Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 30

Thread: July Frugals

  1. #1
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,169

    July Frugals

    We have other threads that touch on purging etc but no July frugal.

    I prepaid my upcoming trip to Japan including all airport limousine pickup etc so am replenishing my discretionary budget which took a significant hit.
    It is always amazing how watching every penny makes such a difference. How can I forget this so easily?

    Yesterday as with other recent outings, I take tea in a thermal mug to go plus one filled for the trip back. I pack a tasty lunch so have no desire to buy anything when out regardless of how tempting treats look because my appetite is satisfied. I used to do this all the time but got out of the habit. I feel more comfortable getting back in the savings groove which is really easier and familiar.
    I find that getting back on the savings mode has made me aware of what I am eating as well. Is it just a general increase of self-awareness?

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    I really really want to go out for Shrimp Pad Thai. We got our CSA Wednesday and we have plenty of food in the fridge as well as the freezer. So Tuesday night I made pesto pasta with sauted baby turnips/zucchini and a chicken sausage. Last night I avoided that by making fresh potato salad and burgers for dinner.

    Today: I don't have bread and I'm out of WW flour so can't make any. I've never done a breakfast burrito. So I went for it. Scrambled eggs, chopped ham, cheddar cheese. Oh my it was fantastic! lunch I finished off leftover veggies and ate a rice cake. For tonight I've thawed out salmon and chicken for grilling and I just made a broccoli salad and there is still potato salad-hubby's favorite food group

    Each month we pull $300 for our cash drawer. We still haven't finished off the May $ so we're doing great! June saved $300!

  3. #3
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Eastern Massachusetts
    Posts
    8,143
    Wow, I can't believe we made it to 7/13 without a frugals thread!
    Razz, that is so impressive about pre-paying your trip. We've pre-paid our hotel for our week in the Berkshires and I'm accumulating cc reward $$ to pay for meals and expenses, but that isn't quite as impressive as a trip to Japan. Kudos!
    Gardnr, That is amazing on the food front! I do still have the 2018 goal of learning to cook 3 things, but I think I'll wait for the fall and cooler weather, hehe. DH is making a pizza tonight, and we took chicken out of the freezer to marinate and grill tomorrow. We came in under budget on groceries the past two weeks, but the full disclosure is that I'm saving that extra because I want to go out for lobster rolls Sunday night. So that really might not be as frugal as it initially appears. I have it in my head that I was starved, tortured, and deprived last weekend (colonoscopy prep) and so I deserve a lobster roll, dammit.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
    I have it in my head that I was starved, tortured, and deprived last weekend (colonoscopy prep) and so I deserve a lobster roll, dammit.
    TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. #5
    Yppej
    Guest
    I bargained down my satellite radio bill from $111 to $38 for 6 months since I didn't get the job closer to home. It helps with the commute.

    Like some of you I have also started saving for my next vacation hopefully in spring 2019.

    The prepaid oil contract has not come put yet for the upcoming heating season, but I have been saving for that as well.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    Hubby got the satellite TV down $22/month. He's a TV junkie so TV is not optional because we can afford it. The upside is that Dish can be viewed over computer so we do that at the cabin and don't have to pay in both homes.

    Hub's Xterra was in for servicing today. He feared it needed brakes. Nope! Wohoo!!!

    My charity quilt group meets tomorrow. 24 mile round trip. A friend offered me a ride. Yippee!

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    6,255
    I have an original Kindle Fire that Amazon no longer provides updates for. I can still read my books and watch my own videos, but any newer apps or accessing the internet is difficult. I do an online sight to earn paypal gift cards, but rarely buy anything with them. So, in preparation for an upcoming trip, I bought a new Samsung tablet using the paypal earnings. I will be able to travel with all my books, a few games and still be able to contact home! I haven't gotten a new "toy" in a long time so I'm really pleased with this.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  8. #8
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    14,637
    Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
    and so I deserve a lobster roll, dammit.
    Please don't put that in my head. The town I was raised in is the Home of the Hot Lobster Roll so it is my birthright to eat them whenever I want.

    In terms of frugals, I am still trying to stabilize from the expense of the move over the past few months. We aren't eating out, and I'm harvesting what I can from my garden--meaning greens (lettuce, kale, chard). That, with some grains like quinoa makes for a good meal.

    I have also done online subscription tracking (as I talked about in another thread), and after a month I was horrified to find I had auto-pays to the tune of $366!!! Talk about mindless spending! I had no idea it was that much. Some of that (about $90) is business related and I can't stop those, but what about the others!?? So I've put them all in an Excel spreadsheet and designated them Keep, Reduce, & Unsubscribe and this weekend I'm going to tackle that list.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  9. #9
    Yppej
    Guest
    Ordered checks online with a promo code for about half what the bank would charge me.

    Am gracefully accepting produce from other people's gardens. Only my tomatoes are doing much so far.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,069
    July 14 frugals to date
    Thanks for starting the post....even if I don't get around to writing on here I always read and
    it is inspiring.
    Continuing to use coupons, collect points, do surveys, check out sales and anything else I can do to
    up these streams of income.
    Posting on KIJIJI and Etsy and have sold one item so far. My thought is that if things don't sell after awhile
    they are packed up out of closets/drawers and ready to go to charity. But, every little sale adds to my income.
    I am still trying to lose weight so I am being very aware of my food portions and it surprising how much further the
    food goes. Have not spent much on food in the last two months.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •