View Full Version : March Frugals
I didn't participate much at all in February, but I'm back for March. Please post your daily frugal actions here!
I'll kick this off. We're enjoying a snowstorm here in lovely New England, so we are eating leftover homemade pizza and tossed salad for lunch and dinner. We'll also probably kick back tonight and enjoy some movies or TV shows via streaming Netflix or Apple TV. All in all a frugal day at home with my dogs, cats, and my beloved who came home from NYC early this week because of the snowstorm.
I don't have much to share but I wanted to touch base and let you know work may keep me from posting for the next couple of weeks. As of this evening I won't have a waitress in town-we have vacations that are over lapping with them since I fired the other girl. Oh well, I should make some extra money for savings at least!
I'm on-line doing swag bucks and freebies today. About the scrabble wierdo, some guy started asking questions about where I live. I refused to share the info and he got angry. Since the game is linked to face book I thought I should be careful about what info I have out there. So far he hasn't surfaced again.
Hope everyone has a very sucessfully frugal week and I'll post when I can!
Nice to see both of you again, maybe it's me or maybe it's you, but I feel like our paths haven't crossed much lately . . .
Here we got a rotisserie chicken last night and I deboned it this morning and put the carcass in for broth. I don't feel well and look forward to that chicken soup later in the day.
We need to get back into the frugal swing with food. Not enough planning and too many running-to-the-store meals lately. Better than going out to eat, but more stressful. In fact, I think I'll pull out some frozen salmon right now for tomorrow night.
Mighty Frugal
3-1-12, 1:57pm
It's my birthday on Saturday and I am going for a frugal fun day. I am making my own bday cake-normally dh buys a bakery one for about 30 bucks-eek. We're spending the day together (with the kids) and having a greasy spoon breakfast and then trolling a 2nd hand shop. Dinner will be Chinese take out
So not exactly super frugal but very frugal for me considering I am quite extravagant when it comes to my special day:~)
Happy birthday Mighty Frugal!
Oh this is not going to be a frugal week. Not at all. Zach's and my 9th anniversary is Saturday, Cheyenne's 8th birthday is a week from tomorrow, Zach's dad is coming to help remodel the family room on Sunday, the girls are taking a carpentry class starting next week...
Some minor frugals and some non-frugal confessions. Frugals first.
I was seriously considering renting a Uhaul to get all of the furniture we are donating out of here quickly and efficiently. Zach has talked me out of that. That will save us about $40.
I was planning to buy some storage cube type furniture for the girls room under one of the new loft beds. I was going to put it on wheels so it could be maneuvered in different configurations for different uses. I'm not explaining that well, but believe me, it was going to be cool. Anyway, the kids and I have been watching podcasts from this guy who builds cool forts, sheds and hideaways and other random stuff and we got the idea to repurpose a window seat thingy we already have. We'll paint it, put it on wheels and even put a little window in it, since it's big enough to lie down in and they frequently use it as a dollhouse for AG dolls or a place to lie down and read. We may put a tap light in it too for reading. The girls want to participate in this, so it will have to wait until after their first carpentry class.
Non-frugal confession. I am going to go out and spend way more money on a hair cut today than I normally would. I have been pregnant for what? Three solid years, basically? Yeah. I'm not feeling like giving into the third trimester frump this time. I am going to get my hair cut, get a few more good bras, get a few more cute outfits and I'm not even going to feel guilty about it. My mother and grandma, who are not prone to spontaneous compliments, sent us money and forbid us to spend it on the children. Their exact words were, "You and Zach take superb care of those children, Stella. They have everything a kid needs and lots of things kids want. This is for you two to do some things for yourselves. Go have fun." I considered defying them and putting the money in savings for about 2 seconds, and then I decided they were right and I'd just go with it.
I kind of feel like I have solved every problem in this household that can be solved without money and now it's just time to bite the bullet and spend a little. You know me, I still have everything planned and budgeted and all that, so I feel like the spending is prudent.
Stella, Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary....I looked it up and it's the Splurge Gift one! Lucky for you it's not the New Socks One!
Caught in same NE snow, no work so no spend, no drive. Made Tomato beef veg soup and enjoyed 2 bowls today. We have a care giver for MIL way before she needs it so we can all get used to her and trust & love her so we can form an effective compatible team before she really needs it.
Stella, Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary....I looked it up and it's the Splurge Gift one! Lucky for you it's not the New Socks One!
:) Haha! I love it!
Went today to Walmart (where I never shop) cause they have a super cheap price on Huggies and bought them along with a gift card to go to a baby shower for a single mom who just had twins. Trying to respect her needs. The dad (who was the son of my DH cousin's ) died in October so I am trying really hard to be respectful of what works for them.
In my perfect world, I'd give vintage baby clothes and something that I would consider super-sweet but this is her reality - not mine.
Stella: Good for you - go for it!
Merski: You are too funny! You must be further north/west than me. We only got about an inch of snow.
Chrissieq: That's smart of you. You're putting the recipent first, and prioritizing needs over wants, therefore getting maximum value for your money.
Not much of interest to report here. Taking the Maximum Mustache March challenge from the Mr Money Mustache site, largely because it's so much fun to say! It's pretty much a matter of challenging yourself to do whatever you can to be extra frugal in March.
Rosa, we're in central Mass. the bermuda triangle of weather if you look at the maps...sometimes we get punched with snow when others get light amts and other times we don't get rain when others get drenched!!!
Sella, I always wanted to be a stand-up comic!
Thanks for the support on the hair cut guys! I got it done and I must say, I love it. I rolled out of bed and it looked good.
Huge, huge changes in my plans in the last day.
Firstly, a large windfall I was expecting this week is apparently going to be delayed another month or two. Initially I was thrown by that, but I think it will ultimately be fine. It's going to force us to focus on other stuff that is probably, now that it comes to it, better to get done before the more expensive tasks I was planning.
Providentially, FIL showed up two days early ready to go on a lot of the projects we have in the works. He is an extremely thrifty and creative man and he has all kinds of ideas that could ultimately save us quite a bit over the plans we originally had. He's pretty cool like that.
FIL brought the kids some fun gifts. He brought them books on rocks and minerals, one on birds, one on mammals and a set of minerals, labeled by type, for them to look at and hold.
He lives near a diamond mine in Arkansas where people can mine their own diamonds, so he makes and sells screens for diamond mining from sturdy plastic buckets. The bottoms of the buckets he kept and made into easter baskets for the kids. They are actually pretty cute. He gave them some paper for colouring on and they decided to make their own Easter grass by colouring the paper and shredding it.
He also brought the kids some blocks that both he and Zach played with when they were kids. FIL is 73, so those are some old blocks. Travis has spent hours taking the blocks out of the cookie tin they were in and putting them back, or just knocking the tin around.
He brought Zach some "treats" too. Electrical stuff he's bought over the years and doesn't need anymore, like switches and boxes. Stuff nobody but an electrician would be excited about. :)
In amongst some fabric Zach found in James' dresser when he cleaned it out, I found a pillowcase I started embroidering for Cheyenne for her 5th birthday. It has a mermaid, seashells, starfish and a seahorse on it. I'm going to finish it now for her 8th birthday. Better late than never.
Dang! FIL is made of steel. The man drove here from Arkansas overnight and has spent the day working to fix everything that is broken in this house.
He took us all out for lunch and is taking the family to get some groceries including grain to grind because he wants to make bread with the kids. He brought me some extra bags for my grain grinder.
He has already talked Zach down from some of the purchases he wanted to make and proposed much less expensive, though somewhat more labor intensive solutions that reuse what we already have. Just today alone I think he's saved us about $500 and they'll be working all week.
Stella Can you share him??????
Sounds like fun in the Stella household . . .
I went to the craaaaazy busy thrift store today and bought pantyhose for the washer hose to catch the lint. 3 pr., or six uses for $2. Our new one really spews a lot of lint. Also got a few wooden hangers for DH's shirts and pants. I like them a lot better than plastic. Total: $4.25.
Not much else. Need to food plan. Ew.
Picked up the taxes today - to me it is way worth paying an accountant to do this (somewhat, for me anyway, complex with capital losses carrying over for several years) and know that it is done right or they will help me if there is an issue. Took DS's books to 1/2 Price Books - he can use any $$ and I can use the freed up space so it's a win/win for us. Went to happy hour/dinner with DH at a local brew house - we both ate half our dinner so are set for lunch tomorrow. Even though I know I can cook much cheaper at home, it's fun to be out and about with lots of people around you. There were many families with little kids - fun to see!
Blackdog Lin
3-2-12, 8:54pm
I would like to participate this month, as my normal frugal ways have been discombobulated lately with home improvement. I was determined not to "cheap out" this time, and buy quality fixtures and accessories that would last and I would be happy with for the next 15 years or so in my new bathroom, and no debt was involved, but still.....man, I spent too much money. And it's been kind of a case of knowing I gave myself permission to buy what I wanted for the bathroom has bled into other areas of my spending. NO MORE. I am back on the bandwagon.
After going out to lunch today. DH wanted to take my out for mountain oysters for my birthday (and Happy Birthday to you too Mighty Frugal!) and I succumbed to his non-frugal suggestion. But truly, that's it. He's gonna have to join me on the frugal bandwagon for the month of March.
So minimal grocery-buying for the next few weeks, and a program of using up what's in the house. Tomorrow night: the chicken DH smoked 6 weeks ago and froze, with homemade dressing using the tag ends of bread loaves I've been saving in the freezer. The dressing will use up the rest of the (wilting) celery in the crisper, and I'll try glazed carrots (mentioned in another thread - trying to expand our vegetable horizons) to use up the carrots in there too.
Sunday is biscuits and gravy for meal 1 (using a pack of pre-cooked ground beef I know is hiding in the freezer), then an inventory of the freezer to see what casserole surprise or soup surprise I can do for Sunday night and Monday.
I'm psyched!.....
Happy birthday Blackdog Lin!
I have been reinspired by FIL and I have been puttering doing useful things this evening since the rest of my family is asleep. I am tackling my mending pile. I finished patching a sleeping bag that is really, really nice and warm, but had a big hole in the lining.
Stella Can you share him??????
:) He has a whole group of ladies who regularly own him for maintenance chores, but they are very nice. They'd probably lend him out.
fidgiegirl
3-3-12, 10:40am
Excited to do some shopping today! We're gonna hit some thrift stores for organizational items and also - surprise - Menards. :)
Ok I am seriously back to my old self again. I woke up this morning and Zach and his dad were fixing the closet door that has been bugging me forever.
I ate some leftover cornbread from last night and some cottage cheese for breakfast and got to work on Cheyenne's pillowcase.
