View Full Version : October Frugals
Wow! I get to start this one! DH and I went on a pleasant ride today and got apples and cider. We came home and DH made bread. While the oven was still hot we made an apple pie and baked two more giant butternut squashes we paid $1 each for. Will freeze the squash in containers we picked up at the swap shed at our landfill. Already planned out our meals for the week. We have not had lunch out for a loooooong time and prefer it that way. I'm trying to set a good example for this with my coworkers who constantly send out for food and only one of them can afford it.
rosarugosa
10-2-11, 6:29pm
Merski: Apples & cider & home baked bread - yummy! How is your DH doing these days?
We had a "frugal" lobster dinner at home last night. Not the cheapest meal, but much cheaper to have it at home than at a restaurant. It was our anniversary last week, so that is my justification :) Went to Kohl's today and got 5 cards for 49 cents out of pocket. Was talking to my hair dresser this afternoon, and she said she was certain we would save at least $20. per week if we bought groceries at Market Basket instead of Stop & Shop. MB is about 10 miles away and S&S is only a mile, but it sounds like it would still be worth it. I believe I have DH persuaded to at least give it a try. She also has a friend with a fish market, and she said she would let me know the next time she is getting an order from him and she can get me haddock for about $4.00 a pound. She can also get good deals on shrimp and scallops. It was a very worthwhile conversation! I prepped strawberries for breakfasts at work this week, and made a small container of lobster salad from last night's leftovers. That will be my lunch tomorrow.
He needs to go for another scan of his scwannoma in april and if it's not growing, we don't need to do anything. He's not had another TIA for 15 months he is doing great! Thanks for asking!
fidgiegirl
10-2-11, 10:24pm
DH kept me in check today and we bought burgers to have instead of going out. I was really lobbying for the meal out :)
We (hopefully) repaired the grade at one of the corners of our house by adding some fill we got for free off CL. It took a few loads with tubs in the car, but at least we didn't have to pay for a delivery of fill of which there would have certainly been surplus. We will probably buy sod, though, instead of waiting on seed. It's pretty poor soil so we want to give it a good chance of taking in this beautiful fall weather we will have coming up this week.
Made granola today (kinda burned it, though, will see if salvagable) and made a cherry crisp instead of buying DH a dessert for his lunches. Have done well on this for the last three weeks.
I spent $4.50 at Rite Aid last week and purchased the following: 6 deoderants, 2 shower gels, a toothbrush, 2 dish detergents, and 6 packs of chewing gum.
Dh figures we saved approx. $120 on gas by moving and having just one small yard to mow instead of the big yard at the old house and the small one at work.
I called and requested a $250 check from my credit card company for % back on purchases. Many of these purchases were made during last winters remodeling project and I never got around to requesting my refund money.
We had homemade pizza for dinner last night which was delicious. The guys are going to work on cleaning up some leftovers over the next couple of nights:pizza, goulash, pork chops etc. None of the leftovers are vegan so they aren't mine.
I made some really tasty cream cheese spread using vegan creqm cheese, dried cranberries and free pecans that my parents collected while down south. I keep the pecans in the freezer so I can use them little by little. This spread was a yummy treat on bagels this weekend. This morning's breakfast consisted of the last of the spread on a bagel and a cup of free coffee from a promo I recieved awhile back. This is the first time I've had this brand of coffee and its delicious-I"m going to have to watch for more.
frugal-one
10-3-11, 6:03pm
DH and I went foraging for black walnuts this morning. This is our first time so we didn't get carried away. It will be interesting to see how this goes. My brother does this every year and says he loves the nuts. We'll see.
early morning
10-3-11, 7:03pm
frugal-one, I love black walnut meats, but not the work to get them! After I left home, my grandmother always gave me a bag of walnut meats and a bag of hickory nut meats for Christmas - a true labor of love gift, that! One year, in a fit of who-knows-what, DH and I gathered several bushels of black walnuts, skinned them, and put them in the garage to dry. Damned squirrels broke in and stole every last one!! And our hands were black for ages, even though we wore gloves. I'd about forgotten that ... This weekend was sort of frugal. We set up and sold stuff on Sunday and did pretty well. Saturdays are better, but not in the rain. I put the tables in my car, so I didn't have to take the truck, saving lots of gas. We didn't have any furniture to take, so that worked out well. Truck has a gas leak, on top of getting poor mileage anyway. At the end of the day, the food concession across from us was shutting down for the winter, and gave us 15 tomatoes, and at least 75# of hotdog and sandwich buns. I have some in the freezer, gave away some, and the rest will be devoured by the chickens and the sheep. Dropped DH at the clinic this morning for his pain-pump fill, and he managed to survive the rest of the day out with his brother without hitting the ATM or putting anything on the debit card, yay!
We are going to be closing our account with BOA, finally! Apparently their "new" way of making money is to charge for debit cards. It would be $10/month for our house. No thank you!
*still keeping the heat off, it's going to warm up nicely this weekend.
*we were supposed to fall camp this weekend, my son now has a soccer tournament. I am going to call and see if we would possibly get our deposit back. I didn't get the schedule until after the date to cancel. But maybe they have a wait list. This would save us gas back and forth and the cost of the KOA cabin we won't really being using. Sigh..
*making great use of our inter-library loan system. Gosh I love getting all those books, for free.
*my friend has another bag of tomatoes and apples for me, all organic. YUM!
*calling our cable company tomorrow, the bill is creeping up again. Hoping to knock another $20/month off the bill.
early morning
10-5-11, 7:55pm
Got gas tonight at the cheapest spot - $3.01, the cheapest it's been here for ages. Finishing up a pan of leftover mac and cheese for my lunch tomorrow. Been taking my free tomatoes for lunch also. Found out that my uncle's funeral is Friday, so we will pick up flowers tomorrow (grocery florist section) and arrange in one of our 25cent yard sale florist vases, and take it over a little early. Chickens are laying like crazy, so we've been sharing eggs with family and friends. Not directly frugal, but people share with us, and we want to share back.
I can't believe I haven't posted here yet!
This is only sort of frugal, but I decided to bribe my girls into giving up their barbies. It's one area where I feel I compromised my values a bit to fit in and I am now regretting it. In addition to taking up a lot of space, Barbie doesn't seem to have any clothes that aren't fit for a hooker and the girls aren't that into them anyway. I've never been a huge fan of Barbie and wish I had stuck to my guns. They wouldn't have willingly given them up without a trade, though.
I looked on some natural toy websites and found some fairy dolls that might tempt the girls and were small enough to use in tandem with their dollhouse stuff. It worked and I set a budget of $60 that would have allowed them to get one small fairy house and five fairies. Cheyenne suggested that we see if we could do better making a house or finding something cheaper. We went to Michaels and discovered some tubes of fairy dolls for $8. We found an unpainted wooden castle just the right size that can be closed up and carried for $20. We ended up getting a tube of mythical creatures like mermaids, dragons and griffins and a tube of knights so the boys can play with them too. We made beds out of little wood rectangles hot glued to little wooden blocks for legs and pretty, prepainted wood shapes for headboards. We glued wood spools to small wood circles for a table and chairs. We also bought paint to paint the castle. Next week we're going to make curtains, bedding and a miniature bunting from scrap fabric. Even the girls' friends are excited to work on it. We got a lot more for our money than we would have if we had just bought something from a toy store and we are having a ton of fun making it. I think it's a good lesson in creativity for the girls too.
Mighty Frugal
10-7-11, 11:55am
I ran out of tomatoes for my standard tomato salads for lunch an was soo tempted to buy my lunch of Thursday and Friday. But I held back and instead made awesome yummy sandwich (German 'seedy' bread smeared with cream cheese and sliced mild Cheddar and romaine lettuce-mmmmmm) so that's a 20 dollar savings!
We got paid 3 times in Sept-so woo to the hoo for that! My chequing account is growing at an alarming rate..will transfer some into savings but I love watching it grow.
I've been saving $1000 every month thanks to lower cost childcare (see chequing account story above-that's why it's growing-haha)
It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. Big lunch at my paretns on Sunday-I'm bringing mashed potatoes. For the holiday Monday, I am planning some fun frugal activities for the boys and me (dh works) we'll head to our local big park, pack a lunch, and then ride around on bikes scooters.....try to make it a minimum cash-impact day!
Mighty Frugal
10-7-11, 11:59am
oh and my allowance for the boys is going so well! I'm so happy I started. They are learning about savings and sharing and buying their own 'wants'. My 7 year old son is giving us the $215 he made on his b.day this past week (yes, many generous people in our lives) and we are going to begin a 'Great Wolf Lodge' fund. We'll decorate an old apple juice tin and make it our piggy bank. He is putting all his money in there. I told him I will never spend another $10 again and will instead put all my $10 bills into the tin. We'll also stick all Christmas money in there. I'm hoping we have enough by mid-April (figure for 2 nights it'll set us back about $1000 unless dh can find us a deal which he is super great at....)
We've been once before and dh found us the top room for $200 per night (regular price is $400 per night) the kids LOVED it and had such a blast.
so, this is a fun frugal exercise for all
A patron gave me a big chunk of hen-of-the-woods (bracket mushroom) which I dried in pieces in the oven. DH and I went for a drive to find some more and found another one. I'm not much into mushrooming but here's one that is easily recognized and grows on oaks. Don't know why we didn't try this sooner! Does anyone know the storage life of these in the freezer? Making homemade pasta/pizza sauce with costco tomatoes in huge cans and an equal amount of grilled garden veggies. Used one pound each of ground pork and beef to this huge pan. Will freeze some in 2 cup "ice cube" method and will also pressure can some. Will have pizza tonight with some of the mushrooms and will also try to make one of those lemon cakes that looked so good on the food board.
Mighty Frugal that is exactly what my girls are saving for. We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells at Christmas last year and it was a huge hit.
I have a bit more time now so I can talk about a few more recent and current frugals. Dad has saved me a couple of nights this week by bringing home food from one of his meetings for us for dinner. I have all-day morning sickness, so I am not always able to make dinner.
We have lots of projects going on. I found a pattern for an American Girl doll dress for $.97 so we are going to make dresses for the girls' dolls. I am also going to make some pajama pants for James and Daddy and a bunting for my living room. I have decided not to replace my living room rug yet. It doesn't seem like a smart move with a 2 year old, a 6 month old and a new baby coming in spring. Instead I am freshening up my living room by sewing some new throw pillow covers, making a bunting, spray-painting my often-broken statue and putting up some family photos.
I have started reading The Secret Garden to the girls. I got it for free on the ibooks app for the ipad.
We have discovered that there is a YMCA with an indoor waterpark and a really cool indoor climbing and play area for kids near my friend's house. It's a little further than I would usually drive, but with our membership it is free. I think it's a good free option for winter fun for us.
My birthday is on Sunday and Zach's birthday is next Thursday. Dad has offered to babysit and give us money to go out for a nice dinner as a birthday gift. I am very excited!
Zach is going to be helping one of my friend's dad rewire the unused/unusable second floor of her home for free. In exchange he is going to help us take down the awful paneling in the family room and drywall. It's win/win all around.
Merski fabulous score on the mushrooms! When I was a kid my friend and I would gather chanterelles at her cabin. We'd come home with grocery bags full. I've seen the price of them in stores and wow! That was quite a lot of money's worth of mushrooms.
I went up to campus today to check out the clothing stores with $100 of birthday money in my wallet and didn't find a single item of clothing I wanted to buy, even though I really need some new stuff for the winter. You know, I really just don't like shopping...I would like to enjoy shopping sometimes, but I never see anything I really like for the amount of money I can spend ~ I don't want to look all trendy, I'm too old to wear what the college girls wear without looking stupid, so I guess it's my same old musician uniform of t-shirts, blouses, jeans and motorcycle boots.
My trip was not for naught though, I DID get a nice chocolate ice cream cone to eat outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!
I always read frugal forum but rarely post. I just wanted to say congrats Stella!! You are going to be incredibly busy but also very blessed! Babies are wonderful.
Happy dual Birthdays, Stella!
Thanks guys!
Today I am going to the coffee shop at the park with a friend to sit out on the patio overlooking the lake and enjoy the fall leaves. I have a buy one get one free coupon, so I'll use that and treat her.
