Frugal Activities
Hey hey, it's been awhile since I've done the Frugal Activities post and I know a lot of you liked them because of my full disclosure too!
So, what the heck, since I seem to have fallen off the Menu Plan Post, let's revive the Frugal Activities shall we?
I generally try to start my week on Monday with it ending on Sunday
Here are some of our Frugal Activities that we did this past week!
1. Said no thank you to Hubby to go for Pollo Tropical for lunch on Monday (I was home as I had a procedure done that morning) ... we ended up eating leftovers. Probably saved $20 as I know Hubby would have made me order a large whatever ;-)
2. Did my own manicure. Like I've said before, it's not spa quality, but plenty sufficient for me and work. Saved $20, well worth it to do it yourself!
3. Utilized my insurance and had a co-pay of $60 for my procedure. I'm glad I got a second opinion as the first doctor wanted to try something more dramatic and the insurance company has a higher co-pay for that procedure. This doctor believes she was able to get what was needed the way we did it. (FYI ... just got an email from the testing facility which I have an account set up to see results, thankful everything is 'benign' ... great news!)
4. Hubby used a box of muffin mix and made a cinnamon crumb cake instead. That was a pretty sweet treat!
5. Convinced Hubby to just toss some chicken thighs in the crockpot and make BBQ chicken so we didn't have to run to the store! It worked, served up with some green beans I had already planned to use for the week.
6. Meal Prepped my lunches for the 3 days I was to be at work on Tuesday (while I was still home, recovering). I've been doing this for a while but it's been a little sporadic lately. Need to get back on track!
7. Instead of running to the store just for the Kcups for coffee, I used my kcup filter thingy. I am not overly thrilled with the results but I did use the best coffee I had on hand (Organic, Costa Rican). Secretly, I'm counting down the days til I can hit the store up!
8. Utilized a monthly membership that we have for a facial. Sadly, I upgraded (see #4 below).
9. Organized my Publix (where shopping is NO longer a pleasure) coupons for $5 off $40 and $50, writing the effective date range on the backside of each so I don't have to dig out my cheater readers every. stinking. time. Glad I did ... see #5 below.
10. Boating on Saturday and met up with some friends. We took hot dogs (from the freezer) with buns, the condiments, chips and dip (made with sour cream and ranch packet) along with some sesame noodles (made that morning). It was a nice, relaxing frugal day for the most part.
And of course, in keeping with tradition and to make myself accountable, here's the NOT so Frugal Activities from this past week!
1. Ran that air conditioner non-stop all week long. I've been lucky in that the electric bill has been under $350 but I'm certain this month will be over $400. It's just so dang hot here (mid 90's and sunny). Honestly, we should turn it up (warmer) when we leave the house BUT Hubby insists that it takes longer and more energy to cool it back down. That's not what the electric company says!
2. Had some food waste. A little. Ok, maybe a little more than that. The stuff was in the guest kitchen fridge which is usually pretty cold but I think with the kids around this past weekend, they were in and out getting juice and snacks (cheese) a bit more than we are used to the fridge being opened. We also made some tacos using some ground chicken from the freezer. Not quite sure what Hubby did but they were just meh ... and we tossed out about 1 1/2 pounds worth (I'm bummed as that was good ground chicken from Whole Foods ... he was off on his cooking creativity that day ... it happens).
3. Spent over $300 on plants and 2 small tables for the house. Ok, this in itself is not the end of the world. We moved furniture around in the LARGE living room at the advice of a realtor friend. Then we had these big open spaces. So figured, what the heck, lets get 2 big plants. That wasn't the problem, they were $25 each. It was the pots, the soil, etc. The tables? Probably should have shopped around a little more but we were tired. $150 for a small table (that has 2 USB ports and 2 electric outlets, drawer and pull out writing shelf) and a small table with drawer and wicker for $69 on clearance. I offset the cost by cashing in $200 from Digit (which I normally use for additional debt paydown). Glad I had that so I didn't have to hit up the REAL savings accounts!
4. Upgraded what should have been a FREE facial and spent $40. That left me, technically, with $10 for fun stuff for the week.
5. Stopped at Publix on my way home from work on Friday ... after a LONG, stressful day to pick up a few things I had on my list and to check for my favorite LaCroix Peach/Pear water (no go ... empty shelf!) ... spent $30 over my allocated $50 AND didn't look at my list once. WTF? Spent $75 after using my $5 off $50 ... at least I got another hunk of beef to make my new favorite recipe, Mexican Beef in the InstantPot ...
6. Went boating on Saturday which is normally an acceptable Frugal Activity BUT Hubby bought ice ... even though we have an ice maker, he thinks we don't have "enough" to fill up the huge boat cooler. I think we do, he thinks we don't ... it's a $10 expense that I just make a noise about and then let it go ... but STILL ;-)
I'm skipping out on a Sunday update for this week as I don't anticipate doing ANYTHING besides chilling on the couch and floating in the pool!
What have you done this week to stay accountable and Frugal?
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