The Homemaker's Week of Savings: The Battle to Save

 

Thursday:  Set porch plants underneath eaves of house so they can benefit from the free fertilizer and water.  With all the rain, thunder, lightning it seemed a good time to give the plants all a natural bit of nitrogen and such. 

I made pancakes this morning, using a boxed mix that I found in the cabinet.  I prefer homemade but cannot deny that a boxed mix often results in light and airy pancakes.  I had leftover pancakes and put them in the freezer for a future meal.

Wandered around outdoors when the rain let up and found that some seeds, I thought were not viable have sprouted after all.  These are mostly impatiens and zinnias.    I also found two Japanese beetles snacking on the rose bush.  I'll have to go back out with a cup of soapy water to drown them in next time I'm out but I managed to get two off.  

We took Caleb for a ride since he was so tired this afternoon.  He went right to bed when he got home, not even bothering with supper.  Third night in a row.  I'll have to move up his supper time, I think.

I harvested a handful of herbs.  A few sprigs of oregano, a few sage leaves, some dill, mint and lots of chives.  I loved the aroma as I carried the bouquet about with me.  

Friday:  Grocery shopping.  Ow.  

Half our buggy was filled with just produce.  I bought potatoes, mini bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, bananas, watermelon, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and baby oranges (mandarins).  Personally, I'd have left off the mandarins entirely and the strawberries, too but a certain 3-year-old took Grampa seriously when he asked, "Would you like us to bring you anything?" and that was among the things he rattled off.  He's quite good at keeping his own grocery list in his little head.  Also ordered: lollipops: blue and red.  I happen to know that he'll also ask for Green and Yellow and Orange...Get the feeling he just likes his lollipops?

We found organic free range chicken thighs marked down.  I limited myself to every package that was less than $4.  That netted me three.  These were bone in and skin on.  Not sure how many are in a packet but at least 4.  They are heavy as can be. I bought New York Strip steak in a family pack that will give us two meals.  The price was lower than the cost of most roasts I looked over.  John spied a very small bit of round roast marked down and Jalapeno Cheddar burgers that were priced low as well.  If it had a yellow sticker, he snatched it up and asked, "How about this?"  lol. I also bought breakfast sausage.  Eggs were reasonable for cardholders at $1.49/18ct.  People were literally waiting in line for the eggs to come out of the back.  The clerk never got to load them into the cold case at all.  Yogurt, Cheese, milk, sour cream.  Bread, rolls.  Salsa, Mustard, ketchup, baked beans (all on sale) and last 2 bags of the cheap knock off Froot Loops and Captain Crunch.

John's attitude is about the best I can take as my own.  "Might as well get it while we've got money to purchase it..."  I didn't purchase flowers, sweet items, snacky items, sodas.  I bought nothing but real foods.  And still I am stunned at the price.  However, most all of this food is either destined for the pantry or freezer save the produce and dairy. None of the meat was bought for right now.  I've plenty of other meats to use that are older and should be used.

No, I take it back.  I bought a chocolate cream pie, frozen.  That's Sam's for his birthday this weekend.  

I load coupons onto my store app and then also utilize Fresh Mode app for Kroger.  Today I had an additional savings of nearly $11 based on last month's purchases.  Frugal fail for today?  I completely forgot that last month I was sent paper coupons and I might have used at least three of those today for a small additional savings.  And I had them in my wallet, too!

We didn't buy lunch out today though we were hungry.  We went to the deli and picked up a deli made sandwich.  John treated me to a coffee.  Those are up in cost, too...Everything is apparently going up.  It does take the desire to buy a good coffee down to a lesser wanted treat.  Given a choice, I'd rather spend my $6 on flowers.

I bought steak today.  Katie cooked some of them up along with a salad, mushrooms and onions, cheese rolls, and corn on the cob.  This was a delicious supper, and the steaks were so tender.  I almost wished I'd spent double and gotten a second package!

Saturday:  We went to Home Depot to look for shower kits.  They had nothing we were interested in.  I picked up a box of Swiffer Duster refills, the only 'bought' cleaning item I use.  I'm not big on spending for accessories as you all know but these do so very well at keeping dust in one spot and you can reuse the dusters.  Just wash and hang to dry.   I also bought four large heavy-duty boxes to use to pack up some of the kitchen supplies.

