Thanks, it does feel good. I wasn't sure whether to post in decluttering or frugals. Besides saving money, it was a quick way to get rid of 5,000 pounds of stuff!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kat
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Thanks, it does feel good. I wasn't sure whether to post in decluttering or frugals. Besides saving money, it was a quick way to get rid of 5,000 pounds of stuff!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kat
I'm happy for you, try2bfrugal, and envious. We have DH's "hot rod" setting in the garage gathering dust. He hasn't even been behind the wheel of it in over a year, while meantime we pay taxes and insurance on it (not to mention the room it takes up that could be put to much better use.)
But can he let it go? Noooooo!
Well this past week hasn't been very frugal for us. We were on vacation, went to NH for 2 nights, saw three concerts, ate out a few times, and did some planned shopping in outlet-land. We did use a "free" hotel night from our Priority card (there's a $49 annual fee, so it's really a $49 night, but the room would have cost $115 otherwise, so still a substantial discount). Tomorrow is back to work and back to the normal routine, so I'm going to try to be diligent about getting back on track. There was one night that we were going to get take-out before going to the show, but DH bought cold cuts and rolls instead, so I think he scores some frugal points for that one.
Another thread has me thinking about rating enjoyment against money spent, and it's true that we often get more enjoyment from the no or low-cost things. I need to keep that in mind more often. However, when it's 95 degrees in our house, and we want to go out to eat in air-conditioned comfort, taking a walk in the woods doesn't really do the trick. I was so glad to wake up to normal weather this morning!
Hi there
I have been here reading and being very frugal....just haven't got myself on to tell you in the last while
--sold to items on Kijiji that I had bought cheap and made a few $
--bought 2 wool sweaters, 1 blouse and a 3/4 length wool coat all for $5.00 at yardsales plus a box of quilting patterns/fabric and batting for $20.00
now I just have to get busy and do some for gifts and selling....
--been eating a lot of fresh fruit and veggies because there are in season and good prices
--a deodorant that was reg. $4.49 on sale $1.99 then used a $2.00 coupon, =Free I do love that word
--2 loaves of bread with coupons for Free---
--Between sales/coupons/and price matching I have really been keeping the groceries low.
That is all I can think of for now.
Well, I've been saving money by spending money...>8)
I was microwaving this morning when I heard a big clunk inside it. The glass tray (working fine for months after I'd managed to chip it) let go all the way. I now had an ex-tray. #*&^%! The microwave is seven years old and is not one of those disposable brands, so it is worth keeping (last microwave spent 22+ years with me). I didn't feel comfortable patching the pieces together for further use. So -- time for a new tray. I've seen trays at thrift stores -- it would be cheeaaaap -- but I didn't want to idle the oven while I looked for a usable tray. So I called around for a replacement. The best anyone could offer was $25 and 3-5 business days shipping or $35 and 2 days shipping. Ugh. One nearby place I called deals in used appliances. "No, we can't get parts. But we do save the trays when we have to trash the microwave." A 10-minute car ride later and ... score! They have exactly the right tray in their pile. $20 + tax and I get to take it home now. I don't know as I would have driven across town on the hope that they had a good tray. But it certainly was worth 15 minutes of my time!
Another errand was picking up a larger camera bag for my business. I've been looking for one that can handle two bodies, their lenses, and paraphernalia, but they either came with wheels because they were so big or they cost upward of $100 new. A marketing company closing out their old equipment on craigslist was selling just what I was looking for -- for $15. Plus 2/3 of a gallon of diesel to get there and back. :cool:
Other frugals: aspirin at the dollar store (way cheaper than even generic at a drugstore or discount store); switching off the car while waiting several minutes for the train to roll by; passing on a couple of items I could have bought at the grocery store ("we don't really need that"). Dinner tonight is leftovers. And we're enjoying nature's air conditioning today -- sunny and 77 degrees!
Today I scored a like new, black, all leather backpack at the Recycle Ann Arbor warehouse for the princely sum of.....$1.00! Even if I don't end up using it I can try to sell it on Craigslist or at the consignment shop in town :)
Bryce saved our business $50 by calling the city to ask why we'd been levied a particular fee - and we will have it credited back.
I went to Aldi and picked up a few items over lunch. Their yogurt is pretty yummy, I ate one at lunch time, and got a Fage plain yogurt for only $3.29 I think and some pesto and some sweet potato chips and nuts and olives and it only came to $13. Aldi is right next to work so I should try to stop more often. There is not a ton I can eat there but there are a few things.
We are prepping our house for painting and yesterday a (very good) friend offered me the use of their power sprayer - wow! The east and west sides of the house are sprayed and scraped. The north side is mostly covered by an overhang so it's dirty but not chipping away. The south side is mostly brick so little work there.
We hired my brother-in-law to do the second story painting and we will do the first story, garage and all the windows. Our unemployed nephew will come along for some cash in his pocket. But then there are the little ones - 12, 10 and 9 - also coming. I have a few small chores - mostly weeding - that I will give them some $$ so everyone walks away happy. And DH and I will be thrilled because it will be done!!
I have planned breakfast and lunch for 2 days, dinner for one - easy things to prepare and quite a bit of it can be done ahead of time so I don't call out for pizza or go to Subway.
We bought Sherwin Williams paint over Memorial Day and they were out of gallons so we got a 5 gallon bucket for the price of 4 gallons! We weren't sure if we needed 4 or 5 so we will buy an empty can to put the extra in for touch ups. Of course I can't lift it so DH will take it in on Friday to have them re-mix it for us. We have brushes, rollers, drop cloths etc galore so no new purchases there. My brother in law even owns scaffolding so if he feels it will be helpful, he will bring it along.
i have no idea what it costs to have a company do this job but this has to be WAY cheaper!! Wish us luck!!
I went grocery shopping at the discount warehouse and saved $89 off the retail store prices. They track the savings on the receipt and the retail prices are accurate, so shopping there really does save that much on just a week's worth of groceries. I have to bag my own groceries but I view that as an extra calorie burn. DH worked on the business while I shopped so I think we used our time today well.
We aren't going to have dental insurance any more after this month so I had my teeth cleaned today while I was still covered. Our group plan is ending and the private insurance plans we looked at were not cost effective for us.
We cancelled the car insurance for the car we sold last week and won't have to pay the registration fee that was due in two weeks.
For product reviews this month so far I got a free $100 camera bag.
chrissieq, I'm sure it will be a huge savings. I hope the littles do a good job weeding! No cash payment until it's done! ;)