Both December and January had more than usual expenses. The cold weather brought higher electric bills. There was also auto insurance renewal. I also found hurricane shutters at the Habitat for Humanity store. I was searching for used shutters, so I bought the entire stack for $300. I saved over $500 by buying used ones. Still it's not enough to cover all the windows, so I will keep looking for more shutters. I also need to buy the hardware to install the shutters.
After two not so frugal months, I am aiming for a more frugal February.
After two not so frugal months, I am aiming for a more frugal February.
To keep the expenses low I decided to use more items from the stockpile when preparing meals. I don't have a large stockpile, but it's time to use up older items and refresh the stockpile. I also have freezer meals to use up. This weekend I bought fresh produce from a small vegetable stall. Several onions, a punnet of strawberries, two eggplants, several tomatoes and two cucumbers- all for $8.36. I had mozzarella cheese in the fridge, so I made an eggplant dish with tomato sauce and mozzarella.
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The greens are growing well in the garden. I often make a simple sautéed dish from broccoli leaves, mustard leaves, kale and radish leaves. This morning I picked daikon radish. This is the first time I grew radish and it was so exciting to pull the first radish from the pot.
I sliced them thinly, added chopped radish leaves and sautéed in coconut oil, with salt, turmeric powder and a dash of red chili pepper flakes.
After making a loaf of bread and cooking enough food for the work week, I made several bottles of vegetable juice. I use pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, prunes and flaxseed oil in every batch, and vary vegetables. This batch has kale from the garden, carrot, beetroot, ginger and lemon juice.
I also mended the hem of a pair of pants. I have a hard time finding good black pants that fit me, so I have to keep these in good condition as long as possible.
No matter how frugal I want to be, I'm addicted to books. I found this book at a used bookstore. It's $4. There are twenty sewing projects, including instructions for making two types of aprons and a cover for the ironing board. My ironing board badly needs a new cover, so I'll give this a try.
I am running low on rice and oats, so I have to go to the store soon. I can wait until the weekend and I will buy items for the stockpile only if they are on sale.
My short term goals are going well. I will continue to do yoga once a week. I still have to make curtains for the living room windows and finish living room flooring. It needs only grouting, so it shouldn't take more than a day. I was able to finish tiling just before moving in, but didn't have time to grout the living room. Hopefully it will be done this month.
Do you have any special plans for February?
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Nil
HI Nil, I've never eaten the radish leaves! Now I'm curious as to their taste. We love beet tops, kale, spinach, etc. so will be looking forward to them. Also, glad you found the storm windows/shutters. That should be a huge comfort during hurricane season.
ReplyDeleteLady Locust, daikon leaves have a hint of bitterness, but it's really tasty. At least for me, because I like anything bitter. :)
DeleteYour food always looks so appetising and very healthy, good to rotate the stores.
ReplyDeleteWinter months are always more expensive aren't they, having the shutters will keep more warmth in and will save money in the long run.
Yes Marlene, my January electric bill is three times higher. Fortunately it's not very cold now, so I don't have to use the heater.
DeleteGot to love an op shop book! Great work with the vegetables too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Earthmotherwithin. :)
DeleteOh I do so love eggplant. Dear Husband and I don't eat it often enough in my opinion. Your eggplant dish looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI'm always happy to see someone taking out a needle and thread. I think too many people either don't know how to perform basic sewing skills, or they don't bother and just throw away a piece of clothing rather than mend it.
I remember you said that you had served eggplant at you wedding. That tells me how much you love it. :)
DeleteYour eggplant dish looks delicious. It's just my kind of favourite food.
ReplyDeleteOur utilities are quite high at the moment, but we are fortunate in that we pay an even amount throughout the year so it all works out. X
I don't think we have a system like you do, so we can pay the same amount throughout the year. I wish we had. The electric bill tripled in January. On average my bills are much lower though, so things will settle down as the weather cools down. :)
DeleteThat book looks fantastic. I need to replace my ironing board cover, too. I have a little one that sits on the table. I buoght it at The Salvation Army. Glad to hear you found some hurricane shutters. One of my goals was to make more soap in February. I now have two batches curing. I also wanted to list a pink baby blanket that I knit all last month. I just got that done yesterday. Now I am mending two hand knit sweaters that I made five years ago. It feels good. The yarn is very nice, so they should last forever.
ReplyDeleteYour soaps are always lovely, Stephenie. I saw your knitting on the Homemakers forum. Beautiful as always.
DeleteI am addicted to books too, Nil. I always have a pile of them to read near toppling over on my bedside table. I borrow a lot from the local library but I will buy the odd one now and again (I used to buy books all the time). It's good that you saved some money on your shutters too. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteHa ha, same here Meg. I also have a 'to-read' pile. The thing is no matter how many books I have in that pile, I keep buying & borrowing more. :)
DeleteI saw a daikon radish for the first time the other day. I was thinking of making some kimchi and adding the radish but instead I bought some kimchi from an Asian shop. It tasted dreadful and I threw it out as nobody liked it as it had fish sauce in it. LOL! I should have just made my own.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I also don't like daikon kimchi, with or without fish sauce. When I ate a piece of raw daikon, I had to spit it out because it was too strong. I think sautéing changes the flavor a lot.
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