Frugal Accomplishments

Frugal homemade soup with a twist

One of the blogs that I love reading is The Prudent Homemaker.  The author Brandy has beautiful photography, a focus on simple living, and shares my love for gardening (although her climate in Las Vegas is quite different than here in Seattle!). Hats off to Brandy who does so much to keep her large family thriving in a tough Las Vegas economy. I'm a single mom to one, and I'm pretty sure I'd lose my mind with caring for 7 children like Brandy!  

Every week she has a recap of her weekly frugal accomplishments.  Readers from all over the globe chime in with theirs and it becomes a forum for support and sharing. In that vein I'd like to invite anyone who visits here to do the same and share your frugal accomplishments, ask each other advice or simply give encouragement.

This is what I did to save money this week:

Started "No Pay" May

I did one huge grocery shop for the month as an experiment. I had some money left over in my grocery budget to divide into 4 equal amounts. That is what I can spend at the Farmer's Market or on supplemental produce each week until June (we eat a lot of produce).

Wrote down a list of things that are needed in the house, including a raincoat for my daughter.  The very next day was given a beautiful rain proof coat by my sister who had received the hand-me-down which was too big for her little girl.

Made gluten free pumpkin muffins and oatmeal cookies for a school bake sale instead of running out and getting something.

Brought my lunch to work every day and did not give in to temptation when my coworkers bought Thai food!

Roasted a chicken and am using every last bit. Made nourishing bone broth by cooking the carcass for 4-5 hours. Made a lovely soup (pictured about) with it. I will share that recipe at another time.

Continued using the library for movies. I love the library so much!

Started preparation for the garage sale I'm having next weekend.

Went through the linen closet and organized by tossing, adding to the garage sale pile, or taking mental note of what was in there.  Found bandages and cream that I needed and won't have to buy. I also found a nice set of sheets I forgot I had!

I ran out of hair goop so I've been using samples I've had for ages. 

Stuck close to home for the weekend and ventured out for a lovely Sunday morning to the Farmer's Market where I found some really beautiful organic produce at good prices. 

How about you?