If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Frugal February #1 for lots of reasons

Hello everyone 
I plan on being more frugal than I have been in recent years and blogging about some frugal things I’m doing.  

Use What You Have - when possible- is the best way to not spend money and below are a few things I did,  using what I had.  

First, have you all heard about the tier tray decorating craze?  
I knew some people did it and then I found a Facebook group that’s all about tier trays.  And people are really serious and extravagant with tier trays.  
I’ve had a tier tray for years but never really decorated it for a season. 
So, I got out my shoe box of valentine decorations, that I  use every Valentines- and decorated my tier tray.  
I think a tier tray makes a cuter display than just having these doo dads spread out on a table. 

I didn’t buy a thing new. 
 My trays are deep so I needed some risers.  I used an extra set of measuring cups turned upside down and covered them with fabric to set the little Dreamsicle cherubs on.  

Some people buy a bunch of stuff at Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree to decorate their their trays.  But I won’t be doing that.  I think tier trays are a great way to display decorations, little sentimental things   and doo-dads I already own.  
Tier trays can be bought or they are easily homemade by stacking/glueing plates with candlesticks in between.  Look on Pinterest or Facebook if all of this is of interest to you.  

For Americans, we are in tax season.  Our finances are simple and I’ve done our taxes online pretty much since we first had access to the internet.  
The last few years I used E-file.com 
A few weeks ago they sent me a postcard with a half off code to use as a returning customer,  so I used it and saved almost $30.  
And I’m happy to say our state and federal returns have been filed and accepted.  
Having one less task to think about is a great feeling.  



I’ve been wearing press on nails for years.
Every set has 30 or so nails of various sizes and I only have 10 fingers,  so I always end up with some spare nails when I switch to a new set.  
I’ve been keeping the spares and sort them by color groups.  

So, another way I’m going to pinch a few pennies, is I plan on using up my spare nails before I buy new sets.  
I pulled out a bag of assorted dark red nails.  
That is a lot of nails!  I can’t use all of them as nails are different sizes and some are too small and some are too big.  
But I imagine there are quite a few full manicures in this bag. 

  
Last weeks manicure                                      And this weeks manicure 

Meals- I plan on using ingredients that have been hanging around in our freezer and pantry the longest and I did just that at lunch and snack time. 
Meals today 
We weren’t hungry and didn’t eat breakfast.  We just had coffee and tea.  
Lunch- I baked pork loin chops with sauerkraut and made mashed potatoes
For a snack,  I baked a spice  cake mix that was past date by 3 months.  It smelled fine so I added a teaspoon of baking powder and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon as we like lots of cinnamon.  It baked fine and tasted really good.  It will be nice to have the rest of this week.  
Supper will be the rest of the tossed salad that I made and served yesterday.  



I think almost everyone is feeling a pinch, and many are feeling lots more pain than a pinch, during this inflation cycle we are all in.  
I don’t know that anything I plan to post here is going to help anyone who is truly struggling.  
So you might want to look at the more hardcore blogs than mine.  


Husband and I both feeling much better.  Except for being a little tired,  I felt normal today.  I think he has another a day or so of healing and then he will be normal.  
Colds are not usually serious but they certainly are no fun 

❤️Rhonda 

17 comments:

  1. Very cute tier tray! I love making new things from what I have on hand. Yesterday, I switched out 2 small lamps from guest bath to kitchen and vice-versa. Looks new and different and I like the change! I am a big fan of little lamps on counters and in bathrooms.

    Like you, I filed my e-taxes yesterday. I use TaxAct.com. Have used it at least 10 years now. I filed Federal only...in Florida we do not have state tax.

    Yes, many of us are cutting back. The grocery store is a huge eye-opener. Glad I have my "what if" stash in the guest room closet---we will not starve, that's for sure! You were a big influence in that stocking up. I will probably always have that now.

    I am looking forward to your February Frugal tips....Jane

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    1. Hi Jane, I’m glad you’ve got stockpile. It’s is a good feeling, isn’t it? I wish everyone did.

      Oklahoma has lots of taxes! We even have sales tax on groceries.

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  2. I enjoy tiered trays, but don't currently have one. That's on my thrifting list to purchase if I come across one. Yours is really cute!
    I look forward to your frugal February doings!
    Technically the January pantry challenge is supposed to be over, but I got a late start, so I'm going to keep on in February. I've been pretty loose on my rules, but have spent little at the grocery store in January, mostly because I did grocery pick-up for the few things I needed. I was glad I went inside the store to shop today, though, because they had the 60-count boxes of eggs on clearance for $10. I purchased four boxes. I gave one to Jessica, and tomorrow will process most of the rest for the freezer. I'll make some quiches and breakfast sandwiches, but most will be beaten lightly and frozen in serving sizes to cook or bake with later. Not as good as your butter deal, but I was pretty happy with it.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Tammy, I wish you currently were blogging. I’d love to see your egg preservation.
      I imagine Jessica and her kiddos were happy to get eggs. I’ve fed my kids and my grands so many eggs. They used to be such a budget food.

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    2. I was just thinking about putting together a blog post for this - great minds! Lol. I didn't get to it on Friday, and was out of town from Friday evening to last night, but will take care of them today and/or tomorrow. I took this morning as some down time after the busy-ness of the past few weeks and weekends.

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  3. I have not heard of the tier tray decorating thing. Where is the group that does this? Using up those nails for good is a thrifty idea. I have never used stick-on nails, so this is all new to me. If a cake mix has not gone rancid, i, too, add leavening and use it. Glad you are feeling better.

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    1. “Tiered Tray decorating and more” is the Facebook group

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  4. Rhonda, anytime I see someone sharing how they are saving money, or using up what they have, it inspires me to do better. So always post those things for people like me, who need a push now and then :) I appreciate it!

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  5. Your nails are really lovely! There's nothing better than looking chic and put-together while being thrifty!

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    1. Thank you, I don’t know that I look too chic but my nails do look nice

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  6. I think those tiered trays are cute and useful, though I've never had one because I don't have anywhere to put it! If I put one on my kitchen counter, it would hit the bottom of the upper cabinets. And I don't have an island. I don't buy anything new for holiday decor anymore unless it's something vintage for Christmas - that type of thing I can't resist. ;-)

    I also do my own manicures, but not press-on nails...just filed and polished. I'm going through a phase where I want my nails short, so I've been keeping them trimmed down. I find my hands and nails really take a beating with all the housework, cooking and typing on my laptop I do, plus they break more easily in winter.

    Glad you and your hubby are both finally feeling better. One of my good friends has Covid for the third time (!!), so I left some homemade soup on her doorstep yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Covid 3 times? Your poor friend. I know she appreciated your soup.
      Their tier tray fanatics put them everywhere, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, front porch. Ours is in the dining room table. I’m thinking our almost teen granddaughter could use one to corral some of treasures.

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  7. Ohhh, I may have to try decorating one of my tier trays. Hmm, just have to see what I can find in my stashes for Valentines Day.

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. The tier trays are fun and I think using things you already have will be much nicer than buying stuff.
      I bet you have stuff that will work perfectly!

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