June Frugals

[flowerseverywhere]

time to start a new month-

Since we are getting ready to move I am cleaning out all the kitchen cabinets and fridge and making do with what food we have on hand. Eating down the freezer contents and just starting to harvest the garden has cut our food bill way down.

DH listed a bunch of stuff that has been hanging around unused for years and took in over $1000 plus what he sold to neighbors. Plus receipts we got for donations for tax purposes.

[danna]

June1 so far today....
---all spreadsheets from May are up to date and June's are started...check book balanced--I find it helps to do this early in the month
--leftover pasta from the freezer for lunch
--joined the clutter challange on the Organizing Forum....this will give me things to sell/give away and will make for a more organized house which always seems to help to know what I have and use it up.
--someone on this site suggested cutting up really old teatowels/t-shirts and keeping them under the sink to have the one last use instead of throwing them out.....great for cleaning out greasy pans the one last thing I was using paper towels for.

[lucas]

Hello all!

This is my first month joining in this section of the forum, and I'm very glad to be here! Since I first got interested in simplifying my life and cutting down my consumption, I've done pretty well at decluttering, but I have to confess I havent made much progress on the other (and arguably more important) front of minimizing my spending and consumption... This month I'm going to keep detailed daily records of my expenditure, and classify it into 'necessary', 'justifiable' and 'unnecessary' spending... While I could go for a simple 'necessary vs unnecessary' categorization, I don't want to go too far into self-imposed deprivation, and arguably all spending, with the exception of water and a few vegetables, could be deemed 'unnecessary'... Anyway, it will be learning process... This is my first real attempt to cut down on the wasteful day-to-day spending that in the past wreaked so much havoc in my life - all thos years being a 'good little consumer' - eeeek! ... wish me luck! I'm glad you guys are all here - I figure I can learn a lot from you! Hopefully I may even to provide one or two useful contributions myself...

Hugs,
Lucas

[loosechickens]

Well, we are killing the satellite TV once again.....the "special half price deal" they gave us last year is about to run out, and we are philosophically opposed to paying full price for the basic package. So there's thirty-some bucks a month to add into the "frugality" pile. Thankfully, it runs out the week AFTER the last Mad Men episode, and while it will be hard to live without the Daily Show, I watch little else, so will hardly be noticed in the ripples of life.......

Our problem is that we kill the satellite TV, get used to not having it, then they start sending emails "we want you back and here is a special deal", and once the special deal gets down to about thirty bucks a month, we start saying, well, a buck a day just in case we WANT to watch something might be nice, and then we sign up for another (usually 10 month to one year) special deal and are off to the races again.........

[LilyB]

I'm joining this month. We have some major expenses coming up for the house, and I've been looking for places where we can cut costs.

So far, I'ved cancelled 3 magazine subscriptions: less money going out and less clutter coming in. Then I stopped the DVD's from Netflix although we can still watch on-line.

We consider ourselves pretty frugal, but some things sneak in and we mindlessly continue them even after theyare no longer enjoyed.

[fidgiegirl]

Welcome, lucas and LilyB!!

Every little thing adds up! Glad you are in for some frugality

[rosarugosa]

Flowers: Your downsizing is amazing, and the $1000. is excellent! I wish you a smooth move!
Danna: I don't think I'll ever give up paper towels, but I have been using dishtowels and cloth napkins more & more, and I like the idea of using the most raggedy rags for one last dirty job. Making paper towels last a lot longer is a good goal for me.
LC: Good to hear from you. I think that actually sounds like a smart strategy in that you're at least always getting a deal on the sattelite service.
Nice to have you join us, Lily & Lucas!
Lily: We subscribe to a lot of magazines, but we really read and enjoy them, and we pass them along in a very systematic fashion, so they don't clutter up our lives. I do have them firmly categorized as a want though, and I know that if we really needed to cut something, they could go.
Lucas: Do you do online bill payments? That's one of my favorites, because it involves no sacrifice whatsoever, although the dollar savings are small. Our big-dollar wins have been: 1.) avoidance of recreational shopping (greatly diminished but not gone completely. But now I pick and choose, and save up for when I'm going to be in one of my favorite shopping places, e.g. vacation, Portland, annual crafts fair, etc. When there, I think long and hard about what I'm willing to bring into my small home, how much I really want it and I'm less quick to part with my hard earned dollars), 2.) eating almost all of our meals at home (eating out is a special occasion, and we surprisingly don't feel deprived with this one; it helps that DH is a wonderful cook) 3.) general attitude shift to where saving is good, almost a game, and spending is more of a necessary evil or occasional indulgence).
Over the past few years, we have drastically reduced our income by allowing DH to trade a HSSJ for a pleasant, seasonal part-time job that pays little, while at the same tiime increasing our savings and general satisfaction with our lives.
I think my best frugal to report for today is that we didn't eat out or get take-out at all last month, and I'd better mention it now because tomorrow night we're going to a concert on the NH seacoast not far from the place with the lobster BLTs

[fidgiegirl]

(Newbies: HSSJ="Horrible Soul Sucking Job")

[fidgiegirl]

We were in a garage sale mood today and since Roseville was having their city-wide, we drove up that way.

Scored a few deals:
- 3 nice greeting cards for .75 - two for immediate needs and one for the stash
- 7 shade perennials for $25 (see Rosemary! Told you I'd be tempted!)
- A box of walker parts that DH will resell online - $1
- A brand-new cutting board and coaster set with cardinals that will be for one of our mothers, both of whom have birthdays this month - $8
- Dyno labelmaker refills, two-pack - $1. Now if we wanted we could return the one we just bought from Target. A two-pack will last us a long time. They are about $8 new.
- A big stack of card envelopes for .25. We make some of our own cards but don't always have envelopes, so that was a good one
- A gag item for DH's boss's going away celebration - .50

All in all, a decent outing, and we enjoyed the weather!

[Rosemary]

Kelli, I wasn't planning to buy anything, but I also left with 7 plants. Skipped all the yard sales, though - I had DD in tow and knew that getting through the plant expo might be taxing enough.

It worked so well a couple of weeks ago to grill for dinner for several nights that we're doing it again. Having just about everything we need for dinner prepped and in the fridge really gives me a lot more free time - about an hour/day - so I can work in the garden, bike and do other activities with DD. Plus, it's a more efficient use of the grill's propane.

We have to bring something for our church's taco bar tomorrow. In past years I've signed up and brought chicken taco filling. This year it was DH's responsibility and he ignored all the emails until 2 days ago. Result? Only thing left was refried beans - which I make from scratch. 1# dried pinto beans, an onion, some spices... about $1.50, a lot cheaper than making chicken for a crowd (not to mention easier... shredding a few pounds of chicken makes the hands and arms really tired).

DD had a sleepover last night. I've known these girls since they were toddlers and so have honed my kid-feeding skills so there was very little food waste... very small initial portions - seconds are better than wasting.

Decided to drop one destination from our upcoming visit-all-the-midwestern-friends-and-relatives roadtrip to save a night of hotel costs, and give us an extra day at the in-law's.