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Thread: Belated March Frugals

  1. #51
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    You all are doing great - I'd love free wood chips! Used lots of them at our old place but haven't had any for years... But I have a couple frugals that aren't just the same old stuff! Found some more aged venison in the freezer and have been using it up in burgers, burritos and lasagna - good stuff! And when it was so cold earlier in the winter, the underground pipe for the cellar drain froze, as usual - but for some reason the pit filled up enough for the pump to kick on and it overheated and stopped working. After things thawed, it still didn't work, it just sat there and hummed. Thought we'd have to replace it but DH had a good day, and got it working again, pushing that purchase into the future. (We have floor pumps if needed, lol) Then he's been wanting some sort of device to have upstairs on his bad days to check tv listings, etc. He knows that DD uses our wifi with her old, non-activated phone to do swag bucks so he wanted a phone for internet use. (Our phones are pre-paid and we don't have data) Not really a great idea as he can't use the phone he has (big fingers/tiny keys) but whatever. So I asked a co-worker, who is a serial upgrader, if she had anything for sale and she GAVE me a Gateway netbook. Charged it up, works great. DD downloaded free virus protection and he should be good to go...woohoo!!

  2. #52
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    Great score on the wood chips!

    Zach is contemplating changing jobs. He has one offer and two people who have invited him to submit his resume. We are really praying about what is the right option for him. Staying at his current job is an option too. We are kind of leaning towards one that would consider letting him do four, ten hour shifts and have an extra day off every week. It would save us money on gas, both because we would be driving to work one less day and because that company's jobs are usually closer to our house. Then he would have a free day each week that he could use either to work on his side jobs, or for family stuff like doctors appointments, field trips or home projects. His side work has become a major thing for us, and he eventually wants to work for himself, so we want to keep building that. I am really excited about this. The pay is the same, but shaving nearly a weeks worth of gas expense off our budget every month (possibly more because of the distance) would be very helpful, and the extra day off would be fantastic.

    Cheyenne started guitar lessons last night. We can claim the cost of her music lessons and instrument on our state taxes, so that will help cover the cost somewhat, and she is cleaning Grandpa's room for $5 a week to earn money towards her lessons. I think that she will have more invested in it if she earns some of the money herself. Isabella has decided to do fencing as her spring activity. She will also be earning $5 a week towards her lessons. We have decided that we will take activities quarter by quarter. They will commit to three months at a time and after that, it's up to them if they want to continue or try something else. Bella can use the facility's fencing equipment for the first three months, and three months takes us to her birthday, so if she wants to continue and get her own equipment it could be a birthday gift.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

  3. #53
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    March 29

    Stella the new job for Zach sounds like a great deal for your family....

    ---I have been eating 4 meals these past weeks with little or no meat...the food sure does last longer and I am feeling good and lighter...hehe
    --with sales/coupons/price matches/internet matches.... Dd and I paid $75.00 this week for about $150.00 worth of groceries. What we won't use
    we will give to the Food Bank.
    --Using lots of our Ontario veggies that have been on sale really cheap, obviously been in storage since the Fall. e.g. sweet potatoes 5lb for $2.49 and large green cabbage 2/$3.00.
    --now that it is a little and I mean only a little warmer (still way below norm for this time of year) I am managing to keep the heat down.
    We will need to get use to being very cold our Provincial Government has approved rate hikes of up to 40% for Enbridge and Union Gas. They are
    claiming because of the extra cold weather they have used their reserves and have had to pay more. It actually sounds like as of April 1 they are going
    to be able to go back and charge more on bills we have already paid. Crazy!!! So we need to find more money to keep living.
    --I have a very reliable person to clean my windows (too high for us to do) so I am going to ask him if he does caulking, It has not been done since we bought
    5 years ago and must need it. That should help with air and heating.

  4. #54
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    This thread is really inspiring. I had my taxes done last month through VITA/Aarp, too. It's so nice. That used to be one of my bigger expenses. I picked up my box of organic produce from our local co op yesterday. It costs $22.00 and will last me for two weeks. I also got a large bag of organic oranges from them for 60 cents a pound. Made a roasted whole chicken and used up the home made bbq sauce I had made. The leftover chicken went into enchiladas. The sauce was on sale, and I sauteed red peppers and turnips in olive oil to stretch the chicken. Got six enchiladas out of that. Made a nice stock with the carcass. Used some of the broth to make a batch of Mexican rice. Used the rest of it to make vegetable soup. I froze the bones in the freezer to reuse next time I want to make soup. Rode my bike with the dogs to the school nearby and let them run off leash. Worked on some music for auditions. Did yoga/pilates before bed. Worked on a pair of socks I'm giving to my pet sitter who wouldn't accept money. (but who will take a pair of hand knit socks...)

