View Full Version : February 2014 Frugals
New month, new thread. Post your daily frugal successes here!
Stayed home today because I'm battling a cold. Fortunately, I have not succumbed to internet shopping to entertain myself! Instead, watched some documentaries via Netflix and surfed the web. Made a loaf of chocolate chip banana bead to use up two very ripe bananas and some rock hard brown sugar. Dropped an egg in the floor in the process...the dogs were happy!
Scored at the vet yesterday. They accidentally ordered the prescription dog food for us in the bags for veterinary clinic use only, not the bags for resale. They sold them to us anyway, but at the discounted price that the clinic pays for food. Total score! I wish I could do this all the time, but I realize it's not ethical for them since the bags are clearly marked "not for resale". Oh well, a one time win is still a win!!! And I had ordered three bags of food so it will last a few months anyway.
Dinner tonight will be black bean nachos made from tortilla chips brought home from work and black beans from the freezer. Frugal, but high in calories! Here's hoping I feel well enough to go to the gym tomorrow to work out!!!
SO went to visit his family this weekend since his dad isn't doing to well. I decided to indulge my introversion and just stay home this weekend and not really do anything social. Instead of going out for happy hour yesterday I just came home after work. It wasn't exactly a no spend day today. I dropped off a few pair of pants for dry cleaning (no spend today but will have to pay for them on Wednesday when I pick them up) and bought a zucchini and some mushrooms to make a big dish of lasagna so I can have leftovers for the next couple of weeks. So no, not no spend, but a very efficient spend day.
Accidentally found out that a big medical bill we owe will be reduced by 30% if we pay it off by the end of Feb., so we're making that happen. It involves a partial loan from a family member, who has the extra & who we'll pay back, and it saves us a huge amount! I am very happy about this.
I'm trying to develop a spending/saving plan that actually works for my situation. My work has been consistent enough for the last couple of years that I can stop obsessing about what my tax bill is going to be. So since I can estimate the taxes pretty well, I can rely more on my quarterlies and not fear that I'll get nailed in April. Well, I hope that's the case.
So the plan is that I will take a base salary, as minimal as I can, make sure that the tax payment and RRSP accounts are fully funded, month to month, and do my level best to keep expenses in the business to a minimum. That way there will (hopefully) be a bonus available at the end of each quarter. The tricky part for me is to make sure that I am not overspending in my home/personal life but I think having the base salary will keep me on the path.
So my frugal for today is the chai tea I have been making for some time based, I think, on a recipe I saw in this forum. Sliced ginger, a stick of cinnamon, a few peppercorns, cardamom, whole cloves to simmer with a quart or more of water until it is pretty dark and fragrant. Take it off the heat and throw in a handful of tea bags or whatever you have: I have been using decaf tetley tea bags since I like chai in the evening. Short steep (or it gets bitter), strain and store in the refrigerator in a canning jar. I warm it up, add a spoonful of coconut milk (from a can) and some honey and feel most luxurious.
Also I ate the wilting swiss chard that I had forgotten. Glad I caught it before it reached "compost-only."
fidgiegirl
2-2-14, 10:53am
Good job, everyone.
Here we are trying to avoid calling a plumber for a floor drain clog that is backing up the washing machine water. Please pray to the plumbing gods that we are not making it worse with our attempts. The snake has now been engaged.
Yesterday Feb01/14
---opened one of the very large restaurant size cans of very good tomatoes bought on sale for $2.00 a couple of months back.
Made a casserole of tortilla shells that needed to be used, Christmas turkey from the freezer, cheese that needed used and the tomatoes
there is enough with salad for Dd and I for supper tonight.
---measured out and there is still 8 cups + of the tomatoes so the plan is to make a large pot of tomato soup with carrots, onions and celery from the fridge
on Sunday and freeze the extras in individual packets
--clean out the fridge and used up a wilted apple in breakfast oatmeal
--spreadsheets done and ready for this month...doing very well with money
--
February is off with a bang. The father of a good friend of ours passed away last week. The visitation/funeral was three hours away. We could have gone up to the visitation on Friday and stayed at a hotel overnight to attend the funeral Saturday, but chose to get up super-early on Saturday instead. We brewed a pot of coffee and took it with us in travel mugs, drove the car that gets 50-55 mpg (though probably not on that trip; very windy for the entire trip), and were served lunch after the funeral. When we got back home, we cobbled together dinner from a can of soup, some good bread, and a couple of other leftovers we had hanging around the house.
