View Full Version : August Frugals
Welcome to a new month of frugals!
I kind of petered out on posting in July so here is my attempt at getting back to posting about my frugals on a regular basis.
On some things I've continued to do well. On the days that I work I've been bringing my tea and my lunch with me every day. I have broken down and bought French fries at the cafeteria a few times and one day a soda, but the caffeine kept me up all night so I won't be doing that again!
I've managed to make it 11 weeks in my new job without buying clothes (new or used). I remember when I first got the job I was wrestling with the urge to shop, but I decided I was going to try to wear everything in my closet that was appropriate for the season at least once before I bought anything new. That actually worked out pretty well as I discovered that I wear some items regularly and others not so much. If I'm going to buy something I want it to be stuff I will wear regularly and not just sporadically so for now I'm holding off.
I've also been good about continuing to use up my stash of hair products. And I've figured out that getting my haircut about every five weeks is the sweet spot for me in terms of maintenance. But every time I get it cut I'm tempted to buy some new and different product. To try to calm that urge I've started scheduling my haircut appointments just before I go to the gym and I make a point of telling my stylist that I'm headed to the gym so she doesn't need to put any product in my hair and style it. This has been working out pretty well as I end up going to the gym and forgetting all about what my hair looks like for the moment. :D
My birthday was last week and we had a low key and frugal celebration that consisted of going to the movies (complete with popcorn) and sushi takeout for dinner plus an ice cream cake.
That's all for now. Looking forward to hearing about everyone's frugals this month!
We spent a lot going out to eat this year, largely due to stress & exhaustion over my medical stuff. Thus, I have decided that it's cheaper to buy healthy prepared food at our food coop than to go to restaurants. So, we're doing that. Next step is to get back to cooking more at home from frugal ingredients!
Wow, it doesn't seem like we're being very frugal this month, does it? Unless we're so busy rinsing baggies and repurposing curbside finds that we have no time to post!
Happy Birthday, Cdttmm! I like your rationale about clothing purchases. I definitely have room for development on this one! At the beginning of the season, I felt like I didn't have enough of a summer wardrobe, and now in August, I realize I have some things I haven't even worn yet.
Redfox: I think you had some really good justification for eating out more than usual this year, but math is math, so even if something can be justified, it doesn't mean it won't undermine your financial goals. Good for you for seeking an acceptable compromise solution!
We did a lot better on groceries in July than we had been doing, maybe because it was too hot to eat much. We almost broke down and bought an a/c unit during the heat wave. I was on vacation, and so felt the full impact of all that steamy heat without benefit of an air conditioned office. The heat wave broke just in time. We did great on groceries for this coming week and then blew it with a trip to Trader Joe's today. The trip did include a couple of things that will be part of my BIL's birthday gift in Sept, and some cards (they have the best cards for only $.99 each), so it wasn't all organic dark chocolate :)
I used a B&N gift card that I had from my birthday to buy some books and also a CD for my DH's upcoming birthday. He doesn't ever want a lot in the way of material objects, so I'm going to give him the CD and take him out for Indian food, which he loves. We generally tend to eat out at my preferred places, so an Indian restaurant makes him really feel indulged.
We had signed up for an Amex card with a $195 annual fee (waived the first year) a few months ago strictly for the sign-on bonus points. I redeemed the points for $500. in Home Depot gift cards, which is a nice freebie! Our hammock died this year and HD has the hammock I want, so that will be one of our upcoming purchases. We live in an old house, and so the HD cards seemed like the most practical redemption, as opposed to say the gift cards towards leasing a Mercedes! :)
I will be cancelling that card shortly, and probably signing up for another offer that recently came in offering $250 cash back after $1000 spending in the first three months. We have no problem doing that with gas and groceries. If the credit card companies want to give me free money, I am willing to graciously accept. One card that we got last year with a $150 statement credit after the first purchase turned out to be a keeper, a straight 1% cash-back card, so sometimes it turns out to be a win-win. We use that card most of the time when we're not doing these sign-on promo offers.
rosa, you are the only person I know who does the cc bonus thing, but man, you are good at it. Maybe we should check it out.
Today we decided that our vacuum was sounding far too similar to a jet airplane and decided to finally do some research to repair it, which led us to parts sites, which then drove us to CL, where we spotted an incomplete identical vacuum for only $40, the cost of just ONE of the parts we thought we MIGHT need. So we cobbled together a new vacuum from our parts and the "new" one. It's much quieter. And DH talked the guy down to $30. :) He will turn around and sell some of the accessories on eBay and will likely make back the $30 and possibly some extra.
The other day though we had really our first crappy CL experience. We went to buy a battery powered set of tools which was to include two batteries. When the set only had one, we accepted the sellers "well, my wife put up the ad and must have gotten it wrong" and got the set anyway, even though we knew we wanted both batteries. When we got home we looked again at the ad and it SHOWED two batteries in the picture, along with a handheld tool that hadn't been included. We called seller back and he told us his brother had taken that tool - along with battery. Stupid us. We should have paid him less to compensate for having to go buy a battery pack. I don't think guy was being shifty, just inconsiderate or not thinking. Still, we're stuck having to obtain the needed item. :( Consoling myself with the knowledge that it was STILL a deal even without the second battery pack.
Not much else. We have held off on shopping for groceries, instead challenging ourselves to eat up what is in the house. We are finally close to empty after working on it all summer. I even parted with some frozen portions of a crockpot meal that makes me want to vomit upon thinking of eating it - even several months later. It just wasn't very good, and I ate a LOT of it before I gave up and froze the rest.
We are off to Door County, WI for a few days and will be able to cook all our own food so we plan to do a lot of that. We will of course go out to eat for some meals, that's part of the fun of Door - the excellent food.
How's everyone else?
Continuing to work on painting the exterior of the house - with supplies and paying some family members to help, we will bring this in at under $800 - which seems pretty reasonable to me.
Thinking of planting another round of lettuce and spinach - even though the garden has been pretty pitiful - still have some seeds from earlier in the season so no reason to waste them.
Watering plants for a friend and get to have her beans, peas and tomatoes while they are gone for 10 days so that should be a nice addition to our meals.
My Discover card gives cash back. I've used it while furnishing the rooms I rent out and the money builds up very quickly. I use it for any major purchase both for the cash back and the added protection. Discover is partnered with Amazon.com so that if I want to pay first with reward dollars I just check a box in the payment phase of checkout to use reward dollars first.
Today I bought a second-hand blazer that meets the modesty requirements for my job but doesn't look too "frummy," AND seven lovely salad plates that will serve as beautiful potted plant saucers...all for 19 NIS, which is about USD $7.
I don't know if this is being specifically frugal or not, but we saved ourselves over $200 USD during the past few days, after our fridge/freezer went on the fritz. Fortunately, I am looking after an apartment for an owner who is abroad, so we were able to store everything in her refrigerator until we got ours fixed today. Saved lots of money by not having all that meat and dairy going off!
