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Kat
6-2-11, 8:02am
June already!

Yesterday DH got paid for the remainder of the dogsitting. I'll be tucking that right into the baby fund. I also picked up another class last Friday so we can hopefully start to rebuild our emergency fund (which is totally wiped out!).

Today I am going to make a detailed shopping list and do a big shop. I'll run my other errands--bank and mailing Netflix--while I am out. I might stop at Goodwill, too. I saw some huge flannel blankets there the other day that I am thinking would make good homemade baby wipes.

Jemima
6-2-11, 10:59am
Yesterday afternoon I stopped at Acme on the way home to pick up stuff for next week's bag lunches and also bought four greeting cards, which entitled me to use a four dollars off coupon on any health item. I bought Calcium Citrate Plus D, which I take daily on doctor's orders, and which was already on sale for $4.24 per 130 caps bottle. I bought two at a net of $4.48. Also picked up some seeds for next year at 40% off.

Tonight's dinner will be a salad from my own container-grown lettuce with a piece of hot grilled chicken on top.

bke
6-2-11, 11:10am
Ds and I did a major shopping trip yesterday. We should be stocked for the week or so. We managed to avoid stopping anywhere for a meal which is a rare when we shop. This equaled a savings of $30-35.

Today will be another no drive-so spending day. I have books in at the library but am resisting the urge to go and pick them up. They'll be there the next time I have a reason to go into that town.

I made rice krispie treats last night just to make my guys feel like there was something different in the house to snack on. I bought enough marshmallows to make 2 batches which will finish the cereal and keep there from being any waste.

Ds is half way through his first load of laundry all by himself. Teaching him to be self-sufficient is one of my goals this summer. Well, bathroom cleaning and laundry are goals.

Stella
6-2-11, 1:46pm
I got my sewing area in serviceable shape yesterday so I am thinking of doing some sewing today. I have some cowboy fabric I bought a year ago to make pajama pants for James for his upcoming birthday. I also want to make skirts for the girls and pajama pants for Zach, all with fabric I have on hand.

Bella's birthday requests were, as usual, strange. She wants a scooter with jewels on it, a hair bow with seven rainbows of light and a squirrel in a nurse costume. (Fidgiegirl, I think that last one may have had something to do with that squirrel link from the other day.) I think Bellaland is probably a strange and wonderful place. Like Rainbow bright meets Tim Burton. Anyway, I am thinking we will get her a scooter, a rainbow hair bow and a picture of a squirrel for her wall. I also found some wall art on easy that looks like an eye chart, but the letters spell out "I love you more than squirrels". Exactly what Bella said about baby T.

If I can find them I believe I also have rainbow and squirrel embroidery patterns. It wouldn't be the strangest thing I had ever embroidered on a pillowcase for the kids. Someday I hope they appreciate having the kind of mother who would embroider intestines on a pillowcase or all their favorite raptors on a skirt or knit them some bacon just to make them happy. :)

If I have leftover cowboy fabric I might make matching doll pants for James' baby doll. He loves his doll. He is also on a big duck kick, so I may have to do something with that. Not baby toy yellow ducks, but mallards.

I have some cream cheese I want to use up so I think this evening we will have a lemon icebox pie for dessert.

Today I am planning my menu for the month. I am going to do my stock-up shopping tomorrow.

bke
6-2-11, 3:05pm
Ds wanted to go to the hardware store to get some supplies for a project he is working on. I blew my no-driving day by taking him in the car. I guess we could have ridden bikes if I had thought about it.

On a positive note, he used his own money for supplies and is using leftover wood scraps from our remodeling projects to "make things" and keep himself entertained.

Mighty Frugal
6-2-11, 5:16pm
Like Rainbow bright meets Tim Burton. :D:D too funny Stella!!!

Dh got a groupon coupon-for 10 bucks you get a 20 buck coupon at Old Navy (where we shop all the time for kids clothes and occasional summer dress for me). Then he invited me thereby getting another $10 for Groupon! And then I bought the Old Navy coupon as well. So triple score.


Resisted the urge to buy a bagel and cream cheese today at our local deli.

That's all I've got now...

fidgiegirl
6-2-11, 7:32pm
Oh, Stella. Joy!

I am still laughing about the squirrels . . .
http://www.life.com/gallery/29952#index/14

Everyone is off to a frugal June! I bought a $20 Caribou card for a volunteer at school and actually asked the other members of the committee for money toward it. Usually I am squeamish about that kind of thing so I gave myself a little pat on the back. Unfortunately I did not also ask for money to cover the cost of the thank you card. I still have my mom's Cricut so I probably could have made a very nice one at home for a lot less than the $4 :0! I paid for it. You win some, you lose some!

I am going to make a coffee cake for tomorrow morning's committee meeting to celebrate today's work session. We just need to pick up some eggs when we go to walk the dog. Going to make this one with all ingredients we already bought.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Graham-Streusel-Coffee-Cake-2/Detail.aspx

That's about all. I guess we have been so busy at work we haven't been buying anything, really. I did have to buy stupid lettuce for a potluck at work the other night. But I only got one package.

Mrs.B
6-2-11, 9:19pm
I'm trying to see how many "buy nothing" days I can have this month. I do have some large cost coming up, my granddaughter is graduating from high school, and I've been putting money aside for her since her birthday in Feb. she is saving for a laptop, so I told her I would put in for it for her birthday and graduation, but that I'd hang on to the money till then, that way she's not tempted to spend it else where. My car needs an oil change; how I miss the days when I had a car I could change the oil myself. (I know I'm dating myself) but now I open the hood and can't tell which end of the motor I'm looking at!! But I did get a coupon in the mail today for a $19.95 oil change. So todays the 2nd, and I haven't left the house!
Mrs. B

danna
6-2-11, 11:13pm
Jun 02
last couple of days...
--dsil for lunch on the 1st and since it was so hot I set up a salad bar with mac salad, and a large bowl of romaine and lot of small dishes with a couple cheeses, chicken piences, onion, tomato, peppers, cucumbers (you get the idea)
--I had the mac salad for supper and breakfast, yes I love this salad..lol and then made DH and I large green salad with some of the leftovers and we will have omelets tomorrow morning with the rest of the stuff in them
--fancy dinner (but very reasonable prieced Hors d'oeuvres, beef dinner, pie and tea for $20.00 each)out at DH's club tonight so I needed a hair cut (had been over 2 months) got it at my usual cheap but good hairdresser, gave myself a manicure and pedicure.
--bulk barn and only spent $12.14 and used a $3.00 off if you spent $10.00 coupon
--yes, I got the Old Navy coupon too, don't usually shop there but can use it for gifts for grandsons. Great deal

Azure
6-3-11, 12:22am
Stella - LOL Bellaland sounds like a fun place to visit. What a character she is.

Graduation gifts are killing my budget! 6 track team members & 1 cousin so far. $20 each. ack! At least the cards were only $.50 each lol. But these guys are all really nice, nice kids. I'm going to miss the track guys like crazy next year.

Also been busting the budget providing food for the meets. But I really enjoy watching them enjoy the food. And they are always so grateful. Luckily Saturday is the last meet. There won't be as many kids to feed either since this is the state finals for individual performers. Only a few teams of kids & individuals from our school qualified.

Tyler is probably going to take classical guitar lessons this summer. $20/week. I will probably go halves with him.

We got our air conditioner in on Sunday. We have a window unit only. We really needed it on Monday. I do not like heat & humidity.

Yesterday was the honor roll track meet (Only 6 kids from our team qualified. Tyler's 3200m relay team placed 5th!) I made a crockpot burgundy stew to have for dinner when we got home.

Tonight I made the last 1/2 jar of salsa & the last 2 Bl/sl chicken breasts along with some colby jack cheese into a salsa chicken dish. Served it over rice. Didn't have enough veggies to feed everyone so we just had watermelon with dinner. mmmmm I love watermelon.

When I get groceries tomorrow I think I'm going to take $10 of my blow money and buy 4 more bags of mulch for the front flower bed. It won't be enough but it's progress. I would really like to have a nice looking flower bed for a change.

Oh Fidgiegirl, your post reminded me that I need to plan to make a dish to pass for the track banquet which will be sprung upon us at the last possible moment. Love, LOVE our coach but advanced notification about things is not his strong suit.

Made tortillas & refried beans and made some bean & cheese burritos for the fridge so that there is something handy for a quick snack.

danna
6-3-11, 9:19pm
June 03
--no spend, no gas,
--moved the composter and got all that beautiful black gold at the bottom and added it around a lot of my plants. It is now in a better spot and I am going to plant a few plants were it was, I thought tomatoes would do great there.

babr
6-4-11, 5:26pm
dh and i joined the "tourist in your own town" we wandered the streets of our capital; bought nothing
dh stopped and picked up a bag of organic spinich which he will eat the rest of the week
stopped at the library and picked up videos and music for dh; i have cd's from the library for entertainment for tonight

fidgiegirl
6-4-11, 7:06pm
Hey all,

Big spending day today. We did a lot of work in the yard this morning, I posted some of my frugals over on the Save $100 in June Challenge. Among them a skipped case of beer and two big scores on boat maintenance. We picked up some cheap blocks to elevate one of our rain barrels (AMAZING how much they catch and now we can get all of it out!) and some pretty cheap annuals at Menards. Went to Costco for party stuff for tomorrow and didn't overdo it. I want to always have a big huge spread and it's only going to be maybe eight people so we were restrained. People become so accustomed to a huge variety of foods. We got cookies, burgers and buns, pasta salad (which hurt me a little to buy for $10 knowing I could make it for about $1 but realistically would not do so tonight ;) ), and chips. A friend is bringing a watermelon. We got San Pellegrino cans and already have some Coke and will have a big jug of water.

I am going to go out and plant some stuff.

Oh! Oh! Big news! I can't believe I forgot this one. We have launched a little eBay on consignment business. Not sure if it really goes here but I think for now it's appropriate - it's going to really just kind of be in the side income/initial growth phase. I did buy a six month subscription to Weebly to get the website up, that was about $30. Here it is if anyone is interested (http://singletonsellsstuff.weebly.com). We've had one inquiry and mainly just promoted through FB so far. Hoping people will be keeping it in mind in the coming weeks/months . . . I like doing marketing type things. In fact I think I will pop over to CL and put up an ad right now!

benhyr
6-4-11, 9:59pm
Well, not really frugal, but fun nonetheless. Michigan requires price stickers on everything. Retailers must also honor (at least in most cases that I know of) the sticker price. We needed to buy 16 u-posts for garden fence. Normally $4.97 at Home Depot. They had every single one in the bay marked at $2.97. I insisted on paying full price, they insisted on honoring the price. $32 off. Not bad at all.

danna
6-4-11, 10:48pm
Jun 04
--yardsaling and only spent $12.00 and three boxes of good/really good stuff for the house and clothes(and that was only driving around a couple mile radius)
--a few items at the grocery store only things on special $15.00
--not a frugal for me but sewed up some curtains for Dd to keep light out in the morning , fabric I had from way back and my time, love to help her when I can
--a borrowed movie for entertainment tonight

Kat
6-5-11, 11:25am
Been cooking at home and have lots of leftovers for the coming week.

Hosted a BBQ to celebrate a friend's achievement and did a lot of trimming to the buget for it. Didn't buy beer, bought generic chips, got a whole watermelon on sale instead of making a fruit salad, made only one batch of cookies (which was plenty!), used stuff I had stockpiled in my cupboard and freezer. Also got plates and cups and utensils at the dollar store. Everything turned out really nice! :-)

Also, we changed out Netflix plan from the 3 DVDs at a time to 2 DVDs at a time, saving $5 a month. We might eventually go down to the 1 at a time plan to save another $4 or $5 but haven't decided yet. We do love Netflix! :-)

early morning
6-5-11, 3:54pm
Have 4 loads of clothes on the line. It's been so wet here that the non-essential laundry has been waiting for a drying day. But, it's hot and HUMID, so it's drying very slowly. *sigh*. Didn't find much of interest yardsaling yesterday, but we had fun and it got DH out and about- which was much needed. DD made our semi-monthly Aldi trip on Friday, just about on budget. Buying the bulk of our staples there saves us quite a bit. Will have free lunch at work tomorrow, so don't need to pack from home. Not much else, sadly.

cdttmm
6-5-11, 6:25pm
Finally got my clothesline installed yesterday! Took full advantage of the nice weather and line-dried a load of laundry. I'll be doing much more of that now -- yay! Will eat some leftovers for dinner tonight along with a salad made with lettuce and peas from our garden. Other than that, not much in the way of frugals to report. Just trying to stay home and not spend!

bke
6-5-11, 9:11pm
Friday was a no drive/spend day.

Saturday we had to do some shopping for work. My guys wanted to eat out and I was feeling too cheap to spend the money. Compromised by using coupons for Arby's sandwiches and bringing sodas from home. We ate at the park under a nice shade tree and enjoyed being outside. Total cost: $10.60. Plus ds had the last sandwich for lunch today. We saved $20-25 by compromising and the guys felt like they had a treat. We spent last night and this evening in the pool for more frugal fun.

Today I bought only the sunday paper and I walked to the store to purchase it.

bke
6-6-11, 2:48pm
Recieved free postage stamps, shampoo and coffee in the mail this weekend.

Walked across the street to do my banking today. I think I'm going to change my mind about this and drive to the larger branch of the bank about 8 miles away. The teller today informed EVERYONE in the building that it was going to take a while to deal with me because I had a BIG DEPOSIT HERE. UUUUUGGGHHH! Come on people have a bit of professionalism about you. She even told the waiting customer at the drive-through window that she'd have a long wait because of me. I bit my tongue, I smiled, and remained silent because speaking up will just give them something to b*tch and gossip about when I leave and it will hurt my business in the end because I am the outsider. Everybody acts in this tacky manner around here.

Ironically, it wasn't even a big deposit. Swallowing frustrations like this are difficult for me but I'm breathing in... and out... in.... and out...

Sorry that kind of belonged in the rant thread.

I am staying home otherwise. Doing sweeps, swagbucks, couponing etc. We'll probably go swimming this evening if the weather stays nice.

rosarugosa
6-6-11, 9:22pm
Yikes, BKE. Sounds like the teller was totally out of line in my opinion. You get points for not hitting her!
We're pondering a totally no-frugal move. There's a homeless cat wandering around our neighborhood. Been out there for a year or two now, and we're both starting to feel some serious guilt/tugging on heartstrings. Both our esteemed feline princes started out as homeless dudes (not that they would ever admit it). All cats deserve good homes . . . I just feel like we're not in the best position right now to take on additional vet expenses, more cat food, etc. And I wonder how our two guys will take to another family member. But we were starting to talk about names tonight, so I think we might have crossed a line of some sort. We'll see what happens.

fidgiegirl
6-6-11, 10:45pm
Aw, rosa. You have a good heart. I think it will lead you to the right answer.

bke, ick! Tacky was a good word for it.

