Other than our normal stuff like eating from what we have on hand in freezers, cellar, etc., baking our bread and cooking from scratch daily, and getting books from the library rather than buying them, I'm not remembering much of note in the frugal department this month. Not that we spent money lavishly or indulged in things we wouldn't normally do, just that there seemed to be fewer bargains found this month. Or, maybe just other than bills we didn't spend much money? I mean, not spending money you don't have to is the ultimate frugal accomplishment, right?
Of note, DH did find a listing on Craigslist for a place that was having a used horse blanket sale the next day with nothing priced over $25, so he and I went to that to see if I could pick up any deals. And I did. They aren't beautiful (they've had repairs), but they're solid, and have all their necessary straps and buckles. I got one that is a heavyweight, which I don't have in Poetess's size, and one that will make a handy spare if the Poetess happens to destroy or soak her mid-weight blanket and needs another to wear while the original dries/gets mended. Best of all, they were only $20 each. If you want to know how much of a frugal win that was, just google mid-weight or heavy-weight horse turnout blankets and see how pricey they are new. I also picked up a blue square fleece cooler with ties for just $5. It has a small triangular tear which will be easy to mend.
I ordered all my garden seeds and onion starts. Of the five places I ordered from, one was having a 25% off special on all orders placed that day, another was offering free shipping with no minimum order amount, and yet another had some flower seeds I'd been thinking about for 50% off. Which ended up being a savings of about $20 total. With a good growing season, that $20 savings on seeds will compound into hundreds of dollars saved on food (that won't have to be bought at the store) in the coming year.
I don't go to the grocery store but about twice a month, and I'd been watching their weekly ads for the best time to go shop (as long as we didn't run out of milk, everything else is just restock, not totally out of it). I went when they were having a 2-day special on our favorite brand of ice cream: Buy One Get One Free! Since this ice cream is normally about $6 a carton, that's a great savings. (Note here; due to my sensitivities to a lot of things like artificial sweeteners and soy proteins as well as some other soy derived additives, there's not a lot of brands of ice cream I can safely eat. Which is why we get the pricey ice cream.) I bought four cartons, hoping that lasts us until the next time this brand goes on sale.
This is probably a good spot to mention how useful a stand alone freezer can be as a money saving tool. Without that extra freezer space, I wouldn't be able to fit four boxes of ice cream in my freezer at once!
I found the brand of wet cat food that the Yarn Thief eats on sale for $3 a box cheaper at the local farm store than it is even on Amazon, so I bought a month's worth while I was there getting horse farm stuff.
DH and I used a few tractor bucket scoops of the pine mulch we got free back in December to mulch around and in the grape arbor and the rhubarb patch. Hopefully that will work well to keep the weeds suppressed in those areas.
I was given a whole bunch of quilting fabric. My mom was approached by a lady she goes to church with, whose quilter sister had recently passed away, and asked if I would like the fabric that had belonged to the deceased sister (since apparently my mom tells people about my quilts). It is mostly largish scraps, fat quarters, some small yardage, and a huge Ziploc bag of pre-cut strips. In total, there is about three kitchen-sized trash bags full, all nicely folded and bagged with matching/complimentary fabrics together. There are some put together 4-patch blocks, and about half of the pre-cut strips are in Christmas fabrics, which are handy for making lap quilts or table runners I can quickly sew up for gifts. I've been thinking for a while that someday when life isn't so jam packed full and crazy I'd like to start making quilts for charity (such as women's shelters or infant/children's units at hospitals ), and a lot of these fabrics would be great for that since if they aren't Christmassy they are floral or child-themed designs.
What frugal things have you done or run across this month?
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