Today we are holding our own little "Big Game" party with a frozen pizza, some veggies and dip, and some bars we found in the freezer (they weren't very lost). No guests, no big thing.
early morning
2-2-14, 5:26pm
Checked on Mom and brought home most of a gallon of milk and a bag of stale bread/chips/etc for chicken scratch. Picked up a few needs from the dollar store, cheaper and less stress than bigboxcity. I'm getting a few eggs again from my three little hens... Picked up some of our organic grass-fed beef from a nieghbor of ours (left the rest in his freezer until we have more space....) and paid for our quarter - we have about 115 pounds of packaged beef, worked out to about $3.50 per pound, and I picked it up from him (1 mile drive) instead of the processor (25 miles one way). I can live with that.
Friday was pay day for me. I left the store without doing ANY shopping. yay! :) However I did see a Burts Bees product that is 70% off that I am interested in trying. I thought I remembered seeing a coupon on the website. I came home and found the coupon but I am not positive it is the exact product that is on clearance. If it is I will use the $3 off coupon and be happy to try a new product If not.... I'll save $5. Either way I'm good.
We bought a few groceries and picked up some RX's for DH on Saturday and we've been home ever since. So no driving & no spending today.
Finally used the cabbage in a cabbage & pork soup for dinner tonight. Made a loaf of bread to go with it.
Baked bread today and having it with cabbage soup from the freezer for dinner. Filled the car with diesel fuel, but otherwise a no spend day. Dearly beloved is headed back of NYC tonight so I'll see how many more days I can go without buying groceries and just eating from the pantry and fridge.
Yesterday was not so frugal...I "splurged" at the cheapo "Dollar Store" Israeli equivalent and spent about $15 USD on a "made in the USA" $20 yoga mat (which they were selling for USD $7!), six rhinestone-encrusted ceramic napkin rings (fancy, I know, but we've been getting by with four grey plastic napkin rings we got from Target for 0.25 three years ago, and it's awkward when we have four for dinner), also for about USD $7, some safety pins for $0.50, and a magnifying glass for $0.50.
After dropping off a full bag of clothing donations at a charity shop (some of the clothing I'd actually purchased at same), I then went to a NEW charity shop to check it out. This organization uses its proceeds to donate weekly packages of fresh food to needy families in town. The family pays about $3 for a package of foods worth $40 or so, which really helps a struggling family meet its food needs. In our town of about 40,000, there are about 450 families who receive donations every week. The families are referred to the organization by the local city administration, but this program is not widely known, so who knows who else is in need and does not know about it?
Anyway, I spent the grand total of $3.50 on two tops, a cardigan, a couple of hats (now that I have been diagnosed with TWO basal cell carcinomas on my face, sun protection is mandatory), and a crazy crocheted bag that looks like a face, which I will use for holding my clothespins!
Feb 02/14
---made very large and very good pot of tomato soup (not sure why but I have never made tomato soup before)
used 2/3 rds of a very large commercial can of tomatoes bought on sale for $2.00.
Used a Jamie Olivier recipe and I would recommend. Dd and I had a bowl for lunch yesterday and will have more today.
Lots to freeze in individual packets. This will be a good addition to other soups, alone, chillis or spaggetti sauce.
Glad I tried it because now I won't be afraid to buy these larger cans if I see them again.
---I started sewing a sock monkey as a bit of a joke gift for Dgs all free from stuff I had on hand
--posted a few things on Kijiji
Selah glad you got the hats they are very important to wear.
Glad everyone is doing so well!
I need to be here more I am doing well with money but, cost just keep going up and heating is really high
this winter even with trying to keep it down.,,,arrrr
Well, I saved that $5 because the clearance product was all gone by Monday am. :laff:
I started dinner too late tonight. (pork ribs) They won't be done until 7:30 or later and apparently DH cannot wait that long. So he is cooking grilled cheese and warming up the cabbage soup. He first asked if I wanted to go out and I said no.
Wow, everyone is doing great.
I don't feel like we are doing very well lately, lots of eating out (the doggies are on vacation, so we are getting our restauranting in since we typically don't leave them alone in the evenings after we've been gone all day at work), but some with gift cards, so I guess that's a wash then.
Not much else to report!!
Well, I saved that $5 because the clearance product was all gone by Monday am. :laff:
Sometimes that is my favorite way to save! Can't buy it if it's no longer available!
We're having a snowstorm here in lovely western Massachusetts. The college where I work is closed so I get a snow day!!! Of course, this really just means I get to spend the day clearing snow. :D
Been eating some interesting meals this week as part of my continued attempt to eat from the fridge and pantry. Yesterday's lunch was some chick peas from the freezer that I had originally defrosted to put in salads. Except I never went to the store to buy salad greens. So I ate chick peas with a sliced carrot covered in Italian dressing from a single serve packet leftover from some long ago pizza/salad take out experience. I also finished off the remaining blue corn/multigrain chips that were lingering in the bottom of the bag. Washed it down with the last of the orange juice. It was quite possibly the oddest combination of foods I've ever eaten, but after breaking down and spending $5.50 to buy lunch at work on Monday I was determined to bring my own lunch to work yesterday!
