Saturday 16 April 2016

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 16th April 2016


I've had a mixed bag of experiences this week.  I helped my sister move,  spent a day recovering,  had two days of cleaning work,  did my usual housework,  decluttered and had an outing with Darren ( the highlight of the week ).  Here's what else I got up to this week -.

*  Gratefully received two bags of jam jars from my sister.  I give lots of jam as presents so I'm always needing more jars.  I also received a bag of jars from a cleaning client.

*  Did the usual water saving tasks in the laundry and dried the washing on the line.

*  Made chicken curry with two chicken fillets and it fed us for two meals.

Cleaned the kettle.

*  Jessica went through her make up and gave me a blusher and brush she doesn't want.

*  Did an extra day of cleaning work.

*  Bought a $7.90 cooked chicken and got 14 serves from it.  We had some in rolls for lunch x 4,  I made chunky chicken and veg soup that gave us 6 serves and enough meat for the freezer that will be made into a pasta bake or chop chicken ( like chop suey ) x 4 serves.  I also used all the bones to make chicken stock in the slow cooker.

*  Darren and I had an outing to Mornington on Wednesday.  We took our own lunch ( chicken in rolls )and bottles of water to save some money.  We did treat ourselves to morning tea.

*  Fed the compost bin with kitchen scraps.

*  Made a batch of Miracle Spray and sold it to a cleaning client.

*  Dug down to the bottom of my lipstick to get every last bit out.  Avon has decided to discontinue my favourite color ( yet again ).  Thankfully I have a few spare tubes and I'll be making them last as long as possible.

*  Over the last couple of weeks I've stayed home as much as possible.  I've only used 1/2 a tank of petrol since the day before Good Friday.

*  Gratefully received some stamps for card making and a set of craft drawers from my Mum.

*  Made a bottle of air freshener for the ensuite.

*  Used the watering can to water my veggie seedlings.  This is more water wise than using a hose.

*  Mended a hole in a pair of socks.

*  We had our movie night at home on Thursday.  We watched " The Help " and even our girls ventured out of their rooms to watch most of it with us.

Plants we bought in Mornington
Jessica's Christmas present now has flowers.
In the garden
Lettuce seedlings are growing
Lavender air freshener
Chicken curry
Making Miracle Spray

How did you save money this week ?


24 comments:

  1. Dear Wendy , you have had a wonderful week. I love how you balance being frugal with treating yourselves and you don't miss out on treats or fun. You make your own fun which I love, I do that too.
    My week included:
    Made homemade pizzas using ingredients from Aldi cost for 2 large (12 inch ) pizzas was under $7 for both and they are totally packed with toppings and fed me for tea one night and lunch two days and dinner and lunch for my Dad and I also. So 7 servings for well under $7 , under $1 a generous serve.
    Topped up the foaming hand wash pump in my kitchen for the first time in 10 months ( I mainly wash hands in bathroom)
    I made 6 cards for the cheapskate card swap using what I had here
    Gratefully received a parcel of craft goodies from a friend, love it and will help with my card making and bookmark decorating.
    Line dried where possible.
    Cooked all meals from scratch.
    Used baking from freezer.
    Saved money on taxis, got a lift with my Dad
    Had 4 no spend days
    Worked on my budget to plug up leaks
    Reduced my debt by $75 , nearly there!.
    Received a parcel from a new friend , a beautiful personalised gift with my name embroider on it!.
    Received shallots from my parents garden
    Saved $60 by shopping at Aldi
    Added to my stockpile , saving me money in the future
    Bought Aldi English breakfast tea bags instead of my favourite brand, they are really nice, saved $12 on 300 tea bags ( 6 boxes of 50) .
    Saved $10 by not buying two magazines
    I sometimes buy
    Set up the zinnio app on my iPad to read magazines for free saving a lot of money potentially
    I think that is it For this week Wendy. I love the bicycle plant holder it is lovely and looks great.
    Have a great weekend Wendy love BarbW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barb, we don't miss out on anything important. Life is good and we enjoy it.

      You have a great list this week. Great savings on the groceries.

      Delete
  2. Hi Wendy,ways i saved money this week was
    cooked meals from scratch & for the freezer.
    dried washing on the line.
    purchased a lot of card making stock at a opp shop,i also bought shelving for the kitchen,at the opp shop.
    reduced my credit card limit hope to pay this off fast.
    i bought doggy nail clippers at the $2.00 shop and john cut my dogs nails,and she didnt mind at all not like if i take her to a vet.

    Have a wonderful weekend xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Op shops are a treasure trove of bargains Mel. It always pays to look.

      Delete
  3. You have done really well this week and that chicken curry looked delicious! I used gift cards to help pay for things like eating out with family and to buy dog food, I found some great treasures and things that we needed at the thrift store, I made bread and best of all, I spent time with my grandsons who are my greatest source of entertainment and healing. :) I have a more complete list on my blog and some pictures of my treasures and good deals there. :) I hope you have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can't put a price on family time. So precious.

      Delete
  4. That's a lot of servings from one chicken, good work Wendy! And Barb, wow, lots of creative and inspiring savings going on! I am almost embarrassed to share how I saved, as it doesn't seem like much, but here goes: I made two desserts at home instead of buying them, made delicious burritos at home for something like 25 cents each, found a cheaper source of frozen berries, and saved a few dollars on a gift for my young niece's birthday by making her a coloring book with my cardmaking/scrapbooking supplies. I do work outside the home, so I earned money that way. But how easy it is to spend little (and not so little!) amounts on food eaten away from home on the days I work. That's definitely an area I want to bring under control. Thank you for the inspiration Wendy (and Barb too!). Blessings, Teresa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Teresa, every little bit saved is good, and it looks like you actually saved quite a bit.

