Five Frugal Things -- A New Meal Prep Hack!
1) I went to my friend Sue's house for a nice long visit and gifted her a ribbon wrapped bundle of fresh rosemary from my garden. I forgot to take a photo, so I'll just include the above photo of my gargantuan rosemary shrub. We usually meet up at my house, so this was extra fun as I love poking around other's people's homes.
It was the perfect combination of delicious food, laughter and commiseration.
2) I stopped at Winco on the way home, knowing that if I stepped foot inside my house I'd lose momentum and not be able to run this dull errand. My shopping list was already in my phone, (a photograph of a written list, which is my version of stepping into the digital age) although I added a few things based on sales, (98¢ blackberries!) and vibes -- a single enormous lemon.
I spent $56.86 and treated myself to a 50¢ off brand diet Coke on my way out. I'll get 10¢ back when I return the can.
Here's what I bought:
- A huge bag of tortillas.
- Yogurt
- Two 18-packs of eggs.
- Spinach
- Shredded mozarella
- String cheese
- Bulk section pinto beans
- A half-gallon of whole milk
- Two-pound block of Tillamook cheese.
- Bananas
- A can of pineapple chunks.
- A gallon of vinegar.
- Bulk section sliced almonds.
- Bulk section raisins.
- Imitation crab.
- Blackberries
- A lemon.
3) Not all my food purchases fall under the category of #cheapaf, as I convinced my husband to try out Whole Foods' $35 "Family Meal" to meal prep his work lunches. My husband works ten hour days, which means he gets three days off each week and invariably his last day off is spent torturing himself about what to make, followed by grocery shopping and cooking.
It's a bummer that regularly eats up an entire day that should be spent relaxing.
I kept seeing people on Instagram picking up this food for meal prepping. It's an entire 9" X 13" pan of food for just $35 and as much as I loathe that Schmeff Schmezos guy, I figure we'd give it a try.
We ended up picking up two trays of food, choosing salmon + brussel sprout slaw + fingerling potatoes; as well as an extra pan of steak + sesame noodles + broccoli. So my $35 hack doubled into a $70 expenditure, which was actually fine, as it gives meal variation and fed us for two dinners, which included a guest for one of those nights.
How much did my husband enjoy his meal prep hack? This much!
4) Our daughter came over for family dinner night and we enjoyed the last of the Whole Foods meal and then watched a couple library blu-ray episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. (So good -- almost a perfect series!) Free entertainment without even the hint of an advertisement!
If it were up to me I'd cancel every damned paid streaming service and go back to utilizing the library for all our television needs.
5) I couldn't resist grabbing four 50¢ ears of corn at Whole Foods, which gave me the opportunity to use my recently thrifted and refurbished Calphalon pan. Plus my enjoyably packaged corn holders! I punched in my sister's phone number to get the Amazon Prime sale price. A couple fewer pennies for a billionaire.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
I'm tempted to try those meal prep trays now, although I crossed of Amazon/ Prime+ Whole Foods.
I love that meal prep hack!
1. Husband and I were in desperate need of a new mattress. We hit up a mattress store for Memorial Day sales. The sales guy explained the return policy and my husband blurted out “do you resell the returned ones at a discount”, which salesman said yes! Don’t worry, they go through a rigorous testing/cleaning process in order to be resold. They were able to hunt down the mattress we liked for almost 50% off, which I am very happy about.
2. Planning and gathering for my child’s second birthday party. We have a park pavilion reserved and so far have gathered items from our buy nothing group, dollar tree, and am working through many diys. I also printed a banner (I know, overkill) rather than trying to hand paint it, but used a Walgreens coupon and got it for 17 dollars which I thought was worth it.
3. Met a friend at a new to us playground yesterday for a play date. Sunshine is free!
4. Picked up some rogue leftover party favor bag items from our buy nothing group.
5. Stocked up on the 2.99 outshine popsicles at king Soopers this week because #toddlers
I love Outshine bars, (if you mean fruit ones), and have never seen a price anywhere near that low. Great stock up!
The ones marked "no sugar added" might have artificial sweeteners; about half the flavors do, and half don't. I sort of react to artificial sweeteners and do not like those.
1. Went to the Do It Best franchisee's hardware store across town. They are quitting business due to the owner retiring and they are having a big Going Out of Business sale. I didn't see any wonderful bargains of items I needed to stock up on. The big outdoor sign said (up to) 75% off but inside, it was mostly like 5 or 10 % off. I like going to the mom and pop hardware stores instead of Wallyworld or Scheff Smezos's online place. It's sad that we've already lost the True Value franchisee's store and now this one...although we still have Ace hardware's franchisee's stores, Harbor Freight, Habitat ReStore and the thrift stores.
