A big hello to blog reader Nicole. I was in Savers on Monday standing in the queue to pay for my bargain finds when a young lady came over to me to tell me she reads my blog all the time and loves it. I was thrilled that Nicole took the time to say hello and show me her baby. If I'd had the chance I would have loved to talk longer.
If you ever see me out and about ( Savers is a good bet ) please come and say hello. I just love to hear your saving stories. It really does make my day. xoxo
Here's what else I got up to this week -
* Picked another bunch of lavender from the garden to dry. This will be used to make lavender soap and lavender sachets as presents.
* Picked beans, strawberries, tomatoes and raspberries each day.
* Bought three tops from Savers at their 50% off sale. Darren and the girls also made a start on buying their Winter wardrobe. Megan found two pairs of jeans, a couple of jumpers / jackets and a few tops and a hand bag for a grand total of $25. She was very happy with her haul. Even Darren who doesn't like clothes shopping found two new shirts for $3 each.
* Bought more knitting / crochet cotton at Savers for a total of $6 less 10% discount. One of the balls usually retails for $6 each.
* Knitted two dish cloths. I've put them away for when I get my new kitchen.
* Darren bought a hay bale for $5.50 ( half price ). We had an album launch at our church and hay bales were used for the occasion.
* Cut and froze lots of beans.
* Made a quadruple batch of laundry powder.
* Filled up all the cars with discount dockets to get the petrol at $0.97 a litre.
* Froze leftover tuna pasta bake.
* Gratefully received some colored paper scraps at the Cheapskates card making day. I also made the most of the equipment being shared and cut out lots of shapes to make more cards.
* Gratefully received a fuel discount docket in the mail from a blog reader.
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| Flowers for Jessica from a friend to cheer her up. |
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| Aren't they beautiful ? Miniature roses. |
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| A present from Cath - my favourite store bought biscuits. |
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| My op shop finds |
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| More op shop finds. |
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| Making laundry powder in bulk. |
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| A pumpkin growing in our garden. |
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| Knitted dish cloths. |
What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?
Love your knitted dishcloths Wendy.
ReplyDeleteOur water usage was way up according to our bill and I think the teens are guilty, so have reintroduced the shower timer.
This week I used the flybuys offer I received via email - spend $50 weekly for 4 weeks, then receive $50 to spend at Coles.
Bought a toddler pair of Dinosaur pyjamas to put away for a gift for 50cents at Coles.
Also found free range eggs $1.68 dozen so bought 3 dozen. Made a yummy frittata. 2Litres of milk was 50cents too.
DD1 bought herself a pair of runners at a garage sale for $2.
Made sultana cakes and tea loaf, quiches for school/work lunches.
DD1 needed a gift for a friend so we re gifted a Christmas gift of stationery I had received with a recycled gift bag. I have heaps.
Gave DH a clipper haircut.
Bought a bag of red grapefruit for $3 which I'll make into gifts of marmalade this weekend.
Made washing powder with a cake of soap and borax in the food processor which should last a month.
Marie
Well done on the bargain finds this week.
Deletewell done on the knitting cotton Wendy, I have a small supply that I bought on special a few years ago.
ReplyDeletethis week I have made 2 loaves of rye bread
gratefully received some old knitting patterns for doll's clothes, toys and tea cosies, already knitting egg cosies for the grandchildren for Easter
went into Melbourne yesterday, the bus is free as the trains aren't working, DD and DSIL bought lunch for me.Then I spent $2.10 in Lincraft for a peice of felt for Easter cards, and 2 sheets of stickers for 55c each. At the Spencer St factroy outlet I bought a handbag for $19.20, been looking in the op shops for weeks but couldn't find the right bag for less than $15.
I also bought more vitamins at Chemist warehouse, much cheaper than the pharmacies here in town.
It was great that you had a day out Meg.
DeleteLove the dishcloths, and a great find on the crochet cotton. My great-grandmother's advice, given to my Mum who shared it with me was that whatever wasn't done by tea time could wait until the next day. Clean up the dinner dishes and kitchen then sit down to rest and enjoy the time before bed with family and never, ever feel guilty for resting, you can't care for your family if you're exhausted and ill. I try to heed this advice, when the children were small I really needed that down time and it just made me love Grandma even more :)
ReplyDeleteGreat advice Cath. Like many Mums i found out the hard way, getting burnt out . You cant fill the cups of your family if your own cup is empty. Your Grandma sounded just gorgeous (; Great post as always Wendy. God bless you ladies for your posts and advice you give to other mums. Lisa xo
DeleteI try not to do any housework after the dinner dishes are done. It was good to rest.
DeleteHi Wendy
ReplyDeletethis is my first week of frugal living! This post is great accountability and also makes you realise the little savings really do add up!
