Thrifty Thursday: Formulating the Plan

 

Thursday:  Another trip to the grocery and this was not a planned trip exactly.  I tried to make sure I did well since it was unplanned.  John had a chiro appointment, I wanted to take Caleb right to Burger King to play, but we were running late.  I knew that the thirty minutes or so the appointment would take wasn't going to be nearly enough play time to please Caleb.   John was reluctant to walk from the office across a couple of very busy streets to Burger King. I didn't want to sit in the car with him even though we did bring his Kindle with us.  I suggested I'd just run out to the discount grocery and 'look around'.  John shook his head, but he didn't discourage me.

First, I bought plants.  I got three six-packs of plants and two half gallon pots.  I think the two half-gallon pots were $7 for them both.  The six-packs were $2 each so there was a quick $15 (add 10%).  I checked to see how many plants were in each half gallon and made sure each six-pack had a plant in each cup.  

I bought flowers but I also bought Better Boy tomatoes as one of my six-packs.  That's six tomato plants and here's hoping I get more than $2 worth of tomatoes off them.  It would be lovely to get enough tomatoes to cover the cost of all the plants and then have many more, lol.  I'm always hopeful I can be fruitful with my plantings.

I picked up a dozen wide mouth pint sized canning jars.  There was another $14 (again adding 10%).  I've made up my mind that if I'm going to even begin to can, I'd best gather myself some jars, pectin, citric acid and be sure of all my necessary supplies for ingredients and equipment.  Otherwise, I'm never going to start because I'll be missing something all along.   Again, I hope to more than recoup the cost of this in future.

I spent about $130 otherwise.  I took advantage of the marked down produce section where I netted 8 Minneola for $1, a package of five or six cucumbers for $1, six ripe avocados for $1.  There wasn't much to choose from but what I did choose looked quite good.  I'd like to make pickles with the cucumbers and will peel and freeze the avocado which does well once frozen.  The oranges will be eaten probably before the weekend is over.

I also got a few frozen vegetable bags: green beans, peas, baby lima beans, French fries (one of the few frozen potato products I will buy).  White vinegar, some spices I knew I was missing at home, Knorr beef and chicken broth powders both of which were much lower than they were any time since 2020.  Brown rice. Cranberry sauce.  Beets. Turkey Spam.  Whole Wheat Rotini. You can see that mostly I focused on pantry staples. I got a big container of Caleb's lactose free milk and a big bar of Mozzarella.  I didn't price eggs but should have.  I knew I had plenty on hand, so I never even glanced in their direction.

I've noticed a trend of sorts where in at Kroger and in some cases at this discount store, there are no prices on the shelf.  I don't know if it's because prices change so they can't keep up with replacing shelf price tags, so they just removed them or they simply put items on display before they have a label, or they hope you'll just buy it because it's a favored brand.  CVS has stopped posting sales prices in their weekly ad (or had for several weeks running.  I have recently unsubscribed from those weekly ads).  It's something I've found rather puzzling.

Not on my menu tonight but I've worked hard all week, must work hard tomorrow and tonight I just wanted an easy meal.  I'd contemplated picking up take out and reheating for supper but nixed that idea.  Then I thought about buying a frozen entree.  Nixed that one, too. I came home and took out all the spaghetti sauce in the freezer, thawed and heated that and served with pasta and garlic bread for supper tonight.  Every jar in the freezer was leftover sauce bits from another meal.  The sauce tonight was rich and delicious.  Now I need to make a new big batch and put it in the freezer in meal sized portions for future meals.

Friday:  This morning I made breakfast sandwiches.  I would have made extra had I not also been gathering ingredients to make supper and bread at the same time.  I do know when my plate is overloaded and one more project piled on will cause everything to topple.  I managed to make breakfast, get the bread dough just right and get supper started early so I guess three was definitely my limit for today.

I used a banana that Caleb had not eaten to make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  Yes, I've said he's not feeling well.  He hadn't touched the banana at all, not even once, so I felt perfectly safe in using it to avoid that loss.

I switched up our menu from the pork carnitas and steak fajitas.  Both the leftover meats were put in the freezer for safe keeping.  Instead, I have made a pot of White Chili.  Soup suited our crazy weather of cooler and rainy, which wasn't even predicted yesterday!  Everything in the soup was on hand. I used up a leftover ear of corn, broth I'd made here at home, a bottle of salsa verde that I didn't care for as a chip salsa, canned white beans and onions and garlic.  It smelled awesome cooking and the sample taste I took was pretty good if it with a tart little bite to it.  I expect that was the salsa verde I'd disliked.  

As always, I start with a quart of broth and after we ate tonight, I had exactly a quart of soup leftover which amuses me no end.  It's like the Professor's bottle of sherry in "The Bishop's Wife"...I pour it out and it fills right back up again.

I keep meaning to share this one item that I purchased a few weeks ago.  I'd meant to add it to my shared list of best purchases.  I will go back and edit it in.  I was watching a video and the vlogger used this item to make a pair of pants fit.  It looks just like a jeans button, but it has a pin back, much like the pins that are used on military uniforms.  