Been making progress in my efforts to reduce the number of loads of laundry we do around here. If I can keep this up, it seems like our usual container of laundry detergent will last closer to 5 months versus the usual 3. Woo-hoo! That would mean we've brought the number of loads down from 6-7 per week to 3-4 per week. I still think that is a lot for 2 people, but it is a definite improvement over the 6-7 we were at (sheesh, I'm embarrassed to admit that it was that bad!).
Not much else to report on these days. We've got most stuff pretty dialed in or have decided we are okay with the associated spending so food and laundry are the two current focal points. Not very exciting, but it is what it is.
iris lilies
2-5-14, 9:41am
Wow, everyone is doing great.
I don't feel like we are doing very well lately, lots of eating out (the doggies are on vacation, so we are getting our restauranting in since we typically don't leave them alone in the evenings after we've been gone all day at work), but some with gift cards, so I guess that's a wash then.
Not much else to report!!
Where did the dogs go? Florida, I suppose. Or a Caribbean cruise. You are just training them up to expect fancy vacations and next, cars.
I sometimes feel bad for leaving our dogs in the evening, but I go anyway, haha.
Blackdog Lin
2-5-14, 7:27pm
Well, I have saved our household a couple thousand dollars by.....not wanting to leave the elderly baby for more than an overnight, or a day, trip. I am conscious of not having many more years with her, so no big vacations till she's gone. Silly, I know, but it works - a frugal win-win.
Feb 05
--used some of the homemade tomato soup in a big pot of chilli and ate for two days then froze the rest
in individual packets.
--more Big Snow here so been getting my exercise shovelling and not spending at all...I guess that is good.
--Been trying to keep the heat down but, it is hard with the temps we have be having.
--made 16 nice new napkins for Dd from some fabric sheeting that had been used as curtains for awhile and
were just sitting in stockpile of sewing fabric. Will make a nice little surprise for her.
--been ordering coupons and sample and got a few good ones.
--sold an old tea cup I had bought for $1.00 for $12.00 on ebay.
onlinemoniker
2-5-14, 10:17pm
Well, I have saved our household a couple thousand dollars by.....not wanting to leave the elderly baby for more than an overnight, or a day, trip. I am conscious of not having many more years with her, so no big vacations till she's gone. Silly, I know, but it works - a frugal win-win.
Totally not silly. I have a 9 year old cat and a 6 year old dog. I take a trip with high school kids to Europe every year. This is going to be my last year. Don't want to leave them any more and don't want to spend the money to pay to have babysitter anyway. (Also, I'm getting tired of doing these trips but that's something else.)
I finally had a no-spend day yesterday. Mostly because I didn't get out for the groceries, but that was okay, too, helped me to practice the "eating down the freezer." And there was a payoff! When I was rummaging around in the freezer for spaghetti sauce (DH makes it and freezes it and it is SO GOOD), I found a renegade box of leftover Christmas fudge! WooHoo! Just when we thought all the sweet stuff was gone, here was this box of fudge. Way better than spending money.
Where did the dogs go? Florida, I suppose. Or a Caribbean cruise. You are just training them up to expect fancy vacations and next, cars.
I sometimes feel bad for leaving our dogs in the evening, but I go anyway, haha.
LOL, our Corky hates being hot! No, they are in a perfect doggie getaway spot, my parents' house, where there's a doggy door, potato chips are dispensed freely, they can sleep on the furniture and little guy Gus can harass the miniature horse that teases him all day long from the other side of the fence. So we always feel fine if we leave them for multiple days, because we know they are going to Camp, but poor Gussy is just a wreck if he gets left in the evenings after work . . . but I'm with Lin and others . . . it HAS saved us a lot of money over the years (she says after the restauranting blowout of 2014).
Your dogs get a great vacation...potato chips!
I didn't post my birthday dinner out because I couldn't....so I am trying to focus on the frugals and not the NOT frugals. I am trying to remember that you create more of what you pay attention to.....:) AND I am staying home the weekend while DH and DSD are off to a meet because I am too cheap to board the dog if I can actually be here. I'll travel twice to the meet rather than pay for boarding...hmmm, maybe that's not so great either....
Eating down the cupboards and the freezer to save money and the hassle of shopping. Last night: pasta with red sauce; tonight: lentil soup and homemade french fries! DH carefully looked at my pay stub for last month's work, and realized we'd forgotten to fill in a particular tax form that must be done at the beginning of every year if you have, like me, multiple jobs. Since we'd forgotten to submit the form, the company taxed my paycheck at the highest possible rate--48%! We will get this form in this month and should get the over-taxed amount back next month.
