The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

This week, I’m thankful: that I’m sure about my educational choice A lot of things in my life feel rather up in the air right now, but I doooo feel sure that nursing school is where I’m supposed to be. I love the medical material, and the personal side of it also speaks to my soul. Here’s a quote from one of my textbooks: One tip for practice is to cultivate the habit of reflecting on your clinical encounters each day.

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Thankful Chiquita Flowers and Plants At&T 192

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

A reader wrote me an email telling me about some family troubles, including the story of her son leaving an abusive marriage, with his little daughter in tow. At the end of her email, she said, I wonder if you could address the importance of taking care of one’s mental health especially during really hard times, specifically in frugal ways. First: I am most definitely not a licensed psychologist/therapist/anything of the sort.

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Frugal Cat Phones Kids 161

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Nursing school has such a weird schedule, you can’t exactly get into a routine. Every week is different! But I would say I’m getting into a better groove of figuring out how to work meals around our college classes and Zoe’s work schedule. What I Spent I went to Sam’s Club this week, which is good (I’m now all stocked up on some things!

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Leftovers Safeway Trader Joes Chiquita 175

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

I get this question so often, I wanted to put the answer in its own post. In short: Yes! You can freeze food in glass jars! I have done it somewhere around 8935 times, and it’s been just fine unless I’ve dropped the glass jar. Which is a me problem, not a freezing-food-in-glass-jars problem. I know we are all rather terrified of causing glass breakage…that’s a messy problem, and it also results in food waste because WHO is going to try to eat food that might have glass sh

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Food Freezers Frozen Frozen Food 182

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

This week, I am thankful: that my foot is feeling better Thanks to the prednisone, my foot is starting to approach its normal size. Yay!!! Prednisone is my new bestie. Look! My left foot has visible bones again! I know prednisone makes some people feel terrible, and the long-term effects are not good. But for five days following a yellow jacket encounter, it’s pretty fabulous.

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Thankful Shoes Kitchen Couch 182

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

1. I mowed my grass and used the leaf blower My house sits on about 2/3 acre, and luckily, my dear neighbor lets me borrow her riding mower when I need to mow. Still, it is not a job that I love, and every time I mow, I consider just hiring someone to do it for me. I may crack at some point this semester and hire someone to do my leaf removal this fall.

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Frugal Cooking Chiquita Snuggle 193

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

Many years ago, I got a little wooden chest from freecycle. I painted it white, and I put it in Zoe’s room, and then Lisey’s, and then when I moved here, I brought it along and kept it in Lisey’s room. You can see some “after” pictures of it here, in this tour of Lisey’s room at the other house. Look at the foot of the bed and you’ll see it.

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Storage Freecycle Painting Craigslist 189

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

This morning I was thinking about how thankful I am to live in a place where this hot and humid weather is a temporary experience, not a year-round or most-of-the-year experience. I’m sweaty, but at least I know some cooler air is coming eventually! This week, I am thankful: for a little flower/card drop off Reader Kim lives in my area, and she kindly dropped off flowers and a little encouraging card on my front bench this week. that I’m more on top of my game this week Now that the

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Thankful Chiquita Flowers and Plants Green And Frugal 199

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

What I Spent So I went to pull together my grocery spending for the week and I realized that it’s all quick trips to Safeway. This is better than endless nights of eating out, but definitely not as frugal as an organized trip to Aldi. I spent $63 at Safeway, spread out between an embarrassing number of trips. And I spent $20 at Chick Fil A for our final Pride and Prejudice viewing night. ?

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Safeway Toaster Ovens Toasters Leftovers 187

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

See #4 for the chair story! 1. I placed a Chewy order and used TopCashback Oddly, I’d forgotten about TopCashback for a while! In fact, it looks like the last time was October 2021. Whoops. Anyway…I needed some litter and food for Shelley and Chiquita, and Chewy’s prices for those beat the brick and mortar stores around here. So, I placed an order there but logged into TopCashback first, and now I’m getting $4.48 back on my purchase.

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Frugal Eyeglasses Arm and Hammer Ice Cream 191

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

When my dad and I picked up a load of furniture from the abandoned house, we grabbed two matching nightstands (not pictured below!) Recognize the base of my dining table? I didn’t really have a specific plan for the nightstands, but you know…a wonderfully freeing thing about starting over with very few possessions is that you can take on a, “Sure, I’ll take it!

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Painting Toaster Ovens Furniture Chiquita 202

The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

I was busy yesterday getting a whole big post done, showing you what I did with these two nightstands. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t paint either of them white. Are you proud??) Anyway, I remembered that today is Labor Day, which means that a lot of you will not be reading blog posts. Soooo, I decided to wait until Wednesday to share that post, when you all are back in your regular routines.

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Labor Day Spam Frugal Florida 194

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 30, 2023

Our two questions today are super-duper unrelated to each other. First up, the one on grief: Hi Kristen, how do you manage/ overcome the “what could’ve been/ should’ve been” thoughts and the sadness that ensues? Are you one of those people who are naturally good at it or did you learn to manage it better? If the latter is true, please share what worked (and what didn’t).