We had lunch at a new to us restaurant.   It was reasonably priced, but basically a sports bar with a Louisiana flair.  The red beans and rice were super delicious and comforting even on a hot summery day.  I brought home half my entree.  When I went to pack it up, I asked for a cup of the dipping sauce.  

We stopped for an ice cream on our way home.  The person taking the order only put in an order for one.  The lady at the window said, "I'm only charging you for one then.  We got the order wrong."  Prices are up on those at Dairy Queen by the way.  $4 for a medium cone.  You'll understand why I was so happy we got the second one free, lol.

For supper tonight I brought out a deli roast chicken (sale and coupon/rebate), and a lot of odds and ends from the fridge.  I made potato pancakes from the mashed potatoes.  I added in some of the cottage cheese.  

Sunday:  We have learned to control ourselves.  There's a station called Quik Trip here in our area that is really just a mecca for interstate traffic.  There's a variety of to go items, loads of drinks, breakfast foods, etc.  John loves that place but after two or three weeks in a row, I suggested we limit ourselves to once a month.  In the meantime, he'd downloaded the app.  Periodically he told me what he could get free... Today when we stopped, he checked his app, and we got a doughnut for free.  We could have gotten other things, too, but none of it was the sorts of stuff we'd typically buy.

At home, we loaded up Caleb, the chocolate pie, gift and card and went up to see Sam and wish him a most happy birthday and pleasant Father's Day.  He and I walked out to the garden.  He pulled carrots, green peppers, cucumbers, okra, and an Eggplant.  He gave me all of it but the okra.  I didn't expect that bounty but there you are.  It's a lovely time of year.  We discussed various pests which he's fighting hard.  The butterbeans were not only loaded with beans but also with blooms and there were happy bees buzzing all about the garden.  

Oddly, all of his onions died.  He asked if when mine were ready I'd give him some.  Of course, I will!  I wouldn't have them had he not ordered so many.  

We came home to eat a sandwich lunch.  We have senior supper tonight and so will end another busy weekend.

Monday:  Last night after clearing tables following senior supper, I went up to the food tables and noted they had just loads of steamed veggies left.  Once everyone has eaten, the food left is free for taking.   I filled a takeout container about half full, thinking of lunch and things I had on hand at home to fill out a meal.   As we were leaving, we were stopped, and the serving ladies piled still more veggies in my container making it full.  Then I was given another container filled with baked potato cubes.    Those too will be used.  Several women had had the same idea I did: hash browns.  Since John asked if we could have breakfast for supper one night, these will be a nice filler for the meal.

This morning, I walked about my little garden looking at things.  We'd just had a heavy rain shower this morning, so no need to water a thing.

For today's lunch, I used the container of veggies, two pieces of leftover deli baked chicken I'd diced and a homemade stir fry sauce to make an oriental type dish.  It was delicious.   I added in the last of a container of mushrooms, some onion and some anemic looking celery.  The veggie plate had carrots, broccoli, squash, zucchini and sweet peppers.  We all had a generous plateful of food.

I baked bread.  Last week I never made bread at all.   Thanks to the rain, the temperatures dropped somewhat so I didn't mind a bit turning on the oven to bake the bread.

I really should go organize the fridge and just make sure I'm on top of what we need to be using up.  

Realized this morning I was out of coffee k-cups.  I know it's not the most economical choice, but in this season, it's the least fussy choice.  I have refillable k-cups but the mess of filling and emptying those things creates a lot of extra fuss that just isn't worth the savings.  I had a return credit gift card and had a gift card pay out (thank you for using my affiliate link!) so the cost of three boxes of coffee was offset by about half.  I am not brand loyal.  I am price point loyal though.  I try to keep it to 30c or less per cup.

Today, while researching coffee brands/prices/brews on Amazon, I was able to spend just 23c a k-cup by combining a special sale and a coupon code from my credit card company add on app that popped up automatically.  