Two days ago, I made a choice that I don't know whether it was frugal or not, but it felt like the right thing to do. Recently, I had a little thing on my chin biopsied and it came back as a basal cell carcinoma. I booked an appointment for Moh's surgery to remove it immediately. When I booked the appointment, my insurance company said I would need to make a co-pay of about USD $75, and I agreed to it. When I showed up for surgery, the receptionist called the insurance company to check, and it turned out that since I hadn't made it through the six-month waiting period (for these types of procedures), it would cost me another $80 or so more. If I wanted to, I could cancel the appointment and come back in April.
I know basal cell carcinomas grow slowly, but I felt very uncomfortable with the fact that "my face has cancer!" I paid the extra and went ahead with the surgery. Now that it's been fully removed, I feel much better. DH wasn't too happy about it, but he agreed that any kind of cancer wasn't really worth gambling with.
I bought gas for under 3 bucks a gallon this week! Amazing.
The girls from work brought me 12 sets of coupons this week. dh helped me sort and cut them and they are all put away.
I bought 6 men's deoderants for a total of $1.87 this week. I also saved $15 on ds's vitamins using coupons and a rebate form.
Someone knocked our mail box down but dh fixed it with a post he had laying around. Its a bit dented but oh well.
onlinemoniker
2-6-14, 4:25pm
Went to Mart-Mart again today and stocked up on more incandescent lightbulbs. They're going away and I can't stop buying them. I hate florescent and think they're too expensive anyway. I think I now have enough to last until I'm about 157. Maybe I'll sell them on Ebay in 20 years and make a profit...
onlinemoniker
2-6-14, 4:26pm
Today was my first spend day in February. Gas and groceries.
Today was my first spend day in February. Gas and groceries.
Nice job, onlinemoniker!
Not much to report over here. Yesterday we had a snowstorm so while I was home I decided to bake a little treat since I'm trying to use up what's in the pantry and fridge. I made a "honey cake" from a boxed mix that someone had given me because it was gluten free. I'm not still eating gluten free, but figured we could eat it anyway. Ummm...no...it was so awful I had to chuck it in the compost. Oh well, live and learn.
I found a container of mystery soup in the freezer so made that for dinner last night along with the last of a loaf of bread that was getting a little stale. I sliced it up, brushed it with olive oil, and popped it under the broiler for a few minutes. Not a bad dinner and I have leftover soup for tonight. Baked up some fresh bread to go along with it. My dearly beloved returned from NYC with various containers of meat-based soup that his mother so kindly made for him (I'm a vegetarian so I don't cook him meat-based soups). So soup and bread for dinner it is for both of us!
I did finally stop at the grocery store today, but that was only because we were in need of half-and-half and toilet paper. I bought bananas and salad greens, too, but that was it. So we'll make it a few more days before I have to break down and truly go grocery shopping. If I play my cards right I might be able to put it off until Sunday or even Monday. We've got tortilla chips, pepper jack cheese, and black beans to make a giant pile of nachos tomorrow night. I've got a vegetable stew and cous cous for dinner on Saturday. So it's really just Sunday that I have to figure out...maybe blueberry pancakes. After that though, if i don't go grocery shopping, I might be in trouble! :~)
I am trying to remember that you create more of what you pay attention to.....:)
So true!! Worth remembering.
Teacher Terry
2-6-14, 10:40pm
WE usually do a big grocery shopping once a month and then fill in as necessary. This actually has saved us alot of $. I have went 6 weeks without doing the big shop instead of 4 by eating what we have. I am on a mission to empty the freezer/pantry. so far so good!
Feb06
--afternoon volunteering at Seniors Home...always makes me thankful for family, home, and health and
makes me worry less about stuff.
--Supper was some cooked beef that was frozen, a package of gravy (really am cleaning out food..lol) potatoes, carrots and mixed frozen veggies.
thats all for today
Mostly like a lot of us just not spending
DH had a JCPenney shirt that we returned yesterday for an exchange - the fabric had torn away from the cuff - I appreciate that they stood behind the product. We also picked up a new set of sheets that I had found at 50% off - they are supposedly wrinkle resistant but more importantly, reviews said they were soft from day #1. He wanted to go to McDonalds for dinner but I convinced him that a large salad with chicken left over from Monday would be a fine dinner. We stopped for a bag of lettuce and a loaf of ciabatta bread - dinner for less than $3 and so much better for us.
Of course, this morning he woke me up to say he was taking 1/2 day of vacation and when I pick him up at the bus, we should head for McD's for lunch! The best laid plans. . . . .
onlinemoniker
2-7-14, 4:11pm
cdttmm--you have plenty of food! I predict you'll make it till Monday--easy. Another spend day. $2.80 for library fines. Really dumb to let that happen but I just did it anyway!
cdttmm--you have plenty of food! I predict you'll make it till Monday--easy.
