1. I have been eating some extremely dry prunes
In my pantry clean-out, I found a container of forgotten-about prunes.
At this point, their texture is reminiscent of shoe-leather. But I have discovered that they soften up quite nicely if you cut them up and mix them in before you cook a bowl of oatmeal.
I’m the sole household occupant willing to take this on (!), so I figure it’ll take me a month or so to empty the container.
(Here’s the one-bowl, one serving microwave oatmeal method I use.)
2. I asked for a med switch
In addition to the low FODMAP diet, Sonia’s doctor wants her to try a medication for a short period of time.
But the first one the doctor called in was not covered by our insurance.
I sent a message to the doctor, and she sent over an alternate prescription.
It is always worth asking about this, because a non-covered prescription can be crazy expensive.
3. I got some Valentine markdowns
I had to go to CVS to get the prescription, so of course I checked the holiday markdowns. 😉
Origami hearts that my kids made a while back
I got a few bags of discounted treats, and I even found an option that Sonia can eat.
(It feels like a miracle to find things you can eat on a low-FODMAP diet. Ha.)
4. Mr. FG and I had a seriously cheap Valentine’s Day date
We postponed to the day after Valentine’s Day, and we got Bertucci’s pizza, since that’s a thing we did early on in our relationship.
Total? $14.83.
And we ate in the extremely private dining room that is Mr. FG’s car. Ha.
5. I’ve been using an old notebook for Bio notes
At the start of the semester, I found an old notebook that Sonia used to use for drawing when she was much younger.
It still had a lot of empty pages in it, but some of the pages have a drawing and I just work my notes around the drawings.
I like the throwback to Sonia’s younger self! And this way the notebook will be fully used before I recycle it.
Rosemary
Wednesday 24th of February 2021
Well, my frugal 5 for the week are: 1. Got a deal on chicken legs. Made dinner for 5 people for 17 cents a leg!! 2. Cleaned out under sink n found cleaning supplies to last a whole year!! Window spray, oven cleaner, floor cleaner, extra brushes, soap pads, n a big jug of floor cleaner!! 3. For our viewing pleasure we r watching the movies we all ready have. 4. I cleaned out our frig I made BBQ sauce using the left of the bottom of honey, 2 BBQ sauces n some catsup!! 5, We have had 7 no spend days in the last week due to the cold weather, and our van braking down!!
Tricia
Sunday 21st of February 2021
1)My employer had 2 ProD days last week and fed us breakfast and lunch both days. Nice. 2)They also had left over fresh squeezed liter juice bottles, and gave them out at the end of the last day. 3)A coworker gave me a can of sloppy joe sauce she didn't want. 4)I got $10 invested into my Acorns account by going through them to Turbo Tax. 5)The library finally got a book in that I requested back in the fall!
Tracey
Friday 19th of February 2021
I do the same things with half-used notebooks. Three kids and many school years later, I've got quite the stack. I love it when I come across a picture or doodle. Here's our five frugal things for the week:
1. Traded replacing a broken zipper in a winter coat for driveway snowplowing.
2. My car's check engine light went on. I took it to our local repair shop to find out what was wrong. A frozen exhaust fan. In less than five minutes he thawed and reset it. He didn't charge me a penny. Homemade cookies are in his future when I bake this weekend!
3. Freezer, pantry and fridge eating continues. I swear it multiplies when I close the doors. I'm kind ok with that though.
4. When I did hit the grocery store for fresh items, I found an apple pie on the markdown rack that was way cheaper than I could make it for. Yummy, too.
5. My Dad dropped off a paper bag full of books he'd read. Love free reads!
Profesora H-B
Friday 19th of February 2021
Just piping up to say that I am seriously jealous every time you talk about getting Bertucci's pizza. It's one of the things I miss the very most about my brief stint in Boston. YUM.
My frugal things (late because Texas): 1) Went grocery shopping on Saturday for a frugal-adjacent Valentine's date night and picked up supplies in anticipation of the pending storm. 2) Baked bread and pizza while Houston was snowed in, providing heat AND food for my family. 3) Bought store brand hot cocoa mix (honestly, I like HEB-brand cocoa mix better than Swiss Miss). 4) Opened the blinds on the south- and west-facing sides of our house to boost the temperature (never a thing I thought I'd want in Texas...) 5) Didn't even think about driving on snow/ice in my Houston suburb, so saved money on fuel and the inevitable accident claim to our auto insurance provider
AEW
Friday 19th of February 2021
1. I made creme brûlée from scratch for a valentines dessert and was left with a lot of egg whites since the recipe only uses the yolks. I used the whites with some veggies that needed to be used up to make lunch for my husband and I the following day. 2. In making my menu plan for next week I added enchiladas since I found a half bag of corn tortillas that need to be used up. 3. I bought a few pre-made frozen meals to replenish my stock so that on those nights when something comes up I can grab something to make quick. Frozen is more expensive than homemade yes, but much cheaper than takeout. 4. We had a repair man come look at our washing machine to give it a tune up because it was sounding rough, $65 in maintenance is much cheaper than a new machine and it's running better now! 5. Still working my way through a stack of library books, our branch closed for renovations for several weeks so I stocked up before they closed.