Bag of Bananas for a Buck

Yes please
Ok, actually 1.30
Still less than 12 cents for banana
Can you imagine...getting a snack for 12 cents
But the bag will yield good things

I have already used 2 (plus one that was in the freezer) to make a batch of banana bread.
I made mini loaves, gave 4 as gifts and we had one for breakfast

I see many smoothies in our future
Strawberry banana
And P-butter choc banana

I make a killer fried p-butter banana sandwich (With honey and cinnamon)
I will freeze the remaining bananas, so I can use them when I need them.

So next time you see the poor lonely single ripe bananas in a bag, buy them

Christmas gifts

Oops I started this post in Oct/Nov, but never published it

Here is what I have made...so far

I beaded over a Christmas Ball

This is an old T-shirt, then I added beads

Knitted Dish Cloths

Gift Giving

How many gifts do you really need for your birthday?
Well, my son gets an experience this year.
Small amount of friends and I think rock climbing.
It is a tad pricey because of the small amount of people to invite.
But if I was buying a ton of gifts plus goodie bags and pizza and cake, it would really add up.
So what I give this year is an experience, with a small group of friends.
Cake and ice cream back at our house
About 1/2 the price as last year.
And Yes, I did get a couple gifts.  Purchase during the after Christmas sales.

Venting

There was a dryer vent fire in my neighborhood
Scary part is we are a townhome community 
It could have spread
When we moved in  2 yrs ago, we cleaned our vents because we didn't know when they were last done.

On that note, VENTS...Clean them (See ounce of Prevention)
Spend a little now to save lots later on fire repair.

I also recently cleaned my air vents in the house intake and out
I cleaned all the lint off my hairdryer filter
My hubby cleaned the fan in the convection oven 
You get my point

I leave you with pictures of the dryer that caught fire.
It was on the upper floor of the home

Re-evaluating Value

Kids get way too many gifts for Christmas.
With that many presents, it make them lose their value I think.
Hmm a devalued Christmas gift.  Sad.
I can easily get caught up in wanting to buy for my son.  Fun to shop and great to see how happy it makes him.
But he already has more toys than he needs.

Gifts would have more sentimental value if they were special, not just one of the pile of presents.

I doubt anything will change for this Christmas, but I know I will focus on experiences and not material things for his birthday in Feb.

End of an Era

My Grocery Store is changing its policies.
I blame Extreme Couponers, the show not the original people who do it.
My coupons will only double UP to 1 dollar
So, if I have a .75 coupon, I will only get up to a dollar not 1.50
Plus I am finding it harder and harder to match a coupon to items on sale

Changes need to be made.
In order to keep my budget in check, I am going to have to change the way I shop or give up some items.
I will probably do both.
Coffee, yes I said it.  I don't go out to buy it.  I make it at home, but still with that, the creamer and the filters, it adds up
I spend 5.00 a shopping trip for 1/2 and 1/2..  60.00 a year.

I will try to make more homemade snacks
I really have to think on this to see what I come up with....

Corks

Made some ornaments out of used corks.
I did my best to drink wine to supply my own corks, but I did get some from friends
I got some of the beads from my sister who sent me a Christmas bracelet she no longer wears.

Christmas Cards

Last year I got together my my cousins and made Christmas cards.
I had basic supplies, and one cousin used to do scrapbooking, so plenty of fun tools from her.
I have some cards left over, and I have a coupons for photos cards this year.
The biggest expense will be postage, but it is worth it.
Great opportunity to spend time with family and friends.
My faves are the thumbprint ones and the ones that say "JOY"

Teacher's gift

Got an email from my son's Homeroom Mom collecting money for a Teacher gift.
Easy Peasy, just send in cash, no thinking and you are done.
8-10 dollars, reasonable.
However, while at Trader Joes the other day, we saw the Trader Joe Joe's cookies.
My son though it would be a nice teacher gift.  I agreed.
They are a specialty item, only in store this time of year.  They sell out fast.
And if the teacher doesn't like them, she can re-gift.  They are popular around these parts.
Cost of teacher gift. $2.99, a 5 to 7 dollars savings
Way to go Son

Kickin' it old school

Remember making these?
Old magazine folded to make a Christmas tree.
When I was young we used the Readers Digest
Good project for the son.  He can paint it and glue beads on it.
I kind of like it the way it is.

