Thrifty Thursday: Choosing How We Save

 

Friday:  I don't know what it is with oranges this year (and mandarins, too).  I buy bags and some of them are lovely, juicy, everything you could want.  Then others will almost dry as dust inside, the pulp is there but it's like it was dehydrated.  There's not so much as a drop of juice in them.  Anybody experiencing the same?    

John and I had an orange yesterday when we got in from errands.  It was absolutely lovely. I cut one open for Caleb today and I couldn't fuss when he wouldn't eat it.  The thing simply was no good.  I peeled it for him, hoping that would make it more edible and my hands didn't get in the least bit moist. Into the waste bin it went.

I made bread this morning, so we have a fresh loaf for the weekend. I got smart this time and moved the bread machine down to the baking counter.  Now I'm contemplating how I might fit it in the cabinet underneath that area, so I don't have to keep it on the counter or lug it across the kitchen.

I realized today when I took the meat out to thaw for the Taco Pasta that I'm out of ground meat entirely.  How I wish I'd seen the sale priced ground beef yesterday when I was looking for it!  Oh well.  I'm sure I'll find some on sale again soon enough.  

This evening when I made the Taco Pasta, I had planned to put half in the freezer.  The recipe called for medium shells, and I only had small ones Though I was very careful to cook the pasta just al dente, just sitting for 15 minutes in the hot pot made it anything but al dente.  I decided against freezing those leftovers.  Instead, I'll keep them in the fridge and reheat and serve over the weekend.  Freezing would only further compromise the texture of that pasta.  It would just end up being inedible.  Keeping it in the fridge and reheating it quickly in the microwave will not change much about it.  I'll take edible food over wasted food.

 As we were talking with Katie, the heat pump came on and made a lot of noise.  The fan blade had split.  That has happened before.  I called the repair service right away, but it will be next week before they can get a blade.  In the meantime, we're grateful we have alternatives for heating.    

I could run the emergency heat which would allow the heat pump to work as usual without the external fan running.  It cost us a load of extra electricity usage last time we did that, and I'd rather just use our alternatives sources.  They are far less expensive if a little bit inconvenient.  I'm so grateful we were home when this happened.  If it had run like that all last weekend when we were gone, who knows what damage might have occurred?

Saturday:  We slept quite warm last night despite the heat being off.  It helped a great deal that it never went below 50F last night.  Kind of makes me want to think about this fact and perhaps lower our heat a bit more each night so the heat comes on less often.

It will be tonight we'll need to turn the heater on but we've decided to be stoic and put on extra clothes and such first and then turn the heat on second.  This is not because we're saving on propane, but because we have had a week of post nasal drips and John's been coughing two weeks and we're pretty sure it's dry air.  I've kept the kettle on the stove and shall for the next few weeks and I may just set up the distiller to add moisture to the bedroom air.

We were relaxed and easy here this morning and had our usual coffee/bread breakfast.  We slipped out about noon-ish today to go to our favorite little restaurant.  John's brother generously gave us a gift card again this year and we decided to inaugurate it.  Of course, we didn't order high priced entrees and we did bring home half of our meal to eat as a second meal.

I checked my receipt from Kroger yesterday and I added $8.45 in coupons (not sales prices but real coupons I'd added to my card) to my Cash App Savings for this year's Christmas fund.  So I can say I've started this week off with a bit of 'in my pocket' money.  It ought to have been last week but I only just today thought to look that receipt over.

I also found on the Fresh Mode app from Kroger that I can now scan receipts and earn extra points.  I cannot find any information at all about what receipts qualify though.  I tried using a Kroger receipt for an in store Starbucks kiosk purchase, but I see no activity revealed upon my app.  I looked it up online and there's no information there either.  I'll wait on scanning more.  

I scanned my Kroger receipt into Ibotta and earned 25c there.  It's not much, but it's 25c that's free to me simply for scanning my receipt.  

I went ahead and scanned all my receipts into Fetch and made sure to scan online receipts as well as the physical ones.  They all add up even at 25 points each.

