View Full Version : March Frugals
Is it possible that I could finally be the privileged one to start the monthly frugals thread?!
An honor, indeed. :D
Tonight I picked up several books for cheap at the library book sale. We listed a few on Amazon. I am hoping they sell. If not, I will swap on Paperback Swap.
We have free passes to the Science Museum Tut exhibit but must use them tomorrow - they expire. I hope we can muster the energy to get over there. It would be worth about $35-40 for us to use them, and we want to see the exhibit.
OMG and it is already March 3
last couple of days
--cooking supper from stockpiles and leftovers for lunches
--only shopping for very good specials
--no spend on anything else except our coffee maker bit the dust yesterday so it will need to be replaced
--movies for the library the last two nights, nothing good on TV
We managed to down-size our lives some more last night by trading in our two cars and purchasing a newer one. We are officially a one car family. I looked up the value of our cars as well as the value of the one we wanted to purchase so that I could make a fairly educated decision. It was so much fun sitting there while they counted the CASH that I used to purchase my nice new car. No payments for us!
Today should be a no spend day.
So I have my small new house and my single, newer car. Time to stomp on the remaining debt that we have and pick up the pace towards the goal of Financial Independence!! :cool:
early morning
3-4-11, 5:27pm
bke, you are an inspiration! And I sorely need some! DD did the bi-weekly shopping at Aldi today - prices are up all over, but they are still cheaper. Wanted pizza in the worst way - 2 in the oven, much much cheaper than from the pizza place. Not quite as tasty, but will do just fine. Transferred money to the emergency fund last night, and I'm close to having doubled it in the past few months! If we could keep that up, it would be wonderful.
bke, that's awesome. It really takes bravery to make the changes you have been making. It is just so much easier to keep trudging forward and maintaining the status quo. Congratulations. how are you settling in to the new place?
bke I agree with fidgiegirl. You should be really proud of yourself! You've been making some great changes lately.
Mom has gotten me back to normal and at 36 weeks today I am somewhat easing in my restrictions. My house is clean, my pantry and freezer are stocked to the gills, my cleaning supplies, school supplies and household supplies are stocked, my laundry is done and everything is good. I'm feeling amazing, which is probably a sign that the baby has dropped. My blood pressure has leveled off, I can breathe easily and I have some energy for the first time in I don't know how long. Sometimes that's a sign that birth is not to far behind. At this point I am excited about that possibility. Everything is ready. Baby Travis will come home to peace and plenty.
Dad bought another round of stuff from Monasteries. This time we got three flavours of apple butter and three flavours of creamed honey. Yum! I've had the creamed honey before and it is out of this world. I haven't tried the apple butter yet. I'll have that on my croissant tomorrow for breakfast.
Tonight is a fantastic frugal night. Mom made a big batch of tuna casserole for dinner using up the leftovers of three bags of potato chips that somehow got opened this week. Now she is cleaning up and we are watching a Muppet movie on netflix. Bella is happily popping all the bubble wrap that came with the honeys and apple butters. When my dad gets home from the Franciscan holy hour we'll put the kids to bed and mom, dad, Zach and I will play cards.
We got Cheyenne's birthday presents last night. She got a pair of rollerblades (in purple no less!) and a flat iron. The flat iron was 50% off, $10. That's the cheapest I've seen them. She is going to love it. It has multicoloured polka dots on it. She absolutley loves it when Auntie Gina flat irons her hair and flips it.
Mar 4
feels like same old same old especially when I see you doing so good bke
--needed a new coffee pot (I know it should not be a need but, it feels like one to me) but, we bought a smaller one so a little cheaper
--dried one load of towels in the house and only fluffed in the dryer
--treated DH again today for free coffee and two muffins cost $2.50 and sat for about an hour reading their papers relaxing and cheap
fidgiegirl
3-4-11, 10:57pm
Well, Danna, frugality isn't about always living on bare bones, it's about choosing what we value and spending accordingly. After this week I can appreciate why coffee is valued :)
Stella, glad you could check in and that things are going well. I thought of you tonight when we went to the Tut exhibit. I hope you and your girls will be able to make it for school. It was amazing, although I thought it would be bigger (and it's already the biggest exhibit the museum has ever had :) ). We had educator passes and so we got in for free!! We did buy audio tours, but could have shared one since it wasn't as jam packed as other audio tours we've had at other places. The museum even issued us a raincheck for the omni movie since we couldn't see it tonight. Amazing! Here's the review I wrote on my blog. (http://athrivinglife.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/king-tut-at-the-science-museum-of-minnesota/)
We also picked up our blind that came in to Penney's and resisted the shopping bug. Mainly it was only me who had it. DH wasn't in the mood so that saved us. They had a lot of sales.
Fidigegirl I definitely want to take the kids to that before it leaves. I am going to read your review. I think that would be such a fun thing to do!
We are having a nice day here. My mom is leaving tonight and we are getting a few last things done while we can. We're going on a dairy run this morning, cleaning the upstairs bathroom and running a few items to the thrift store for donation. We have leftover spaghetti, pizza and tuna casserole so we'll have a leftover smorgasbord for lunch. Dad is taking the girls to dinner so it will just be Zach, James and me this evening. I think we'll probably just have sandwiches or something like that. Nothing earth shattering today, but it's nice to have some normality around here.
It's been a frugal week aside from having to replace a broken cell phone. Since we don't have gadget-heavy phones, even that wasn't too bad. I shopped around online and found a phone with the features we needed and a low SAR rating. We just need to swap the SIM card when it arrives. Otherwise, I think the only thing I bought was a few groceries.
Our church's annual auction is tomorrow. I'm taking advantage of that to declutter a few things that I think people will bid on.
DD has 2 birthday parties to attend in the next week. I had appropriate gifts stashed in the closet, that I had purchased on sale, clearance, or with a 50% off coupon at the craft store.
I am feeling so much better. The baby has dropped and I have energy again. I'm far enough along now that he'll be OK if he's born now too, so things have gotten so much better around here!
We ended up having enchiladas last night that a neighbor had made us. Very yummy and all we had to do was heat them up. Regaining the ability to move and do things has greatly lessened my temptation to spend money.
My mom and I have been talking about community building ideas this past week. Mom has been involved in efforts similar to mine over the last year or two in her 55+ community in SoCal, largely through a meetup.com group she is involved with. It was really fun sharing ideas with her. I think with spring coming on I am going to restart some of my efforts. The first three things I am going to implement are 1) a come-as-you-can neighborhood playdate at the playground with coffee, lemonade and a snack at least the first couple of times 2) a Happy Hour meet-up at the pub on Farmer's Market day (the farmer's market is right next to the pub and the pub has a monthly drink special that supports the farmer's market) and 3) a Healthy Living potluck as a kick-off to a regular meeting time for walkers.
early morning
3-6-11, 5:04pm
Gosh, Stella, can I move to your neighborhood? That all sounds awesome! Glad to hear you're back on your feet, too! This has been a fff weekend around here. It's been quite dreary, and we needed a mood lightener. DH and I don't get out together much so yesterday we spend some time at a huge antique mall a few towns over. It's great because there are several nice sitting areas for when he gets too tired or in too much pain to keep walking. We bought a large clear glass bottle with a horse on it for my birthday (which isn't until August, but he can hide it somewhere!) and a pair of shelf brackets, spending $19.00. For dinner we picked up BBQ to go with a gift card, and have enough for several lunches, also. Got free Cokes from DH's Coke points that people save for him. Today after I took Mom to church, she paid for sandwiches at MickeyD, and we drove along the river to see all the high water - something my Dad always did when I was small. We stopped in at the museum where DB and DD were volunteering today for a short visit. On my way home from Mom's I hit GW and found a nice shirt for work, a lovely huge scarf, 2 German mugs, a pair of nearly new fleece lined slippers, and 7 vintage Nancy Drews to resell, all for $23. I was very pleased with that!
Hey Danna, coffee is definitely a necessity in my life! Please remember there are on right or wrongs here-only what works for each individual. Its taken me a lot of years to get to the point where I don't feel like I have to compete with others here or match their level of frugality. We all have different incomes, life styles and expectations made of us.
Consider the coffee an indulgence if you must, but then atleast use it to stregnthen your frugality in another area.
I for one refuse to give up my coffee, chocolate or toilet paper in the name of frugality! ;)
#@*&! I just wrote this huge post and lost it. Crud.
Thanks everyone for all your words of support. They mean alot to me. While my guys absolutely love our new life, I am adapting a bit more slowly. I miss my house so much! This place lacks privacy and quiet. I miss the quiet. If it's not not car doors, the furnace or the television, its simply too many people in a little space. I can't start my car in the morning without having to greet a customer. I feel a bit caged.
No, I don't think this was a mistake. I'm determined to focus on the future and make this home. I love the power that it gives me over my money which means power over my life. I had kind of given up in some ways. Life was a dissappointment and there were no signs that it was going to get better. Now I have goals and dreams that feel 100% obtainable and I am a very determined woman. Every penny I make in tips goes directly to my FI account from this point on. This weekend the Independence fund grew by $200. Yeah, I like that so much more that "retirement". I have a Financial Independence Fund. HeeHee.
Anyways, on with the daily frugals:
We had dinner at the chinese buffet last night. By drinking free hot tea instead of soda we saved about $5.
Someone left a travel pack of kleenex at the restaurant. They're mine now and will be used instead of thrown out.
Made a cup of free coffee this morning instead of snagging some from work that cost me money to purchase. Free tastes better anyways.
When I'm done here, I will surf the web for freebies requesting only what I will use. I also have some coke rewards points to enter as well as food service rewards code.
Early morning you are welcome in my neighborhood anytime!
I am feeling pretty darn good today. DH is on spring break this week so I have an extra pair of hands here.
The girls and I are starting a unit on nutrition. Yesterday we talked about grains, fruits and vegetables and today we are talking about dairy and protein. I'm working this in with cooking lessons and today we are going to make blueberry corn muffins for our afternoon snack.
flowerseverywhere
3-7-11, 3:13pm
Stella, always glad when you post, means you are still pregnant!
Snowed like crazy this morning so everything was canceled or delayed. Once the sun came out and the roads were clear I walked to pay a bill about two miles each way on non busy streets. Got exercise and avoided a stamp or using gas.
Will go with a neighbor to the school board meeting. I am trying to take a more active and interested role in the community. She'll drive and I am making some cookies for her kids as a surprise.
Every penny I make in tips goes directly to my FI account from this point on. This weekend the Independence fund grew by $200. Yeah, I like that so much more that "retirement". I have a Financial Independence Fund. HeeHee.
bke, I really like this!! This is kind of what I am searching for lately. I will file this mentally in the inspiration drawer ;)
Nothing too frugal here. I swapped a few books on Paperbackswap.com but the credits might sit there for a while because not sure what I want to request with them.
