January 2013 Frugals [Archive] - Simple Living Forums

cdttmm

1-1-13, 4:35pm

I love that this thread has gotten so many great posts in just a few hours -- go SLN team!!!

My dearly beloved and I ran a 10k race this morning. I consider the $30/person entry fee to be an investment in our health and running a race on New Year's Day is a great way to kick off the new year! :D

We came home after the race and warmed up the second pan of Convicts' Macaroni for our post-race meal. Yum. But, I don't think I'll be making that again any time soon. Here's the cost:

2 boxes of gluten free pasta: $7.98
1 pound of fresh mozzarella: $6.49
~1 pound of smoked Gouda: ~$6.50
gourmet mixed mushrooms: $7.98
jar of brown spicy mustard: $2.99
shallots: ~$1.00
cream: ~$0.50
butter: ~$0.50
olive oil: ~$0.25
spices: ~$0.25
pine nuts: ~$5.00
Total for 4 servings: $39.44

So that's about $9.86 per meal (granted this probably makes more than 4 servings if you were feeding non-endurance athlete types) -- not the most frugal of made at home meals, but it sure was good!!! And I'm going to maintain that it was still far less than we would have spent had we gone out (our favorite restaurant has a special New Year's Eve dinner for $55/head).

The rest of the day has been pretty low key. We watched a movie and surfed the internet and my beloved will soon head off to spend the night and tomorrow with some friends from out of town. I'll be hanging out at home as I have to work tomorrow.

If I get adventurous this evening or tomorrow I'm going to head to the mall (oh the horror!) to exchange a Christmas gift that isn't really my thing for something useful.

Looking forward to reading everyone's frugals this month and this year!

TMC

1-1-13, 4:56pm

Took down the christmas tree, did some scratch baking. Used up some almost expired milk, a box of pudding and some graham crackers that needed used for a pudding desert for tonight.

I had made some sourdough english muffins and I cooked up some eggs and added a slice of ham and a slice of American cheese to make breakfast sandwiches for the freezer. Ds can just heat one up before school in the morning, I can't seem to keep him full these days. :)

Tussiemussies

1-1-13, 4:57pm

We are in the new house and upon moving in realized that the shower was disgustingly dirty. Instead of buying a new one right now(which we will eventually do). My husband worked for days and days cleaning this one. He finally caulked it and bought new shower heads today and it looks 80% better. I still won't use it because I have a germ thing). Just remembering what it was like, I just cannot use it. But he has been a great DIY around this house with many projects. I am really proud of him! :)

KayLR

1-1-13, 7:42pm

tussiemussie...my SO did exactly the same thing Friday!!

Today we ran over to Michael's with the week's coupon (I almost always forget the coupon) and bought probably $45 of crafts for Cub Scouts at 60% off. They should last for a good while. We are eating leftovers for dinner (we'd roasted a turkey & trimmings Sunday). Entertainment is birdwatching.

cdttmm

1-1-13, 7:51pm

Entertainment is birdwatching.

I love birdwatching! What great frugal entertainment!

Tussiemussies

1-1-13, 8:14pm

That is great Kay that your SO doesn't mind cleaning the shower stall either....:). PS My husband wears a gas mask while he uses a plethora of cleaners. One I used to use for soap making when I was mixing lye with water...I am so glad he uses this. He learned his lesson after recently burning the lining of his sinuses from breathing in bleach.

Sorry I got a little off topic here...:)

early morning

1-1-13, 9:30pm

Been mostly at my Mom's for the past week and a half, so no spending except for gas to get to work yesterday. Dropped off a membership payment on my way home - no stamp needed. Told them to save the "free gift" they would otherwise send me - don't need it, and they don't need to spend the money on it, or the postage to send it.

danna

1-1-13, 9:35pm

Wishing you all a wonderful, frugal 2013.......
---company left at noon, breakfast was a buffet of leftovers from the last 3 days
--froze a container of spaggetti from Sat Supper and a cont. of chilli from Sun supper, made to many pancakes, had extra bread and buns froze them all.
--had leftover ham, potatoes and carrots for supper tonight will make a Mac/ham and cheese with some tomorrow and package up
the rest for other meals and the bone for soup later on this month.
--tonight I will update my year end spread sheets and start a new one for the new year/month..today was a No Spend
--I am decluttering major big time this year so sent home Ds and Ddil home with a press coffee pot I wasn't using, art supplies, and a housecoat
she borrowed (I had never wore it). Good start.

bke

1-2-13, 11:33am

We've been on vacation for the past week. It was wonderful! Expensive, but wonderful.

Thankfully even when we're being indulgent we find a way to be frugal.

The hotel comped our breakfast for the entire stay making one meal a day free. We left a decent tip each morning no other cost for the most important meal of the day.

We did a lot of shopping but didnt really go overboard. Ds got an expensive lego set and some great drawing supplies as christmas gifts. I bought a coat and a sweater-50% off both. Dh bought 2 pairs of shoes for less than $100. We also bought 4 books at a used book store. Oh how I miss good used book stores!

We brought home an entire case of tortillas. The cost 33 cents a pack vs the ones we get around here that are horrible in comparison and cost over $1 a pk.

We needed to pick up some produce for work. I spotted coupons that allowed us to get 2L of soda for 50 cents each with the produce purchase. I bought four 2L bottles. One of these bottles will last us a couple of days and we don't drink it daily so this amounts to about 2 wks worth of soda for $2.00.

I won a $10 gift card to the local dollar store this week.

Dh and I have set some new life goals and its inspired us to doubl our efforts to be frugal. I think I'll start a new thread to explain where we are in life.

cdttmm

1-2-13, 12:41pm

I'm getting in a few frugals today and feeling quite proud of myself. :D

First, I have this addiction to hot chocolate. I don't know what it is, but in the winter I really enjoy a huge, steaming mug of hot chocolate. However, I can be a hot chocolate snob. No Swiss Miss for me, it's got to be high quality chocolate all the way. Needless to say, the stuff I like is not cheap. :( Well, I finally tapped out my supply of Lake Champlain all natural, organic hot chocolate mix. And I refuse to buy more. It's just too expensive. So I thought I would delve into the package of even more expensive fancy French hot chocolate mix I got for Christmas. Ack! It's these little chocolate beads that require a complicated boiling of hot water, melting of chocolate beads, mixing into a paste, adding milk, straining, blah, blah, blah complicated-ness. Ugh! What to do?!? Must. Have. Hot chocolate. :|(

So I busted out a tin of Green & Black's organic cocoa powder (because, you know, I keep like six of them on hand in the pantry in case of some sort of crazy chocolate emergency) and mixed it with sugar. Having no idea what the proportions should be to make a good hot chocolate mix I just went for the straight up 50-50 blend and d*mn that's some good hot chocolate!!! Problem solved. Permanently. Okay, okay, you're asking, exactly how is this frugal?!? Ummm...I didn't just drive to the store to buy hot chocolate mix and nothing else. Which is something I would probably have done in the past (and when I say past, I mean, yesterday). :~)

Okay, next up. I had this $1.50 coupon for Absorbine, Jr. that I was planning to use last week. (Anybody else use Absorbine, Jr. for their sore muscles?!?) Well, I never made it to the drugstore to buy it last week and the coupon expired on December 31, 2012. Argh. I was thinking, oh well, in the grand scheme of things missing out on a $1.50 coupon is not that big of a deal. On a whim, I decided to check their website to see if they had perhaps updated the site to include a coupon with an expiration date for sometime in 2013. Score! They had a new $1.50 off coupon with an expiration date of December 31, 2013. Boo-yah.

Excited by this little win, I decided to check out the World's Best Cat Litter site to see if they had any coupons. Turns out, they had a rebate for a 7 lb bag of cat litter worth up to $12.99. Woo-hoo!!!

So I printed out both of these items, feeling very proud of the fact that I put already used paper in the printer and printed the coupon and rebate form on the back sides. My partner gets totally annoyed when I do this because this crosses the frugal threshold for him so I was careful to replace the paper in the printer with unused paper when I was done. I have to chuckle to myself about this whole thing because it creates an extra step for me, but I don't mind. :)

I have a stash of Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons and I was thinking I would use one to buy a new shower curtain liner because ours is pretty dirty and I hate scrubbing the thing. I saw a 3-pack of shower curtain liners at BJ's the other day for $9.99 and that seemed like a pretty good deal, but it will take me years to use three shower curtain liners so I didn't buy it. We have a stall shower, so I buy a regular sized shower curtain liner and then cut it in half so three pack is really the equivalent of six shower curtain liners for us. Then I started thinking that I must have one in the linen closet. Nope. Guess I'll have to break down and buy one. So I went on the Bed, Bath, and Beyond website to see how much one would cost so that I could use the best coupon. I was *shocked* at the prices! It was $9-$29 dollars for a shower curtain liner. What?!? I was tempted to drive back to BJ's and get the 3-pack when I noticed these words in the description on the BB&B website... "Machine Washable." Duh!!! Why didn't I think of that?!? I don't need to scrub the thing -- just throw it in the washing machine! Worked like a charm. :D

julia

1-2-13, 1:43pm

I was stuck in all day waiting for a furniture inspector to come and see why our expensive new bed is really squeaky - it wakes me up in the night if DH turns over. The inspector agreed it was faulty and I'll be getting a new bed base.

I took the opportunity to make a spicy chorizo and red pepper stew using things I discovered when I made an inventory of the fridge and cupboard contents the other day. On a work day I don't have the energy or patience to cook from scratch - I need to have things pre-made in the freezer.

I also reviewed and updated some of my teacher training materials in time for the next weekend I'll be teaching later this month. This is most definitely a frugal, because I won't be in a panic to get ready nearer the time, so am less likely to cave in and get takeaway food. Teaching 12 consecutive days is pretty tiring, but the weekend job is such fun and so well paid (£475 plus a £2 bonus per student if they were happy with my teaching) that I didn't want to give it up when my weekday job increased to 45.5 hours. We normally have a takeaway on the Saturday night of my TEFL weekends, as DH goes to visit his dad a long way from here (by UK standards!) and isn't home much before I am, but that's ok if I've just taught for 11 hours - it's the surrounding days when I want to eat home-cooked food.

Another frugal relates to my watching of TV. I need to be really, really organised to keep my mental health good - so I've given up all live TV to avoid me wasting hours on something I usually find very unsatisfying. I'd prefer to get rid of the TV altogether, but DH loves watching history programmes and doesn't like watching them on the laptop, and I really struggle to discipline myself when I'm tired or stressed. So I'm recording things I know I'll find worth the time spent watching them, and trying to avoid all other TV. This means that I'll waste less money as most (all?) of my unnecessary spending comes when I'm disorganised.

SiouzQ.

1-2-13, 2:09pm

I am having a very productive day off finally ~ I awoke at the insane hour of 6:30 am and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I decided to get up and tackle all the stuff that I had been putting off because of holidays and work being so crazy. I like to put things in order around the new year to get me motivated so here is what I did, and so far frugal because I haven't left the house yet!

Last night when I got off work (tired, but not ready to go to bed at 7pm) I started cleaning ~ I cleaned the room that my roommate recently vacated and vacuumed up all the stray kitty litter from my cat-sitting stint from the last two weeks. I made up the bed, trashed a set of cheapo mini blinds that fell down (I'll have to do a little drywall repair where it was screwed into the wall), vacuumed the entire upstairs, and deep-cleaned the bathroom. I washed all of my bedding and towels.

Then this morning I finally hemmed the curtains I got from Ikea way back last summer and am waiting for the bread dough to finish rising so I can bake my bread (I haven't made bread in a long time)! I am sitting at my desk clearing stuff, filing stuff, shredding stuff, going through my expenditures from last year trying to find ways to save money, updating how I am using Quicken so I can keep even better track of how I am doing. I am about to call a Wellness Coach from my new health insurance because they offer a smoking cessation program I would like to take advantage of. One big expenditure I can get rid of is having to pay extra on each paycheck for being a smoker ~ it's $12 per paycheck in addition to the other premiums I have to pay. So I could EASILY save $24 per month, PLUS the $30 or so on the cigarettes, IF I QUIT! I've been doing pretty good lately but still have occasional slip backs. $50 per month x 12 months is $600 per year I would be spending to slowly kill myself...sobering when you look at the real cost of an addiction, isn't it?

I will probably go out later today to get some vegetables and a few other things for cooking, but I am looking forward to having a quiet evening to relax. I am so glad the holidays are over in so many ways! I like this feeling of renewal I get when the year starts!

Kat

1-2-13, 2:31pm

So far, so good. Yesterday I took DD to the store to make a couple of returns. We got $20 store credit. Then I called customer service regarding my closet order. My gift card wasn't correctly applied, so they will credit my account $25.

Today I went to the grocery store to stock up on chicken breast, bacon, and rump roast (all of which are at rock-bottom prices right now (at least around here).) I also stocked up on apples and pears and will make them into a chunky apple-pear sauce later this week.

Otherwise, just spending time at home cleaning and organizing. Hope to get a little more of that done while DD naps this afternoon.

TMC

1-2-13, 3:22pm

I remember reading a part of the Tightwad Gazette book where Amy talks about passive frugality. She said that people were always asking her what they did to save money, but that it was often what they didn't do that saved the most, like not eating out, recreationally shopping or going on big expensive vacations.

Today I practiced passive frugality. Breakfast and lunch were pretty basic and boring and dinner will be leftovers. Spent the day getting some work done on my computer (I am lucky enough to work at home, no gas, clothing or eating out costs ever required).

My kids are still home from school and DH has not been released back to work from his accident so we just all hung out doing our own things. Cheap, easy, relaxing day....and a no buy win!

KayLR

1-2-13, 3:36pm

Yep, being passive here today too....leftover turkey soup lunch which was made from turkey dinner leftovers. So...twice leftover!

Polliwog

1-2-13, 4:00pm

I had a no-spend day yesterday and today looks like it will be the same. I made pumpkin bread yesterday - I love that for breakfast with my coffee. I am making a list of projects I want to accomplish at home. I want to organize my garage which means getting things into bins and labeling, and getting rid of a lot of stuff that I haven't used for years.

I can't believe I have been in my house for almost 9 years - the longest I have ever lived in one place. I guess it is meant to be, because I tend to be a bit of a gypsy - I get itchy to move if I feel tied down. But in my older age I am realizing that it is ok to be settled.

For tonight's dinner I'm going to cut up a chicken breast and saute it with some onion, add some leftover mushrooms, add some raisins and curry and add to rice - very tasty. Trying to be very mindful of what is in the fridge - I hate throwing away food.

I feel very hopeful about 2013 on a personal level!