Here I am having mixed feelings about our frugality. We went to Costco and did pretty well for a cookout and some lunch foods. We will use some of the frozen leftovers in a second party, so that was a good idea on DH's part. We will only need to pick up a few supplementary items for that one and have asked his siblings to take care of the cake (family bday). We will host all other food and drinks with basically what we have on hand.

DH is pretty proud of his oatmeal for a snack at school. He used to take granola bars, but cripes, those things are expensive. Now he takes quick oats, throws in some brown sugar and craisins, and uses hot water from the schmancy pants water dispenser for a quick snack. Probably, what, 5 or 10 cents a serving? Compared to 50 cents per bar or more. Good job, DH.

Kat
6-7-11, 8:17am
bke--oh my goodness! That teller sounds so obnoxious.
rosarugosa--we wouldn't be able to resist, either :)

DH forgot his lunch yesterday, and rather than have him buy one, I decided to bring a lunch we could both eat to his workplace. At first I wasn't sure what to make since we had no re-heating abilities, but I ended up making a really nice lunch using up some last little odds and ends we had sitting around. I had to drive to get there, but it ended up being a nice little date in the middle of the day.

We both had leftovers for dinner, and it looks like we have at least a few more days of that!

DHs birthday is this weekend, and I thought about doing something special, like renting a hotel room or going to a really nice restaurant or something. He told me he just wants to head into the city and get the rest of the stuff to finish the baby's room (which is a budgeted expense) and then eat at a pub he's been wanting to try. Easy enough. I think I will try to make him a special cake, some sweet cream ice cream, and some cookies for him to bring to work to share. I have almost everything I need, so it won't be too expensive.

madgeylou
6-7-11, 9:01am
bke, that is truly obnoxious and unprofessional. and probably illegal! maybe you cold speak with the manager about it?

things have been okay here on the frugal front. i've worked a few extra nights which is good for the bank account if not for enjoyment of my evenings. :) signed my fella and i up for mint just to track our shared account and set up a budget so we can both see what's going on whenever we want which is pretty helpful.

got a lot to do today so i guess i'll get my skates on and do it! :)

cdttmm
6-8-11, 9:28am
I am loving my new clothesline! Hung out two loads of laundry yesterday and will hang more laundry out today. Wow, for only 2 people we do a lot of laundry around here! :|( Last night had a big salad for dinner with greens from the garden and sugar snap peas -- I love frugal meals like that! Hauled logs yesterday from a fallen tree and will cut up the remainder of the fallen tree later this week and move those logs as well. We'll be using this wood in our outdoor wood boiler this winter. At $175/cord for cut and split firewood, I would like to use as much of the free stuff as possible! I just finished stacking the 9 cords of firewood we bought and our woodshed is full. I'll be building a temporary addition to it using cinder blocks that we already have and an old tarp. It won't be pretty, but it will be functional and we should only need it for a year. Then I can repurpose the cinder blocks and tarp for another project. Need to finish organizing my garden shed today -- that should make for some frugal fun!

bke
6-8-11, 12:34pm
Darn I just lost my reply!

It is in my best interest financially to ignore the poor way the bank teller handled things the other day and simply go back to using the other bank branch. This is a very small town and word would quickly travel that the nasty woman that owns the restaurant got everyones beloved bank teller in trouble and I would lose business that I can't afford to lose. In this little town, if you piss off one person you piss off half the town because they're all related some how and dh and I are still outsiders after all these years. I remind myself that being the outsider is not always a bad thing- I know there is more to life than this and fully intend to get myself back out in the world as quicly as possible. Small towns and their small attitudes are just not all there cracked up to be.

My quality of life has really gone down hill the last two weeks. Balancing things while obtaining my goals is very difficult for me. I go bare bones on my spending and then find myself getting very depressed and irritable because of the prison I have created for myself. It sounds dramatic but its really how I feel.

Dh and I have agreed to a debt reduction plan that should work quite well for us this summer. In order to keep saving as much $$$ as possible we have eliminated almost 100% of all unnecessary spending. I want out of here so badly that I start feeling desperate. But then I cut the quality of life for myself to the point that I feel like life is just lousy everyday.

So I am going to resign myself to the fact that there is going to be little to no savings this summer. Debt reduction will be large. I need to spend some time outside of the house going to the library, dinner, buying quality foods for at home, as well as the occasiona movie or ball game or whatever entertainment comes along. If I don't I become depressed and a real B*tch at work.

Balance-that's the biggest thing I need to work on in life because I definitely go to extremes too often.

Frugals:

Yesterday was a no drive day. Dh paid a friend $20 to help him with a project. It was a good deal for us.

Today I took ds to the library where I discovered several coupon flyers from sunday. The librarian was kind enough to let me have them.

Tonight we are going out to dinner and shopping as a family. I will enjoy a nice dinner-not the cheapest available. I am taking my coupons to the store and will save where appropriate but won't sweat the cost too much.

Kat
6-8-11, 1:06pm
@bke--I've felt similar in the past when we were doing a big push for debt reduction. Everyday becomes a grind, and you forget what you are doing it for. It's important to budget in a little money for fun or small luxuries. :-)

Yesterday I had to run some errands, so I planned my route to do everything close together. I mailed some letters and stopped at Goodwill. Found some great stuff for the baby really cheap. I've even been buying things in bigger sizes when I come across them. I can find like-new, name-brand things for $1-2 and figure she will grow into them eventually. I also did a little online shopping for her yesterday. Prices were really low. I got several mix and match basics for a 3T wardrobe and will get a coupon for $20 off a $40 purchase (that way I can buy cute stuff not on sale for half off--or combine it with sales and coupon codes for an even better deal).

DH has been really sick lately, so I made him some ice cream yesterday. I was going to wait until his birthday this weekend, but I think he liked having it now for his throat. We are still eating leftovers and are getting really sick of them!

I started brainstorming some ideas for Christmas this year, since we will have much less money than we used to. Maybe I'll start a thread in the holidays forum to see what the rest of you are doing!

fidgiegirl
6-8-11, 6:18pm
@bke, I totally used to feel that way when I was working my a** off to pay off my debt. I would have a slip up and then really "blow" the budget, though. Not healthy. Sounds like you have an intellectual handle on it. Hugs!!

@Kat, score!

@cdttmm, you have a lot of work cut out for you :)

cdttmm
6-10-11, 7:34am
I'm preparing for two not-so-frugal days in NYC (my family is coming from MN for a visit). So, I returned some rugs to Marshall's that I wasn't going to use. I had planned to return them, but made myself actually go out and do it yesterday! I had paid with my debit card so they offered me cash back instead of putting it back in my acct (which they said may take a few days). I took the cash back as it saved me a trip to the bank and ATM. Bought groceries (with a list!) and actually followed it. Bought the granola from the bulk bin that was on sale as opposed to the one my partner prefers. I really need to start making granola at home because it is so expensive -- even from the bulk bin! Even though it was extremely hot and humid here yesterday, it is supposed to get cooler today and tomorrow, so I convinced by partner to leave the AC off and just use a fan overnight. Amazingly he agreed! I'm aiming for no AC until June 15th. Ate up some fiddlehead ferns and mushrooms that we had in the refrigerator by just sauteing them in a little olive oil with garlic. Yum! That made a for a frugal dinner last night. And had some locally grown strawberries for dessert. Trying to eat more fruits and veggies as it is better for me health-wise and because there is so much growing in our garden and locally that I want to take full advantage of what is available! Avoided making a special trip to the vet yesterday and will go on Monday or Tuesday when I have a reason to be in the area. Gas is so expensive right now and we are trying to be very concious of our driving. Did finally breakdown and buy new, not used, capri pants for the summer. I am usually a thrift store devotee, but capris that I like and fit are one thing I have trouble finding in thrift stores. So I bought 3 pair, on sale, at EMS. Spent ~$90. When I came home I almost put them aside so that I could return them (what can I say, it pains me to spend money on new clothes!). But I went to my closet and pulled out the 3 pair of capris that I have had for 7 years and which look a little ratty. I decided that if I'm only replacing them every 7 years I am probably doing okay. I figure I will continue to wear my ratty ones for gardening and housework for another 7 years. That puts me at about 7 cents per wearing by my calculation. I'm okay with that. Also, printed out a coupon for Home Depot, buy 2 perennials get 1 free. We don't need more plants at our house, but I need some more plants to replace some that didn't make it in our garden in NYC, so this will cut down on the cost at least a little bit.

@fidgiegirl, yes, I will get a few days worth of good workouts with my "lumberjacking" projects. The funny thing is, if the chores involve firewood (or giant rocks), I love doing them. I know, I'm a little strange. :D

Kat
6-10-11, 9:06am
@cdttmm--new capris every seven years isn't bad at all. Plus, as you said, you can continue to wear the older ones around the house and to work in so the new ones stay nice longer. :-)

I went shopping with a friend yesterday. Neither of us actually bought anything except I did buy a couple of things I needed for upcoming projects at the craft store. I was in a bigger city 45 minutes away and knew I wouldn't be able to find what I needed back home. But part of what I found was on clearance, and that made me happy. I also bought my friend lunch. A whopping $6. ;-) We had a nice time, and she is so, so cool in terms of simple living, frugailty, repurposing, etc. We are planning a sewing day together soon.

Last night DH and I ate leftovers and watched a DVD we got through Netflix. The leftovers are finally gone, so I can cook something new today! :-)

bke
6-10-11, 10:46am
We went out to dinner (Chinese for $32 including tip) on wed night and did a bit of shopping. We returned some things to Menards and picked up another 5 cans of stain for the fence. It this is enough, we will have stained over 300 ft of 6 ft high fence for $125.

I used coupons to get several free items at the grocery store including cheese, coffee creamer, and sanitary supplies. Over all coupon savings were about $25.

Yesterday I picked up an extra shift at work. It was a no spending/driving day. Today should also be a no driving/spending day.

An odd little frugal: I opened an extra checking account this week. It will help be used as an escrow account for the house we sold so I can be more accurate about how much money we can use for debt reduction.

early morning
6-10-11, 6:58pm
Well, we got rained out of a garden/antique show we were planning to visit tonight, so that saved us the admission cost and potential purchases. I may go tomorrow, but it will only be one admission, instead of 3. Salvaged our old shower organizer (the thingy with shelves and hooks that hangs over the shower head and holds shampoo, etc?) by using rust converter, spray paint, and clearcoat spray, already on hand. It had some rust spots, but now it looks really nice. Those bloody things are expensive- at least the ones I like. I've had this one for about 15 years, and hopefully it will now last a few more. Still looking for a can of dark stain to use on the wooden box that will become a bathroom shelf (after it's stained and sealed). I know I have some around here! DH brought home some chair glides, which we already have some of, so those will go back on the next trip. Other than that, it's the same old same old. Taking lunch, coffee, water to drink at work, buying gas, etc with my points card (almost have another $50). Just found out we can pay a few more bills online, woohoo!

fidgiegirl
6-10-11, 11:13pm
Sounds like everyone is doing well.

Here we did have a non frugal tonight, we went to the green house and bought herbs and veggie plants. We could have started them. I appreciate the savings of starting plants more now for some reason. I mean, we've done this every year, but for whatever reason it really set in tonight. Bought oregano, tomato, cucumber, thyme, parsley, more? But we did direct sow a bunch of seeds last night, right before a lot of gentle rain last night and today, so that's good. And I'm going to get the rest in the ground in the front tomorrow. These are seed packs that are a few years old so I'm just gonna go to town and basically plant 'em all and see what we get. Next year if we plan ahead enough we could start my DMiL's herbs for her inside in winter for mother's day. We were going to go buy them with her for a Mother's Day gift and then she said she wanted a hanging basket because she had already bought them. So that was $25 (for a beautiful basket, but still).

We swung by Trader Joe's on the way home for some pizza bread and lives and I really wanted to get cookies and ice cream and this and that. But I was fresh off the spending at the greenhouse and feeling bad about it so we resisted and I made some experimental s'more bars that I had already bought all the stuff to make. They are ok. I used the rice krispie bar recipe with Golden Grahams and choc chips and mini marshmallows in it. Should have used more cereal to fill the pan and be able to cut the bars. Live and learn! They are still yummy!

We were adding up our savings from avoiding the Friday lunch order at work. The girls my DH works with order every Friday. He is always invited, but never orders (rarely, rather). I could also partake but only rarely do. Maybe once this year each. It's about $8 per order or so. Between Xmas break, holidays, etc. we figure that there are 3/4 Fridays a month that an order is placed. So that's $24/mo. per person = $48 for the both of us. $48 x 9 = $432!! As DH pointed out, we would have to subtract the cost of making our own lunches to see our true savings, but let's say that was $50 for all those Fridays. Still, $350 saved. Nice.

I added up my reimbursements for work. I have saved my receipts pretty diligently throughout the year. Our very generous PTA allots us money every year to get reimbursed for expenditures of our choice. It's really nice. It would also be easy, though, to lose receipts or not bother to add it up, and it does add up! So glad to have that done. Plus I will get quite a few books I've been wanting.

Have a great, FFF weekend, all!

Kat
6-11-11, 9:12am
I am so relieved that with the extra classes I picked up, we have been able to start rebuilding our emergency fund (which the home improvement project demolished). DH also have to work overtime today and all next week, so that will help, too.

DH's birthday is this weekend. I bought him a couple of gifts. One was a DVD he wanted, but the other was a thermos for work (they charge $4 a week for coffee, and he only drinks like one cup a day!). I wasn't sure how he'd like it, but he really did. He said it was perfect and would be cheaper for him to use our programmable coffee maker and bring his own.

While I was out yesterday, I wanted to get some nice birthday wrapping paper, but was appalled that wrapping paper is like $4 a roll for 25 feet. Tape was like $2 a roll. I went to the dollar store instead and got 20 feet of nice paper for $1 and two rolls of tape (same brand the other store had) for $1. I resisted buying bows and dug a couple out from my Christmas stash instead.

Then I made DH a nice dinner--chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, country gravy, asparagus, and brownies for dessert. He seemed pleased with it.

I have been getting a ton of emails for sales on kids' clothes, but I have been resisting! I think this morning I will go to Goodwill, though, and see if I can find some cute material for the hair posies I want to make. I am shocked at how much fabric costs at the fabric store! I might stop at the library, too.

cdttmm
6-11-11, 10:40am
So far the NYC trip has not been too unfrugal. We ended up leaving later than expected yesterday and at the last minute I remembered to grab the remaining rolls from the bread box, and the mozzarella and strawberries from the refrigerator. So we had snacks for the drive and water to drink so didn't stop for anything on the way -- a little unusual for us! We were supposed to host a cookout last night, but everyone was so crazed preparing for the farmers market today that those plans got scrapped. So my partner and I went out to dinner at a tiny cafe near the farm. I didn't see the bill (he paid), but judging by the prices on the menu, it was probably a pretty cheap dinner out, so I can't complain. I have some family members visiting NYC for the first time. I will treat them to lunch, but otherwise everything we are doing will be free, so I can handle springing for lunch. And I don't expect them to ever visit again, so I figure I should make it count. The best frugal in all of this, though, is that through an unusual chain of events, we will get all of our gas expenses covered for the drive to and from NYC because we brought 62+ pounds of honey for a photo shoot today!

fidgiegirl
6-11-11, 2:42pm
Kat, I always forget . . . what do you teach?

cdttmm, sounds like a fun and frugal trip!