Our gas fireplace, which makes the lower floor of our small split level house livable, was not working for the past 4 days, and the entire house was feeling colder. I finally got around to poking around in the control panel and vacuumed out some dust and cobwebs. I don't know if there was a dirty sensor or if there is a loose wire in there, but it's working now, without a service call.
I got a few groceries today and noted higher prices on just about everything. I'm glad that I'm used to cooking and baking everything at home already.
fidgiegirl
3-7-11, 10:46pm
I got a few groceries today and noted higher prices on just about everything. I'm glad that I'm used to cooking and baking everything at home already.
I agree, Rosemary. We are not as homemade as your house, I don't think, but I definitely noticed the prices last time we ordered. Phew!!
Thanks for your concern flowerseverywhere! I'm still pregnant for now. Cheyenne is hoping the baby comes tomorrow on her birthday. :)
Rosemary and Kelli, I haven't been to the store in a while. I'm not looking forward to seeing the price increases, but like you guys at least I am already used to making a lot of stuff myself.
As I mentioned above, tomorrow is Cheyenne's 7th birthday. We are going to make her cupcakes today. Chocolate with vanilla malt buttercream and a whopper on top. Yum!
Zach and I were thinking of going out for a date last night and decided just to stay home. We watched a netflix movie and folded laundry. Not super exciting, but it was free and we enjoyed ourselves.
Everyday we don't have the baby we are closer and closer to having things in really, really good shape around here. I love it. The more organized we are the easier it is to be frugal.
I've been struggling lately with the money thing. :( Mostly it's the grocery budget that's totally out of control. Not sure exactly what's up with that. But Friday is payday & I intend to get it together. And I bought 3 magazines. My sister & I both have a magazine addiction. Mines been under control until this past week. sigh...
Ian was home last week on spring break. It was really good to have him home. Poor guy came down with a cold though.
I was going to roast a chicken for dinner tonight then I realized the DH was having 2 teeth pulled so he wouldn't be eating. So I put the chicken back in the fridge & made pancakes for supper for Tyler & me.
Got a call from Deja's house. Seems the caregiver who worked last night was hospitalized today with the flu & dehydration. I'm praying that DD & her housemate remain healthy.
March 8
--Decided that I needed to clean out both of the freezers, inventory/organize/clean out some very old stock and start fresh, did one tonight. Still eating down but I have just let leftovers build up too much.
With DH not well and Dd and I trying to lose some weight we are eating differently. Less meat, less processed and more grains,fruits and veggies. So I made the decision to simplify, some of it was garbage if eaten or tossed.
Will use it as learning not to make so much and to keep better inventory of what is there. Bonus I was getting right out of plastic containers for the freezer and now and have more then enough.
--Upstairs toilet went two days ago and needed (and this one is really a need..lol)...there goes a good part of our household maintenance budget for the year and it is only March..ouch
--Blueberry pancakes and sausage for supper...very good. The blueberries were lost in the back of the freezer and they were a nice treat in March...
p.s. Thanks you all for the nice thoughts on the new coffee pot. The smaller one is working out great because DH is not allowed caffine any more so I have been making myself two cups when I get up which is always earlier them him and then making him a small pot of decaff. No waste and he likes me a lot better when I have my coffee...hehe
Sending good thoughts Stella....
Azure
There is a site called BestDealMagazines.com that sells subscriptions for as little as $4. I get a lot of magazines with free subscription offers through freebie sites like rewards gold. Try the library as well. I used to be one of those people who couldn't make it through the check out line in a store without picking up a new magazine.
Monday I recieved 3 samples of snack crackers in the mail. Ds has been snacking on those. I also recieved my free postage stamps from Quadreaders.
Since I have a huge sugar habit, I took advantage of the freebies at Rite Aid as well. 4 king size candy bars, a snickers bar and a package of mentos all for free. Lets not discuss how quickly these items will disappear...
Yesterday was a no spend day.
I bought a donut (ok. two donuts) this morning when I stopped for gas but came home and made FAR coffee to go with it. When we moved in here I gave up on all my attempts at healthy eating and the guilt along with it. I'm eating anything I want any time I want. For me that means eating things like bacon without beating myself up for it. I adore BLT sandwiches. Somehow I am starting to lose weight. I don't think its much but I notice my jeans are fitting looser and Dh noticed it too.
Dh has started to figure out what materials we will have to purchase to fence in our back yard this spring. Our credit card is offering 5% back on these types of purchases and I want to time things accordingly. The credit card will be paid in full and the savings should be a nice amount.
Got a $ 10.00 off my oil change at Oil Can Henry's. Coupon via a email they sent us - I am sure they were expecting to "up-sale" me on additional services - but I resisted (next time).
Today is Miss Cheyenne's 7th birthday! Of all the days for a birthday, poor little Catholic girl has to have her birthday on Ash Wednesday. :) We made her Whopper Cake yesterday and before bed we all had a piece of cake since Daddy and Grandpa are fasting today and I really shouldn't be eating whopper cake even if I am dispensed from fasting. :) The girls, however, continued the family tradition of birthday cake breakfast this morning and we gave Cheyenne her rollerblades and flat iron for her hair.
I originally had an ultrasound appointment today and the plan was for Zach to take the kids to McDonalds for lunch and playtime while I was at my appointment, but I wasn't feeling well so that has been rescheduled for tomorrow. That will be easier anyway because the kids can't eat meat today. We only go to McDonalds about two to three times a year for an actual meal.
Luckily Cheyenne is so excited to be allowed to rollerblade in the family room (with it's old tile floors) that she isn't the least bit disappointed about the McDonalds thing not working out. She and Zach have moved the furniture and are having a blast rollerblading inside. I can't believe how fast she is picking this up. It's amazing. I learned as an adult and it took me a lot longer.
Dinner tonight is homemade mac and cheese and smoothies. It's a favourite of the birthday girl and also meatless and inexpensive. It's a simple homemade birthday today. Homemade cake, basement fun and homemade mac and cheese. Good times.
Happy Birthday Cheyenne! I know about her pain...I was raised Catholic and had birthdays on Good Friday!
Good for Cheyenne!
Now that you mention smoothies, I remembered I had been meaning to ask you about your green smoothie kick you were on a while ago. I have tummy issues that don't let me eat lettuces, etc. but was thinking maybe I could tolerate them in a smoothie. How do you make yours? Do you cook the greens first or just do it to it?
Enchiladas at our house with meat from a chicken and some leftover pork, all from the freezer. We are going on our PR trip on Monday, so we are eating down reserves. Yippeeeeeeeeee!
Thanks guys! Kelli, I just put the greens in fresh at the bottom of the blender so they get nicely blended. Spinach is my favourite followed by romaine lettuce and parsley. We have been getting back into those this past week and the kids and I are still loving it.
Mar 9
--lined dried one load in house
--Dd and I have a pack to only buy necessary milk, fresh fruit and veggies till Easter...we both have way too much food in the house
--made rice with leftover roastbeef and taco seasonings for supper with enough for lunch tomorrow. Part of our problem is we are both losing weight and eating much less then we use to, a good thing
but still buying grocies like before. Hopefully this will get the stock down.
--made a whole wheat loaf of bread in the machine and it is nice.
--filled up the car before the next increase comes which we are sure it will
Does anyone know if you can use regular yeast in the bread machine (I have some still with a good date) or do you need to buy the one marked for Bread Machines?
I use regular yeast all the time.works great.
Anita
@danna--I don't actually own a bread machine (wish I did!), but I have heard other people say they use regular yeast with good results.
@ stella--happy birthday to Cheyenne! Wow! 7! :-) Sounds like she had a great birthday. Did you decide not to do the roller rink party, or is that still coming up?
Things have not been frugal lately. I feel as though we are hemmoraging money with this home improvement project. We unexpectedly had to have all of our plumbing redone, and there was structural damage to our kitchen floor that could be seen when we tore the old one up. Our contractor is a friend, and we trust him. When he says something needs to be done, it needs to be done, and he does it for a fair price. But good gravy this is expensive! Oh well, there is comfort in knowing that come August, I will not be home alone with a screaming newborn while pipes are bursting and the basement is flooding.
After saying that, this next part is going to sound weird, but I'd love to buy DH a new guitar before the baby comes. His is splitting down the middle (yikes!) and it would be nice to buy him one more nice thing before it all becomes about the kiddo. Plus, he has been working so hard to build new kitchen cabinets for me. He works all day and then works all night (and weekends) on the cabinets. Poor guy. He won't let me mess with the budget right now, so I'll have to come up with sneaky ways to save for it. Hmmm...
Our one frugal is our dogsitting gig. We earned $160 for dogsitting two dogs for a little over a week. So that was nice! :-)
Not much to report today.
Dh sold a vacuum we had lying around. $25 added to the FI fund.
I won a skin care kit from Avon and a t shirt today.
Kat, we're still doing the rollerskating party but we decided to wait until after her brother is born. Otherwise I fear Murphy's Law pretty much dictates that the baby's birth would interrupt her party. :)
Probably for the best, Stella! Plus, if you wait a bit, she'll have time to get really good on her skates. :-)
No-spend day. Spent time updating and revising our budget, which is always a good exercise for promoting frugality.
It was my day to cook for my neighbor, and I made a really tasty chickpea-vegetable stew with Moroccan spices, and homemade naan. All the ingredients were on hand, and I cooked the chickpeas from dried beans, so the total cost of a meal for 2 families with leftovers for both was about $5.
Mmm. Rosemary that sounds delicious!
Kat, that's what I was thinking too. The girls have been practicing the rollerblading for two days now and are starting to get good.
It was a big cleaning day yesterday so I ended up keeping dinner simple last night. Quesadillas and smoothies. Everyone agreed it kind of hit the spot, though. Afterwards the girls rollerbladed in the basement, Zach continued to clean and Dad and I watched Anna and the King on netflix. It was a nice frugal evening.
Tonight we are going to the Lenten soup supper at church. It's a free will offering kind of thing and it will be nice to get out and talk to people. Zach and I are planning to play Sequence with the girls this evening. We found it in a box we were sorting through yesterday. It used to be one of our favourite games.
I am super excited at the progress we are making on the house since the basement has been finished. That was such a good investment in quality of life. Today we are continuing to work on it. By the end of the day we are hoping to have the dressing room completely organized, my craft stuff out of its temporary storage space in the boys' room closet and the train table into its permanent home in the boys room closet. All of that is going to make things much easier to live with around here and ultimately aids in frugality in a lot of ways. By having my own craft space I'll be able to do more sewing and DIY stuff. By having the dressing area organized we'll have an easier time handling laundry and clothes will be better cared for and easier to manage. By moving the train table out of the family room and getting rid of the big screen TV down there we have more space for large muscle play which will lead to less squirrelling around in the winters and fewer trips out just to use up kid energy.
