Friday Finds

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We have been very fortunate this week to find and be given some great items.  Since I have not done a post with bullet points in a long time this is a fun way to be random.

  • Food Lion had a sale on “Suddenly Salad” $1 each. We discovered last year that we could add chicken, cucumbers and or tomatoes to make a great lunch or pepperoni and tomatoes for a very different but just as good lunch. I grabbed 10 with plans to use weekly this summer.
  • Purchased tomato plants from a local nursery for 50 cent a plant.
  • Found a couple of blueberry bushes on clearance at Walmart for $3 and onion starters for $2. We planted the blueberries and placed the onions under our house in storage for next spring.
  • Use a $2 off coupon to purchase “Got2b ” hair spiking glue for $0.87 cent. I went to a CVS in High Point and the cashier tried to make me feel bad for using coupons. Didn’t work but seriously just scan coupons I promise they will work. We also grabbed Easter Twizzlers for $1.50 a bag.
  • Used gift cards earned from Swagbucks to purchase drinks for everyone at Starbucks.
  • Matt has been enjoying his birthday freebies including a drink from Dunkin Donuts
  • I used office depot rewards to purchase a pack of AAA batteries and a notebook. Spent zero out of pocket and earned another $14 in rewards to spend later.
  • We have been given several bags of clothes recently so the only purchase has been swim suits for swim team.

What are your good finds?

DIY Teacher Appreciation Gift

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The first week of May is teacher appreciation week in our area, sounds like it may be a national thing as well. Unfortunately, I am not a craft person but I am excited to share my FREE gift this year. I do have to give credit to my mother as she suggested I give pots of mint.

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The plants are from my garden. I purchased one pot of mint last year and planted, so far I have separated several times and it continues to flourish. The pots were left overs from Kendall’s birthday party several years ago. Matt used his machine to come up with the cute quote which is “I am so happy you were MINT to be my teacher.” The kids used a sharpie to sign the bottom of the pots.  These are definitely my most crafty and frugal gifts so far!

Square Foot Garden 4/29/2017

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Spent most of the morning planting. We are trying so different strategies and techniques this year. First I have switched the cucumbers and the watermelon. We reduced the number of tomato plants. Next on the list of changes is to increase the number of pepper plants in addition to adding 2 new varieties.  By mistake I picked up zucchini squash this morning so I just planted. Finally, in the corn bed we are trying planting multiple corn in addition to adding a green bean plant.  I have been spacing out the planting so that hopefully our harvest will be easier to manage and a lot longer as well.

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I found a blueberry bush on clearance for $3 at Walmart this morning so I figured it was worth a shot to see if it would grow. I know it will be at least two year before it should produce anyway. Lily is most excited because she does have blueberries growing on one of the bushes we planted 18 months ago. It is a small harvest but the excitement is that we actually can eat something.

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I purchased a very small mint plant last year. Not only did it survive the winter but it has grown and grown and grown. This section I planted in the cement blocks that are surrounding out compost bin. I also have another section out front that I am trying to thin out and control.

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Lastly for now I wanted to include a picture of our future orchard. This morning as I was going to hang sheets on the line, I saw a “weed” growing in the rubber mulch of the playground. I pulled it up to discover it was actually a pecan tree. We decided to plant to watch it grow. All except one of the trees we planted in November has leaves. The easiest way to count the trees is by the red mulch surrounding, 7 small circles of mulch.

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Random Thoughts

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The weather in North Carolina is just about as random as my thoughts and updates. Yesterday, it was 83 degrees and sunny, today 52 degree with rain and wind.

  • We are currently working on fourth week with no heat or air.  I am doubtful that we will make it a full six weeks because of the forecasted temperatures for the end of the week.
  • Our electric and water bill for the month of April are both significantly lower than budget. Our water bill is most likely due to fixing the leak that has been present in the front yard for six month or so. We are also utilizing our rain barrels for planting.The electric bill is from lack of heat or air and diligence in turning off things.
  • The weather has been helpful in some ways. Because it has been so warm, I was able to begin planting a full 3 weeks soon than I expected this year. I have been very cautious but our last possible frost date is April 30th. I currently have planted 14 cucumbers, 5 yellow squash, 15 sweet peppers, 2 banana peppers, 2 jalapeno peppers, 4 broccoli, 2 cabbage. I also have planted 5 asparagus plants for the future. My oregano, mint  and rosemary all survived the winter.  The plant is to finish planting the square foot garden this coming weekend.
  • I seriously did not think our schedule could get more full, but we were unable to attend piano last week because we did not have an hour of spare time.
  • I am spending part of the day cooking ahead for the week. I am scheduled to attend a continuing education class on Friday. The following week, I am working only 2 days as Kendall has field day on Monday and Zach has one of Tuesday.
  • Summer plans are starting to come together. Currently, we are planning a trip to Michigan in June and a trip to the beach in August. Swim team and lots of pool time will also be on the schedule.
  • We are planning a yard sale in mid May. The kids are actually sorting through toys and clothes today to add to the sell pile.
  • Lily has decided to continue in charter school for the next year!  We all agree that this is the right decision!