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Shoes Kids Dawn Beauty 189

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 31, 2023

After lectures today, I have four days in between classes thanks to Labor Day. I’m really glad about that because woo, I am feeling a little discombobulated after the first week, and I need to get myself organized. This week, I am thankful: that I did not get sick last week Zoe came down with Covid, but miraculously, I did not catch it. I took tons of Covid tests, but no Covid for me this go-round!

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Thankful Chiquita Painting Barbie 196

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 31, 2023

What I Spent This week was definitely one of adjustment! I’ve been out of school for the last two semesters, so I’d gotten kind of used to my carefree life. ? (Ok, well, not entirely carefree. But relatively speaking, yes.) Anyway, this week has made it clear to me that I need to change up how I do things; I need to switch up how I use weekend time, how I plan meals, and when I do household stuff.

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Toaster Ovens Wellness Fry's Salad Dressing 194

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 25, 2023

What I Spent The semester starts this coming week…sooo, by the time I do another one of these posts, I’ll officially be in school, and it’ll be September! Let’s see. I spent: $32 at Aldi $8 at Safeway $17.50 at Lidl $12 at Dominos So, $69.50 for me this week. What We Ate Saturday I’d eaten a late lunch and wasn’t hungry.

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Freezers Green And Frugal Leftovers Dominos 197

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 22, 2023

1. I got some free tools My friend Elaine, a blog reader that I met at book club, said her husband had duplicates of a lot of tools. So, she invited me over for a cup of coffee and a little tool rummaging. So now I have some small tools, more screwdrivers, and a rake and shovel! It’s not like you need a rake and a shovel every day, but there have definitely been a couple of times in the last year-plus of living here that I wished I owned them.

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Frugal Tools Free Safeway 212

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 23, 2023

So lately, either Instagram or Facebook has been dropping me some suggested videos that fall under the “restock” category. Basically, they consist of people noisily arranging food/toiletries/drinks in aesthetically-pleasing storage containers or drawers, rather than storing them in the packaging they came in. And often, they put labels on the containers, even though most of the containers are see-through.

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Video Food and Drink Chiquita Package 231

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 24, 2023

August has been sort of a tough month for me. But, as I always tell my kids (and you guys!) nothing is all good or all bad. Even in the midst of some tough stuff, I’ve been able to churn out weekly Thankful Thursday posts, full of honest things I am grateful for. It would be easy to tell myself the story, “August was a terrible month.” That would only be partially true, though.

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Thankful Chiquita Cake Flowers and Plants 130

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 21, 2023

Hello! If you like cats, you are gonna love today’s Meet a Reader post, because it’s chock full of cats. ? Danielle owns six cats, she’s left a cult, she met her husband online, and she said my posts have helped her develop a Best, Better, Good system instead of a Pass/Fail system. Here’s Danielle! 1. Tell us a little about yourself I’m 41 years old and live in the mountains of western North Carolina with my husband, Nick.

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Frugal Pets Cat Crochet 193

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 18, 2023

What I Spent The first night Carrie got here, we had BLTs for dinner (I love a person who can enjoy a BLT with me!) The day she left, we had them for lunch. The next morning, I looked at the last of the bacon and thought, “hmm, I wonder if a BLT for breakfast would be good!” And it was. So this week I ate a BLT at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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Dinner Breakfast Lunch Lunches 231

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 16, 2023

You guys, I can definitely see a difference in my chest freezer now! When I open it, there’s… extra space. YESSS. And also because I am regularly going in there and pulling stuff out for challenges, I have a better mental idea of what’s in there. Which means I used up some other random stuff in these last two weeks, aside from what I officially added to the challenge.

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Freezers Tacos Leftovers Chiquita 163

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 17, 2023

This week, I am thankful: for a fun visit with my friend Carrie She spent the weekend at my house, and we had such a fun time together. Unfortunately, we only took one picture together because we were just so busy chatting. I only remember to take this one right before I dropped her off at the airport! You can follow Carrie here. ? Carrie and I are both the opposite of night owls, and when she started yawning around 8:30/9:00, I felt very validated.

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Thankful Green And Frugal Hawaii Shoes 207

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 15, 2023

1. I’m getting $200 back on my school books My schoolbooks for this fall total $1378. (!!!!) add tax and poof, it’s $1378. That’s a lot, but many of these resources give me 24 months of access because I will be using them for all four semesters. Soooo, next semester, my book bill shouldn’t be as terrible. Since it was so high, though, I decided to take advantage of a credit card offer I got; if you spend $1500, you get $200 cash back.

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Frugal Saving Credit Cards Gift Cards 130

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 14, 2023

Hello, readers! Today we’re meeting a Texas reader who has a family habit of making interesting foods with faces. ? We can relate over here! 1. Tell us a little about yourself Hi! I’m 45 and live with my family (husband and four kids) in central Texas. Typical Texas summer weather! I stay home and homeschool/cook/manage the household, and my husband works in education.