FINALLY called our garbage company and had them switch out our can to the smaller one save about $ 10.00 per month in pickup fees. I have been meaning to do this for months & months.
early morning
3-12-11, 2:06pm
It's warm (60!!) sunny and breezy here today, so I've got two comforters and a blanket drying on the line, with some outside cat quilts/towels airing also. No drive weekend planned, so no spending planned either! (aiye, knock wood- shouldn't have tempted fate by typing that ...) updated Quicken and transferred money and we now have just over 6K in our E fund, no debt except the house (5 more years if we don't pay extra) - maybe it's the sun, but I'm feeling pretty good at the moment! :)
fidgiegirl
3-12-11, 2:16pm
@early, beautiful! You have been productive and are in a good place.
I need to work on cutting down on what I spend on cards. I like to send cards and send a good number and have a pretty good stash upstairs that we pick up on sale or at thrift stores or garage sales (seriously!). There are also some respectable 99 cent-ers from Hallmark that don't have a totally cheap feel to them, like the weight of the paper, etc. Sometimes I can pull from my stash for people but sometimes not, so last week I bought a $3.50 card for my BiL and yesterday a $3 card for my DSis and DBiL. They like the thought, but I'm sure they go in the trash eventually, so would like to work on making cards or searching a little ahead of time for special cards so that I don't end up just having to grab one to get it out in the mail.
One thing that did help with this "problem" previously was that I bought some clear "Happy Birthday" and "Thank You" stickers at a card store. That way we can turn our pretty blank cards into an occasion card that looks better than us just scrawling "Happy Birthday" through the inside of it. Also we repurpose cards that were sent to us into "new" cards to send to others. So I guess we are doing ok but still would rather not spend a lot on this, since really, it's the fun of getting it in the mail and knowing someone is thinking of you rather than getting a fancy-pants card in the envelope.
Fidgiegirl, I've bought packs of 20 birthday cards at Half Price Books for less than $4. There are 4 designs in a package and about 6 different choices of packages with different motifs. They're great for general-purpose birthday cards, and probably less costly than printing one on our computer.
Spent some time today prepping food for next week. Baked some yeasted bread with dates and pecans, cut up some veggies for eating raw, etc.
fidgiegirl
3-12-11, 5:28pm
Fidgiegirl, I've bought packs of 20 birthday cards at Half Price Books for less than $4. There are 4 designs in a package and about 6 different choices of packages with different motifs. They're great for general-purpose birthday cards, and probably less costly than printing one on our computer.
Thanks for the tip! I have had good luck there in the past, too, sometimes on b-day cards and especially for thank you cards. And actually, your side comment about printing one on the computer is helpful, too. I hadn't really thought of that and now we have a printer - I bet doing that falls between the 20-in-a-pack-for-$4 price and the spending-$3-on-a-single-card price. So next time I'm in a bind, maybe I'll try that instead!!
Happy Saturday to you. Everything is nice and melty!!!! :+1:
rosarugosa
3-12-11, 6:00pm
My big frugal for the week was getting my annual bonus at work, and splitting the lion's share between an extra payment on HELOC (our only debt) and ING savings. I'm keeping a little bit in reserve to do something home improvement related, maybe buy a desk. Talbot's used to get most of my annual bonus, so I've come a long way!
Fidgie, card expenditures were definitely in my crosshairs this past year. Nicer cards are running $4.00 and up! We have a chain, Cardsmart, that sells all cards at 50% off. I do find that I invest a lot more time in the store to find acceptable cards, but I save a lot, since even the marked price (pre 50% off) is less than most Hallmark cards. Our local Kohl's also has a small card dept, so when they send me a $10. freebie card, I often use it for cards, because I don't ever see anything else that I want there. They're in the same plaza as Cardsmart, so I make an occasional "card expedition." We've also gotten a couple of great boxed card sets from Costco's, fancy, felt-appliqued, 3-D, crafted cards that retail for about $6.00 each in card shops, and the boxed set runs about $15.00 for 20 cards or so. I have no use for some of them, such as children's cards, so I bring them to work, and share with the moms there. It still turns out to be a good deal for us. Lastly, I occasionally find a nice boxed set of blank cards at Marshall's or TJ Maxx (do you have those chains?) and I write a customized message in them. Miss Manners says that personal letters are always the way to go and that relying on Hallmark to express one's sentiments are tacky. I don't think most folks are aware of her rigorous correspondence standards, so I think a hand written hearfelt message in a gorgeous blank card is a really good way to go :)
fidgiegirl
3-12-11, 9:33pm
Mixed frugals today. The big non-frugal was getting our iPhones! We ended up going with the smaller storage size and found we had a $100 credit on our account, so that was good. We only had to pay $300 total instead of $600 like we had thought. Of course, the data fee is going to kill us. But we have wanted them for a long time, and continued to even after they came out, so we went for it.
Otherwise, though, I got the newest YMOYL at Borders for 40% off plus used a gift card so only paid $5.xx out of pocket for it. Then we reeeeeally wanted to go out to eat but since we are going on vacation we pushed ourselves to go home and we had homemade pizzas. So we saved there. Also I got a pair of capris for vacation at 40% off + 20% off for the Goodwill sale at Herbergers. Good thing we saved something!!
Great tips on the cards!
Fidgiegirl I'll admit to loving the iPhone. Dad got the family and iPad yesterday. They were all gathered around it last night reading Winnie-the-Pooh. It was so cute.
Zach and I are back on a frugality kick. It's been a bit financially painful, me being out of commission so much lately, and we are anxious to get back on track. We've challenged ourselves to last the rest of the month on $100 grocery money (plus one more dairy trip). I think we can do it. Also, as the weather gets nicer Zach wants to run more of our errands on foot and on bike.
Today we have a big to-do at church and I really wanted to dress up today. The thing is, I do not want to spend money on a new outfit that I could wear probably only once before I give birth and change sizes. So I dug through my out-of-season clothes and found a skirt with an elastic waistband and a shirt that goes with it that fits nicely over my belly. It's a little springy, but it should be warm enough and it doesn't require me to purchase anything new.
I reconnected with an old friend this week who lives in a co-op connected with the University. Since both of our neighborhoods are really community oriented we've invited each other to participate in some of the neighborhood events. She's invited us to a kids movie night they are having next month showing Toy Story. We are also doing some trading. Zach helped her and some of her neighbors with wiring for grow lights in a small greenhouse they built and we donated our old yogurt and cottage cheese containers for them to use for seed sprouting. Having a big family we get the larger size of yogurt and cottage cheese and we go through a lot of them. She is offering plants in return. She is going to keep taking the containers off my hands too, since she is connected with a church who is starting a community garden to feed the homeless and they need containers too. I hate throwing those away and they don't recycle them here, so I'm glad to have someone to give them to.
This week is Dad's birthday. I'm going to make him bratwurst and sauerkraut for dinner and a German Chocolate cake for dessert. He'll like that and it's not very expensive.
rosarugosa
3-13-11, 11:25am
Stella,
It sounds like you accomplish more at dimished capacity than many people do at 100%!
Frugals to date 2011:
January: canceled one cell phone and now share one between the two adults in the family; limited minutes, no extras (didn't have extras before anyway)
February: We have no paid internet at home. Right now I can use free dial-up through the University. When that ends during the summer we will then use our lap top at the library or any of the stores in our neighborhood.
March: changing insurance on our two "weather" vehicles. We have an old clunker pick-up truck we use for gardening during the summer months and a VW camper van also used during the summer. We are dropping the insurance on the vehicles until the summer and then will take them back off at the end of summer. (Technically, it is not dropping the insurance all together as we will have some extra low cost monthly fee). We have one car that we use when we go out of town, other than that we walk to work, etc.
Made my husband laugh and roll his eyes yesterday when I repaired our three Aldi ten-cent reusable shopping bags with duct tape! Also made him cringe with embarassment when I picked up two large paperclips I found in two different parking lots and put them in my pocket. Hey, I need them...it's tax time!
Thanks Rosa! I have a lot of help from my DH and older kids these days so that helps.
I am working on this week's lesson plan, which obviously includes some lessons on St Patrick's Day and Ireland. I was planning to buy the Tomie dePaola book about him from the bookstore, but I've decided to see if it's available on iBooks or at Half Price Books first.
Last night a friend came over and brought us dinner. Take and bake pizza, a salad and a s'more pizza. Yum! There are leftovers for lunch today. We had a really nice time with her too.
Zach is taking Cheyenne to run errands on foot today. They are running to the store and the bank. She starts karate tonight and my grandma gave her money for her uniform. When more of the snow melts he wants to start taking her to karate on their bikes. We had such a nice talk last night. He is so enthusiastic about getting the kids out and active this summer and avoiding driving whenever possible.
Another homeschool thing we are doing this week is writing illustrated stories about turtles. The nun in charge of education at church taught me a turtle meditation for calming down squirrely kids (the kids pretend to be turtles who pull into their shells to rest) that I have been using with the girls and it's sparked a flurry of stories about them as turtles. Might as well use that for writing practice. I printed off a little guide on how to draw a turtle to help them with their stories. They love drawing books and don't have one on animals. I may see if I can make one from free internet resources.
Speaking of free internet resources, we are learning about nutrition this month and I wanted to focus on portion sizes this week. I found a free printable guide to portion sizes that I printed off. A friend saw my lesson plan on nurtition and suggested that this summer she might pay me to teach her kid the same thing.
@ stella--love the turtle stuff!
Nothing much is new here. We avoided eating out over the weekend, mostly because out families fed us Saturday night and Sunday. :-) Yeah, we have the best parents ever! My MIL sent us home with a leftover enchilada for DH's lunch and some delicious bread pudding she made. FIL loaned us a DVD as well. Dad sent us home with leftover homemade pizza.
I really wanted to go shopping this weekend, but I managed to put it off for a bit. I really want to make a list and then go. That way I won't overspend. I am thinking of swinging by the grocery store to buy some corned beef brisket as it is on sale this week. But again, I'll make a list first and plan my route so I can run errands along the way.
For the second month in a row my Charter bill seemed unusually high. I called and the confirmed the error. I saved $85.
Wed is payday. We decided on a new budget for ourselves last payday which was two weeks ago. I filled the car with gas this morning and have about $20 leftover which is enough to get me through until wed. This is a great sucess since we purchased several unplanned items this payperiod including 5 work shirts for dh and two pairs of school pants for ds.
I recieved my first land contract payment over the weekend. WooHoo!
Ds managed to really mess up the computer this weekend but I used my limited knowledge and managed to revive it saving the cost of a new computer.