2. This store is celebrating its owner's retirement by having a free drawing; the prizes are a new TV, a Chromebook, some small appliances and I forgot what else. Yes, I signed up. It's free to enter, no purchase necessary, and if I won, that would be fantastic.
3. Across the street from the hardware store is a Goodwill, so I took some kiddie books gleaned from a trash pile over there. (The books were in good condition, mind you, but at the curb on garbage collection day. I got there before the trash men did.) Our GWs have a summer reading program: they give free books away to kids every Friday. It's open to all children and teens, from those entering their senior year of high school all the way down to little babies. I like to support this effort, along with any thing that encourages kids to read. I took a box of books and other items to donate, and of course, asked for my 20% coupon.
4. Coupon in hand, I looked for any discounted laundry baskets or other storage containers; alas, no luck. But I saw the cutest sign. I did not buy it, but I will pass along its message: "Some people want to change the world, but they won't even change the toilet paper roll." And we all know who they are talking about, don't we? LOL! (Reminds me of the riddle: Q. How many men does it take to put on a new roll of toilet paper into the holder? A. No one knows; it has never, ever before been attempted.)
5. Wondered how much the tariffs factored into the hardware store owner's decision to retire.
Ha ha! I love your #4! Yes, we all know who "they" are. Lol.
Not all men! My husband will change the roll as needed. We do have different techniques: he has the paper hang down the back and I have it hang down the front. We have been married for 56 years and neither of us has ever mentioned this difference but I always notice and it always makes me smile!
1. Made two lunch size salads that we packed with corn chips (Trader Joe’s) and an oat milk Frappuccino that was .99 at Grocery Outlet. We walked to the park and it was so nice sitting under trees on a beautiful day.
2. Donated two books to our Friends of the Library.
3. Took light rail to Goodwill. Found some really great new, Italian type, woven placemats for $1.50 each. My placemats have seen better days. Also found a new yard of some sort of Japanese printed material - peonies on it; like what you would see on a kimono. A future sewing/art projects awaits.
4. Did grocery shopping at a food coop we have been members of for many years.
This week there was a free one pound package of organic grass fed ground beef which we got. However, I nearly choked when I saw an $80 package of halibut in the seafood section. The size of package that might feed a family of four. I am just about done with shopping there - we only go for fruit and veggies now. It no longer feels like it is a cooperative thing.
5. The pic of your husband in the kitchen with his food was super cute.
This week my husband found a $20 bill in the road outside our apartment building.
He gave it to one of the maintenance workers here - a super nice young man who really isn’t getting paid enough. He was very happy as it meant a lunch out:)
How kind of your husband! I'll bet he felt as good as the recipient.
Spent $80 at Walmart our only bonafide grocery store in our hamlet of 6500. Filled out our grocery needs till Sunday plus bought 2 bottles of wine. I’m only drinking the nights I don’t work the next day so Th, Friday and Saturday
I bought a 4 pk of protein drinks as I’ll be on the run the next 3 days (early am) Cheaper and healthier than fast food
I splurged on getting my car washed as I’ll have passengers with me over the next few days. At 73 I’m not climbing on a ladder to wash my
I do try to find that balance, sometimes spending more to save my sanity is worth it. I normally always grocery shop in-person (usually on my lunch break) but this weeks schedule was so crazy with end of school year stuff that I knew I wouldn’t have time. I spent too much time trying to figure out how to schedule it in before treating myself to a delivery from Sprouts, it was wonderful and very much appreciated this week. I’ll go back to my regular in-person shopping next week though.
Travel Edition
1. Our DIL got us a friends and family deal on rental car, as she works for a big rental car company.
2. We have a 30 hour drive and will spend one night over. Used Priceline to book our hotel and an 8% coupon and picked one with (free) breakfast.
3. Packed snacks for breakfast and lunch and just split a sub for dinner paired with our snacks for dinner.
4. Stocked up on books at thrift stores before the trip to read on the looooong trip.
5. Used an app to get .10 off per gallon of gas at Love's.
P.S. It is my 2 year anniversary of being retired. Recommend!
1. I woke up to 2 eBay sales. Not big money, but clutter gone, and I am always grateful for any extra money.
2. Rode my bike to work twice this week. A total of 28 miles, so gas saved.
3. Sent in two buy backs to Thrift books. $30 for one and $9 for the other. Tiny Streams.
4. Going to a free concert in a town near us Friday night. The band shelter is on the river, and a local brewery sponsors several concerts during summer. Tomorrow is McGuffey Lane. If it's free it's for we!