We went garage saling this morning. DH picked up several things to eBay so he will more than recoup the cost of the morning. He is getting pretty good.

I saw lots of Halloween stuff but didn't buy any for the bazaar. I am just not sure people want what I saw. But at some point, I am going to have to invest money in inventory. The frugal side of me doesn't want to do that not knowing if it will sell.

I bought scarlet runner beans for a quarter to plant. I was going to buy some at the greenhouse last night and forgot to look! So that was fortunate.

Now to clean!

danna
6-12-11, 2:58pm
Jun 12
--Dd got us 4 tickets for a free 2 hour tour of our city on a big English double decker bus. It was great fun to see our city that way and for free was even better.
--Still been eating down food we have and topping up and stocking piling with the weekly specials.
--yard saling yesterday, found two pair of black slack new for $2.00, an amazing round plate it is black with Greek figueres on it and must weight a couple of pounds (I think I am going to use it for yard art $2.00)
and 5 yards of flannel backed tablecothingin a cute yellow and green flower motif for the back yard, 3 pkgs. of Xmas transfers kits new, and 8 sewing and crafts patterns some new all for $3.00.
Total of $7.00 and I show be able to ebay a couple of the patterns for more then that...gotta love a good yard sale
--DH birthday tomorrow so we are going to go on a little day trip tomorrow and get take out Chinese for supper (his request) and have his sister for supper Tues. (have all the food I need in the house for that)
--I have been having a hard time keeping a couple of the larger flower beds cleaned up so I have found someone to dig them up and put in some fresh soil, one I am going to seed with grass and the other replant. He is charging $15.00 an hour + materials but I know he is a really fast, hard worker. That way I will be able to keep on top of the rest of the yard myself, with Dd help of course.
--I planted 8 tomato plants, 6 different herbs, 1 yellow zuccinhi and 1 green that should give us a nice bounty later in the summer.

Kat
6-12-11, 4:53pm
@ fidgie--I teach at the college level. Mostly English and psychology. A little sociology and philosophy here and there, too. :-) BTW, it sounds like your husband is totally rocking the ebay sales lately!
@ danna--that bus tour sounds like fun!
@early morning--I should look into giving my metal shower shelves a little makeover, too. Mine is looking a little crummy what with all the rust, but it is still functional, and they are expensive to replace.

DH wanted to stay in for his birthday instead of seeing a movie as planned. We rented a movie at home instead and then watched his new DVD and had a nice time.

Today we had lunch with my dad, and he sent some leftovers home for DH to take in his lunch tomorrow. I made DH some cookies to take to work tomorrow to share with his co-workers and will be sending the leftover brownies and some peanut butter bars from the freezer as well. His co-workers will love them, and I will love having less temptation around!

Right now I am doing laundry the standard frugal way (though I do wish I had a clothesline!). Tonight I am going to make bacon, eggs, and potato latkes (with leftover mashed potatoes) for dinner. Need to use some of this stuff up before it goes bad!

Oh, and I remembered to stick some leftover soup in the freezer for later meals (we are sick of it for now and wouldn't have gotten through all of it). I did the same with some buns we would have let go stale. Tomorrow I am going to grate the rest of the cheese from last week's enchiladas and freeze that, too, so I can use it the next time around.

early morning
6-12-11, 7:12pm
@Kat - If you decide to paint your shower shelves, DH says that the key is the rust converter. (I think that stuff is why the fenders are still on the truck, actually ;)) Yesterday DH and I visited a nice garden/antique show. Only bought 3# of honey and 3 coleus. The coleus are soooo pretty! I have plenty of honey on hand, but it's all buckwheat, and DH doesn't care for it - hence the purchase. We generally buy honey direct- there are plenty of bee keepers around here (and I'd love to become one). Took a Coke along, to avoid temptation. And the coke was free - DH gets free coupons with his Coke points. People know he does this and they save him caps and numbers from the cardboard cartons, so he keeps us in free pop. It's one of his more frugal hobbies, lol. Stopped at the pet store to get feeder goldfish for the tiny pond - 19cents each. BIL says "why not get some little Koi?" (He has lots of big Koi). Uh, because they are over 20$!! Some of his cost hundreds. For a carp!! Sheesh. Since many of the goldfish get eaten by the raccoons, I think 19cents is plenty. Hung out all the laundry this weekend, and got paid for mowing Mom's yard. Picked up some DVDs from the library for the week's entertainment. Packed leftovers up for lunch tomorrow. Can't think of anything else at the moment.

Rosemary
6-12-11, 8:34pm
I have been looking for a desk for DD for some time. It needed to be somewhat small, and I wanted one with drawers and a vintage design to go with her other furniture. We found one today through Craigslist AND it was even on our side of the metro area AND the same color finish as her current furniture. It is also in spotlessly clean condition, obviously cared for by the retirees who were selling it. AND? $25.

Then DD cashed in 2 bookstore summer reading program certificates for free books.

Kat
6-13-11, 10:46am
Nothing too exciting here. DH and I have been re-using scraps of paper to make lists, and I am getting ready to cut up an old T-shirt for the rag bag. I need to do a small grocery shop at Aldis; I am going to make a list so that I don't forget anything.

Stella
6-13-11, 11:07am
I haven't posted for a while. I guess it's been a busy week.

My Sweet Baby James turned two on Saturday. I originally made cake pops for his birthday cake, but I forgot to lock them in a vault with an alarm on it :) so by Saturday there were only four left. Mom bought him some cupcakes instead.

Last week we got a Science museum membership and this week we got a Historical society membership. It cost a bit upfront, but we will get so much use out of them. With a family of 6 memberships usually pay for themselves in two to three visits and as home schoolers we do a lot of field trips.

This weeks History field trip was to Fort Snelling, a military fort from the 1820s. This weekend was WWII weekend, so the kids learned about the 1940s instead. They watched weapons demonstrations, ran an obstacle course, made a pretend 1940s war plane, played with 1940s toys (some of which we have at home) and saw some WWII military vehicles. It was lots of FFF and it's a good lead in to a family history unit since both of my grandfathers were in WWII and my grandma, great-aunt, step-grandpa and Zach's dad remember the war and can talk to the kids about it. we brought homemade trail mix and water for our field trip snack.

A frugal from a while back that I hadn't posted about was getting 100 lbs of cat litter and a ton of gourmet cat food for free. A friend's cat has developed allergies and she needed to get rid of it.

Mom took me to Costco to buy us some stuff for summer. Dad has a Costco membership and he added me to it. She bought me some staples like bread, butter, brown rice and cheese and some things I wouldn't buy myself, but will use, like juice boxes for picnics and Gogurts (the kind without the HFCS or artificial colours). I am thinking of freezing the Gogurts to make breakfast popsicles. Everything seems to be more fun in Popsicle form. She also got me stuff to make trail mix. I made a gallon of it and still have a ton of peanuts, raisins and m&ms for other uses.

Today we are making ice cream and I might, if the kids are lucky, break out the slip and slide this afternoon.

Azure
6-13-11, 7:20pm
I think things may actually be slowing down at last. The end of the school year rush was especially hectic this year. Now we only have the track awards banquet and 1 more open house and I think we can relax. School actually got out on the 8th so it's about time!

Made bbq sauce for pork bbq sandwiches for dinner. Along with corn on the cob & some fresh pineapple.

Took a load of stuff to Goodwill today. Dried 2 loads of laundry by hanging them up for the first time in ages. I've gotten quite lazy about it but I'm back on track.

My best friend came down from Traverse city on Saturday to go to her grand kids gymnastics event. We decided to meet for lunch on Sunday. She paid for my breakfast which was very nice of her. I haven't seen her since November so it was really a treat.

Stella
6-13-11, 9:10pm
I made an instant sandbox today as a present for James. I bought a ten dollar plastic under the bed box and filled it with $5.50 worth of play sand. Huge hit! I like that I can close the lid at night. So much cheaper than buying a sandbox.

Bella's birthday is July 14 and I have talked her into a Bastille Day birthday party. We are going to make The Bastille prison out of a box and use it as a piņata. I am going to write Let Them Eat Cake on the cake and give the kids sparklers in red, white and blue, which is easy to find this time of year.

fidgiegirl
6-13-11, 9:55pm
Hi all,

Pork chops tonight that we got BOGO at Lunds. They have nice meat there.

Curb picked an unbroken patio umbrella to replace our broken one. Yippee.

I am at a very happy place with our "stuff" right now. I do want a new bike and am starting to Jones after an iPad. Not good, b/c they are both biggies. But otherwise, I feel that (except for underwear, which seems to be disappearing?) I am set for evvvvvvvverything else. It's a nice feeling.

nordette
6-14-11, 12:38am
Currently baking ww loaf of bread. Made lentil soup. Now we have lunches for a few days :)

cdttmm
6-14-11, 8:32am
Doing pretty well here. Our spending for our NYC trip was mostly meals out, but it was generally pretty cheap because we ate at the little Cuban and Venezuelan cafes in Queens near the farm. I did take my family out to lunch on Saturday, but paid only $78 (including tax and tip) for three people for a big meal at a nice place in the Village so I'm okay with that. My only other spending was on subway fares to show them around. My partner and I decided to go out to a movie on Sunday evening, which is very unusual for us. We only bother paying to see movies in the theater when we think the special effects will be worth it! :~) When I got home from the gym, I suggested that we make sandwiches and eat them at home before going instead of getting pizza out the way my partner wanted to do. Unfortunately, a few meals out in NYC and he was back in the mode of eating out instead of eating at home. But he didn't balk at my suggestion for a second. Fortunately, there is little or no feeling of deprivation at not eating out, so that made it easy to just eat at home. Went grocery shopping last night with a list (again!) and managed to stick to the list and get two 75 cent off coupons for the yogurt that I was buying anyway. Also remembered to bring my cloth bags to the grocery store, which saved me another 10 cents. Not a huge sum, but it all adds up! Used the trip into town as an opportunity to take all of the returnable bottles and cans back to the recycling machines. We've cut way back on drinking anything that comes in a returnable bottle so that is a big simplification step.

Kat
6-14-11, 9:51am
On Sunday I made some cookies for DH to take to work. He wanted to buy two dozen doughnuts, but I talked him out of it, and the cookies were a huge hit.

DH ate leftovers for lunch yesterday, and I used the last little bit of this and that to make lunch for me and my MIL (who was graciously painting the trim in the nursery). Then DH and I had leftovers for dinner and will eat them again for lunch today. I'm not feeling very well today, so I think I will make something super simple for dinner--like soup and grilled cheese or something.

Went to the grocery store yesterday. Stuck to the list and spent about $40. That should get us through the rest of the month (expcept for perishables, maybe--milk, fruit, etc.). Not too bad.

I have a doctor's appointment today, so I will stop by Goodwill (which is right next door) after. I never made it there before, and I want to see if I can find any cute clothes I can cut up into fabric for my sewing/craft projects.

early morning
6-14-11, 3:52pm
Went to the Dr for physical today, and scheduled other routine tests. Our health insurance went WAY up and having all routine medical exams completed will give us a substantial discount on the cost. The big propane company that ate our local gas company will let us pay online using credit card. Since our propane bills in winter are pretty high, we may as well get points and a little money back! Made DH go through his wardrobe, because we're attending a free event Thurs. that requires "business casual" dress, and he said he only had jeans and needed to go shopping. (Shopping with DH is like navigating a minefield, lol - he wants to purchase multiples of things he didn't even know he wanted...) He found a pair of slacks he can wear, and a some-what matching shirt. He will be fine- these people will never see us again, so as long as we don't stick out too badly, it's all good:D. In the past four years, he's worn something other than jeans or shorts maybe twice - in our family, most people even wear jeans and boots to funerals. I will keep watching for a nice pair of Dockers or something for him at GW, but it seems to me that running to the mall to buy overpriced pants that will seldom be worn, just to attend a free event, is kinda silly.

beckyliz
6-14-11, 4:34pm
Took a spin through Goodwill yesterday afternoon and found a 2 piece Pendleton suit for less than $10. i felt very clever because the jacket was on one rack and is one size (like me) and the skirt was on another rack in a different size (like me). I took that as a sign!

I won a $20 gift card at a luncheon today which is good at KwikShop where I like to buy gas. It was literally a Godsend, because I was running on fumes and trying to figure out if I'd be able to make it until tomorrow (payday). Whew. I guess I should've used the $10 I spent on the suit, but I didn't and I'm okay with that.;)

fidgiegirl
6-14-11, 5:47pm
Welcome, nordette.

To all, doing well!! I enjoy reading about everyone's frugals!

We pulled some salmon out of the freezer and will enjoy it for dinner. Then I am going to a free class on business basics at the library. Hoping to get some good info!

We have to get buns tonight for a lunch tomorrow. We are providing all buns/bread.

Kat
6-15-11, 10:06am
Today should be a no spend, no drive day, as should tomorrow.

DH liked the protein bars I made him, so that was a frugal success! We are running low on leftovers, so I will need to take some meat out to thaw for dinner tonight. I am thinking about ribs and deviled eggs and corn on the cob (also from the freezer).

Otherwise, nothing too exciting. I have some assignments to grade and some cleaning to do. It is cooler today, so I think I will turn the air off.

Azure
6-15-11, 10:49am
Great find, Beckyliz. I love it when you find unexpected treasures at GW. And congrats on the gas card!

Today I think I'll be scraping paint in the bathroom and maybe I'll get Ian to tape the trim stuff. And I think I'll ask him to start the primer coat. He is my summer frustration. Home from college & thinks he can spend the whole summer "practicing what I learned" on his computer. HAH! Not a plan. And besides I don't think he learned how to play shooting games at UM.

Also on the agenda is to lay down the weed barrier in the front flower bed & cover it with the few bags of mulch I already have. More fun for Ian to help with. Got the weed barrier at goodwill for a few bucks. In the back flower bed I got about half of it covered with newspapers. Then Ian spread one bag of mulch on it. Not enough for a thorough job but enough to show me how good it is going to look when it is all done.

No driving, no spending today. The track awards banquet is tonight and I'm bringing chicken spaghetti. Got all the ingredients when I bought groceries on the 3rd. Will also hang up a load or 2 of laundry to dry.

Stella
6-15-11, 11:27am
And besides I don't think he learned how to play shooting games at UM. :) LOL.

