October Frugals (2014)

[cdttmm]

Wow -- it's October! Guess it's time to start a new thread for our monthly frugals. September was pretty un-frugal for me, so I'm happy to be kicking off a new month.

[merince]

Well, after lurking for so long, it's time to join in. Time to get rid of lifestyle creep and focus on what's important. Today is a no spending day.

[Davidwd]

Another van load to the Charity shop today, another shed cleared. Feeling quite liberated with all this clutter disappearing!

[awakenedsoul]

That's great David! I cleared out my dresser yesterday. It was my dad's when he was a little boy, and is beautiful wood. I filled a garbage bag full of clothing. It was hard to part with all of my chiffon ballet skirts, but I don't see myself teaching ballet anymore. I did this once before, and then went back to it. (I had to buy all new music and dancewear.) I haven't worn these in three years, so it's time to donate them to someone who will. It feels so good to open my drawers now! There is plenty of space. I love the look of having all all of my hand knit sweaters together; I wear them daily. I'm working on cleaning out a second dresser today. The house feels so much better without things that I'm not using or wearing! It changes the whole atmosphere. Today I'm taking the bus, bike, and bike trailer to Costco. I need to buy baking soda and dog biscuits. I have to break up my Costco runs, now that I'm car free. I defrosted some baby back ribs that were in the freezer. I plan to make a rub with spices and coat them with molasses. I have some homemade bbq sauce in the fridge. I added up my expenses for Sept. yesterday. The total came to $300. under budget, even with a rent a car and cab fare. The little changes really do help, over time. I plan to invest the money that I didn't spend in 2014. Last night I spent some time chatting with my neighbor about health insurance. I am amazed at how much she has to pay. She's a few years older than I am. Living simply has really helped to reduce my premiums and deductibles. It's worth it to me to live at a low income level, rather than having all that money taken out of my paycheck. I've met some really great people while out running my dogs on the Walkydog. Our neighborhood seems to be changing for the better. I see horses, goats, and children playing now, instead of drug deals. It's really enjoyable. Yesterday I filled out my claim form for the City. I had to itemize the amounts for medical and dental care after the bike accident. I need to get a quote on the bonding for my front teeth, and then file the paperwork. Time to shower and go catch the bus!

[danna]

Oct 01
---new furnace is in so I really need to build up the house maintenance fund again as I am also getting some much
needed new flooring in living/dining room in the next couple of weeks not frugal but needed for health reasons
the rugs are very dusty and no amount of cleaning seems to get it out.
Also, put a newer type of filter in Air cleaner hoping that helps. The new furnace should show some savings and I
can get rid of a service plan I have. And, used credit card to pay so some points and getting a $250.00 government rebate,
not much but, something.

--groceries...4 pkg cream cheese on sale $1.97 (far enough dated to use for Christmas backing,) 1 pkg grated cheese Reg. $6.99 on sale 5.99 us a $2.00 coupon $3.99, 1 loaf of bread reg. $3.09 on sale 1.99 used a $2.00 coupon =Free and 1 cucumber and 2 on vine tomatoes
Total only $13.40

--I have totally cleaned out and rearranged my pantry/storage area and inventoried all foods

--cleaned out most of the garden and got one last feed of green beans...still hoping for some Brussels sprouts and squash

[Selah]

This month will be all about giving stuff away and being as frugal as possible. Time to start packing! Am busy eating through the pantry, coming up with all sorts of random concoctions to use up what's there. Will have to start scrounging good packing boxes, though I'm not sure how successful I'll be at that. Time to book some final medical/dental appointments so I can load up on prescriptions, so I won't have to buy them in America. And so it goes...

[flowerseverywhere]

I had gotten out of habit of shopping the food sales. The last few weeks I have per used the sales and built my grocery list around that. Easily cut my grocery bill by 30%.

The he air conditioning has been off (I live in the south) and we will probably only use the heat when it gets extreme. The line drying and efficient solar cooking I do should make our utility bill less than $50 a month all winter.

[merince]

I did end up spending 3.55 for cottage cheese, so I can make mushroom and spinach lasagna in the slow cooker for our lunches and dinner today. Started the poolish for our bread. I will knead tonight and bake in the morning. Tonight, I will also make pizza dough for our Friday night pizza. I am planning on getting a bunch a bananas for fruits.

[danna]

Oct02
--volunteered and brought a snack with me and drank free ice water
--rolled all my loose coin and will take to bank tomorrow savings.
--eaten from pantry and freezer all day.

[Blackdog Lin]

DH went out of town to arrange a meat order today, and if I had gone with him we would have eaten out. So I just packed him on his merry way, stayed home, and made a good homemade lunch for us.

He has to go back tomorrow to pick up the order, and I intend to do the same thing. I'm finding that I only enjoy eating out if we do it rarely, as a treat, a couple times a month. I feel much better eating at home, where I know (for the most part) what is going into our meals, and how healthfully and sanitarily they were prepared. Saving the money is just an added bonus.

[danna]

Oct03
--Did go out to pick up specials at one store, used coupons, bought from the flyer and found frozen
Cranberries on sale for $.50 a bag (the same package fresh were $1.99 frozen will work the same for sauce and breads)
and a few other errands spent very little...was going to pick up a bottle of wine but, it was raining too hard when I
left the store...so I guess that is a frugal...lol
--cleaned out the cupboard in laundry area...now really know how little in cleaning supplies I need.
--posted a bunch of stuff on Kijji for sale...

[fidgiegirl]

Hi all, have been keeping up pretty faithfully with you all even though I haven't had the successes to really post . . .

Had a lovely expensive but very simple day with 14 family members celebrating baby's baptism at the service and then at a delicious buffet. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and no one had to clean our house, deal with stairs to an upstairs bathroom, or battle Twin Cities Marathon traffic to arrive at our place. Win.

Making a chili from tomatoes from our community garden that DH stewed in the crock pot earlier in the week and I milled down tonight. This is my preferred way of doing cooked tomatoes now. No putsing around with removing skins. We use fresh or use this way. Also threw in bits and bobs from the freezer to get some of that used up. No chili powder means we are forced to use up some less favorite seasonings, including some dried chipotles that I've had on hand for years! I think they still have some punch. They smelled like it, anyway.

Need to clean financial house a bit. Realized we have been paying much more interest on our HELOC than what we thought. Going to pay a chunk off and then up the payment to get rid of it. This will be a much bigger savings than random chilis. They definitely have their role, but paying attention to the HELOC-type issues are just such a bigger savings.

I also want to get rid of our annual fee Delta Amex. We aren't flying much anywhere, though we probably will to use up some of our miles. I'd rather get a cashback card or maybe get back to using our REI Visa. At least we spend a lot of $$ at REI anyway. Well, truthfully, I'd rather just use our debit card and simplify that way, but DH really likes a rewards-type card, so I'll pick my battle here. Advice appreciated - do you have one you really like?

One last financial cleanup item that I'd like to tackle this month is starting a 529 for baby. He got some $$ for his baptism and one Grandma/Grandpa said their is specifically for that. We don't plan to go all out on college savings, but it would be nice to put these kinds of wonderful gifts aside for him and not just let them get lost in the household budget. We could also put the $$ that we get from selling his items online aside for his college. Advice also welcome here.

Thanks for being here, friends!

[merince]

The weekend wasn't as frugal as expected. We had to eat out due to a long emergency room visit/stay. Have the meals planned for the rest of the week: chicken nuggets, chili, homemade pizza and chicken noodle soup. Hopefully, we can delay going to the store until next week.

[Aqua Blue]

All of my expenditures so far this month have been at fast food places>8), so not much money out but not particularly healthy either. In my defense, I have had 3 no spend days so far...


