Another word(s) is “slow cooker”. If you don’t have one of these, I highly suggest you get one. I honestly do not like to put roasts in the oven and have to baste or whatever you do. Just too lazy for this. However, everything you put even a low-grade cut of meat in the crockpot with some seasonings on low, and 8 hrs later, it turns out to be the most tender meat ever, like you were some fantastic chef.

The truth is, you could be so as bad of a cook to burn water to really mess things up in a crockpot. Yes, I’ve known at least 1 person who left stuff in the crockpot for 2 days with no water. I’m not talking about that and about not paying attention at all.

I always feel when I use my crockpot for meat, the most delicious flavors come out, even if just seasoning with salt & pepper. My gosh, this makes me feel so rich and delicious, like I just bought a high-class meal from a 5-Star Chef at an elegant restaurant.

Oh, serving whatever teh meat on a bed of cauli-rice or a bed of greens on a plain white dish/bowl, and maybe drizzling some “sauce” around it makes it look so beautiful and gorgeous. Yet, the roast or whole fryer chicken or meat might have only cost you $8 and will last you through 4-6 meals.

How much would that cost at a 5-Star Restaurant? Probably $30-40 a person, plus tip. So, this meal you would pay about $225-250 (tip, tax) for 5 people total it basically cost you under $15 for the food.

That’s living frugally, but richly and deliciously. Okay, maybe your environment won’t be AS nice, and no one is serving you, and you have to do the dishes. Maybe that’s worth the extra $200? 14 months ago

I had a list like 3 yrs ago of a ton of places where you can get free food on your birthday, +/- 1 wk of your birthday, or about +/1 2 wks of your birthday. I’ve started to get those coupons, which is pretty great.

Though I can’t eat most of the foods I’ll get coupons for, it will be nice to still get free food for my kids, as it will be a huge treat for them.

Some of the places are: Benihana’s, Kona Grill, Grimaldi’s, Rubio’s, Krispy Kreme, Schlotsky’s, Fuddrucker’s, Red Robin, Baskin Robbins are some of the names that come to mind, but there are a number of others, like this HUGE list. Where did I put that list?

My grocery bill is always lighter in March because of all this free food. I think I added up all the free food last year and the year before, and each year totaled over $300. God bless those companies & restaurants.

We rarely eat out, so getting all this food is a super treat. 14 months ago

Although I can’t eat the pizza or drink the soda, my kid can. We don’t order out for pizza, as either don’t eat pizza or go to Costco and bake the pizza ourselves. The kids do get pizza when we go to someone else’s home, though.

My son has been wanting ordered out pizza and I remembered just in the nick of time that I had a promo code I got from Papa John’s a few weeks ago that needs to be used by Sunday. It’s for a free 1-item large pizza and a 2L soda. I just placed the order online to be picked up right after karate today.

My kids will be totally shocked, as we have not ordered out for pizza in 3-4 yrs. I don’t think my son (he’s 8 yrs old) ever remembers me ordering pizza. This is a special treat and it’s only costing me $1.36. I got an extra topping, as my kids’ fave is pepperoni & sausage.

Thank you, Papa John’s!

It will be a joy watching my kids enjoy the pizza. They are pretty grateful kids, so it’s even better. I’ll be eating my Italian Pork Pesto over Zucchini Noodles or a Spring Mix salad that I made the other day. That is ultra yummy. 14 months ago

I’ve probably written on this before, but I think the library is a great idea whomever came with eons ago. The richness of reading is already incredible, but to share books and information? Simply delicious.

As a fellow book lover & somewhat a green person, one way of reducing our ecological footprint is to use the library. I bucket going to the library 1-2x/wk to save gas. There are 3 of us, so that is another way to save gas.

Now, there are also digital downloads which require no gas at all.

In the public libraries here, they will transport the books between libraries at no charge. With gas prices, this is absolutely divine for me. One library is close to my kids’ school, the other is close to our home. And, books can be dropped off at any of the libraries in their system. Very cool.

If there’s a book I want, usually it’s in one of the 2 library systems I use – Chandler or the Maricopa County Libraries. That way, I get to test out the book and maybe glean all the information I want and not have to purchase the book, therefore, saving me money.

On some occasions, I will buy the book, usually for resale (used) somewhere. Sometimes the library has book sales and I can get books dirt cheap, too.

This is another way I live frugally, but richly and deliciously. Though I cannot write in the books I borrow, it’s alright. 14 months ago

I’ve been going to the same place to get my car serviced/repaired for probably 7-9 yrs now. The company got sold about 3 hrs ago and things have changed. My favorite mechanic was “let go” about 1.5 yrs ago, which is a total bummer.

Anyway, I just don’t trust the manager, who has been there for a long time. He’s always nice to me, but there’s just something about him I don’t like or trust. He seems shady to me.

When I was talking to one of my daughter’s classmates moms whom I’ve known her & her husband for years, I found out her husband KNOWS Fords and works on them on the side. They are totally decent and incredible people, and I trust them.

Yesterday I heard an awful noise from my car which sounded like something was being tortured under my hood. I’ve been having those sounds for more than a year, but they have gotten progressively worse. He thinks it’s the serpentine belt & tensioner before looking at it. But, after looking briefly at it, he says my belt is fine but the tensioner needs replacing.

I’m going to have him look over my car, since it has over 185,000 miles on it and is 18 yrs old (I’m the 2nd owner, my mom was the first for about 95,000 miles) and give me a list of things that look like they will need work or replacing the next year, the parts & labor costs.

