Weekly Steps Forward...and Back Sept 12 to Sept 18

As long as we take more forward than back, I'm happy...and even the baby steps count. 

Home
I rearranged L's room. It now feels more spacious with more floor space for playing and more room for his toys and books. He's happy about it.

I hung up some wall art - slowly but surely, things are getting less barren around here!

I turned down water heater temperature to save money on electricity. The water previously got scalding hot, which is not safe and just not necessary.

I made a batch of my all purpose cleaner.

I hung 3 loads laundry to dry on the clothesline instead of using the dryer.

Food



I made a Peach Crisp, a loaf of bread in the bread machine, and a batch of mini applesauce muffins. I made them mini because 2 are the perfect size to throw in a lunch box. My husband and son ate a few this week (I'm off gluten, sugar and dairy), but I froze most of them to pull out later for snacks.

I  bought a giant bag of reduced bananas for $1 at Walmart. They were ripe so I left out a couple but froze most of them for smoothie fodder. When I do this, I'm always reminded of a phrase I read in Economy Gastronomy that 'smoothies are sad fruit made happy'!

Family and Kid Stuff

 

It was a very rainy Sunday around here and we felt like doing something fun as a family. My husband, a history nerd, suggested that we visit the Diefenbunker, a 1960's nuclear bunker that served as a top-secret military base as well as where the Canadian government would decamp to if the country had been hit with a nuclear bomb if the Cold War turned hot. I wasn't entirely convinced at first that this would be a fun outing for the 3 of us, but it was really interesting. I wish we had had more time to explore but hunger struck! At 4 underground levels totally 100 000 square feet, there's a lot to explore. Above is a typical hallway as well as the War Room (which was pretty cool, replete with all the 1960's tech). 

My husband and I watched a movie that I took out from the library one evening called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It's a documentary about an 85 year old sushi chef in Japan who has dedicated his entire life to perfecting his craft. It was a thoughtful and interesting watch.


Personal

A bought a new winter coat. This purchase was a huge splurge. Huge.

So why is this in the accomplishments rather than steps back section? Well... I needed a new very warm winter coat since my old one is done (and I'm also a bit frightened of my first winter coming up in Ottawa!) and after a LOT of research -- I think I made the best choice for me. Tracking down my size also turned out to be a feat! I chose a coat by Quartz Nature. After looking at a couple of other competitors, I chose this one because it's really high quality and should last I think at least 8 years, it's a Canadian company and made in Canada, it uses sustainably sourced down, it was the only one that was waterproof, and the only one that was machine washable. Seriously, machine washable is huge. A parka costs between $80-100 to dry clean and at once per year at minimum, that adds up to whole other coat over its lifespan. Time will tell, but right now I'm happy with choice!

While I only got in 3 workouts this week (I am for 4), they were 3 good ones where I really pushed myself so I'm counting them as step forwards.

Steps Back

We are already over budget for eating out this month....way over. :(

I caved and ate ice cream and pizza -- so  much for week one of my diary, gluten-free, and refined sugar free diet!


Is there something that represents a splurge for you that paid off in the long-run? 

Weekly Steps Forward...and Back Sept. 5 to Sept 11

As long as we take more forward than back, I'm happy...and even the baby steps count.

Home

I started to set up what will be my craft/sewing area in our basement. I haven't used my sewing machine for years, but I've decided to learn how to use it again. I bought the desk (which came with the lamp!) off Kijiji for $60 and the person I bought it from delivered it! The chair is an extra solid wood one that I had that I purchased years ago for $10 and then painted white. I think I'll add some art and organizers to this area but I'll wait until I start to use it more to decide what would be best. The cabinets beside offer extra storage since we don't have tons of storage space in our new house. They are currently a mess but will hold seasonal items, kitchen tools and appliances that I only use occasionally, and overstock of pantry staples.

I did some more purging of stuff we don't need including a pair of too-small rain boots, clothes, and some outgrown toys, in all I was able to donated 1 big garbage bag.

I created a family command centre in our entryway which I will show in a post coming soon! This will hopefully help to keep us all more organized, especially with the start of the school year.

Food

I stocked up on carrots and onions at .19 a pound. We will be eating lots of these coming up!

I picked up the above cookbook at Value Village for $5. The tagline "Over 450 recipes for busy people who want to serve fast, delicious meals without spending a lot of money" was just too perfect to resist. Going through it I have found a slew of recipes that I'm excited to try.

Family and Kid Stuff

We hit up some yard sales on Saturday, we didn't have much luck but I did pick up 2 like-new board games for my board game loving boy for $4 (Scrabble Junior and Operation).

On the Sunday we went to explore Bonnechere Caves in the Ottawa Valley. It was L's first cave experience and he thought it was pretty cool (especially seeing the bats - he loves bats) although he found it a little scary at parts, and has been talking about it since.

