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?

Grocery List Template

I'm continuously making efforts to get my life more organized, but grocery shopping is something I've nailed. I've always shopped with a list, but it was just a scribbly jumbled thing and inevitably I would get home and discover that I forgot 5 items and then would waste time and money going out to a shop to pick those things up. Enter the spreadsheet!

This template follows the general order of most grocery stores. As you complete one section of the store you can fold that part under to make it more visually streamlined. I often do this and I find that it's helpful. Also, sometimes I have a trip to two stores planned or am picking things up at the Farmers Market (I only go to two stores if one store lies along a route I'd be taking anyway that week). In that case I'll highlight items in two colors so it  becomes two lists in one. I post mine on the fridge for us to add things that we run low and then as I do my meal planning for the week (more on meal planning soon!) I fill out the rest.

Download my grocery list template here!




This simple list has saved me loads of time that I can then spend doing more interesting things than grocery shopping. It means I rarely have to backtrack in the store and I need to make less trips elsewhere to pick up items I didn't get.

The template prints two lists per sheet. Print on paper that's already used on side to make it more eco and budget friendly!

I hope someone else finds this template as useful as Ido.

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?

DIY: Poster to Canvas Wall Art

I was cleaning out a cupboard that had evaded any sort of de-cluttering for a very long time (I'm currently on a big purging kick), and I found a map of the world that had been a free pull-out from a National Geographic a few years ago.

I had been trying to think of something to use an old canvas for to put on L's bedroom wall, so it seemed like it could be a perfect match. This project cost me absolutely nothing as I used all things I already had around. However, even if you were purchasing all the materials, it would still be very inexpensive.

What you need:

- Mod Podge
- brush
- poster
- stretched canvas
- paint of choice (optional)
- spray sealer (I used this one because that's what I had)

How to:

1. Prep your canvas. For mine this meant painting it with leftover paint, however if you'd prefer to leave it white or if your poster is an exact fit, skip this step.

2. Working very quickly, use a brush to coat surface of canvas in mod podge. Wet your poster well. This is the important step when working with paper. Apply poster to canvas and position. Once positioned don't move it around but use your hands or a roller to smooth out air bubbles. Don't stress too much though, they'll get better as it dries and it's impossible to get it absolutely perfect. Allow to dry fully.

3. Brush over entire surface one or more layers of mod podge.

4. Let dry then spray surface with spray sealer.

5. Hang!