Frugal Friday

I found the quote above by the first century philosopher, Lucretius, and I like it.  The key words there though is "with a contented mind."  You can't live frugally and have a bad attitude about it.  Otherwise, it's just pinching pennies unhappily and more than likely, will not last.

I do find that I'm content as I work to make ends meet.  I like our simple lifestyle and I have no desire for "more" stuff in my life.  It's a good place to be. :-)

Here are some ways I've saved this week:

$ Since there are just three of us, I definitely have been saving money on our grocery bill.  I've always loved Aldi, but lately I've been shopping at Wegman's since Nathan works there.  I have to say as long as I stick to my list and don't get sucked into buying all the "extras" that are displayed so attractively, I've been spending much less on groceries by going there.  

$ Now that the holidays are upon us, the prices of baking items have come down.  I was able to get 5 lb. bags of flour for $.99 and sugar for $1.39.

$ I shared earlier in the week how my neighbor gave us a ginormous cabbage.  I was able to get 7 pints of sauerkraut and 2 meals out of it.  We had unstuffed cabbage roll one night, as well as roast cabbage with other veggies a second night.

$ I buy the large family pack of meat, bring it home and then separate it into smaller portions for the freezer.

$ I bought some fabric this week on sale.  I try not to spend more than $6 per yard which sometimes means by passing what I really want until it's on sale.

$ It's really been such a warm fall that I've been able to keep the heat way down and often shut it off altogether.  

$ We have a rabbit that was a gift one Christmas for Emily.  I can get very lazy about cleaning its cage but the bedding is expensive and I find that if I clean just the one corner she goes in every day I use less bedding that way.  Often, if I wait to do it, I end up having to dump the whole cage and replace all the bedding.  If I stay on top of it, I'm just adding a bit new each day to that one end of the cage.

$ A friend gave me a beautiful skirt that she won't wear to turn into some sort of creation.  The skirt doesn't fit me but the material is so pretty and I have plans for it!  That is another way to save money too on fabric is by recycling it into something useful.

I think that's it for this week.  How are you doing with being frugal?