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Hadn't thought about a Groupon/Live Social deal! Thanks! It would be especially great if I could find one for the place I like. I had the car detailed at 50,000 miles (back when I was making money lol) and it looked new. Since I like the car now and there's nothing major wrong with it, spiffing it up certainly would take care of those longing looks at the newer models....
Hi Everyone!
I haven't posted in ages. Its been a very long, tough summer full of family problems, work problems and health issues for my personally. Thankfully school has started and things are starting to settle down a bit.
I've gotten back into couponing that last couple of weeks. (I didn't even have time for this all summer!) I managed to pick up a couple of freebies this week: shampoo (with a free deodorant sample attached, a free jar of peanuts (25% more free included), a package of noodles for ds and a package of cookies.
Dh and I had really been considering renovating the garage into a large bedroom giving us all a lot more living space. Last night we looked around trying to figure out how we might make better use of the space we already have. By moving a dresser into the living room I am better able to get to the clothes that are in it. I put a crochet doily that my MIL had made for me on top along with a special new family photo and a stained-glass bird house that someone had gifted to me. It look really nice! You don't look at it and think "how tacky-clothes in the living room!" I'm thinking about adding a vase of dried flowers to complete the look.
The bookcase that was in the spot the dresser was put has been moved into our bedroom taking up less space and giving that room a less cluttered appearance.
We have a few more ideas in mind that we're going to work on implementing over the next few weeks. If we can control the cluttered appearance I think we'll be more content in our space.
Sept. 19
some frugals over the last week
--friend drove her and I out to a restaurant in the country for lunch (that was a splurge) but, she drove and used her gas, I do some
sewing for her so it all works out in the end. It was a lovely afternoon and we did not buy anything in the gift shop...
--have only brought a few veggies and fruits in the last week and using then all up
--checked pantry for any items that are older and put then separate to use up first.
--still using up samples and finishing containers before buying anything (that is not on sale at an amazing price and I actually know I will need it in the future)
--entertainment has been books and movies from the library and exercise has been yardwork and housework.
http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspo...d-pattern.html I subscribe to the sewcanshe e-mails and this was yesterdays project. It is a really cute vintage tie on apron, but it can be used as a pinafore and could really jazz up a simple outfit for a little girl. I made a reversable one last night for my granddaughter (from my stash of course). Quick and supercute.
also I made another king size quilt for a wedding next week all from my stash except for the batting. I got that with a 40% off coupon. Came out fabulous and I know the kids will enjoy it. My fabric stash which was my weakness has really diminished in size.
One lunch out this month with a buy one get one coupon. Every other meal at home. Normal for us to eat at home but when you only go out every few months it is really a treat.
Welcome back, BKE!
Flowers: A homemade quilt is a wonderful wedding gift!
We've been on vacation this week in the Berkshires. The big frugal is that we paid for the hotel for all four nights with points from our Priority Club account. It's been a beautiful week weather-wise and we really enjoyed ourselves.
I'm hooked on thrift stores! I found a Lands End nordic-type sweater (really heavy with snowflakes on it) and a Benetton wool-blend turtleneck, made in Italy, for $2.50 each!!! I had to wait in line for almost an hour (it was a Labor Day half price sale) but I couldn't pass them up. Elsewhere got a new RL polo for $3.
It's strange because the things I find are things I've been looking for or always wanted (like that LL Bean field watch). What are the chances, out of all the thrift stores in the country, that these things show up in the ones I visit? It's meant to be.
I'm going to attempt, once again, to make miniature flowers for my dollhouse instead of buying lifelike ones that are very expensive. My eyes aren't so great anymore and my patience is thin, but I'll give it a shot.
Sept. 20/13
It is amazing how you can go to a yardsale and/or thrift shop and find things you have been looking for. I think the
secret is we are waiting and not buying things the second we think about them.
--no spend day here...raining so a good day to stay in
--leftovers for supper
thats about it for today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flowerseverywhere
Hi flowers!
Looked at the apron you made and it is SO cute. What colors did you use?
Had a no spend, no drive day, with just eating things from our fridge -- which right now has slim-pickin's.....need some new PJ's am tired of wearing old sweats that I wouldn't go out in anymore as my PJ's, but it has to be put on the back burner until some other things are bought...
This weekend DH is fixing a hole in the wall where an old air conditioner was in the living room. The roofers took care of the outside and did a fantastic job of matching the siding to the existing siding and fixing the outside part. So glad to have that eye-sore out of the house. They did haul it away for us, which saved us from having to pay someone to do it.