SteveinMN

1-2-13, 4:12pm

One of the financial goals I'd marked for 2013 in one of the other forums here was to look at our mobile-phone bill. We just got last month's and it hit another high-water mark. So today I went to the provider's store and asked what we could do. Answers:

-- drop handset replacement insurance on my phone. There's nothing in their line I would want to replace my phone; I'd just go to craigslist or ebay and buy a used phone, so why pay for insurance? That's $96 a year right there.
-- moved to family texting. DSD has unlimited texting on her phone, but DW didn't because we didn't tend to text much. Well, our friends do. Up until recently we just paid for the few texts we sent and received. But lately we've been doing more and more. DW's texting plan is $15; all three of us can text ourselves silly for $20. Done.
-- I learned that, even though we have a family plan, there are individual contract-end dates for each phone. I'm month-to-month now, so I could go prepaid if I want (though that wouldn't save that much $$). DSD's phone is in contract until fall of this year; DW's until early 2014. We're going to try avoiding re-upping the contract.
-- DW apparently is getting spam text messages or such because she's ended up enrolled in a couple of "premium" third-party services (read: scams) that are running $20-25 a month. :0! T-Mo suggested we text the services to cancel; otherwise, they said, they'll cancel and try to credit our account for the months she's had the services. We also had a block put on her line to prevent that from happening again. DW doesn't even like to use the phone; she probably won't even notice the block.

All told, we're going to save $30-35/month or around $400 a year. Not bad for maybe 45 minutes worth of work on our part!

danna

1-2-13, 10:45pm

Jan 02/2013-------------Yes, Today I practiced passive frugality...........a No spend day.
--waited till after 7:00 for cheaper rates to turn on dishwasher and washer and dryer...rack drying part of each load.
--all leftovers all day and all that hasn't been eaten is in the freezer.

fidgiegirl

1-2-13, 10:53pm

You guys rock! January 2 and already 4 pages of frugals, and we're hearing from a lot of new people. Keep it comin'!

Here we finished up the potato soup from last week, which in itself was featured on the Use It Up thread. ;)

Tussiemussies

1-2-13, 11:16pm

Took advantage of the after holiday sale at Eddie Bauer. I had received a gift card from my Mom for Christmas so I found one shirt and one sweater that were deeply marked down and was very happy with how much money I saved!:)

cdttmm

1-3-13, 10:03am

All told, we're going to save $30-35/month or around $400 a year. Not bad for maybe 45 minutes worth of work on our part!

Nicely done!!!

cdttmm

1-3-13, 10:24am

Several frugals to report from yesterday.

Took a Christmas gift I had received to Macy's for store credit -- turned out it was worth almost $46! Woot! I had no gift receipt or receipt of any kind, but the fine folks at customer service promptly gave me a store credit with no questions asked. I just love good customer service! There is almost nothing I would buy at Macy's so I went directly to the Origins skin care counter and bought some skin care products using up the store credit and spending another $7 (okay, that part maybe wasn't frugal). I wasn't planning to buy more Origins products this year because they are so expensive, but had I received them as a gift I would have been ecstatic! So I viewed this as an opportunity to get a gift I would really appreciate and use! :D

Next stop, Barnes & Noble to return two more gifts that I *thought* had been purchased there. Turns out, the nice gentleman at customer service could find no record of the product, although he did say that it could have been bought through their website. Again, super helpful customer service even though I left with the original gifts. I looked online and I did find another store in the area that sells these particular items (they are definitely novelty type gifts -- total clutter IMO) so I'm going to try to return them there for store credit and pick up something more useful. My only other option is to Freecycle them or donate them -- either way, I just want them out of my house!

Since I was out and about, I was only a mile from the cheapest gas station in the area. Filled up there saving 4 cents per gallon over the stations nearer my house that I usually go to.

Stopped at the pet store and bought the cat litter that I have the rebate form for. Turns out they had the goldfish food we buy on clearance = 50% off. Bought two containers for a savings of $5.69. That should keep us well supplied with fish food for the next year or so.

Also stopped and bought headphones with an inline mic for use with my iPhone. $50, but they are a brand of headphones that I know I like and I had a $10 off coupon for the store. Now just need to test them out to be sure they actually work. I'll have no qualms about returning them if they suck. :D

Went to CVS and got a $2 ExtraBucks reward at the register with my purchase. I need to remember to ask them to check if I have any ExtraBucks rewards waiting for me *before* I make a purchase. Now I'll have to try to remember to use the coupon the next time I'm in CVS, which isn't very often.

Since I was out, I went to the gym for a yoga class. Found 2 pennies on the floor in the locker room. :~)

On my way home, stopped at the ATM and deposited an unexpected refund check that I received in the mail yesterday. Hooray!

Last, but not least, came home and made a very simple, frugal dinner from a bag of frozen peas, leftover chick peas, and a carrot. Possibly an odd combo, but it totally hit the spot. :)

Florence

1-3-13, 11:52am

No spend days yesterday and today.

We are having leftover veggie soup and sourdough bread for dinner.

I haven't taken my van out of the garage for 2 days-- thus saving fuel.

Kat

1-3-13, 12:47pm

Wow! You are all putting me to shame!

Great scores, cdttmm!

Steve in MN--Looks like your time is worth a lot! :-) Great job!

Nothing too exciting around here. Just cleaning, purging, and organizing. We've been eating all meals at home. Threw some cube steak in the crock pot this morning and will make some mashed potatoes and a salad to go with for dinner. I am thinking about cashing in our credit card reward points to open a college savings account for the new baby. We always pay off our purchases online right away; we never carry a balance, so the credit card company never earns even one cent off us. We, however, get about $300 in cash rewards from them each year. They probably hate us. haha!

bke

1-3-13, 1:37pm

I went and picked up a tube of Blistex at Rite Aid yesterday. I pass the store on my way to school so no extra travel costs. I paid 9 cents tax for my purchase.

Today will be a no spending day.

lhamo

1-3-13, 2:22pm

One of my biggest frugals was actually money spent in 2012, but we'll benefit from it in 2013 so I'll list it here. We typically do a big stock-up shop at Costco when we are back in the US, buying stuff that is hard to find and/or much more expensive here in China. Usually OTC meds, spices, dried fruit, nuts and protein powder/bars for DH (he has these after workouts). But this time it occurred to me that there are a couple of things we eat a lot of that are RIDICULOUSLY expensive here -- cheese and tortillas. I didn't do the calculations beforehand as I didn't know exactly what the prices were, but figured we could save a lot by stocking up on a couple months supply of these two items -- transport risk minimal as temps were low (not sure I can do this in summer...)

So, I bought 9 lbs of sliced cheese and a package of 40 tortillas. Got home and did the calculations. OMG! Cheese here in Bejing is roughly $5 for 1/2 a lb, or $.625/oz. The Costco cheese is only about $.25/oz. Kaching! I saved $54 on cheese. A small package of 10 locally produced tortillas is about $2.90 here (and these are only about 2/3 the size of the Mission tortillas). The Mission ones at Costco were $4.99 for 40. Saved another $6 there. So with these two purchases I have shaved $5/month off our annual grocery bill. I think next year I will devote an entire suitcase just to cheese....

Other big savings is coming from my ability to use public transit for my entire commute. A new subway line just opened up in Beijing which makes it much more feasible -- I still have to take a bus to get to the subway, but door to door including the brisk 15 minute walk to the bus stop it takes roughly an hour. that is only a slight improvement on my bus commute in the morning (which takes about 1 hour 15 minutes door to door, and has less changes), so I may keep doing that when the weather warms up a bit, but the return commute is now going to be 100% by public transit and will save me roughly $6/trip compared to taking a taxi (which I used to do because public transit options took 2 hours during afternoon rush hour). So that one little thing is going to save me about $1200/year or $100/month. Kaching! And I'll get a bit more walking in, too, which works with my fitness goals.

Oh, and the public transit option will also allow me to have more no-spend days, since I prepay my transit card.

lhamo

SteveinMN

1-3-13, 3:00pm

TMC

1-3-13, 3:08pm

No spend day....doing nothing too exciting. Eating at home...saving gas. Following the family around saying "electric bill...turn off the lights". Everybody is developing better habits.

I have big plans for planning my garden this year. I am going to measure my spaces and see exactly what I can fit so I can grow most things from seed. I usually grow from seed and than end up at the greenhouse buying more plants because I didn't grow enough, or didn't allow for failures. We grow a lot of our food but I need to make it more cost effective. Gardening is not necessarily budget.

Today I am starting geraniums under grow lights. I ordered the seeds in the fall so I'm all ready to go.

lhamo

1-3-13, 3:45pm

Serious savings, lhamo! I'm a bit surprised they'll let you bring cheese into another country freely, but it's good that you can do it and smart of you to think of it. I've never quite thought of China as a cheese-making mecca anyway :), though I'm sure there are some there who are into making artisinal cheese (which is by no means inexpensive, but...).

Technically it probably isn't allowed, but I have never been stopped at customs. I did have a moment of panic when some people in front of me were told to put their bags on the scanner though - if they had confiscated my cheese, nuts and dried fruit I would have been pretty bummed!

There is actually an artisanal cheese maker here in Beijing, and his stuff is pretty good, but he has a limited range of options. He went to France to study something else, but fell in love with cheesemaking. I do buy his stuff from time to time, but also need our cheddar, feta, mozzerella, etc.

Tussiemussies

1-3-13, 5:57pm

Well in our new place the kitchen was just horrible. Instead of putting in all new cabinets, my husband is painstakingly working on the old ones to make them look new. So that is a big savings. We did have to get new appliances so we went with Maytag, they are partially made in the USA. Looking forward to having the kitchen done but DH is going as quickly as possible...

Stella

1-3-13, 10:17pm

Lhamo, I think I would go broke on cheese alone in China. I'm glad you were able to bring some back.

Speaking of cheesemaking, we made mozzarella this week. It's not cheaper than buying grocery store mozzarella, but it's cheaper than buying mozzarella of a similar quality, since we used milk from grassfed cows from a small, local dairy. I have been using the whey to make bread and pizza dough. The cheese was out of this world.

I have been baking a lot of bread lately, too. I've made bread almost everyday and I have some in the fridge ready to go for tomorrow morning.

A friend of our family has a daughter who spent the summer raising heirloom chickens at her friend's farm. She is selling them now and the fryers are quite expensive. My dad offered to buy me some, so we are getting two fryers and two stewing chickens. I am looking forward to them.

I have also started making pasties for Zach's lunches. He tends to eat out if he doesn't have lunch and he isn't a huge fan of sandwiches everyday. I reached back into his Welsh mining heritage and came up with pasties. :) I started with chicken. Next I'm going to make beef and after that, maybe attempt a bbq pork one. I can do spinach and cheese for Fridays.

Fawn

1-3-13, 11:34pm

Jan. 1--My kids spent the day at their dad's, drove themselves there and paid for the gas themselves. I did not leave the house all day. I ate leftovers, watched free Netflix trial movies (all day) and finished a bottle of wine that was a holiday gift.

Jan. 2--My mom drove up from St. Louis to have a jeweler here do some work for her. She brought chocolate treats for me and the kids and took us all out to lunch. She also left reading material for us. (She also left her pre-paid cell phone with me to work out some billing issues for her. She does not do computers, so I used my computer to access the web site of her provider and straighten out the billing mess for her.) My kids were back at their dad's for the evening and a dear friend took me out for dinner to celebrate the publishing of my book. Two (!!) free resturaunt meals in the same day.

Jan. 3--The kid's dad sent a check for his half of the 2012 kid's medical expenses (the day after I sent him the documentation for what had been done, Woot!) I spent the day getting caught up on household stuff and the kids were back to school after their winter break. At woodwind lesson tonight, I got a $85 discount for the month, as the instructor had to miss several lessons in December due to family and work responsibilities. My breakfast was oatmeal and raisins, coffee and a banana. Lunch was black bean soup and turkey sandwich (all from fridge.) Dinner was from the pantry: Linguini with shrimp in garlic/olive oil/lime juice/spices, some diced mango, red pears and sourdough bread.

Jan. 4--I am back to work, after a week off. DS#2 gets a free haircut from me, lunch is from the pantry, dinner will be leftovers. Sort of frugal, but not necessary: a friend/professional photographer took pictures of all the family during their visit at Christmas time. $50 to him for the sitting fee and $7 per print for 8 prints for family.

Kat

1-4-13, 6:36am

Stella--I have been dying to make both ricotta and mozzarella. Butter, too! I did try making Greek yogurt last year and loved it! The leftover whey has so many uses, but we used it mostly for whey lemonade (DH's workout recovery drink). I think I need to get more serious about finding the cheese ingredients...

The cube steak I made last night was a hit. Even DD ate some, and she rarely eats meat. I think tonight I am going to make some lemon chicken and roasted butternut squash with a side salad. That will leave us with lots of leftovers for the weekend, which should help squelch the desire to eat out. I also have a pound of turkey breast for sandwiches, so we do have options if we are feeling like a little variety.

This morning I plan to take DD to visit my dad in the nursing home. Then we'll come home and play for awhile before lunch. I plan to clean and do supper prep while DD naps. I think tonight DH and I are going to play cards. I'll make a the Parmesan and dill popcorn he likes for a snack.

bke

1-4-13, 11:15am

Geez, I can always think of frugals-unless I'm trying to post them-lol.

Last night was spent organizing coupons for future savings. Dh helped cut them and I sorted and stored them. I also got on the Kroger site and downloaded coupons to my card. Then I went to the Rite Aid site and earned more coupons by watching commercials on line. Today I will go to the library and print them as well as a rebate form for some dish detergent I recently purchased. This printing should be all the spending I do today.

I opened a bag of Starbucks French roast coffee this week. It was a freebie throught he food service rewards site I participate on. Such good coffee!

While we were on vacation, we didn't bother having anyone clean our room. Dh would ask the housekeeper for clean towels as needed but that was it. Everytime he did she would offer him coffee and shampoo. We brought home 5-6 packets of coffee and several small bottles of Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner.

We snacked on a nice tin of mixed nuts that I recieved as a Christmas gift from the quadreaders program. Dh in particular likes to snack on nuts.

Today will be the usual sweepstakes, freebies, swagbucks, etc.

bke

1-4-13, 11:30am

Ah yes, the big one I forgot!

The guy who used to bring me groceries al the time stopped by with three big bags full. Canned veggies and fruit, dried beans, pasta, rice, juice, milk.

There was probably $100 in groceries all together. I offered the waitress first pick on everything but all she took was some canned salmon.

leslieann

1-4-13, 2:30pm

Fawn, you wrote a book???? Published????? Please say more.

bke

1-4-13, 2:36pm

Fawn, what Leslieann said?????!

cdttmm

1-4-13, 3:06pm

Felt motivated to cook yesterday even though we already had leftovers planned for dinner. So I took advantage of the urge and made a huge batch of mushroom risotto. I had just come across the recipe the night before and realized that we had everything on hand so thought I would give it a shot. I had never made risotto before and, for some reason, I was under the impression that it was complicated. I could not have been more wrong! It was very easy and it came out great! Even my beloved was pleased with the results. I ate a little bit when I was finished making it and then put it the rest in the refrigerator for future meals. We stuck to our plan and ate our other leftovers for dinner last night. :)

Went to the gym early last night and got in a 30-minute, one-on-one training session with my Tae Kwon Do instructor. My Tae Kwon Do classes are covered as part of our gym membership and my instructor agreed to spend extra time with me out of the goodness of his heart (okay, I think it might also be because he enjoys the fact that I'm quite serious about my training). So that made for some good frugal fun. This morning I met up with two of my fellow Tae Kwon Do practitioners and we went on a 3 mile training run -- outside, in January, in New England! It was cold, but it was a great workout. I did have to pay for gas to drive to and from our meeting place, but it was definitely worth it. We're going to continue doing this every Friday morning for the next 10 weeks so I'm going to plan better going forward and take advantage of the location to run some errands afterwards.

