View Full Version : May Frugals
I made homemade bread in the breadmaker for breakfast this morning. I love waking up to that smell.
Yesterday we had a bunch of friends over in the afternoon. I had bought a party size vegetarian frozen lasagna when it was on sale in anticipation of just such a post-partum event, so I made it for lunch. Dad took the kids out for their weekly Grandpa Date so Zach and I had the rest of the lasagna for dinner too. It worked out to just a little over $1 a serving, which isn't bad for convenience-type food.
My friend that attempted suicide last week came and we had a really nice time together. Cheyenne reminded her that she had promised to paint her nails the next time she came over, so L painted both of the girls toenails and fingernails and painted little flowers and polka dots on them. All of them had a good time. The girls brought out their Spa Princess cookbook and L really wants us to have a moms and kids spa party this summer. I think that would be fun. We'd all contribute something, so it wouldn't be expensive. The thought of it was really cheering, especially to L.
L is giving me a bunch of clothes for James. Her son is only about 3 months older than him, but he's already in sizes 3-4T clothes and James is in 24 month-2T.
In the process of the party planning I was thinking about James and Bella's birthday parties. James' is about 6 weeks away and Bella's is a month later.
James is going to have a simple pool party at our pool. I'm going to make ice cream cone cupcakes, which are cupcakes baked into ice cream cones and frosted to look like ice cream, and ice cream cupcakes, which are ice cream piped into foil cupcake wrappers to look like cake. I may have to reprise that someday for Travis' April Fools birthday.
Bella wants to have a Woodland Fairy Canoe Party, which is perfect because I am pretty sure Bella is part fairy. She even looks like one. We have a canoe and live across the street from a lake. The park across the street rents canoes for $8 an hour, but if I'm back to work by then I'll have my seasonal fun pass, so we could rent them for free if we need more, which we probably will. They have a canoe shaped fire pit there, so if we can swing it we'll have a campfire there. I'm planning some fairy themed foods. I think the cake will be woodland mushroom cupcakes, which are just chocolate cupcakes with red frosting and white chocolate chip polka dots.
Zach and I spent the morning rearranging our living room yesterday. I love it! It's so much more functional this way. I love rearranging furniture. It gives me that "fresh and new" kind of excitement without buying anything.
DH is zonked out on muscle relaxers & pain pills. He can just barely turn his head. Muscle strain.
This afternoon the boys & I are going to pick up the branches & sticks from the back yard. And they don't know it yet but dog poop too. If it doesn't rain we will break out the fire pit and roast hot dogs for dinner & marshmallows for dessert.
I have a pansy blooming in the front flower bed. It's the only one that survived the winter. I love little pansy faces. There are onions growing in the veg. garden too. Also left over from last year.
All the usual frugal stuff here. Right now I'm making a pot of lentil soup for lunches this week.
But it doesn't look like we'll be turning off the heat yet. Cripes! It's May! And it was snowing this morning!
Same old, same old. Had lunch at my dad's. He made some delicious spaghetti and meatballs. Getting ready to do laundry in cold water with only a little detergent and half a dryer sheet (for the things that I do use the dryer for). I am going to use a dry bath towel in the dryer, too, since that worked so well in cutting down drying time last week. I am going to hold off doing the grocery shopping until Thursday (payday) and am going to work on making a detailed list this week. I am hoping to be back in my kitchen this coming weekend and will need to use up my freezer and pantry stash. I'll also need to pick up stuff for Mother's Day. Gas is so expensive now that I don't want to forget anything and go back out!
Only other frugals involve running errands (mail and returning library books) while we were already out.
Had burgers today (one more thing our of the big freezer!) and made a pot of potato-leek soup from our garden leeks from last year. In my quest for a tasty entry for our library's upcoming chocolate extravaganza, made 2 8 inch layer cakes which will make DMIL & DH happy. Went to the local flea market and bought a brand new bundt pan for $2.50 and a 50's vintage picnic basket with a cool embossed masonite cover. I will paint the inside because it's so scruffy looking. Now if I can get the carrots and parsnip seeds into the garden, I'd go to sleep tonight one happy camper!
Doing some cooking today. Making this cake: http://foodlibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/mexican-hot-chocolate-abuelita-bundt.html but not yet convinced it will come out. The batter was really runny.
@Azure, I also love pansies. So friendly!
Used a $5 coupon at the local hardware store for rabbit repellent and some screws for DH's boat. They weren't quite long enough so he is supplementing somehow with his stash downstairs. He also wanted snacks for work when we were at the co-op (big trip to Costco yesterday means supplementing from the co-op today) but didn't want to spend the money so he bought bulk quick oats and will make himself oatmeal out of the hot water dispenser. Woo hoo!
Forgot one thing: I made a quinoa tabouli to take for lunches. The quinoa was cheap and we already had the other stuff except I did splurge on fresh mint. We'll see how it goes! The buying of fresh herbs reminded me we should start a little indoor herb garden - would be much cheaper.
Instead of going out to eat, we attempted our first excursion into Thai cooking, one of our favorites. We made Gang Penang Beef. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a five...so we're going to keep searching for the perfect recipe until we get to a ten.
But you know something, our cooking of this dish wasn't bad at all--and the price was great!
early morning
5-1-11, 8:50pm
Stella, I'm glad that your friend is out and about - I've been thinking about her and wondering how she was doing. No drive/no spend day, today. It was nice. I took my ferns outside -they looked pretty sad. I planted two of them in my new outdoor planter - a trashpicked pedestal and sink. It's not very old, and it has a few cracks in the pedestal, but it looks really great under my apricot tree with the ferns in it. The poor ferns generally recover pretty well once they get outside for the summer! I moved the rosemary out too. I love moving the plants out- and they seem to appreciate it. It's a lot more work to move them back in, though! I have a couple frugals left from April, too... I got permission to transplant some wildflowers for free, and got Dutchman's Breeches, hepatica, dogtooth violet, bloodroot. They are doing well, in my shade/wildflower garden. I love free plants! My mom's town yardsales were yesterday. We didn't set up but shopped. I got a pair of shorts, and two shirts for work ($1 each). Also bought some inexpensive plants, books, some gifts, lots of useful sewing notions, and a really tasty pie. Mowed my mom's yard for the second time. She paid me, so I bought pizza for dinner for us all (still had money left - the pizza was a good promo deal!)
May 01 This year is passing so quickly it is hard to believe another month has past.
Very busy week putting house back together after painting, and I had a to do some training to volunteer at the elections tomorrow. Excited sure my candidate will be re-elected.
--but we came home and had soup and sandwich for supper
--already packed a lunch for tomorrow
all for now...
flowerseverywhere
5-1-11, 10:24pm
worked at the library book sale bringing out new books, and I kept on finding good ones to buy. It was $3 a bag day so I got three big bags. I now have a practically new copy of tightwad gazette two, Your Money or your life and about 40 more interesting books to read.
My neighbor up the street had a bunch of friends with kids drop stuff off for a giant yard sale next weekend. She is going to let me come over tomorrow and see if there is anything I want for my grandkids. Lots of nearly new stuff from what I have heard. I would love to find some bikes. Most of my development will participate so I plan to spend friday searching for bargains.
At the above mentioned book sale found a bunch of great books for gifts. I do little for gifts but like to have a little something sometimes.
@Merski--that basket sounds so neat! I love picnic baskets!
I am spending the day at home today, cleaning and organizing. We recently moved our entryway table up to the master bedroom to use as a nightstand for DH, so now we are on the lookout for another table to replace it. I found an old basket to set on the front bench in the interim. I don't think it will be a permanent solution, but it should work to hold keys and phones for awhile.
It is looking pretty nice outside, so I may work on the yard a bit. I also have a bunch of freezer burned bread to throw out for the outdoor critters. I'll mix it with a tiny bit of peanut butter and some seed to make them happy.
One of our cats threw up on our bed this morning. Nice, right? Anyway, I spent the last hour trying to clean our new mattress (less than 3 months old). Never again! I am ordering a mattress cover this afternoon. That can just be thrown in the wash and will help protect our mattress from further accidents. So a little pricery up front, but simple and frugal in the longrun.
early morning, I was glad to see her out and about too. She seems like she's starting to pull it together. I hope so.
Zach and I watched a really moving documentary last night called The Human Experience. Two sets of brothers who come from hard circumstances spend time living with the homeless in NYC, at a home for sick and injured children in Peru, with AIDS victims in Africa and in a leper colony in Africa. Sursprisingly it was one of the most uplifting, hopeful movies I've seen in a long time.
Prior to watching the movie I was in a bit of a mood because I don't think I'm going to have time to get to the store until Wednesday or Thursday and we are "running low" on food. Meaning, our options are more limited than usual, not that we are actually running low on food. You know, when you look into a pantry full of food and think "we have nothing to eat" but what you really mean is "I'm not in the mood for any of this." Afterwards Zach and I were discussing the idea of having one meal a day being something very simple and inexpensive. The idea is to wean ourselves (me in particular, but he's got his moments) of the inward whining when I don't get what I want. That's not a healthy attitude and it's not good financially, emotionally or spiritually. Once we're past our current budget pinch, we're going to put the money we save from eating one simple meal a day into a fund to take the kids on a volunteer vacation in a few years.
Stella - great idea to use the money saved from simple eating for a volunteer vacation! I think having a goal in mind will make it easier. Our breakfasts and lunches are generally very simple but we don't feel deprived, because simple doesn't mean tasteless. This morning DD and I had leftover roasted sweet potatoes that were on sale the week before Easter fro 58 cents/pound. Wash, throw in the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon. They were delicious.
Hi, I haven't been posting much lately but its time to get back in the game. Here is a random list of a few frugals from the last couple of weeks:
-Switched insurance companies for the car and saved $60 while doubling our coverage.
-recieved a $54 rebate check for restaurant stuff.
-recieved the blue-ray disc player in the mail. Its nice (panasonic) and has no logo's on it from kool-aid which is the company that sponsored the sweepstake.
-eating at home most of the time saving on gas and restaurant costs.
-working on printing the new menu (raising prices for the first time in 2 years) which is much cheaper than paying to have it done.
-Dh and ds went to see a professional baseball game with the school. All the kids who recieved all A's get this reward each year. They spent quite a bit on food and a couple of small souveniers but the tickets and the chartered bus ride there were free. All in all, a fun frugal day for my guys. And a great day of father/son bonding.
My goal for May is to focus on and give myself credit for the little things. I've had so many big frugals the last few months that the little ones don't feel like they count for much even though I know they do.
Rosemary that sounds like a delicious breakfast!
bke, I've always meant to ask you what kind of restaurant you own?
I forgot one frugal. A friend of mine and Dad's got me some tea to helps support breastfeeding. Travis is growing and eating a lot. The tea does seem to have helped some.
The restaurant is nothing special-just a small town diner that seats about 65. We serve lots of made from scratch foods like huge omelettes, hand-made burgers with all the fixin's, real mashed potatoes for open faced sandwiches, soup of the day, etc. We also do a friday night fish fry and weekend breakfast buffet. Grease and gravy all the way-lol. That's what the people want so that is what we sell even though dh is capable of much more having worked in many ethnic restaurants like italian, greek and even a jewish deli. The people around here seem to protest anytime we try to expand their palates but that's ok.
He cooks 6 days a week and manages the kitchen. I cook one full day (dh's day off) and 2 mornings. I also serve 3-4 days a week and run the front of house and office. Niether of us could do it alone but we make a pretty good team.
i seriously cannot believe it is already may! this year has been flying by.
things on the frugal front are going pretty well ... bke, i am impressed with you and your husband's schedule! i worked 5 nights at the restaurant last week and it almost killed me. haha, no, not really, but i'm really glad to be going back to part time hours this week. overall the job is really fun and so is the cash!
the big news this week is that my business partner and i are taking our first paychecks from the business this month. it's only a tiny amount, but it still feels good. really good! :)
One of our cats threw up on our bed this morning. Nice, right? Anyway, I spent the last hour trying to clean our new mattress (less than 3 months old). Never again! I am ordering a mattress cover this afternoon. That can just be thrown in the wash and will help protect our mattress from further accidents. So a little pricery up front, but simple and frugal in the longrun.
Stinky. I bought an outstanding quality mattress pad on Overstock.com a number of years ago. We are still using it. Fantastic price. With those it's worth it to pay a little more because the el cheapos have a poor quality elastic edge that rips right through. Good luck!
My goal for May is to focus on and give myself credit for the little things. I've had so many big frugals the last few months that the little ones don't feel like they count for much even though I know they do.
That's right, it does. We need to remember that, too.
the big news this week is that my business partner and i are taking our first paychecks from the business this month. it's only a tiny amount, but it still feels good. really good! :)
WOOHOO!!!
I figured out how to make headbands out of my larger scraps of fabric so now they won't be going to waste.
My 8 year old was given a bag of hand-me-downs from a friend down the street (my daughter wares out clothes faster than any other kid I've seen).
I bought an extra salmon to put in the freezer since they were on a good sale (would have stocked up more but I'm trying to stay on budget this month too).
We turned a Red Vines container (the big plastic kind with the removable lid) into a piggy-bank to collect our change to donate to World Vision
It's hard to think of these accomplishments since they seem so small and insignificant to me, but I know that every effort and every penny saved counts.
Gosh fidgiegirl, I hope I didn't sound like everyones small frugals were nothing to count! I just feel like I want to find ways to push myself more and do bigger and better. My disappointment is strictly with myself.
Madgeylou- congrats on the paycheck. Any profit at this point in the game is worth celebrating. It took a few months before we felt comfortable taking a regular check from the restaurant after we bought it. The best advice I can offer is to keep looking forward and to be patient. Profits take time to see.
Don't be too impressed with my work schedule-I sleep alot too! Dh has worked 60+ hours for as long as I've known him and wouldn't have it any other way.
Frankly, my biggest work challenge is just dealing with people for so many hours a week. Its an exhausting job to be so "on" for people. I come home and crave peace and quiet-lol!
Gosh fidgiegirl, I hope I didn't sound like everyones small frugals were nothing to count! I just feel like I want to find ways to push myself more and do bigger and better. My disappointment is strictly with myself.
Oh bke, you are fine! I took absolutely no issue with your comment and I think I understood it exactly as you meant it! No offense taken and I apologize if my own reply was less than clear. (((Hugs)))
BTW, I get the "being on" with people part, too. School is constant rushing and pleasing and more and more and always more tasks piled on. Peace and quiet - priceless!
thanks, bke and fidgiegirl. i am trying to be patient ... not inherently one of my strong suits, but i figure if i just chip away a little every day, sooner or later the momentum will gather a critical mass and things will really start rolling. at least, i think that's how it works. :)
my burn rate at this point is sooooo low, i know i will be okay financially. i have to admit, i had gotten used to a big income and it's been an adjustment. i am adjusted now, though, just need to resist the urge to go get any high paying tech job i can find! i may in fact need to look for one some day, but i'm not there yet ... so for now i'm just sitting tight and working hard and trying not to freak out!
I spent the day helping a friend who is moving out of state. In return, she gave me enough household supplies - cooking oil, sugar, healthy cleaning supplies, CF bulbs, etc. - to last for months! Such a nice surprise, and a money saver for me too. It's a pay-it-forward world!
I rode my bike to do grocery shopping today and filled two panniers and a backpack really full! Probably a total of six miles, then took bus into town to deposit my paycheck and put into savings a check I go from the consignment store ~ $65!
But now me knees and hip hurts quite a bit ~ I keep forgetting I'm not 40 anymore! I guess I just need to keep working up to it!
bke--your restuarant sounds great! I love diners like that. My mom had one when I was a kid. Comfort food all the way!
madge--congrats on the first paycheck! :-)
My in-laws came over yesterday to help me clean up my front yard. Trimming, mulching, weeding, weeping, etc. It looks a million times better. I did spend a small amount on some mulch, but my in-laws were pretty good at sharing their tools and helping me use what I had. :-)
Last night we ate at home, even though I really didn't feel like it.
Our home improvement project is supposed to be completed by the 20th, and I can't wait. I feel like we have been hemorraging money since it started three months ago. It will feel good to have things back to normal. One frugal that is related to that is the new counter. I have been teasing DH about getting granite for years, and it turns out the company was having a great sale on granite. What was odd was that even though I have always dreamed of having granite and we could swing it it, I just couldn't justify the price of it. I don't mean to come down on anyone here who has granite countertops. Lucky you--they are gorgeous! ;-) But the difference between granite and laminate was pretty substantial, and we were thinking we could start a nice college fund for the baby or pay down some student loan debt with it. We ended up choosing a much cheaper laminate and are happy with our choice.
