Feb. 2012--29 days let make this a really frugal month......

[danna]

Feb 01/12
I am planning on making this a really good frugal month

--had to re do mortgage in my name only and got 3.10% for the next two years and what I have left should be pretty much paid by them....
--got a new blouse sort $10.00 org. $30.00 it is a nice print that can be wore with black, brown or purple pants so I will get a lot of wear..I have lost a few lbs so something new is nice.
--leftover pasta for supper
--stopped for a few things at the grocery store and only spent !0.00

[early morning]

How are you doing, danna? 3.1% sounds like a really good deal! I'm in - I really need a this to be a frugal month!! Dsis bought my dinner and paid my way into an art exhibit, since she wanted someone to go with her. Poor cat was at the vet for 3 days (just needed a urine sample but she was non-compliant, lol)- vet only charged for the urinalysis, no board. (Of course they've received a LOT of my money lately...) Still taking lunch, coffee, water, etc to work. Hung a load of laundry in the house - I've managed to develop some arthritis in my left hand making it difficult to hang things outside when it's cold. Wanted a coffee on the way home, but didn't stop, just had some when I got here -DD almost always has a pot on.

[Merski]

I'm always in though I may not post my doings. My lunch frugality finally rubbed off on Boss who pointed out to me that she brought her lunch and didn't buy coffee out and saved $$. I told her great job! Soup party this weekend at our house. People bringing appetizers and desserts and asst. bevs. We will make 3 soups and 4 loaves of bread. Great frugal party to throw. Selling really well on etsy and saving that money. BTW I saw the most beautiful short animated film about reading and the love of books. Since so many of you know the pleasure of the library, you also may want to see it moonbotstudios.com

[Mighty Frugal]

I REALLY wanted to buy my lunch today-but I compromised. Made a cheddar and romaine lettuce sandwich on multi-grain bread and bought a small chicken and wild rice soup.

Taking boys to movies tomorrow but we will bring our own snacks (it's allowed)

I am trying to shed my Xmas pounds so have been eating mainly fruits/veggies and a little protein all week so saving some $$ there!

Rather than rushing off to Chapters to buy 2 books I've wanted for a long time I ordered them used on Amazon and will wait a couple of weeks (family books-Family First by Dr. Phil and 'How to talk to your kids so they will listen'. Had recommendations for both of them)

Just trying to be as frugal as we can to save as much as we can!

[early morning]

Got my $50 rebate check from my credit card. Had to buy a new headlight bulb, but got it put in for free (which I can do myself, but my wrist is acting up and I didn't want to drop the danged bulb). Sump pump that moves gray water from washing machine and dishwasher stopped working - but just needed the float guide adjusted, so it's fine, now. The basement floor is pretty wet though - and it hasn't even started raining yet! Picked up more library books, always lots of FFF!

[early morning]

This morning I melted down the deodorant ends I'd been saving and refilled an old container - new, free deodorant! (well, not really free, I paid for those bits that anchor the product into the holder, after all!) DD and I have a ton of errands to do this morning, so we made a list, to be sure we don't forget something important. Hopefully it will keep us on track, lol. I really don't like to run errands on weekends, but some places aren't open on my way home from work, and some things I need help with. I am thinking that tomorrow I won't have to leave the house, yay!

[Stella]

We are taking the kids to Home Depot this morning for their free woodworking workshop. The girls love it and James will have fun hanging with them and Daddy. I am going to take Travis around and look at prices on some stuff.

The coming month or two is not going to be especially cheap as we are going to be doing some home improvement projects and buying some furniture, but we'll do our best to keep costs down. We've gotten a couple of different windfalls in the space of about a month and we're taking a bit of that to do some work on the house, which is just at an age (50 years old) where it needs a little maintenance and TLC.

Zach's dad, who is a carpenter and cabinet maker, is coming next month for spring break and he and Zach want a project to work on together. I need to figure out what would be best for them to do. A week of free labour from a carpenter/cabinet maker and an electrician should be put to good use.

I am thinking of having them do some work on my long-despised pink paneled family room. It's the only room in the house I still really don't like. In addition to the 1960s wood paneling, painted salmon pink by my mother who had either been drinking or temporarily lost her otherwise fabulous sense of style, it has weird outdoor sconces and oddly placed lighting. It also has a strange, unnecessary half wall in a kind of random spot and no closet in spite of the fact that it's right off the back entrance to the house. I have been assured by Zach that this is not as complicated a set of problems to solve as it seems to be. I am thinking of having them drywall, wire in some sane lighting, tear out the extra wall and build a custom closet. Those fixes are more labour intensive than expensive, but they should make a dramatic difference in the space.

As much as possible Zach will involve the girls as a school project. Of course, there are definite times they will not be allowed to help for their own safety, but there are also some good learning opportunities in there.

[babr]

i am doing a similar thread in the challenges posts; but share your savings wherever you wish; maybe mine will end up being a blog lol

[Stella]

I freaking love my neighborhood. My next door neighbor had a party today to celebrate the birth of another neighbor's baby and the retirement of a different neighbor. The girls and I went there for lunch. Yet another neighbor had made four lovely homemade soups, posole, mushroom barley, white chili and a cold carrot ginger with artisan breads and a veggie plate. It was an excellent free lunch.

We snuggled the new baby and Cheyenne, who is really into anything and everything Japanese struck up a friendship with the retiring neighbor and his wife. He is from Japan. She is from France and is apparently an expert in Japanese (and French) cooking. The Japanese neighbor was teaching her a little Japanese. We have been seriously considering getting Cheyenne Rosetta Stone Japanese for her birthday so this friendship could be an excellent thing for her, as she would have people to have practice conversations with. I may also talk to the wife and see if we could get some Japanese recipes to try.

OT, but I seriously have the coolest neighbors on the planet. Everyone has some kind of interesting, awesome job or hobby. The retired guy was a perfumer for Aveda. Another is a specialist in antiquities. Two of them teach budgeting to high schoolers, college age kids and people who are about to be released from prison and one of them is a spiritual director. The conversations are truly never dull.

[early morning]

Stella, that is awesome - sometimes I envy you your life, lol. But I'm a bit reclusive, an introvert who has to be very extroverted at work - when I'm home, I kinda hole up and am not really sociable. So great neighbors would be mostly wasted on me . And I am sure you add as much to your neighborhood vibe as anyone! Yesterday had a few frugals - managed to buy only one thing that wasn't on my list (apparently my favorite candle scent from Wally's is being discontinued, as it was on clearance-so I bought a 5-pack). DD will probably sell it to DS, though, for my birthday, so I'll get my money back. Fixed a big pot of chicken chili for dinner and for lots of leftovers for lunches. Made potatoes and eggs for lunch, we have about 8 dozen eggs in the fridge, and pass them out to family and friends frequently. These silly chickens are egg-laying fools! Hung another load of laundry in the house. Started making a jacket from a cool sweatshirt I never wear; hopefully I will finish it before summer. I can't stand sweatshirts, they are way too hot. Jackets, I'm ok with! Keeping up with tracking our spending, now if I just kept up with the filing!