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Thread: July Frugals

  1. #1
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    July Frugals

    It's a new month!
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

  2. #2
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    Rosemary kindly gave me some free daylillies to plant in a spot in my yard that needs fresh plants after the harsh winter we had.

    I have been working towards being more efficient with the grocery budget. We eat meatless meals on Fridays, but I decided to slip in meatless meals on Mondays whenever possible too and see if anyone notices. We had asparagus risotto last night.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

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    July 1.............Happy Canada Day!!

    Good to hear from you Stella...hope you are all well?

    --I returned yesterday from 4 days visiting my sisters (both not well and one seriously ill)
    We had a great visit and I spent enough but it was planned and well worth the quality time spent with them.
    --had lunch with an old friend who fed me, bought me coffee, served me a lovely drink and sent me off with
    fresh muffins for my train trip home. Good old friends are the best!
    --Too hot to go out much today so Dd went got us a lunch out (not something we do often) but, it is a
    National Holiday a treat was in order.....lol...........
    --my new gardens are starting to grow...yeah
    --updated my spreadsheets for June and see I am doing really well with my money.
    --we are going to make chicken curry for supper with chickpeas and veggies there should be lot for lunch tomorrow
    That is all for now

  4. #4
    Senior Member Gardenarian's Avatar
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    Dh and dd are away for a couple of weeks, so I'm free to have everything as I like. I'll miss them, but...once in a while, it's nice to have the house to yourself!
    I've turned the hot water heater down way low.
    * I'm re-using my mug and dishes so there is little to wash.
    * I made a big pot of beans, and that, along with some veggies and fruit, is going to be my food.
    * I'm doing a lot of yard work and propagating some plants (wisteria, pelargoniums, echium) to fill in some blank places.
    * Doing some outdoor maintenance on the house too - patching paint, caulking, cleaning up - trying to keep things spruce.

    I need to live a bit Spartan for now, after splurging on our vacation, but it's fun - and so much easier when it's just me.
    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -- Gandalf

  5. #5
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    Thanks danna. We are doing well. We are starting to hit our stride with the new a baby and things are getting back to normal again.

    Gardenarian, that sounds like a lovely break!

    We are beginning our stay-cation tonight. We decided not to go anywhere for our vacation this year, and instead, we invited my FIL to visit us. We live across the street from a lake and we have a pool. There is plenty to do right here in the Twin Cities and this way I don't have to put toddlers and a Kindergartener to bed in a strange place. So. Much. Easier. also, we cans spend all the money we would spend on gas and hotels on fun things to do.

    We have a lot of really inexpensive activities on our to-do list. We have a history center membership, so we are going to visit a few historical sites. We are going to take the canoe out on the lake, go fishing, get ice cream comes at cup n cone, visit the farmer's market, go letterboxing and drive out to the country for a picnic. It should be a fun time for very little money.

    Grandpa Phil arrived yesterday and brought me 10 gallons of pecans from his trees. The kids and I spent two hours cracking them open today and we have barely made a dent in the buckets, but I have about a pint of shelled pecans. I think pecan pie may be in order for the 4th of July.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

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    Glad things are good Stella and doing the Stay cation thing makes life with young children so much easier..........
    Yummy Stella I can almost taste the Pecan Pie.....not something I make but I imagine it is a lot like my
    mothers Butter Tarts with walnuts....yummmmy...it always makes me think of her she would let us eat the tarts
    that broke even before supper. I now realize there always seemed to be 3 broke ones for 3 little girls.....lol

    July 03
    --volunteered at seniors home a couple of hours...lots of feel good at no cost....
    --found some items bought on sale stashed away in the freezer for supper...good they needed to be used.
    ---mostly a quiet day I realized how tried I was from my trip and let myself take it easy.

