Frugal Friday ~ June 19, 2020 ~ Recession Ahead?

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According to multiple news sources, the coronavirus pandemic forced the United States economy to contract sharply, which has caused the US to enter a recession. 
Many experts think this will be a deep recession and short, but time will tell as to how long it will really last. 
We know of several small businesses that have decided to call it quits and close permanently. Both of the owners were close enough to retirement age to go ahead and retire. I find it sad though that the pandemic forced them into this decision. 
My daughter continues to resell online as her primary source of income. I help her by steaming and processing items. 
Processing clothes for her has made it so that I know exactly what I want in my own clothing. I know what length I prefer in tops and pants, along with what fabrics I prefer. 
All of this makes it easier to know what to shop for, which will save me money. For example I have purchased tops before with a certain fabric blend that I didn't like when it arrived. Now I can avoid that extra expense. 
This week I've been watching the soap opera, Port Charles on YouTube. There is one channel on there that has all the episodes in chronological order, so it's easy to watch them in order. 
Our electric bill for June 2019 was 320.48 while our electric bill for June 2020 is $208.49, which is a difference of $111.99. The savings is due to our new energy efficient air conditioner. The savings will pay for the air conditioner in the first summer that we own it. 
If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know I've babied our old air conditioner for a couple of years now. I knew it was probably costing us money and now we have proof of that. We saved up our money over the last year in order to pay cash for the new a/c.
If you're looking for money saving ways to stay cool this summer, feel free to read my blog post on the topic. 
Speaking of staying cool, last Friday I cut up a watermelon for us to enjoy. Is there anything better than an ice cold sweet watermelon on a hot summer day? 
Part of a wheel on my desk chair broke off this week making it hard to roll around. No need to fear as I had a replacement, bought at a yard sale last summer, so I only needed to replace it. 
Amy Dacyczyn picked up items at yard sales that she knew would need to be replaced over the course of the year like lunch boxes and such. This timely tip still holds true today. 
My bills this week were paid online, which saved me the cost of postage and envelopes.
My project of working on the recipes on my blog continued this week. Several of the recipes I had posted on the blog over the years didn't make it onto my recipe page. I've been working on correcting that again this week. I hope all the recipes are not bothering you. 
My daughter made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies again this week. And on Thursday I made a recipe for Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles. 
I made these for my daughter when she was younger and she loved them, so here is the recipe in case you're interested.  

Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles

Ingredients

6 ounce packet ramen noodles without the flavor packet

2 tablespoons pure sesame oil

1 & 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 & ½ tablespoons rice vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

Optional Garnish: 

3 sliced green onions 

1 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds

Directions:

Cook and drain the noodles according to the package directions.

In a medium bowl, add the sesame oil, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger.

Whisk until well combined. 

The peanut butter should completely break down to create a smooth sauce.

Pour the sauce over the hot noodles. 

Toss to coat.

On Thursday I received my second unemployment check. I'm very grateful for this as it's really helped here and given me a peace of mind I've not had in the last few months. 
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

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