I work from home and I've been wanting a lap desk for some time so that I don't always have to sit at the table to work on my laptop. Sometimes I sit on the couch with a book on my lap and my laptop on that, but it's not the most comfortable set up. The other day I was looking at lap desks online and found that the prices vary wildly -- $10 to $100+. I started reading the reviews and about 85% of them were pretty negative. I got disgusted and decided there was no way I was going to spend money to buy a lap desk. A lap desk if basically just a flat, hard surface with a pillow attached to the bottom of it. I must be able to figure out something similar!!! So I put on my creative problem solving hat. We have three old desks left over from our former business and they all have keyboard trays on them (totally old school style desks). So I took the keyboard tray off of one of the desks and figured out how to pop the brackets off so that I was left with just a flat surface. Then I found a cylinder-shaped pillow in the closet. I put the pillow on my lap, the old keyboard tray on top, and now I'm happily sitting on the couch with my laptop working away. The bonus in all of this? The surface is large enough that my cat can also sleep on it while I work! :D

It's been pretty cold outside the past few days, but I've been trying to go outside every day for at least a few minutes to get some sunlight and fresh air. I've decided to make one of my favorite frugal activities -- birdwatching -- my incentive. We've got a number of bird feeders that I can see from where I usually sit to eat breakfast and work on my laptop (although this may change now that I have my homemade lap desk!). So for the past few days I've been going outside, shoveling a little snow, and filling a different bird feeder. I've been filling the feeders only part way so that I can't put off going out to fill them. So far it's working. I've been going outside and getting some sunshine and fresh air for at least a few minutes every day and increasing my birdwatching possibilities as a result!

Rosemary

1-4-13, 4:45pm

Spent the day catching up with a friend who is fun and supportive.
Used a coupon for $5 off cat litter (a necessary expense!) before it expired.

Fawn

1-4-13, 7:03pm

Tussiemussies

1-4-13, 7:11pm

Dear friends--

I self-published a book: A Holy Errand, in October. It is a collection of hospice stories and the story of my transformation while doing the work.

It is available through Amazon.com (sorry for you all that do not like Amazon) as both print and kindle versions.

I have been marketing it mostly through hospices, as I think the stories are most relevant to folks dealing with death.

But if any of you folks here are intersted...that would be way cool. :)

Hi Fawn,

We haven't gotten to know each other on the boards much, but just wanted to say that publishing a book and having Amazon sell it is no small feat. I worked as a babysitter while the mother was writing a book...it was very hard for them to get the bookstores to sell their book although eventually they did.

You mentioned you went through a personal transformation due to your work. That is wonderful. I am so glad for you.

fidgiegirl

1-4-13, 7:47pm

Really awesome, Fawn. Actually I tried to click on your book name in your signature a few days ago but realized it isn't linked!

chrissieq

1-4-13, 8:49pm

Got a check from a class action suit filed on my mom's estate's behalf - $4 each for me and my six sisters!! We're in the money!!

Went to a super darling gift-type shop and their Xmas stuff was 70% off and bought 3 sweet wood blue trees which will complement my blue shiny bright display - less than $6 and since I got rid of probably 1/2 of our old Christmas stuff (dated, doesn't reflect who we are now) I am OK with this purchase. Passed on the wine glass charm tree (really?! who knew such a thing existed!) but I am really trying to give myself an OK to buy things that I can see in our home over the next several years and passing on stuff that is cheap and cute. On the other hand, must fight the urge to go back and see if the prices drop to 90% off cause if I didn't love it at 70% off, why would further discounts make items more attractive??

fidgiegirl

1-4-13, 9:08pm

LOL, chrissieq . . . high buck! ;)

I am trying to figure out where I can spray paint some pegboard for my craft room wall. Pinterest abounds with pegboard porn! LOL Basement is too stinky, outside is too cold - but wondering if perhaps I quickly spray outside and then move the pegboard inside to dry if that would be an acceptable compromise. Thoughts/ideas on this? I would buy cans of spray paint or could even use our paint sprayer with some paint leftover from the house project (this would, of course, be more frugal, but I need to research paint sprayers). Am I out of luck until spring?! That room is a disaster!

Tussiemussies

1-4-13, 9:24pm

fidgiegirl

1-4-13, 10:33pm

Think it may be best to use a primer first? The paint might just get soaked up by the pegboard otherwise?:)

So true, and we do have primer, I think . . . It's mainly the fumes I'm worried about.

danna

1-4-13, 10:35pm

Jan03/04
--took all of this year Christmas cards--like 10 but, that is because I send less each year and used my craft paper cutter to
make next years Christmas gift tags.
--tossed a couple of things while putting the decorations away
--had pasta from the freezer for lunch and a salad for supper
--cleaned out fridge so now know what is left in there....no gas...no spend again

bunnys

1-4-13, 10:42pm

The surface is large enough that my cat can also sleep on it while I work! :D

Good job on the lap desk. I'm sure Kitty appreciates it.

Also, impressive run!

happystuff

1-5-13, 3:24pm

Simply trying not to spend money on anything. Need to bite the bullet in each and every area this year - unemployment and unexpected medical has hit the household. Currently not totally depressed about it all so I'm somewhat hopeful for the new year.

cdttmm

1-5-13, 8:04pm

Need to bite the bullet in each and every area this year - unemployment and unexpected medical has hit the household. Currently not totally depressed about it all so I'm somewhat hopeful for the new year.

Sorry to hear about the unemployment and medical issues, happystuff. Hang in there!

cdttmm

1-5-13, 8:15pm

Another more-or-less frugal day here. We had leftover mushroom risotto for dinner last night and then we made some popcorn to snack on during a little TV watching.

Went out for a run this morning with another TKD training buddy. Good, frugal fun -- had to drive to meet up but was able to combine the trip with a handful of errands so that was good.

Ate the leftover popcorn this morning for breakfast. :~) We're making nachos for dinner tonight -- already had everything on hand with the exception of an avocado. If I feel motivated, I'll make some chocolate tapioca pudding for dessert.

Shoveled some snow to make it easier to fill the bird feeders this afternoon. Burned some extra calories and had some frugal fun at the same time. I figure since I didn't actually *need* to shovel the snow, then the fact that I *chose* to do it means it must have been fun! ;)

Aside from that it's been a pretty mellow day at home for the most part with no unnecessary spending. Woot!

AmeliaJane

1-7-13, 12:23am

I'm quite proud of this one...I have several multi-part lunchboxes and was given another, really nice one for Xmas. The problem is that I have not been using them much because it was hard to find all the bits and pieces when I was packing lunches in the morning. So I decided that arranging some convenient storage for them was on my New Year's list. I had looked around my apartment and didn't have any spare bins or boxes or drawer space, and was thinking I would have to break down and buy something. Then, when I went to put away my vacuum today, I realized I had a beautiful homemade basket gifted to me from a relative, that I had kept due to the quality when I downsized most of my cheap thrift-store baskets for a move. I stored some Pyrex bowls that I really only use for major cooking extravaganzas, and the basket fit perfectly in their spot!

rosarugosa

1-7-13, 6:10am

Another thread got me thinking about cleaning something up and making it shiny and new instead of buying something new. So I've decided to work on cleaning/reorganizing/decluttering some of the less functional areas of our home. I do tend to keep things neat and organized and put in their places, but since our house is so small, it's a worthwhile exercise to question whether something deserves to be kept or if it's in the most functional location. That's one problem with the "everything in its place" mindset; sometimes something would be better in another place.
We took Mom out to dinner for her birthday Sat night. That was spendy but money well spent since we had a great time together as a family. Took a 10-mile hike with DH and a friend on Sun and that was wonderful free fun on a beautiful day. Working long hours during the week, so no time to get into trouble! Bringing my lunch from home every day.

Kat

1-7-13, 9:56am

DH and I have the flu. We can't seem to eat anything other than toast and haven't had the energy to go anywhere or do anything (which means no money spent). Thank goodness DD isn't showing any signs of having it. It is really awful.

Before we got sick, we did have our final family Christmas. SIL brought along with her a couple of boxes of toys and clothes that her friend's daughter had outgrown. I really appreciated that. Will keep some and pass the rest on to charity (since I know the boxes include far more than we need or can store).

I started teaching again last week, so we should have a little extra to set aside for our emergency fund in weeks to come.

MamaM

1-7-13, 10:37am

Had breakfast for dinner last night and used up that last of some bacon, eggs and Texas toast.

Took a long walk and came back and vacuumed out the vehicles and gave them a nice wipe down inside. Sparkling!!!

cdttmm

1-7-13, 6:01pm

A nice frugal day here. Took my dogs out for a lovely midday snowshoe. Ate up leftover mushroom risotto for lunch along with some peas. Not sure what we'll have for dinner -- probably a "clean out the fridge" kind of meal since I am leaving for Texas tomorrow and my beloved leaves for NYC on Wednesday. I'll definitely have to do a grocery shopping trip when I get back.

Tonight's entertainment will consist of watching a few episodes of "Merlin" via Netflix. Gotta love that $8/month gets us a whole lot of entertainment!

cdttmm

1-7-13, 6:03pm

DH and I have the flu.

Hope you and your DH feel better soon, Kat! My doctor told me that the flu this year is a pretty terrible strain. :sick:

Fawn

1-7-13, 6:07pm

1) Couldn't get any more of the thick lotion out of the pump dispenser, so I added a little water, shook it up, and have been using it up for twp weeks so far, probably have a week more before it is really gone.

2) This is one of my favorite things to do--take scraps, no new open containers, and make a yummy meal. Tonight: a few leftover lasagna noodles, cut into strips with the pizza cutter, the leftover linguini. I made a white sauce with 2 Tbs butter, 2 Tbs flour, a smidge of shredded cheddar cheese and a hearty spash of white wine. Added some steamed broccoli starting to droop and Voila! dinner!! Served with some leftover chopped mango, and homemade snickerdoodles.

cdttmm

1-7-13, 6:07pm

Another thread got me thinking about cleaning something up and making it shiny and new instead of buying something new.

I was thinking something very similar, rosarugosa! I've decided that every time I think I need to buy new clothes that I should, instead, go through all of the clothes that I have. So often some article of clothing has ended up buried at the bottom of a drawer or just out of sight and I have completely forgotten that I have it. When I do rediscover it, it's as if I've gone shopping without spending any money! :cool:

Florence

1-7-13, 8:19pm

Tussiemussies

1-7-13, 9:48pm

I have been going through my leftover fabric pieces and cutting them into 3 1/2 inch squares. I'm going to make 9-patch blocks for a quilt top made entirely of leftover pieces. I will need to buy batting and maybe fabric for the back, not sure yet on that.

Sounds great Florence, I also made a 9 patch with leftover material.

Have fun and show us a picture when you are done! :)

Rosemary

1-7-13, 10:40pm

Florence, I helped my daughter make her first quilt, doll-sized, by doing exactly that last summer. She did a great job with the design.

bke

1-9-13, 12:05pm

Sunday I bought 4 newpapers because it was the biggest coupon day of the year. I am very confident that I will use enough of them to make it worth my purchase.

Monday we went shopping doing our usual things to save as much as possible. Nothing new but a nice savings.

I spent monday morning cutting as filing all those lovely new coupons of mine so that they will be easy to use.

DS wants/needs (?) a case for his nintendo ds. They were $15-25 at the store monday night. I refused to spend the money telling him we would keep looking. He really only needs the case if he takes it someplace.

cdttmm

1-11-13, 12:55am

Not much to report in the frugals department this week. I'm in Texas for work so all my food related spending is covered as a business expense. Of course, it still pains me to pay $12 for a salad for dinner even though it's not *my* $12! I did spot a very beautiful scarf at a shop today that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Trying to decide whether it is worth the $18...

One big frugal is that it is much warmer in Texas than it is in Massachusetts right now. I was thinking that I might need a winter getaway to someplace warm and sunny. But I think this trip will provide me with enough of a warm weather fix that I won't need to spend money on that!

Fawn

1-11-13, 7:50am

Usually my frugality is of the passive type....but I have been spending money this week for some reason:

1) DS#3 lost one of his winter gloves. He rides his bike to school each day, so really needs them. I found replacement gloves in the style he likes for $3.50 yesterday.
2) Bought 2 sweaters on-line, for myself--70% off.
3) Used a Christmas gift card to buy a coffee while out doing errands.
4) OK--here is a passive frugal--since I cut all my blonde off one year ago, I have not spent one cent on my hair. It's growing out, and I use one of DD's elastics to keep it out of my face when working out.
5) Another sort of passive--have not throw out any food for months. Buy fresh stuff is proper quanities, use it up before it goes bad.

KayLR

1-11-13, 10:30am

Mostly passive frugality here, too, bag lunch, etc. However, somewhere (maybe on this forum) I read to wait until after Christmas to buy a winter coat. So I waited. I have lost enough weight that my coat from last winter can almost wrap around me again, so new coat needed. My raincoat has served me up to now; our winter has been pretty mild, but now it's colder.

Went to Burlington Coat Factory last weekend and after cruising their racks for about an hour, came away with a full length (well, knee length) quilted coat for $19.97!! I couldn't believe the price! It's quite nice; soft, cushy, warm with a hood, too. Also...since I drove just across the river to buy this coat, no sales tax (OR vs. WA).

As mild as our climate is, I'm glad not to spend a fortune on a coat I'll probably only wear for a month or so of the year.

Not sure where Burlington Coat Factory's inventory comes from, but it certainly is affordable. I saw many Calvin Klein coats for $60, among other designers.

Rosemary

1-11-13, 10:48am

Last night I had a dinner disaster. The soup I was making turned inedible. I was actually following a recipe (which is not how I usually make soup), and I think the problem was that my chili powder was far more intense than what the recipe was based on. There was no fixing it - a small taste made it feel like it was chemically burning the roof of my mouth, most unpleasant. I had to dump it out and come up with something else for dinner at 6pm... so I went to the freezer, and found a small bag of ham leftover from an uncured ham meal last month. I had been planning to make polenta cubes to go with the soup, so I went ahead with that, and we had leftover roasted cauliflower with it.

A friend volunteered to babysit DD for our date night tomorrow. I often make lunch for her (and, in fact, she's coming over for lunch today) and have helped her organize her kitchen, so it's a long-term exchange of sorts.

Stella

1-11-13, 7:29pm

Nice save Rosemary!

I did my menu plan today, breakfasts, lunches and dinners. $165 for two weeks. That pleases me. Some of the savings is because my Dad is buying me some lovely organic, free range chickens a friend raised this summer, so I'm not buying much meat.

Zach has another side job. It should be some good extra money. I haven't had a second freezer since ours went out, so hopefully I can use some of the money for that.

