Saturday 12 March 2016

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 12th March 2016

As I look back on my week I'm not sure where the time has gone.  I did have two full days of work ( and school runs etc ) and a lovely visit to see Cath.  Unfortunately my frugal list is a little on the small side.  I try to write things down as I do them but I guess so many things have become a normal part of my everyday life.  Here's what I got up to this week -

*  Went to the Spotlight 30% off sale to purchase some card making items on my watch and wish list.

*  Picked raspberries each day.

*  Made a birthday card for my Dad using what I had on hand.  I also finished off the cards I made at the Cheapskates card making day.  I'll post the pictures shortly.

*  Dried the washing on clothes horses and the line.

*  I made a pasta bake with 250 grams of mince that served 5 people plus three serves of leftovers for the freezer.

*  During our mini heatwave we kept the curtains closed with the evap cooling on medium and used the electric fans ( cheaper than evap cooling on full strength ).  Overnight we kept the cooling on the lowest fan setting which gave us a great night's sleep.  By doing this the house stayed cool during the morning heat the next day and we didn't have to turn the cooling up any higher.

*  Saved the washing machine water for each next load.

*  Topped up my car with petrol at 93 cents a litre just as all the other petrol stations put their price up to $1.20 a litre.

*  Cut up a cereal packet to use as go between for hamburger patties etc.

*  Made 8 jars of plum jam with fruit given to us.

*  Redeemed the last of my Woolworths rain checks for chicken drumsticks at $1.98 a kilo.  I think I have enough drumsticks in the freezer for another year.

*  I only went to the supermarket to get 3 litres of milk,  chicken drumsticks and choc melts.  We are still living off our Summer stockpile.  Any grocery money left over is going into the grocery slush fund each month.

*  Lined the bathroom bins with bread bags.

*  Picked a handful of yellow pear tomatoes.  These tomatoes seem to pop up in the veg garden each Summer.


Dad's birthday card.
The raspberries are slowing down
Lining the bathroom bins
Yellow pear tomatoes
Plum jam to add to my jam stockpile.

What was on your frugal list this week ?

13 comments:

  1. Ha! Absolutely love that card wendy!
    Those tomatoes look so lovely :D

    This weeks frugal tasks I

    Pollinated about 9 pumpkin flowers, I now have 2 definite Kent pumpkins growing (sometimes they die off)

    Tended to the garden a little to get ready for the next lot of things to plant.

    Got some strawberry plants off dad

    Bought a succulent from Aldi that was marked down

    Went to the spotlight sale and bought some card making punchers and things

    Received some things in the mail for card making. Lace

    Cooked a big batch of pasta sauce and froze into portions also had family friends come over for dinner.

    Intensely decluttered though it's still not where I'd like to be but its good enough.

    I think that's all for this week
    Hope you have a lovely week next week wendy xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't wait to see what you bought at the Spotlight sale.

      Anne, we had lots of little kent pumpkins growing but are left with one that is getting quite big.

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    2. I can't wait to show you wendy!

      Yes they tend to die off its sad but it's because the vine thinks it won't be able to cope with so many I usually cut the runners off but by the looks of it they seem good! I've got butter it's growing again too I'll share one with you xx

      Delete
  2. Hello Wendy, I hope your Saturday is going ok?. My week was fairly quiet but I did manage a few things.
    Made many cards , I will put up some more photos on the cheapskate forum this afternoon or tomorrow.
    made savoury muffins, a batch of 12 costs me approx $3.50 to make . It saves me some money which is good and allows me to have a nice snack from the freezer when I want something nice for afternoon tea etc.
    I had shorter showers this week,
    I avoided the spotlight sale because I have enough craft stuff for now, plus i could not get there and did not want to shop online!.
    I received some more meals from my parents and cooked other meals from scratch.
    I worked on my budget and savings revolution tasks for cheapskates club 2016 savings revolution .
    I think that is it Wendy, have a good weekend . Love Barb Woodford.

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  3. Still a great list of things you did Wendy! I feel also this week I haven't done much. Lots of home cooking and cleaning this week and put a significant amount of money towards our debt. I will post my frugal tasks on the blog tomorrow. Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wendy your card is beautiful! And your jam looks so yummy! I love seeing your frugal tasks each week. We had 1 nice day where we could hang clothes on the line and the next day it was really cold this weather is nuts! I am looking forward to spring. My chickens are laying really well and today we got a full dozen eggs, but unfortunately a pair of raccoons killed 2 of my ladies this week. I hope you have a great weekend and a wonderful week!
    XOXO
    Vicky

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  5. Plum jam - yummy!
    This week I make 15 jars of tomato relish with cheap ripe tomatoes and onions that cost me $5, plus sugar and spices.
    Made soup, corn fritters, yoghurt, mini quiches, cooked some Adzuki beans in the crockpot and used them to make risotto and Mexican enchiladas. Stewed some nectarines that were over ripe.
    Still doing the Coles flybuys offer of $50 a week shop for 4 weeks, then get $50. It is week 3 and I need to go tomorrow and shop to qualify as we haven't needed anything this week.
    Gratefully received a large amount of good quality chocolate which to my horror the family has consumed within the week because they knew it was there!
    Have a great week.
    Marie