I think I am back on a crafting kick again. I've been feeling really stagnant because I am less physically capable right now because I'm 31 weeks pregnant. It really does wear me out to be lifting things, which is a major componant of all of the bigger projects we have going on right now. As a consequence, I have felt like I'm spinning my wheels a bit. Tackling my mending pile last night and getting Cheyenne's pillowcase embroidered gave me a sense of accomplishment I've been missing. Laundry, cooking and cleaning don't give me quite the same sense because they are never really done. There's always more to wash, clean and cook. Finishing a sewing project or knitting project makes gives me that moment when I can look at something and declare it finished.
The girls and I have been discussing their spring/summer wardrobe and I think we are going to go with a plan similar to one we adopted when they were small. I will buy them a few sundresses at thrift shops and make them some skirts, buying t-shirts to mix and match and a couple of pairs of shorts for wearing under the skirts during active play. They vastly prefer skirts and dresses to any other clothing. For the most part the outfits will coordinate so that different pieces can be matched together, similar to their uniform idea, but a little more individual. We did that when they were younger and it worked fabulously well. I already have enough fabric for all of the skirts and a few t-shirts so a couple of $6 Target t-shirts and shorts and a couple of $5 thrift store dresses should do us for the rest of the summer. The boys are so well outfitted with hand-me-downs there is just no point in anything else.
Cheyenne can't think of anything she wants for her birthday from us that someone isn't already getting her. I think I'll sew her a doll dress and a sleeping bag for her AG doll and maybe get her a bucket of legos, since she is on a huge lego kick. That will be about $30. BTW, were legos this expensive when I was a kid? Was I just not aware? They seem like they've gotten pricey to me.
I also think I will make James an apron for his birthday. I have lots of frilly, flowery aprons for the girls, but that is not James' personality at all. I have some cowboy fabric I am going to use. His birthday isn't until June but this March-July includes five birthdays, a college graduation, a first communion and the birth of a baby in this house. It might be best to think ahead. :) I have a pattern for a kid's tool belt too, so I might make those for the oldest three.
I have decided not to buy Travis anything for his first birthday. He just doesn't care. He'll be one on April Fool's Day.
I've inventoried my baby stuff and I need only three things. Well, I want only three things. I maybe don't need them. I want to get a really decent breast pump this time and I need a new carseat and a triple stroller. That actually means I'll be spending more on this baby than on the last two, but I think it will be worth it.
early morning
3-3-12, 11:41am
Long, chatty, sorry....I'm in a chatty mood today, I guess.
I was looking at some Lego sets the other day, Stella, and was blown away at the cost! I really don't know when they got so expensive, because all the ones my kids had were yard sale finds, or gifts, and were just basic blocks with a few people, doors, wheels, etc. But sheesh! I saw this amazing Lego Viking ship and it was $160.00!! OMG, that is nuts!
Frugally for the month - mended some undies this morning. Working hard to waste no food, so I'm making beef veggie soup today to use up some broth from last week. Ate lunch out yesterday with DD, which was planned. We attended a free symposium on local and public history, (with free snacks, too!). We shared a luncheon platter at a favorite BBQ place and bought an extra sandwich. Buying the platter and sharing sides saved us 2.50. We also bought two scoops of ice cream for dessert. We each wanted one scoop and the clerk pointed out that buying two scoops and getting an extra cup and spoon would save us $3.00! Which we generally do, but I thought it was really nice of him to point that out. I hope his boss doesn't get upset.... but he was the only one there, so maybe he WAS the boss! Got another $50 refund check from my Amazon card. That's $100 so far this year. It should hopefully slow down accruing now, because a lot of that spending was for major, out of the ordinary things (new freezer, spay/neuter 3 kitties, truck repair, older cat vet bill...). Can I add one for DD, since she's householding with us? She is doing Swagbuck tasks and has a lot of Amazon credit built up, which she plans to use for all of her gift-buying this year, and also uses to offset her current nail-polish obsession...
Happy birthday Mighty Frugal & Blackdog Lin!
Stella your FIL sounds like an awesome guy.
Got our tax refund this week. Most of it will go for college expenses for the boys. Put $150 into emergency fund. And today we are going to go buy a camera for the computer so we will be able to skype with DS when he is in Germany this summer. Going to get it at Target so we can use my discounts.
Got my 2nd paycheck yesterday- yay! Have to pay for a few things with it but I managed to get $25 into my London savings. Next check will be going to Disney with DS on his choir/band trip.
Have not been frugal with the food budget this week. I'd kept it so low for the past 6 weeks or so and this week we just needed so many things. I went a little crazy. But now I will get back on the frugal side.
Rushed home from work yesterday to wait for the repairman who never showed up. Never called. It's not a big deal just some window well covers for our odd-sized window wells. But it is aggravating that they never called. On the bright side the longer it takes to finish up the work the longer til we have to start paying for it.
early morning that lego ship is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Yes, it's awesome, but wow! The expense!
Today just keeps getting better and better. I talked to my mom on the phone and apparently she got some money from my grandma. As an anniversary present (9 years today!) she gave us $500 towards the projects we are working on and told us to let her know if we need more. She also said she is going to give us the $500 that is her half of the tax refund to go towards new flooring when we tackle that. Dad gave us 200 and bought everyone dinner. Zach's dad replaced the battery in Zach's car and is building me a closet to solve my coat storage problem in the family room. Zach and the girls bought me flowers.
Also, Dad babysat the baby for a while today so I could work on some projects of my own. I got my kitchen curtains washed and ironed.Zach wanted to get new ones because these were looking dingy, but I soaked them in oxyclean and they are good as new. I am also finally going to shorten the curtains I have been meaning to shorten for 4 years. I have them measured and pinned but still need to get them sewn.
Zach and FIL took the big kids to Home Depot for their free kids' workshop this morning. They had a good time.
Happy Anniversary Stella & Zach! And home improvements are among my favorite things in the world.
I had a productive day today. Up at five-ish, did the usual housework, laundry, etc. but also did the extra loads of laundry from Mom's house to donate to the Salvation Army, rebalanced my 401K account, and filed my taxes online. Doing the 401K rebalance was one of my goals for the March MMM challenge, so that was a satisfying accomplishment.
Early: Good for you with the Amazon card. At least you got something back for your necessary (although not fun) expenditures. I guess the Swagbucks thing eludes me. I've given up; at the rate I was going I would be earning $5.00 in the course of a year. I think I could do better just picking up pennies on the sidewalks in Boston.
Azure: I'm glad the new job is going well. You must be psyched to add that money to your budget, and it sounds like you have some delightful savings goals on your agenda!
Blackdog Lin
3-3-12, 9:22pm
Way to go Stella. Isn't is awesome when life just.....cooperates?!!! Happy smile for you.
I am committed to this thread this month as I need the reinforcement. My frugal for the day was going shopping with the BFF and in spite of going into FOUR! home decor/furniture stores I spent a grand total of $2.50 on the pack of film DH wanted and nothing else. (whoops, I did buy my restaurant lunch. Bummer - forgot about that.) Well, at least no spending money on home decor that I can do without.
Still committed to staying out of the grocery store, so went through the freezer leftovers conglomeration, and made up a menu plan to use stuff up this week. Sunday - baked chicken w/homemade dressing and glazed carrots (s'posed to be tonight, but life didn't cooperate). Monday - chicken pot pie with a dressing bottom crust and a pastry top one, using up Sunday's leftovers; Tuesday - some-sort-of-beans and smoked sausage (2 bags of various smoked sausage in the freezer) over rice; Wednesday - tacos, just because it sounds good and there are shells-getting-old in the pantry; Thursday - there will surely be leftovers by now that we should make a buffet of; and Friday - pot o'stew, using MANY baggies of various leftover bits of meat/veggies in the freezer. Also using up the 1/2 head of cabbage that I can't figure out what to do with in the meantime. I hope it holds out till the end of the week. :)
It's a great plan - I wonder how well I'll do on implementing it.....
My boyfriend just received an unexpected tax return from two years ago, as he only worked part of the year and was under the taxable threshold - nice!
I'm getting back into cutting my own hair. It was down to the middle of my back and just getting too thick and ratty (I have about the equivalent of four normal people's hair!!) so I gave it the chop. Still working on it though.
Happy Anniversary, Stella! You might want to let your local MOMS Club know you're looking for some baby items. There are always moms looking to give away things, especially infant car seats. If you like I can put the word out to moms I know for all of those items.
DD and I spent yesterday morning making food items for our church's annual auction, which is the biggest fundraiser of the year. As donated goods go, food ingredient cost is pretty low and the members of our congregation, who are mostly 20+ years older than we are, really appreciate them.
And in the evening we took in a play at our local middle school. Great entertainment by real, local kids for less than the cost of a movie. Next weekend's low-cost, local recreation includes working a booth at DD's school carnival and The Sound of Music at a local high school.
Thanks for the anniversary wishes everyone! It was a good one. Good idea on the MOMS club too, Rosemary.
The detested pink paneling is leaving my family room today! Zach and his dad are working as I type this.
Our neighbor kid called this morning and asked us if she could read to the baby boys. She has a school assignment related to child care. We told her the house was under construction and she asked her mom, who is a friend of mine, if she could take the boys to her house and watch them for a while. My friend agreed, so I have free babysitting this afternoon. I am spending some of the time cleaning up after everyone. Construction is messy. I'm trying to keep my nesting hormones under control, but there is only so much I can take. :)
I got my curtains washed and ironed and the ones I wanted shortened pinned and ready to sew. Tonight or tomorrow I'll get that done.
This is just an amazing Spring Break. When Zach and FIL went to Home Depot yesterday FIL insisted on paying even though we had the money from my mom to buy stuff with. That's another $200 towards this project. The guys have demolished a weird little half wall in the family room that seemed to serve no purpose other than making the room feel smaller and torn out the paneling and ceiling in part of the room. Zach moved the wiring for the switches that were in the demolished half wall. Today Cheyenne is helping them build a closet. It's going to be a nice closet, too. One section will be hanging stuff and another will be shelving.
early morning
3-5-12, 7:27pm
Wow, Stella, that's awesome! I do wish I had some inspiring frugals to post, but it's the same old, same old here. Had to call our dental insurance to get our payment reduced - which should have happened automatically - since DS aged off and is no longer covered. That saves us a whole $4 per month.
