of cooked spinach), and 540 mg potassium (about the same as in 1  1/4 bananas).

It's just what I need to get through the afternoon slump. The taste is good and it's easy to make. One serving costs about 60 cents in my kitchen (most of the cost is the tofu).

I know soy is a controversial food for many people. If it's not your thing, I understand. If it works for you, here's another way to use it.

A 10-minute Easter treat -- good for Easter baskets or just a surprise for loved ones

Milk Chocolate Egg Nests

Including taking photos, these took me 10 minutes to make, start to finish. Many years ago, I made all of the treats for my kids' Easter baskets. I made molded chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps, egg-shaped decorated sugar cookies, mini animal graham crackers, mini chocolate rabbits, fudge eggs, and these egg nests.

Russell Stover's sells a single coconut nest for about 33 to 39 cents. I don't think they even have the "eggs" in them any longer, just the coconut and chocolate. I made these for about 14 cents each.

The melting chocolate I bought on markdown, last spring, for $1.89/lb. You could also use chocolate chips (with about a teaspoon of shortening or coconut oil added to the melting), or a regular Hershey bar (again with a small amount of shortening for it to melt better), or you can use white "chocolate." With the white chocolate and milk chocolate bar, like Hershey's, you will want to melt slowly (a double-boiler, or if in the microwave, in short bursts of time -- 20 seconds -- with vigorous stirring in between. The high sugar content of both of those can scorch). Anyway, my price may be met using chocolate chips, if unlike me you do not happen to have coating chocolate in the pantry ;) My coconut was simply a bag of WinCo coconut that I purchased a year ago, and the jelly beans I bought for Easter egg hunts. But in calculating my cost per item, I included the cost of chocolate, coconut, and jelly beans.

Here is how easy they are:

I used about 4 ounces of chocolate, melted in the microwave according to package directions, stirring often between bursts of microwaving.

After melted, I stirred in 1/2 cup of coconut flakes.

I scooped the chocolate/coconut mixture into mounds on a sheet of waxed paper.

Using the back of the spoon that I stirred with, I formed the nest shape, making an indentation for the eggs.

I placed 3 jelly beans into each nest, pressing in slightly. Then I just let them sit and firm up on the counter. If I was in a hurry I might have put them in the fridge at this point.

So, this batch with 4 oz of chocolate and half-cup of coconut made 5  1/2 nests.If I had not been in such a hurry, I could have taken more time to divide the chocolate evenly, and made exactly 5. But this way, I get a little treat later today! You know, "quality control" sampling is allowed, and has zero calories.

I shared this idea because of all of the Easter treats that I have made over the years, these are one of the very easiest.

A long receipt for Senior Discount Day

I think this may have been my largest grocery shopping trip at Fred Meyer. I've bought more than this at Cash & Carry, but the carts are different there (flatbed style), so it never seems as much. The four indications that this was a big shopping trip:

1. I filled the cart above the top edges, and was hanging on to a few items so they wouldn't topple out.
2. My purchases completely filled the car's trunk, and I had to put several bags into the back seat.
3. I think this may be the longest receipt I have ever received, over a yard long -- 38 inches.
4. I completely filled both the garage fridge and the kitchen fridge.

I only deviated from my shopping list for a couple of items: some oyster crackers to use in soups (less expensive than the saltines that I buy, and at least part of the time that we eat crackers it's to crumble into soup); 2 extra loaves of bread, as they were marked down; asparagus because it was on sale for $1.49/lb; and 2 half gallons of chocolate milk, because they were marked down. I spent $111.48 on food. The other day I spent $91.97 at Cash & Carry. oh boy, this is not good -- $203.45 and it's only early March. The good news is that we won't need to shop for several weeks. Between the 2 stores, I think I bought just about everything we could need for the month of March. Maybe some of this will last into next month, but I don't like to count on something so unknown. I may be increasing our monthly grocery allotment.

Keeping a monthly log of what I buy is a money and time-saver

So, this month, this is how I have changed things just a little bit and I believe I will save both money and time.

Taking the most advantage of Senior Discount Day
I copied and pasted my "what I bought" section from February's journal into a Word document. Then, I went through the list, item by item, determining if I bought too much, too little, or just the right amount of each item. For the items that I buy at Fred Meyer, if they are house-brand, I save 10% if I buy them on the first Tuesday of the month. If I don't buy enough of the item, then I find myself back at the store paying that 10% extra. So, after going through my list, I adjusted the amounts accordingly, so that I can buy closer to the right amount, and take advantage of sales and discounts on specific items. Here's an example, I save 10% on soy yogurt at Fred Meyer on Senior Discount day. Soy yogurt is expensive stuff, so that can add up to a couple of dollars of savings if I buy enough to get through the entire month. On Senior Discount day in February, I did buy some soy yogurt, but not nearly enough to get through till March. I subsequently bought more at the full price. Misjudging how much I would want cost me 93 cents.

