Tag frugal living

All that and a 50-cent head of lettuce

Angel Ackerman 2 Comments

Today I had some adventures to attend to: I promised Nan I’d use my CVS coupon magic to buy her some Excedrin, I had lunch with some of my Stitch Fix colleagues planned (and it’s Southern Candy’s birthday tomorrow) and if I felt really flush with money and ambitious I wanted to stop at Grocery Outlet while I had my car.

CVS deals

CVS did not meet my usual expectations but I found a CVS Health Brand Migraine Relief, which is exactly the same thing as CVS Extra Strength Headache Relief. 200 pills for 16.99 and a use-by date of February 2026. I had a coupon for 40% off a full price item, another for $5 off a $30 purchase, $1 off CVS pain relief and $1 off two bottles of sparkling water.

And my favorite KIND breakfast bars were on sale for $5.99. I bought a pack of those, the waters, the pills, and a 30 pack variety pack of Starburst flavor mixes that retails for $5.79. That brought my total to about $32.

After coupons, it was less than $21.

Mission accomplished.

Friends and angels

Next, I headed to my lunch date where I had a lot of laughs, learned about rattlesnakes, and had a yummy dish of chocolate chip pancakes. And one friend gave us green beans from her garden.

Now earlier this week, a friend had shared some of his recent profits with me from a project I encouraged him to do. He did this with the express desire that I buy Eva some meat. I agreed, but did so with the stipulation that I added $10-$20 worth of meat to my next few shopping trips and not splurge on some fancy meats all at once.

I refuse to give up my frugality.

So I headed to Grocery Outlet to fulfill my promise and grab what odds and ends I could.

I managed to get 3 pounds of organic chicken breast, a pack of turkey bacon and a frozen bag of cheeseburger-seasoned meatballs for less than $15.

I spent more than I intended to. I had mentally prepared to spend $30, but due to the nature of some of the things we needed and the deals we found I allowed myself some splurges.

I ended up spending $63.85.

Meal planning

I hear a lot of people complaining about the price of food– and it sucks that food is expensive. But one of my tricks is to refuse to buy expensive things. Eva would have preferred “real” bacon, but the turkey bacon was $1.50 cheaper. I wanted ground beef, but the prices didn’t suit my budget so I skipped it in favor of packaged meatballs.

I bought a cute head of iceberg lettuce. All the iceberg lettuce was on sale for $1 a head. There was a smaller head starting to brown on the outside that was reduced to 50 cents. I peeled off the brown layers and about four or five leaves deep it was crispy and fine. Then I chopped it and I plan to make a salad tomorrow of iceberg lettuce, cucumber ranch dressing I have in the fridge, slices of turkey bacon and some of the local cheese. And if anyone has any garden fresh tomatoes I will add some diced tomato. Simple and delicious.

The leftover bacon can be used for sandwiches, eggs, or even a by itself snack as leftovers. So we’re looking at 2-3 meals for the two of us for $4 plus staples and ingredients already in the house.

What I bought at Grocery Outlet

(Most items on this list are around $2)

  • 12 Clif bars chocolate brownie flavor, for Eva, $6.99 (I was going to buy her the 15 count for $9.99 but she doesn’t like the one flavor. Then I did the math. In the 15 count pack each bar is $0.67 each. In the smaller box, each bar is $0.58 each.)
  • Generic tuna in water, small cans, 2, at $0.69 cents each. (I hate the thought of how finding out how sustainably or ethically these were caught)
  • Parmesan cheese, grated, $2.49
  • Glen Muir organic tomato sauce no salt added, probably 12ish ounce cans, 3 of them, $0.99 each
  • A box of instant mashed potatoes, $0.99 (an easy way to make a cheap meal more filling)
  • Small bags of pasta, each bag will be one meal for Eva and I, one bag mini-shells and one bag tiny elbows, $0.50 each
  • one bag Goldfish crackers, $1.49
  • 2 quarts of vanilla cinnamon chickpea milk, 10 grams of protein per serving, $0.99 per quart
  • A big old bottle of cheap laundry detergent, $6.99
  • one small head iceberg lettuce, $0.49
  • One pretty big bag frozen avocado chunks, $5.99
  • Cheeseburger-seasoned meatballs, $3.99
  • meatless chickn fries, $3.99
  • Cabot cottage cheese (I love this stuff so much), 2 containers, $2.49 each
  • a quart of half and half, $2.49
  • a half gallon of milk, $2.22
  • turkey bacon, $3.49
  • Tillamook unsalted butter, $3.27
  • 2 packs organic chicken breast, each almost 1.5 pounds, $3.11 & $3.13 after markdown.

