Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Frugal Five



Five frugal activities from the week:

  1. Made chicken broth--twice. I made a big pot after cutting chicken breasts for freezer cooking. Then when organizing the freezer, I found a bag of chicken bones and veggie scraps so those got thrown into a pot and cooked!
  2. Hauled our trash to the dump. This is ongoing and you can read more about it here. When we lived in the city, we paid around $16 a month for trash pick-up. While I think that's a reasonable price for the convenience, we are happy to drive a couple miles to the dump every couple of weeks and keep that money in our pockets!
  3. Enjoyed a game night with friends. We played Apples to Apples, Uno and then watched the kids put on a Talent Show.  Cost--a snack and gas to get there. 
  4. Found some nice things on clearance at Target which will go right into my gift drawer for Christmas and birthday gifts. Because family members read here, I won't divulge all the secrets and spoil the surprise by telling everything I got! But I will say that winter hats  and gloves are on clearance right now. And some other cute things.:-)
  5. I love getting cards for all occasions at the Dollar Tree! They have a huge selection of cards 2/$1. I enjoy sending cards for holidays (when I remember) and this week I hit up Dollar Tree for Valentine cards--they had some very nice ones! Sometimes I make my own cards and other times I buy them for 50 cents each which can't be beat! 
How have you saved money this week? I love reading your frugal tips so please share in the comments!

4 comments:

Monica Wilkinson said...

That's a great list, Mary Ann! Like you, we take our trash and recycling to the dump - it is fairly close also and about twice the price of what you mentioned for curb pick up. Let's see - other frugal things.

* found a great sale on some home school things I need for next year, combined with a group order with friends and searched on line for a free shipping code.

* Watched a borrowed movie, a show on PBS and read books from the library.

* stayed home a lot!

* we went through a lot of little Valentine's this year, so I was pleased to score a few boxes on the Valentine clearance to save for next year.

* made a birthday gift for a party the girls are invited to just by searching through what I had. It is a tote bag full of little crafty bits - papers, ribbons, a journal, two pens, etc... I wrapped everything in cute bundles and boxes so it will be pretty and cute. I'm hoping to embroider the birthday girl's name on the bag - before Saturday.

Have a great day!

Rhonda said...

I don't feel too frugal right now as we have been adding some improvements to our home.

Hubby got a new TV that is supposed to be energy efficient and I quit using our dishwasher- anyway, our latest utility bill with both electric and water on it was about $40 less than the 2 previous months. I think it is because of the new TV and less water and power used by handwashing. Our old tv always felt hot, almost like a space heater.

we are having such a mild winter that our gas heating costs have been low too.

always like your frugal 5 list

Wendi said...

I always enjoy your list. I don't feel like I have been frugal enough lately. We have spent some major money on a new mattress and car repairs. Both need and paid for in cash, but still it was hard to spend so much at once. I have been staying home as much as posssible.

~katie~ said...

Great savings, Mary Ann!

I don't have a lot to report this week as far as saving money. But a good note is I haven't spent any either! =)

I really enjoy the dollar section at Target ~ but sometimes I do better off walking on by! They do have some cute gift items there from time to time though. I'm going to bookmark your chicken stock post ~ might have to try that soon!

Thanks for these posts ~ they are inspiring!

Blessings on your week~
Katie