Thanks Kat! How are you feeling? Has the morning sickness let up yet? I have been thinking about you lately.
Selah, excellent use of duct tape. I love duct tape.
bke, good catch on the Charter bill!
A few more for the day:
I have made up a menu for the remainder of the month that requires no new meat purchases. That should help us meet our goal of keeping the grocery budget on track!
I also found a fun St Patrick's day craft using fingerprints for shamrock leaves. I have green ink, so that one is all but free.
I really enjoy reading your posts Stella! They make me smile!
Since it really feels like spring today, instead of driving to the gym and then going on errands, I decided to walk down to all the little ethnic grocery stores for the few groceries I need. Since that is about a four mile walk round trip, I got to forgo walking on the boring indoor track and the elliptical running machine at the gym. My gym membership only lasts until June, but as it gets nicer out I have a feeling I won't want to go anymore! I'm really glad I joined in January however; it's really helped with this whole new lifestyle change.
The sidewalks are finally clear for the most part, the birds are singing like crazy but it's still really mushy and muddy and there is a lot of the winter's trash strewn about on the sides of the road. Maybe when it gets really nice I'll take it upon myself to go trash-picking and clean it up. Maybe it will encourage others to just do it too as well.
early morning
3-14-11, 7:43pm
No drive, no spend weekend! I can't believe something didn't come up to make me leave the house!! It was sooo nice to get a few chores done and spend no gas. Put some laundry on the line both days. Ran errands tonight on the way home from work, so no extra driving there - at least a partial offset for the rest of the week, which will have me running ragged again. Took lunch and coffee, and have tomorrow's lunch made and the coffee pot ready to go as well. I can't imagine what it would cost me to buy coffee and lunch every day. I've been sheltered from lunch costs - up until 2 yrs ago, I've always had lunch provided as part of the benefits offered.
Thanks Siouz.Q!
I am on a serious kick today. God please let that be a sign that something is going to happen soon! :) This evening my wild hair is to make and freeze casseroles for post-baby or just tired day dinners. So far I have a big pan of stuffed shells and a pan of tuna casserole. Next up if I can talk Zach into helping me I am making a double batch of cheesy potatoes to freeze. I've never tried this recipe before, but it sounds tasty, cheap and easy, it's supposed to freeze well and I have potatoes to use up.
Hmm, odd I just posted and it's gone!
Let's try again.
Stella I am so glad you are posting to your blog again. Your posts also make me smile. Not much going on here, looking forward to some warmer days and getting outside. I get cold so easy and don't have snow pants to play outside with the boys. Perhaps the park today!
I am having surgery next week on my right (predominate arm) so my plans for the weekend are to prep some food for my DH to pull out of the freezer for a couple of days. After that I should be okay, but am also going to do some prep work on cutting and chopping, which isn't going to work out for me for a while.
Stella, I noticed you were going to do a series on nutrition for the kids. I just came across this book on Crafty Crow, did you see it? It looks interesting.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471176656/belladia-20
As another side note, I am going back to school to get my Bachelors degree in Dietetics this spring/summer. I am hoping to work in pediatric nutrition once I am all done. It's going to take me about 2 1/2 years.
@stella--I still have good days and bad days, but the bad days seem to be fewer in number. :-) Thanks for asking.
@mara--congrats on going back to school. That is exciting! 2 1/2 years isn't so bad!
I went grocery shopping yesterday. I came in about $47 under budget (probably because I didn't have DH with me!). :-) The never-ending kitchen remodel is STILL going, and I am sick to death of sandwiches and frozen TV dinners. Yesterday I made scalloped potatoes and broccoli in the microwave with Rice Krispy treats for dessert. Not the height of culinary genious, but it was something hot that didn't have a bunch of weird chemicals in it.
While I was out, I went to the bank and mailed some letters so I could save a trip later. Gas is expensive!
Last night, DH and I watched movies from Netflix for entertainment. I can't wait until it gets a little bit nicer so I can go outside again--though the extra hour of daylight is nice.
Thanks for the tip Tracy! I see that book is available on kindle. I may have to download that. Congratulations on going back to school. That sounds like a really interesting field of study.
Kat, I'm glad you are starting to feel better!
I did not get to the cheesy potatoes last night, I got tired before I could make them, so I am hoping to make them today.
I am having a very tired morning so the kids are watching a documentary about dolphins and one on colassal squid on netflix. I love netflix. Bella's class at school is learning about the ocean and she is fascinated by jellyfish. I figured this would be similarly interesting.
Cheyenne LOVED her karate class last night. A friend from Kindergarten and a neighbor kid are in the same class as her. It was a very well-spent $50. She couldn't stop talking about karate all night.
Dinner tonight is bratwurst and sauerkraut as a birthday treat for Dad. We've decided to wait on the cake until Mom gets here this weekend.
Today's additions to the animal drawing book are the dolphin and squid. The girls are really enjoying putting the drawing book together and there are lots of free resources online.
We got a letter from the California Controllers Office that Huntington Hospital owed Zach $190. We went to the controller's office website and found another unclaimed property in Zach's name for $45. We submitted the claim to the state for the $44 and called Huntington for the $190. They're mailing the check today. That got me curious so I started looking up friends and relatives in both CA and MN. CA best friend had $111, her fiancee had $55 and his grandma (who they care for) had $50. Zach's step-dad is owed $85 by State Farm. MN best friend was due over $100 from an old employer. Not huge amounts of money, but it's something and I would never have known that money was due to us.
Washed my dw's Camry before she could take it to the car wash - saved $ 7.00.
Used up last of two boxes of macaroni, spaghetti sauce, cheese for lunch, skipped the fast food.
Cut my own hair - saved $ 14.95
flowerseverywhere
3-15-11, 10:45pm
Babysat for a neighbors kids this evening so they could go to a banquet for the older son. She made us dinner as a thank you.
Planning a trip away this weekend, I checked hotel rates and the original hotel I wanted to stay at but was full had openings now so we'll save in gas by being closer to the event we are attending. Even though we are splitting everything three ways every little bit helps. I think it is a nicer place too.
I am sooooo tired today. Couldn't get to bed until midnight and was awake by 6AM, which is about half as much sleep as I seem to need these days. :) Luckily I have dinner already made because these are the days I am usually most tempted to eat out. We're having leftover stuffed shells and a salad.
Zach was cleaning out a closet and found a very large embroidery hoop I had bought a long time ago at a thrift store. I'm thinking I'll use it to make some kind of pretty embroidery and hang it on the wall of my new room for artwork.
Cheyenne has repurposed some coffee cup cozies I knitted a long time ago as bracelet cuffs. They actually are really cute on her. She wears them on her ankles and wrists like Wonder Woman cuffs. I love the ingenuity and creativity.
Most of my frugals are boring today. I'm reading a book I borrowed from a friend, saving more yogurt containers for my friend who will trade me for plants and kicking the kids outside to play in the 50+ degree weather. Last night Cheyenne told grandpa we didn't need jackets anymore because the temp was in the 40s. Spoken like a Minnesotan. :)
Stella, is your mother still there?
When is that baby coming out!!!!???? He is fully cooked by now, tell him to get outta there!
No mom had to start work this week, but she'll be back on the weekend. Believe me, I've all but handed this kid an eviction notice. I am done! :)
walked to the fabric store to buy material for dh and i to make curtains that help control the heat in the summer; can't wait to start; rode the bus home; listening to books from the library; eating at home due to food allergies and wanting to save money to travel and have dh work less
I finally started getting my craft space set up! I got my fabrics organized neatly in bins. That is going to help me hugely. This will help me resist the urge to buy fabric. I've got a bunch of projects I can work on. I have a brown baby quilt I started a million years ago for a cousin's baby that I may now finish for my own baby, a bunch of cloth napkins and cloth sandwich bags, jammie pants for Zach and James, a laptop sleeve for me and several skirts I need to make for the girls for summer. Time to get their measurements again. I also found a scrap of coordinating fabric that I think would work as a ruffle on my pantry curtain. I made the pantry curtain just a little shorter than I wanted it and I haven't gotten around to fixing it.
I did order my ironing board cover today. It's a blue fabric with roses from the Tanya Whelan Delilah Collection. (http://grandrevivaldesign.typepad.com/grand_revival_design/2010/12/merry-and-brightfinally.html) I am going to make curtains and throw pillows in coordinating fabrics. That will be my fabric splurge.
Next up is my embroidery stuff. Again, I think this will yield quite a bit of stuff for me to work on. Probably some gifts too.
I'm thinking of doing a project with the girls making beanbags from scraps. They made a beanbag game out of wood with their dad quite a while ago and the beanbags seem to have disappeared.
rosarugosa
3-16-11, 7:40pm
One small frugal from the weekend that I forgot. I have a really pretty pink floral wool cardigan from Talbot's, but it's getting a little older and pilled. It needed cleaning, so I tried washing it in the machine on gentle cycle in a mesh bag, and it came out fine. So I save the $6.00 dry cleaning charge, and will save again every time I wash it instead of bringing it to the cleaners.
rosarugosa - I got one of those battery-operated sweater depillers at JoAnn Fabrics with the 40 or 50% off coupon. It cost about $3 after the coupon and really works well. It can make a pilled wool sweater look new again.
Frugals - we're going to a cash system for our personal spending money, and I'm keeping closer tabs on our food spending, both home and out. I inventoried the freezer, and we have enough to last for over a month with just buying fresh foods, so grocery spending should be much lower than it has been most of the winter.
Even my (almost) 8-year old daughter has noticed the huge jump in gas prices!
rosarugosa
3-17-11, 4:47am
Rosemary,
Thanks, I should try that because I definitely don't like the pilling, but it's still a really pretty sweater.
That's kind of scary when an 8 yr old notices the gas prices!
Stella & Babr,
That's great that you folks can sew. I can do some sewing by hand, but I never really mastered the sewing machine. That's on my list of things that I would like to learn some day!
I bought an electric de-piller but I can't remember where because of the battery recharging/replacement issues. Works like a charm and is larger than the battery one.
@stella--isn't it so much easier when you can see what you have? Oh, and those fabrics you linked to make my heart swoon! I think they would make for a pretty nursery! ;-)
I went back to using cash for dates and groceries, and will for gas, too. It helps me spend less, and it helps DH see when we are out of money. When we use the debit card, we always, always, always overspend (at least on gas and dates).
DH wanted to go out for St. Patty's Day today, but we only have $13 left in the date fund. I think we will stay home instead, and when the kitchen is finished, I will make his the corned beef I bought on sale and stashed in the freezer. I wonder if I might be able to come up with a little treat for tonight, though. It's hard seeing as how I can't cook anything or go anywhere (DH accidentally took my keys this morning). Will have to put my thinking cap on and find a cute printable. We have the movie Return to Me on netflix watch it now, so maybe we can watch that.