The Big Cheese

I love the convenience of those pre -shredded cheeses. You can freeze them and pull them out when you need them.
BUT we all know prepackaged food is pricey and well...you can make it yourself.
So I did.  I bought block cheese when on sale and just cut it into chunks and threw into my food processor (That was given to me) 
Doesn't have the professional look, but it is just fine for making Mac n Cheese, casseroles, pizza, anything for which you need shredded cheese.
I cut the labels off of the packages and taped them to the plastic bags

November Groceries

I last shopped 4 weeks ago.  I was hoping to make it to 5.
However, coffee was on sale this week and I had coupons to match.  Couldn't pass it up
My total before the store card was  285.02
After store card and store coupons  176.23
After Manufacturer and special high dollar coupons  145.41
Picture shows 5 dollar off coupons, that is what really helped me this month

Remember I had to save 25.00 because I went over last month.  I still need to get bread at a discount store and will need milk in a week or so, plus some special foods for Thanksgiving.  I can still get those things and be 25.00 under.

Here is a picture of some of the items going into the pantry

Coffee, coffee and  more coffee, 4 boxes of cereal, 3 bags Dutch noodles, pasta sauce, and canned goods, and some treats for my boys...and more

Oh Yes I Did

Yes I reused.
While washing dishes, my dish cloth needed a bit of umph
I checked under the sink and YES, a mesh bag from veggies I saved.

The perfect scrubby.  Got the crockpot clean.

These dish cloths are YEARS old.  The orange mesh is from veggies and makes a perfect scrubby

Not so frugal

Not so frugal...done in a frugal way.
I had one of those "jewelry parties"
It was fun, friends over, drinks and desserts.

Buying jewelry is not a frugal thing to do, but throwing the party was.
1) It had a theme.  Which worked really well for me.  A CHOCOLATE theme, and it was the 1st weekend after Halloween, so Chocolate was cheap.
2)  It was a drinks and dessert evening.  Had all the ingredients to make a few choc. theme desserts so no money spent there.
3)  My money was spent on alcohol, but since I saved everywhere else, it was no problem.  Plus I only offered 2 different Themed drinks. Chocolate wine and a Chocolate Martini.
4) Most important, I got to see friends and they had a good night out
5)  The little money I put into it, I got back in free jewelry.
6) And because I threw a Party, one of my friends gets credit towards jewelry from her party I attended.  Truly a win win.

Prepping

I have a small stockpile
So it was pretty easy to Prep for Hurricane Sandy
Plus we have had plenty of time and warning
We have everyting we need to ride out the storm without electricity.
We do not have a generator, so I hope I dont lose my stockpile in the freezer.
We have ice and lots of it.

We bought extra batteries and that is about it.

Stay safe everyone.

What Have You Done

What frugal things have you done lately?

Scrubbed toilets with baking soda and vinegar
Gathered free pinecones and baked them...house smelled good (Will use to make a wreath)
Used coconut oil and brown sugar for a hand rub
Hung 1 load laundry to dry instead of using the dryer
Creative leftovers
Chatted with our community landscapers to prune my trees (free)
Bought Haunted house tickets on Living Social...been wanting to take son to Haunted House.  Tickets are 10.00 each, I got them for 2.00 each
Made Hot Chocolate mix
"Re racked"  my dishwasher tines.  The tips were getting rusty, so I used a touch up vinyl paint called "Re Racked"

FRUGAL Christmas Part 1

I say Part 1 because I am quite sure I will have more to say on the topic.
And YES I am thinking Christmas already, not because the stuff is in stores, but because it takes some time to make frugal gifts.
Currently I am making ornaments to sell at a craft show.  I hope to make some Christmas money.
But here are some of my ideas for frugal gifts

Wine cork ornament
Grow a plant from one you already have
Bake...cookies and sweet breads are great gifts.
If you can knit, dishcloths are a nice gift that people actually use.
Pinecone wreath, or make any kind of wreath (The pine cones were free for me)

Uh-Oh

Uh-O  ver
Yes, I went over my grocery budget
By 25.00.  That is a lot.
Why?  Because, when something is on sale I stock up, but I also needed the basics still, so I went over.
Peanut butter has gotten very pricey around here.  Just a year ago I could get brand name for 1.50 when on sale.  Now the generic is 2.50 or more and the brand name, well....
It was on sale, I had a coupon, I won't need P-butter for months.  We use a lot of it, I bake with it, for smoothies and the traditional PB and J.
Also coffee and cereal had a sale so I stocked up on those as well.
So these items will not be on my shopping list for a couple months, I will be able to shave off $25.00 from my next 2 trips.

What I did this morning

I have a Swagsbucks account. Got it in Jan 2012.  I do not earn much, but I do earn some.
I now can redeem my points for...
3   25.00 Restaurant.com gift cards
1   25.00 Travelocity.com gift cards

Which is good for me, because I use those sites.

$75.00 of gifts, for using Swagbucks

Not too bad

If interested in Swagbucks let me know I can send a referral to you

FREE Basil

My neighbor gave me a handful of Basil clippings
Mmmm fresh Basil.  It went on pizza, it got mixed in with tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese.