Tussiemussies

1-11-13, 8:33pm

Nice to hear from you Stella. Was wondering if you were okay...:)

rosarugosa

1-11-13, 9:07pm

Fawn: I'm impressed by your no food waste success. We need a bit of work in that area.
Kay: Congratulations on the weight loss and frugal coat score!
My primary frugal continues to be spending most of my waking hours at work - boo. But I'm spending much of my time off in the woods. I love it, and I don't spend a cent in the woods.

flowerseverywhere

1-12-13, 8:41am

great to read everyone is doing well.

since we moved to a warmer climate we almost never use the heat. We will probably use the air conditioning this summer but for the winter we use opening drapes on the sun side and closing on the non sun side to great success.

I am making my granddaughter an adorable dress for her and her doll for her birthday. The Fabric was from the clearance table and has cute little peach and yellow daisies with a matchng orange polka dot for trim. So far super cute.

Also, as any quilter knows you end up with way more scraps and yardage than you could ever use so I am making three scrap quilts this year for weddings I am invited to for good friends kids. One top is cut and the blocks made, the other two are planned and I should only have to buy backs and battings for all three.

Heading out to the farmers market and this afternoon I'll make roasted butternut squash soup and a big vat of veggie soup. Yummie and good for you.

Tussiemussies

1-12-13, 2:41pm

Hi flowers, what a nice idea to make a pretty dress for your granddaughter and a matching one or her doll. So cute! I'm sure she will love it.

That is great that you are making two scrap quilts to use up your fabrics for wedding gifts. The recipients are very lucky!!!

Stella

1-13-13, 8:06pm

Thanks Tussiemussies. We were sick, but nothing life threatening. Just a garden variety stomach bug.

early morning

1-13-13, 8:48pm

Hey all - not much time for anything these days - but still trying to hang on to the day-in-day-out frugals that are so important. Have only had one coffee-shop beverage since Christmas, mostly due to time, not willpower, but hey, whatever. I'm claiming it! :~) Did have to use the dryer for one load yesterday, I just could not find time or place to hang up a gazillion washcloths and socks. But everything else dried on hangers by the time I got home today. We are picking up a few sandwiches on our way to/from my mothers, but no fries or cokes. I have a handful of BOGO sandwich coupons, which helps. Found the slippers my mom likes on sale and ordered two pair, since the shipping was the same. DBro bought us some wonderful artisan bread and some super deli liverwurst for a gift (and because he feels guilty he can't help more with Mom - but he does all he can when he's in town; he's a great brother! Found a package of tortillini in the cupboard so that, plus some spaghetti sauce that's not quite beyond eating was dinner. Keeping up with bill paying so no late fees, which is important. I hate late fees for not paying attention!

rosarugosa

1-13-13, 9:40pm

I have one frugal to report. We have a bottle of homemade grappa (a clear Italian brandy) that was not getting consumed, so we sliced and added a bunch of vanilla beans to try to make vanilla extract with it. If it come out any good, it will definitely get used in its new incarnation!

cdttmm

1-15-13, 8:04pm

I finally have a moment to write about my various frugals from the past few days. None of which are all that exciting, but since this is my favorite thread on the forums, I feel compelled to share! :D

I mailed off everything for my cat litter rebate -- $7.99. I also mailed the last two holiday gifts, which actually got me organized enough to figure out the United States Postal Service's ship-and-click that allows you to pay for postage online and then print your package label. They give you a discount on postage if you do it this way. We don't mail that many packages so I've never bothered to figure it out before, but now that I know how easy it is I will use it whenever the opportunity presents itself! And I was pleased that I not only reused packaging that we already had on hand, I printed the labels 2-to-a-sheet and on the back side of already used printer paper. Ah, the little things in life! :cool:

Had to drive out to Boston today for a meeting and was organized enough to bring tea to drink in the car along with snacks since I was driving during lunch time. Frugal me, no money spent on food before, during, or after my meeting! I did also manage to coordinate my travels so that I could stop at the cheap gas station and save myself 5 cents per gallon on gas and since the tank was almost empty I saved about $1. I also stopped at BJs and did some grocery shopping since I could combine these trips. I discovered that our BJs now has a lot more organic produce options than in the past and there were a handful of coupons that I could put to good use, too. I am making a huge batch of 4-bean vegetarian chili this week, a huge batch of roasted garlic and lentil soup, and a huge batch of mushroom risotto so my BJs trip allowed me to get most everything that I needed -- I even managed to shop with a list and not deviate from it too greatly! Go me!!! One exciting find, my beloved really likes these dark chocolate caramels with sea salt that I've been buying at Whole Foods. I found them at BJs and bought a container as a test run. If they are the same high quality, I'll be $2.00 per container and the container is 1 half ounce larger to boot. Woot! (Sure, I could just stop buying them altogether, but that would mean I would have to find a way to end a household revolt...)

Had to do a last minute load of laundry last night before my beloved left for NYC today. I wasn't planning to do laundry until today, but I forced myself to get organized and put together a full load so that we could wash one load instead of two. Then re-used some dryer sheets in the dryer instead of using a brand new one (well, cut in sixths, of course!). Yes, yes, I know, I should have line dried, but I'm just not that ambitious during the winter because our laundry room is not well enough organized to accommodate my elaborate line drying methods and my beloved despises line dried clothes.

We've been eating out of the fridge and pantry the past few days. I had intended to go grocery shopping on Sunday after having been away most of last week. But I was dead tired so put it off, didn't go on Monday either and just made do with what was in the house. Two extra days meant that we ate up some leftovers included a few hard boiled eggs, two bananas, some rice cakes, and a hunk of cheese. Also thrown into the mix at various times, black beans from the freezer and a huge batch of popcorn. :~)

I've been using my Bodum teapot quite regularly and I've almost used up the white tea that I had hanging around forever that I was not a huge fan of. I know there is more tea in the pantry that I should either consume or compost so I will keep y'all posted on what I do next in my "tea reduction" project. I do need to get a tea cozy for my teapot so that I can keep my tea warm longer. Figure I will try Freecyle first and then the thrift stores. If neither provides me with what I need, I'll ask my beloved's mother if she can make me one (she's quite talented in that regard, so I'm hoping the answer is yes!).

One unintended frugal, I had to cancel my hair cut appointment last week and I was intending to reschedule for this week. But I'm way too busy, so it's going to get pushed another week. I have short hair and was having it cut every 4 weeks last year, but I think this year I'll shoot for every 5 weeks instead or longer when I don't have any important meetings (I work from home so I know my important meetings pretty far in advance, usually). I also organized all my hair products and have quite the stockpile so my goal is to get through 2013 without buying any. Should be do-able since I don't have to use product every day -- why style my hair when I'm not leaving the house?!? ;)

Okay, I could have sworn there were more frugals...but I'm drawing a blank right now. This thread has been kind of quiet, so perhaps I'll inspire some others to post!!!

Kat

1-16-13, 10:36am

Hmmm...I don't think my last post went through.

Not too much to report here. DH and are both feeling better and have been doing our best to eat at home and pay cash for things when we shop.

Last weekend, a friend of mine gave me a box of clothes her daughter has outgrown. It looks as though we are set for DD for spring but may need a couple of shorts and tops and some jammies for summer. Not bad at all!

Yesterday, DH called about making some changes to our insurance. I guess there is a discount available through his workplace if he joins their group. It may save us a lot of money, it may not. We don't have the quote and will still have to weigh out the benefits, but it is worth considering, anyway. It doesn't cost anything to call and get information.

DH will get profit sharing this week. Should be around $450. I am not sure what we are going to do with it yet, but I think we might start a "dream fund" with it as we hope to add on to the main floor our little house in 6 or 7 years. Doing that would give us all a little more space *and* (my favorite part) allow us to retire in a house we own. Right now, we couldn't do that because we have so many stairs and the only bathroom is upstairs. We'll see, I guess!

bke

1-16-13, 10:54am

Good morning Simple Living friends! Not a ton of stuff to report here. I did receive several things in the mail this week including a new t-shirt, coffee, hot cereal and dates. My computer died this week and I bought a new one. Windows 8 is very different and I'm kind of struggling with it at the moment. I can't even seem to create paragraphs at the moment! Anyways, I bought a printer with the new computer and am determined to use it to make more/save more money. I already printed out a form for a free bottle of laundry soap! Ok, I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I have a hunch that it isn't going to print well. Sorry if its a mess!

larknm

1-16-13, 1:38pm

This has been our third month having closed off half our house and using only the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. So far this has saved us /2-1/3 on electric bill. We have solar modules, so I use our space heaters more during the day while sun shins that reduces how much heat we need them to generate after sun goes down.

We live in high desert and the temps are the same as upstate NY, even though this is NM. And this month has been intensely cold for us--like around zero many nights. We'd never closed off our bathroom because thinking it would be so cold in there--the insulation in those walls is the worst. In fact all our walls are cold to the touch. But last night was so cold, we tried shutting off the bathroom, and not only was it no colder when we used it this morning, we needed much less heat from our heaters through the night. We can definitely keep
this up until through May, which is when our cold weather usually finally goes.

Also, we have several of those curtains (never used) that cut about 25% of cold coming in and are thinking how to add them to our (thin hemp) curtains so our one window will let in less heat, ditto a door between kitchen and the living room since we're not using the latter and it's cold in there, coming in the kitchen door.

KayLR

1-16-13, 5:27pm

Once again I am going to promote contacting a company to compliment them on their product. A few weeks ago I was on the Aidell's ( chicken sausage) website looking at their recipes. I noted (as a Weight Watcher) they don't include the nutritional information (carbs, protein, fat, fiber) on the recipes, so I wrote to suggest it to them, and also to say how much we enjoy their sausages.

The NEXT day they emailed me asking for my mailing address so they could send me a thank you. I figured it would be a 50-cent coupon, but NO! TWO coupons for FREE packages of their sausage! They cost more than $5 at our Kroger! Wow!

We used one of them last night, and still have another to use later!

cdttmm

1-16-13, 6:42pm

Good call on closing off the bathroom, larknm. Sounds like it will make a huge difference for you with the electric bill!!!

KayLRZ, I need to take a page from your playbook and contact a few of the company's that can count me as a loyal customer. I would love to be able to get some high value coupons from them just for sending an email!

I woke up to a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, but that didn't stop me from getting in a few frugal maneuvers! :D

This morning, I went to a free orientation session for an upcoming mindfulness-based meditation training. I had been considering attending the program that Jon Kabat-Zinn started at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, but it is over an hour drive from my house and the cost is about $650. I found one closer to home (20 minutes away) that is led by people who were trained in Kabat-Zinn's program and the cost is only $400. Now, $400 is a lot of cash, but I am considering it an investment in my health and considering the various health issues I've dealt with over the past 6 months, *now* is the time to invest! ;) It turns out that I can pay in 3 installments over the first 3 weeks of the class. If I drop out of the program for some reason after the first or second class, then I don't have to pay the full fee. This was a welcomed piece of info because it definitely makes it easier for me to commit knowing that I won't necessarily just be out $400 the minute I write the check.

I was supposed to go to a tabletop expo for a professional group that I am part of in the middle of the day. But I had too much work to do and after calculating how much I would spend in gas to drive there, I decided that it was a better financial move to just skip it. I'd already paid the $25 for a ticket, but that was a sunk cost so I tried not to factor that into my decision making. The $25 ticket includes lunch, but since I now have a ridiculously restricted diet it's unlikely I would have been able to eat anything while I was there. So I probably would have ended up buying lunch after having run around all day feeling stressed. I think it was a good call to just go home and work!

Since I had stocked up at BJs on all the stuff we tend to buy in large quantities, I hit up the grocery store for the few remaining items. Was able to use a bunch of coupons (almost $20 worth!) that I had to get some stuff that I would rarely buy if I had to pay full price. Now I just need to organize the pantry so that some of the "emergency" rations that I bought don't just get eaten out of boredom or laziness. And when I say "emergency," I mean, stuff like a few energy bars and some cans of lentil soup and tomato soup. Yep, we're real fancy in the prepared foods department at our house. :~) But I buy this stuff when it's on sale or I have good coupons because then we just have it for when we're too exhausted to actually make a real meal of some sort. The problem is my dearly beloved...not so organized some days when it comes to planning what he's going to eat.

My work trip to NYC that was supposed to happen this Friday got cancelled -- hooray! Less stress for me!!! And it means that my assistant and I can actually meet up and co-work together for the day. She proposed just coming over to my house and working here, which is a brilliant plan because it means that I don't have to drive anywhere and we aren't buying lunch at some restaurant. Instead, I will make mushroom risotto for us (by her request!) and we'll have that for lunch. Woot!

Finished off the last of my white tea today. Need to plan my next fancy "from my own pantry" tea blend now that I have an empty container I can use to store it in. Hooray for reusing instead of recycling!

Last but not least, putting off doing laundry until I get back from my yoga class tonight. I am hopeful that I will be organized (and motivated) enough that I can actually skip using the dryer and hang dry my laundry! If I keep reading this forum enough -- and especially the monthly frugals thread -- I eventually feel guilty enough to actually do it!!!

Happy frugal-ing, everyone!!!

Rosemary

1-16-13, 6:55pm

Stella

1-16-13, 8:00pm

Today was a no drive, no spend day for me too. I had a friend over in the afternoon for coffee. Tonight Zach is taking the girls to choir, since he has to be sacristan for an event they are having at church anyway. The girls will stay for the event. There will be music, so they will enjoy that.

We had been planning to meet with another homeschool family on Friday, but they had a family emergency, so we are rescheduling for another week. We are considering some free options for a fun outing. Maybe the Children's Museum or nature journaling at the Conservatory.

Zach finished the first half of the side job he was working on for our neighbors. He's making quite a good chunk of extra money for two days work.

This time of year all of the family gets restless and starts coming up with ideas of fun places to go. I'm all for that, but I like to plan it so that we keep the spending in check. We still have a gift certificate for a day of archery to use up, and the kids have money from Christmas to spend on a day at Shoreview Community Center's waterpark from my great-aunt. I also have us registered for a day of farm chores and making breakfast at Gale Woods Farm. That should take us through to Cheyenne's birthday. This is what I like about giving experience gifts. You still get the fun of anticipation after the holiday has passed. The only other Family Fun Day thing I might be willing to pay for this winter is a day of snow tubing. Fellow Twin Citians, do you know of any particularly good places for that?

Cheyenne's birthday and our 10th anniversary are coming up in about 6 weeks. My parents are big-time givers, but are thankfully very much on board with experience gifts. She is going to tell them that she wants horseback riding lessons (a friend found a deal for $100 for 4 lessons that seems reasonable) and a chance to go snorkeling in the reef tank at the aquarium at MOA. She's been waiting for the snorkeling thing for years, since we did that with our friend's kid, but you have to be 9. That will leave us free to pay for her party as our gift to her. She is thinking she wants a luau or a lego party. She worked up a budget and has been researching what she can do to make her party budget go further. It's a good exercise for her. The birthday budget, with my parent's money, is on the larger side of simple, but at least it's going to some awesome experiences instead of a bunch of stuff I'd have to find a place to store.