I don't know what else is going on today. There has been some vague mention of a date night and Cheyenne said something about a surprise, which Zach has denied.
early morning
10-8-11, 12:53pm
Congrats, Stella - birthday AND baby! If you told us earlier you were pregnant, I missed it... the fairy castle sounds amazing. Scrubbed up all the tiny filters for the pond pump, although I was tempted to just cut up some more. They are just scraps of the blue reusable furnace filter stuff, and they last forever. I have quite a few of them because they need changed frequently, esp in the fall with all the crap blowing around. I tend to notice they are clogged when I'm really busy, so it helps to just be able to pull up the pump and swap them out instead of having to unplug the pump and go wash the filters. The pond is tiny- maybe 60 gallon?? and messy, but I love the sound of running water off the porch - and just leaving the hose run is not good - it ups the water bill and makes a big muddy mess in the yard..... :~) Took a flower arrangement to my uncle's funeral yesterday. DD arranged it and it was at least equal to any of florist creations. My aunt loved it and chose to take it home with her - even after we told her we made it, lol. It cost us $13 - $12 for the flowers, and $1 for the vase at a yard sale. Freed up money for us to kick in a nice donation to help Auntie defray travel expenses. On a holiday note, DD and I love antique decorations, and even reproductions of them, esp. paper items. We saw a great Halloween garland a couple years ago and this year we're making one using less expensive materials. DD downloaded some templates, and bought some glitter on sale at a Christmas Tree Shop (which we later found at Michael's for 4x the price!). We've been messing around with that - it looks pretty cool so far! Another bill set up to pay on-line, which brings the monthly stamp requirement down to 3 - the electric company, which charges a surcharge for online pmts, DH's hospital billing, which gives us a 10% discount for early payment by check, and our dental insurance, which is -oddly- set up by a huge company but has no way to pay other than by check.
fidgiegirl
10-8-11, 5:50pm
Congrats on all counts, Stella! I hope you do get a date night after all and that you are feeling well enough to enjoy it. You will have to wish your DH a happy birthday from his birthday buddy, remember, he and I have the same birthday :)
We got wood mulch today to put on our front beds for free from one of the county yard waste sites. Will lay it in a bit here.
Got a really nice Revere Ware cake pan with a lid that slides on at an estate sale for $12.
DH bought a vintage glass for .25 at the same sale which he will eBay for a few bucks. Who knows how well it will go, sometimes we are surprised. We are doing pretty well on eBay lately, helps that he enjoys it!
Not too much else! About to make another batch of Rosemary's granola recipe. I killed the batch I made last weekend by screwing up mixing the wet and dry ingredients and then baking it at too high a temp along with another item . . . shouldn't have done that! Oh well, lesson learned, and I wasted a whole dollar's worth of oats.
rosarugosa
10-8-11, 6:13pm
Merski: Cool fungi frugal. I love mushrooms and wish I had the knowledge/confidence to forage. I maintain that mushrooms make even the simplest dish sexy :)
Stella: Good luck to you and your growing family. I also agree that the fairies sound WAY more fun than the Barbies. I never dug Barbie much. She is kind of the antithesis of simple living, so I concur that she is isn't anything I would want my daughters buying into. However, I only have neutered male cats, so Barbie has never been an issue in our household!
Fidgie: That is an AMAZING score! I'm trying to just mulch every other year, but when I do buy bark mulch, I spend about $200. - $250. for 5 -7 yards. Unfortunately, on the alternating years I spend way more time pulling weeds. You done good kid!
Okay, finally checking in for October. A mix of frugal and not-so-frugal days lately, but here are a few highlights. Harvested the rest of the basil and made pesto with some lingering pine nuts that were in the refrigerator and some Parmesan cheese that was molding (cut off the moldy parts and used what was left). Actually turned out to be some of the best pesto we've ever made! Made a homemade pesto pizza with some slices of eggplant from the last of the eggplant harvest, and the leftover portobello mushroom that was in the refrigerator. Turned out super yummy and the best part is that there are leftovers for today! Had watermelon from the garden for dessert. Stacked some firewood yesterday and will cut up some more trees for firewood today and hopefully get that stacked this week as well. Also stacked the kindling pile so that it is easy to access and easy to cover with a tarp. Still need to process loads of apples from our apple trees. This particular task feels so overwhelming to me that I keep putting it off, but I really need to tackle it so that we will have dehydrated apples for the winter and frozen apples pies, too.
Bought 2 new doboks (uniforms) for my Tae Kwon Do classes - $71. The last time I bought one it was $60 for one uniform, but we placed a bulk order so it was much cheaper. Now I have three uniforms, which means I can do laundry less frequently! So overall a frugal move.
Okay, that's all I can think of for the moment, even though I'm sure there is more to tell. Guess I'll have to check back in later!
fidgiegirl
10-9-11, 10:17am
cdttmm, listen to this fun story for a use for all those apples: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/04/141054594/for-traditional-cider-head-to-the-laundry-room
Here were are doing decently selling things online and on CL to make a little extra money. We probably have done $100 just in the last two weeks. Nice.
We helped our friends do a yard sale. I'm good with "selling" and marketing and arranging things and DH is unflappable about money and making change. Friends insisted that we take whatever we wanted though we ran everything past them first. We got a nice amount of sterling silver baubles which we will bring to coin/metals dealer. Two analog phones (one we need for bedroom). a squirrel baffle and a nice bracelet & ceramic piece to sell on etsy oh and binoculars so we can view the distant wildlife in our field. We helped them earn $400 in cash and getting rid of hundreds of pounds of barn "fat". I also convinced them to set up a free pile on their busy street which they are refreshing with stuff that didn't sell and marvelling about what people drove off with. We also got a fantastic home cooked gourmet meal off them, they gave us their undying gratitude and leftovers and a bottle of wine!
Got a great bid on MIL's house and are waiting for the details to accept it. She may be able to move in before Thanksgiving! This will be a big change for all of us but we won't need to go running 30 minutes several towns away if she has a problem. I'd be happy if she could spend the last amount of time on earth enjoying her own private space in our warm sunny home.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/opinion/sunday/i-went-back-to-the-land-to-feed-my-family.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share
A great frugal article I thought y'all would enjoy!
fidgiegirl
10-9-11, 10:09pm
Thanks for sharing, redfox! Very interesting.
. I have all-day morning sickness, so I am not always able to make dinner.
Stella, I'm sorry I missed you on the congrats. How exciting!!! Stay healthy and rested.
rosarugosa
10-10-11, 7:44am
Thanks, Redfox - good article.
I'm feeling pretty pleased this weekend about a few things.
DH tried the less expensive grocery store, and it did indeed seem to be less expensive. I compared sales slips and found many items to be cheaper and none to be more expensive. Our groceries came in at $75 compared to $100 last week, but we did buy lobsters last week, so I'm not comparing apples to apples. I think we need to do this for about a month to see if there are significant cost savings, but preliminary indications are positive.
I want to examine every line item in our budget and make sure it is justified or being handled as cost-effectively as possible.
DH has started staining the house, which is going to be a major cost savings over hiring it out. "Insourcing" a la Mr. Money Mustache!
I went to K-Mart yesterday to buy a can of compressed air for my computer, which has been acting up. I used the four cents left on a gift card. This wasn't really a frugal, but a matter of principle. I'm sure the stores love it when people don't bother to use those last tiny amounts on their gift cards.
I was thinking I would need a new laptop, but DH seems to have diagnosed the problem (overheating because fan not working). When I mentioned needing a new computer, he said, "Wait a minute, isn't that what you're trying to avoid, just throwing something away and buying a new one before exhausting all the options?" And of course he was so right :)
I spent some significant money on a new winter coat and two suits for work, but I'll be covering these out of my allowance rather than the household budget. I suspected there might be sales for the holiday weekend, so I carefully planned my purchases and waited. So I got my $189. LL Bean coat for $150., and my two Talbot's suits for $467 instead of $660. Not exactly cheap, but good quality, non-trendy items that I'll wear for a long time.
AmeliaJane
10-10-11, 9:40am
Found myself worrying this weekend about upcoming change at work. Our organization is about to get new leadership for the first time in a generation (really! how unusual is that) and having been through this situation at several other employers, I know the ripple effect down to the worker bee level is impossible to predict. Then I realized that taking some steps to strengthen my own financial position (re-evaluating some monthly bills, etc) has no downside--if nothing happens, then I've made progress toward other goals. So I decided to do a no-spend month (actually, limited-spend--there are one or two things that are worth it to me)--it's a good time, the cupboards are full, I've finished doing the things I need to to my new apt to make it comfortable and usable, etc.
Sunday's progress--no driving--it was pouring rain, so a good day to stay home. Made mini-whoopie pies from a kit given to me as a gift to take to a potluck, and also used up an Indian dinner kit that had wandered into the pantry. Started researching a possibly-less-expensive electric plan.
flowerseverywhere
10-10-11, 9:50am
for Stella and the other teachers/homeschoolers here, look at this page about fairies and gnomes
http://weefolkart.com/content/free-patterns-gallery
I am going to gather things together with the patterns to make with my grandkids. I am going to sew a gnome house, make a circular trunk like enclosure and a pointed top for it. Kind of like a keebler elf house. I'll post pics when I figure it out over the next few weeks.
I agree about the barbies. I have my first granddaughter coming soon so I plan to find a nice baby doll and make dresses, a quilt etc. over the next year. My local Joannes is moving so all the patterns are 25 cents, I plan to go today and grab some for doll clothes. I got a pile over the weekend for kids clothes, but it wasn't until I came home that I thought about doll clothes. I used to make beautiful dresses for my nieces and people would stop their mother in stores etc. to find out where she got them. My dil thinks I could sell them for a good price, so I'll make some samples. We'll see.
Stella, is this #5? Congratulations.
DH has a birthday this week so we are going out to eat. I am using a gift certificate that was given to me when I helped a mother on my street out in an emergency- I took care of her kids for hours and she was very grateful. We had tons of fun. I am not a TV type of person, so we read books, drew pictures etc and she was shocked when she came home how much fun the kids have. She wants to hire me to babysit when they go out in the evening and I will do it occasionally.
Originally posted by Flowerseverywhere.
I am using a gift certificate that was given to me when I helped a mother on my street out in an emergency- I took care of her kids for hours and she was very grateful.What an angel you are! We moms need more of the likes of your kind. :)
Thanks for the congratulations everyone! Yes, this is #5. it's going to be crazy, but I think it will be mostly fun. :)
Flowerseverywhere that's a fabulous link! Thanks for posting it!
Kelli, DH says happy birthday back at you. I hope you have a great one!
I had a nice birthday. We had a pancake breakfast at church in the morning and in the afternoon we had some friends over for cake and ice cream. Every evening between last night and Wednesday night is the parish mission, which is a series of talks. It was really interesting and totally free. Even the childcare is free. Zach and I went out to dinner and got free pie since both of our birthdays are this week.
Unrelated to our birthdays, Dad bought Apple TV. Apparently when the new operating system comes out we'll be able to wirelessly hook the iphones, ipad and laptop up to the TV. That will be useful for homeschooling.
A friend has some clothes to give me that her toddler outgrew. If it doesn't fit James it will fit Travis eventually and new baby after that.
flowerseverywhere
10-10-11, 5:13pm
What an angel you are! We moms need more of the likes of your kind. :)
It's the kind of neighborhood I live in. Very middle class, lots of stay at home moms or part time working mothers. We don't have the latest or greatest but I think that is what I like about it. Not a lot of keeping up with the Joneses.
Stella, I am glad you like the link. I have lots of free online patterns for all kinds of stuff and occasionally I find something worth posting and sharing. For some reason the gnome link was just awesome to me. Congrats again.
frugal-one
10-10-11, 6:21pm
Congrats Stella!!!!
Merski.... how awesome that you get along with MIL!!! I sure wish that was the case here.
rosarugosa
10-10-11, 8:29pm
An observation: we have a few friends in dreadful financial circumstances. It seems the worse the financial circumstances, the less interested they are in frugality measures. Now I wasn't talking about making laundry detergent, I was talking about using the less expensive grocery store. No way. Which is fine, but then it does make it a little harder for me to sympathize when the same people are complaining about how broke they are, the bill collector calls, etc.
fidgiegirl
10-10-11, 9:24pm
rosa, too bad they are most likely not in a place mentally to find inspiration from the recent article that popped up here and in that other thread.
Rosa, I have had a few friends like that. As the painful times wear on they are less opposed to frugality, though.
