EVEN MORE WAYS TO LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS! FRUGAL, SIMPLE, OLD FASHIONED LIVING!  

I am blessed I have a husband that is great at fixing thing. We have been Married 53 years, and he has saved us so much money. We are in our 70's and he tries to do most of the stuff still. I am thankful 😊

I did something similar when my washing machine died. I knew that a serviceman would charge at least $100 to come to the house and the repair would likely cost $100 or more on top of that. I searched RU-vid with the brand of washer and specific problem and up came a dozen videos showing how to fix it. I ordered the part ($30) and installed it myself. I was pretty impressed - not bad for a middle-aged woman with absolutely no shop classes or experience with repairs! Since then, I've repaired my lawnmower twice and a few other things around the house. Thank goodness for RU-vid!!!

An overflow valve on our hot water tank was leaking. The plumber said it would take 2 hours to fix. My husband did research on you tube, bought the part for $30.00 and it took him only 30 min. to put together.

Freeze any watermelon you can’t use in time and then combine with yogurt and make a smoothie!! It’s delicious!!

In cottage country, there is a used book store that gives store credit for donated gently used books. I took in some books I no longer needed, purchased three books, and still have credit available for my next visit. I have some delightful reading ahead, gained a little shelf space, had a lovely experience with the staff and a volunteer, and didn't spend a penny! A real feel good afternoon!

I fed my cat chicken liver and some other meat based foods as I learned on YT that cats and dogs are basically carnivorous. My cat's bold spot on her back went away and she looks beautiful and happy and more serene than usual and no vet or drug bills for me. Meow:)

Question of the week answer:My neighbor gave me some tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden. I didn't have any quart or pint jars that weren't in use to can the tomatoes so instead I got out my jelly jars and I made tomato jam because I just didn't want to spend the money on more jars. I made refrigerator pickles with the cucumbers and put them in regular jars (non canning) that I had in the cabinet.

We always try to find “non buying solutions “ before we spend any money. It’s amazing what we have laying around!

My washer started leaking from the bottom recently. It's an older washer we bought used 4-5 years ago. So it is probably 10+ years old. My husband (who is a bit more dramatic than me 😂), said "well, i told you it would go out soon, niw we have to buy a new one". I went straight to google, then RU-vid. Shared my newfound knowledge with him....and long story short, he was able to replace a cracked pump that i purchased for $12 from Amazon in about 15 minutes!

I’m retired but still always look forward to Friday thanks Emmy and Paul ❤

The weather has been so hot lately I didn't leave the house last weekend to do my weekly grocery shopping. By Tuesday I needed milk for a casserole I was making and no milk in the fridge. I remembered I had some powdered milk in the pantry closet. I mixed together some of that milk to use in the casserole. It turned out just fine. There was no lunchmeat to use for my packed lunch for work this week. Back to the pantry closet. Tuna salad sandwiches two days and a peanut butter & jelly the third day. Just a little use what you have week. God Bless 😊

My little frugal savings: I warmed the mechanism of the empty salt grinder and wiggled it off. A person can buy a bag of Himalayan rock salt at Dollar Tree for $1.25 and zero tax that’s enough to refill it several times. The grinder originally cost $2.99 plus tax (8.575%) so this maneuver kept the plastic grinder out of the landfill AND saved us at least $11.80. Not a major savings, but it is a huge return on investment. And salt grinders are FUN

I ignored the heat buildup it caused and canned 18 pints of vegetable soup base. I used fresh zucchini and yellow squash from my garden and all the odds and ins of frozen vegetable scraps I had saved up in it. So the only thing i had to buy at the store were the canned tomatoes and a few stalks of celery which was about $7 total. I had all the canning supplies and spices already. And I have free natural gas to my house! Then later in the week I bought 2 gallons of fresh blueberries from my friends who grow them to sell to local farmers markets. I made 6 pints of jam and sugared and froze the rest in small containers. I figured it cost me about 60 dollars for a years supply of organically-grown frozen blueberries and jam. They are so sweet and delicious! I only lightly sugar them so that they keep their shape and I can open a container and take whatever amount I need out and then seal the container back up. So for about $70, I have18 pints of vegetable soup base, 6 pints of blueberry jam and 1 1/2 gallon of frozen, sweet blueberries to use in baking, smoothies, pancakes or snacks by themselves. I live way out in the country and roads can get dicey in winter. I have the basis for a lot of good home cooked meals from this weeks work for those cold winter days!