I have banned TV for the week mostly because Cheyenne's fictional character crush on Tony Stark from the teen Iron Man series is driving me to distraction. It's good for me to see what a PITA that kind of thing is from the outside because I know exactly who she gets that stuff from. ;) It's a rainy day, so we are listening to Pandora Radio's Sam Cooke station. We might make some playdough later and we're making pita pizzas for lunch. Cheyenne suggested painting rock people and reconstructing last year's Pet Rock Village. That would be fun. It's a good FFF kind of day.

Later today I have a bible study I am going to with some friends. One of my friends drives right by my house on the way from work to the bible study, so she offered to pick me up.

I made a pot of chili last night and there is enough for dinner tonight too and maybe a lunch for Zach tomorrow as well.

bke
6-15-11, 12:57pm
My posts don't want to go through lately but I'll try again.

We're still staining fencing. Ugh. Bought 5 more gallons last night. $35 in cost after rebate at menards. My father is supposed to get us 5 cans as well. We're at 22 cans of stain for this project. Unbelievable.

I called and was reimbursed for some coke rewards that seemed to get lost in the move this winter.

I just made another pitcher of iced coffee for the fridge. I have some free creamer that I recieved which makes it seem quite indulgent because I normally drink coffee black.

I made the first of our debt reduction payments today! We have finally stopped paying big remodeling bills and are focusing on paying things off! Business is slow this summer so I don't know if we'll be as sucessful as we had hoped but we're chiseling away at things regardless of the economy.

We're eating at home and driving as little as possible. I've only put gas in the car once since school let out 3 weeks ago. It used to be something I did twice a week!

Kat
6-15-11, 1:28pm
I just made some orange-strawberry muffins. They are a "light" recipe and came out really good! They were easy, too; I used some strawberries that were on their way out (probably would have been thrown away). Now DH has a quick breakfast in the mornings.

Azure
6-15-11, 2:36pm
:) LOL.

I have banned TV for the week mostly because Cheyenne's fictional character crush on Tony Stark from the teen Iron Man series is driving me to distraction. It's good for me to see what a PITA that kind of thing is from the outside because I know exactly who she gets that stuff from. ;) It's a rainy day, so we are listening to Pandora Radio's Sam Cooke station. We might make some playdough later and we're making pita pizzas for lunch. Cheyenne suggested painting rock people and reconstructing last year's Pet Rock Village. That would be fun. It's a good FFF kind of day.

Later today I have a bible study I am going to with some friends. One of my friends drives right by my house on the way from work to the bible study, so she offered to pick me up.

I made a pot of chili last night and there is enough for dinner tonight too and maybe a lunch for Zach tomorrow as well.

I LOVE Sam Cooke. My favorite is That's Where it's At. Reminds me so much of that time when your dating and no one wants to say goodby and how sweet it was.

And can anyone resist You Send Me?

Kat
6-16-11, 10:07am
I had planned for today to be a no drive, no spend day, but a somewhat important errand popped up, so it loooks like I will have to go and do that. While I am out, I will pick up a couple of things I had planned to get on Saturday and use a $10 Kohls card my dad gave me to get something for the baby. Tonight I plan to make something fast and easy for supper, like grilled cheese and soup.

Stella
6-16-11, 11:41am
Azure, I love Sam Cooke! That station tends to be kid appropriate too. I had the James Brown station on for a while, which brought up some Barry White and Marvin Gaye and a few uncomfortable questions. The Sam Cooke station has soul, but is a little more innocent.

My neighbor brought over some tomatoes and peaches someone had given him. He and his 22 year old son aren't really into cooking, but he knows I'll put it to good use.

I think I'm going to roast the tomatoes and make roasted tomato and thyme relish. I have an overabundance of thyme. I love that stuff on good bread.

I may also make some honey peach ice cream. That sounds good to me too.

I am hoping to start planting things on my patio today. That has become James' favourite place to play lately. It's enclosed so he can't get out, but he gets some fresh air. Perfect for a two year old.

Zach and Dad's Father's Day brunch has to be delayed a week, so this weekend I'm going to make up a batch of blueberry buttermilk ice cream for them. I have some buttermilk I need to use and blueberry is Dad's favourite flavour of anything. Zach's isn't picky about that kind of thing. He'll like whatever I make.

Dad is getting his new car this week, which means we'll be getting his old one. I think I mentioned this, but my mom offered my dad her 20% discount in exchange for him giving us his old car. The 20% discount is worth much more than the car is as a trade-in, so dad comes out ahead. Mom can use the discount twice a year and she isn't going to buy two cars for one person, so it costs her nothing and we get a car we know has been maintained. It's a win all around. Also, the Saturn gets better gas mileage than our minivan, so it will be better for Zach to use for work.

Gizmo
6-16-11, 12:27pm
Still getting used to Seattle's cloudy weather, so was taking the bus a lot ($5 round trip) instead of riding my bike, because I couldn't ever tell if the clouds meant rain or not.

Finally on Tuesday said, screw it, its just water. If they turn out to be rain clouds then I get wet and have been riding all this week. So far this week saved $15 in bus fare over just 3 days. If I do this all month I save over $100!

Plus I inspired others at work. A coworker saw me riding on Tuesday (we usually ride the same bus in) and said to himself "Hey, why aren't *I* riding?! I'm training for the Seattle-to-Portland yet taking the bus to work!" (He told me this when he got to work - I beat the bus in by 15 min haha!)

Stella
6-16-11, 1:30pm
Gizmo, that is great that you are inspiring others!

rosarugosa
6-16-11, 7:31pm
That's great about the car. Stella. I have a 16 year old Saturn SL1 that has served us so well and is still going strong. We were realy sad when we heard there would be no more Saturns.

Stella
6-17-11, 12:46pm
Dad has had good luck with his Saturn too Rosa. Hopefully that continues for us. He's picking his new car up on Saturday. He showed me a picture of it. It's sporty and cute. I was glad he didn't settle into a Grandpa-mobile.

We had such a lovely day yesterday. We rode our bikes to a park not too far from our house that has recently been remodeled. It has a really cool splash pad, a pirate ship shaped playground and a rope climbing structure that looks a bit like the eiffel tower. It's probably meant to look like the crows nest on a boat. The kids loved it. They have a live theater troop coming to do a play there next week in the evening so I think we're going to take the kids. I am also going to meet a friend of mine from high school over there with her kids next week. I haven't seen her since we were 19. It should be fun.

I have been trying to think of things we can do for fun within walking or biking distance of our house. I've discovered some letterboxes nearby, so we are going to have to search for those soon. There's a free concert at my park this weekend, so that should be fun. There's disc golf at another park within biking distance of our house and a biking trail not too far away that, from what I can tell, goes down to the Mississippi river. There are also two parks with beaches.

I also discovered that About.com has a section of free things to do in Minneapolis/St Paul each week. Here is this week's in case any of my fellow Twin Citians are interested. Link (http://minneapolis.about.com/b/2011/06/15/free-things-to-do-in-minneapolis-june-20-june-26.htm) I would imagine that they have similar information for other cities.

I think I may assign a writing project for the girls to travel to different parks, take pictures of the play areas and write a review. Some could be nearby and others will be larger play areas in the city, like the new one at Elm Creek, Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater or the Chutes and Ladders playground and natural play area at Hyland. We'd get lots of good exercise and lots of good writing practice.

kally
6-17-11, 1:59pm
we found a new beach yesterday. a 10 minute drive and an 8 minute walk to a fairly isolated sandy beach with tons of logs on it. I will be back here to swim next month.

http://www.powellriverrealestate.net/?page_id=181

kally
6-17-11, 2:05pm
Here is where we are going camping next week. Run half way down this guy's page and you will see this great quarry where we swim.

http://paddlesheep.blogspot.com/2008/04/texada-island-summer-2007.html

bke
6-17-11, 3:30pm
Today is a no drive/spend day. I worked this morning and then napped away most of the afternoon. I haven't been sleeping well because of my silly snake phobia. Tonight its back to work for what I hope is a busy friday night fish fry.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Rosemary
6-17-11, 4:09pm
We had a fun, free day at the big zoo yesterday. We used a library pass for admission and I drove, so the friends who went along paid for parking.
I was able to trade for some free childcare for a work dinner that I'll attend with DH.

Kat
6-17-11, 7:14pm
I spent the day with a friend today. We went shopping at the fabric store, and they were having some great deals. The cashier applied every coupon in the sales flier to my order (50% off one product, 40% off one product, and 20% off entire order), so I got a yard of fabric, some thread, some buttons, elastic, a really nice pair of Fiskars, a rotary cutter, a cutting mat, and a ruler for $37. Not too bad considering the cutter, mat, and ruler were originally priced at $50 (they're a set). Then we had a lovely but frugal lunch of cheese and fruit, and she helped me get started on my first sewing project--a 2T sized skirt. I didn't do a perfect job, but it wasn't too horrible for my first attempt. :) We had such a nice time!

I think tonight will be a quiet night with DH. Tomorrow we have our childbirth class, so we'll spend $20 for that. But they'll feed us lunch, and being a little more prepared and informed is priceless. :-) We are bringing my dad some lunch on Father's Day, and my FIL and stepdad will both get baked goods.

early morning
6-17-11, 11:51pm
You all are doing great! Yesterday we had a free evening out for five of us (me, plus DH, DD, DSis and DSil) - we scored tickets to a premier event for an IMAX movie. They had lovely hors d'oeuvres before the show - more than enough for dinner!- and a large dessert bar afterward. We had a really nice evening, for no cost. DH looked nice, and had to admit that what he had on was just as good, and in some cases better, that what others were wearing. (He had wanted to buy new pants for the event). DD and I are almost finished recovering a storage footstool for my Dsis. It was $1 at a yard sale, and we're using fabric we had on hand. It's looking really nice! Took my noisy car to the local muffler guys, who welded in a piece of flex pipe for $80 instead of the $300+ the dealer quoted us. Sounds great now!

fidgiegirl
6-18-11, 9:59am
So glad the pants worked out, earlymorning.

Stella, thanks for the link. Good stuff!

Kat, score on the fabric store.

kally, amazing LAKE!! Love it!

My DH is off to the Boundary Waters for two weeks of fishing, his annual trip with his dad and dad's friend. The older men are in their 70s so it's amazing the trip is still on. DH enjoys it a lot but it is a lot of work for him. They manage to do it pretty frugally, though. They use a camper that my DBiL gave to DH a few years ago, and they have had a boat for a few years, so they don't have to rent anything. It's just cost of campground, gas, food, permits, and Dairy Queen :)

I am going to try to eat down the pantry while DH is gone, but I also have a lot of shopping on my list. Shoes, rugs, shirt for an interview (yippee!), the bike I've been wanting for a while. We'll see if I actually buy all of it. I could do without any, though the shirt is the priority.

Not much else! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

early morning
6-18-11, 4:02pm
fidgie, the Boundary Waters trip sounds amazing. My DB and his wife went last year and had a wonderful time. It's something my brother has always wanted to do. He's done a lot of hunting/fishing, but said this was just gorgeous - so pretty he didn't care if he fished or just looked, lol. He is in his late 60s now and doesn't get around like he used to, so I think he has a little more appreciation for scenery than he did in the past. I wish DH and his brothers would go somewhere together, but they won't, they are all too different in what they enjoy, and not tolerant of each other, sadly. All very nice people, but hard to fathom at times, including DH. Oh well. Went yardsaling this morning with DH and got rained out, so didn't spend much. We have a big fake green wreath we put on the barn at Christmas, and it's quite thin and sad, so I found a large piece of nice fake roping to spruce it up. Also got three newish strands of tree lights, which we seem to always need, and a rusty ash scoop. Spend $1.5. Got free cokes with DH's coke points for a treat, along with some fast food we've been jonesing for, $5 for the 2 of us. Stopped at GW on the way to check on Mom, and found DH a pair of nice khakis. Whew! That should ward off the next pants drama.... (I don't know what it is about DH and clothes lately. He's always worked in factories, never cared about how he looks other than clean and neat, not had a dress up job since he was a teen, and suddenly he wants to dress like a fashionista or something!! Still, that's better than a little red sports-car, eh? :~)) Not much else, holding off on laundry to see if the weather will be drier tomorrow.

fidgiegirl
6-18-11, 5:59pm
early morning, funny about your DH and his newfound fashion interest :) Like you said, could be worse!

I got a shirt and one of those flowy sweater-type things for the interview. They were both marked down. They are not the highest quality ever made but are new and clean so that will be good. I will use pants, shoes and a cami that I already have. I was mindful to buy something I'd be willing to wear again. Now just to get a haircut to complete my preparations in the looks department, and to finish my online portfolio to complete the content part.

Skipped the shoes. Mine still look good but need a little beef-up in the support department and probably could use polishing. I will take them in to get the good shoe store's advice on insoles.

Got rugs I like for $20 for two.

Picked up cute tees on sale, needed a few of those for summer fun.

Really, this all feels NON-frugal instead of frugal!! Whenever my DH goes on the annual fishing trip I get a little shopping bug and usually indulge!

We are doing AWFUL in the eating out department. Just AWFUL!!! I ordered Jimmy John's last Thursday. We went out for pizza Thursday night. Friday we ordered sandwiches with DFiL and fishing buddy guy. Today I went to Green Mill with my mom and sister. Tomorrow we are going out for Father's Day and Monday I have a lunch date with friends!! O.M.G.!!!!!! I am not willing to cancel the upcoming outings, though, because they are just as much about seeing people as they are about the meal. But man-oh-man, after Monday I have to be more conscious in the eating out department. Very uncharacteristic for us; with the end of the school year I think we just kind of got into the "let's make it through the week" mentality which meant we didn't place a grocery order and ran low on lunch foods. Not good for our pocketbook or for my weight loss efforts.

Azure
6-18-11, 10:07pm
Monday I have to take my van in for an estimate. The right front started making a grinding noise. Then I noticed fluid leaked all over the ground. :( Then yesterday I was driving DH's jeep and got rear ended. Broke the back tail light. Luckily it sounds like the deductible will be waived so it shouldn't cost us anything.

Today I went with DH to a geocacheing bbq/event. Spent $12 on an appetizer to share. So 4 hours of FFF. Then I went to another graduation open house. I think this is the last one for me. FINALLY! Though I did have a nice time. They had a soft ice cream machine! It was awesome on a hot, humid day.

Got a $10 coupon from Kohls in the mail. So I stopped in yesterday and between the $10 coupon and the 20% off coupon I got a cute little sundress for $5.

For fathers day I killed 2 birds with 1 stone. We need a new bbq grill. Nothing fancy. Not gas. Just an inexpensive grill so I got one at Meijer using a $5 off coupon. New grill $29.95. Happy fathers day! For my dad & my FIL I am making blueberry sour cream muffins. Got cards for $.50 each at the $ tree. I also am giving Ian the job of making some homemade ice cream for a fathers day treat.

Kat
6-19-11, 4:42pm
Sounds like a nice shirt, fidgie!

@azure--hope the repairs to your van are minimal!

Got a dress for the baby for $2 after coupon at Kohl's the other day. It's super cute--navy blue gingham with strawberries for pockets!