I am trying to use up food around the house, today I have a small beef roast, carrots, potatoes, celery and onions in the crockpot. I am hoping not to spend much on groceries this month. It's cool and windy here today, so a roast sounds good.

Otherwise it is the same old stuff. Hung laundry to dry, trying to combine trips, reading books from the library.

[awakenedsoul]

Sounds like everyone is doing really well. I'm doing the same things that most of you are. Today I'll fold my laundry that's on the line, and clean the kitchen with vinegar and water spray. Later on I'll work on my songs and do some yoga. I've really been enjoying the free Internet yoga classes that I found on Sequence Wiz. I do a few of her tapes each week, and love them. Last night I did Kundalini Yoga using a book I've had for 15 years. It's full of different classes that I love. It really energizes me. I started knitting a small blanket using olive green merino wool and alpaca. I bought the yarn on clearance last year. It's gorgeous! The knit 2, purl 2 pattern is easy to do on the bus. Went for a swim this morning. Ran into a friend that I see on the bus each morning. I invited her to take the train with me to Oregon. She loves to travel, and has a great personality. I've been researching Amtrak's coastal line. It goes from LA to Portland. Would be fun to get a sleeper and do the whole experience. I'd love to eat in the dining car, enjoy the scenery, knit, read, and socialize. The lady I met on the bus grew up a few blocks from where I did. Such a coincidence. I plan to stop off in the Bay Area and cook my parents an early Thanksgiving dinner. That way I will avoid the crowds...

[cdttmm]

Trying to get back on track with frugals over here. Brought my three travel mugs of green tea with me to work, plus my lunch. Huge improvement over last week! Then when I was craving something sweet, I had a small piece of chocolate from my stash at work rather than buying something. I ate when I got home from work so that I wontt want to stop for something after my Tae Kwon Do class later when I'm tired and unfocused. We baked bread over the weekend and there is still some left so I'll make a sandwich to take to work for lunch tomorrow. Okay, so I'm getting back on track with my spending when it comes to eating! HA!!!

Got FIVE refund checks in the mail today from when I was overcharged for various doctor's appts over the past year. Turns out they were billing me the wrong co-pay amount so I got back $15 for each of five visits = $75. Woo-hoo!!! Going to deposit the checks on my way to class tonight so that I don't forget about them.

Finally filing my taxes for 2013. I put in for an extension so now it is time to actually get them filed. This is so not the frugal way to do your taxes and this has happened two years in a row. But I think we're back on track and organized now so that we can file normally next year. YES!!!

It's October 6th and no need to use the heat yet. This week looks promising so I'm hoping we can make it to October 15th and perhaps even November 1st.

[Selah]

It was a tiny thing, but I took my friend and her husband down to Haifa for a very important medical appointment he needed. I could have gotten money out of the ATM so I could buy food down there, but instead I planned ahead and brought snacks and drinks. Hospitals being what they are, you never know how long things are gong to take, so it's always good to be prepared. We were told it would take about three hours total, but in fact it was closer to seven. Oof!

[merince]

Selah, I have the same exact experience with hospitals. I am usually surprised when a check-up takes less than a couple of hours.

So far, I am happy with the progress. Chili for dinner tonight. Had a small grocery run for apples and bananas, $7.72. I would probably top off my gas tank tomorrow while gas is staying low and that should be it for this week.

[flowerseverywhere]

For the third time in the past few years we have fought a medical bill and won. This week $133 in my favor after fighting a bill that was billed incorrectly to my insurance. I must have spent four hours on the phone continually following up until a supervisor finally took it off. What makes me mad is I know a lot of people just pay a bill like this but we keep really good records.

I've been really good about cooking so we haven't been tempted to go out. We don't even enjoy going out but sometimes do out of laziness. I know we eat much better at home and avoiding all the fat and salt helps us keep our cholesterol and blood pressure normal without medication

[awakenedsoul]

I've been following the ads each week in the papers, and it's really helping me to save money on groceries. Today I took the bus and bike trailer to Sprouts. I bought a tray of grass fed lamb necks on special for $2.99 a lb., a bag of pears for 50 cents a lb., and 2 bags of organic rainbow carrots. I went over to Valley Produce and bought 2 pineapples for $3.00, a bag of champagne grapes for 88 cents a lb., and a bag of apples for 39 cents a lb. Total spent at both stores: $11.00! I've got a tree full of lemons, oranges, pomegranates, and persimmons, too. It's a good feeling. I plan to make a soup with the lamb necks, and use up my leftover vegetables from the last box.

The VVA came by and picked up a bag of my old clothes and other things I was no longer using. It feels good to donate them to someone in need. I'm going to work on putting together another bag. I've got another dresser to clear. Stopped by Panera and spent an hour with the knitting group. I normally don't eat out, but I had a cup of hot tea. They give you a free refill. It was fun to see what everyone was making. I'm working an a blanket now, with yarn from my stash. My goal this year was not to buy any yarn, just to use what I had bought on sale in 2013. It's worked. I did buy about $25.00 worth of cotton/linen yarn for a tank top. I wear it all of the time, though. It's so cool and comfortable.
Time to make a salad for dinner. How's everyone else doing with their frugals? I enjoy reading all of them. It gives me ideas...

[merince]

I am checking out the grocery store flyers and planning next week's menu. I will need to replenish our staples, so that will be a Sam's run in the middle of next week. I am going to try their click-and-pull feature so I don't deviate from the list while in the store.

[cdttmm]

Did a small grocery shopping run and used a 10% off coupon for my entire purchase. I can only get a the best prices on a few items at that particular grocery chain, so I bought what made sense and nothing else. Bought two books of stamps while at the grocery store -- 10% off didn't apply to stamps, but that's okay -- it saved me a trip to the post office.

Remembered to bring green tea and my lunches to work every day this week so far. And I've been eating up some leftovers and other random items for dinner. My dearly beloved is back from NYC tomorrow so that will mean we'll have to eat actually "meals" for a few days. I think I'll finally make the package of mushroom risotto that we have kicking around. I normally make it from scratch, but I really want this package gone and out of my pantry! I think Friday will be homemade pizza.

Not much else to report. Weather is still holding so no heat just yet. Laundry could stand some improvement, but if my greatest unfrugal is using the clothes dryer than I'll take it!!! :~)

[early morning]

Took the day off to do my yearly health checkups. It's considered preventative care so there's no co-pay, plus I can enter the data online to help earn points for my discount on NEXT year's health insurance. Gas is down, so I filled up my tank for $2.96 a gallon, which is the cheapest it's been in a while. DH got the blades on the mower finally, so he should be able to do the last mowing of the year soon. It's mostly to chop up the leaves - we are SO not leaf raking people! :|( DB cooked us all dinner at Mom's tonight and I brought home some left-overs. Got my Amazon order in today - cat food and a speaker for DD's walkman (her car has a cassette player, not a CD player, and the cassette thingy she had that her Walkman plugged into so she could play CDs in her car broke.... this is her cheap fix) - paid for with my Amazon VISA points. AND the cat food is cheaper there, no tax, free shipping. I do like Amazon!

[SteveinMN]

Today will not be a frugal day. But it is a happy day because my stepdaughter is getting married. This is the kind of thing we save money for. She got what she wanted for her day within budget and we're just going to enjoy it all (and hope it happens only once :))!

[frugal-one]

Congrats SteveinMN..... Hope it is all you and she want the day to be!!!

[fidgiegirl]

A Friday wedding - typically a frugal move! Well done to DSD! :) And of course, congratulations as well!

