Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning I awoke to snow.  It was beautiful outside.  White, quiet, calm and very peaceful.  I drank it in along with a hot cup of coffee and was grateful I didn't have to go anywhere.  I just sat my warm little home and enjoyed it.  So very pretty!

I made a batch of my dinner roll dough in my bread machine so I could make the girls some homemade cinnamon rolls for Sunday breakfast.  I was able to use up the leftover cinnamon sugar from making Snickerdoodles at Christmas.  It was the perfect amount I needed.

Taco meat and ground turkey for taco soup

Monday through Friday was a busy week for us with loads of appointments and activities.  I was able to pull items from my latest meal prep to fix supper and we had plenty of good leftovers too so I didn't have to cook a whole lot.  Monday I thawed the taco meat I had made up and frozen.  We both enjoyed two taco salads and two large tacos each.  That took care of two suppers and two of our lunches.

Wednesday I made breakfast for supper.  We had waffles and bacon.  I made regular waffles for my daughter and I had my Keto version.  We had plenty of leftovers to enjoy the rest of the week for breakfast.

Taco soup, mini cornbread muffins, green salad

Thursday I pulled all the things I needed from the freezer and pantry for a big batch of Taco Soup.  I had some leftover whole wheat flour and some all purpose flour leftover from Christmas.  I combined the two and used that along with some cornmeal to make muffins for the girls.  I made 3 dozen mini muffins and half a dozen small muffins.  I put the small muffins into a bag and froze them for my oldest to take to school with her.  We aren't huge carb consumers anymore so the mini muffins work perfectly for us.

Friday and Saturday my youngest had two basketball games she needed to cheer at.  I waited for her at the nearby library annex and did some work on my laptop until the games were over.  It saves me a lot in gas not running back and forth from home to the high school.  I'm trying to stretch my fuel as far as I can this month.  I also think it saves me some time and makes me more productive.  I also checked out two books to read, which I haven't done for quite some time.

Vanilla, pumpkin spice, hazelnut creme & pumpkin brittle
All combined they made a really nicely scented large candle

Saturday I collected all of my candles with leftover bits candle wax in them and melted them all down.  When combined I had enough nicely scented melted wax to make one large jar candle.  I reused my pretty Bath & Body Works candle jar and placed the rest of the jars into our glass recycle bin.  I decided to try using two wicks in my new candle and after trimming them I reused a couple wick bases I had saved from other candles and the leftover wicking to make two more wicks for next time I make candles.  By doing this each time I'm able to double the number of wicks n the package I purchased.  Even though I only spent $6 for that package of wicks it still seems wasteful to me to cut off that much and toss it in the trash.  I'm glad a figured out a way to use the extra wicking.

I collected a few items from the giveaway bin at work.  They are nice enough for me to use for some gifts I have in mind as most of these things are brand new.  Yay!  I've decided as I purge I'll take some things in as well, share the wealth.  I did put a stack of coupons in the bin which someone has already helped themselves to.

I pulled all this stuff out of my garage
It will be very nice to have all of this gone

I sold some old inventory items I had leftover from my little optical shop on eBay.  I'm hoping to earn enough money to add to my PayPal account this year for our miscellaneous items such as new ink cartridges for our printer.

I completed my income tax returns and have them ready to file at the end of the month.  Our refund this year is really going to help a lot with our medical debt repayment.  That makes me pretty happy as it will cover about a third of the amount I have left to pay.

I kept the veggies simple.  I cut up a head of romaine lettuce and added baby spinach to it in a large bowl.  We had that ready to make our salads and stuff our tacos.  I had some cherry tomatoes and black olives for topping our salads and we had plenty of dressing left to use up.  We were able to finish up some vinaigrette and some ranch dressing we had in the fridge.

I used a tablespoon of my Warm Vanilla Sugar shower gel to mix into a cup of warm water and refilled the foaming hand soap dispenser in our kitchen.  I love that I can refill those dispensers for mere pennies.

I saved the rendered fat after cooking bacon.  I keep a glass jelly jar in our refrigerator for collecting the fat and then reuse it for cooking.  Good fats and great flavor added to our meals.

We gave the hens our kitchen scraps which included a few leftover cinnamon rolls.  They seemed pretty happy with that.

We did a quick little grocery shop Saturday for a few items we were low on

Some of the 15 Minute Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, cleaned washer & dryer, tidied the laundry room.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor, cleaned dining room chairs.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped the floor, cleaned microwave, tidied the junk drawer and spice cabinets.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Cleaned mirror & scrubbed tub.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - two loads of laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry.  Swept front porch & shoveled snow.

How was your thrifty week?

Using Up What I Already Have

I have a lot and for that I am incredibly grateful.  I've been able to fill my pantry and freezer with healthy food, my linen closet holds plenty of toiletries and laundry supplies, our closets adequately hold enough good clothing, shoes, outerwear and accessories.  In my craft and sewing room I have an abundance of items to create with.  My garage holds a good amount as well.

