June frugals

[bke]

I needed to register the deed to the restaurant today. It was a 30 mile trip one way so we ran several other errands in the process including getting the oil changed and stocking up ds with library books now that summer is here. We watched gas prices jump from 4.00 to $4.30 a gallon while we were out. I filled the tank at $4.03 and felt happy to do so.

I received coupons in the mail for 3 free yogurts from a sweepstake that I keep winning little prizes on.

Dh cut ds's hair last night saving around $15 dollars.

I'm going to try and do some sweeps if I get the time this afternoon.

[flowerseverywhere]

Used my crockpot on the screened in porch so did not add heat to my house. I put all the leftover fresh veggies I had (zucchini, mushroom, onion, peppers) had and put a few sliced chicken breasts and tomato sauce on top. Delicious. I have a hard time cooking in this heat. I wrapped some potatoes in foil and they are in the crock for tonight's meal stuffed with broccoli, salsa and cheese.
Have not driven since last Friday. Lots of biking and walking.

[early morning]

bke, I saw that price jump here in Ohio, too! I pass several stations to/from work that are generally cheaper - the one on the way home last night was a bit higher so I held out in the hope that the one on the AM loop was still lower, and it was this morning - 3.74 instead of 3.86 so I filled up. Tonight they were both at 3.99! I only have a 10 gallon tank and try never let it get really low, so I don't save a lot even at 25 cents a gallon savings, but still! Got my oil changed and had a can of additive to put in. My oil-change guy put in a third of the can and said that should be plenty, since it treats 10 quarts and I only use 3.5! So instead of the oil treatment being $10 each time, it will only be $3.33. And it really helps with the lifter ticking. Washed up a winter chair cover and line dried it yesterday. DD had $20 Kohl's cash given to her, and she didn't see anything she wanted so she passed it on to me. I got a cute shirt for work for $4 after using the "cash"! That was fun. Then I blew half of my savings on coffee drinks for the two of us and some ice cream for DH, who is feeling poorly after installing the dishwasher.

[Stella]

Yesterday I watched my friend's kids, so I had 8 kids here, 5 of them age 3 or younger. I had thought about this beforehand and decided to have dinner made ahead of time. I figured I might be a little tired after that. We had cheesy potato soup with bacon.

Zach and I went on a walk for our date last night. I got some sad news about my sister's situation (her fiancé left her) and I needed to clear my head. It was really helpful to just get some fresh air and talk to Zach about it all. I am so grateful for him. He really is my best friend. We are trying to really minimize how often we go out to eat for our weekly date nights.

I am starting a new history curriculum I really like. It is good books based, so for the sake of saving money I am starting off with just purchasing the core and highly recommended books. The suggested reading books I am having a lot of luck finding at the library. There are a couple I might end up buying eventually though, just because they are so awesome. We will see. I have an easy time talking myself into buying educational materials, especially for the big girls because they will be used by five children. On the other hand, they will most likely still be at the library when the littles are older.

[chrissieq]

I'm taking care of my niece and 2 nephews (ages 12, 11 and 9) while their parents have their first adult vacation since they got married 13 years ago! We started the 4 day visit with a trip to Aldi's for meals to be made at home - cereal and eggs for breakfasts, lots of fruit, a few treats for snacks, and dinner stuff. Spent $53 which could be the cost of one meal out for the 5 of us so I'm good with that.

We walked to the library near my house - at their request. My nephew found books he hasn't been able to get at their library and my niece got some craft books for us to make things from.

Tomorrow I don't have a car so we will hang around in the AM - maybe hit the playground near me - and then another sister will take them to the Y for family swim and have dinner with them.

No set plan for the rest of the weekend but they are very easy going and relatively easy to please!

[bke]

We had a good shopping trip last night saving close to $100 between what we bought for work and for home. Deals include free shower gel and deodorant, inexpensive Gatorade ( a must for us at work!), brownie mixes and mac n cheese.

Hopefully, we won't be doing any driving this weekend. With gas prices so high, I feel wasteful going anywhere that isn't absolutely necessary.

I continue to play scrabble on facebook for free entertainment. I use free shampoo and conditioner samples in the shower saving the free large containers to fill in around the little samples. Soaps and deoderants sold at my yard sale so I'm saving them to be used only when necessary.

I keep trying products at Aldi's but just don't like them! They're cheaper but the quality just isn't right to me. I bought coffee creamer this time and well its almost oily to me. The produce is lovely but I just don't like the other stuff.

[Jilly]

Chrissie, all of that sounds like so much fun. I just love stuff like that.

bke, I like Aldi so much. They often have better quality produce that the regular markets, and their fair trade dark roast coffee, at $4 for 12 ounces is as good as the regular markets where the good coffee is more than twice the cost. I recently found a great chair for the porch there, too.

[bke]

Jilly, I'm going to have to keep trying products one by one and see what I discover. I never thought I was picky-I used to shop at sav a lot when it was open. Not that you're suggesting I'm particular! I'm just surprised I don't like the products more!

Thought I would add that I received coupons for 4 full-size jugs of juice and postage stamps in today's mail.

[fidgiegirl]

Made lunch in even though my sister was visiting. We used up some corn that needed to be used and only bought a pound of hamburger to grill up and one ear of corn for her. She was happy and so were we.

Taking DMiL out for a dinner tonight.

Not much else! I just wrote in the finishing thread that I've had a breakthrough in my craft room organization project due to my sister giving me some organizational items that helped shift my thinking. They are nice items and I was happy to get them. For my new approach all I will need to get is a few boards that will become shelves in the closet. This will save me from buying a freestanding shelving unit and help to be able to use the small dresser I already have, just in a different way.

Also in a decluttering mood because of this, so my eye is looking around for things to purge/sell. It's ongoing!!

[Jilly]

Jilly, I'm going to have to keep trying products one by one and see what I discover. I never thought I was picky-I used to shop at sav a lot when it was open. Not that you're suggesting I'm particular! I'm just surprised I don't like the products more!

Thought I would add that I received coupons for 4 full-size jugs of juice and postage stamps in today's mail.

If you are particular, then I am pathologically so. And, because of that, I am not surprised that so many of the products have disappointed me.

We still have a Save a Lot, and that is my first stop for groceries. The meat section is great for turkey parts and chicken, which is usually 65-69 cents a pound for quarters, and it is the only place where I can find chicken legs. The beef products are not to my liking, and I do not eat pork (unless someone takes me out for breakfast and there is bacon to be had). Some of the produce can be decent, and they must have some weird supplier for some things, because there is often 8 pound bags of russet potatoes for 89 cents; although they are not first quality, they are fine for soups and stews and casseroles. Not so much for mashed or for baking.

I have found that I need to watch the sizes of canned goods there; the price can seem great until I see that it is not the standard 16 ounce that is in the regular markets. SAL is also one of the least expensive places for some seasonings, especially dried chilis, and Mexican specialty foods like tripe and cactus and a nice selection of other ingredients, as well as dried legumes and rice.

Lentils are cheaper at Aldi. I only risked trying the coffee because a friend told me about it a few years ago.

I have $50 each week to spend on food, cat food and litter, and any other household things, like toilet paper, stuff like that. I have to be careful about what I buy, and on good weeks I can toss a bag of chips into the cart without any stress. Being really frugal means that I get to keep things like my Trakfone and the Internet.