Weekly Savings & Frugal Activities

I always like saving money, and it's especially important in summer because I have no income for threee months. I always keep track of my expenses so I know how much I spend for each category in my budget. This week I saved money by


1) Cooking at home. I always cook at home mainly because then I know exactly what's in my meals.

2) Using homegrown greens and herbs. I used curry leaves, basil, green onions and spinach from my yard.

3) Making salad dressing at home. I never buy store bought salad dressing. I make a simple dressing with mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

4) Making 10 liters of laundry liquid. I follow the recipe given in Down to Earth by Rhonda Hetzel.

5) Buying a coffee table from the thrift store. I didn't have a coffee table at the previous apartment. The living room in this house is also small, so I was searching for a small coffee table. The other day  I went to a thrift store where they had a 50% discount for furniture and I found a coffee table for $26.49. It has two leaves that fold, but the mechanism is broken. I think once it's fixed and with a new coat of paint, it should look good in my small living room.

My new coffee table - another thrift store find.

6) The biggest saving came from my car insurance. The premium went down, saving me $49.50 per month. This will really help me when I try 'living on 50% of my income' challenge in September.

7) I have a severe shortage of storage space in this house. So I plan to add more shelves to the closets in the bathroom and all bedrooms. I found two 7ft ventilated wire shelves at Habitat for Humanity store, $1 per shelf. A brand new one costs about $20, so that's a good saving.

8) One of my credit cards is going to be cancelled next month because I didn't use it for years. When I checked online it had rewards points, so I requested a cash refund. It's not much, about $27 but every bit counts.

9) My frequently used credit card earns cash back on purchases and I applied $200 as a statement credit which will reduce my next credit card payment. I don't use credit cards just to receive points, but it's nice to receive  rewards for things I usually buy anyway.


10) I collected spinach and basil seeds from my plants.

Basil and Malabar spinach seeds.

It's almost the end of July and I look forward to a frugal August. I will be participating in a spending fast with several members of a simple living forum, and my goal is to spend no more than $140 on groceries in August. This will be a practice month for me when I try to live on 50% of my income in September.


What were your frugal activities in July?