Yesterday I made a batch of laundry detergent. I decided since I was grating soap I'd go ahead and grate a bunch. I think I have enough grated to last over a year. Probably about 6-8 months ago I spent approximately $10 on stuff to make laundry detergent. At the rate we've been using the materials I think that $10 will last at least two years. That's pretty good! I have a big family.
Today I'm going to make some granola bars. I've been thinking about what to make for Thursday morning. It's Zach's birthday and I have my women's group brunch so I want to make something for both. Maybe scones. Zach doesn't want anything too sugary. I have a good scone recipe that would be tasty and pretty easy.
I am really enjoying the parish mission. The talks have been very interesting and the social hour afterwards is fun.
Zach got a line on a temporary job. It will almost certainly pay more than unemployment and it ends just before we go on our trips. I'd like to sock another $1000-$2000 in savings if possible before the trip, not because I think we'll need it but because it's always nice to have extra padding on the savings account. I'm very excited about this year because even with the trips we're going on and the drywalling of the family room we probably won't drain our winter savings. That would give us a huge leg up for next year.
AmeliaJane
10-11-11, 9:27pm
This is minor, but I was proud of it...in my tiny kitchen, I have been storing the coffee makings in various nooks and crannies, which means that I either spend a lot of time looking for them, or I end up leaving the stuff on the counter and then moving everything around to use the other appliances. I was going to try to buy a basket to put it all in, and then I remembered one I already had that was the perfect size for an out of the way spot.
rosarugosa
10-12-11, 4:37am
Fidgie & Stella: Yes, a person is only ready when he's ready. And I'm certainly here to help if that day ever comes . . . That was a good article. It really showed the difference that a can-do attitude can make.
Amelia: I just love it when I think I need something, and it turns out I already have something that will suit the purpose. It makes me feel frugal AND clever!
A few frugal successes to report. Yesterday was a no-spend and almost a no-drive day. I say almost because the only reason I drove was to pick up the last of the waste vegetable oil from a local seasonal restaurant. They are closing up for the season and had 20 gallons of veggie oil for us. Not wanting the trip to town to be for that alone I took the opportunity to go to the post office and to pick up vegetable oil at another local restaurant. We use the veggie oil to fuel our car.
Finished making a batch of apple butter in the crock pot. It was my first time using the free crock pot I got off Freecycle several years ago. I'm just not enough of a planner to make use of a crock pot it seems. But it was perfect for making apple butter. I'm going to tweak the recipe and make another batch this week as we have lots of apples still. And managed to successfully bake bread for the first time ever. (See my thread on crumpets for the whole story.) So now I am armed with homemade bread and apple butter -- yummy!!!
Harvested a load of wild catnip and laid it out to dry. Will make up a few packages for some friends with felines. Catnip grows in abundance at our house, so I figured I might as well put it to good use!
Stacked some free firewood. We had a few trees that we needed to take down for various reasons, so we cut them up and added them to our wood pile. I also took the time to stack all the kindling into one giant pile so that it will be ready for use this winter. So far the weather has been warm enough that we haven't even considered firing up the wood boiler, but soon enough we'll be loading it twice a day so I want to be prepared! My goal is to make it until November 1st before turning on the heat so we've got 2-1/2 weeks to go!!!
Made a giant pot of squash/pumpkin soup. We had a very pathetic squash harvest this year with only 1 lonely butternut squash. We also had only 2 pumpkins, which I'm not convinced were fully mature. Regardless, I oven roasted everything and threw it in a pot to become soup. I added some frozen acorn squash and pumpkin from the freezer from seasons past to use things up. Definitely not the tasty batch of squash soup, but it will suffice. And it will be warm and welcome in the dead of winter, especially on evenings when we have limited time to cook. And, of course, waste not, want not, so I turned the squash and pumpkin seeds into a tasty cinnamon-sugar covered snack after toasting them in the oven. Yeah, those lasted all of about 15 minutes. :~)
Mmm. Those pumpkin seeds sound yummy!
I am having a big cooking day. Tomorrow is Zach's birthday so I am making homemade corned beef. I got the brisket at the butcher shop for $25 and the corned beef spices from Penzeys. I'll probably use about $1 worth. I figure with veggies and all it will still be under $30, so cheaper than us all going out to eat and I think we may have leftovers for hash.
I made some pumpkin spice granola today and dinner will be a beef stew. It's a rainy fall day. You can't go wrong with homemade beef stew. There will probably be leftovers of that too. The pumpkin spice granola is amazingly good. The kids can't stop eating it and it's not even cooled.
If I still feel good I might make the scones today. I am kind of on a roll. It's been a while since I didn't have an upset stomach. It feels like a nice afternoon for tea and a board game.
early morning
10-12-11, 10:14pm
Well, I ALMOST had a frugal catastrophe but I think it's going to be ok.... every year we buy half an organic, grass-fed beef from a neighborhood farmer, for a really good price. So, this year, we did the same, without really thinking about it. Yesterday, the processor called to say it's ready, and I trundled down to the basement to re-arrange the freezer... OMG. It is SO not empty! I have one (large) shelf free, and a little bit of older organ meat that will go to Dsis's dog - I'm the only one who likes it. And that won't free up much space. Called Dsis - she has room for a small cooler's worth. EEK! DH actually started pricing new freezers! But DB finally got into cell range and answered HIS phone, and assured me that his hanger freezer should have enough room for the extra, and he's not hunting this year. Whew! I'll NEVER do that again- I was so stressing! It was sooo hot this summer that we just didn't eat much meat, plus a confluence of odd circumstances lead to no big family cookouts. But now I know what it will cost if our ancient upright dies, *gasp*. Other frugals were just the same old stuff...
I had a bag of pecans sitting around all summer waiting to be shelled. Dh and I managed to get them done while watching the game last night and had almost a quart bag for our effort. The nuts were free.
2 different customers brought different varieties of hot peppers to us yesterday. These never go to waste around here! Another person brought in 4 quinces this morning. I'm not familiar with them but dh says he likes to eat them. I guess I'm also going to get a sample og quince jam in the morning so dh and I can decided if we want to make some.
I went to rite aid and bought the following for $1.18 out of pocket: 4 dish soaps, a hand sanitizer, chap stick, and a bag of candy corn.
I was reunited with an old college roommate over dinner tuesday night. The evening itself was far from frugal but she and I realized that we are both very much on the same simple living path. It was so nice to find a real live person who "gets it!" We live about 2 hours apart so we won't see each other often but it certainly won't be another 20 years before we meet up again!
I called my telephone/internet provider to (a) get my online account unlocked so I could download my bills and (b) see if I could cancel the landline without paying more for internet. Result: phone canceled, faster internet, cheaper bill!
I also switched my rental insurance from monthly to lump-sum payment - which I'd signed up for to begin with, but at some point they switched and they have the least intuitive bill format ever so it took me a bit to realize. And today, I canceled a dormant savings account, which got me enough for lunch, and one less piece of paper that I have to file.
Bastelmutti
10-13-11, 8:50pm
This month I am trying to reduce our food bill by $50/wk. and have been able to stick with it for two weeks now. It will be harder and take more planning as the holiday season approaches.
Today I discovered the joy of Skype. Yippee for free international video calls with my friends in far flung places! :)
Went to the town dump yesterday to drop off some paper recycling and discovered that there is a free paper shredding day tomorrow at the local middle school. Seeing as I was considering buying a new paper shredder (ours is dying a slow and painful death) this is a huge win. I will skip buying a paper shredder and take everything to the free shredding day instead!
Made another huge batch of apple butter. I think I'm going to move on to applesauce next. I realized that if I actually plan my baking I can start to move from using oil when baking to using applesauce. And using homemade applesauce would be that much better! I have another 33 pounds of apples waiting to be processed so that should make a decent amount of applesauce. If it dries up a bit over the weekend I am going to pick and sort apples so that I can refrigerate the best ones in the hopes of actually having fresh apples to eat for a few weeks (or months, if we're lucky!). If I were a better pie crust maker I would consider making and freezing apple pies, but pie crusts are not my strong suit. I might have to be satisfied with making and freezing a few apple crumbles.
Stopped at Lowe's yesterday to get a pot to transplant a plant that needs to come indoors for the winter. Discovered that they had marked all of their seeds from this season down to 50 cents a pack. I was tempted to buy the whole box, but realized that would be overkill. So picked out those that I know are often good for more than 1 season and bought things that we would actually plant and eat! Looked at rugs and considered buying one, but decided to go home and measure first. Of course, the rug I have at home is only slightly worn so I shouldn't even be considering buying a new rug! I know this is just residual bad feelings from when my mom visited this past spring and spent several days pointing out all of the things in our house that she doesn't like or thinks should be replaced due to wear. She's really concerned with that type of stuff and my partner and I are just not. But it still gets to me...
Aside from that, I'm just trying to stay out of the stores to avoid spending any money unnecessarily.
This month I am trying to reduce our food bill by $50/wk. and have been able to stick with it for two weeks now. It will be harder and take more planning as the holiday season approaches.
Bastelmutti, I'm curious, what prompted you to try to make this reduction in your grocery bill? Are there specific items that you are eliminating? I feel like our food bill could be trimmed significantly, but I'm never sure how to go about actually doing it!
Okay, I'm on a roll, everyone! Need to have some items framed for a gift, so finally got moving on that project yesterday. Went to Staples to have a photo printed and before heading over there realized that I had some Staples reward dollars that I could print out. So used those and got the photo printed for free. Also printed out coupons for Michael's and went there for the framing. The job was complicated enough that I was just going to pay to have it custom framed, but they are behind schedule in their custom framing and I need it done in less than two weeks. So spent time working with the lovely young woman in the framing dept to get everything I needed to do the project myself. I'm still having the mats custom made at Michael's, but those will be done in a week so then I just need to assemble. The whole process took about an hour, but in the end the young woman used her employee discount to take 20% off the price for me. Score! And, in a strange coincidence, her boyfriend is looking for a job in the same industry that my partner works in, so took advantage of the networking opportunity and connected the two of them. Then I went over to Whole Foods to buy a few items and discovered the tea that I love was marked down from $8 a package to $5 a package. I bought the 4 packages they had left. Also was paying close attention at the register and noticed that the cheese I bought was ringing up the wrong price - over by $1. Caught it and told the cashier, as a result I got the cheese for free! Also bought some spices in bulk - what great prices!!! I will never buy pre-packaged spices again! They were almost out of ground cloves, so the amount I bought was too light to register when the cashier tried to weigh it at the checkout so she gave it to me for free.
In my apple butter making marathon, I discovered that one can actually make apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice instead of buying it pre-made. Yes, I know, I'm a little slow sometimes! So I am saving up all of my empty spice containers to refill from the bulk bins and I'm going to mix up my own apple pie and pumpkin pie spices for baking. I realize that I could just do this as I need them, but sometimes that one extra step is enough to deter me from actually baking so I figured I will do it in advance. Besides, I feel so excited that I am figuring these little things out. It's odd because I learned to bake from my mom, who is an amazing baker. But for some reason, even though she knows how to make everything from scratch without even consulting a recipe, she taught me how to bake using boxed cake and brownie mixes, and has me buy apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice when she is visiting and bakes pies at our house. Strange.
Anyway, on tap for today's frugals...I'm giving a guest lecture at one of the local colleges. I'll get a free lunch in return. Will use the Staples coupon that arrived in my inbox this morning + more Staples rewards dollars to buy a pair of Skullcandy headphones to use with my iPhone. I've had my iPhone for 10 months and never used the iPod app to listen to music because I don't have headphones. When I looked at the headphones yesterday I thought...wow $30 for good headphones...no way. But with the coupon and the rewards dollars they will be $4. Yes! Oh, and I've been keeping a stash of printer paper that has only been used on one side for printing out coupons and receipts from the web. No sense in using new paper for those things!
fidgiegirl
10-15-11, 11:09pm
Hi all! Not much to report in the frugals department lately, although we did go to Costco today. We really stocked up. We tried to get items that were on sale in addition to being stuff we already needed. So we're set for a while!
Tomorrow I am going to see if I can make a card for a coworker who is getting married next weekend. I have a lot of wedding stickers and stuff like that from when I got married - people gave me scrapbooking stuff. I wouldn't be able to use it all in a scrapbook, anyway, if I ever did get around to doing it!