[SteveinMN]

Thank you! It was a joyous ceremony and the reception was great fun, too. I think the only hitch came with the lighting of the unity candle but no one got burned or spilled wax on themselves so it's all good. :)

Kelli, the wedding was on Friday because Saturday was taken and DD/DSD wanted this particular venue (right alongside the Mississippi River and beautiful) at this time of year. I wonder if the place gave them a break on the price for Friday instead of Saturday -- but I don't wonder enough to wander deeply into the financials of this celebration.

As it turns out, though, aside from a Caribou run for the bride and bridesmaids in the morning and an additional case of wine at the reception, extra costs on the wedding day were nonexistent. So I guess it wasn't a terribly unfrugal day beyond what was already spent before yesterday. And, though statistics and family history don't support the notion, one always hopes for your (step)kids that the first marriage will be the one, which does make it easier to think you can spend more money on it.

Anyway, we had lots of fun and we hope it's a great start to their lives together!

[Blackdog Lin]

Congratulations Steve.

[fidgiegirl]

Oh, they had such a gorgeous day weather-wise, and the riverfront is exquisite right now with all the leaves. I hope it was everything they wanted it to be, and as you said, hope it is a great sign of good things to come.

[fidgiegirl]

Oh, and frugals? What are those? $365 at Costco today, 'nuf said. Well, ok, I'll say more. Actually did well on price per unit, and we hadn't gone in a number of months. Some of the purchases were straight up sanity savers. My husband now has enough snacks for work to last him until the apocalypse (or spring break). I don't think I could listen to him talk about needing peanut free snacks for work anymore. You'd think the man had no money of his own for buying anything, or a car to go to any store of his choosing for snack purchasing. We got lots of good-for-us things, too. So I guess we're ok people after all. ;)

[danna]

Oct 11/14
Congrats on what sounds like a lovely day Steven....

Some frugals since Oct 04
--10 lbs each of carrots, beets, and onions bought several weeks ago for $5.00 for all..finally got around
to cooking/slicing and freezing beets, peeling/shredding and freezing carrots. Still need to do something with the onions.
--bought a lot of veggies zucchini/eggplants and peppers on the mark down at the new Market all in great shape
Made eggplant Parmesan for supper tonight and froze 3 more, shredded the zucchini to freeze, and will make a
tomato sauce for pasta with more of everything for supper tomorrow night....all yummy
--realized we are having family for Thanksgiving supper Mon and didn't need to ran out and buy a bunch of groceries,
more then enough food in the house for a very nice meal.
--not running the heat much yet so that is a good thing
--last week we made a pot of chicken soup from a carcus in the freezer and veggies in the bins...lasted two days.
That is all for now.

[Selah]

Congratulations, Steve!
DH saved money by buying a nearly-new, practically unused upright vacuum cleaner at an estate sale for $12. Win! I've arranged the sale of his computer, which will cover the costs spent at the vet today to get the cats ready for their trip "across the water(s)" back to America. He went back to the store to ask a question about the TV he bought, and since it had gone down in price since he bought it, they gave him a store credit of $50, which he used to buy a printer for $49!

Am not spending much money on food because I'm eating through our pantry, trying to use up as much as I can before I go. No more "stocking up" money being spent here.

Am making lots of appointments with various doctors to get prescriptions refilled and little treatments done here before I go, to save money in America.

I did stock up on the best henna and the best soap I've ever used in my life, which can only be found in Israel, so in that sense I am stockpiling a little. On the other hand, I'll have great facial soap and hair color for at least a year and won't have to change it or pay anyone to buy it and send it to me from Israel.

[merince]

Much like fidgiegirl, this was a stock-up weekend for me. The fugal will be if I can make it last until 11/15 and just get the fresh milk and veggies.

227.37 in groceries, mostly frozen veggies and meat; 54.97 in dog (3) and cat (1) food and litter; 60.90 for arthritic dog medicine; 59.52 for kids toys (they've been earning "reward" points for close to a month and a half, but it looks like I need to limit this further); 108.42 for 1 winter coat, 2 pairs of boots and 2 pairs of school shoes for the kids. Total 511.18. The grocery store had a big sale where most of the veggies were 10 for 10 and the 11th item free. I was able to use double coupons for the pet food and litter. In addition, I was able to get 5% off the grocery stuff and 15% off the non-grocery stuff through the store's credit card.

I am also planning on a Sam's club purchase for the bulk type stuff such as oatmeal, flour, laundry soap and cheese. Total 170.09. I am going to use their click and pull tool in order to eliminate the I-want-its.

[awakenedsoul]

Sprouts has a lot of the veggies I need for .99 a lb. this week. I plan to go there today and get peppers, celery, lettuce, and potatoes. I still have plenty of fruit. I picked a huge box of pomegranates the other night. There is still more fruit on the tree. I've got to strip the persimmon tree. The mourning doves are starting to help themselves. They only eat one fruit at a time, though. It's sweet. I don't mind sharing, because they are so thorough with their one delicious persimmon.
I've been knitting my first pair of gloves with fingers. I'm using leftover alpaca/merino wool sock yarn that I saved. I found the pattern for free on Ravelry. I went in to our local yarn shop with a question, and she didn't even charge me for help. (Usually you have to pay $5.00 for a half hour session.) I'm almost finished with the hand and first finger. They're really fun! I've been wearing old, darned gloves for the past ten years. It will be nice to have a pretty new pair!
My mom asked for another alpaca blanket for Christmas. (I made her one for Mother's Day.) I ordered the yarn from Webs. I found what I wanted on close out. ($13.99 a skein instead of $27.99 a skein!) I ordered what I needed on line, and am excited to get started. I think I'll make my Dad a pair of gloves or a hat. I should have enough yarn in my stash. It feels good to be using up the yarn I bought on clearance in the last two years. This way I won't be spending a lot of money on Christmas. I want to get finished early, so I can give them the gifts when I go visit next month. That will save shipping costs...
Cleared up the beginning of an infection using garlic. No wonder they call it the Russian penicillin! Saved myself a trip to the doctor. It looks like my grocery bill will be lower this month. Got my property tax bill. It's up another hundred dollars. Yikes! But, I don't pay as much as most people, so I can't complain. Am still in budget for 2014. Two and a half more months to go.
The biking and bus are working out well. It's makes all the difference having a bike trailer. The drop in temperature is a relief, too! How's everyone else doing?

[rosarugosa]

I can't say we've been too impressive on the frugality front recently. We had a health scare with DH last week, which will probably end up costing us around $300 out of pocket with the ER visit. I guess I'm just grateful we have good health insurance - and even more grateful that he is fine. We treated ourselves to lunch after he was released from the hospital, but my plan doesn't cover any portion of that!
I have these little click and stick lights in our closet. Some seemed to be dying and replacing the batteries didn't help. They were pretty cheap and I was all set to replace them (we've had them for quite a while), but DH took them apart and cleaned the contact area where the batteries go, and they are working fine now. He also cooked a nice selection of roasted veggies, and a big pot of tomato sauce and meatballs, so that will be several good meals. He grated stale breadcrumbs to make the topping for our haddock the other night. Sounds like DH is the frugal hero around here lately! My only contribution on the frugal front was the redemption of $60.00 in credits from Pinecone Research, and I got my check in the mail from that the other day.

[Gardenarian]

I'm collecting boxes from work in preparation for moving. We were planning on using a moving company, but we are bringing so little (and we have a van) that we are going to do it ourselves, trip by trip. We are needing to take frequent trips up to Ashland (not so frugal) to complete our house search, as well as to sort out school stuff, so we are renting a mini-storage unit for a couple of months until we are able to move everything into the house.

We are bringing our mattresses and dining table, but will buy almost everything else up there. We plan on living in a pretty empty house and slowly filling it with things that will suit the house (primarily from Craigslist and garage sales.)