Again, I don't know if this is specifically frugal or not, but here's an example of how "social capital" can reap rich rewards: I missed a lecture by a local woman who was talking about her recently published book. After the lecture, I tracked her down and contacted her through LinkedIn, as we have common interests and I wanted to find out how to get a copy of it (her book). Turns out, she runs her own language school in the next town. Once we'd met for coffee and she had a chance to suss me out, she offered me a great after-school teaching gig! All this from using a free website...the internet rocks! :cool:
early morning
8-5-13, 8:30pm
Been on several buying trips for our flea market business, and we've put ourselves on a wait list for a booth in a semi-local antique mall, so I don't feel too frugal at the moment. But this will hopefully add to our income stream, and provide lots of fun at the same time. Of course I also bought things for the house that we could have lived without..... I did put all the laundry on the line yesterday, and we had a 48% off coupon for the pizza splurge we made yesterday (we bought four...:|(). It also fed DD and I lunch today, DH and I dinner tonight, he has enough for lunch tomorrow, and there's still a whole pizza in the basement freezer!
It's been two weeks since I've posted frugals. I'm starting to think there haven't been that many frugals... :0!
We've been buying our produce at the farmer's market. I'm not convinced that's unilaterally cheaper than buying at the grocery store or the coop. Greens are much cheaper at the farmer's market than they are elsewhere, especially for organic. However, one recipe for this week calls for one tomato, and it's just not possible to buy tomatoes that way at the FM. The food is much tastier and more nutritious coming from the FM, however, so we enjoy it. I especially like seeking out the lesser-known veggies. This week I bought purslane and made an Indian curry out of it which will either go on leftover rice or tofu.
I've also been buying more grocery items away from the coop. I still buy our meat/poultry and "Dirty Dozen" produce there. But when I've needed things like dishwasher detergent, aluminum foil, and even some things like bread and cheese, I've shopped elsewhere and saved some money. Our Friday-night/I'm-too-whatever-to-cook pizzas have been on sale, too, so I've stocked up as space allows.
With the blessedly cooler weather, we've been using fans when necessary and the air conditioning not at all. That will look nice on the electric bill.
I honestly can't think of any new frugals ATM. I'll edit if I can. All this does remind me, however, that there are a couple of old threads I should update.
1) continue to bring lunch and iced tea to work everyday. 2) got a gas grill that a friend didn't want -- all it needs is to be cleaned. 3) apple tree has a lot of apples, but those that fell were raked up and brought to back of the acreage so that the deer and other wildlife could eat -- this way the area could be mowed. 4) Lots of tomatoes but all green yet:(. 5) Weeding out clothing that I haven't worn in a while or that no longer fits -- will put in a yard sale. Have had a few yard sales so far this summer and have made a bit of money.
I've stopped buying tissues, which compels me to use the sweet collection of vintage hankies I got at an Etsy site. I love them!
Since I've been so lucky with clothes shopping in thrift stores, I went to the consignment area of my local tack shop for winter riding breeches. Found a gorgeous pair in periwinkle blue, stretch corduroy, made in East Germany brand new (Pikeur--retails about $200) for $20. Bring on the colder weather!!
try2bfrugal
8-6-13, 10:09pm
We had some bees build a hive in the flower bed next to our front door. I know it is a shame to kill bees but we got stung a couple of times, had to stop using our front door and even had to put caution tape up so the mail man and anybody visiting the house wouldn't get stung.
We tried to flood them out with the garden hose but they just got angry and started to go after us when we would walk to our cars. We tried all sorts of things from the Internet but what worked was putting Dawn detergent in our garden hose and then putting the nozzle into the nest and flooding the nest. The web sites all said to spray the nest with Dawn with a hose attachment and then try not to get stung. But instead we poured the Dawn directly into the hose from the side yard and then turned the hose, nozzle inserted into the flower bed, at the spigot at the side yard. This way the water pushed the Dawn into the hive from a safe distance for us. I was pretty happy that worked because otherwise we were at the point we would have had to call an exterminator and I suspect that would have been in the hundreds of dollars cost wise.
We went out to eat on Friday for lunch at a sports bar with a 2 for 1 coupon, but the restaurant was having a buy one burger, get one free day. So the waitress said to keep the coupon and use it another day. Tonight we are going out for Taco Tuesday specials.
Otherwise we are doing the same old frugals - using the drying racks to dry clothes, using the park and bike trails for free fun, books from the library, stockpiling loss leaders from the grocery store, cooking from scratch when we can, etc. Last night I made home made soup in the crock pot.
On the weekends we continue to look for houses for eventual downsizing. We got pre-approved for the loan to buy the second house, but I don't want to buy the next house until ours is already to sell to minimize the time we'll have two mortgages.
DH made chicken thighs braised in wine & lemon over pasta for dinner. I don't know why it took us so longer to realize that chicken thighs taste better than chicken breasts - and are way cheaper!
A beekeeper will come and collect your bees. We have precious few of them these days.
Blackdog Lin
8-7-13, 9:10pm
rosa: I'm with you: thighs are MUCH more flavorful and moist (not to mention easier to cook and cheaper to boot) than breasts. We switched over years ago.
(and braised in wine and lemon: sounds gourmet wondermous.)
Used thighs today to make an amazing pot of soup using veggie stuff from the freezer and fresh....lots left for tomorrow.
A beekeeper will come and collect your bees. We have precious few of them these days.
Speaking as a beekeeper, we will come and collect a hive of honey bees, but it sounds like what try2bfrugal had was ground bees. We won't come to collect ground bees as they don't produce honey. Feral honey bee colonies are generally located in hollow trees or sometimes in the walls of houses, generally high up and difficult to access. Honey bees are docile creatures so when people get stung it is very rarely by honey bees and much more likely by one of their feistier relatives (wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, etc.). If you have ground bees, flooding them out is the best way to get them to move. It doesn't generally harm the bees, it just signals them that their chosen home is not a good one and they move their colony elsewhere.
try2bfrugal
8-8-13, 12:19pm
We tried to flood the bees multiple times over a couple of days but that just made them more aggressive. We could only see the hive opening so the actual hive might have been somewhere the water wasn't reaching. I am not in favor of killing bees, even if they are not honey bees, but we were literally getting attacked, had caution tape around our front door and were getting warning swipes just going to our cars. We weren't going to turn our front yard, driveway, mailbox and front door over to the bees.
I'm trying to plan a small vacation getaway for Sept with minimal cash outlay. We're going to be able to get our hotel room completely free using our Priority Club points. We're going to stay in downtown North Adams, which is a quiet little city in northern MA, not at all glamorous, but it's home to MA MOCA and the Natural Bridge State Park and Mt Greylock, so we'll be well positioned to visit some great places. We like quiet little cities. :)
There is a "Sales Tax Holiday" in MA this weekend. I'm not a big fan, but I am going to wait until tomorrow to order my hammock, since that will save me close to $10. in sales tax. I'm going to use the HD gift cards I got from Amex, so the hammock won't really cost us anything.
Got an extra $200 in my paycheck from taking advantage of some wellness incentives offered by my employer, so I'm planning to boost our transfer to savings this month.