He is also going to power wash the windows and siding since there are so many spiders that have made their really messy homes there. We plan to go out to eat once this weekend since that is the only thing we ever do. We are pretty frugal otherwise....
This video brought tears of happiness to my eyes, because it made me think of everyone on these boards! At last, we've hit the big-time of mainstream culture for singing the praises (literally) of thrift-store clothes shopping! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes
The above is a link to a Macklemore video called "Thrift Shop." Warning, there are more than a few f-bombs, but the comedic value of it is more than worth it. Enjoy!
Selah: I love that video! I think it's one of the funniest things ever!
Sept 22
--two more no spend days
--a small container of previously frozen soup for lunch
--chilli made from yesterday's leftover spaghetti sauce just a two cans of beans and there is enough for lunch tomorrow
--cleaned out fridge and now know exactly what is in there, did pantry earlier and now I need to do fridge freezer and full size freezer
it is so much easier not waste when you know what you have
--sorted a few sewing projects to work on and do not need anything to finish them...just to do it....lol
No spend days for me and no drive days for me but DH fixed the hole in the wall left by the hideous old air conditioner that didn't work and fixed a crack in the wall, so he bought those materials, at least it was DIY. And he did a great job. Still has to fix some spots but for never having done it before, he did great!
Did not eat out. Cleaned out the fridge and we are eating the last little nibbles left until tomorrow, grocery shopping!
We had a three day weekend and ate at home for every meal - unusual for us! I think it was due to a bumper crop of homegrown tomatoes - BLTs, salmon burgers, hamburgers, salad - anything to use up tomatoes!
Besides a few garage/estate sales to buy stock for my etsy shop, there was no other shopping.
Removed the 20 plus year old carpet from the screen porch. Thought it was a cement floor that I was planning on painting, instead it is tile and probably asbestos tile, so after scraping off the carpet backing that had separated, we covered it with a thick rug I had found at a garage sale earlier this summer. Now we have to decide what to do about tile removal. Still looks way better than before.
chrissieq, you could do some kind of floating floor and then removal would be a non-issue . . . actually, if the tile is intact/in good shape, you could probably still just stick with your painting plan.
Did well at the grocery store today. I stocked up on vitamins for ds. Regular price of $7.99 a bottle. After coupons and rebates purchase price is $2.99 each.
I received several free samples in the mail this week including cereal, shower gel, and a coupon for free pasta.
Quadreaders sent me my stamps this week too.
Dh cut ds's hair last night saving about $12 which is nice. Ds is finally at a point where he likes a style that dh can do with confidence.
We've received quite a bit of free produce this summer: kale, tomatoes, peppers, green beans and a lovely jar of raspberry jam. Oh, salmon is another item, both smoked and fresh.
A customer gave me an almost new pair of sneakers. She wore them 2-3 times and decided they didn't fit well. I can use them around the house or whatever since the fit me just fine.
I didn't have to work today due to a security threat on our campus. Although it means I won't get paid for today, I consider the fact that I saved some gas since I didn't have to drive the roundtrip to work a frugal thing. :) Also, it meant I had time to go apple picking today and was able to core and slice apples and get them in the dehydrator today as well. Yay for free snacks! The apples came from our orchard and there are plenty more to pick. Saved 11 cents per gallon of gas when I filled up this evening because I used the Gas Buddy app on my phone and found the cheapest gas station that I was going to pass anyway rather than just going to the one nearest my house. My mom is coming to visit next week -- I bought her a plane ticket in exchange for her helping out with some fall garden clean up. The plane ticket cost $7.50 since I was able to use my airline miles for the flights. Good thing, too, since the going rate for the same flights was $575 and I wasn't having much luck finding anything less expensive for the same dates.
Stocked up on groceries over the weekend. My dearly beloved made a huge batch of Spanish rice so we've been eating that up along with black beans. We checked the beehives here at the house and decided to leave the bees all their honey to insure that they can survive the winter. I was a little bummed as I was looking forward to extracting honey this fall, but I would rather the bees survived until next year. It just means I have less honey to sell over the winter. Oh well, not a big deal since this is just a hobby.
Wore an older pair of running shoes today on my run and discovered that they definitely still have some life left in them. Good thing, too, as running shoes are expensive and I'd rather not buy a new pair until I can find them deeply discounted.
Lots of frugal entertainment lately -- the joys of having Netflix!
Hi
Cdt, just love that you are thinking of the bees!!!
