This last week has been an exercise in not going to the store. I finally did some grocery shopping at Aldi’s Thursday when Jordan went to see the oral surgeon. I knew our gas budget would be higher due to the driving to work, doctors, and meetings so I tried not to buy anything. I did break down on Saturday and go shopping due to the fact we needed cat food, blades for the reciprocating saw, and a few grocery items. I also treated the kids with a little snack on Saturday after swimming.

Not a bad week!

Right now, we are having a debate at our house and now I will have to do a cost analysis. I dislike cost analysis. I started Saturday morning with making beef broth for the first time. After researching many recipes, I decided on one that takes 12-72 hours of simmering for a good broth. I will always maintain that some things will have to be sacrificed for health benefits and for the from scratch lifestyle. Rob does not bother me much in this area, but this time he did. He was at my house for the weekend and noticed it continually simmering. He asked how long it was suppose to be on the stove. He thought the cost of buying it at the store outweighed the making it at home due to the cost of electricity since I have an electric stove. I countered back with my usual argument that this was far healthier and I knew what was in this broth unlike the store-bought broth which contains a lot of unnecessary junk. Also, I got the soup bones for free from the meat locker. He still wasn’t convinced. 

Sometimes the healthy, from scratch lifestyle butts heads with the frugal lifestyle. That is when you have to do the cost analysis which hopefully I will have done in a few days.

Also, in other news, Rob paid off his semi!!! The last payment was paid on Saturday! Woohoo! That will be a $1000 he has back in his budget. Now we just have to think a lot of good thoughts for no break downs!

So now for the frugal activities of the week:

1. I fixed a hole in Rob’s shirt for him. Otherwise it was going to lose its sleeves which is okay too, but the shirt was too nice yet for that to happen!

2. I dehydrated strawberries and bananas this week.

3. I canned 7 quarts and froze 6 cups of beef broth this week.

4. No eating out except one trip for Jordan and I to Cherry Berry. I should feel bad, but that place is the bomb!

5. We repaired the tires on Paige’s bike ourselves. I also got the self-sealing tubes on clearance from the store.

6. I used a local insurance agency to get a cheaper premium on my car and home insurance. If all goes well, I will see a cut of $75 a month in our car insurance. Yeah!!!

7. With the girls working at camp, we have been saving money on gas. I love that! Now, if I could convince Shali to leave her car at home when she goes to college, I could save that much more money!

8. I have been going through my pantry and food storage to use up food that is about to expire. We have been eating better than normal, but that is okay!

9. I have been using the grill a lot more since it is hot out instead of turning on the oven. On Saturday, I made chicken enchiladas and put them in foil pans to cook on the grill. Worked perfectly and I was able to wash the foil pans so I can reuse them.

10. I used sticks from around the yard and some twine I had on hand to stake my bell peppers. They were getting a little wind blown and need some support.

11. We had adult time at home this week instead of going out. We lit the fire pit and had some good friends come over for conversation and drinks. We had a wonderful time!

That was all for this week although I feel like I am forgetting some things!

Thanks for reading!
Erica

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