The little weird lucky things

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

Yesterday ended up being a strange day. Strange in happy ways, I guess, and I’m afraid I don’t have any photos to accompany this post. But you will see some familiar characters.

I went to visit Nan in the morning. She’s been having some technology failures and is trying to rescue her remaining files from her Braille N Speak. Her current model is dying. So we did some dictation to save some items.

Then, I stopped at CVS. I thought I had $5, $3 and $2 in Extra Bucks with one of them expiring that day, but my phone only showed $3, $2 and $0.04. I went back to the pharmacy window and to pick up my allergy medicine. This spring has been awful for me.

The tech who served me, I had never seen her before, and she saw my $35 tab and suggested I try GoodRX. She found it for $17.24 (which happened to be my house number growing up, see previous post. I like numbers). So she saved me twenty bucks!

I meandered through the store looking for snacks, as my cupboard is bare. I noticed notebooks on clearance for 90 percent off. I texted The Teenager to ask if she could use them or if I brought them home would she just hoard them… She said she would hoard them until the start of next semester.

I got her return text as I was standing near the Nature Valley Granola bars. CVS had a couple varieties on sale for $1.99 a box. I grabbed two boxes of peanut butter biscuits. That and some notebooks (five) at 45 cents each came out to $1.17 after my $3, $2, and $0.04. But at the register, I noticed my $5 off coupon that I couldn’t see on my phone. So I paid, and went back into the store and found my favorite KIND breakfast bars for $2 off. After my $5, that came out to $0.99.

In the afternoon, I visited my neurosurgeon to follow up on my aneurysm. And read the results of my MRA in early May. I got a parking spot right outside the door! At the hospital complex! THAT never happens!

I arrived early, hoping to read more of my nonfiction marketing book that is getting on my nerves. They took me back early. And the doctor showed up early! I was out of the office start to finish in less than 30 minutes, which was only 15 minutes past my original appointment time. And good news– what looked like an aneurysm behind my left eye according to the CT scan did not show up on the MRA.

Then I met Southern Candy at a local park and in the evening, The Teenager, the neighbor and I took Little Dog for ice cream after a dental and having some teeth pulled.

It’s budget grocery shopping day!

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

I’ll be posting videos about my shopping if that is more your jam (food pun intended) so once I get this typed, I’ll start working on editing that footage.

For those of you who don’t normally read these posts or are new here: I’m a former journalist and the founder of Parisian Phoenix Publishing. I lost my full-time job in September, when Stitch Fix closed their Bethlehem (Pa.) warehouse. I’m hoping this might give me the chance to transition into at least part-time focus on my publishing company and its editorial services.

If you ever wanted to work with me, now is the time to pitch your project ideas. I’ve gone on a lot of interviews, and I high percentage of those led to second interviews. But none have led to a job. And I’m wondering if maybe it’s because I’m not looking for jobs in the word-related fields. I’ve been on social media marketing job interviews and business-related job interviews but none that speak directly to my deepest talents.

So, the publishing company is keeping me afloat– because unemployment compensation payments literally pay for the mortgage and the car insurance for the teen and I. My thermostat is set on 60. And we’re delaying a lot of things. But thanks to places like the Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree we still have access to food.

