Frugal Happenings 8/12 to 8/18

Last week's frugal happenings felt like mostly the typical things we do to try to be good stewards.

1.  I dyed my own hair.  Sadly it now goes gray quick enough (in spots) that I cannot justify the cost of paying some to color it that often for me.  Costs savings was tremendous because I used coupons and CVS rewards to buy the dye.  We did pay for my daughter's color treatment and hair cuts for both of us.  This time she opted not to have highlights which reduced our costs even further.

2.  Some of my frugal happenings included spending.  I ordered soy powder for an upcoming trip.  This is less expensive and easier to carry than individually sealed small soy milks.  I also bought two pair of shoes for myself, carefully selecting what would be best for my comfort and most versatile for my lifestyle.  I combined sales, coupons, and rewards at CVS to buy needed bathroom supplies and we are now stocked up on several items for several months.

3.  I continued to work on my grandson's camouflage sweater.

4.  I used library books and online resources to find some new recipes to try.

5.  I used freezer assets for a lot of the meals for the week -- pizza crusts, beans, etc.

6.  We had guests over one night and I pulled together a nice casserole from our food storage.  I also baked some carrot muffins.  The meal was enjoyed by all and I ended up with enough leftovers for two meals for my daughter.

7.  We made homemade take out -- pizzas, "chicken" patties, Spanish hot cocoa, etc.

8.  For splurges we bought two packages of flavored coffee.  Even though these are more expensive than plain coffee, they are far less expensive than buying seasonal flavored coffees at places like Starbucks.

9.  As usual we worked to avoid food waste.  I did end up with a little, which went out to the birds.  I enjoyed sitting and watching them through the window so it was a win win.

10.  I hung the laundry I could hang to dry.  I also waited until we had large loads to do the washing.

11.  We've also taken advantage of the slightly cooler weather and turned the thermostat up on the air conditioner.

12.  I bought myself two pair of winter tights -- both in black -- that were buy 1 get 1 half off.  I'll use these all fall and winter.