I have used these to both tighten up a pair of jeans that were too loose, and to increase the waistline of jeans that were a tiny bit too snug.  They come in a variety pack of metal finishes so I can make it match the button already on the jean if I'd like.  They are easy to use, and they really give me the option of wearing my jeans/pants more comfortably.

Wednesday when I was sorting out that food cupboard, I found three onions that were just on the verge of going bad.  I'd put them on the kitchen counter, so I'd remember to deal with them.  Today was the day.  I not only had enough onion chopped to go into my chicken soup, but I put up 3 cups of chopped onion in the freezer to be saved for one of those rare days when I don't have onions on hand, or I simply don't want to take the time to chop the ones I do have.

Saturday:  I think I'm going to adjust my budget and add a category just marked 'Saturdays'.  

John and I attended a free event today and after walking around we went to the food trucks to get something to eat.  It seems to me that you're going to pay just about the same amount for a meal for two these days, no matter where you eat or how little you think you're going to spend.  Today's meal was ridiculous for what we got.  However, we were trying to support the food trucks that had shown up and ordered a small something from each one.  The car show was originally slated for April and the new date they chose, today, happened to correspond with about three other old car shows in the area.  So the turnout was disappointing.

We headed to Lowe's after the car show and there we spent another goodly sum.  I have no complaints.  We bought a new flag.  The flag with flagpole was cheaper by $5 than the flag by itself.  I told John we'd just save the pole.  I have had them break in the past when we've had rough weather and a spare is not a bad thing to keep on hand.

We also got a box of trash bags.  We really like the Moxie brand tall kitchen bags.  There are two rolls, 130 bags, in the box and it runs about $17.  A box generally lasts us about four months.

Then I went to the garden center.  Feel free to say "Uh Oh" if you like, lol.  I ought a small pot of mandevilla, a pot of coleus, peppermint, sage, basil, oregano.  The herbs were pricey, as much as the mandevilla and coleus, but the returns on the coleus and herbs will be well worth every penny spent.  I tried to be sure to get pots with more than one plant in them.  

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with our day.  We did something out of the ordinary and I have fresh herbs to restart my herb beds with.  

Sunday:  Another grocery run.  Lest you think I'm silly for it, there were some needed items, some really good sales and a bevy of good coupons to be used today.  Again, we stuck to the outer perimetere of the store and didn't venture down any aisles.

I picked up another dozen Croissants from the Bakery's reduced price rack.  Just for a price comparison, they had a sign up that said Croissants $4.49 and there were stacks and stacks of boxes of a dozen right under the sign.  On reading more closely however, the sign denoted that price for 4ct. large croissants or 1 dozen small ones.  The bakery reduced rack dozen cost me $4.82.  We'll get three weekends of croissants from that.  I can almost always find a dozen croissants on that reduced rack and they are always under $5.

I picked up my free Hillshire farm sausage.  I chose produce that was on sale and for which I also had cents off store coupons.  We walked down the meat aisle where I picked up two packages of boneless pork chops that were reduced in price.  I will get four meals off those with two leftover that will be stretched as stir fry.  I bought dairy items.  I love that Kroger at this location has a wide selection of non-milk yogurts and I was able to find one with 11 grams of protein for Caleb.  Now I shall feel better if he only wants yogurt to eat.

When we checked out, we'd spent just over $100, and I had nearly $48 in coupons and sales savings.  One of the biggest helps was the use of earned points to get more coupons through the Fresh Mode app.  Over $20 worth of coupons on produce and meat came from that site, alone.  Honestly between Fresh Mode app, Digital Deals and Best Customer Coupons as well as other store coupons, Kroger is competing hard with Aldi.  Yes, their meat is higher than Aldi and often higher than Publix as well, but sales, combined with coupons or markdowns is a help in lowering costs.

When I got home, I loaded up receipts to Fetch rewards to earn more points.  I now have enough Fetch rewards to redeem for another gift card.  I loaded up Kroger receipts to Ibotta and earned 30c. I never seem to be able to make Ibotta work as hard for me as it does for others, but 30c here and there truly does add up.  I now have enough funds there to cash out for another small gift card.

This afternoon, I split the ripe avocados in half, removed the pits and then put the halves into the freezer.  This will make great guacamole, or a spread for toast.   I also froze half the grapes I'd brought home.  Katie requested these as a sweet treat.  I can well understand why since I tasted one, I'd frozen last week and indeed the sugary sweetness of the grapes is well worth taking the time to freeze.

Monday:   After making breakfast this morning, I cleared up about the house and then sorted out the bedroom and bath.  All done, I eagerly headed back into the kitchen.  I peeled, cut and sliced up four bananas.  I put these in the freezer.  I have made so many banana desserts over the past two months that I just don't want more at present.  I thought I'd save these bananas for banana sorbet or smoothies.