His labor costs are about 1/2 of what the shop I take it to costs. It’s still a lot and I have to work 4 hrs to pay for 1 hr, but it’s better than working 7-8 hrs for the same 1 hr. And, he won’t double charge me like the car shop will. He’ll charge me for what he actually takes the time to do, rather than what the book says it is.

I know my brakes are going to need to be replaced soon, too, so I hope that’s not too much either. Anyway, I just got paid for some writing I did, so hopefully that will cover most of the costs of the repairs.

My birthday is coming up and my parents will probably give me some money, so that helps. I need to write more and consistently so I can get paid for work.

I wish I could get paid to write for 43T, then I’d really be rolling in the bucks, eh? It’s more fun to write here, but I do like getting paid and being able to stay home.

Probably need to find another job I can do at home also that I don’t have to outlay money to do, that pays reasonable for my time & effort.

Taking my car to him on Tuesday for him to work on. God bless MI! 14 months ago

I got CVS coupons in the mail a week or so ago. Just for switching back to them as a pharmecy, as my insurance no longer handles Walgreens, CVS gave me a $5 gift card on non-prescription items. After my dr’s visit yesterday, she said to get cough syrup.

Anyway, I got the gift card and it paid for my cough syrup!!! It felt really nice to get that. I’m very grateful to get that free just because my insurance didn’t want to keep Walgreens.

And, my mom periodically sends me CVS ExtraBucks she gets for shopping at CVS. A little over a week ago, I had $9.50 to use and though I didn’t have anything I truly needed to buy, I was able to get 3 boxes of hair dye with no ammonia for just a couple bucks with that $9.50 discount.

I’m grateful my mom thinks of me and sends me those dollars. She’s probably sent me a total of $50 or more ExtraCare bucks over the past year. It’s helped to buy things we would not normally buy OR even things we would buy and not have to pay for it.

It amkes me feel rich, loved and cared for so much.

God bless all the very many people, companies and other places that bless my kids & I. 14 months ago

In my single mom’s group for Christmas, we all got a free month’s worth of exterior car washes. Washing my car is pretty low on my list as there are more important things to do with my time, as well as money.

But, a couple weeks ago, the day before it expired, I signed up to get a pass for amonth to wash the outside of my car. So, the kids and I do this right before Single Mom’s, going through the car wash thing and the kids LOVE it!

It’s like a little amusement ride that lasts for 3 minutes. The kids squeal with laughter and joy, and it makes me happy that they are happy.

The inside of our car badly needs vacuuming, but at least the outside for a week looks great! I taped up with clear packing tape my semi-busted tail light so it doesn’t get snagged on those cloth finger things. Works great!

It’s so nice to have a clean outside car and not be filled with dust or caked in mud/dust. I have until the 26th of this month for free washes and am so thrilled for it.

Never thought having your car washed would be a luxury, but it is. I’m so grateful! Praise God! 15 months ago

With gas prices so expensive (to me) and driving an 18-yr SUV (it’s paid for), a full tank of gas is over $60. That’s a lot, to me. So glad I live frugally so that I can afford to put gas in my car and go places with my kids. Granted, it’s basically to go to school, church, our social things and run errands.

However, I always feel so wonderful when I can fill up on a full tank of gas (usually), because that means I have the money to pay for it. God is Jehovah Jireh (the Lord who Provides) and His timing is always right!

Maybe a lot of people take this for granted, but when I was in college and over these past few years, I have not. It feels so good, almost like winning something special and cool. 15 months ago

Over the past 3 yrs, I’ve been learning how to do this, and even more so the past year. I’m learning to take advantage of sale upon sales and love CLEARANCE or free stuff. But, not all free stuff is worth it, so I am selective here.

I love Goodwill and thrift shops. Haven’t really done the garage sale stuff, but I love Craig’s List, or passing on my good stuff to people I know that need it. Others do the same for me.

Although we are still essentially broke, but I feel like we’ve lived very richly and deliciously. We have nice clothes that we either got for free, or hardly cost anything, or some gift card or something like that.

My sister gave me this gorgeous leather jacket that still had the price tags on and it is a jacket that is a couple hundred dollars on sale with the softest leather ever. She also gave my daughter this delicious suade jacket my mom bought her years ago. I can’t believe how thick and comfortable it is and I know that cost quite a bit.

We just find such great deals or am really opened to however God shows up to bless our lives.

But, that’s not only with material things, but overall I have good health and when I can take a deep breath and breathe in fresh air that fills my lungs, or the yummy aroma of food baking or cooking or something like that, it’s so wonderful.

The foods we eat are often organic and because we rarely eat out, my kids and I get to eat as if we were kings and queens, not stuff filled with junk or crap. Periodically I’ll buy crap and then we feel like crap, but if I stick to whole foods and allowing my creative chef side come out, the kids just gobble up those meals.

And, I bask in friendships not only here on 43T, but in real life and other areas of my life. Man, this is so rich because I learn to appreciate everyone, including those that grate against me.

Having a heart of gratitude doesn’t cost me any money, but adds like this scrumptous viewpoint that is the tastiest ever. It makes life lighter and more beautiful.

Often when I see a sunset, I just imagine God painting that picture just for me, all for me to enjoy its exquisiteness. It’s so romantic, even if I’m in the car driving with my kiddos and they are so noisy in the back.

I feel like I’m wealthier than Bill Gates or a Saudia Arabian prince. No, I do not have their financial wealth, but I certainly have a life that I soak in and love that is richly delicious! 16 months ago