We had grocery shopping today which came in at a whopping amount. Living where we are it is hard. Do have to get into making bean and rice dishes maybe that will help out a lot....
No driving no other spending. Did not go anywhere...but just loving this fall weather we are having!
I am back from my trip to California and trying to get back into the swing of things here. I feel a little at loose ends after all of that craziness.
I had my first class at the Catechetical Institute last night. A friend of mine is going too and she offered to pick me up for classes since I'm on her way. I offered her gas money but she refused it. I thought that was nice of her. My dad went through this same program a couple of years ago, so I was able to use his books. That saved me over $100.
I have my first meeting of the Well Read Mom book club I started this Friday. It's a book club where moms read quality literature. This month is a couple of Flannery O'Connor short stories and next month is The Good Earth by Pearl S. buck. I'm pretty excited about this. It should be some good, inexpensive fun. At this point most of my fun outings are just gatherings of friends instead of expensive dinners out movies, etc. My Women Who Cook group, my book club, etc. although we are thinking of doing a ladies prayer/happy hour group. :)
A couple of frugals today. I think.
I had to buy some plumber's putty so I can replace the faucet in my mom's kitchen. So I walked to the hardware store (about a mile), picked up the putty, and came back home. I'm guessing $1.89 is not the rock-bottom price one can pay for plumber's putty, but it didn't require driving and I'm supporting a good local (Ace) hardware store, so be it. A no-drive day.
On the way back home, however, I walked past a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store and decided to walk in. Typically they have almost nothing of interest to me.
Background: our KitchenAid hand mixer has a plastic (natch) part that failed. The beaters stay in to mix but come out as soon as you remove them from the bowl. Usable so far, but a pain and wasteful of thicker mixtures. In callling KA I learned that (natch) this 8-year-old mixer, which has seen no more than light occasional use, cannot be fixed. I even checked out buying a similar non-working mixer for parts. But it looked like I would be in for about $30 to do that with no guarantee it would fix the the problem.
The thrift store had a 70s-vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer in excellent condition. I don't think it was used much, either. Plugged it in; ran fine. It comes with one of the two bowls and dough hooks but no beaters. But apparently beaters are still available (after 40 years; take that, KitchenAid). So are bowls if I care. $12.49 plus tax for the mixer. Sold. It will be a much stronger mixer than the KA and much cheaper even after buying beaters. And it's likely we'll be able to find parts for it in another 8 years if we need them.
Dinner was of the pantry category. Meh. Baked Garlic Shrimp. Except that I didn't have enough shrimp, so I threw in some frozen scallops we had. And I didn't have enough fresh garlic, so I used granulated garlic. No fresh cilantro; dried had to do. And panko? No. But I did have cracker crumbs in the freezer, so I used them. It's certainly edible. Didn't cost much overall. But I'm glad it will be gone in another meal. Way less than the sum of its parts but I can't blame the recipe for that.
Hi Stella, hope your sister is doing okay. I think she probably really appreciated you being there. That is amazing that you were able to go with having an infant and young children to tend to.
Your groups sound like a lot of fun. Hey, are you still embroidering these days?
Had No drive, no buy day here for me. DH commutes an hour each way from and to work, although the ride home is longer since there is usually a lot of traffic in one spot. His boss who lives not too far from us, asked him if he wants to carpool and he doesn't because he feels he needs that quiet time instead of talking there and back. I am the same way so I understand, although it would save a nice amount each moth. Sometimes your sanity is much more important.
We are laying low on spending any money until my husband's royalty check comes in. We need to have a new damper replaced in the fireplace. They said the the design that most people have is from the 1900s and that the new design which goes at the top of the chimney saves much more with heat escaping. I am looking forward to some fires now, we have plenty of leftover wood.
That is all that went on today!
Tussie, I'm with your husband. I don't mind my hour drive; it's my planning time going in, and my decompression/review time going home. I need it! Not much going on here frugal-wise - same old, same old. We are having a yard sale this weekend, hope to get rid of lots of stuff and maybe make a little extra money. Dinner tonight was meat-free; we found a great latke recipe and that was dinner, lol. Potatoes rock! :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by early morning
I can grasp how you feel early, I would feel the same about the commute...I need my quiet time I like how you use you going home time to review and decompress.
Good luck with your garage sale. I hope you do very well!
Steve, that mixer sounds like a great score!