Great jobs on all your daily frugals, everybody!
I had a pretty good day yesterday. Did a bit of grocery shopping, but didn't have to do too much because it is just me at home. Splurged on strawberries and mangos but resisted the urge to buy cherries -- need to wait a few more weeks until the price comes down, currently about $10/lb and horribly carbon-unneutral as they are flown in from who knows where. Otherwise didn't spend any money. Reorganized the pantry cupboard and put all my dried beans, etc. into new containers that stack nicely on the shelves -- it is so pretty I want to take a picture and post it so everyone can share. I've got just the amounts of different flours, etc. I need for immediate use, with the surplus now neatly packed into the freezer (making use of the space freed up by getting rid of 2-year old frozen bananas -- a frugal semi-salvage of an unfrugal loss). I think the biggest thing is how much better having everything organized and neat makes me FEEL, though -- I see those dried beans and split peas and lentils in their cute little repurposed containers (all takeaway boxes that I would not want to use to reheat things, but that are fine for storage) and I just want to cook cook cook and make wonderful curries and soups and bean dips and whatnot. The organization process has made me feel so happy and inspired, and I didn't need to buy a thing. I actually looked at different storage containers at Ikea just on Monday, but decided they were too expensive and not really ideal. And then I came home and improvised a solution that looks like it was made for the cabinet. SOmetimes frugal life is really fun and satisfying.
lhamo
I think the biggest thing is how much better having everything organized and neat makes me FEEL, though
Yes! Having things neat and organized falls into that The Best Things in Life are Free category for me. Someday my entire house will be like that. Someday. :) I am rejoicing that the main two levels of my house are now staying relatively clean all the time. The kids' level, Dad's level, the playroom and my room are still a little hit and miss.
bke your diner sounds yummy! I love diners like that too!
This morning's simple breakfast is malt-o-meal. Tomorrow I will have to get to the store. I am really running low on food, but we have too much to do today to get there. I should be able to scrape by for one more day. I'm planning to stock up on some stuff, but I'm planning the stocking carefully so I don't go overboard.
Thanks for all the nice comments about my business. Without a doubt, the best part of it these days is the job security-I don't lay awake at night wondering if this is the week my boss lays me off! I consider myself very fortunate in that way.
Well our waitress had a car accident last night-her vehicle was totaled but she's ok, thankfully. She asked for today off and of course we said yes. Instead of asking someone to cover it dh gave up his only day off to cook and I was the waitress. This saved us payroll money plus I made tips to put in our Financial Freedom Account.
The only driving today was to take ds back and forth to school. It was a no spend day.
Madgeylou-you're doing great! If you ever doubt yourself, know I'm here to cheer you on. Soon these financially lean days will be behind you and you'll be so thankful that you persevered!
Woo hoo! You guys are on fire with the frugals this month! ;-)
Yesterday I mailed a letter while I was already out for a doctor's appt. I stopped at Goodwill, too, which is right next door, but didn't see anything I needed.
I just finished looking at grocery ads and am getting ready to make my list. (Real food this week--no sandwiches or frozen dinners. YES!!!). I am trying to remember to put everything on it, because I do not want to go back out again once I am home.
DH and I have been busy planning my dad's birthday party (coming up in a couple of weeks). We are doing a simple BBQ--burgers, dogs, baked beans, some chips (on sale this week), some Crystal Light, and maybe a watermelon because he loves watermelon. I am making him a cake from scratch, too. We found some festive decorations at the dollar store and bought a BBQ-themed murder mystery party game. It cost $20, but I think he will love it. $20 isn't bad for two hours of entertainment for six to eight people.
We had a thing at church last night and a friend brought us all of the size 5 diapers her son had grown out of and a Sam's Club box of wipes her daughter turned out to be allergic to. Score! She also gave me her breast pump and a sweatshirt for James, which is perfect because most of his size 24 month/2T clothes, the size he is just getting into, are summery and it's still a little chilly here.
Another round of malt-o-meal for breakfast this morning. We had it with monastery made apple butter. OMG! It was fantastic.
I did get to the store this morning when Travis woke me up at 5AM and I couldn't get back to sleep. I think I did a pretty good job of grocery shopping. It should be absolutely no problem staying inside my $500 a month budget. I was fondly remembering the days I used to be able to feed us for $200, but when I think about the number of people I'm feeding now versus the number of people I fed then, I'm actually doing pretty well and food prices have shot up a lot since then.
This month is Science Month for our homeschool and the kids suggested they work more intensively on their Latin since scientific terms are frequently in Latin. I think we're going to work on water science this coming week. I set up the water table on the deck. James was squealing with delight. I shouldn't have to buy much of anything for science month.
I spent $62 to fill my gas tank this morning and have decided its GAME ON! Every penny counts and I'm gonna do my best to keep as many as possible in my my pocket. So today I have:
Entered coke rewards points
Collected swag points. I have enought of these to equal $30 in amazon.com gift certificates
Mailed out 3 rebates equaling about $10. I get free postage stamps so my only cost was the envelopes.
Entered my foodservice rewards points. I have almost enough for a new appliance like a toaster oven or rice steamer.
My next step is to enter on-line sweeps to see what I can win today.
I also plan on putting some time into organizing my coupons. We eat an average american diet and I can save quite abit if I stay organized.
no spend day yesterday, no spend day today except for bus fare to and from work tonight.
usually once a month, i transfer over $X into a joint account with my fella. besides my health insurance and a few other small bills (totalling about $200) this sum takes care of my needs for the month. i did some calculations and realized that, as of this evening and including my (tiny) wear the shift paycheck, i have made more than half of what i need for my june bills, so hopefully i won't have to dip into savings at all next month. yay!
did some brainstorming yesterday on how to bring more sales into wear the shift and thought of a bunch of things to try. i think the biggest obstacles that keep people from buying from us (for those who would even consider it in the first place) are procrastination and confusion. so i'm going to run some one-day sales and offer some one-on-one skype sessions to help people pick a fabric, walk them through taking measurements, etc. we'll see if it helps -- can't hurt anyway!
MAY 04 Last couple of days have been very frugal
--spring cleaning and oranizing some more; that is always frugal, it is unreal that the more I give away the more I see to use and not buy and the more I see to give away.
--volunteered at an election poll all day Mon and a nice supper sandwich was provided along with cookies and drinks. It was a long but good day. My candidate got in and my party did amazing but all this was shadowed by our ultra right party getting a majority. This ended my day feeling even more strongly that going forward being frugal will be even more important. Their main platform is to cut corporate taxes yet again~~~so you know that will mean higher taxes for the rest and cuts to social/health care to try and balance the budget--Okay enough or I will need to move this post..lol
--Last night I dug in the freezer and found stuffed red peppers for supper with enough to have for lunch today.
--
Tyler has another track meet tonight. The cookies are baked. Tangerines peeled. Currently working on getting chili fixings ready to go into the crockpot for dinner afterwards. Sandwich making is up next. There is a Meijer on the way to the meet so I may stop in to pick up some Combos (B1G1) to have them for snacking.
Had to go to the credit union this morning so I stopped at the Dollar Tree & got 2 mothers day cards & a birthday card for one of my sisters. $1.59 for 3 pretty cards!
@stella--$500/month for seven people is pretty darn good!
@azure--I love the Dollar Tree for cards!
I went to the grocery store today and stocked up on sale meat. I was planning to buy only what I needed to eat down the freezer, but I ended up buying quite a bit to put in there! Oh well! I can't pass up beef for under $2/lb! It will help out during those weeks when nothing much is on sale. Besides, DH LOVES beef roast. I suspect I will get no complaints from him ;-)
early morning
5-4-11, 10:31pm
Got a $92 refund from our Dr for an overpayment. Must be something the insurance paid more on than expected. In any case, woohoo! Putting DS back on our insurance for 6 months (when he will age off again!) so he can get some tests run, etc. Need to show his birth certificate to do so, and of course he had no idea where it was. Dug around and found it, saving the $22.50 for a new copy. Haven't been home all week - helping my DSis pump out mom's basement and not go stir crazy. So DD and I have been eating dinner at Mom's. Fine, but makes slim pickings for taking my lunch. Dug in the freezer, found some left-over pizza for tomorrow, along w/some tinned fruit. It will do. Don't need lunch for Friday as boss-man is taking us to lunch for teacher appreciation week.
Made an Ethiopia lentil stew with jasmine rice for dinner. Very cheap and easy, yet tasty.
I spent $7 to mail out 3 handmade Mother's Day gifts (that cost me just over $20 to make 8 of)
I threw out 5 unneeded items from the bathroom
flowerseverywhere
5-5-11, 7:37am
Yard sales this weekend in my development. I am not much of a shopper but one of my neighbors called- she had a friend who bought over a bunch of kids toys to sell and wanted to know if I wanted to take a look as a lot of them were in original packages. I spent $40 and got brand new toys that will take me through christmas and birthdays for my grandchildren for this year, with some leftover. She had bought all these beautiful educational toys and then did not even get them out of the box. I went online and priced them- over $400 new. I feel bad she wouldn't take more money than that. I like to put money in their college accounts and get them a small educational gift so this is perfect.
I was on Jury duty and resisted the temptation to go out to eat and brought my lunch every day. There was also reduced price parking every day but it was a ten minute walk in. I was one of the few who parked in the furthest lot and walked in every day.
I watched that extreme couponing show and I think I am going to take some of their tactics and try to increase my donatation to the food bank. With two adults we don't eat a lot of the stuff we have coupons for, and I certainly could not use all the toothpaste etc, but I have the time to devote and right now with the economy I think it is a worthwhile thing to do.
I have a bunch of papers to grade today, so I will spend most of the day at home. Should be no drive/no spend.
Yesterday it was nice enough to turn the heat off for awhile. It got down to the 30s last night, though, so I had to turn it back on for awhile this morning. Maybe I can shut it off again if it warms up later.
I paid all our bills online this morning (woo hoo--saved on stamps!) and am hoping to be able to put some money aside for maternity leave. Ideally, I'd like to take three months off, but I am thinking two will be all we can manage. I work part-time from home, so it's not like an early return would be too awful. But my job requires use of my brain, and I don't do well when I am sleep deprived!
I have been taking showers with only one of our two showerheads on for quite awhile now and am trying to get DH to do the same. It has been hard, because he likes to take loooong, hot showers until the water runs out. We recently had a discussion about the cost of utilities, though, and how they keep going up. I am kind of annoyed because less than two years ago, our water company slapped a 27% increase on its customers. Now they are trying to get another 16% increase passed. I think I might write a letter to the board. I'm not usually a complainer, but they keep increasing the price knowing that we don't have any other options for water service.
This is the second day in a row I have posted a long reply to this thread and then accidentally deleted it. Grrr!
Dad is off to his annual silent retreat. I'll admit I am a little jealous. :) Silence. I seem to remember that. :) I dropped him off and the place is beautiful. What struck me, though, is that the landscape is actually pretty similar to where we live. Beautiful, well cared for gardens, ponds, a lake. We don't have a rosary walk or shrines here, but other than that there were a lot of similarities. It got me thinking. I think I think my friends and I might benefit from a DIY retreat, since all of us are broke right now. This may be a good setting for it.
A friend of the family is working as an intern on a local organic farm that sells monthly subscriptions for meat. Dad wants to support our friend so he is thinking of subscribing. Zach and I currently pay for all tue food, so this would be a help to our budget.
May 06
--supper out using a gift card
--lunch was leftovers in the fridge..throwing out very little
--cutting up oranges and apples and putting in baggies this way we seem to eat them up
--breakfast was leftover roasted potatoes and and egg
Last night I ate up the broccoli that was about to go bad
Today for lunch I ate leftovers from two days ago
Had coffee with a friend, but only got a small coffee and NO pastries
No kids for dinner today so I just ate a whole wheat roll, some canned cherries (canned last summer), and tea.
Watching a Netflix movie and reading for tonight's entertainment
I got the money for the double stroller from my grandma. And then some. She sent me 300 dollars! The stroller I wanted was 130 at Target. I remembered last night that a friend of mine who's middle kid is now too big for a double stroller had the kind I wanted. Zach called her and asked her if she was thinking of selling it. She was actually planning to take it to a consignment store this week and she was asking $30 for it. Score!
@danna, well done on cutting up the fruit. I'd be more likely to grab fruit that way, too.
@Bugeah, nice resistance on the coffee shop front. That's a really hard one for me so I have a lot of admiration for people who can hold out!
@Stella, score on the stroller.
As for me, not feelin' it lately in the frugal department. My mind is kind of on a million things and I haven't been paying close attention. We will go to Target today to pick up some things for a baby shower from work and I will do my best to resist other purchases. Can't think of anything we need, anyway.
I'm checkin' in on all of you, though :) and glad to see things are going pretty well.
As a thanks to the kids for working so hard tonight we are having a pizza party. We are making two pizzas, one with black olives, one with pineapple and chocolate Magic Milkshakes from the Hillbilly Housewife site. It is a very cheap meal but I am the "best mom ever" for making it. :)
A neighbor who has a three year old boy is giving us clothes for James.
Dad saw my Facebook post about the homemade eggs Benedict I made with cottage bacon from the farm. He and Zach both posted about wanting that for Father's Day breakfast, so that will make a good, inexpensive Father's Day gift next month. Inexpensive is especially appreciated in summer because we have so many birthdays. James and Bella, just to name two.
Mother's Day is shaping up to be nice, but frugal. Zach has arranged a free babysitter and is taking me canoeing unless the weather is bad. Then we'd do something else inexpensive for a date. He also helped me get our room in good shape. That's always the last room I get to when I am cleaning because it's the easiest to shut the door and hide from the public. It's nice to have it clean.
May 07
fidiegirl, it is hard to be frugal when one has a lot on their mind, you will get it back!
--yardsailed but only spent $6.00 a really nice picture in frame that is a perfect match to the new paint in bedroom (from a studio not a cheapie), a really cute, small hanging birdbath for outside and 4 books (one a brand new large cookbook with easy healthy recipes.
--big frugal and not so frugal last week was trading in our large only good on gas on the freeways (which we rarely do anymore) for a compact with super gas milage and almost as much room as the old one.
Initial costs are up but, long term it will be a savings on gas, upkeep, etc.
--Groceries and only spent $22.23---
--used up some quiona from the freezer with egg for breakfast, fried with some peas and there is enough for tomorrow...DH thinks I am crazy but I love this kind of food for breakfast and it is healthy and cheap.
--I had leftovers from last night supper out for lunch.
I am always impressed but the monthly frugal threads and I follow them eagerly. But I've never posted because I have never felt up to the frugal standards of everyone on this thread! :|( Silly, I know. But, you've inspired me, so I'm going to join in.
Yesterday: resisted the urge to go grocery shopping so was planning to have a no spend, no drive day. But my partner, who was out of town, needed me to pick up waste vegetable oil from the restaurant (for our car), so I had to go into town. I decided to make the trip worthwhile and stopped at the post office for the mail (usually only go once a week) and stopped at the store to buy milk because we were almost out. Made a lovely pasta dinner using up some free spinach from the farm and other items that we a had in the pantry. I wish I could figure out how to stretch meals like everyone here, but we eat a lot for only 2 people (both endurance athletes, although I'm in a relatively low-key phase of training right now). So a pound of pasta, a can of beans, a can of arthichoke hearts, spinach, and some cheese was consumed as a mere 3 servings. Ugh.
Our rhubarb was ready for its first harvest, so made a rhubarb-strawberry crumble with the last of the strawberries we froze last summer. Had all the other ingredients on hand. I'm not usually a fan of rhubarb, but I hate to have food go to waste (especially when we grew it ourselves!). I didn't exactly follow a recipe, which is a common theme when I'm in the kitchen, and the crumble was fabulous. Score! Since the oven was already going to be on, made up a batch of homemade energy bars. The energy bars came from a mix and the box had a "use by" date of 2007. Oops. Ate one this morning and they tasted fine, so I'm glad I didn't just throw out the box because of the date!
Today: Discovered we were out of coffee this morning so had to make a special trip to the market for coffee beans - not the cheapest place to buy coffee beans. Not so frugal, but it gave me a chance to do some quick calculations in my head and resulted in a renewed desire to cut our spending. On the way home trash picked a slightly damaged, large collapsible dog crate. Wasn't in the market for one, but it will definitely come in handy in this house. I worked in the garden and my partner worked in the bee yard, so a productive day. Found a 1/4 bag of dog food in the utility room, which means I can delay buying dog food until the end of the week. Three dogs, not frugal, but worth every penny. Went to the gym for my Tae Kwon Do class and stopped at the real grocery store on the way home. Picked up some yogurt, which I really need to learn how to make from scratch, and a loaf of bread, which was free with my store card. Picked some more rhubarb, which I will make into a compote tomorrow for some form of dessert. Tonight's dinner will likely be soup from the freezer. Quick, easy, healthy.