  5. #55
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    I am using up the frozen bones of a chicken I used to make chicken salad for our baptism party. I am making chicken spaetzle soup. To go with it I am making one loaf of parmesan herb bread and one loaf of cheddar herb bread. This is my first major cooking day since I had the baby. It feels good to be getting back into it.

    Friday night my aunt and cousin are coming into town and having dinner with us. I want to make something special, and Fridays are meatless for us. I decided I am going to make honey mustard salmon, salad, roasted carrot soup and homemade bread. The salmon is a little pricier, but the sides are all very economical, and it's all easy to prepare. I have an over abundance of carrots, so I can use those up in the soup.

    Today for lunch we are using up a chicken casserole that I fries before I had the baby. I took out a loaf of almond poppyseed bread I froze to have for breakfast tomorrow.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

  6. #56
    Senior Member cdttmm's Avatar
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    Last day of March so I thought I would check in here with some frugals. I've been quite for for the past week and a half or so about bringing food with me to work. I usually bring three travel mugs filled with green tea, a bottle of water, and stuff to eat. I've been making homemade energy bars, sort of Clif Bar like. They have been really good!!! I've also been focusing on bringing a lot of green salads topped with either chickpeas or hard boiled eggs. Yay for cheap protein sources!!! I've been making the chickpeas in the crockpot. Super easy. I made a batch of yogurt over the weekend. It turned out on the runny side...not sure why...but it's still edible so that's good.

    Went to BJs yesterday because I had a $5 off $75 coupon to use and we were out of many of our usual BJs items. Stocked up on cheese, tortilla chips, and toilet paper. Took advantage of the cheaper prices for a few produce items: avocados, sweet peppers, bananas. Then at the check out I got a coupon for $5 off $50. Wow, 10% off, can't turn that down! So I'll take a trip back next week and stock up on some more cheese. It's the one thing I know is always cheaper to buy there. I should really make a price book...

    Eagerly awaiting more spring weather so that we can finally stop heating the house. And so that we can garden and enjoy the great outdoors!!!
    The brain is wider than the sky. -- Emily Dickinson

  7. #57
    Senior Member fidgiegirl's Avatar
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    A friend added me to a great neighborhood swap group on FB and we bought a tray with a spring-loaded divider that holds breastmilk bags upright. Cost $2. I am more excited about the selling possibilities. Also lots of great kids stuff. I think a lot of the members are SAHM, you gotta act fast to get the good stuff! A nice alternative to Craigslist because the geography variable is removed.

    Have a lot of energy tonight, so going to organize some baby stuff. My sister and brother-in-law came and helped us move around some furniture so now we can really settle things in where they are meant to end up (at least to start with as we figure this business out). It will also help us see what we need to return from showers.

    I used gift cards, a discount coupon and some price cuts to order a camera package, ear thermometer and some swaddling blankets from Target. Ok, so we could have passed on the swaddling blankets. But dang they are cute. Now hopefully the baby likes to be swaddled. This week sometime we are going to go to REI and use a combination of a discount coupon, dividend (from putting a bunch of house projects on our credit card last summer), and gift cash to get a jogging stroller. It will be cheaper than buying a used one because of the discounts - they hold their value really well for used resale. Hopefully we will like it.
    Kelli

    My gluten free blog: Twin Cities Gluten Free
    Our house remodel blog: Our Fair Abode

  8. #58
    Senior Member SiouzQ.'s Avatar
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    cdttmm: do you have any recipes for the homemade "Cliff" Bars? I love those things, but even with my discount at work they are .79 ea. I know I can make them for cheaper!

  9. #59
    Senior Member fidgiegirl's Avatar
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    I did a non-spend tonight. I was going to go get drawer dividers and shelf liner from Ikea for setting up the baby's dresser. I just wiped out the drawers and stacked things up. It will be fine without the accessories.
    Kelli

    My gluten free blog: Twin Cities Gluten Free
    Our house remodel blog: Our Fair Abode

  10. #60
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    Last day of March and actually nice enough to really enjoy a walk in the sunshine!!!!

    --Yesterday used up a pkg. of gravy mix with a few pork chop and made a large batch of root veggies....potatoes/onion/celery/carrot and
    today chopped up leftover chops (small amount) added gravy to veggies and topped with a couple of fried eggs for supper tonight...yummy
    --End of month without topping up the gas in the car will need to tomorrow but that means I skipped a month will need to keep stretching it out.
    --grapefruit bought on sale and wasn't eating so I juiced them, and froze as ice cubes they made an amazing drink with white wine...
    --finally able to not run the heat with the higher temps....yeah

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