Savings and Goals Journal #43

Hello! I’m enjoying a cooler and cloudy afternoon. It feels wonderful after so many days of high temperatures. We’ve had some rain in the afternoons and evenings, which has brought much-needed moisture to our area. The gardens (and the weeds) are growing merrily!

Here’s our little savings log for the last couple of weeks.

In the Kitchen

I’m back to meal planning, which is a huge help to our budget. We haven’t had restaurant food nearly as often as we were in the last couple of months. I’ve got to be careful on the weekends because if Grampy and I go to town, we often stop for something to eat. My goal is one restaurant meal per month.

I’ve changed up my grocery shopping strategy a bit. I’m trying to minimize trips to stores as much as possible, to save time and gas and also because I just like to stay home. I have started doing one Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club pick-up order per month to stock up on toiletries, paper goods, and some pantry staples. The rest of the month, I watch the sales flyers. There is a Safeway store which is about half the distance to Wal-Mart. Safeway generally has good deals on meat, produce and dairy, so I stock up on those things when they are on sale. My grocery expenses have gone down over the last few weeks, so I think it’s working well.

I went to buy chicken thighs last week, on sale for 79 cents per pound. The packages were marked 97 cents per pound, so I spoke with the meat department manager and showed him the ad with the sale price. He was unable to print a new label at 79 cents per pound, so he put a sticker on it that would make the price 30 percent less. This came out to 68 cents per pound. I was happy!

When I checked my receipt on a different trip to the grocery store, I noticed the savings for some of my digital coupons had not been deducted from my purchases. I went to the customer service desk to have it corrected, and I received over $8 back! It’s important to make sure sale prices ring up properly.

I did some bulk cooking to save time. I cooked 3 packages of turkey bacon and a pound of sausage (all bought on sale). I froze them it all in portions to use later. I also boiled a dozen eggs to use on our salads. The afternoons have been hot lately, so I try to use the stove in the mornings.

This week’s meal plan:

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Spaghetti, veggies, salad
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Tomato Soup and grilled cheese
Thursday: Baked chicken, green beans, salad
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Turkey patties, salad

In the Garden

Our gardens have started to produce. I’ve enjoyed incorporating our fresh produce into our meals. I’ve harvested eight California Wonder bell peppers and probably a dozen zucchini. I see Zucchini Bread in our future! We made fajitas with some of the bell peppers and had some chopped up in our salads. I am anxiously awaiting my first ripe tomato, which I will celebrate with a tomato sandwich. Grampy has harvested some green chile, which he and my daughter have enjoyed. I plan to start some lettuce when the weather is a little cooler. I hope it does better in the fall than it did in the spring.

I am enjoying my flower gardens very much this year. I had vowed not to purchase any new plants, but Lowe’s had some on clearance, so I purchased three perennial plants and one annual plant. They were marked down to $3 and $4 each, and were originally priced at $7-$12 each. I’ve planted them all and they are doing pretty well. I had planted zinnias in the East garden and have been enjoying a vase of them in the kitchen this week. I am going to start zinnia seeds in my greenhouse next spring. I love them!

I am trying my hand at starting plants from cuttings using rooting hormone. I have three rose of Sharon plants started and one climbing rose. I’ve also tried to start a butterfly bush and a Joseph’s coat rose from cuttings, but I don’t think they worked. I may try these again with new cuttings. I transplanted several lilac bushes that were growing too close to my stepmom’s porch. I’m not sure they will all make it, but it was worth a try.

Home and Family

I’ve been doing some good decluttering in the sheds. I sold a rocking chair I never used on Facebook Marketplace. We took two large loads of stuff to the thrift store. This week, we sorted through our fall décor and boxed up some things we don’t care for any more so we can donate them. I’m not up for holding a big garage sale, so my plan is to list things I can sell for $20 or more on Facebook Marketplace, and donate any other items we want to get rid of.

I’ve ordered a new book, Dostadning: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. I haven’t received it yet, but it appears to focus on downsizing your belongings so that your family isn’t left with a lot of stuff to sort through. It’s an interesting concept, and something I’ve been thinking about with the recent loss of family members.

We are getting ready to welcome our third grandbaby in September. We were able to purchase all kinds of newborn and 0-3 month clothes for him very inexpensively from someone our daughter knows. We’ve also found a few things at garage sales.

As we cleaned in the shed, my younger daughter and I found our box of favorite storybooks from her childhood. We’ve enjoyed reading these with the grandkids, and it’s fun seeing some of our daughter’s favorites being enjoyed by her kids. Some of our favorites are The Napping House, The Gruffalo, The Seven Silly Eaters and any of the SkippyJon Jones books.

I’ve been distracted from my indoor projects by yard work. I’ve made a little bit of progress on the north wall of the kitchen. I’m planning some days next week where finishing the kitchen will be my focus. There are definitely expenses involved in updating our home, but we are doing all the work ourselves and trying to find inexpensive but quality solutions to make our home more comfortable. Compared to the cost or purchasing a different home, we are saving lots!

And in the pet department…We’ve added a puppy to the family. She is a sweetheart. Her name is Jessie, and BooBoo our big dog is so happy to have a playmate. They wear each other out! Jessie is particularly fond of Grampy. She’s getting her puppy shots at the clinic just minutes from our house, and the cost there is considerably less than the vet’s a half hour away.