5. No real number 5. Just all the usual frugal things that has become part of my DNA.
Friend brought over the final items from her mom's estate:
- 8 small bottles of conditioner that I transferred into my pump bottle
- 5 small bottles of body wash that I'll use to clean the toilets (I think I first heard this tip from our beloved Lindsey in Alaska, RIP)
- Salt and pepper packets that I transferred into our shakers
- Cleaning supplies that we'll bring to our County's Reuse Room
- Can of FlameStop that I kept for our kitchen
Your husband looks so happy with his meals. Excellent idea!
Today I cashed the $30 check for my household doing a radio listening habits survey and divided up the money among the household members.
Cleaned my house, then trimmed up my old dog's coat, and brushed out both dogs and the cat. Threw two tablespoons of washing soda plus the usual detergent in with a really nasty load of cleaning rags and mopping pads and it all came out so clean. Made up three individual servings of leftover chicken soup and froze it for future quick meals.
My friend and I have arrived at my sister's senior living center. It is so good to see her. We have already had several hours of scintillating conversation!
Frugal fail last night -- I couldn't find my phone charger. I finally gave up and went to the nearest store -- Lowe's -- and spent $40 on a new cord and plug. Today I found the "lost" charger in my glove compartment.
Once again had dinner out of the cooler, though we're getting tired of cheese and crackers, raisins, apples, and peanut butter sandwiches. Made lunch stop at McDonald's, because it's my friend's preferred stop -- not me so much. But I'm so glad she has come along with me, I m accommodating her tastes.
We made the most out of Hampton Inn's breakfast, and I packed the tea and coffee supplies from our room. We left a bag of chocolate pretzels that we didn't care for, and $5 for housekeeping.
Tonight we are staying in a nice apartment at the senior center. However, there is only one bed! We flipped a coin and I got the bed tonight -- tomorrow I'll take the couch. And then we'll head home.
Traffic was brutal due to construction. Not looking forward to the reverse trip!
There is a settlement available for a Hoopla users. Instructions on how to make a claim can be found my doing a google search. The deadline is September 3 2026
I’m not here to argue with anyone, but I do feel the need to respond to this post. First, I have not seen any credible evidence that there is a legitimate class action lawsuit or settlement involving Hoopla. From what I can tell, this appears to be a scam circulating on social media. As the associate director of a library that offers Hoopla, I can say that we have received no official communication about any such matter. Second, I think it’s important for people to understand that libraries pay substantial fees to provide Hoopla to their communities. If a lawsuit were real and resulted in a settlement, the financial impact would not simply fall on a corporation—it would likely affect libraries and their patrons. Increased costs could force libraries to reduce or eliminate access to services like Hoopla, especially given the ongoing budget pressures many libraries face. In fact, I was asked just today whether we truly need to continue offering Hoopla and Libby both. Finally, from an ethical standpoint, I struggle to understand the justification for individuals applying for money in this situation. What harm has Hoopla caused that would warrant personal compensation?
1. I borrowed the library's state park pass to save us the $5 parking fee at our favorite park. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed a wonderful day.
2. I found a well worn penny at a gas station while gassing up. The gas price itself went down by .10 since last week at this particular station.
3. Started a new library book When I Was a Child by Moberg, an autobiographical novel.
4. I bought one tomato plant to grow cherry tomatoes for DH since I am not a fan. I planted it in a pot I already had with potting soil leftover from last year. It's thriving already.
5. It's predicted to be rainy, windy and cold on Saturday so I have plans to iron clothes. Doesn't that sound exciting?! Lol. It's an old habit I have of staying in on crummy weather days to get a non-favorite chore accomplished. BTW, I iron 2 to 3 times a year.
I challenge you to make a WinCo dinner in a pan. I'm doing it tonight with meatloaf, smashed red potatoes with garlic rosemary butter, green beans and sweet onions*. Saturday dinner will be patty melts with oven sauteed onions.
I am a green bean fiend, so any leftovers will be eaten for breakfast.
Gave my cousin's son 2 totes of pots, pans silverware, drawer organizers, plates, glasses, spatulas, flippers and a basket of cloth napkins. He grew up with cloth napkins, so he's used to them. I also gave him a bag of raggedy wash clothes and microfiber towels. He was so happy.
Stuff outta the house!
listed my 5th wheel trailer for $5k more than I paid for it to give me room to negotiate and sold it to a nice family for asking! It is in really great shape and beautiful inside and out.
Last fall I saved the seeds of my giant snapdragons and I scatter spread them in my cutting garden, they are almost 4 ft tall and so hardy.
Picked up a stack of 4 wine barrels from a local winery going out of business. I will cut them in half and use as planters.