I write these posts in part because I used to have a food blog where I chronicled cooking and shopping on a budget. (angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com) But I have had people tell me that I need to share some of these “tricks” because not everyone knows how to grocery shop on a budget. My daughter literally hands me her debit card and a list.

But if I had to tell you my #1 trick for saving money on food and household goods, it would be to know what you pay for things. It sounds lame, but the reality is if you don’t pay attention to what things “normally” cost you, you won’t know if something is a good deal. #2 would be to know the sale cycles. Target, CVS, and the major grocery stores all have sale cycles. Don’t feel pressured to buy something now because it’s “on sale.” That sale will be back, sometimes in as little as a month. Retailers want you to see the sale price and have an impulsive reaction to buy that product because it’s “such a good deal.” But the deal will return, just be patient and keep your eyes open.

#3. This is the one I used today. I set my expectations and my budget before I set foot in the store. I counted my money. I decided I had $20 for each store. In Grocery Outlet, I only considered items around $2.50 (or less). I really wanted the $8 gigantic bag of shredded cheese that would last a month, but that’s almost 1/3 of my budget. So I got the $2 8-ounce bag of shredded cheddar instead. The Teenager wanted chicken, but that also would have been about $8 and more chicken than I really need to survive. And right now we’re in survival mode.

Now, onto the purchases:

First, Grocery Outlet. I checked the app for any coupons. None available. I read the daily email sent out from them every day, because I’m a junkie. We’re going to build our meals based on what I find, and fill out gaps from products at the Dollar Tree in the same plaza.

  • Hunts Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, big can. So big I may have to open it, use it, and freeze what’s left. Two cans at 2/$1.00.
  • Polar canned crab meat. It was between this and a jar of asparagus. I have some egg roll wrappers in the freezer. OR I have rice noodles in the pantry. $2.99.
  • Kale, fresh, big bag, organic. $1.99
  • Veggieful plant-based frozen pepperoni pizza pockets, two servings, $1.49
  • Green Giant frozen sweet peas in light butter sauce. I suspect I may use this as a sauce for a pasta or rice dish. $0.99
  • Half & half, quart, $2.49
  • 2% milk, half gallon, $2.12
  • 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar, $1.99
  • 2 packs of 93% lean grass-fed, organic ground beef, $2.99 each

Now, over to the Dollar Tree:

  • 2.75 liters of generic diet cola (which even though this soda is on the shelf and not cold it rang up as taxable vs. non-taxable. In Pennsylvania, food is technically NOT taxable unless it is considered take-out, so cold, cooler beverages are usually taxed.)
  • 4 pack of cans of generic cotton candy soda for the teen (again, rang up as taxable, sigh). I wanted to get sparkling water but I can’t buy all the beverages for only me.
  • Almost 15 ounce can of Del Monte creamed corn. Every time we want to make corn bake, we never have creamed corn so I try to keep it in the pantry. It’s also a great way to thicken or even extend soups.
  • About 4 ounces canned chicken
  • About 5 ounces canned chicken and gravy
  • Tuna in water
  • English muffins
  • 10 flour tortillas
  • Olive oil and oregano crackers
  • 5 ounces of guacamole flavored tortilla chips
  • 12 ounces dry lentils
  • 5 ounces sunflower kernels
  • almost 3 ounces wasabi peas
  • 3 ounces Sunmaid raisins
  • 12 ounces frozen stir fry vegetables (peppers, snow peas and broccoli)
  • hot dogs

I forgot my darn gnocchi from Dollar Tree. Those are so good.

The Monday errands on a budget

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

So, The Teenager’s (now College Student’s) car won’t start and today I needed my car for a 10 a.m. chiropractor appointment. I’ve noticed over the last couple days some of my random hip/leg issues have stopped causing discomfort so that is awesome. The chiropractor is less than a block from The Teenager’s college campus, so I headed out a little early and did the last touches on this week’s Parisian Phoenix Substack newsletter. Are you interested in my little publishing company’s newsletter? If so, click here. Today I talked a bit about technology and privacy.