Tussiemussies, yes, I am still embroidering. I do it more in the winter than the summer, so I have been looking at my patterns and deciding what I'm going to do next. I'm almost done with a huge table runner I have been working on forever that I got for $1 at a thrift store. A friend of mine gave me a ton of free embroidery patterns this summer, so I'll probably start with one of those.
Early morning, I have been thinking about making potato latkes for a few weeks. I love those! I need to actually get around to that one of these days.
Zach is working on the side job for our friend tonight. He might finish up this phase and get paid, which would be excellent. It's been a lot of hours, but it's a lot of money and we really need to build back our EF after having to raid it for several emergencies. The good news is that it was there, and we didn't have to go into debt for the emergencies. It makes me nervous having it so depleted, though. It's going to be great to start getting it back into shape.
We are also selling our old car this week. It's a beater, so we aren't getting a ton for it, but $900 is better than nothing. That will be split between a few medical bills, more padding for the EF and a small amount towards taking the kids to Fall Fest at our church this weekend. That's always fun. They have rides, games, face painting, fair foods, a free concert by a well-known local musician and this year they are having a pig roast. It should be a good time.
I finally found a dentist that I like that takes our insurance. This is the third dentist I have been to this year. The first took our insurance, but had a really awful attitude. The second didn't take our insurance, and I paid out of pocket for some of our dental work, but he was excellent. This third one meets both criteria. I am so pleased! I hate going to the dentist and it is really a stress reliever to not have to worry about either the dentist or the bills.
Today I am making some meatballs for freezing. If I feel up to it I might also make twice baked potatoes with bacon for freezing. My grandma makes them all the time and they are good as a hearty side dish or as a meal, if you serve it with a salad. We're on an oatmeal kick for breakfast. I've been adding eggs to it for extra protein and sometimes peanut butter. The egg makes it nice and custardy and I absolutely need protein in the mornings to feel my best. The little kids seem to last longer before getting hungry again, too, so that's a bonus.
We were tempted to go out to dinner last night but settled for a rotisserie chicken instead. It cost us $6 instead of $30.
Hi again Stella. You are really ambitious to tackle a table runner. That is great that you are almost done with it! What is the theme/colors? I remember how you did pillowcases. I love embroidery!
Today was a no drive/no spend day for me. My car needs some work done to it, but I don't usually go out that much. Cleaned out the fridge the other day of bad food. We are doing better than we used to in a way. But the way we are handling produce means I would have to run to the store just about daily. When my car get fixed I might try it as it gets great miles per gallon, so it won't cost me much and I will be able to use things instead of planning a meal and then not wind up making it.
That is all for now. I'm sure there will be no spend days until my husband's royalty check comes in. I definitely need new pajamas and a new coat or two....
We were down to only 1 set of sheets. Last week at work we marked down some of our Simply Shabby Chic sheets down 30%. When I went home I checked on the computer and the Cartwheel app had a coupon for 15% off all SSC's. YEAH! So with the clearance price, the cartwheel coupon, my work discount & red card discount I got a real good price.
Annnnd that may be my only frugal.
I did make applesauce last night with organic apples we got at the cider mill a couple of weeks ago. Some of them were starting to get a little soft. The apple sauce was so good! I had some warm applesauce with greek yogurt & walnuts this morning. Yum.
I did not buy the really cute silver hoop earrings in just the size I've been looking for. Even though they went to 50% off last week.
I bought a not well advertised brand turbo convection oven from Amazon for $30 out of pocket after using credit card points. The first reviewer stated that all the various turbo ovens seemed to be 1300 watts with fans, bowls and halogen lights, so why pay more? That seemed like a good point, so I got the non-infomercial brand. So far I made a test baked potato and that worked out okay. Our range top and wall ovens use a lot of electricity, so I am trying to switch over to small appliances instead. I use the rice cooker / steamer and crock pot a lot, but I wanted something that could roast large quantities of vegetables quickly.
Today we walked the dog to the local shopping center and bought meat on special for dinner, dropped off a book to sell back to Amazon for a gift card at the post office, deposited a check at the bank and chatted with a neighbor along the way.
For product product reviews this month I ordered some free office supplies and a new baster.
To set up a reading area in the bedroom I decided instead of buying a new chair just to leave a collapsible camping chair in the closet and set it up as needed.