Rosemary we were just discussing going to a cash system too. I think we're going to give it a try.
Rosa, I love sewing! I'll warn you if you ever get around to learning it you'll probably be addicted. LOL. :)
Kat, I agree those fabrics would be pretty in a nursery. Do you know if you are having a boy or a girl yet?
We're going to have an easy-going day around here. I think we'll make those thumbprint shamrock pictures and learn a little about Ireland, but until Zach gets home I think we're going to take it easy. I pushed a little too hard yesterday and I can feel it. I'll admit I've loosened TV restrictions this week to buy myself a little more downtime while Zach is at school. I'm not happy about it, but it's very temporary. We're watching Wallace and Grommit on netflix this morning.
After Zach gets home and I get a nap I am going to work on my craft stuff again. I'm really tempted to buy a bunch of pretty containers to organize things, but I want to see how much I can do with what baskets and jars I already have.
Stella--you are still home.
That is awesome!!!!
Thanks Fawn! I'm 38 weeks today so now I'm hoping to have this little guy. I can't wait to kiss his sweet face!
I have had a toothache from a lost filling for a few days now. It would be better to fix it after the baby comes since that is so close on the horizon now, but it was really bothering me yesterday. I found some temporary dental filler at the grocery store for $3.50 and it took away about 95% of the pain. That is a huge value for the money. It seems to be holding pretty well too. I think it will get me past birth until I can get to the dentist.
We finally found the last ingredient we needed to make our own laundry soap. It was at the grocery store this whole time, I just hadn't found it. The girls are going to help me make it. It's a science and life skills project. We do a lot of laundry in this house, so I think it will save us a fair amount of money. The recipe I have calls for about $2-$3 in ingredients and makes 10 gallons of laundry soap.
I want to start making more of our cleaning supplies. I am going to talk to my friend who works at a restaurant supply grocery store and see if they carry large sizes of vinegar and baking soda. You have to have a tax ID number to shop there if you aren't an employee, but she said to let her know if I needed anything. I may eventually renew our Costco membership, but if I can get a few things through her I may not need to.
I have a book of homemade cleaning solution recipes and between the ingredients I bought for the laundry soap (borax, washing soda, pure soap), the large quantities of vinegar and baking soda I'm planning to get through my friend and a few other things I have on hand (liquid castille soap, murphy's oil soap, essential oils and lemon juice) I don't think I'll have to buy much of anything. Maybe some bottles and containers. I'm going to try a recipe for dishwasher powder when I'm done with what I have now. I even have a whole empty shelf over my washer and dryer that is waiting to be occupied with all my cleaner-making supplies.
I am feeling good today so I'm hoping I can finally get to making those cheesy potatoes for freezing. James is sick today, which is a bummer, but it probably means he'll sleep a lot. Ultimately that probably means I'll be able to get more done today.
Tonight is the Lenten Soup Supper at church. Yummy soups and breads and it's a free-will donation to the charity of the week. That's dinner tonight. Mom is coming in to town late tonight. That means I'm off meal duty for two days because she likes to cook for us.
I feel like things are really getting on track here. We went to IKEA last night and got a few things we have been needing; one more rack for our clothes storage shelves, new sheets for everyone's beds and the white duvet cover I wanted. $20 for the duvet cover and two pillowcases, $9.50 for our sheets, which were surprisingly soft, and $4.50 for the kids' sheets.
Zach is going to Target to get one more bin for blankets and to Dad's storage to pull out a bin for out of season toys. He's using shelves we already have in the extra pantry he built in the dressing room and he used scrap lumber the other day to install studs over the cement wall of the garage to mount his pegboard for tools and hooks for outdoor equipment.
On the subject of outdoor epuipment, Bella has decided that she doesn't want rollerblades this summer. She prefers to use my old Rainbow Brite rollerskates we found in the basement. In addition to being cheaper than buying something else, it's fun to see her enjoy them the way I did. And they are 1980's vintage fabulous. :)
I am on such a kick right now. I'm a little manic, really. I rescued an old ice cream bucket to hold my borax and made a label for it. It's a better storage container than the box was because it can be closed more easily and it's wider, so we can dip a measuring cup into it without spilling. We'll have to save the next one for the washing soda. I also rescued an old parmesan cheese container for the homemade dishwasher soap. It's easy to get a tablespoon in and out of it to measure.
I also found a jar for salad dressing the kids had taken for their play kitchen (not too thrilled about James having glass) and used it to save some of the shaved soap. I decided to do a half batch of the laundry soap, but I figured as long as I was grating it I might as well grate a bunch.
Hi everyone.
I feel like I'm kind of at a stand still these days. I need to find some ways to cut more corners and keep downsizing our spending. I think the next step for me is to see how much I can get for free. Today I requested a coupon for for coffee creamer. Yesterday it was for a new Jello dessert. I'm sitting on coupons for yogurt, pasta, sauce, several cans of soup, etc. My thought is that maybe I can come up with enough freebie items to round out our eating from the restaurant that I can reduce our grocery store purchases to virtually nothing.
A few frugals with our new car. It didn't have a spare tire or jack at the time of purchase. We had the dealership order these for us at no cost. Also there was an engine light that came on right away. It needed a secondary air pump replaced. Dh and I protested and we settled on an out of pocket cost of $200 for us. The repairs came to over $700. I figure this is the chance you take with buying used cars and think we worked out a pretty good deal.
I continue to enter online contests as well as participating in swag bucks and freebie requests. I need to keep reminding my self that pennies turn into dollars and to just keep plugging along.
I got a pair of nice, nearly new Rockport shoes at the Thrift shop for $3.
Bke - I entered online contests for about 1.5 years and won about $13000 worth of stuff, including two trips/. Definitely worth playing.
early morning
3-18-11, 8:02pm
Got a $2 instant coupon on the cat food I bought yesterday. I don't usually buy things that have coupons so that was nice. Other than that, same old stuff...
We have the movie Return to Me on netflix watch it now, so maybe we can watch that.
Love that movie!!
Put a book on interlibrary loan request instead of buying it the minute it came out. It's by a friend of mine and I really want to read it now, and ILL can take a long time with new books--this one just came out--but I'm looking for unexpected places for frugality and this was one.
Locked in a refi this week. It fits the standard of being two interest points below the interest we currently have (4.25 vs 6.25); it's 15 year instead of the former 30 year, and costs only $50 per month more in payments. We pay huge principal-only payments every month (about 3/4 of our small-moderate combined income), thanks to all the frugal living methods I've learned, mainly on these boards.
@Stella--we don't know the gender yet. We're hoping to find out next month.
@ Madsen--I agree--that movie is a gem! It really doesn't seem to be that popular of a movie (i.e. not a lot of people have heard of it), and it's too bad, because it so good (if you like romcom kinda films).
@larknm--awesome on the refinance. We did something similar last year. Our payment is the same, and we will pay off the house almost a decade sooner. Sweet!
Nothing much here. I am going shopping with a friend, but we are only going to places that we have gift cards for. LOL
rosarugosa
3-19-11, 7:19pm
Frugal Italian favorite for dinner: angel hair pasta with garlic, oil, romano & anchovies with a salad. So good and so inexpensive!
Kat that's exciting! I hope the baby shares the information with you. :)
Mom went shopping and stocked us up on groceries for the week. She also made a big batch of beef stew with enough leftover for another dinner. Yum! I love my mom's beef stew.
Mom also bought us a few new pillows, six new towels, some Easter candy, some washcloths and some new dishtowels.
The dishwasher detergent I made worked pretty well. I was surprised, actually. It's pretty cheap and easy to make, so I'll be making that for the forseeable future.
Mar 19
Been around but just doing mostly the same old, same old....
--eating down pantry/freezer etc we are having great meals and only buying what is needed and/or super sales for stockpiling.
--still organizing and decluttering
--hardly going out so using very little gas
--entertainment from the library
Two no-drive, no-spend days, eating out of the pantry and freezer. Today we tackled some random projects around the house.
Stella, please share your laundry recipe, as I've seen many but have hesitated to try them due to the hard water here. Do you have a water softener?
rosarugosa
3-20-11, 8:47am
Stella, I'll be interested in what you think about the laundry detergent. We started using it about 8 months ago. There's a lot of info about it on the Garden Web Money Saving Tips Forum. I agree with others who say that it makes towels less absorbent and doesn't keep whites very bright, so I'm selectively using commercial detergent for specific loads of laundry. I am using it for most things though, with no noticeable adverse effects. It's certainly inexpensive. I use vinegar in the rinse cycle too.
I'm looking for a good recipe for an all-purpose cleaner to replace the "blue stuff" that I've been buying for years.
For some reason the homemade cleaning products concept really interests me - perhaps there's an inner chemist yearning to get out :)
March 20
--crock pot of split pea soup with ham bone from the freezer,,,very yummy and lots of leftovers
--bread pudding using up leftover bits I had put in the freezer from brown bread and sweet bread DH loved it warm with cream
--bought an umbrella for the back deck, a patio table (ours broke last year) and a small bistro set for the front steps (DH loves to sit out and talk to the neighbours) all on sale at 40% to 65% off at
Canadian Tire with the points we had on the card they all cost less then $100.00. Now all we need is some sping like weather so we can get outside.
--sorted and added up all bills etc. for income tax, now just need to make a spread sheet for the income tax people and they will be ready for another year. Not really frugal but one of those things that drives me crazy
knowing it needs done.
I will post the recipe whe I get home from the doctor tonight. I have hesitated for a long time too but decided to give a shot. I will watch for it's effect on whites. Zach ususally tosses some oxyclean in with the whites so maybe that will help.
I am heading to my doctors appointment soon. I haven't been keeping much food down for two days now. I am going to talk to them about inducing me and see if I can convince them. This is now my longest pregnancy and my other full term babies were 8 and 8 1/2 pounds. I have gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes, dizzy spells and now this. It is time to be done with this.
If they agree I am set for meals for most of the week. Friday is covered, there's leftover beef stew for tonight, a frozen lasagna and two frozen casseroles. And really there's about an 80 percent chance that Dad will take them out to Culvers at least one night anyway and two people have told me that they are bringing a casserole as soon as the baby is born. I may be set for most of next week too.
rosarugosa
3-21-11, 7:51pm
Went to the mall yesterday and realized it was the first time I've been to a mall in 2011 - wow! I used the Macy's gift cards I had earned doing surveys to buy some makeup, and there was also a free gift with purchase. And that's all I got - I didn't spend a cent! DH used a gift card from xmas to buy a new pair of shoes.
