My Frugal List: Week of May 21, 2018

Thanks to Deadpool 2 and Solo I worked 6 days straight. I usually work 2-3 days a week so this was a lot for me. I will be very happy when my check comes. I planned ahead for the week and had some quick dinners planned to make my life easier and to avoid takeout. There is no point in working all of these extra hours to then go blow my paycheck on eating out. The crock pot is one of my favorite tools so I used it. I also pulled out cooked items from the freezer. We had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, pasta with meatballs, quesadillas, omelets, grilled chicken, and Hubby smoked chicken and ribs on Saturday. We ate very well.

I brought lunch, snacks and reusable water cup with me everyday. I had PB&J, hard boiled eggs, fruit, veggies, nuts and cheese. I need items that I could pick on though out the day. 

Breakfasts were bagels, souffles, pancakes, eggs and steal cut oats.

My main goal this week other then working lots was to get the big garden in. Thanks to help from my Hubby and the kids I did it. I finished planting my tomatoes. I have a 100 plants of 3 kinds. My pepper seedlings never grew, twice, so I bought some plants. Hubby was with me so we are trying some different kinds. We got red, yellow and purple bell(never did purple before). We got tabasco, those are new for us. We got jalapeno and hot house. I looked for cells that had extra plants so I did get a few extra without having to buy extra. I planted 18 pepper plants total. Cucumbers, and bush beans were also planted in the big garden. 

I also got most of my herbs planted. I cleaned out the ones that regrow every year(thyme and sage) and added some compost. I have a few more that need to get done so I will work on that this week. 

I did pick up strawberry plants. I have never done them before and my son wanted to try them. I put them in pots. If they grow I will have to find a permanent location for them. 

The little garden got tilled and compost, manure and lime were added and it was retilled. It is now ready to be planted. Hubby trimmed a tree of our neighbors that hangs over it too.  I will be planting zucchini, yellow squash, pole beans and more lettuce. I have some tomato plants leftover so I will be giving them to my church's outreach. They have a small garden that helps provide fresh veggies to people in need. They are always looking for free plants. I have given to them in the past. 

My son is keeping us well supplied with bread and baked goods. Now that he is done with school for the semester he is working more. He is always willing to cover needed shifts. They give you a free meal if you come in on short notice or stay late. He has gotten 3 free meals this week. He usually brings food with him so he just brings it home for the next day. 

I had took out some turkey bones that I had put in the freezer. I made dog food with the broth with zucchini, carrot and potato peelings. I made 3 containers which will get Oreo through the week.

I hung laundry outside 3 days and 1 inside. 

It rained 3 times this week so I didn't have to water the gardens those days.

YD had to give a science presentation at school. She received an award for her work. They had cookies and drinks so we snacked on those. She had to stay the whole time to see all of the presentations. Her dad and I left after she was done. He came straight from work and hadn't eaten yet. A friend of her's that is a year older offered to drive her home.  

I love this time of year because all of the birds and bunnies are out. We have a little bunny that has been hanging out in our front yard. The bunnies learn fast not to go in the back yard because of Oreo and Lip. 

I got some good sales this week. Several that I wanted were out so I made sure to get rain checks. I downloaded digital coupons and then made sure to add it to Ibotta. All of this helps me to keep our grocery budget down and keep a well stocked pantry. Here are 2 of the freebies I got last week. I never so no to free chocolate. I took it to work and shared it with my coworkers. We all needed a chocolate boost after a school of 150 kids left. My son drank the drink while he was mowing my neighbors lawn. It was hot out. 

We were able to bank over $900 to the college fund this week. Hubby gets paid every other week and that is when we put money in. 

The weather has been very nice, We haven't needed the heat or AC. The one day it was 85 we put on the fans and we were comfortable. 

We received several items from our neighbors that are moving to Florida. They are downsizing and don't want to bother doing a garage sale. They keep giving us stuff. We are only taking items that we can use or know of someone else that can use. After everyone else goes through the stuff, they said we can have what is left if we want to try and sell it. 

We did our usual stuff: paid bills on line, washed baggies, avoided food waste, ran only full loads of laundry and did it on the short cold cycle. 

What did you do to save money this week?