Picked up 12 gallons of coffee grounds to put in my compost pile.
Wow! That is all really impressive! So glad you helped your cousins son and also decluttered your space. Love the idea of scattering snapdragons. They are so pretty! Unfortunately here the deer eat pretty much everything not fenced or hanging. Would love to see your planters once they are cut in half!
I miss the days of checking movies out of the library.
1. I walked an hour early in the morning 5:30 to 6:30 a.m.
2. No air but I don’t know how long this is going to last.
3: Packed a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch and made beans burgers for supper.
4. I stopped at the laundromat
to do my laundry. Some things never change!
5. I enjoyed the birds
and the slight breeze this evening through my screened windows.
1) Made two breakfasts and a snack out of one protein shake that was a freebie with Ibotta. The shakes are really thick so I blend them up with a bunch of frozen fruit (also free leftovers from a fruit tray at a party) and milk. Much tastier and more filling than the bottled shake alone.
2) Continuing to research and sign up for class action suits. I've made $85 so far! I'll look up the Hoopla suit, Jcp.
3) Wore a new-to-me outfit today and got compliments. Both pieces were hand-me-downs from two different people and shoes were free with birthday money.
4) Did a cleanout in a shared workspace and came home with some holiday cards and a pair of new socks. Was able to pass along several items to those who would use them.
5) Bought the wrong hair gel for DP and didn't realize until it was way too late to return it. I added it to a bag for the Little Free Pantry.
Bonus: The LFP is going to be the recipient of several free items from grocery rebates. I always toss in a few rolls of TP with whatever I drop off, too.
For researching class action suits, is there a website you are using or just googling it?
Just googling. Two of them were emails I received because I fit the eligibility requirements. In the case of the Blue Cross settlement, I was notified because I was a customer at the time of the data breach that triggered the law suit.
There is a comment that the Hoopla settlement may be a scam. It is so hard to tell what real information is anymorely
1. I accidentally got Amazon Prime....sigh, it's canceled now, but since I still got billed for a month, we made some purchases for the free shipping.
2. I've been cutting herbs from the garden too! But don't have any rosemary in mine.
3. I collected a couple buckets of rain for watering the garden.
4. My husband bought some items from Goodwill.
5. I did some kitchen decluttering and will be rehoming 2 items to my mother in law.
More nitty-gritty here: https://practicalwalk.com/2026/05/28/frugal-five-fresh-herbs/
You are brave to buy non-Midwest sweet corn. We buy local in season which means no corn on the cob any other time of the year.
1 - if you lived near me, I'd have offered you first dibs on all the boxes we recycled (and a few more to go). I think they multiply in the dark of the basement.
2 - have an excess of bubble wrap so I'll see if my sibling knows someone who can use it as again, you don't live near me.
3 - box recycling cleared up storage shelf space - not frugal was a trip to replenish non-perishables and another trip now that I know how much the shelf can store.
4 - harvesting food from the garden and getting exercise weeding it
5 - sibling will list a few items on FB Marketplace for us. We'll split the revenue 50/50.
I’m with you on the fresh corn as a former midwesterner. I do buy it locally, but only fresh! If I had my way, the water would be boiling before I headed to the field. Also, and this is just me … I cannot understand people who peel back the stalk to poke their fingernail in an ear of corn and then leave it! I can pick excellent corn by feel and the state of the corn silks.
Sadly, I'm not in the midwest, although I'm a "Cornhusker" at heart as my mother is from Nebraska. I even have a University of Nebraska hat, although I'm won't be caught dead wearing a bright red baseball cap these days!
Your new approach to lists (photos on your phone) made me laugh. I still am not in the mindset of using a photo to remember rather than my aging brain... I do sometimes write notes but I often forget.
1. I got in to see my family doctor, who is a human I find both kind and funny. We have a good time when I visit, and she actually shortened her lunch hour to do a small procedure on my toe, instead of having me come back. A gem of a person. Mind you, once she was finished she was going to cook up some of the eggs I brought her, for that lunch. Her previous lunch plan was peanut butter on crackers. Bribery works, folks!
We commiserated about how aging takes away some of the capabilities we used to have, she'll arrange for some further examinations, she assuaged my concerns about something going on with this ol' bod (essentially telling me that this was very common for women of our age, She figures we weren't designed to live beyond 45, so we are all in our 'past best by' date. More laughter).
Having free healthcare is a gift that I appreciate so much more, due to reading here about the challenges folks in the US have with insurance and co-pay etc. Yes, sometimes we have to wait, if it isn't urgent. However, if your arm is broken (for example) they address it really fast.
