September Frugals (2014)

[SiouzQ.]

I really enjoy reading about your daily life, Awakenedsoul! It sounds so peaceful and purposeful, and well-thought-out. My summer has been kind of loosy-goosy and less-structured (as well it should be) but I think I am ready to buckle down and get my sights on my next goal, which is to save up a bunch of money for next year's road trip. By June I will have accrued over three weeks of paid vacation time and I am thinking of doing a more epic trip, maybe being on the road for about a month. That means I need to save up at least $2500 (if not more) for that. I am adamant that it doesn't come out of my savings. Part of it will be a business trip for my jewelry business. I need to look for more new galleries and will have to replenish my supplies too.

So this is how I am going to do it, basically by doing what I have been doing for a long time. Live as cheaply as possible by carefully shopping for food and home-cooking, thrift shopping when I need stuff (I am really working on NOT buying thrift-store clothing, though cheap, that I really don't need. All my wardrobe these days consists of jeans and T-shirts anyway). I am mainly working on earning extra income, both actively and passively. My jewelry business has been going quite well; last month I made about $500 between gallery commissions, repairs, and custom pieces! I do have to be careful about the money I am putting into it by buying needed tools and supplies, though. I still need to find some more places to sell locally and to get into some of those indie art fairs.

My other money-maker is having my house mate. It is working out really well but he may not stay for too much longer because he is in the process of buying a house. If that happens soon, I may have another person lined up to take his place, but if not, living in a college town as I do, it is pretty easy to find someone to pay $335/month for a room. The best deal in town, really!

I also did my yearly physical and have decided to resume selling my plasma, as they have upped the price of each donation. I can make an extra $200 per month doing that as long as it doesn't start draining me (literally)! I just have to be careful to stay very well hydrated and make sure I get enough protein.

I got a raise at work this summer, and we are heading into the busy season at Wholefoods so I should be looking forward to getting some gain-sharing money on every other paycheck. Also, historically I have received a very handsome birthday and Christmas check from a family member every year (though I always tell myself to not count on it). My car loan just dipped below $4000 (!) and I am diligently paying extra on it when I can. The only other debt I have is a no-interest medical bill that I pay $100 per month on. I still have a ways to go on that one, though.

I feel really motivated to dig in and stay focused on my goal, as if I am starting the "school" year off on a good note. Yesterday I deposited my room mate's rent check into my money market account and was pleasantly happy to see that I have now have $16, 392.52 in my emergency savings! WOOT!

[Float On]

I'd love to see the GF egg roll recipe too.

[awakenedsoul]

SiouzQ., Thanks for the encouragement. $16.392.52...wow! That's a lot of money!!! Especially for someone who works at Whole Foods! I'm impressed. Glad to hear you are also making money from your jewelry sales. I've never known someone who sells their plasma. Is it painful? I think I'd be afraid. When you write about your trips, I muse, "Gee, I'd love to do that." Seems like you've really got a handle on your money. I paid $375.00 a month to rent a room back in 1982. Yours is a great deal...

I'm on the last inch of sewing on my Laura Ashley towels. I'm so glad that I did this. They're a beautiful pattern. Last year I redid the edges with quilt binding on a set of Waverly towels that I bought many years ago. They're still in excellent shape. I think it's partly because I line dry my laundry. I've got my bread on the second rise right now. I'm using up the last of the snickerdoodle cookie dough. Once those are eaten, I'll make a batch of toll house cookies. I have chocolate chips that I stockpiled last year in my freezer. I keep lots all of my baking staples on hand so that I don't run out of anything. I'm real happy with the way the henna came out. It really bumps up the color and gives it some shine. No chemicals, either. I'm going to cook up the potatoes that we got in our co op box a few weeks ago. Organic produce doesn't last as long, so I have to watch it. I also have a recipe for cream chipped beef that I want to try. I bought the beef jerky last month at Costco, with a coupon. This month they have glucosomine on sale, so I'll pick up a couple of bottles tomorrow. It helps me to stay ahead of the deals. I researched the bus route for the Rock of the Ages audition. I would have to take six buses and a subway! So, I'll rent a car from Enterprise, instead. They will come pick you up. My brother works for them, so I can get a family discount. Time to get back to my baking, before it gets too hot!

Keep posting, everyone. It's motivating to read...

[SiouzQ.]

Disclaimer: Awakendsoul, I've been working on that savings account for YEARS! I've only been at WholeFoods for two years. I'm just really good at finding ways to earn extra money (all of them legal, too ) And more money from art sales will be coming my way soon; I got an e-mail late last night from my New Mexico gallery stating that they had sold one of my larger art pieces (plus a bunch of jewelry as well) last month.

[TMC]

I'm sorry for the delay, I've just been running like crazy.