This week was the first week of school and we were feeling a bit nervous for L, since not only was he starting a new school, but he was starting French Immersion not having done it last year so he would be a bit behind the other kids and his classes are in 100% French. However, our adaptive little man has been absolutely loving it! He has a great teacher, had made new friends, and is absolutely not fazed by the language.

Other Random Money-Saving

Went to the library, as usual, and picked up one book in particular that has been really interesting. It's called Cool Tools: A Catalogue of Possibilities. Lots of gift ideas, interesting and useful websites, and a whole list of other books I now want to read!

I did 1 swag bucks survey.

When I picked up the cook book I also picked up two cheap stuffed animals for our dog, a duck and a skunk. We have long ago stopped buying him stuffies specifically marketing to dogs for him to mock-kill. They last absolutely no longer and cost many times more. Also, I'm biased, but is he not so gosh darn cute?!

Steps Back

I went over my cell phone long distance minutes to the tune of $67! I will be looking into options for inexpensive long-distance this week now that we don't have a home phone. Ugh!

Weekly Steps Forward...and Back Aug 29 to Sept 4

As long as we take more forward than back, I'm happy...and even the baby steps count.

Home

Made some wall 'art' for our dining room. I followed this idea that I found on Pinterest. I had to purchase drywall compound as we didn't have enough and the canvas itself which I got on sale. I used a combination of paint that I already had as well as the darker green paint I picked up from someone in my local Buy Nothing group. In total I spent $20 on this project. I'm not completely happy with it, but I think it's a whole lot better than the blank expanse that was there before!

Sold a small chandelier on Kijiji for $40 that was here when we moved in. It didn't go with our stuff and we had purchased the new one in the pic above using a gift certificate we got as a housewarming gift.. Our dining room, which is the one room of our new house which is completely done, cost us a grand total of $40! The furniture was given to us by my mother-in-law when she moved and could no longer fit it, plus $20 for the wall 'art' and $20 for new curtains from a discount store. The previous owners left the curtain rod and we didn't need to repaint this room. That it cost so little makes me enjoy the space that much more in a weird way.

Bought a brand new drip coffee maker from a yard sale for $10, still unsealed. When I looked it up, this model retails for about $110 new. Score! We have used a French press for years but lately with more guests visiting and staying with us it's been a bit of a pain in the ass, as we have to make multiple pots in a row when it's more than just us to get everyone caffeinated. Also programming this one for the morning saves my husband a few precious minutes before his bike commute.

Food

Made 5 freezer meals ahead that can just be dumped in the slow cooker day of: including Chicken Curry, Honey Sesame Chicken, and Midwestern Pork Chili. I froze them in the chest freezer gifted to me by my mom when we moved as she had replaced her's with an upright and had this one sitting unplugged.

This will be very handy for evenings when L has swimming and hockey at the Rec Centre starting mid-September as those  nights will be rushed. But especially these will be a lifesaver for days when my migraines are bad. I haven't made freeze and dump kind of meals before so I'll see how it works out and then decide if I'll keep it up making batches of these on occasion.


Batch cooked 2 lbs of dry black beans in the slow cooker and froze in 15oz portions to use in future cooking.

Family and Kid Stuff
One of my husbands colleagues gave him a few pieces of hockey equipment that her children had outgrown. This gives us a head start on equipment for next year for free!

To celebrate our last day  home for the summer with just the two of us, L and I went to play mini-putt together on Friday and then grabbed ice cream cones nearby. It was some good quality time.

We've also been exploring new parks all around our new city, some for kids and some for our furry 4-legged friend. The highlight for L was this big new park with a castle, although he did complain that it wasn't as fun as he'd like. This is always a particular issue with new-build parks as they are so safe that they look a lot more fun then they are. It was still good though and we'll be back as it's only a 5 min drive from our house (thankfully we have 6 parks we've discovered also within walking distance).

Other Random Money-Saving

Hung 5 loads of laundry to dry instead of using the dryer (on our new clothesline! We're pretty excited never having had one before!)

Started using YNAB again. We totally fell off the budgeting wagon leading up to our move so we haven't kept track of our spending at all since April when all the pre-moving craziness started.

Signed up for Swagbucks. My goal is to earn enough to purchase 2 Christmas gifts. I did 3 surveys this week.

Steps Back

Kinda literally this week.

While these classic black pumps only cost me $10 at Value Village, there is no way that I need these and I can't justify them in any way. Oh well. Clothing, shoes, and food out are my weaknesses. I'm getting way better but clearly not there yet.

What did you do last week?

Accomplishments April 5 to April 11

I have been swamped with my new job! It'll be great once I get caught up and settled but right now it's the reason that I haven't posted for a couple weeks. Right now I keep fluctuated between feeling like I'm starting to get ahead and like I'm drowning. Because of the intensity at work right now, I didn't accomplish as much last week.