Bank called today and said we can refi the fixed loan portion of our HELOC loan from 6.9% to 4.25% (still fixed rate). Same loan terms, no charges or closing costs. That is great news since this is our only debt and we've been working hard at getting rid of it. This will allow us to pay it off sooner. I wonder if there is something in the new banking laws that obligated them to do this? I'm under no illusion that they did it because they love us or anything :)
March 21 1st day of spring.....WONDERFUL......
--serveral calls but well worth it a prescription we were told would not be paid; will be and should have been just a people not understanding...total savings in the next year $313.11
--leftover soup for lunch and supper
--price to fix basement leak $989.00...sounds bad but not as bad as weeping tiles and removing a deck
@rosa--that pasta sounds delicious!
@ stella--hoping you get to have that baby soon!
@danna--glad you don't have to remove your deck. That would be awful!
Went grocery shopping and stocked up on a bunch of deals for summer grilling--hot dogs for 88 cents, chips for 66 cents (for a big bag), etc. I also got two pounds of bologna for DH (99 cents/lb) to put in the freezer and for two whole chickens for 69 cents a pound. I splurged a little on some Irish cheese--cheddar with whiskey! It cost around $5, but I figured it would be okay to get a little treat. Resisted temptation to stock up on Snickers bars (also on sale :P).
I used a gift card to buy some maternity pants this past weekend. The ones my friend loaned me were too short. The jeans I got were slimmer leg so that I can roll them up into capris this summer. I also bought a make-up organizer. The gift card didn't cover that, but now all my make-up is standing up instead of thrown into a bottomless pit of a bag. I can see what I have, and I think that will be frugal in the long run.
Otherwise, just staying home. Will have to run to Walmart (*shudder*) to buy some household stuff, but will need to take DH with as I am not able to lift over 10 pounds right now. This will likely cost an additional $7-$8 for beer, but it's worth it for the company and the muscle. ;-)
Thanks Kat!
Kind of a little OT vent here. The doctor was hesitant to induce me until next week when I am 39 weeks, but today's ultasound shows the baby ay 9 lbs! There's a 1lb margin of error on either side, so I'm hoping he's only 8 lbs, but he could also be 10lbs. If I really don't go until next week we're probably looking at a 9-11lb baby. It kind of ticks me off that they aren't more concerned about that.
(((stella)))
Sometimes gestational diabetes results in bigger babies. My sister's two kids were both around 10 lbs. But as you said, the estimation of weight is not an exact science--hopefully the baby will be closer to the 8-pound range.
I can see why you feel annoyed by the laissez-faire attitude--"9-10 lb baby--no big deal. Let's wait even longer." I mean, REALLY??!! Ugh. You've had a rough go of it this time around; you are ready to be done.
Anyway, I'll be praying for you. As frustrating as all of this is right now, it will all be worth it when you hold your baby boy in your arms! Here's hoping he makes his arrival sooner rather than later.
everything kat said!
plus, they told my sis-in-law that her baby (born about 10 days ago) was going to be 11-12 pounds ... and she came out at 8 lbs 9 oz. which isn't tiny, but still ... it's not 11 pounds!
anyhow, i'm thinking about you and hoping that everything goes for the best, as quickly as possible!
I am making Taiwanese ish salad rolls. I make about 15 at a time, freeze them and then grab one for lunch. Yum.
Thanks guys! The doctor just called and said they would be willing to induce me as soon as Saturday! Huge relief.
March 22
Sending good wishes your way Stella
--Went to a movie this afternoon and Dd paid she doesn't need to but likes to cover gas for things somethings..cheap Tues are $4.00 per person and we bought juice boxes and goodies instead of buying popcorn
--still had leftover pea soup for my lunch
--small order of groceries at No Frills...lots of items on sale for $1. or $2.00 so got a few things for a grand total of $13.49 including a mark down bag of bananas for $1.49 only one need frozen the rest are great.
That is great news, Stella!
Danna--I am stocking up on grocery deals, too. This week chicken breast is on sale for 79 cents a pound and pot roast is 1.99 a pound. I will probably buy several pounds of each. Meat is so expensive otherwise--I have to take advantage of good sales. Strawberries are also 1.18/lb--the cheapest I have seen in a long time. They were $4 a pound here over the winter! I want to buy several pounds of those, too, and freeze them for smoothies later (I drink smoothies all the time in the summer).
Thanks guys!
We ended up getting a rotisserie chicken last night. Every once in a while I really like those and as far as take-out goes, they aren't really very expensive. Tonight we're using the leftover chicken to make my mom's chicken casserole recipe. Total comfort food, easy and relatively cheap.
In a somewhat unfrugal move today I bought a bunch of math manipulatives for homeschooling. A ton of them, actually. Base 10 blocks, cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, stacking people, bean counters (included in a package or I would have just used actual beans) and a couple of others I can't remember off the top of my head. I also bought a book of math brain teasers for kids and a book of riddles and brain teasers for kids, and a book on photography for me. The total, including shipping was $100. I am justifying my purchases because I have four kids, all of whom are eventually going to use the manipulatives and brain teasers ($80 of the $100), so that's $20 a kid for math lessons. That seems reasonable to me. I believe it also counts as an education expense on my state taxes, so that helps too. I know I could make some math manipulatives, but this is one case where I'm willing to spend a little money to make things easier. The photography book is just a treat for me. No justification for that.
Another purchase I have recently justified is an exercise ball. It's good for soothing late pregnancy labour cramps and preparing for labor and it was $8. Plus, bouncing on it with a 9 lb bowling ball inside me has to shake something loose eventually, right? :) The kids love it too. It's the new favourite chair in the house and helps the kids use up a little energy. Ever notice how often "using up kid energy" makes it into my posts? :P It's so very March here in the land of 10,000 lakes. :) I am pretty sure we're all going to be manic this spring. A month from now it's going to be like we were all shot out of a cannon. Look out world!
Thanks guys! The doctor just called and said they would be willing to induce me as soon as Saturday! Huge relief.
You have some big time child care credit coming, IMHO, from the so-called friend who dropped her 11 year old off at your house today.
Well, I finished grocery shopping with DH and was hoping to come in under budget. But I didn't. Oh well. Didn't go over budget, either.
We rented a redbox movie last night we both wanted to see. Netflix wouldn't have it until 4/19 (I guess the movie companies are making them wait now?). $1.00 well spent.
Well, the hospital can't take me for induction until Wednesday. Oh well, It's still an end date.
LOL. Redfox, that friend actually usually is pretty good about watching my kids. She's volunteered to help out when they baby is born.
My friend took me out last night to get me out of the house. We just went to Barnes and Noble and for coffee and a cookie. Her treat. It was soooo nice to get out.
I feel very much on my game today, which hasn't happened in quite a while. I'm not even tired today. *Stella looks around for wood to knock on* I slept like a log, James hasn't been crabby at all, I've gotten a ton of homeschooling done this morning, Zach has been doing well keeping up on the house, everyone is fed. Life is good.
Dad isn't home for dinner tonight, so Zach is making tacos. Dad has ulcers and can't eat tacos, so it's kind of a treat for Zach and the kids, and a pretty inexpensive one.
I have been planning some homeschool stuff and other than yesterday's splurge, trying to think about using things we have. One thing we are going to do is to have the girls make a video and photographic journal of their new baby brother's first month for the grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We'll put it up on a free blog. It's a good technology/communication project and will involve some writing as well. I think they'll have fun with that and so will the family.
We're also going to start our seeds for this summer soon. We've had trouble in the past with finding a good place to put them. Daddy recently helped a friend of mine build a lighting system for seed starting so he's going to replicate it for us at home. The girls will help him build the shelves and watch him install the lighting. They will work with me to decide what plants we want to put in and they will start the seeds and take care of them. I saved my seed starting trays from last year.
We're probably going to start more than we need so we can give plants as gifts as part of our larger community building project. I was thinking that on Earth Day we could make cute baskets out of some kind of recycled materials to hold a small plant and on May Day we can bring them to neighbors as a gift. If I'm really ambitious, and I'm probably not, :) we may make seed paper with some herb, lettuce or edible flower seeds for cards. Again, recycled materials, so it's cheap, and it's a good lesson. We'd get the fun of the paper making, the fun of delivering gifts, the fun of learning about plants and, as we'd keep at least a little of the seed paper, the fun of watching it grow. We'd also strengthen community relationships.
After the birthday madness and partially as a Lenten activity, I want to involve the kids in some giving activities. This morning we discussed a couple of regions we have links to that have a great deal of poverty and used the iPad National Geographic atlas/globe to check those areas out on a regular map and sattelite images. We even found their Grandpa's house. I wanted to do a mix of both foreign and domestic giving. Last year we traveled to an area of the rural South and met some of their Grandfather's friends, some of whom had quite a lot of money and some of whom were quite poor and lived in what were kind of shockingly poor conditions. It was a culture shock for me and the kids. I've spent time in foreign countries with poverty like that, but the reality of American poverty hadn't really sunken in with me before that. This time of year sometimes gets all of us feeling a little spendy and I think that a refocus on how very, very much we are blessed to have can help us calm those.
Finished plans to redecorate using existing furniture rather than buying new things.
Making Teriyaki Chicken with spinach for dinner.
Using half the amounts of detergent for our laundry and drying on the short cycle.
Going out tonight to help a friend celebrate 30 years sober....it might be his last celebration.
Burning incense and essential oils to make the home smell amazing :)
fidgiegirl
3-24-11, 1:37pm
Hi all!
We had a fantastic trip to Puerto Rico. There was absolutely nothing frugal about it. But we enjoyed ourselves, and we relaxed a lot. A lot. And then all my stresses about home came flooding back as soon as we broke through the clouds on our descent and saw the snow-covered tundra. Boo to that part.
I have so many thoughts to share with you all. I may pop over to my personal journal and put them up there, though, as they are kind of OT for frugality.
Glad to be back on the bandwagon!! :)
i love posting to this; makes me feel good about what we do do to save money; since i am on a low sugar diet; i save about 15.00 a week! now that is a motivator to me; also had some library books come in; so i walked to pick them up and walked home adding to 0 dollars and adding to more heath to my poor body which has been rode hard and put away wet!
Welcome back fidgiegirl-glad you had a good time.
Last night we had a fast food dinner. Dh and I ordered seperately using coupons. This saved us about $5 over all and I broght home an extra sandwich for today's lunch.
We picked up a few things at the local grocery saving things that could wait until we can get to Walmart where of course, things will cost less. I did find a rebate for Snapple tea. I don't like to spend that much money on beverages but took advantage of the freebie. I made a point of getting it into the mail this morning so I won't forget since its a short dated form.