Went to a free conference at one of the local colleges this past Saturday. A friend was one of the guest speakers, so we went to support him and to see what the conference was all about. Not only was the conference free, but also there was a free lunch provided to the conference attendees! On Sunday, went to an event at my alma mater as I was moderating an alumni panel. There was free food at that event as well. So got a few free meals this weekend. Filled the car with gas at the station where I have a loyalty card and got 10 cents off per gallon -- saved almost $2.00. Been trying to eat from the pantry as much as possible, but will probably have to grocery shop tomorrow or the next day in order to have something in the house for my partner while I'm gone to Texas for work for a week. If I leave him to buy groceries it will likely cost twice as much! Made a quiche for dinner the other night with free eggs from the neighbor's chickens. Used up some spinach that was on it's way out. Have two bananas that are getting pretty ripe, so I think I'll whip up some banana-chocolate chip muffins tomorrow. Otherwise it's just been the usual stuff, but I know every little bit adds up so I'm trying to keep my focus!
Blackdog Lin
3-5-12, 9:45pm
cdt: yeah, just trying to stay focused with the usual day-to-day stuff!
Spent $4.55 at the grocery store today, picking up milk and fresh produce, which will get us through the week with my menus. The plan is to spend nothing more for the next 10 days or so. Working on my "frugal queen mindset" this week; I need to make myself be again the queen of "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
I am focusing this week on "make it do".
This is just a crazy awesome week! I just got an e-mail from the woman who is in charge of financials for Adult Faith Formation at church that she found some cash we had paid for a class we took this fall. Apparently someone else had paid for us, so she wants to return our money. I have no idea who this annonymous person is. My best guess is that it was Zach's Godparents. It seems like the kind of thing his Godmother would do. Anyway that's another $60 I wasn't expecting.
I almost forgot. FIL paid for the insulation for the family room too. Not quite sure what to make of all of this gifting. It's just so overwhelmingly kind of people and I'm not sure what we've done to deserve it, or even what has triggered such an outpouring of gifts from all over the place. Circumstances aren't especially tight or anything. Maybe it's the new baby and Zach's graduation? I'm just going to be grateful for it and pay it foward when I get the chance.
Stella, people love you and are generous because you love them and are generous...it's just coming back to you.
early morning
3-6-12, 9:33pm
Stopped by a new mechanics shop and got my "check engine" idiot light turned off. I really really don't like that thing. I have a 4 cylinder. When it misfires, I know it! I don't need a bloody light to tell me that, grrrr. Anyway, the owner ran a total on some upcoming maintenance, and it is much less than I had been quoted by the dealer, so I may try him out. I found out that he's had several shops and sold them, has a decent reputation - hopefully this relationship will work, lol. My last wonderful mechanic retired, and I've been bouncing around looking for the right guy. So that's my only different frugal for the day...
Stella, people love you and are generous because you love them and are generous...it's just coming back to you.
Thanks Merski! You are absolutely right that the people who are giving to us love us and we love them. It's amazing to me, and quite humbling, how much everyone is pulling together for us. What a beautiful gift!
The closet is almost done and I am freaking out I am so excited!
early morning, I hope you've found your new mechanic! I always feel so much more relaxed when I know I have someone I can take my car to who I trust. It's so easy to be taken advantage of with cars.
We have been eating out a lot this week because of all of the construction. No more. I am tired of take-out and I'm getting that sluggish feeling that tells me I'm not eating right. I went to the store tonight and got some stuff to make easy, healthier meals. Nothing earth shattering, minestrone soup, stir fry, turkey burgers, salads and stuff like that. It should be quite a bit cheaper and healthier than fast food or take-out.
flowerseverywhere
3-7-12, 8:47am
warm weather is back so I am riding my bike to town today. It is three miles there and three miles back so for the first ride out I should do OK.
Thinking about my garden already and planning... the most frugal fun I have.
FIL is building the kids some kind of puzzle he had made for Zach when he was a kid. I am not sure what it is yet, but Zach remembers it fondly and is excited. Bella is helping him build one of them and Cheyenne will help with the other one.
I made homemade banana walnut muffins today using some of the wheat flour we ground the other day and some rolled oats. So good! I have the minestrone made for today's lunch too. I am happy to be back on track with food.
I have been told that my new closet will be usable by tomorrow!
I finally got my curtains shortened and I'm getting started on the first of the spring skirts for the big girls. Today is pretty much kicking butt.
Zach and FIL are building the shelves for the closet from the wood paneling they took out. It was much sturdier than I thought it was and is making very good, inexpensive shelving. Zach is saving some of it for future projects. Why pay to have it all hauled away if we can paint it and use it somewhere else? Zach is going to save more of it and use it to make the garage shelving he was going to make. All in all reusing the paneling is saving us a couple hundred dollars over buying wood for shelving and it's better for the enviroment to reuse it. I'm really excited about that. I'm realizing that between the gifts people have given us and the reduced expenses because of FIL's creative reuses of materials we've probably saved ourselves $1000. Adding that to mom's $500 donation to the flooring and we're at $1500!
I made a huge batch of oatmeal for breakfast. I made it in one of my big soup pots and there was only enough leftover to have a serving of baby food for later. It's a good thing oatmeal is cheap! Lunch will be leftover soup from last night plus a batch of tomato soup, since there's not enough leftover soup for everyone. The kids love tomato soup, so I'm sure they'll have that. I'll make some popcorn too. Tomorrow I'm going to make matzo ball soup and egg salad sandwiches for lunch.
I made Cheyenne a sleeping bag and pillow for her AG doll. It was only a few dollars since I got the fabric in a bundle at the thrift store. I actually bought it to get a different fabric, so I was happy to use the other one up. Bella spilled the beans, so I gave it to her early and she loved it. I am thinking of using a pattern I have for a cat tent to make a tent for her AG doll too. We can have a whole camping theme.
Everyone seems to be having a great month!
I've been busy working, working, and then working some more! I'm tired this evening but it really hasn't been too bad.
Dh and I went out last night but chose to have a meal at home first saving at least $20. Ds has been going to Head to Head competitions after school. I give him money to buy food with but he spends remarkably little. Last night it was $2 on pizza.
We recieved our income tax check and deposited it. Every cent will go for debt payment.
We went shopping at the dollar store using my gift cards. We found air freshener that we use at work for about $1 less than we usually pay PLUS they had coupons in the store so we bought several months worth. Its a cinnamon apple scent and the customers love it when they enter the restaurant. Funny story-we started using this a couple of years ago when we had a stinky little skunk visiting us and it was so popular (the air freshener, not the skunk) that we never stopped using it. People always comment about how good the place smells and ask if the pie is ready to be cut.
I found a 50 load container of laundry soap at the dollar store with a TMF label so of course I bought it. Savings of $8.50.
I recieved 7 coupons in the mail for free snickers/M&M products in the mail as prizes for a contest they were having on line. The coupons are good through July so I will take my time using them-hopefully combining them with B1G1 sales for even more free products.
Ds and I ate leftovers from work for dinner so that they wouldn't end up in the garbage.
early morning
3-9-12, 8:52pm
Got the chicken yard fence put back up (darned sheep!) so the chickens can go scratch - saves some feed, not sure how much. DH is terrible about putting out way too much feed. We have very fat mice - and fat barn cats too!! We have lots of fresh eggs, so I have decided I need like egg salad. And you know what? I really do! DD and I have been watching the fridge closely, and have had almost no food waste since Christmas. We are pleased. The cats are sad. The racoons are desolate. The compost pile is languishing...
LOL, Early Morning. I feel so sorry for your starving critters lol
DS had a gig last night (guitar player in a rock band) at a young adult venue. We transported him & his equipment. We were going to stay & watch him play, and once again be the token old people lol, but as usual for these venues one group cancelled and the schedule got shuffled around. So we decided to go pick up new lights for the bathroom and come back. Drove around a bit. Browsed at B&N for a bit but they closed at 9. Then we got another call. Lineup shuffled around again. He'd be playing even later. So we gave up and came home! We did stop and get a Frosty on the way home. So except for the wasted gas, we had an inexpensive, unintended date night. lol He found someone else to drive him & his stuff home.
Today was a kinda sorta frugal day. Tyler is going to play at Disney over spring break with band/choir. They did not get as many participants as they had hoped and we were all going to have to pay another $88. OR we could go to an Outback Steakhouse fund raiser lunch and spend $45 for all 3 of us. Plus we left a $10 tip. We'd never been to Outback before so we enjoyed it. Now our curiosity has been satisfied so we probably won't go back. And saved $33. That's fugal - right? ;)
On the way home we stopped at a Saturday sale at Meijer, got 3 packs of Thomas English muffins in a buy 1 get 2 free deal. $.88/lb grapes.
Refilled DH's metformin for free.
We also splurged a bit and got DH a new pair of black sport shoes with velcro straps. He wears them at the office. His old ones are glued together. And the velcro ones will definitely be easier for him to use with his arthritis. I got a set of inserts from the Dr. Scholls foot machine at the pharmacy. They were $49.99 which really makes me unhappy but if they help me do my job without further foot problems they will be a bargain. Also, it has a money back guarantee.
fidgiegirl
3-10-12, 5:03pm
Hello everyone! Early morning, you gave me a giggle. Stella, hope all continues along so nicely going into the weekend.
We are being reasonably frugal again, despite a meal out last night (curse your cost, gluten free pizza!) and getting new countertops this week! EEEEEEEEEEk! They look great, but this is the last big spend for a while. Fingers crossed.
With the surprisingly warm weather I spray painted our switch and outlet plates, all the screws, some curtain rod brackets, and picture frame hangers (we have picture rail but they got painted with wall paint on accident and they were an icky gold color). They were a mish mash of colors and ages - now they will all be the same oil rubbed bronze color. That might look weird with some of the almond colored switches in the dining room, but we'll see. Cost of primer and paint = approximately $6. We painted around 25 switch plates, so that would have been at least $25 to replace, and some of them are weird plates that would have cost more (5 switches?!).
The curtain rod brackets I bought at Menards for .75 a pair. That will save me having to buy a whole rod set, because the windows I want to cover already have old old old rods but their brackets are all rusty and bent up. Plus the windows are really narrow and so I would have had to be hack sawing new rods, anyway.
I sliced up some extra potatoes from hashbrowns this morning and put in the freezer.
Bryce fixed the dishwasher today. Praise the Lord. We went to a parts distributor in Midway to get the mounting kit we needed - we likely saved something over ordering, and now it's done.
Not much else! We're on spring break, so we're going to putter around here (I hope not too intensively - sometimes DH really gets into his projects :) ). I hope we will go do some fun things, too. We are going to go see the eagles at Wabasha and have one night in a hotel, so that will be fun.
Oh! I forgot one. Bryce returned FOUR TILES to the Tile Shop and we got $21 back! Can you believe it?! For 4 tiles?! They were bullnose tiles, so that's why, I guess. Uffda.