Father's Day was pretty frugal--coconut cream pie for FIL, chocolate chip cookies for my stepdad, and a $20 Walmart card and lunch for my dad. 2 for $1 cards from the Dollar Tree. I was super tired last night after our day-long childbirth class and really didn't feel like baking anything. DH said we could just run out and buy a pie for his dad or else invite them over for later in the week, but my ingredients needed to be used up, so I got up early this morning to do my baking. FIL and stepdad both seemed really pleased, so I am glad I did.

I hope to eat at home all week. We ate out twice last week! Tonight I'll just make something easy and DH and I can have existing leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

madgeylou
6-20-11, 9:30am
yesterday i went to ohio for my little brother's graduation party. i had some credit on my zipcar account (from when i signed up with a groupon about a year ago) and decided to use it instead of putting more miles on our little aging ford focus. it cost me about $30 to rent the car for the day, gas included -- less than what it would have been to fill our own car up with gas!

i had a surplus of eggs in the fridge, so i made deviled eggs to take to the party. they were a big hit and cost me nothing. so i was able to put a little cash in my bro's card instead of spending it on food for the party. :)

when i came home, my fiancee had made us a roast chicken with broccoli, roast veggies, and gravy. it was so good -- if there's anything better than crispy salty chicken skin, i don't know what it is!

we've been doing great sticking to our budget this month. we may even come in a bit below what we'd planned which will be awesome. we're using mint to track our spending and we've just been talking about it more, which seems to keep us focused. it's really nice knowing that we can keep our expenses super low! that will give us so much freedom as our incomes rise.

have a great week everyone!

Stella
6-20-11, 9:45am
We had a nice, but not entirely frugal weekend. It wasn't all bad though.

Saturday my friend brought over some southwest burgers she had made at a church cooking class for lunch. They were very tasty, but she didn't think her son would like them and she had eight of them. Saturday evening I went to another friends house for a belated Girl's Night.

Sunday we went out with some friends to Olive Garden for lunch to celebrate Father's Day. We had a fantastic time, but it wasn't cheap. Sunday evening we went to a free concert in the park.

This week is jam-packed. Tonight we are having our friends over to celebrate a kid's birthday. He wanted me to make his cake, so I am making a chocolate layer cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting and chocolate peanut butter ganache.

Tomorrow there is a play in the park we played at last week. Wednesday is my women's bible study, Friday is the kids' writing club at the library, Saturday is the parish picnic and Sunday we are going to mass and dinner at a church that is on a farm. Also, sometime this week we are hoping to meet my friend from high school and her kids at the park and go strawberry picking with the neighbors. Next week is VBS. Outside of the strawberry picking and free will offering for the dinner on Sunday all of our activities are free.

fidgiegirl
6-20-11, 10:05am
Azure, I feel ya on cars. We have to have DH's brakes redone to the tune of $600. Boo. I am starting to doubt if we should hang onto this car until it's dead. The air is also wrecked and we are just dealing with that but it doesn't make for fun rides in warm weather. Hopefully if we get this done we should be good for a while. Now is not the time to buy a new car as we need as much cash as possible to go through with the new house if the short sale is approved. So! $600 it is! DH is funny. He's like, ooh, "the brakes are gettin' bad." They were HORRIBLE!! I drove it and felt like I couldn't stop the car! Sweet DH.

Everyone else is doing well! Lots of festivities. I love deviled eggs, madgeylou. I am not surprised they were a hit! Stella, what a fun, fun summer. I can see that as another advantage to homeschooling. Kids still have learning energy in summer, and you can utilize it. And if they need a little break at some time during the school year, you can do that, too. Nice flexibility.

Today it's back to the hardware store to finish off a few projects. Out to lunch in Hudson and then I'm done burning gas and eating out for a few days. After lunch I have a whole blissful unscheduled day!!!

bke
6-20-11, 11:38am
Early morning-your IMAX evening sounds like a lot of fun.

Azure-sorry about the car woes. There's nothing worse than dealing with cars that aren't working right.

Stella-I started drooling at the mention of the chocolate peanut butter cake. You are my food hero. I don't think I would ever have the urge to eat out if I lived with you. So impressive. I must start taking the time to do more of this.

Sat. was very unfrugal. I took dh to dinner at a restaurant that is 45 miles away for father's day. He never asks for anything but had mentioned last week that he was craving fajitas from this one place. It was a gorgeous day so I piled my guys in the car and away we went. It cost me a half a tank of gas and $42 for dinner but dh is worth it.

Yesterday was a no spend/drive day and today should be the same.

I spent some time making phone calls this morning. I had an employee file for unemployment and I wanted to make sure the claim didn't go through. It was confirmed that she is ineligible.

I also called the phone company and changed our business line. Employees and the occasional customer help themselve to the phone. No toll calls will be permitted from this point forward which will be a savings of $10-20 a month. Dh and I can use the free long distance in the house if we need it or a calling card. Most of our call are 800 numbers to suppliers.

Still drinking free iced coffee as a beverage at home. Swag codes, coke rewards, and food service points continue to be collected.

bke
6-20-11, 2:46pm
Woohoo! Just heard back from the phone rep. They are completely canceling my last phone bill of $57.68. Finally a bit of respect from AT&T.

Gizmo
6-20-11, 4:18pm
My debit card won't scan at registers anymore, but still seems to work fine at ATMs. Not sure what I did to it - if it was demagnitized, it wouldn't work at ATMs anymore. Its a fairly new card, so BF says that the bank probably won't give me a new one yet.

So, I'll be going to cash basis. This is going to force me to be frugal, because I hate getting money out at ATMs.

Kat
6-21-11, 10:34am
Not too much going on here. Last night I did not feel like cooking at all, but I made some quick and easy homemade mac n cheese with odds and edds cheese along with some mixed veggies from the freezer. Plenty of leftover for lunch. I am thinking I'll need to bake some more muffins or make some bread for DHs breakfasts, too, since we finished the last of the strawberry orange muffins. Tonight DH is supposed to grill some chicken from the freezer, so I'll only have to make some sides.

I am trying to put off going to the grocery store until tomorrow, and maybe until Friday. When I do go, I'll need to make a list and a menu (I will aim towards using up what's in the freezer).

I am thinking about heading to the library today to check out a couple of sewing books and a book I want to read before the baby comes.

Stella
6-21-11, 12:05pm
The chocolate peanut butter cake was amazing and the party went really well. My friend didn't have to spend a lot of money and the kids had fun.

Kelli, that flexibility is definitely my favourite part of homeschooling. There were a few weeks before the birth of the baby that homeschool was a little lax, so we're doing some work now.

Cheyenne and Bella start their Greek lessons the week after next. Their surrogate grandma and I worked out the schedule. We may, once Zach has worked a few weeks, invest in Rosetta Stone Greek as a back-up for them to practice, but for the summer they will have Greek lessons daily. It's free too.

fidgiegirl
6-21-11, 12:48pm
@Stella, check out Byki. We have it through SPPL, and it looks like there is a free version on their website. I have not used Rosetta Stone but I know it is a LOT of money. Byki is mostly flashcards but that might be enough for home practice to supplement the lessons. It is geared for adult learners, though.

Also Quia has some exercises, though I am not sure how age-appropriate. Most appear to be for Biblical Greek. They are in a game format, though. Maybe there are some gems until you get hooked up with something else. http://www.quia.com/shared/greek/

BBC has nice language learning activities. Here is there Greek page, with promising additional links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/greek/

If they/you/surrogate Gma are super serious, I bet local Greek Orthodox churches have weekend language classes for when summer's done.

You know I'm a language teacher, right? I went a little overboard, but enjoyed it :)

Rosemary
6-21-11, 1:16pm
Fidgiegirl, thanks for the language resources! I want to work on Spanish with DD over the summer (we'll both be learning) and Rosetta Stone is way beyond our means, although I did like the method I saw on the demo they sent to me. I'll check these out this afternoon.

I did a lot of food prep this morning, which always has multiple benefits: quick meals and snacks, less wasted produce, and meditation time. :)

We have an area in our yard that really needs non-grass groundcover as it is quite shady. It's going to be a rainy week, so I just finished swatting mosquitoes while taking vinca cuttings and dispersing them around the area. A friend also has some extra shade plants for me.

cdttmm
6-21-11, 5:31pm
Got motivated yesterday and baked bread, which saved us from stopping at the store. I've got a grocery list started and will put off shopping until tomorrow when my SO is out of town. I always spend less when grocery shopping with a list by myself! Picked up a pair of sandals for this summer at the thrift store: $2.50. They are not exactly what I want, but they will get me through this summer, thereby saving me from spending $75-$80 on the shoes I've had my eye on! Have been hanging all the laundry on the line to dry the past few days as the weather has been cooperating. Could be hot and humid enough to justify turning on the air conditioning, but have been diligent about closing all the blinds in the morning and using the whole house fan at night to cool things off. I'm hoping we can make it all the way until July 1st without turning on the AC. Ate some more greens from the garden for dinner last night and will have leftovers for dinner tonight. That's all for now - nothing fabulously big to report, but it's the little day-to-day stuff that I'm trying to turn into long-lasting habits.

bke
6-21-11, 5:41pm
No driving or spending today. Recieved a free Luna bar and a coupon for an 8 oz bag of reese's in the mail yesterday. I'm making a list for Rite aid tomorrow. Its errand day-bank library and rite aid tomorrow.

I just fininshed brewing a pot of coffee for tomorrow's iced coffee.

I made lemon squares last night. They weren't nearly the hit I thought they'd be but such is life. We'll finish them this evening for treats and move on to the nexts adventure in homemade sweets.

danna
6-21-11, 9:08pm
JUNE 20--1ST Day of Summer
--so much company of and on all last week but, came up with nice treats and meals for all without breaking the bank
--yard work done by friend, amazing wonderful person who got so much done, and Dd cut grass and trimmed trees, I planted and transplanted and the yard looks beautiful...happy summer
--super find at Costco 3 pack ($4.97) of very gentle face/hand cleanser that is working really well on DH tender skin from the drugs he is on.
--still only shopping the 2 to 3 stores close to us for weekly specials we use and milk, etc...doing great on food budget.
--DH year end BBQ for his club last week and I made a TexMex dip that went over really well with requests for the recipe.

porcelain
6-21-11, 9:14pm
Someday I hope they appreciate having the kind of mother who would embroider intestines on a pillowcase

Hilarious! Your family sounds awesome!

Amaranth
6-21-11, 9:26pm
Originally Posted by Stella
Someday I hope they appreciate having the kind of mother who would embroider intestines on a pillowcase
Hilarious!

Your family sounds awesome!

Been thinking about the expression on a museum curator's face circa 2511 when s/he opens the conservation case with that pillowcase in it.:cool:

Kat
6-22-11, 8:39am
I did go to the library yesterday and check out a few books, including one on homemade baby food. Doesn't seem that hard to make at all! We did go out to eat, though, because DH didn't feel like grilling, and we stopped by GNC to buy some work-out supplements that were on sale. DH and doing P90X, and it is proving to be crazy expensive what with the supplements, the whey protein, the power bars, the extra food, etc. It's making me crazy! At least I can make homemade protein bars and buy whatever healthy food is on sale (he isn't that picky about what he eats, just so long as there is something to eat!).

There are some really good produce sales this week, so I am planning to stock up. I started making a grocery list and menu and will finish that--along with pricing everything out--before I go shopping. I really need to stay within budget this time, but the extra stuff--the cat food, the toilet paper, the whey protein, etc.--kills my budget pretty fast!

madgeylou
6-22-11, 9:56am
well, guys, i am taking the next step forward with my business and learning how to program -- i kind of need to in order to go in the direction we want to go. luckily, the language i am learning has TONS of free resources online. i'm working through tutorials and examples and even found an itunes u course that is very relevant. all for free. man, you really can learn anything for free on the interwebs. kind of amazing just to browse through the resources on itunes u -- there's every topic under the sun from some of the best schools in the world. amazing.

so i'm working on that today. when my brain hurts i will take a break to putter around the house, get dinner started in the crockpot, make a quiche to use up some leftovers, etc. not much is nicer than a lovely productive day at home.

OH i also found out about a business incubator that provides guidance and funding to startups in our area. i am going to meet with them as soon as possible as we are starting to bump up into some big stuff that i have *no idea* how to approach!

Chickadee
6-22-11, 10:24am
Fidgiegirl, I really appreciate the language links as well. Rosetta is out of our budget at this time but I have really been wanting to get started on learning languages, starting with Spanish. I appreciate the info on good sites more than you know. :)

Frugals lately here include teaching my girls (12 & 11) to make homemade cinnamon rolls (using the bread machine for the dough). They are getting pretty good at it and really, it is a pretty simple thing to master. They made a batch last night with minimal help from me and they were so good. It makes for an awesome frugal treat.

I picked a colander full of our own strawberries from the strawberry patch and didn't have time to make freezer jam yesterday so I cleaned them, stemmed them and packaged them whole into foodsaver bags. They make wonderful smoothies in the middle of winter, especially with homemade yogurt. Yum! Plus they are completely organic. I love country life. :) The raspberry bushes are loaded so hopefully we will get a good harvest there eventually there as well.

Other frugals lately: returning library books on time and letting the kids get more (great fff), and having dear son bike part way for his summer job. It is an 18 mile round trip so it gets pricey. Dh and I told him if he banks his paychecks to buy a car instead of spending them, we will supply the transportation at no cost. He still has to bike part of it when possible though. Picking him up at the edge of town cuts many miles off the commute for me and is very good character building for him. He is happy to do it anyway and is a super, easy, frugal kid. Some of my kiddos are a bit more challenging, lol, so it is nice to have an easy kid in there too.

Azure
6-22-11, 10:45am
Thanks everyone for the good wishes on the van repairs. Unfortunately, we are looking at about $1200. Ugh. We'll find the money somewhere. I think DH was mad at me because I said it would be cheaper to fix the van than to buy something else. He is getting tired of fixing it I guess. It is rusty in areas and not looking too good. Heck, I'd like something better! But $1200 a year is less than car payments. Hopefully it will only be $1200 this year! If anything else happens to it I may lose the battle. The funny thing is that he doesn't like having to put money into it to fix it so that it runs but we are missing 1 hubcap and it is driving him crazy. He wants to replace that :confused:

DH has felt that he can't ride his motorcycle to work this week because the forecast has been calling for rain and/or t-storms. So far the only rain has been after dark last night. So he is driving his jeep & I am at home without working transportation. 3 no drive/no spend days so far!

I have fried rice on the menu for tonight but I am waffling. I have left over rice to use up & I love fried rice but it just seems like lots of chopping & prep work and oil splattering all over my face & glasses. Whine, whine, whine. lol

The weed barrier I got at goodwill covered about 3/4 of the front flower bed which is great. I'll just use newspapers for the rest. Ian & I put out 3 more bags of mulch on top of the barrier. I can see how much better the area will look once we finish. A nice looking garden will be such a treat.

