I will start the September Frugals.....

[rosarugosa]

I don't think I mentioned this yet, but DH was recently talking about wanting new pots and pans, because the set we have is non-stick and the coating is getting scratched up inside. About a week ago, I got an award at work for a project (one of those pick a gift website scenarios). I was able to get an 11-piece Cuisinart stainless cookware set, so that's something we didn't have to go out and buy.

[try2bfrugal]

Today we went Fisherman's Wharf and watched the resident sea lions (free), went on a Rocket Boat ride on San Francisco Bay ($7 a ticket through Goldstar) and visited the Aquarium of the Bay (free with library passes).

DH thought ahead and brought candied walnuts and soda, so we didn't spend any extra money on food. It was a fun, cheap date. The rocket boats were a blast.

[try2bfrugal]

I don't think I mentioned this yet, but DH was recently talking about wanting new pots and pans, because the set we have is non-stick and the coating is getting scratched up inside. About a week ago, I got an award at work for a project (one of those pick a gift website scenarios). I was able to get an 11-piece Cuisinart stainless cookware set, so that's something we didn't have to go out and buy.

That is a great frugal. Cuisinart products are usually pretty pricey.

[danna]

Sept 05
Rosaruga that was some great gift!!

--No spend day
--ate from freezer and fresh produce
--neat thing, last year at the end of season I throw some decorative gourds I bought in a front flower bed...I now have a monster
greenery growing across and the whole length of my boxwood hedge with beauitful yellow blooms. Also, already picked 3 very large gourds
and can see many more coming. Will make great decorations for the fall.

[Kat]

Hope you are having fun cooking in your new pots and pans, rosa!

Took the kiddos to the library this morning. DD had a blast running around choosing books and playing with toys. After we got home, I put DS down for a nap, and DD and I curled up and read through her pile of books. It was lovely.

Dh had a tattoo session yesterday that was mostly touch up on his existing pieces. He thought it would cost $100, but the tattoo artist said it was on the house. So DH tipped him $25. Still came out $75 ahead.

DH and I plan to do some deep fall cleaning this weekend. It won't cost anything but will feel great!

[Stella]

I did some more freezer meals yesterday. I should have the next two weeks totally planned out now. Zach is getting side work like crazy, which is great financially, but can be a little tiring for both of us. This takes meals off my list of things to do.

I have started watching my friend's kids for free on Wednesday mornings. Her dad has offered to help us with some house projects as a way to say thanks. We have been planning on replacing the flooring in the living room for two years now, but other projects have made themselves a priority. I think this coming year we are going to finally get that done and her dad is really good at installing hardwood. I think that will be a big money saver.

Zach is fixing a plumbing problem in the bathroom right now, which will save us money over having a plumber do it.

I talked to my mom today and got some rough news about various family members. I have been feeling down all day, so tonight I am watching stupid, funny YouTube videos and laughing my butt off. It's cheaper than therapy or medication and probably just as effective.

[Azure]

Gosh, I've been MIA here for a long time. August was very, very unfrugal and I haven't done real well so far this month . In August we: got my rear brakes & rotors fixed; both boys had eye appts., physicals & dental visits; Ty got new glasses & contacts which were badly needed; bought Ian a new sleeping bag & pad & a windbreaker for OZ; 2 trips to Ann Arbor; 2 trips to Alma; a bon voyage party for Ian; first birthday party for great-niece; trip to Chicago to take Ian to get on the plane to OZ; a trip to Detroit for the Hemophilia walk; paid our portion of Ty's tuition. We had a huge scare and a few days of freaking out when we got the tuition bill and realized that Ty's FAFSA had not gone through for some reason and he had to refile. Luckily that worked out ok.

Since Ian is in Australia this term we did not have to pay tuition for him. Just a hold-my-place fee. YEAH!

After that month I did pretty much NOTHING for a week. I was so tired lol

So far in September we have made 2 trips to Alma to bring Ty home for 24 hours over Labor Day & bought DH new work shoes & tennis shoes. We still need to get him some new boots for riding his motorcycle. Work pants for DH. This is also birthday month for me & my DD. Have a wedding shower for my niece on the 21st. And I had the oil changed in my car.

I dropped my Ipod and shattered the screen. I do have a warranty but I am unsure if this will be covered. We will call today or Monday to find out. I sure hope it is or DH will insist on buying me a new one. I have the screen taped together right now & it functions perfectly otherwise.