My son is an automotive tech. So he takes care of my car for me. So grateful for him.

Nice Dixie is so compliant with her haircut. Saves you so much money!!

To save money this week, I cut and colored my own hair and did my own mani and pedi. Also lots if zucchini and cucumbers harvested from our garden saved me a small fortune at the supermarket. Have a great weekend, stay cool! Mrs. D. Hudson Valley

I love my pressure cooker so much! It makes the cheaper cuts of meat so tender in less than an hour.

To save money this week, I am working no waste in the kitchen. I am using my produce from my garden right away. Also, I am using a library app to check out and read books. We live 45 minutes away from the library. The app allows me to check out books without having to drive into town 1 other way that I saved money is to combine errands to save on fuel costs. Thank you so much for the ideas you share.

Popcorn is a favorite snack. I don’t buy microwave popcorn. Instead, I purchase a bag of JiffyPop kernels and a pack of giant brown lunch bags at Walmart. Three Tbsp of kernels in the bag without oil, fold bag top over a couple of times, set on the side and pop on popcorn setting. I love generics, but the Great Value kernels don’t work as well. Don’t use smaller paper bags because the popcorn burns. Want it to be like movie popcorn? Add butter or a little nonstick spray. Better for the wallet and waistline.

Husband repaired my old, perfectly broken in recliner. He found 2 needed parts in his stock pile. I needed a baby changing station for my grand's visits. I found a basket and placed in it a rolled diaper changing pad, some diapers, wipes, butt cream, bottle with water and wash cloth (she spits up alot and a wet wash cloth for washing her neck area does better then a wipe) I set this basket on an old end table near her crib.

We had a dear friend pass this month. Her son was leaving for Utah last Wed. He called 2 of us from Church to come clean out the chest freezer and fridge freezer. He gave us the contents!!!! I got a large tote of meat and freezer meals. Both our freezers are filled and I could not fit a large whole chicken in. I slow cooked it in the crockpot. We had chicken, mashed potatoes and a salad for dinner. There was so much shredded chicken left, I made chicken and noodles plus a small batch of BBQ chicken. I stretched that chicken to the max!! Our friend was into food storage big time and she blessed our families with her storage. Loved this lady and miss her dearly, and so thankful for the blessings.❤

We have been picking and eating and freezing tomatoes from our container gardens and my son did some work in our car for us this week. Also dried clothes outside. Carole

Our well-maintained 20 y.o. Subaru Outback needed spark plugs, ignition coil and a new radiator, estimated parts & labor about $2,000. The car isn't worth putting that amount into it, but my husband wanted to keep it for hauling things and as our backup second car which occasionally is very handy. With RU-vid videos and a little reassurance from our old trusted mechanic, he replaced all that himself for about $150 total in parts, and it runs beautifully again. One advantage to keeping it is that we only insure it for liability. We're both retired and don't often need a second car, but for $150 he is glad to keep it. On the flip side, we also had a recent frugal FAIL -- had an AC unit serviced to replace the capacitor for about $400. Shortly after I found a RU-vid video showing how easy these are to replace yourself with the part from a big box home store costing only about $25!! 😆 Apparently these go out every few years and it's the most likely reason if the AC stops working. Arg, live and learn!

The kickstand on my bike is too short and my bike falls over! A new kickstand is $25. I went to a building supply "second time around" store and purchased strong plastic tubing for $1 and a PVC "T" coupling for 65 cents. The plastic tubing slid nicely over the kickstand. I glued the PVC 'T' on the end of the kickstand/plastic tubing. My kickstand is lengthened and works great. $1.65 vs $25=no-brainer.

I have an instant pot i have never used! My sister even got me a cookbook for the instant pot. I am a visual person so seeing using yours helps😊

Thanks, Emmy and Paul! Did you know that dark roasts of coffee have less caffeine than lighter ones because long exposure to heat drives it off? We noticed energy savings today after changing our laundry washing time to after dark. Today's bill for heating water was almost half of what it was in May! Dixie is so cute!😁

In Chicago, Jewel-Osco has 1 lb. butter (either Signature house brand, Challenge or Land O'Lakes) on sale for $2.99 every month or so. Since butter lasts a long time and can be frozen if needed, I stock up and buy several boxes of unsalted butter for baking.