Comparing prices between what I paid this past month and Cash & Carry's online info 
After adjusting amounts (and deleting any items that I don't want for March), I used my price paid info for Fred Meyer in my journal and the product/price search on Cash & Carry's website to see which store sold each product at the best price. Cash & Carry is not always the best-price store, even when buying in institutional sizes. I noted on my list where I would be buying each item. My list now entails 1 stop at Cash & Carry, 1 stop at Fred Meyer, and 1 stop at Dollar Tree.

By doing just these two things, adjusting amounts to what we actually need for the month, and sourcing the better store for each item, it looks like I will save about $10. This is on top of savings that I already realize each month through sticking to a mostly "basics" shopping list, and shopping at the low-cost stores and shopping loss-leaders.

Saving time making my list
The time-saving aspect is that 80% of my list was generated by my previous grocery journal. The other 20% will be items which come up on sale in March, and the few items of which we completely ran out. How simple is that for making out a shopping list -- cut/paste into a Word doc -- easy-peasy done.

I made my stop at Cash & Carry, as they had items on sale through yesterday that I wanted to be sure to pick up. Tomorrow is Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. My list is long, but at least I am organized. Up and out early it shall be!

While waiting for Senior Discount grocery day . . .

I am making do with what is in the kitchen, including:

• stretching the remaining decaf black tea by drinking herb tea, made with herbs cut and dried from my garden 2 summers ago (if only I kept bees, the honey would be free, too). I am drinking mixed mint tea and lemon balm tea. Both very good, and I can drink them right up till bedtime with no after effects.
• making steel cut oats in the crockpot overnight a couple of nights per week. I add dried blueberries in the morning for "gourmet" oatmeal.
• ran out of white flour, so I'm substituting sifted whole wheat flour (to remove some of the bran) for all-purpose in some simple baking. BTW, this was horrible in a lemon mug cake, but worked well in a chocolate one. The wheat-y taste overwhelmed the lemon, but was disguised by cocoa powder.
• scrounging the freezers for overlooked items, I found a 3-lb box of frozen spinach, hot dogs, bacon, cream puffs, and smoked salmon. A few special items to get us through the last few days till Tuesday.
• using mint syrup that I made and canned 2 summers ago from my mint plants, when making chocolate-mint cocoa.
• used some milk that was a week past the sell-by date to make chocolate pudding. I packed the leftovers into a small canning jar for my daughter's lunch (this one loves pudding!).  BTW, small peanut butter jar lids fit some, but not all, canning jars. The narrow opening, pint and half pint-sized canning jars must be a tad larger where the threads are, than the small, squat 4-oz jars and the globe-shaped, fruit-embossed 8-oz jars. Those latter two jars work well with plastic lids from commercial jars, like peanut butter ones.
• scraped out a jam jar and blended with plain cream cheese for a flavored cream cheese spread. Really delicious on saltine crackers.

There is still plenty of food in the kitchen. These are just some of the treats that I've made to make what we have left seem "special." You know how it is, the "good" stuff gets gobbled up quickly after shopping. What remains is all of the ordinary foods, or basic ingredients. I find that if I make extra efforts in that last week before a major shopping trip, then we don't feel deprived of any of that "good" stuff that we had earlier.

Senior Discount day is this coming Tuesday. I've been putting together my list and will refrain from buying anything that I plan on getting at Fred Meyer where my discount would apply, until then. The big challenge will be this weekend, with everyone home. I'll have to put on some creativity.

February 2018 Grocery Journal

A new month, a new budget. I have $158.18 in the grocery budget for February. It's a short month, so that should help.

Feb. 3. Saturday mornings have become a time for one daughter and I to do a little grocery shopping. She chooses foods that she wants to eat for the weekend, and I pick up foods for my other daughter for her to make quick lunches. (The other daughter has been busy on Saturdays, in rehearsals, so I pick foods for her.) Fred Meyer is my low-cost option. What I bought this week -- 3 marked down apples ($1), 6 bananas (49 cents/lb), 1 small bunch celery (99 cents/lb), 3 lbs onions ($1.49), 1 green pepper (79 cents), 1 English cucumber (69 cents), 1 box of granola bars ($2.19), 1 loaf of whole wheat bread ($1.50), about 5.5 lbs of petite sirloin steak, beef ($2.97/lb), 2 regular yogurts (40 cents each), 2 soy yogurts ($1.39/each), 1 lb box of strawberries ($1.97), 1 gallon milk ($2.59), 1 package hot dogs (89 cents). I also bought a marked down individual spinach, bacon, cranberry, parmesan salad bowl for $1.99 -- my lunch after shopping. Tuesday will be Senior Discount Day, so I didn't want to buy a whole lot today, just enough to get through a few days. Total spent today -- $37.05