Made: from scratch vanilla pudding, oatmeal packs, a vegetable soup from all the leftovers bits in the fridge (it turned out especially delicious), chickpea candies, and a batch beef roast (this provided one main meal and several containers of leftover roast beef and 5 cups of beefy broth for the freezer)

We went to the zoo for free with our Public Library's Museum and Arts Pass (which explains the polar bears in this post!)\Spring has been very hesitant here but this was a beautiful day so it was great to spend most of it outside checking out the animals.

I cut open my tube of face sunscreen to get the last couple uses out, turns out that I was able to get 7 more days use out of it! I never used to cut open bottles to get the last bits but I've started recently. It not only cuts down on a little bit of money, it cuts down on our waste in a year if we're diligent about using everything.

Accomplishments Mar 8 to Mar 14

Made: a batch of all-purpose cleaner

Took out some children's books and a DVD for my husband and I (No) from the library.

Visited my parents last weekend who live 2.5 hours up north in a house in the woods. We spent some time enjoying some outdoor activities. My son got to try snowshoeing (using my childhood snowshoes!) and cross-country skiing (which he LOVED). It was fun...but I'm REALLY ready for spring to show up.

The Sunday that we were up there was Value Village's 50% off sale, so we went. The prices at the VV closest to them are a bit lower than any of the ones near us so it makes the 50% extra good. I bought some great items of spring clothing for myself (8 items, mostly higher-end, including a shirt that is identical to one I had last year that I loved but got a stain on that I couldn't remove!), two shirts for my son and a pair of dress pants for my husband. The total for all of these was less than the retail cost of one of tops I purchased.

My mother also gave me a winter jacket that she had bought for herself at a thrift store for $18  but she found a bit too small to be comfortable. It's a Rossingnol ski jacket originally retailing for over $350 and in perfect condition. My father also gave me a box of mason jars that he has been collecting for me. He's hoping it will encourage me to do more canning this year..and then share.

The biggest accomplishment of all this week was I got a new job! It's with the same organization I already work for but its a better and more challenging position that is, essentially, my ideal job. It came with a small raise and I negotiated successfully for a higher one. I have never before negotiated my salary, as with many people I think, it's something that falls outside of my comfort zone. I have been really making an effort at being more assertive lately and it's been paying off in more ways than one. With applying for and obtaining this job plus 10 minutes of negotiation I managed to increase my salary by $4500 -- worth a bit of squeamishness I think! I am so excited by this new opportunity and it will help us to move ahead with our goals of finally paying down our debt that much  more quickly.

We ordered in one night (I was stuck in a snowstorm and I was home late and came home to a massive tantrum....that's my excuse anyway!) and one other night we went out for a celebratory dinner! I don't feel guilty about that one in the least! The other nights we had tasty and frugal homemade meals including an especially inexpensive Ham Fried Rice made with leftover rice I had stashed in the freezer and leftover smoked picnic ham that I had purchased for .99 a pound and some sale frozen peas among other ingredients.

All in all...it's been an exceptionally great week!

Accomplishments Feb 15 to Feb 21

Made (other than regular meals): a batch of turkey broth (10 cups) using 1/2 turkey frame and a few odd chicken bones and whole bunch of vegetable scraps, cleaning wipes, a big batch of Breakfast Cookies (froze most of them to enjoy over the next couple months), Rice Pudding using up some leftover rice.

I also picked off the bits of meat and a few carrot bits from the broth I made and blended it with a bit of the leftover rice to make 2 meals for our dog. He was, of course, thrilled.

This week we spent a lot of our free time enjoying the outdoors including going tobogganing as a family, and going on a guided nature hike. My husband also took L to our local outdoor skating rink after work one day. Winter doesn't look as though it's planning to leave us anytime soon, so we might as well make the most of it!

I tried a new super frugal meal, a Tomato Curry, but it was a complete fail-- no one liked it one bit. Oh well! I love trying new meals, since you never know which will be a new keeper and I'm especially always looking for new quick and easy vegetarian options to add to our repertoire.

I washed out several plastic storage bags for reuse.

Picked up some new kids books from the library.

My father-in-law and his wife stopped by for a visit and brought L a great hoodie that will fit him next year as well. It's super warm as it's lined in a furry material which will be great if next winter is anything like this one!

Accomplishments Feb 8 to Feb 14

Made (other than our regular meals): 50/50 Bread, Coconut Date Balls, and a big batch of red pasta sauce. I've made several different recipes of red/spagetti sauce but this was my favorite. It comes from the book Not Your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook that I took out the previous week from the library (the author also has two fantastic blogs that I follow through Feedly: Life as Mom and Good Cheap Eats). 

