Five Frugal Things -- Family Dinner & Trader Joe's
1) My husband and I had our kids over for Family Dinner Night, which was easy this week, as my husband simply doubled the recipe for the grilled marinated chicken he was already prepping for his work lunches. We added a pot of rice and broccoli and called it good.
We started doing these simple weekly dinners a couple months ago, as I realized that we were only seeing the kids in fits and spurts and I missed sitting around a table as a family. It's been a big hit and its added something fun to look forward to. I sent the kids home with an extra meal, although at this point they need to start returning the containers.
2) I was over at my daughter's apartment and noticed that she had two three-packs of instant yeast, which was weird as she doesn't bake. She admitted to accidentally buying them thinking they were nutritional yeast, so I brought them home. I buy my yeast at Costco and it's highly unlikely that I'll run out in 2026, so I posted them in my Buy Nothing group.
They're now sitting on my front porch awaiting the two women who'll pick them up later on today. Buy Nothing is the best!
3) My friend Lise hit me up in the morning, texting to ask if I'd be up for a Trader Joe's run, which is always an emphatic "YES!" My favorite way to hang out with friends is to run errands together.
Their produce is per-item instead of by-the-pound, so of course I took that as my mission to locate the fattest specimens. You can guess which butternut squash came home with me. I also have a big ol' cantaloupe ripening on my kitchen counter.
I bought butternut squash, cantaloupe, toilet paper, butter and hummus. The lollipops were free.
I was loading my groceries into Lise's trunk, when I spied the lawn sign she silkscreened for her husband's run for state labor commissioner. Lise is such a creative soul and her amazing husband Chris would make an excellent labor commissioner. He's got my vote!
4) My cousin's daughter is having a baby and I wanted to send her a gift certificate to a local bookstore, so she can pick out some baby books. Unfortunately she lives in Pittsburgh, but I was able to find a cool looking store not far from her neighborhood. (Riverstone Books) I remember mailing a single paperback book to her mom when she was born, (I was in nursing school and broke-broke-brokety-broke) and it felt right to do something similar for this next generation. Thankfully, I'm no longer broke and can splurge out a bit.
My husband and I went to her wedding a few years ago and I just know she and her husband are going to be terrific parents.
5) I didn't buy any Trader Joe's tote bags, as the point of a reusable grocery bag is that it's . . . reusable. Buy it once and then you don't need to buy any more.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Oh my, what have I done lately?
1) Left some items in my (virtual) clothing cart. I don't need them. It did give me some inspiration of how I can put some outfits together using items I already own.
2) A friend venmo'd me for her contribution to some travel I'd booked. I moved that straight to my savings, as i'm trying to visibly build up my savings account & this helps me feel more motivated.
3) Served leftovers for dinner again. Ate the more fragile fruit first (raspberries.)
4) Planned a bit more about my cash flow management, as I'm planning to retire from "big career" life soon. I'll likely pick up some more flexible options in the future.
5) Went to CVS to pick up a prescription, and used a few cash rewards/offers to get advil that I needed.
1. I had to get Snuggles some more dogfood, as we're completely out. Went to Wallyworld (Walmart) for it, and was quite unhappy that there were no human cashiers on duty. I absolutely refuse to do self checkout; I feel that is both hypocritical and wrong, since I am a cashier. I want to support other people, esp. students, who need cashier jobs, so I refuse to do self checkout anywhere. A lot of folks who hold these jobs are on the lower end of the economic totem pole and need the work! I politely told the employee at the door why I was leaving without making a purchase, and pls. inform her manager that I refuse to do self checkout and will not buy anything from their store until they have real human beings on cashier duty.
2. Topped off my gas tank at Murphy's gas station on the Wallyworld parking lot bc it was only $3.26 a gallon, cheapest I've seen it in a couple of weeks.
3. I still needed dogfood so I came home and used my newish cell phone to sign up for Walmart delivery and to buy some Ol' Roy. A 40 lb bag is an affordable $24.73. I think it's probably really Purina Dog Chow in disguise.
4. Grabbed up some more kiddie books from a LFL to give to the book drive.
5. Did not singlehandedly mess up the entire world's economy by playing dictator and starting a war. BTW, last midnight, the BBC radio World News said 62 million people, I think it was, will be plunged into poverty because of Trump's actions; most of them will be in Third World countries and 40+ million may face famines. So tragic! How many will die thanks to old Gen. Bone Spurs?
1. I finally mailed great nephew and fiancé the heirloom vase aka engagement gift. I packed it well
and actually double boxed it in upcycled Amazon boxes $13.65 it’s on its way
2. Packaging tea bags and stevia for our mini trip. We with 2 other couples are renting a VRBO. I’ll make ice tea while we’re staying.
3. Double checking our travel
sized travel toiletries are ready to be packed.