A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #16

C. Amy Lane Photography

It's been a very different sort of week at our house.  If you know our family in person, you may already know that we are opening a restaurant at Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri.  We've spent a lot of time preparing with a big focus on cleaning! ~smile~  So, it's not really been the easiest week to be frugal, but I'll share what I've done.

~ The photo is my daughter, Emily, with our little Tiger.  She's modeling one of her Pretty Thrifty outfits.  She loves the challenge of making pretty modest outfits for pennies on the dollar.  She blogs at Teen for the Lord.

~ My husband and I went out for a little date on Friday evening.  It was thrifty.  Instead of a full meal, we ordered chips, salsa, and queso.  On the way home, we bought ice cream at the store that was on sale to share at home with the kids.

~ On Saturday, I bought pizza for the family and our friend, Randy, who was helping us clean.  He brought his power washer and did some amazing work cleaning the metal shelves.  We carried them outside first, of course.  ~smile~  Buying pizza might not sound thrifty, but time was short and food not readily available.  I did go to Little Caesars, so the bill was less than $20.  It could have been more than twice that at some pizza places.

~ Saturday night I balanced the splurge with a very cheap meal of pinto beans and homemade cornbread.  This recipe for Cowboy Beans is very similar.  I was in a hurry and didn't use the onion- big mistake.  They were very bland.  Try the Cowboy Beans.  They're cheap and delicious!  The link takes you to the recipe and 5 Days of Frugal Eating.

~ My friend, Joyce, told me about a website called Pricematcherz.  They list some of the sale prices for food in a forty mile radius.  they also include links to the store ads. I can then go to the individual stores or print the list or ad and use it for price matching at Wal-Mart.  That should save me a few dollars.  If you live in the Midwest, you might find your local area listed.

~ I bought a box of cereal.  Cereal is not traditionally a thrifty purchase, but I knew we were leaving the house at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.  I knew I wasn't going to make eggs or oatmeal. ~smile~  It's cheaper than five people eating at the drive-thru!  In my defense, I did buy it at Aldi for $1.99.

~ I fried cabbage and onions for lunch and added in a little crumbled, leftover hamburger.

~ I turned my old, too big dress into a spring and summer nightgown.

It's not much, I know, but tomorrow is another day. ~smile~  It's all the little things that add up that can make the difference between having gas and milk money and struggling for it.  Don't give up!  You can do this, too.

Blessings to you!
Laura
Happy at Home