Today is the last day of the education conference I've been attending, and although this was originally looking like a frugal endeavor that has not necessarily turned out to be the case. My partner had to travel this week so I had to do a ton of extra driving to-and-from the conference location in order to let our dogs out during the day. Plus I was always a little strapped for time so I wound up paying for parking most times instead of being able to seek out free parking, which would have meant a bit of a walk to the conference site. Oh well. All in all, the extra expenses were probably less than $40, but it's the principle of the matter! I did meet some amazing people at the conference so it was all worth it.
Otherwise most of my frugals have been the usual: eating at home, keeping the A/C off as much as possible, free or inexpensive entertainment (Netflix, reading, running, hanging out with the cats and dogs), and simply not buying anything.
try2bfrugal
8-9-13, 12:37pm
I took advantage of the specials from a couple of store rewards programs yesterday to save money on groceries. I bought $50 worth of items from Fresh and Easy. I had a coupon for $5 off $25, so I paid for the groceries in 2 separate transactions and the self checkout machine let me use the coupon twice. I bought a bunch of bakery off the clearance rack. With the $5 off discounts it comes out cheaper than even making the bakery at home from scratch.
Yesterday we went out for a $5 lunch special at a local sports bar.
I took my spare change to Coinstar for an Amazon gift certificate.
rosarugosa
8-11-13, 6:42am
We used some of our Home Depot reward gift cards to replace our hammock and buy some LED bulbs, along with a few other misc. things. I've been eager to try LED bulbs and will be interested in seeing whether they impact the electric bill. Does anyone know how they perform within an enclosed light situation? CFs seem to burn out in our bathroom light fixture in about 2 years, although they're allegedly good for 9 years. The bulbs are somewhat enclosed in that fixture, and I think that is the reason why. I'm wondering if the LEDs would do any better, because I would like to use LEDs in the lights that get the most use in order to maximize savings.
Was tempted to eat out last night, wasn't feelling too well (head cold) and went for a nice walk in the woods when DH got home from work, so it was kind of late, and we were tired, etc. But we rallied and I made a big salad with lemon-pepper salmon and DH cooked some ears of corn and it was very good.
I've always wanted better dishes for entertaining. This week I found a set of 70 pieces of Flintridge China made in california in the continental white pattern for $12.95 for it all!!!! I tried to give them more at the thrift shop but they wouldn't take it! We were all happy because I got these cool dishes for so little, american made, mid century style. I came home and washed them all by hand (vintage dishes with silver or gold need that) dried them and put them away in a special cupboard. I was considering spending some money and then these fell into my lap. I'm so glad I go to thrift stores and some lady is resting in her grave that someone loves her dishes and is planning to use them.
rosarugosa
8-11-13, 5:29pm
That's a nice score, Merski, and someone would definitely be glad to know you'll be using and loving those dishes!
Thanks Rosa! DH is trilled that they were so little and that I loved them that much!
Another visit to SA today and struck gold again. Found an LL Bean watch in great condition.....for $3!!!! Afterwards visited the LL Bean store and found the same watch for $130. Now I've got a sturdy good-looking watch to wear while riding, instead of the cheapo ones I'm always replacing.
Also found a lovely pearl bracelet by Monet for $1. And a new RL polo for $2
I'd save money by staying home but this is much more fun!
fidgiegirl
8-12-13, 10:45pm
It's thrift mania on here, girls!! Wish the scene were as good around here but alas, the stores are getting very wise to what comes through their doors and what it's worth. Glad you've had good luck!
The plan from earlier this summer is now working - I'm well on my way of procuring extra money to pump up my paychecks from Whole Foods. I have a new housemate (who even painted the room before he moved in!) which will add $325 per month to the coffers. I got $100 for playing an hour of music last week at a street fair, I've sold $240 of jewelry, AND I was able to start selling my blood plasma as of last night. That was $50 on a pre-paid card that I will use for groceries; when I go again in a few days it is another $50, and then after that twice a week visits will net me about $40 per week. I just have to make sure I keep my protein and iron levels up.
We will be heading into the busy season at work in the next few weeks, so hopefully our gain-sharing will rise for the rest of the year. My ex-MIL usually gives me $1000 for my birthday in October but I try not to always count on it until I actually get it. So with all this extra money I plan to pay an extra $100-150 on my car loan every month, replace my computer, and get new eye glasses. I also have an old medical bill to pay off, and will be incurring some more medical bills when I finally go to the orthopedic surgeon to see what can be done about my knees (I haven't quite hit my high deductable health insurance yet but will soon).
So all in all, I'm feeling a bit more cheery about my finances these days!
Pony Mom, I'm heading off to 3 thrift stores this AM and am dreaming that I can score like you did. We'll see!
SiouzQ, That's some amazing extra income!
I am working at putting away as much from DH's check as possible - he is earning an augmentation as he fills in for a co-worker who is on maternity leave - and having that extra savings to help offset my recent retirement. We will have one of those 3 checks in a month (twice a year happenings) in early September which will get put into savings to help with October property taxes.
Spent yesterday turning a garden that did not do well this year - adding compost from our pile - and continuing the exterior house painting. A no spend day and a great night's sleep!
After some thrifting then lunch at home, I will head to the library where I am working on 2 fundraisers - one short term and one on-going - both raising funds with only volunteer hours and book donations - free money for my favorite place in the world!
try2bfrugal
8-13-13, 9:51pm
So all in all, I'm feeling a bit more cheery about my finances these days!
Wow, you have really come up with a lot of creative ways to increase your income.
I'm embarrassed to be posting this, because, after all, I've been a member of this group for years now. However, I FINALLY figured out one of the reasons I was letting food go to waste.
I keep a running grocery list. Sometimes, I browse through cookbooks and think, "oh, that sounds really good, but I need X to complete the ingredients." So "X" items go on the grocery list. Repeat this process a few more times, and inevitably, several new items will be added to the grocery list.
However, I'd been forgetting that I was forgetting (!) what I'd planned to make! I'd get the items home, maybe days or a week later, since we try to combine our shopping trips into one, gas/time efficient outing. So the items (often vegetables, or sometimes condiments or baking ingredients), would just lie there...unused and even, sometimes, spoiling. Sigh.
Solution: I took a three-pronged approach. First, I now plan my menus weekly, to account for preparation time available (some nights are busier than others) AND the ingredients that are already in the kitchen and need to be used up. This list goes on the fridge, so I can review it in the morning and build the prep time into my day.
Second, I keep a list on the fridge of "new recipes," complete with cookbook title and page number. I refer to this when planning the next week's menu.
Finally, I do a MUCH better search of the fridge and the pantry before finalizing our grocery lists, so I avoid duplication. "We already HAVE kidney beans...how many do you need?!" (How many times have I heard DH say this in exasperation? Too many times!)
So, this frugal "win" is not so much about getting a bargain, but more about cutting down all the wasted money on spoiled food. I just wish it hadn't taken me this long to figure out this strategy, especially since it's been suggested a million times before!