So there you have it. My first forray into the monthly frugals thread!
Welcome, cdttmm! Sounds like you are doing great! :-)
The past few days have been decidedly unfrugal, as we have been putting the finishing touches on the kitchen. Curtains, new towels (mine were ten years old and more holes than fabric--didn't even absorb anymore--ha!), etc. At least it was all budgeted. Still. I just hate spending money. LOL One way that we did cut costs was to buy our cafe curtains at Walmart. It was $10 for the pair for each window (I probably couldn't make them for much less than that). The other ones we were looking at were $36 per panel. Um...no thanks! We like these a lot, and while they are a little long, I am willing to shorten them a bit.
I am getting ready to make a smoothie out of some strawberries I need to use up. It is heating up here (finally!), so it should be a nice breakfast treat.
The rest of the day, I am going to spend cleaning and organizing. Need to get some laundry done, too. Will wash in cold water and maybe hang some things to dry.
Hi all
Welcome, cdttmm!
Hope all you moms had a good Mothers Day!
Yesterday I used only one dry cycle to do portions of two wash loads (I hang a lot of clothes to make them last longer, but it doesn't usually translate to less drying).
I was thinking it would be fun to keep track of all the money we've SAVED through our frugals. Like, how much did I save by only running the dryer once? How much do we save every single time we do laundry with our tennis balls instead of dryer sheets? The one I really wish we'd kept track of was DH's haircuts. I have been cutting his hair monthly since 2006. He was previously paying $20 a cut, though not once a month - about every other. So we could safely say $10 per cut. However my head isn't quite in it right at this moment! I will be thinking about this one in the coming days.
The only money I spent over the weekend was for gas to drive to/from my aunt's, and we took the more efficient vehicle. Today will also be no-spend. I think my mom, who is visiting, and I will join my DD for her school lunch (but we'll all be packing lunch, of course).
My mantra....save money or earn more money...putting into more active practice starting today!
I forgot to mention that I have been a repurposing fool lately! I've been reusing jars and baskets from other places in the house in the kitchen. They make more sense in the kitchen and weren't being used before.
Maxamillion
5-10-11, 12:29am
I picked up two broken end tables that were left out on trash day. One is two-tiered, two slabs of real marble with wooden legs. The legs were almost too wobbly for it to stand up but there was some wooden railing on the top slab of marble, so it sits steady and firm upside down. I'll be cutting the bottom (now top) legs so they're only a couple of inches tall and make little round knobs to go on each one. Right now it's displaying a vase and a plate and wooden doll my cousin got for me when she was traveling (from Egypt I think).
The other end table was missing the shelves and missing shelf supports on one side. I bought shelf supports for a dollar or so at Home Depot but haven't gotten the stuff to make the shelves yet. I was thinking of making a shelf but this one will be perfect and saves money, time, and materials.
I went yard-saling last weekend but didn't find much. I'm not sure how frugal that is though with gas prices.
we went on a hike at our local state park; which we got a year long sticker and i will be planning trips on my own several times there this year; baked another loaf of bread for dh; i know i have said tis before but when i see the ad where we used to buy his bread for almost 5/00 a loaf i feel so great!; dh pushed me around our beautiful campus; we were first an agricultural college; many trees were saved or planted as well as gardens; the spring and summer gardens that they create are incredible!
will be walkking to a drs. appt. today and next week; exercising and using the transit system; which i get at a discount as i am not always able to manage cognitively or have difficulty with my eyes
had to buy two large bottles of a name brand electrolyte drink for my colonoscopy but these two bottles will now be my water bottles for my walk
dh said i am finally seeing how the more i use up at home first the less time i have to work!
Had lunch out yesterday with a friend, spent $4.55, not too bad. But, more importantly, this friend told me about some paid speaking gigs she may be able to get me at her workplace. This is great as I am trying to become a member of the National Speakers Assoc and need a certain number of paid speaking jobs in order to do so. My partner went to a socially responsible investors meeting, lunch was provided.
Ate up some veggie burgers, peas, and french fries from the freezer for dinner. Not necessarily the healthiest dinner, but kept me from having to go to the store. Also, made up a batch of chocolate tapioca pudding with some milk that was likely on its last drinkable day.
Finally had to start taking Claritin for my allergies this season. That stuff is pricey, almost a $1 per day. Inventoried what I had on hand and with some strategic planning should be able to make it through the allergy season without having to buy any more and without having to suffer!
Doing some menu planning for dinners later this week: scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and chives from the garden and sage pesto/goat cheese pizza. Will only have to buy bacon and ****ake mushrooms.
Decided to drive to Philadelphia this weekend instead of taking the train, which will be cheaper because I can drive the veggie oil fueled car. Staying with a friend instead of getting a hotel room. I'll bring her a jar of honey from our bees as a thank you gift. Also giving honey as a house warming gift to some friends who are moving. We've discovered that local honey is appreciated this time of year as it is in short supply and the prices have nearly doubled from the fall. Will keep this in mind for next spring as we are on track to have a great honey harvest this year, which means we'll finally have some to sell (after nearly 8 years). Good thing we keep bees as a hobby and not as a career!
Cool finds, maxamillion!
Ate leftovers for dinner yesterday and made dinner at home. Leftovers from that will be lunch for me and DH today. For entertainment, DH and I worked out together (well, he worked out, I walked :p) and watched a TV show from Netflix.
Last night's dinner was made out of $2/lb ground beef that I got on sale last week. I bought 10 pounds and wanted to buy another 10 but thought we had better try it first. It was good, so I will probably run to the store today to get some more for the freezer. We have a cupld of BBQs coming up! While I am out, I will also mail some letters.
rosarugosa
5-10-11, 7:01pm
Hey CDTTMM, have you tried generic Claritin? I don't take the stuff, but we keep it on hand for my DBIL's visits since he is allergic to our cats. We got a Costco brand which has exactly the same ingredients as Claritin, but for a fraction of the price. Seems to do the trick for him, so it might be worth a shot.
I read a lot of comments on a GRS post recently where people were recommending raw local honey as an antidote for seasonal allergies. It sounds like you might be in a really good position to give that one a try!
May 10
--Using up and finishing face creams/makeup/shampoo/cream rinse
--did an inventory of vitamins etc so not to buy duplicates when they are on sale
--really eating down the stockpiles of food I have said I was doing this before but, still kept buying I know that makes no sense...only spent $46.33 on groceries and eating out so far this month.
Canned 5 jars of salsa (jalapenos, tomatillos, and tomatoes were on sale last week) and 7 jars of pickled jalapenos...and then dumped boiling water all over my hand.
DH made an Indian Quesadilla thing for dinner using stuff we already had.
Dh is in the process of installing the new fence. My father is building a very large shed/garage next door. The two guys, along with a family friend have been helping each other out, reducing the labor and costs for each other. We're paying the friend for his help but its still much cheaper than hiring a professional and things are turning out pretty well.
I'm going shopping today. Stuff for the fence, printing the new menus, and a stop at the co-op are planned. The main frugal is that it will be a more sucessful trip because I am going alone and will be able to concentrate on my purchases! Everyone is so tired lately with the extra fencing work, business picking up, and the end of the school year that everything has been chaotic and nothing is getting done properly. We need a designated napping day! HeeHee.
A salesman brought several large slices of desserts for us to sample yesterday in hopes that we will pick a couple to sell. Included was some of the best cheesecake I have ever eaten! All in all, about 7 of us sampled things. Afterwards, I plated up the scraps into 3 dessert plates based on our personal tastes and my family had free dessert after dinner. In fact, there is still a slice of cake in the fridge that my guys will probably finish tonight.
OoooH! I almost forgot the best one! I wrote the check to pay the credit card bill for the fencing and patio tiles last night. We are now finally getting to the point where there should start to be extra money around to put towards debts. We've been spending, spending, spending since last October but I think we're finally ready for phase two: rapid debt reduction.
@Bugeah--sorry to hear about your hand! Are you alright? My pot broke while draining pasta once, and I spilled a bunch boiling water down my leg. It blistered up and hurt so much! My saving grace was this package of little pads DH found at the drug store. They had cooling gel inside them and were sticky around the edges so you could place them wherever you needed them. They provided consistent relief from the pain and got me through the first couple of days of recovery. I hope you aren't in too much pain!
Yesterday I ran back to the store for the sale meat I mentioned earlier. I needed a coupon from their ad, and the huge stack of ads near the door had every. single. coupon. ripped out of them. I asked very nicely if they would still be willing to honor the price without the coupon, and they said yes.
Last night an old friend took us out to dinner. Portions were huge--plenty left over for lunch today. DH and I switched left overs so we could try something different. :-) After dinner we went for a short walk and just sat and chatted by the river. We only see this friend maybe twice a year, so it was a really lovely time.
My sister called about the crib sheet material ordered. Apparently it is very sparkly with glitter! She called the company and managed to get a free return. I found some similar (non-sparkly fabric) on clearance and ordered it with a coupon code. The replacement fabric is just as nice and will be cheaper then the original. Yay!
Today and tomorrow I have more grading to do, so I will probably stay home. No spend, no drive! Tonight I think I will make homemade macaroni and cheese with a nice side salad for dinner.
Thank goodness todays track meet is at home. No gas money needed! And if they need my help working at the meet I'll save the $5 entry fee. I think I'm going to make some vegetable beef soup in the crockpot for supper. Can't decide if I want to make muffins or bread to go with. The temperature is supposed to be about 80 so I think instead of making cookies I'll bring popsicles for the kids.
I have been having trouble with a little bit of rosacea and Monday when I was at CVS I saw that they had a homeopathic treatment gel called Prosacea. I had a $3 off coupon & $10 in blow money so I bought it for $8. I am happy to say that it appears to be working nicely. The redness & spots seem to be fading.
For mothers day I made a scrapbook page for DM & DMIL. Framed them with some scrapbook frames I had bought at Christmas time. They turned out pretty cute. DH drives me crazy though. I said all I wanted for mothers day was ear buds for my ipod. I really need them and they aren't that expensive. Or so I thought.... naturally DH had to buy the $40! earbuds!! $40!! LOL Arrggghhh
Am trying to stay out of the grocery store until next Tuesday. There are a few things that I could use but I'm doing my best to work around them as the grocery envelope is empty. Tuesday I will be back at the plasma ctr. (took this week off) and will have some cash to get the things I forgot or didn't realize were running so low.
I'm back from my errands. I actually had a lot of fun running around by myself! I checked out a new bakery that sells vegan stuff. Not a huge selection but I treated myself to 2 small margarita cupcakes that were yummy along with a glass of vanilla almond milk.
I really want to become vegan but its such a struggle for me. I become obsessed with the thought of never, ever eating________ again. So, I have decided to simply start including more vegan items in my diet and let things happen as they will. I spent $40 at the co-op this morning and purchased several convienence items that are vegan: Godess salad dresssing, mock meat products, vegan cheese and chocolate as well as primal jerky sticks. My goal is to have easy choices available and see if it won't slow my consumption of animal products. The frugal here is that it will be better for my health to eat less animal products and cheaper than by-pass surgery down the line.
I managed to copy the menu on nice quality paper for $15!
I bought 5 gallons of redwood stain for the fence. After rebate total including tax is $14 down from $84.
@bke--I think your decision to start small with vegan is wise. Our diets really do not have to be all or nothing (unless, of course, we feel strongly convicted about it). Just wait and see what happens! :-) Where did you get the stain for your fence? We need to buy some stain for our deck and could use a rebate if certain stores/brands are offering one!
Kat- the stain is at Menard's and is listed on the front of their weekly flyer. Good luck.
Thanks for the support on the vegan situation. I just don't want to have health problems in the future and regret that I didn't do something to try and avoid it when I had the chance. Hence, my new attitude of anything is better than nothing.
flowerseverywhere
5-11-11, 6:50pm
had an appt in the city today, by the time I was on my way home I was very tempted to stop to get something to eat. I didn't though. I had a bottle of water in the car and an apple. That was fine and when I got home had leftover soup. Good for the wallet and waistline.
Garage sale weekend was a few weeks ago in my development. I shopped for grandchildren and saw one this weekend. He was so excited with the new to him items I got. I told the mom it was from a garage sale, and she said she almost bought one wooden puzzle for $20. I got eight puzzles for six dollars and they are really nice quality. Plus a few games that I don't think anyone played with, two even had the shrink wrap on. She put them away and will take them out one at a time. My DILs are such good moms. They pay so much attention to the kids and are excited when I bring books, puzzles and games that I pick up for next to nothing. Our city thrift store sells childrens books that are new or practically new for a quarter and I buy stacks of them.
took the time to gather coupons before shopping. We don't eat much prepared food but I like to have some cans of soup etc. in the house for those busy or lazy times.
Mighty Frugal
5-11-11, 9:51pm
Hurray for garage sale season. We went to a street sale last Saturday and my 6 year old scored a huge Tupperware sized box of Lego for 2 bucks (that amount would have cost him over $100 at the shops.:) Also bought so many cool toys (now it's time to cull the old ones)
Dh and I got our tax refund-about $4500 together-going straight into savings. We need new windows this year. Well, that's what dh says, I don't mind a drafty house..
We are moving floors at my company so everyone is packing and throwing out what they don't need. I have 'trash picked' some wonderful finds-a battery operated pencil sharpener-my kids are getting such a kick out of it-magic! Some Christmas decorations, a huge book that is written on heavy stock paper. The kicker is it is printed on one side only-spiral binding- so I am taking it home for my kids to draw on the blank side. We have enough paper to last until they are in uni and will refuse to write/draw on '2nd hand paper'
Made a batch of my homemade, personal invention super-d-duper yummy healthy granola bars (organic rolled oats, natural pb, 85% dark choco, raw almonds, marshmallows, Stevia) cheaper and healthier than choco bars;)
May11
--Dgrandson wanted a Star Wars cape for a picnic on the weekend, Dd bought the fabric for me to make, I didn't want to buy a pattern so I looked at mine and had one for a womens hooded coat and it is working out really nicely.
--Because my old back it giving me a lot of trouble I have been looking at the sliding things to put in the bottom cupboards.( they are very expensive) I picked up boxes from the grocery store that had fruit in them and two different sizes fit in four shelves, not classy but they work...free...a wonderful word.
--found a package of french toast in the freezer I put there about a month ago...that became breakfast
fidgiegirl
5-11-11, 10:35pm
I picked up a mechanical pencil from the sidewalk on our dog walk. A nice one! About a $5 one! Not much else to report :D
got a fake leather purse at a garage sale for $1 only to find out it is real leather. This is just the kind of floppy purse I have always wanted.
Made a batch of my homemade, personal invention super-d-duper yummy healthy granola bars (organic rolled oats, natural pb, 85% dark choco, raw almonds, marshmallows, Stevia) cheaper and healthier than choco bars;)
Thought you could sneak that marshmallows by us huh? LOL They sound really good.
@bke--thanks for the tip on the stain! We have Menard's store credit, so this might be the way to go!
@danna--I like your solution for your cabinets! I My stomach is starting to get kind of big, so it is hard for me to reach the stuff in the back of my bottom cabinets. I am thinking about using some old cookie sheets to slide in an out.
Last night I made macaroni and cheese out of some specialty cheese in the freezer. I didn't have quite enough, so I used up some other cheese that's been sitting around in the fridge. It turned out fine, but I think my favorite cheese for this particular recipe is plain, boring sharp cheddar. It's cheaper than specialty cheeses, too. To go with it, I made a nice side salad. Leftovers will be lunch for DH and for me today.
DH is dog sitting right now, so he made a tidy little sum doing that. The best part is that it gives us lots of free exercise. I don't handle the dogs (the are very sweet but very big, and I don't want to get hurt if they jump on me or take off while I am holding the leash), but I do walk alongside DH as he walks them. It feels good to get out and get some exercise after the long winter.