We went to see a movie as a family using a leftover child ticket that we were given ages ago and two adult movie passes that my husband received for his birthday last month, so it cost us nothing. We went to see Frozen as L has been begging to go see it. He loved it and the animation was just so gorgeous that I enjoyed it too. We've been playing the soundtrack off of Youtube at home and he's been singing along while practicing writing out all the characters names. In a way it's been good literacy practice!

L has been really interested in the Olympics and we've been letting him watch a little bit each day, a bit of all the different sports. We crafted together a 'gold medal' as you can see in the picture above. We bought the blue ribbon (which came on a big spool that I'll be able to use for lots of other purposes) and used cardboard from a cracker box, a hot glue gun to make the relief, and paint that we had. My husband speaks Russian so he painting on SOCHI 2014 in both English and Russian....you know to make it authentic :) It has been a prop for lots of dramatic play this week. Above he is practicing his victory pose.

We usually spend Valentine's day in, but this year decided to go out and forget about being frugal for one night -- not only to celebrate Valentine's Day but my husband's big raise (we knew it was coming but it was great that the day finally arrived!) We went to a fantastic and very authentic Japanese restaurant.

I decided to buy L's valentines to give away at school because when I priced out several DIY options they cost about the same and of course that didn't take into account my time. He crafted a special one for his teacher however.

Accomplishments Feb1 to Feb 7

So I completely  missed posting accomplishments for last week! I was unwell and it took me a long time to catch up!

Made (besides meals): Italian Herb Bread, Peanut Butter Granola, personal sized apple crisp in the microwave to use up a blemished apple, stovetop popcorn with homemade cajun seasoning, and a batch of All-Purpose cleaner.

The good news is were well under for our food and household budget for January. The bad news is that we were over for eating out. Waaayyyy over. :(

Picked up a movie for my husband and I, some children's books, and a cookbook from the library. The movie was Brooklyn Castle and we really enjoyed it.

The above picture is of an inexpensive and easy activity that my son loved! We filled two squirt bottles that we already had with water with food coloring and he painted our abundant snow.

It was a bit of a light week for me as far as accomplishments! I'm just satisfied that I was feeling well.

Accomplishments January 18 to January 24

Made: Breadcrumb Cookies (pictured above) made from breadcrumbs from stale homemade bread that I whizzed in the food processor and stored in the freezer until I had time to turn them into cookies (recipe from Tightwad Gazette), Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes, Savory Cheese and Seed Cookies, Olive Puffs, Italian Breadsticks (froze half the dough to use this week), and buttermilk bread.

I spent the less in groceries for this week than I think ever have! I spent $42, which is about half of what I usually spend. I know there are lots of people out there who go for weeks on end without spending any money on food, but I'm proud of this amount for us for now.

I washed out some freezer bags to reuse.

It was my husband's birthday this week! I  brought home some leftovers and cake from my mother-in-law's birthday meal for my husband that we used for a pack lunch and dessert. He said he didn't want any'thing' for his birthday gift so I presented him with a list of fun but inexpensive experiences represented by a picture. He got to circle the one he wanted.

I reorganized all my craft supplies, which is an accomplishment in itself but also in the process rediscovered several items that I had completely forgotten about!

I ran some errands on Monday as I was not at work (I have every other Monday off). As usual, I combined this trip with other errands to get more done. For instance, this is how this outing worked: First, I took the dog to the neighborhood park with a frisbee and he got a good play. I walked around block and picked L up from kindergarten. We walked around the corner and I deposited some cheques at the bank. L got an explanation of how ATMs work and the dog got a treat from an employee. We walked and talked about what he did at school the couple blocks to the drug store, where I requested my prescription. We walked a couple more blocks to the library, dropped off our returns, and L picked out a couple books and a movie while I browsed a magazine and picked up a bread baking book that I had on hold. I also paid a fine :(  We walked back the way we came, stopping to look at the fire trucks at the station and picking up my prescription at the drug store. We then picked up some celery at the little fruit and veg shop. They also sell lovely flowers and  L chose which he thought were the prettiest, although we didn't get any. I timed it so we came home at the same time my husband got home from work and he read L his new books while I made supper.

This is what I love about living in a highly walk-able neighborhood, rather than a chore, these outings are a pleasure and a way to fit in some outdoor exercise (even when it's -4 F, which it was that day!).

This week's flops: I accidentally spilled bleach on one of my son's nice shirts. I had a bad week of migraines and ended up getting take-out on one evening (and then felt guilty about it of course)

How do you make errands enjoyable?

Accomplishments January 11 to January 17

Made: Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins (using the pumpkin puree that I made here with free pie pumpkins), Buttermilk Biscuits, batch of black beans (I cook pounds of dried beans at a time in the slow cooker, which is 8 15oz equivalents), Chocolate Ricotta Mousse, cleaning wipes and homemade 'shout'.

I still had my cold sore this week :( I resisted the urge to purchase over the counter cold sore medicine even though I really really wanted to, because it was on sale for $13.99 (!) and that just really isn't worth it for something that only makes it go away SLIGHTLY faster. I couldn't justify it.