While we were in Kingsland, I apparently broke my brow powder.  What a mess!  It was just a tiny little piece, but it got all over me and all over the bag I carried the makeup in.  I washed the bag when we got home and thought that was it.  Nope.  Today when I opened the little compact another little piece fell out...Seriously I have never seen such a tiny amount of brow powder stretch to cover so much!  It was all over the desktop, the cosmetic cases, the carrying case I keep them in, me...It took a good half hour to clean it all up.  I decided to just dump the brow powder compact and the cosmetic carrying case in the trash because the case is glorified cardboard with a 'silk' like lining that would never protect that cardboard if once it got wet as I tried to clean it.  

Fortunately, the same bag I carried with me when we traveled was still in my possession.  I had just seriously considered donating it and decided to keep it.  Everything was cleaned and put back into the 'new' bag and is stored in a drawer now.  

I've ordered a new brow powder compact.  In the meantime, I'll sub some dark brown eyeshadow.  I've done that before.

Sunday:  We skipped stopping at the grocery today.  I was just fine with that.  We did stop at the convenience store attached to the gas station and I was just as okay with that.  I paid out of pocket for John's coffee and my juice.  

I pulled various items from the freezer and then just threw them all together.  I added in a few items already in the fridge and that made a very good dinner.  I had Chicken Italian Sausages and various sweet bell peppers.  From the fridge, I had a cut onion, some pepperoncini, garlic and Olive Garden Italian dressing.  All of this combined baked in the oven and then I cooked the last half of a package of spaghetti and tossed fresh spinach leaves and Parmesan cheese with the hot cooked pasta, poured over the peppers and onions and topped with chopped Italian sausages.  Yum!  John asked, "Will you make this again?"  Yep!  It was that good.

For supper tonight we each had different things.  I opted for Cream of Chicken Soup.  I think John made a bologna sandwich.

The house is chilly with the main heat turned off but we're managing...I am pretty sure that when this heat pump is repaired, we're going to turn the heat down just a little more.

Monday:  We are putting on a little more clothing to keep warm in the mornings.  Not a bad thing.  

I made breakfast this morning and then remembered that John is not going to eat breakfast for the next few weeks...Oops.  I put the leftovers into the fridge and will have it for my own breakfast tomorrow.

I sorted out my purse this morning at my desk.  I have $20 left of my allowance.  I had taken some of my Christmas money with me to South Georgia just in case we needed extra.  I put that back in my 'secret savings' place this morning.  I don't like to carry money I want to hold on to.

This afternoon, I made up a recipe I've had on my 'someday' list for years.  It called for cornmeal mush.  I had some plain cornmeal but not as much as the recipe called for me to use.  The tomatoes I had leftover were just shy of how much the recipe required.  Did I let any of this bother me?  No.  I used what I had.  It did occur to me later that I had more cornmeal in the back closet.  Oh well.  

My take on mush: it reminds me of the texture of cream of wheat, taste is bland.  I can now say I've tried it but for my money next time I'll probably just choose to use grits.  Still creamy, very familiar and I like the flavor better.   We'll see how we like the recipe before I make a final judgement on it.  I'm happy to have used up some leftovers and that bit of cornmeal that has been in the fridge for a little longer than I cared to have it there.

The menu in the cookbook that included the Tamale Pie, also suggested the entree be served with butter peas.  I haven't had butter peas in years.  I considered butter beans, but they tend to be about the same texture as the mush.  I decided to make some Kidney beans which I generally flavor with oregano and a splash of cooking sherry.

The new curtain rod arrived today.  One of the finials was stupidly loose in the rod and John was very unhappy about this.  I suggested we try using plumbers' tape, but he thought to use electrical tape instead.  That made the finial fit nicely and we're satisfied enough with that to let it be.  

Remember that brow powder that broke yesterday?  Apparently, a small piece landed on the carpet yesterday.  Had I realized this I would have vacuumed right away but I didn't realize it.  I smeared it across the carpet this morning.  UGH.  Soap and water didn't get it up, but I'm going to try Dawn.  If that fails too, I'll see if I can brush it out and vacuum it.