We went out for dinner on Friday. It was Bald People Eat Free night, so DH and DFiL both ate for free, up to $15 each. It's a fun outing and a yummy restaurant.
We went out for dinner on Friday. It was Bald People Eat Free night, so DH and DFiL both ate for free, up to $15 each. It's a fun outing and a yummy restaurant.
Seriously? That might be one of the best frugals I've ever heard of!
I made 14 quarts of applesauce yesterday from the apples that had fallen off our trees. I haven't even gotten to the point of picking apples from the trees, yet. This year's apple crop is truly bountiful!!!
Seriously? That might be one of the best frugals I've ever heard of!
I totally agree!
cdttmm you really are on a roll! Very inspiring!
I have been doing a bit better this weekend now that the birthdays are over. Friday night we had planned to go out with our friends. We went to Old Chicago because after 9PM they have $1 personal pizzas. You can get a good meal for a few dollars.
Yesterday I took James out for some mom-and-James time. We walked to the park and got a cookie to share and listened to the live music. James was dancing. We ran into some neighbors and chatted for a while.
Later on we had my friend's kid over while she went on a date. He is really into marine biology, so we went to the aquarium, where we have a membership, so it was free except for our friend. It was so much fun! He was explaining so many facts and details to the kids that I would never have known, and of course they listen much better to a bigger kid than they do to mom. :) I was wiped out when we got home and my friend's kid suggested we have macaroni and cheese and hot dogs for dinner. It's not something I would normally make (although my inner 6 year old still loves it) but it was something Zach could make and it was cheap, so we went for it. After my kids went to bed we watched River Monsters and Deadliest Warrior on Netflix and I made brownies from scratch.
Today we are going to the evening mass, since all of the kids but Bella got up at some point during the night last night. Since we have lots of time this morning I have banana chocolate chip muffins in the oven for breakfast. Dinner will be leftover beef stew and homemade bread. I think we're going to relax together today. Maybe play a game, maybe go for a walk. Lots of FFF.
early morning
10-16-11, 10:51am
cdttmm, it's great that your apples did so well this year! I'm envious - my three trees were nearly barren, and the pear produced no better. I think we picked and ate all the pears in about 5 minutes. My trees are dwarf, and old, so I guess perhaps it's time to look at replacing one or more...I've been told they only bear for 25-30 years, but I'll have to do some more research on that. Frugally, we just took a short mini-trip instead of our planned longer, much more expensive jaunt. My Dsis and her dog went along, and she insisted on paying for the hotel, since we had to find a dog-friendly one. It was doggie's first hotel outing, and he was wonderful. He is 14 and a great old guy, but pretty set in his ways, lol. Today I have a roast in the crock pot for lunches this week, laundry on the line, and sausage from my cousin thawing for DH and my lunch. Dsis gave me a bag of hazelnut coffee she got on special We didn't care for it too much (we love hazelnut, but this one wasn't as good as most), but when I mixed it with some pumpkin-spice coffee we also didn't like, it actually made a really nice cuppa! Sometimes two bads DO make a good! ;)
Today we went food shopping and bought mostly the raw ingredients to make many meals. DH made bread and I baked him an apple pie. I also made sausage bean and kale soup to eat this week and while oven is still hot from bread & pie will throw in a roasting chicken. MIL's house sale seems to be proceeding and hopefully she will be here Thanksgiving week. We came up with a punch list for things to finish, buy or do before that date. I have yet to set up my etsy account and by golly, today we are going to make it happen even if I have listed only one item! Have rediscovered that I put too many things on my list and then get overwhelmed. Need to cut back to more reasonable goals.
madgeylou
10-16-11, 7:05pm
i keep reading this thread and not responding because i don't have anything particularly frugal to report. i have still been engaging in way too much retail therapy.
i posted about it in response to a blog post over on mrmoneymustache.com, written by his wife, about overcoming "lady temptations" like clothes, proposing that i challenge myself to not buy anything else for me until 2012. mrs. money m wrote back saying she would do it with me, so we are on. i can't imagine anything i would need between now and then -- seriously, i am stocked up on everything from eyeshadow to fancy deodorant. i am in startup mode, and need to be stacking as much cash as possible instead of handing it over to sephora. wish me luck?
Go madgeylou, you can do it!!!
Okay, I am clearly in full procrastination mode. I am supposed to be working on a presentation for Tuesday. Instead, I am soaking black beans to cook tomorrow and making two loaves of English muffin bread. At least my procrastination techniques are frugal. :~)
Madge you have totally got this! You are going to accomplish it, no doubt,
cdttmm you're streak is rubbing off on me. I had a good frugal day today. I made rolls for this weeks pulled pork sandwiches and potato leek soup to freeze. I'm going to make some chili for freezing tonight day. I feel better than I have in a solid month. Hopefully I'm coming out of sick mode.
rosarugosa
10-17-11, 6:49am
Madgeylou: Good luck in your endeavor! In addition to money, think of all the time and life's energy you'll save by avoiding the unnecessary shopping. And with a start-up business, you surely don't have enough hours in the day. It seems like a lot of us are enjoying the MMM blog.
This was week two for us at the less expensive grocery store. We spent $94., so it was not as clear of a win as the previous week. But since we don't buy rhe same things every week, I think we need to give it at least a month in order to do a fair comparison. And the frozen lobster meat alone was $17.00, but very yummy.
I've concluded that buying the frozen salmon fillets at Costco was a good frugal. We had salmon piccata the other night, which was a great dinner, and I figure that the salmon costs about $3.00 per serving. So we'll definitely buy more when this bag is gone.
I'm on vacation this week, so I'm hoping to accomplish lots of productive things around the house and garden. DH is making good progress on staining the house. Mom is taking us to buy a new mattress and boxspring for our anniversary, so that is an awesome gift. It's been 13 years with this set, so we are overdue. I am curious as to how often others replace their mattresses? The recommendations seem to range wildly.
rosarugosa
10-17-11, 6:52am
By the way, has anyone had any contact with Kat? I can understand that she might be too busy to post with a new baby, but it's been a while since she posted anything and she used to be such a frequent contributor. Just hoping everything is OK with her.
Yay! We listed our first item on etsy! We're moving ahead!
Can I tell you I'm aunt hatties attic? I only have one thing on but will be adding stuff asap.
madgeylou
10-17-11, 8:36am
thanks so much for the support, you guys! i'm going for it!
merski, congrats on your first etsy listing! it's really fun to be part of that community. if you want to find me and add me to your circles, my username is weartheshift. i'd love to see what you're working on. :)
Rosa, I e-mail wih Kat and her dad had a stroke shortly after her baby was born so the combination is probably what is taking her away from the boards. I'll e-mail her though and see how she is doing.
We have been watching a fun podcast this morning, Sylvia's Super Awesome Mini Maker Show (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/07/sylvias-super-awesome-mini-maker-sh.html) and getting some fun ideas for projects. There's one on how to make your own chalk, one on making your own clock and a bunch more fun stuff, most of it not terribly expensive. That podcast and the Two Kids Cooking (http://www.twokidscooking.com/) podcast have the girls interested in learning how to do a podcast of their own. We might give it a shot on our big trip. Lots of FFF and some really good learning. We might try to get my nephew involved too while we are out there. It would just be something for their friends back home to watch, but it would be fun!
fidgiegirl
10-17-11, 5:57pm
So much going on, girls!
cdttmm, you are the Apple Queen!
Rosa and madgeylou, I am also really really enjoying MMM. I find myself thinking again about early retirement and how it would potentially be possible. It gets me dreaming about wild ideas. His style is highly enjoyable. I was a big Simple Dollar fan before reading MMM but now MMM is at the top of my fave blogs (most of the others are about educational technology). In fact, I have to admit that I was feeling guilty every time I read The Simple Dollar so it got decluttered, so to speak, from my feed reader.
Stella, love your podcast idea. They could have a simple Wordpress blog set up before the trip as a place to upload them to and an easy place for their listeners/viewers to find them. You would enjoy this teacher's information on podcasting and so many other things. (http://www.scribd.com/langwitches) It is so super important to have an authentic audience, and in their friends, they have it! Real people who really want the information. Super, super powerful. Plus the girls might really like the Teddy Bears Around the World project. Ok, sorry, nothing too frugal about all that but I get so fired up when I see the cool possibilities for learning!!!!!
madgey, how is Grandma doing? Sorry if I have missed other updates.
I have also been thinking of Kat, so thank you for the update.
Here, not too much to report. We went to Costco, I think I said that. Have been eating down the cupboard. I decided I must have my wedding dress cleaned even though I am not sure if keeping or selling. Either way, it needs cleaned. So I researched about that and picked a place and now my DH calls me and says his coworker read online that it can be washed in the bathtub. I dunno, I'm a little skeptical, but if it can save us $120, well, that'd be great. Otherwise, same ol', same ol'. Oh, I put in my mileage. That will be over $200! I'm doing a lot more driving in this job than I thought I would be! Yowsas! I count it as a frugal because it would be so easy to just not do it, not prepare the form, or be sloppy about writing down every trip. But at .555 cents per mile, it adds up!
rosarugosa
10-18-11, 7:00am
Kelli: Just curious, why was The Simple Dollar making you feel guilty? That was one of the first PF blogs that I started reading. I think I got a lot out of it initially, but lately I feel that I don't get much out of it because it's gotten kind of tiresome and repetitive. I think that's a blog that would really benefit from having some additional staff writers or guest bloggers. I think Get Rich Slowly benefits from having more than one voice, and even J. D. Roth alone has a less narrow, provincial worldview than Trent. He seems to have a better appreciation of the fact that he has lots of different readers with varied circumstances and that one size doesn't fit all.
madgeylou
10-18-11, 7:48am
Kelli: Just curious, why was The Simple Dollar making you feel guilty? That was one of the first PF blogs that I started reading. I think I got a lot out of it initially, but lately I feel that I don't get much out of it because it's gotten kind of tiresome and repetitive. I think that's a blog that would really benefit from having some additional staff writers or guest bloggers. I think Get Rich Slowly benefits from having more than one voice, and even J. D. Roth alone has a less narrow, provincial worldview than Trent. He seems to have a better appreciation of the fact that he has lots of different readers with varied circumstances and that one size doesn't fit all.
not kelli, obviously, but i have to say i definitely am in the same boat -- i haven't unsubbed from the simple dollar yet, but i have found myself skipping reading it most days. it's just not that interesting to me anymore.
i read get rich slowly and mr money mustache every day, and i'm also a fan of donna freedman's blog, "surviving and thriving." she's so funny and heartfelt! http://www.donnafreedman.com/
oh, and kelli, my grandma is doing okay. she's still in manor care, and she still doesn't like it, but she knows when she leaves is up to her -- if she eats and exercises, it will happen a lot faster. she's still not eating much, but she got her hair done last week and it is REMARKABLE how much more like herself she seems now. her spirits are a lot better, and she's started reading a bit again. so, we're not out of the woods, but she's receiving really good care and is improving slowly but surely. thanks for asking. :)
cdttmm, you are the Apple Queen!
LOL - thanks, Kelli! We'll see how long I can keep this up!!!
Count me as another MMM blog reader. I also read The Simple Dollar, but find that I skim most of Trent's blog posts as they are not always that interesting to me. I will check out Donna Freedman's blog - thanks for the recommendation, Madgeylou.
Went for my annual physical yesterday and because it's a "well" visit has no co-pay - yay! Of course, I have to go back tomorrow after fasting so that they can draw blood. I really wish they would have told me to fast in preparation for my physical, but I guess blood work isn't routine. And now I have to pay for the new prescription they gave me to try to alleviate the persistent fluid in my ears. Of course, if this all results in better long term health, I guess I can consider it frugal, right? ;)
Filled out and mailed all the paperwork in hopes of getting a portion of my health insurance premiums reimbursed since I am underemployed and collecting partial unemployment benefits. Considering that my premiums are $500+ a month, it would be fabulous if the state would reimburse me for a portion of that even if it is only for 6 months until my COBRA expires. And, of course, can't just drop health insurance as I live in MA and health insurance is required by law.
