10/18 Expressions

Frugal Deeds for the Day: Today will mainly be about my daughter. She is going to a birthday party. The giftbag is a "re-gift", so no cost. The birthday card is coming from a kit for making birthday cards we bought last year at a heavy discount. The gift itself came from our "gift closet" (nice items I purchase when there is a good sale/discount, items "won", freebies, etc.). So, no last minute running around for that. Also, my daughter got great grades this quarter. She would like to add a few items to her wardrobe to accomodate this changing season. So, I printed a 15% off a purchase for J C Penney. Yesterday, I received a $10 gift card for J C Penney from a Publix mail-in rebate. Plus, she has a J C Penney gift card with a few $ left on it. So, we are hoping to get a nice item there. I also got a gift card in the mail from Victoria Secrets for a free cotton panty. Also, Bath and Body Works sent two coupons, one for a free aroma therapy pillow spray and 20% off one item. I think there is a coupon on-line for a free travel lotion with any purchase that I may tote along. She also has a coupon from her favorite clothing store for $15 off $40. Hopefully, we will find some great sales and we will be able to supplement her wardrobe for as little as possible out of pocket $. Also, we will stop at Chick Fil A for lunch, and use a few coupons (sent in the mail, from the Calendar, etc.). Tonight, we will be attending a silent auction for a charity. They always have wonderful finger foods, drinks, and music - so, dinner will probably be soup before we leave. Last year we got a few nice gifts and gift certificates. We hope to be able to contribute to a great cause and "win" a few things in the process too!

10/13 Expressions

Today's Frugal Deeds: My husband and I have today "off", but my daughter has school. My husband ran our errands today and I provided him coupons to save a few $'s. First, he dropped off some clothes at the dry cleaners. The place we use charges $2.39 per item. On the back of Kroger receipts, they have coupons to drop the price to $2.19 per item. Kroger receipts no longer have this item, but fortunately, I saved a bunch, and they don't have an expiration date. The store honored it the last two times we dropped stuff off. Then to CVS to get my daughter's saline solution for her contacts. I printed a $1 off coupon from coupons.com and I had $10.XX in ECBs to use. Too bad we burned through our HSA already, or I would have sent in the receipt. Then to Kroger for $2.91/gal gas with our Kroger Giftcard we bought when they offered 10% more - and purchased on a air miles credit card. Finally, his last stop was Publix. I checked the internet quickly, and printed 2 $1 off Barber Foods Chicken meals that are BOGO, regularly $4.XX each, then I printed 2 $1 off any Kelloggs for the BOGO Special K that is regularly $3.XX, and I printed off 2 $1 off Liquid Coffee Cream, on sale for 3/$5 and I gave him the Mystery Item coupon - turned out to be Publix Corn Candy (and it is yummy :). Total after coupons, $6.XX. While he was running errands, I found a list of "reasonable values" for items donated to charity, and have itemized the items and they are ready to go. I have 10 items - almost ready for the consignment store. We were hoping to deposit some refund checks, but, the banks are closed. Lunch was Johnsonville Brats on sale at Kroger at $2.99, minus a $1 coupon, a .5X can of Kroger brand "pork 'n beans", and cheddar cheese mashed potatoes from the last Publix BOGO sale with internet coupon and there are 2 packages per box. So, for a buck or less a piece, we had comfort food on our lazy fall day. Of course we have plenty of leftovers packed away too.

