Author: Heather Bartlett

Happy Valentine’s weekend! I love Valentine’s Day. I am not sure why, I think my love of hearts and the colors of the holiday have a lot to do with it. We are in the midst of a cold snap that is beginning to feel like it will never end. We haven’t seen double digit temperatures in at least a week. I am a firm believer in climate change, but when it gets this cold, I have to remind myself that extreme cold is also a sign of a warming planet.

We had a pretty frugal week. Here is the rundown of our savings.

1. My car battery is giving me a lot of trouble, which is no surprise given the cold. I almost bought a new battery, but the sales guy at Auto Zone suggested a battery charger first for $100 less. He told me that if it doesn’t work, I can get a refund. Well, it worked.
2. I made a huge batch of lavender soap. It smells wonderful.
3. I also made beeswax and soy candles, using essential oils for fragrance.
4. Last Sunday I made a roasting chicken and with it I made chicken stroganoff, chicken soup (that provided 3 meals) and chicken broth.
5. I spent today cleaning out closets and getting rid of stuff we don’t need. I cannot believe how much crap we accumulate. We need to be better about throwing stuff out that we no longer need.

What did you do this week to save money?

What a week! I dropped my youngest off at college last weekend. No matter how many times I do that, it never gets easier. I miss her so much when she is gone. I don’t like to let her see me sad when I leave, so I have a tendency to save those tears until I am safely in the car.

We had a wonderful time together though. We went to the city her school is in a day early. We stayed in a hotel (a first in a year). I found it to be safe, as no one was really around and we just went from our car to our room. We were able to visit my parents for dinner for the first time in a year. We spent the day shopping, having lunch, talking and laughing. It was such a nice way to spend our weekend together.

I certainly did not save a lot of money because of this, but pennies were saved elsewhere:

1. We are going through the freezer vegetables from our summer garden and the canned goods. I made a delicious zucchini bread using apple butter I made with local apples.
2. We had some milk way passed it’s peak. Eric used it in two loaves of bread and a batch of yogurt.
3. We managed to shave $90 off of our energy bill this month. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that our dryer belt broke and we are still waiting for the part. All laundry is being air dried right now.
4. I remembered to take my daughter off our auto insurance, which in turn takes her off our umbrella policy, saving us about $200. Remembering to review insurance is always an easy to save money.
5. Utilized several rewards dollars again this week from Walgreens, Kohl’s and our local food co-op.

I am so excited that I write this as we enter the month of February. Proper spring weather is still several weeks, if not a couple months away. But, I look forward to being able to be outside again, so my son can start coming home again. During COVID, he hasn’t been home. Since we live in a cold climate, we are required to be indoors most of the time. Making it tough to have the family dinners we are so used to having together.

What did you do this week to save money?

I can’t believe that this is the last Friday in January. 2021 seems to be flying by even faster than 2020. Today I will be taking my youngest back to school to resume her freshman year of college. My oldest is searching for a job since graduation and my middle child has already started her second semester. Before you know it, summer will be here and my nest will be 2/3 full, yet again. We were able to keep things pretty frugal this week.

1. I did not have to go to the grocery store for anything this week. We have a major food stockpile, acquired when we feared the worst during the pandemic. Getting through our stockpile instead of grocery shopping is not an option. But, we are no longer panic buying either.
2. When cleaning out drawers, I found several unused giftcards! What a nice surprise. McDonalds (which I will only use for ice cream), Penzey’s and Applebee’s cards were all found with a balance.
3. Much to my husband’s horror (he’s in IT security), I sign up for all the frequent shopper programs out there for free stuff. I used some Pottery Barn cash back for a set of beautiful pillow shams for our bed.
4. I signed up for a one month free trial of audible (again). A Promised Land by Barack Obama needed to be read to me by the author. My Obama crush is real.
5. This final one…..I don’t know if comes from being frugal. Or the fact that my husband is one of the most stubborn and focused human beings I know. My daughter’s car got stuck in snow and it seemed that it would likely be there until spring. It was that bad. I was ready to call a tow truck and pay to have the car removed. After 2 hours, several flattened boxes, tools I didn’t know existed and sheer will power, that car was moved. He absolutely would not pay to have it towed. He is paying the price this morning though, as every muscle in his body hurts.

So that’s it for this week. My lists just are not what they used to be since we can’t go anywhere. I always love the research it takes to find entertainment and such for free. I have hope those days will return and before you know it, I will be eating a delicious dinner in a restaurant again.

What a week this was! To say I am happy, ecstatic and relieved would be an understatement. There is an adult in the White House again and while things will not improve over night, I no longer fear a 2:00 am twitter temper tantrum is going to bring on WW3. To top it off, my parents are getting vaccinated today. I feel like I won the lottery. It will still be a long time for me, but the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine brighter with each passing day.

It’s been awhile since I did a Frugal Friday, but thought today would be a good day to go through what we have done to save some cash.

1. I have 2 pair of jeans that had some holes in them. In the past, I am ashamed to say, I would just toss them. I actually repaired them with patches and my trusty iron. I never trusted my repair skills enough to try to fix clothing that I would wear in public. But, the patches are barely noticeable and I save 2 pair of pants.
2. I have a wholesale membership with Doterra and I have a friend with a wholesale membership with Shaklee. We have started to trade goods. With Doterra I get a lot of free product. She likes certain oils, so I swap with her for cleaning products. So far it has been a serious win win. I know Doterra is expensive, but I buy the vitamins and probiotics which I have found to be higher quality than those you find at the drugstore. The oils are fun, but not the motivation for the membership. I get a few “free” oils every month and I just don’t need them.
3. With the exception of my daughter’s birthday this month, we have eaten every single meal at home. No takeout of any kind. Sometimes I feel bad because I know those restaurants need us. But, during this pandemic, I have come to prefer my own cooking. When we can actually go to a restaurant, I will be up for restaurant food again.
4. I bought the ingredients for homemade face moisturizer. I am going to give it a try. Stay tuned for a review.
5. I have been using the library more than ever. I use Hoopla and Libby, provided to me by the library, for audiobooks. We have been checking out movies, books and a hotspot on a weekly basis. According to the final 2020 receipt, we had saved over $12,000. I think that number is higher when you take into account extras, for say the movies. If we were to go to the theatre we would also buy snacks. We probably would have eaten out first and possible went out for drinks after. I also check out cookbooks first, before buying one that I have my eye on. More than a couple have been eliminated from my to buy list.

What did you do to start the year off frugally?