2. We have had some serious rain the last couple of days – it is brilliant to get, any time after April 30th, some years it is drought for 4+ months. Saves on watering, for sure, and helps the local rivers, which are struggling with low or no snow pack. It is looking to be a dry summer here, so any moisture we can get now and (hopefully) keep in the soil is a blessing.
3. I had started a number of brassicas in short rows in one of my garden beds (I call them “nursery rows” – short and tightly sown, they don't take up much space and I keep them well watered.) They've benefitted from the recent increase in temps, so I am trying to do a bit of transplanting most days.
Now that the field has been rototilled 'enough', I am raking sections a bit at a time (to get out the grass clumps) and then planting something – either nursery bed items, things from my grow room, or seeds. I got 9 nice “nursery” kale plants in the ground, while also hanging out with my grandbaby. He only stepped on one (and there are plenty more in the nursery row).
I'm fertilizing with a random bunch of options including a dense compost from my gardening friend and some unidentified (but organic!) bags that got transferred into buckets without their labels. I figure that they will do some kind of good so am sprinkling a bit of that in most places I plant. I'm also using chicken manure from the currently empty coop, and am planning to raid the sheep pen soon to gather more extremely locally sourced fertilizer.
4. Several years ago I was consciously disciplined about collecting sunflower seeds from a lot of the beauties in my display. I put paper bags over the heads to keep the birds off, and wrote on the bags the colour and size, when I eventually cut the flower off to bring in to dry.
I want a goodly display of sunflowers again this year, and don't really know how viable the seed is, however got some in the ground (also with Grandson's help – eek) and I used a liberal hand with the seeding...
I hope thinning is in my future! I planted the seeds at the outer edge of the ring thrown by my sprinkler, so they won't be water barriers for my other garden plants once they really take off.
I've also been transplanting volunteer sunflowers as they appear in my raised beds, greenhouse, and compost heap – about 85% of the transplants survive, so I already have a nice bed started.
5. I wrote to a couple of companies who have products that I like, and have received some lovely letters back, as well as promises of coupons in the mail.
We'll see how much I actually receive, but every penny counts!
We planted sunflowers again this year, using seeds saved from the giant heads in 2020. 100% germination!
I did something similar with marked down precooked chicken breast from Sam's Club. The package contained 7 seasoned and grilled chicken breasts marked down to $9, so I bought and then chopped them up and froze them in a single layer. After frozen, I put all the meat into a freezer bag to use for mostly salads, nachos, burritos, and whatever else I come up with. Saves a little money and time and that is a hot commodity in my house.
Allergies were kicking my butt yesterday, so I got fed up and headed grocery shopping rather than work outside. Hit the cheapo grocery store, nothing phenomenal. I did score 2, 2 pund bags of coffee bean for $5. Swung by gw looking for shorts to lounge in and a chicken pan to resell. Found two cute pant suits for upcoming weddings. They were about $10 each. I will use shoes from my closet. Shoe shopping at the thrift with a 7yo boys is entertaining! He pointed out some aluminum foil inspired cowboy boots that reminded me of the, Pink Pony Girl video! Thanks baby, I'll pass, lol! I'll either pack the second pant suit for the formal meet the inlaws dinner at my brother's wedding or offer it to my niece to wear while we're out there. I also bought a $4 pair of shorts to bum around the house after chores while I cook supper.
Hit up All Dis and stuck to my list, mostly. Checked in Harbour Freight for a shade cloth and a tool, but they had neither. Dropped off recycling. Allergies were picking up and I was being whiney, so we self medicated with ice cream and headed home. It's nice to take a break and share a little treat with your kid!
Bought diesel for the tractor, just enough to get by. Price is still bonkers! But hey, he's a great business man*******
You learn every day, corn holders! I have never heard about them in 50+ years! You can just hold the cob, why do you need these? Ofcourse I understand why, but because I had never seen them before I had some trouble to understand when I read about it. Funny!
Corn cob holder are very helpful when you are a little kid and a corn cob is too hot - also, they are very COOL when you are a little kid. I was a little kid 60 years ago and we had those holders. Takes me back!
1) Got four hours of free car charging at work, when I came in for a lunch event.
2) Found ground beef prepped taco meat in the freezer, and defrosted that for a quick & easy dinner, and bonus points for using up more of the giant pack of tortillas we somehow ended up with.
3) Maxed my 401k for the year, which is perfect timing given my early retirement plans for later this summer. It also means bigger paychecks until then, which is a nice win.
4) Started researching hotel options that have points redemptions for our 2027 travel (one of my favorite "hobbies").
5) Will call Chase again today about an cash back offer I've never received.