We've been selling a lot of stuff on Craigslist/Ebay and I've been taking loads of books to the used book store. I traded in one bag of books and got a very early edition of Lord of the Rings in perfect condition, with maps and all. Still, I'll be bringing quite a few books (but not the thousands I've lived with for years.)

My cabin is pending sale - I priced it low for a quick sale, but still, $250,000 profit after 2 1/2 years is darn good! I sure hope this sale goes through.

The house we are buying is less than the price of my cabin here, never mind our main house. Big savings there!

Taking care of health maintenance stuff - check ups and vaccines for everyone while we still have an HMO. Oregon has not quite sorted out its insurance issues - I'll deal with that when we get there.

I went and saw a retirement counselor yesterday, and I'm going to start getting my pension in January. I still have some details to work out on that. Since I've been part -time since dd was born it's not a huge amount, but more than I expected - that $1400 or so per month will come in very handy! (It will be less if I take certain options - I may have to start a thread about that.)

Day-to-day, I feel we've been kind of spendy, what with the driving and staying in (cheap!) hotels in Ashland, but the transition period will end in January. I feel we should cut ourselves some slack right now, as we are going through what could be a stressful time. Allowing ourselves some treats makes it all more exciting and fun. We'll be checking out the hot springs spa this week-end :)

Another thing we are enjoying is trying to match things we won't be taking with us with the perfect person. My neighbor was thrilled to get a whole bunch of pretty ceramic pots for her succulent collection, and dd's friends love the giant bean bag chair that used to live at the cabin.

[Selah]

Gardenarian, I am going through something very similar myself right now! I am on the hunt for shipping cartons (surprisingly difficult to find in Israel), and will be mailing everything to DH in our new place while I wait to ship the cats and then fly myself to Washington. I've been rounding up friends to donate all the stuff we don't want to pay to ship, and they're all very appreciative. I even helped outfit the kitchen for my friend's 21-year-old daughter who is making Aliyah and is coming to study at Tel Aviv University, so it will be nice to think about our silly little dishes we bought from Target in Boca Raton, still being put to use in Tel Aviv for a young immigrant who also, ironically, has moved to Israel from Florida!

I guess getting rid of all of this stuff is frugal in that I'm saving money by not shipping it! And I'm helping other people be frugal by giving them stuff they would otherwise need to buy. It's nice to think this stuff will stay out of the landfill at least a little bit longer.

[early morning]

Finally a good-weather day for clothes drying! I have two loads on the line - even if they don't get bone dry they will finish inside, overnight. Which is good, because DD and I are leaving tomorrow on a decidedly non-frugal escapade - a short vacation to Delaware! :D I'm excited - I've been wanting to visit Winterthur for many years, so the chance to see the Downton Abbey costumes was just the push we needed. Lots of other things to see too, of course. Going to wander on the way home. Leaving in the morning, and will return late on Friday. While this won't cost as much as many people seem to spend on holiday, it will take a chunk out of my personal discretionary account. But we'll try to be frugal. I booked our hotel online for a discount (and it's not an expensive place to begin with, but a step up from the privately owned, Bates-hotel type places I'm prone to favor....). I hope there's a fridge in the room, but if not, we have a cooler. Breakfast is included, and I have passes to some of the places we want to go (gift from my SIL). If we eat a good breakfast and are careful with lunch, we may be able to subsist on crap for dinner (ex: fast food dollar cheapo menu....) and not feel too deprived. Crossing fingers and taking the charge card, lol.

[SteveinMN]

We've finally had some real frugals this week.

With the newly-married couple on their honeymoon for the past week, we were instructed to collect the perishables in their 'fridge. Between those and food purchased by our houseguests before they left, we've been eating free leftovers all week. What I planned to cook hit the freezer instead.

Our gardening neighbor has offered us all of the tomatoes we find on his vines. They're all green, of course, except for one salmony-pink one that fell off and hasn't ripened in the cool air. But it will be a few meals for us and I probably will make an extra or two for him.

We ran into the neighborhood metal scrapper (you could get run over from all the guys cruising the alleys for metal they can sell as scrap) and got rid of a broken patio umbrella and a TV antenna we're not going to be able to use (it was free, so I don't feel too bad about it). It didn't cost us to dump them and we didn't even have to bring them to the guy; he came to pick them up.

All of this has been offset, though, by stuff that's only what I will call "opportunistically frugal".

Our snowblower is back from a tuneup (this guarantees it will snow all of 8" this winter); it didn't need all the parts I thought it did, so we saved some money there.

And DW is getting a new iPad (hers is an original and it's really starting to show); we were able to buy a refurb and, because we bought it after Apple's announcement of new models this week, we saved even more. Total it will cost about 40% less than that same iPad new but it's only a year old and there are only tiny differences from the model just introduced. If you're gonna spend the money, at least you can save some of it, right? :)

[awakenedsoul]

I got all of my winter vegetables planted today. Made a salad out of the lettuce. I'd forgotten how different home grown lettuce tastes! It's so much softer and more delicate. I guess it's because they are baby greens. I made a persimmon brunch cake the other day with home grown persimmons. It's really good...like a spice cake. I gave a chunk of it to my neighbor. Cakes tend to dry out when you live alone. Picked my first meyer lemon of the season and made lemonade! The tree is full of fruit. It's nice not to have to buy lemons...they are expensive. Looks like I'll have plenty to last all year and to give some away. Finished up the last of the tacos. I put half of the ground beef I bought on sale in the freezer. The new grocery shopping method is working out much better. I'm buying just enough for the week, and the totals are much lower. I haven't been swimming this week. I made myself stay home and pick all of my fruit. There are still some persimmons on the tree, but most of it is in crates. I need to get back to the pool; my legs and hips ache if I don't do my laps. I plan to do yoga with my favorite free on line teacher tonite. The dahlias are blooming again, and that makes me happy. I fed them some blood water from my cloth pads. I may start bailing out the bathtub and using that water for the garden. Many of the homes here have let their front yards die. (I think it's because of the drought and price of water.) I'm real pleased with my hardscape, herbs, window boxes of flowers, and mulch. The vegetables growing along the driveway look nice. We're on a limited watering schedule, but everything looks green and healthy. It's time to do a load of laundry and clean the fridge. I feel like I'm so busy in the home. There's always a room that needs cleaning, or chores that need doing. It's healthy, though. Had a nice time on our trip to the nursery today with my neighbor. She is great company. We are very compatible. We had a good discussion in the car. I finished one of my gloves, and started the second. I'm also working on an alpaca blanket for my mom for Christmas. I've made good headway. Should have it done in a week. I think I'll give my dad some lemon bars. He loves those, and he has everything. I have all the ingredients in my stockpile.

[Selah]

Still giving stuff away and making people very happy with their frugal acquisitions. Jeez, HOW did we collect so much crap in three short years? I enjoyed having it, but also don't need it and don't miss it now that it's gone. Now, everything I get rid of means one more piece of freedom. And the ridiculous thing is, I know myself well enough to know that when I get to Bellingham, we'll get into acquiring stuff again...until the next move. Lather, rinse, repeat. Clearly, acquiring things are, for me, more a psychological issue than an economic, rational one!

[lessisbest]

I've been doing something since August 2012 where, other than groceries, I only shop every other month. Even though I'm a very thrifty person, I thought it was a good concept so I was even more conscious of what our true "needs" are, could save wear and tear on my car, so for me the whole month of October is a no-shopping month. This means I will need to finish Christmas shopping in November, and it's really wonderful not having to fight the crowds in December. This leads to taking advantage of after Christmas specials/sales in January when I can shop again.