Goodwill today... Two pieces of new Eileen Fisher clothing... A 3/4 sleeve, scoop-neck, slubby linen knit tee in a lovely cantaloupe color, and a pair of natural linen capri's. Both for $5!! EF clothes fit my curvy XL body, and I love the fabrics. They are sooo pricey new! The tee was originally $150. Can you even imagine??
A nice reward for my day... I got my first official post-treatment exam & NED report. And, did a treadmill test; all good.
Friday update: I found commercial grade bamboo flooring on sale for $2.99/SF., so we ordered enough to do the LR & upstairs hallway! Woo hoo! The 12 year old carpeting is truly disreputable. Carpet demo this week, LR flooring install next weekend! The upstairs hallway, stairs, & pony wall demo's will happen in the spring.
My DH, the staircase builder, is excited to demo the ugly, contractor grade staircase & install an elegant, simple, craftsman inspired one in light oak -- to blend with the bamboo -- and cedar panels as a baluster system, possibly with craftsman reproduction tiles set into the uprights. We're likely to paint the risers the same cream as the LR, which is seen in craftsman staircases, but is a particular favorite look of mine, even though it hints to the colonial style. We're slowly accumulating materials as we find them on CL, & at this amazing place: www.seconduse.com (http://www.seconduse.com). And, bonus, one of his colleagues just took a job there, so she can be our 'eyes' keeping a lookout for awesome finds!
I'm spending today prepping a four drawer side table to paint. It's an inexpensive piece that I found at Goodwill last year, and is stained & varnished. I'm sanding it to paint it a rich, deep, glossy, espresso bean brown, with a crystal gloss topcoat. My intention is to create an über-modern finish on a traditionally styled side table. I love that kind of contrast.
It will look stunning on the blond, stranded bamboo floor, with deeper brown streaks running through it! It's our entry table, where we drop our keys & mail, etc. It will be in our warm brown & cream living room (think brownie & ice cream). A gorgeous, handmade cylindrical, copper glazed modern table lamp will sit on it, and a hand beaten copper leaf about the size of a bowl is the key container. All the lighting in the LR is vintage brass or copper. Everything except the sofa is from GW!
rosarugosa
8-16-13, 7:31pm
Selah: I think finding a fundamental key in terms of your spending/saving patterns is better than finding a sale on shampoo any day - good for you!
Redfox: That sounds beautiful and so exciting! We had our old gray-painted pine stairway rebuilt in natural oak as a 25th anniversary gift to ourselves, and we enjoy it multiple times every single day of our lives. It was money so well spent. :)
We had to replace my car battery today unexpectedly. It was 7 years old, so we probably were overdue. We replaced it at the new local Batteries and Bulbs store, because I had to go there for a camera battery, and I happened to ask whether they did car batteries too. The frugal here is that they had a printable coupon for $8.00 on thier website. We don't have a printer, but I asked and they gave me the $8. off anyway. There was also a manufacturer's rebate for $10 and the store didn't charge for installation, so it's going to cost about $65.00 installed bottom line, which seems pretty good to me.
A local arts group is performing "Evil Dead, The Musical" in October. I really want to go, and thought our DBIL and DSIL would love it too. DBIL has a birthday in Sept, so I checked with DSIL, who said it sounds like something they would love. So I'm buying them tickets instead of racking my brain for some random material gift for him. I think this is a great score, because it will be a great shared experience among beloved friends/family instead of more stuff.
fidgiegirl
8-16-13, 10:33pm
I agree, Rosa. Good job, Selah.
Rosa, I think that was a good value for the battery, both in terms of how long it lasted and how much you paid. Well done.
Redfox, your house is going to be a sanctuary! How fab.
We are getting a lot of produce from the garden and I feel we're doing pretty well with grocery spending this month. We'll see if the numbers at the end of the month bear it out. I got some good deals on meat from Coborns Delivers. Speaking of, if anyone in the Twin Cities has been wanting to try it, I have a good referral deal for you and for us. It's $25 off each of your first three orders of $100 or more. You'd have to PM me the e-mail address you'd use to set up your account and you must be a new customer. We love the service. Just let me know.
Everyone's doing great! Keep up the awareness if nothing else!
SteveinMN
8-17-13, 10:33am
Awareness is good! Because I don't think we have a whole lot else to point to lately. :|(
I have found ways to route content from our laptop and iPad to our Apple TV, which 1) staves off the desire to buy newer versions of the hardware that has this ability built-in; and 2) makes the tuner and antenna on the hi-fi redundant so I can sell them. The only terrestrial radio stations we listen to have streams we can listen to instead. We should net more from the sale than it cost us to buy the cables and software that make this magic happen.
Our neighbor again is starting to supply us with cucumbers and tomatoes from his garden. Despite the cost of some ingredients for the dishes we return to them in thanks, it's still a great way to enjoy the freshest possible produce.
The guy painting my mom's place is going to clear out an enlarging hornet's nest at our garage door. I decided I didn't want to tackle it: every how-to I read on eliminating them seemed to end with "and run like &$^# to a safe location". I have never been stung by a bee -- nevermind a hornet, which can sting multiple times -- and figured hiring the job out was safer and cheaper than finding out if I'm allergic, so I was ready to hire pest control. But Mike is willing to do it (he deals with hornets all the time as a housepainter), so it's worth a few bucks to both of us.
We're going to the State Fair next week. My BiL gets a deal through a fraternal organization to which he belongs; even cheaper than regular pre-Fair discount tickets, so that will save some. We get a coupon book for the Fair that more than covers its cost with even a couple of purchases over the days we'll be there, and we do "shop" at the Fair for things like free ice water and discount coupons for goods and services we use the rest of the year. It's not the most frugal entertainment, but I love the Fair and, even after a couple of corn dogs and a purchased pop or treat, it's still a pretty cheap date.
try2bfrugal
8-18-13, 3:21pm
I decided I didn't want to tackle it: every how-to I read on eliminating them seemed to end with "and run like &$^# to a safe location". I have never been stung by a bee -- nevermind a hornet, which can sting multiple times -- and figured hiring the job out was safer and cheaper than finding out if I'm allergic, so I was ready to hire pest control. But Mike is willing to do it (he deals with hornets all the time as a housepainter), so it's worth a few bucks to both of us.
I read that then run to a safe location part, too, and decided not to risk it. What we did is position one end of the hose by the nest, pour Dawn directly in the other end of the hose from a safe distance, reattach the hose to the water spigot, then turn the water on from the side yard out of view.
The water pushes out the Dawn into the nest and you never have to get near the next except to position the hose when the water is off. We did this after the sun went down and the wasn't a lot of flying activity. We didn't have wasps but from what I have read Dawn seems to be the way many Internet posters have gotten rid of a variety of stinging, flying insects.
rosarugosa
8-18-13, 3:44pm
Good luck with the insects, Steve and T2BF!
Steve: I don't think the fair is un-frugal if you love it that much. Your spending is aligned with your values on that one.