But best of all..I now have 2 basil plants of my own.
I propagated it.
I cut the plant right below a leaf node, stuck in it water and....well see for yourself

2 Basil cuttings starting to root

One Basil planted.  Look at the roots on the other one.  Will plant that one soon

Granola- Recipe

I need to make More granola,  I made it 2 days ago and it is gone
Here is my recipe
Basically I tweaked Alton Brown's recipe

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds(I toasted them)
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey*
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

* it called for maple syrup, I didn't have any

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine honey, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

FREE DAY

Well, actually, my son has a free day.  No school today.
We were going to go to the library, but he opted to stay home and have me read Harry Potter to him.
Awesome (Quality time with kid, and no driving = no gas used)

Also we are out of bread, so we made some.
Quality time with kid and able to sneak in math lesson. (Measuring)
Had all the ingredients and didn't drive to get bread.

Snack time...made granola
Quality time with kid, more math and telling time (Had to stir granola every 15 min)


So far, no money spent today.  Woo Hoo

Mixing the granola

Getting ready to bake the granola

Mmmmmm freshly baked bread

Free Haircut

Aidan got a free haircut in Aug at JC Penney
They are doing it again in Nov

<<NEW! Starting Sunday, November 4th, your kids can get a free haircut at JCPenney Salons–and every Sunday thereafter. If this promotion is like the back to school free haircuts in August, then you’ll need to make an appointment first. Also, this is good for kids ages 12 and younger only>>

Free Food

Just a quick FYI
IKEA has always had lunch/dinner at a reasonable price
But now through Dec 31st, you can get some stuff FREE
I took a picture of a page in the latest IKEA catalog

To Coupon or not to Coupon

That really is the question.  I can't answer it.  I can give you my experience.
I am not a Coupon Queen, not even a Princess.  I am more like the Court Jester.
I do use coupons.  But I do NOT buy multiple papers, or purchase coupons from a clipping site.  I get one Sunday paper a week and I do print some internet coupons.
The store I frequent limits the amount of items you can get, plus I do not want or need 100 sticks of deodorant.
I plan my meals from the circular, do my best to match a coupon to a sale price and limit the amount of times I go to the store.  I have a baby stockpile that is good for a family of three.

Here are the stats from my latest trip:
Shoprite
277.00 before store card
252.00 after store card
165.00 after coupons(most doubled) and bag refunds (I try to match coupons with rainchecks too)

HOWEVER, no meat was on sale at Shoprite, so I spent 35.00 at another store with a good selection and decent sale prices.  That brings us to 200.00 for a month.  BUT I will have to buy milk once a week for 3 weeks, so add that in.

So, what I can tell you is, use the system that works for you, I use a little bit of different ideas to create my own.  I do some coupons, I travel to go to the store with best prices, I shop once a month, I meal plan from the sales circular, and stock up when on sale.

Here is a picture of my receipt. I love it when it is taller than my fridge

Adding to the pantry/stock pile.

I reviewed my receipt, a few coupons did not double because it would have exceeded the price of the items.  I called the store and I got 4.03 in credit toward my next shopping trip

My Pantry.  Hubby does a great job rotating stock and organizing.

Monthly Grocery Shopping

When I was newly married, I shopped about once a week.  $80.00 for the two of us.
Then I learned to shop every other week.  $100.00 every 2 weeks
Now I shop once a month for 2 adults and one 8 year old.  Approx 200.00 a month
And prices just keep going up. I do have to get milk during that month. 
But for me, this method saves me time and money.

Next Post...TO COUPON OR NOT TO COUPON

What a Spectacle

ZENNI
I have used this site to buy glasses.
2 pairs for me and 1 for my son.
My glasses are usually ridiculously expensive
I paid about $30.00 for 2 pairs.  They are perfect.
Drawback is, you don't really know what you look like with them on.  I look good in one pair and kind of dorky in the other.  But I don't mind.  I feel I got a good deal. I will use Zenni again

http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/glasses-4-recommended-websites-discount-eyeglasses-143600402.html

FREE Museum

Saturday Sept. 29, 2012

Why not check out a museum you didn't even know existed...hey it is FREE

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/museum-search/?state=Pennsylvania

Leftovers

"What's for dinner Mom?"

Well I try not to say leftovers.  This time I said:
Lunch:   Smoothies, over ripe banana, last spoonful of P-Butter in the jar, a spoonful of cocoa pwd and the last of the milk, ice (to make it cold and bulk up recipe)
Dinner: Cheese and Chicken quesadillas.  1/4 bag of frozen shredded cheese (thawed), leftover chicken breast, last of the tortillas.

One tray had  2 1/2 tortillas on it, the other had a real big one.  Used up all the different tortillas.
We actually had leftovers!

