Sunday, November 4, 2018

Frugal Happenings 11/4

Happy November.  Wow, just a few short weeks and it will be Thanksgiving here in the U.S..  This year is just flying by.
I hope all that had to, got their clocks set back.  I hate this so much.  I don't feel drained in the fall, like I do in the spring - but it gets dark so much earlier.  This is not my favorite thing.

The color of the trees have finally started changing a lot - although many are now on the ground!  We had rain, rain and more rain this week.  We also had wind, wind and MORE wind.  If it wasn't so chilly I would think we are having spring storms. 
I know that November is considered one of the cloudiest months and we are seeing it.  Yesterday was gorgeous, so a little reprieve.

This week my computer decided to totally ignore Internet connection.  We had connection, G was using it, but my computer said NO!  G's uncle - who is a major computer tech, came and worked on computer for 6 hours!!!!  No go.  We had to save info and take computer back to day 1 of 6 years ago.  What a pain.  It took another 4 hours after uncle left.  Now my computer is like a new one!!!!
I guess I might not buy a new one for a while now.

My frugal week:
  • Cut G's and my hair
  • Received a coupon for a FREE full size item from Bath & Body Works (going next week)
  • Made black raspberry jelly from berries in the freezer
  • Computer completely restored and updated - cost - 1 jar of jelly!  (Would take nothing else)
  • Put 3 bags of spicy beans/rice in freezer for future Mexican meals
  • Received a Martha Stewart Living magazine in the mail.  I did not order - so not sure why!  Enjoying reading it.
  • Put away any Halloween looking décor and just left out fall decorations
  • I went out on Nov. 1 to hunt for markdown candy - NONE TO BE FOUND!  2 Kroger stores said they ordered less, so as not to 'lose' money on it after Halloween.  Wal-Mart - removed candy from shelves at midnight and by the time I got to store at noon, the Christmas candy display was already complete!!!  CRAZY!
  • I did get milk and a few odds and ends at Kroger.  Found markdown heirloom cherry tomatoes for .50 a pack.  Gal was tossing into a trash can and I asked what they heck she was doing.  She said they were dated and they said trash them.  The date was Nov. 1.  I saved all from the shelf - she wouldn't let me take the ones she had trashed.  They were perfect and taste just like fresh!!!  I shared some with our neighbor.
                                                      These normally cost 3.99 box!
  • I also got blocks of cheese at Kroger for 2.99 pound!  That is super cheap in our area.  I bought 8 pounds - which should last the winter.  I am thinking about going back for more.  We love and use a lot of cheese (especially on holiday snack plates).

Meals this past week:
Homemade beef and bean burritos, chips and salsa
Pizza bites - chips, salsa and cheese dip
Burgers and fries
Chicken and wild rice soup and biscuits
Dirty rice with ground sausage, leftover biscuits and side salad
Poor man's  Swiss steak and mashed potatoes and salad
French bread pizza (from clearance bread in freezer)

We had approximately 50 - 60 kids show up on Halloween - that is the smallest amount of kids ever in 32 years!  About 7:00 PM it started pouring rain, so poor kids didn't have a chance!  I do have plenty of candy left, but sure thought I would find some bargains on it to last the year.  Guess it was not meant to be.  We'll see what happens after Christmas!
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This next week, I really need to get more fall cleaning done.  I also have some errands to run in the next town south of us (about 20 minutes away.)  I like combining all errands into one trip to save gas.
I still need to make more jelly from frozen fruit.

How was your week?  Any deals this week?  Staying frugal?
Anyone getting ready for the holidays?

May you and yours have a great week.  Praying that everyone stays good, kind and happy.
Blessings from our humble home to yours.

20 comments:

  1. One jar of jelly for fixing your computer is a great price, Chery. What a great deal on the tomatoes, that's being at the right place at the right time. I love getting in on deals like that. Some of those are so good they taste like candy. :) I hope you have a great week.

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    1. Yeah, you can't beat the price for a computer expert!
      I know - right? 2 minutes later and they would have all been in the trash can. They are yummy.
      Have a good week

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  2. Such a sweet man to do all that work on your computer. Listen your jelly must be good! We had our computer fixed too rather than buying new last time. It's been working good! I love your prayer Cheryl and I'll pray that too. Have a wonderful week!

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    1. Vickie he is a truly great guy. Good for you.
      Thank you and have a great week.

      Delete
  3. I’m glad your computer is fixed.
    We went to the commissary this week. I had some military $5/5 kraft cheese coupons and I stocked up too. It made cheese about $2 a pound. I got shredded, slices, chunks and string types. They also had Honeysuckle white turkeys for .49 a pound and we bought 3.
    All commissary prices are not this good of a deal so I really try to capitalize on the best sales for things we use.

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    1. Good going on the final price of the cheese! You have to tae advantage when you can.
      Great price on turkey. I have one to use this year and some turkey breast in freezer - but I am hoping for a deal in the next couple weeks.
      have a good one.

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  4. I got a chuckle out of picturing you trying to convince the clerk to let you get the trashed ones out! Great shopping tips.

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  5. I went out for candy and found none also. At least stores are thinking ahead. Also I found much less after Halloween crap on shelves. So happy to see less going into a land fill eventually.I loved buying all the tomatoes. Makes me sick what we throw away.

