Frugal Activities #2
Since the name of this blog IS Frugal in Florida, I've decided to share some of the frugal activities we've been doing around here ...
Some things may not seem like such a big deal to YOU, but to me they are (such as doing my own nails ... I used to pay $38 to $40 for a manicure and pedicure ... that's a weeks worth of groceries during the Pantry Challenge!) and other things may be like "wow, that's pretty nifty!" ... Ok, so I hope you might say that on something ... but if nothing else, perhaps one small thing might stick with you and you can make that small change to make a difference in your life!
1. Made the foaming dishsoap again. I'm so glad I found this!
2. Did NOT use the dishwasher again this week, but rather, hand washed and dried all the dishes. The dishwasher seems to get stuck when it's in the 'drying' mode and causes the alarm to trip on it. Not sure what the problem is but have decided to just ignore the appliance for now.
3. Incorporated dry shampoo in to my nightly routine. I use WEN which is NOT so very frugal. But I love the stuff and it's made a huge difference in my hair. With regular shampoo I can go 3 to 4 days between shampoos, but with WEN, I'm good for about 3 days, at most. The dry shampoo on Day 3 before going to bed has helped me to extend the time to 4, 5 days. I'm fairly impressed with this. I use Got 2 B U dry shampoo that I got a while ago for $2.99 a can (which is cheap as it's normally $7 or so a can) ... I used youtube.com to watch a few different videos to find out the right way as it can be tricky if you overuse the stuff.
4. Made salsa to go with tacos to eliminate the need for diced onions AND tomatoes. Used canned tomatoes from the pantry.
5. Encouraged both kids to pack a small lunch box to throw in their backpacks for snacks during classes (first full week back at college for both) ...
6. The Boy made his protein bars again. Is this frugal? I don't know if it's cost effective, but at least we know exactly what is in them AND he used what we had on hand AND his father loves them.
7. Worked out at home and walked the beach for free exercise.
8. Made another batch of mayo so I would have it on hand to make salad dressing or sandwiches as the week progressed along.
9. Went to the online library for Broward County and checked out 2 books for the Kindle ... just for kicks, went to Amazon and looked at same books, $5.99 and $9.99 to purchase. I'm so happy to finally discover the ebook section of the library!
10. Stayed in all last weekend. Didn't leave the house once. Which meant I stayed out of the stores and didn't buy anything!
11. Continued on a fairly straight path with the pantry challenge.
12. Hubby purchased two new pillows for our bed. Yes, they were pricey. BUT he used his 20% off each coupon (Bed Bath & Beyond) and saved himself almost $20 total. Frugal? I'd say so if it helps us both sleep better and gets rid of the morning neck kink!
13. Packed my lunch 5 days of the 5.
14. Made ONE cup of coffee using the reusable coffee filter in the Keurig. Trying to extend the time where I need to buy more Kcups ...
15. Hubby made tomato soup completely from scratch and the pantry. So very proud of him!
16. Hubby made a birthday cake from the stuff we had in house (and he modified it to suit his plan) for a surprise party we are having for a friend on Saturday night ... also made his frosting with what we had on hand ... maybe he IS meant to be my houseboy afterall :)
Some of our not so frugal accomplishments:
1. Went out to eat Tuesday night ... $100 with tip for 3 of us. Should NOT have ordered the beers (which is what put us over the amount we wanted to spend)
2. Stopped at the Mc D's TWICE for breakfast this week ... each visit cost me roughly $10 after I pull the $5 bill out (for my $5 Savings Plan) and the singles to the 'pizza fund jar' ...
Not so bad, but still!
I've also started to track ALL my expenses in an Excel spreadsheet. I want to see just how much I am really spending on stuff ... not just food, but water, electric, gas, kids tuition and books and so on. I'm slightly shocked at the amount so far this month that has gone out. I've always know a "rough" idea, but you know what? I'm quite a bit off of my 'rough' idea! Yikes!
Some things may not seem like such a big deal to YOU, but to me they are (such as doing my own nails ... I used to pay $38 to $40 for a manicure and pedicure ... that's a weeks worth of groceries during the Pantry Challenge!) and other things may be like "wow, that's pretty nifty!" ... Ok, so I hope you might say that on something ... but if nothing else, perhaps one small thing might stick with you and you can make that small change to make a difference in your life!
1. Made the foaming dishsoap again. I'm so glad I found this!
2. Did NOT use the dishwasher again this week, but rather, hand washed and dried all the dishes. The dishwasher seems to get stuck when it's in the 'drying' mode and causes the alarm to trip on it. Not sure what the problem is but have decided to just ignore the appliance for now.
3. Incorporated dry shampoo in to my nightly routine. I use WEN which is NOT so very frugal. But I love the stuff and it's made a huge difference in my hair. With regular shampoo I can go 3 to 4 days between shampoos, but with WEN, I'm good for about 3 days, at most. The dry shampoo on Day 3 before going to bed has helped me to extend the time to 4, 5 days. I'm fairly impressed with this. I use Got 2 B U dry shampoo that I got a while ago for $2.99 a can (which is cheap as it's normally $7 or so a can) ... I used youtube.com to watch a few different videos to find out the right way as it can be tricky if you overuse the stuff.
4. Made salsa to go with tacos to eliminate the need for diced onions AND tomatoes. Used canned tomatoes from the pantry.
5. Encouraged both kids to pack a small lunch box to throw in their backpacks for snacks during classes (first full week back at college for both) ...
6. The Boy made his protein bars again. Is this frugal? I don't know if it's cost effective, but at least we know exactly what is in them AND he used what we had on hand AND his father loves them.
7. Worked out at home and walked the beach for free exercise.
8. Made another batch of mayo so I would have it on hand to make salad dressing or sandwiches as the week progressed along.
9. Went to the online library for Broward County and checked out 2 books for the Kindle ... just for kicks, went to Amazon and looked at same books, $5.99 and $9.99 to purchase. I'm so happy to finally discover the ebook section of the library!
10. Stayed in all last weekend. Didn't leave the house once. Which meant I stayed out of the stores and didn't buy anything!
11. Continued on a fairly straight path with the pantry challenge.
12. Hubby purchased two new pillows for our bed. Yes, they were pricey. BUT he used his 20% off each coupon (Bed Bath & Beyond) and saved himself almost $20 total. Frugal? I'd say so if it helps us both sleep better and gets rid of the morning neck kink!
13. Packed my lunch 5 days of the 5.
14. Made ONE cup of coffee using the reusable coffee filter in the Keurig. Trying to extend the time where I need to buy more Kcups ...
15. Hubby made tomato soup completely from scratch and the pantry. So very proud of him!
16. Hubby made a birthday cake from the stuff we had in house (and he modified it to suit his plan) for a surprise party we are having for a friend on Saturday night ... also made his frosting with what we had on hand ... maybe he IS meant to be my houseboy afterall :)
Some of our not so frugal accomplishments:
1. Went out to eat Tuesday night ... $100 with tip for 3 of us. Should NOT have ordered the beers (which is what put us over the amount we wanted to spend)
2. Stopped at the Mc D's TWICE for breakfast this week ... each visit cost me roughly $10 after I pull the $5 bill out (for my $5 Savings Plan) and the singles to the 'pizza fund jar' ...
Not so bad, but still!
I've also started to track ALL my expenses in an Excel spreadsheet. I want to see just how much I am really spending on stuff ... not just food, but water, electric, gas, kids tuition and books and so on. I'm slightly shocked at the amount so far this month that has gone out. I've always know a "rough" idea, but you know what? I'm quite a bit off of my 'rough' idea! Yikes!
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