Another! Bryce salvaged the sprayer off the sink that went out to the curb for scrap. He will use it in his mold-box on wheels camper for his fishing trip in June. :devil:
I completely redecorated my living room from my stash of Goodwill finds last night. I pulled the warm, rich winter furnishings, the gorgeous chocolate brown, red, green, orange & khaki wool paisley hooked rug, took down the brown velvet curtains, put away the velvet pillows of brown & deep reds, and the wool throws. Out came the aqua, celery & spring green cotton pillows, a neutral wool rug, a blue flokati rug, blue throws, and semi sheer natural linen curtains. I pulled the red silk lampshades for neutral ones too. The room has turned into spring!
I'll store the winter stuff under our bed till late fall... Our sofa is a pretty green, and the winter rug has its exact shade in it, so it looks wonderful with all the winter colors & the spring colors. The sofa is a craigslist purchase years ago, and is a super well built piece. Everything in our living room came from GW or CL, with the exception of a handmade bentwood chair a friend made. I do love making our home beautiful & comfy with little expense and reuse of existing things.
And I am ready for spring!!
Oh! I forgot one. Bryce returned FOUR TILES to the Tile Shop and we got $21 back! Can you believe it?! For 4 tiles?! They were bullnose tiles, so that's why, I guess. Uffda.
Wow! That is a good savings!
Phil continues to reuse and come up with good, free or cheap solutions to our problems. I have added up the savings on the spreadsheet and we are actually at $1900 saved, not including the money mom is giving us later in the spring towards the flooring. That's a total of $2400 saved. That also doesn't include the labour savings, which would be thousands of dollars more or all of the skills everyone learned. Zach learned a lot more about carpentry and Phil said he learned more about electrical work from Zach. The kids learned a lot too. They are already making plans for next time. I think we'll have a lot more visits from Grandpa in the future. It was excellent Father/Son/Grandkid bonding.
The kids want to roll some of the extra money over into some gardening stuff this summer. I'm not sure if that is going to be possible, given the new baby arriving in mid-May, but the girls are quite capable of helping and my Mother's Helper would be willing to help with that kind of thing, so it might be a fun project.
I'm not sure when we will get to it, but Diana in Wisconsin has invited is out to her farm for a weekend sometime soon. We won't be making any huge cross country trips in the next year, so that might be a nice, frugal getaway. I think Diana, Grandpa Phil and our recent visit to the Dervaes' of Path to Freedom are partly responsible for the girls serious interest in gardening, canning, cooking, sewing, carpentry, knitting and other homestead-type skills.
rosarugosa
3-11-12, 8:43pm
BKE: You are truly our black belt frugal shopper; I am always impressed at the deals that you score.
Early: I too got a laugh at the expense of your desolate racoons!
Azure: The Outback deal was definitely a frugal, and so much nicer than just writing a check.
Redfox, Fidgie & Stella: Congrats on the home decorating and remodeling. I know I'll be painting the exterior trim on our house this year, but will probably push the new roof off until next year - again. The one we have isn't leaking or anything, I just know it is overdue for replacement in terms of number of years. Would love to take at least a first step on the kitchen remodel, but that can definitely wait. I would like to break the kitchen into a series of mini projects over the next 3 - 5 years, but I want to build up our cash reserves a bit more before we tackle something that isn't a true necessity. We've had a lot of fairly substantial outlays this year: medical, vet, water heater replacement, car repairs. I'm glad we had reserves in the bank to cover it all, but money can sure evaporate quickly when you have a string of expenditures like that.
We did pretty well this week in terms of discretionary spending. Groceries came in under budget by about $15. Now it just depends on whether we rack up expenses on those little extra runs during the week. We had some TFF today (Totally Frugal Fun) working out in the yard for the first time this season. Such a beautiful day; it was truly glorious to get outside and make the most of it. !pow!
Oh, and I did our taxes, which is a frugal because I use the Free Fillable Forms, which are a pain in the a$$, but I don't have to pay a preparer or buy software. I also knew we would be paying this year, so I set aside money in ING to cover the taxes. I was WAY conservative and set aside $5000 more than we had to pay, so it actually felt like we got a big refund! My goal is to keep as much of that in savings as possible, but I'm going to end up using at least a portion of it for some of the outlays mentioned above.
Rosa yesterday was a beautiful day here too. Just lovely! It was a real emotional boost getting out in the sunshine.
I made some brown rice to make veggie fried rice for lunches this week. Everyone likes it and it's cheap, reasonably healthy and easy. FIL bought the brown rice, some of the veggies and the eggs when he was here, so it's nearly free. I will have to eat something different, but the rest of the family will enjoy it.
I am also planning on making banana walnut muffins for a snack this afternoon. That will use some of the food he bought too, particularly wheat berries, oats, honey and bananas.
I am trying to think of something to do with the canned salmon he brought. The only thing I ever really make with canned salmon is a cracker spread, but that's not really something we eat regularly.
I made my menu for the week and I only need five things, 2 lbs of ground beef, a beef brisket (for homemade corned beef), milk, pecans and lettuce. That's pretty good. The brisket won't be cheap, but homemade corned beef is a treat for my Dad's birthday. The pecans are for a German Chocolate Cake for his birthday too. That's his birthday present from me. Zach is cleaning his room and Cheyenne and Bella are washing his laundry. He'll like that as well as anything we could buy him. So $30 or so of my grocery budget is actually a birthday gift.
Stella, for the canned salmon: salmon cakes (easy, no recipe needed, just use salmon, egg, flour or flax meal or oatmeal, seasoning to taste) or use as is on top of salad.
Stella salmon pie! Piecrust white sauce salmon baby cubed cooked potatoes and peas and a little onion. no top crust yummy!
Yesterday my husbands sister took the whole family to Red Lobster for dinner to celebrate another sister in laws birthday. We had a very nice time for free! But I have had enough of eating out to last me a while.
At the last minute I decided to go to the potluck at church before the cake auction. I made a double batch of vegetarian chili. Not a whole lot of it got eaten but the rest will definitely get eaten here at home. I had some for lunch when I got home from work. I had all the ingredients already so it was inexpensive. I did end up buying some shredded cheese to top it with though.
I also had to buy food coloring for the cookies I made for the cake auction. I only had $10 to spare for the cake auction and most of the cakes started at $15. Of course, we really don't need any cakes or cookies here anyway. I ended up giving the $10 to Tyler for the youth group to spend. It's so funny, the kids all pool their funds plus they get donations (like my $10) from other folks. Then they pick out something they really want, usually the most desired thing at the bake sale & that is sold at the end. The competition from other bidders gets pretty crazy. So the kids have to stop and count their money. People are throwing more money to them And they have to count it again. It's pretty funny and a fun time. So anyway, back to the subject at hand, I spent $18 and consider it money well-spent.
Other FFF: I walked the dog around the lake on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day. Tryied out my new inserts. It felt so good to walk again! I haven't walked for 11 months so that my feet could heal from plantar fascitis. I think I will build up slowly to walking every day. I have missed it so much. Well.... maybe not on those 13 degree days :D
early morning
3-12-12, 7:56pm
It was a lovely frugal weekend here, too. Managed to get some free exercise by cleaning up a few flower beds, hung four loads of laundry, three of them outside. Two loads were things I had been holding up for a nice drying day. Cooked some things ahead for the week for lunches and for quickly made meals, and used two Jo-Ann's coupons to buy some wonder-under so I can repair my kitchen chair seat, and a spool of red thread to re-make a sweatshirt for my DSis. Azure, glad your inserts help. And Stella, I second the salmon patties, they are a frugal staple here.
fidgiegirl
3-12-12, 8:25pm
Mmm, I'm getting hungry from this thread . . . :D
The gardening bug has bit! We had such a wonderful, fabulous, awesome Saturday and Sunday that even picking up dog poop out of wet leaves inspired me! I think we pretty much have nothing growing in the back yard. I can see some peonies, but not sure if those are ours or the neighbors. We have grapevines, and I will need to research how to maintain them. They are out of control. Other than that, a few bushes is pretty much it, and hostas in the front . . . we bought this place in the fall after being unoccupied for 4 months - I think we would have seen plants. I'm wishing we'd had the foresight to put in some bulbs for this spring. Oh well! Next year! Since none of this is frugal, moving on . . .
I found about the most inexpensive compost bin sale: http://www.cityofroseville.com/index.aspx?NID=1821 I am torn between wishing that the tenants aren't interested in composting, in which case we will retrieve our bin from the old house, and if they are, because that would be good on the Earth and that garbage bill. So we'll just see what they want to do. If we have to buy though, I'm waiting for this sale, or I might put out a line on CL. I think a lot of people buy bins with good intentions and then don't do it, so I bet more than one person out there would happily unload theirs.
Today we sold our scrap metal for $42! A big score toward the 100 items challenge, too. When selling scrap, we learned too late that you have to isolate the metals. Unfortunately some of our copper still had brass affixed so we got less for that. But what the heck, we got $42 for stuff we would have just plunked in the alley over the last 4 months. And now let the plunking begin again. :) That's one of the beauties of living in the city. Disposal of some items is so much easier, because people are scavenging. Well, scavenging is a crappy word for it. I mean there are so many more people that there is a greater chance that someone nearby is interested in the very thing you want to get rid of.
We also brought back a light fixture we couldn't use to Home Depot - $20. Wow, keeping on top of the returns has saved us quite a bit of money. We could have just let that stuff languish around, but we didn't.
Ok, this one feels super duper cheap, but we are also going to try to return a washing machine hookup kit that my DSis and DBiL gave us. They bought 2 extras from Lowe's and then somehow we ended up with them. If we manage to return it, we could give them the money. Although I did suggest it to them and they weren't too interested . . . so . . . we'll see.
I put in a big order to Coborn's Delivers since the freezer is up and running again. They have some pretty decent meat prices this week - including brisket, Stella. I am going to make a recipe I love in the crock pot - Gingered Pork and Prune Dinner - and also try some Red Snapper Veracruz Style, which in Spanish is: Huachinango a la veracruzana. SO DELISH. And super easy, it seems.
Azure-the cake auction sounds like so much fun! I love to see things like that where everyone is enjoying themselves and sharing with others. I smiled just thinking of all the fun it must have been.
Rosa-thanks for the compliment on my shopping style. I'm a bit of an addict but I make sure I always find a home for any and all freebies I am fortunate enough to recieve!
And speaking of shopping, we went to Walmart tonight to get a few things. I had won 2 coupons for any Thomas' bread items valued at $5 each. Walmart gives the overages to the customer on these types of coupons. I bought 2 packages of bagels for $2.98 each and recieved a total of $4.04 to put towards my other purchases.
I also had recieved a coupon for a full size container of men's shower gel. Ds is into this stuff so I had him pick out the one he wanted but insisted he get one of the bottles containing an additional 50% for free so we brought home 1 and a half bottles of smelly shower gel for free!
