This past week I had a super frugal week, doing things that will not just have saved money this past week, but also will carry over and help me save money in the coming weeks. This week left me relatively exhausted in a good way, but also on a high, feeling proud of myself for my frugal accomplishments
On diapering related matters- we’re kind of stepping up the potty training a little bit, since I got Anneliese cute new underwear that she likes and wants to wear, so we’re using fewer disposable diapers for her. And of course, Rose is still exclusively cloth diapered and exclusively nursing, so she isn’t costing us a thing, fortunately.
Here’s what I did to save money this week:
Sunday–
Made a version of ful medames, an Egyptian bean based breakfast, typically made with broad beans, from home cooked kidney beans for my breakfast.
Made homemade coconut milk.
Served a fish curry made with cheapo fish.
Made homemade yogurt.
Made homemade cream cheese.
Picked the meat off my chicken carcasses that I had used to make soup.
Monday–
Served yogurt with fruit and granola for breakfast for the kids, and refried beans and salad for myself.
Since the yogurt was too runny, I strained it through a cheesecloth to make it more usable, and saved the whey for my husband to use for his post workout shakes, since it is rich in protein.
Went to the farmer’s market and got a TON of produce for only 25 cents a pound, plus stocked up on other cheap groceries. This should last me at least a week and a half, if not more. Went to two areas of the city in one day, so that I didn’t need to pay for bus fare for a second trip in.
Foraged pigweed.
Picked 17.6 lbs nectarines from a family member’s tree.
Made rice with leftover chicken broth.
Made chili with some peppers that were about to spoil, some mushy tomatoes, the beans I had in my fridge from a few days before, and the chicken picked off of the chicken carcasses, plus other ingredients.
Processed all the produce, chopping up and freezing the produce that wouldn’t last as long in the fridge. Made pear sauce from super mushy pears, and froze it.
Tuesday–
Made fried rice with leftover rice, some partially mushy peppers, partially mushy onions, and the greens from the celery root.
Inherited a cute scarf.
Foraged a lot of pigweed.
Bought a cheap bottle of wine to cheaply and easily fancy up a family picnic.
Wednesday–
Made a frugal vegan Indian feast for lunch, using lentils, foraged greens, and peaches that were on their last legs. Went into the city and brought leftovers from lunch to be my supper so I wouldn’t have to buy food when out.
Found pants for Lee at a clothes store for half the price they usually are, because they were on the sale rack.
Bought 3 skirts for myself, also all on sale so cheap- I got 3 skirts for the price I would usually pay for 1.
Bought needle and a few colors thread to be able to make clothes repairs.
Went to a book swap for free books.
My friend has both chicken and ducks, and I’ve discovered that I don’t react badly to duck eggs. My friend gladly will trade me some of my store bought chicken eggs for some of her duck eggs from her duck, so we made a trade.
Thursday–
Repurposed left over red lentil dal and crumbled up rice cakes into lentil burgers.
Used semi icky onions to make onion soup.
Cooked up chicken gizzards and saved the broth for soup.
Tried out a frugal exercise- zumba class for only $6 a class.
Inherited a bunch of cute, never used baby girls clothes for Rose from a neighbor.
Friday–
Made homemade chocolate cake.
Cooked rice with chicken broth from making gizzards.
Prepared and cooked foraged lambsquarters for supper.
Saturday–
Made fermented Moroccan carrot salad.
Used essential oils instead of buying antibacterial cream.
Soaked mung beans to make nokdu bindaetteok, vegan Korean mung bean pancakes.
What did you do to save money this week? Did you have a good week, frugality-wise? Anything you’d like to do differently next week?