Just as an aside, Rosemary, I want to thank you for warning me last year about 8 being The Year of Great Precision. Knowing that this is a phase has helped greatly with my patience. :)

Kat

1-17-13, 10:19am

Great frugals, everyone!

Stella--Cheyenne's birthday sounds super fun!

DH is doing The Biggest Loser at work, so I made "skinny" sloppy joes and roasted zucchini for supper last night. Plenty of leftovers. DH really liked them, and I like the fact that I got DD to eat lean turkey, red peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onions, and zucchini. :-) Tonight I am making a crock pot meal since I have a ton of work to do today.

Yesterday I was tempted to run to the grocery store to stock up on sales, but my grocery envelope is empty, so I decided against it. The sales will still be going on next week when I get paid and can replenish the envelope.

We are kind of fighting the winter blahs here. It is too cold for DD to go outside and play, and we live in a small town with little to do. Today I am going to gather up all the pillows from the house and make a pillow obstacle course for her. She'll have lots of (supervised) fun crawling around on them, and when we are done, we can pile them all up and snuggle and read books. And eat animal crackers, of course! ;-)

We got our new auto insurance quote, and it is $47 a month less than what we pay now. We are still waiting for the home quote; if it is less (or comparable), we will probably make the switch. DH also received word that he will be receiving a raise in March, so that is nice!

bke

1-17-13, 10:20am

I've decided that if I want to have a chance of being relatively healthy during my senior years, I need to start improving things now. I have really lousy eating habits. As phase one of my plan, I am reducing my intake of animal products. No more eating bacon on an almost daily basis. I consider this a frugal because food costs will go down as well as future health care costs. I'm not aiming for perfection-just a noticeable improvement. I bought 5 vegan granola bars and 4 pks of gum for the guys yesterday for a total of $1.50. This was my only purchase. I can't get my "enter" key to allow me to create paragraphs on this computer. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I might be doing wrong?

cdttmm

1-18-13, 2:03am

cdttmm, I went to a mindfulness-based stress-reduction class that was based on Kabat-Zinn's methods about 10 years ago, and thought it was worth the cost. I made some new friends in the class, too.

Rosemary, glad to hear you found the class useful -- I'm looking forward to it!

I was very excited to use the USPS click-and-ship again today. I was cleaning out some closets this morning and discovered that we have a ridiculous number of lightweight jackets for running/cycling. There was one in particular that was in like new condition that we just never use because it doesn't have all the same features as some of the other jackets we have. Instead of adding it to the bag got the thrift store, I packed it up and will send it to my brother. With my savvy ship-and-click skills, I was able to pay a mere $4.90 to send it priority mail! Okay, donating it would have been cheaper, but I know he'll appreciate the jacket and will put it to good use. I did have to futz around with different packaging/shipping options to figure out the cheapest one, but it was a fun little puzzle so I didn't mind.

In the process of all that, I discovered an unopened package of return address labels that we had bought from Staples who knows how long ago. Since they were unopened, I took them back to the store today and returned them for store credit. We probably paid about $40 for them, but because I didn't have the receipt we only got store credit of $21 because that was the lowest price they have sold them for in the past. Bummer. But $21 is still better than a box of labels that we weren't going to use anyway! I took a walk through the store to see what I might buy with the store credit and found a small rug for $30 that would serve as an excellent replacement for the one that needs to go (one of the dogs vomited on it twice and I attempted to wash it, but it was not designed to be washed and I pretty much trashed it in the process). I'm going to see what coupons I have for Staples and will probably end up buying the rug online, with free shipping of course, since most of their coupons are for online purchases and use the store credit so that in the end the rug should be free or close to it. Win!!!

I went to CVS with my $2 ini ExtraBucks and bought 2 trial size toothpaste for a total of 19 cents. :D I always need trial size toothpastes for when I have to fly to TX for work so this was a good deal. And I knew that I needed toothpastes because last night after I got back from yoga I was so motivated that I organized all the storage baskets that are on shelves in the bathroom. I threw out a few things that just needed to go, but mostly was just able to inventory what we have so that we're not inadvertently buying more of something we already have on hand.

I'm still working on my tea drinking project. I discovered a box of tea in the pantry that is unopened. Seemed pretty exciting except the writing on the box is almost entirely in Chinese. Doh. But I looked closely and discovered that it said "Tartary buckwheat tea" in small writing on one side. I was thinking about offering it up on Freeclycle thinking that buckwheat=wheat=gluten, which is a no-no for me. But then I googled it and discovered that buckwheat is not wheat and does not contain gluten. So I then looked for instructions on how to prepare the tea and it's pretty much the same as other teas so now I have a new tea to try -- let's hope it's good! I also discovered a box of gunpowder green tea, which I was pretty sure I would not like as just straight green tea. So this morning I prepared a blend of the gunpowder green tea and a peppermint ginseng tea and together they made a pretty good tea -- I drank the whole pot! :~) Then tonight I tried the gunpowder green tea with a lemon ginger tea that I have and that combo was even better! So I'll be drinking that for the next week or so! I'm starting to love my tea experiments since I was originally just planning to toss all of them. I figure if I make a pot of tea and it's not to my liking, I can always toss it at that point without any harm done. But when the experiments result in tasty tea...well, that can pretty much make my day!!!

Rosemary

1-18-13, 8:53am

I'll use a coupon today to get the car coolant changed, and another to get my hair trimmed. Minimal driving, local places. I used to cut my own hair but the past few years it's been too short for me to do the layers. I'm growing it out again, though.

Hosting soup & craft time today so will have fun conversation and get my mending done.

Stella, I found age 9 to be The Golden Age (Practically Perfect in Every Way - really, no sarcasm here!) --- and I can see 10, The Year of Hidden Hormones, peering around the corner (hidden because there's no physical impact yet -- but the emotional swings are beginning).

Kat

1-18-13, 3:06pm

DH ended up having a business lunch yesterday, so we had leftovers for dinner last night and will have the crock pot meal today. I also made some homemade pudding pops for a sweet treat and have tried to be more mindful about using food up before it goes bad.

I thought I didn't get paid until Monday, but my paycheck was deposited into my account this morning. So I went to the store afterall and stocked up. There were some crazy good deals. I came in $50 under budget and was able to stock my freezer a bit. I printed off a free freezer inventory sheet, too, so I would remember what was in there.

The insurance quote we got (for house and car) would save us around $90 a month, plus we would get it discount if we have the payments taken from DH's paycheck. I am thinking this is a change we might be making as soon as possible (which is March, I guess).

It is really beautiful outside today, so I might take DD out to play or for a walk after she wakes from her nap. I think the fresh air and sunshine would do us both good!

Azure

1-18-13, 4:08pm

Hi Everyone! Happy New Year!

Sorry to pop in and out so much. Sometimes I just don't feel like talking I guess. lol Work has been crazy busy since Thanksgiving so I come home tired & lazy. Plus DH gave me a Kindle Fire for my anniversary/Christmas gift and I've been distracted by it waaay too much. ;)

Today I got out of work early. Didn't buy anything even though it is payday and it seems like the entire store is on clearance. Had homemade yogurt with homemade granola for lunch.

I did buy some clothes for Deja & a few things for myself earlier in the week. Since they were 70% off plus my discounts I got some good deals. At such low prices I won't be too upset when she gets bored and chews on them. Got her a really cute quilted yellow vest with sweater yoke & a hood to help keep her warm. Plus she'll look adorable in it. I got myself a shirt & a zip front hoodie - bright yellow. Not a color I usually wear but.... well, I liked it lol

I am inordinately proud of myself because I finally figured out how to program our thermostat. lol Hopefully that will give us some savings. And it is nice to get up in the morning with the heat already on.

I have really gotten lazy with the budgeting stuff too. So I've been spending the afternoon balancing the check book & all that stuff.

early morning

1-19-13, 6:45pm

Today, finally, I was able to put some larger bedding on the clothesline. In the 40s, and quite windy - lovely! I don't mind drying clothing inside but sheets, blankets, afghans, quilts - those are a bit of a pain, and tend to accumulate in the basement until a nice drying day and time to do laundry coincide. Trying to eat at home when we're not here to cook is getting more difficult, but we're doggedly keeping at it, although the food quality and lack of variety are not making me very happy:spam:. Other than that, I'm just doing the same old things...

cdttmm

1-20-13, 10:21am

I'm just doing the same old things...

early morning, sometimes it is doing the same old things, though, that keeps us on track until we can find new frugals to create a habit around! :) And I am totally impressed by your line drying of larger bedding in the winter -- I am not that dedicated!!! :|(

Nothing much for new and exciting frugals around here, but I am trying to keep up with the usual frugal behaviors. I did some cleaning and organizing in the pantry, which resulted in a few things getting chucked into the compost because they were quite old. They were probably still edible, but I figure if the "best by" date was sometime in 2011 and we still hadn't managed to finish off the half-used packaged, then it was probably time for it to go. The good thing is that, as you all know, with better organization in the pantry comes a greater ability to cook and eat at home!

On Friday my colleague came over to my house so that we could co-work together for the day. We usually meet at a mid-point between our two houses to work and take advantage of free wifi where we can find it. But that usually means we're at a Barnes & Noble, a Starbucks, or a Panera, which means we spend money on tea and snacks. It's not the least frugal thing in the world -- considering that 90% of the time we're working from home with no commuting costs or any of the other costs that typically go along with having a regular 40-hour-a-week job. But this time around she offered to just come to my house, which is fine as there is plenty of space here and she could bring her dog, Aurora, who was more than happy to spend the day playing with my three dogs. We drank lots of tea (from my enormous stash!) and made a giant batch of mushroom risotto to eat. I'm not sure that the day was the most productive work-wise, but I view it as a successful trial run. I would be more than happy to have her come over once a week so that we can work together. There are some projects where we can just be more efficient if we're in the same room.

So now I have leftover mushroom risotto that I've been eating and I think I will freeze some of it today for later consumption. I've been feeling very motivated to cook so I have cannellini beans in the crock pot as I type. They will go into a huge batch of four bean chili that I will make later today. Should be enough for a few meals this week plus several meals for the freezer.

I have two Tae Kwon Do classes today, which means I will out of the house for about 6 hours. I'll be bringing along snacks to eat between class so that I'm not tempted to buy anything while I'm out. Last night I made up a small jar of homemade trail mix and we'll find out today if the combo I came up with is actually any good. :~) I'm going to make some hard boiled eggs, too, so that I can bring one or two of those with me as well.

Yesterday I went to a free technology focused "camp" that was being held at the local university. I only went for part of the day, but remember to bring along some snacks and a travel mug filled with tea since I knew I wouldn't be able to eat the breakfast or lunch that was being provided (a gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian diet does have its challenges). I actually learned some useful info for my job at the camp, reconnected with a professional contact, and met somebody new so it was a very worthwhile (and frugal!) way to spend the day.

I was excited that both Staples and Barnes & Noble sent coupons via email to be used over the long weekend. I very diligently printed them out (on the back side of already used paper, of course!) and did a little research as to what I might buy using the coupons. I was feeling very frugal until I was at Barnes & Noble and I realized that (1) I would need to renew my membership which expired in January (cost of $25) and (2) that the two books I was considering buying would be cheaper to buy online either through B&N or through Amazon. Well that put a damper on my book buying! I also had a BOGO coupon for cookies in their cafe. Yum, cookies! Of course, I can't eat the cookies, but I thought my partner might like a little treat. But, again, I would have to renew my membership in order to buy the cookies using my coupon, which seemed like a really bad move since I am on the fence about renewing my membership. Besides, we have ice cream in the freezer and plenty of chocolate in the pantry so cookies were *not* a necessity. I felt very frugal as I walked out of the store empty handed. I then headed over to Staples thinking that I would buy something very practical, paper towels. Since we use very few paper towels in our house, I can usually buy a 12 pack (of select-a-size) and have it last an entire year (or more). Of course, buying paper towels at Staples is expensive compared to Target or BJs or even the supermarket, but I had done the math and with the coupon and the store credit I have I would have walked away with a 12 pack of paper towels for ~ $1. Turns out that they don't sell the 12-pack select-a-size in the stores, only online. Argh. I took a walk through the store to see if there was anything else that we might possibly need, but struck out. Nothing. Once again, I left the store empty handed, but feeling very frugal.

The other day, when I was at Staples getting the store credit for a return, I had looked at a new rug (more of a door mat, really) to put in front of our sliding glass doors and thought about buying. But I wasn't convinced that I would like it and I didn't want the hassle of having to return it so I went home and was going to think about it. While I was thinking, I realized that I really like the rug we have, but the non-skid backing is essentially shot because my partner made the mistake of machine washing and drying it not realizing that that was a bad idea. We have a stockpile of the non-skid stuff that you can buy to put under area rugs. So I decided to cut a piece the size of the rug and tried attaching it to the back of the rug with some random type of bonding adhesive I found in the drawer. Guess what? It worked! Or at least the test area that I did. It's turning out to be a slightly more complicated process than I anticipated because I have to work on it in sections, gluing a section, letting it dry, and then gluing another section. But so far so good and if this works, I will be very impressed with my own ingenuity! :cool:

I'm sure there's more, but this has gotten to be quite long, so if you read this far, thank you! :D

SteveinMN

1-20-13, 2:05pm

It doesn't seem like there has been much in the way of frugality lately. We've spent lots of time with my MiL as we figure out somewhat different living arrangements for her, post-hip-replacement, which has meant lots of 50-mile roundtrips to her house. We also bought DW's sister a plane ticket to come home and help Mom and be part of the decisionmaking for what happens next, so there were some extra family gatherings in there, too. SiL went home this morning, though, so some of the driving and activity will stop.

Frugals I can think of:
- Got reimbursed by our insurance company for a tow incurred when DW blew a tire on the highway. It was a higher-than-usual dollar figure because we wanted the car towed someplace specific. But they reimbursed all of it under our breakdown coverage, so that saved $20-30.
- Made a bean stew from dried beans for maybe the second time in my life. It was very tasty -- DW liked it a lot, too. We ate that through most of the week and I liked that the beans did not get mushy like canned beans do. I want to figure out the costs -- the recipe I used came with a cost breakdown (like the low-cost-eating challenges here) but their prices were nowhere near mine, so I'm curious to see how much this came to per serving. I'm sure it's cheaper than serving a hunk of meat or poultry, but...
- I pulled apart an old external hard drive I wasn't using (company went out of business and was no longer updating products) and I'm trying to find a cheap enclosure for the drive that isn't junk so we have more room for backups and shared files!
- Brought our Chinook Book (coupons kind of like those Entertainment! books) into the house to review coupons we can use (for instance, $5 off the tab at most area coops, including our own). Usually the Book resides in my car because we never seem to have the coupons when we get to places we can use them. But then we don't remember where the coupons can be used, so we go places and don't remember the Book. :|(
- Asked the credit union why we were being charged for insufficient use of their on-line bill pay system when we were paying more than the minimum number of bills and learned that they treat on-line transactions differently from the "we-print-a-check-and-send-it-for-you" payments. We've restructured our bills accordingly.
- Moved from our old money-tracking software (SEE Finance; Mac) to HomeBank. A little not frugal since I already paid for SEE, but the double-entry accounting it required was a pain and our balances were out of whack as a result. HomeBank at least is free (well, it cost a little time to set up as a ported UNIX app) and I find the interface easier to use.

