Dairy Queen Free Oreo Frappe Sept 6th 2-5 PM

Call and make sure it is being offered by your local DQ! http://fox8.com/2016/09/06/dairy-queen-giving-away-free-oreo-frappes-today/

Making Spaghetti Sauce

I have a fairly large garden and I grew quite a few tomatoes. I started these from seed inside my house in a little greenhouse I have. (It is about 3x4 feet and tall with a number of shelves.) I usually buy seeds on clearance for .10 a packet and freeze them until the next year, so my starts cost me next to nothing. I did buy some special greenhouse starter soil this year for starting some other vegetables with no luck. Putting seeds right in the ground, except for tomatoes I have found usually works best.

Here are some of my tomatoes from the garden. I don't peel my tomatoes before cooking them down. That's too much like work! I wash them and cut them into chunks and put them into a large pot. I have a metal processor that is hand worked to squeeze out the pulp.

Here is my makeshift summer kitchen. I can cook the tomatoes or whatever else I have down without heating up the kitchen. This small cooker cost about $40.00 and my husband bought the propane tank on Craigslist used but I am not sure what he paid for it. It cost me $17.00 to fill it up with propane.

 Here is a good shot of the tomatoes. I added olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, dried celery and Parmesan. I added what looked like the right amounts. Sorry, no recipe! My daughter asked me to also add some store bought sauce to stretch this since homegrown tomatoes taste SO much better than store bought. I bought this lovely pot at a garage sale for .50. It radiates heat evenly so no burning!

Out of this pot, I got these four packages. These are about equivalent to a little more than a jar of store bought sauce each. It takes a LOT of tomatoes to make a little sauce.

Growing your own doesn't always save much money, but the quality and taste is very good and it is a very satisfying process if you like this as a hobby.

Happy Savings!

$10.00 Eye Exams! Expires 9/17/16

Visionworks is having a special on eye exams for only $10.00 per exam!! That is an amazing price! Here is a link to a coupon. Only valid in certain areas and it expires on 9/17/16.

https://www.visionworks.com/couponDetail?storePromotionId=1400011&gclid=CjwKEAjw3Nq9BRCw8OD6s4eI5HASJABsfCIaPhml9Rn1bmdi87gtq2upOBXPTNFRsjgG4NWYWUeSmhoCU5bw_wcB

Happy Savings!

Save on School Supplies!

Now is the time of the year to stock up on school supplies for the whole year! Many stores have great deals on school supplies right now, just to get you through the door. If you take advantage of these deals now, later on in the year when you need something, you will have it already in stock. You won't have to make a special trip to the store or pay a higher price not to mention you will get good deals on what you need right now for school.

It can be hard when you have back to school clothing and everything else to buy to stock up. However, once you get the ball rolling, after the first year of this, you will rarely need to pay full price for any school supplies! Take advantage of different store deals (keeping in mind the gas you will spend. of course), rebates and whatever else you can find and then keep a special drawer full of supplies. When your son or daughter says they need some colored pencils, for class, you will have them handy and will save both time and money, as they will already be there! No special trips to the store and no full price for the items!

Happy Savings!

Dehydrating Foods

When we were camping, I found these amazing Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms! (Take care if you don't know anything about mushrooms! Some are poisonous!) Chicken of the Woods mushrooms are very good so I put these into a few baggies and took them home. A few years ago, I bought this dehydrator at a garage sale and just now got around to trying it out. So, after eating fresh mushrooms to our hearts content, I dehydrated the rest. 

It took a lot of mushrooms to make this pint jar! However, now, all winter when I want some mushrooms to put in soups or casseroles, I can grab this jar!

Since the mushroom project was so successful, I decided to dehydrate some raspberries this year. I usually freeze all the raspberries and make jam or juice them. My husband loves raspberries so he is using these on cereal and ice cream. 

I was concerned about any moisture left in the berries and mushrooms and so I dug some moisture "soakers" out of some supplements I had and put them into the jars. I'm sure a few grains of rice would work just as well but you would want to be careful not to get them into your cereal and break a tooth! THAT wouldn't be frugal. ;)

A dehydrator is not needed for dehydrating. Some people dehydrate in the sun or in their ovens. Here is an article on dehydrating: http://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/dehydrate-food-without-dehydrator-0161531/

 Happy Savings! 

Free Slurpee at 7 Eleven Stores Today Only

http://fiftee.slurpee.com/post/147173254546/free-small-slurpee-on-711-from-11am-to-7pm-get

And according to this article: http://www.wesh.com/news/its-free-slurpee-day-but-waittheres-more/40450718

On Monday, 7/11/16, enjoy a free small Slurpee between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. But that's just the beginning.

Slurpee Week kicks off Tuesday, and that means when you buy seven of the cool drinks with the 7-Eleven app, you'll get 11 Slurpees free.

The offer is available 7/12/16 through 7/18/16 to members of the 7Rewards Program and only at participating 7-Eleven stores. Check out the app for more details.

Change Your Think into a Thunk: Frugality is a Mindset

Frugality is a mindset and something that should be practiced everyday in order to live a truly frugal lifestyle. Sometimes people practice frugality like they practice dieting. A crash diet is when you eat what you want and then suddenly realize you weigh too much and then you starve yourself in order to fit into that size 10 dress for so and so's wedding. This is not a good way to diet and it isn't a good way to practice frugality.

If you were to eat right every day and not overindulge, there would be no need for a crash diet because eating right would just be your lifestyle. So too with frugality.

I write a lot about "changing your think into a thunk" because in my thinking, the goal is to change to where frugality is part of who you are. Frugality isn't just something to do as a hobby or to save a few dollars after a big splurge at the mall. It is a lifestyle to be lived. 

Just as there are many benefits to eating right every day (and we all fall off the wagon once in a while....and must forgive ourselves). there are benefits to being frugal every single day. I don't think berating yourself is a good approach if you overindulge. The key to my way of thinking is to remind yourself of what you are gaining and not what you are losing.

What are you gaining? Less stress. More peace. Freedom from worry. Learning a new skill. More fun in the long run. A better savings account. Retirement! There are so many things you can gain. Every day small sacrifices can cause big gains in the future. So....change your think into a thunk and.....

Happy Savings!