April Frugals

[debi]

I was definitely not frugal for the months of February, March and it looks like April as well With my father having been in at home hospice all of February, and the first part of March - I did a lot of traveling to help my mother out. Dad's 87th birthday was March 4th, so I was down there knowing it would be his last one - a week later March 11th dad passed away in his sleep. I have been bringing mom all around to get as much paperwork settled as we possibly could. I was down there again with my mom and sister to go to an attorney to update/amend the will, trust, medical POA, etc. We will need to go back to read over the newest legal forms so that we all agree. Everyone has informed my mother, including me, not to do anything rash for at least 6 months, preferably a year. She has agreed to that.

So with all of your ideas/suggestions, I hope to slowly come back from the unfrugalness I've been in. I don't know how often I will post, but hope to as things slowly settled down.

[nswef]

I am sorry to hear of your father's death. It is such a difficult time and exhausting. Travel in such circumstances is draining as well. I wish you well on this part of the journey.

[fidgiegirl]

debi, so sorry! We are always here, whenever you are able to make a post or not, and we'll be here when you can come back . . .

[rosarugosa]

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Debi. Spending for the scenario you describe certain doesn't strike me as unfrugal, rather money well spent to be with the people you love when you needed each other the most.

[Lainey]

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Debi. Spending for the scenario you describe certain doesn't strike me as unfrugal, rather money well spent to be with the people you love when you needed each other the most.

Absolutely. This is one of those life events where everything else comes second.

[Stella]

Debi I am so sorry for your loss.

I went to Aldi yesterday to stock up on some stuff. Outside of party supplies for the baptism, which I bought with a gift certificate, it was my first big grocery shopping (not just one or two items) in about three weeks. I spent under $200. That's not bad for a family of nine. I'm trying to keep my pantry fairly well stocked because these sleepy newborn days are always the biggest temptation time for take out. We have done pretty well with that this time around. Something about six children makes eating out suddenly not seem like the easier option.

I'm going to make bread today and do our fabric dying project for school. I've been getting into the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day cookbook. Bella is intensely interested in cooking and baking, so she is helping me.

Tomorrow we are taking the older three kids to see a play. We got the tickets with a group discount through homeschool co-op and the babysitter, Veronica's godmother, is doing it for free. We watched her daughter last weekend while she was at a retreat.

We paid an extra $100 towards the medical bill from the birth. It shouldn't take too long to get that paid off and then we will roll the payments into my student loan. I only have one left, 7k, and I am on a bit of a mission to get that dealt with. We have no mortgage either, so that would be it for us. We would be completely debt free. We are likely only a few years out from Zach starting his own business. Since my dad is wanting to retire at the same time our three big goals over the next 5 years are to pay off my student loan, get the house upgrades we know we will need (windows that keep the air in, etc. ) and build up at least 6 months, hopefully more like a years worth of expenses in savings. Our expenses are pretty low, with no debt, no mortgage, shared utilities with my dad, etc. Health insurance will be the biggest expense. It's a big goal, but it's doable.

[bke]

Deb, so sorry to hear about your father. My thoughts are with you.

I mailed out a rebate for $5 for some witch hazel. I had $4 in register rewards that were about to expire so I stopped at Rite Aide to see what I might find. I ended up finding shampoo on sale 2 for $4. They happened to have free full-sized conditioners attached. I also bought ds a Cadbury egg for a treat. Total out of pocket, 84 cents.

[danna]

Glad you shared with us Debi...of course such a loss is part of life and it is so good you could be there for your Mom...Sorry for your loss.

April so far
--made homemade granola type bars using stuff we had on hand.
--bought a huge container(about 3 months worth) of the laundry detergent we use on sale $9.99
--Substituting mashed up black beans and lentils for meat in several meals this week.
--used two coupons for 2 free packages of pasta
All I can think of for now.

[gadder]

I think frugality does not mean skimping on life's important moments, and family transitions are so important. After all if you skimp on '4 weddings and a funeral' events, it might be anti-frugal in the long-term, especially in non-monetary terms.

April frugals are being driven by a dearth of cash this month, based on some minor crises last month: So, this month
- envelope budgeting week by week, no sliding one week into the next
- big pots of basic foods made consciously and deliberately (potatoes, cabbage, curries, stews, casseroles,..)
- and deal with the beers...

[awakenedsoul]

Went to knitting at a local bakery. Only spent .75 on a piece of bread with butter. Helped a woman there who was stuck on her cable knit vest. Ir saved her money paying a teacher, and it made me feel energized. Deposited a check from my knitting business into my account at the credit union. Dropped my bike at the bike shop for a repair. Stopped at Costco and picked up what I needed. They had a sale on tuna...great price! (I get excited about things like that.) Got some gas while I was there. Felt good to do all of my errands in one trip.