This year, as was the case last year, I will focus on using up what I already have before purchasing something else.  If I need something extra I will really think about it first and make certain there isn't another suitable option I may already have before buying that item.  With food I'm going to be scaling back a bit on the volume of I store.  I will focus those purchases more on fresh items like milk and produce and replacing items used such as canned goods and meats.  I also plan to make more items from scratch which will save money and stretch our current supplies.  And of course eating our leftovers before cooking something else will be important as well.  We want to minimize any food waste.

I have loads of items already on hand for making gifts and wrapping them too.  I want to focus more on creating and crafting so I plan to work on several small projects this year that will become gifts for those I love.  Making my gifts will help me stretch the Christmas fund much further and since I don't have a budget this year for any other type of gifts, our household budget as well.

We have games, music CDs, movie DVDs and we need to enjoy them more.  This year we let go of our Netflix membership in order to cut some spending.  We all agreed that although it isn't a lot of money, every little bit helps, and it would be good for us to do different things this year to entertain ourselves.  By going through what we already have we can also decide what we want to keep and what we are willing to let go.

I'm excited to work on the projects I have swirling around in my little noggin.  I have an empty gift box and a lot of ideas for using up items I already have.  Not only will those items get used up, but I'll be gaining some much needed space as well.  Do you need to use up some items around your house?

A Savings Game

This year I have a lot of savings goals to attain.  I have accounts for retirement, a savings account, an emergency fund, a Christmas fund and now an HSA.  I plan to contribute to all of those accounts each month.  Of these the emergency fund is the one I am most concerned about.  I need to build it back up and in order to do so I'm going to be trying a "Savings Game" I heard about last month.

It is pretty simple really.  There are 52 weeks in a year.  On week one you save $1, week two $2, week three $3 and so forth until you are putting $52 into your savings account on week fifty two.  Seems simple enough and at the end of the year you will have save $1378.  Not bad!

Some people do it backwards and I can really see the value in why they do it this way.  On week one you save $52, week two $51, week three $50 and so forth working your way down.  The reason they do it backwards is because it helps them to not lose momentum and give it up as the amounts increase.  Instead they feel rewarded by sticking with it and the amounts going down each week.  Most people who did it backwards actually ended up saving more than the $1378 because they felt compelled to round up amounts towards the end and deposit even more.  I like that!

So that is how I'm approaching my emergency fund this year.  The $1378 will definitely get it back in the healthy range, but if I can save $1500, then even better!  Anybody out there want to join me?  Need to save up for something you need or want?  This might be a great way to do it.

My First Meal Prep In 2020

I planned out my first meal prep session based solely on items I already had in my house.  No trip to the store required this time and that was fantastic!  I pulled a 5# package of ground turkey out of the freezer as well as a pound of ground beef.  Once thawed I got to work.

My first task was to combine half of the ground turkey with the ground beef and some spices and eggs.  I made 20 meatballs laying them out on a plate and then added some ketchup to the mixture and made it into meatloaf.  Pretty simple.  

I popped the meatloaf into the oven and the meatballs into the freezer.  Once the meatballs had firmed up I transferred them to a ziploc bag for either spaghetti and meatballs or swedish meatballs later on.

While the meatloaf baked I combined frozen broccoli and cauliflower cuts in a roasting pan, tossed it with a little olive oil and some seasoning salt.  I added the veggies to the oven about halfway through the meatloaf baking.  

While everything finished up in the oven I peeled three potatoes I had leftover in the pantry, cut them up and cooked them with a handful of baby carrots.  I whipped the cooked potatoes and carrots up together with some milk and butter as a side dish for our meatloaf supper.

The remaining ground turkey was browned up and I removed some to freeze to add to Taco Soup and then added a packet of taco seasoning to what remained.  The taco meat went into a bowl as well as the reserved ground turkey and once cooled I put it in the freezer.  Now I have components of meals that I can quickly prepare throughout the month in quantities that will leave us with plenty of leftovers for extra meals and lunches.

Start to finish I spent about an hour in the kitchen, including clean up.  Have you done any meal prepping yet this year?  What are you making these days?

Making 2020 A Low Buy Low Spend Year

Last year was rough.  I ended 2019 feeling pretty discouraged about our finances.  A lot of little expenses on top of some larger ones added up to a big chunk of change.  For the first time in quite a while I have unpaid debt and I don't like it one little bit.  But instead of wallowing in despair over it I am grateful to have the means to take care of those expenses, even if it meant using a credit card, and the means to pay that credit card bill each month.  In time it will be paid off and our emergency fund will be topped back up.

In order to help us get there I've decided to make 2020 a low buy year so I'm able to divert more of my hard earned money in the direction of savings and debt elimination.  I'm going to be even more mindful and intentional with spending this year to make sure that happens.