We spent $30. to tour a historic mansion in Gloucester on Friday that I've wanted to visit since high school, so I considered it money well spent. It was a great place - amazing and quirky with turrets and secret stairways, and a beautiful garden right on the ocean. We go to Gloucester at least a couple of times a year; it's only about 30 minutes away. I picked up a brochure at the mansion, and it had a whole page devoted to "Free Fun" in the area. There are some parks with trails that we didn't know about, so we'll be going back to check those out. One area is the site of a former town from long ago called Dogtown. Apparently there are lots of old cellar holes, and during the Great Depression, the WPA had unemployed stone masons carve inspirational words and sayings into boulders there. One of them is "Don't go into debt." :) I thought you all would appreciate that one!
I went to a local government office today to chase up some paperwork that I'd put in months ago, which was supposed to reimburse me for travel expenses I'd incurred doing a free (!) government course. The representative claimed she'd never received my paperwork and that I was too late, since the course had already ended. I went home and printed out the email I'd sent her, brought it back as proof, and had the original paperwork with me (I'd scanned it and attached it to the email). She agreed it had been her mistake, and after a few phonecalls, sorted it all out. Bang, close to $350 USD reimbursement coming our way!
A few more frugals:
I dropped our subscription to Angie's List this weekend, after years of subscribing. It's $71 a year here, which is a vanishingly-small amount in the scheme of a major home project screwed up by a bad contractor. But it occurred to me that I check the List very infrequently anymore. I already have plumbers and roofers and HVAC people and mechanics I trust. And I really dislike that they now forward all subscriber reports to the contractors. I think that puts a damper on truly accurate reporting. So that's money we save this year.
Yesterday DW and I went to a Japanese festival in town. Lots of FFF -- music, trivia contests, your name in kana characters, even some low-cost (dollar each) fundraisers. The food (mostly Japanese but what were the mini-donuts doing there??) even was reasonably priced though we were careful to not arrive already hungry. Unparalleled people-watching, too. DW's been working a lot of hours lately, so it was good to have a date night. Even better, it was not expensive.
Less-frugal: the temps here are supposed to hit 90F. Time to close the windows and turn on the a/c for the first time in a long time. At least we got lots of days without a/c.
For the first time I used e-bay, and got a pair of sandals I needed for less than half what they would have cost me at a store--plus they're not in stores anymore around here anyway.
SteveinMN
8-20-13, 10:04pm
Been a while since I posted a picture here. From the O-Bon festival this weekend:
http://i44.tinypic.com/2saxklt.jpg
Great photo, Steve. Makes me wish I was a snowbird: AZ in the winter and MN in the summer.
Blackdog Lin
8-21-13, 9:21pm
Beautiful Steve. Makes me (almost) wish I lived in or near a city of a size to have festivals like this.
But guess I'll stick with my frugal small-town life, enjoying our property and staying at home, a little more boring but making it easy to be entirely frugal.....
(little frugal for the day: my hairdresser expressed an interest (made an order) in a kitchen item DH produces. It looks likely I won't have to pay for my hair trims in the future. Barter rocks.) Which reminds me, when was the last time you had your vehicle worked on and had the serviceman GIVE YOU cash? Last month our car guy made an order, and we needed an oil change and the wheel bearings looked at. Vehicle was serviced and fixed, and the car guy GAVE us cash to make up the transaction. Once again, barter rocks.
I asked and found out our Permaculture Credit Union has savings where you get dividends. This week for the first time DH and I got a 6-month certificate for 3+ interest. We trust these people (from whom we got our Prius car loan and strawbale house loans that we paid off quickly)--but not many else and not up for any fancier investing than this.
Just the same old frugals here. Picked a tomato and some basil from the garden for dinner. Also picked some cherry tomatoes and a green pepper that will top a salad for lunch tomorrow. Picked the last of the blueberries for the season and ate them straightaway. Also picked some blackberries, which should continue for a few more weeks. We might actually get enough blackberries to freeze some. The apple trees are filled with apples so we should have a massive harvest this fall. Checked the honey supers on the bee hives. Not full yet, but coming along. Hopefully we'll harvest about 100 pounds of honey in a few weeks. I sold 11 pounds in the past month, so if this keeps up there is going to be a honey shortage!
Dried some laundry on the line today. Been keeping the A/C turned off as the weather has been pretty nice. Made a small batch of black beans in the crock pot today and will make a larger batch to freeze later this week (ran out of beans or I would have just made a large batch today). Will make yogurt later this week, too.
One of the classes I was scheduled to teach for the fall semester was cancelled. That definitely impacts the budget so I need to find as many ways to cut back as I can. We have a sufficient emergency fund, but I don't consider this an emergency so will try not to touch it. On the positive side, this means my schedule will allow me to commute 2 days per week to work instead of drive. Considering that it's 54 miles round trip it saves an appreciable amount of gas as well as wear and tear on the car. And the high-mileage biking is good cross training for the trail races I'm running this fall.
try2bfrugal
8-26-13, 1:28am
We went out for brunch with a coupon and stocked up on Costco discount movie tickets. I followed up on the $250 I was supposed to get back for putting the mortgage on autopay. The credit union had the forms to fill out but didn't actually seem to have a process in place to ever give anyone the money. I don't know if they were counting on people not checking or they are just disorganized. Anyway I was glad I remembered to follow up on it and they gave me a credit to my account.
Friday I spent the day filling out insurance forms for reimbursement money. The insurance company initially denied some perfectly sent in claim forms with documentation, so I spent a day inundating them with additional claims and documentation. I am trying to make it so that cutting me a check for our reimbursement money becomes their path of least resistance and paperwork, instead of stalling on giving us the money they owe us.
We went to open houses today. The big frugal for the coming year will be downsizing. We have been inspired by the tiny house videos. We won't go to that extreme but the tiny home videos make a townhouse look decadently spacious. We found some really nice ones near a state park and a millionaire's private menagerie. It would be kind of cool to pass by zebras, ostriches and llamas every day.
Steve that is beautiful! Where was that?
Hello everyone. I'm back from outer space again. :) I missed you all. I need to get back to some frugality. It's been a rough year financially with a bunch of hits on the EF and its time to get serious about building it back up.
I made a bunch of freezer meals this weekend. I have several organizing projects going on right now and we are back to school (homeschool), so I thought it would be easier and cheaper to just check making dinner off my list all in one go. Sometimes I get a little over ambitious and end up getting take-out because I wore myself out before dinner. I made two batches of beef filling for Asian beef lettuce wraps, two quiche fillings, two batches of lemon chicken, two spaghetti pies and a double batch of chili.
Yesterday I went to an open house for a neighbour just to see the remodeling job they had done. I have known the neighbour who moved out my whole life and it was fun to see how they had fixed the place up. I ran into another neighbour there who asked me if I needed any furniture. I decided to look because this neighbour has really nice stuff and I figured I might find some trade-ups. She gave me two beautiful, comfortable arm chairs that will replace the one in my living room that I love, but it is getting pretty raggedy. That one will go down to the kids play room for a reading spot. She is also seriously considering getting rid of a very nice desk that would replace the cheap IKEA one I have now that looks a little out of place with the rest of my stuff. I got really lucky to get such awesome stuff for free.
