Monday, February 24, 2014

Last Week’s Thrifty Moves


After frying bacon for Sunday breakfast I saved the rendered fat in my glass collection jar.  I used a small amount of that fat when I fried our steaks later that night.

My girls gave me their heart shaped candy boxes in hopes I could come up with something clever to reuse them for.  I'm sure I probably can.  Since I have the room I put them in with our gift wrap supplies.

They also gave me two glass jars that a friend gave them candy in at Christmas.  I can definitely reuse those.  In fact one is already in use.

I baked two loaves of whole wheat bread.  I've not only been missing fresh baked bread but also the act of making it.  I find it very satisfying and comforting.  I plan to do it more often.

I finished my grocery shopping for the month.

I had extra pancakes after Sunday's breakfast so I reheated them in the microwave and served them to the girls for breakfast before school.  They don't often get pancakes on a week day.

Because of leftovers I only prepared half the meals I originally intended to.

I mended a tear in my youngest daughter's jeans.  I also reinforced the knees of another pair of her jeans with iron on patches as they were wearing thin.  I put the patches on the inside so they don't show.

I made two batches of homemade salad dressing.

I made a batch of homemade pancake syrup.

I used up a very ripe banana by making a loaf of banana bread.  I plan to use it next week for breakfasts.

I made homemade Hershey's syrup for ice cream.

I listed and sold more items on eBay.

I was very conservative with my gas.  I put less than twenty miles on my automobile this week. 

How was your thrifty week last week?

6 comments:

  1. Do you drive to work everyday? I've been wondering how you conserve gas. We walk or ride the bus as much as possible, but we still have to fill up our car every two weeks.

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    1. I work from home quite a bit although that is due to change dramatically as the temp agency I work for reassigned me and I started back to work with them today.

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  2. I really appreciate your blog. I also live in Boise, and I've been able to use a lot of your tips to help our family budget. I don't think I'll ever get my grocery budget as low as yours, but I do believe I can get it lower than it is now. We currently spend $350/mo for food and toiletries for a family of 4 (kids are 5 and 2). It used to be a struggle to live off this, but I'm now I'm finding that I can stock up on extras each month. I'm hoping that once my pantry is fully stocked I can reduce the amount we spend.

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    1. I've found it really helps to have a stocked pantry. Then all I have to do is replenish what I use. A long time ago I used money from a tax return to fully stock it and then I've been replenishing it ever since. Even when we got ready to move I kept the basics so I'd have a good foundation to start with. I'm glad I'm able to help you. Let me know if there is anything specific I can help you with. You can email me direct anytime. Take care!

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  3. Gosh, I wouldn't have thought I'd ever say it, but I miss bacon grease! I used to always keep a tin can by the stove to save it for other meals during the week - back before I went all 'healthy and low fat'. I'm more into exercise and 'low meat' consumption, so I don't worry about so much about fat. Bacon here in Britain has a lot of water in it - it's more like ham than what I recognise as bacon. Making things full of flavour helps curb appetite I find - we use loads of spices. If I put curry powder or cumin and coriander in anything, I can count on Bill loving it. I'm more of a chili person...but bacon grease sure sounds nice!

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    1. I think it could easily be considered a comfort food don't you?! ;) I don't use a lot of it because I like to cook pretty lean and try to stay as healthy as possible. But the flavor it adds can't be beat.

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