- stocked up on cheap bananas - $1.49/kg will freeze for cakes and smoothies
- paid electricity bill before due date to get discount saved $100
- Eating through the feeezer
- Bought grocery specials from catalogue - saved $15
- Used docket petrol saved $4.13 and bought it at 96 cents/litre - it went up one hour later to $1.26 / litre !!!!!
- Used up a pre made home cooked freezer meal
- Tried a new budget dinner recipe
- youngest son took lunch to school every day this week
Have a good week
Amanda :)
Having a frugal list really does make you feel good about the savings
DeletePaid all four of our utility bills - knew they would arrive, had the money budgeted to pay them
ReplyDeleteWent to Savers Recycle 50% off day.
Bought a Fiskars shape boss,cutter and several templates at the church op shop for $8.
Filled the car for 94c no docket required
Bought a dozen eggs for 84c reduced at Coles, will bake today
Nivea skincare was 50% off at Coles so happy teenager
What a great find at the op shop. I'm always looking out for cheap craft items.
DeleteWell done on the dish cloths Wendy!
ReplyDeleteI love that you took some down time. I think its important. In fact I think the if knitting or crocheting, sewing etc if you incorporate that into your day it is good for you. It is sort of a rest but still productive. Somehow that acts as my thinking time.
I can be very go go go and keep going and get myself into trouble i.e. a migraine. Over the years I have learned that if I pace my day I get more done overall. I take a morning tea and afternoon tea break... the afternoon one being longer. At that point I am often worn out! But after a couple of cups of tea and a break (usually I will read a blog!) then suddenly I am ready to go again and that time of the day I seem to get so much done! So I try to have down time and after dinner is a big down time.
I am so glad you did so well at Savers! Plus more yarn! I think you might find like me that in winter when there is less to do in the garden you will have more time for knitting and crochet too.
Have a great weekend Wendy! I am thrilled about your dish cloths! Love Annabel.xxx
Annabel, I'm planning on lots of craft time during Winter.
DeleteHi Wendy
ReplyDeleteLove your blog
I have 5 kids ranging from 27 to 7 all the older kids have moved out and it's been really hard to stop buying what I used to going from a house at one point had 7 adults a 7!year old and every second weekend 2 step grandsons it was nothing to spend $500 to $600 a week on groceries and also going to shop everyday now that we have had a significant drop in income it's so hard to budget we have just starting going to a butcher and going to aldi and realising how fussy and brand loyal we are I'm lucky I can cook and bake from scratch I'm trying to make this the year we get debt free just a question on pumpkin someone gave my dad a green one like that how long does it take to ripen and does it change colour enjoy your weekend Chris x
Chris, if it's a Jap pumpkin lie the one in the photo then the skin is meant to be green. They are very tasty pumpkins.
DeleteThe roses are so lovely, I love miniatures. Oh, and lemon crisp is a favourite of mine too, I might have to buy a packet! ;)
ReplyDeleteYes the are yummy biscuits.
DeleteWendy, down time is good. Especially when you can make it 'productive' down time. I love that Cath gifted you a packet of your favourite store bought biscuits. That's such a thoughtful gesture. Your daughters roses are gorgeous, and again a lovely gesture too. A great week for you. Love, Mimi xxx
ReplyDeleteThankyou Mimi. Cath has become a good friend.
DeleteHi Wendy, you can never have enough dish cloths and the homemade ones work so much better than anything store bought. I love shopping at the oppies. I have been lucky enough to pick up a full time teaching contract for this term, so haven't had the time to get to these most wonderful treasure havens. we have a cheap store in town that sells the crochet cottons for $2/ball. i have a few projects for this yarn in mind for my Grandbub due in August. Take time and do your knitting and crocheting . As Annabel said, it's both restful and productive use of your time.
ReplyDeleteGreat news on the teaching contract Jane.
DeleteWendy,
ReplyDeleteI love your tops! And the crochet cottons were a good find too. Your dishcloths are very nice you are quite talented! A little down time is always important I am in go go mode most of the day so I usually get mine at night except if I start something I am tired and end up making a lot of boo boos on things and have to fix them. I can't wait for you to see my garden and produce this summer since I am envying all of yours right now. Wish me luck on the berries that I planted!
XOXO
Vicky
I hope those berries produce lots of fruit.
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThose roses that Jess got are lovely! I also love the dish cloths you made. We've been very busy and also were away for a couple of days for a wedding. Here are some of the tasks we got up to this week:
- our basil plant has been growing like crazy, so I made a batch of home made basil pesto to mix through our pasta. I would never have store-bought again!
- changed banks for our mortgage in order to get a lower interest rate, we will be saving quite a bit per year just by switching.
- our little one is now old enough to start cows milk, eventually this will save us a good $25 a week because formula won't be necessary anymore.
- made our own lemon iced tea for the really hot days, a good way to use up extra lemons
- while on holiday, we bought and cooked our own food where possible (we were limited in what we could take with us as certain things you can't take into NZ).