I also had a coupon for a free full-size package of toddler snacks. I picked out a box of cinnamon graham crackers. I haven't tried them but figure they're probably not much different than any other animal/graham cracker.
I am exhausted from working so much. My back is just about destroyed in spite of me trying to baby it and I seem to have gotten my first cold all winter! @*!% I was scheduled to work tomorrow so dh could have his first day off in 2 weeks but instead it looks like he's going to be covering for me. I feel like such a loser for not being more physically able but am going to consider it a frugal decision to stay home and rest before I work myself into needing a doctor's appointment.
fidgiegirl
3-13-12, 10:24am
bke, it sounds like the frugality is wearing off on DS. You mentioned a few days ago that he doesn't spend very much of his allotted money on dinner at a school event, and now the shower gel! Do others with kids notice this phenomenon, too?
Here I just pulled out some frozen blueberries to add to yogurt. But then I went to open the yogurt I bought yesterday, Fage, which isn't cheap, and the seal is ruined on it. So that's another errand to run later to get a properly sealed yogurt. They are neverending.
Thanks for the salmon ideas! And thanks for the heads up on the brisket prices Kelli!
I went on a cooking spree yesterday and now have food on hand in case I am too tired to do much in the next couple of days. I made stir fried chicken with cauliflower and bean sprouts, veggie fried rice, carrot raisin bread, cornbread, chicken herb stew with rosemary dumplings and egg salad. I am pleased to have lots of good, homemade food for the next few days.
I am struggling with the urge to complicate things. :) I do this a lot. I start to feel like things are so easy and I'm not sure what to do. Part of me wants to downshift my brain and just relax. Part of me thinks of all of the things I could do with my extra time. I don't know where I am currently getting the perception that I have extra time. That's ridiculous. I finally got a lot of things into maintenance mode that I have previously struggled with, like the laundry. I am kind of meditating on this. I think on one hand I want to do other things I find interesting, which is great when the time and energy are there to do them, which it is from time to time. On the other hand I have to be wary of adding anything that requires a long-term commitment because that's not feasible at the moment. I am putting this in the frugality thread because I think the big challenge of frugality for me is to balance all of my resources, money, material resources, time and energy, in an efficient and satisfying way.
rosarugosa
3-13-12, 8:48pm
Rosemary: I like the idea of the salmon cakes and will suggest to the chef!
Stella: Sounds like lots of good stuff to eat at your house! I've been giving a lot of thought to money as a resource to be used wisely at least as much as money, if not more so. I saw a good about this rrecently; it might have been from the Financial Integrity site on my FB page. It was something to the effect that time isn't money, time is time, time is your life, and is much more valuable than money!
I'm trying to get back on track after an expensive week. The one fun splurgy thing was food at Trader Joe's yesterday, so at least it wasn't stupid stuff. I brought my lunch to work and spent all day at the office today where I couldn't get into any trouble. :)
One thing I noticed recently. I always keep a running list of things I need in my pocketbook, things like birthday cards, nail polish, etc. that are non-grocery store items. I used to update this list constantly and needed a new piece of notepaper at least once a month to update my list (I'm a compulsive list maker). I just realized that I am currently using the same list with most items crossed off and a few added on that goes back to at least last May. It seems I don't think I need nearly as many things as I used to think I did. Surely that's progress!
ETA:
“Time isn’t money. Time is far more valuable. Time is life. Life is that segment of time while you are alive. Life without money is hard, but money is worthless to you if you don’t have a life.”
- Tom Trimbath, “Dream, Invest, Live”
Despite being back on Weight Watchers, I surfaced a brownie mix from the back of the baking cupboard, as well as chocolate chunks & walnuts. A DIVINE pan of chewy brownies cut into 2" squares has been our evening treat for days now. Frugal 'cause it's already been paid for... but more than that... a treat! Nice to be able to have these whilst being parsimonious.
early morning
3-17-12, 10:09am
Last night Dsis and I went to see a local performer. We were running late and decided we would eat at the venue (neighboring Moose lodge). Turns out this one didn't have food! So they very kindly gave us two trays of snacks, we bought some soft drinks, and dinner was solved, for $2 plus a tip! There was no cost to get in to the show, since my sister is a Moose member. We had a great (abet non-nutritious) time! Today I have laundry on the line, and, if DH is up for it, we're going to a free car show. BIL is coming this evening for the balance of the weekend, so I have a roast in the crockpot. Tomorrow we will all meet friends for breakfast out (cheaper than dinner!) and go walking in a local park, one of BIL's favorite activities. It should be lots of fff!
Yesterday we had some friends over for dinner and card night. I made a homemade corned beef brisket. That was a huge hit. I didn't make cabbage because the last several times I've made cabbage with corned beef not much of it was eaten. I made carrots instead and most of those were eaten, the rest being saved for the baby. He'll eat them for lunch today. Zach also made spinach dip for an appetizer. Our friends brought over Irish whiskey, rye bread, chips and St Patrick's day cookies. It was loads of FFF.
I went to a birthday party for a friend of our kids' and spent some time hanging out with a friend of mine who is helping me plan Cheyenne's and Travis' birthday party. She had some really cute ideas. She's also on a make-your-own-cleaning-stuff kick right now and we swapped recipes and tips for making inexpensive, environmentally friendly cleaning products. That was nerdy, frugal fun too.
I am making a big pot of chili today. Last summer when the tomatoes were ripe I froze a bunch of what I call "chili starter" with tomatoes, peppers and onions. I have a couple more batches to use up. I am intentionally making a couple of meals this week that will last more than one meal. Construction continues on the family room and I've learned my lesson on not making complicated meals when things are chaotic. :)
We are planning to replace our outdoor furniture this year and found a table we like on sale at Target for $100 and chairs on sale for $20 each. We already have an umbrella stand and the umbrella is $50 so the total will be $270 for the whole setup. I had bugeted $500.
Another big frugal, James is potty trained! He's had the occasional accident here and there, but he has been mostly potty trained for several days now. I'm thrilled!
I called my local phone company to see if I could get in on the lower rate for internet service that has been advertised. I got not only the lower rate (with a higher speed) but a new plan for lower rate unlimited local and long distance, plus an extra $10 off for being a long-term customer.
Originally posted by Stella.
Another big frugal, James is potty trained! He's had the occasional accident here and there, but he has been mostly potty trained for several days now. I'm thrilled!I have always been amazed at how early you manage to train your kids! Mine, at least several of them, were still waddling around with bulky marshmallow bottoms past age three. My mom (for one) wasn't (at all) a fan of my late-training program! :laff:
I have always been amazed at how early you manage to train your kids! Mine, at least several of them, were still waddling around with bulky marshmallow bottoms past age three. My mom (for one) wasn't (at all) a fan of my late-training program! :laff:
LOL. I have a pretty big incentive with the new baby coming in May. I figured we could do it now or I wouldn't have the time and energy again for another 6 months. It was shockingly easy this time. I was expecting much more trouble.
Yesterday was mostly not a frugal day, although all expenses were planned. We bought our new patio table, some supplies for finishing the family room, went on a stock-up mission at Costco and went out for breakfast.
Our big frugal of the day can be summed up in two words. Cheap labor. :) Our to-do list before baby comes is a bit daunting and Zach had the day off of school so we wanted to make some real progress. We paid our friend's teenager $10 to assemble the patio furniture and he stayed around to help out with the construction. He wants to learn construction skills. Among other things, he, Cheyenne and Zach used some of the wood scraps they were tossing from the walls to make a frame for the Bagster. With a frame inside it the Bagster held about 30% more than it had without the frame. That was pretty frugal too.
The teenager's sister, who is my Mother's Helper in the summer, came over about halfway through and I paid her $5 to watch the boys so I could work too. She took them on a walk to feed the ducks in the pond. Bella helped me with non-construction chores like dishes and also helped her Dad loading up the wheelbarrow with stuff for the bagster. All in all we got about twice as much done with everyone working together.
rosarugosa
3-21-12, 7:42pm
Stella, When are you due? You should post some pics of your exciting home improvement projects (in your spare time!)
Jania, That's great, when you can reap a savings every month from a single phone call. I want to look into raising the deductible on our Homeowner's insurance. We would never put in a claim for something small anyway, so we might as well have a higher deductible and reap some savings on the annual premium if possible.
flowerseverywhere
3-22-12, 8:57am
I haven't posted in a while but I am hanging in there doing frugal things. I got my bike out and have been riding around- unheard of around here for March. I got called into work everyday this week at the school (three miles away) and have ridden in and back. While in town I have done small errands every day, like library, seed store etc.
Started my seeds and it is so nice I have been putting them outside during the day taking advantage of natural light instead of using electricity. Again, using the sun to dry clothes and even my small rugs, I put them outside and beat them to get a lot of the dust and dirt out as well to air them. Like people used to do before all this electricity use.
Donated blood and got a certificate for free Friehofers baked goods at their outlet. Stocked up on some of their sale stuff and spent almost nothing. When I got home broke everything into small packages so we wouldn't eat it all at once.
Rosa, I am due May 13th, so it's coming up quick! Most of my babies (3 of 4) have been born 2-3 weeks before my due date, so I am in big-time nesting mode. :) I'd love to post pictures when we are done.
Flowerseverywhere we have been trying to do some car-free errand running too. I can't believe it's this nice in March!
Today's FFF is volunteering with a group of kids from church at Feed My Starving Children. A friend of mine is taking my little kids and I'm taking her kids (ages 12 and 13) and my big kids to the event. I think we'll have a good time and it will be a good experience for the kids.
We are finishing up our garden planning and will start some seeds this weekend or Monday. Cheyenne and Isabella are very excited about their food growing project this summer. Cheyenne has been writing to Diana in Wisconsin (an old poster here who is a Master Gardener) and getting lots of really good advice. The idea is to take the project from planning to seed planting to the daily work of gardening to cooking and preservation (canning, sun-drying, freezing, etc) and take advantage of all of the learning opportunities involved along the way. For example, just in the planning they have practiced writing and reading, practiced asking good questions, practiced using e-mail and the internet, learned the difference between Determinate tomato plants and Indeterminate tomato plants and which types work better for which applications, what kinds of plants need sun and what needs some shade, learned about composting and fertilizer and what plants need to grow, learned about different diseases and pests that can affect different plants and methods for dealing with them, followed the weather patterns and learned about weather and made up a budget (doing the research and calculations themselves) and supply list. All that and the physical work of preparing the patio for their project is good for teaching good old fashioned work ethic.