I seriously need some FRUGAL! On that front so far:

Spent $8.83 at Target for a large box of Snuggle dyer sheets, a 32 load bottle of All small & mighty, a 16 oz bottle of Nivea and something for dinner (don't remember what it was). Between coupons & my work discount & RED card I was very happy! I don't use fabric softener during the summer but it will be nice to have for the colder, dryer months. I'll cut them in half and use them more than once. I will also probably send some of them to college with TY. Oh, that reminds me Ty got ink all over his white dress shirt and I have so far been unable to get it out. He will be needing a new one very soon. darn!

Unplugged the boys PS3 since no one will be here to use it.

Made yogurt out of outdated milk before it went sour.

Turned in $24.01 of coins, mostly pennies, to be added to our anniversary trip fund.

Made Ty replace his own phone since his got wet and started acting up.

And..... I think that is about it

[fidgiegirl]

Nice to be hearing from more people again. Sounds like September is a time to regroup for a lot of people.

Not so super many frugals to report here, but DH and I have just talked and worked out that we don't REALLY need to buy a glass pitcher for making juice. We already have one from a garage sale, it just doesn't have a lid. That's not such a big deal. And actually, he had to improvise last time he made juice (we have some cherry juice concentrate in a bottle from Door County) since he couldn't find the plastic pitcher. He used a glass water bottle that we have (we have waaaaay too many water bottles). Funny thing is that the reason he couldn't find the pitcher was because it was in the fridge full of cherry juice. Long story short, we have plenty of adequate receptacles for juice.

Looking at a lazy, hot weekend. Should be nice. We might weed a garden over at the rental if we feel up to it. I would like to mulch it as well to help with the weeds so I'm going to check the local yard waste to see if there are wood chips available. We'll take some contractor bags up there and fill them up if there are.

We are going to return screen making materials to Menards. I only ever got around to making one screen, but had bought materials to make 10. In the meanwhile we ended up unexpectedly with new windows for most of the ones that had previously needed screens, and of course they came with new screens. We'll only be able to get store credit since it's been so long, but that'll be easily used for other needed items.

Looking like a good day to hang laundry. I think we've only run the dryer 3-4 times this summer.

I blanched and froze kale last week from our garden (we can never keep up with eating it fresh; it will be awesome in winter soups). It was a little putzy but not too bad. We have so many zucchinis, they have also been going in the freezer. Have banana peppers to process and most likely need to go to the community garden and pick more tomatoes. They are gorgeous. I'd like to stew some or boil it down for sauce. I like making sauce because I don't have to fuss with peeling them - can just run them through the food mill. And we do use a lot of sauce . . . so still thinking about this.

Hey! I'm feeling better on the frugals front! Thanks for indulging my long entry. Stella, hope things start to look up soon for your rellies, and Azure, hope that now that all those things are taken care of, the money front will settle down a bit.

[larknm]

This doesn't FEEL frugal, but I think it is. DH realized that instead of retiring July 1, 3014, he can stay on at his part time job. I favor this because of the structure the job gives his life and he loves the work itself (medical librarian--mainly does research for doctors). He really fluctuated. We came up with the plan that if he continues at work, we can take about 3 trips a year. He picked Cloudcroft NM for our first trip (with 4 dogs and maybe our parrot). It's about 4 hours south of where we live. There's a motel 6 nearby, where you can keep any number of dogs in your room--the only motel chain we know of where that's true. This will be our first vacation trip in about 15 years. We'll look for places for the dogs to run in the forest. So, it feels wildly frivolous because it's a TRIP, but will in fact probably come to $400 max, which is a little less than 1/4 his monthly pay. And he keeps the job, with that income we need for emergency and savings.

[Stella]

I took advantage of the heat today to hide in the house and do some planning and cleaning. I had bought myself a three ring binder and dividers during the school supply sales so I could make myself an organizer that would actually work for me. I could do something like that on the iPad, but if I'm going to the iPad to do things like check lists and menus, I often end up sucked onto Facebook or surfing the internet. Better to just avoid that temptation during work times. Today I got my menu, chore schedule, recipes for the month of September, celebrations for the month of September, school schedules, event schedules and calendars filled out. I have an envelope in my planner to keep handouts like colouring pages, worksheets, handouts for the Well Read Mom book club I just started and things like that and I am planning to use my three hole puncher for flyers with information I need, or assignments for my own school stuff. I printed off four colouring pages I think will be useful this month for the kids and some recipes I plan to use. I think it's going to help me keep everything sorted during this busy season and it cost me, I think, $5 total plus ink and paper used.

I also inventoried my freezer today and put the list in my new planner. I plan to update it as I go along and reinventory once a month to make sure I am making the best use of my resources. There was some stuff in there I had forgotten about that I will be making an effort to use up.