Amazon Associate Affiliate Link:  

It pays to 'shop around' wherever you are spending your money.

Breakfast: Cereal, Banana, Toast for the guys

Lunch: Stir-fried Vegetables and mushrooms with diced chicken

Supper:  I made a big pan of Baked Spaghetti tonight.  Caleb was not pleased at the idea of Spaghetti Pie but when I told him it was Pizza Spaghetti Pie, he was totally enthusiastic.  The change?  I put some thick sliced pepperoni on top of the cheese, lol.  Truth, the pepperoni was too thick for pizza, but it was just perfect for spaghetti pie.

I used the cottage cheese in this.  No more cottage cheese not getting eaten.

I put garlic butter on the last of the cheese rolls we bought last week at Kroger.  Boy did that put them over the top.  John suggested it would be good to do again.  I'm thinking perhaps I could make my own cheese rolls.

I put a 9x9 pan of this in the freezer tonight, too.  Another future easy meal.

Tuesday:  I used the potatoes we were given, well a portion of them, to make hash browns for breakfast this morning.  Silly me, took too many eggs from fridge for our breakfast and left one on the counter.  I had every intention of putting it back in the fridge but thought I'd do it after breakfast.  Along comes a little boy...To be fair these eggs have thinner shells than they ought to have but I lost that egg.

The bananas that were green for three days suddenly had freckles all over them.  I knew John wouldn't eat a single one and though Caleb would, he'd never give them to him because they were 'spoiled'...So I went ahead and mixed up my favorite Banana Chocolate chip muffin recipe and made 18 muffins.  I'll send half to Sam when I return the basket he packed all the garden produce in.  

Realized as the muffins baked that I still had half a loaf of Banana Pineapple bread in the fridge that no one is eating.  I wrapped it well and put it in the freezer.  

What was I thinking?!?  I looked over my menu to see what I needed to thaw, and I've never seen so many pasta dishes in a single week's menu...And waffles and potatoes twice...Goodness gracious!  Replanning menu.  Planned a meal for tonight but discovered we were out of lettuce, which takes two meals off the menu.  Plan C... undetermined at this time.

Went outdoors to watch and wonder why a truck had pulled down our main driveway into the wooded area where I can't see.  This is a chronic issue.  People think it's not a drive...though the mailboxes ought to be a hard clue and then they drive through my property onto the land next door which is Sam's now.  They park or they do whatever.  I've got a gate to put up across the drive and it does appear I'm going to have to push hard to get that attended to.  We need someone with an auger to dig the post holes so we can set up the cattle gate.  Then I'll put up a posted sign and see if that deters the "I'll just wander down this track" thinking that seems to lead people to come off road onto our property.

While watching for the truck to reappear, I investigated the rose and found a Japanese beetle snacking.  Then I noted a black worm on a tomato leaf that I suspected to be an immature horned worm and suddenly I saw mature green horned worms everywhere munching away.  Son of a gun!  Feels like I'm having to battle my way to saving everything today!  

I also had read I should remove lower branches of the tomatoes to keep them from holding moisture and spreading powdery mildew.  Well, the things looked so healthy, I put them into some soil and have now got something like 8 tomatoes that I hope to root and make more tomatoes.  I have no idea if I'm doing anything right or doing it all wrong.  I do know the one tomato sucker I took time to plant a week ago has a healthy set of roots on it...So we'll just see how things go.

I checked the coleus tip I'd stuck in a blank spot in a big planter and it had done nothing.  I tucked it deeper into the soil and packed it around it.  We'll see how that goes.  It's not wilted, thanks to all the rain we've had so fingers crossed.  I removed the two begonias from the one little pot and put them in another blank spot in the same planter.  Now with any luck at all, the planter will finally look lush and full and everything will start growing.

I noted that the two poinsettias have given up entirely.  Not even the light pruning I gave them has encouraged them to come back.  The Angelonia also has given up the ghost.  So, this past winter with the deeper freezes, I lost the Plumbago and the Angelonia.  I don't know why the poinsettia died.  They were here in the house. They looked terrific all through the winter and appeared to be thriving but now they are just sticks stuck in dirt.  Win a few, lose a few, right?