In non-frugal news, I had to turn on my air conditioning Tuesday. It has been hot here the past couple of days--in the 90s--and once the internal temperature got to be 83-84 degrees, I couldn't take it any more. It is supposed to cool off in a few days, though, so maybe can turn it back off again. At least we have a programmable thermostat. It is so weird, though--last week there was frost. This week is record-breaking heat!
sounds like everybody's having a good spring and i'm glad. :) things here are chugging along. i went away with my fella over the weekend to a yurt in the blue ridge mountains andit was amazing! we had such a good time that we booked the week around his birthday as soon as we got home. so we have a nice break in august to look forward to. it's not cheap, but not extravagant either, and we're not doing any big trips this year, so i think we can swing it.
i always notice that having something like this to look forward to makes it easier for me to stay on the straight and narrow, which i have been doing quite well.
this weekend, my co-hostess at the restaurant is going out of town, so i'm handling friday and saturday night on my own. i'm a little scared, because we get super busy those nights -- that's why they hired me in the first place! but i think i will be able to hang, and i'll make huge tips since i won't have to split them.
got a few fun things coming up with wear the shift -- working with a well-known academic blog since we noticed that a inordinate number of our customers so far have been professors. also, it looks like we'll be taking part in an indie bride craft show in a few weeks, which may lead to some orders as well.
so ... busy! but it's fun and things seem to be chugging along in the right direction ...
Stella, your thoughts about the simple inexpensive meals reminded me of a couple of things:
It seems to me that marketing people try to get us into a mindset that we deserve something expensive/exotic to compensate for the stresses in other parts of our lives. Often our expensive/exotic is another culture's inexpensive, easy comfort food. There are places for example that if you are really impoverished for a stretch that you send your kids to school with packed lunches which include lobster sandwiches because you can catch lobsters for free. It embarasses the kids terribly and they try to hide what's in their lunch.>8)
Also, how we market foods to ourselves affects how we feel about what we are eating. Would we rather eat
A) Scraps of potato peels with leftover dried out cheese bits on them?
B) Potato boats made from organically grown heirloom Idaho baking potatoes coated with aged Vermont cheddar cheese and broiled until the potato skins are crispy and the cheese melts and cascades over the potato.
I'd be interested in anyone's ideas for inexpensive simple meals too. A few to start:
Potato soup and a piece/bowl of fruit
Soup made from a jar of pasta sauce, water, and a bag of mixed frozen vegetables
Cleaning yardsale textiles
Does anyone know what hotels, restaurants, and hospitals use to complelely clean textiles? In order to be able to use them, we need to get them clean in the traditional sense plus remove all traces of scented soap and dryer sheets.
This thread is making me hungry. Margarita cupcakes, homemade granola bars, homemade mac and cheese. Yum!
I am making homemade cornbread and honey butter for breakfast. Cheyenne and Travis and I all got up early, some of us voluntarily, others of us (me!) not so much. :) Travis went back to sleep, but by then I was up so I decided to make something for breakfast. Now that I'm not pregnant and bed ridden anymore I'm getting back to making one breakfast for everyone instead of having everyone get their own. It's cheaper.
We had my friend's son over last night so Zach could tutor him in math. My friend asked if he could stay for dinner. I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough since the recipe I was trying last night for spaghetti carbonara said it served 4-6 people and I was feeding seven. I shouldn't have worried. People were able to have seconds. The kids loved it!
Zach is fixing something in our car. I don't know what. Fuel injector or something like that? Anyway, it wasn't expensive, but he needs some tiny $6 part to get it working and by the time he realized that it was too late to go to the auto parts store. My dad offered to take him to school today even though it is no longer on dad's way to work and he's picking him up to take him home on his lunch break, saving us bus fare and a ton of transit time. Zach can bike to the auto parts store. Dad rocks!
I seriously have the most generous family. Dad also offered to pick up the tab for Cheyenne's karate lessons to support our homeschool efforts. It's $50 a month. I forget sometimes the income disparity between us and dad makes stuff like that small potatoes to him. He asked me how much it cost and I answered $50. He responded with, "A week? I can handle that." I told him that was per month and he laughed.
I was telling my mom about how Cheyenne shot up two sizes during the winter and how I am now going to have to buy her some new clothes and mom, who is visiting in less than a month, told me to save my money. She's going to take the girls shopping when she gets here.
Sometimes I feel guilty for receiving so much from my family, but then I remember that I help them too. I wash Dad's laundry, clean his room, mend his clothes, run errands for him and cook for him. He's famous at his potluck dinners for his daughter's dishes. Zach fixes his car. We all contribute what we can.
Well, shoot. Got up this morning and the milk was all gone. So instead of waiting til Tuesday I will use the $5 I saved from working the track meet to get some milk & maybe some hot dog buns. I am working at the concession stand this evening so I think I'll just grill some polish sausage & make some oven fries for dinner before I leave. So the buns will be for tonights polish sausage. By working at the concession stand I'll earn $15 credit towards Tyler's band trip to perform at Disneyworld next March.
It was hot & humid at the track meet last night and I was raking the long jump pit. At one point I started to feel lightheaded. So I had to sit down and drink some water. Luckily I had packed 4 bottles of water from home. And I had a popsicle to cool down.
When I was making the blueberry sour cream muffins for dinner I decided to make up some mini muffins to take to the meet instead of cookies. They were gobbled right up. And Tyler said the crockpot veg. soup was just right for after a meet.
I keep forgetting that I have to have Tyler's band uniforms dry cleaned and returned to school by the end of the year. Probably forget because I hate to spend the money :( So I think the goal for the day is to get the uniforms to the cleaners & combine that with a stop at the drug store to get iron supplements. I have a $5 off coupon that I have to use today.
Amaranth we cross posted. Great post! It's funny that you mentioned potato skins because I'm thinking of making stuffed baked potatoes for lunch tomorrow.
We've been eating a lot of simple breakfasts lately, like oatmeal, cornbread, bread pudding and fresh baked bread with butter and honey. I made some yummy whole wheat cinnamon toast for a snack yesterday. Last weekend for a treat I made eggs benedict. Without the Canadian bacon that would actually be pretty inexpensive and it would still be yummy. We also do a lot of herb omelets in the summer.
Souffles, fritattas, quiches and crepes are good examples of the kind of food people think of as fancy, but they are actually really cheap and easy to make. A lot of pasta dishes are like that too. I've been told by friends that don't cook though that my idea of easy is different than theirs. I think that's mostly fear on their part though. :) My friends act all impressed that I, for example, made muffins from scratch. I spent 5 minutes dumping stuff in a mixer, turned it on and poured it into muffin cups. It would have taken me longer to go to Starbucks and buy a muffin. My seven year old can make omelets, quesadillas and oatmeal (supervised, of course) without intervention from me. Well, except for adding sugar to the oatmeal. Let's just say we have different ideas about how sweet oatmeal should be. :)
Speaking of soups I've been making a lot of avgolemono soup lately. Chicken, water, salt, lemon, rice and egg. It's simple and cheap, but flavourful, filling and indulgent. Actually a lot of middle eastern and greek foods would fit into your "easy but indulgent" category too. Think of all of the yummy pita dips. Hummus, skordalia, baba ganoush, tzatziki. Hmmm. I might have to make skordalia one of these days. I have everything to make it on hand.
There's not much to report today. It should be a no spend day.
My dad went and purchased 5 gallons of stain too. He only needs 2 and is giving us the other three! Woohoo!
Stella, I read your post about your dad and money. I've gotten to the point where I like to look at things as improving each other's quality of life. Your dad could have money coming out of his ears but it wouldn't mean nearly as much if he didn't have people he cared about to share it with. Some of my most appreciated gifts through the years have come from people like you who gave of their time and talent to create something I don't have the skills to provide for myself.
rosarugosa
5-12-11, 8:29pm
Flowers: Good for you, must be nice to get such great gifts for such little money.
Danna: We are trying to figure out some better functionality for our kitchen too. Can you elaborate further on how you used those boxes? How is DH doing?
Kally: Nice score!
Mighty Frugal: Would you be willing to share your recipe? DH buys energy bar-type-things, and they are really expensive!
Azure: I do not envy you for having to feed the hungry young athletes. Sounds like you are most resourceful in doing so!
Kat: Mac & cheese is so yummy. Our family recipes call for American cheese. A lot of upscale restaurants around here now do mac & cheese with lobster, which DH sometimes does at home for a fraction of the cost.
Madgey: Anticipation is such a wonderful thing. We’ve got tickets for a couple of great concerts this summer. It helps sustain me through these 11-hour work days. Do tell more about the Yurt!
Amaranth: One of our inexpensive favorites is angel hair pasta with anchovies and oil and garlic. Our ancestors knew how to make the most from the least.
Stella, Did you see yesterday’s GRS post on frugal breakfast meals? I thought of you. Donna Freedman is a big fan of oatmeal, and she didn’t mention anything nearly as glamorous as mango coconut oatmeal :)
BKE: I love hearing about your business. DH fantasizes about a bakery or a restaurant, while yours truly can burn water. What part of the country are you in?
As you can probably tell, I’ve not much of interest to report. Working 11+ hours a day, so no time to spend! But I enjoy my job for the most part, so I can’t complain. And our garden is so spectacular right now, with blooming white halesias, dogwood, and fothergillas, that it’s hard to imagine wanting anything more ;)
rosaarugosa and all you are doing really good this month. It is always to good to read what you are all doing it insprises me..
They are the really heavy boxes that are about 4" high without tops. I took the measurement for the width and length of the bottom shelves, (they are not all the same size) and then just kept looking for ones that were about the right size. They are too heavy to cut so the width needs to be right and the length can be too short but not too long.
So far I have found 4 that fit, and have pots in one, cereals and the like in one, you get the idea. You do need to slide the box out to get things but nothing is getting lost in the back.
We had some good news a month ago about DH, CT scan showed some improvement in the tumours in the lungs and a very little in the three in the torso. Any improvement is great!!!
The doctor has changed the schedule for his drugs to 2 weeks on and 1 week off and he seems to be having a few less side effects. We are trying to keep positive and enjoy the warmer weather now that it is finally here.
Frugals today
--finished grandson's Star Wars cloak and was told I was the greatest Gramma ever...for someone who never even knows the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek.lol...that is great praise. Dd paid for fabric $15.00)and I did the sewing. She said it would have cost $40.00--$50.00 at least in a speciality shop.
--leftovers from last night for supper tonight
Wow, everyone is doing such amazing frugal things this month -- you are all such an inspiration to me! I have been really busy as it is the end of the semester at the college where I teach. But I have a few frugal things to report:
Went to lunch with one of my former students who is graduating this year. She has become a good friend and shares my frugal mindset. I had a voucher for a free sandwich and drink at the restaurant across the street from campus and she had a few dollars left on a gift card, so we split a large sandwich, each had drinks, and split a huge chocolate chip cookie all for $1.91. It was nice to catch up with her and a great, inexpensive way to celebrate the end of the semester. I am going to her graduation party next weekend and have been trying to figure out what to get her for a graduation gift. Yesterday she shared some goals that she has set for herself as part of a training program at work. I realized that I have a brand new journal in my gifts-to-be-given stash that would be perfect to help her with her goal tracking. Bonus: it's a Vera Bradley journal (not my style at all!) and she loves Vera Bradley. I'm really excited to give her this gift! :cool:
Been taking allergy meds daily, but have been able to switch from the Claritin-D (the decongestent forumla) to non-decongestent formula, which is cheaper altogether and I happen to have in the generic form further reducing the daily cost to manage my allergies. So I am confident I'll be able to make it through the summer without having to restock because I have ~100 of those tablets on hand.
Filled the car with diesel fuel yesterday -- drove 1500+ miles on one tank of diesel, thanks to driving on waste vegetable oil via the conversion kit. Probably our best frugal investment ever.
Been trying to get better at planning meals and using things up. Made a frittata the other night with eggs that were past their "best by" date. Threw in some cheddar cheese that we had and bought some local asparagus -- at $4/lb for asparagus I will be happy when our little patch starts producing enough that we no longer have to buy any. Ate soup from the freezer last night and making homemade pizza tonight with sage pesto from the freezer and a some goat cheese that needs to be consumed.
Making an extensive shopping/errand list for today in the hopes that I can get everything accomoplished in an efficient manner.
Had a discussion about ramping up our frugal ways with my partner earlier this week. He's very on-board, but we have slight differences of opinion as to exactly where to trim. But at least we are both interested in the same end goal, which is for me to not have to find a full-time job in the fall.
Danna - I pray that your DH continues to improve. Star Wars cloak = awesome grandma award for sure!
Saved some money by reading the label on Tyler's concert band uniform. It does not need to be dry cleaned so I can wash it at home. Yeah!
I don't know why the boys do this but it seems like they always wait til about 2 days before an event to mention that the spring concert theme is ____ (this year it's 80's) and they need appropriate clothing to wear. I went to both thrift stores in the nearest town and found nothing. Well nothing in guys wear that I was sure was 80's. Did find several womens dresses that were definitely 80's. lol Tyler was watching 80's music videos and someone was wearing a zebra striped jacket. He thought that would be cool. I don't have a sewing machine. And 1 day is not really enough time to make a jacket from scratch even if I did. But I did find a black t-shirt with zebras all over it. So today's project is to try to make this t-shirt into a faux suit jacket. I figure it just has to give the illusion of being a jacket from a distance. So I think I'm going to cut it up the front in a Y. Cut some fake lapels & pocket slits from a plain black t and fabric glue them onto the shirt. Maybe add a button to close it. Wish me luck lol
Brought home leftovers of 6 pieces of pepperoni pizza & 2 hot dogs from the concession stand. All gone before I got up this morning.
Hot & humid here yesterday & again today. Saving money because we don't have the air conditioner in yet so it isn't running. :)
@danna--that is so great about your husband! And yeah, that cloak sounds awesome!
@cdttmm--two of my dearest friends are old professors. :-) I am so thankful for their presence in my lives. They mentor me professionally and invest in me personally. Plus, I just keep learning and learning and learning. It rocks!
@Azure--that jacket sounds fun!
I have very little to report. Same old boring stuff. Cooking at home. Eating leftovers. Laundry in cold water. Hang dry. It cooled off some, so I turned off the air conditioning. This weekend I plan to spend most of my time at home, cleaning and organizing. It needs to be done, but I had really busy week of grading so wasn't able to do much.
I have one more to report. I am going to attempt to make my first batch of freezer jam ever. We have an abundance of rhubarb and, although it is not my favorite food, I remember liking it as jam as a child. I'm not ready to tackle canning, so I thought I would try to make freezer jam. I view this as an experiment. If it doesn't work out, I'm only out a few cups of sugar/honey and my time. I can live with that. If it works, it will mean jam for the next year -- a little luxury I do not spend money on.
I am just now canning rhubarb sauce, not jam, but sauce, to pour over cake or ice-cream or whatever. We don't grow any, but I go on Freecycle and ask people if I can have theirs. So many people don't want it, so I wander around the town picking it up.
I have one more to report. I am going to attempt to make my first batch of freezer jam ever. We have an abundance of rhubarb and, although it is not my favorite food, I remember liking it as jam as a child. I'm not ready to tackle canning, so I thought I would try to make freezer jam. I view this as an experiment. If it doesn't work out, I'm only out a few cups of sugar/honey and my time. I can live with that. If it works, it will mean jam for the next year -- a little luxury I do not spend money on.
Had wife's grandparents over on mother's day. Made tuna salad and a salmon pasta (whole wheat pasta, veggies, and chipped salmon... a couple fillets cooked and then chipped) with root beer floats for dessert. Wife just ate the last of that meal today for lunch.
Had in-laws over on Monday. Homemade mac & cheese (whole wheat pasta, veggies, ham that was on sale) with, you guessed it, root beer floats for dessert. We had the last of that meal yesterday for lunch.
We went and met the new neighbors a street over on Tuesday. We picked up simple pot and brought them over a nice planting of impatiens from our starts this year. They're avid gardeners as well so I'm hoping to exchange veggies, tips and stories with them.
On Wednesday, our next door neighbor realized we'd been working on our garden all evening without stopping for dinner so she brought us over some awesome (and I do mean awesome) fresh Indian (not naan, flatter like a tortilla) bread and a lentil curry dip. Had that for dinner and had enough of the dip left over that I had some on basmati rice and got enough out of it for lunch tomorrow as well.
So, five days, and we've eaten like kings two meals a day and I've cooked twice. Considering my wife would never eat leftovers before we were married (over 10 years now!), I'd say I've brought her over to the dark side pretty effectively.
Really looking forward to tomorrow, though. I haven't had a chance to try out my grain mill yet. I have 400 lbs of wheat berries I had my parents pick up for me in Indiana and I'm dying to grind some and make bread.
