Thrifty Thursday: Things that I Do to Save Money and Stretch those Groceries

This week of saving started off really slowly.  I had a busy end of the week so I didn't get a lot done at home but I got really busy over the weekend trying to get everything done before the work week started.  I was hoping to make some breakfast food for the week but it didn't happen over the week.

I also finally made the big jump and went out and bought a new car.  I don't have it yet and although this is a lot of money, it still is a little bit thrifty because my 12 year old car needed a lot of expense work done to it to keep it running.  I know that it doesn't seem like a thrifty or frugal decision but the expenses were at the point that it was going to cost more then the car.  I even had coupons but I passed on the repairs and decided to finally move forward with a new car so I hope to get in the next few weeks!!!  Cross your fingers and send good thoughts my way.

1. Froze the Remaining Raspberries:

Sad fact and why I never buy raspberries is because they go bad so quickly.  It makes me so sad and I really should remember this but I laid out some of them so that they could freeze.  Many were already yucky so they ended up in the trash.

2. Made Lemon Blueberry Raspberry Scones:

I used the rest of the smooshy raspberries and frozen blueberries to make these Greek Yogurt Scones.

3. Made Loaf of American Sandwich Bread:

I made a loaf last week that lasted a really long time.  I took out the bread before the time on the bread machine.  I find that 9 minutes early is the best for the bread to be finished.  I ended up taking out the bread 15 minutes early and I thought that it was undercooked but it turned out perfectly.  The loaf was really soft and we ate the whole loaf from one end to the other which lasted through the whole week.  I made another one on Sunday for the coming week.

4. Made Popcorn:

I make so much popcorn that it tends to blur together but we ate a lot of popcorn this week between my son and myself.  My husband even washed out the popcorn pot so that I can make more next week.

5. Made Iced Tea:

Love my tea and couldn't live without it.  I make a pitcher everyday and bring two containers and my cup to work.  I make sure that I never go without my tea :)

6. Went to Library to get Books:

I went to the library early on and got books for myself since I was down to the last few books in my reading pile.  Then I went to the library and picked up more books for my son including some reserved stuff.  We have both already read some of them and returned them.

7. Got Papers:

I went to the library on Saturday morning since I didn't get to go on Friday.  I am going to take the pile to my son's school because the teacher needs them for a turkey craft so these will help stuff some turkeys.

8. Got Coupons:

I got about 21 inserts of two different ones for this week.  I sadly haven't cut last weeks coupons so I now have a pile of things to take care of!!   I also got the coupons from my free paper that is delivered to my driveway (those are the two on the right).

9.  Dinners at Home:

We had all of our dinners at the house except one meal that we went to a friends house where we had pizza there (they paid) and then they came the next night to visit our house.  I made lots of yummy dinners which I had all of the food already in the house.  I also worked on getting the plan together for next week of all of our meals.

10. Lunches from Home:

We made lunches and brought them with us to work and school and wherever we were going.  However, we did have a little splurge on Chinese food when my cousin was here because she loves it.  I didn't want her to go home without having her favorite Crispy Shredded Beef from our favorite restaurant even though we had it last week with my mother in law (also her favorite place).  The great news is that we used our rebate credit card so that we didn't spend any money out of our pocket.

11. Made Chocolate Chip Cookies:

I used up all the chocolate chips in the house to make the last batch of chocolate chip cookies but they were really yummy and hit the spot.  I made a few with M&Ms on top for my son.  He enjoyed the special cookies.  We also had a special visitor who really enjoyed them too.

 12. Made Buttery Yeast Rolls:

I made these yummy rolls which I made the other week for Thanksgiving dinner for the dinner that we had friends over for.  It was another yummy treat and these cooked up wonderfully.  These were my leftovers so that I have them for later in the week to add to our meals.  I think that these might be my new favorite.  I wonder if I could make some to freeze and then set them out to thaw and bake.  So tasty!!!

13. Downloaded My Son's School Pictures:

We bought a package that included a download of six different backgrounds.  I wasn't sure if I was going to keep the pictures or send them back for retake day.  I decided that even though it wasn't the best picture that it could be, it wasn't a bad picture.  When you tell my son to smile, he has a weird grin (which I know that most kids do at a young age) and I think that the photograph kind of captures that so I guess we will have a memory of exactly the little man we remember for years to come.  What do you think??  Did I make the right decision?  The best thing about this is that I can use the free prints at Walgreens to get a big picture to frame since the package is twice the price to get a big print.  This way, my whole family gets their prints on their accounts for free.

14. Made Chicken Broth:

I decided that while I was home cooking the chicken for 90 minutes, I might as well start the chicken broth with the things from the freezer.  I think that it is way easier then using the chicken after dinner so I will save the chicken from this week to make next time.  Super easy and I double strain to get everything out and the broth is ready to use.

Did you do anything frugal that saved you a little money this week?