This past week wasn't the easiest week in which to be frugal.
Rose was teething.
Which meant she got a low grade fever for a couple of days, and was super cranky.
She only wanted to be held.
Even while she was sleeping, she insisted on being held. The second I tried to put her down while sleeping, she'd wake up, and we'd be back to square one.
So frugality wasn't the easiest this week, because I was very short on free time in which to actually do anything.
But even so, it was a pretty decent week in terms of frugality.
Rose was teething.
Which meant she got a low grade fever for a couple of days, and was super cranky.
She only wanted to be held.
Even while she was sleeping, she insisted on being held. The second I tried to put her down while sleeping, she'd wake up, and we'd be back to square one.
So frugality wasn't the easiest this week, because I was very short on free time in which to actually do anything.
But even so, it was a pretty decent week in terms of frugality.
I didn't cloth diaper at all, but I also didn't rewash any loads of laundry. I didn't throw out much from my fridge either. And I didn't use the dryer.
As for what I actually did to save money this past week, here it is:
Frugal Shopping
I Stocked up on chicken on sale (whole chickens, chicken breast), as well as dirt cheap produce- cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, onion, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, and onions, for between 10-50 cents a pound, most of which was closer to 10 cents a pound!
Bought some cheap toys for my kids- a quarter each- from a cheapo store.
I needed some gluten rolls for my husband, but didn't want 10 rolls that came in the package since I only needed four. My friend was trying to decide if she should buy the whole wheat rolls since she wasn't sure if her family would eat them, so she didn't want to waste it all. So we worked it out- we ended up splitting the bag, each of us got half, and it worked out perfectly for both of us.
Free Things
Organized a book swap- gave away and got a whole bunch of great books.
Got a bunch of free books from a friend.
Taught a foraging class and took a chance at not hiring a babysitter to watch my kids (saved me money) and instead gave them a bunch of cheap toys I brought along to entertain them- they behaved since they were entertained- and it cost much less than a babysitter.
Dumpster dove a cute pair of Birkenstocks style sandals.
Swapped babysitting hours with a friend when I had to go out- I got free babysitting this time, and I'll babysit her kids free next time she needs it.
Foraging
Foraged redbud, henbit, wild fennel, rosemary, lavender, eryngo and lemons.
Foraged rosemary, olive leaves.
Frugal in the Kitchen
Made my husband lunch for work instead of him buying, for a fraction of the cost.
Served lacto-fermented sprouted hummus for lunch.
Made a crockpot meal with bits and bobs I found in the freezer, so we'd have hot food when we came home from our trip.
Made homemade wild herbs de provence.
Butchered some whole chickens I bought cheaply, and even deboned the dark meat, something I rarely do!
Made chicken broth from the chicken bones.
Rendered chicken fat and cracklings.
Made homemade ketchup.
Made lentil mujadarra for supper.
Made homemade vegan mayonnaise.
Made chickpea based cookies from sprouted cooked chickpeas I had in my freezer.
Made homemade grain free vegan crackers, experimenting with a few different variations to try to find the tastiest cheapest way to make it (recipe coming soon).
Made homemade pickles- two types- regular and bread and butter pickles.
Turned my leftover chicken broth into tomato soup.
All in all... for a week in which my baby was not cooperative, and in which I was out of the house very often and lots of things were going on, I managed to be pretty frugal fortunately!
What did you do to save money this past week? Would you say it was a frugal week or a not so frugal week? Any frugal moves you're especially proud of?
I Stocked up on chicken on sale (whole chickens, chicken breast), as well as dirt cheap produce- cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, onion, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, and onions, for between 10-50 cents a pound, most of which was closer to 10 cents a pound!
Bought some cheap toys for my kids- a quarter each- from a cheapo store.
I needed some gluten rolls for my husband, but didn't want 10 rolls that came in the package since I only needed four. My friend was trying to decide if she should buy the whole wheat rolls since she wasn't sure if her family would eat them, so she didn't want to waste it all. So we worked it out- we ended up splitting the bag, each of us got half, and it worked out perfectly for both of us.
Free Things
Organized a book swap- gave away and got a whole bunch of great books.
Got a bunch of free books from a friend.
Taught a foraging class and took a chance at not hiring a babysitter to watch my kids (saved me money) and instead gave them a bunch of cheap toys I brought along to entertain them- they behaved since they were entertained- and it cost much less than a babysitter.
Dumpster dove a cute pair of Birkenstocks style sandals.
Swapped babysitting hours with a friend when I had to go out- I got free babysitting this time, and I'll babysit her kids free next time she needs it.
Foraging
Foraged redbud, henbit, wild fennel, rosemary, lavender, eryngo and lemons.
Foraged rosemary, olive leaves.
Frugal in the Kitchen
Made my husband lunch for work instead of him buying, for a fraction of the cost.
Served lacto-fermented sprouted hummus for lunch.
Made a crockpot meal with bits and bobs I found in the freezer, so we'd have hot food when we came home from our trip.
Made homemade wild herbs de provence.
Butchered some whole chickens I bought cheaply, and even deboned the dark meat, something I rarely do!
Made chicken broth from the chicken bones.
Rendered chicken fat and cracklings.
Made homemade ketchup.
Made lentil mujadarra for supper.
Made homemade vegan mayonnaise.
Made chickpea based cookies from sprouted cooked chickpeas I had in my freezer.
Made homemade grain free vegan crackers, experimenting with a few different variations to try to find the tastiest cheapest way to make it (recipe coming soon).
Made homemade pickles- two types- regular and bread and butter pickles.
Turned my leftover chicken broth into tomato soup.
All in all... for a week in which my baby was not cooperative, and in which I was out of the house very often and lots of things were going on, I managed to be pretty frugal fortunately!
What did you do to save money this past week? Would you say it was a frugal week or a not so frugal week? Any frugal moves you're especially proud of?
I told you. The baby counts as an accomplishment. Maybe several.
ReplyDeleteI think just staying sane with a cranky baby is, in itself a major accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteWow, an impressive week, even if you don't count the sad baby.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the frugal accomplishments, by the way; it's helped me pay more attention to my spending (and there's so much temptation here!).
Right now I'm enmeshed in spring cleaning so am staying out of money-spending trouble. For the moment.
It's great that you were able to take your kids with you instead of getting a sitter! My parents used to go to lots of meetings (very involved in community projects) and bring me and/or my brother--often they would split us up to avoid the risk of our bickering. I spent many hours sitting in the back of some room reading or drawing. It didn't hurt me and may even have built up some useful skills. I take my kids to some meetings now, and I've also brought my son to work a number of times starting when he was 4 years old. (I also brought my baby daughter to work once, when I needed to work late to meet a deadline, but that didn't go so well--I was able to spend only about half the time working!)
ReplyDelete