They are also going to make a fairy garden that will incorporate art, creative writing (they will write stories about it), planting, botany and construction. That should be fun too. Overall, I think the learning value of the garden projects alone is worth the cost, but we should also be able to get food out of it. Double plus!
I've gotten some decent mail lately including free coffee and a 12 pack of hot apple cider k cups. A couple of weeks ago, we recieved a 12 pk of hot chocolate as well. Ds enjoyed every drop of those! We don't have a Kuerig coffee machine but can make these just by adding hot water to them. Two free samples of laundry detergent have arrived also.
Last night I bought a 32 ounce bottle of vaseline lotion. After the rebate I will make about 50 cents for bringing it home. I use my free postage stamps to send in the rebates so my only additional cost is the envelopes!
I recieved a $32.89 check in the mail for the yogurt we ate 6-8 weeks ago. We had so much free yogurt that I shared several packs with a lady who brings me coupons.
Dh and I have become a bit fascinated with these prepper shows that are on the Discovery channel. I'm not turning into a Doomsdayer (*yet*) but am really interested in some of the self-reliance skills they have. I've discovered that many food items will stay safe to eat for years and years if stored properly. My thoughts are that the value of my hard earned dollars is going to decrease no matter what I do. Current gas and food prices are proof of that. So I'm going to put some additional effort into learning storage skills and get as many free or low cost items as I can THAT WE WILL USE. I'm not going to hoard for hoarding's sake but will continue to increase my stash as a retirement fund of sorts.
IE: If a product will remain ok to consume for 10 years, than I can stash several years worth of that product, use it on a regular basis and rotate my stock. I can buy it for the lowest price possible, keep extras on hand and get more for my dollar in process. If the world gets too crazy to venture out or if my health becomes poor, at least I'll have lots of stuff to get by on without worrying too much. One thing I do worry about is how I will survive as the years go by, my health deteriorates and money becomes in short supply.
I respect the fact that some of you will disagree with me but I am dedicated to this as another way of reaching Financial Independence.
Blackdog Lin
3-22-12, 8:59pm
bke: I don't only not disagree with you, I agree wholeheartedly. Self-reliance and having stockpiles seems to be just common sense these days, what with inflation and all. I am eating food from our storeroom, purchased 2008 and after, that costs twice now what it did then. Our IRA's and our savings accounts have not done half as well. To me, it's a small common-sense inflationary-protected investment in our everyday lives. Simple Living. But a Simple Living concept that has evolved to today's realities.
I don't know how to invest our monies in today's rigged markets. But I - and we all can - work on protecting ourselves through learning about some self-sufficiency, some methods of saving money through living "lower on the food chain". Energy efficiency, cooking for ourselves, stockpiling, making do wth what we have and keeping out of debt.....I now think of us as "Your Money or Your Life v2.0.
Thanks Lin. I appreciate the words of support. This just feels really right to me. There are so many things that I don't agree with in this life. I spent my 30's feeling like we're all doing this wrong-life is supposed to be about more! Anyways, I'm fortunate to have dh's support in this. If you have any sources of information to recommend I'd love to hear about them. I have tons of food grade containers from the restaurant-now I just have to figure out how to put them to the best use!
I think I'm going to order some oxygen absorbers from amazon.com. I can use swagbucks gift certificates and not have any actual out of pocket expense.
I stopped by Rite Aid yesterday afternoon and purchased the following for $5! 6 packs of chewing gum, 14 candy bars (good for packed lunches as an occasional treat) 2 jars of roasted peanuts, 2 pks of feminine hygeine products, and a skin care package valued at $15. Total estimated value-$50. This is why I need to stock pile. I can't imagine spending $50 on this stuff now, much less the $100 or whatever it may cost in the future.
flowerseverywhere
3-23-12, 10:46am
BKE I so agree with you. They say that stores only have about a three day supply of food and anyone can have a tornado, flood, bridge collapse, hurricane, ice storm etc. disrupt their area so having some stored food and water is absolutely necessary. I for one am not planning on the government charging in to save me if some disaster happens. I have close to 6 months of the things we normally use, like detergent, soap, shampoo etc. as well as a good variety of foodstuffs.
I read a great book last week Emergency:this book will save your life by Neil Strauss I got at the library. I highly recommend it. He actually ended up not only learning survival skills but became an EMT and first responder and outlines how things work. I could not put it down.
I like these preparedness websites but beware they have a lot of ads
http://preparednesspro.com/ she is not nearly as extreme as others. If found her article about storing eggs sans refrigeration especially intriguing.
this site is much more extreme but has good info nonetheless http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/
Like you I am not going out to get cases of MRE's etc. but I stock up on the sales and am developing a nice pantry. This saves me a lot of money because I never have to run out for stuff.
don't forget about sprouts, they can be a good source of fresh food and I rarely hear them mentioned.
and no, you are not crazy to be prepared and to buy ahead. I personally am not going to fill a bunker with guns and MRE's but I am going to protect myself and family for interruptions in our daily life and have a nice stockpile of home grown and purchased food at a much lower cost than what it will be in the future.
bke, I don't think you are crazy either.
Volunteering with the kids was so much fun! Not actually as frugal as I thought, though, as I ended up donating way more than I thought I would. It did make me very appreciative for what I have, though, which is always good for staying in a frugal mindset.
We got some hand-me-down clothes from Cheyenne and Bella's best friend, who is a few years older than them. She is tall, like Cheyenne, so her hand-me-downs are actually long enough. Shorts and skirts don't end up looking like panties. :) The kids think it's really exciting to have K's hand-me-downs. Between those and the skirts I am making from fabric I already have, I don't think I'll need much for the summer wardrobes.
Today we will be working on the family room project and garden project. It's actually sunny today.
Thanks for all the positive response. Sometimes there is a tendency for people to respond negatively to coupons and stock piling on this board in general so I didn't expect many to agree with me.
Thank you flowerseverywhere for the recommended links and book. I will definitely be checking them out. I like www.survivalmom.com (http://www.survivalmom.com) She seems to be sane and has lots of good information on food prep.
Congrats on the hand-me-downs Stella. I remember having bags of clothes stashed before I even had my son. I don't understand these people who won't allow their kids to wear second hand clothes- especially when they're young and like to get dirty!
flowerseverywhere
3-23-12, 1:24pm
One more thing BKE, sometimes with those deals like you mentioned I can get a bunch of stuff I don't need, like razors, or certain hand creams etc. for next to nothing. They go to a food bank in my town that has a large number of elderly clients. I am a firm believer in good Karma and generosity coming back to you.
I agree with you 120%! I have given to various places over the years and will continue to do so. Food banks, women's shelters, doctor's without borders and a few college students among others have been the reciepient of my finds over the years. I won't forget the lean years and how thankful I was when some one gave me a hand. My first apartment was furnished with salvaged items and hand outs right down to my shower curtain and vacuum cleaner.
It sounds kind of corny but this world would be a lot better place to live in if we all would be more generous with each other, stop keeping score and trying to outdo each other. That's what is so great about all of you here-everyone shares knowledge and supports each other as we better ourselves and the world around us.
I have to get ready to go back to work now but I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I look forward to chatting with you all again soon. Take care!
early morning
3-23-12, 8:49pm
I had free tickets (teacher days!) to the Philharmonic Orchestra this evening but saved about $8 in gas by giving them to a friend and not driving back to town. His wife really wanted to go but he put in for tickets too late, so they were very excited to get them! We ate our bi-monthly treat of frozen Aldi pizza for supper tonight, $6 for two, instead of $20+ for take-out. Not that we would have PAID for take-out, lol. Picked up 4 free 20 oz Cokes with the Coke Code coupons DH gets. We don't drink much pop but people save codes for him, and I've been known to rummage through recycling bins for carton codes, myself.:|( I have coupons for more; I just don't like to get too many at a time, for some reason. Added up my rebates from my Amazon Visa card, and discovered that I have received $550 back in the past two years, and received another $13 in credit on Amazon. I have paid no interest, and I put stuff on it that I would otherwise use my debit card for, or write checks. I was pretty pleased with that!
I'm always so happy to come and read the monthly frugals thread -- it makes me feel a little less weird about the fact that I like to celebrate my small daily frugals. :|(
I don't have a lot of frugals to report this month, mostly because I've been really busy and have had to travel for work. And our spending has increased in a few areas as a result of too much work and not enough time at home. For instance, we finally found a doggy day care for our dogs because our schedules have been chaotic enough to make that a necessity. <Sigh.> We've never boarded our dogs before or taken them to day care because we've always worked from home in the past and they basically went everywhere with us. But we've finally had to bite the bullet and figure out a solution for those days when we just can't be home. So, for $60 for a half-day or $90 for a full day, we can take them to doggy day care where they can run and play with other dogs to their hearts content. Ack. I'm going to have to ramp up the frugality measures in other areas to compensate. Fortunately, we will only need to do this once a week at most, but still...that's an extra $240 a month. Yikes!
On a positive note, we've done a great job of eating at home. We did go out to dinner once last week, but it was paid for with a gift card. To top things off, I've lost 13 pounds since the beginning of the year and, in general, am eating a lot less, which is frugal in its own right! :cool:
My partner has decided to cut down on the amount of sugar he eats, so he has been eliminating a number of small treats that he normally eats. If we can get those off the grocery list for the most part that will further help reduce the food expenses.
Another frugal note, I gave three trainings this week which will result in about $800 of additional income so that is a huge win. And I have two more trainings coming up next month. I always love a little extra income. :D
Okay, that's all for now. Nothing too exciting, but I wanted to check in so that everyone knew I was still around. :~)
fidgiegirl
3-24-12, 9:10pm
Hi all,
Like cdttmm, I wasn't feeling like there was much to report, but now a few things happened so I'll chime in again.
Had Easter at my sister's today. We brought the mashed potatoes, those are always pretty inexpensive and of course a staple of every holiday meal for my family.
We got a Menard's rebate for $32.12, and a refund of $20-odd from DirecTV from canceling service. Great.
I must not have spent any (or very little) money all week, because today we went to a quilt store and I found a cute clearance print for only $4.49 a yard but didn't have my debit card or drivers license. I removed them from my purse last weekend when we went out for a bike ride or something . . . so must find those soon!
I organized the linen closet this afternoon. I am a huge believer in the power of organization leading to frugality. It's like how boss mare mentioned about the sippy cups in her thread. If you don't know where something is, you go buy another one . . . not too frugal. So we try to avoid that. It also made me happy that we moved over some baskets that weren't going to match our new bathroom colors and I didn't think we would use here, because I was able to make use of them in the closet.
We are going to have a new organics drop off program in our neighborhood. For environmental reasons, I love this. Now I am trying to figure out if it can actually save us money. It will cost $40 a year to participate. I kind of think we can't reduce our garbage bill any more though, because if I remember correctly I inquired about an every other week pickup before and they don't do it. We are already on the smallest can.
