9/19 Expressions

Mail: I have gotten some nice freebies in the mail this past week. A coupon for a free bag of IAMs dog food, a nice coupon package from BuzzAgent for Promise Power Shots for High Blood Pressure and a rebate check and a survey check.

Frugal Activities: We watched a $1 rental movie yesterday, although we ate out with a 1/2 price gift certificate. I set a limit on grocery spending yesterday and beat it by a few cents. I really need to get in gear, but those indoor salad growing contraptions have caught my eye. I am wondering if I do a frugal version, i.e., flower pot near the window, different lettuce/herb seeds growing in the house for fresh salads.

Financial Activities: Still keeping my eye on paying off the condo by this time next year and we are slightly ahead of "schedule". These next couple of months will be leaner as condo rentals go into the "low" season (price and occupancy-wise). I am hoping we have very little maintenance/upgrading to do this year. Also, I am hoping property taxes go down also.

9/14 Expressions

Frugal Deeds for Today: We ate all meals at home and I cooked "extra". I have lots of Pillsbury products because Kroger has a buy 15 items get $3 off instantly and the products were on sale for 3/$5 and there were internet printable $1 coupons - making each Pillsbury item .41 or .42 plus tax a can. So, I made Pigs in a Blanket, ham/cream cheese stuffed croissants, etc. Added a salad to use up fresh veggies in the fridge and fruit, and that will be our meal for several meals. I also shaved up a fancy small bar of facial lemon scented soap my husband brought home from his trip and slowly boiled it with water in a coffee can this afternoon. Now, I have a full bottle of laundry detergent.

9/13 Expressions

Cheap Clothing: Today, we were out and about. On our way home, we stopped at my favorite thrift store. Wow - today was $1 day for clothing items. I got 2 suits, 1 sweater, 1 shirt, 1 pr of pants, and a skirt for just over $8 - they charge tax - and the suits were $2 each. I am now pretty much done sprucing up my fall/winter office wear wardrobe, including 5 new to me suits, for around $70 total.

Entertainment: We used the half price gift certificate I got from a radio station's special. We had a very large and delicious pizza and paddled a paddleboat this afternoon. Afterward, we stopped at the science museum for the freebie day. We just happened to drive by a farmers' market - not cheap - but perhaps frugal, but we got a few tomatoes, yellow squash, and honey with a piece of honey comb in a pint jar.

Misc: We stopped at Staples to get my daughter's purse pattern copied/enlarged. It was 8 cents per page. So, 2 patterns on 3 pages cost us .24. We also recycled 2 ink cartridges - we thought we would get 2 $3 coupons - nope, now you get a check quarterly - part of the rewards program.

Mail: My husband got a free razor and I got 2 Cascade dishwasher tablets and the Eraser sponge from Walmart. Included in the ssmple pack were a coupon for $1.50 on dishwasher tablets and .50 off the eraser sponge. Oh yes, Victoria's Secret sent me a coupon for a free pair of cotton underwear.

9/12 Expressions

Frugal Entertainment: For this weekend, I read in the paper that the local science museum is have a freebie weekend. So, if we feel the need to get out of the house, that is an option. Also, we have freebie movie tickets thanks to American Eagle. We have DVDs from the library. My daughter and I may visit Staples to have my daughter's purse pattern enlarged and she may try to make a purse. That would be fun. I am going to try to buy minimum groceries - that will be very entertaining!

Frugal clothings: Last week I found a nice suit in the thrift shop for $7 - and I also got a blouse thrown in. This week, I ordered 2 suits off of ebay. Definitely not as cheap as the thriftstore, but, a whole lot better than department store prices.

9/7 Expressions

Cheapie/freebie entertainment: Our cheapie entertainment for this evening was dinner at Red Lobster. I signed up for the "club" a couple of days ago and got a coupon for a free appetizer. Then, we had 3 giftcards from gifts and points redemption (mypoint?). Anyway, I forgot to mention, yesterday we also stopped at American Eagle in the mall. A free movie ticket if you try on jeans. Two movie tickets if you buy a pair of jeans. My daughter found a pair on clearance for 2 movie tickets and my husband tried on a pair. So, we will be attending a movie some time before those tickets expire. I also stopped at CVS and bought 3 Revlon Nail polishes, 1 Revitalift face cleanser, and Herbal Essence Shampoo for just over $10 and got $15.99 in ECBs. I gave myself a manicure - saving myself at least $6 :) I also had a great time at Kroger using internet coupons on the Buy 15 special items and get $3 off instantly. If you have coupons for Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato soup - and like the stuff - you can get a really good deal on the stuff this week.

9/6 Expressions

Frugal Shopping/Entertainment: Not much going on around here this weekend and the weather isn't too great. So, my daughter asked to go shopping w/her own $. So, I gathered coupons for stores she wanted to visit - and, I had a $15/$15 for a store the coupon was delivered to me via mail months ago - that I stapled to the calendar for this month - $15 free :). Also, we decided to eat lunch out - so, I gathered some Chick Fil A coupons. My daughter added to her wardrobe - fairly frugally. I got 5 pairs of trouser socks for $1.63 with my coupon. Then we had lunch - $6 for the 3 of us. Then to the library. We have 3 DVDs to watch and some interesting books to read. Then to the thriftstore. I found a suit for work for $7 - of course I will be taking it in to the cheapie dry cleaners to get cleaned - coupons print on the back of Kroger receipts. We stopped at Kroger to get groceries for the week - mainly we looked for "Manager Special" items - in the produce and meat departments.

9/2 Expressions

The good news for the day is that our condo/building did not sustain any kind of damages. No spending there.

I have been watching a HUD home on line for months now. It was for sale for $113,000. Then it dropped to $103,000. I looked on line at the tax appraisal - just over $85,000. It is in a great school district. My concerns, it is in the historic section, but, it looks like the previous owners added a shoddy looking extension. After about 4 months - it had dropped to $92,000. I called today. I was wondering if HUD did short sales. I was also concerned if there were any damages resulting from sitting on the market w/no occupants for so long. Turns out, someone bid $95,235 and the bid was accepted an hour before I called. Win some, lose some. But, I had never purchased a HUD home before - as I rarely saw anything appealing to me. So, it never hurts to keep your eyes open.

I received 3 small checks in the mail and 2 samples.