Something ( I suspect rabbits) ate all my cauliflower plants. So all I have left in the veggie garden is tomatoes, green peppers, 1 watermelon, onions & acorn squash. I haven't been able to find any more cauliflower plants, or anything else I'd really like at the garden store. Maybe I'll just throw some flower seeds out there.

larknm
6-22-11, 12:26pm
Bought goodlooking sheet to replace one with holes, to use as bedspread, at Salvation Army.

Then for $22 bought a bedspread from India to use alternately with first one.

Saw good review for book I really want, wrote down when so in a year I can get it on interlibrary loan.

fidgiegirl
6-22-11, 12:53pm
Kat - Would a warehouse store membership help you cut costs on any of that? I believe they let you have a "try-out" pass to see if you want to join, maybe it's worth a look. We find Costco to be an excellent savings on some items and the same cost on other items.

Thanks to all for the feedback on the language learning links! :) Happy to be of service.

My interview went well this morning! If offered the position I may make more money, too, at least for a year (it's only a year long position).

Today I am going to have FFF cleaning my house. Do you sense the sarcasm? ;) It's driving me batty. It's not just cluttered, it's dirty. We need to have a better "landing strip" (is that from Apartment Therapy? I know I didn't invent such a clever term myself) inside the front porch. I also need to rig up an attractive paper recycling station RIGHT THERE so we can put in the junk mail. I am thinking I can nestle a garbage can down into one of my DH decorative fishing creels. We have that for our shredder and it works nicely. Another is quite large but is also more antique so not sure if he would be real happy with me. Need to have a think on this one. Could also spring for a basket, or decoupage a can. Ok, none of this has to do with frugality, I just got going :)

Lunch: hmmmm? What to have? Yesterday I bought scrummy bread at half price at the co-op and need to get it in the freezer, but maybe I should make myself a few mini pizzas prior to freezing. That would be yummy.

Stella
6-22-11, 2:47pm
Cool links fidgiegirl! I will have to check those out. I can tell you have a passion for language! We have Rosetta Stone Latin and have loved it, but I would certainly consider something free to supplement their Greek. I can't wait for them to start. Their grandma is excited too. She is such a treasure.

Porcelain, thanks for the compliment! Amaranth I have occasionally wondered what someone excavating my house in the far future would think. I would imagine it would be confusing at best!

The play in the park was rained out last night, but we went for a family walk in the evening during a break in the rain. It was such a nice walk. On the way back we ran into our buddy Scott and his mom who were looking at pond critters they had caught in a jar. They had tadpoles, leaches and two different kinds of snails. Today they are going to catch and observe a turtle and they invited the girls along too. Scott's mom knows all about creepy crawly things and likes them, which is excellent because Cheyenne and Bella's mom is not quite as comfortable with creepy crawly things. Good FFF and good learning.

Tonight is my bible study. I may be carpooling with a friend.

Zach and the girls have been busy readying my sewing area downstairs. It's supposed to be a surprise. I say supposed to be because 1) it involves 7 and 6 year old girls. There's no such thing as secrets with them, and 2) the baby monitor is in that room. :) I can't wait to get sewing. Dad gave me some really nice sheets of his that tore a little. I am going to make the kids some pajama pants from them. Sheet fabric makes comfy pjs.

Last night I made greek lemon chicken and rice soup. I used two packages of organic chicken legs I had gotten on sale for $2-$3 each to make the broth. I only chopped up about 1/3 of the chicken for the soup and saved the rest for today. I am making pasta with chicken and veggies.

Other than that the only frugal I can think of is that I am going to take a big old nap this afternoon. As I've stated before, it's my favourite frugal way to kill an afternoon.

porcelain
6-22-11, 4:25pm
My big frugal for June is that I started coloring my hair at home! So far I've done my roots twice and it has come out great. It comes out to $5 instead of $70-$150 that I was paying at the salon, depending on what I was getting done. And the best thing is that I'm relaxing at home while waiting to process instead of sitting captive in a chair and letting everyone see me with goop on my head. I will still need to go get the occasional cheap haircut, but it's a huge step in the right direction :) Over the last year I have quit all expensive beauty services.

porcelain
6-23-11, 10:37am
And I just cancelled my cable! Yay!

Chickadee
6-23-11, 12:15pm
I gave dd a haircut. She wanted layers put into her long thick hair and some length taken off. It looks adorable but needs some more thinning.

We have been eating out of the frig. I told the kiddos I want less leftovers in there and that they need to eat up what we have before making something new. It already looks cleaner and neater. I think we are spoiled in that we can be picky about what we want to eat sometimes and choose something new instead of eating what already is made. Need to work on that.

Today will be picking more strawberries from our strawberry bed and either making jam or IQF them. Too wet to work in the gardens but I will peek at them and make a mental list of what needs to be done first once they dry out enough to go work out there. We are committed to eating/preserving as much as possible.

Azure
6-23-11, 12:25pm
So I made myself cook the fried rice for dinner last night. It was good. The only veggies I had were carrots & cabbage but that worked just fine. Used some pork I'd gotten on mark down. It would have been better if we'd have kimchi to go with it, though :) Also baked a loaf of bread. Was supposed to use bread flour but I was out so I used the regular unbleached white flour. Ran out of that and used the WW for the last 1/2 cup. Mixed up some spiced honey butter for the bread - yummy!

Tyler wants to have a yard sale. He has some things he wants to sell. I said no because my yard sales are almost always disappointing. But I was thinking last night that I do have a few things I want to clear out so maybe we'll go ahead and do it. It won't cost me anything but some time to try.

Today I need to get to the store since we are out of onions, flour & vegetables. I don't want to drive the van so I'll just walk to the local grocery store. I'll also look for marked down meat.

Stella
6-23-11, 12:28pm
Yay porcelain! That is great.

We are having a field trip day and deliberating between the Mill City Museum (free with our Historical Society membership) or a big regional park with a nature center and play area. I think we'll pack a lunch either way.

Cheyenne is possibly going to start attending a chess club that starts tonight. It's free!

Jemima
6-23-11, 2:04pm
Finally used the can of goat milk that's been sitting in the cupboard for a year (the 'best by' date was sometime in 2013) and the remains of even older but okay organic tapioca to make dessert. Frozen yogurt doesn't seem to be agreeing with me lately, so I thought I'd take a shot at puddings.

Also picked up a cheap tip for kitchen countertop polish from a product review on Amazon, olive oil mixed with white vinegar. The reviewer didn't mention the proportions, but he kept me from spending close to ten dollars on a special spray polish.

Stella
6-23-11, 5:37pm
Well we picked the Mill City Museum. It was fun! Lots of good history info on the milling history of Minneapolis, info on hydro power, info on baking and foods from different cultures, plus an observation deck with a stunning view. The museum isn't a very long drive from our house. We walked in Mill Ruins Park and on the Stone Arch Bridge and watched a boat go through the lock and dam at St Anthony Falls. Their gift shop was tempting, filled with stuff like aprons, Nordicware pans in fun shapes and other baking related goods, but I resisted.

I am going to do a follow up activity sometime in the next week and bring out our home grain mill to mill some wheat berries and bake bread. We are planning to go strawberry picking soon, so we can bake the bread and eat it with our homemade jam.

I was thinking that I might use that trip to start homeschool units on Minnesota History and the Mississippi River. These would be inexpensive units to do. Our membership at the Historical Society would cover a lot of the history ground, as would our July visit with my grandma and great-aunt. Zach's dad and brother are each planning visits here soon and both of them are into history, so that would give us some FFF things to do with them too. I also think I might use the hydro power discussion to start a discussion about alternative energy sources.

I got an idea from an advertisement at the museum to take the kids on an urban photo safari sometime this summer. It's basically a guided walking tour combined with photography practice at various local landmarks. I figure I have spent enough of my life on various tours of the Twin Cities that I can DIY this one and take the kids on my own version of a photo safari. We are planning trips to Indiana, Wyoming, Las Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles in the next year, so we may get the various relatives we are visiting to guide us on photo safaris in those areas too.

Amaranth
6-23-11, 6:29pm
the fried rice for dinner last night. It was good. The only veggies I had were carrots & cabbage but that worked just fine. Used some pork I'd gotten on mark down. It would have been better if we'd have kimchi to go with it, though

Azure, how about making some quick kimchi or tsukemono or a US style vinegary cabbabe slaw? The cabbage and/or carrots would have been good for any of those. And as a general strategy, sometimes leftovers from certain vegetable side dishes can be quick pickled overnight.

early morning
6-23-11, 11:45pm
Last weekend DH asked me to cut his hair (!!!) and it turned out really well, plus saved us $10. I took a vacation day Tuesday because there was a Ford Trimotor in town hopping rides. I LOVE those planes- and we were asked to help work the event, which was a fund-raiser for the organization that owns the plane. I had already planned for the 3 of us (and my Dsis) to ride; DD and DH have never been in a Tin Goose- so after our shift I bought us tickets. The operators insisted on giving us a discount, since we had worked. I thought that was really nice. We saved enough to cover our lunch at the nice local place where we had planned to eat. It was a really nice day and there was a large turnout. Everyone loved their rides and were super friendly and excited about the plane, we of course enjoyed our turn in the sky, lunch was just wonderful, and I felt that it was all well worth the time and money spent, so I'm claiming it as a quasi-frugal;). Today there was a picnic at work for lunch, with free food, beverages, and Ritter's custard sundaes for dessert. That was a nice treat, too!

Kat
6-24-11, 8:19am
@fidgie--That is a great idea about the warehouse store. Unfortunately, the closest one is about an hour's drive away, and the cost of good there comes out to be about the same of shopping at Aldis here. Also, we don't have a lot of storage, and it is hard for us to come up with a big chunk of money to put down all at once. Those buy in bulk kinds of places are a terrific solution for a lot of people; they just won't work well for us at his time (although I will periodicially revisit the idea to see if it would be a better option in the future). Thanks for mentioning it, though. :)

@stella--I bet you are dying to sew in your new room!

Well, Wednesday I made biscuits and gravy as planned and cut up some watermelon to go with it. Plenty leftover for lunch yesyerday. Last night we had a couple of friends over, and DH grilled. I made some rice to go along and put out the rest of the watermelon to go with it. I also made some sweet tea to drink--really good and really cheap! The weather was beautiful, so we ate outside and just talked the night away. It was really nice!

I am mostly done with shopping, though I do need to stop at a nearby store for some great loss leaders today. All in all, I should come in about $10 under budget (and that includes buying DH's whey protein--yeah!).

Onthe not-so-frugal side, we have a serious ant infestation. Our contractor discovered it last spring when he tore up the kitchen subfloor (which had to be replaced because of all the damage). We hoped it was old damage, but it wasn't. So we ended up having to hire a pest control company. It is crazy expensive, and I am not at all pleased about the spraying. But it needed to be done, or the bugs would eventually destroy the structure of our house. They did the first treatment yesterday. I have to say, the company has been nice and is spraying as safely and greenly as possible to protect me and our pets. But still. Ick!

bke
6-24-11, 10:42am
Dh cut his own and ds's hair this week for a savings of $24 according to dh.

We needed to do some shopping last night but chose to eat at home first. Home-made wet burritos (well restaurant made I guess). Anyways, they were yesterdays lunch special and we ate leftovers. Savings of $30 by not dining out.

I mailed out $68 in rebates this week. Mostly Menards stuff previously mentioned.

Talked ds into getting the store brand granola bars instead of the fancy brand name box. They look identical. Hopefully they'll taste identical and he'll learn a little frugal lesson. Savings: a whopping 90 cents.

Stella
6-24-11, 10:46am
Mmmm. Kat and early morning, between your talk of biscuits and gravy and custard sundaes I am getting hungry!

Today is the girls' free writing group. That should be fun. Other than that I think we're going to have a stay-near-home day. We may go walking and check out a letterbox we've been meaning to check out and we'll almost certainly spend some time in the pool.

We were going to go strawberry picking, but I called the berry line this morning and they said that picking will be light until next week so we'll hold off until then.

Rosemary
6-24-11, 12:43pm
I'm going to trade plants with a friend. She'll take some strawberries, currants, and raspberries, and I'll take some of her abundant shade plants - hydrangeas, ferns, lily of the valley, and more - for an area of the yard that we don't want to have to mow, and is too shady for grass anyway.

Other than that - just the usual stuff. Not spending, cooking at home, drying laundry outside, etc.

fidgiegirl
6-24-11, 9:08pm
We will be going to PA for my Grammy's funeral. My DSis and DBiL decided to drive and invited me to share in the drive. They have rented a car for the trip and even with gas, it will come out to about a third of the cost of a flight. I want to watch the check book because we might still get our short sale house and would like to hold on to the funds. It will be a long drive (18-20 hours) but hopefully it will go ok.

Went to Target and got some snacks for the drive. I was going to buy bottled teas and decided I would brew up some in a Nalgene and take that. I did buy tea bags to make it easier to make more along the way. We will probably get sick of our snacks but it should be better than picking up something at every gas stop and also will be healthier.

I will also be staying at my aunt and uncle's so that will be free.

It's too bad we even have to make the trip, but I was trying to think of being as frugal as possible. If I was going to spend 18 hours in the car to save money, I wasn't going to blow the savings on food on the way there and back.

Today has been nuts. Our house purchase might still go, as I mentioned, so it's been a day of crazy running and rushing to get paperwork found, signed, faxed to my husband on his fishing trip (!) and then hunted out some more. It might not go through, and that would be disappointing, because it would only be because the bank let it go so long before approving. We are not sure we can pull together all our pieces in time to close in a week and a half.

Wish us luck on the trip! Thanks all for your frugal support, as always! I might not have thought of bringing drinks if it hadn't been for this forum and always working on more and more frugality . . .

early morning
6-24-11, 9:51pm
fidgiegirl - I'm sorry for your loss. Best of luck to you all on your trek- and I think taking tea is great! I always get sooo thirsty when driving long distances, and end up drinking too many pops (because they are free w/DH's Coke points). Sending good vibes for the house sale, too! Amazing that you can fax things to people anywhere, anytime. When DH used to go hunting/fishing with my DB, they were simply out of contact for the week - no way to reach them unless they hiked out of where-ever on GGE they managed to get to! Times sure have changed.

Stella
6-25-11, 12:02am
Kelli what a crazy week you are having! I am so sorry for your loss. Hugs and prayers on that and the house situation.

fidgiegirl
6-25-11, 12:32am
Thanks ladies! I appreciate the acknowledgment and sympathy. Crazy sums it up! Roller coaster!

Happy frugal weekends to all!

Kat
6-25-11, 8:25am
So sorry to hear about your Grammy, fidgie! I hope in the midst of all of this craziness, you can find some peace and comfort.

