April daily frugal's

[Stella]

Zach and I have challenged each other to be as frugal as possible this month, just to see how much we can save. We have food in abundance. Just sitting in my freezer right now I have frozen meals enough to last the entire week and several other people have told me that they are bringing over dinners. Tonight was chicken parmesan. All I can think of that I need from the store is maxi pads and band-aids. That's about $6 worth of stuff.

The shawl I have is going to work perfectly well for breastfeeding coverage, at least until summer. I think if I need something by then I'm just going to make it from a vintage sheet. I have a million of those on hand already.

I found a recipe for dish soap that makes a gallon of it from 2 cups of soap flakes, 1/2 a cup of lemon juice and a gallon of water. When I run out of dish soap I'm going to give it a try.

Cheyenne's birthday party is going to happen this month and the plans have changed to become cheaper. She's so into the rollerblading thanks to a full month of time to practice that she wants to just do that part of the party and invite more people to it. That part was $5 a kid, the laser tag part was $10 a kid. This is much, much cheaper without the laser tag. She's requested cupcakes with pink frosting decorated with little clouds of cotton candy. I could make those in my sleep.

I think I've reached that place of "enough" at the moment. It's lovely.

[lhamo]

I'm quite pleased with how our budget has been going the first part of the year -- we are under budget in most categories, significantly so in several. Don't feel like we've been scrimping on anything, either. Hopefully this month we can keep up the momentum.

This could have been a spendy weekend, as the kids are out of school for five days straight, but so far we are doing pretty good. Took them to the dentist on Friday -- no cavities, and copays for all three of us to get our teeth cleaned were only about $32.50. Had lunch at home, then had free pizza for dinner at a work event. Saturday morning I splurged on treats at Starbucks for them for breakfast as a way of bribing them to go to a used book sale nearby. Unfortunately the kids section was insanely packed, and we all were too claustrophobic to stay long, so they didn't get anything. But I got a bag full of adult books, including the whole Twilight series and a set of Barbara Kingsolver's novels, plus a couple of mysteries and Barbara Ehrenreich's latest book. 13 books for about $21, and plenty of reading to keep me from buying too many books for my Kindle. The Kindle has turned out to be a great tool, too -- I've been finding lots of free books I am interested in, so even though I have a list of things I want to buy, I am easily limiting it to 1-2 books/month.

Yesterday we had lunch at home, then I had to take DS to a friend's. Did splurge on a taxi on the way there and an ice cream for his sister on the way home, and a few DVDs. But took the bus part of the way home and took the bus again to pick him up and come back.

Just finished lunch at home. So we're most of the way through the weekend without eating out for lunches/dinners.

The tail end of this week is going to be a challenge. Our helper is accompanying the other lady she works for on a business trip Wed-Sun, which means we'll need to figure out dinner. I may have to forego workouts several days so that I can prepare something when I get home. But even if we end up ordering in a couple of nights, we have saved on eating out this weekend so should be well within our budget.

lhamo

[Rosemary]

I completed the seasonal clothing switch this morning. Shorts and summer shirts out of the old steamer trunk, sweaters and long johns into it. This is frugal because it allows me to see all of our summer clothes before I actually want to wear them, and I can say that none of us need anything at all for summer. I also went through the bin of clothing purchased on clearance for DD in larger sizes, pulled out items for this summer, and noted that I already have everything she will need for the next school year.

Stella, could you let me know the name of the rollerblading place?

[Stella]

Great score on the books Lhamo!

Travis has been exclusively on breastmilk for over 24 hours now, so nursing is going well!

I've had a very nice, simple morning. I got up before the troops and made cheese omelets and English muffins. I also took a canteloupe my dad had bought and made melon balls to make it easier for the kids to eat it. I had the coffee set up last night, so I had a nice hot cup of coffee while I had my morning prayer and meditation time. Zach and I ate a nice quiet breakfast together and the kids ate later when they woke up. The omelets were a hit.

Tonight's dinner is stuffed shells I made before I had the baby and a salad mix the neighbor brought over.

The boys are napping now and the girls are playing together so I'm going to take a nap. There is so much loveliness about today. It's defintely one of those "the best things in life are free" moments.

[Stella]

Rosemary, the place she is going to is Saints North in Maplewood. On Saturday mornings they have kids skate time for $5.

[Kat]

@fidgie--we are in the midst of a huge home remodel. We don't have a kitchen right now, so we have to cold food that is easy to prepare or food that can be easily cooked in the microwave (I miss my stove!).
@rosa--I know what you mean! Some foods do not freeze well, and even those that do don't always taste as good as they do fresh. I find that wrapping my food really well helps to cut down on freezer burn or that weird "freezer taste." I also date things and make a freezer inventory list so I know what is in there and what needs to be eaten up first. I usually make a meal plan ahead of time (asking for DHs input on what he feels like eating), which gives me lots of time to thaw stuff (I usually don't have much luck thawing in the microwave). It isn't too often that I thaw something and then don't feel like eating it, but if I do, I allow myself only a one-day reprieve and make something quick like eggs and toast or something. Then the next day I force myself to cook and eat whatever I thawed so it doesn't go bad.

Not too much to report. I am wanting to spruce my patio up for spring. Fell in love with some stuff from Pottery Barn but am not loving the price ($49 for a pillow? really?). So I think I will try to use PB as inspiration only and try to use some things I have around here. I might recover some old pillows with fabric I have laying around and make some lanterns out of tin cans and/or glass jars. I am going to take inventory of my flower pots, too, and brainstorm some ways to paint them or pretty them up.

[mira]

Mira, when you have a spare $5 or $10 - or more - simply donate it to your local library fund or foundation. Then you can assuage your guilt AND get a tax deduction!

Hehe, good idea!

[bke]

Finally sold the coffee machine for $200.

Recieved a $38 refund from AT&T. They overcharged us on the final phone bill at the old house.

Recieved a $54 rebate in the mail for a product we use at work.

We've ate at home the last 4 nights in a row.

I bought gas at the station across the street after taking ds to school and realizing all the other local stations were 24 cents higher a gallon.

[rosarugosa]

Stella, Glad to hear that you're home!
Kat, It sounds like you have a good system; thanks for sharing. I think groceries are the area we need to tackle next. We spend quite a bit for a two-person household and we waste a fair bit as well. I finally persuaded DH to try the bread crumb cookie recipe. Let's just say that they were "interesting." Definitely not a new family favorite!
BKE, Sounds like you've done well recently with significant savings related to your business, and it's nice that the cheap gas station is the one right near you.

[Stella]

I think tomorrow we are going to to on a field trip. Zach is off of school and the older kids need to have a little fun. I'm coming up with free ideas. I was thinking possibly the sculpture garden at the Walker art museum or the art park in Franconia might be fun since it's supposed to be pretty warm tomorrow. Also, possibly a nature center might be fun. We'll pack a picnic and be back in time to drop Bella off at school. She's going on a field trip to the more traditional art museum on Friday, so that's what got me thinking about the sculpture garden and art park. My sister owns an art gallery and runs an arts education non-profit. This kind of thing runs in their blood.

We pulled out the base 10 blocks I bought a couple of weeks ago. I think the math manipulative splurge is going to prove to be a frugal purchase after all. I could see the wheels turning in Cheyenne and Bella's heads and they were fascinated. They were experimenting on their own and having fun with the blocks for well over an hour. Zach posed them questions and they were eagerly answering them. I could see them making the mental connection between math and real life. This morning they asked if we can use them again today. I spent about $60 on the manipulatives and I think I'll get my moneys worth out of them with four children.