Frugal excitement for the weekend:
Made rhubarb freezer jam for the first time ever and I'm declaring it a success! It yielded a much smaller amount of jam than I anticipated, but now that I know how easy (and good!) it is, I will not hesitate to make more as soon as I have more rhubarb to harvest. I look forward to using the same approach to preserve strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries later this summer. And I found a recipe for rhubarb fruit leather that I will try as well. Yay for multiple ways to use our rhubarb!
Found a recipe for chive pesto and since we have loads of chives I'm going to make that up later today.
Going to organize the freezer today, too. This will insure we continue to eat up what we have on hand and it will make room for this year's bounty.
Our apple trees have been blooming in a tremedous way and our honey bees have been very busy. I suspect that we will have a bumper crop of apples this fall, so I look forward to coming up with creative ways to preserve all of it.
Danna, what a cool gift!
Zach and Dad are at a church thing today so I am home with the kids all day. I made two kinds of pasta last night to ensure leftovers for tonight's dinner and remove any temptation to eat out.
Fortune saved me from buying a Starbucks yesterday. I went to pick Dad up from work and overestimated how much traffic there would be. I got there 45 minutes early! I was going to get a Starbucks and pulled my purse out of the back seat. No wallet. I figured I had left it at home, so I sat in the parking lot of Dad's work and spent the time meditating and enjoying the quiet. Even better than Starbucks! Dad and I went to mass the Cathedral. More peace and quiet. It was so rejuvenating! I got home and realized that my wallet had fallen out of my purse into the backseat and had been with me all along.
cdttmm - I'd like to hear a report on the chive pesto, and what's in it!
We've been in very-frugal mode for the past several months but today we're being hit with another cat-related, large expense. Our youngish (5YO) cat has fatty liver disease from not eating enough. I'd been monitoring her weight and yesterday she was so listless that I knew she needed to see a vet. She's been checked in overnight. (Big sigh for many reasons)
fidgiegirl
5-14-11, 4:00pm
@cdttmm: I once read a tip from The Tightwad Gazette for freezer organization. She made a chart with how many months she needed to use freezer food and then how many freezer items she had. So if she wanted to make sure to use up all her rhubarb freezer jam before next year and had 12, then that would be one per month so one "x" or whatever would go in each box. Then she could cross them off as she used them up. I always thought it was a good idea, particularly for seasonal items. I mean, if next May you want to make more jam, who wants to have any left from this year? I am inspired by your quest to use all your seasonal produce!
@kally, ingenious about the rhubarb Craigslisting! Whoops, Freecycling!
I FINALLY have some frugals to report. We went garage-saling. DH picked up some patches and boat bumpers for approximately $1 total. He will transform that into about $20-40 via eBay. I got a 5 cent trick or treat bucket, .25 purple lights, and .25 cobwebby stuff for my Halloween Bazaar decorations or resale.
Went to Tea Source and used the remainder of a gift card I had from making a complaint a few months ago. Also got peach tea, which we will turn into a peach tea/pomegranate drink this summer. Yummers!!
That's all! Still kickin'!
Glad to see everyone is doing well, except Rosemary's kitty. Sorry to hear that :(
fidgiegirl
5-14-11, 6:15pm
Forgot one! My DH bought a super sturdy stepstool for my FiL for when they go camping. Only $2.50. It is also a toolbox! Bonus in camper, tuck some tools in there and take up no more space!
We had frugal fun last night at the band concert. It was 80's music night. The band is really small, only 27 kids. And most of them are freshmen or sophomores. But they really rocked. They were in the middle of Any Way You Want It when the lights went out. They kept right on going without missing a beat. In fact, at first we thought it was planned but it wasn't. The audience was waving their phones in the air with lighter apps lit. It was fun.
Tyler said that he got compliments on his "jacket". It didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped but it made him happy. Also the band director almost made me cry. He was advertising next weeks talent show and said this was different than a band concert because the kids were picking their own groups and music and one boy, Tyler ******, has even written his own music and gotten a group together to play it... so he's composing, & conducting & he's a pretty awesome guitarist. I was so shocked that he said all that. I had tears in my eyes I was so proud.
Today, well once again not so frugal but it could have been worse. All day invitational track meet. The first 4 hours it rained continuously. Not heavy rain, but steady. Made 8 hard salami sandwiches, 3 dz. mini banana chop chip muffins, 4 dz. little pb cookies, peeled 8 tangerines. All GONE! But the carrot sticks made it home. :confused: LOL The admission was only $4 each (a bargain - it's usually $5). So we used the extra $2 and got hot chocolate. Then DH & I stopped at Arbys on the way home. The team did well but not exceptional.
MMMM rhubarb, rhubarb crisp, strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb jam, rhubarb muffins. I think I need to get hold of some rhubarb.
Sounds like very productive yard saling, Kelli.
Oh, I also wanted to say that I am thrilled with the rosacea ointment. $8 instead of a dr visit & an rx and the bumps & redness are almost completely gone. My complexion is looking so much nicer. Now if only I could find a homeopathic treatment for sun/age spots!
May 14
Azure isn't wonderful when others notice how good your teen is doing!!
--farmers market and only bought local asparagus and apple fritters...resisted flowers and butter tarts
other then that no spend day...
I scored a super great desk on craigslist for free on Thursday, and sold it for $60 today. It paid for nearly a weeks worth of groceries. Yahoo.
Ah, now I have rhubarb on the brain! ;-)
@azure--Sounds like your son a very talented young man. What a sweet moment. I should try the skin ointment you mentioned. I have sensitive skins with a lot of redness and am starting to wonder if I might have a a bit of rosacea myself.
@redfox--awesome about the desk!
Yesterday I had a bunch of errands to run, so I planned my trip to conserve gas. I used a couple of coupons to buy some fo what I needed, too. Only saved $1.75 but at least it's something. I was tempted to pick something up for lunch, but I managed to hold off and make a quick meal at home (Mexican hamburger helper). I'll put the leftovers in DH's lunch tomorrow. There were some corn chips included for toppings, and I almost put those in a ziploc bag. Then I decided to save the ziploc bag and just put an old twist tie around the foil bag they came in. Very small thing, but I guess it counts :p I also reused a gallon ziploc bag that had housed a salad mix. I washed it out and used it again for some bagged carrots.
Last night we ordered in, but it was budgeted money. I have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Lunch today will be at Dad's.
Tonight I was going to roast a couple of chickens, but they still felt frozen in the middle, so I will do that tomorrow and make something easy tonight--maybe soup and a salad. I've been doing really well at using up fresh produce. Usually I end up throwing some out. But not this time!
DH and I plan to be lazy this afternoon. Do laundry, watch TV. Maybe nap. We worked really hard cleaning and organizing this weekend, so we're looking forward to doing nothing.
We canceled plans for some travel next month. I'm going to be taking care of our cat, multiple feedings/medication every day, still, at that point. The savings will pay for part of the vet bills...
May15
--rainy day so it was a good day to have the oven on--baked 2 casseroles of bread pudding--with milk at due date and lots of bits of bread from freezer
--two large casseroles of mac and cheese
--quick trip to Costco for grass seed and a few other yard things and only spent an extra $25.00 of food
early morning
5-15-11, 10:25pm
You all continue to inspire me to get off my behind, and DO something.... baked a pan of cornbread to have with the remainder of yesterday's chicken chili (not enough chili to eat w/o some filler, lol). Put in a brownie, too, since the oven was going to be on. Am buying a more expensive dish-washer detergent, since the old stuff resulted in a stained and grubby-looking dishwasher and not-quite clean dishes, but have discovered that it works fine using half as much as it calls for. Dried laundry in the house, as it simply won't quit raining. Bought feeder fish for the tiny pond, 19 cents each. They are great for eating up the mosquito wigglers. Found enough primer and paint to do the bathroom, which is great, since after paying to fix it, I'm not sure how much cash there will be for anything more! Bought two pieces of furniture for resale, and should be able to easily double our outlay, even after paying for the gas in the truck to pick them up. Used a 60% off coupon at Joann's to buy a book we've been wanting (cheaper than Amazon!). Planned to hit some yard sales yesterday, but my sister's dog died, and I spent it with her, instead. Much nicer, but for a sad reason...
Finished the potting bench, and it is so cute! And functional. Made with an IKEA Ivar shelf unit I've had for years.
I went to three households and got a ton of rhubarb. I have made a lot of jars of rhubarb sauce and won;t start eating them until the winter.
I am just now canning rhubarb sauce, not jam, but sauce, to pour over cake or ice-cream or whatever. We don't grow any, but I go on Freecycle and ask people if I can have theirs. So many people don't want it, so I wander around the town picking it up.
Sorry to hear about your kitty, rosemary. Is s/he going to be alright?
Most of my frugals are related to the kitchen. I cut up and froze some strawberries that had seen better days. I have a couple of bananas I need to use up, too, plus my dad sent me home with a few overripe ones yesterday. I think I am going to make a "light" banana bread to send to work with DH. His workplace is doing their "Biggest Loser" competition, and they could use a little treat that won't sabatoge their efforts.
I am cooking at home today and will hopefully be able to transform the leftovers for a week or so.
I am considering buying an ice cream maker. I have wanted one for awhile now, but haven't found any used ones. The one I want it around $50. Kohl's has it on sale this week, and I have a $25 gift card, so I might pick one up. I think we'll really like having one--we love ice cream--and $25 isn't too huge of an investment if we don't.
My dad bought some really good corn at the grocery store this past week for 20 cents an ear. Despite living in Iowa (which is corn country), we can't seem to get it for less than 50 cents an ear, even in August. I might go and buy some before the sale ends. We can eat it now, DH can grill it, or I can blanch and freeze it.
Our cat came home last night and is doing ok. Weeks to months of recovery, according to the vet - but she should be showing signs of improvement by next weekend. I'm hoping for that. She is happy to be home. Thanks all for your concern!
I am running all my week's errands this morning. DH is working at home to help me with the first cat tube feedings, so while he's with kitty I'll get everything done. The rest of the week, I plan to alternate writing and gardening time with cat care and the considerable amount of time I spend in the kitchen for the allergy elimination diet. We're starting week 4. There are some changes I would like to keep permanently, but some foods that at least DH and DD will go back to, like bread... pending results once we re-introduce.
I'm also cancelling some non-essential time commitments later in the week to avoid too much stress with the timed cat feedings. That will save some on gas, too.
Danna - yes it really is nice when our teens are recognized by others.
Kat - He is very talented. We are so proud of him.
Well, Sunday was interesting. Woke up to ants in the kitchen and no ant spray. So I killed all that I could find then wiped everything down with dr bronners peppermint soap. After dinner I wiped the counter with vinegar. I've only seen 2 so far today.
The toilet seat broke. It is relatively new but it has just never been right so this was the last straw and we bought a better quality one. Also tried to hook up the new dehumidifier but the hose attachment was broke and the old hose was too big anyway so we had to replace those. I figured as long as I was at the store I'd just buy the food I needed and put the money back into the bank after I get it from the plasma sale.
The kicker was that our beagle escaped from the back yard 4 times yesterday. We kept thinking we had the problem solved but apparently she was crawling through a spot that looked much to small for her fat self to squeeze through. We currently have it blocked with a log. I let her out about 9:30 pm and I was tired so I just kind of forgot about her. About 11 Tyler said where's Annie? SHOOT! So the boys and I wandered around calling her for a while. Nothing. So we got in the van and drove around looking for her. Then we got a call from DH. Apparently the darn dog finally came home and stood at the end of the driveway barking. The barking woke up DH. LOL Ian got down and figured out that Annie was probably able to fit through the loose fence. We blocked it off and everyone went to bed at 1 am. When I called the school this morning to say I had let Tyler sleep late but he'd be in soon the secretary laughed and said that should be in a movie. lol
So - not a frugal day but not boring!
I worked an unexpected 9 hour shift today. That saved us payroll $$ and I made over $100 in tips which are going straight to the financial freedom fund.
On the not so frugal front, I bought a $15 pizza for dinner. The owner of a local bar frequents our place for breakfast with his wife so I bought pizza from him. It was good and there are leftovers for tommorrow.
Sunday was a no spend day and on saturday the only thing that was purchased was a package of donuts by dh.
I went to Aldi today and they had overripe bananas for $.50 a bunch. I got 10 lbs of bananas for $2. A few were still edible just as they were so I pulled those aside. Some were in decent shape, but too ripe for eating, so I peeled those and froze them. The rest were squishy ripe, so I made three batches of banana bread. We'll have that for breakfasts. I'll probably freeze one.
I am doing laundry and sorting through boy clothes. I have three sources for hand-me-down boy clothes and they are all giving me this spring's cast-offs. I also have some of Bella's outgrown clothes to give to my friend for her daughter.
Tonight Zach and I are going to work on my sewing area. I can't wait to get it organized. I found a kooky idea for a sort of sculpture/storage thing made from painted reused tin cans. I might try making it. If it doesn't work I'm out some bolts and a can of spray paint.
((((Rosemary)))) I am sorry to hear about your cat!
fidgiegirl
5-16-11, 7:14pm
Glad to hear everyone is doing well!
Azure, glad your homemade solution worked for the ants. I'd rather have that in my kitchen than ant spray any day, plus it's cheaper!
Stella, does Aldi's always have that? We are low on frozen bananas and I like them overripe. The now-closed grocery store in my hometown that I worked at always had them for cheap, but I don't see that so much in the Cities. Maybe I just haven't looked.
I put in for reimbursements at work today. One was only for $7 and I was tempted to let it go, but put in anyway. This isn't frugal in and of itself but it keeps me from forgetting to do it later and flushing that money away.
Picked up some camisoles at Penney's when I went to pick up our über-deal on blinds. They were on sale and probably weren't, again, a real frugal to spend on them but it will now enable me to wear about five more of my shirts to work that I previously wasn't able to because they are too, ahem, revealing. So the fact that I didn't have to go out and get new blouses to wear to work is a savings. Not that I'll ever get to wear my spring/summer clothes, anyway!!!>:(>:(>:( Stoopid Minnesota weather.
I have forgotten to put in about four hours of hourly pay I could have gone for. I think that ship may have sailed. I should check it out.
Was paid $30 to scoop my neighbor's seemingly millions of litter boxes in her house. This is my last client from my petsitting days oh so long ago. She still calls once in a blue moon and since she is half a block away, I always do it. I even offered to do it for free since I want to get a group going on the block that will help each other with pet stuff (like once in a while we need someone to let out our dog but really have no one to do it). But she preferred to just pay me, so I didn't argue.
We are going to start an eBay on consignment business. I kind of see it as a "practice" business to figure out how to do this thing for all my future ideas. The drumming up business part I already know how to do, at least somewhat (see above-mentioned petsitting) and really enjoy it. I put out a teaser on FB a few days ago. Now I think we will just go ahead and see if we get anyone even though all the business-y stuff isn't quite ready yet. When we were garage-saling I thought we could have cards and give to people for when they have way too high a price on something for a garage sale. If they can't sell it then they could call us after the sale is done. :)
Kicking myself for missing a frugal opportunity on Friday. Coborn's Delivers was running a special for Friday the 13th - $20 off of $100. Since we don't typically order $100 (more like usually $60 or so), I ignored. Well, by the time I was done last night, we were up to $90.00. I could have taken advantage of that after all. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk.
Replacing a small Ikea shelf unit with a LARGE one! I got the big one off of craigslit for $30; new it is $250. The unit I am replacing was a gift, and I'm listing it for $50 this weekend. Hope to turn a tidy profit and reorg my textile room too. I made a big dent in the reorg tonight after my dear husband set it up for me. I love getting my spaces more functional...
Bke, I think it's cool that if you are going to eat out, you are supporting another local restaurant who supports you.
If you do want to save more money though, it might be worth it to keep some pizza dough from one of the 5 minutes a day bread books in the work refrigerator for your personal use (maybe the home fridge too). Then you could have a large pizza for $1-2 depending on toppings.
@bke--it is great that you support another local business!
@ fidgie--we are pet sitting right now, too. We always offer to do it for free, but the lady insists on paying us. It is amazing how much we earn doing it, especially since it is so easy and we enjoy it.
Leftovers for lunch yesterday. Cooked dinner at home last night. Tons of leftovers will keep us from eating out. Was a little nervous about my mashed potatoes because I was out of milk, but I used some sour cream and they came out just fine. I was also nervous about the sweet corn I made. It was from the back of my freezer from last year. But it tasted really good.
My roaster doesn't have a rack in it, so my dad told me to try just using an oven-safe saucer instead. I did, and it worked really well. I still may get one at some point, but this is okay for now.
I am trying to hold off on grocery shopping until tomorrow. I was tempted yesterday to get milk and didn't. Today I am tempted to get bread. I might just make some bread at home. Later this week I am going to have to make stock, too, from the chicken carcasses. I am tired of paying $1 for less than two cups of canned chicken stock!