After the first year it quickly became clear I was out of the shopping habit and would only shop the first and last week of a shopping month, so I was essentially reducing shopping by another 25%. I keep a running list of things I will need on a shopping month on my "Wait & See List" which gives me time to question every purchase. I think the key to this was when hubby and I got to the point we realized we require less, therefore we will be happy with less.

[fidgiegirl]

Selah, I had to look up "making Aliyah" and went down a whole rabbit hole of new-to-me information. There are as many Jews in North America as in Isreal?! Amazing. Sounds like things are going well for your move and for yours, too, Gardenarian.

No frugals to report! Boo!

[rosarugosa]

Selah: You have rescued so many things from the waste stream, and if you're finding them good homes now, that totally sounds like a good thing to me!
Lessisbest: That every other month plan sounds interesting. I think we could implement something similar. I'll have to ponder that.
No frugals here either. I've been pretty spendy lately and need to get back on track!

[cdttmm]

October has been a not-so-frugal month here! Two out-of-town weekends and crazy schedules otherwise have made me feel like all we're doing is spending! Hopefully things will calm down between now and the end of the month. I'm home this morning eating oatmeal with raisins for breakfast and making a pot of green tea to take to work in my travel mugs. I'll have a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch on homemade bread. These little things make me feel like I'm getting back on track with my frugal living. Now just to maintain that approach to life instead of caving in to the spend some money, quick fix solution when things get hectic.

[merince]

Spent the weekend cutting, splitting and stacking wood. Have some more to do - if it all comes together, we shouldn't have to order wood for several years.
Made homemade bread. The only purchase yesterday was for a bag of apples, bananas and cottage cheese.

[Davidwd]

Well I started off well, but I had a trip planned to the South of France. I did use the simple living tips I had picked up though. Instead of eating out cooked many meals at the villa we rented. There was 3 of us from my local sailing club so we split the food and fuel costs - about 1000 miles each way. It was an expensive luxury but the chance of a lifetime to sail in a world championship, so worth it I think. I now need to plan my frugality for the winter, I have been gathering wood and planting the greenhouse with water cress etc. I am always astounded at the high health care costs you have to pay in the US. I am glad I don't have those costs to worry about. We are so lucky to have the national health service in the UK. I am mainly vegetarian now for health reasons and that reduces costs. Just purchased the Tightwad Gazette, lots of frugal tips there.

David

[awakenedsoul]

Went to Panera for knitting today and splurged on a pastry for $3.00. I gave out home grown fruit to the ladies there. Many of them have never eaten a persimmon. Worked on my blanket that I'm making for my mom. I'm almost done. I bought a 10 lb. bag of potatoes for $1.89. Misread the flyer and I got my days wrong, tomorrow they are only .99! Oh well. Still a good deal. Bought some herbs at Sprouts in bags and transferred them into my herb jars at home. (Things like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg...that I can't grow.) I figured it was cheaper to make my own Thanksgiving coffee. (They had a pumpkin spice coffee that I wanted, but I decided to just add the spices to what I have.) Broccoli was on sale, so I'm making broccoli with cheese sauce tonight. Will reheat the brown rice with soy sauce that I made last night. My salad garden is doing well, but I'm eating through it too quickly. I have some seeds for mesclun greens in my stash. I'll plant those tomorrow. This morning I got out and fed warm, black, homemade compost to my freshly planted vegetable garden. I top dressed some of my flowers, too. They perked up and the colors look gorgeous. I planted them around the mailbox so the mail lady has a nice view on her route. I gave her some fruit, too. Now that the weather is cooler, I can tend to my plants each day. They seem relieved that the dog days of Summer are over! I know I am. Slipped on a llama and silk sweater that I had knitted when it got too cool for me on the bus today. The air conditioning was on really high. I was glad I came prepared. Using the bike and taking public transportation have become second nature. Last night I hand washed one of the cotton/linen tanks I knit. I did it in the sink with some homemade liquid goat's milk soap. Using my Nina spinner, it was dry in time to wear to knitting. The lemons are now ripe enough to use in lemonade and cooking. Soon I will be making lemon curd and lemon bars! Didn't realize that I actually do have some tiny guavas on my tree. They are just late this year. Tomorrow I will feed them some compost. They're my absolute favorite fruit. How's everyone else doing?

[frugal-one]

Got organic potatoes today for $0.99 per pound, organic green pepper and organic pears on sale too.

Got a small chili at Wendy's (before I went grocery shopping) and found out all drinks for seniors are always free ... you just have to say you want a senior drink. So I had a decaf coffee. Was a nice surprise.

Went through winter clothes and found I need NOTHING!!!! Have a huge bag to put in the garage sale come spring. Still a few more drawers to go through..... ugh.

[SteveinMN]

We're eating out of the pantry and freezer this week, so I haven't had to shop for a lot of groceries. That should continue into next week.

Most of this week has been no-drive for me, but today I had errands to run. Finally found LED bulbs which will fit DW's favorite lamp. The incandescents in it now burn through 320 watts every hour. LED bulbs aren't that cheap (at least not these specialty bulbs). But these will pay for themselves in lower electricity costs in about three years. And it eliminates the constant little struggle between DW, who lives on a planet on which electricity is free, and me, who hates to see the waste. I'll have to get more of these bulbs; bought only two to try out.

The heat has been off in the house this week; it's a bit chilly in the mornings, but apparently not chilly enough to turn on the bathroom heater overnight. So, good there. It's been a wonderful Indian summer, but we Minnesotans are aware the hammer can drop at any time -- next week they could be calilng for a couple of inches of snow. >8)

[danna]

Oct25
I have been here reading those of you coming on have been doing well, were is everyone else?
I spent most of Wed and Thur glued to the news channels, just trying to let all the bad news sink in.:(

--have spent less then $200.00 on groceries for 3 people so far this month; but with great advertised sales, in store sales, coupons
and price matching we are still stocking piling and putting down fresh produce in the freezer and I mean a lot of stuff that we be
great eating in the winter months....amazing shopping....
--no food waste
--spent way too much to send Dsis a gift basket for her birthday (she lives in a different city) but so worth it to hear her say she was enjoying all the treats of goodies and fruit. Did get a discount and phoned it in with free long distance minutes so not extra charge there. Chemo is making her not want to eat.
--have put off getting a hair cut for an extra two weeks.
--filled up with gas at Loblaws because it was down and we get an extra .02 a litre back o spent at the store.
--have not eaten out in months.
-

--

[awakenedsoul]

danna,

$200.00 for three people is amazing! I'm impressed.

Yesterday I dropped off a large bag of pomegranates at a local church that feeds the homeless. They seemed really pleased to receive fruit. They usually pass out day old bread and pastries that the bakeries donate. I used the bike trailer and bus to transport them.
This morning I rode my bike up to the first stop to give some pomegranates to a lady I see each morning on the bus. She is 75, and she just lost her job. She's out looking for work, but it's scary for her, at her age. She was really pleased and appreciative to receive the fruit. We chatted for a while, I got off at my stop, and rode the bike home. It's chilly at that time, so I wore my hand knit gloves, scarf, hat, socks, and sweater. I'm getting so much use out of the clothes I have made! The hat and scarf were knit from cashmere yarn that I got for $15.00 a skein on EBay. It's so warm and soft!

