Frugal Feats, Flops, and Funnies

It has been a while since I shared a new edition of Frugal Feats, Flops, and Funnies. As you probably know, the frugal life has its share of adventures. Some of those adventures end with a smile, some with a frown, and others leave us laughing.

This is a series where I share some of my wins and fails as I go about living my normal life as a frugal mom of six. If you’re the kind of person who responds to a compliment on clothing, food, decor, etc with an explanation of the great deal you found on it, this is a post for you!

Frugal Feats

Fabric Deal

I stopped by Walmart for something routine, but had an extra minute so I walked by the fabric. I recently pieced a quilt top but couldn’t find fabric in my stash that would work well for the backing. As I glanced at the fabric shelves, I noticed some $2 clearance stickers. Walmart’s normal price for quilting cotton fabric is $4.44, which is already a low price for fabric, but $2 is an absolute steal! I grabbed several entire bolts (8 yards) and had the worker measure the remaining fabric on other bolts of lovely fabric. Using the Walmart app, I scanned the other barcodes and found many other unmarked $2/yard quilting fabric.

I have a good stash of smaller fabric pieces and scraps, but I don’t have much that works well for quilt backs because those take about 6 yards of fabric. This was a great chance to stock up on backing fabric for super cheap. And I took full advantage. I made several trips to the store over a week’s time and spent, well, more than I have ever spent on fabric in my life! But it will be put to good use! I’ve already started using some of it.

I also shared this deal with some good friends who I knew would appreciate it. Some quilters boo-hoo fabric from Walmart or JoAnn because it isn’t as high quality as the fabric that you get at a quilting shop, so it might not last 100+ years. And that’s fine. To each her own. But I know that if I had to pay $15/yard for all of my fabric it would severely limit my creativity and the joy I find in quilting. I don’t expect every quilt I make to be an heirloom, though I put lots of love into each one. I get so much more out of quilting than just the finished product.

Grocery Outlet Deals

I stopped by Grocery Outlet when I was in the neighborhood and found a couple great deals. I found cartons of Tropicana orange juice for just $.77 because the best buy date was today. I bought 8 cartons. My family drank two today and I put the rest in the freezer for future smoothies. I also found BelVita breakfast biscuits (Toasted Coconut flavor) for $.47 per box. I wasn’t sure if they would be yummy or not (one time I got a flavor that no one liked very much), so I only bought 4 boxes. It turns out they were a big hit!

New Car

I must also mention here that our new car, a 2008 Prius is rocking our gas budget! We drive it even more than I anticipated (meaning we drive our other vehicles less), which is good news when it comes to gas spending! It’s like a game to see how high I can get the fuel efficiency. In May, when only had the minivan and 15-passenger van to do all of the crazy school season driving we spent nearly $1,200 on gas. In September, with school driving in full swing, we spent less than $500 (more details in our September budget update next week)!

Frugal Flops

Dentist

I’m kind of embarrassed to share this one. The start of school lines up with 6-month dental check-ups for nearly everyone in the family. This time around, our youngest, who is almost 5, had a couple of cavities in the deep grooves of his molars. I take complete responsibility for them because I had been having him brush his own teeth lately, even though at his age I should still be helping him. So here we have a mom fail and a frugal flop. Our dental insurance covers everything except the nitrous oxide (laughing gas) the pediatric dentist requires. The last time any of my kids had a cavity, the cost of the nitrous was $75, but now the cost has doubled. So not only am I feeling guilty about my baby having cavities because of my laziness, but I also have to pay $150. Needless to say, I have recommitted to helping both my 4- and 7-year-olds to brush their teeth.

Missing Out

After telling my kids about the sweet deal on OJ and BelVita biscuits, they said I should definitely go get more. While I was waiting for my kids during an evening activity, I ran over to Grocery Outlet in hopes of getting more only to find that they were out of both.

Frugal Funnies

Home Haircuts

It’s no secret that we usually do all of our haircuts at home, which saves lots of money.  Mike usually does the boys and himself, though I help him with the back and around his ears. Recently Mike decided he was ready for a haircut on a day when I wasn’t available to help him with the tricky parts, so he left the final ear and neck trimming until later. He had forgotten all about it for a few days until our 4-year-old asked him “Daddy, why do you have a beard on the back of your neck?” It was definitely time to finish that haircut.

It’s Your Turn!

Hey frugal friends! I know you’re out there living the frugal life too! Tell us about any frugal feats, flops, and funnies that you’ve had recently so we can celebrate, commiserate, or laugh together!