I emptied to partial bottles of hand lotion.  The Prudent Homemaker mentioned a couple of months ago that she'd added some water to a bottle that had gotten low.  These days with pump bottles, there's always a LOT left in them.  I added water to mine and got a good month of use from it but there was still more in the bottle, and it wasn't budging.  I added warm water and shook the bottle well then poured it out into a wide-mouthed jar.  I did the same with the second partial bottle.  I have a good bit more than a cup of nice lotion in that jar!  Watering it down a bit didn't hurt at all.  I just shook the jar and it's all emulsified nicely into a nice lotion consistency all over again.

later:  Meals:  I forgot John wasn't eating anything but toast.  I made hash browns and fried bologna.  I'll eat leftovers of this later in the week.

for the life of me, I can't recall what we had for lunch.

Tamale Pie, Coleslaw.  This menu changed somewhat because I needed to go keep the kids over across the field while Josh went to visit his brand new school and see where he's supposed to go when he goes back to school on Monday.  John stayed here with Caleb after his school day, until Katie came to pick him up.  I called John about 7pm and told him to put supper in the oven.  

This is the recipe I'd been eyeing for years now in the Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook.  I was iffy about it this afternoon as I was preparing it, but honestly?  It was not bad.  John said, "That was pretty good."   The texture of the cornmeal mush put us both off and we agreed that we'd very much like to try a modernized version of Tamale Pie with cornbread and the chicken mixture.

Tuesday:  Sometimes we're 'forced' into savings.   Weather this morning took the electricity out for hours and hours.  It was very dark and gloomy indoors and so dark outdoors that the security light was on until we lost power.    I'm glad I keep candles and water for just this sort of thing.  And grateful too, even more so than we've been all week, for the propane heat.  We huddled around a candle and I read and colored, John played guitar and games on his computer.  We all got power back about 1pm, so it wasn't too long a saga.   The sunshine popped in and out all afternoon, so we really didn't need any electricity after the storm either.  I just hope that the savings shows up on our next bill!

We were talking earlier today about various things John 'wants'...Most dealt with summer season things. I suggested we look at what we wanted for the season we're in at present.  One item that we've talked about for the longest is simple and not expensive.  We've seen on the Narrowboat vlogs we watch that often they have a small fan on top of their woodstove to push the hot air out.  It's not electric but is triggered by the rising heat to blow that warm air out away from the stove.  Since we've used the propane heat so much this week, I've thought often of how handy that would be to have.  John immediately ordered one of those fans.  I'm linking it below at the end of this week's post as my Amazon Affiliate link for this week.

Sobered this afternoon when I sat down with the checkbook and brought it completely up to date and realized how much ground we lost over the past two months when I've paid too little attention to what we were spending.  Ow.  Ouch.  Darn!   I knew I was down a bit due and that's why I am doing a pantry/freezer challenge but if ever I needed incentive that work this afternoon sure provided plenty of it.   Saving on groceries alone won't help much, but every bit counts in the end, doesn't it?  

Meals today: I had donut sticks and cheese for breakfast.  Poor John... his toast was in the toaster oven when the electric went out.  I pointed out he could use the gas oven, but he said that was too much trouble.   And no, I didn't offer to do it for him. 

Hotdogs, last of last night's slaw for lunch today.

Pork Chops, au gratin Potatoes (boxed), Steamed Broccoli, sliced bread.

Wednesday:  This day has been flipped every which way but loose.  It's not been a bad day, just expensive (the heat pump is repaired) and unexpected.  

After we'd been out this morning, I settled with the checkbook to attend to writing out bills and figuring finances for the rest of the month.  It's looking a little bit tight but never mind.  I'm going to get us back on an even keel sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, we've enough and that's good.

I moved money from my cash app savings over to the bank to cover another lot of Christmas charges I'd made and I'm happy to say that Christmas is now all paid for and done. 

I started our supper entree and a loaf of bread.