I am so grateful to have a husband that is capable of "fixing things." Even though he is disabled with a progressive disease, he's so smart. In a couple of days we are going to take on our second complex auto repair of my 9 year old Kia. Together we manage to get these things done. I truly believe it is good for our brains to try and figure these things out for ourselves. Sometimes we do need a professional, and that's 100% OK, but first we should ask ourselves if it's something we can do on our own. Loved seeing Miss Dixie. She hit the lotto with you guys :) So much love!

Paul is so talented and should be really proud of himself being able to repair car and household items so well with just RU-vid tutorials. . It takes a certain skill set to do that. And a steady hand and a steady temper!

Eating a late lunch here in NC and watching you early! I usually watch at night, so this is nice today! Glad to see Dixie Belle again. What a joy to see her! You all make Fridays wonderful !!

Thank you Emmy and Paul for another wonderful video!! Your container garden looks so healthy overall! Also, I'm going to be looking into that code reader ASAP. To answer the question of the day, I mentioned it on the Tuesday comments, but I was so happy this past week finally making the decision to cancel Prime and Disney+. We are going to keep watching what is free as there is so much available to us! Already in 3 months that saves us $80.

I used our instant pot on pressure cook for the first time. I survived! and got a great chicken soup. Also, brother repaired a leak in the refrigerator water line for effort and $40.oo instead of $350. Yay! Thank you, Lord! God is good all the time! 💖✝

I didn't realize I had no chicken in the freezer so it was a vegetable dinner instead. Chickpea curry with spinach over rice and a salad.

My saving week was: Starting seeds for my capisum and tomato plants. Five weeks til spring here. Harvested basil and parsley from the garden to dehydrate Church veggie hamper this week $10 Baked a apple and orange tea cake Homemade broccolini pizza Collards are on the list to grow for me this year.

I canned 15 quarts of pickles and 5 pints of pickle relish. My first time canning in my 50s. Our cucumbers are growing so fast because of all the rain we have been getting in MO. We planted Israeli cucumbers.

Emmy, when you said Paul liked collard greens, I was happily surprised! We do too! 😊 That’s part of our Portuguese cuisine. I have 2 frugal, simple,savoury collard recipes, in case you’d like to try it!. Add a sausage, (in our case we use portuguese meat sausage, it’s very flavourful) to the cut up collards in a pan with boiling water. No need to add any spices (maybe salt) because the sausage liberates it’s savoury flavour and the collards absorb it! You may add potatoes and or carrots and it’s a complete meal. Caldo verde is a traditional and delicious soup. Water, onions and potatoes in a soup pan, let them boil and then purée. Add diced up savoury sausage. Add the finely chopped collards. (the chopping part needs some elbow grease. 😂) Add salt to taste. Bring it to a low boil until collards are done. 🍲 Bom appetite! 😊 Sam 🇨🇦

We used up the food we had leftover from the 4th. We also used food we had instead if going to the store.

Taking the code reader on a road trip is such a fantastic idea! Never thought to do it. This week we filled up the gas tank and headed out on a day hike. We lived below our means by taking advantage of free trails, filling our cooler with snacks/lunch from home and bringing our own refillable water bottles.

Good afternoon Sweet Couple ❤️❤️

Woohoo it’s Friyay

I bought an insta pot, absolutely hated it, kept 2years then gifted to a neighbor with hopes she'll use and like it.😂

Dixie is precious. Great video!

We looked up videos on you tube to change my cabin filter...done in 10 minutes and saved us $80 the mechanic wanted to do it...

I just came from the grocery store and I got a cabbage. It was 2lb. For $1.00

I made a $30. Ice cream cake out of ice cream sandwiches and cool whip!

My husband is very handy and has fixed things on the cars. We had a potluck 4th of July party. We provided hamburgers (bought on sale), hot dog (bought on sale) and brats. People brought fruit salad, zucchini bread and beer. We sat on our deck, under the gazebo and were able to zip up the bug netting. It was fun.

