My Frugal List: Week of October 1, 2018

I started out the week not feeling well still. I ended up calling out from work one day. I don't get paid if I don't work since I am part time. That is OK since I really needed the rest. I am doing much better, thank goodness. I did have the eye doctor again and he said my eye is all better. Thanks to my insurance and already meeting my deductible the visit is covered. I did get some things done this week even with not feeling great. 

We made a big batch of chili with tomatoes and peppers from my garden. We changed the recipe some, like omitting the cayenne pepper since I had plenty of hot peppers in my garden. I always add extra beans to the recipe too and no one ever complains. The chili came out great. Hubby was calling it 5 alarm chili all night. It came out a little hotter then we are used too. That's what happens when you use fresh peppers I guess. We put it on rice for dinner. I put a container in the fridge for the next few days lunch. 3 big containers went into the freezer for 3 future meals. I put a pound of pork and a pound of ground beef in it. Both were bought on sale. I think the whole pot cost about $6 and we will get about 16 servings. With the rice, that comes to less then 40¢ a serving. Hubby loves having a bowl of chili while watching football. 

I went to a bridal shower. I had bought the gift off of the registry. It was originally $49.99. I used a $10 off $30 purchase. I then used a $25 gift card from Swagbucks. My total after tax was just over $18. The store had a wrapping station so I wrapped the present there. I used a card I had in my card box. Last summer I had gotten about 50 cards for $1 at a garage sale. I like what I paid for the gift and the bride to be loved her gift. I had a great time. The food was wonderful. I brought home half of my meal because there was so much. We played several games and my mom won one. My cousin made the favors and they came out really cute. She turned soap bottles into brides. 

The garden is still hanging in there. The tabasco peppers are all turning red now. Tomatoes are still coming in. I picked my last 2 cucumbers and all of my carrots. I chopped and froze the carrot tops to use in soups this winter. I did some garden cleaning up on things that are done. 

I had so many tabasco peppers that Hubby and I made more hot sauce. It's even hotter then the first batch. I pureed this batch to see which way we like it better. Last time I just chopped it in the food processor. I made 3 small jars worth.

My sister is a teacher and one of her lessons this year is reading the newspaper. She received 30 copies of the Sunday newspaper. She gave me all of the coupon inserts. If a good deal comes along I might really stock up. 

Hubby and I paid all of our bills online saving stamps. 

I sold 4 items this week on eBay. I used old boxes and envelopes that I had gotten from work to mail everything out in. I listed a ton of stuff while I was home not feeling well. Maybe I will make some extra money to put towards Christmas. 

We watched Lip for several days this week while my sister was away. Lip and Oreo eat 75% of homemade food. 

While I wasn't feeling well, Hubby took good care of me and even made me brownies. The kids helped make dinner several nights and cleaned everything up too. We did get Chinese one night. We got 2 entrees and a quart of soup. There was enough leftovers that the kids took it to school the next day. 

I hung laundry outside on the sunny days and inside on the rainy days. Hubby installed the new gasket on the washing machine that he ordered a few weeks ago. It is working so much better since he took it apart. Hubby also fixed a small rusty patch on his truck. 

I got several freebies from a friend. Her FIL downsized and was getting rid of lots of stuff. I took some things and passed them along. The fabric I am planning on using for some gifts. I have been learning how to sew so free fabric is wonderful. 

We had an energy auditor come into the house and do lots of tests last week. This week they came back and went over everything they found. It was free through our electric company. We will be receiving a thank you box in the mail sometime in the next month. We found a few things that Hubby can do that will help with our heating and electric costs. Some of them are very inexpensive, some cost more so we will save up to do them. I am always looking for ways to save more money. 

We did FAFSA and college applications. YD worked on scholarships. 

What did you do this week to stay frugal?