Feb. 6. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. I bought 3 lb container vegetable shortening (4.47), 3 jars peanut butter (1.61 ea), organic raspberry spread (3.17), 2 large jars applesauce (1.79 ea), 2 cans tuna (72 cents ea), 3 half gallons milk (89 cents ea), half gallon soy milk (2.25), 2 frozen orange juice concentrate, 12 oz (1.34 ea), 24 oz string cheese(4.49), 4 8-oz bricks sharp cheddar (1.50 ea), 5 lbs carrots (2.69), 3 lbs onions (1.49), marked down onion, 1/2 lb (10 cents), 2 marked down avocados (45 cents ea), 2 yams (99 cents/lb), 2 English cucumbers (69 cents ea), bundle celery (99 cents/lb), 1 lb tofu (1.52), 5 soy yogurts (1.25 ea), 12 yogurts (36 cents ea), 2 boxes whole wheat saltines (1.35 ea), box graham crackers (1.79), box granola bars (2.06), 2 packs ramen soup (25 cents ea), 2 packs flour tortillas (89 cents ea), 5 oz bag cooked bacon bits for salads (2.18), 2 14-oz chicken Polish sausage (2.49/ea), 2 18-ct eggs (1.87 ea), 5 lbs potatoes (1.59), turkey bacon (2.24), 1/4 lb dried blueberries (3.10), .11 lb pepita seeds (67 cents), .12 lb dried cranberries (44 cents), 3 marked down apples (66 cents/lb), bag of spinach (1.79), large bag salad kit(3.79), 3 marked down bananas (39 cents/lb), marked down meat, cheese, veggie and dip tray (5.39), whole wheat hot dog buns (1.12), 5 loaves whole wheat bread (1.35 ea). Total spent --$106.67

Total spent for the month, so far -- $143.72

I think that we're pretty well set for the month. I'll make one more stop at Fred Meyer later in the month, hopefully spending $20, to pick up produce and whatever else my daughter wants for weekends. I think the milk, bread, cheese and egg situation is good for the month. Those are staples that I need to keep on hand. If a great sale on another regularly-used item comes up, then I will spend more and go over budget. But that can't be helped, if it's something I need.

Feb.10. One-day sale on butter at Fred Meyer, $1.99/lb, limit 5 lbs (w/ coupon). I buy my 5, and 3 loaves of bread, marked down to 79 cents/loaf, package of 2 donuts, marked down to 49 cents total, 3 marked down apples (about 66 cents/lb), a large jar of salsa (2.50), 1 Clif bar for my daughter (1.25) and my freebies for the week of a 2-pack of aluminum foil baking trays and 1 box of Valentine's candy hearts. Total spent $17.56

The butter sale came at just the right moment, as we had run out of butter earlier in the week. Unfortunately, this was a one-day, limit 5 per household, with downloadable coupon type of sale. No wiggle room for buying any more than the limit. Provided we don't do a lot of baking, I think we can make this stretch for 2 months. The salsa and Clif bar were items that I could have picked up on Tuesday, and received a discount, but I forgot them. I would have saved 38 cents if I had remembered. Oh well. I can't fix that now. The package of 2 donuts will be divided into 4 portions for Sunday or Monday's breakfast. A fun treat, and only 25 cents per donut.

Total spent so far -- $161.28

Feb. 14. Valentine's Day. Went to Fred Meyer to pick up some asparagus ($1.67/lb), mushrooms $1.89/lb) and strawberries ($3.49/lb) for the special day.  I'll use steaks from earlier this month, and shrimp from the freezer (bought in December), potatoes, and bake a small cheesecake for tonight's special dinner.
Spent today --$7.23

Feb. 21. Last shopping of the month. I bought 1 box of 8 donuts on markdown (99 cents), 4 individual yogurts on markdown (19 cents each), 3 lbs of strawberries ($5 for 3 boxes), 3 marked down apples (about 66cents/lb), 3 bananas (49 cents/lb), almost a quart of soy yogurt ($6.49), 1 Hershey's candy bar (freebie). Total spent -- $14.75


Total for the month -- $183.26


I've added information on what I buy from markdown racks to the list below, after such items. I add this to show how I shop, in a sense.