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Texas Frugal Kids and Family Sewing 169

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 9, 2023

So, a while back I got a toaster oven from my Buy Nothing group. But I really do not have room on my countertops for a toaster oven (perhaps in my next house!). For a while, the toaster oven sat on the floor, which was not particularly convenient…we had to squat down on the floor to keep an eye on cooking progression. Then I put it on an extra chair in my dining room, which worked as a stop-gap solution.

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Toaster Ovens Toasters Ovens Buy 209

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 10, 2023

As I was writing this post, I was remembering that we started this weekly practice in 2020, when the pandemic was making it very hard to feel cheerful about life. For a million and one reasons, that time in my life was very, very challenging. But I got through it and I am thrilled to be here in 2023 instead. My life has improved by leaps and bounds.

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Thankful 2020 Chiquita Flowers and Gifts 177

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 11, 2023

What I Spent Hello there! We’re starting out with a picture of Chiquita just because she’s cute. And also because she is always right where I am. ? This week, I spent: $2 at Weis (I just needed some ibuprofen!) $73 at Aldi Sooo, $75 for me. One of my random breakfasts! What We Ate Saturday Leftover Zuppa Toscana. I like this soup because it is a meal in one; meat, veggies, and carbs!

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Old Navy Freezers Leftovers Chiquita 184

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 8, 2023

1. I got a free shoe rack I don’t have any specific shoe storage in my closet, so my shoes have just been sitting in a somewhat disorganized fashion on the floor. So when I saw someone was offering a shoe rack for free (before taking it to the dump), I said, “Oh, yes please!” The rack was pretty wobbly, so I tightened up all the screws with my screwdriver, and that improved things considerably.

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Frugal Shoes Pancakes Milk 210

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 7, 2023

Hey, everyone! Today we’re meeting a reader who lives in one of the most expensive areas of the U.S., but she’s managed to resist the siren call of lifestyle creep. We know her as Hawaii Planner in the comments, but for the purposes of a first name here, she’s going by KD. (Who, by the way, is not the same KD aka Kate from the east coast.

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Hawaii California Frugal Kids and Family 169

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 4, 2023

What I Spent This week, Zoe’s been dog-sitting for my brother’s two dogs. She’s not far away so she’s popped in and out most days, but I’ve been mainly on my own for dinner this week. One of her doggy friends I did do a shopping trip at Aldi before she left, though, so that I could send her with plenty of groceries to feed herself this week.

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Cake Dinner Safeway Freezers 174

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 3, 2023

This week, I am thankful… for my cats They’re both so cute. But one of them is significantly more bonkers on a daily basis. for kiwis from a friend One of my local blog readers came into a large quantity of golden kiwis, and she kindly dropped some off for me. So delicious! Thank you, Kim! that last summer’s snake hasn’t shown up again One of my support group friends found a snake in her basement this week, and that reminded me of the snake that visited my carport twice l

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Thankful College Health and Beauty Fans 186

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 1, 2023

1. I helped Zoe find a pair of platform Converse I knew she’d been eyeing a pair of platform Converse or Vans, and one day, a pair of platform Converse popped up on my Facebook feed, in Zoe’s exact size! These are over $80 on Amazon, and $70 at DSW , so when I saw that they were only $25 on Facebook, I let Zoe know. These had only been worn once or twice by the previous owner, which means they’re practically brand new.

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Frugal Salad Dressing Bread Discount 172

The Frugal Girl

AUGUST 2, 2023

I know, it’s been two weeks since my last freezer update. I needed an extra week to work on my last self-assigned pile of freezer food. ? Here’s how things are going with my last collection of frozen food. Bread Cubes When I have bread odds and ends, I usually cut them up into cubes and add them to a bag in my freezer. Which is a good plan but the cubes do eventually need to be used when the bag is full.

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Freezers Toaster Ovens Frozen Food Toasters 190

The Frugal Girl

JULY 31, 2023

Hello, everyone! Today we are meeting a European reader, Julie. She told me she’s a little nervous, but I assured her that you all are lovely and that things will be fine. ? Here’s Julie! 1. Tell us a little about yourself Hi! I will be 62 years old in August, and I’ve been married for 35 years with two grown up daughters aged 30 and 28.

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July Frugal Girls Cat 181

The Frugal Girl

JULY 28, 2023

What I Spent First, wanna see a super random lunch I had? I frequently make breakfast or lunch by opening my fridge, peering around, and grabbing whatever needs to be used up. Sometimes this results in a cohesive-looking meal. Other times…it doesn’t. Here’s an example! I sliced up some cabbage (I have half a head leftover from a previous recipe) and I mixed it with some leftover tzatziki sauce.

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Lunch Lunches Toaster Ovens Leftovers 178

The Frugal Girl

JULY 27, 2023

This week, I am thankful: that we are decidedly not in a drought now Our summer started off very dry, but we’ve had regular thunderstorms now for a while and the world is very green and wet here. It does make the air more humid, but hey, that’s summer here on the east coast. for the interesting fungi that resulted from the rain Yesterday I walked on a trail I hadn’t been on for a while, and whoa, there were tons of colorful and interesting fungi all around!

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Thankful Green And Frugal Flights Frugal 177