I think that's it...

fidgiegirl

1-20-13, 7:17pm

Steve, note that Chinook Book also comes with a mobile pack that you can install on your smart phone (can't remember if you have one, but if you do) and so you can use some of those coupons twice, or at a minimum it's more likely you'll have your phone with you than the coupon book. We're not buying Chinook Book anymore for this very reason, but the mobile pack can be purchased independently and so I have thought of that. BUt as far as I know if you bought the paper book you get both components.

SteveinMN

1-20-13, 11:25pm

Steve, note that Chinook Book also comes with a mobile pack that you can install on your smart phone (can't remember if you have one, but if you do) and so you can use some of those coupons twice, or at a minimum it's more likely you'll have your phone with you than the coupon book.
I don't think I knew about the mobile pack! Unfortunately, my smartphone is an old Nokia (read: not iPhone/Android), so I'm out of luck on that -- unless I can simply use a Web browser. I'll have to check that out. Thanks!

cdttmm

1-21-13, 8:35pm

Thought I would drop me and write about some frugals while my huge pot of four bean, vegetarian chili cooks away on the stove. The chili is one of my major frugals for today. It made enough for about 16 servings so that will keep us going for quite some time. Most of it will go into the freezer for future quick meals, but we'll have some tonight and tomorrow first. It's actually a four bean, split pea, and lentil chili because I wanted to use up a package of split peas and the remaining lentils from a different recipe. I also added half a jar of pasta sauce that was hanging around in the fridge. I never can follow a recipe exactly... :|(

I froze the remaining mushroom risotto for future meals. I would have just kept eating it for a few more meals, but my dearly beloved wanted the chili so into the freezer went the risotto. It's all good, though, because beans are cheap protein and we can always use more in the way of cheap protein around here!

In other frugal news, I was in need of a new pair of gloves for gardening, stacking firewood, and general outside chores. There is a particular brand of gloves that I like, but they usually retail for between $24 and $30 per pair. Gah! After a little internet sleuthing I found them for $16 per pair so I bought 4 pairs (might as well stock up when you find a good sale), then found a discount code online for another 10% off + free shipping. Boom!

Tomorrow I need to drive to Boston for an appointment so I've planned out some errands that I run while on that trip, which combines some driving at least. And I've already checked the GasBuddy app to be sure that I can fill up on gas at the cheapest station possible along my route. With luck that will save me a few bucks over filling up at the local gas station.

Finished my repair job on the rug -- turned out great! It's like having a brand new rug for $0 and a little bit of effort. :D

Rosemary

1-21-13, 11:04pm

No-spend 3-day weekend, with one no-drive day.
Frugal entertainment at home: DD had a sleepover on Friday, and a friend over to play today; I taught them how to make chocolate pudding from scratch using only the microwave, no gas stove to deal with; cooking from the pantry and cleaning out the fridge; using up fabric to make various things for gifts and fundraisers; DD and DH are repurposing some fancy LED holiday lights - the string of lights no longer worked, but individual lights when removed from it did, so it was a good electronics project; reading, music, and games. A good 3-day weekend.
Also, used remaining water from boiling potatoes and steaming green beans to make bread.

flowerseverywhere

1-22-13, 12:29am

I have had many no spend no drive days this month. I live where the weather is perfect for walking and biking. We also barely eat any meat any more and most of my meals are made from farmers market produce.

Used a gift certificate I got for Christmas so I would not lose track of it.

fidgiegirl

1-22-13, 9:17am

Not a ton to report here. We got some new towels and sheets for ourselves and for Bridging yesterday and got quite a bit for the money we spent (went to Marshalls) but still spent a chunk. I think the biggest score from yesterday was heading off some food waste at the pass. I deboned a chicken and a ham and froze the meat and carcass/ham bone. Yesterday we also went out to eat and I put a new review up on my blog.

Kat

1-22-13, 9:30am

Wow! All this yummy soup talk is making me want soup! :-)

early morning--I love fresh bedding dried on the line!

We went out to eat twice this weekend, so that wasn't terribly frugal. We did use budgeted funds for it, though, so we didn't do too bad. I made a lasagna for dinner last night. We'll eat some leftovers and freeze the rest. Will make dinner at home tonight also.

It is really cold here, so I don't think playing outside is a possibility. I think today I will try find something creative for DD to do. I am thinking about paper tearing with papers of different textures. I have everything already, and I think she would like it!

SteveinMN

1-22-13, 11:04am

Frugal: I found the "other" glove I could not find Friday, which saves me the $$ of buying another pair (and, oh irony, trying to find gloves to buy in January in Minnesota). And my car has been in the garage since Friday afternoon.

Maybe not-so-frugal: the tow-truck bill if the car doesn't start today after sitting in subzero weather since Friday afternoon. >8)

[EDIT] The car started. It took three "glows" and it wasn't happy about it, but it started. I drove it around for almost an hour before shutting it down to run my errands. Man, it's cold outside!

Azure

1-22-13, 3:05pm

No spend day for me today. I am trying to not buy any groceries before Friday's pay day. Also trying not to buy anything else, but the food budget got out of control after Thanksgiving.

Making a double batch of granola. Will probably make more yogurt tomorrow.

The thermostat is programmed down to 60 during after dh leaves for work and back up to 68 about 2:45 which is the latest I come home from work. This week I am getting out at 12:30 so I have been coming home and bundling up instead of turning the heat up early. It's ok when I'm moving around. Freezing when I'm doing paperwork. You'd think that would encourage me to get up and get moving.... yet here I am playing on the computer. :D

We have one of those hard plastic sterlite cupboards. It used to be in DD's room with linens. But the linens don't smell good when they come out of it. So I emptied the linens & have been washing a load almost every day. I hang them to dry and then air dry them in the dryer to get the dog hair off. (unfortunately I left them laying around too long and the dog decided to nest in them).

The cupboard is in the basement with board games & books in it.

early morning

1-22-13, 8:08pm

Wow, everyone is doing great! Azure, what all do you put in your granola? I just mix what I have w/no real basic recipe, and sometimes it's good, and sometimes the chickens eat it.:|( Made a big pot of chicken chili for dinner, and a large skillet of corn bread. Made a peanut butter brownie for dessert. We made it to salvage a pan of peanut butter fudge we were gifted with - it was runny and didn't taste much like peanut butter, but it was a large pan and I hated to see it wasted. We melted it in a saucepan, and added an entire jar of outdated - but not strong - natural peanut butter. It was MUCH better, but then we realized we don't really eat much fudge (duh!), and in a few days it got all crumbly. But after all that effort AND a jar of pnb, NO way was it going to waste! So we've been adding it to brownie batter, and it's really awesome! We will eat chili and corn bread tomorrow also, since I'll only be home for about 20 minutes before we have to leave again. Didn't have to go to my mother's today - saving about 50 miles of driving. I did both of my yearly medical tests today, so I took the whole day off work, instead of two half-days, saving about 50 more miles. It's cold here but my 10 little hens are up to about 6 eggs a day with the days lengthening. I shared some with my Dbro, who kindly cooked for the crew of us last week at Mom's house, AND send some left overs to DH, who was here at home.

Rosemary

1-23-13, 9:05am

Yesterday was another no-spend day, and a no-drive day for me aside from taking DD to her choir concert in the evening (about 3 miles). I spent the day making granola to take to our friends when we travel and sewing from my fabric stash (gifts and items for fundraisers).
Cleaning out the fridge before upcoming travel.

bke

1-23-13, 9:48am

Early Morning- I really like the fudge save. I have some leftover peanut butter frosting in the fridge that would work the same way. It might be time for brownies!

I did really well at the store this week. Stocked up on everything from produce and canned soup to snacks for the always eating 13 yr old boy. I spent $58 and saved $62. Its becoming a real challenge to keep ds full and satisfied. He eats lots of healthy stuff so I don't sweat the snacks too much but man, the volume of food this kid is going through in unbelievable-lol!

I bought a $9 bottle of vitamins for $3 at Rite Aid.

Ok, maybe this counts and maybe it doesn't. A customer and friend is moving to an apartment and selling a ton of household stuff. I bought a very nice desk for $30. Its an attractive piece of furniture that I can see us using for several years. It accomadates our new computer set up quite well making better use of our tiny space. Frankly the other set up was working so I don't know if its a true frugal but at least I bought a piece of like-new furniture for only $30.

I had a good mail day yesterday. Coupons for 4 free twelve packs of Coke, address labels, and a 6 load bottle of laundry soap.

Oh, remember the guy who used to bring food to me all the time? He brought me 5 lbs of frozen chicken parts and a big bag of frozen blue berries.

I'm sitting here enjoying a free cup of Starbucks French roast as I type. Breakfast is going to be granola with yogurt that I bought for 50 cents a 4 pk.

Kat

1-23-13, 1:13pm

Spent the day working and cleaning yesterday. I made mac n cheese and hot dogs for dinner along with a side salad. I also made some more pudding pops. All of these things allowed me to use up stuff I had. We had enough for lunch today, too. Tonight I am making mini Mexican pizzas and beans and rice. This meal also allows me to use up odds and ends before they go bad.

We found out on Monday that our baby that is due in May is a boy. We are super excited, but we don't have many clothes for him since most of DD's stuff was pink. My SIL gave me a box of clothes her son had outgrown, so I have been going through that and making a list of what we have so that I can start to fill in the gaps as needed. I do have some gift cards set aside for that purpose. I am just blown away by the generosity of others when it comes to baby stuff. We have had to buy so little, and I am really, really thankful!

cdttmm

1-24-13, 11:12am

Kat: A son -- how exciting! Congratulations and good luck!!!

bke: Great score on the desk! Yes, you're right, you could have skipped it and saved yourself $30, but I'm a big believer in having the right "tools" for the job as they ultimately pay for themselves in various ways due to increased efficiency, etc. If the desk is a better fit for your space and it will enhance your quality of life by more than $30, then I declare it a frugal! :D

Nothing too huge happening around here, but lots of small frugals -- yay! I have two pairs of warm-up pants from my days of coaching swimming. Which means these warm-up pants are at least 15 years old. I remember they were expensive when I bought them (or least they seemed expensive -- I wasn't making much money at the time and had a load of student loan debt). I probably paid $35 per pair. Well, I just love them and have worn them regularly even though they are way too big for me (I weigh about 20 pounds less than when I bought them). The bottoms of the pants legs are frayed, the back pocket on both pairs was coming off, the drawstrings at the waist were fraying. But I'm not willing to part with them just yet. I generally only wear them around the house now because they are in bad shape. But they are lined and very warm and replacing them would cost more than I'm willing to spend. So in an attempt to squeeze another year's worth of wear out of them I took the time to remove the back pocket from each pair with a seam ripper (wasn't worth it to sew it back on as I never actually use the pocket) and then I bought a pair of heavy duty boot laces and used them to replace the fraying drawstrings at the waist. Certainly not "good as new" but as least a bit more useful and considering that it has been in the single digits most of this week, I am very pleased that I still have my wonderful, lined, warm-up pants to wear to keep me warm!!!

I found my insulated coveralls in the garage of all places. I feared they would have mouse damage, but I got lucky and then did not! I washed and dried them and they are truly are good as new because I had only worn them about 5 times before they went missing. Very happy to not have to replace them and very happy to have them clean and ready to wear during this brutally cold week as I have been needing to go out to check and fill the wood boiler every 8 hours or so as opposed to the usual once a day.

So far this season we've only gone through one bag of bird seed and half a bag of black oil sunflower seed. A definite frugal around here! We used to go through at least that much every month in the past. Part of it is due to the fact that, overall, I am just filling fewer feeders this season. But it is also due, in part, to the my diligence in filling the feeders only part way every day. The feeders are rarely empty as even the amount I feed each day is less than the birds (and squirrels!) can consume, but it's helped in minimizing the waste. And this method has definitely not impacted the quality of bird sightings at the feeders either. Yesterday I had a visit from a Northern Flicker (a first!) and today I had a visit from a Downy Woodpecker. :cool:

As many of you know, I've been using my Bodum teapot daily since realizing what a fabulously frugal solution it is terms of my vast tea consumption. Well, I started to feel annoyed that my tea wasn't staying super hot as I was drinking my way through the pot. So I searched online for a tea cozy thinking that this would be a wonderfully frugal solution as then I would have hot tea and I would drink the whole pot as opposed to ditching the last third of the pot and making a new one simply because the tea was no longer hot. Turns out that tea cozies for this particular tea pot are $40 -- gah!!! That's a lot of tea drinking that needs to go on in order to get a decent return on that investment. Sure, maybe over my lifetime it would be worthwhile, but... Well, I almost broke down and paid the $40. But sometimes delaying purchases helps me to see another possible solution and, sure enough, this was one of those times. The day after my teapot-cozy-searching-extravaganza I had to drive to a meeting and I wanted to bring tea with me. So I made a pot of tea and filled my travel mug. And then it hit me. Why not just fill my travel mug every day and keep my tea hot that way? Lo and behold, brilliant plan. Now I make a pot of tea, I pour a cup to drink and I put the rest in my travel mug (given to me free as a thank you gift for speaking at an event) or my thermos (bought for $2 at the thrift store) or both. Score! This keeps my tea hot for much longer and doesn't require me to spend $40 (for a truly ugly tea cozy IMO). Woot woot!!! :)

Kat

1-24-13, 1:48pm

Thanks, cdttmm! You are rockin' the frugals this month!

We are all having leftovers for lunch today. I have a roast for tonight's dinner simmering in the crock pot right now. It, along with the rolls, came from the freezer. Trying to use up some of what is in there!

Today I sifted through a bunch of DD's old clothes to see what I could find for the new baby. A lot of the stuff was pretty gender specific, but I did find some basics like white onesies along with some neutral-colored items (yellow and green) that will work.

Tonight DH and I have a date to play a card game after DD goes to bed. Should be frugal and fun!

SteveinMN

1-24-13, 2:53pm

fidgiegirl

1-24-13, 6:44pm

Can't resist:

http://img2.etsystatic.com/004/0/6783520/il_570xN.375381846_js35.jpg

Rosemary

1-24-13, 6:50pm

Cute, Kelli!

I am looking forward to an unfrugal weekend of visiting friends and eating out more than usual.

Azure

1-24-13, 9:23pm

lol Kelli!

Early Morning, recently I' 've been putting peanut butter and chocolate chips in my granola. yummy with plain Greek style yogurt.

no spend days yesterday & today. cooked dinner even though I really wanted to order a pizza. So I made it to payday without spending. yeah!

Today I am getting the tax records around, sending in the license plate renewals instead of waiting til the last minute. so happy that I had a sinking fund for a change. when I get off the computer I will be matching insurance E O B' s with Dr. bills from d h' s stent procedure so we can figure out what we owe.

fidgiegirl

1-24-13, 11:35pm

Hey, I just noticed that bunnys has left us. :( If you are still poking around, bunnys, miss you! Not sure what might have happened, maybe something went down in politics forum which was pretty hot there for a while and I don't stick my head in those threads. Anyway, frugal on, friend.

fidgiegirl

1-24-13, 11:42pm

We are going to go to San Diego over spring break. I have two girlfriends in the area and one offered for us to stay with her. Also we have a companion fare through our Delta Amex for $99 for the second ticket, so we expect to average about $250/person for flights. Not bad. Excited! Warmth! Need it sooner than March, but we won't die. :D

Stella

1-25-13, 5:50pm

That's cute Kelli!

