June frugals

[cdttmm]

I haven't been posting much as of late, but that does not mean I haven't been trying to keep up my frugal ways! It's mostly been the usual stuff: bringing tea to work in my travel mugs, bringing my lunch to work, putting in all my hours at work in three days to minimize driving. We've been pretty good about cooking at home, with the exception of one lunch this past week from the local, summer-only, burger and ice cream shack.

The biggest frugal was figuring out how to fix my laptop after it went on the fritz a few weeks ago. I thought I might finally be forced to retire my old laptop and buy a new one, which is not an expense I want to incur right now. But I figured out how to fix it -- woo-hoo! So I'm going to try to limp along for as long as possible.

We were able to hold out on using the AC until just this past week. And even now that we've been using it, we've been keeping it set to at least 74 degrees if not warmer. And we've been diligent about closing all the blinds and opening our awning over our south-facing windows. Those few simple steps definitely go a long way in keeping the house cooler throughout the day and that means the AC runs pretty minimally.

I got accepted to attend a conference in August on contemplative pedagogy. Fortunately, I am local to the conference site so the fee for the week is only $600 as opposed to $950. They want to encourage attendance by community college faculty and since community colleges often don't provide faculty with funding to attend conferences I applied for financial aid through the conference itself. But they had already distributed all of their available monies by the time I applied so I thought I was out of luck. But I followed up at the registration deadline and they had money available so I received $275 in financial aid to attend -- woo-hoo! Very happy about this because I will lose out on my hours at work that week and that plus the conference fee would be a good sized hit. Now it's been mitigated slightly and I'm going to ask if I can make up the hours the week before and after the conference and see if my boss will approve that, which would be pretty awesome.

That's all for the moment. Will try to get back to posting more regularly!

[Rosemary]

I understand that Steve, since I am growing veggies too -- I'm comparing the CSA box to my own garden, and I know that the established farmers at the local markets usually have produce well before I do. Perhaps this particular CSA is running even later for some reason.

[Selah]

Unintended but welcome consequence of being sick and not leaving the house for the past week: DH did the grocery shopping and so our food bill is a LOT lower!

[redfox]

Since I emptied the freezer to defrost it, I have made cranberry jam, and have grape jelly & zucchini brownies & bread in process. All rescued produce I had completely forgotten about! And, gave my unemployed neighbor six gallon bags of more frozen, shredded zucchini. Bless her for taking it! Freezer goes to another unemployed friend today, gratis. I love the Love Economy.

[try2bfrugal]

Unintended but welcome consequence of being sick and not leaving the house for the past week: DH did the grocery shopping and so our food bill is a LOT lower!

That is interesting. When DH goes grocery shopping with me, it always adds $10 - 20 to the total bill.

[Kat]

Same old boring stuff here. Eating at home, hang drying laundry, blah, blah blah. A couple of new things:

1) Found out I can pay my mortgage online instead of sending a paper check. Will save me a few minutes each month as well as the cost of a stamp, envelope, check, and ink.

2) My cat has *another* urinary tract infection--his second one in five weeks! I called the vet clinic to see if they would just write us another prescription without us having to crate him, bring him in, and pay for another exam, xray, urinalysis, etc. I really thought they'd say no, but they said yes! So we'll be still be getting him the care he needs but saving around $60. It will be much less stressful for the little guy, too, which makes me happy. He is traumatized every time we have to shove him in that crate.

3) I asked my neighbor (who has a beautiful yard) if she would be willing to help me beautify my yard, too. I offered to pay her for her time and talent, of course. She refused the payment but said she would be happy to help. We were planning on hiring a landscaper this summer, but then I lost my job. I figure my yard can look nicer than it does now without hiring a professional. My neighbor is super talented and really nice. I enjoy spending time with her, so a yard re-do should be both frugal and fun! I will have to re-pay her for her kindness somehow. Perhaps with a meal or some baked goods...

[Kat]

That is interesting. When DH goes grocery shopping with me, it always adds $10 - 20 to the total bill.

Me, too! But bringing him along to help with the kids helps preserve my sanity, so I count it as money well spent! LOL

[try2bfrugal]

Me, too! But bringing him along to help with the kids helps preserve my sanity, so I count it as money well spent! LOL

DH helps me pack the groceries at the discount, pack it yourself warehouse store. But then he adds back in his $10 - $20 in junk food or whatever, so it cuts into the money I save by shopping there.

[flowerseverywhere]

Talked to several neighbors and found out our utility bill is less than half of theirs. Line drying, managing the solar effect by using shades and using a solar cooker is paying off. Also our thermostat is set at 79, much higher than theirs. I think it is healthier not to use so much air conditioning.
The last several years we have been eliminating meat in our diet. savings in grocery and health benefits. A friend gave us the hare Krishna cookbook and so far every recipe is a keeper.

[rosarugosa]

Reviewed the numbers for June and it was our cheapest month for groceries so far this year, so I'm pleased about that. My car just required some expensive repairs. Instead of putting it on the 1% cash-back card, DH opened an account with the garage because there was a $50. off deal for opening an account. So that beat the $15.00 we would have gotten in cash back rewards. Every little bit helps!