Stella
6-25-11, 11:36am
I was not at all a good girl yesterday. I did not stay home like planned and instead talked my husband into driving out to the Wisconsin border to go out for lunch at a drive-in I like. After that we did go to the writing group and go swimming at home and I did make the salmon, but then it was Zach's turn to be naughty and he asked my dad to watch the big kids so we could go out for pie. The saving grace is that we walked the 2 miles there and back, saving gas and making it a bit healthier. We actually had a really lovely date for $7. We spent the whole time talking about a daydream I mentioned in another thread, the hikes up both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.

Today we are having our Father's Day brunch and going to the parish picnic in the evening. It should be a good frugal day.

cdttmm
6-25-11, 1:08pm
I'm going to keep Stella company in the not-so-frugal confessions category. :|(

My significant other and I went to see X-Men: First Class yesterday in the movie theater. Although I was quite pleased with the fact that we went to see the matinee show, thereby saving $3 per person on the tickets, we prompted turned not-so-frugal after the movie. We went to Whole Foods (gasp!) for groceries where we proceeded to spend $230 for what will likely amount to about 10 days worth of food for 2 people. Okay, not even 2 people as he will be out of town for about half of that time. In my defense, I am in the midst of writing my master's thesis and I have procrastinated to the point of needing to just write and do nothing else, including cook real meals, for the next 8-12 days. So I stocked up on a whole lot of prepared stuff that I would not have otherwise bought. But it sure did pain me at the register and I wanted to kick myself for being such a procrastinator. Sigh.

Okay, confession time is over, I have to go back to writing!

Merski
6-25-11, 6:55pm
Went grocery shopping today and was very restrained. Took the crumbs and bits from the bottom of the pan we baked a meatloaf in and ate during the week, added some adobo sauce and made beef burritos with salsa, sour cream and garden lettuce! Felt very frugal about that! Cleaned out the garage and found stuff for the dump, the metal pile, paper recycling and even stuff for the consignment shop. I bet I'll sleep well tonight!

rosarugosa
6-25-11, 8:00pm
Fidgie, So sorry about your Grandmother. Wish you were taking a trip under more pleasant circumstances.
Well, DH & I went to Costco TOGETHER yesterday (I had the day off), which is usually a financial disaster, but we only went $0.16 over budget, which I pulled from my change purse, so that was pretty good.
I finally tried Black Box Chardonnay, and I'm pleased to report that it's good stuff. I like their Merlot and Shiraz well enough, but I'm pretty fussy about Chardonnay, so it took me a long time to try it. The per bottle cost works out to about $6.00, which is half the price of what we usually pay for Chardonnay, so that's a definite frugal score. I realize that not everyone here has a special budget category for wine, but we do, so this is an important discovery ;)
I had decided that I really needed a pair of garden clogs. I usually demote a pair of old clogs for the task, but the most recent demotees were not up to the job - not raised at all and the leather would soak right through from the wet grass. I found a pair I liked from LL Bean, on sale for $30. instead of $40., and I had $20. in LL Bean Bucks from my LL Bean Visa, so I got them for $9.99. They are cute and waterproof and perfect, so that was a frugal score.
I recently fell in lust with a pair of Dansko sandals that cost $150, and I believe that I've talked myself out of them. Please send frugal vibes my way - I may still be susceptible! They are so cute, but I need them like a hole in the head. I actually wrote out a little analysis of expenditures I want/need to make this summer, including and then excluding the sandals, so I could prioritize accurately, taking into account my "cash stash" and anticipated allowance flow. The sandals don't really make the cut. (An aside, DH saw my analysis, and said "What the h*ll is this?? I believe he sometimes thinks I am an alien from another planet :idea:).
I honestly find this focus on budgeting and frugality to be a happy & positive thing. We actually have less income than in years past, but really THINKING about our expenditures makes me appreciate what we already have, and the purchases that we do make, so much more. I cannot believe that just a few years ago, I said things like "easy come, easy go" and "disposable income." !Splat!
And we can live a nice life without DH working in his totally toxic former work environment, which is really what it's all about, as far as I'm concerned.

crunchycon
6-26-11, 8:02am
Took a spin through Goodwill yesterday afternoon and found a 2 piece Pendleton suit for less than $10. i felt very clever because the jacket was on one rack and is one size (like me) and the skirt was on another rack in a different size (like me). I took that as a sign!


That's a super find, beckyliz! I wear Pendleton suits to work as they fit me well. My suits are 4-5 years old, and get worn nearly weekly (they all mix and match). They look practically new, and I plan to wear them for years longer, as they're very classic.

Stella
6-26-11, 10:28am
Rosa good job resisting the sandals!

cdttmm, good luck on the writing!

We need to reign in spending money on date nights now that pretty much every night is turning into a date night. I love that. Last night baby T went down at 8PM so Dad was willing to keep him too. Zach and I went for a lovely walk in the park. Someone had lit a fire in the firepit on the island so we sat down to enjoy it for about 20 minutes. It was beautiful sitting there by the fire overlooking the lake and talking. When it began to get dark we went to Caribou for coffee. $8. Not a big deal overall, but $8 a night would add up fast. Tonight we are thinking of either canoeing or just going for the walk and skipping the coffee. I have to admit, I love our dates. Having all of this alone time together is a pretty amazing thing when you have little ones. It really helps us to keep our marriage strong and to enjoy the time we have together as a whole family more.

Two of four children are not feeling well today so I am taking just Bella to mass with me this morning. After that we are going to have a mom and Bella date. My park has a free children's art activity today to introduce their new series on Thoreau. Bella is my little nature girl, so it's perfect for her.

Stella
6-26-11, 6:38pm
The Thoreau thing was so much fun! We made pop-up books using Thoreau quotes and pictures cut out of National Geographic magazines and calendars. There was an art and nature scavenger hunt and when it was all over we just sat out on the dock watching the boats and birds and talking. Loveliness! We made an extra book to take home for Cheyenne.

We're keeping dinner simple tonight with scrambled eggs, toast and fruit. I am tired and not so interested in cooking.

Tomorrow is the first day of VBS. It is all day this year! That is going to be so much fun for the girls. It was about $.50 per hour per kid. Not too bad a deal!

early morning
6-26-11, 7:59pm
This has been a lovely weekend. Yesterday Dsis, DD and I went yardsaling/antiquing and ended up as planned at the outlet mall, since I really really needed new bras (ya, I know, TMI..:|().... I put a load of laundry on the line before we left, and DH was kind enough to take it down and fold it. We took pop and water with us, and some snacks, but planned to eat lunch and dinner out. Lunch was a fund-raiser for a garden club, so we always buy lunch at this particular show. I found a lovely newish hand-quilted quilt for $5 at a yard sale. It's about the size of a large afghan- bigger than a crib quilt but a little smaller than a twin bed cover. I bought a couple things at the antique show - a gift for DD, two for me (I'll get them later from whoever DD sells them to, lol!) and an old toolcarrier box for the center of our table, to hold condiments etc. At the outlet, it was teacher appreciation week, so I payed for everything we bought with my rewards card, and DD and DSis paid me back for their stuff. We got free sox, 10% off several places, including sale items, and free candy. Didn't buy anything we hadn't planned to buy, although DD was looking for a new top to wear to an upcoming wedding, and found 3. Since they were all on sale, she paid less than planned. And the bras were BOGO. Now I shouldn't have to go back there for YEARS, I hope! I put more laundry out today, and managed to clear several small sections of garden. I have to confess I've really done very little garden-wise this year, it was so wet for so long, and then soooo hot! So I'm concentrating on whipping it into shape for next year (hey, I can dream, can't I?) ;) Planted my new rhubarb, in any case.

danna
6-26-11, 8:58pm
June 26
--got mulch that was selling for $6.99/56 Litres for $3.99 at least some savings and only bought 4 bags because that is all that would fit in the new smaller car (unforseen frugal there hehe)
--lovely couple of meals from things that I had frozen frugal and easy
--cleaned out spare bedroom/sewing room and found a few things to sell
--found a trolley type cart that some smart person had added a crate to at a yardsale for $1.00 and have already used it to move yard waste from the front yard to the compost pile
--moved 6 clippings from the Rose of Sharon to one of the new flower beds and 3 hosta that were overcrowding one bed to the other new flowerbed...all free

Rosemary
6-27-11, 7:15am
Our free activity yesterday was playing with the cats at a local shelter that we like and visit a couple times monthly. We met another mom and daughter who go there regularly as well! DD (who's not old enough to be an official volunteer) and I both love cats and although it's hard to leave our friends there at the end of our playtime, it is satisfying to get to know them and give them some attention. They're not in cages so it's a little easier than seeing cats the way they keep them at other shelters.

Merski
6-27-11, 7:28am
Made some macaroni salad and a chocolate cake with 7 minute frosting and coconut for eating this week. Put a list on the fridge of meals we can have so we don't have to think about it. Weeded garden, DH staked tomatoes. Days of rain beforehand so we couldn't get out. Using consignment payment to go to the New Bedford Folk Festival with other frugal friends. We'll bring our own nicer lunch and not buy food there. I'm working on an iced tea that's green tea and fruit juice. The current one had cranberry/peach.
Working on weight...

Kat
6-27-11, 8:01am
@cdttmm--I have felt overwhelmed with every thesis I have ever written, both undergraduate and in graduate school. Even when I didn't procrastinate, it was stressful. If you can take a little help from the supermarket and preserve your sanity, I say more power to you! Money well spent! :-)
@stella--that Thoreau thing sounds awesome
@Merski--green tea and fruit juice sounds delicious!

I have two tiny frugals to report. I cut the end off my toothpaste to get one more use out of it. I also kept a huge Ziploc bag someone had given me to that I can use it to pack away baby stuff later.

Saturday was my first baby shower. It was a lovely time and not fussy as all. Just a modest cake, some punch, and a gorgeous diaper cake for a centerpiece (which is totally practical, too--awesome!). It was a fun day, and I am completely overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and family.

Yesterday my sister stopped by with some clothes for the baby. My SIL told me, too, that she has some clothes and toys that her daughter has ourgrown that she woud like to pass along, and another guest at the shower said the same thing. It doesn't seem like I'll have to buy many clothes, books, or toys for this kid!

bke
6-27-11, 1:14pm
Fidgie girl-so sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts are with you.

I guess not doing anything special is my big frugal of the weekend. Dinner at home both nights and no driving to speak of.

Ds and I went to the library while running errands today. We brought home books for entertainment this week.

Business is crummy this summer. No one has the money to come up to their cottages and eat at our place. Dh and I are working on keeping a good variety of daily specials going while keeping costs down as much as possible. We feed the same people over and over so its important that they don't get bored with the food. I found a soup cookbook at the library and brought it home. Maybe I'll find a new soup or two for work.

Kat
6-27-11, 7:25pm
My dad needed me to pick up some prescriptions for him, so I planned my route and ran all my other errands at the same time (mail, bank, library). When I got back, I ate leftovers for lunch. Tonight I am making chicken and dumplings for dinner. It's proving to be a great clean-out-the-fridge-and-freezer meal. Should have plenty for my lunch and DHs tomorrow.

Kat
6-28-11, 10:02am
Last night DH and I went to pick up the crib mattress for the baby's room. I think I am going ot return it because I found a better deal online ($22 cheaper) and the online one comes with a removable waterproof cover, so I wouldn't have to spend another $15-20 for that. I've also been looking for deals for other baby stuff we'd like. Craigslist has many, and I found some of the cloth diapers I want for a little bit less if I buy them in bulk. I was planning on buying several anyway, and I found a 5% off coupon code. Not much, but every little but helps! :-)

My doctor's appointment for today got cancelled, so today will be a no-spend, no-drive day. I have already started the laundry frugal-style, and have a couple of pots of chicken stock simmering away. I am making the stock out of chicken carcasses and vegetable ends and peelings from the freezer. So no waste there! Later I might make some peach ice cream and some more protein bars for DH (who is looking and feeling fabulous from his workout).

I was also offered an extra class last night, which was unexpected. But it should be finished by the time the baby is born, so I am going to take it and try to squirrel a little extra away. Should make up for the horrendous pest control bill we got (courtesy of the ants)!

cdttmm
6-28-11, 10:10am
This week has been going pretty well so far. I avoided going to Home Depot to use a coupon for a free perennial. It was a buy 2, get 1 free deal and although I love getting free plants, I realized that I was really just going to create more work for myself. So I opted out, which meant I also didn't buy peony rings, and I realized that it is OKAY! My peonies are done blooming, they don't need rings at this point. I will ask for some on Freecycle instead. Of course, I do need to buy a rug for our front entryway and Home Depot is likely the best place to get one. But right now, I'm just going without because it's really not hurting anything. :) In fact, it's one less rug for the cats to vomit on! :~)

Been doing well with just staying home, working on my thesis, and taking breaks to play with the dogs and cats and walk through the garden. Stocking up on delightful snacks helped because I am not tempted to go out to get something. Of course, it also helped that my partner was gone for the past 2 days and that always makes it easier for me to control things. But he's back, and I'm happy to have him here, even though he is convinced that it is time to start using the AC. Nooooooooooooo!!! I wanted to make it to July 1 before we started using the AC. It's not that hot and humid, IMO. But he will likely insist. Oh well, he be gone again for 2 more days later this week and I will turn the AC off and open all the windows! ;)

I am so tempted to go to the running store to buy a new pair of running shorts because right now 4 of the 6 pair that I have don't fit (gained a few too many pounds while in grad school this year!). But then I realized that if I keep running wearing the two pair of shorts that DO fit, that I will lose ~5 pounds over the next 3 weeks and then all 6 pair will fit. So it will be like having new shorts without actually spending any money! We'll see whether I am successful with this little mental re-programming!

Okay, back to writing. Please keep posting everyone - your frugal ways keep me inspired and reading this thread is a great mental break for me!!! I know, I know, it's all about ME right now!!! !Splat!

Stella
6-28-11, 11:06am
Kat I'm glad your baby shower went well! I was the same way with clothes. I don't think I ever bought an outfit for my babies with my own money. Between gifts and hand-me-downs we were set. Even now I only have to fill in a few things here and there.

The girls are at VBS today so we are cleaning and Zach is going to list some stuff on craigslist from the storage unit. I am so excited to get that all cleared out.

If we get our chores done I am going to work on some sewing, maybe do some writing and maybe take the kiddos to the pool.

Stella
6-28-11, 7:07pm
Things are really shaping up around here! By the time Zach starts work on Monday this house should be running really well. That is actually a very frugal thing because the less time I spend catching up on housework the less tired I am at the end of the day and the less tired I am at the end of the day the less likely we are to get take-out.

I made a batch of laundry detergent today. Its about $2 for 10 gallons. I made the last batch before Travis was born and Travis is almost 3 months old, so even with the massive amounts of laundry I do for the seven of us we're still doing pretty well.

Kat
6-29-11, 9:10am
@stella--how'd the sewing room turn out?