We had a play date at a friend's house today. We had such a fun time. They have six kids relatively close in age with my five, so there were lots of friends to play with. They are in the homeschool group we are starting next week and they are relatively new friends, so it was great to get to know them better.

I feel like I haven't done a lot of frugal things lately except not spending a lot of money, which is kind of boring to report. :) I'm enjoying catching up on all of your frugals, though.

rosarugosa

1-25-13, 8:57pm

Kelli: I also had noticed that we haven't been seeing bunnys lately, nor bayougirl. I've told DH that if anthing happens to me; he has to get online and let you folks know. That's one of the frustrating aspects of an online community. I used to like talking to Jeppy from Western, MA. She made the migration from the old Forum, but left soon after.

cdttmm

1-26-13, 8:08am

Way to go, cdttmm! I'm a great fan of not buying anything right away since many times I'll find a cheaper/better alternative when I keep my eyes open -- or, while researching, discover some feature or element that either refines my search or eliminates the entire purchase since the product won't do what I envision it will. Besides, in a couple of weeks, someone always seems to be selling it for less!

Steve, I've been thinking about this comment and you are spot on with your approach. If I can quell the hunter-gatherer urge to purchase for a few days (or sometimes even just for a few hours!), then I will likely come up with a more frugal solution.

For example, I saw a wooden shoe rack in a catalog the other day and I became downright fixated on acquiring one. I measured the space in my closet, found that it would fit perfectly, and was prepared to buy the shoe rack online. I had a discount code for 15% off plus a discount code for 99 cent shipping. I ended up with $200+ worth of stuff in my shopping cart (the shoe rack was about $100 all told, but there were other fabulous shiny objects to buy!). But when I went to check out the system would only accept one code. So I could either get 15% off and pay $19 in shipping or pay full price and pay 99 cents in shipping. Now, clearly, I can do the math and figure out the cheaper option, but I was beyond peeved. No where on the website or in the catalog did it mention that you could only use one discount code. I called the company to inquire and was told, "Sorry, you can only use one." I told the customer service rep, "Well, then that's a deal breaker for me." Lo and behold, a few minutes later I get an email with an offer for a 15% discount and free shipping, but it was good for that day only. I was so annoyed that I couldn't bring myself to actually patronize this company so they lost a customer that day and I saved myself $200+! :D

And it turns out that there are far better solutions to my stupid shoe storage problem that I discovered only after I was forced out of the easy solution of buying a shoe rack. First and foremost, I should get rid of about half of my shoes. Between my partner and I we have at least 80 pairs of shoes and boots in this house. I kid you not. It's like a bad joke. Second, the space for the shoe rack is directly under a shelving system that is built into the closet. Ummm...why not just rearrange the shelves so that the bottom two shelves are much lower and put shoes on the shelves we already have? Of course, that would require that I actually get rid of some of the clothing that is currently crammed onto those shelves. (Done. Two big bags to the thrift store, but I haven't yet brought myself to actually part with any of the shoes...) But still...I'm thinking about the pretty shoe rack, which is made out of cedar and will smell oh-so-nice in our closet. Seriously?!? Go to the lumber store and buy a piece of cedar and cut it to be the right size to replace one of the shelves if that's so darned important! Oh, yeah, DUH! But it gets better. Why buy an entire piece of cedar lumber when I can buy those little cedar blocks that are actually sold specifically to make your closet smell all pretty and cedar-y? Now we're talking $8 for cedar blocks rather than $48 for a piece of cedar lumber. Or better yet. Why not use the little cedar blocks that I already have that are still in the packaging from when I bought them 10 years ago. :|( Oh, wwwwaaaaahhhhh, but they don't smell strongly of cedar because they have been sitting around for a decade! Ummm...guess what? If you lightly sand cedar it's supposed to revitalize the cedar smell. Now, I haven't actually done this last part yet, but assuming it works, and I'm pretty sure it will, I just went from spending $100 on this project plus another $100 on random shiny objects that caught my eye when shopping online to $0.

Frugal cdttmm = 1
Non-frugal cdttmm = 0

:cool:

rosarugosa

1-26-13, 11:49am

Steve & Cdttmm: I'm enjoying this discussion. I tend to err on the side of running out and buying a solution. I think it gives me some type of satisfaction along the lines of "that problem is solved; check it off the list." Sometimes I'll even buy a sub-optimal solution, and then I'm still not satisfied and end up making subsequent purchases. It really is so much better to wait and ponder in most non-urgent situations.
We have some major drafts coming in under our front & back doors. Those draft-blocker gadgets seemed too expensive to me, so I was going to make some. But Crafty Rosa is a purely fictitious character it seems, so this hasn't happened. The other day, DH had the bright idea of rolling up a little throw/blanket and placing it along the bottom of the door. This made a dramatic difference! I had another little throw for the back door, and I tied the ends of each throw with some cotton cord, so we have these two little afghan-rolls serving a very useful purpose with no expenditure at all. :)

SiouzQ.

1-26-13, 12:00pm

Cdttmm: I loved reading this! Good job of really thinking it through to the bitter end!

fidgiegirl

1-26-13, 2:14pm

I also enjoyed the shoe rack saga. We have done the same many times, but have also had plenty of failings in this department! :) Always room for improvement. It's an excellent illustration of the frugal power of avoiding the impulse buy.

I have a ginormous stock pot of three rotisserie chicken carcasses on the stove for broth. We will have chicken & wild rice soup, with plenty left over for freezing for lunches. I love making this in the crock pot, typically, but there were too many carcasses and I wanted them out of the freezer spaces, so into the big boy they went.

After this we will bring them to our neighborhood compost drop off. A commercial facility comes and picks it up so we can put in bones and meat and all kinds of grease and stuff that couldn't go in a backyard bin because it would go rancid before it would break down. I feel good knowing that stuff will go back to earth instead of putting off methane in a landfill. That has nothing to do with frugality but it does make me feel good.

Last night we went to a gala fundraiser for my DH's school (my former school). Very fun to see people and I almost got hypnotized! But when the 6'4", 250+ lb. dad next to me went out and slumped over me, I lost my relaxation and came out of it. Then the 6'2", 200+ pound man on my right went out and slumped the other way! It was a Kelli sandwich, and there I sat, trapped, in front of the crowd. Oh my. The tickets were NOT frugal, but it was a fundraiser and the money is long spent. Of course there are looooots of opportunities to spend more at an event like that but we kept it to $27 - two chances on a raffle and one glass of wine. :)

What was frugal was that I dug out my fancy clothes from the closets and deep recesses of the dresser drawers and didn't purchase anything to wear for the evening. And I even blew out my hose so I guess that can be considered "decluttered." :) It will live a new life as a lint trap on the washing machine outlet hose. :laff: I keep around a bare minimum of fancy stuff for occasions like this. There is occasionally something and I figure it's better to have a handful of items hanging around in my closet than to have to drop a bunch of money buying an outfit whenever the times do come along. Plus I have selected a pretty classic dress so that should be good for a while, anyway. It's also reminded me I need to dedicate myself once more to the fitness thread. :|(

SteveinMN

1-26-13, 4:52pm

I'm glad this topic has sparked so much discussion!

The flip side of not impulse buying, I've learned, is that many projects remain on the to-do list while they are being researched or attended to frugally. Sometimes I just think I have too many irons in the fire and it would be a good thing to just go out and buy whatever and at least get that item checked off the list. But then that bone next to my wallet starts to ache and I rethink that. :D

Yesterday's frugal (kind of a frugal-squared): One week at the coop I ended up buying a frozen package of chicken backs. I suspect the plan was to use them with some other chicken bones I'd frozen for soup, but, for some reason, they never got to the pot (maybe I had too many bones in the freezer). Anyway, I finally used them for chicken soup -- not my usual recipe does, but a Hungarian chicken soup which includes usual soup ingredients like sour cream and parsley, and unusual ingredients like honey, apples, and oatmeal! :0! The combination is surprisingly good -- you don't notice the honey or the oatmeal directly (I'm sure they contribute something to the mild sweetness and the body of the soup). So a frugal use of a frugal purchase. And a keeper of a recipe.

Today's frugal is going through my computer's hard disk -- it officially ran out of room last night. I've been eyeing covetously those solid-state drives which will speed up my four-year-old laptop -- but they're not cheap. The good ones run about a dollar a gigabyte. I could go with a bigger moving-parts type of hard drive, which are relatively cheap these days. But I'm kind of stuck until I delete some stuff from the current drive. So I reconfigured our home network/storage some and went on a decluttering spree on the existing drive and now have 60 GB free. I'm still working on it, but I had to take a break, so I came here. No SSD for me now; not even a new bigger regular drive. At least not yet. That's at least $60-250 saved...

cdttmm

1-26-13, 7:58pm

Thanks you, rosa, SiouzQ, Kelli, and Steve. I'm glad you enjoying reading about my saga! :D Somehow it seems like the type of thing that, if I were to share with most people, they just wouldn't get it, but I knew everyone here could probably relate!!!

The shoe shelving saga actually prompted me to really get the closet in our master bedroom organized. I'm not done yet, but I added 14 pairs of shoes, 4 suits, 1 sweatshirt, and two dozen pairs of pants to the pile to go to the thrift store. :0! I cannot believe how much clothing we had that we were not wearing for whatever reason. Feels so good to have freed up some space, but I still feel like we have a ways to go before I'll be truly satisfied.

While cleaning the closet I also made a pile of clothes to go to the dry cleaners. It was a small pile and ultimately I decided to send most of the stuff to the thrift store instead because I doubt we'll actually wear any of these items again. But I was left with a pashmina scarf that needs to be cleaned. I was a little annoyed because I actually want the scarf, but I don't want to schlep to the dry cleaners for just one thing. I looked online and it turns out you can hand wash pashmina. So guess what I'll be doing tomorrow... :~)

In between the closet cleaning excitement, I made two batches of chocolate tapioca for tonight's dessert. Why two batches? One was made with cow's milk and one was made with soy milk. I'm trying to minimize my intake of dairy and we're having nachos with vegetarian chili for dinner tonight so that is my dairy quota for the next week to 10 days. :|( I could have just made the soy milk version of the pudding, but we had regular milk to use up because my beloved is headed back to NYC tomorrow for work. He'll get the pleasure of consuming the cow's milk version. I also managed to put some chocolate to good use as part of this cooking extravaganza. We had a load of Lindt dark chocolate truffles that had been kept somewhere warm, so they had melted a bit and then re-solidified. They still taste good, but don't look all that pretty. I put about a dozen truffles in each batch of pudding as the chocolate flavoring instead of using cocoa powder and sugar. The chocolate flavor wasn't strong enough so I still ended up adding some cocoa powder and sugar in the end, but I figure the calories from the Lindt truffles are still in the end product so they won't go to waste (well, they might go to *my* waist, but that's a whole other issue).

Went to Staples today and bought two reams of printer paper with my remaining store credit. Cost me a whole 28 cents. And, it gets better. The reams of paper came with rebates for the full retail price so all I will end up paying out of pocket is the tax -- about a dollar. And, I finally got rid of the stupid store credit I had and will get my rebates in the form of an actual real, live check that I can deposit in my bank account. Woot, woot!!!

And, last but not least, came up with another frugal project. A few weeks ago, when I was plagued by insomnia, I order something called SleepPhones. It's essentially a headband with low profile headphones sewn inside so that you can wear them when you are falling asleep. It comes with a "sleep" CD, too, that's probably pretty self-explanatory. Well, the darn things were back-ordered so they finally arrived today. Turns out that for $39, they are nothing special. Ummm...duh. I probably could have told you that had I not been so sleep deprived back when I ordered them. I opened the package carefully and inspected the whole set up so that I could figure out a way to replicate it somehow. Easy-peasy. I had a fleece headband/ear warmer that was just hanging out in the winter accessories basket with the stocking caps, gloves, mittens, and scarves. And a few weeks ago, I disassembled a Nike hat that a friend sent me that had slip in low profile headphones. I wanted the hat to wear while running because it was warmer than the hat I had been using, but I was going running with other people so I wasn't going to be listening to music, which is why I disassembled the thing. Turns out that these low profile headphones, which I thought I would have no use for, will make the perfect headphones for my homemade SleepPhones. :cool: So I'll be returning the official SleepPhones for a refund and I'll be rigging up my own for materials that I already had on hand. Boo-yah! Oh, and for my troubles, I'm going to copy the CD before I send everything back. Yes, yes, I know, it's technically a copyright infringement, but I just don't feel bad about that in this particular case. :|(

fidgiegirl

1-26-13, 9:40pm

A little embarrassed . . . the soup stock was on the stove and my parents and brother came over and we were going to go out for lunch. Well, my dad is having a tooth issue so he was feeling punky, so we ordered pizzas! This was, frankly, because I was in the mood for my fave GF pizza! So even though I had a huge pot of stock going on the stove that easily could have fed all of us and STILL have leftovers, we paid $30+ for pizza. Oh well, at least DH and I have plenty of soup . . . and that IS my fave GF pizza, after all.

A chill day today of laundry, the lunch, putzing and organizing around the house. Can't say we've really decluttered anything, I guess a few things, but mainly I just wanted to organize a few trouble spots so I knew what we had. NO MORE SOAP is allowed to be purchased!!!! We have so many soaps of every kind! Bar, liquid, laundry, dish (2 kinds?!), castille, car wash, specialty laundry, shampoos, stain treaters, heavy-duty workin-in-the-garage soaps - argh! Enough is enough! :laff:

We went to the icy, icy dog park and stopped at a $2 car wash on the way home.

SteveinMN

1-27-13, 11:00am

Interesting article in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/your-money/tips-for-making-decisions-and-sticking-to-them.html?ref=books&_r=0) this morning that fits right into our discussion of impulse buying (registration may be required):

When short-term emotions threaten to swamp long-term considerations, Chip Heath [author of an upcoming book on decisionmaking] suggests that a simple yet highly effective way to think about a difficult decision is to consider what you would recommend to your best friend.

“When we step back and simulate someone else, it’s a clarifying move,” he said.

Carefully researching information — while at the same time considering the source of that information — is important for a number of reasons. It can help you make a better decision, and it may cause less regret in the long term.

Research shows that we tend to have greater regrets about decisions that have gone wrong when we feel we approached the subject without looking into it deeply enough or considering enough options, said Terry Connolly, a professor of management and organizations at the University of Arizona.