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  6. This has been a nice week, weather wise, so we finished sifting compost and added it to our new garden bed.
    Started not flushing after every pee. Now it's two or three before I send it down the pipe.
    Redeemed three coupons for $3.00/each off black pepper.
    Absolutely a fiend about making sure all lights are turned off and started unplugging small appliances while not in use. Last mont we replaced 12 light bulbs with LED bulbs that I found on sale at Amazon warehouse. I saw a nice drop in my electric bill this month. Now I'm on a mission to drop it even further.
    Topped off pickup truck while out doing our weekly errands. We group everything and do them in one trip.
    I found a charge,on my cellphone bill, for a service I had not asked for, so I had them stop it and I received a refund this week on my monthly bill. Now I will really check all my bills monthly to make sure nothing has been added without permission.
    I saw a video on YouTube about making a solar night light, so I bought the stuff to make that. I already had a jar for the bottom, so I just had to get the little outdoor solar light in the garden department. It's now sitting in a sunny window charging up for tonight.



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  7. Hi Wendy, that plum jam is so gorgeous! I am sure it is luscious. I've been busy repurposing what I have to create something fresh in my home. It's been a task this time around as I changed things up pretty hard. I get such a kick out of it all that I can't help but challenge myself a little further, lol. http://bluehousejournal.blogspot.com

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  8. Hi Wendy

    Sounds like you had a busy week like mine.

    We managed to

    *Save 2 days of air con as we were away and an extra 2 days for 6 hours as we were at canteen

    *Fill up with petrol at 99c per litre so instead of costing $70 it cost us $50

    *Dry all clothes of the line and the clothes horse

    *Spent $21 on my gift supply instead of $42 so a half price saving....there are enough gifts in that to give to 4 kids

    *made a big batch of butter chicken and saved 3 nights of meals

    *was given a bbq chicken for dinner for minding a friends kids (chicken had just come out the ovens when she was there so she was thoughtful enough to know I had been at canteen all day and had her kids before and after school)

    Well I hope you have a wonderful week ahead

    Aly xxx

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  9. Hi Wendy. Like you a lot of what we do has become second nature and we forget that this is frugal living. I saw the 30% off and have stayed away. This year I'm determined to use up what I have before adding more. I'm slowly getting through my craft stash. It's actually a bit of fun living with the challenge of only using what you have. We had a huge vet bill in January and required a new toilet to be Installed in February. This put a huge dent in our emergency fund. For the month of Feb we worked hard on living out of our pantry and freezer. I made gifts from what i had in my craft cupboard. We are now beginning to purchase a few of the pantry basics that had started to run low and our emergency fund is finally looking healthy again. I've planted out our salad garden as our growing season is over our mild winter. I've been busy transplanting a few of the plants and young fruit trees that were in the wrong spot. By doing this I'm finding areas that will be useful for planting into as my seedlings get large enough to go in the garden. The seeds I had and the plants moved were already in the garden. We fertilise using worm wee from the worm farm and we make our own compost. The water used is from our bore. My husband is busy making a gate. He purchased what he needed for this from the tip shop. The steel is old bed frames. The paint is from old projects and we already had the hinges and gate bolt. This gate will cost about $20 due to himself making it and using recycled materials. I don't think we do it hard as it is a lifestyle choice, not just a necessity for us to live this way. Hope you have had a fabulous weekend.

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  10. love the card Wendy, I need to make one for a friends 70th on Easter Saturday.
    This week I have baked 2 loaves of rye bread, made all meals from scratch, saved water for watering the indoor plants and outdoor pots. Gave the cats some vegetable oil for constipation, saved about $100 for a vet visit, this was suggested by the vet nurse.
    Started to make Easter cards for the DGC, and I have almost finished the egg cosies for them. These will be posted next week along with their winter pj's.
    Bought a Bokashi bucket at one op shop, and a tea caddy at another.
    Moved things around in the kitchen for a different look at no cost.

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  11. Hi Wendy,

    We've been away for a couple of days for a quick break.

    Wow, Pasta bake with 250gm of mince and so many serves, well done. Your plum jam looks beautiful. Love your Dads card.

    I made 4 loaves of bread, potato cakes, all meals from scratch except Saturday night where we went out for dinner and one night we had freezer meals.

    Still picking Tomatoes, finished picking the corn, picked silverbeet and lettuce. I pulled out all the corn and getting the bed ready for winter planting. Saved the shower water and topped up the compost with vegie scraps.

    Cleaned out our desk and cleaned up my filling system and had lots of printer paper which i cut up for scrap paper.

    Luckily enough to receive cakes, pasties and chicken balls which we used for one meal.
    I picked Roses from my garden on Monday before the hot day on Tuesday as i knew they would crumble during the heat, so pretty and smelling beautiful in my dining room.

    Hope you have a good week, take care, blessings
    Maureen

    ReplyDelete

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