Last night I reheated the last of the chicken fried steak and gravy. I sauteed some carrots and made a salad with my homegrown greens and on sale vegetables. Used olive oil, fresh garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt, and fresh herbs, (basil, tarragon, and dill) for the dressing. Made some homemade french fries, as well. All of the peelings went into the compost pile. Soon there will be leaves to rake, and I can build a very tall compost pile for next season.
Yesterday I made a batch of persimmon cookies. I didn't have any raisins, so I used craisins. I bought them on sale at Costco. I didn't have walnuts, either. Instead I substituted macadamia nuts from my stockpile.
I left the bath water in the tub after bathing last night. I'm going to bail it out today and use it on my cold weather vegetables. I've been saving the water that's cold when doing the dishes (by hand,) too. I give it to my citrus trees. They are loaded with fruit! They're starting to turn color, now that the nights are colder.

[lessisbest]

1. I cut my own hair this a.m. I budget $20 per month for my haircut and "pay" myself. That money goes into the Emergency Fund/Christmas Account, so that's one way to add $240 each year. I also save my $1 bills and add them to this account. Since we use cash instead of plastic for purchases, I've never saved less than $500, and as much as $1,000.

2. Sister-in-law is getting ready to leave for the winter and had some food to get rid of and called to see if we wanted it. I took what I could use, and with her permission took, the rest to the Food Bank since I was taking a donation there myself.

3. I removed the covering from a storage chest/footstool lid and replaced the "seen-better-days" foam on the top with a couple old pillows we no longer use, along with a small amount of fiber fill (from the craft stash), and put the original covering back on with a staple gun. It should be good for several more years.

4. Found the sock yarn I purchased some time ago at a thrift store and will use it to knit granddaughter a pair of fun socks for Christmas. We try to make our gifts and have a $10 gift limit in our family.

5. Took books back to the library on my way to the Food Bank and got several more.

[chrissieq]

I worked four days in the past week - 2 of them off site from the cafe and made more than double than my typical wage - $$ set aside for the holidays.

Had to take the dog into the vet because of coughing and vomiting. The vet that had seen him while he was with his foster family couldn't see him and suggested the emergency vet - yikes! I called the vet we have always used and just hadn't needed to take him in before and they agreed to fit him in so I had a $60 office visit instead of the at least $150 the emergency vet would have charged. The verdict - kennel cough - so he is laying low, sleeping a lot but eating well and good "output" so I think we just let him rest and wait it out.

Am making 2 shoulder bags and some Christmas stockings from vintage fabric that will go on consignment at the vintage store where I used to have a booth. I shared the booth with my sister who is still selling there. The stocking will go in her booth but the purses will be in the owner's area.

[rosarugosa]

I feel so bad when I don't contribute, so I'll tell you my tale and you can decide whether it has much to do with frugality or not.
I am temporarily working in the John Hancock building in Boston. Those who know the area will be familiar with it as a landmark building, and I believe it is the tallest in New England. There were a lot of issues when it was built in the seventies with windows falling out and breaking (it is all windows, the big glass skyscraper) and it has created mad wind tunnels in the immediate vicinity. (I've actually come to really detest this building and look forward to our departure in December).
So yesterday was a really rainy, windy day and DH offered to drive me to work instead of me taking the subway. I graciously accepted, although he does get very irate in traffic, and I’m honestly better off taking the train for the most part. But it was pouring, so chauffeur service proved irresistible.
He made a commendable effort to stay pleasant, even though traffic sucked. He works in the opposite direction, so it’s really nice of him to do the Boston commute thing when he doesn't even work in Boston.
When it was time for me to leave last night, my subway line was shut down and running shuttle buses (there’s nothing quite like the free-for-all experience when the 1200 person subway car sends you out to the 80-person buses, with no rhyme or reason or lines or order. It makes me think “well, it’s only a 12 mile walk home." "Shuttle buses" makes my blood run cold.) Plus it was so windy, they weren't letting people out the front doors of the building. The wind had already blown out the glass in one of the revolving doors. Because I only weigh about 100 lbs, the wind is actually a concern for me. (I had a pretty wild experience last winter that found my wind-tossed self clinging to the side of a taxi cab in the middle of a busy, slushy street thinking that this would be a sorry way to go).
So when I called DH to discuss my game plan, he said he would pick me up in town. We agreed I would give him ½ hour and then go to a pre-designated corner to meet him right outside. Traffic was awful, so it took him over an hour. I was hunkered down on the leeward side of the tower waiting for about 45 minutes, and it was wild watching people fighting the wind in front of the building. Women could close car doors and people were almost flying down the street. One slim woman was leaning her full weight backwards with the wind at her back, and it kept her upright!
When DH pulled up in front of the building, it was gusting (sounded like a freight train), so I was waiting for the wind to lull so I could go to the car. I was giving him a “wait a minute sign,” which he later said he had no idea what it meant, and he thought I was just being weird. So he came out and got me and held onto me firmly so I wouldn't blow away and helped me into the car.
He was really beside himself over the traffic. As we headed home, he asked what I wanted for dinner, and I suggested some quickies (e.g. grilled cheese, fried egg sandwich). He was very unreceptive until I said I would buy us sub sandwiches and then he kind of lit up. So while I hated spending the $15.00 on mediocre subs, I realized that to not do so after DH’s heroic efforts would amount to being CHEAP and not FRUGAL. And we all know that’s a bad thing. So that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. 

[awakenedsoul]

I'm reading a great book I checked out at the library. It's called Simple Prosperity, Finding Real Wealth In A Sustainable Lifestyle. I'm really enjoying it. It's by Davin Wann. It's about all the things many of here are doing. My lettuce patch is doing really well. I've started soaking the baby greens in a small mixing bowl full of water each morning. It seems like I have twice as much lettuce after a few hours. My mom used to do that with carrot sticks. She'd keep a bowl of them in the fridge. It really made them crisp and delicious!

Yesterday I had a nice swim at the gym. Each night I've been doing a series of exercises to align the pelvis; it's so much easier to swim now! I'm also walking a lot more. What a difference! Came home and made cream of broccoli soup. I reused a chicken carcass that I had in the freezer for the chicken stock. I had picked up the broccoli on sale last week. I bought 4 lbs. for $5.00, and will get three separate meals out of it.

I placed my order on line with the local co op. I've been buying more food at Sprouts on sale, but I do miss having all organic produce. I think I'll order one box a month. I also ordered a whole free range chicken, some organic oats, and a dozen ears of organic sweet corn.

I'm almost finished with my mom's blanket, and am at work knitting my second alpaca glove. It's really nice out on the porch right now. I sat out there for a while today, reading, knitting, and enjoying a cup of coffee. I'm going to make a pot of yogi tea and soak up some more of Mother Nature's energy outside. My next door neighbor sits out on his porch and smokes, sitting in a chair facing my garden. (sigh) So, I take a break and go inside until the air clears. He has lung cancer, but sits out there all day, smoking...

One of my neighbors stopped me on my dog walk to thank me for the fruit I'd given her. She's from Japan. I asked her if she'd like some more, and she said "Yes." This morning I walked up the hill and dropped her off several more pomegranates and persimmons. I'm getting a lot of mileage out of my orchard. It's nice that it's all organically grown, too. The leaves that I spread under the trees really nourish the soil.

Time to make a salad and some salad dressing. I'm getting a lot of ideas from reading everyone's frugals. Keep 'em comin'!

[rosarugosa]

Autumn berry bouquets gathered during a recent walk:

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1443&d=1414354945

[rosarugosa]

Here's one more:

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1444&d=1414354972

[lessisbest]

That's so beautiful rosarugosa....:D

I harvested a bunch of herbs in the garden (before they get nipped in the bud when we get a hard frost) and will be making Bouquet Garni (using dry herbs), basil pesto (for the freezer), and anything left I'll make into Herb Vinegar. I also got a "deal" on new crop potatoes, so I made herbed potatoes and will freeze those as well. Making herbed butter for the freezer this morning, although with the cost of butter sky high, I only used 1# of butter, which I stocked up on at Aldi a few weeks ago, just before the price almost doubled. I dug-up and potted basil, parsley and chives and will grow those indoors this winter. A great source for "fresh" food.