If it were up to me, we could make it until at least the following Monday!!! But my dearly beloved does not enjoy the game as much as I do. He insists on "real" meals. Whatever that means!
I was too lazy this morning to make lunch to bring to work. But it all turned out fine because my student worker brought me a cup of soup and a roll from the student senate recruitment event. We still had some oranges in office leftover from last week's breakfasts. And a student surprised me with a bag of peanut M&Ms. Plenty to eat at no cost to me. Score!
Tomorrow will not be frugal. The nearly 18 year old cat is going to the vet for blood work and a check up.
early morning
2-7-14, 6:10pm
Selah, I would have done the exact same thing - maybe the media has us trained to over-react to the C-word, but I think the price, in your case, was very reasonable for peace of mind. To me, that is a good-value expenditure. I'm trying to focus on our frugals too, instead of beating myself up about our outlay, which for the most part I am not currently able/willing to change. Wednesday I saved some gas because my mom's neurologist appointment was cancelled due to weather and by the time I found out, it was too late to bother driving in to work on awful roads. So I burned a day of personal leave, but I'm ok with that. I had time to make a pot of turkey-corn soup with stock made a Christmas, and a loaf of bread made in my yard-sale bread machine. Yesterday, work provided lunch unexpectedly, so that was good, and yesterday's lunch became today's instead. Tonight we just had egg sandwiches with some eggs my three little hens decided to grace us with this week. I paid some bills online, saving stamps, and carefully kept my post office receipt for some work mailing that I will be reimbursed for - as long as the receipt doesn't get misplaced! Turned in my mileage for January also. Small things, but that's all I have at the moment.
Feb 07
---made a pot of soup using a large container of saved veggie water, some celery/carrots that needed used and the bones from
a rack of BBQ ribs bought home from a restaurant meal. Stained the broth and put soon leftover turkey chilli I froze last week.
It was super good!!
--no drive and no spend day....way tooooo cold to leave the house, but, I am sure I do not want to see my Natural Gas bill this month.
--but, we are wearing extra sweaters, socks and warm pants around the house and using afghans when watching TV
--sent for two samples...hehe...every little bit helps
Relaxing day for the most part. Took the cat to the vet this morning, fortunately he seems to be doing fine so we are just waiting on blood work and urine culture. He's almost 18 and has chronic renal failure and IBD, both of which are being managed so that he continues to have good quality of life. A few days ago he was having some vomited and I gave him an anti nausea med and crossed my fingers that we wouldn't be headed to the emergency vet that night. Turned out I made the right call and he was fine. My regular vet suggested that we start him on prednisone when we get the blood work back and she said she would give me the prescription today so that I didn't have to come back in on Monday. I told her I already had a stockpile of prednisone on hand from the last cat and she laughed and said, "I should have known that, you probably have quite the home pharmacy at this point." She's right. We do. But I just keep the meds from the various pets because there's no point in throwing them out when we might need the same thing a few months later. She prescribed him B-12 injections, too, which I told her I could do myself, no sense in paying a tech to poke him when I have plenty of experience. She was fine with that since she knows I've done this all before. So at least I saved a little money on the vet visit!
Otherwise we're just doing the usual stuff. I'm making a batch of brown rice in the rice cooker. Should be enough to last me about 10 days and it's the last of the brown rice that we had in the pantry. Woo-hoo! I'll start eating down the quinoa next.
Probably going to make some popcorn (on the stovetop, none of that microwaveable stuff) and binge watch the entire third season of Sherlock later today. Frugal fun!!!
early morning
2-8-14, 1:03pm
"binge watch" - love that term! Great descriptor for what we do with TV series from the library!! Two loads of wash hanging on the racks, and a loaf of bread just finished in the breadmaker for lunch with the last of our turkey corn soup, extended with some chicken broth from some leg quarters I cooked off this past week. Will pick up necessary groceries from ALDI on the way to my mom's to check on her. We have some flavored coffee and a tiny pot stashed at Mom's so we will make some coffee there, avoiding the strong pull to Starbucks or Boston Stoker.
We got a free stroller from a friend. The only bummer was that the friend lives about 25 minutes away from us in an area that I frequently work in, and I was in the area in the afternoon, but forgot to pick it up on the agreed day, so DH and I had to make the drive back out there in the evening. That's ok, just a few bucks in gas for a pretty nice stroller. DH cleaned it up (had been in their garage) and it should work just fine for us!
I'm bringing chili for a potluck on Tuesday, but shouldn't need to buy anything additional in order to make it. Just need to put some beans in the crock pot today to get them ready for using in the chili later on. And we have a new crock pot with a lock down lid so I will use that one for transport to the pot luck!