I 'made' new art for the bathroom by printing out an image on larger format printer from Graphic Fairy of an octopus and putting it an existing frame. I just used Word to size it to 11x14 and printed it on regular printer paper.

My husband trimmed the back of my hair. Getting our hair professionally cut isn't something that we are willing to give up completely (it's the one thing I wear every day after all!) but this little trim means I can put it off longer. In my spendthrift days I used to spend over $200 a pop to get my hair cut and colored at a high end salon (it was just for looks, I don't have any grey hair yet...although I likely will find some later now that I've said that). I haven't colored my hair in over 5 years and my husband and I now get our hair cut by students at a very good salon school. I still get compliments and now my hair costs me $36 instead of $200. I know free sure beats that but we can afford this arrangement and I'm happy with it.

Checked out some cook books and children's books from the library.

One the weekend we went to one of our favorite areas of our city, Kensington Market. My mother-in-law came as well. It was a pleasant outing as I picked up some dried bulk herbs, some coffee, and I bought corn tortillas from a latin grocery store. They were 3 dozen for $3 which is an incredible savings over the grocery store where I can get them on sale at 10 for $2. 

At the market my mother-in-law bought L a blood orange because he liked the way it looked. He found it too tart but I ate it and used the peel to make Citrus Vinegar for cleaning. It turned the vinegar the most beautiful color!

My husband and I watched an episode of Game of Thrones on Project Free TV.

I got pork loin on sale for .99 per pound. I bought to for a total of 11 pounds. I cut 3 pounds of a marbled end into stew meat, the other marbled end into a 3lb roast, and cut the remaining nice loin pieces into chops (I ended up getting 11 thick cut chops). Thick cut pork chops (or any pork chops) are much  more expensive per pound than whole pork loin so doing it this way is much more economical and takes almost no time. If you haven't done this before, here's a little video tutorial.

If you eat meat, do you do any of your own 'butchering' to save on the cost?

Accomplishments Jan 4 to Jan 10

The holidays were just so hectic, I found myself unable to carve out the time to post (although I still kept track of my accomplishments in the tiny notebook that I carry around in my purse).



This week was pretty awful.

I received some very difficult medical news and have a tough decision to make in the next week. To top it off, we have some other stressful family issues we are dealing with this week, I had three migraines (one of which was severe), and a cold sore was the icing on the cake (I have only had one cold sore in my life and it was 15 years ago. Ugh)

However, there were some bright spots in the week for sure and some successes, both frugal and otherwise.

Made: Leek and Potato Soup (using up unexpected leftover leeks from another recipe and leftover bacon), 12 cups of turkey broth made with bones and vegetable scraps saved in the freezer, 50/50 bread, oatmeal packs, Honey Tahini Balls (like these but made with tahini to make nut-free for school), ranch dip, and All-Purpose Cleaner.

My parents visited us after the holidays (we were away in Florida for most of them, which was so lovely) and my mother left behind a couple bags worth of food that we enjoyed this week and beyond including: baked goods, juice, cheese, crackers, kielbasa, and popcorn).

Made some changes to one of our staple soup recipes to adapt it to the slow cooker, and it tasted every bit as good as the more laborious version. L has swim class again on Thursday evenings so our meal that night needs to be super-quick as he really wants both of us to be there if possible.

I picked up some new Christmas lights to replace our dead ones for 70% off at Target as well as some wrapping paper. I picked up a couple wrapping paper rolls that are not at all very Christmas-y and can also be used for birthdays and other occasions.

We went tobogganing on a nice snowy day with all of us (including the dog who had great fun but also seemed to think we were ridiculous).

Listened to music on Songza and watched some episodes from Season 4 of Game of Thrones on Project Free TV.

I washed out a couple of freezer bags to reuse and hung a couple of loads of laundry to air-dry. We limited ALL of our laundry doing this week to off-peak hours (which tends to be tricky for us and still get it all done)

Started taking the stairs every time at work. It's only 3 floors but given the nature of my job I have to do it many times a day. I have also started exercising at home again. However, I need to figure out some ways to get more cardio into my life without sacrificing a lot of time or money which I don't have. It's easier when it's not winter and running and biking are option.

So I guess despite everything, this week was ok
(ok is as far as I'll go however!)

What do you try to focus on during especially stressful weeks?

Accomplishments Nov 24 - Dec 1

This week I accomplished less than on a typical week, but considering that not only did I have a very busy week at work, but I also had surgery on Friday, I feel good that I accomplished anything at all.

The day after my surgery while my husband took L to a watch a hockey game. I mostly rested but managed to make the above DIY advent forest. It's not perfect, but L was very excited about it and it's not bad for crafting under the influence of painkillers!