I love to see your pup!! she is adorable!! and great job on the grooming, she looks so cute!!! Dixie Belle looking beautiful with her newly trimmed fur.

I take my lunch and snacks to work every day. One day this week I had an out of town class and started to stop to pick up Barbecued chicken at a restaurant for supper but decided to go home and put 2 large chicken breast in the slow cooker. I saved a lot of money. I ended up getting 3 meals out of it for me and my husband. We save a lot of money by rarely eat out.

Thank you Emmy and Paul for your wonderful and supportive tips! We are finally able to save and invest about 15-20 percent of our income! Retirement is 15 years off! ❤maybe sooner we will see! God bless you! ❤

This weekend, we will be finish our brakes…front rotors and brake pads. We already did the back ones a few weeks ago. we got the parts on sale and was much cheaper than what we were quoted from mechanic. Saving over $1000.

We've been having hot, sunny, dry conditions in WV, so I have line-dried most of our laundry. It feels great to utilize our clothesline and tamp down the power bill!

This week I canned pork and beans for summer cook outs and made burger buns for the freezer.

Butter is ridiculously expensive! Normally 4.49-7.99 at Fred Meyer or Safeway. I’ve been stalking the sales and recently purchased 6 quarter packs of Land o’Lakes for 2.49 each. Storing in freezer. I’m getting better at bulk buying these staples during sales. Thanks for sharing. The garden looks great!

I hang my clothes on the clothes line. Made our meals at home. I hope that’s what you were looking for. 😊

You did a damn fine job on those collards for a Yankee! Tip for collards from my Aunt Vivian, a good old gal from Alabama: massage the collards with a bit of bacon grease (which you save, of course!). By rubbing it in you remove some of the natural waxes in the collard leaf and it softens up much faster, also the bacon fat combats(leaches out) some of the oxalates (the bitter chemical that lends a bitter taste to savory greens like collards, kale, beets, etc). So you end up with collards that are sweeter, cook more quickly, and tenderize faster than usual. Just a tip. love your content - keep up the good work!

Today, I sat and made my own washing powder while chatting to my daughter as she drove home from work. I saved time by multi-tasking and money using kitchen store items. Thanks for a fabulous video and big hugs and blessings to you both. Xx from Leicester England xX.

We live in a small town and only go into the city when we have appointments. Of course we schedule several on the same day. While my husband was in one of his appointments he dropped me off at a store that sells items at a steep discount. I was able to get many items that we use for under $40. I am also lucky to live with Mr. Fix it, like Paul.

I am very thankful to have a husband that can do things around the house too. He put in windows, replaced the water heater and a bunch of other things. I wanted to share one thing that I tried last year. We have a pretty long sidewalk in front of our house. The grass grows over it every year. Last year, we cut it off and placed the sod like pieces in the low spots in other places around our yard. It worked! It needed some elbow grease to get them to be level and not lumpy but this year our yard doesn't have any low spots! And we didn't have to buy top soil or sod to fill them in.

One thing I did was freezing ground beef and chicken realizing with menu planning that it was going to be a few days and didn’t want it to bad. I can’t rhink how much food I have thrown away before we got a food sealer. It is saving money all ready. Thank you for all y’all’s wonderful ideas to preserve, save and to be wise with what you’re doing. Thanks 😊

I cooked a roast with carrots and home grown onions in the crockpot. Also mashed potatoes. This was about 3 meals for us. Plus potato pancakes for breakfast. Saved energy by not heating up the house. It saved time and energy.

We’ve been shopping from our cupboards. Dixie looks so cute. Hope she enjoyed her trim.

In Germany the 250g Butter costs lately 1,99€ - crazy

I'll be honest, I never knew what it meant to live a frugal life until coming upon your channel. I have been listening and learning and very new to this journey. That being said, I had a win this week. I'm a school teacher and we go back to work soon in the south. I have a lanyard that just wasn't working for me. We have to keep our keys and badge separate so the alert feature isn't accidentally activated. I was on Amazon looking and put several things in my cart,but it wasn't the configuration I wanted. I pulled out all the badge pieces and an extra lanyard I had from something else. And wallah...with a bit of creativity, I came up with a solution. No money and I used what I had. Thank you for your videos and willingness to teach.