The Teenager’s first class was at nine, and my appointment was at ten, so that left me the dilemma of how to organize my day into pieces that fit our combined schedule. I completed the computer work I wanted to finish before 9:30 and I even got to watch the street sweeper comb the neighborhood. I read some of Stephanie Parents gothic D/s (of the impact play, not the sexual kind) mystery in the reception area. I found my favorite passage of the book so far:

“The trouble with this sort of exorcism was that when it ended, when Jack stopped spanking her, nothing had changed. She hadn’t split open, and nothing had spilled out from inside of her…”

The Briars, Chapter Nine (Claire)

I left the chiropractor at about 10:15 a.m., and I needed to use the restroom. I also thought I could swing out to the Forks Township Dollar Tree because I need some items, and I’m trying to stock my kitchen on an extreme budget. I have $74 left in my wallet in cash, and anything in my checkbook is for the bills these days.

It’s free coffee with any purchase Monday at Dunkin, but I wasn’t in the mood for iced coffee and that particular Dunkin requires a key for the bathroom. I usually get three munchkins for $1.29 and feed them to the dog. But today, I opted for a Diet Coke from McDonalds. I could just go in the backdoor and use the restroom and leave, but I try not to be that person.

I opened my app and ordered a large Diet Coke for $1.49 plus tax and redeemed some of my reward points from those previous Diet Cokes for a hashbrown. Then I used my “Apple Cash” to pay the $1.58. I didn’t realize that I’ve never stepped inside that McDonald’s– it’s all reclaimed wood with a stone look and oversized cushioned stools at the table.

I headed over to the next plaza to visit The Dollar Tree and discovered they don’t have refrigerated cases. Perhaps because it’s so close to a Giant Food Store and/or because it’s a more upscale neighborhood. I spent $13.08 from my cash and got some staples, some candy and the cornerstone of one meal.

  • Guacamole Flavored Tortilla Chips
  • Potato Gnocchi
  • Hunts Garlic and Herb Sauce
  • 10 flour tortilla
  • Sandwich slice pickles
  • Self rising white corn meal blend on clearance for 50 cents
  • Yoohoo for The Teenager to surprise her
  • Canned Peas
  • Canned Diced Potatoes
  • Black Licorice
  • Wallably Hot Cinnamon Licorice

(Which reminds me that I made the turkey hot dogs I bought at Dollar Tree last week. Eight hot dogs for $1.25. I fried them in the skillet until they were crisp and seasoned them with garlic pepper, crushed red pepper and smoked paprika. Even the Teenager had to say, “How did you manage to make these taste so good?”)

From there, back to campus to retrieve the Teen. We also stopped at CVS for our medicine ($1). The Teenager made wanting eyes at the Jelly Belly Candy Canes that I thought were $3.99. I picked them up because I had a $3 off coupon I knew would expire before we set foot in CVS again. It turned out they were $5.19! For candy canes! But after my coupons, they were $1.96.

Then we came home and I opened the package from Amazon, of my own books from my own publishing house because Amazon has them on sale so cheap right now I can get them cheaper from there versus shipped from the distributor.

I cleaned up the kitchen, tried to declutter, and then ate the rest of the hot dogs for lunch. After some correspondence with friends, I came out to the sunporch to finish my Diet Coke and let the dog enjoy the porchy porch.

$7 Wheel of Brie

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

The Teenager and I headed to Grocery Outlet today– primarily because some of the deals looked so good but also because one of my authors gave me some cash today for some books he ordered. I spent too much but it’s hard to feel guilty when you are strategically buying food. Not just buying– strategically buying.