  7. #7
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Gardenarian: That sounds like a lovely plan. Enjoy the serenity!
    Stella: It's nice to hear from you again. It sounds like you have a good plan in place! I would also think the travel with baby & toddlers would be pretty challenging.
    Danna: That is so sweet about your Mom and the tarts; it made me smile!
    Not too much to add at the moment. We need to really strive for a frugal July because we have a furnace repair and are looking at what is probably a major car repair. I just incurred some dental expense and our quarterly property taxes are due on 8/1. So the challenge will be to wring as much of this as possible from our monthly cashflow with minimal impact on savings. I doubt we can do all of it, but we'll do our best. Luckily, DH is picking up extra hours at work lately, so that is a big help.

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    Didn't spend anything today, stayed home and accomplished a few things we've been putting off. My cousins wanted us to go to the fireworks display with them, but that would have meant a 45 min drive each way, and I just wasn't up for it. Put two loads of wash on the line, and figured out at way to put a metal railing at the end of our porch with stuff we have on hand (scrap wood and part of an old futon frame. Sounds awful, but it should look fine!) To circulate water in our tiny pond, we were using an old pitcher pump (for looks only - we have a tiny submersible water pump - we just ran the tubing through the pitcher pump) and the seal we had in it to keep the water from running back failed. Instead of trying to fix it, we just came up with something else we already had, so no cost there. Our dishwasher broke about three weeks ago and DH doesn't think he can fix it, so that may save a little water and electric - not sure if it will be noticeable - I sure hope so! I hate washing dishes. rosarugosa, this is going to be an expensive month for us too...I feel your pain. I was just thinking we had caught up from some earlier unanticipated expenses and could get some breathing room, and now the truck needs about $1,600. of work. It's 20 years old so I can't really complain. DH would like a newer truck but I can't make the numbers work, and he doesn't get out much so the NEED isn't really there. And he doesn't want a car, only a truck will do. Plus we have some planned repairs that will come out of savings/emergency money (they are one and the same here), so I don't want to spend any more than we have too this month!! *sigh*. Two steps forward, and three back...

  9. #9
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    Our staycation is going well. Thursday we went to a 4th of July parade that goes right by our friends house. She puts on a giant picnic for everyone she knows, so it was a free dinner, too.

    Friday we went for a walk around our park and Grandpa. Phil showed us what a lot of the plants that grow there are. Bella, who is my mini naturalist, was so interested and Grandpa enjoyed showing off his knowledge. We are reading The Secret Garden and Bella wants to be the girl version of Dickon, I think. We decided on Saturday to drive out to a nature preserve in Wisconisn so Phil could talk to the kids about the wildflowers and the birds. They were most excited about the trumpeter swans and Sandhill Cranes they saw.

    We did eat lunch at a 1950s drive-in, which wasn't cheap, and I bought Bella some field guides and a small butterfly/fishing net as an early birthday present, but I was going to buy Bella a birthday present anyway. This one I can deduct from my Minnesota state taxes, because it's an educational expense. in the evening we had friends over to play cards. I made some cherry pecan oatmeal cookies from dried cherries and pecans that Phil had brought.

    Today is a hang around the house day, except for church. Zach and Phil are fixing things. The front of the shelves on my fridge door had broken, so they fixed that. They fixed the sticky patio door and they fixed a faucet that is hard to turn off. Pretty soon they are going to fix a broken screen.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

  10. #10
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    Those cherry pecan oatmeal cookies sound delicious, Stella! I'm doing a load of laundry that I will line dry. I used homemade laundry detergent. The sun heated up the water nice and hot for me. (My gas water heater is set on low.) The gold finches have been visiting all of the sunflowers in my garden. I used to feed them, and their seed was expensive! Now I get to watch them for free. I saved a bunch of hollyhock seeds to plant for next year. This is the first year I've had success with them in my front garden. They are taller than my house, and all different colors.
    Picked up my box of organic produce from the co op yesterday. Made some corn on the cob, and a nice salad. Found some great Glen Miller music at the library yesterday. I took the bus there after swimming at the gym. The bus pass is coming in handy. Worked on some choreography for my tap class in the kitchen. I love this big band music! I think the ladies at the Senior Center will, too.
    Time to clean the floors and vacuum. Will use vinegar water for fabric softener in the laundry and to mop the floors...

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