6/11 Expressions

Rental management company has the carpeting company with the "deal" coming out tomorrow for a quote. Mail was nice. Got a rent check and rebate. Stock market is another story :(

6/10 Expressions

The only frugal excitement of the day - I looked around the garden and I see the beginnings of 2 pumpkins. Now, if they will continue to grow in the hot weather, I hope to have "free" pumpkins this year. Pumkin soup, bread, pies galore? A couple of Gladiolia (sp) have bloomed - purple and a yellow rose. I was tempted to cut them and bring them in - but decided against it.

6/9 Expressions

Mail was great today. Two freebies that will help cut costs on our vacation. First is a coupon for a free box of Honey Bunches of Oats and the second is a sample of Purex laundry detergent. Since most of our stops will include eating facilities and free laundry facilities - we will make use of these freebies. Reading small ads in the newspaper helps sometimes. I think I found a cheaper place to get the carpeting done for our rental property. The rental agent will be calling for a fourth quote. She came up with two we found unacceptable and I found two I think will be reasonable. And I recycled some money: I went to mypoints and linked to Sears so that I can get 3 points per dollar - which will get me to a $10 Gift Card after the points are added to my current total. I asked my husband to order $100 worth of Dockers apparel for his birthday in two weeks. We printed out the rebate form for a $75 Shell Gas Card for purchasing $100 worth of Men's Dockers Apparel (some restrictions apply - so read the form - and we will be entered into a drawing for Prius - a nice bonus if we win :) and at check-out, we used our hotel points credit card.

6/8 Expressions

Frugal happenings today: I did make it to Publix very early this a.m. I saved over $40 and spent $32 - but will be sending in for a $25 Home Depot Gift Card. We had a few unfrugal excursions today also. But, we hit the mall with a bunch of coupons and are pleased with our purchases. This afternoon, I made it to Dollar General Market and I purchased 3 bags of Chex snack mix for the trip for $1.50 after coupons. Then to Wal-mart. No hassle return of those 2 plants. Funny thing is, the customer service agent said they are ringing up for .02 now - so, she adjusted the plant price to what I purchased them for and I got just over $10 back. I found a few items to match with coupons. After I mail in my rebate, I will have spent just under $4.50 for a "value box of Goodlife dog snacks - 2 different kinds in the box", a South Beach pizza, and Cattlemen's BBQ Sauce. Then on to CVS. My CVS manager and cashier are great. I did 5 transactions, spent under $8 for 4 Oral-B toothbrushes ($6.99 ecbs for each pack - 2 per pack - "free"), Coppertone Sunblock ($2 ecbs), 2 bottles of Listerine Smart ($1 printable coupons - just do a search - lets you print 2 if you hit the "back" key and refresh) and $3.49 ecb - "free", Starbucks Dark Chocolate Candy bar ($1.50 coupon in the mail), box of 6 individual servings of Nescaffe instant coffee (.50 coupon), a bag of Stacy's Pita chips ($1 internet coupon), a bag of Chex Chocolate Turle Snacks ($1 coupon), Trident Gum (.75 coupon) and Bath Buddy Bar of soap - free with $1 coupon. And the other excitement of the day, I purchased 3 more packs of Pepsi during my Publix Shop. This afternoon, my husband loaded those points and was able to order a Music CD he wanted - for "free"!

6/7 Expresssions

Good thing I woke up early this a.m. The early bird really does catch the worm. Last year, my daughter participated in two "kids" fishing tournaments. Normally they advertise at least days in advance. This second one, I found a small blurb in the paper - "For you early risers . . .". So, my daughter and husband are at the fishing tournament. Last year, she caught a small fish and "won" a remote controlled boat. It said kids can win up to $5,000 - wow! So, that's part of the exitement for the day. I am going to take a bath. But instead of draining the water, I am going to use it to water plants both inside and outside of the house. I am also planning to do another round of brownies/peanut butter cookies/chocolate chip cookies baking - and will throw in potatoes to bake with the stuff. Having those items in the freezer was very convenient - snacks on demand. Plus, we will be going on our vacation soon, I can throw the bags in a cooler with other snacks and drinks for the trip. I got a Publix flyer in the newspaper this week - I have already started matching coupons to some sales. I am planning to do a run tomorrow afternoon. I want to stock up for the trip too as we will have cooking facilities at most of our stops. We will definitely be eating some meals out, but, I'd like to make some nice meals in. I read Dollar General has the Chex Snack Mix bags on sale for $1.25 - I have seen them as low as $1 in the past, but I'll take the $1.25. I printed 2 coupons from coupon.com (go through mypoints for extra points) or smartsource.com. Dollar General is on my route for tomorrow. I am also going to dig up those plants that died - I have the receipt ready to go and I will be getting my money back. I have a few coupons ready for Wal-mart too and will spend no more than my plant refund there.

6/6 Expressions

I have noticed people in general have been uncharacteristically cranky lately - I am talking about at my outside job, driving, etc. Is it the heat or all of the terrible news of the economy. This week ended sadly with the DOW dropping almost 400 points today and oil price climbing to a new record. On the bright side, we got a quote for cleaning up the rental - minus the deposit, it will take 5 months of rent to recoup the costs. Good thing the expense will be a tax deduction. And in restrospect, not bad for 10 years worth of rents. We had a few other minor repair/maintenance issues over the years - but probably less than a months worth.

6/4 Exoressions

The mail this week has brought 2 free movie tickets. Still waiting on estimates to see what it will take to get our rental ready for the next renter. The stock market has been depressing - so, my head goes back into the sand. This Saturday is free fishing day - no license required. We have been getting a few strawberries from our garden and lettuce. I see beans - so, soon, we will have our home grown beans. The zucchini has been flowering like crazy - but I don't see any zucchinis yet.