John ate lunch alone, since I had a rather late and heavy breakfast.  I did a detailed inventory of the big freezer.  I cleaned and sorted and organized as I went.  We have plenty of food!  I was happy to find that I had two containers of cottage cheese frozen and a little more ground beef than I'd thought.  That means that my longings for lasagna can be satisfied this weekend!  I have all I need on hand to make that.

I threw away some items.  Some because we didn't like them, some because I couldn't for the life of me tell what on earth they were (lost labels).  It was more food than I thought I'd toss, that's for sure, but it didn't make so much as a dint in what we still have on hand.  

I pulled all the beef bones and a bag of broth vegetables (tops and tails of carrots, celery, onions that I've saved) on to simmer.  That will turn into a lovely broth for soup tomorrow.  I plan to let it simmer all day and night.

I got a few ideas for future meals as I sorted out the freezer.  I jotted them down.  No need to forget them entirely.  

Meals today:  I ate the last of the hashbrowns and bologna with an egg and toast.  John had toast.

John ate the last hot dog and the last Italian sausage from Sunday's lunch.

Smothered Pot Roast, Wild Rice, Garden Peas, Carrot and Raisin salad, Rolls

Thursday:  This week is proving to be expensive.  We were sitting on the back porch this afternoon after puttering around cleaning up various things on the porch and in the yard.  We sat down to rest and talk and in a moment of quiet I heard what I thought was the dog lapping water.  But it went on and on and on, so I got up and looked around the corner towards the water bucket and no dog.  However, I could clearly hear water dripping under the house!  Crud!   John called the go to contractor who does a bit of everything imaginable.  He said he'd be out this evening.

I let the beef broth I made yesterday cook all night long in the slow cooker after simmering on the stove all day yesterday and I now have a chicken frame in the slow cooker to cook all night as well. But I'm going to say right now that I'm not sure it's worth it to me.  I'm quite serious.  I typically keep bouillon powder on hand and that's almost always what I use.  I never purchase broth and I seldom to never use it unless I just happen to have it on hand.  So why then, am I forcing myself to go this extra step and make it?    I have broth in the freezer and turkey and chicken frames as well, that take up a whole shelf, but I could easily use that entire shelf for foods we DO eat.  On the rare occasion I want broth for soup, it's generally when I already have a frame ready to use anyway and even then, I typically add bouillon powder to boost the flavor of that.  I think I'm going to give up broth making in the future.  I'll use what I have and when it's done it's done, and I'll move on.  

Second realization today was that I often keep things that I have no current use for but which I feel I ought to save as they might be handy.  Today I have tossed countless items that have been unused for years as well as some that I no longer want to give over storage space to.  Yes, I struggled when I threw away the pickle jar.  It has a nice wide mouth and is just the sort of thing I love to use as storage in the fridge for leftovers and produce and such.  But I have shelves full of canning jars in the back, as well as myriad canister type jars and salsa jars (also wide mouth) and I do NOT need one more jar!

I think I'll have to devote a zone week this month to the shed...I took Christmas things out this afternoon and I realized that it's totally out of hand.  I need to just sort it out HARD and let go of stuff that I really don't have a use for.  I need to be ruthless.  How often have I turned away from something I'd have liked to own for a little while at an estate or yard sale or thrift shop because I was reminded I had loads of stuff in the shed.  It's time to let another enjoy and appreciate the things I have no use for or desire to keep other than on a shelf in the shed.

Of course, there are things I like to cycle in and out of the house decor, mostly because I long to see change with each fresh season of the year, but those things would barely fill a single shelf unit.  The truth is that I need to do something I did with my wardrobe long ago: let go of the things that don't fit the life I have, which represent the life I sometimes dream I might have.  I've been a lot happier with my wardrobe and wear all of the clothes in my closet now.  I think what I keep in the shed should be the same: things that go with the life I have right now.

Meals today so far: toast for us both

Chicken sandwiches, pickles and chips. 

John also ate one of the pickled eggs I'd made for him using leftover pickled beet liquid.  He was pretty pleased with the egg.  I'll keep that in mind.  It certainly was a lovely shade of 'plum' as John called it and I didn't mind the bite I took to taste test though I didn't eat one.  

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