This week I made (in addition to meals): cleaning wipes, a batch of enchilada sauce, Bacon Bean Chowder (using leftover frozen baked beans), and turkey broth (using a carcass and vegetable and herb scraps), and oatmeal packs.

I picked the bits of leftover meat from the turkey bones after I made broth and blended it with some leftover rice and some cooked carrots from making the broth to make 2 dog meals.

I washed out a plastic freezer bag.

We hung 2 loads of laundry rather than using the dryer.

I used clementine peels to make citrus vinegar for cleaning. (Will be ready in 2 weeks)

I finally ordered some prints online that I've been meaning to for ages! I will use these to update our hall display.

I got some reading done. I don't read nearly as much as I would like to -- I just find that I don't have enough time.

I got an amazing deal on white sugar at .26 per pound. That's by far the least expensive I've ever seen it here, so I stocked up.

My husband and I opened a new credit card. He did a balance transfer from his old one (which he'll be cancelling) to take advantage of 6 months of nominal interest. We are aiming to get the balance paid off in that time. As well, this card is no fee and we earn $ towards free groceries with it, so when we do need to use it -- RESPONSIBLY-- that's a benefit. This is one little step in our debt repayment plan.

Accomplishments Nov 17 to Nov 23

This week was a terrible week health-wise. L and I both had some sort of stomach bug and I really suffered from my migraines (still am). My work life has been really overwhelming this last week as well as I have been tasked with some new major work, which is impacting my role and I need to reevaluate how to manage my time. It's actually these kinds of weeks, where I just feel like staying in bed, where keeping track of small accomplishments feels rewarding. It feels like I didn't do a lot but when I look back, it's nothing to sneeze at!

Made (other than meals): Pumpkin Cranberry Breakfast Biscuits, Italian Vinaigrette, pound cake, 50/50 bread

On Sunday we at supper at my mother-in-law's. She always gives us the leftovers and we bought home leftover lasagna, brownies, and 3 frozen portions of a lentil dish to bring for our lunches.

We brought out our resident Elf on the Shelf, Sunny, after the Santa Clause parade. So far we haven't forgotten to move him once which is a huge improvement on last year when L decided his elf must be lazy!

I purchased a new wallet. I had glued mine back together which allowed me to get several more months of use out of it but it was time. I re-purposed the old one as a toy for L. We filled it with old cards and play money and played 'customer at the store'.

Our microwave developed rust on the inside on the bottom, which is a fire hazard! We purchased a 'new' one of Kijiji for $25 from someone 2 streets over. It works great and is nicer than our old one.

I've done a fair amount of Christmas shopping so far and as of yet have bought everything at a discount and am so far on budget. I have pledged to spend less than half of what we spent last year (which was way too much!) and to spend nothing on wrapping. I'm going to use up what I have already and re-purpose things I find.

I made a crockpot freezer meal for next week as I'm having surgery. I plan to make another before my surgery on Friday so there's easy food ready to cook.

I dropped a carton of eggs as I was bringing it home, breaking 10 of 12. They needed to be used right away if I wanted to salvage them, so I used one in my 50/50 bread, used 6 to make the pictured pound cake, and my husband used 3 to make an omelet for his lunch. I changed my kitchen plans that day but I'm glad I was able to not waste them

Flops this week: On a evening when I was feeling especially craptastic, my husband ordered takeout pizza, which would be fine, but we're over our eating out budget this month (oh well), also I threw out some grapes we wasted. They were delicious but were seeded and turns out my husband hates grapes with seeds (you'd think I'd know that....) and I didn't make enough of an effort to use them up in creative ways so they went into the bin.

What do you do to stay motivated on the tough weeks?

Accomplishments Nov 10-Nov17

This week I made: batch cooked dry navy beans, Pear and Cranberry crisp, bread, and Bread Crumb Cookies

I divide L's toys into thirds. I third is favourite toys, and then 2 other batches. Only one of the non-favourite toys batches are out at a time and the other is in storage. I've been meaning to flip them for awhile and finally got to it this week. L was excited! It's like getting all new toys because he's largely forgotten about them by the time they reappear.

I cooked a turkey I got on sale inexpensively last month (Canadian Thanksgiving) and froze all the meat for later use.

Found L a nice winter coat in a bigger size (he's outgrown his last year's one, but not the pants) at Value Village and used a 30% off coupon to purchase it.

I also bought my first Christmas gift of the season at Value Village. It cost me $3.15.

I worked on a wall art project.

We went to the science centre as a family for free! We a free MAP (Museum and Art) pass that I picked up from the Toronto Public Library. It would normally be $60 so this was so awesome.

Flops:

I forgot my packed breakfast and lunch beside the door on my way out to work one day and had to purchase food.

I had to take out dog to the vet. He was limping so much he could barely walk. He has either a growth or an infection in his foot (test results in next week) but it's likely an infection and he is on antiobiotics and we're waiting to see if it improves. Sooooo expensive, ugh. I love our pets but not the vet bills -- the cost always seems so inflated. Fingers crossed he gets better soon!