We are throwing a birthday party for my dad this weekend. We found some nice plates, cups, and decorations at the dollar store. I am trying not to overdo it on the menu (which I have a habit of doing). We are having hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and cheese balls. I am making a cake for dessert and might make some homemade ice cream, too, if I end up getting the ice cream maker. His gift will be a Walmart gift card (budgeted) and maybe a small bouquet of flowers or a nice plant.
fidgiegirl
5-17-11, 9:38am
@redfox, sounds fun! You are turning a profit on several things here . . .
@Kat, your plate score reminds me of an idea DH and I had to put together a set of reusable silverware/plates/cups and rent it out. :) We abandoned it because of logistics, though. Have fun at the party!
dh and i finished curtains where we put blackout mateial inside; they are odd sized windows; picked a beautiful color blue; doesn't go at all with the room but i thought it would give the room a pop of color; and who cares maatchey/matchy isn't us
got two six packs of annuals for 99 cents each pack; just enough to do the front of the condo; i have been transplanting periwinkle to cover bald spots and am now trying my hand at transplanting back eyed susans which are going against the condo; i am not an avid gardener but it does get me out of the house and there is something peacdful about gardening
made up veggie soup from stuff we had to use up and dh had a bowl for dinner and one for his lunch; which saved from him going and buying something for lunch
a friend is going to give me a bunch of lilacs so i can make bouquets throughout the house; we will be having coffee at her condo; which i can walk to; took the bus to a medical appt. and walked home; found a woman who may give me horse back riding lessons for a reducedr rate; i just love animals but can't have them at home due to allergies and volunteering at the shelter with the stressed animals would really bother me; just love animal behavior and rode horses while on vacation so thought i would give this a try; i am learning so much and its natural horsemanship; treating and gaining respect from the horse; treating it kindly and with dignity; these are so much fun to write because i see all the ways we are saving money!
Amarath and Kat-thanks. This is a very small town and we have to take care of each other. Local restaurants will actually loan each other food if they run out. For example, we ran low on corned beef hash for our buffet this weekend so dh borrowed some from a restaurant down the road. When our supply comes in this week, we'll return it. We do the same thing for others when they need it.
My one frugal for today is that I am too darn busy and overwhelmed with life to do much spending. There are just too many things going on at once. We're still not using the new menus, I'm paying 2 bills LATE this week because I forgot, the #@*% fence is finally up but we spent several hours staining it last night and only got the front, short fence done. Our main waitress (the same one who had the accident last week) has been out sick for the last 2 days which means I've been serving and dh and I both lost a day off. But hey, business is picking up, I'm earning tips to put away for the future and we haven't bought anything but the pizza for days.
I have a load of work clothes in the dryer and then, if all goes well, I'm going to take a nap with a nice soft blankey. After which I will have a snack of graham crackers and apple juice and MAYBE I'll be ready to play nicely with others again. Yeah, I tend to be a bit sarcastic in my humor. ;)
Yesterday was so un-frugal. I ended up doing my shopping early because I have a lot of papers to grade this week. I had about $100 to spend, but DH needed razors and protein powder, so I was down to $70 right off the bat. Then cat food knocked us down to $60, and well, let's just say I didn't exactly stick to the my budget. I did resist temptation to buy a watermelon for my dad's party, though. We will have enough food without it.
Today will also be unfrugal as I am going out to lunch with some girlfriends. But I need a break and think it will be worth it!
Such a nice day! We went to Como Zoo today for a homeschool field trip. ComoZoo is free and just about the right size for James. It's easier for him to see the animals because they are closer and the zoo is easy to get around in about an hour. We packed a picnic of cheese sandwiches, potato chips and clementines, but I asked Bella to put it in the bag and she forgot the sandwiches. My fault. I should have double checked. We got dollar menu nuggets for the kids on the way to take Bells to school and ate the clementines and chips at the zoo. I am going to grill the cheese sandwiches tonight for dinner since they only contain butter and cheese.
For breakfast I made baked eggs with sausage, chives and cheese. Yum! One package of sausage made enough for 3-4 meals of baked eggs for 5 people, so overall it was pretty inexpensive and very yummy. Tomorrow I will teach the girls how to make it, it was that easy.
This afternoon has been pretty laid back. Zach and I told Cheyenne that if she worked on her Khan Academy basic multiplication Daddy would take her out roller blading. Within a half hour she had gone from just starting the basic multiplication unit to achieving proficiency with a streak of 25 correct answers! And the reward that motivated her was both free and healthy. Score!
early morning
5-19-11, 8:54am
Good news - our bathroom work and other home repairs look like they will be under budget - yay! don't have the bill yet, but in talking to the guy doing the work yesterday, he remarked that it was coming together quickly and he hadn't had to spend near as much on materials as he thought, so the bill would be lower than his projection. We may be able to have the kitchen ceiling repaired and insulated - that would be a huge improvement! Bad news- DD and I (with Dsis & Dsil) are leaving this afternoon for a couple days in Wisconsin. I'm excited and really really need this break, but travel always hits the budget hard, esp. when traveling with older ladies who are NOT apt to settle for the Bates Motelesque places we tend to hit...so we will economize however we can, and be happy!
Under the category of "simple," I have cancelled my library volunteer time this week and next so that I can get myself ready for the very quickly coming end of school. I need to use the quiet time remaining to finish up some writing commitments, make some lists of activities for easy reference this summer, and swap out DD's winter/summer clothing (it might seem late, but last week we were still having frosts, and she hates feeling cold). I will feel much more organized when these things are done, and ready to focus on the new routine.
Frugals - well, our budget for the month is blown after the cat problems. Kitty is hanging in there but it is going to be a long recovery, if it happens.
So in comparison to vet bills, any savings I can eke out of regular expenses is small, since our budget is already pretty frugal. I'm planning summer activities that will limit driving, and the garden will soon be producing lettuce, asparagus, and strawberries.
@earlly morning--that is great news about your bathroom! I know all about home repairs spiraling out of control; I am so glad that your project is going smoothly and that it will likely cost less than anticipated. :-)
Not too much going on today. The last couple of days have been kind of crazy money-wise, so I am trying to re-focus my efforts. I'll probably do some laundry today in cold water and dry with a large bath towel in the dryer to cut drying time. I used up some sad bananas to make some "light" banana bread this morning. I'll keep maybe half a loaf and send the rest to work with DH tomorrow. I froze some strawberries on their way out for later use in smoothies and will probably freeze the rest of the chicken and make stock for the freezer out of the carcasses this afternoon. I think DH is getting sick of eating chicken! ;-) Tonight I think I am going to switch it up and make spaghetti and meatballs with some meatballs out of the freezer.
DH and I have both been really good about not eating snacks at night, too, which is hard for us.
Last night DH really wanted a taco, but he made a rule that we won't eat out on week nights (thank goodness!), so we came home and I made a quick and simple meal instead. I'm proud of him for the progress he has made eating out. He loves to eat out, and it is hard for him to resist. He's been doing good, though.
Been riding my bicycle to work last 2 weeks at least 4 days per week. Cutting way back on fast food (my weakness) - and pocketing the $.
fidgiegirl
5-19-11, 10:18pm
Returned a snake to the hardware store. We can use the $30 toward the $1200 plumbing bill. :0!:0!:0!
That's the only frugal. Well, we used $20 gift card to go out to eat on Tuesday. That was good.
OUCH Fidgiegirl! Sorry to hear about the enormous plumbing bill! I guess just be thankful its done and well, it could have always cost more...
I finally have the new menu finished. We started using it this morning. That's a big burden off my back. And a big frugal because it will bring out food costs back down to where they are supposed to be.
Dinner was leftovers last night. We stayed home and did work around the house. Dh has been into watching the basketball playoffs and I've been reading alot so entertainment is frugal.
Today should be a no spend day.
In a moment of weakness last night I considered making a special trip to the grocery store for something quick and easy for dinner. Managed to hold off long enough to take a quick inventory of what we already had on hand, which resulting in my cooking dinner at home from what we already had. Not the best meal I've ever made in a pinch, but it was healthy enough and served the purpose. Made chocolate tapioca pudding for dessert and ate some for breakfast. :~) Will need to go shopping for groceries today, but at least I can take the time to write a complete list and get everything we need in one shot.
Have a day-long interview on Monday and, so far, have managed to convince myself that I do not need to purchase a new outfit for the affair. I must have something in the closet that I can wear!
rosarugosa
5-21-11, 10:32am
Not much of interest to report lately. I'm like BKE, practicing the "too busy working to spend any money" strategy of frugality! I did actually take last Friday off and went shopping, but I think it was the first time I had set foot a store in almost a month. I bought some bras, a pair of sandals, and some potting soil with money I had gotten for my birthday. These were the things I went looking for, so I have no regrets. I do have a couple of decent frugals to report. First, I was emboldened by my success at washing my dry-clean only wool sweater, so I decided to try washing my cashmere sweaters (in the machine on delicate cycle in a mesh bag). Did one for starters to see how it would come out, and it came out just fine. So this is going to end up saving me over $100 a year since I have a lot of cashmere sweaters (yes, someone doesn't need to buy another cashmere sweater in her lifetime). I'm also cutting some beautiful bouquets from the garden: bleeding hearts, allium and camassias. I just love this, because these are wonderful flowers like I see in fancy houses in magazines, and I am fortunate enough to be able fill our little cottage with these great bunches of our own home-grown flowers :) Spring is such a terrific time of year!
Oooh fidgiegirl that plumbing bill sounds painful.
Cdttm can you share your recipe for chocolate tapioca pudding? That sounds delicious.
Rosa, I love the flowers this time of year too. My three favorite flowers are lilacs, crabapple blossoms and peonies and two of them are blooming right now.
Yesterday was a brutal day. Zach and T had a stomach bug. Other than pepto and two cans of tuna we didn't spend anything though.
The evening was better. I made a lemon poppyseed bunt cake and had Girls Night at my friend's house.
This morning we had lemon poppyseed bunt cake, cantaloupe and fritatta for brunch. Now we are watching Marvel cartoons on Netflix and contemplating a trip to the Children's Museum, which would be free with membership.
Yesterday I made a big pot of beans and rice and sausage. Very filling, inexpensive, and made enough for 8 servings.
fidgiegirl
5-21-11, 8:28pm
@rosa, careful with your cashmere. I had one that I handwashed many times and while I thought it was fine each time, I then realized it was shrinking a teeny bit every time and ended up not able to wear it anymore.
May 21
--big pot of spagetti sauce from a can of tomatoes and serveral containers of leftovers in freezer(peppers, roast garlic, bbq beef and peppers) it was very good with lots for supper tomorrow night
--yard saling efforts today--two hand craved very neat canes for DH @ $5.00 each--One ironing board with a good cover (I got rid of mine years ago and was just mentioning to DH how much I missed it for sewing projects and there one was for $5.00)--4 pernernial plants for $16.00 (these sizes would have been that much a pot, one is a Breaded Purple Iris that I had at the other house that did not survive the move and also a Yellow Breaded Iris I have just the spot for them)...and one stuffed Pokemon stuffies for Dgrandson for $.50 and that is all I spent.
--yesterday I mixed chicken broth and a cont. of curried veggies from the freezer into just about the best soup ever.
--neighbour was having his driveway sealed and because we did ours at the same time they gave us both a little off, great price to clean up all the weeds on the sides, patch serveral holes, one large and seal for $90.00; now it is done and will last longer.
I have decided to make this The Summer of the Pie. I am starting tonight with a crust recipe from a SLN/Facebook friend and a blueberry filling. I want to master the art of pie making. In some ways summer is not the best time because of the heat, but its when all the fruits are in season, so I'll suck it up. If anyone here has a beloved pie recipe to share I would love to try it.
I think this fall is going to be all about the bundt cake.
rosarugosa
5-21-11, 9:40pm
Thanks Fidgie. I'll watch out for that!
Stella, I think pie is a wonderful thing. In the summer, I would vote for berry, lemon meringue and key lime :) DH makes awesome pies.
Our wonderful neighbors are coming over and getting their dad to bring his chipper. We're going to be chipping a ton of brush! I save the cost of renting a smaller chipper but I'll be making our helpers dinner. So, free help, and a party to boot.
I made two loaves of bread in the breadmaker so I can save money on buying bread at the store.
Made 1 loaf of banana bread from some old bananas that I had in the freezer. I think I will make another loaf tomorrow and try to get the rest of the bananas used up.
Started clipping coupons and reading the couponing websites so I can take advantage of good deals.
Purchased one pair of brown dress pants that are super comfy and I plan to wear them to church or even on my days off, from a local used-clothing store. I paid $5.99 which isn't great for used, but not too bad.
Monday I will be making a trip to the local Salvation Army for their 50% off day to look for a skirt, dress, and a couple shirts. I haven't bought any new clothes in over 6 months and I don't have much for spring and summer, so I figure it's about time.
Not too much to report; things haven't been too frugal around here. We do have tons of leftovers from my dad's party, so we'll be eating those up. I also have half a package of bacon that I will need to use up. I am thinking maybe just plain, boring bacon and eggs or maybe BLTs. I love bacon, but it is expensive so we don't get to eat it often. With all the leftovers and all the stuff I have to cook at home, I don't think we'll be eating out!
My dad slipped be some money last night and asked me to bring a fried chicken dinner over for today since we have family in town and he doesn't feel up to cooking for several people. I was thinking I could bring some of the party leftovers to use for sides and desserts and buy just the chicken to save him a little money (and we'll still have tons of food left).
Now that the party is over, we really need to get back on the frugal bandwagon!
Chocolate tapioca pudding:
3 cups of whole milk (low-fat is okay)
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (well beaten)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 Tbsp tapioca
Mix everything in a saucepan and let stand for 5 minutes.
Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil.
Remove from heat and let stand 20 minutes to cool. The pudding will thicken as it cools.
I ususally add a little vanilla at the beginning of the cooling stage, but this last time I forgot. It didn't make a noticeable difference.
This is very chocolatey, but not overly sweet, which is the way I like it. You can add more sugar while it is cooking if it's not sweet enough for you.
For normal people, this recipe makes six 1/2 cup servings. At our house, this makes three servings if I'm lucky. :|(
Enjoy!!!
Went to costco and bought our vitamins & supplements(sale), lemons, 50 lbs of flour for bread and pastry making,big can of chickpeas, a full year of laundry detergent (sale) kitty litter etc. Was very restrained but still spent $250. This morning I zested and juiced all of the lemons and froze in ice cube trays for cooking and baking. Made a rhubarb berry pie with last year's strawberries and raspberries, and also made my DMIL sour cream cinnamon buns. We're going through the things she has "packed up" to bring here and tossing/selling/keeping stuff. She went through the depression so many, many things she thinks can be useful. Now I'm pretty frugal myself but we're not keeping half of it!
My fantasy is not being given expensive jewelry but to be given carte blanche in a great food store costco or whole earth, etc.
now to think up what we'll be eating this week. Hmmmmm...
Yikes! on the plumbing! - Fidgiegirl
Stella - I made a very good Peach cream pie last year. My dh doesn't even like peaches & he scarfed this pie right down. I also have a good strawberry pie recipe. I'll see if I can find the recipes.
This has been a pretty good weekend for our family. Particularly Tyler. Not the most frugal though.
Friday was pay day. Made a mad dash to the credit union & Meijer's for a few groceries. Back at home I made no bake cookies, lemon poppyseed choc. chip mini muffins (used a mix for expedience) and 14 ham & cheese sandwiches before I ran out of ham & mayo. Cut up a watermelon. Packed it all up along with a case of water & headed for DS's regional track meet. Spent 8 hours in the sun but it was definitely worth it.
Tyler's 3200 meter & 1600 mtr. relay teams qualified to go to the State Finals. He missed out on his other event by 1 second. So we're very excited!! Only his 2 teams & 1 of the girls teams qualified for states this year. They will get their butts kicked but hopefully they will set new records for our school. So $10 admission plus DH & I spent an additional $8 for some burgers & more water/gatorade on top of the other money spent for the team food. But it was money well spent.
Saturday finished the grocery shopping. Also bought some veggies for the garden. Will be planting onions, cauliflower, bell pepper, tomato, acorn squash & watermelon. Also got a few strawberry plants for the planter on the back porch. No I just have to get them into the ground. Monday's project.
Today I baked an Apple Blossom Cake for the dessert potluck at this afternoons band banquet. Went to church. Gave $10 for a gift for our Pastor. Came home and prepped dinner. boiled eggs & potatoes for potato salad. Broiled some pork ribs then put them into the crock pot.