10/12 Expressions

Frugal Deeds for the Day:I've read lots of "frugal" tips and there have been times where I have been "more" frugal. So, today, I have been thinking of tips and trying to implement them when I can. Today, most of my frugal activities have been around cooking. Perhaps because it is a basic need, it brings a certain satisfaction when I can "think outside of the box". Funny story (sorta), the trip before this one, we took my daughter's friend. We stayed at a condo - so, we ate many of our meals "in". On the last day, I made a salad, but we were almost out of "Ranch" dressing for our salads. Both girls used generous portions. Anyway, I let everyone squeeze out what they wanted, when it came to my "turn", there was pretty much nothing left to squeeze out. So, since we were trying to use up the milk too, I splashed a swig of milk into the dressing bottle, and although my dressing wasn't as thick, it was just as tasty. My daughter's friend was amazed. She said she had never seen anyone do something like that, but she'd let her family know the next time they are about to run out, that they can add some milk, swish, and pour. I can just imagine what the family must have thought - but, I am hoping they could use tip to keep from running to the grocery store for one item and from wasting less. Okay, so, for today, I brought home two oranges from Florida - they were 3/$1 at the neighborhood store. I remember reading that the rind can be placed in a disposal to make it smell citrusy. So, that's where a few pieces of the rind went, and it does work. Will that make me rich? No, but it did produce a nice "natural" fragrance for no additional cost. Okay, this part is an experiment I am hoping will work. The rest of the rind went into a former cereal bag, and is in my lunch box, with a small packet of salt. See, I take tea bags to work, and heat my tea up in the microwave. Even though I was the cup out, those tea stains are tough to get rid of. The tip I read somewhere, put a bit of salt into the cut and rub with the rinds. Hope no one at work thinks I am bonkers - but, I am going to give it a whirl. What else did I do. I made a large batch of brown rice. Some I moved to a container for use later. Then, as I was looking through the pantry, there were a few items I wanted to use up. So, for a meal or two later, I wanted to make a pizza type dish, since my husband and daughter love it so. I took brown rice, mixed it with 2 raw eggs, and pressed it on the bottom of my cookies sheet - that has about a 3/4 inch "side" all the way around. I baked it at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Once it cooked, I spread a can of fat-free refried beans. Then I placed slices of American Cheese on the bean - the cheese was "free" with a recent coupon and I still have several packages to go. The next layer was herbed, diced organic tomatoes - a brand that recently had a coupons out, making it a bargain. In the meantime, I had 4 boneless skinless chicken breast (BOGO at Kroger this week - making each one about .70 each with tax) cooking away with a packet of almost free taco seasoning - another coupon deal. Once done cooking, I individually wrapped 3 of large seasoned pieces of chicken and froze them. The remaining one, I thinly sliced and placed on my concoction. While this was going on, my daughter was looking for bread. I did not buy any this week. You see, a friend sent me some really delicious looking pumpkin butter. So, while looking in the pantry, there was 1 beer left (my brother left it when he visited last year). So, I looked up a beer recipe at recipezaar.com and they are pretty simple. But, I only had a bit of self rising flour, so, the rest of the flour was pancake mix with an extra dash of baking powder. I baked both at the same time. The bread with the butter was delicious. The pizza will be for another meal - already in the fridge - as we ate the leftover pizza from yesterday at lunch. I have also started back with the decluttering. I have box started with consignment stuff and a box of donations. They are going in at the same time. As always, I plan to combine errands at lunch one day this week and get this stuff "taken" care of.

10/11 Expressions

Cutting costs while on vacation: We just returned from our vacation. As mentioned earlier, we saved costs by combining a business trip with pleasure. We redeemed miles for my daughter and I. We stayed in a 1 bedroom apartment with kitchen facilities. But we ate out once per day, at lunch. Although you cannot take fluids (bottled water, etc.) anymore from home to the plane - you can bring snacks. I took snacks in my purse, and it sure saved some $ on our trip. We also bought some reading material at a discount before we left, and my daughter checked one book out at the library. Oh, and we had access to "free" laundry facilities - so, I washed clothes too. And, this is the first time my daughter and I checked no luggage (cost = $15 per bag each way - starts to add up) - just our small carry-on and "personal" carry-on item and we did fine. Oh, and before we left, I turned off the heating/cooling system as the weather was predicted to be mild. So, hopefully, that will make a difference on utility bill for the month. And good thing we didn't water the outside plants/grass before we left, we got plenty of rain - and hopefully that savings will be reflected on the water bill - in addition for not using the water at all at our home during those days :)