• When I first enter the grocery store I head straight for the markdown produce rack. The rack is filled early to mid-morning every day, and is reloaded throughout the morning. I plan shopping for that time period. I always find something I want on the rack. 
• In addition, there is packaged produce in the cooler/sprayed area, like bags of salad, veggie trays, mushrooms that are marked down in their regular area of the store. Those items are more hit and miss. 
• After checking the marked down produce, I next head to the milk, bakery, and general merchandise marked down racks (all adjacent to one another).  
• After markdowns, I check for the freebie of the week (often limited amounts available).This does mean a little extra leg work, as I survey all of the marked down racks/areas, and freebie items before buying the rest of the groceries. The marked-down produce makes fresh produce in winter affordable for our budget. 
• When I have finished my shopping, I circle back to the produce department to see if the produce markdowns have been reloaded. They often have been. 
• At Fred Meyer, I find better prices on meat as loss leaders, than on markdown. But I do know that many other stores have great prices on marked down meat.

For the time being, we are feeding 3.5 people almost all meals per week. One family member is receiving about half the week's meals in a treatment program for an illness. I don't have a lot of time for chasing sales right now, and less time/energy to cook from scratch. My garden is dormant, and I preserved extraordinarily little from last years garden (some herbs, blackberries, and 2 pumpkins). I had some meat in the freezer and staples in the pantry from fall shopping, but no large stashes of canned goods.So, what I am buying this winter is a good indication of what we are living off. I've splurged on several occasions. It's just been that sort of month. I went over my budgeted amount by $25.08. March should bring us closer to the $200/month allotment.

What I Bought:

Meat
2 packages hot dogs
5.5 lbs beef steaks
2 large "ropes" Polish sausage
1 package turkey bacon
2 cans tuna
container cooked bacon bits

Dairy Case
2.5 gallons milk
25 individual containers yogurt (4 marked down)
not quite qt of soy yogurt
1 lb tofu
2.5 lbs cheddar
1.5 lbs string cheese
1/2 gallon soy milk
3 dozen eggs
5 lbs butter

Produce
5 lbs strawberries
2 bunches celery
1 green pepper
3 cucumber
12 apples (markdown rack)
12 bananas (3 markdown rack)
1 single serving salad (markdown rack)
6.5 lbs. onions (1/2 lb markdown rack)
2 large jars applesauce
2 cans orange juice concentrate (enough for 98 oz juice)
2 avocados (markdown rack)
2 yams
5 lbs potatoes
dried blueberries
dried cranberries
bag of baby spinach
large bag of salad kit
large meat, cheese, veggie and dip tray (markdown rack)
1 lb mushrooms (markdown rack)
1.12 lbs asparagus

Pantry
2 boxes granola bars
9 loaves bread (3 markdown rack)
1 package hot dog buns
2 boxes whole wheat crackers
1 box graham crackers
20 flour tortillas
vegetable shortening
3 jars peanut butter
1 jar raspberry spread
2 packs ramen soup
pepita seeds
1 package Valentine's candy (freebie)
1 Clif bar
2 donuts (markdown rack)
jar of salsa
1 box of 8 donuts (marked down)
1 Hershey candy bar (freebie)

January 2018 Grocery Journal

I didn't post an itemization of December spending at the end of last month. In totaling the receipts, I spent $330. Yeah -- a lot for me! But, we entertained guests on two occasions and had an additional two nice meals for our family, within that $330. I had an entertaining and holiday meal budget of $80 for those four events, so, only $250 came out of the grocery budget. That amount was still over by about $70, and I had overspent the previous month by $62 -- sooooo, I begin the new year $132 in the hole.

Jan. 2. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. I did well. 2 lbs of whole wheat pasta (90 cents/lb), whole wheat saltines ($1.34), 4 loaves of day old bread (79 cents/each), 2 jars of peanut butter (1 free, 1 for $1.25), 2 jars of applesauce ($1.79 each), 2 gallons milk ($2.33/gallon), 7 bananas (49 cents/lb), 12 marked down apples for about 50 cents/lb, 1 head of green cabbage (49 cents/lb), 1 lb marked down mushrooms ($1.89), 1 green bell pepper (50 cents), 3 protein bars (90 cents each), 2 lbs of cashews ($4.04/lb), 2 cans tuna (71 cents each), 1 lb tofu ($1.61), 1/2 gallon soy milk ($2.24), 5 lbs potatoes ($1.59), 5 lbs carrots ($2.69), box of 8 donuts (99 cents), 24-oz jar salsa ($2.25), 2-pack fruit cups (freebie). I had a $5 off any purchase coupon on top of the deals and sales. My total spent on food was $51.42.

Jan. 4. WinCo for some ice cream and cocoa toppings (they've got a great bulk bin selection). I remembered cash and my own bag -- woo hoo! Small amount hot/cold chocolate milk mix (48 cents), instant dry milk ($1.13), coffee creamer (45 cents), chocolate sprinkles ($2.30), 2 candy canes (6 cents each), mini marshmallows (98 cents), rainbow sprinkles ($1.92), peanuts (81 cents), plus some baking cocoa for brownies (65 cents), 3 lbs onions (98 cents), 2 cans olives (88 cents each), olive oil ($5.06). 6 cent refund for bringing my own bag. Spent $16.58. I bought lots of many ingredients, enough extra for decorating birthday cakes this spring, and Easter fairy cakes.

