- My husband requested microwave meals for this week. He's expecting an insane one and he just wants simple.
- My daughter's meals and snacks for school.
- Some extra beef for the freezer.
- Some seasonal items -- like extra spices, specialty coffee
- Some gluten free bread items that I bought large amounts of and froze
- Some allergen free items for me
- A few bathroom supplies
- Warehouse store sized bags of frozen veggies and things of the sort to restock the freezer
So really all in all, given that most of what I bought was for specific special purposes, I don't feel like I did too badly.
3. I bought a jacket, a sweater, and jeans. The jeans were originally $78 and I was able to get them for $18. The jacket and sweater were on discount, too. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I paid $45 combined for the two. All of these pieces are neutral, were on my "keep an eye out for" list, and are going in my wardrobe to replace some items that had worn out.
4. We used coupons to reduce the cost of a takeout meal. We try to plan for a periodic splurge like this and keep our costs down with coupons.
5. We had a pizza night, but instead of ordering out we picked up a gluten free frozen pizza. Coming in at less than $10 for the win. (A bag of gluten free pizza crust mix is over $8 before I add the toppings.). Double score, because far less work and clean up for me to do.
6. I knocked three more Christmas gifts off the list. I'm getting near my self imposed completion deadline and I am going to have to ramp it up.
7. I am taking a free online course.
8. I used a recipe from a cookbook I have been holding onto. I also batch cooked some beef. Bonus was easier meal planning and only having to clean the kitchen once.
9. My daughter and I sold some text books to Amazon and a few video games she no longer played. She netted $297 from them, in part because she is so careful with her maintenance of them. This money will be hers to spend, but still I was impressed.
10. We used the slow cooker to help keep meal prep super easy, and I tried to cook enough for two meals each time I cooked.
11. As this is going up, we are visiting with my son’s family. We packed all of our on the road snacks, allotted monies to take our grandson to ride the carousel, and for a trip to McDonalds. Everything else will be low to no cost for the weekend.
9. My daughter and I sold some text books to Amazon and a few video games she no longer played. She netted $297 from them, in part because she is so careful with her maintenance of them. This money will be hers to spend, but still I was impressed.
10. We used the slow cooker to help keep meal prep super easy, and I tried to cook enough for two meals each time I cooked.
11. As this is going up, we are visiting with my son’s family. We packed all of our on the road snacks, allotted monies to take our grandson to ride the carousel, and for a trip to McDonalds. Everything else will be low to no cost for the weekend.
The reality, whether we like it or not, is that gluten-free food is expensive. And, anytime you are dealing with a special diet, it hurts the pocketbook. So, it may not feel frugal, but it is probably the best you can do. There are months where I spend several hundred in a month (like September), and others where I really don't need anything. Striking that balance is difficult for me. I want to buy items on sale, but I also want to rotate by stock, not waste, and use unusual items up. So, I also do the best I can each month.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we do is buy beef from a farmer. Then we get all cuts for the same price, which is much lower than the store. It's similar to getting every kind of meat for the price of hamburger. I've always bought 1/2 beef for years. This year, we are going to get a quarter. We have so much beef out there.....But, last year, we had already told the farmer in the spring that we wanted a half, so we felt we needed to buy it since he raised it for us. Soon after we got it, and had so much, we lowered our order to 1/4 for this fall. There is STILL so much out there, but we ordered it in the spring........ I'm not complaining, mind you. I just need to focus on beef recipes, too.
I love the idea of buying beef in bulk. We used to buy pork that way from a lady who raised locally.
DeleteGF is expensive. I’m trying to balance with rice and other lower cost options.