That's all for the moment. Hope everyone's day is filled with frugal fun!!!
rosarugosa
10-18-11, 5:18pm
Madgey: Glad your grandmother is doing better. It's interesting that others feel the same way about TSD. I think Trent loses a lot by not interacting with his readers. When I compare his blog with GRS, I think JD is much the wiser by having frequent interaction with his readers; value is gained in both directions. I think Trent gets so many negative comments because his readers feel dissed that he doesn't pay any attention to him. I like Donna Freedman too and am glad she is now a contributor at GRS. I also enjoy Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate and Kristen at The Frugal Girl. I feel like these folks (and you guys) help keep me on track :)
chrissieq
10-18-11, 10:00pm
I feel like a two-fold benefit from this forum - not only your "frugals" but other sites that feed my soul!
My main frugal today was a sale on Converse All Stars at Kohls after visting (over several weeks) TJMaxx, Marshalls, Famous Footwear, Savers, Value Village, and the Converse website to find a good price ($35)on my all time favorite shoes in a great color (grey) to wear until I have to break down and wear boots when the snow flies here in Mpls!! The Kohl's clerk told me to check out an outlet store within 50 miles to get a better deal. (Thank you young clerk!)
I could have bought a pair of silver hightops at Savers today for $13 but knew in my heart that I would love them, but never wear them - balancing the need to buy cheap with the reality of what I am comfortable wearing!!
fidgiegirl
10-18-11, 10:08pm
Good job on passing on the shoes, chrissieq. Hard sometimes, but I bet after a day or two you will never think of them again.
I dunno about TSD or really why I was feeling guilty. Maybe it's the overuse of bold typeface, perhaps it's what one person said about writing about the same thing over and over. Plus, he started to write a lot about health and eating, something I have been struggling with for a while, and didn't really want to think about that so much. I learned a lot of positive things from Trent along the way, in particular how to implement Getting Things Done, but with 80,000+ subscribers, he wasn't going to miss me, so I jumped ship.
Two free meals today! One at a lunchtime training, one at an evening training. Yippee! Also made my own rather crappy frufru coffee at work rather than going to Caribou. Should have waited and had one at the training in the evening instead :)
Kelli, thanks for the link! That is some interesting stuff!
Today was not a productive day. We pretty much played bananagrams on the iPad through the TV all afternoon. On the plus side, bananagrams is a frugal way to spend an afternoon, even if it resulted in a messy house. :)
We did walk to get a new innertube for Cheyenne's bike today, so that was frugal. I made bruschetta for lunch, which is cheap and yummy and a giant pot of chili that the kids actually liked. They've never been into chili before, but tonight they had seconds. That works for me.
Bastelmutti
10-19-11, 10:54am
I haven't posted since a few pages back, but follow the progress of everyone here - congrats on everything!
I am in week 3 of reducing our grocery bill by $50/wk. So far, so good. It's still a challenge to find variety with the food restrictions in the family, so we're repeating dinners a lot, but as long as everyone is eating them happily, I can take the lack of creativity (cooking is a fun hobby and stress reliever for me).
Our bank also just informed us that we will be charged $15/mo. from here on in for our checking acct. Enough! I am looking at a local credit union to switch to. Unfortunately, my business requires international wire transfer capability, and credit unions and local banks generally can't handle that, so I may have to stick w/ the same bank for business. Ugh.
Bastelmutti
10-19-11, 10:55am
PS I found out about The Simple Dollar here, but now feel much the same way as the rest of you. Do still read GRS religiously. Have put MMM on my list!
chrissieq
10-20-11, 3:32pm
Need to paint a side chair (for resale) and found 2 great quarts of paint at Menards in the Oops! paint section at $1.00 each so I can either paint a dark raspberry or pumpkin - finding that section has just made my trips to Menards way more fun. Just have to be sure not to buy paint for which I have no plan.
Zach had to fix the shed outside our house. Two boards were coming off. He went to our friend's house to borrow her kid, who needs to do a home repair project for a Boy Scout badge. She had a bunch of old wood from their recent home repair project sitting in her garage. Her house is the exact same colour as ours, so it was even painted already. She told him to take what he needed. It looks great and was less money and less work.
rosarugosa
10-20-11, 5:13pm
Stella: Already painted in your color is about as serendipitous as it gets - score!
fidgiegirl
10-20-11, 10:18pm
chrissieq, that sounds like a great score and a lot of fun! I know a gal who makes a handy side income doing the same thing.
Stella, excellent. I love that your DH even knew that your neighbor was working on his badge. Your neighborhood sounds like a pretty dang good place.
rosarugosa
10-21-11, 4:33pm
I've got a few frugals to report, a couple of not-so-frugals, and some things, that with a healthy dose of optimism and rationalization, can be considered frugals :)
Cleaning products (this one doesn't make me sound very intelligent, but hey, I'm not proud) - so I've moved to primarily using white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and Mrs. Meyers lavender castile soap. Today I realized that the cabinet under the sink is filled to bursting with half-empty bottles of cleaning products. I'm going to use these up, and then not replace them.
Groceries - DH made a couple of mid-week runs to our local, more expensive grocery store to the tune of $40. That's kind of steep for supplemental groceries, but I was on vacation all week. My rationalization is that I used to budget $200. or so for eating out and take-out for a vacation at home, so this was a pretty minimal splurge. But today DH did the regular weekly grocery run at the cheaper store, and it only came to $58! So we're within the high range of our weekly grocery budget, and all is well. We also got next week's flyer, and the are featuring live lobsters for $4.99/lb and steamers for $3.49/lb. Guess what we're going to have for dinner next Saturday night?
Salvation Army run - I purged 4 boxes and 3 bags of stuff from the cellar Weds, and I wanted to drop it off at the SA yesterday. And I wanted to go in the store, which was hotly debated by DH, "you're supposed to be getting rid of stuff, not buying more stuff!" In the 15 or so years since the SA store moved to town, I have purchased exactly three things there, so in I went. I came out with two brand-new ice cube trays (a couple of ours are cracked and needed replacement). I also got a cute denim shirt that fits me perfectly. Total expenditure was $2.00, so I feel that my virtue remains intact.
Bad Rosa at the garden club - Weds night I went with Mom to her garden club to hear a speaker talk about lavender, and where we would each make a lavender sachet. The speaker was good, but she was also selling all kinds of products. I resisted at the beginning of the night and I thought I had prevailed, but at the end of the evening, I bought 2 imported soaps and a small bottle of lavender essential oil, for a total of $21.50. These are consumables and I'll use them, but I'm still a bit disappointed in myself, because I expected this to surely be a no-spend evening. I did have the money in my wallet though, and it's "legal" for me to spend my allowance however I want, so I guess I wasn't too evil. :devil:
early morning
10-21-11, 5:21pm
Rosa, my DD and I fall for the lavender every. single. time. It's such a lovely, clean, cool, comforting smell for us. My frugals are the same old boring things. I did car-pool to a meeting today and the driver refused gas money, so that was a bit of savings (about 90 miles, there and back again). And we had breakfast rolls, coffee, all-you-could-eat pizza, desserts (all home made!) pop, and misc. snacks at the meeting for a $5 donation, which I thought was more than fair. Oh - I put off seeing a movie until it disappeared, and today I put it on my library list, so we can [eventually] watch it for free. AND I had to put new tires on the car, and found them on sale, so they actually cost less than the last set I bought, and are a better quality tire.
Rosa I hate that feeling of having caved on something like that. I did that today. Zach and I took the kids and one of their friends to the children's museum and I decided that we could splurge and get some caramel corn since the kids have liked that before. Only Zach wanted cola gummies and the friend doesn't like caramel corn she wanted chocolate rocks. $18 later we left with 5 kinds of candy! Never again! That phrase "kid in a candy store" didn't come out of nowhere. :)
On the plus side, Zach got a free laptop! He's wanted a laptop for a long time, but the ones he really, really wants are expensive and likely permanently out of reach for a while with 5 kids. He didn't see any point in buying a laptop that wasn't really what he wanted, so he was OK with the fact that it meant he wouldn't have one. This weekend friends of ours offered them their old laptop for free because they never use it anymore. It turns out to be great for all of the things he'd use a laptop for. Hooray for procrastination.
To make things better, Dad decided to upgrade the RAM on his laptop and asked Zach to do the work. Zach did it and took Dad's old RAM to use in his laptop, which is now running even better. He was also fixing the laptop of our friend's kid, who was innundated with viruses after looking up a bunch of dumb preteen things on the internet. Since he had cleared those issues up he took the old RAM from his computer and used it to upgrade the kid's computer, which now works much better. Win/win all around!
Tonight we are having Movie Night at our house. Grandpa hasn't been home much lately and is home tonight. He is going to rent the first of the Chronicles of Narnia movies on Apple TV and I will make popcorn and root beer floats. I'm planning to use the pop bottle from the root beer for a science experiment next week. The kids are excited.
fidgiegirl
10-21-11, 7:19pm
I have a frugal and a non.
I signed up for a conference a few months ago and today was the day. I really, really, really didn't want to go. It was beautiful, my DH was off, it is a foreign language teachers conference and I'm not in the classroom this year, etc. But I went, just in time for lunch :) I was presenting, so I really did have to go. My presentation stunk. Oh well, moving on . . .
My non frugal was that I didn't plan ahead to buy an adapter for my computer to project my brief presentation. So I had to spring $29.99 for one at the Apple store. grrrrrrrr
DH has been frugal, he has been calling around on prices for tile and floor finishing for our new house and finding some pretty big price differences. Yes, I should formally announce that we are soon-to-close on a new house. I let it slip in another thread so it isn't really top-secret. I was holding back on mentioning it until we close, just in case, but I can hardly hold back on sharing the related frugals :) Of course, they seem like small fry when you consider that it is a NEW HOUSE. Oh well, we are pretty excited!! We considered the purchase carefully and decided we would not be happy in this house long term. So we are taking the opportunity of the current prices and interest rates to grab this one. We've actually been trying to buy it since late April, first as a short sale, and then now directly from the bank, so it is hardly a grab. We do plan to rent our current home out. I know people have lots of opinions on that from the rental thread I started some months ago, but after very careful consideration, it is the route we are going to go for now.
:D :D :D
rosarugosa
10-21-11, 8:17pm
Congratulations, Kelli! That is big news indeed!
Congratulations, Kelli - that is fantastic news!
Okay, let me see what I can report on for frugals...my big one for this week was not eating out! No meals, no snacks, no tea from Starbucks. Nothing. I don't necessarily spend a lot eating out, but I am trying to get really disciplined about this because it's just too easy for me to slide and end up spending $30, $40, or even $50 in a week! I've also been very, very virtuous and have stayed away from the Salvation Army for almost a month!!! No secondhand clothes or books..although there were many times when I was very tempted to go get a shopping fix. I don't need anything. In fact, I really need to get rid of stuff.
It is a good thing that I've had these frugal successes because I went for my annual physical this week and, after an extensive round of blood work, it turns out I have extremely low iron stores in my blood. So, this could be the explanation for my ongoing fatigue issues. Of course, it might also be allergy related. My doc prescribed a steroid nasal spray for my allergies...not happy about this. I don't want to start medicating myself daily for a variety of reasons, especially with steroids. She suggested that I could try using a neti pot so I bought one yesterday and will try that route first, which seems like a more frugal approach (and one that is more inline with my values when it comes to health concerns). I am also going to finally get organized so that I can go to the gym and swim laps 3-4 days per week. I remember that I had very few issues with my allergies when I was swimming regularly. Of course, I am now supposed to take iron supplements as well for the next 3 to 4 months. I need to do a bit more research, but it seems like the specific formulation of iron that I would be taking could end up costing $2/day. I'm happy to pay $2/day for better health, but based on the conversation with the doctor this "might" solve the problem. Ahhh...the human body...a wonderful and complex machine that I will try to be grateful for instead of supremely annoyed by...
My biggest non-frugal of the week...a ridiculous amount of unnecessary driving. I really need to get more organized so that I'm not driving to and fro every day.
Off to make more applesauce and apple butter. That particular frugal activity will certainly make me feel better. :D
Congrats on your new house, fidgiegirl! How exciting!
I was at the supermarket yesterday for the first time in quite a while to get a few staples. I had a $5 off $25 coupon and just spent enough to use it. What I noticed was that grocery prices have skyrocketed! I've heard reports of prices of this item or that item going up... coffee, for instance... but it seemed to be across-the-board, with huge price increases, like 30%. Has anyone else observed this?
Rosemary, I have definitely noticed it!
