5/28 Expressions

Freebies in the mail today: a can of Rita Monti coffee and a single serve too; coupon for free goat cheese - Cheverie, and a coupon for a free Butterfinger :) I also donated another box of stuff to the Purple Heart yesterday. I need to plant the flowers I got in the mail yesterday - unfortunately, it is raining at the moment. Summer vacation has started and it has started off superbly - I am very proud to say she got straight "A's" this year too. Made another large payment on the HELOC today. Deposited rolled coins with rebate checks. Oh, and I want to list a few more things on listia. Junque to treasure - and all that :)

5/22 Expressions

More Frugal Deeds last week: I finally got around to using some of the free trades TD-Ameritrade gifted me to go electronic. I rounded up shares, so I purchased a few shares of 3 stocks in our account and then I sent myself some of the money left in the sweep account to pay toward the HELOC. Also today, I plan to stop by Wal-Mart on my way to do errands with my daughter for a free sundae . . . I believe they are serving sundaes from 11 am - 3 pm. And although our half.com sales have really slowed down, we sold a book this week - so, it will be mailed during the errand route also. I read an article in one of the magazines I receive free - anyway, it was about how easy it is to "start" Hydrangea plants. I will be getting some potting soil and rooting compound and a Hydrangea plant (we have one - I think it is a "White Oak" - I want the pink/purple ones :)- to frugally add Hydrangea plants to weedy open area in the back yard. I have also been spending my listia credits on seeds - so, I have several packages of herb seed and sunflower seeds to plant.

5/21 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the week: Today, I received a nice box of goodies from Kraft: 3 snack sized bags of Wheat Thins, individual packs of Vanilla Latte, a coupon for free Oscar Meyer Deli Meat, and a coupon for a free box of Kraft Mac 'n Cheese. This week, I also received a nice box from Buzzagent - anti-aging foundation, blush, concealer, and under-eye concealer. I also dropped 8 items off for consignment and picked up a check. I found a cheap roundtrip flight to Orlando for my daughter and husband to take a trip this summer - we already have a nice 2 bdrm condo reserved - now for cheap auto and entertainment tickets. My daughter needed a book for class next week - and wanted to run to Barnes and Noble - one call to the library - and the book was on hold for us. We also checked out 3 DVDs. I printed a lot of nice coupons this week. After exercise class tomorrow - I plan to make a run to Kroger. Tomorrow afternoon, we will go to Barnes and Noble and enjoy a B1G1 Frappucino - in addition, we have a few freebie item coupons to use at Victoria's Secret.

5/14 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the week: my daughter found out that a public boarding school offers a summer program - of course, it costs $ - but it is reasonable - so, we may try to get her in that. I tried to sign her up for a summer school class - she fiddled around with getting her counselor's signature until today - and of course the class is filled. I have been having fun with Listia - I "sold" my first item two weeks ago and have been "buying" for the last two weeks - nothing extravagant - but all fun and useful. I have gotten packages of seeds - flower and herbs and small pieces of costume jewelry for my daughter and I to enjoy. This weekend, I will be getting my hair "done" at the beauty school - my favorite beautician graduates this month. No items were taken to the consignment store - they were not taking most of the items I was hoping to take. Seems a lot of people are decluttering now. My plants are doing pretty well - except one pepper plant looks like it was trampled - probably by our dog.

5/7 Expressions

Wow - didn't realize I hadn't posted in such a while. Anyway, my longevity increase kicked in, about $34 extra a week - not too shabby. These past couple of weeks, my daughter and I were able to get a few clothing items relatively inexpensively. Cheap jeans for her - under $9 with $10 off coupons and sales. Me, under garments at JC Penneys w/ the $25 gift card I won and coupons. Today, I did my weekly shop at Kroger and saved 40% - but I got a lot of food marked down on the "manager's special". I also took an additional 11 items to the consignment store last week. Tomorrow, my dad is taking us out to lunch at a nearby Chinese Buffet for mother's day. My husband cleaned the house - which I appreciate more than any purchase. He also took my ring in to be repaired. My daughter will do a bit of cleaning too. We will probably eat out Sunday w/a 1/2 priced gift certificate. I was so starting to feel like I could gloat about the stock market for about a minute - now I am back to almost wanting to cry. I am going to spend $175 for my daughter to take a 2 week summer school course - an elective to keep her mind active and to get the elective out of the way. We will probably plan a trip for her father and her to take a trip to Orlando. I have been enough times - and since I don't get any enjoyment out of riding scary rides, I will be happy to skip that trip. As for now, the beautiful beach with our condo has not been touched by the oil spill. My garden plants are doing well - I may ask for some tomato cages for the rest of my "mother's day" gift. My husband will take the Brueggar (sp) free bagel and cream cheese coupon and the Staples $15 rewards check (plus any empty cartridge we have for recycling) to "buy" some coffee (I am thinking they sell Starbucks) tomorrow morning and I plan to attend a "kick boxing" exercise class before lunch.