People in Israel often leave their unwanted clothes next to their apartment building's dumpster. Sometimes it's neatly folded up, sometimes not, but clearly it's meant for anyone who wants it.
A new charity store has opened up in town, where the proceeds go to feed hungry families in our city. The food is donated by local restaurants, shops, and factories, and then packages of groceries are prepared and distributed weekly. About 200 NIS (USD $65) worth of food is provided to qualifying families, who only have to pay about NIS 15 (USD $4.50) for them.
Although I don't have cash to donate (other than via my own purchases at the shop) I've begun picking through the clothes I find on the street, choosing the ones that are in good condition, and then taking them home and laundering them. Then I donate them to the store, so they can be sold (VERY cheaply) and the money can stay in the community. My only cost for this hobby is the tiny portion of expense to launder the items, which just get thrown in our regular washing.
My other frugal way of contributing is to pick up seashells and sea glass (broken glass that has been tumbled smooth by the ocean and then washes up on the beach), and good-condition empty cardboard jewelry boxes, and give them all to my friend, who makes and sells her own jewelry. Having a significant amount of her art supplies and packaging/display materials coming in for free really helps her bottom line. (DH says I'm just justifying my love of picking up garbage, but hey, it's all good!)
Selah,
that you clean those clothes for the charity store and also donate those items to your friend is really inspiring.
Good on you!
Thinking frugal....I spent $20 to go to a house concert on Friday with a friend. It was lovely to spend some time with her, the concert was great too, and the frugal was that I didn't buy a CD despite my desire to do so...actually, to get all three. The musician was terrific. Of course I bought hummus and sparkly water as my contribution to the food so that wasn't frugal but it could have been worse.
Yesterday I spent another $20 on an orienteering race, also with friends. I have never done that before, and it was terrific fun! I spent four hours hiking out in the woods (yes, in the cold and snow) looking for check points. It was a great introduction to the activity and pretty darn frugal when you think about alternatives. I am going to look for more orienteering opportunities.
Today I made chicken soup, saving the onion and carrot peelings for later chicken stock, as usual. The soup smells fabulous but it is because of being made with homemade stock. That's one of my regular frugals that I would do anyway because it makes food taste so much better.
My frugals are always offset by my non-frugals....sigh....I bought tickets for the three of us to spend Easter with my son and his family and used points from my business credit card to save $450...but of course I am still gasping at the expense of 1400 for three of us to go to NC for a weekend. I am committed to keeping the connection with my grandson, so I go twice a year regardless, but it is also important for my DH and DSD to connect with my extended family. We are all in this together, especially after DH and I actually Got Married last summer. But I am not exactly sure where I will get the money for the flight, as I have put myself on a strict spending plan. I forgot to include that part in it! (I should be clear that the money is there, but it was supposed to be sitting around waiting until I decide to declare a bonus for myself at the end of March....have to pay the bill sooner than that!)
Back to frugals....hanging laundry in the basement as much as I can. Another load is hung up there today. So soup and laundry today and also this is shaping up to be a no spend day...even made my own coffee to take when I walked the dog. Maybe if I just keep focusing on the frugals, the rest will fall into place......she said hopefully!
edited for typo-rectification
Feb 09/14
--have made up a few small things to give as gifts rather then spend money
--still reading from the books I got last fall at the library sale...great savings all winter
--signed up for Special points for traveling by rail may help down the road
--have gone yet another week without getting a hair cut, it will be 3 mos next week just by trimming bangs myself
and having Dd trim the neck. I will give in and go soon....lol but still isn't looking bad
rosarugosa
2-10-14, 8:23am
Leslieann: I would love to hear more about the orienteering. I think there is a group that does some orienteering events in our local woods and it sounds intriguing.
SteveinMN
2-10-14, 10:00am
Not many frugals lately here, but a few:
- We had an occasion to celebrate an event a few nights ago. We ate dinner out (been a long time since we've gone to a restaurant just to eat out) with a gift card I received for Christmas. We had leftovers for the next day and still have money left on the gift card.
- Our electric/gas utility offers a free download of Chinook Book coupons for iPhones and Android smartphones. Chinook Book is like one of those entertainment discount coupon books, but good at food coops and better grocery stores, places that sell "green" goods and services, etc. Free for discount coupons at places we shop and I don't have to cart around a paperback book? Sold.
- DW's cell phone has developed the annoying habit of losing its back cover (and, therefore, its battery and then its power). Normally that would be the cue to buy another phone. But I found a replacement cover on That Famous Auction Site and also found a cheap case to keep the phone together longer. Total outlay? Less than $10.
fidgiegirl
2-10-14, 3:21pm
Steve, I'd be interested to know more about the Chinook Book deal. I logged into the utility's website and saw nothing available. PM me if you'd rather, or post here for all the Twin Citians if you are comfortable . . .