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    1. Well I am glad to hear someone else say they didn't see any candy either. yeah, maybe the stores are getting smarter.
      I hate waste and it makes me so sad when they throw away perfectly good food. Someone would be thrilled with it.
      Have a good one.

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  6. Cheryl, we stopped finding great deals on the Halloween candy several years ago. The starting discount was either 20 or 30% and that wasn't good enough for this tightwad lol. It was the same as using a $1 off coupon before Halloween. No combining cuz my coupons all expired on October 31. So, I waited and by the time the discount hit 50%, it was slim picking. I'm guessing the employees and their families pounced the second it happened. Oh well. I've noticed that Target is the store that has gotten to be the stingiest discounters in the post holiday sales.

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    1. I am not sure exactly what is going on - but it stinks for us!
      Kroger said they ordered less, so they wouldn't have to discount. I am sure employees get first pick of leftovers too. Which is fine.

      I haven't been in a Target store in probably 25+ years. We have them close by. I quit shopping when they wouldn't allow Toys for Tots by the military any longer.
      Just a personal choice for me.
      I guess we will see what happens with Christmas after sales.
      Have a good week.

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  7. I've had the same problem as you with finding post-Halloween markdowns. I stopped bothering a few years back. The Walmart near where we lived back then started taking their Halloween displays down in the middle of the day ON Halloween afternoon, and they had nothing marked down the next day, and the other stores just went to 30% off, so I stopped even checking. I occasionally find decent deals the day after Christmas, but it's often such a madhouse in the stores that the savings aren't all that worth it.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Wow, I guess I am not alone. Good to know. I thought maybe it was just our area.
      Day after Christmas is just as crazy as black Friday - so yeah, it is a madhouse for sure.
      I guess if it's meant to be..............
      Have a good week.

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  8. Great job on saying the tomatoes. It is crazy what stores throw away. Glad your uncle could fix the computer. It is handy to have a computer wiz in the family. Have a great week.

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    1. It makes me so sad what gets thrown away. I am sure we don't even know the half of it.
      It sure is nice to have a computer guy! I try not to use unless absolutely necessary = don't want to take advantage.
      Have a good frugal week!

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  9. My Super Target had almost no Halloween candy left on its shelves at 2 PM on Halloween. In past years, there would be bags of candy corn, at least. No candy corn. I think the mix of peanuts & candy corn we make now has made candy corn really popular. So I knew not to go to that Target for leftover candy on 11/1. The tomatoes story makes me mad too. Isn't there a "soup kitchen" they could donate dated produce to? thanks

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    1. Mary I love the candy corn/peanut mix too. There is also Christmas colored 'candy corn' as well. Maybe you could find some of that.

      YES there are, and it angers me that they don't help out. There is actually one about 3 blocks from that store. They are concerned about selling candy for half price - but throw away food. It is disgusting. The thing was they had a sell by date of 11/1 and it was 11/1 - they could have waited till the end of the day at least and someone who couldn't have afforded regular ones would have bought them. I only got them all because she was THROWING them out!! I did share with neighbor.
      We need to have more community awareness.
      Have a good day.

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  10. Cheryl, I follow, "Living On A Dime" on youtube and she found Hershey's 6 packs for $3 each, and they were full size bars, at her Kroger's in Colorado. I also follow, "Freakin' Frugal" on on youtube, and she is a dumpster diver in South Jersey (I just can't place the town though). She and her husband rescue all kinds of produce, and sometimes meat, as well as cleaning products, toys, etc. from Aldi, Sav-A-Lot, etc. I looked it up, dumpster diving is illegal in Florida. I jumped on a real bargain yesterday. A 2005 Buick Cutlass, with 12,122 miles for $5000. It was my brother's mother-in-law's car and was at my mechanic's (her son's) shop. Needs 3 things - a paint job, a dashboard cover (cracked leather, so sad), and an oil change. His mom only used it to go shopping just down the street and back. She now is in grave health, so the family is quietly liquidating and distributing the "wealth" so the estate won't have to pay estate taxes when the time comes. They are a tight-knit family and don't think for a minute that mom isn't being well cared for in her own home. My vehicle is being sold by the mechanic's shop on my behalf, and I will be sharing the proceeds with him. Other frugals this week, were getting just enough yarn to finish a project, accepting a nice sized bag filled with yarn to make some hats or a couple of baby afghans, making all meals from home. I had to look in 3 grocery stores this week to find barley. The Walmart Super Center had it, but only quick cooking. And it wasn't all that inexpensive either. I think I will have to look at Amazon, or even Target.com to see if they have a larger size. Target.com is offering free shipping for Christmas purchases. That's about all from here for the moment.

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    1. WOOHOO on the car!!! Congrats to you. I am sorry it is under such sad circumstances - but I understand their mission (totally). Enjoy the car!

      There are many people that dumpster dive and get a great many FREE things - all good. Great for them - but so sad that we have become such a throw away society.
      Cool on the yarn. You will put it to good use.
      I generally find regular barley in the dry beans area. I love barley in soup!

      Sounds like a good week. Have a blessed day.

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