Went to the Showcase concert to see Tyler play. He played in the jazz band & the regular band. He played his guitar with some friends on the Led Zeppelin song Rock & Roll. The band director sang. They really rocked it. Tyler played an amazing solo that got everybody cheering. I was all teary eyed. For the last song of the day it was Tyler & some other friends playing a Ska song that Tyler had written. Tyler played trombone on that one. It was very very good. I was definitely a proud mama. AND I won a nice big deep red geranium hanging basket in the raffle!
The cake was made with ingredients I had on hand. (and it was delish, if I do say so myself lol) $9. admission to the concert. Busy, busy time but really a lot of fun.
fidgiegirl
5-22-11, 11:24pm
Wow, everyone, you are baking MACHINES! I am drooling.
Today was a band concert which was FFF and also I won two items in the silent auction: a $20 fabric store gift cert for $13 (I can use this for a future gift or for a future project of my own) and 20 passes to the Y for only $30. STEAL!! I have been wanting to try to the Y but not willing to pay the membership right now. Now I will get to sample their offerings.
My sister gave us irises and raspberries. We will plant these soon.
DH primed the wall and shelves where the plumbing went to pot and the water went all over through the broken drain pipe. Looks so much better. If at any point we decide to sell the house it will be one more thing done. We don't want the illusion of ongoing water issues when in truth it was a one-time event. He used paint we already had. We were going to go to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore off of County D. They have super cheap paint - $5.00 a gallon, and lots in stock. But the longer it took us to get there, the more time we had to realize we already had a stash of paint. ETA: we also used an old baking pan for the paint roller once we realized we have no rolling trays.
I would like to start a running total for the month (ok, kind of late but oh well) of what savings result from these frugal actions. Sometimes I think spending is "saving" and it really isn't. I am going to do my best approximation of what we would have had to pay if we'd purchased the items or different items to fill the need.
Paint: $10
Tray: $5
Passes: $60 membership fee (savings of $30)
Gift card: $20 (savings of $7)
Plants: $20
= $72 :0!:0!:0!
Friend was in town on Saturday and our helper was giving her other family an extra hand (baby got burned with hot porridge a couple of days ago) so we decided to splurge and ate out at a restaurant nearby. Bad move, for me at least. $70+ bucks and several hours later I had a horrible bout of food poisoning. Everyone else seemed fine, but I was pretty miserable yesterday. Spent most of the day sleeping. DH cooked and cleaned, and other than basic groceries we didn't spend anything.
Feeling better today but working from home just in case the digestion flares up again. that means I saved about $7 in cab fare home, though. And a couple of hours in transit. The sunny side of food poisoning! I am glad to have a job that allows a bit of flexibility in situations like this.
lhamo
fidgiegirl
5-23-11, 12:53am
Feel 100% soon, lhamo!
Hope you feel better soon, Ihamo!
Not too much going on here--laundry done the frugal way. I have some family in town and will be suggested we do some things that are free, like taking the kids to the park. I have some meat that I need to portion out and freeze this week before it goes bad. I also have a green pepper I need to chop and freeze,so I'll do those things. Over the weekend I picked all the chicken off the bones of the whole chickens I made and froze it for meals this week. I also froze the carcasses because I didn't get to making stock. I'll try to get to that this week, too. I need to clean out the freezer a bit!
I'll also be cooking at home all week. Have to decide what to make. Hmmm...
I think I am finally caught up on all the things that were stressing me out last week. It was a lot of work covering all the bases but it ended well yesterday with more money in tips than I expected. As usual, these went directly into saving which is very satisfying.
After dinner we spent almost 3 hours out on the new patio soaking up the sunshine. I even snoozed for a bit in my lawn chair-lol. It was incredibly nice to have the privacy to be outside in clothes we would never be seen wearing in public (shorts and a tank top for me-dh in shorts and barefooted) and just relax undisturbed. Talk about a frugal past time!
My only purchase yesterday was the newspaper. Today, I put gas in the car but have no plans for further purchases.
Stella, one of the best pies I've ever had was at a little restaurant in an old Victorian house somewhere in Wisconsin - rhubarb custard pie. Yum, yum. The local rhubarb is ready to go, so there's one seasonal idea for you!
I am focusing on taking care of myself this week. My stomach problems really flared last week with the cat stress. Our remaining cat is doing her best to comfort me. One of the things I need to work on is a list of free things DD and I can do once school ends.
Yesterday I put my veggies in the garden. Did some weeding in the flower beds. Decided to start buying mulch 1 or 2 bags at a time for the front flower bed. I can't afford to buy it all at once but at least I'm getting started. So I put down some newspapers & covered it with 1 bag of mulch. I am trying to kill off the ancient ground cover.
Today I sold plasma. Made a meatless pasta w/broccoli dish for dinner. I was gone so long to the plasma center that I was tempted to stop a buy a loaf of italian bread or garlic bread to go with dinner. Instead I did a search on Allrecipes & made a batch of quick breadsticks. Wasn't crazy about the results but they weren't bad & it was definitely cheaper than buying something.
getting ready for camping; dh is packing me up and will drop me off; its at a local state park nearby; we noted that coolers/food stuff has to be in your car; well i was going to be carless which i can't drive so not a problem; but food storage was; of course we first thought of putting food up in trees but there aren't mature trees nearby; anyway of course we start looking at buying; then i thought since his boss lives nearby why couldn't he pick dh up and bring him home; it is on a holiday but later in the day and boss loves to get away from family unfortunatly; well dh didn't want to ask him; he is like me in that we are fiercly independent but i thought that dh has done so much for this guy he could do one thing; dh didn't want to ask him
so i contacted boss without letting dh know and asked if he could offer since dh didn't want to bother him; dh has done this to me without my knowledge; not negative types of things but supportive
so long story short; dh said boss offered to take him home; and he said okay! was smiling on the inside the whole time; but it saved us money where we would have had to purchase something that we might not ever use in the future and having a car there hides me from other campers view and makes it look like there is more than one camper; so win win
have been making up camp food from stuff around here; haven't had to buy much at all which is great! of course i am excited as i am a camper at heart; the camper who camps in her own home
Ok this might not sound like a frugal but I think it will be, at least in the long term. We bought an above ground pool last night. It was $300 and is big enough to enjoy as adults. Work is really hot for us all summer long and we enjoy a cool dip anytime we can. Usually that means hurrying to the pool or the beach after work to get some time in before closing. We always end up buying food and/or cold drinks while out as well as the cost of gas and admission. I'm guessing that we spend an average of $30 every evening we go swimming. So, if we use the pool more than 10 times it will pay for itself and I know it will get tons of use sitting behind my privacy fence where it can be used as late in the evening as we desire.
I also bought a nice chaise lounge chair and side table to complete my patio. A girl needs some place to put her cold beverage while she reads by the pool. Both of these items were on sale and should last for several years.
We were given a bunch of coffee samples to try. We'd like to find a less expensive but good quality coffee to serve to the customers. None of these panned out but I brought home enough leftover samples for several mornings of self indulgence.
I got the oil changed on the car this morning. While out I had breakfast at McD's. I used a B1G1 sandwich coupon and bought a large iced tea. I read my book while enjoying a private breakfast out and refilled my tea glass as I left. I have enough tea to enjoy all afternoon and spent less than $4 total.
I'm going to keep plugging along at the little things today. Swagbucks, coke rewards, etc. I'm beginning to think about X-mas presents and if I can make my purchases for free this year.....
[B] Often our expensive/exotic is another culture's inexpensive, easy comfort food. There are places for example that if you are really impoverished for a stretch that you send your kids to school with packed lunches which include lobster sandwiches because you can catch lobsters for free. It embarasses the kids terribly and they try to hide what's in their lunch.>8)
I have some regional cookbooks, supposedly frugal, that are great examples of this. Two are written by a woman in New England with recipes that start out: "First, put ten pounds of lobster in your biggest soup pot...." And then there are the Cajun ones that use pounds and pounds of shrimp and crayfish. I live in southeastern Pennsylvania and making recipes like these is quite a luxury!
As for my frugals this month, last night I got a free tire rotation at Just Tires, where I bought my new set during the winter. [Lifetime (of the tires) free tire rotation comes with the purchase of any tires there.] The night before I took a customer survey for Rite Aid and got a $3.00 off coupon for most of their stock. I still have to stop at Acme where I'll buy four greeting cards and get $4.00 off a health item of my choice, and at Weis Markets where I'll cash in a $3.00 off coupon I got for buying two boxes of Natural Instincts, something I buy on a regular basis. I'll also try out the Lettuce Soup recipe that came as a response to my question about leaf lettuce under the Food and Recipes section of this forum. I planted two big pots of Black Seeded Simpson early in the spring and thanks to all the rain we've had, I'm up to my ears in lettuce. Also, I've rescued some pretty wild plants from the yard and put them in one of my flower/vegetable beds.
As retirement looms on the horizon (a welcome sight!) I find I'm coming up with lots of creative, frugal ideas. :D
Mmmmm. Those pie recipes sound delicious!
Tonight I made meatloaf burgers. My meatloaf is Zach's favourite food, but it isn't cheap, requiring both a pound of hamburger and a pound of pork sausage. It wouldn't be so bad if there were leftovers, but Zach can't help himself and usually finishes it off. By making burgers, slider style, no less, I had more control over portion sizes. I made enough sliders for each person to have two except for James who only needs one. I saved the rest of the meatloaf mixture for tomorrow's lunch. The buns were leftovers someone didn't want to take home from last nights church potluck.
Today we went on a morning bike ride and then to the Children's Museum, which was free with our membership. We had so much fun!
Oooh, enjoy the new pool, bke!
Stella, that is a great idea re: the meatloaf! Sometimes I make it in muffin tins for the same reason! ;-)
fidgiegirl
5-25-11, 11:28pm
Went to a play tonight at the Guthrie courtesy of my inlaws. We offered to pay but in my FiL's mind they are tickets that they would have wasted somehow or something so he said we could just go for free. My husband's family isn't really the treating kind so that was very unexpected. Usually the accounting is very detailed . . . like even a few dollars that someone comes up short, they pay back later (and expect to be paid back). At least it works equally all ways around :)
We also got a free Groupon that will expire on Sunday. Our coworker couldn't use it so she gave it away and my DH snapped it up. $35 meal out tomorrow night. We also offered to pay her for it and she wouldn't hear it. People are so nice.
Been cooking at home lately. BLTs, homemade onion rings, sloppy joes, hot dogs on the grill. I cut up more onions than I needed to into rings and saved them (and half of a sad green pepper) for stock day. Then I fried more than we could eat and thought about just throwing them away since fried foods don't usually reheat well. I heated them up in the oven today, though, and they were okay. I also packaged a bunch of meat for the freezer so it wouldn't go bad.
The baby's room is being painted today. I love the color we chose. We needed two gallons, but there was a $5 rebate on each one, so that will help!
DH gets an extra paycheck in June, and I want to save all of it for the baby. To do that, I really need to plan our meals well. We have a lot of food in the freezer and the pantry, so we should be alright as long as I make a list.
DH is hanging out with a friend tonight. I think I will make them something for dinner so that they don't order out.
fidgiegirl
5-26-11, 6:20pm
DH is hanging out with a friend tonight. I think I will make them something for dinner so that they don't order out.
So sweet. They will love it, and you will love knowing you saved $$!
Here my DH is an eBaying MACHINE!! He is selling off lots of goodies that have been laying around. We are selling our wedding paper lanterns. They are up to $20. Yeah.
Wow, things sure are quiet around here! Ah, well probably just the time of year...
Today is ds's last day of school for the year. I'm not gonnna win mother of the year saying this but it always feel weird the first few days of vacation, having him around all the time. But then by fall, I wish he didn't have to go back.
We sat down as a family last night and talked about how we were going to work at being as frugal as possible this summer. There is a bank, a post office, and a very basic grocery store/gas station within walking distance of the house/restaurant. If we work at it we can probably limit our driving to an average of twice a week. I figure it takes about a gallon of gas to make the round trip to the library or around $4 these days. I'm going to actively use the interlibrary loan system and work on making one trip or less per week to the library. During the school year, its not uncommon for me to go there 3-4 times a week. THe day I go to the library I will also plan my rite aid shopping trip. That way it will be a frugal driving day by accomplishing as much as possible.
I'm also going to pick up any extra server shifts the staff wants to give away. Saves on payroll and puts more $$$ into the Financial Freedom Fund. Dh keeps telling me that we can put the business up for sale in 6 years, when ds graduates, if were financially ready. I need to focus. I'll be very unhappy with myself if that day comes and goes and I'm not financially ready because of too many dinners out or too many trips to the library because of a lack of discipline and planning.
So a few actual frugals:
Took a Rite Aid survey yesterday and printed out a $3 off $15 purchase coupon. Its the first time I've bothered to do this.
I requested 4 more books by Elin Hilderbrand from the library. I like this ladies books a lot and 4 of them will keep me occupied for quite a while. I can renew books on-line so I want to bring home several at once and go less often.
Ds went on a field trip yesterday and actually returned with change from the spending money I gave him.
Continuing to do reward sites and sweepstakes.
Kat, thanks for the reba
That is supposed to say thanks to Kat for the rebate reminder-I still need to mail mine in for the fence stain we bought.
So a few actual frugals:
Took a Rite Aid survey yesterday and printed out a $3 off $15 purchase coupon. Its the first time I've bothered to do this.
While you're at it, get a Wellness card. I've had one for about a year and am now getting 20% off on just about everything Rite Aid sells (prescriptions, photo processing, stamps, et cetera, aren't included). They have good sales on food and household items, like TP, so I now look at their flyer first when I get the Weekly Wad.
BTW, you can take those surveys for every invitation you get on your cash register receipt. It's not "one to a customer". I've probably saved fifteen dollars or so just in the past few months. I now have their survey site listed in my "Favorites."
Thanks Jemima
I've been a big Rite Aid fan for years and love getting all the great deals they come up with. I do have the Wellness card and use it religiously. The thing is that I don't have a printer for my home computer at the moment and have to do the surveys at the library if I want to take advantage of them I actually remembered while I was there yesterday and well, completed the survey and printed my discount.
Good to know I can do more surveys in the future-I wasn't sure of the limit.
You're very welcome, bke. I used to shop at CVS a lot, but since I got a Wellness card I've almost forgotten where the CVS stores are located. Also Walgreen's. Around here, they seldom have their sale items in stock, although they were decent when I spent nine months in Indianapolis on business. No Rite Aid stores there at all.
Frugals: last night I picked up some nasturtium seeds at Acme Markets at 40% off. Memorial Day weekend I'll be planting my summer seeds and maybe starting some window boxes (which will sit on my porch, the windows aren't amenable to window boxes, unfortunately) of Swiss Chard and the Deer Tongue Leaf Lettuce I got from Henry Field's, which is not supposed to bolt in hot weather. (Next year I may wait until the last minute since I've had my seeds for several months, bought at full retail, and now I can get lots of things at big discounts from seeds to live plants.)
No big spending in store for the weekend, except for loading up at Aldi for next month. If I have time, I'd like to do a month of summer menu plans, including bag lunches for work. Leaving work early today to avoid the Jersey Shore/Poconos traffic, stop at my favorite second-hand paperback store with some books for credit and all the Karin Slaughter books I can find there, and cash in my three dollar coupon at Weis Markets.
Not many frugals to report here. Making up another batch of rhubarb freezer jam since we've consumed everything from the first round. Noticed that my strawberrry plants actually have little strawberries on them, so will be excited to eat some fresh-picked berries soon! My mom is flying in tomorrow for a week-long visit. After picking her up at the airport we are going to visit two nurseries, one that specializes in hostas and one that specializes in peonies. Since we'll be out most of the day, I'm going to pack a lunch for us. We've always eaten out at restaurants when my mom has come to visit in the past, so this is going to be a bit of a change. But she has some wonderfully frugal habits of her own, so I suspect she will embrace my ideas. Been staying busy this week by stacking the 9 cords of firewood we had delivered 2 weeks ago. Decided that after the crazy New England winter we experienced we would buy early and be well prepared this time around.