We've been getting the run around from the company that is supposed to service our dish washing machine at work. There's always a new technician taking over the route. We've been trying for 2 years to fix up the machine and they tell us that its too old and the parts are next to impossible to find. Basically they want the machine to be in such disrepair that we have no choice but to buy a new one for $1200 or more. Or lease one from them for $120 a month.
Well the other day a salesman from another company walks in and wants our account. He will fix the machine to work like new for $50! The other company wanted $300 for parts that this guy will give us for free. Plus his cleaning chemicals are much cheaper-We have about $300 in chemicals hooked up to the machine at all times. In addition, he says tht the old company has the most expensive chemical running at about twice the necessary rate.
Aparently, Eco-Lab doesn't realize what a big mouth I have because I intend to tell anyone I know in this business how they've been shafting us. :devil:
Ok, I'm ranting. The savings should amount to approx. $500 a year. Oh, and apparently the parts my machine needs are the same parts used in newly manufactured machines and are easy to find!
Things have been decidedly un-frugal lately as we have paid our contractor $1635 above the original estimate. Ouch. But I am choosing the see this as a positive thing as he has done a TON of extra work for us that will make out home a more pleasant place to be. Also, the repairs he made are much cheaper than the cost of damage that would have occured had we decided to ignore those issues.
DH and I stayed home and watch a movie last night. This weekend we are going out of town with some friends. Will try to keep it as frugal as possible in terms of splitting gas and eating reasonably.
we watch all our videos from the library and the rest of the shows we watch on youtube. We like the British stuff. So far we have watched all of:
Hetty Wainthropp
Lovejoy
QI
Absolute Power on youtube.
The girls and I planted our seedlings today. Tons of them. We'll have a lot to give away, but that's OK. Zach and the girls are really on board with the gardening plans this year, so that should be a big help. Last year we suffered a bit because it was mostly on me to get things done. Now that the basement is finished Zach will have a lot more time to help me with other things. This evening he and the kids are setting up the light shelves for the plants.
Cheyenne is sick so we can't go as planned to the soup supper. I will probably make a tuna casserole at home. We have everything on hand for that. Honestly I think I've eaten more casseroles in the last month than in the previous year. It's better than eating out, though.
We had a lovely brunch today. Unfortnately we forgot it was Friday so it included sausage. We got sausages and cottage bacon yesterday when we went to the farm for our milk run. The cottage bacon we are saving for our post-baby breakfast. We have a tradition of having a pancake or waffle breakfast when we bring home a new baby. Cheyenne was born in maple syrup season, so we had waffles with good maple syrup. Bella was born in blueberry season so we had blueberry pancakes with whipped cream. James was born in strawberry season so we had pancakes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Travis is obviously another maple season baby, so we're going to have pancakes with maple syrup and cottage bacon. Yum!
Zach is investigating an option for buying a minivan. We need a vehicle that seats the whole family. Originally we were planning to get aftermarket third row seats for our SUV which we had budgeted $800 for, plus another $800 for fixing up the Explorer.
Then today we ran across a minivan at a dealership my mom used to work with (meaning I trust them) that is comparable in milage to our Ford Taurus, which we were planning to keep, and close in Blue Book Value to the trade-in value of the Taurus. Zach is running over there to see if we can make some kind of deal for the van. We'd end up with a vehicle we could haul everyone in, spend the $800 to get the Explorer in really good condition and still have the $800 we would have spent for the seats in our savings account. I hate car stuff, but I am excited to have a bigger vehicle. Even with three kids sedans are kind of a PITA. With four kids, two parents and a grandparent, a minivan is kind of a must.
early morning
3-25-11, 7:16pm
Stella, I put Wed. on the calender. Just got word that our niece had her baby boy this morning. Stopped at the dollar store for a card - we have a small gift, and will see what they need before visiting with a baby present. Got gas at Sam's this afternoon for .25 a gallon less than anyone else. Only needed half a tank but I don't like to get much below that anyway. We're out of good coffee so we're using up some that came out of a gift basket someone gave us ages ago. With some half-and-half from Aldi's, it's quite drinkable. Got paid today and put half into savings for upcoming house repairs. And DD landed a very part-time job (weekend museum monitor; opens, closes, runs the gift shop, gives tours if requested) getting paid one day a week for something she'd been volunteering for off and on, anyway.
We had planned a 4 day vacation to the island I used to live on, but decided to stay home instead. We've got some $$ saved for the trip and we're using it to go out to dinner & buy things for the garden & landscape instead. Our 4 day stay-cay! Working in the garden together, out to dinner, taking walks, going to the park, watching some netflix streaming vids, and possibly out to a movie. SO fun.
Had fun catching up on this thread just now -- Stella, hope everything goes smoothly between now and Wednesday! Maybe your little guy will decide he is tired of being all cramped up and come out on his own first....
This has been one of the craziest months we've had in a long time. I had two weeks of work-related travel for the first part of the month, which were exhausting, then a week of heavy meetings (CEO was in town on a rare visit), and then had a major project draft due this week. Been working an average of 9-10 hour days, with several 12+ hour days in a row on more than one occassion. I am totally exhausted. DH is also really overworked/stressed out, with several major projects due. Then add on stuff with kids, etc. and everybody is pretty much worn down. At least we are almost through the worst of it. I am seeing some light at the end of the tunnel at work -- still busy, but nothing as urgent as everything was over the past month. DH submitted his annual budget plan last night and will finish one of his projects, the most urgent one, today. We've got a pre-paid voucher for a meal at a nice Indian restaurant that we need to use by tomorrow, so we've decided to take the kids there for lunch tomorrow. The meal is a set meal for two people, but lots of food, so I figure we can order a couple of extra things ala carte and have plenty for all of us.
SOmewhat to my surprise, the business and stress of the past month hasn't had a horrible effect on our budget. We are significantly underbudget in most categories for the year, with just a few areas where we are over projections, but that is partly due to seasonal expenses that will level out as the months roll along. I have been cooking more and more of our weekend meals, which means the dining out budget is way down. Been buying more whole, non-processed foods, too, which has kept costs down a lot. I found a really cheap Spanish white wine on sale at our local imported grocery store that DH and I both love -- it is only about US$3.85/bottle, so I stocked up on it. The special probably won't be around much longer as it seems to be a closeout, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts. We only drink about a bottle a week, spaced out over dinners, so it doesn't add too much to our grocery bill.
OK, off to see if my apple-yogurt cake with cinnemon streak is actually edible -- I had to cook it twice as long as the recipe said, so hope it turned out ok. I don't think there is anything wrong with my oven, as baked chicken turned out as normal today. I think the batter was just wetter than it should have been.
lhamo
i am back with my bits of saving money; went to a free poetry reading last night; and before made my simple meal; have cooked at home for close to three months!
If all goes well we'll be getting the van today! I am very excited to have this problem solved. It's time.
Last night Zach bought car washing stuff to use when the weather warms up. Car washes are expensive and by spring the cars are in need of a good washing.
Thanks to Lhamo's tip I downloaded the Simple Dollar book for free on my iPhone Kindle app.
My college student who lives at home has decided to take over the dining table in our small apartment for her study area. Last week I was drawn to our local thrift store and there is the Blessings Area was an all wood desk, free for the taking! It's kind of an ugly thing right now, but we are going to revamp it soon. I'll be posting before and after photos on my website. I also had enough points from surveys I do online to qualify for an Amazon gift card and found a book for my son and his wife. Life's good, living free!
http://iliketomakethings.blogspot.com
I just qualified for a year long breast cancer prevention study which involves losing 10% of one's weight under the supervision of a workout specialist is a state of the art gym, as well as a diet consultant. I'm also taking part in a support group for compulsive overeating, as I am determined to change that behavior so my eating and weight can normalize. I'd like to lose about 40 #, and my knees will be very happy when I do. I am delighted that I'll have free access to a gym & trainer for a year.
The guy at the car place my mom used to work with suggested trying to sell our car on craigslist instead of trading it in. He thought we could get a lot more for it than he could give us as a trade in and he said there was a good chance it would sell fast. We listed it and 10 minutes later three people had called. One already came to look at it and is thinking about it and the other is on their way. The only problem is that unless it sells by 4:00PM when the car lot closes we'll have to rent a car for the weekend. Even factoring that cost in we'll be up several hundred bucks on the deal if we can sell it for the price I listed it at.
Turned the last of some leftover roasted sweet potatoes into muffins, and they will disappear quite quickly.
No-spend, no-drive day. Watching children of two friends this evening so they can have date nights, and we'll get our date nights in a few weeks.
We're doing a good job sticking to our revised budget, which should help us save more and also will cover the increased cost of summer travel this year.
fidgiegirl
3-26-11, 2:49pm
I love it when the major frugals show their faces. The probable sale of Stella's car and redfox's study participation are biggies as is Jinger's desk find!! I know the little ones add up and they are indeed important, but biggies are fun, too.
We have a biggie, or at least it feels like one. I spent longer than I had planned doing the taxes but decided to try out the comparison feature of itemizing v. standard and turned out itemizing was better, which I didn't think it would be. So we have a nice chunk of change coming to offset the drain of our recent trip! Now to update our checkbook record and see what the damage really was.
I plan to make a squash soup later to freeze for lunches. The squash is already roasted and in the fridge. I also put potatoes with it so I have to boil them up and puree the bunch.
early morning
3-26-11, 4:19pm
Stella - yay on the van, and car sale! I think the big things are more fun :), fidgiegirl! and new ideas - it gets harder to come up with new ways to cut spending, doesn't it? And really boring to keep listing the same-old- but I do it anyway sometimes, because seeing it on paper makes it more real, somehow. So Thursday DD and I tagged along to a free EAA meeting to visit a local university archive to see part of their awesome collections of aviation photos, papers, diaries, documents, books - etc. I did spring for tea and scones first for DD and I - much fff! Today, I hung laundry - it's cold, so most is in the house, but towels and sleep-pants are outside. Stopped at our first yard-sale of the year, spend $1 for a bowling pin and a hat box. I know it's spring when the phone poles start sprouting sale signs, lol.
Today is a no driving or spending day.
Ds went roller skating with school yesterday. I gave him $10 to spend and he returned $8 to me at the end of the day. Nice.
I am on-line checking out the sales flyers for next week. Its very difficult (impossible) for me to get paper versions now that we've moved. I miss them but will work on making the adjustment.
I had gotten out of the habit of checking-in @ this site, despite being a member of the old board since '02.
Winter blah blah blahs led to looking forward to Spring (greatly) and some spending on warm weather clothing.
When shipments arrived (eddie bauer AND gap) the items were not 100% of what I'd had in mind. All but 1 pair of cargo capris were returned to EB, which will refund my CC about $160. All items are being sent back to GAP tomorrow, a refund of approx $100.
