September Frugals (2014)

[awakenedsoul]

Brandon, Hi! Welcome to the forum. You sound like you're doing great! I look forward to reading your posts.

Yesterday the washing machine technician came and fixed the washer. It was $340.00...yikes! Today I got a flat on my Burley bike trailer. I called the shop, and they'll fix it for free. (It's only a week old.) I stopped by Costco after my swim at the gym and bought juice on sale, (2 huge bottles for $6.50,) bananas, and milk. Ran into my friend on the bus and chatted with her all the way home. I've got to remember to keep plenty of water with me when I'm commuting. If I forget I get dehydrated. I finished sewing up my hand knit cotton/ linen tank top this morning. I'll take it with me on the bus and sew in all the ends. I need to finish the edges with a row of single crochet, too. Yesterday I boiled all of my potatoes from the co op box. I had some for lunch with sauteed shallots and melted cheddar cheese. I added up my expenses for August. I'm still under budget, but I spent more on food than I realized. Hopefully the numbers will drop now that I'm car free. I keep adding more companies to Bill Pay with my credit union. It's kind of fun. I still have leftover fajitas, so I'll be eating those for dinner. Yesterday I made toll house cookie dough and baked a dozen cookies. I'd forgotten how much I love those! I've had the chocolate chips from Costco in the freezer for ages! Looks like it's time to buy a new swimsuit or two and some undies...everything I'm wearing is getting too stretched out! I did the Youtube yoga set for the inner and outer thigh muscles last night. It's really helping me. I'm doing to do it at least every other day. I can't put a price on how much it's helping me.

Time to catch my bus! Keep up the great work, everyone!

[Davidwd]

Brandon, Hi! Welcome to the forum. You sound like you're doing great! I look forward to reading your posts.

Yesterday the washing machine technician came and fixed the washer. It was $340.00...yikes! Today I got a flat on my Burley bike trailer. I called the shop, and they'll fix it for free. (It's only a week old.) I stopped by Costco after my swim at the gym and bought juice on sale, (2 huge bottles for $6.50,) bananas, and milk. Ran into my friend on the bus and chatted with her all the way home. I've got to remember to keep plenty of water with me when I'm commuting. If I forget I get dehydrated. I finished sewing up my hand knit cotton/ linen tank top this morning. I'll take it with me on the bus and sew in all the ends. I need to finish the edges with a row of single crochet, too. Yesterday I boiled all of my potatoes from the co op box. I had some for lunch with sauteed shallots and melted cheddar cheese. I added up my expenses for August. I'm still under budget, but I spent more on food than I realized. Hopefully the numbers will drop now that I'm car free. I keep adding more companies to Bill Pay with my credit union. It's kind of fun. I still have leftover fajitas, so I'll be eating those for dinner. Yesterday I made toll house cookie dough and baked a dozen cookies. I'd forgotten how much I love those! I've had the chocolate chips from Costco in the freezer for ages! Looks like it's time to buy a new swimsuit or two and some undies...everything I'm wearing is getting too stretched out! I did the Youtube yoga set for the inner and outer thigh muscles last night. It's really helping me. I'm doing to do it at least every other day. I can't put a price on how much it's helping me.

Time to catch my bus! Keep up the great work, everyone!

i used to suffer with many flat tyres on my mountain bike due to the terrain I was riding on, I the found a product called Stans no tubes. It is a US product and you pour it in your inner tubes and I have never had another puncture in 2 years!

[awakenedsoul]

i used to suffer with many flat tyres on my mountain bike due to the terrain I was riding on, I the found a product called Stans no tubes. It is a US product and you pour it in your inner tubes and I have never had another puncture in 2 years!

Davidwd, Stans no tubes. I'm going to google that. Thanks for the tip! I just spent almost $40.00 buying tuff tube, expensive inner tubing, and paying for labor to redo both wheels of the bike trailer. This is supposed to be saving me money. (We have thorns everywhere this time of year.) However, there is a very nice English man who's been helping me at the bike shop. Reminds me of when I had a crush on my mechanic. This is cheaper. I did end up dating the mechanic. Who knows what will happen?

[Davidwd]

Davidwd, Stans no tubes. I'm going to google that. Thanks for the tip! I just spent almost $40.00 buying tuff tube, expensive inner tubing, and paying for labor to redo both wheels of the bike trailer. This is supposed to be saving me money. (We have thorns everywhere this time of year.) However, there is a very nice English man who's been helping me at the bike shop. Reminds me of when I had a crush on my mechanic. This is cheaper. I did end up dating the mechanic. Who knows what will happen?

Ha, I hope you end up dating him, you may get a discount!!, the good thing about Stans is that you put it straight in your existing inner tubes.

[awakenedsoul]

Ha, I hope you end up dating him, you may get a discount!!, the good thing about Stans is that you put it straight in your existing inner tubes.