Spent so far -- $68.00

Jan. 13. One daughter needed to pick up a few things for herself at Fred Meyer, so I gave her a ride and checked out the produce while there. I bought 1 large, marked down veggie tray for $4.49, 16 marked down apples for about 50 cents/lb, and 2 half gallons of milk for 99 cents each. The apples will be great for lunches and the veggie tray is for an after church lunch on Sunday. we don't need as much milk as we used to. I think the 2 half gallons will get us through the end of the month. Total spent -- $10.47

Jan. 8. Daughter picked up ice cream for the family, and I reimbursed her. $2.50

Spent so far -- $80.97

Jan. 20. Fred Meyer for produce and to use "freebie" coupons. I bought 1 head green cabbage (49 cents/lb), 1 large cucumber (79 cents), 1 27 oz bag Asian salad mix ($2.29), 2 marked down bananas (39 cents/lb), 5 bananas (49 cents/lb), 6 marked down apples (about 66 cents/lb), 1 loaf whole wheat bread($1.50), 1 package hot dogs (89 cents), 2-pack Chobani yogurt (freebie), 1 Lara bar (freebie), 1 bag kettle corn (freebie). Spent $9.74

Spent so far -- $90.71

Jan. 27. More produce and bread at Fred Meyer. I bought 6 marked down apples (about 66 cents/lb), 1 large cucumber (69 cents), 2 lb bag of carrots ($1.29), 5 bananas (49 cents/lb), 3 small yogurts (40 cents each), 1 soy yogurt ($1.39), 1 lb sharp cheddar cheese ($2.99), 1 loaf of whole wheat bread ($1.50), 1 Epic Bison and Cranberry protein snack bar (freebie -- was super delicious and I might buy this sometime in the future). Spent $11.63.

Spent so far, for January -- $102.34

Jan. 30. A splurge for my lunch -- I stopped at Safeway while getting supplies to repair a broken tail light lens. I bought a large cup of mixed berries and a vegetable and cheese tray. Total spent $7.48.

Spent for the month of January -- $109.82

We're living off of frozen and pantry foods, supplemented with smaller purchases of produce, bread, and dairy. In addition to buying "regular" foods, I also picked up a few treats for our family, including cocoa mix and sprinkles/marshmallows, ice cream, cashews, and donuts. These treats keep us from buying more expensive take-out snacks, like coffee shop cocoa, donut shop pastries, or ice cream cones, yet we still have the satisfaction of a nice treat.


So, $109.82 -- I think I did a great job keeping grocery spending down this month. I had $68 in the grocery budget at the beginning of the month (after subtracting the amount I had overspent in December). I am still over, but now only by $41.82. I'll carry that overage into February's budget. For February, I'll have $158.18 for groceries.


What I bought:

Meat
2 cans tuna fish
1 package hot dogs
1 individual serving meat and fruit protein bar

Dairy Case
3 gallons milk
1/2 gallon soy milk
1 lb tofu
ice cream
6 single-serve containers yogurt (2 were freebies)
1 lb cheddar cheese

Produce
2 large jars applesauce
52 apples
19 bananas
1 green pepper
2 heads green cabbage
2 fruit cups (freebie)
7 lbs carrots
1 lb mushrooms
5 lbs potatoes
24 ounces salsa
large mixed veggie tray
2 cucumbers
large bag salad
large cup of fresh berries
small vegetable/dip and cheese tray

Pantry 
1 lb saltines
2 lbs whole wheat pasta
6 loaves bread
4 protein bars (1 freebie)
8 donuts
2 lbs cashews
2 16 oz jars peanut butter (1 freebie)
1 bag of mini marshmallows
assorted toppings, like peanuts, sprinkles, candy canes
1/4 lb of baking cocoa
ingredients for over a pint of instant cocoa mix
pint of olive oil
2 cans olives
1 bag kettle corn (freebie)

It's been several weeks. . .

since my last post. I offer my apologies. I am going through a difficult time right now -- something I have to do alone, and in my own head much of the time. This, combined with a schedule that leaves me chronically sleep-deprived, means that I have had little to say on the topic of frugal living, or anything else, for that matter. I hope you are not only well, but thriving!

About frugal living . . .

we continue to live somewhat frugally (big medical bills, but otherwise, we're keeping spending in check). The area in which I think our family does exceptionally well is discretionary spending. I am guessing that many of you excel in this area, too. Discretionary spending is an interesting topic for many of us. And it's interesting to the U.S. government, too. The Department of Labor and Statistics tracks information about consumer spending every year.