Well, the class I signed up to teach got cancelled. At first I was a little disappointed, but I see now that it is for the best. I have been so tired lately, and if the baby comes early, I'd have been stuck grading a bunch of paper while in labor. ;-)

I didn't feel much like cooking dinner yesterday, but I forced myself to make some mac n cheese with some peas and a side salad. Lunch today will be leftovers and supper tonight might be enchiladas with taco soup from the freezer or maybe chili cheese dog casserole. I've really been trying to use up what we have and not waste anything!

I have a lot of work to do today, so it'll probably be another no drive, no spend. I didn't get to the ice cream or protein bars yesterday, so I should try to make those. I have everything I need.

bke
6-29-11, 10:32am
My frugals seem to all be food related today. We ate leftovers for dinner last night using up enchilada sauce and mole in various forms to feed the three of us.

For tonight, we have some leftover pork pieces from a special we ran over the weekend. Dh is going to use some guajillo pepper sauce to make a stew that will be kind of like a pasole/mole combination. Should taste great.

I found a cake mix and a tub of frosting in the cupboard. I baked it this morning for evening snacks over the next few days. I'm trying to go through things and make sure a ton of stuff doesn't go to waste because we moved. Also I'd like to free up some more space.

No plans to go anywhere today. Just hanging out, doing laundry and relaxing before the busy holiday weekend.

bke
6-29-11, 10:37am
Kat,
What is taco soup?

Stella
6-29-11, 12:33pm
Kat, the sewing room is great! When we have more money I am going to upgrade a few things, but it is so nice to have a space of my own!

I am looking at scooters for Bella's birthday and I am a little bit torn. There is one that is pink with sparkly streamers on the side that I think she would love, but I wonder if the streamers would look beat up after a while and there would be very little possibility of passing that on to the boys when Bella outgrows it. There's another one that is blue and kind of sporty and cool looking that I think she would like too. Her favourite colours are blue and pink, so she wouldn't see it as a boy colour, but it would be easier to pass on to the boys. I am leaning towards the blue one.

Tonight is the VBS potluck at church. I think I'm going to make cupcakes or cookie bars.

Last night I went to my friend's house for an early girls' night. She made butterscotch pudding with whipped cream and we watched True Blood. Afterwards we sat out on her porch and discussed the irritating lack realism involving property law in television and fairy tales. This particular friend is a paralegal, so she appreciates this particular quirk of mine. Having friends who get you is so priceless.

Kat
6-29-11, 5:21pm
@bke--taco soup is basically a tomato based soup with beans, chicken, and taco seasoning in it. I got the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-taco-soup/detail.aspx It was too spicy for me, but DH liked it.

I spent some time in the kitchen today trying to see what I could use up. I had some bananas that were quickly going south, so I made DH some protein bars and "light" banana muffins for breakfasts. I also had two heels of stale bread, so I made some toast for a snack. I rummaged around in the freezer and pulled out some chopped red peppers, some green beans, and hot dogs. Tonight I am making some chili cheesedog casserole with a side of green beans. This will let me use the celery before it goes bad, too. Feels good to use stuff up and not waste it!

I have a couple of things in the fridge that need to be prepped for the freezer. I have some cheese to shred (only 2.99/lb!) and some corn to blanch. It is $3 a dozen again this week, so I may buy some more to freeze and eat over the winter. That is my buy price, and I love having sweet corn in December!

bke
6-29-11, 5:39pm
Thanks Kat. That sounds good!

madgeylou
6-29-11, 11:20pm
stella, the scooter sounds good, especially if bella likes blue anyway. i'm sure she will love using it no matter what the color and she can always put her own stamp on in.

kat, how do you make the protein bars? i often check out the ones in the store and they have so many terrible fake ingredients -- it would be cool to have a homemade version!

bke, how is business? doesn't it seem universal that restaurants slow down in the summer? seems odd to me, but every restaurant i've ever worked at has seen the same cycle. hope things pick up for you guys soon.

as for me, we're one day from the end of the month, and my fella and i came in $250 under budget for the month! i'm so excited about that and about how relatively easy it's been to stay on the same page. we've been tracking our joint account in mint and we get together and talk about where we are and what's coming up a few times a week and it's made it very easy to keep everything in check.

tonignt we went out to dinner for the first time this month to one of our favorite indian places. we used a groupon for $30 (purchased for $15), left a $10 tip, and easily have enough food for our lunches tomorrow.

then we went to a dessert gathering at his boss's house which was super fun. my fella works with 20 other people a lot like him -- kind and funny and nerdy and very much wanting to do good things in the world. so we had lots of great conversations. we spent about $11 bringing awesome locally made greek yogurt and medjool dates to contribute to the spread. both were highly nommy.

Kat
6-30-11, 8:09am
@ stella--I'm thinking the blue scooter would be a good investment, too. It'd be one thing is Bella was a pink and purple only girl and hated all things "boy." But since she likes blue a lot, I don't see anything wrong with getting the blue one. You are right about the streamers--they start getting kind of dirty and crinkled after awhile. The blue one would stay nice looking longer and could be used by the boys later on.

@Madgeylou--I make the protein bars from the Momney Saving Mom website. They are inexpensive and taste pretty good: http://moneysavingmom.com/2010/08/homemade-protein-bars.html

Today will be my third no-drive, no-spend day in a row. I have a lot of papers to grade, but I am hoping to get a bunch of them done this morning and then have the afternoon free to tidy up the house and get some things done in the kitchen. I need to get the corn and cheese ready for the freezer and get that peach ice cream made already!

bke
6-30-11, 1:35pm
@Madgeylou--business is the slowest its ever been for us in almost 10 years. Summer is usually our busy time. We live in an area where there are several small lakes. A large precentage of our business is people coming to their cottages for weekend or vacation recreation. Its been slower for the past 2 years but this year is a record setter. We're smart enough to get through it this year but hopefully things improve soon. We're certainly not making any headway on paying off the restaurant like we had hoped to. But on the bright side, the bills are paid, my boss isn't going to lay me off, and not to be nasty but we're much more capable of riding this out than a lot of the other restuarants in the area. Afterall, we have no house or car payment to worry about. ;)

Frugals:

Stopped at Riteaid for a couple of things. They have my preferred brand of feminine products on sale this week. They were out of stock monday so I tried again today. I managed to get 2 boxes for $3 and a rain check for 4 more at the same price. Since they are regularly about $5 each and I think I'm gonna end up spending about $5 for 6 boxes I'd say it was worth the trip. I also bought an inexpensive sympathy card. One of the older gentleman that frequented the restaurant passed away recently and its for his family. The card is nice even thought it was only 99 cents. Snickers peanut butter bars were b1g1 so we bought 4 of those. They are ds's favorite at the moment.

I accept the fact that we eat junk food but I won't accept paying full price for it.

I have had a fierce craving for pizza lately. Dh suggested that I go to the local bar and pick one up tonight. This is the same place I got one before (the guy who eats breakfast at my rest.) Its fairly cheap compared to other places, close to home and it helps out another independent business owner.

Tomorrow should be the start of a very busy weekend for us *fingers crossed* so I am just going to take it easy this afternoon.

Stella
6-30-11, 5:02pm
bke I just heard on the radio that this was a slower year for travel. It's great that you are in such a good position to weather this financially.

Zach wanted to get out of the house today so we took the boys to IKEA and Sears while the girls were at VBS. We did get breakfast at IKEA, but it added up to $5 for the three of us who eat solid food. Not too bad. Zach and I have big plans for the house, so it was fun to get some ideas.

This summer Zach's dad is thinking of visiting us. He is a carpenter and cabinet maker so Zach is going to ask him to help him make built in shelving in the alcoves on either side of the living room fireplace. We should be able to get my desk, the TV, all our books, all our records and CDs, the record player/CD player/iPod dock and all of our board games into the unit they want to build. I am trying to talk them into putting in a sliding panel that can close off parts of the built in shelving when I don't want them open. Because FIL is a professional we should be able to make this quite easily for less money than buying all of the right shelving would cost us, plus he can make it exactly the way I want it. It's good father/son bonding too. Zach and his dad bond over projects. It's just how they are. If he has time I am going to see if they can also make me a custom built piece for the dining room to hold all of our homeschool stuff. I am good at planning these sorts of things, but not at executing them. I have no woodworking skills at all. This will essentially move most of the miscellaneous storage in the house onto two walls freeing up a TON of space.

I have decided to sell the boys' and girls' dressers and put up simple shelves to hold bins for toys and other kid stuff. The shelves in the boys' room will be in an alcove on the side of their closet that currently holds their dresser. Their closet will hold an adjustable shelf that for now will be the train table (I'm selling the old one) and when they are older can be moved up to be a desk. That way all of their storage will be on one wall of their room. The dresser and train table will likely bring in at least enough money to cover the cost of the shelves and I will have some leftover bins from a reorg of the linen storage so I probably won't have to buy much in the way of bins. The girls shelves will be in their extra closet and, again, the sale of their dresser should pay for the cost of the shelves.

In a frugal-but-not-frugal, we are considering getting a new water heater and a high efficiency washer and dryer. We would switch from an electric water heater to a gas one. The initial cost would be high, but the efficiency difference would be HUGE and we use a fair amount of hot water. I mostly want the washer and dryer for the increased capacity, but the energy savings would be nice too. I frugally talked Zach out of planning to get two washers and two dryers. :) He was getting a little carried away with the idea of making the laundry quick and easy.

Merski
7-1-11, 7:45am
Stella we LOVE our hot water on demand system fueled by propane. Totally frugal in the long run but expensive to start up. Hope you will consider.

Going to a folk festival on Sat. with some frugal friends. $20 for entrance for a full day into evening music. Will bring lunch and water.

I'm taking vacation hours next week and we will go into Boston with Library Pass to the Museum of Fine Art to see the Chihulli Glass exhibit and may splurge on lunch out at some ethnic cheap eats place for lunch.

Friend is paying me to do concierge for her B&B guest, fingers crossed...if I do well I may have more work from her!

Kat
7-1-11, 8:28am
@stella--my DH and his dad bond over woodworking, too. I hope you are able to manage the sliding doors over the storage. That would be so nice--no visual clutter and no little hands where you don't want them! :-)

Last night I made a Yankee pot roast from the freezer, using up all kinds of odds and ends. I also made some peach ice cream. We have plenty leftover, plus we still have leftover macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, and chili cheesedog casserole. Should be easy to not eat out! I might make some homemade bread later today, but otherwise, I think it is safe for me to take a break from cooking.

My FIL stopped by with some lettuce from his garden yesterday. I can't wait to make a salad of it! Also, he and my MIL are going to buy us a carseat and stroller for the baby, which is really nice. They also have a swing in their basement that they used when my SIL's kids were babies. They are going to bring it over for use to use. I am so glad--one less thing to buy!

Other than that, just little frugals. Today will be my fourth no drive, no spend day in a row. I've been making lists on junk mail and other scraps of paper, and we're considering canceling our home phone. It was $5 a month, but the promotion ended and now it is $49.95/month. Yikes.

bke
7-1-11, 11:30am
@Kat Usually its Stella that I want to impose on but this week I think I should stay with you! Chicken and dumplings, fresh bread and homemade peach ice cream-WOW!

Today is a no driving or spending day. I worked this morning and will work again tonight for several hours.

There is leftover pizza in the fridge. I'm sure one of us will eat it for lunch.

Doing the usual reward sites on line. I won a free bottle of laundry detergent last night. Just a small thing but its nice to me.

Kat
7-1-11, 6:00pm
Come on over, bke! :) I take your comment as a huge compliment, because, you know, I want to BE stella ;) (I mean that in a wow-she-inspires me way and not a creepy-break-with-reality-stalker way)

So today I ordered cloth diapers, and I am so pleased with the deal I got. I was able to get 20 diapers for the cost of 12 by buying "seconds" or imperfect diapers (which have gotten really good reviews--some customers claim they can't even find any defects.). Got free shipping and 5% off, too. Glad I scouted around. Previously the only deals I had seen on cloth diapers were used ones, and that kind of skeeved me a little. These are new but with minor defects--much more my style. :cool:

early morning
7-1-11, 10:48pm
You all are quite impressive! Peach ice cream, yum! We were just treated to a lovely fireworks display, and didn't have to leave the house! A farmer a few fields over has a lovely get-together for his relatives/friends every July 4th holiday, and spends hugely on fireworks, so we just stand in our living room and enjoy!! (Saves gas and bug repellent, lol.) Not much different around here - Mom treated us to dinner last night, and I saved part of mine for my lunch today. Got a $50 rebate check from my Amazon visa. DD is getting a few extra hours this week, good for her! Gas went up 40cents a gallon about 10 minutes after I filled up Wednesday, I swear! Ugh.

Stella
7-3-11, 10:16am
Kat that is such a nice compliment! Thank you!

I am having a fun but not entirely frugal weekend. On Friday my friend Mary and I were supposed to go to our friend Laura's house, but Laura's sister was injured when the breaks went out on her car so we stayed at my house and ordered pizza. We were going to be naughty and go get cupcakes at a cupcake bakery but on the way there we were hit with the worst storm I have ever been driving in. The roads were flooding and I couldn't see more than a foot in front of the car. We made it home without getting our cupcakes. That was my strangest frugal for the weekend. We ended up looking at cookbooks and daydreaming about cupcakes we could make.

Saturday I took the girls strawberry picking. We got so many strawberries! Zach cleaned and hulled them all for me. He is so sweet! We are making strawberry shortcake today and probably strawberry jam. Most of the strawberries will be eaten or frozen, though. Bella had a big heaping bowl of strawberries sprinkled with vanilla sugar for breakfast today.

Yesterday's unfrugal was going out to dinner with my dad and the kids. Dad usually treats the girls to dinner on Saturday night because the place they go to has a Kids Eat Free night on Saturday. We ended up treating everyone, which is actually a good thing because my dad almost always treats when we go out. He is so generous to us. The frugal part is that with three adults eating all three of the kids who eat solid food were free. I was glad we went because I ran into one of my favourite teachers from high school. We exchanged e-mail addresses. She isn't really that much older than me and her younger kids are about the same age as my older kids. I also found out that she goes to my church. I am so happy to be back in touch with her.

Last night I went to my friend Martha's house and our friend Cherry, who is half Chinese, showed Martha, Molly and me how to make egg rolls. OMG they were good! I may have to make a batch for my family today. Compared to buying egg rolls they were pretty inexpensive and Cherry says you can freeze them. We made a batch of 20+ chicken egg rolls for about $10. I brought one home to Zach and he loved it too. I may make some today. I feel like cooking today.

So that's pretty much today's plan. I'm going to go to mass, putter in the kitchen and probably hang out in the pool. Zach and I are going to have a date tonight after the kids go down, but we'll probably go walking in the park, canoeing on the lake or swimming in the pool. Lots of good, free date options here. This is what I love about where I live. It's like living at a resort.

Kat
7-3-11, 10:30am
@stella--Eek! Sounds like you all had a freaky Friday. I am gald you made it home safely and hope your friend's sister wasn't hurt too badly when her breaks went out. Scary!