Size Matters

Size matters
It does, especially with groceries
To get the best deal you really do need to break down price per serving or unit.
I want to alert you to a new trend in my area of PA
SUGAR, 5 lb bags are now 4lb bags, and sometimes mixed together
Sugar is expensive, so just keep an eye out for sizes, especially if they are on sale.

FREE haircuts

Just made an appointment for my son to get his hair cut
At JCP in Exton PA
FOR FREE
for the month of Aug
Kids only K to 6th grade

Pair of Pears

My son likes pears, so we have a couple in the fridge.  Problem is, he's visiting his grandmother and aunt.
So what to do with pears that are ripe?
Dehydrated fruit of course.  I love the dried Granny Smith Apples from Trader Joes.  But pricey.
So I made my own fruit snack.
Slice pears, place on baking sheet (I have parchment/silpat under them)

 I sprinkled them with cinnamon

Bake at 200F for a couple hours until dried (Of course you can used a food dehydrator, or dry outside)

YUMMY snack

Surprise frugality

I was visiting my nephew in VA.  Keep in mind, he is a bachelor, TA at Virginia Tech....
What do I find on his deck?  CONTAINER GARDENING.  Awesome.
What is even better than that?  The containers used.
I believe that they are pans used to hold surgical instruments.  10 come in one package, open a package, use 2, the rest get thrown out. 
Check out their use.  And there are two for each plant, allowing for drainage, the top one has holes in it.

One cake mix...

Yep store bought. When my grocery store has a sale, the cake mix is .99 cents. 
Of  course I will have a coupon for .50 cents and the store will double it.
FREE cake mix.
I invested in mini muffins tins. (Of course I had a 50% coupon)
One cake mix made enough cupcakes for THREE events.
Instead of 2 doz cupcakes.  I had 60 little ones.
I took 20 to a 4th of July get together.  5 of us, so plenty for all plus leftovers to leave behind.
20 more were taken to the fireworks celebration to pass out to the kids and grown ups.
The final ones were brought to a girls night out.

Y?

I like to be frugal.  If people ask, I will more than gladly ramble on about it.  We ALL have our own opinions and lifestyles.  I do my best not to be preachy.
I DON'T belong to the Y.  Why?  Because I feel it is expensive.  People invite us to swim at the Y.  I try not to go, Why?  Because it is expensive.  10-15 dollars to swim for a couple hours. 
We are very lucky to have in-laws with a pool.  This is soooo much better for many reasons.  It is free.  We get to see family.  Win, win.  Yet I still get that look that I should join the Y.
My husband belongs to Planet Fitness.  10 dollars a month (The Y 80 dollars a month).  We swim at the in laws,  Free.  Seeing and spending time with family.  PRICELESS

Ounce of Prevention

I love my Hubby.  He is brilliant.
He tinkers about the house, fixing things, putting in gadgets.
I never really paid much attention or thought it did that much
HOWEVER...he put this thinga- ma- bob in the drip pan under the washer, which is upstairs
BEEP BEEP BEEP, I was running around the house looking for the smoke alarm going off
it was the Thinga-ma-bob...the washer overflowed and water was in the pan.
We saved hundreds if not more in repairs because of the prevention.
Thanks Hubby.

Frugal VS Cheap

Frugal TO ME means, getting the best value for your money, or for the least amount of money.  I don't mind waiting, researching, saving up, then spending money on a good quality purchase that will last a much longer time.

Clothes go in and out of style so very fast, so I shop clearance or consignment or thrift shop.
I don't have the latest and greatest in my Kitchen or where ever...if I have something that will already do the job.  I just recently received my very first Kitchenaid mixer.  Before that I used my grandmothers 30+ yr old Oster standmixer.  It still works a little, I tried to get it fixed, but Oster stopped making the parts.

My laptop died last week.  It had a slow and painful death.  It actually died on the table (On the kitchen table)months before.  But my husband operated on it and revived it, at least for a little while.  That time allowed me to back up info, and be prepared the for inevitable.

Since we don't live outside our means, we could purchase one right away.  For others, the time it was limping along, would give people the ability to save up for a new one.

I guess my point is, live frugally, and you will have the means to buy good quality items that will last a long long time.

Watermelon Popsicles

I had 1/4 of a watermelon left over.  I looked great but wasn't that sweet.  I knew it could easily go to waste.
Summer vacation is here, so popsicles are the perfect cool you off type of snack.

 I cut up the watermelon

Put it in the food processor, with some honey

 

Process and strained

And now we have summer on a stick

Hidden Money - My 2 cents

OK, so the money wasn't "hidden", it was forgotten.  That is sad to just forget money.
We found money in the cars, of course, and the junk drawer in the kitchen, but also in my sewing box, a pencil cup, desk drawers, on top of the dryer...

 In the sewing box

From all over the house

Starting to count the money

Total:  $89.23