[merince]

Baked our bread first thing this morning. Cut and split wood to add to the wood pile. Made the kids' Halloween costumes.

[SteveinMN]

Made a couple of dishes with green tomatoes from the neighbor. Most of the ingredients already were in the house, but I did have to buy a few. Ah, well. We have to eat. At least we ate something different (both dishes were successes). One of my meals this week is greens with a ham bone that's been in the freezer probably since Easter. I drove past one of our satellite farmer's markets while food shopping and was pleasantly surprised at some of the prices. So I have fresh young kale as my greens this time. DW's mom wanted to go out to an apple orchard this weekend. She bought a peck of apples but, because she'll never go through them all and she doesn't cook with them, she gave half of them to us.

Several months ago DW bought a cheapo electronic alarm clock at Walgreen's or someplace. It's never kept proper time. She finally appropriated the (name-brand) clock radio in the guest bedroom. But we needed to replace that one, so I stopped at a thrift store. For $2.99 and tax, problem solved. I'll bet the clock that doesn't work cost more than $2.99. :(

The LED bulbs I bought for DW's favorite lamp look great. In seeing if I could buy more on-line, however, I've learned this particular brand ("Utilitech") doesn't seem to last much longer than the warranty. More purchases of that brand are off for now. Nothing frugal about spending $$ on bulbs and finding they die prematurely.

The rest of it? It's become so automatic we don't even think about it much anymore.

[rosarugosa]

Thanks, Lessisbest. I've been trying to get maximum mileage out of our herbs before the frost takes them too. I am so going to miss the fresh mint in my salad every day. Has anyone had any luck growing mint indoors?
Merince: That's a tough act to beat! I think you take the frugal prize this week!
Steve: I would love to hear more on the green tomatoes, because I have a basket of them from the garden sitting right in front of me.
We needed to buy leaf bags yesterday, so we got them at Home Depot, still using the gift cards I got last year with credit card rewards. I'm also up to $15.00 in Amazon gift cards from doing daily Bing searches.

[Tradd]

I'm returning from my road trip to Louisiana with $400 left of the cash I took.

[early morning]

Anyone have any ideas as to why I can't see rosarugosa's pictures??? I've never had problems in the past seeing photos that were posted, so I don't know what's up with that! The weather here was really nice yesterday so I was able to get all the laundry dry on the line. DH finally got our "new" second-hand microwave mounted on the wall today. Our little trash-picked emergency microwave will go back into storage, just in case. DD and my mini-vacation came in a little under budget, thanks mostly to the decrease in gas prices and only one meal at a "real" restaurant. We found a Trader Joe's and got some groceries, which covered several meals and we still had some cheese left to bring home. Our hotel had a fridge and microwave, which was a big help. Paid some bills online to save postage, and today at work lunch was provided. Little enough, but still! :) Have to count the little stuff to stay motivated sometimes...

[rosarugosa]

Tradd & Early: Congratulations to both of you. We went over-budget on our vacation, which is much easier to do!
Early: It is truly mostly about the little stuff! I had uploaded the pics to my profile on the SLF site, and linked to them from there. I wonder if you can see them if you go directly to my profile? I can try linking from Photobucket if not.

[Tradd]

My trip outlay was greatly reduced by how cheap gas is. I'm only spending about $90 in gas each way. hotel was $214 for two nights on the road. Most expensive outing was $90 for a fishing trip/swamp tour, but that was a 5 hour outing and it was done by someone local. $20 for Oak Alley plantation tour. Oh, so worth it.

[lessisbest]

rosarugosa-

I've never tried mint indoors (I usually dry it), but I would certainly give it a try. Make sure you get plenty of roots and you should be good to go if you have a sunny south window or a small grow light. Sometimes herbs get a little thin, leggy, and straggly after a month or two indoors, and may need additional light. I have to use a small grow light to grow wheatgrass indoors.

Other things.... This morning has been busy since it's the day before grocery shopping and I go through the refrigerator to see what I have/need and get my shopping list together. There was enough cottage cheese and sprouted quinoa (leftover from making a gluten-free quinoa pizza crust Sunday) to make a double batch of Quinoa Protein Power Waffles. I had a 1/2 c. of cooked oatmeal in the refrigerator, so I made a 1/2 recipe of Cooked Oatmeal Scones (made 6 scones in the convection/microwave oven). They both are now in the freezer ready for breakfast OR a Meatless Friday breakfast for dinner.

Saved on lunch for hubby since he's giving blood at noon, and they "feed" him.

[merince]

Lol, rosarugosa, I thank you!

We really, really need to make the budget :D. When there is no wiggle room, people find all ways to stretch the pennies.

[SteveinMN]

Steve: I would love to hear more on the green tomatoes, because I have a basket of them from the garden sitting right in front of me.

I made a roasted-green-tomato lasagna (http://www.vegetarianunderground.com/2013/10/roasted-green-tomato-lasagna.html) and a green-tomato-bacon (http://www.recipe.com/green-tomato-and-bacon-tart/) tart. Both were hits/keepers. The only real change I made to the lasagna recipe was using a 24-ounce jar of tomato sauce; quart-sized jars seemed very hard to find and it just wasn't worth buying a second jar. 24 ounces of sauce was fine; 32 would be fine, too, if you have it around. The tart ... Smithfield bacon? Wasn't going to go looking for that, either. I crisped some Black Forest Ham in the oven; that seemed to work well. And if goat cheese is not a staple in your house, I'd use an equivalent amount of yogurt cheese or even Greek yogurt. (The idea was to use up stuff, not buy lots of new stuff.)

[rosarugosa]

Thanks Steve, those look great, especially the tart. And goat cheese is absolutely a staple in our house! :)

[iris lilies]

Steve those recipes look good. I might try one, we always have green tomatoes.

Re: the alarm clock. I needed an alarm clock since my old one went bad. I shopped around at the big box stores and couldn't find Just A Clock that was reasonably priced, so I got a cheaply made (not not cheap, probably $12 - $15) clock radio with teeny-tiny buttons. I hated it. I always had to have the lights on to set it up.

So I hopped onto Ebay and bought an old 1980's alarm clock where all I have to do is pull out the alarm. No intricate buttons to set.

[lessisbest]

Not quite a week ago we were reaching near record high temperatures (90° Friday and 89° Saturday) here in Kansas, but now we're getting back to more seasonal weather with frost nearly every morning. With chilly mornings comes more hot beverages, so to save a little money heating water for tea/cocoa/French Press or instant coffee -- when I brew the first cuppa I boil enough water in my electric kettle to also fill my 16-oz. Stanley Thermos Bottle. This gives me enough hot water for 2 more hot beverages without having to use the electric kettle again. I also use the hot water for other things while cooking/baking or to rehydrate some freeze-dried foods for a meal. Instant hot water without the expense of an Instant Hot Water dispenser. So dust off that Thermos and store hot water in it.

BTW, an electric kettle will heat water faster, and for less money (kWh), than using a kettle on the stove or heating water in the microwave. It's even faster than my Induction Hot Plate (I've tested the electric kettle, microwave and Induction Hot Plate using a Watt-A-Meter). The reason an electric kettle performs so well is because the water is in direct contact with the heating element. When you heat water with a kettle, or even worse an open pan on the stove, some of the heat is lost to the air surrounding the kettle/pan. The kettle itself has to heat up before the water gets heated. In fact (according to one chart I have), only 55% of the energy produced on a gas burner, and 65% for a traditional electric range, and 90% of the energy produced using an induction burner, goes to heat the pan. A thrifty kitchen has an electric kettle, just like our Canadian and British friends learned long ago.

