June frugals

[chrissieq]

Took my niece and nephews to the Central Mpls library and through downtown skyways, glass elevators and escalators today - they live in a small town and haven't seen these things except in the Minneapolis. The youngest (9) was fearful about bank robbers so we left DT earlier than I had planned but were then able to use the bus transfers vs paying full price again. After family swim at the Y and dinner with my sister who lives in town, they are now snuggled into bed.

Tomorrow's plan - neighborhood park/wading pool, the Walker Art Center Sculpture Garden and the 2 story Menards!!! Free, free and free!!

[fidgiegirl]

Fun, chrissieq! I love those kinds of mini adventures - and the best part? Free!

[cdttmm]

Excellent job on all the frugals, everybody!

It looks like I've hit a frugal groove with my new job at the community college. I'm only allowed to work 18.5 hours most weeks and I can choose my own schedule for the most part. I've been managing to put the hours in over 3 days each week, which keeps my driving for work at a minimum. I've also been doing well with bringing my own lunch. Last week on 2 out of the 3 days there was lunch provided for different events so that was great! Not necessarily the healthiest lunches as they included chips and soda, but we never eat that stuff at home so I figure a few meals here and there with chips and soda won't kill me. At one of the lunches they had leftover food so they encouraged everyone to take stuff with them afterwards. I grabbed two bags of chips and three sodas to keep in my office at work in case I have a food emergency! The lunches usually consist of sandwiches and pasta salads and since I'm gluten free (and vegetarian) it means I'm usually eating the sandwich fillings only, so lots of vegetables. That makes me feel less bad about eating the potato chips! There are also usually cookies for dessert and those are off limits for me, too, so I keep a bag of little dark chocolate bars in my office to eat as my treat for the day. I've also been really disciplined about making tea at home every morning in my tea pot and bringing two big travel mugs of tea with me to work. I probably look a little strange walking across campus with my two travel mugs every morning, but who cares? My office mate buys a large Dunkin' Donuts coffee almost every day on the way to work -- at nearly $5 a time I can't imagine dropping wasting that kind of money every day/week/month/year. I asked her the other day why she didn't just make coffee at home and she admitted that they have a Keurig coffee maker at home but that she just doesn't like the taste of the coffee. Which makes no sense, because we have a Keurig in the office and she makes coffee there throughout the day. Strange!

I've been asked to do some teaching at the college during the fall semester, which is awesome. It means the fall semester will end up being closer to a full time job (or more than a full time job if they assign me to 4 classes). It will make for a crazy 15 weeks, but the extra cash will be awesome and considering that it will mean I have to drive to work 5 days per week, I might as well get in as much work as possible while I'm there! I spent enough years working 60-70 hours per week, putting in 40-50 hour weeks for 15 weeks should be a piece of cake.

Most of my other frugals have been little day-to-day stuff. I used up a free sample moisturizer the other day and have been experimenting with the various hair products in my bathroom cabinet to find a combo that works for my hair. I am determined to not buy any moisturizer or hair products until I have used up what I already have. I've been at this for several months already and I'm making progress on reducing the stash, but I've still got a ways to go. I've been getting a lot of cheap entertainment out of our Netflix subscription by re-watching various TV series. I did decide to spend $5.99 last night for a movie. I watched "Silver Linings Playbook" which got great reviews, but I was unimpressed. Next time I'm in the mood for a movie I will save myself the cash and watch something I haven't seen on Netflix instead of going for a newer release. We were planning to go see the new Star Trek movie in the theater, but it has gotten such mixed reviews (and generally bad reviews on all the serious sci-fi websites) that we are going to wait for it to come out on iTunes. That will save us about $15 over going to the theater.

My biggest frugal challenge as of late is figuring out how to combine more errands and reduce the use of the car. We live too far away from things for biking to be a truly realistic option at this point and the closest public transportation stop is 4 miles away, so that's not helpful either. Lately, so many of my extra driving trips have involved taking our elderly cat to the vet for regular appointments for arthritis treatments. I can't really leave him in the car because of the summer heat so I can't combine those car trips with other errands. Perhaps I just need to accept that this is, sadly, a temporary situation and that I shouldn't stress about the extra driving.

[catherine]

Good on everyone for our little frugal victories.

My little one this week: realized that the mouse pad on the desk was just.....GROSS. Truly filthy. How did I not notice it? Gave it a good wipe down - nope. Still gross. Gave up and wrote "mouse pad" on the shopping list.

Couple days later I'm thinking that well, it's just foam-y kinda stuff. Maybe I could scrub it in a sink full of suds? Maybe.....I could put it in the dishwasher? !!! Yep, folded it into the dishwasher and it came out looking great. Had to air-dry it for awhile outside, but it worked! Looks brand new. And as it's a souvenir mouse pad (commemorating a trip to the Caribbean in '06), I get to continue to enjoy looking at it, and saved a few bucks too.

It's the little things.

Yeah, I ditched mine too--and I use an old non-glossy magazine as a mousepad. Doubles as something to read if I'm waiting for a download

[Jilly]

... Doubles as something to read if I'm waiting for a download

[Blackdog Lin]

What a great idea catherine. Something to remember for when this pad gives up the ghost for good.....

[Kat]

Hi everyone! Great frugals so far this month!

I am bummed to report that I lost my online teaching job; my position is being eliminated, so the contracts I was offered for August are now void. I am still reeling a little bit as I thought I would have a job to return to after my maternity leave was up. DH and I were prepared to live on just one income for three months, but now it looks like it might be a permanent thing. I have never been let go from a job before, and it feels really crummy. I know that focusing on my family while the kiddos are so small is probably what is best. DH is actually really happy about it as he knew I was not happy working and has wanted me to quit for some time. So...I guess frugality/simple living is more important now than ever. It just feels so strange not working. I have always worked (though taking care of a household along with two kids under two IS work!).

Anyway, I have revamped out budget and made it a point to use up the food we have sitting around here. We haven't wasted much and have not eaten out. I'll keep up the couponing and the free activities--walks, playing at the park, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, etc.

For Father's Day, I took some pictures of the kids and edited them on ribbet.com. They look great and--dare I say--borderline professional! I'll print some copies on my printer and stick them in some frames sitting in our basement. Won't cost anything, and DH will love it. DD is also making him some artwork, and we'll make some sugar cookies, too. Should make for a nice day.

[fidgiegirl]

Kat, super bummer. PM me if you want me to keep my eyes open for other online gigs for you.

[rosarugosa]

Oh Kat, I'm sorry to hear that. It is so much nicer to be in control of these changes. With that said, I'll mention that we had a similar non-volitional change in our lives a few years ago, and it turned out to be a bit of a gift. It was the boot in the tail that we needed in order to make some changes for the better, and indeed we did. So I will hope that this turns out to be the gateway to better things for you and your family as well. Sending hugs from New England

[Tussiemussies]

Kat, sorry to hear about your job and the timing, although it could wind up being a very nice time to be able to spend it with the baby and your other child...