This reminds me of something that happened with a pressure cooker to my sister. She loved the holidays and always had everyone over. It was Christmas and she always made wedding soup. She was making it that morning in a pressure cooker. Some of the greens got stuck in the pressure release valve and blew the lid off and soup was dripping from the ceiling and on every surface. Her husband helped her clean up and by the time we all got there, there was no evidence of anything in her kitchen. Needless to say though dinner was a little late. RIP Barb

Great ideas. My husband has also saved us money by repairing our cars. He has done research on RU-vid for the more complicated repairs. We also have an excellent mechanic nearby that we go to regularly for the difficult repairs. Thanks to you both!

I always enjoy and learn so much from you all. Thank you Love Joy

Your container garden looks awesome! 👏😁 So sorry to hear your soil is so poor in your garden area. 😥 But it looks like you've come up with a great alternate solution that works well. 😎🤘 Love when you show how Paul was able to save you money by doing the car repair himself. 🥰 Aren't RU-vid videos amazing??!! 👏🤪 So wonderful to see Dixie Belle's cameo!! 👏🤩💖 Suh a sweet disposition she has! 😃👍

I spent a bit to much in June , so July is extreme frugal business now :) . Kept the grocery bill down to 30 euro this week. No fancy food just basic and healthy . No going shopping for anything else then food this month. And this year I started a small veggie garden which is taken off , so some luck there.

2 of my daughters and I washed 2 vehicles by hand. Where I live it costs 20.00 per car wash. I don't feel like they truly get clean. In a little over an hr. we had washed the outside of large truck, and a suv . Vacuumed and wiped down the inside.

I love Paul being in the videos more and showing his tips for around the home. This was a great video as always. You both encourage me to live frugally yet fully.

I"ve been wanting an outdoor mosaic garden chair. I refused to spend the money on one. While I was driving one day someone put a bunch of items on the side of the road for free. I always stop as I never know what I will find. Sure enough, there was my mosaic garden chair that I've been wanting. FREE and nothing wrong with it. It looked brand new. put it in my car and brought it home to set up in front of my house where I keep all my beautiful flowers. Saved me at least $80 minimum. Also, we have been doing house renovations. I refused to spend $500 on a bathroom sink. So I went onto FB buy nothing page and sure enough someone was giving theirs away for free. It was even better than the one I was looking at. I also found a brand new in the box never opened ceiling fan for our living room Right there with those 3 finds I saved over $700. I can go on and on with the finds I get for FREE. God is good and he is faithful.

Hello Emmy and Paul. Great video as always. My frugal win this week was kinda a frugal/not frugal. I got COVID this week so I was unable to go anywhere or spend anything. And that's good. But I also had to throw out a lot of food that I had touched and wasn't sure about and foods that I didn't eat cuz I was just too sick. As soon as I'm 100% better, I do need to go get a couple more fans for my house. I given all my extras to my kids and wow the heatwave we are having, here. 114° in California. I like my instant pot Emmy best for cooking hard boiled eggs. Once cooked, the shell just slides right off. So easy. And now that my taste is back, I think I'm gonna make some. Have a great week everyone.

Updating my kitchen by painting the cabinets instead of replacing. Bought the kits on clearance. I'm almost done, it is taking 5 coats ...ALOT of work, but looking beautiful and way cheaper than replacing!!

I love comparing grocery prices between the United States and Germany. There aren't any big differences in general, but for butter, I have to say that a pound at over 4 dollars is horrible! Here, you can sometimes find it for under 2 dollars / euros. Thanks for the Video.!

I plant a container garden, I also purchase bargain foods or sales, there is 3 adults in the house, we spend 300 a mouth on food, it's hard work but we eat healthy, thanks for your channel, it does help alot God bless us all

Maybe Paul can turn an old shed on your property into a greenhouse,so you can continue growing plants for next year. Just an idea.

So sweet to see Dixie Bell!! Glad she's doing well!! One thing you asked about was the cost of butter. In Tennessee at Walmart $3.98 and Kroger $4.29. I'm really trying this week to not let the fruits and vegetables I bought go to waste (like so often happens!). Thank you for your videos!❤

Dixie getting a beauty treatment is adorable! Emmy and Paul - another great video!

