October Frugals (2014)

[Selah]

Still giving stuff away and making people very happy with their frugal acquisitions. Jeez, HOW did we collect so much crap in three short years? I enjoyed having it, but also don't need it and don't miss it now that it's gone. Now, everything I get rid of means one more piece of freedom. And the ridiculous thing is, I know myself well enough to know that when I get to Bellingham, we'll get into acquiring stuff again...until the next move. Lather, rinse, repeat. Clearly, acquiring things are, for me, more a psychological issue than an economic, rational one!

[lessisbest]

I've been doing something since August 2012 where, other than groceries, I only shop every other month. Even though I'm a very thrifty person, I thought it was a good concept so I was even more conscious of what our true "needs" are, could save wear and tear on my car, so for me the whole month of October is a no-shopping month. This means I will need to finish Christmas shopping in November, and it's really wonderful not having to fight the crowds in December. This leads to taking advantage of after Christmas specials/sales in January when I can shop again.

After the first year it quickly became clear I was out of the shopping habit and would only shop the first and last week of a shopping month, so I was essentially reducing shopping by another 25%. I keep a running list of things I will need on a shopping month on my "Wait & See List" which gives me time to question every purchase. I think the key to this was when hubby and I got to the point we realized we require less, therefore we will be happy with less.

[fidgiegirl]

Selah, I had to look up "making Aliyah" and went down a whole rabbit hole of new-to-me information. There are as many Jews in North America as in Isreal?! Amazing. Sounds like things are going well for your move and for yours, too, Gardenarian.

No frugals to report! Boo!

[rosarugosa]

Selah: You have rescued so many things from the waste stream, and if you're finding them good homes now, that totally sounds like a good thing to me!
Lessisbest: That every other month plan sounds interesting. I think we could implement something similar. I'll have to ponder that.
No frugals here either. I've been pretty spendy lately and need to get back on track!

[cdttmm]

October has been a not-so-frugal month here! Two out-of-town weekends and crazy schedules otherwise have made me feel like all we're doing is spending! Hopefully things will calm down between now and the end of the month. I'm home this morning eating oatmeal with raisins for breakfast and making a pot of green tea to take to work in my travel mugs. I'll have a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch on homemade bread. These little things make me feel like I'm getting back on track with my frugal living. Now just to maintain that approach to life instead of caving in to the spend some money, quick fix solution when things get hectic.

[merince]

Spent the weekend cutting, splitting and stacking wood. Have some more to do - if it all comes together, we shouldn't have to order wood for several years.
Made homemade bread. The only purchase yesterday was for a bag of apples, bananas and cottage cheese.

[Davidwd]

Well I started off well, but I had a trip planned to the South of France. I did use the simple living tips I had picked up though. Instead of eating out cooked many meals at the villa we rented. There was 3 of us from my local sailing club so we split the food and fuel costs - about 1000 miles each way. It was an expensive luxury but the chance of a lifetime to sail in a world championship, so worth it I think. I now need to plan my frugality for the winter, I have been gathering wood and planting the greenhouse with water cress etc. I am always astounded at the high health care costs you have to pay in the US. I am glad I don't have those costs to worry about. We are so lucky to have the national health service in the UK. I am mainly vegetarian now for health reasons and that reduces costs. Just purchased the Tightwad Gazette, lots of frugal tips there.

David

[awakenedsoul]

Went to Panera for knitting today and splurged on a pastry for $3.00. I gave out home grown fruit to the ladies there. Many of them have never eaten a persimmon. Worked on my blanket that I'm making for my mom. I'm almost done. I bought a 10 lb. bag of potatoes for $1.89. Misread the flyer and I got my days wrong, tomorrow they are only .99! Oh well. Still a good deal. Bought some herbs at Sprouts in bags and transferred them into my herb jars at home. (Things like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg...that I can't grow.) I figured it was cheaper to make my own Thanksgiving coffee. (They had a pumpkin spice coffee that I wanted, but I decided to just add the spices to what I have.) Broccoli was on sale, so I'm making broccoli with cheese sauce tonight. Will reheat the brown rice with soy sauce that I made last night. My salad garden is doing well, but I'm eating through it too quickly. I have some seeds for mesclun greens in my stash. I'll plant those tomorrow. This morning I got out and fed warm, black, homemade compost to my freshly planted vegetable garden. I top dressed some of my flowers, too. They perked up and the colors look gorgeous. I planted them around the mailbox so the mail lady has a nice view on her route. I gave her some fruit, too. Now that the weather is cooler, I can tend to my plants each day. They seem relieved that the dog days of Summer are over! I know I am. Slipped on a llama and silk sweater that I had knitted when it got too cool for me on the bus today. The air conditioning was on really high. I was glad I came prepared. Using the bike and taking public transportation have become second nature. Last night I hand washed one of the cotton/linen tanks I knit. I did it in the sink with some homemade liquid goat's milk soap. Using my Nina spinner, it was dry in time to wear to knitting. The lemons are now ripe enough to use in lemonade and cooking. Soon I will be making lemon curd and lemon bars! Didn't realize that I actually do have some tiny guavas on my tree. They are just late this year. Tomorrow I will feed them some compost. They're my absolute favorite fruit. How's everyone else doing?

[frugal-one]

Got organic potatoes today for $0.99 per pound, organic green pepper and organic pears on sale too.

Got a small chili at Wendy's (before I went grocery shopping) and found out all drinks for seniors are always free ... you just have to say you want a senior drink. So I had a decaf coffee. Was a nice surprise.

Went through winter clothes and found I need NOTHING!!!! Have a huge bag to put in the garage sale come spring. Still a few more drawers to go through..... ugh.

[SteveinMN]

We're eating out of the pantry and freezer this week, so I haven't had to shop for a lot of groceries. That should continue into next week.

Most of this week has been no-drive for me, but today I had errands to run. Finally found LED bulbs which will fit DW's favorite lamp. The incandescents in it now burn through 320 watts every hour. LED bulbs aren't that cheap (at least not these specialty bulbs). But these will pay for themselves in lower electricity costs in about three years. And it eliminates the constant little struggle between DW, who lives on a planet on which electricity is free, and me, who hates to see the waste. I'll have to get more of these bulbs; bought only two to try out.

The heat has been off in the house this week; it's a bit chilly in the mornings, but apparently not chilly enough to turn on the bathroom heater overnight. So, good there. It's been a wonderful Indian summer, but we Minnesotans are aware the hammer can drop at any time -- next week they could be calilng for a couple of inches of snow.