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Hash browns, Toast

Lunch: Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato

Supper tonight: Layered Mexican Dip.  I used a pound of ground meat seasoned for tacos, a can of refried beans, sour cream, cheese, sweet white onion, diced tomatoes, lettuce, salsa all served with tortilla chips.  Everything was on hand except the lettuce.  Katie picked up a head when she went into town.  I purchased the fresh tomatoes and the salsa last week but everything else was from the freezer, fridge or pantry and had been on hand for a while.

Wednesday:  Another week done...and a new savings week about to begin.  Today, we ate the muffins I made yesterday for our breakfast.  I cleared the fridge of a small amount of sausage and about 1/3 of a can of Spam.  I sliced that very thin getting six slices.  I cooked the two meats and that accompanied our 

After breakfast, Caleb and I went out to check plants.  There was a single Japanese beetle on the rose bush.  The tomatoes were looking pretty good overall.  Then I spied the tomato I'd forgotten entirely, stuffed into the corner of a flowerpot.  I think that one shall be transplanted to a pot of it's own and if it doesn't appear to thrive then, it's a cull.

Since no one had any real plans, and I knew tomorrow I have the three children from across the field, I checked to see if Mama was free and got ready to go visit her.

Mama wanted Chinese and since we know of no Chinese restaurants anymore that are worth visiting, we ended up at Panda express.  Lunch was delicious.  Mama treated us to that.  I treated her to ice cream later in the afternoon.  And yes, everything was pricey.  I told John that at Dairy Queen, I realized I could buy a small cone or go to the grocery and buy a quart of ice cream for the same price!  There's perspective for you.

It is usually my habit, after visiting Mama to go to Starbucks and treat myself to a really good cup of coffee.  Today I bypassed that.

I went into Publix. I had a list of four items: Key Lime Pie (Katie's birthday is just around the corner here), a birthday card, lettuce to supplement the iceberg bought yesterday, and apples for John who expressed a deep desire for an apple and was so disappointed that we had none that I found myself apologizing even though I had NO idea he wanted apples.  Fortunately, the apples were buy one bag get one free.  But the first two items in my buggy?  Flowers.  Not cut flowers today but a big pot of lavender that was reasonably priced and a tiny pot of tea roses with four roses in the pot that were so very pretty.  I thought that a much better 'treat' than the coffee.  And bonus, the tea roses cost the exact same amount that the cup of coffee would have cost.  Which do you think will satisfy me longer?  Yeah, the roses win!

I priced the bakery pie and determined that it looked remarkably similar to those in the freezer case and picked up a premium frozen brand name for 50c less.  I suppose that little paper lime they put on the one in the bakery case was the 50c extra.  Found the card, and got lettuce, though it was shockingly high (4.99 for Romaine and that's not organic).  

And then came the extras... Because John asked for fried chicken for dinner one night and we are not having Taylor until the second week in July, I got a box of fried chicken.

My downfall today: drinks.  Here's something I've noticed before and today I paid a top dollar for the problem.  When I went into the store, I was sooo thirsty.  I knew we were out of sodas at home, and though I didn't want a soda, I bought 3 cartons (buy two get one free).  Then I bought a carton of bubbly water and a carton of coffee drink (buy two get one).  I realized when I was in the car that I'd spent a hefty sum of money on drinks of various sorts.  And all the while I'd skipped buying the bottle of water which everyone tells me is 'wasteful'.   What did I really want?  A bottle of water!

One thing I didn't buy was the mac n cheese John requested for supper.   I think the Publix mac n cheese deli mac and cheese is bland, gooey, pasty and tasteless.    I thought, "Oh I'll just get a pan of Stouffers frozen mac n cheese..." but I found none there except a single serve portion and that was $3.50.  I decided to make my own from scratch when I got home.  It took me all of 35 minutes from boiling water for the pasta, making the cheese sauce and baking.  And it was so doggone good.  

The kitchen cabinets are ready to be delivered so I had to make the final payment on them.  Time to rein in the spending and concentrate on renovating.

And that was my week of savings.  How did your week go?