Our butter runs anywhere from $6.50 to & $. 8.99 depending on brand, store, reg or sale price. I am in Canada

Thank god for your happy face and cheering voice☺️ in these hard times...you are just amazing! We try to do exactly what you do..ask youtube for inspiration and "how to" . I changed battery in my carkeys very easily...and cheap... and saved myself several hundreds of dollars...I always use what I have in my garden...not buying new stuff...saves me also hundreds of dollars...

My 5-ish year old washer broke, so I called a repairman. He charged me like $130 to tell me it's the motherboard, that a new one would cost $450, and suggested I buy a new washer. I found an ebay seller with the motherboard, talked him down to $50, and fixed it myself.

I look forward to your videos every week both of you are so real like great people to know. Thank you so much. As a matter of fact I am so busy watching all of your past videos

Gosh ground hog at my mother’s put his nose under the fence that was stacked down and flipped it up and in he went. They watched it on the camera. We also catch them in our live trap. They will ruin the garden.

Love my time with you and Paul

Hi Emmy , Paul and Dixie🐶Last week my husband cleaned off our house with some cleaner and a deck brush ! He also cleaned out the gutters ! Both of which can be done by a professional (and since we moved to this house in November, we have had many such solicitors stop by to offer their services)… As you probably know it has been especially hot lately here in SC. Friday our A/C went out and couldn’t be fixed. It was 14 yrs old so knew it was coming. Had the new one installed yesterday (shout out to MB One Hour HVAC! They did a terrific job!), and are so thankful to be in this home and to hs e the means to get new A/C Praying for all those who have none. Also the coffee, fruit bars were great buys! And love your patriotic decorations!🇺🇸 Hello from MB, SC THANKS AS ALWAYS for your videos!🏝️😎🙏🏻

Looking good Dixie !! I got a haircut this week too !! I got a hole in my dryer hose this week , i had a $5 coupon at ACE got a replacement and my daughter put it on !! Saved $$$ Thanks for the videos !

I wanted another raised garden bed, built it with things I already had, and neighbor's cast offs, laid cardboard for weed block instead of stuff you buy, filled halfway with leaves and grass clippings and then topped with my own compost, the melons I planted are going great. only thing I spent money on was a packet of seeds.

🎉🎉🎉 great job Paul!!!! Great video!!!

Dixie is so cute. I love it when she looked at the camera

LOL, I am watching you while getting ready to go out. The only makeup I buy (since mask wearing was a thing) is eyeliner and mascara. We have a special thing to do today, so blush was a little extra. But I didn't have any. But I do have a TON of lipstick I never use. Yep, I realized my grandmother use to use her lipstick as blush. So, I think I am set for the rest of my days :) Love to you both!

Maybe the acidity of the larger quantity vinegar in the original recipe softens the greens better?

I love seeing Miss Dixie! Great tips. Evap leak issues have enriched many mechanics. I’m so glad Paul handled himself.

I love Flash Foods. I often cook for my elderly parents and the cost saving really helps. I love you and Paul’s tips. I’m working toward an early retirement once I am mortgage free

This week: sister in law had veggies she was dumping so I took them. Tonight some will get chopped and frozen for soup. Tomatoes will be dinner tonight. ❤ I love using cut veg instead of tossing the items. Frugal for the win

Thank you for sharing your video

RU-vid videos are the best.

Loving your vintage tablecloth🥰

Love collard greens I did a pot of greens one time with just about 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce instead of sugar. So good.

Hi Emmy and Paul , Nice to see you friends 💁🏻‍♀️. Now it’s summer and I not eating mostly salad and fish and chicken . In winter I do prepare most of my diners in the pressure cooker . And I think it easy to make soup , caresole , and the time it’s saved . Now as it summer people are not buying butter so much and I did buy a last week three packs of good quality butter . And I freeze them . I was so happy I now have butter for some time . So nice to see your vegetable plants growing . And Dixie’s so happy and well look after . God bless you and enjoy all you do 😊☀️.

We went to visit relatives out of state. I made meals and froze them ahead of time. This saved SO much $ and we all enjoyed them. We went to a grocery store for salad items and icecream but our main meals were already prepped I avoided a large groc bill when prepping the food by shopping sales. I will def do this again!!