One more thing we should consider when making decisions is that we should not fear regret too much. It’s an inevitable part of life, and if you can say you’ve lived a life without regret, “you’re not having enough adventures, or you’re rationalizing and not truly examining when things went wrong,” Professor Connelly said.

larknm

1-27-13, 12:57pm

Last year I bought a Carhartt rain slicker for $10; it's very sturdy. The frugalthing I did was to NOT declutter it, even though it hasn't rained here in NM in a way I needed a raincoat since we moved here in 2001. Well, yesterday it poured rain all day and I was able to take my dogs on their daily 1 hour run and enjoy myself and not get drenched.

cdttmm

1-27-13, 10:12pm

More frugals today -- hooray!

My Tae Kwon Do school has a monthly reading group meeting to discuss a martial arts book. The meeting is from Noon to 3pm and then we have a TKD workout at 3:30pm. Needless to say, food is necessary somewhere during that time! I was organized enough this morning to put together a lunch that consisted of a hard-boiled egg, an apple that I bought from the discounted produce section at the grocery store, leftover chocolate tapioca pudding, and a snack pack of honey stinger chews. I brought my water bottle so I had something to drink. I had some frustrating moments this morning, which usually results in me making less-than-frugal choices, but I managed to follow through on bringing my lunch and not buying tea during the reading group -- winning!!! :~)

I thought about going grocery shopping after class, but I have some other errands to run in the same general area, but none of those places would have been open that late on a Sunday, which means I would need to make a second trip later this week. I decided to just come home after class and I will make one trip later this week and do a whole list of errands at one time. Of course, that meant I had to eat dinner from what we already had on hand as opposed to picking something up at the store. No problem. Made a salad and used up some chickpeas and a red pepper that I had bought from the discounted produce section. And I made a pot of tea to continue using up my stash.

This morning's tea had an extra frugal element built into it. I've been making green tea blended with various herbal teas, but this morning I made the pot of tea with the gunpowder green tea and a teabag of Monsoon Chai. I am not generally a fan of black tea so I was thinking that eventually the small stash of black tea that I have on hand was going to have to get chucked in the compost. But, I found the green tea/chai tea blend to be quite drinkable so I have renewed hope that I will actually be able to drink my way through the entire stash of tea without having to compost any of it -- woot!!!

In the great closest cleaning project of 2013, I came across two beach towels/blankets that we got from a conference about 10 years ago. We have never used them. They are a clever design in that each comes with its own drawstring, cloth carrying bag attached to the beach towel/blanket. They are high quality, but we rarely go to the beach so these things are just taking up space. I could have easily added them to the thrift store donation pile, but upon close inspection I realized I could take a seam ripper and separate the cloth bag from the beach towel/blanket. Now all the pieces are in the washing machine and I'll be taking the beach towels/blanket to the woman who is doing some clothing repairs for me later this week and I'll ask her if she can take each beach towel/blanket and make them into two more normal-sized towels. Actually, they will still be about bath sheet sized, but at least they will then be in a form where I can put them to good use! And here I was just the other day thinking I needed to buy new towels... ;)

I also uncovered two pairs of pants that will get tailored so that I can wear them, two bags with minor damage that she should be able to repair, a hooded sweatshirt that needs a few seams repaired, a winter coat that needs the buttons replaced, and a handful of other items that need to be altered. I'm looking forward to having all of this stuff back in the rotation of things we actually use! I'm starting to love this idea of shopping in my own closet. Who knew we had so much stuff that was just sitting around taking up space when with a few minor repairs/alterations we could be using it regularly?

But my best frugal happening of the day is avoiding having to buy a new pair of headphones. Just a few weeks ago, I bought a pair of headphones with a mic built into the cord so that I could use them with my smartphone. They are pretty high quality and not cheap. I, of course, bought them with a discount coupon, but they still ran me about $40. Today, when I was preparing to go to my reading group meeting, I was frantically searching the house for them, but could not find them. I thought they might be in the car, so I sent my beloved a text and asked him to look since he was already in NYC at this point. But, no luck. I was sure I had lost them. I knew I had just used them on Friday and was sure I had seen them on Saturday morning, but now they seemed to be gone. I had gone to the gym on Saturday, but hadn't used them there so was sure they were somewhere in the house. I had almost given up and was convinced I would have to buy another pair. But when I went to the gym for TKD I decided to ask, just in case. Lo and behold, I had somehow managed to bring them with me to the gym and then lose them there and some kind soul had found them and turned them in to the front desk. It was definitely my lucky day!!! Crisis averted, stupid tax avoided, and a great reminder to be very, very careful about keeping track of my headphones in the future!!! :D

flowerseverywhere

1-28-13, 7:12am

I had posted that we moved to a more friendly (ie. not below zero with 200+ inches of snow a year) and after the first few months we estimate it will be over $1000/month less to live here. Although our house was roughly the same price, we lost NY income taxes as well as our property taxes are one quarter of what they were. Add to that the months we have gone with almost no energy costs as well as being able to walk/bike everywhere so we almost never use the car - all in all it has turned into a very frugal move. We also have a pool with a shower room about a mile away so we rarely take showers at home as we swim almost every day. We will be using the air in the summer, but both of us try to maximize natural heating and cooling so it should not be too bad.

Went to Farmers Market and got a bunch of fresh veggies. Did a roasted butternut squash soup and a big pot of veggie soup yesterday. Grilled veggie sandwiches last night. Eating less and less meat as we transition to a vegetarian diet. I can't remember the last time we ate red meat.

Feeling like we have helped our pocketbooks and the environment as we move away from energy use and bulk food production methods.

I love reading what everyone is doing to move away from the mindless consumption model. It inspires me.

fidgiegirl

1-28-13, 11:00am

flowers, you have me dreaming now . . . I just had a beautiful walk in the snow, except for having to bathe Gus who gets all crusty with his long hair in the wet, clumpy snow. I think it's even too warm to ski . . . oh well, boo hoo! :) Jealous of you! Are you near to family in your new warm and wonderful place, or did you strike out on your own?

cdttmm

1-28-13, 10:24pm

Hmmmm...I'm struggling to find any frugals today other than the usual stuff.

I've been trying to limit us to one load of laundry per day. Even that seems excessive, but with two people who workout at least once each day, if not more, it seems we always have laundry to do. I did two loads yesterday so I made a point of not doing any laundry today. Of course, I'll need to do a load tomorrow morning so that I have a clean uniform for my Tae Kwon Do class tomorrow night, but at least I can wait until I clean up the kitchen after breakfast and do the kitchen towels and any cloth napkins. I did manage to use the drying racks for one load of laundry yesterday so I guess that was an extra frugal I hadn't already posted about. Hey, I'll take frugal-ness wherever I can find it! :~)

I've managed to gather up all the miscellaneous, half-full bottles of liquid soap from around this house. They are all horribly scented, which explains why there are myriad half-full bottles sitting around. My dearly beloved gets some nasty headaches from most scented products so we have switched to being an almost entirely scent free household. But I hate throwing anything out that I might still use, so while he is away from home for work I'm using up the (stinky) scented soap when I shower. I probably won't be able to use up all of them before he gets back on Wednesday so this will have to be an ongoing project for any time he's away. I'm doing the same thing with miscellaneous sample/travel sized shampoos, conditioners, and lotions. I've made a pretty good dent overall, but I still have probably a month's worth of each waiting to be used up. :0!

Was planning to run some errands today, but it was snowing and when I headed out this afternoon the driving was dicey enough that I decided to just go to the post office and then go back home. I went to the post office to ship a box with returns in it that I had been lollygagging on packing up and sending out. When I got home, I packed up a second box of returns that I will mail tomorrow. All told, I'll have about ~$500 coming back to me. What on earth was I waiting for?!? I should have packed this stuff up and shipped it off weeks ago!!! !thumbsup!

Of course, since I aborted my errand-running mission, I saved on gas today. Plus, because of the weather, I skipped going to the gym, which also saved on gas. With the extra time at home, I went online, found and printed some coupons for some stuff that was on my shopping list, and added a few additional items to the list that we'll need by next week, thereby saving me a shopping trip in the near future (I hope!). Oh, and all of my printing today (shipping labels, coupons) was done on the backside of already used printer paper. Frugal and environmentally friendly! :D

Still working my way through the tea stash and discovered today that I am not a fan of chamomile tea. I had a single teabag of chamomile tea. I did manage to drink the entire pot of green/chamomile tea blend that brewed, but I'm glad there won't be any more of that to consume.

I added another half dozen items to the bags of clothing that are destined for the thrift store. And I've now freed up enough hangers in the closet that I no longer feel the need to buy more hangers. Frugal win! And after this closet cleaning experience, I am promising myself that I will be more discerning about the clothing that I buy. There were far too many items that were worn only a few times before they were relegated to the back of the closet. That needs to *not* happen again. I started to tally up how much I had spent on the clothing that I was now sending to the thrift store to help remind myself why I need to pursue a more minimalist approach to my clothing choices, but I couldn't even finish doing the math...it was way too depressing!!!

bke

1-29-13, 11:31am

Morning All. Everyone is doing so well, as usual! There isn't much to report here. The weather is atrocious. Business is slow and the schools are closed for the second day in a row. Dh goes to renew his green card tomorrow and we're all stressed to the hilt. There is just so much controversy around the immigration issue that we always feel like we must prepare for the worst. Last time we did this it cost us thousands of dollars. This time we're only in for about $500 an are hoping it won't cost much more. Keep your fingers crossed in hopes that all goes well for us tomorrow. Today will be a no driving/spending day. I'm going to see how much I can earn/save online today. I'm relaxing while listening to the rain and drinking free coffee.

flowerseverywhere

1-29-13, 1:31pm

Are you near to family in your new warm and wonderful place, or did you strike out on your own?

we are a days drive from the grandkids, but are realistic that they could move at any time with the parents jobs.
We became FI at 51 and took the next four years to qualify for health benefits, downsize and further symplify our belongings and search for a place. Made a list of criteria (reasonable taxes, but still a decent school system, weather, ability to buy a house with cash, not a state that has huge unfunded liabilities) and visited several areas before deciding on our first choice.

just the usual frugals...

BKE I hope people like your husband are helped by the new immigration laws. Good luck with the green card.

bke

1-29-13, 1:49pm

Thanks Flowers! If we get through this tomorrow he's going to apply for citizenship the minute they allow him to.

cdttmm

1-29-13, 3:54pm

Overall today is shaping up to be a frugal day. I got up early because I wanted to go to a yoga class at 6:30am. I made a list of all the errands I wanted to run after the class, which included dropping off an article of clothing at the dry cleaners (there are far fewer of these now that I've cleaned out our bedroom closet!), taking recycling to the recycling center (we don't pay for pick-up at the house), filling up the vehicle with gas, shopping for groceries, dropping off eight bags of clothing/shoes/miscellaneous at the thrift store, buying bird seed, and shipping another box with returns at the post office. I actually managed to get all of this done and still get home by 10:00am! :cool:

I used the Gas Buddy app on my phone to find the cheapest gas station and saved 6 cents per gallon compared to most of the other stations I drove past. I took a few minutes to actually get a receipt for my donation at the thrift store -- probably won't amount to much, but every little bit helps, right? I used $7 worth of coupons at the grocery store which was about 10% off my total bill. And I discovered that when I buy my next bag of bird seed I will get a second bag free -- woot!

The meeting I was supposed to go to in Boston today got canceled so that saved me at least $32 in gas, plus $17 in parking, and 4 hours in the car. And it meant that I could eat at home -- even though I had planned snacks to bring, I suspect I might have broken down today and bought food while I was out.

The best part in all of this is that because I had more time at home today -- mind you, I work from home -- I was able to file my expense report for late December/early January. I will be very happy to get reimbursed for more than $7k in expenses (long story, don't ask!).

Now I just need to plan dinner for tonight and see what other little frugal measures I can take to keep this fabulously frugal streak going! :D

Gardenarian

1-29-13, 4:25pm

Was called to go in early to work today, so that's a slightly fatter paycheck this month.
I've been feeling guilty about all the money we spent on our new fence - it's really making me watch my pennies now! Nothing like a big unexpected expense to get that frugal engine working.

Tussiemussies

1-29-13, 5:24pm

Bought things I needed for the house and they were all on sale. Very glad about that!

Blackdog Lin

1-29-13, 7:17pm

Yesterday it was 69 degrees here (in the middle of winter!) so DH of course had to grill something. He chose "fat ribs" (the country-style ones), and boiled them to tenderize before putting them on the grill. I realized after he took the ribs out that there was a pot of powerfully-good broth gonna go to waste, so after cooling we bagged it up and froze it. It'll make a wondermous batch of beans in the next couple of weeks.

Jilly

1-29-13, 7:31pm

... Keep your fingers crossed in hopes that all goes well for us tomorrow. ...

Got yer back...finger-crossing-wise.

fidgiegirl

1-29-13, 8:47pm

Stella

1-30-13, 3:21pm

I'm praying for your husband bke! I hope it goes smoothly.

I am baking onion rolls today to eat our bbq pork on. This house smells like heaven.

Kat

1-30-13, 3:36pm

Wow. I haven't posted in forever!

I have been doing a fairly decent job of feeding everyone at home. We ate up all the french dips and have had chili cheese dog casserole, too. Today it snowing, so I made a big pot of beef stew and some biscuits for dinner. I am also going to try to make some seasoned pretzels for snacks in the coming week.

We had a couple of nice days (44 and 56 degrees), so DD and I played outside with her ball. I learned she does not like mud. Ha!

My birthday was Monday. A friend came over to baby sit, and DH and I went out to eat. We stayed within our budget, which is good, and then finished up some Valentine Day shopping for DH (where we also stayed in budget). DH bought me some Mambas as a little treat. :-)

Yesterday I went to stock up on quilting notions. I used some of my birthday money and a couple of coupons. I was able to get the batting I needed for DH's twin size quilt (which I am hoping will be his bday present) for half off and some fabric for a casserole carrier for MIL half off. The fabric for DD's pillow mattress was 30%, so I didn't do too badly!

This morning MIL brought over some new shoes for DD. She found them at the thrift store. They are Gymboree brand and only cost $3. The tags are still on them, and they are so cute!

cdttmm

1-30-13, 6:56pm

bke -- any news for us? Hoping all went smoothing for your DH!!!

cdttmm

1-30-13, 7:03pm

Not much to report in the way of frugals today, but feel like I should at least post something in order to help keep me on track!

I had my second meditation class today and it was really good. I think investing in this class is going to pay some wonderful returns throughout the rest of my life -- I consider that a frugal win!!!

Otherwise, ate meals at home, didn't run the washing machine or dishwasher -- not sure why I consider that a measurement of my frugality, but I do. :D

Made a trip to BJs for a quick shopping trip. Stocked up on tortilla chips, frozen berries (I had a coupon), dried mushrooms, juice, and splurged on kettle corn (again, coupons) and iTunes gift cards (another coupon). We make a fair amount of popcorn on the stove top so if I continue to crave kettle corn after I eat my way through these two bags, I'll try my hand at making it at home. I was pretty excited about the iTunes gift cards -- $60 worth for $52. Considering how much we spend for movies and music from iTunes, I figured that saving almost 15% was too good of a deal to pass up!!!

I'm going to a yoga class at the gym tonight. All this driving around is not that frugal, but I consider the meditation class and yoga class to be health related -- this helps me to justify the extra driving. ;)