A neighbour has told me that she has a bunch of clothes to give me for Charlotte for the winter. I sorted through stuff for the kids and I think the boys are in good shape. I spent $50 and got Cheyenne a whole new wardrobe from the thrift shop that she just loves and Bella only needs a few things. Somehow she has collected 12 pairs of jeans! She needs a few new shirts, but I think we are good on pants. :) I'm thinking I'll spend about $70 for the season on clothes for all 5 kids.
One thing I am really excited about is that I am joining my neighbourhood's community affairs committee. The chairperson is a lady who is passionate about community development (she gave a TED talk on the subject) and she and I have been really clicking in our long term ideas for the neighbourhood. I talked one of our friends into joining the committee too. I think he will be an excellent addition. He is passionate also, and he used to be an accountant, so he can help us stay on budget. I mention this because I know that the more we pull together as a community, we get a higher quality of life with less expense. I think there's only so much you can do on your own, you know? We already have so many great things. We do an annual stuff swap, we have groups that get together for cooking and eating together at each others homes. We have a dinner-and-a-movie club. I have started a kids club. We want to start a community garden and bring in CSA delivery for people who want it. Some of our long term goals will cost some money, but I think they would be worth the investment.
SteveinMN
8-26-13, 10:45am
Steve that is beautiful! Where was that?
Stella, that shot was taken at the Frog Pond just south of the Como Park Conservatory.
That reminds me that I need to call the park about getting a photographer's permit. It's needed for some tripod shots and for commercializing images.
Twin Citians, this was a grab shot I took of the Conservatory as we were waiting for the shuttle back to the parking lot:
http://i41.tinypic.com/28lw3zn.jpg
Oh, I think my parents went to that once. Lovely! I am going to try to remember that next year.
fidgiegirl
8-26-13, 6:08pm
Love the Conservatory . . . I'm crabby lately, maybe I should go. But maybe not this week. After all, it is a glass building and it is in the 90s . . . ;)
rosarugosa
8-26-13, 7:29pm
Well I'm not a Twin Citian, but that's a magnificent picture Steve! Is it full of plants? I dream about places like that!
fidgiegirl
8-26-13, 10:23pm
Well I'm not a Twin Citian, but that's a magnificent picture Steve! Is it full of plants? I dream about places like that!
Lainey, it is. It's gorgeous. In winter it's like a balm for the soul. Here's a pic of the poinsettia display at Xmas - I stole it off Flickr. :) They rotate the flowering plants in this room in every season.
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4110/4837581485_a463caf3d2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alchymyst/4837581485/)
Como Conservatory at Christmas (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alchymyst/4837581485/) by Alchymyst (http://www.flickr.com/people/alchymyst/), on Flickr
rosarugosa
8-27-13, 4:43am
Thanks, Kelli. What a beautiful place!
This is kind of an expensive month for me with work-related gifts and food items. We had a small good-bye celebration for my college intern and are doing the same this week for my two high school interns. We also had a milestone anniversary celebration for one of my employees, and DH's birthday is Thursday!
I think my primary frugal to report is that a friend helped DH install the new LED fixtures in our kitchen, so no installation cost, and hopefully we'll save on electricity, since these are our most often used lights. And the lights themselves were purchased with credit card rewards.
Happy birthday to your DH rosa!
Kelli, I love the conservatory too. It's my happy place in the winter. You need something like that in a climate like ours. It's good for the soul.
I am so glad I have been putting up freezer meals because Zach is getting a few side jobs this week from a couple of friends. The money will be nice but every item I can check off my list with ease is a help when he works long hours.
Zach's radiator gave up the ghost last night on the way home. He was able to replace it himself, so that saved us some money.
We did splurge on a date on the way home from picking up the radiator. Dad doesn't mind keeping the kids after they are in bed and we were driving past a restaurant that is owned by a friend of mine. We have been seriously cutting back on our date nights lately, so it had been a while. I also like knowing that the date night money went to my friend instead of Applebee's or Perkins or some other chain. All in all it was under $15 including tip.
Stella! We've missed you!!! Back from vacation which we did several frugal things. We brought filtered water from home in gallons and our iced coffee sippee cups. Filled them with ice wherever we could and drank our own water and saved a bundle on beverages we wouldn't have wanted anyway. Split at least 3 meals of sandwiches and were still full, for one breakfast out one of us got a lumberjack's kinda breakfast the other got eggs and toast and we divided up homefries, meat etc. Had juice and vitamins at our room saving us $$. Got a coffee pot delivered to our room and DH made great coffee each morning from his own roasted and fresh ground beans and we brought 1/2 and 1/2. No big sacrifices but savings added up and as a bonus I didn't gain 5 lbs from more food than I actually needed. DH got senior citizen lifetime pass at Acadia National Park which will allow us in free to any National Park!
Oh! one more frugal to report...wanted some keen sandals and there was a store that had them on sale. Still too rich for me but asked salesperson if they had any keen sandals for kids and bought a pair for $39!!
I also like the Cowles Conservatory by the Walker Art Center. We usually find ourselves at the Walker at some time during the winter; stepping into Cowles and feeling the warmth and the moist air and smelling earth and growing things is most welcome then.
ObFrugal: getting ready for the guys' weekend. I'll be doing some prep here rather than there (marinades, some slicing/dicing). I'll also be readying some meals for DW for while I'm gone. If there's something in the fridge ready to heat or eat, it's much less likely DW will get takeout or just snack.
Is the Cowles Conservatory the one with the big fish sculpture at the Walker? One of my daydreams that is probably not realistic is that someday I'll have a house with a conservatory room attached to it so I can sit there in the winter with my tea and relax.
Zach went to a birthday party for a friend of his last night at a restaurant. He kept his check to about $10 and had a really nice time. His friends are mostly old enough to be his dad, so they aren't the hard partying type. :) They ate at a Chinese buffet and went back to our neighbours house to play ping pong until about 9:30. One of the guys drove everyone in his Grandpa van. It's amazing how much less you spend at those sorts of events when there isn't alcohol involved.
I had an at home mom/daughter date with my big girls after the little kids, who were being stinkers, went to bed. We ate ice cream and worked on their LEGO projects. It was a lot of fun and pretty much no money.
I had some bananas that were going yesterday, so I made banana bread. It wasn't really the day for baking, but I am happy to have homemade banana bread for breakfast, so whatever.
SteveinMN
8-28-13, 12:02pm
Is the Cowles Conservatory the one with the big fish sculpture at the Walker?
It is!
We went to the State Fair yesterday. By driving to a (free) parking lot near our house, we were able to ride free on the shuttle. Fewer miles on the car, much less hassle getting there and back. It was so stinkin' hot and humid that we didn't want to eat much -- kind of frugal. Aside from not eating lots of pricey Fair food, we did score a 2-for-1 on cut-up ice-cold watermelon. Very welcome given the climate!