      Delete
    2. Teresa, the small amounts add up too.

      Delete
  5. I love how many meals you got from the chicken, and of course the wonderful stock from the bones. Chicken is so good for that! Your flowers are lovely, too.
    I had fun this week making treats and helping at the teens' car wash and bake sale at church. There were lots of visitors, the teens kept very busy washing cars, and they received higher-than-usual donations toward their trip to summer youth conference.
    Have an amazing week!
    Blessings, Leigh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chicken can be very frugal and I just love real chicken stock.

      Delete
  6. Hubby bought a bag of frozen prawns that were on special. He made these up into a prawn curry with rice. This meal will see six servings. I placed the left overs into single serve containers in the freezer. We worked it out that each serve, $22 at the local club, cost around $3. Not bad at all. I made my first batch of miracle cleaner this week and think it is well named. Going to give your air freshener a try this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure the home cooked meal tasted better than a pub meal. So much quieter too.

      I'm glad you like the Miracle Spray. We won't buy anything else.

      Delete
  7. Hi Wendy,
    This week did the usual water saving things, picked vegies from the garden, refilled the foaming hand wash and made some air freshener.

    I made all meals from scratch and as DS2 was away on camp Wednesday- Friday , those extra meals went into the freezer. We also ate freezer meals one night.

    We were given some Prawns, BBQ Chicken, Bread and scones from a lady at church. I mooed bread and cakes this week.

    I attended the card making day yesterday and got some great ideas for future cards and received some wonderful things from the swap table, thanks you ladies!!!!

    Well, have a great week all, xxx
    Maureen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a wonderful blessing from your friend. Every little bit helps.

      Delete
  8. Hello Wendy,
    It's been 3 weeks since I posted last (I think)
    Your welcome for the chrissy wrapping paper.

    My tasks for the last 3 weeks

    Spent my Easter with mum and family we had some lunch

    My dad took Miah for the school holidays on the boat she had fun
    My mum had Nayomey for the school holidays and Ruby was with her dad for the first week and then I dropped her off to the mt Evelyn recreation camp on Monday 2nd week of holidays and I picked her up on Friday she had a blast this camp was paid for by my support network so I'm very greatful that they did this for me and Ruby so I could get a well deserved break I only had Stuart and Elisha to worry about.

    In this time I did a lot of work around the house not so much cleaning though :(

    I sorted out a lot of clothes
    Did lots of washing and hung them on the washing line HOORAY that's a big effort for me considering I live upstairs with kids and don't like leaving them alone
    Used the dryer around 3 times in 3 weeks which is a good effort
    Dried clothes on the clothes horse when it was wet outside
    I have never seen so much washing being done in my life it was very continuous.

    Made a lot of meals from scratch I actually felt motivated
    We also ate a lot of leftovers

    Got into the garden a few times picked pumpkins
    Dug up one of my beds added some soil and replanted some of my chilli plants

    Someone in the street cut down 2 gum trees this was great because I picked up most of the stack of wood for fire wood for my dad and there were some good peices to help Stuart with his wood table project

    Dad dropped off the chicken coop he made for me and picked up the wood
    Can't wait to have chickens in so excited.

    Went to tip top butchers bought a bulk pack of lamb cutlets for $15 was around 1.5kg
    I think I counted 20 from the packet also got a packet of mixed herbs 150g for $2.95 their chicken is way to expensive compared to Tasman

    Went to bushy park and bought some veggies I was going to get some kiwi fruit but couldn't get in there they were 1c each

    Went to Jenkins and bought 5doz eggs for $12

    Decluttered a little

    Tried not to go out much other then the usual places I go

    Gave mum 2 butternut pumpkins

    Great fully received some bread from her

    Baked some pumpkin zucchini and cheesy muffins for card making

    Have a lovely week wendy xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The muffins were so yummy Anne.

      Washing can be never ending when the kids are little. Back then, I did about 10 - 11 loads a week.

      Delete
    2. Glad you liked them wendy
      I'll have to post the recipe, is there a particular place you want me to post it? Cheapskates recipe file maybe?

      It definitely feels that way I think it has been intense in the last week I've done at leas 3 loads a day that includes bed sheets

      I also refilled both my foam hand soap dispensers

      Delete
    3. If you could post the recipe in the cooking / recipe section on the forum. That way we can see it straight away. Then you could copy and paste it to the recipe file on the website. THANKS xoxo

      Delete
    4. Ok great I'll do that thanks wendy :)

      Delete
  9. Sounds like a lovely week Wendy. How nice to have a special day out with your hubby :) We've all been sick here, but I'll put my frugal tasks up soon x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I went to Tasman meats for the first time ever, I got a stack of chicken fillets. It's quite a drive, so I had to balance it out with extra petrol. I also went to an Aldi near Tasman, their bacon seems cheap and good. Looks like Aldi is opening in North Balwyn, so gradually it is getting closer.
    all the best - Tania R

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love these posts Wendy. Thanks for sharing at Five Star Frou-Frou last week. Will you join us again? Mimi xxx

    ReplyDelete

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