Here's a link to the Gluten Free Eggrolls. http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/e...nton-wrappers/

She has a wonderful website with scratch gluten free recipes. Some of the ingredients are pricey upfront but it saves a lot of money in the long run. She also has GF wonton wrappers on her site that I used as well. I made a bunch and froze them.

[TMC]

Hello everybody. I am enjoying reading everyone's frugals.

The kids and I cleaned out the freezers and made an inventory list, then DH and I did a weekly meal plan. I am constantly running the kids around so I am never home to cook dinner. We managed to work out quick meals combined with some once a month meals I cooked that are in the freezer along with my crockpot. We have eaten all meals at home this week and have kept up with our leftovers so I have two meals to carry over to next weeks meal plan. I work full time but am lucky enough to work at home so I have time to put stuff in the crockpot or the oven but I don't have time for big elaborate prep during the week.

Today was a turkey breast in the crock pot with smashed potatoes from the garden and frozen corn from last years garden. We started with a Kale salad and finished with watermelon. My garden is keeping us fed these days.

[danna]

Sept 04--you are all doing great!!!

--puree a whole cauliflower and mixed with mashed potatoes...yummy and healthy and went a long way
--company lefted Mon the 1st and we have been eating up the leftovers for the past couple of days...waste not want not!
--volunteered this afternoon and brought water and a snack with me, it is far too easy to buy snacks there.
--still eating lettuce and cherry tomatoes from the garden...larger tomatoes are still green
--used a Groupon to have my car hand washed and detailed for only $19.00
---used a Groupon to have grass cut, boarders trim, and nicely edged all for $25.00, I have been doing it myself with the
push mower (but, it needs sharpen and my weed eater needs a new reel of cord) now I can put those things off till the spring.
And, for that price it all looks nice and I got a break...love it.
--having a yard sale on Sat.....all stuff from the garage if it doesn't sell it is out the door, so it is worth the effort to sell some of it.
That is all for now...

[SteveinMN]

So far...

- Weekend at the cabin worked out fine. Lots of fun and good fellowship! And, as the cook, I didn't have to pay anything. The weather (and sloth) kept us from spending money on any big endeavors. I even ended up taking home some of the food because our host didn't want to leave any behind, so I'll work that into our menu for the week. I did buy a quart of local maple syrup on the way home (it was much cheaper than the local syrup at the coop). Oh, and I bought some fuel, but I used only four gallons for the 220-mile round trip.
- We're getting $40 back from T-Mobile as part of a class-action settlement because they allowed "premium texting services" to (over)charge customers. We could have gotten more if we could document the charges actually paid, but, in the interests of simplicity, we got rid of the old statements a long time ago. Oh, well.
- Umm, that seems to be it. Hmm.

[Brandon]

Today I gave my 3 week notice to my part-time job so that I can spend some time doing other things.... I am very blessed by God in that I have no debt to speak of - just regular monthly bills like utilities, food, and petrol. I have been at this job for 4 months now and really don't feel that it's a great fit for me. Overall, I am at that realization that due to my age and the overall economy, I will likely have to make good on jobs only paying $10-12 an hour opposed to $30 that I made a few years ago. Knowing when to say "enough is enough" with negative things in your life is so important! I will clearly need to watch my finances more carefully now and adopt more frugal practices. I have a lot of expensive china and other items that I think would sell well on eBay and want to consider other income-producing ideas as well.

Now that we are entering the Autumn season, I plan to make much more meals at home to save money and to hone my cooking/baking skills more. Devoting my time to volunteering at my local cat shelter is of the utmost importance to me and may open more doors to future work - who knows?! Despite everyone hating to be poor, I rather find it nice to watch my pennies and keeping myself happy with the more simple things of life... good friends, good food, my garden, my cats, and my collection of books, china, and videos!

It amazes me how unhappy I used to be always running on the hampster wheel to make it day to day, month to month.... so nice now to simply relax while nurturing my soul.... I still have to find ways to get $$ to live, but I think I can do while still enjoying life to the fullest and on MY terms!

Can you tell, I am fired up about my plans?

[SteveinMN]

It amazes me how unhappy I used to be always running on the hampster wheel to make it day to day, month to month.... so nice now to simply relax while nurturing my soul.... I still have to find ways to get $$ to live, but I think I can do while still enjoying life to the fullest and on MY terms!

Congratulations on your next move toward living more simply!

It's a common experience among us here, I think, to gain perspective from some time spent living simply -- and then to look back at our old consumerist lives to wonder how happy we really were. Without getting too political, however, there is a distinct difference between choosing simplicity and a low-cost lifestyle and living in precarious financial circumstances in which only one thing has to go bad to bring down the whole house of cards. We are lucky to be able to choose.