When it comes to spending, I define discretionary as non-essential and optional. I consider school costs, including required books and tuition, as non-discretionary. Here are the top 10 categories of discretionary spending that the US gov't tracks.

1) apparel products, related services of repair and cleaning (includes dry cleaning, storage and rental of clothing, jewelry and watch repair)

2) tobacco

3) entertainment equipment and services (includes sports equipment, hunting/fishing equipment, boats, and photography equipment)

4) alcoholic beverages, in home or out

5) fees and admissions (concerts, movies, live performances, sporting events)

6) vacations/leisure travel (includes lodging and travel expenses)

7) hobbies, books for leisure reading, toys, pets and veterinary care, backyard playground equipment 

8) television, radio, sound equipment and service, internet providers, computers and video games

9) gifts

10) food not consumed at home

So, for myself -- never spend in categories 2 or 4. In January, no spending in categories 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, or 9 (I don't count charitable gifts or tithing as category #9). We did pay the bill for #8, internet service (no cable or satellite TV), and 3 of us went out to lunch at Five Guys one Saturday, category #10. That's it -- aside from buying needed groceries, school supplies, and paying the non-discretionary bills (including tuition), our frivolous discretionary spending for the entire month of January consisted of internet service for the household and one lunch out. 

During this month, we also entertained guests once, at home, cooking from scratch. When out running errands/going to appointments, I have brought coffee made at home with me, or drank whatever freebies were available, and brought snacks or breakfast wrapped in a napkin to eat when hungry. I have made my own sweets, treats, and snacks from ingredients in the pantry. We watched movies on dvds or online, entertained myself with online sudoku and crossword puzzles, and leisure-traveled nowhere.  Fortunately, no birthdays this month for which to buy gifts. And I bought no clothing, jewelry, or hobby supplies. I'd say that 2018 is off to a good start. We can't really do anything about medical bills. One either needs medical care or they don't. Those bills are sinking us now; hopefully, in the near future, medical expenses will once again be next to nothing.

When I'm paying big, big bills, it sometimes helps to think of all of the ways that I am not spending.

The toppings and cocoa bar

So, those nice jars that I cleaned up last week. Here they are filled.

The kiosk where I saw something similar was selling funnel cakes or ice cream or something like that, which were topped with customer's choice from some nice jars. Those jars were filled with sprinkles, chopped nuts, granola, gummy candies, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips. My thought in that moment was "wouldn't these be fun filled with sprinkles to add to toast, bread and butter, pbj's, waffles, yogurt, cocoa, or ice cream, just to fun-tize something which is otherwise sort of ordinary."

I had to take care to not buy anything that would just be eaten by the handful, so chocolate chips would not be an option, nor would granola (otherwise I would be refilling the jars daily). And I wanted to do this on a budget, so I scoured my kitchen (leftover candy canes anyone?), then went to WinCo for their bulk bin selection and low prices.

Besides the large jar in the center back filled with cocoa mix, this is what else I chose for the jars.

rainbow sprinkles

chopped peanuts

mini marshmallows

chocolate sprinkles

broken candy canes

flaked coconut

All set on a simple tray from my pantry. Now, who would like a piece of fairy bread?

Repurposed glass jars for something special

Do you ever see something in a store or at the mall that provides inspiration for your own interpretation of an item or set of items?

Over the holidays, my daughters and I spent a couple of mornings at our local mall, where I was struck with the appeal of some filled jars on a ledge of a kiosk. I won't give away what was in those jars just yet. Anyway, I thought "gee, I need to get me some of them neato jars." My two daughters were with me that morning and agreed that my idea would be awesome. Once home I found that I had 6 of these square Lemon Curd jars, which looked to be perfect for my little project.

The obstacle (as always with repurposed jars) is the labels, front and back and very well-adhered to the glass. However, these jars are square, which means the labeled sides would rest flatly in a shallow dish of rubbing alcohol. Just before heading out to run errands I placed 4 of the jars in a glass dish with a small amount of isopropyl alcohol. When I came home I used a metal scraper to remove the bulk of the label on the underside, and then flipped the jars over. After removing the paper part of the labels I continued to soak the jars for a little longer, until I could use a cloth to rub off any sticky residue. I ran the jars through the dishwasher and I now have 6 wonderful square jars for filling.

Come back on Monday to see what these are now filled with.

The rubbing alcohol is reusable. I put what was still in the dish into a glass jar to use another time.

Happy New Year!

Greetings, friends!

I woke up to this on Christmas morning!

It has been several weeks since I posted last. I wasn't ready to come back until this week. December was a bittersweet month. Some sadness, some joy. But January is here, and a new year of hope is upon us. Even without losing a friend or providing support for a family member's illness, December is always a difficult month for me. Life feels like it gets narrower in December. In contrast, January ushers in an openness and broad expanses of possibilities. And so, I am very grateful to be in the new year.