Helped mil do some cleaning and she gave me a huge bag of yarn- really high quality stuff, and full skeins with many multiples I gave it to a neighbor who is in a church group that knits hats and mittens for military base kids and as a thank you they invited us to their church dinner. All around a fun time and in the end good for all. They do a lot for these kids as their parents are mostly in the Middle East for some tours. They had a huge backpack drive for the kids and the left at home moms and dads are so appreciative. For Christmas they are doing a pajama and book drive so I am keeping my eye out for pajamas with the sales, especially with the discounts some stores offer. I like the work they do, and I know it helps these young military families. For me part of frugality is being able to share. You can't buy the feeling of satisfaction that comes from it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flowerseverywhere
That is such a wonderful program Flowers! Sounds like you had an all-around wonderful time...
Tussiemussies, when it finish the runner I will try to post a picture. It's very pretty. It's all done in two shades of purple.
I am doing some curriculum shopping this weekend before turning in my homeschool reimbursement form to the school district. I get about $80 a kid for books, supplies, etc, so this year that is $160. I am buying a bunch of field guides for kids, some art supplies, a grammar workbook and some history books. A friend told me to ask about the transportation money too. She said that she gets $200 back because her kids attend a private school. We will see if that applies to homeschoolers too. If it does, I'm going to get a decent microscope. It sounded like she gets $200 back per kid, but that sounded high to me. Who knows. I'll admit that I mentally calculated what that would mean when Charlotte is school aged and got a little excited. :)
Our friend from South Dakota was visiting today and tonight is my book club, so lots of FFF today.
Thanks Stella, I would really like to see it....
Your schooling projects always sound so creative and useful. Do you follow any line of homeschooling? Chris
No drive, but we had to stock up on dog food and we will only feed our dog what we feel is the best dog food out there, so it does cost a lot. Otherwise no spend. I felt like take out but then made myself a vegetarian sandwich and DH, well I already forgot what he ate. LOL!
Do still need some clothing, coats and pajamas, some tips and DH is in dire need of socks and nice pants for work. I feel some spending coming on.
Today I manifested $220. My DH has been owed $100 for some months, by a rather spaced out art dealer, for some photos. DH has been calling & emailing for months with zero response. So, last night I hopped onto FB & saw complaints by others about delayed payment and a cell number. I called him, he answered, & I pulled out my stern Mom voice -- he's younger -- and he agreed to meet this morning, returning the unsold photos & paying the $100 owed in cash. This afternoon, I went to a focus group about banks, and got $120 cash for an hour of opinions. Score! All of it will be the cash DH needs to attend a photography intensive later this month, and it won't therefore come out of our monthly budget.
Wow Redfox, you did so great!
Spent about 5 minutes on the phone yesterday with a very helpful service rep from dental insurance company - our DDS had submitted a claim twice and was sending me a bill for $58 because it had been denied. Turned out they were using the wrong claim #s. I had seriously thought about just paying the bill but forced myself to make the call - well worth my time!!
Sept 28
Been a few days since I have been here
--bought $21.65 and paid $1.65 using $20.00 worth of points from Loblaws
I got these points mostly buying an order of $75.00 and getting $20.00 in points last month.
Both orders were mostly sale items and marked down items...this store has great meat mark downs...
--sold $20.00 item on Kijiji and also gave away to junk guy broken fridge I was hanging on to (not sure why)
he was heading to recycling so took a large box for me and saved me a trip...
--got all or maybe I should say more then enough exercise this week getting the yard ready for winter of course there will be more to do.
--volunteering at the city run Seniors home in the Gift/Tuck shop one afternoon keeping me busy, in touch with people and feeling useful
at no cost at all....win...win
--
No spend, no drive day for both DH and I. Although we might go out to eat tomorrow. We ate from what was left in the refrigerator instead of ordering out since we are down on food.
Last weekend DH fixed a crack in the wall and the hole left from taking out the air-conditioner. He tried to paint a stain on the ceiling but did not use Kilz so it didn't go away! He cleaned everything up before I woke up since it was a big mess from last weekend we left that way so he could reach the stain. Another DIY he will get to. I reminded him of the Kilz after he had everything back in place.
Not much else!
The annual schlep to the mall for work clothing undergarments. <sigh> even on sale bras are too damn expensive...
DH & I celebrated our 29th anniversary with a lovely walk in the woods, and then a delicious scallop mango risotto, which DH cooked at home. Mom gave us a check for $100. as an anniversary gift. We're going to use it to stock up on frozen scallops, shrimp and tilapia from Costco which will translate to more frugal luxury dinners at home, which are so much more cost effective than eating out.
I just redeemed my e-rewards survey points for a $25. Macy's gift card.
DH has started doing some necessary staining/painting work on the house, which is much more frugal than hiring someone!