Gardenarian
2-10-14, 3:45pm
Have booked up my cabin through April and have enough money coming in so I can reserve some long chunks of time just for myself. Yay!
DH and I have been working on a list of house improvements (BADLY needed) and are prioritizing them. We have a great, speedy, affordable handyperson, and we are thinking we can increase the value of our house by 150,000 with less than 10,000 output (we are not thinking of moving, though.) This is for flooring, painting, cupboards in pantry area, window treatments, laundry room mini-makeover. Very excited to get these things going! (Note: I live in a crazy real estate area. YMMV.)
If we decide to put in the extra bath, that would not be so frugal - cost around 25,000 with estimated payback of 40,000 down the road.
No major purchases (and few minor ones.)
We put all the cars on Costco auto insurance; will save quite a bit.
My new health insurance kicks in this month, saving me $500 per month. DH hasn't made the switch yet, but will.
early morning
2-11-14, 6:58pm
Our furnace is bleeding so much money, even turned down, that my frugals seem futile! Still we keep plugging away. . . more laundry hanging to dry. We just finished our second meal from a gift package of venison burger, along with baked potatoes, and some broccoli that was being tossed (raw) by a restaurant getting ready for a two-week shutdown. Very little excess driving - all errands are planned on the way to or from work or my mother's. We buy all of our staples at Aldi, supplemented if needed by loss leaders at other local stores. I turn in my expenses for work on time, so as to be sure they are processed quickly. Making sure we are really low on something before putting it on the grocery list (that may seem like a duh, but is one of my challenges, lol).
We're in the midst of another snowstorm here in the northeast. Had to go out this morning as I needed to go to court to fight the speeding ticket I got 3 months ago. Yeah, I know, the stupid tax. I didn't get off, unfortunately, but I did get the fine reduced by $110 so I guess that's something! And I didn't even have to miss any hours at work because the college was closed today. I took advantage of being out and stopped at BJs since I was driving right past it on my way home. Spent more than $300, but it was a major stocking up trip since I haven't been grocery shopping for more than a month and it's been three months since I did a BJs run. Got $60 worth of iTunes gift cards for $52 so that will go into the iTunes account and provide us with some frugal entertainment in the months to come. Stocked up on flour for baking and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. :D I used about $20 worth of coupons and all for stuff that I would have bought anyway, except for cat food. But the cat food coupon made the price cheaper than the pet store so I bought a bag.
Came home and basically have just been hanging around. Finally got motivated and decided to make a batch of homemade yogurt in the crockpot and bake a loaf of bread. I'll make a batch of chocolate tapioca pudding, too, in a little bit. A very productive snow day! The gym closed early so saved on gas because that meant there was no Tae Kwon Do class to go to this evening.
Other frugals for the week, I worked extra hours because my co-worker was out sick. I'll work extra hours next week, too, because she is going on vacation. Might as well add to the stash during the cold winter months when I'm less concerned about having a lot of free time.
That's about it for now!
early morning
2-14-14, 7:02pm
DH wanted to visit the cemetery and take some flowers to his mother's grave, so I pulled some pretty red silk roses and some baby's breath out of the box room (from yard sales and *ahem* trashpicking) and we made up a nice bouquet wrapped in green florist cellophane (also saved from the trashbin), no cost. Returned a DVD w/o a receipt to Target (a gift I already owned) and used the resulting gift card for two other DVDs and several small items DH wanted, spending a grand total of $2.50. Washed some bedding this AM and hung over heat so it could be used tonight. Called my cousin to wish her Happy Birthday instead of sending card (which was an oversight, really, but I'm claiming it!). That's about it.
Had a no-spend day today, and "spent" Friday contributing to others' frugality by de-cluttering books, music, some glassware, and some other bits and pieces. DH deposited the goods next to the dumpster and within 2 hours, all of it was gone.
We attended a Shabbat meal Friday night at a friend's home, and I was asked to bring a salad. I chose the recipe to correspond with the maximum amount of ingredients I already had on hand. I had to buy leeks and cilantro, but that was it. (Sauteed leeks marinated in oil, cilantro, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper...easy, quick and GORGEOUS!)
Gardenarian
2-15-14, 4:00pm
DD is going to a clothes swap tonight - de-cluttering and free shopping at the same time.