Groceries will be purchased at best possible prices and I will endeavor to stay on budget each month.  I plan to only buy shoes and clothing that is needed to replace items we already have.  In the meantime I will care for the clothes we have and do any mending needed to extend the life of our clothing.

We are blessed.  We have a lot!  Plenty of toiletries, toilet paper & tissue, laundry detergent & dryer sheets, cleaning supplies & dishwashing liquid.  Our freezer is still pretty full, our pantry has a lot in it too.

We won't be traveling this year.  That was an easy one as nothing was planned for 2020.  As far as dining out or entertainment well be reeling that in quite a bit.  I'll be on the search for free and very low cost entertainment options which is easy to do in this town.  Lucky us!

I think employing a low buy/low spend year will help me get a grasp on our current financial situation and go a long way to help me set things right.  I know I'll breathe a lot easier once that is all taken care of.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning the oldest one and I went grocery shopping at Trader Joes, Winco and Albertsons.  I had a list for Trader Joes and Winco and she had a list for all three places.  We were able to get all that we needed while keeping to a really tight budget.  I was really impressed with the meals she came up with to prepare in her dorm as well as her ability to get what she needed for a small amount of money.  Even though it required stops at three different stores, it was worth it to us in order to stay on budget.  Our particular route works really well so we don't waste fuel driving out of our way to shop.

Trader Joes & Winco

I bought two large cans and three small cans of tomato sauce to replace what I had used up from the pantry.  I bought two small cans of tomato sauce and four cans of tuna for my daughter to take to college.  I gave her a box of Triscuits and some canned tomatoes as well as a few other items we had in the freezer and pantry to take too.  Between the items I gave her and what she bought herself she went back to school with quite a bit of food to get her through the next couple of weeks, probably longer.  I will continue to help her with meals and food throughout the rest of the school year.

Our vegetable drawer nicely restocked

Sunday afternoon I trimmed both of my daughter's hair so they could start back to school with a fresh hairstyle.  I had trimmed my bangs a couple weeks before.  We are all trying to save our money and not go to the salon right now.

I baked my daughter this big loaf of French bread to take to her dorm

Monday was payday.  I was able to take care of my savings obligations, all of my bills (except the mortgage), fill the gas tank on my car and put a good sized payment toward my credit card bill.  I had $27 left in my checking account to hold me over until payday and with no real intentions of shopping much that should work.

We found a kitty in a box!

I cancelled our Netflix membership for the time being.  As a family we talked about it and decided it was a very wise decision right now.  There are plenty of free options for us to find online for TV and movie viewing if we wish.

One of our simple Keto meals last week
Turkey burgers smothered in cheese and spinach salad

Friday evening I had a card making date with myself after I got home from work.  I got out my supplies, put on a movie, poured myself a glass of wine and settled in for several hours of crafting.  It was a great way to unwind from a busy work week and do something I really enjoy.  By the time I was ready to call it a night I had made eight Christmas cards, three Valentines and fourteen birthday cards.  I couldn't believe I made that many birthday cards.

I restocked my card supply

Saturday my oldest came home to attend my youngest daughter's dance team show.  We had to drop her off an hour and a half early and since it was being held on the opposite end of town from where we live I decided it would be a good opportunity to go to Fred Meyer and use a few coupons I had that were set to expire.  I was able to walk out of the store with two bags of groceries for $14.21 which included a bag of cat food and several items my daughter needed to prepare meals she had planned for the coming week at her dorm.  Yay us!

Great bargains from Fred Meyer

I used 1 Tbs. of Twisted Peppermint body wash stirred into 1 cup of warm water to top off both of my foaming hand soap dispensers in our bathrooms.  Since I got the body wash at Bath & Body Works for free with a coupon this makes for some pretty thrifty hand washing!

I was able to restock my sprinkles for next Christmas pretty inexpensively
Dipping chocolate and almond bark for dipped pretzels were only $1 each

The icing and multi colored sprinkles were inside the box
I thought that was a pretty good deal

We rinsed out every last bit of soap from an empty laundry detergent bottle to use up before replacing it with a new one from our stockpile in the linen closet.  The empty bottle was then tossed into our recycle bin.  Later in the week I did the same thing with a bottle of fabric softener.

Yogurt was on my list of things to only purchase at rock bottom prices
With coupons on top of the sales and markdown prices this was very affordable!

I used up a lot of odds and ends of things around the house.  From hand lotion and laundry detergent to pancake syrup and dry pasta in a jar I cleared out quite a bit of stuff and didn't let it go to waste.  We have loads of odds and ends in our kitchen freezer to work on as well.

I worked a little bit of overtime last week.

Lots of healthy salads this past week

Some of the 15 Minute Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped the floor, cleaned top of refrigerator, cleaned range hood filter, wiped down the ceiling trim, cleaned the coffee maker.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Scrubbed sink & tub.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - two loads of laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry.  Swept front porch.

How was your thrifty week?