My January "Haul" 

This morning was Senior Discount Day for me. One daughter was home with me so the two of us did the shopping together. January's grocery shopping should be much more frugal than November's and December's. I took advantage of several coupons, stacked with discount on store-brand products, and spent $51.42. I'll also need to make 1 trip to Cash & Carry for a couple of items. Even so, I don't think I will spend more than $150.00 on food for the month. I spent a lot in December, so I hope to make up for some of the overspending in the early months of 2018. We're off to a great start! On the 1st, we went to Goodwill and I spent a grand total of 28cents (something for next Christmas), one daughter bought nothing, and the other bought a jacket (her money, not mine). And today, the daughter who came shopping with me treated me to lunch out. (We split a burger and fries at our local Shake 'N Go.)

I'm back to posting on my blog, but for the next few weeks, I will likely post just a few times per week. I hope that you had a lovely holiday and are primed for 2018. Happy new year!

A Hand-crafted Christmas Item

This is one of my favorite decor items that I have made. I did this many years ago and bring it out each Christmas. I followed something that I found in a magazine, so no credit to me for the idea. Anyway, The tree is embroidered using a chain stitch and zig zag stitch on my ordinary sewing machine. My machine came with about 4 or 5 different stitch possibilities, and I used these two.

I took a square of plain fabric and pieced together the border in blue around the square. Then I ironed on some interfacing to the backside to keep the fabric stiff for machine embroidery. Using a piece of chalk, I drew the outline for my primitive tree on the fabric, overlapping onto the border slightly.

With brown thread in the machine, I used a wide, but tight, zig zag stitch to create the trunk of the tree, periodically making the width of the stitch narrower as I ascended the trunk. Switching to forest green thread and changing the stitch to a chain stitch, I used both forward and reverse stitching to create primitive branches on the tree, and some needles along the trunk.

Once the tree was complete, I added a "pot" out of a square of print fabric that it attached with a tight zig zag stitch.

The ornaments and tree topper are buttons sewn to the plain fabric. I stitched on gold thread for the "hangers" for each ornament.

Finally, I made edge-piping out of red and white striped fabric on the diagonal, then sandwiched that in between the front and back of the pillow and stitched 7/8 of the way around, turned right side out, stuffed and hand-stitched the opening closed.

I share this idea because I think the primitive tree design, without ornaments, could be used to embellish a plain fabric for a table runner, napkins, or plain stockings for the holidays. It's simplicity is charming, IMO.

DIY mailing labels

Do you buy mailing labels? I'm guessing you don't either. I just make mine out of a 3X5 notecard (or similar-sized piece of paper), glue stick, and clear package tape.

I cover the back of a card with glue stick, attach to package, and address with a Sharpie.

Then I cover the whole thing with clear packing tape. The packing tape holds the card on, waterproofs the label, and seals the package shut.

DIY mailing labels have been working just fine for me -- never a hitch. Just sayin'.

Cheap & Cheerful for a Chilly Week

Saturday
turkey-vegetable soup
biscuits

Sunday
bean, rice and cheese burritos
peas

Monday
spaghetti and meatballs
peas
green beans
garlic bread

Tuesday
scrambled eggs
smashed potatoes
cole slaw
baked squash

Wednesday
lentil, sausage, and vegetable soup
Yorkshire pudding
applesauce

Thursday
fried rice with veggies, tofu, egg, and potstickers
canned pineapple slices


I hope everyone had a wonderful week. We've been trying to get into the Christmas spirit. Last Sunday we went to a concert of carols which was lovely. One daughter narrated. The rest of the week has been a bit harried and anxiety-provoking. Seeking help for a family member. Keep us in your prayers, if you can.

Have a terrific weekend!

Lentil Love

I spent a very long afternoon in a waiting room yesterday (for a family member, not me). Fortunately. they had free coffee and tea. I think I personally emptied their pot of decaf. I meant to grab a banana on my way out the door, but got side-tracked printing out a map. All I had to eat in my purse was a tiny candy cane and a few Tums. Not exactly gourmet dining. By the time we got home it was 4:30 and I had nothing made for dinner, or even partly made, and I was pretty hungry. Lentils to the rescue.

I worked as hard and fast as I could and managed to get a lentil, sausage, and vegetable soup plus Yorkshire pudding made by 5:45. I added some applesauce for everyone, and dinner was ready for the table.

So, what I love about lentils --

• they're fast, taking about 40 minutes, or so, to cook till tender
• they don't need pre-soaking
• they're high in fiber (and we know why that's important)
• they're packed with protein -- the Harvard School of Public Health ranked them above beef, chicken and fish for a protein source, to reduce the onset of major diseases
• they're a good source of folate and iron, two nutrients important for women's health 
• they're cheap 

I have another, similar appointment to attend on Friday. I think I'll plan ahead a little better.

