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  1. #1
    Yppej
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    July Frugals

    On a hot humid day I am planning ahead and wrote out a check prepaying for my home heating oil for the season so I can lock in a lower rate.

  2. #2
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Well we made it through the first day of July without any financial indiscretions. All we bought were groceries and those came in just within budget.
    Yppej: We also heat with oil. That sounds like it is probably a better deal than what we get. This year, we will be charged a $139 fee to lock in a price cap of $2.45 per gallon. If the price goes lower, we will pay the lower price, but it's guaranteed that we won't pay any higher. I don't think our oil company is the cheapest around, but they are honest and reliable, which is important if your furnace dies on xmas day or something, and yes, that has happened to us. I know there was also a time several years back when oil prices went through the roof, and I heard that a lot of companies were not honoring their price caps, but ours always did and we really came out on top that year. Who would have thought that paying for your home utilities would come to feel playing for high stakes at a casino?

  3. #3
    Yppej
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    I know, and I am not a gambler by nature. I locked in for no fee at $1.999/gallon. The company does have an out in case of terrorist attack or other serious supply disruption. They don't do maintenance, only deliver the oil, but I have used them for years and one of their employees lives on my street. I did double check and they still have a A+ rating from the BBB with no complaints, but prepaying always makes me a little nervous.

  4. #4
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    We locked in last year at 1.65 for propane. This reminds me to get on the stick and find that letter and lock in again. . .

  5. #5
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    For July 1 st.....Belated Happy 150th Birthday to us! Can't believe all the noise last night with
    home Fireworks...also can't believe how much people spend on these things (city does have a much better public display that is free).
    Also, they are not environmental at all and of course every year there are the accidents with them.

    --Stat Holiday so all the stores where closed that helps with a no spend day.
    --used up some cooked chicken that was in the freezer for tacos still some left for lunch today
    --I sorted all the DVD's and put all but, 2 in the give away or sell box and then did the same with all of my books and magazines.
    Except I made an extra pile to look through and clip before I toss. Makes to really glad I only buy them at church sales/garage sales.
    I am trying to do the Marie Kona thing with sort all of one type of thing at a time...by type rather then location. It sort of makes sense
    because I did find books/mags in most rooms of the house.
    --reading a free book from the library
    --got some exercise doing some yard work.....I have learned this summer that if I stick to 30/40 minutes at a time the old back
    does not act up....lol...getting old is the pits!

    Glad you are all locking in for your oil it feels like there maybe be issues this winter. I am on Natural Gas and the price is what it is.
    NOT as good as it once was. We did the lock in years ago and once it worked in our favour and once it didn't. They don't seem to be
    doing it anymore.

  6. #6
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Trying to watch the dollars more carefully this month.

    I think I mentioned earlier that our Comcast bill went up *again*, about 10%, so some of today will be devoted to determining if we can drop a performance tier or if it's worth looking at CenturyLink again. In Comcast's favor, the performance has gone up significantly since we started with them, but I can't remember the last time that wireless-network issues in the house were their issue; usually it's something we're doing that saturates the network. So we likely can get by with "slower" broadband Internet access.

    Lunch for me today was a tofu-and-green-bean stir-fry made with tofu a week past it's "Best by" date. No issues at all with it. (If I never post again here, though, you'll know what happened lol). I have to remember what I bought to make dinner. We're still plowing through protein sources in the freezers to empty them out for the end of August, when new crops come in. So whatever it is likely is still in the freezer. The microwave does a great job of defrosting, so I don't get caught short for meals ($$) often.

    I filled out the forms to mail for our Menard's 11% rebate. It was all stuff we needed and a stockup of some consumable items that never go on sale by themselves. It's not a lot of money back (actually, it's none at all since it's a merch credit), but ten bucks is ten bucks.

    I'm trying to keep the A/C off today. High is scheduled to be near 80, which is fine, but our neighborhood, like danna's, loves its fireworks. Our dog, however, does not, even with the A/C on, the windows closed, a fan and the TV or stereo on, and a doggie Xanax in her. Last night somebody set off a solid five-minute barrage of loud BOOMs. One wonders at the willingness to spend that kind of money, but apparently it addresses a need of theirs. I'll close the windows come nightfall.

    That's it -- short month so far.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  7. #7
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    WE found we save $ by only doing 1 big grocery shop a month. Now we do have to go for fruits, milk, eggs etc in between but then we just dash in and get only what is needed. No spend today as we both stayed home and cleaned. It does require me to think ahead for the whole month about what I want to make. We went to a festival yesterday that was not cheap by the time we ate, drank and bought a few things from the vendors. The vendors used to be low quality but the past 5 years have really good things for a good price.

  8. #8
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Yesterday was a definite frugal lapse. We took my Mom for an MRI appointment and she wanted to go out to eat afterwards. She was planning to pick up the tab, but we split it with DSIS since Mom is always picking up the tab. The 4 of us had a nice meal together, which is great, but eating out is my family's way of celebrating/sharing time together, and it tends to be an expensive one.
    DH is working today and I'll most likely be spending the day alone, so I should be able to keep it frugal. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish and a book to pick up at the library.

  9. #9
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    Not sure this actually falls under frugal - but it definitely saved some money. SIL is doing sales for a roofs/windows/siding company, and they do lots of incentives to keep the salespeople motivated. He was just shy of getting a sizable quarterly bonus. So we worked it where basically he's offered to buy me new windows for my dining room (the current ones are in awful shape). He gets most of his bonus and I get some free windows :-)

  10. #10
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Creaker: I think that's an amazing frugal! Good for you!

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