Tomorrow I am going to see if I can clean up the future sewing room enough to set up the sewing table and make the bathroom curtains. We're still staging a bunch of remodeling stuff in there, but DH got so much done in the last week that I think we can be done with that space for that purpose. I don't want to set up too much, though, because we still have to paint those walls. Hmmm, how it that frugal, though? :)
Also need to cook up some stuff for freezer lunches tomorrow, even if it's chili or something super easy.
Ok all! Hugs for the rest of the weekend and week to come!!!
Got an amazing deal on airfare to visit my parents this summer - less than half of the lowest fare I'd ever seen for that route. When I got the email from Kayak, I thought there had to be an error - but it was actually available. Booked it immediately.
Just returned from a visit to friends and family in the D.C. area. Lots of free education/entertainment with the sights and museums. I did a lot of cooking for my friend's family, who were our hosts, and it was well appreciated.
I found several inexpensive summer activities for DD that are close to home, which will be good with the anticipated rise in gas prices.
Lots of no-spend activity in the coming weeks with spring and yard/garden clean-up.
Cooked two chickens (on sale) earlier this week and now have a batch of chicken soup. Pulled parsnips out of the garden and now are eating. Thinking "save money...organize things, use up freezer." It got to the point where I had to talk myself into getting my first ice cream cone of the season! $2.75 for a small cone and it wasn't that great in all honesty. I think ice cream out is better than purchasing ice cream to bring home-I'll just eat it all.
I had an unexpected frugal yesterday. Went to the grocery store to pick up a prescription at their pharmacy and they were running a promotion that provided me with a $20 gift card to the store. Woot! I didn't realize that the promotion was happening so it was purely coincidental that I was picking up a prescription this week. Also discovered that my co-pay for prescriptions with my new insurance is $15 instead of $20, which is what it was with my previous insurance, so that was an additional $5 saved.
My partner comes home from NYC today and I am leaving for San Francisco tomorrow, so I need to come up with something fun (and frugal) that we can do to celebrate the little bit of time we have together. I'm thinking a nice relaxing dinner at home (carrot and lentil soup, tossed salad, fresh bread, and chocolate tapioca pudding for dessert) followed by a family (the two of us, 3 dogs, and 2 cats) snuggle fest while watching a Netflix movie. :D
Blackdog Lin
3-25-12, 10:08am
Still trying to stay focused on using up all the food in the house at any given time. Been doing pretty well, though am upset that I missed the timeline for getting some leftover Mexican rice into the freezer, and thus it will have to be a treat for the chickens this evening. And DH doesn't help - he loves to grill outside, but simply CANNOT grill just one meat item (he "hates to waste the coals"). So I'm constantly taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back on thinking of ways to use up what's in the freezer.
But doing pretty well, and our grocery store costs are staying in line, even with all the inflation today. I've been going through the freezer every Saturday or Sunday and making up a weekly menu to use up pre-cooked foods - if I can just impose a firm moratorium on no more grilling for DH for a couple of weeks, I ought to make some good headway. :) Tonight's menu is lo mein, using up pre-cooked pork roast and some cabbage that was on sale.
early morning
3-25-12, 10:24am
LOL Blackdog Lin - I MAKE DH cover the grill with food whenever it's used, and put the left-overs IN the freezer! They are great for last minute dinners, add ons to other meals, lunch when I have nothing to take - I think almost everything tastes better grilled. TEHO, eh? :) Finished up the waffle batter for breakfast, hung a load of laundry. Pulled some meat to thaw for dinner (I'm TERRIBLE at remembering that and use the microwave for thawing way too often!) DH made a small board w/cup hooks to hang by the door, and DD used some old counter-top samples to make tags for the animal shuffle (which cat is in? out? chickens in, or out?) since some cats aren't allowed out at night, while another one isn't allowed IN. For some reason he's an angel during the day, but once we're asleep, OMG! And chickens not locked up at dark = dead chickens... anyway, it's better than the smudged dry erase board. Looks nicer and the cats can't change it by themselves. And I noticed the hooks looked strange - turns out we didn't have any cup hooks on hand, so DH made some out of some eyes he had on hand - yay DH!
rosarugosa
3-25-12, 5:26pm
Well so much for Maximum Mustache March at our place - we have been seriously lacking in financial discipline around here. Way too many recreational shopping trips to Trader Joes, and I ordered tickets to a concert in June that we really could have passed up.
On the slightly more frugal side of spending (which still is not quite the same as being frugal, but I'll give us some points for Mindful Spending), I got a black Land's End rain jacket with hood at Sears, which is something I've been considering for awhile. They were having a 30% off special, so it cost me about $62. instead of $90. I booked two nights in Portland in April for my birthday weekend. I really struggled with this one, but I really, really want to go, and I will also consider this celebration of our smoking cessation (which we can now pull out as an excuse for almost any indulgence!) I did use some of our Priority points, so the room is only costing $120. for 2 nights, instead of $125. per night.
I had one genuine frugal. I needed new glasses, and two years ago they cost me $220 out of pocket from Sears with my vision insurance. This year I got them at Costco for $190, and I'll be able to submit to my vision plan for out-of-network reimbursement for at least $60. of that, so I'll end up saving about $90. by using Costco instead of Sears. I wear progressives, so the lenses are pretty expensive. I also got another $25.00 Macy's card for doing E-Reward surveys, and I have another $3.00 check on the way from Pinecone Research.
Blackdog Lin
3-25-12, 9:26pm
early morning: yes, everything tastes better grilled; but still, don't you have a lot of meat pre-cooked that you need to use up?
It's what I struggle with, to be a frugal cook.....
Using up a generous gift of assorted Meyer like lemons by making lemon marmalade.
flowerseverywhere
3-26-12, 10:12am
spent a few hours this morning preparing for and shopping for groceries. Saved 35% on my bill and got lots of veggies and some products for my long term storage area. I could never make that much per hour working at a job.
I did not have an especially frugal weekend, but I am determined to get back on track this week. This morning I realized we were out of bread, so instead of getting Zach to run to the store I decided to bake some. The girls wanted to help. We used the bread machine and they have requested that we each take turns making bread this week and see if we can go without buying it. I am game. Good bread makes all kinds of things taste like a treat, from PBJ to egg salad sandwiches to just plain old bread with butter and jam.
My grocery list for this week is minimal. I will have to make a Costco run on Friday for Cheyenne and Travis' birthday party this Saturday and my Dad gave me the $28 gift certificate he got back this year. That will make a real dent in the party stuff. Other than that I only need 4-5 things for the week. I spent about $200 on groceries last week, but I must have done a pretty good job because I have almost everything I need to take us through two weeks of meals. My normal goal is $150 a week, so my big splurge week didn't really turn out to be a splurge.
I am planning to make granola later this week. The kids love it and it is a nice easy, cheap, breakfast.
My final frugal is that I don't think we're going to buy T a birthday present. He's one and he's the 4th of 5 kids, so we already have plenty of baby toys. Dad got him the Duplo zoo. He really doesn't need anything else. He doesn't know that it's his birthday or, quite frankly, care. I hope that doesn't sound callous. I'm a fun birthday mom, but these early birthdays really aren't that big a deal.
Stella, I for one agree with you that new toys shouldn't be a necesity at such an early birthday. Quality family time spent celebrating is much more important!
Dh and ds are cleaning and rearranging stuff to make an area for my stockpile as it grows.
A friend from the restaurant loaned me a bunch of prepper books. Some I've read like The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlightbut there are several about food preservation and stockpiling supplies in safe ways. Lots of stuff to read and think about.
I'm on-line to check out the sales flyers and create this week's shopping list but I had to stop by here --mustn't miss out on anything!
I picked up a library book this afternoon and grabbed an extra set of coupons at the same time. The library doesn't care if I take them.
An old friend who has worked for us on and off for years, finds herself needing a job almost as badly as I need some decent help. Hurray for finally finding someone I can depend on this summer! As much as I've enjoyed the extra tip money and the reduced payroll, everything else has kind of come to a stand still and I'm getting really tired of us working so much. Just keeping enough laundry done so we can keep from smelling badly is a challenge it seems! I'm tired of being tired and really looking forward to this person being a regular part of my life again both personally and professionally.
rosarugosa
3-26-12, 8:47pm
Flowers: A classic case of time = money, and it sounds like you're using yours to great advantage.
Stella: It doesn't sound callous; it sounds very wise. I'm sure your son has everything he needs, and probably everything he wants at the age of one!
BKE: That sounds like perfect timing; glad that is going to fall into place so perfectly for you and your friend.
It was a no-spend day for me. I've got two concerts on 4/5 & 4/6, and the weekend in Portland in April, so I'm going to make a point of being good for all the time in between!
Originally posted by Stella.
LOL. I have a pretty big incentive with the new baby coming in May. I figured we could do it now or I wouldn't have the time and energy again for another 6 months. It was shockingly easy this time. I was expecting much more trouble.Well, this time around I'm coming to your house to learn your secrets! :laff:
All jokes aside, having two (or more) in four-corner pants, definitely falls under the category of "less than ideal", so I'm really happy for you that you can rest easy now.
One of my last babysitting jobs (just prior to getting married), was for a family with three kids, all under the age of 3 years, and all in four-corner pants. When timing was right, I could change all three at the same time, getting it done and out of the way for another hour or two, but fussing with one kids pants while the other two waited their turn, never seemed to work in my favour. Seemed every time I laid all three down (side-by-side) to get things done, the two that were laying idle and waiting their turn, would grow restless and impatient, resulting in one (sometimes both) darting to their feet and making a mad dash for it!
You wouldn't believe how long it took me to wise up to their game! I was under the impression I'd win (sooner or later), but no cigar... Such a dedicated sitter I was, but one day it hit me (an idea), and I started marching all three into the bathroom to change them, where I had a door on my side, one that I could lock until I was done! LOL! The joys of multiples...
I'm glad you guys don't think I'm being cheap about the present. He's really just as happy with a cookie tin or a box as he is with a toy anyway. You know, like every other one-year-old on the planet. :) I think we'll take him to the free zoo on his birthday and his Grandma is coming from California on his birthday. That will be a good FFF kind of day for him.
Mrs. M that is funny! I am glad to have the potty training out of the way now. James was the easiest one yet. He just started going and after one day with a few accidents, he had it down and was excited to go potty.
