Savings and Goals Journal #47

Hello again! Our savings on groceries and such haven’t been huge the last couple of weeks, but little bits of money saved do add up to bigger amounts, so I keep plugging along. I’ve been doing well using my strategy of staying at home more. If I’m not out and about, I’m not tempted to spend.

I’ve also saved two large amounts of money by simply telling myself NO. I’ve been wanting a dishwasher but I’ve decided that the hassle of installing one would be costly since we’ve never had one (all the cabinet fixing and plumbing and electrical work would really add up). So I’ve decided to just continue washing dishes by hand. I’ve also been eyeing wall units (entertainment centers) for our living room. I’ve seen some that would look lovely painted and I could put all the pretty things on them. But the nicer ones are about $300 on Facebook marketplace. So I’m going to make over some existing shelves that I already have and save a ton of money! 🙂

In the Kitchen

Over the last couple of weeks, we were great about using up all of our leftovers. I was excited to discover our little grocery store in town had pork roasts and pork chops for $1.29 per pound. To me, that is a decent price for meat these days. We purchased two roasts and a package of pork chops.

Some meals we’ve enjoyed over the last two weeks are:

• Mississippi Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots, salad
• Mediterranean bowls
• Baked pork chops, green beans with bacon and onion, stuffing
• Pizza crescent rolls with marinara sauce; veggies and dip
• Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans
• Breakfast for dinner
• Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

I’m trying to use up the green beans that I canned, so I’m using a quart jar of green beans each week. Grampy will eat lots of green beans as long as I add bacon and onion.

One afternoon while I was working in my she-shed, Grampy made a batch of Homemade Granola. He will be working the early shift for a couple of weeks, and he likes to take yogurt and granola for his breakfast.

Our last breakfast burritos that we made were so yummy, we decided to make another batch of them. The breakfast burritos from our favorite place in town (Blake’s Lotaburger) are $5.00 each, so we try to limit trips there. It’s very helpful to have burritos in the freezer for breakfast on the go. I’m trying hard to cut down on restaurant trips in order to keep more money in our grocery fund.

I try to watch my carbohydrates, but the other day, I just wanted biscuits. My favorite biscuit recipe is on the back of the Clabber Girl Baking Powder can. The recipe is on the website here. It’s the one my mama used. My family will eat crescent rolls from a can, but they like their biscuits and cinnamon rolls homemade.

In the Garden

Not a lot happening in the garden. I’ve been caught up in other projects. On warm days the grandkids have been outside. They have a little tractor that they like to ride around, and their mom built them a ramp to ride their little bikes down. They’ve been wearing themselves out! With the cost of gas, we’ve been driving to the park less often.

We received some snow and the weather has gotten quite cold again, so I’ve been doing the minimum outside while it’s cold and damp. I did purchase some gladiolus bulbs and some ranunculus corms to get ready for spring. I’ve had a couple of gladiolus come back after the winter (they were planted near the house on the east side). I’m going to plant my new bulbs on the south side of our house and see if they will grow for more than one season. I’ve never grown ranunculus, but I think they are beautiful. I have several plants (iris, day lilies, daisies) I’ll be separating and moving around when the weather warms up a bit.

Home and Family

My last post was filled with things around our home that had broken and had to be replaced. We’ve done better lately. My twelve-year-old vacuum finally gave up. I was both astonished and disgusted with how much dirt and pet hair came up when I vacuumed with my new one! We purchased another Shark vacuum because our previous vacuum was a Shark and it worked well and lasted for a long time. We got a good deal at WalMart.

I’ve had some expenses associated with my she-shed project. I’ve bought some chalk paint to redo some furniture, and a rug for the floor. I found a curtain for $5.00 at WalMart to hang in front of the bookshelf where I store my seasonal décor. And Grampy insisted I install a solar shed light that I can turn on as I walk in so I have light and don’t trip on my way to turn on my lamp. 🙂 The only furniture I’ve bought for my she-shed is my chair and a small footstool. Everything else is furniture I already have that I am repainting or reusing.

I shared on my Facebook page how I was painting this little table with the lamp on it. Grampy got it for me years ago one Christmas. It’s looking great!

I spent one afternoon working in the other shed (the one where I put all the things I didn’t want in my she-shed). I can finally walk in the door, so that’s progress! I was able to finally get to some toys I had stored that the grandkids had been asking to play with.

Grampy injured his shoulder at work, so large projects that I’ll need his help with are kind of on hold. I’m trying to finish projects before starting new ones, but I am terrible about having multiple projects going at once! I guess it’s okay as long as I finish them eventually.

I am happy and content puttering around the house. I was thinking of the saying by Theodore Roosevelt, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” I can apply it to all of the areas where I try to save money. In the kitchen, I can use up leftovers to make tasty meals at home. In the garden, I can maximize the use of our garden space to help combat rising food prices. Around the house, I can take old things, give them a coat of paint, and make them look new again.

Have a wonderful day!