I've been lazy about feeding dd and have been buying prepared food (like Chinese dumplings at Trader Joe's.) Got to work on that. On the other hand, it's a lot cheaper than going out for Chinese!
early morning
2-16-14, 10:37am
Went to a free genealogy seminar yesterday. Ended up at an antique mall where my sole purchase was a double wire basket/carrier for the back of my bike, for $25, like new (sells for $45 plus shipping). Now if the bike only had tires that held air, lol..... Other than that, it's been the same old stuff.
fidgiegirl
2-17-14, 1:34pm
Just got off the phone with medical insurance plan to learn the procedure for securing a breast pump, cost to be covered by the plan, once baby is here. I had found some legalese on their website that looked like it applied to me, but I didn't expect that it really would, so that was good news to learn that indeed it would be covered.
The snow came to MN a few hours later than first forecast - a great day at home posting on etsy, reading, napping, watching netflix. . . tomorrow I fully expect my driveway to be filled with snow when the plow comes by so another no-drive day! My planned errands are all within walking distance.
Only problem, no place to throw the snow! I shoveled the sidewalks but left the driveway for DH to snow blow when he got home - he'll need to clear the driveway apron tomorrow. . . hate the smell of the gas powered snow blower . . . so it's his task.
Speaking of aprons (chrissieq, above), I finally got around to doing a hand sewing project of creating an apron out of two absorbent dishtowels and some strange kind of nylon strapping material. It looks cool, cost about $3 in total to make, it is highly absorbent (since it is made of real dishtowels, not a cheap piece of polyester or too-thin poly-cotton blend), and saved me about $20 in buying something vaguely equivalent. I'm very proud of my home-grown apron! :)
Sorry I haven't been on much. My father is in hospice at home. I have been taking FMLA to travel down there for periods of time. My sister and I share weeks going to help mom out. Dad is 86 (87 on March 4th if he holds on). He has Congestive Heart Failure and Renal Failure, so it is just a matter of time. So far, he says he is not in any pain. Please keep my father and the family in your prayers.
Sorry I haven't been on much. My father is in hospice at home. I have been taking FMLA to travel down there for periods of time. My sister and I share weeks going to help mom out. Dad is 86 (87 on March 4th if he holds on). He has Congestive Heart Failure and Renal Failure, so it is just a matter of time. So far, he says he is not in any pain. Please keep my father and the family in your prayers.
debi,
thanks for mentioning this. We will be thinking of you.
fidgiegirl
2-22-14, 12:01pm
Hang in there, debi, and hope your DF is comfortable and continues to be.
rosarugosa
2-23-14, 10:38am
Sorry about your dad, Debi, and glad at least that he isn't in pain.
My current frugal goal is no discretionary spending until at least 3/14. Our Feb trip to Portland was spendy, and I made a few small purchases right afterward. I haven't really done any spending for the past two weeks other than the necessities, and I don't need anything else right now, so I'm going to keep tight hold on my purse strings for the next three weeks. At that point in time I probably will want/need to do a little bit of spending, so building up my reserves in the meantime will be a good thing.
We've been holding ourselves a bit more accountable with the grocery spending lately, and that's been helpful to the overall bottom line. We said no to the fresh cod on sale for $9.99/lb and Sat night dinner was the angel hair/anchovies/olive oil dish that feeds us handsomely for about $3.00 instead. I guess you could say we're working on striking the right balance: it can't always be cod and it shouldn't have to always be anchovies, but it should be possible to find the right balance between the two. So there's Rosa's frugal balance philosophy with some actual and metaphorical seafood thrown in :)
Feb24/14
--fancy dinner for Dsil birthday bought on a Groupon with discount way more then enough for 4 people I was glad
she really enjoyed it. Birthday gift were things I had picked up on sale or yardsales she was pleased with everything.
--getting really good at getting and using coupons for sales and price matching,
--Found a sale on clothes at Loblaws sweaters/tops/ and pants for $4.94 and then $10.00 worth of grocery points if you spent $25.00
Great deal (I am very leary re Loblaws Joe Fresh clothes because of where they are made but, my hope is they have had so much
bad publicity that they have inproved their practices....hopefully)
A king sized comforter works as a comforter on a queen bed. turn it so the longer part runs head to foot. You need to pick a pattern that looks ok going any direction. Use a bed skirt just as you would with a queen. There is enough extra fabric to cover the bed pillows like one does with a bedspread. I like that as I don't care for shams, just one more piece of clutter IMHO. I also find more king comforters in store markdown than Queen. Also not needing the shams makes used ones and markdown ones easier to find.
Nothing says "I love you" more than the free "gift" I just gave to my DH, who LOVES to pop bubble wrap for stress relief: a giant sheet of it, which I found next to the recycling bin on our street!
--still eating from the leftovers from Mon fancy dinner, very little waste these days
when we start to think about the next supper we are asking ourselves what leftover are there?
What needs to be used first? And, when we shop we are checking the fridge and the stockpile
--filled up with gas where I get a discount and $45.00 for the month.
--picked up a few groceries all on sale, price matched and with coupons also, extra by scanning receipt
and getting credits for some items.
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