We are planning a stay-at-home day today. We're going to rearrange the dining room/homeschool room, which I am very excited about, and clean the garage. We're having leftover pork roast with spaetzle for lunch and I think maybe clam chowder and homemade bread for dinner.
This is sort of related to frugality, because organization and frugality go hand in hand for me, but we have implemented a new schedule and list of rules around here. It's much more structured than we have been in the past and so far it is really helping me keep things on track. One frugal aspect of the new rules is that I am getting away from everyone getting to pick their own breakfast and lunch. That was getting out of hand and it's harder to plan that way. Now everyone gets what I'm making, which is always yummy, so don't feel bad for the kids. :) I have made up a suggestion jar that people can put requests in. I do take those into consideration, but there's no discussion on a daily basis. This is a much more efficient way of doing meals and so far there are no complaints.
I am finding there is a lot more calm in the house now that things are more structured. We're eliminating the bargaining, which is a HUGE stress relief! We're also enjoying our free time more because we know we have done what needs to be done when free time rolls around. I think that ultimately this streamlining will help me plan everything better, from driving to meals to school expenditures.
early morning
10-22-11, 2:39pm
Rosemary, DD does our grocery shopping most of the time, and she's commented on the price increases, too. We shop almost entirely at Aldi.
Fidgie - congrats on the new house!! Exciting!
Stella, around here we hold you in high regard - what a wonderful role model you and your DH are for your family (and friends too!) If you lived closer, I'd gladly pay you to help organize - I'm the disorganization queen. I'm the "sure, let's drag it home, I'm sure we'll find a place/use for it somewhere/somehow, and often we do, but it is not EASY to live this way. Cheap, but not simple.
So, my latest frugal actually relates to that.... I have a wonderful handmade fall bag, purchased to support a local fibre artist. I didn't like the handles, which were just strings of big beads (remember the car seat pads made of beads? those). I wanted bamboo handles but they cost more than I wanted to spend. DD makes bags to supplement her meager income, and often buys really inexpensive yardsale/thrift sale bags to deconstruct for parts. On our last venture, I found the perfect handles, attached to a bag, for 50 cents! I fixed the bag today, since one of the handles broke last night. The cats have been whacking beads around all day :). However, re: disorganization - we have a big box of bags waiting for deconstruction taking up space and looking tacky, and I can't get to the towel drawer! grrrrr....
early morning - nice work on the bag! I love when I can remake stuff to my liking for little $$$. Awesome!
Stella - yes, you are my inspiration when it comes to organization! And I agree, organization and frugality go hand-in-hand.
Rosemary - I have noticed the price of groceries, too! It's really crazy and it is forcing me to be vigilant about making more and more things from scratch and not buying too many "treats" at the grocery store.
I managed to process more than 70 pounds of apples yesterday. I made nearly 20 quarts of applesauce and my crock pot is full of the apple butter, which is not yet finished. If I had the energy, I could probably do the same amount again today as we still have a lot of apples on the trees. But it is getting colder and I noticed that more and more of them are rotting so I need to work quickly if I'm going to get any more of them preserved in some form. If I can get organized, perhaps I will try to dehydrate some tomorrow for snacks or make some more fruit leather.
Yesterday was a no drive day, which was great. We stayed home and actually got some stuff done. I started to do some reorganization of our pantry and realized that it might be wise to invest in a few more containers for bulk foods. I found wild rice and popcorn that I had bought in bulk months ago, yet we have not used it. So I am going to stop at Target today and see what I can find. I looked online at The Container Store - oh boy, that was dangerous! I am not great at organizing things, but I could be great at buying all the necessary tools!!! I did finally buy an appropriately sized cutting board for our counter. We like to keep a cutting board on the counter in front of our bread box because we eat a ridiculous amount of bread in this house. But the cutting board we have there is too big and it makes it hard to work in that corner of the kitchen. So I measured (multiple times) and then went online and found a cutting board that would fit there perfectly - $52. A bit pricey, but considering how much we will use it I think it was a good investment. Also, if it makes working in our kitchen easier, I suspect we will make up the $52 in eating out costs in about...2 weeks! :|(
I had made black beans in the crock pot earlier in the week, so last night we made Spanish rice (and used up some of the last tomatoes and peppers from the garden) with black beans and cheese. At the last minute we realized we had a handful of tomatillos and sliced those and tossed them on top before putting the whole thing in the over. Why my partner made an entire pound of rice for 2 people is beyond me, but I wasn't going to argue...at least he was helping with the whole process! Overall it was not the most flavorful dish we've ever concocted so I will have to figure out how to doctor up the leftovers. But it was cheap and since I can eat the same thing for a week with no complaints, it will mean I don't have to cook for several days!
madgeylou
10-23-11, 10:50am
we have had a pretty frugal week and made a big decision last night! well, not that big, but it's going to make a big difference in our day to day lives.
i've been moving my studio into our house, and where i have it now just isn't working ... so i had the idea that i should make the current living room my office/studio, we should move our living room into our dining room, and my man will have our 2nd bedroom as his office. it's going to be really great! we can do it with only one purchase, too -- we need some carpeting for our dining room. i'm excited to set up my little studio just how i want it, and i know my fella is, too.
went to a couple parties this weekend and spent some money on hooch, but it was well worth it and we needed to blow off some steam. we've been killing it on our grocery bill lately, and have been steadily setting aside money each week. it feels really good to work together!
Congrats on the new house Fidgiegirl! I'm so happy for you.
Friday was homecoming and ds is in the marching band so I attended the game. I switched waitress shifts at work and ended up being the bigger earner for the day so that was nice. I spent $10-12 that evening. I took a couple of sandwiches with me but ended up buying other stuff to go with them like drinks and snacks. It could havve been a $4 night. They had hot dogs and stuff for the band after the parade and before the game. Ds was asked to bring napkins but they weren't used so we brought them home again. Why waste them?
Sat. after regular business hours, we held a private dinner. It was supposed to be for 40 people but only 13 showed up. Disappointing to say the least. The group did feel bad enough that they gave me a $120 tip. We will use the extra ribs and chicken in various specials over the next few weeks to re coup our losses on the party.
Overall, I managed to make enough this weekend to put some money into savings which was nice. Lately with school clothes and supplies and all the other things that come along, I haven't been saving much.
We have a goal of being debt free by June of 2014. I crunched the numbers and found we're about $30, 000 short in our estimated earnings/savings for this time period. This is a lot of money for us. We are not six figure earners. I'm not sure how, but I am determined to meet this goal come hell or high water! I want off this crazy consumer roller coaster...
Thanks for the compliments guys!
Zach and I are trying to save as much money before our trip to California as possible. He's donating plasma which should get us an extra $480 or so before the trip. My goal is to spend only $50-$75 a week on groceries. We're going to eat down the pantry since we will be gone for a month and need to use up a lot of food by then anyway.
I made a batch of cream of broccoli soup to freeze for an easy meal. I also baked up two squashes I had on hand for freezing since I am not good lately at starting meals long enough in advance to bake a squash. Might as well do it now while I have the energy.
Later today I am planning to make some corn chowder, bread dough, pizza dough and banana bread for freezing or using this week. I'm baking a batch of wheat bread too. I'm using up some hard boiled eggs to make egg salad for lunches and I've decided to dry some rolls I made last week, but never used, to make bread pudding for breakfasts.
I'm aiming to save $1000 on top of the $480 Zach makes donating plasma. That's going to mean blackbelt frugality, but I think it could be possible if we all work together.
Another great frugal! I just realized that Halloween is coming up in a week and I was stressing a little about getting the costumes done and getting a pumpkin. Well, the pumpkin took care of itself! A neighbor of ours brought us a pumpkin from his hobby farm! It's a nice big one too!
MIL lost her buyer on the house...he got scared by the house inspection. Suffice it to say we should be brought in to the police station for elder abuse for allowing her to live over 60 years in the house (not!) Unbelievably we have two new offers on it. Please keep fingers crossed that she will sell and move in with us and not have to worry about anything with whatever time she has left. She's so tidy (93 years old) we'll have to step up our game and be more tidy ourselves.
Went to store and bought 7 pkgs of cranberries at $2 a bag which is a good deal. I'll chop some and freeze for cranberry bread. I also made a double batch of cran-apple chutney and water bath canned it. I love the inner peace I feel when I see all of the food we've actually made & put aside for the winter.
chrissieq
10-24-11, 7:57pm
Stella, I love the concept of "blackbelt frugality"! My DH is out of town this week (rare for us) and I am committed to eating all meals at home with what is on hand. It is so much easier (for me) to be frugal when alone. I am making the same amount of food as when the 2 of us are here thus giving me lunch for the next day - no need to buy deli meat which is our normal go-to lunch plan.
flowerseverywhere
10-24-11, 8:10pm
went out to use the restaurant gift card I had previously mentioned. We went for lunch and the card wouldn't work. They found in a book they keep at the register that it should have worked but they couldn't override the register without the manager who had stepped out. We waited for about ten minutes for her to come back, and she was apologetic and gave us our lunch for free (we could smell cigarette smoke on her so knew she was outside smoking instead of managing the restaurant)! So we still have a gift card to use.
On another food note went to a weekend meeting and we ordered pizzas. They were good but two and a half were left so I took them home as everyone would have thrown them away. Lunch this week.
Merski - sending the universe positive vibes for your MIL and the sale of her house! Nice job on the cranberries...cranberry apple chutney - why didn't I think of that?!? We've still got some apples, so perhaps next week!
chrissieq - same here! I am so much more frugal when my partner is out of town because I will eat whatever is in the house even if it means eating the same thing for days on end!
flowerseverywhere - great score on the free restaurant meal and saving the pizza!!!
My big frugal this week was getting an extra paycheck! I led a dining etiquette tutorial for 50+ college students last night. It went well and afterwards the coordinator implied that she would be inviting me back for another event in the spring. Cha-ching. I'm quitting one of my part-time teaching jobs as soon as my classes for the fall wrap up. The work has been dwindling over the past few years and the hassles that I've encountered this fall have led me to believe that it's time to move on. I was a little concerned about giving up the cash, but in reality the job has gone from $10,000 in part-time work at the peak to less than $2000 in part-time work this year. If it were an easy $2000, I would stick with it. But it seems to be $2000 that comes with a higher than expected emotional tax, so I'm walking away. I've been slowly and quietly launching a part-time etiquette training/motivational speaking business and if all of the business that I've booked through the end of the year actually pans out I will have made more than $5000 this year without any active marketing or even getting my website up, so I am going to make this my next thing.
Aside from that my frugals are just the usual...I'll have to try to think up some creative frugal actions that I can post about!!!
cdttmm, it sounds like you are making the right decision on the job. Good for you!
I made bread pudding for breakfast this morning. I love making a treat out of stale bread. It feels virtuous and indulgent at the same time.
Lunch today was homemade wheat bread, egg salad with dill, cucumbers and spinach, strawberry and mango green smoothies. I had some hard boiled eggs to use up and I used up some carrot orange juice Zach made yesterday in the smoothies.
I was wanting a little something sweet last night and I used up a stray package of hot cocoa. It was just right for a chilly night. Zach and I had hot chocolate and watched an old Father Brown mystery on netflix.
We are rocking this new schedule! I finally feel like I am hitting my stride with homeschooling. Because of the new schedule I am able to get a lot more done around here and the kids are getting more schoolwork done and loving it. I even have time for a nap in the afternoon! I've been looking around at a few curriculums for the coming years and found one I really like. It's a Great Books oriented program and looking through it I don't think I have to buy much of anything. It's almost all books I either already have or would be readily available either at the library or for free on the iPad kindle app. Their second grade program is almost exactly like the curriculum I put together on my own for this year. The one thing they offer in higher grades that I would find worth paying for is an online logic and discussion class.
I had a nice frugal this evening. This afternoon I lent my friend/neighbor my double boiler. She wanted to make pudding and after pricing them, decided that it wasn't worth buying one to use once in a while. She returned it nicely cleaned with a pan of homemade banana pudding! I am going to return her pan full of butterscotch pudding. She and I frequently bring each other food. It's nice to have a homemade treat that I didn't make!
Another neighbor contacted me about the pumpkin parade this weekend and offered to make the treats. I'm taking her up on that, although I think I'll make orange filled whoopie pies. The kids will want to make something.