May 27
--pot of soup from chicken carcass/root veggies/freezer cooked veggies it made a large pot of great tasting but really odd colour. I had cooked a bunch of purple carrots a few weeks ago and froze the leftovers..my chicken soup ended up looking like beet soup but still tasted very good
--great DVD boxed set from the library "Larkrise to Candleford" just finished season two for free
--finally got out the bins with summer clothes, fluffed in dryer and got them put in closet and drawers. Sorted/purged and put away winter clothes. Reminds me that we don't need anything in the way of clothes at least till the end of the year.
madgeylou
5-28-11, 12:27am
oh my gosh cdttmm, i would LOVE to visit a nursery that specializes in peonies! they are one of my favorite flowers -- i love all those petals!!
i have had a very frugal week. ate all my meals at or packed from home (except lunch today) and didn't buy any coffee either. my fella and i are going to start having a weekly review of the budget -- we're both really trying to knuckle down this summer, work a lot, and spend as little as we can. so far, so good.
i'm working tomorrow, then have a few days off to hang out with my man. really looking forward to that! he made sausage today which will be breakfast tomorrow ... can't wait!
rosarugosa
5-28-11, 7:14am
cdttmm, Where is the peony nursery? I'm in New England too, and I love peonies. My tree peony is in full bloom right now, and it is just glorious! Although I probably shouldn't be buying any more plants just now.
I had yesterday off from work, and I guess I accomplished some frugals, although I also went out and spent a bunch of money (I'm always suspect of those two concepts together!) But these were planned, garden-related expenditures, and I had been saving up money to cover them. I used a $5.00 coupon for my small local nursery, where I bought most of my plants. I then went to the larger local nursery for some things I could not get at the first nursery. I usually spend $12 - $15 each for the purple fountain grass I need for my four large planters, but I had a choice between large specimens at $12.99 or youngsters for $5.49, so I went with the youngsters and thereby saved about $28.00. I also needed a new plastic watering can for filling the birdbath because the 25-year-old one we have is leaking. The nursery had a couple of high-end models for $25 - $35, and there was no way I was spending that for a plastic watering can! I finally found some hidden away for $6.49 each that were exactly what I had in mind, and made in the USA at that!
There was a magazine ad that really resonated with me several years ago, along the lines of "Some folks have a vacation home, others don't need one." We've actually been pretty successful in creating our own little backyard paradise that we enjoy as much as any place we might visit. So our gardening efforts are frugal in that context as well, like you pool and related expenditures, BKE.
We're also trying to do some stocking up on a modest scale of grocery items that are good sale prices that we use all the time. They have some really good prices on tuna, chips and pickles this week, and we tend to go through a lot of these items in the summer, and they are pretty non-perishable. It will be interesting to see if this type of strategy saves us any money over the long run.
fidgiegirl
5-28-11, 10:40am
"Some folks have a vacation home, others don't need one."
What a nice thought! I concur. I think either in our potential new home or in our existing home we can accomplish this. Wish we weren't in limbo so we could move forward on whatever we're actually going to do! However, we are blessed to have think time so we will make the most of that.
We are going up to my parents' today to plant our pumpkin patch! They have really crappy, sandy soil so we amended it with a bunch of manure from an old pile they had laying around. We also put cardboard down to help with the really tenacious weeds. This was two full days of work last fall! Now we are going to put in the plants that DH has started in our basement. I am regretting not getting around to starting our tomatoes and peppers :( With it having been so cold, I am thinking I should skip a direct sowing and should just go pick up a few plants.
We will go out to lunch but that is Grandma time and overall spending $10-15 is ok with me for some Grandma time.
Not much else! Maybe we will eat down the freezer this weekend. I have some frozen whole chickens and also a bucket of goodies for making stock. Time to get some of that taken care of and eaten up.
Well, this should be a "May Un-Frugals" post because this week I have been making reservations for our trip to Hawaii -- kaching! And that is the sound of money flowing out, not in. Note to self -- do not ever discuss possible holiday plans with the kids before checking prices.... But, on the positive side, we have the money due to the economizing we do in other parts of our life, and this is going to be a fantastic and fun trip, even though costly. And we're supporting the US economy! Kind of frustrating though because we had been running at around $1500/month UNDER projected budget and now we are already at $200/month OVER projected budget. And I haven't even paid our share of the kids school fees for next year, or for summer camp, and dh is planning to take them back to his hometown for about 10 days before our Hawaii/Seattle trip, so more outflow there. KACHING indeed. Sigh. SHouldn't complain too much, though. We are fortunate to be in a position where we can afford to make 1-2 trips back to see family a year, and now a nice vacation on top of it.
In frugal victories, I snagged another pot for my container garden. I had taken DD up to play with a friend who lives upstairs in our building, and decided to take the stairs down to come back home. Found a kind of grubby but still servicable planter someone had put by the garbage on the 33rd floor. So I lugged that down -- will probably use it for herbs. I also found two perfectly servicable pieces of tile that are large enough to put under our air filter machines. Right now they are sitting on shelves from some Ikea bookcases we have, but I've been wanting to get those shelves back into use. This is a nice, and free, substitute.
I'm thinking I need to start checking out the stairwells more often. We have snagged some pretty good stuff when we run across it. Who knows what we would find if we made it a more regular thing. Who would have thought you could dumpster dive in a 36 floor highrise!
Today should be another frugal day. A friend is moving back to HK and having a big gonig away party with lunch. Have enough leftovers for dinner.
lhamo
Last night Zach helped our friend Mary move some furniture and the kids and I came along to hang out. Mary bought us pizza as a thank you, so dinner was free.
Mary has been decluttering so I got a Diskman from her for free. My nephew wants one badly because they are "vintage" and therefor incredibly cool. None of his Hollywood buddies has one. His dad is a music editor and producer, so he has thousands of really cool "old" CDs like Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, old Green Day, Tribe Called Quest, Soul Coughing, etc. :D now I get to be the coolest aunt ever to a kid who's best friend got a race car for his birthday. Score!
Today we had another friend's 10 year old over for babysitting. We had a great time. I have been on a cooking spree today. I made berry pancakes with chambord whipped cream for breakfast, pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and carrots for dinner and my great-aunt's butterscotch pie for dessert. The kid helped me with the pie, carrots and potatoes. The pie crust recipe I tried today was the BOMB. I seriously wanted to cry it was so good. Light and flaky and perfect. With six of us eating plus the kid and his mom, the pie went fast.
We also went swimming in our pool today for a little bit. It was too cold for me, but the big kids are apparently made of steel.
Well my frugal choice for today was that I paid all my bills and took a clear look at our financial situation - the latter was something I'd avoided doing since having a baby in March. I've taken most of the last three months off and, though I had saved up quite a bit to cover the decreased income, I can now officially report that I have no more cushion to fall back on.
It was scary to realize that, but it's also the first step toward taking some proactive steps to keep from going into debt.
I am working a teeny bit in June and more in July, and I just emailed one of my bosses to see if I could scare up a little more work in July. We'll see. I'm going to have to do more brainstorming and reflecting to figure out how we're going to get through the next several months. Boy, do I wish I could just stay home with my baby, but it's hard to see how I could make that work right now.
When I panic, I think of all of you and how much creativity you show in figuring out how to live well on relatively little.
May28
Stella homemade Butterscotch pie is DH fave, it was something is Mom made often....the other very frugal one is Banana Cream
--frugal was not going yardsaling
--no spend, no gas day
--bought corn for 10 for $3.00 yesterday and had that and a salad for supper
--did gardening for exercise
@rosarugosa: the peony nursery is called Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston, CT.
We actually didn't end up making it to the peony place today -- spent too much time at the hosta nursery. :|( Which actually turned out to be a huge frugal!!! First, I didn't actually buy anything. And, second, the owner asked me to come and work for him in June for a day during a national hosta convention. He asked me because he remembered me from last year when I was there buying plants for a garden I was designing in NYC. Considering that I don't have a full-time job right now, this is a great score!
Successfully packed picnic lunch today for our excursion and didn't spend any money to eat. Also, made chocolate tapioca pudding again, which served as a nice afternoon snack when we got home. Cooked dinner at home, including a huge salad made with greens from our garden.
Made another batch of rhubarb freezer jam. Decided to experiment and added some fresh mint from our garden. YUM!!! It turned out wonderfully and I can't wait to have some on toast for breakfast tomorrow!
I have an appointment with a tutoring student tomorrow, so will be earning a little income for the week. And, aside from that, just going to spend the day gardening with my mom.
Stella -- oh my, how old I feel now that those bands are considered "vintage." Thanks for the reminder about the discman. I actually still have one. I really want to have some good music for running, but haven't figured out how to transfer my CDs to my Itunes program. but now I realize I can just take the discman and play the CDs directly. Not quite as small and convenient as my ipod, but it'll do while I figure out the tech transfer stuff.
Spent nothing today except about $1.25 to buy DD a balloon. All the other kids at the party were getting them, so I didn't have the heart to say no. We had a great free lunch at the party and the friends who are leaving said we are welcome to stay with them in HK. They will be living pretty close to Disney, so I think we may take them up on that!
Dinner was leftovers.
lhamo
Have been taking my vacation time and using it mostly to do nothing! Must stop that! This weekend we've worked on the garden, replanting parsnips that didn't germinate because of all the rain. BIL is ill place so I brought chicken and homemade potato salad to sister and her sons. I hope they eat it. Went to a friend's place and cut quite a bit of rhubarb for the freezer. Made a rhubarb, strawberry and raspberry crisp for DH & DMIL. Am pledging to get off my duff and pick up more. I really like a nice, clean house and DH will be working full time for a stretch so it will be even more important to have things tidy and enough food for meals etc. I HATE cleaning when he's not around!!
I hope you have a GREAT time in Hawaii, Ihamo!
@stella--too funny about the "vintage" tunes! One of the essays I assigned my college English students to read last fall was "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It was about Nirvana, obviously, and their impact on the music scene in the 90s. The next class period, we all pulled out our books, and the kids were all like, "Who is Kurt Cobain?" I was like...really??? I am sure they thought I was so old at 27! LOL They also barely remembered 9/11 (they were only like 8 or 9 when that happened) and, when prompted to write about a "classic" band/musician that deserved a second look, chose Alanis Morissette, Pearl Jam, and Matchbox 20. LOL!
I haven't done terrific this past week. I've been very busy with family visits, graduation, etc. Need to do a little better, though we did manage to eat mostly at home. I will be doing my big carefully-planned shop this week and joined fidgie's $100 June challenge to try to save a little money on stuff we need to buy. I also picked up an extra class for a little more money. The home remodel project completely wiped us out. While I am thankful the money was there when we needed it, I am uncomfortable with having nothing in savings. So need to get that account back up again!
Blackdog Lin
5-30-11, 9:49am
I've had a pretty good frugal week. Been on vacation-from-work for 9 1/2 glorious days (which ends in 15 hours, alas). And accomplished a few things that help on the frugality front.
The most important thing I accomplished was cleaning and organizing my closet - putting away the winter stuff and bringing out the summer, trying on pieces to see if they were still useful, etc. It made me realize that I have PLENTY of summer clothes to work with, and need no more (my gazingus pin).
And I went through the freezers to identify all those bits and pieces in ziplocks (we freeze EVERYTHING we don't finish off as leftovers), and came up with this week's menus to use most of them up, along with using up the fresh produce in the house. Half the freezer smoked sausage and a green pepper will go into sweet-n-sour bean pot; the other half and the other green pepper shall be sausage/spanish rice; the rest of the lettuces and produce and the cup of freezer ham bits I found will turn into a chef's salad; the chicken grease will be the base for biscuits and gravy next weekend; and the baggie of sausage/rice mixture (from stuffed peppers, maybe? can't remember!) along with that one frozen grilled chicken breast and another baggie of mystery mixture should be able to be translated into a "casserole surprise". It was time to do an out-with-the-old thing so we'll have room-for-the-new. Oh, and yesterday's macaroni salad should make another hot-weather meal with the addition of a can or two of tuna. We are set for the week!
fidgiegirl
5-30-11, 11:17am
And I went through the freezers to identify all those bits and pieces in ziplocks (we freeze EVERYTHING we don't finish off as leftovers), and came up with this week's menus to use most of them up, along with using up the fresh produce in the house. Half the freezer smoked sausage and a green pepper will go into sweet-n-sour bean pot; the other half and the other green pepper shall be sausage/spanish rice; the rest of the lettuces and produce and the cup of freezer ham bits I found will turn into a chef's salad; the chicken grease will be the base for biscuits and gravy next weekend; and the baggie of sausage/rice mixture (from stuffed peppers, maybe? can't remember!) along with that one frozen grilled chicken breast and another baggie of mystery mixture should be able to be translated into a "casserole surprise". It was time to do an out-with-the-old thing so we'll have room-for-the-new. Oh, and yesterday's macaroni salad should make another hot-weather meal with the addition of a can or two of tuna. We are set for the week!
So need to do this, too. You have inspired me! Maybe today after I'm done sewing!
@Blackdog Lin--you have inspired me to really go through my freezer! I made two meals from the freezer yesterday :-)
Today I have a doctor's appointment and start a new class, so I will be keeping busy and won't have time to spend money. :-) I'll mail a couple of things near my doctor's office to save on gas. When I get home, I plan to make some chicken stock out of stuff from the freezer--chicken carcasses and veggies. I think I will get that started and then work in the kitchen while it simmers away. If I can get that done, I can make a homemade chicken pot pie for DH for supper.
Oh yeah--over the weekend, my sister and my dad both gave me some outfits for the baby. Two of my other sisters with baby girls also said they had a pile started for me. I don't think I will need to buy any clothes for this baby! People seem to love to buy and/or pass along aby clothes, and I am so grateful!
Forgot to mention that I have been using leftover drinking water (what my guests or DH don't finish) to water my houseplants. I figured I paid for it--why not use it? I think my plants get more water this way, too! haha
Okay, so I know I just posted that I won't need to buy any clothes for my kid, but I had to wait for an hour in between my appointment and lab today, so I ventured over to Goodwill. I found some cute jeans for her in bigger sizes (Children's Place and Baby Gap) and an adorable white blouse with pockets and kitchen stuff printed on it (tea pots and such) all for 1.19 each. Couldn't resist. I'll make up for it by doing laundry in cold water and hanging things to dry ;-)
Zach got a job! I am so insanely excited. The job pays really well too. More money than any job either of us has ever made, and our monthly bills are minuscule, so this provides quite a few opportunities. The job is through mid November, so Zach will have to finish school in spring semester, but this should set us up nicely for the last semester of school and beyond. It also ends in time to give us a month and a half to travel, first to Indiana for Thanksgiving and then to California for Christmas. We may make a trip to Arkansas too. Zach wants to. I think that may be a lot of road tripping for four kids seven and under.
Dad is lending us money for a little junker car to get Zach to and from work so I can have the van. We will be paying him back within two months. Dad doesn't charge interest.
I am trying not to go crazy with all of this. As you can imagine, with 18 months of part-time coffee shop income and four kids, there are some wants and needs to take care of. Zach and I gave ourselves permission to daydream out loud for a couple of days and then get down to the business of prioritizing. I want to save at least half of the money. I know for sure that I am going to get a new cord for my laptop, get my camera fixed, get a haircut and sign the girls up for a few classes. Piano, digital filmmaking, and possibly robotics or a clay class for the summer. In fall they want to take aerialist classes at a circus school. It sounds like a lot but the classes are tax deductible and all told it's not really that much money.
We have managed to have 4 no drive/ no spend days in a row! That is a definite record for this family!! Ds and I are getting ready to go food shopping and run errands. By doing it during the day we will save $$ by not having a family meal out this evening.
The pool is definitely a frugal addition to our lives. We've spent the last two evenings in and around the pool which has helped to make it easy to stay home.
I'm drinking free coffee this morning.
@stella--that is terrific! It sounds like a wonderful fit for your family. I am so happy for you guys!
Thanks Kat! It does seem to be perfect for us. I hope it is as good as it seems.
I decided to plan my summer today and I don't think its going to be as expensive as I thought it would be. I made a list of the classes the kids might be interested, a list of free events the kids might be interested in, a list of field trips we want to take and a list of activities we want to do. OMG! There is no way we can get to all of that in the summer. I had 27 field trip ideas alone. There were 24 free or home related activities and I was just getting started. I think we will keep the classes to just the filmmaking class, vacation bible school, karate and the free book club until fall. That's $188 for the older kids plus about $150 more in museum memberships and the whole summer and most of the fall are pretty much booked with plenty of ideas to spill over into next year and beyond.
Stella, is the book club that you mentioned for children? If so, could you send me the info about it? Thanks!
Frugals - I made my own long list of summer activities - many of which are free or pretty low cost. Also stocked up some on-sale pantry items for summer to limit trips to the grocery store; between our garden and the farmers' market, I rarely need to go to the supermarket and try to avoid it.
Rosemary, yes the book club is for kids. Its through our county library. I will send you the link.
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