Accomplishments Nov 3 to Nov 9

Here we go again...let's see if it sticks this time!

I'm now calling these posts 'Accomplishments' instead of 'Frugal Accomplishments' as cutting our expenses, while it remains a big focus right now, is only a small part of what counts towards making each week a success. I had a couple extra days off work this week because I needed to use up some vacay time (yay!) and so I was able to get quite a lot done.

Made from scratch: pumpkin parmesan soup, whole wheat pumpkin pancakes, hot chocolate, savory bread bake (using up leftover stale bread), gingerbread loaf, salmon cakes, pumpkin puree, roasted pumpkin seeds

We are on a big simplifying kick at the moment and are trying to pare down our belongs to only things that we need, are really useful, or we love. To that end, we loaded up the car and dropped off donations at Value Village this weekend. They were having a promotion for Super Savers club members (i.e. me!) for 30% off coupon on anything you purchase if you make a donation. Because our donation was large, they gave us two coupons. I purchased some long-sleeve t-shirts which were on my need list and a sweater for myself, a muffin pan to replace one that is overdue to be retired, as well as a large framed canvas.

The canvas is for a DIY project that I'll post about once I'm done. Stay tuned!

I could not combine coupons but I have more stuff to sort and get rid of and so I'll  likely be able to drop off and use the coupon before it expires. There are still a couple of items on my needs list hat I'm hoping I'll be able to find as thrift items.

We spent some quality family time going leisure skating at a rink nearby on Sunday for an inexpensive outing.

When we were going to the rink, we passed a house that had put our their perfectly good pie pumpkins on the curb for garbage-- now that they were finished using them for decor. I popped them in a bag and brought them home. (the 4th pumpkin in the picture is one L brought home from a farm field trip)

I purged L's closet, getting rid of about a quarter of the stuff in there and organizing what is in there so it's easier to access and use.

While I was cleaning out the closet, I found a few mismatched too-small socks. I used two of them to make simple but appreciated cat toys for our two kitties. I just added a tablespoon or so of catnip into the feet and tightly tied the tops in a knot (tip: filling without getting catnip all over the counter is easiest if you put the sock in a jar and roll the top over the edge - I discovered this by making a mess all over the countertop with the first one).

I started reading The Complete Tightwad Gazette, which I took out from the library (I also picked up several books for L).

I made homemade carpet deodorizer (will post recipe soon!) and used on the rugs.

Flops: delivery pizza, wasted pancake batter (I should have made them and froze them to eat later), L broke a wooden chair (thankfully wasn't hurt at all),

What did you do that you count as a success from last week?

Frugal Accomplishments July 14 to July 20

So life got away from me, as it tends to do (organization is definitely a work in progress, like everything else), and so it's been awhile since I've posted. I'm still however keeping track of the things I am doing each week to save money. We started this journey to manage our money better with the goal of paying down our debts and adding to our savings. This week, one more debt (the second since we started in February) has been eliminated! I feel now like were really making progress even though at first it seemed so daunting.

 My DIY'ed Totoro Party invitations

This week...

I made instead of bought: bread, Mango-Orange popsicles, and French vinaigrette.

L decided that he wanted a party based on My Neighbour Totoro, his current favorite movie. While most of the other kids won't likely be familiar with a Japanese movie from the 80's, it's going to be a fun theme to work with! I DIY'ed these Toroto invitations using this template, MS Paint, and printing them on cardstock from the craft store at home. I think they turned out really well! We are also having his party at home this year to save money, although it will be a bit of a tight squeeze.

This week, L went to his new swim class. Our city-run classes at the nearby community centre are extremely competitive to get into and I was unable to get him a spot of spring or summer, which was unfortunate, because not only is it something he really enjoys, swimming is such a valuable skill. I lucked out on a Groupon deal for a month of one-on-one lessons walking distance from our place. The original cost of these lessons would be $175 and with the deal it cost us $49!

I ordered contacts online as I usually do. I'm lucky in that I can claim the amount under my work health spending account, however tax and shipping are not covered so it costs me $20. I did a 90 second internet search and found a code that gave me free shipping, which means I only had to pay $10.

I ran out of toilet bowl cleaner last week and instead of buying more, I'm just using baking soda and vinegar.

My mother-in-law is moving and she found some old books that belonged to my husband and his sisters when they were kids and passed them on for L to enjoy. She used to buy them all the Caldecott award winners, so there were some great books in the bag.

Frugal Accomplishments June 2 to June 8

This week I ...

Made instead of bought: Strawberry Mango Popsicles and Rosemary Bread.

Hung clothes on a rack to dry.