Senior Shopping Day for December

A very full cart once again! I spent $95.66 on food. I combined coupons with sales, clearance, and discounts as much as I could. I even picked up a package of Lil Smokies for our tree-decorating party, the turkey bacon for Christmas day brunch and the ham for Christmas dinner. I think I did pretty well. We are now stocked on sugar and coffee, enough for about 6 months, and eggs enough to get through January. I'll make a stop at Cash and Carry later this week or next week and should be well-stocked for the month. I made one mistake. I thought the sale on peanut butter was good for natural as well as regular peanut butter. It wasn't. I don't want to return this for the regular stuff as one of my kids really prefers the natural style. I had a $9 off coupon for my total sale, so in my mind I'm just figuring that $9 covered the non-sale price on the peanut butter, bringing my cost per jar down to 44 cents.

Once again, the shopping exhausted me. Does anyone else feel on edge when they buy so much? As I was loading everything onto the conveyer belt to check out I felt uneasy about spending that much money in one go, and bringing home that much food. Now that it's home I'm glad to have it all, but the uneasiness of spending a lot at once is hard to take.

Five Fabulously Free Decorating Ideas for the Holidays

We'll be entertaining a couple of times over the holidays, so I'm in decor-mode right now. I thought I'd show you 5+ things that I did yesterday afternoon, without spending a single cent. You may have similar supplies at home. My decorating philosophy -- use what you have.

1) bowl of mini candy canes-- these are leftovers
that I had in the pantry, bought at Dollar Tree last year

2) cedar branches from our yard popped
into a vase for an evergreen "bouquet" table centerpiece

3) another bowl, but filled with tree ornaments--for the
living room coffee table, we'll put the tree in
a different room, but want decor for this room, too

4) a large bell tied to the door knob with a ribbon--this is
an auditory decor item, as well as visual

5) a red scarf as a table topper--this scarf is
from my own closet, something that I wear,
but due to its size and color it also makes a great table topper

bonus, I've shown this to you before, pillar candles wrapped in sheet music
 and tied with a red ribbon--I found the sheet music online
 and printed at home for the cost of ink and 1 sheet of paper

A Favorite Frugal Holiday Cookie

Our church's coffee hour servers work on a quarterly schedule. Once per quarter we each take a Sunday and prepare coffee, juice, and snacks or treats. My block comes up in December every year. Although this is a very busy month, I am always happy to work coffee hour in December. Making gingerbread men is a favorite holiday activity for me, even when I'm making them by myself.  Yesterday was my Sunday to serve. Saturday I baked the gingerbread men, then early Sunday morning I added the icing trim.

There are a lot of recipes for gingerbread cookies. Some recipes call for eggs, vanilla extract, and two to three times the amount of butter compared with the recipe that I follow. This recipe uses 1/4 cup of butter, no eggs, and no vanilla extract. As long as I have molasses in the pantry, I can always make these cookies. So, once again, I share this very frugal version of gingerbread men. Click here for the recipe.

Gingerbread men are a nostalgic holiday treat for many folks. My own grandmother was not the baking sort of grandma. Yet I still associate these cookies with a grandma's warm and fragrant kitchen on a cold December afternoon. I think several members of my church family must also have pleasant associations with them, as they were gobbled up quickly. Happy holiday baking!

Cheap & Cheerful Supers for the end of November

We did not roast a turkey for Thanksgiving, but chose to do a whole chicken instead. It was simpler and I had one in the freezer already. So our meals don't contain turkey leftovers! Scheduling-wise, celebrating on Saturday worked better for our family.

Saturday
cream of spinach soup
meatballs in thai peanut sauce
roast chicken
braised lamb shanks
macaroni and cheese
potato salad
dinner rolls
sweet potato casserole
green bean casserole
cranberry sauce
pumpkin pie
pumpkin cheesecake

Sunday
leftovers from the previous day

Monday
a mixture of leftovers combined into 1 casserole, plus leftover potato salad and mac and cheese

Tuesday
casserole of brown rice, lentils, chicken
random leftovers divided amongst us

Wednesday
chicken, rice, and pumpkin soup
cole slaw
fresh fruit

Thursday
corn and sausage souffle
oven-roasted sweet potatoes
broccoli


Today marks the beginning of the last month of the year. So much has happened in this past year. And there is so much left to do in this last month. One thing that has remained constant is home-prepared meals almost every day. I have enlisted help from other family members, and relied on more ready-made products. But in the end, we have delicious dinners on a very low budget. So I think we're doing well. I think that I'm happy with how the meals are turning out.

What was on your menu this past week? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.