Looks like we'll end up with an extra pair of tickets to the Fair and an unused coupon book (perk of supporting the Fair Foundation). I'll offer them to the TC-area people on the board first -- if you're interested, let me know via PM and I'll package them up for you so you can pick them up. Gratis. Consider it a PIF. If I don't hear from anyone here by noon CDT tomorrow, they'll hit craigslist for $ and I'm sure they'll be gone very quickly.
Before we went to the Fair I walked to the grocery store down the street to pick up a couple of items I can't get at our coop. When I'm there, I always cruise the meat aisle for specials. I'm aware that what's there is a product of the factory-farm system. But I'm also aware of the economy of buying meat on its last day of sale -- the savings are significant. I found a few NY Strip steaks and others for no more than $4 a pound and some boneless pork chops for under $3 a pound. They're now in the freezer. I should track when I'm there and when I can score on buying soon-to-be-off-date meat -- for some reason, Tuesdays seem to be the day the greatest selection is offered. Or maybe I just get there earlier on Tuesdays than other days when I go. Hmm. Something else for my calendar....
Steve, I will take them if no one else wants them. That would be great!
Hi all--I haven't been great at posting this month--the kids and I all took turns being sick--but have enjoyed reading everyone's frugal achievements. Stella, great to see you back!
Some of this months frugals:
1. Gave DD a bike we found on clearance for her birthday. That has led to several evenings of bike/stroller rides. FFF.
2. Further celebrated DD's birthday by making her favorite meal and cupcakes at home. We also gave her a few balloons. She loved it all.
3. DH traded his electric guitar (which was very nice but sitting unused) for work ($700 worth!) on his upcoming tattoos.
4. I made banana bread today out of some bananas that were headed south. Have also been trying to use up the produce our neighbors have been sharing with us. Brought them a huge batch of chicken taco meat to reciprocate.
5. Finally finished going through DD's clothes. Will fill in the gaps with items bought on sale. She doesn't have much for next summer, so I have purchased a few things on clearance (like $3 or less). Now I need to go through DS's clothes. He is growing like a weed!
6. Got a pack of washable markers for free and a bunch of crayons for 25 cents each. Gave DD a huge cardboard box to color on--major success! Will melt some of her old broken crayons down into big flower shaped crayons soon.
Steve, I will take them if no one else wants them. That would be great!
Stella, you're the first -- and, so far, only -- person to ask, so they're yours. :) I'll PM you now with my address and a good place to leave everything.
We too went to the MN State Fair on Monday - super hot - so despite my (every year's) desire to eat my way across the Fairgounds, we spent very little - too hot to eat!! We too ended up with the Bargain book (I had bought 2 and passed one to our DD who is going again tonight) and DH mentioned at work this AM and immediately had someone ask if they could buy it - it's in his backpack as a gift to her. Did see the animal barns, butter head sculptures, got the Education MN calendar with us, our kids and their partners all photoed together, DDs boyfriend scoped out the free water bottle refills ahead of time - a relatively frugal day and a true MN experience!
Thanks to Steve we will be going to the fair this weekend too, chrissieq. I am glad you had fun!
Twin Citians, we should finally do that get together we've been kicking around sometime this fall. We could just potluck at a park or something.
I was weirdly full of energy today. I woke up at the crack of dawn and made a ton of bread. I made a loaf of lemon poppyseed breakfast bread, a loaf of chocolate banana breakfast bread, a loaf of blueberry breakfast bread, three loaves of wheat bread and a batch of the artisan bread in 5 minutes dough. I also made and froze dough for four pizzas and a batch of pesto.
Today we will be eating the fruits of yesterday's labour. Fridays are meatless, so breakfast will be lemon poppyseed bread today and lunch will be leftover egg salad in lettuce wraps or pbj on homemade bread. For dinner I am making potato and thyme quiche. I froze the quiche filling, minus the potatoes, during my freezer cooking day last week. All very inexpensive meals. I have been breaking out my vegetarian cookbooks and getting reinspired.
The freezer meals are working out wonderfully for me. The lemon thyme chicken was fantastic last night and insanely easy. I served it with a salad and penne with my homemade pesto. Very satisfying and it took me about 15 minutes in the kitchen. I really think I am going to do more freezer cooking in the future for weekdays and save my fun cooking for the weekends when I have more time. Then, if I do get a burst of time and energy during the week and feel like cooking more, I can put more energy into my vegetables or put up stuff like pizza dough, bread or pie crusts to use down the road.
try2bfrugal
8-30-13, 11:19am
I was weirdly full of energy today. I woke up at the crack of dawn and made a ton of bread. I made a loaf of lemon poppyseed breakfast bread, a loaf of chocolate banana breakfast bread, a loaf of blueberry breakfast bread, three loaves of wheat bread and a batch of the artisan bread in 5 minutes dough. I also made and froze dough for four pizzas and a batch of pesto.
Stella, that sounds great. How do you make, freeze and the use the pizza dough? Does it take long to defrost?
Have a great time at the fair, Stella! So jealous that so many of you folks live near the Twin Cities! You really should get together for a potluck or something. :-)
Well, it is HOT here, so we've been staying inside reading, coloring, playing, blowing bubbles, etc. I downloaded a few free ebooks on my Kindle and printed a couple of high-value coupons for products we use. I need to get moving on a few returns I have sitting around!
Last night my in-laws took us out to dinner. I am going to go through the pantry today and see if we can't make a decent menus with what we have sitting around. I am sure that we can! I plan to eat some leftover spaghetti and makes some quesadillas with what's in the fridge. But I think I can make many meals and desserts along with a huge batch of chicken stock with stuff I already have. Maybe I'll start a challenge for September...the problem for me, though, is not really not having the stuff but just having the time. The kiddos are young and need me a lot still, so I don't always have a lot of time for cleaning and cooking. Which is fine with me...I just love spending time with them, and they grow so fast! :-)
August 30
Here I am almost the end of this month and I have hardly posted.
But, I have been being very frugal.
--Cleaning out pantry and freezer and this time I really have been doing it and NOT buying more...that is obviously how one is suppose to do it.
--Yardsaling and only (well mostly) buying things I need.
--Have sold a few things on Kijiji and put some of my older dishes with an online consignment store, hoping that helps.
--Not buying anything that I don't need and it is amazing how the bank account starts to build up
--been making a double payment on my line of credit with the extra money...this needs to get paid down asap
--Let Dd trim my hair so went a whole extra month without a cut.
--still getting a few things free and cheaper with coupons
There is much more for this past month but, all I can think of for now.
Try2befrugal, this is the recipe I use. It has instructions for freezing too.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pizza
Kat, cooking and cleaning are hard to get done with little kids around, that's for sure. I think it was harder for me even when Cheyenne and Bella were little than it is now because they can keep an eye on the little kids when I need to do stuff.