I ended up finding what I wanted locally, via Target (mossimo curvy fit jeans, on sale for $20 a pair!) and JC Penney (union bay cargo shorts/capris, $24 per pair).
As things stand today, I need nothing until Fall. Even then, I may skip shopping. We have a wedding to attend next March and that is the only event, so far, coming up that would require something new.
Anyhoo, back in the saddle. ;)
fidgiegirl
3-27-11, 3:58pm
Well, welcome back, Laurel!
I love the biggies too fidgiegirl! The car sold and we ended up up $700 on the deal. Life is good! I got my minivan and I am LOVING it. The sound of seatbelts silently clicking into place without anyone whining about their brother's car seat being in the way is music to my ears!
I don't remember if I had posted this one, but my Grandma is sending me money for the double stroller I want for the boys. This was my one and only real baby need. Well, that and the minivan. :) Outside of that I've spent....I think $12.50 preparing for this baby. Yes. I bought some baby oil and some bottles. This beats my previous best of $49 preparing for James. I had all the clothing, the bed, the baby monitor, the car seat, the sling and all that.
Some friends took us out for dinner last night, their treat. Grandpa took the girls on their weekly Rainbow Pancakes date and we took James with us. We had such a nice time!
This morning I made a strata. I had some ham I wanted to use up and strata stretches eggs pretty far. A six egg strata feeds the whole family.
Zach and I are going to go on the envelope system for April. I've worked out a budget I hope will work. I intentionally made it a little on the tight side in a few categories I think we should be better about controlling, (entertainment in particular) but I budgeted money separately for things like karate class so they don't eat up all of the entertainment budget. We're involving the family in brainstorming ideas to help us save money. The kids are excellent at coming up with ideas for fun things that don't cost much money.
We are also doing a big organizing kick today. Zach is helping me organize the pantry. He used to work at a grocery store so he's pretty good at that. I like the way we got it set up, so we can see everything we have much better. I think that's going to help a lot with menu planning. I'm going to have him help me tackle the deep freezer soon too.
I also am using some shelf space in the laundry room above the washer and dryer to store empty jars, bottles and other possibly useful containers. I did this in fits and starts before, but never had a good place to put them, so eventually I'd stop and those things would go back into recycling. Then I'd need a storage container and not be able to find one. No more! Now that the containers have a home I shouldn't have that problem anymore.
A sort of non-frugal, I bought a mandolin today. Not the instrument, the slicing tool. It will make it easier to slice veggies and potatoes and will make it easier for the kiddos to help me.
Finally, Dad is taking us to Culver's tonight for all you can eat chicken night. We've spent all day cleaning and organizing and he doesn't want us to have to mess up the kitchen.
March 27
Glad you are back Laurel...
--been in house for serveral days because DH has a sprained ankle, last Monday when it was such a beautiful day he wanted to feel like he was doing something productive and put together the new table for the front step, except he turned his ankle. It was bad enough that he needed a xray to be sure there was no break and luckily it wasn't so he is getting spoiled and being allowed to watch all the car racing he wants.lol
--I made a quick trip for groceries today and only spent $25.00
--There is actually space in the fridge/freezers/pantry and it is amazing what I am finding to made into great meals
--got into a fit of spring fixing up a couple of days ago and decided I really disliked my bed coverings etc. so instead of shopping pulled out an older set and it feels like new again and I like it...then I felt like the curtains didn't match...but I realized I have a beautiful set of sheets never used that match so the top sheet is now new curtains and the pillow cases are covering extra pillows on the bed all at no extra cost right now and it all looks really nice and fresh. The sheet set was a really good set bought on sale 2 years ago for $20.00 and they match the comforter perfectly.
rosarugosa
3-28-11, 7:21am
Greetings, Laurel!
Nice score on the van, Stella!
Danna, I absolutely love it when I think I need something, then find I am able to fill the need with something I already own, so good for you! Sorry about DH's ankle, though.
I am enjoying a simple glass of tap water as I write this today. The water at the old house wasn't pleasant to drink so we consumed a lot more purchased beverages-coffee and soda being the most common choices.
I ran several errands this morning all in loop. Spent $2 at rite aid and brought home 4 paks of gum for my guys and also broke down and got 4 candy bars.
We then stopped at the grocery store and only bought the 3 things we needed. Cucumbers for work, a gallon of milk and on sale mozarella cheese for tonights homemade pizza. The dough is leftover from pizza we ate last week and needs to be used before it goes to waste.
I finally got a copy of The Moneyless Man from the library today! I can't wait to devour the book.
OOOH! This one is special to me... Dh and I finally sat down and talked about investing money for the first time. Well, the first positive conversation. Plan A is to become debt free within 3 years and then we will start investing as much as possible. Dh's idea of investing has always required a coffee can and a private back yard...
Two days until baby time! At most! It's spring break for Bella so I've got all three kids all day today and I am having a lot of contractions (nothing regular yet, though). We're going to have a low-key day.
I am planning like mad for my post-pregnancy time. I am so excited to get my body back in useable shape! I have so many frugality related daydreams right now. It's exciting to have Zach and the kids so on board with my plans.
Today I'm thinking about summer and ways to keep expenses down. I'm making a plan, category by category, to save money. I may post it here later and see what ideas other people have for a simple/frugal summer.
That's it for today. Nothing big.
No drive day again for me. Checked with our auto insurance to see if I got in an accident with my splint on, and they wouldn't say yeah or nah on whether I would be covered since the doctor said I was impaired....so, figured staying put was best. MIL is helping with to and from school drives for the boys. Not to mention, I am not sure I can turn the wheel correctly to back up or for certain left turns.
I did meal preps before, so per usual we are eating at home.
I did take advantage of Door to door organics b1g1 free box offer and have fresh veggies coming Wednesday. Used up a groupon gift from a friend for snackwhere house and have some Kind bars and Annie's crackers coming for a few dollars in shipping.
@ Stella--that is so cool about the van! I'm so excited for you!
Nothing too exciting here. We fell off the frugal bandwagon this weekend. We went to a local museum to see a Titanic exhibit and then took both my dad and some friends out to dinner. Well...that was all totally awesome, so I'm not really sorry about it. Need to get back to business now, though LOL
So lately I:
--did some laundry (cold wash, 1/2 dryer sheet, some line drying)
--stocked up on fruit (strawberries and grapes .99/lb, oranges 1.49/4 lbs, pineapple 1.49/each). I bought 5 lbs of strawberries and will be hulling and freezing them for later use. Also found a huge container of 4% large curd cottage cheese (DH's favorite) for .50. He will need to eat it within a week, but that will be no problem for him! He loves the stuff (I usually buy low-fat small curd, so the full-fat stuff is a treat!)
--traded my old cell phones in at Target for a gift card. Now I don't have to pay to recycle them, and I got a much needed broom and dust pan (mine were 10 yrs old and broken) for free
--ran all my errands together today and planned my route to save gas
--am about to call Land's End, J Crew, and West Elm to get off their mailing lists (thanks for the inspiration, TMC!). They give me the wants
--will be fixing my bedside lamp with crazy glue (cat broke it). It is old and ugly, but I can make do with it for awhile longer. Have more important things to spend my money on.
early morning
3-28-11, 7:08pm
Got help figuring and filing our taxes for free, at a local AARP tax-prep spot. For some reason doing our simple taxes is a huge stressor for me. Last year we had some odd issues so I paid to have them done, but this year I was going to do them myself again. I'm glad I chickened out- they pointed out a couple things I didn't know and found something I should have claimed last year. If I drop off the paperwork they will file an amended return for us! Boy am I glad that's done - and it's not even April ;)! The funny thing is, we always get a refund, but I still dislike filing. No spend day today, too. Really wanted a magazine fix, so I stopped by the library and picked up some old Country Living's. They always inspire me!
Stella - what can I say? You guys are an inspiration! :) Keeping you and baby in my thoughts.
Kat- I missed the Titanic exhibit when it was here- but it sounded really cool. I so wish I could make more museum visits. Going to the National Museum of the Air Force tomorrow. I try to go at least once a year - it's free, and it's great!
fidgiegirl
3-28-11, 10:45pm
Such an unfrugal night. Well, in a way it actually was frugal. I had a meeting at Nordstrom Café and took advantage of already being there to stop by the bra department, where I'd been meaning to take a trip. I am a busty gal and I spent $100 on two bras (that's actually a bargain compared to my old standbys - trying a new kind). But in the end, if I spare myself back pain and discomfort, well, who knows how much I'm saving in the long run in doctor bills and pain and suffering :) And I FINALLY got an excellent saleswoman at Nordstrom. I will be going only to her from now on.
Also had dinner out at the meeting and got my hair cut. Spent quite a bit tonight but feel a lot better about my appearance. Now to find a frugal and nonchemical way to deal with those gray streaks . . .
Now to find a frugal and nonchemical way to deal with those gray streaks . . .
Here's mine: I LOVE my grey hair. It's beautiful, and I encourage you to just own it.
fidgiegirl
3-29-11, 8:11am
Here's mine: I LOVE my grey hair. It's beautiful, and I encourage you to just own it.
Thanks, redfox. I am actually somewhat surprised that it bothers me at all. Intellectually, I want to be the one who owns it, as you say. But emotionally, I'm still getting there! :D But since dyes make me ill, I'm not willing do anything about it . . . so that's about what I'm left with.
Kelli, I consider bras a medical expense. :) Really, a good bra is a necessity for busty women. $100 for two bras sounds totally reasonable to me. At least for me the cheap bras all but disintegrate within a month.
We had a frugal disaster yesterday. Zach had been working in the basement a few days ago and unplugged the chest freezer, intending to plug it back in. Unfortunately he forgot that part. :( Luckily we were down to about $100 worth of meat in there. Normally this would have been a much bigger disaster. I started to freak out about it and then caught myself. Bella was watching my reaction (James was napping and Cheyenne wasn't home) and Zach felt really bad already. I decided that these things happen. It's worth more than $100 to me to teach my daughter to handle stress and disappointment with grace and kindness. Zach has been stretched thin lately and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. I'm perfectly capable of it.
This afternoon we're going to the butcher shop and getting a value pack to refill the freezer. Other than that I'm resting.
rosarugosa
3-29-11, 7:23pm
Good luck tomorrow Stella!
Just said a prayer for you and the baby Stella!
fidgiegirl
3-31-11, 10:44pm
I just ordered my probiotics from Amazon on a subscription program. Now they will send them automatically every six months and I get an even further discount. I decided to get two packs at a time every six months rather than one pack every three months in order to get the free shipping.
We ordered some books from B&N to use a gift card. Also got free shipping on those. Normally I don't buy books but these ones inspired me so much when I read them that I have been thinking that I wanted to buy them. One is Apartment Therapy and one is Making a Living Without a Job.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.