We even use the electric kettle to heat 5-cups of water to do our dishes that don't go in the dishwasher and for after meal clean-up. We do the dishes by hand using approximately 1-gallon of water. Five cups of heated water + 5 cups of cold water in a small plastic container in the sink, and the remainder of the water from the gallon is used to rinse. We've had too many summers of drought to waste water around here..... And the water used for doing dishes by hand is "saved" water. That's the water we catch in a bucket waiting for the shower water to get hot. We store it in 3-gallon plastic jugs.

[awakenedsoul]

Had a good morning swim at the gym. I took the 7:30 a.m. bus. It's a lot nippier out at the pool now. I went back in to the sauna to warm up my muscles. I'd like to work up to swimming laps every day. I really feel my heart pumping the blood when I ride the bike to the bus stop. Chatted with a young girl there about knitting. Ran into a couple of the regulars. I meet a lot of kids by taking public transportation. They're really friendly and cute...
Yesterday I tried taking the Metro train down to Hollywood and Vine. I wanted to do a test run to Union Station before I take my trip along the coast on Amtrak. It's a good thing I did, because I would have missed my train! I'm going to have to take the 7:00 a.m. bus in order to make the three connections. Had a great session with my vocal coach. I stopped at her neighborhood Trader Joe's and picked up some dried apricots, hand sanitizer, and organic popcorn kernels. Ran into the mother of one of my former tap students. She was also taking the train. We sat together on the way home and chatted. I've been eating up the leftover grass fed hamburger, sauteed organic red onions, and milk gravy. I had it on potatoes, and also cooked up some pasta. I like it that way, too. Today I'm going to work on my second glove, do a yoga set for the hip flexors, and go over my audition songs. It's our watering day, so I'll water the garden later on this evening. I've got to go refill the water jug and buy a bus pass for November. This month has flown!!!

[lessisbest]

-Knit 2 dish rags (Christmas gifts for neighbors).

-Made 24-mini Pumpkin Muffins to send with hubby to work this morning and had some pumpkin left so I made a half-recipe of Almond Flour Pumpkin Coffee Cake. I usually just freeze leftover pumpkin, but the pumpkin I used was thawed from another baking day and I had to get it used.

-Repotted a basil plant, chives and parsley and brought them indoors (supposed to get hard freeze tonight and tomorrow night).

-Picked the rest of the Swiss chard.

-Picked the rest of the parsley and am drying it in the dehydrator.

-Picked free apples and will dehydrate them.

[pony mom]

lessisbest, thanks for the electric kettle info. My parents still can't be swayed though.

I'm off from both jobs this week and of course, I went to a few thrift stores (six, in fact) and crossed a few more things off my list. The biggest steal was a new Lilly Pulitzer polo---for $1.50!

My fishtank heater died after only two months of use and I was able to exchange it for a new one. Poor Trixie the betta fish has the sniffles, and was asking for a pair of ice skates.

[cdttmm]

Happy Halloween, frugalistas!

Not much in the way of novel frugals here, but I'll second lessisbest's thoughts about hot beverages! I also boil water on the stove for tea in the morning. For the past year or more I've been making a whole pot (4+ cups) of tea for myself. I love green tea and can drink it all day long. So instead of making a single cup multiple times each day, I make the whole pot and then pour it into travel mugs to keep it warm. I keep thinking I should buy an actual thermos, but I have a whole slew of travel mugs and just acquired another one yesterday. One of the many benefits of working at a community college...students are often leaving their travel mugs in classrooms and never retrieving them. So if it's been there for more than 2 weeks, I figure it deserves a new home. There's no practical way to find the owner or I would use it...after all, if I left my travel mug somewhere I'd love to get it back. Of course, I'm probably more attached to my travel mugs than most people considering that 2 of the 3 that I use regularly have been dropped and chipped (one quite severely) and I'm still using them. Hey...they still hold tea and keep it hot!!!

Aside from my tea habit... My dearly beloved celebrated a birthday earlier this week. He asked that we go to the gym (our usual Tuesday night routine) and that we get take-out from Chipotle to celebrate. That's my kind of birthday! I bought him a book that he asked for, but it hasn't arrived yet. It's a book with photographs of NYC's meat-packing district that illustrate the changes that have taken place from 1985 to today. My dearly beloved grew up in NYC near the meat-packing district so this stuff really intrigues him. Okay, fine, one $60 b-day gift coming right up! :D

[rosarugosa]

Awakened: Good thing you checked out the route in advance and now won't miss your train!
Lessisbest: I might try taking some herbs in too, although I do have a houseplant-munching cat, who can complicate that sort of endeavor!
Ponymom: Great score for $1.50 and good thing you were able to get a replacement tank!
Cdttmm: My DH has been doing the same thing with tea. I'm pleased; it's frugal, healthy and low-cal (he drinks it black and unsweetened).
My frugals: I went to Costco yesterday to fill a script. I seldom go there (DH usually does), so it's exciting to me. But I walked away with just raspberries, clementines, tomatoes and dried parsley - and the prescription of course. No cases of candy bars or anything like that. :)
I hit enough credits with E-Rewards today to submit for a $25.00 Macy's card, and I earned $3.00 on a Pinecone Research survey. DH & I also earned $25.00 in Amazon cards by doing Bing searches this month.

[lessisbest]

rosarugosa-

Have you ever tried growing wheatgrass for your cat? I have given several friends the essentials to grow 5-inch pots of wheatgrass for their cats (and dogs). They love the stuff.....

[SteveinMN]

Halloween and we have been frugal by not doing a thing about it. No decorations, no special dinner, no candy to distribute. Only a small bag of Cheetos, DW's drug of choice. We're even saving the electricity required to keep the porch light on. Guess we're just not Halloween people.:~)

Still eating out of the freezer; it's probably the last week for a while that entire meals will come out it. Still lots of vegetables and almost enough to make Musgovian Chicken Soup. I did fill the freezer again, though, with a "buy two get three free" deal on our preferred brand of frozen pizza. The price per pizza works out to about half of what we usually pay (buying on sale), so it was worth taking the room.

A few interesting frugals lately:
- With the likely arrivals of a pet dog and grandchildren (and their extended-family equivalents) in not too many months, I've been keeping an eye out for audio equipment to replace the good stuff in the living room. Something nice enough to listen to, but tough and inexpensive enough to handle running pets and finger-poking toddlers. I found a pair of speakers at the thrift store that filled the bill and then some. They had no idea what they were selling, so they were marked cheap. But they're excellent speakers -- I like them even better than the ones they're replacing. I even had a 20% off coupon from a previous donation to the store, so I spent a whole $8.60. I won't care if a kid or dog knocks the speaker off its stand. And we'll make some more money when I sell the "old" speakers. Score!

I got a check in the mail the other day from a class-action lawsuit settlement regarding overcharging by the manufacturers of LCD panels used in computer displays, laptops, and TVs. $260 and change (!). I was reminded that this is not the first money we've received as a result of a class-action suit. We're getting about $45 back from T-Mobile because they "jammed" "premium" (that is, $$/month) text services. Very few class-action suits require rigorous documentation on your part, though sometimes you can get more money if you can document your usage of the products. Money is money! And it came from something I was doing anyway (buying computers, using T-Mo). I don't know if there's some clearinghouse of class-action suits, but it's been worth keeping eyes open for notices of such suits.

[rosarugosa]

Lessisbest: We did try some kind of grass that cats like to eat, but as far as a houseplant goes, it was an epic fail. We had visions of the boys nibbling delicately, when the reality involved pot and soil knocked to the floor, dead plant and big mess.