Frugal activies today: Thinking ahead, for teacher's gift, I had enough point at mypoints to order 2 $25 gift cards - so, I ordered 2 for Staples. Seems more and more teachers are paying for classroom stuff out of their pocket - so, we thought that would be a nice gift - and save on wrapping paper too :) We got our mail today and great friend from another state sent me refund forms and coupons. Wouldn't you know it, there was a rebate form for pizza and one for buying prepared chicken. Since we were tired and still in vacation mode, I relented and let my husband and daughter use the BOGO coupon and order pizza. Now, we also have lunch for tomorrow - and I will be sending in for some cash back on that pizza. Of course we were out of groceries - so, I gathered a few coupons and headed to Kroger. I had a $6/$60 coupon that had to be used by today. And, a great rebate form on deli chicken - which will make it easier for me for the next couple of days. I got 3 "boxes" of 8 pieces of herb roasted chicken on sale - 1 box is in the freezer. After the rebate, the 3 boxes cost me $4 out of pocket plus tax. I hit the store perfectly because there were lots of "manager specials" on the veggies and produce too. But best of all, although there was a bit of a line, I got gas for $2.91/gal.

Economic News: Wow, I am sure the last two weeks will make economic history. But surprisingly, I feel calm. I don't plan on looking at any financial statements any time soon though. I was surprised that my husband - who normally doesn't care about personal finance much asked if this might not be a good time for us to buy more stocks. I was happy just with the status quo - just the automatic buying in our retirement accounts at the moment. I suggested that we keep our eyes open for another "rental" property to buy in the next year or so. He was even open to that idea. And although many may not be excited about the 1/2 point rate cut - that gave me hope. As I have mentioned, we paid for our beach condo with cash and part with a HELOC against our primary residence. Our primary residence was mortgage free and we have great credit scores, so, we got prime minus a percentage or so for the life of our HELOC. (Not bragging here, just thought I'd throw in a few facts because I am sure many are against HELOCs - but, we saved thousands of dollars because it cost us "nothing" out of pocket to set the HELOC up, the rate is lower than the "best" mortgage rate, we only planned on paying on the condo for two years. So, we saved thousands of dollars by not going with a traditional mortgage and we were also able to negotiate $ off the price for a quick closing . . . so, we did think about it too - and I am sure in today's environment mortgages for rental properties have dried up and if available, the rate/cost would be more than we would be willing to pay - perhaps this is TMI?). So, I am hoping the interest portion drops even more as the balance drops each month as this HELOC is our only debt. No mortgage debt, no car loan debt, no credit card debt - in other words, we don't make a distinction between "good" and "bad" debt - debt is debt to us. Our jobs are fairly secure, we are still hoping at least one of us can retire next year. We are happy with all our tenants - meaning no deadbeats (knock on wood :). Now my frugal "ways" don't seem odd. Having kept fairly frugal in our day-to-day living, for us, living well below our means, has meant that many of the frugal things we do are ingrained, automatic, sometimes enjoyable, and since they seem normal, we don't feel deprived. Perhaps that is why I can remain calm.

10/4 Expressions

Frugal Entertainment: I rarely take naps. I took one today and feel so refreshed. Thus, I put off picking up a few groceries today and will do that tomorrow. So, we made "do" with what we had. Now I will be more alert to do mystery shopping assignment at the nice restaurant tonight.

Frugal mail: I got a $25 rebate for buying groceries last month from a beer company (no beer purchase required). I also got a box from Procter and Gamble. I am not sure if I signed up it or for what reason they sent it to me - but I got a full sized "Secret" Clinical Strength deoderant - new sport scent. Have you seen the price in the store? $6-$7+ around here. My daughter is so thrilled!

10/3 Expressions

Frugal Entertainment: I signed up for a mystery shop at a nice restaurant for this weekend. And, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for Restaurant.com discounts as I'd like to buy a few certificates for lunch/dinners out during our vacation.

10/2 Expressions

Frugal Vacation (sort of): Next week my daughter is on vacation. My husband has to travel for work part of the week. Combine the two for a frugal vacation. My husband and I have enough miles for what we thought would be "free" tickets. But to our minor chagrin, a free ticket now costs $110 - of course the cheapest if we had to "pay" is around $440. So, we got 2 tickets for half the price of the "cheapest" ticket.

Frugal Meal: I must have joined something because Pillsbury sent me a coupon for free refrigerated pizza dough. I had tried it in the past - and can't say it was a favorite. I got a can last week and since I was a bit pressed for time - I made pizza with ingredients I had on hand. I stretched the dough to fit our cookie sheet - so it was a "thin" crust. This time, every bit of it was gone as everyone in the family raved about it.