5 Things Friday 4/14/2017

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  1.  The kids have really enjoyed Spring Break. Monday-Starbucks and Krispy Kreme Donuts. Tuesday- Zach spent the day with a friend. Wednesday- Day at the Zoo with Amanda. Thursday-Lunch at our favorite Sushi Buffet Restaurant, Friday- Celebrating Easter with Cross Walk.
  2. I did some shopping on Thursday. I used 2 printable coupons and grabbed 20 female disposable razors for free at Walmart. This should last for the summer!
  3. We purchased and planted several mosquito plants yesterday. I think I have decided to ask for a tree for Mother’s Day and not purchase any more plants. l will be purchasing vegetables for the garden.
  4. Lily has decided to attend charter school next year. She will finish her classes by the end of May
  5. We are planning a family dinner at my mothers. So I will be cooking or actually preparing crock pots most of the day tomorrow.

Sunday Shopping Secrets

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One thing is for sure, I have been doing a lot of shopping this week. I thought I would share with you some of the reason/tips I am using to shop this week.

  • Most coupons site, tell you that sale cycles are every six weeks. They are very direct in saying you need to buy only enough to last for that six week cycle. I disagree, my best example is the Quarter Back Sale at Food Lion. I have been shopping and loving this sale for at least six years with my first blogging about it here. Initially this sale ran in January and June, things have definitely changed with it only occurring once last year. So I am taking advantage of it.  I made a list of all the items I remember purchasing in the past, checked to see if we had a year’s supply of and then made my shopping list.  If the sale occurs again this year, I will only need to restock items that I am low on.  For example I did not buy onion soup mix or taco seasoning this time because I have enough for at least a year. I did purchase 12 ketchups and 10 mustards.  For this sale, I try to stock up for a year for most other sales, I plan to stock for 3 months at a time or stock depending on storage space.  When we start to get low on items I start checking for sales and usually am able to grab the items before running completely out.
  • ALWAYS scan your loyalty card and read the coupons when it is an option. This week, I received a BOGO coupon for any soda at Food Lion. The next trip I received a coupon for $1.00 off any Dole Salad. I checked the prices on salad and actually picked up a small bag for FREE. I did not need the salad and would not have purchased for free is always for me. CVS gives out different coupons to different customers but it still is nice to check out the deals. I was able to combine my coupons and a red machine coupon to purchase Easter candy.
  • My final secret is simple sounds but probably the most important one. Have a basic idea of what things cost and if you find at or below that price grab up as many items as you have coupons for or as many as you can easily store. Here are my simple rules I always use:
    • Less than a dollar usually is a great deal, except for toothpaste. This week I found 2L Diet Cokes for $0.79 this is an awesome deal, so far I have purchased 30 at this price  but am out of room to store.
    • I will only buy toothpaste when it is twenty five cents or less. Most of the time I grab the free stuff.  I always make sure to grab free toothpaste even if it is the only item I get.
    • Toilet paper should only be bought when it is less than 40 cent a roll. To figure this out simple divide the price of the package by the number of rolls.  I don’t count double rolls in this because really I am not paying by the sheet!
    • I check on SouthernSavers.com if it is listed on her site, I will consider buying just because it is at least 40% off.

 

5 Things Friday 4/7/2017

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  1. I have done lots of shopping this week. We did our monthly trip to Costco, I headed into CVS for an awesome deal on shampoo. And so far I have made four trips to Food Lion.  I actually convinced my mother to head to Food Lion tonight and helped her get a great deal on our Easter Ham and drinks.
  2. Spring is here, I am so excited to say that all my plants have survived the winter except for the mosquito bush. I will definitely be replacing it! The trees I planted in the fall have started to bloom as well.  On my kitchen sink, I have sweet potato slits growing in addition to 6 pear tomato plants!
  3. We have been officially without heat or air for the past 14 days. The temperature is suppose to drop in the thirties today. I hope this is the last cold spell and my goal is to keep the heat off as long as possible. It would help the budget if we could lower electric cost to $150 for April and $200 for May.
  4. All three of the little kids are on Spring Break next week.  Lily has decided that she is going to continue with charter school next year. So we have 7 more weeks until the summer.
  5. Kendall and Zach brought home their report cards today. Kendall has straight A and Zach has 3 in all areas except for spelling. Lily received her report card last week and has all A’s as well.  I am so proud of these kiddos!