I'm seriously considering doing some canning this year, but I'm not sure if that's reasonable or if I'm going to get in over my head. I'm thinking at least jam and salsa. I could use it for Christmas gifts, even. I froze a bunch of roasted tomatoes to use for sauce. I've been less energetic today so I have been looking up canning recipes. I think this is the good year for apples in my aunt's orchard too (every other year they are good) so I might do applesauce. This time of year just makes me want to preserve food. My friend and I are going to build a meat smoker and a cold smoker in her backyard this summer and have a sausage and cheesemaking day.
try2bfrugal
8-30-13, 3:33pm
Try2befrugal, this is the recipe I use. It has instructions for freezing too.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pizza
Thanks, I will give it a try.
Stella, the Ball website has many canning recipes online - that's my usual source for basics. Allow about 4 hours to make a batch of jam, including fruit prep. That may be unrealistic given your busy household, but only you can determine that!
I say that salsa is NOT worth the time and effort. I made some last year and it was ...ok. It required peeling and seeding the tomatoes, chopping everything, and was a big mess for not a lot of reward. Homemade jam is definitely superior to storebought, and a lot cheaper --- not so for a basic salsa.
I froze sour cherries, red currants, rhubarb, and gooseberries from our garden this summer. I will buy frozen strawberries to combine with each and make 4 batches of jam this month. Using frozen strawberries saves cost and effort -- they are already prepped. I am also thinking about making some corn relish.
rosarugosa
8-30-13, 7:52pm
I know a lot of folks here probably scorn Staticguard, but I consider it a necessity. Every once in awhile I get a can that is a clunker - won't spray - and I end up throwing it away, which irritates me very much. The other night I sent an e-mail to the manufacturer concerning a defective can, and they apologized, said they know this is an occasional issue, and are sending me a complimentary coupon. So I'm pleased about that.
I really wanted a pair of Merrell's new summer mesh hiking shoes, but the catalogue I saw them in listed a price of $140. I got a pair at Macy's today for $64. with coupons/discounts. I realize this was more of a want than a need, but ultimately decided I was OK with it, since it facilitates comfortable hiking, which is FFF :)
Thanks for the information Rosemary. I made salsa once when I was, I think, 20 or so but that was... a long time ago. :) I think I will skip that then. I may just do freezer jam again. That is easier and I like it just fine.
fidgiegirl
8-31-13, 10:25am
I know a lot of folks here probably scorn Staticguard, but I consider it a necessity. Every once in awhile I get a can that is a clunker - won't spray - and I end up throwing it away, which irritates me very much. The other night I sent an e-mail to the manufacturer concerning a defective can, and they apologized, said they know this is an occasional issue, and are sending me a complimentary coupon. So I'm pleased about that.
I really wanted a pair of Merrell's new summer mesh hiking shoes, but the catalogue I saw them in listed a price of $140. I got a pair at Macy's today for $64. with coupons/discounts. I realize this was more of a want than a need, but ultimately decided I was OK with it, since it facilitates comfortable hiking, which is FFF :)
And helps you avoid foot and ankle injuries, which is most DEFINITELY a savings if you were to have to go in for any kind of treatment. Money well spent, considering how much you enjoy hiking. I had a pair of Merrell boots for years and LOVED them.
fidgiegirl
8-31-13, 10:27am
Not much going on here for the frugals. I did make up a big batch of refrigerator pickles and we're doing ok at using up our produce from the garden. We did have to compost a few items, and some stuff in the fridge went bad - more than usual. That was a bummer. I think our fridge got too full and we couldn't see everything in there. Like, I found two opened jars of salsa and we never have stuff like that going on - almost certainly we just couldn't see the first jar. So it's something to keep an eye on.
Went to the grocery store yesterday and a bag of romaine hearts was $6!! Was at Menards today for their Labor Day sale and bought a pack of lettuce seeds for a fall crop - $1.50 for seeds - we had a hard time keeping on top of our early summer lettuce but I'd rather compost what I can't eat/share than pay those kinds of prices!!
Signed up for Amazon prime 2 days ago and loaded the kindle app to the ipad and downloaded a book from the library this AM. Yet another way to feed my need to read!! I will monitor the 30 day grace period to see if it is worth for us - both my kids have it and I think I could share the account with one of them - will have to check it out big time in these 30 days.
Went to best buy to see if I want to buy a kindle and think that having the app on an ipad will just fine - DH disagrees but he needs to check it out too before we make a final decision.
DD is moving tomorrow and Monday and I think I have the loan of 2 vehicles that will save me renting a truck. I'm going to stop off tomorrow AM before reaching her house and buying some lunch fixings so we aren't tempted to order pizza - have beverages in the fridge here to keep us hydrated. But the greatest gift is that the temp will be in the high 70s to low 80s after weeks of 90 plus temps!!
Tussiemussies
8-31-13, 8:10pm
Hi Crissie,
Good luck on the move, good thing that the temps will be down, should make it much more bearable.
We have Amazon prime and love it. When we need something we will look it up on Amazon and compare, but Amazon usually wins out and having the prime is great. My husband loves this soda made with stevia that we buy from there so ordering that alone and not having to pay for shipping is a great saving! We have the Prime 2-day shipping. It is also very nice to get you items within two days!
Chris
try2bfrugal
8-31-13, 8:34pm
We opened a savings account at our corner bank today for a $125 sign up bonus. We only have to keep $300 in it for six months to keep the bonus. Fifteen minutes of work to make $125. That is my best frugal for the month.
Thanks to a thread here about library services, I checked more into ours and found out we can get magazines online for free. That will save us ~$60 a year in the few subscriptions we still have.
One thing I have found is that in our metro area we can get library cards for any city or county library as long as we live in the same state. I collect library cards for different cities we travel to because they all offer different services and research subscriptions.
On Friday we went to our local sports bar for lunch for a buy one get one free burger meal. I get mine with lots of veggie toppings and a side salad instead of fries to make it a little bit healthy.
Added -
And I just found an unused movie gift card for $10 while cleaning up the office.
Tonight Zach and I are going on our date to the State Fair. My dad has agreed to watch the kids, so babysitting will be free, the tickets were free thanks to Steve and we have decided ahead of time what to eat based on our favourites and things we wanted to try from the coupon book. It won't be a super cheap date, but a whole lot cheaper than the State Fair usually is.
I am planning my freezer meals to make next weekend. The last time I did it I wasn't able to get to Costco and I think I will save quite a bit if I can make it there. Costco is usually a good deal for us as a larger family, but I think it would be especially so for freezer meals, since I make two of each dish at a time. One thing I have been doing lately, and I felt weirdly guilty about it at first, like because I didn't cook it myself I was cheating, is buying Costco's $5 rotisserie chickens, freezing the meat and making stock out of the carcass. I used to roast several chickens and do this, but $5 for an already cooked one is just as cheap and half the work.
early morning
9-2-13, 12:17pm
Just FYI: I found a Sept frugal thread on the Daily challenge forum...
September 03
Thanks to the Mods &/or Stella
This thread has been moved to where it belongs:
Frugality, Products & Purchases
Thanks for bearing with me fellow frugals....did I just create a new title for us "Fellow Frugals"??
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