Zach is taking me to an honest-to-goodness ball on Thursday and we are trading babysitting with a friend. It's not a frugal event. I'll have to buy a maternity dress, among other things, but I think we'll have fun.
Last night was parent teacher conferences. Ds's GPA is over 98%! I don't know where he gets it but I hope he continues to excel in this way. I just want him to have options as an adult. I don't care how he provides for himself as long as he's happy but it sure is nice to think of all the choices that will be available if he keeps doing so well in school. There was a book sale at school and we bought him a new book about something he's very into these days. It was only $10 and I know he will get a lot of use out of it.
That and refilling the car with gas were our only purchases.
Ds has a school dance right after classes get out today. I gave him $5 for admittance and told him to use his own money for snacks. We recently upped his allowance and told him he was going to be responsible for providing for these kinds of things himself. Its a good way for him to learn the value of money. Funny thing is that he's really frugal and doesn't like to spend his money. I think he took $3 for pizza and soda today.
I know this is a little bit different then the way most of you think BUT... I have a lot of opportunities to get my hands on free products of all types. This is something I really love doing and have used it as a way to reduce our spending. Dh and I talked about it the other night and I am going to increase the time and energy I put into this. If there is a free product out there and I know we'll use it I'm going to pick it up. It doesn't matter if its say, garbage bags that will take 2 years to use up- they're free and I won't waste them. We're simply going to consider it another step closer to retirement. I am not one of those crazy couponers that will buy 200 bottles of salad dressing that will sit on a shelf like trophies and never get used. I am one of those crazy couponers that got a year's worth of toilet paper for only a couple of dollars.
We have lots of shelves around that we can use. I think I'll clear some off in the laundry room for things that might freeze and then there are several others in the garage if I need them.
So, I will be going back through the sales flyers today to make sure I didn't miss any "must have" deals. My coupons are all in order for tomorrow's shopping trip. Oh, I recieved a free item coupon in the mail yesterday for men's shower gel. This is a perfect example of something I'd be silly not to pick up. Plus there is always someone who can use something if its given to them for free!
I'm doing swag codes, sweeps, and quadreaders today as well as a couple of surveys.
Congratulations on your son's GPA bke! That is fantastic!
I have been attempting to make it to the end of the week without getting groceries and so far so good. I'm making chili tonight and I took some cornbread out that I had frozen to go with it. I am out of bread, but I have been baking some, so we won't need that. I'm almost out of milk, but everyone but Daddy, Bella and I have colds, so I'm trying to keep the milk consumption down anyway. I've been using dried milk in my baking.
I'm going to do National Novel Writing Month again this year, so that should keep me busy with a frugal hobby for a while. I am hoping to get my camera back from the repair shop soon too. Photography is fun and cheap too. Well, cheap outside of the price of the camera anyway.
Today for lunch I was thinking I would have to send DH to the store for something as I seemed to be one ingredient short of anything quick and easy enough for my very low energy level. I suddenly remembered a recipe for a chicken enchilada casserole I was thinking of making sometime because it looked really easy. I looked it up in the cookbook and realized that I had all the ingredients on hand in either the freezer or the pantry. In fact, instead of using crushed tomatoes, green chiles and onions, I simplified things further and used a can of salsa my friend made and gave me. It took me about 5 minutes to assemble and it's in the oven right now. I hope it's good. If it is I'll add it to the post-baby roster.
flowerseverywhere
10-26-11, 1:57pm
I'm doing swag codes, sweeps, and quadreaders today as well as a couple of surveys.
what are swag codes and quadreaders? How do you find good sweeps to enter? Sometimes I see sweeps but there is no way I want the hassle of paying taxes on most of the prizes. Now a car or cash, I would take that and gladly pay.
Thanks Stella-I keep joking that he's not mine. I got decent grades in school but had to work alot harder for them too!
Flowerseverywhere- swag codes is a search engine. I use it like google and get points. Then the points can be turned into giftcards. I usually get amazon.com gift cards with mine.
Quadreaders is a mail reporting thing. I make a phone call and let them know what I've recieved. They use it to make sure that things are being delivered on time. I get 10 free postage stamps each month. I also recieved a $30 check in the mail a few months ago and a tin of cashews at Christmas last year.
I belong to a refunding group that lists the online sweepstakes sites, and all the details. Alot of times I enter just for the little prizes like $25 gift cards or a free full-size product. I'm a big believer in turning pennies into dollars...
Not much to report in the frugal dept. Dh made me a set of shelves and rearranged some stuff in the garage for me.
I have all my coupons and a list ready for this evening.
Ds spent $1 of his own money at the dance last night. Such a big spender-lol.
I set myself up with several survey companies yesterday including one for business owners that pays as much as $55 for a survey.
Dh wants me to set aside $300 and keep track of the rebate/coupons items I get with it. He wants proof that its profitable. I understand what he is saying and am working on a stategy. I was thinking of doing like a profit and loss statement.
IE:
Toothpaste -.12 meaning it cost me 12 cents to bring it home
Dish soap +.27 meaning they paid me 27 cents to bring it home.
I know of people who purchase items like this and sell them at flea markets for a profit. I had several items in a garage sale about 7-8 years ago and the food went before anything else I had.
I've been doing surveys this morning and will start working on my sweeps next.
I think I mentioned it yesterday, but the point of all this is for dh and I to figure out some other part-time income sources that we can have after we sell the restuarant. We've both decided that the sooner we can sell the better.
fidgiegirl
10-27-11, 6:12pm
bke, saw this the other day. Your post made me remember it. It has some new and different ideas, at least for me - maybe for others, too.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/new-livelihoods/7-smart-solutions-for-diy-jobs
Interesting article Fidgigirl... Makes me wonder about renting out the restaurant kitchen for individual use.
Last night was our shopping night for the week. Dh and I picked ds up at school instead of one of us getting him while the other needs more time to close the restaurant. It saved about 20 minutes and a gallon of gas in our vehicle. We also made it to our favorite chinese buffet in time for lunch prices because of this and saved about $7 off our bill. Dh drank water and I drank free tea so this added to the savings.
I started the retirement stash last night. I bought 9 twelve packs of razors and 2 cans of hairspray using coupons for a total of $1.12. See what I mean? For that little bit of money I am crazy not to pick this stuff up whether I use it, sell it or give it away to someone who needs it more.
I have set aside a zippered bank envelope with a specific amount of money in it and I'm going to put all my profits back into this envelope and see how well I've done in 6 months to a year from now. Dh wants to see proof of how this can be a money maker. I don't feel like this is a true marker but I guess if I have shelves full of merchandise plus all my money or more that its proof enough for him.
On to the usual sweeps and all that ....
rosarugosa
10-28-11, 6:54pm
Yay BKE, that's truly impressive :) Will be interested to hear of your progress!
I earned enough E-rewards points to redeem for another $25. Macy's card, and I earned another $3.00 check for doing a survey with Pinecone Research.
I read a good article by Donna Freedman the other night about bulk purchase savings for small households and those with limited storage. It gave me a good idea, I think. Our freezer isn't that big, but we have 2 ice cube tubs, about 8 ice cube trays, and several frozen beer mugs in there. I was thinking that at least for the winter, we could temporarily remove some of this stuff and use it for food storage. Winter is when I really love to have a freezer full of little containers filled with spaghetti sauce, chicken soup, and beef stew!
fidgiegirl
10-28-11, 7:26pm
I'm really taken with the Fab Lab idea.
Tonight I am going to make my costume. A black cat. Creative, I know. But I have all the stuff, like black fabric and some scraps of fusable batting, and costumes are more stressful for me than fun. Then I'll have black cat stuff for any future year ;) I was going to buy a headband but in the interest of frugality I am going to see what I can do with what I already have :) I was thinking of you all!
Going to have a pumpkin pie tonight with ingredients that have been hanging around. Trying homemade fries for the first time and looking forward to them.
Not too much else! Happy Friday!
We had such a fun day today! Friday is field trip day and today's field trip was a shopping trip to get stuff for costume making. Cheyenne is still going to be Iron Girl and Bella finally decided to be an Angel. For Halloween, mind you. She's still going to be a monster for Christmas and a fairy for Valentine's Day. The kid looked at me like I had a second head when I suggested it might be more appropriate to be a monster for Halloween and an Angel for Christmas. Not in Bellaland, apparently. :)
We went to the thrift store and got Cheyenne a nice red fleece sweatshirt and red jogging pants for the red armour. Zach is going to wire up something for her heart core. He is going to AxMan tomorrow to figure that out. She wants it to light up if possible. We're going to make the mask out of a cut up Triscuit box and red duct tape. I also got fabric to make a red skirt, because this is Iron Girl afterall and just because she's a Genius Inventor/Defender of Good/Ninja doesn't mean she has to dress like a boy. Or so I've been told. The fabric was on sale for $2.50 a yard and I only needed half a yard.
Bella got a pretty white shirt, white wings ($3.99), a pretty white sweater (because this is Minnesota after all) and fabric to make a white skirt. That fabric was on sale for $4 a yard and again, I only needed half a yard. I also got her a halo because they had one at 70% off, so it cost $1.50.
I don't think I spend a ton less than I would have buying costumes, but they got actual clothes they can use again for non-costume wear. Those store-bought costumes are usually very, very cheaply made. Plus it's so much more fun this way.
Tonight was movie night. We had two friends over and Grandpa rented the second movie from the Narnia series. I made popcorn and everyone had a great time.
We thankfully stayed home last night. We had our first real frost on Thursday night and it was just chilly last night. My husband wanted to do a family movie night so after we had a dinner of home made pizza (enough left for lunch today!), we carved pumpkins and watched Captain America. The rating was PG 13, but I wonder who does those ratings seriously. My husband and I have watched movies that were rated PG that should have been rated R. This one I don't think deserved the 13, but I have a feeling it was from the blood (which is why Rapunzel got a PG rating over a G rating). Any way, not a bad movie. Slow moving, but not bad. My youngest made it 10 minutes before he was too tired and needed to go up to bed.
Today the boys and I are going to our towns library to hang out for a bit and then I want to do some baking, we need snacks for lunches for the week. We have a bigger library in the township over, but sometimes it's just too big.
Tomorrow we have Bible study and Church and then I think it's leaf raking time! Our big tree is gone, but the other trees in the neighborhood felt bad so they sent their leaves to our yard;)
I agree about Captain America. That was one of the tamer Superhero movies I've seen in a long time. We let the girls see it after an old Catholic Grandma with standards even higher than mine fo kids and media.
Today we started work on our trip T-shirts. Something we used to do when I worked at a preschool was to dress the kids in all the same t-shirt on field trips so we could keep track of them more easily. I got some red t-shirts 3 for $9 and let the kids have at them with fabric markers. We wrote Team Griffith on the back and each kid got a number, one for Cheyenne, two for Bella and so on. They are so excited about them.
I also picked up a UFO I was working on while on bed rest last year. It's a tea towel I'm embroidering for my mom. It will be her Christmas present.
We're having my friend's kid overnight tonight and he has requested to make chocolate covered frozen bananas. I'm providing the bananas, his mom is providing the chocolate. As desserts go it should be relatively healthy.
Today weather was predicting snow, so we put on our frugal thinking/cooking caps and went to town. DH made his 2 loaves of bread and I made 3. Saw Dr. Oz program on belly fat or bottom fat. I have belly fat and am trying to tame it. He says to eat complex carbs and so the bread I made was heavily mutigrained! Will slice it and freeze it for sandwiches etc. Also made a batch of hummus and also quinoa tabbouleh to eat in wraps. Put on some beef short ribs which should be out of the slow cooker by suppertime. Will serve over mashed potatoes. Also made and apple pie with and for DH who promised me he'd save some slices for his mother. Our house smells like a holiday dinner at grandma's house. What heaven! Oh! We also made a batch of Kapusta. We cook/bake heavily on the weekend to be able not to during a busy week.
rosarugosa
10-30-11, 8:51am
Merski: Sounds like you two were very productive. We haven't had shortribs since forever - might need to put those on the menu someday soon!
This was week four for us at the less expensive grocery store. Total came to $85, but DH thinks it would have been more like $120 at the other store since it included two lobsters, two pounds of steamers, 2.5 lbs of sliced turkey, ham & roast beef, and a large chicken for roasting. So it's Market Basket for us from now on. DH complains a little about longer drive and more crowded store, but all told it took him about 2 hrs (and they were predicting a big snowstorm, so crowds & traffic were worse than usual). Since I spend 4 -5 hours on Sat doing laundry & housework, I figure he can tough it out. The extra hour is probably time that he would have spent on FaceBook or something, so using the time to save us money is a way better investment!
