What Frugal Thing .....- Part II

[marvholly]

This is NOT a frugal week/month. I have needed to do WAAAY too much driving to accomplish needed errands. I would not go out today EXCEPT:

I have a new Rx & a Target coupon for a $10 gc if I go today. Rx is generic so 3 months = $12.
I have a couple things I want at a local market where the sale ends TUE
I pass a natl chain grocer w/.an item on Sale (BOGO) that I have $2 coupon (s/b FREE)
I need several blouses and want to hit several resale shops

I probaly could do this Mon or Tue but with my Dad's health in major decline I will more likely be needing to check out skilled car places for him so I do not want to put off.

I have taken a turkey breast out of the freezer to cook today or Sun. It will be my main meal base for the next week. I do not like how turkey freezes unless I plan to use in a cassarole.

[Aleta]

I didn't go anywhere yesterday and have been waiting to combine my car trips so I'm not going back and forth needlessly. I also have been eating left overs for a couple of days and cooking up what will expire soon.

[marvholly]

Went shopping at local thrift stores on Sat. I want/need a new top to wear w/my good dressy suit for a wedding on 2/27. I bought 2 blouses that I liked-not sure if they will look good w/the suit but they were $2.56 each and both on sale for 50% off.

They are both colors I will wear w/other things if they do not go w/the suit.

[marvholly]

I do not like the blouses w/the suit. Regular use stock for me.

There are some GREAT deals out there this week. All the shopping I will be doing at CVS, WAG and Target will be paid with coupons, RR, EB and gift cards so NO added OOP.

I am planning on going over the last 2 months of coupon inserts & checking a coupon database to REALLY take advantage of the Target buy 7 frozen items get a $5 gc. I just got a $10 gc for a new Rx at Target. Looking especially at frozen veg and treats (ice cream).

Produce prices here have gone NUTS. I will not be buying fresh tomatoes until they come down a BUNCH. I will just use canned, diced in my salads. Spinach and romaine are another issue. I am just paying the price since I LOVE salad and tend to eat nearly daily. Also, it is a major contributor to my daily fruit/veg intake. If cabbage goes on sale I will substitute that for romaine and/or spinach. Might buy at the current price if I can find a really small one.

[marvholly]

Since my Targets are NOT Super Centers there was not much choice for the frozen deals. The closest Super Center is about 35 mi rt and NOT worth the drive at $3.50/gal for gas.

I eat fruit and plain non-fat yogurt for breakfast a couple times/week. I froze a bunch of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries when they were cheap in July & Aug. Right now they are WAAAAY over what I can afford. I only have about 4-5 servings left so I am glad to see my chain stores will be having big frozen food sales in March. I will check the prices at Aldi and compare chain & independent store ads to be sure the chain sales are good.

Some time ago I bought a bone in turkey breast on clearance for $4 for 4 lb. Defrosted & cooked on Sunday. I have eaten turkey for dinner 2x and still have 20+ oz left (7 servings). That does NOT included the bones which have quite a bit of meal too. Meat from bones will become a casserole and/or lunch salad plate. Bones will become ‘chicken soup’ prob w/some meat. That is >10 meals = <0.40/meal.

Today seems to be a GREAT day for ordering free samples. I have already ordered 3 items and have not checked the Freebies section here yet. Two samples are from start sampling which always come and quickly too.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Marvholly, yes, produce went up just in the last week!

This morning, I opened the freezer and took out a bag of homegrown, first dehydrated, then frozen zucchini. I'm reconstituting it in a half jar of spiced tomatoes plus half jar of water. The tomatoes were left over from a supper of beans and corn tortillas.

[Aleta]

I was out of bread yesterday and wanted to wait until today when Publix had a great sale on Arnold Italian bread that was 2/$3.000. I had forgotten that I had put not quite a half loaf of bread into the freezer last week. If I had not done that I would have had to buy bread at a much higher price. Sometimes, it is good to freeze some bread before you leave on vacation because when you get home, you have bread at least. I double bag the bread and that seems to keep the bread from any kind of freezer burn.

[Saving_spree]

Put all my old VHS tapes up for auction on this site called Listia, hopefully I will get enough points to get some new clothes.

[marvholly]

did check the frozen fruit prices at Aldi as I NEEDED a bag of salad (MUCH cheaper than buying heads) - $2.89-3.49 so now I KNOW what to watch for.

Quite a while ago I bought a foot rasp for removing calluses. I never could figure out how to open it to clean. Later I bought the Revlon one. Tue I was about to toss the old one but FINALLY figured out how to open & clean. Guess I’ll have one for each bathroom now.

Tue mail brought a chicken noodle soup mix sample I had sent for on 1/20/11. Lunch was a salad and the soup mix w/frozen mixed veg and 1 oz of turkey from the Sun cooked carcass. This is NOT a soup mix I would EVER consider actually buying-WAAAY to high in sodium and the noodle content is a JOKE, way too few for even 1 serving let alone the 4 the pkg states.

Checked my 3rd local Target for the frozen food deal on Tue. They actually had the best selection for me. However, they were OOS on everything I wanted. Truck is due in today so I may go back this afternoon or Thur. I have a list of about 10 items I can use that are all $1/less. I will do ones that I also have coupons for as my first choices. I know I will probably spend less than the $5 gc I already earned to get another.

[NolaP]

This is not super exciting, but I drank coffee at home today rather than heading to the coffee shop. Also, I haven't used the AC in months (I live in a very warm climate) and haven't subscribed to cable in three years, though every other day I'm tempted to sign up...

[khosta]

I went grocery shopping on Monday so I am able to make lunch at work rather go to a restaurant and eat everyday!

[marvholly]

I did the arnicare deal at WAG on Wed because:

It was a $2 moneymaker since I had a $2 coupon and it gave $6 in RR
There are quite a few things on the 2/27 WAG ad I/family want/use
I think my Dad may be able to use this for help w/back pain

Jewel (Albertsons) had Red Gold can tomatoes on sale $1/2. There is a $1/4 insert coupon that expires 4/30/11 so it is prob fairly recent (this year). OOP becomes 0.25/can which is WAAY cheaper than generic or Aldi. Also, since fresh tomatoes are SKY high I will be using canned on my salads.

[marvholly]

I have not had many stay home, no gas, no spend days. My Dad was back in the hospital 2/19-2/26.

I got VERY lucky. With the craziness of my Dad being in the hospital for the 3rd time in 61/2 months I TOTALLY forgot to file my unemployment certification due on 2/23.

Last time this happened (when he was in the hospital before) I had to go into my local UE office to reactivate. However, they closed my local (3 mi away) office. I was SOOO NOT looking forward to going into the city or to the closest suburban office that is about a 40 mi rt.

I tried and was able to file online this morning in spite of being a week late. It is SOOO much easier & faster to do online; not to mention the time & gas savings.

[marvholly]

FINALLY
Thur was a no gas, no spend day.

I actually had money leftover in my Feb fun/entertainment budget probably because:
I had a coupon for a FREE meal
I had invitations out for 2 additional meals

All my fruit/veg markets have tomatoes & grren beans on sale this week (finally). So when will romaine, boston, spinach…..come down? They grow MUCH faster than tomatoes.

[KiwiJo09]

We went on our date last night. Got buy one/get one chipotle. Totally worth it! Our date usually costs $30+. This week it was about $10!

Today, I sat on the highway with my windows rolled down instead of using A/C.