Caleb and I went outdoors this morning and moved the pink planter to the front patio.  I potted up my purchased herbs and then spent time weeding the two flower beds and the planters in those beds along the back side of the house.  I have one long bed that is totally empty, and I'd love to get it filled with shade loving plants.  I also have a big bed about my Sweet Gum tree that, once weeded, will be a great place for plants that like partial sun or full shade depending on which side of the tree those things are planted.

I completely forgot the submarine sandwich in the fridge when I started lunch today.  I had my food prep well underway when I opened the fridge door and saw it.  Obviously, I needed to check the fridge as I asked myself 'What's for lunch?"

This afternoon I managed to get all but three tomato plants into soil.  I don't have any more soil to go in pots.  I swore last year that this year I'd as soon just dig my own yard's dirt to plant tomatoes since they've done so very poorly over the past few years.  It's lovely to see all the potted plants, flowering and greenery both all about the front patio.  

What I hadn't counted on this year was having to fight Caleb over the darned things.  He's ripped out plants and petted plants and watered them until they were nearly drowned.  I guess I'll just cool my jets about planting too much more for the front patio and plan to fill pots to fill in empty spaces in the flower beds about the house instead.  

For supper tonight, I will make a spring salad with Leftover roast chicken, sliced ripe pears, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese crumbles.  I'd like to serve this with a rich cream of chicken soup on the side.  This will replace my original planned salad of steak and blue cheese for this week.

Tuesday:  I made a meatloaf this morning.  I'd taken out two pounds of meat and I never make such a large meatloaf.  As it is, we usually have enough leftovers for sandwiches from my usual recipe.  So, I took about 1/2 pound of meat to make spaghetti sauce.  While I was chopping vegetables and seasoning meat loaf mixture it was no big deal to chop extra and toss into the pan with the browned meat.

In the end, I decided I still had more meat than I needed for meatloaf, so I formed ten meatballs.  Not enough for a meal but I can make more in the future and add to these.    So, for my time in the kitchen this morning, I made a meatloaf for supper, about 2 quarts of meat sauce that I'll freeze and save for later, and a few meatballs.

I had time to cut up the cucumbers, but only two. Of the five purchased two were simply no good.  We ate one on our salad for Sunday dinner, so I had three good ones.  Still not a bad purchase for $1.  I want to make John's favorite pickles but didn't have time before Millie arrived today.  I plan to finish those up later in the day if I can.   Katie wanted me to make dill pickles, but I have no fresh dill and I don't find dried works at all well for making dill pickles.

later:  I made two pints of John's favorite sweet pickles and 1/2 pint of a trial jar of something Katie suggested.  No clue how that one is going to turn out as it was guesswork and no recipe.   

Then I realized I had a perfectly soft stick of butter that was likely going to be a melted puddle by morning. I flipped through my recipe folder and decided to try my hand at making a half recipe of the Chocolate Cappuccino cookies.  No cinnamon chips on hand, but I think I did fairly well in simulating the taste by using chocolate chips and a hefty spoonful of powdered cinnamon.  I'll put some of the cookies in the freezer.  I only made a half batch of the recipe since I had just one stick of softened butter.

Wednesday:  What a busy and productive day it has been.  I got up early and went to work on the checkbook.  I wrote checks and did as much as I could prior to coming out of the room.  Then I didn't return until I could go back and be undisturbed after lunch.  I know too well that one distraction can lead to one mistake.  John came in to talk and yes, I made a mistake.  I put everything aside and addressed envelopes instead.  Then when he was out of the room once more, I went back to working with my figures.

I really let myself get behind on this task and I've no clue why.  From now on, I'll be on top of it, you can bet on that!

As I promised myself, I put a new category in our account, this one marked simply 'Saturdays'.  I set aside money simply for our Saturday dates.  It's frivolous, yes, but it's also worth every penny for the peace we get.  We need that disconnection time from being full-time caregivers during the week.

This morning, in the kitchen, I decided to make up a tuna pasta salad. Initially, I meant it for tomorrow night since we'll be out tomorrow getting the car serviced.  But John loves pasta salad, the temperature today was 90F and John was mowing.  A nice cool pasta salad seemed a better choice for tonight.  I'll do something for tomorrow night.

While I was chopping vegetables for the pasta salad, I also chopped enough to make up a squash casserole and potato salad. 

I put celery leaves in the toaster oven to dry.  I've so enjoyed having these to toss into salads, sauces, etc.  It is perfect for additional flavor without the crunch of the celery for those who don't care for it.  Not that any of my family is of that ilk.  Caleb came along and asked for celery, carrots and peppers today as I prepped vegetables.  Onion, too, but he spit that out, lol.

I toasted the last of the Banana Nut loaf that no one seemed to want to eat.  It was quite good as toast.  I was glad to use it all up.  

We made smoothies for lunch, using frozen bananas and the last of a jar of strawberries that were languishing in the fridge.  I was happy to treat Caleb to a smoothie using his lactose free milk.  He was pretty happy over it.  When he didn't finish it, I stuck it in the fridge and saved it for his afternoon snack.  He drank most all of it then.

That was our week.  I think we managed some reasonable savings by various ways and means.  How did you save this week?