I already got a discount! 50% off the labor of my tuffy tube and inner tube replacement for the trailer. I've been using that for the past couple of years on my mountain bike tires, and it solved the problem. If I have any more trouble, I'll try the Stan's stuff. Good to know that it works for your boys, too, Kimberly. Today I got up at 4:00 a.m. and got my watering done. I worked on my tank top. It's blocked and seamed. Once I finish crocheting the edge of the neckline, it's ready to wear! I took the 7:15 a.m. bus to the co op and picked up my box of organic produce. They gave us some beautiful grapes this time! Had a nice chat with the woman who gives us our orders. Once I got home, I took my dog to the monthly clinic down the street for her rabies shot. It was $18.00. I used the Walkydog and bicycle to get there. Definitely cheaper than a vet visit! We were home before it got too hot, too. I've been watering my fruit trees on a drip at night. Even with the drought, it looks like I'm going to have a nice crop of fruit this year. I've started to pick some of the pomegranates. They're delicious! I ordered 10 lbs. of Valencia oranges for $5.00 from the organic co op. Made a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice this morning. It was very refreshing. I told my neighbor down the street that I'll knit something for her baby. She was SO appreciative! She is VERY pregnant. So, I'm going to look through my stash and get started on some booties, or something. Should be fun...

kimberlyfo, I love hearing about your frugals. My mom saved our old legos, too. My nephews play with them. They're really popular now. I'm glad you can sell yours and make some money.

[rosarugosa]

Hey Brandon: Welcome to the Frugals thread. I am interested in volunteering with my local cat rescue group, but I am worried that I will end up bringing home dozens of cats! So since I'm currently working full-time, I donate money. I would like to donate time as well, but I'm a little bit afraid. Do you have any any concerns/issues along these lines? Or dozens of cats?!

[Brandon]

Hey Brandon: Welcome to the Frugals thread. I am interested in volunteering with my local cat rescue group, but I am worried that I will end up bringing home dozens of cats! So since I'm currently working full-time, I donate money. I would like to donate time as well, but I'm a little bit afraid. Do you have any any concerns/issues along these lines? Or dozens of cats?!

Hi there.... I have 3 cats and that is my limit! I have adopted all 3 cats from shelters and never regret those choices. Volunteering at a shelter can be hard if you are not disciplined (or you WILL end up with 12 cats...), but I find that I gain a lot of joy in seeing them get adopted and those that seem to never leave are those that I spend extra time with. Since I do mainly medical work with cats, I sometimes only see those suffering from various medical issues which can be heartbreaking - but 99.9% of them all heal and get back to normal - just in time for some lucky adopter!

I would certainly never dissuade anyone from volunteering as there are so many things you can do that may not tempt you to adopt..

[TMC]

Big unexpected car repair bill today. $647. to replace rotors and brake pads on a car we recently purchased. It was a certified used car we bought from a dealer who now doesn't want to pay for the repairs. Ugggg, been fighting with them all day.

In the meantime I am tightening the belt even more in case I can't get those slimes to pay. I don't usually agree with name calling but this is why used car dealers get a bad rap.

Dinner tonight is ham and cabbage, I found the ham at the bottom of the freezer and I pulled the cabbage and potatoes from the garden.

I postponed an Amazon order for ink cartridges and flour. I shook the cartridges up and got a few more pages. I am determined to pay cash for everything this month and pay a big hunk on the credit card.

It is definitely going to be a no buy month.....except of course for rotors and brake pads. Ugggg again.

[kimberlyf0]

My guys have all the mountain bikes (except mine) converted to tubeless using Stan's; it's pricey to get started, especially if you race since it's best to have the wheels and tires that are designed for tubeless, but we are no longer buying huge numbers of tubes and patch kits.

I haven't posted lately because I feel like my frugals are the same day in and day out. Cook from scratch, bake bread, muffins, etc., use the library, hang laundry, stay home, etc. But the simplicity works; we met our goal of saving half of DH's take home pay in August, despite having to pay our car and home insurance. September won't be quite as good as we had to make a downpayment on my youngest's braces this week.

We're also working on a major clean, organize, and declutter project, and learned that some of the Lego sets we have are worth quite a bit on ebay, so once we finish the project my boys will rebuild the sets just to make sure all the pieces are present, and then we will sell them on ebay. These are the larger sets that were purchased by or gifted to DH, not the boys, so the funds will go into our savings.

[Davidwd]

My guys have all the mountain bikes (except mine) converted to tubeless using Stan's; it's pricey to get started, especially if you race since it's best to have the wheels and tires that are designed for tubeless, but we are no longer buying huge numbers of tubes and patch kits.

I haven't posted lately because I feel like my frugals are the same day in and day out. Cook from scratch, bake bread, muffins, etc., use the library, hang laundry, stay home, etc. But the simplicity works; we met our goal of saving half of DH's take home pay in August, despite having to pay our car and home insurance. September won't be quite as good as we had to make a downpayment on my youngest's braces this week.

We're also working on a major clean, organize, and declutter project, and learned that some of the Lego sets we have are worth quite a bit on ebay, so once we finish the project my boys will rebuild the sets just to make sure all the pieces are present, and then we will sell them on ebay. These are the larger sets that were purchased by or gifted to DH, not the boys, so the funds will go into our savings.

yes I have found Stans great my MTB is converted to Tubeless but with my road bike I changed the tubes for Continental brand because the Presta valve is removable on Continentals and using the Stans injector put in the required amount, although it increases the weight very slightly the convenience of never having a flat is wonderful.

we are also working on a major clean and have today filled 19 dustbin bags for the charity shop. I have loads to sell on ebay , it is very time consuming but it has just paid for a holiday in Venice! Although most of the high value items have now gone so I will have to work twice as hard to get rid of all the other stuff. All clothes and low value stuff goes to the Charity shop.