- food wasn't provided on our flight (unless you paid for something on board which was very overpriced, it was $12 for a sandwich!), so we took our own homebrand cup noodles and asked for hot water. We also packed snacks that wouldn't cause strife with customs at the other end.
- my husband bought things duty free which would be more expensive elsewhere.
-bought nappies in bulk as they were about $8 cheaper per jumbo box
- some of the plants in our veggie patch have died (they were at the end their season) so we pulled them out and are preparing for the autumn crop.
- used the air con as little as possible during the heatwave
Amy
Amy, we always take as much food as possible with us on holidays. It saves a fortune.
DeleteThat is a great week Wendy, so glad the fuel vouchers are of use! I am guilty of too much down time I think, but with just 2 of us right now, I wont feel too guilty. Take care,
ReplyDeleteTania
The fuel voucher was a huge blessing thankyou xoxo
DeleteWendy, I love the sounds of your rest day. Most days I try to take a rest hour but Saturday is 'my day' when I rest, truly rest. Meals are easy prepped ahead and I do nothing but read and watch tv or visit with family. It's super restorative. I believe in the six days of labor, seventh day is rest!
ReplyDeleteI believe in a day of rest too. Unfortunately Pastors and their families don't always get the day of rest. Much to do, much to do.
DeleteYou did well at the op shop, Wendy! The pink tops are really cute!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Leigh
Love the op shops. So much money to save.
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteYour dishcloths look gorgeous. Did you need to use a certain wool for dishcloths?
Jessica's roses look beautiful, they would be lovely if you dried them out. It's great to take time to yourself. I sometimes feel guilty doing it if I still have things that I feel need to be done.
This week I didn't get too much done as I spent a lot of time with my Mum as she going down hill a bit and my RSI in my right arm is playing up, too much ironing all at once I think. Anyway here's the list:
I shopped the specials, MOOed Bickies, Muffins, Muesli slice and all meals. I could only make one batch of Laundry powder due to my hand. I tied up the Tomatoes, and picked heaps of them to make Relish this week. I also picked beans, corn, zucchini's, Capiscum's, lettuce and Cucumbers.
As I have a bad back, my doctor every year gives me a care plan where I get 5 free/discounted visits to my Physio/Osteo for the year. I get these at the start of the year in preparation for winter when my back usually plays up. These are a great saving for me as I can stretch these visits out usually between April - October so that it doesn't cost me anything. People with chronic conditions can apply for these care plans thru their local GP's and make great savings.
I also applied for the Camps, sports, excursion fund thru the schools for my boys as this helps with the costs of their camps for the year.
I filled up when petrol was .097c and received a free lipstick sample from the Avon lady when she gave me this months book.
My two boys needed their reading glasses updated and I couldn't wait any longer(doing the February no spend challenge)as once I order them , they take another two weeks to come in. So the eye tests were subsidised thru Medicare and we received a rebate of $150.00 each thru our health fund. The glasses frames were $149.00 and at Specsavers they said you could get another for free so another $149.00 pair for other son and health fund again paid for this out of the $150.00 rebate, so nothing to pay. Yeah!!!! It pays to look around at the deals on glasses.
DS2 also got a haircut at a new place that had opened up in a plaza when we were getting his glasses and normally I pay $18.00 for him but this place is like a pop up shop and they charge $10.00 for all haircuts. Wasn't to sure what he was going to get for $10.00 but they were great. We will be using them again and saving $8.00 each haircut.
Have a great week, Maureen
Maureen, I use cotton to knit the dish cloths.
DeleteI hope your Mum improves.
You've had a very frugal week. It really pays to look around for better deals xoxo
Have you ever tried making lavender wands? They make stunning presents and are so easy to do!
ReplyDeleteThis is the sort of thing I mean:
http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/how-to-make-lavender-wands.html
I haven't made them before but will look into it.
DeleteHi Wendy
ReplyDeleteGreat advice from Cath and Lisa, I too learnt the hard way. I didn't think I had done so well this week but on reflection it wasn't too bad. Made a batch of tomato sauce in the crock pot. Bought two English china mugs $2.25 each in one op shop and a further two (willow pattern) for .50c each in another, also a clip top storage jar for .25c in a third shop, they were having a half price sale. I have started making a list for the op shop that way I get what I have planned, not impulse buying. Was also gifted some jam jars, egg cartons, nectarines and nashi. My husband made a lovely chicken and mushroom pie for dinner on tuesday and there was enough for wednesday too which was a real blessing.
I was talking about pot pourri last week, I have made a moist pot pourri in the past with lavender essential oil, however I am looking at making one with rose scents preferably a fragrance that can be used in soap making too. I love Annabelles soap, I will start making some in the school holidays as my 11yo granddaughter wants to make some too. Have a wonderful week.
Regards Susan
I have a list for the op shop. You never know when you'll find the wanted item. Hope the soap making goes well.
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