Frugal Friday

In the midst of decidedly not-frugal chemo, doctor appointments, hospital stays and surgery plans, we still try to be good stewards of what God has given us.  Making good decisions with our money and using what we have to its fullest potential saves us money and also prevents waste.

Here are some ways we've saved money and lived frugally here recently:

• Accepted loads of garden produce from neighbors and friends. We've eaten fresh green beans, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers and corn on the cob. I have a crockpot full of green beans cooking for dinner tonight using this recipe.  We were given over a dozen ears of corn so I shared half of it with our neighbor as the two of us couldn't eat it all. 
• Used a store coupon at Petsmart for a FREE small bag of dog food. We also had $5 in rewards to use online so we used it to buy some dog treats and selected to pick up in store instead of paying for shipping. I picked up our online order at the same time I got the dog food. Willie is happy.

• Went on a date to Olive Garden and used a gift card to pay for most of our meal. Also, we had enough leftovers to take home and eat for lunch the next day. 
• Used several coupons when grocery shopping.

• Sam's Club runs specials each month where select items are on special. This month, several items that we buy regularly were on special. So I stocked up even if we didn't need them quite yet--$3 off laundry detergent and $5 off dog food. Both are items that I would be buying next month so I saved $8 by buying them now. I also got $1 off a bag of avocados and $.50 off cheese. 
• Submitted some medical receipts for reimbursement. 
• Hung most of our clothing up to dry instead of using the dryer. Still using the dryer for sheets and towels as I don't yet have an outdoor clothesline. 
• Cut buttons off a couple old sweaters before discarding them. The buttons can be used for other sewing and craft projects. 

• Repotted some tiny basil plant "babies" that were in my big planter of basil. I plan to share these extra plants with friends. Also made pesto from some of the basil. 
• Eaten a lot of odds and ends from the freezer. I noticed we had quite a bit of food in there that should be used. I've been planning my menus from the freezer and pantry then only buying what we still need from the store. I plan to clean out and defrost the freezer in August so eating down the freezer is a good idea! Some of the items are only a serving or two but I group a few things together and no one goes hungry!
• Painted our hallway. I have had the paint and primer for a while and have not had time to get to this project.(I got the supplies right before Andy's diagnosis.) I had the week of July 4th off from work so made time to work on it then. The walls are paneling so this took a little more time and effort  than just slapping a coat of paint up. But the final result is very much worth it! Why is this frugal? Well, I didn't hire someone to do the painting for me. Plus, painting is much less costly than ripping out paneling and putting in drywall! (Although that is in the "someday" plans.)
• Requested a book through our library's inter-library loan program. Within a few days, I received notification that the book was ready to pick up. I combined stops while running errands and ran into the library while driving close by there anyways. My library has started something new and now includes on your receipt how much you saved by using the library that day. I saved $24.99 by using the library over buying the book at list price. 

How have you lived frugally this week? Please share with all of us in the comments!