Harvested lettuce from my 'garden' (aka a couple pots on my tiny patio)

Spent the weekend doing inexpensive outings, including lots of time at the park and on the trails as well as at the library (I LOVE the library) where I took out a movie for me, one for L, kids books centered around current interests (namely space and tortoises), and a cook book.

Continued to use up hotel toiletries instead of opening new full bottles.

I got my hair cut by a student at a salon academy.

How did you do?

Frugal Accomplishments May 26 to June 1

This week I didn't do as many things that were especially frugal.

I made a yummy dessert for 6 (pictured above) for $2.15 total. It was Caramelized Pineapple with French Vanilla Ice Cream. Very basic but tasty. A new premium ice cream was selling for $1/pint in order to promote it and pineapples were on sale for $1 as well. Butter and brown sugar I had.

We used up some of our many leftover hotel toiletries this week (shampoo, body wash, and lotion).

My husband was down to only one pair of shorts. I got him a pair of J. Crew shorts for 7.99.

I made:  DIY instant oatmeal packets in two flavours -- Cinnamon & Brown Sugar and Cardamom Apricot with Almonds.

I wore an outfit this past Friday that cost me a grand total of $2.50!

Unfortunately my workplace experienced a significant flood this past Wednesday. The store on site had a lot of toys that had damaged packaging. I was given 2 Green Toys brand toys that were about to be thrown out, a dump truck and a submarine for the bath. I thoroughly cleaned and disinfected them, which was easy since they're plastic.

For May we were significantly under budget for food and household spending. HOWEVER, we were WAY over budget for eating out. We treated my mother-in-law to two meals out so that had a lot to do with it. It about evens out and means that we stayed on budget this past month.

How about you?

Frugal Accomplishments May 19 to May 25

our 'new' sofa

This week I wasn't so much frugal as very lucky!

This week of great luck started out with a Community Clothing Swap where I had very good success. Swaps are such a fantastic idea. I took in some of our items that don't fit us well anymore and some that I find myself just never wearing and in exchange scored: 3 shirts and a pair of pj pants for L, a pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans (which I need to get taken up but are otherwise perfect), a summer skirt, and three summer tops for myself. So 9 free and really nice pieces of clothing.

The week ended with the mother (in-law) lode of luck. My mother-in-law is moving this summer from a house to a much smaller townhouse and needed to re-home much of her furniture. She offered us lots of her very nice furniture (she has great taste) for free, we just had to move it-- which is what we did this Saturday. She could have easily sold all of it and I am so appreciative of the fact that she just gave all these items to us. We picked up: a sofa (pictured above), a solid oak dining table and 6 chairs, an 11x8 ft wool rug (now in our room, framing our bed), and a solid oak armoire made by my husband's grandfather. We sold our old furniture which wasn't nearly so nice and used the money to cover the cost of renting a moving truck and we're going to use some of the surplus to purchase a new shoe cabinet (I find it impossible to currently keep our entrance tidy) and the last extra money to put towards debt.

Made instead of bought: wipes, chicken broth. I made the chicken broth from leftover bones and vegetable scraps that I collect in the freezer in a gallon bag  until it's full.

When we went to a baseball game, we were give a card for .5 cent off every liter of gas for 50 liters.

I made several very economical meals, including: Tomato and Lentil Soup served with Pita and Hummus and Ham and Brocolli Pasta Toss (made with the last bit of Easter ham left in the freezer).

 That's it for this week, what about you?

Frugal Accomplishments May 12 to May 18

I went thrift shopping a Value Village for their 50% off sale, because I have one of their Super Savers cards, we were able to beat the crowds and the deal a day early. I really usually only go once every couple of months, but I've been Spring purging at home so have had lots to drop off, so I end up exchanging those items for things that are more useful to us right now. Above is a game I bought for L for 1.99 that he's been playing ALL WEEK. It's a well-made knock-off of Hungry Hungry Hippos (but with frogs). I also got 2 pairs of shorts for him and some summer tops and a dress for myself, all for very very little money.

Made instead of bought: vinaigrette and brownies.

We used a movie pass for two that I was gifted as a thank you after doing someone a favour to go see a movie as a family, so it only cost us $8 (just for one child) for us all to go.

I got some great grocery deals this week like tissues for the best price I've ever found and strawberries. I stocked up on strawberries and froze some whole for smoothies and baking and I also froze some as strawberry coulis to use over greek yogurt, lemon pound cake, or ice cream for dessert or pancakes or waffles for breakfast.

For the first time ever I picked up some produce from from the reduced rack. I had always been too embarrassed to even look at what was there. However, I got a bunch of bananas that were almost ripe for very very cheap. While the ones in the store were bright green, these were ready to eat in a day. I always thought that the reduced food would be nearly rotting -- but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the bananas I bought. We ate them before they were past their prime, but if we hadn't, we could have just thrown them in the freezer to use later in smoothies and baking.

So that's about it for me, what did you do this week to save money?