This morning is the K of C waffle breakfast at church and to avoid temptation I made pancakes and sausage. Not going to the breakfast will save us quite a bit.
This afternoon is the neighborhood pumpkin parade. A few of us are bringing treats to share and we will parade our pumpkins and costumes around the neighborhood. It should be fun if I can stay awake for it. I am not entirely sure how I am going to get skirts made, a pumpkin carved and treats made between church and the parade, but we'll figure it out.
Last night I went to my friends house for a while. Another friend came over and made homemade pork potstickers. They were amazing. It was a nice treat.
JaneV2.0
10-30-11, 12:03pm
As an aside, I wouldn't pay the slightest attention to Dr. Oz regarding anything but whatever his medical specialty is--thoracic surgery, maybe? And maybe not even that. As far as I can tell, he's a shill for General Foods. Belly fat is a symptom of hyperinsulinemia, which grains of any kind can exacerbate.
We visited with friends last night, I took some caramel dip (normally I make my own for at home, but our friends kids waste food so I wasn't spending $5 on dip that might get wasted) that I got for $.50, a few apples, some free organic baby carrots (we don't eat them here, but knew I could use them for bring an item to pass) and some frozen pretzels that I purchased for $.35. The boys brought their new game they got for $.50 at our Church's rummage sale. They had a great time with the kids. I knitted while chatting.
Today we ended up skipping Bible study and church. My youngest started with a runny nose last night at our friends house and it just kept stuffing up through the night and he started coughing. Figured we would just lay low. My oldest slept later than normal, barely ate and then went back to bed around 12:30. He is still up there, checked his temperature and he is almost to 101. Sigh...They always seem to get sick just before Halloween.
My friend that I have done some work for in the past, asked if I could help her out a bit. So I'll start that this week and will most likely make a couple hundred dollars over the next couple of weeks doing some Power Point and Word work for her.
I roasted the pumpkin seeds from our pumpkins today and iced some cut out sugar cookies. My first grader's teacher asked if he could have one that another mom was baking and bringing in tomorrow, at first I said yes as long as they were home made with natural ingredients. I started thinking about it as not everyones definition of "home made" with natural ingredients is the same. I am glad I did. She is not baking them, she is getting them from Panera. Unfortunately one of the ingredients in the cookies is MSG (malted barley flour). So I baked the cookies yesterday and they are now iced. I have natural food dyes and made my own royal icing. He is quite pleased. I have cake decorating tools, so it wasn't a problem.
My youngest has played for the last three hours with a lump of clay that we used for my oldest's moon project. I had bought some little space figures to go with the project and he played with those to. I forsee many hours of fun with that lump of clay.
early morning
10-30-11, 5:11pm
Hung laundry out today, it's windy and in the low 50s. I did put a load of small items in the dryer - I bought my mom some new socks - all cotton- and I have to have them shrunk before I sneak them into her drawer, or she'll know they're new immediately, have a fit, and it will take weeks to get her to wear them *sigh*. Went to an auction (several estates) yesterday (as family support) and spent $1 on a pile of stuff. Gave three boxes to a cousin for her yard sale, brought home three more. Lots of towels for rags, several for use, stack of nice wash cloths, a retro tablecloth, a stack of vintage women's handkerchiefs, two shiny/slippery head-scarves with horses on them (I sorta collect these to use for throws, loved them as a child), lots of doilies to resell. I also bought two old women's watches that were in my deceased cousin's belongings being sold- I saw this awesome bracelet made out of women's watches, so now I'm gathering watches to make one, sort of like this: http://martomhouse.com/wb1wrst.JPG They were $7 total, but I wanted something of hers. She was my hairdresser and my friend as well as a cousin, and I miss her...
fidgiegirl
10-30-11, 7:36pm
Hi all!!
Sounds like everyone is doing very well in frugal land.
We went out to eat twice this weekend. Once was just Denny's so not too bad there. We got a chance to see my mom & dad and visit with them.
At brunch this morning I bought a Chinook Book from one of my friend's kids. If we pay attention we will save much more than the $20 it cost us, plus there is a new app with offers in it. The key: paying attention.
I need to place a grocery order online tonight. Perhaps I should throw some brown rice on now for brown rice/veggie lunches. Those are easy.
Right now we are wrestling with what's worth it to pay for in our new house. We will have limited funds after putting down 10%. Also our EF will be lower than I would like. We will for sure be hiring out the wood floors that need refinishing, but are contemplating if we should hire the tiling in the bathroom or do it ourselves. The issue is time. If we do it ourselves, in evenings and on weekends, it will take longer than if we hire it, but cost less. However, since our current house will become a rental, we have to weigh if the time saved (thus getting us moved and this house rented out faster) will outweigh the savings of doing it ourselves, but taking longer. Our mortgage payment is very low on this house, so we can pay both for a while, but anyway, that's where we're at!
flowerseverywhere
10-30-11, 9:48pm
Flowerseverywhere- swag codes is a search engine. I use it like google and get points. Then the points can be turned into giftcards. I usually get amazon.com gift cards with mine.
Quadreaders is a mail reporting thing. I make a phone call and let them know what I've recieved. They use it to make sure that things are being delivered on time. I get 10 free postage stamps each month. I also recieved a $30 check in the mail a few months ago and a tin of cashews at Christmas last year.
I belong to a refunding group that lists the online sweepstakes sites, and all the details. Alot of times I enter just for the little prizes like $25 gift cards or a free full-size product. I'm a big believer in turning pennies into dollars...
I set myself up with several survey companies yesterday including one for business owners that pays as much as $55 for a survey.
Dh wants me to set aside $300 and keep track of the rebate/coupons items I get with it. He wants proof that its profitable. I understand what he is saying and am working on a stategy. I was thinking of doing like a profit and loss statement.
IE:
Toothpaste -.12 meaning it cost me 12 cents to bring it home
Dish soap +.27 meaning they paid me 27 cents to bring it home.
I know of people who purchase items like this and sell them at flea markets for a profit. I had several items in a garage sale about 7-8 years ago and the food went before anything else I had.
I've been doing surveys this morning and will start working on my sweeps next.
I think I mentioned it yesterday, but the point of all this is for dh and I to figure out some other part-time income sources that we can have after we sell the restaurant. We've both decided that the sooner we can sell the better.
thanks for the info. I never put the time in to figure these kind of things out. I love the idea of tracking rebate/coupons etc. After a few months you could easily determine exactly what is worthwhile for you. But I think you also have to enjoy doing this.
Have been building up my winter pantry as I live where ice and snow storms are frequent. It is really helpful to have a nicely stocked kitchen.
Have not bought halloween candy yet- if I buy it too early we just get into it. Tomorrow I have my list made out where to pick out some good deals. I am not fond of this holiday at all but I have a group of youngsters in my neighborhood so I participate.
It's a home day for us. Both boys are staying home. :sick:
I will be doing more baking today, mini muffins and chocolate chip cookies. Possibly this recipe to:http://willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/pumpkin-spice-pull-apart-bread-with-butter-rum-glaze/
Doesn't it look YUMMY?? I'll be sacrificing my oldest's pie pumpkin, Coco for a good cause don't you think? Yes, he named it.
And maybe these:
http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/09/old-fashioned-doughnuts-with-chocolate-glaze/
Then I can keep the heat down;)
Those links are making me hungry! I want to be at your house today Tracy!
Dad bought the Halloween candy to hand out, so that saves me a little. He went a little crazy. He got two bags of candy at Costco, so they were huge bags. Hopefully we have a lot of trick-or-treaters!
The pumpkin parade was fantastic! We had such a great time. The other moms and I decided that we should do more neighborhood events. I told them about all of the stuff we did when I was a kid, the 4th of July parade, the carnival, the stuffed animal zoo, the snowforts and snowmen, the sledding and ice skating, the scavenger hunts, the International Potluck (we all brought something from our heritage countries) and all of that and they were excited to start some of that up again. I'm thinking we'll definitely do a snow fort building thing this winter. I'll make hot cocoa and hot tea or coffee.
We have some Mother Nature imposed frugality happening at our house. We got whacked with an early snowstorm that has taken out the power across the region. Fortunately, we have a generator so we are at home with limited electricity, but sufficient heat and hot water. We have no stove/oven, but do have power for the microwave and we have a gas grill, so both are getting used for making meals. My partner took the dogs and went cross country skiing. I opted to stay home with the intention of grading some papers and preparing for work tomorrow. Of course, I ended up doing some cleaning and organizing instead. I was gone over the weekend when the storm hit, but arrived home safely in time to deal with the aftermath! As luck would have it, they have closed the college for the remainder of the week so I won't have to go to work, which gives me a few extra days to catch up on things around here. So tonight we are making a homemade pizza on the grill and some bread sticks to have with soup tomorrow. Luckily we had everything we needed on hand. We're out of half-and-half and low on milk, but everything else is fairly well stocked. We're not expected to have our power restored for another 3 or 4 days. We think the roads are passable, but the town has been issuing alerts and requesting everyone to stay off the roads if possible. Supposedly the National Guard will be stopping by for house checks to make sure everyone is okay. We invited our neighbors to come over and take advantage of our hot water, so they came by and showered this afternoon. They just moved in back in the spring and have told us they will be investing in a generator when this is over. I'll be investing in an electric kettle for making tea. ;)
frugal-one
10-31-11, 9:08pm
cdttmm ... I asked for a generator for our anniversary! How did you decide what type and size generator to buy? I told DH to check it out and I think he is a flummoxed as I. Any words of wisdom to impart? Thanks!
cdttmm I hope your power is turned on soon!
I took the kids trick-or-treating tonight. 2.25 hours later I tagged Zach in as chaperone. I am tired. The kids are still going. Lots of FFF!
chrissieq
10-31-11, 9:26pm
DH is on his way home (via train from WN state) so I am emptying the fridge of leftovers - dinner was pizza and risotto - not together - both delicious. Ate a wonderful pastry that a friend gave me. She bought it at a French patisserie here in town as a gift for me - delicious. Tomorrow is our 31st anniversary and I think we may eat at home saving lots of $$ and giving him a home-cooked meal after 10 days of eating in a cafeteria or in a train lounge car.
Will take the leftover Halloween candy (at least the open bags!) to work tomorrow - probably like a lot of co-workers - but it always disappears!
I did some research for our trip and found some really good rates on hotels. It's going to be about $350 less than I had bugeted for.
I made up a menu yesterday that will have me buying nothing but eggs, milk, butter, cheese and bread this week. Maybe not even bread. It's good stuff too.
I took the kids to the library today to get books on the unit we are working on. I love the library.
HappyHiker
11-1-11, 4:25pm
A friend tipped me off on making a big pot of barley/turkey soup as a frugal meal choice. So it's now bubbling on the stove.
The turkey legs she used cost more than the chicken drum sticks ( $1.48 for six drum sticks, so opted for the chicken instead). Chopped up my somewhat wilted carrots, celery, and added in onion, garlic and some yellow squash. The base is a can of tomatoes with green chiles, some olive oil and seasonings of curry and Italian spices.
It must smell pretty good because my dog is circling my legs and drooling.
Looking forward to dinner tonight--and a couple of more meals from this frugal pot of soup.
I made some less than frugal choices on Holloween but did them as frugally as possible. I wanted donuts and stopped and bought 2 at the local gas station. The clerk told me I could buy any size cup of coffee for 1 penny more. I took 24 oz cup of fresh black coffee home with me. I can't make it that cheaply with free beans!
Everyone is always cold and hungry after trick or treating. We usually end up at McD's and spend $20 plus. This year I went into Little Ceasar's and got pizza, bread sticks, and 2 liters of soda to take home for less than $12. So I spend about $14 for junk but at least I got the most bang for my buck.
I've been sorting through survey sites setting up accounts and trying to weed out those that aren't worth my time. I have made about $20 this week taking surveys.
I spent about an hour this morning sorting through stuff and putting my stockpile out on shelves in the laundry room. I found 53 toothbrushes that I had originally intended to donate but will now keep for my sale this summer. The way I am arranging things it will be easy to see what we have, use the things that need to be used and keep sale items organized.
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