I spent almost $60 and $10 of it the Teenager intended to buy for herself– like the 10 (yes 10) monster slim jims. Is that the best nutritional choice? No, but at four for 97 cents, can I blame her? No. Because on most college days she doesn’t have time to eat lunch.

I got a decent amount of groceries, including the most expensive food item I think I have ever purchased at Grocery Outlet, a $7 wheel of brie. Yes, a whole wheel. I had picked up a 7-ounce wedge of brie, thinking that was a splurge, but then I saw the $2.49 wedge of the same size. I looked at the wedge… and I saw the $6.99 wheel. I looked at the Teenager. She looked at me.

She said she could eat it all tonight. I encouraged her not to do that.

We bought it.

And I’m munching on it and the sriracha almond thins I bought last week and sipping white wine that was left here by a friend in July. Life feels just about right.

So what did I get at Grocery Outlet for my $58.93?

  • Artichokes, $1.99
  • Caramel Chocolate Thins, $2.99 (Teenager)
  • Jenny Craig Cranberry Lemon Biscotti, two at 2/$1.00
  • Larger can of cream-style corn, $1.19
  • Baby corn in a can, two cans, $1.29 each
  • Strawberry Frosted Flakes, $1.49
  • Nature Valley Crunchy Granola bars, $1.99
  • Frosted Confetti Cupcake Pop Tarts, $1.49
  • Dairy Free Salmon Chowder, $1.99 (we had this for dinner last night, it wasn’t bad at all)
  • Monster Slim Jims, Sonic Chili Cheese Dog flavor, 8 at 4/$0.97
  • Sundried tomatoes, $2.49
  • Magic Spoon Protein Bars, two boxes at $1.99 each (cookies and cream/peanut butter cocoa flavors)
  • Broccoli slaw, $2.99
  • Baby carrots, $0.99
  • Light Life Teriyaki Tempeh cubes, $1.99 (I really enjoyed these over the weekend and I still have a box but they are cheap and delicious so I want more)
  • Belmont wheel of Brie, $6.99
  • Spreadable Havarti cheese, $2.49
  • Cinnamon Toast Crunch toppers yogurt, $0.80
  • Cabot Cottage Cheese, $2.49
  • Chobani Sugar Free Strawberry Yogurt, $1.00
  • Half & Half, quart, $2.79
  • Italian Shredded Cheese, 2 8-ounces packages, $1.99 each
  • Kozy Shack, Tapioca Pudding, 4-packs, $0.99
  • Pumpkin Pie Milk, individual servings, 2 bottles, $1.17 each
  • frozen vegan pork barbecue, $1.99
  • strawberry drinkable yogurts, two at $0.99 each

The end of the first week without a full-time job (and some grocery shopping)

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

When I started this week, I whipped out a variety of paper planners: my monthly Silk & Sonder and my daily planner I received through the Amazon Vine program (their product reviewing service). My Silk & Sonder contains my appointments and my weekly plans, whereas I fill out the daily planner to give myself realistic expectations of what a person can achieve in a day.

I had hoped– in addition to the job hunt, freelance projects, getting caught up on phone calls (schedule the furnace maintenance, research cheaper car insurance) and cleaning my house– to embark on a strict schedule of blog posting: Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the business (Parisian Phoenix Publishing) and Tuesday, Thursday, Friday for my personal blog. Then on Sunday, I would send out my Substack.

I went to a variety of job interviews, made $165 in freelance work, and even had a professional forgive my outstanding bill in exchange for a couple hours of my time giving editorial and marketing feedback. Today I received my last paycheck and I hope I have planned everything as well as I can for upcoming lean times.

But this morning, I had the opportunity to visit with middle grade author Jess Rinker at the ever-so-lovely Plants and Coffee Easton where we talked about our experiences in the publishing industry and she revealed some of her future plans.

And I treated myself to The Popper, a jalapeno popper themed bagel with chive cream cheese, cheddar, jalapenos and potato chips.