It occured to me yesterday, as I was drifting between sleep and consciousness, that I should make up a few of my own homemade baking mixes for this tiring last month and a half of pregnancy. I don't know why I have never thought of that before. I started out with three whole wheat bread machine mixes and two cornbread mixes. I just mixed up the dry ingredients and put up a note on my white board with the measurements of the wet ingredients. Something like Bread: Mix + 1 1/14 c water + 2 T butter. Setting #6. Cornbread: Mix + 1 c milk +1/4 c oil + 2 eggs. Bake at 425.
I used one of the bread mixes when I was up in the middle of the night and woke up to lovely, hot, fresh bread. It was so easy I almost literally did it in my sleep. :) I might make up a universal muffin mix or two also. I never buy baking mixes, but making my own doesn't feel like cheating. It's just like pre-chopping veggies for a stir fry. I like it because I know exactly what is in it. I even ground the flour for it.
flowerseverywhere
3-27-12, 2:40pm
found some packages of dove soap for 75% off which I use so I got all four packs on the shelf.
Started a rite-aid rewards account and started using in for my extra stash. Today spent 5.18 for over $20 of stuff if I had not shopped sales and coupons/rewards.
making a big pot of soup for us and the new mom next door full of vegetables and good stuff.
I'm super excited that the garage shelves are finally getting built. They look good too. Zach reused materials he tore out of the family room to build them, so they were very inexpensive.
The little kids and I spent the morning on the patio. I cleaned up and they played. We had snacks for lunch, popcorn, fruit and cheese. Travis had the last of this morning's bread instead of popcorn since he's not old enough for that yet. It was great. Most of the scraps were just tossed in the compost bin.
Getting the patio ready for the summer is going to make things nice for me after the baby comes. We can just hang out in the shade and the little boys can play in the sandbox and water table. The big girls want to take charge of a lot of the gardening, but my guess is they will be running around the neighborhood with their friends most of the summer. The boys napped like crazy after all of that sunshine and fresh air and the girls happily did their reading and math at the outdoor table.
All of this has me planning for a lazy summer. The reality is that we are kind of at critical mass with small people around here this summer, so we probably won't be doing big, huge stuff during the week, at least. I don't think it will hurt the girls at all. They can play basketball, volleyball, bike, rollerblade, ride their scooters and swim all right here. They can set up the slip-and-slide and make popsicles and camp overnight on the patio and read in the shade.
I was thinking about food, since I will be aiming for easy, low-heat and easy to clean up. Zach is gone a lot in the summer since he works seasonally. I'm thinking we'll grill a lot. We are getting a new grill and I'm considering getting a veggie basket for it. I'll also use the crockpot and rice cooker/steamer and we'll eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies and salads. Bella loves chopping up fruits and veggies into "free samples" that make good easy snacks. She likes to freeze them, too, into "free sample popsicles" that all the kids like. I'll keep two dishtubs on the patio, one for used dishes and one for used cloth napkins, to make clean-up easier.
I'm thinking about all of this because summer can sometimes be hard to manage for me with Zach working long hours. I get restless because I feel stuck in the house. We haven't had the money to make the patio nice until this year and I think that will help big-time.
rosarugosa
3-27-12, 8:56pm
Flowers: Nice of you to share your soup!
Stella: The patio plan sounds great. We love our garden and gazebo and in the nice weather, we are very content to spend it out in our garden. Staying home is definitely frugal, and if you arrange things so that you love staying home, then you have the best of all possible worlds!
Wow! What a frugally sucessful day!
1. I recieved yet another coffee sample in the mail.
2. We picked up ds from school together and went from there to do the shopping saving several miles of driving.
3 we realized gas prices were going up and filled our tank saving 21 cents a gallon.
4. We stopped at Rite Aid to get some sale items. They turned out to not be such a good deal for us afterall but we did find sidewalk salt on sale for $1.50 a twenty-five pound bag! We bought 5 bags and will put them away for next winter.
5 We ate at our favorite chinese restaurant again, arriving in time to get lunch prices. Plus, everyone was happy drinking complimentary free hot tea so we saved on beverages too. We save about $10 when we do this. Actually maybe more by the time you figure in the larger tip.
6. We went to Krogers and shopped the sales. By combining sales and coupons, we spent $102 and saved over $45 today Plus I have $8 in store money I can use on my next purchase. We got a lot of stuff like cheap gatorade for the hot summer months and the fiber one granola bars that ds likes.
I have a very satisfied smile on my face this evening. Shopping the way we did saved us $70-80 that I won't have to worry about earning in the future.
Oh, and I must add, that my new shelves are the coolest! I put all the fruit over here, and the veggies on this shelf-ooh and look at all the soup on that shelf! Its a rare day that anything in my life is so organized. I'm more of a pile person.... >:)
cindycindy
3-27-12, 9:28pm
I found a free second hand sofa and loveseat for my daughter's new apartment. Defrosted some lentil soup I had made a few weeks ago for dinner. I detest malls but had a coupon for a free item in mall so walked through Macy's to get there. Saw a sweater for five dollars. When I told cashier that I was going to pay cash, she offered to use her own 20% off coupon if I put it on my charge and then suggested that I could pay my charge card right at the cashier. Thought that was thoughtful of the cashier. Can't believe March is almost over.
rosarugosa
3-29-12, 4:51am
Welcome Cindy. You can't beat free furniture! I have a friend who will sign up for a store credit card if she's making a substantial purchase and they are offering a percentage off your purchase when you open an account. Then she pays off her balance immediately with cash. It's not a bad idea if you are making the purchase anyway, and if you have no cause for concern about the addition of a new credit card to your credit score.
Rosa, your gazebo sounds pretty! I love being outside. I think it's one of those things common to people who live in the far North. You feel like you need to take advantage of every opportunity to be outdoors because you know it won't last forever.
We planted our tomato seeds today and took a chance planting a package of spinach seeds we had on hand. They might grow and they might not, but it's not the end of the world if they don't. The girls are so into gardening right now, it's amazing. I love it!
We broke into the "secret door" on the compost bin today to see what's been brewing for the last two years. Lovely, lovely compost, that's what. The kids were so excited about that. Isabella in particular has been shoving dead leaves, coffee grounds and veggie scraps in there all day. She's fascinated by turning waste into something useful. This is good because my biggest obstacle to getting kitchen scraps to the compost is my own laziness. :) If she thinks it's fun, we're in good shape.
I am going to have Zach and Cheyenne use more of the scrap wood from the family room to make a surround for the compost bin so it doesn't look so ugly. It amazes me all of the things they are making from those scraps. Most of what we're tossing in the dumpster is the old insulation and icky foam cieling tiles. I'm thrilled that we can reuse so much. It's better financially and better for the environment.
Ds asked to go see the movie The Hunger Games. By going to the little single screen theatre instead of the multiplex we were able to see the move for $21 total! That included tickets for 2 adults and ds as well as 3 sodas, a large popcorn and a box of chocolates!
Since we were out, we took advantage of a sale at Walgreens and added some toilet tissue to our stockpile. I need to think of a snazzy name for my stash since I consider it part of my retirement fund as much as I do anything else.
I didn't manage to get a day off this week but we were pretty busy today and I made some pretty good tips. Dh and I keep ourselves moving forward by focusing on the fact that every day we run the place without help, we manage to gain that much more towards our financial freedom.
I am on line signing up for some freebies as well as surfing for swagbucks tonight.
early morning
3-30-12, 5:39pm
Sold cans/scrap for $95, bought gas today when it went down, instead of yesterday when it went up - admittedly a gamble, it could just as easily have gone up more today but thankfully it didn't. Mom paid me for mowing her yard and I put the money into our (Dsis, DD, & my) coffee out fund...otherwise my Dsis always insists on buying the coffees. This way any money Mom passes out to us we pool for the coffee fund. Sort of like found money, lol. Finished my sweatshirt/jacket project and now have one for Dsis. DD found some winter pjs for my mom at a yard sale (brand new! Victoria Secret! 50cents!) and they are in my mending pile too, to shorten sleeves and legs. yay for yard sales! Of course I've been taking my lunch/water/coffee to work, reading library books, watching library dvds, consolidating errands, etc as always. Made some new jar candles from old ends. Found a $2 (yes, a real one) in the desk when I was cleaning it out. Hmmm, wish I had more to report, but that's all I can think of.
fidgiegirl
3-30-12, 5:59pm
early, smart on the candles. We are not candle people here, but I can see where that would be a savings and it's kind of fun to do those things, I think . . .
I bought my first mega millions lottery ticket in years for a grand total of $1. Didn't win (of course) but is was a rather cheap fantasy. DH and i talked this morning and most of the things I wanted to do to the house or with him can be accomplished once we pay off the mortgage...not all at once but perhaps 2 or 3 a year. I think we "won" anyway.:)
Blackdog Lin
3-31-12, 8:55pm
Re: the mega-millions highest-ever lottery prize - all I could think of (DH HAD to buy $10.00 worth of tickets) was the horror of winning. The publicity, the mind-bending financial decisions, the relatives coming out of the woodwork, the knowing that you wouldn't have a life-of-your-own for the next year or more.....it sounds horrible to me! I think I will be grateful that we didn't win, and can continue with our little simple frugal lifestyle. :)
Back on topic, I'm still plugging along on (1) using up/not wasting food; and (2) not giving in to perceived "needs". The last 2 weeks I've had a difficult morning or two in that I didn't have the appropriate tops (shirts, blouses) that looked good to me with the shorts/capris I am wearing (the warmer weather). So of course I need to do some retail shopping. Some online shopping? Yeah!
No. I will wait. I will wait for 2 weeks, and if I still think the wardrobe has serious holes in it I will make the trip (50 miles) to the thrift stores. I will not give in and order retail. I will be patient. I tend to have REALLY good luck at the thrift stores, it's just that I have to wait, and make a full-day plan to go shopping at them. So I will wait. Simple living is not congrual (is that a word?!!) with immediate gratification. I will tell myself that I am SO over immediate gratification. :)
Fairly frugal weekend, with some big bonuses for getting taxes and medical reimbursement claims off my to do list -- between the taxes and medical, we'll be getting about $3500 back in the next few weeks, so that is quite a good haul for a couple of days work!
We didn't go out for any meals this weekend. Made pancakes for breakfast and quesadillas for the kids for lunch yesterday -- I had leftovers for lunch. DD had a sleepover last night, so I made rice cooker bibimbap according to the original NYT recipe with salmon fillets -- it was major yum! Made banana chocolate chip muffins this morning with leftover bits of banana the kids abandoned during the week. Lunch was a fritatta for me and DH and the bibimbap leftovers for DS (DD had lunch with the friend from the sleepover). Dinner is our standard chicken (legs for DD, breasts for the rest of us), cauliflower and sweet potatoes.
Basically aside from groceries for the week we had a no-spend weekend.
lhamo
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