When The Teenager got home from her college classes and work, we visited Joe Swarctz, the creative mind and illustrator behind Echo City Capers. He will be appearing on Channel 69 WFMZ Morning News Weekend Edition tomorrow and he and partner Ralph Greco Jr. will be participating in The End: A Bookstore‘s local author night in the evening. I had to deliver the copies of the Christmas book that had arrived at my house for the event.

Then, the Teenager and I headed to Grocery Outlet where we each had a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon only good for this weekend. I told her– the trick is to spend NO MORE than $26 so that the coupon works, and you only spend about $20. She was up to about $35 in minutes and even with me taking some of “her” groceries I only had $15. So I took some of hers and bought some crab cakes. In the end, she spent $23.58 and saved $24.50 and I spent $26.43 and saved $40.02.

What did we buy?

The Teenager:

  • Dental Cat Treats, $6.99
  • Dental Dog Treats, $12.99
  • A Caramel Apple, $1.99
  • Pepperoni, $2.49
  • Antiperspirant, $2.99

Me:

  • Gourmet French Caramel Chocolate Cookies, picked by The Teen, $0.97
  • Four pineapple muffins, picked by The Teen, $3.50 (she insisted they were $3)
  • A slim jim with cheese stick, picked by The Teen, $0.99
  • Snickers popcorn, $1.50
  • Rueditas Chili Lime Pretzels, $0.97
  • Waffle Crisp Cereal, picked by The Teen, $1.99
  • Ground Turkey, $2.99
  • Spicy Vegetarian Chicken Nuggets, $1.99
  • 4 Frozen Crab Cakes, $4.99
  • Minute Maid Watermelon Cooler, $1.49
  • Half Gallon of 2% Milk, $2.08
  • Teriyaki Tempeh, 2 containers, 2 servings each, $1.99 each
  • Old Bay Sausage, $3.99

After that, we went to The Dollar Tree. The Teenager spent about $15. She needed batteries and wanted to buy someone stickers.

The Teenager did not get a receipt, so based on what I saw in the kitchen and these photos:

  • Batteries
  • Stickers
  • Chef Boyardee Ravioli
  • Canned spaghetti
  • Dog food
  • 2 varieties of Asian Instant Noodles (which will go great with peas and the teriyaki tempeh!)
  • white bread
  • Jalapeno rice
  • jalapeno corn muffins
  • honey corn muffins

The Teenager did not have lunch and Little Dog’s Mom always loves her Diet Cokes from McDonald’s so I opened my app. I used $5 from my Apple Cash to get three large soft drinks and a free six piece Chicken McNuggets, and Little Dog’s Mom paid me back when I delivered her soda.

Recipe: our own spicy tortilla chips

Angel Ackerman 2 Comments

Even before these Coronavirus quarantine times and empty grocery store shelves, I have long practiced frugal living and using everything I can of my groceries— down to composting my food waste.

For example, every time my little dog friend comes to visit, she brings a rotisserie chicken for her meals. I always save the carcass in my freezer to make chicken bone broth in my crock pot.

So a couple weeks ago I was cleaning the fridge, I found a pack of flour tortilla shells that said “use by December 30, 2019.” But I didn’t throw them out. They were actually still soft, but there’s nothing worse than going to wrap a taco or make a sandwich and the shell splits in the middle because it was dry and stale.

I put the shells aside to make homemade Doritos.

I decided today was the day.

  1. First, I cut these four shells into eight triangles each.
  2. Because I am low on oil, I opted for a small pan and a big dollop of coconut oil. I heated the oil until it was bubbly but not sputtering.
  3. I dropped the triangles in, turning each after about 30 seconds as they browned very quickly.
  4. I dropped them into a small bowl where the teenager sprinkled them with spices and Parmesan I had put out for her to choose.

5. Then she moved them back to the main plate.

These were amazing. Crunchy yet fluffy. Though the teenager did overdo it on the chili powder so some were very spicy.