7/28 Expressions - New Car Edition

Frugal deeds for the day:  Earlier today, we went to the Farmer's Market with our adopted Grandmother and enjoyed the "tomato festival" and free tomato sandwiches.  I had not been to this Farmer's Market in years.  It was great to rediscover it.  We ended up with a whole bunch of eggplants, tomatoes, green tomatoes, basil (so fragrant), and fig preserve.  Then to a local Chamber of Commerce shindig and I pretty much ate lunch there.  My daughter, the vegetarian skipped out.  But she was able to find places to volunteer, so it was not - "all for naught".  We tried some excellent flavored waters - and voted it the best booth :)  Now, it was a hot day.  Probably not the best day to look for a car - but we did.  We ended up buying a FIAT 500 - it will be delivered this week.  We negotiated a bit - had I not been so hot and tired, we probably could have negotiated a bit more.  But, it was within the "budgeted" amount.  Hopefully this is a life lesson for her - uh, the asterick in the ad means something - like more money.  And just because they print it out on an official looking piece of paper, it is not official.  And finally, there's a lot more to transportation that trying to look cool for a lot of money.

7/26 Expressions Space Warriors Audition edition

My daughter used her new camera and made her own audition video for a small bit in "Space Warriors".  She submitted it and apparently they posted it on youtube.  Warning - self promotion follows:  If you get a moment, please watch her audition and "like" - not sure it will sway anyone - but we are hoping it will.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart :)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubLaaspLfZo

That's frugal isn't it . . . finding multiple uses for cameras and things . . .

7/25 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  Today in the mail, I received 3 tea bags - all three different flavors and I will take them to work with me.  I made an apple/pear pie earlier this week.  Crust and filling were homemade and it was delicious.  Didn't want to waste my little pears - and I put extra oatmeal in the topping.  The hot weather has returned - sure wish the rain would follow.  Saturday, my daughter and I may attend a local farmer's tomato festival - free tomato sandwiches - which I love.  Or, if the condo is open this weekend, we may make a quick jaunt down and back with my daughter's adoptive grandmother.  Of course what my daughter would really like is to look at cars :)  Did I mention I purchased the Nescafe Dolce Single serving coffee maker - refurbished - delivered to my local Wal-mart for $39.XX plus tax minus a rebate from ebates?  It is a luxury - but I am enjoying it as a treat.  During the week - I am drinking my cheap ground coffee I make by the pot.  The single serve - when I want a frothy coffee drink :)

7/24 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  Turns out my husband paid to renew our Costco membership without paying attention :(  Oh well, I spent my rebate check on groceries and found some good deals.  My daughter and I love dolmadas (rice wrapped in grape leaves) - an extra large serving - $5.99.  My daughter is diligently cleaning out the garage and even spray painted an old patio set - which we moved to the deck - out of the garage.  Right now - we are thinking about getting a Fiat 500 - great gas mileage, comes with a $700 WM Giftcard - and decent price.  I am still picking cherry tomatoes and bell peppers from garden - as well as rosemary and thyme.  But, I need to keep a list of things to do - otherwise, this heat makes it very easy for me to convince myself to just relax.

7/22 Expressions New Computer Edition

The computer died last week.  Wouldn't boot at all.  So, we waited for my husband to take a look.  He thought he might be able to fix it - but it would still be as slow as molasses - and he wasn't sure how much parts would cost.  My daughter needs a reliable system to be able to do homework, projects, etc.  So, being frugal?, maybe cheap, I suggested that we just buy a new CPU and keep using the at least 10 year old monitor.  Both my husband and daughter rolled their eyes at me.  We went to Wal-mart and found a bundle - with a monitor, etc. so, now we I am enjoying it.  It is much faster - and the whole kit was $499 plus tax.  There was only one, and my husband wasn't going to be around to set it up for a while.  So, we got it.  Could we have found it cheaper?  Maybe - cuz I got my COSTCO rebate of $36 that I am applying to a membership - so, I think I will stay out of the computer isle.  In two weeks, this area is having a "Tax-free" weekend on computers under $750 - could I have save a pretty penny then.  Yes, I certainly could have - but would I be sure they would have had the bundle left - so, we made a trade-off and I am pretty happy with it.  I am going to print a few coupons and surf to my hearts content.  I need to get back on the frugal track.  As I said, we are going to make some large purchases shortly.  We gave my daughter a budget for a car/birthday present.  She had her eye on some older sporty models.  But today, we might have made a break-through.  There's a small, brand-new car - comes with a $700 Wal-mart Giftcard - possibly a rebate and can get up to 45 miles per gallon.  She is even talking about trying to negotiate the price even lower than advertised (which we all know doesn't include, tax, title and misc).  Then she tought the giftcard would go a long way on gas.  She even tought of reducing the gas price even more by ride sharing. 

7/15 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  This afternoon, I picked the pears from my pear tree.  There were about 10 - but for some reason, ants seem to love them.  The ants are like pirhana (sp) - one was one the ground and they had eaten and were still eating it to the core.  Two on the tree had little swarms on them eating away.  So, they are not very big - but, if they are good enough for the ants - they will be good enough for me.  Yesterday, my daughter and I used our livingsocial coupons for the $18 highlights and brow waxing at the beauty school.  Today, we went to the mall and used the Bath and Body Works coupon for a small "Love, Paris" lotion - free!  Then we walked around for exercise - we did go into a few stores - but did not buy anything - until we got to the frozen yogurt place - and we decided to get a small cup of self serve - yummy on a very hot day.  Then to Barnes and Noble for another treat and BOGO iced latte and we read magazines.  I also won a few auctions on shopgood will.com this weekend!  Mainly sunglasses and scarves - a nice watch/necklace/earrings - a set - my best bargain for $5 plus shipping :)  They were still NIB.  The jewelry was costume jewelry - but for $5 bucks total - a lot of bling :) - well enough for me.

7/13 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  The sun peeked through - and we appreciated all of the rain.  Our lawn is almost green again.   I got in on some Groupon deals today:  $5 for $10 worth of yogurt ice-cream, $6 for $12 worth of Chinese food - lunch only, and $9 for Greek meal for 2.  Today, my daughter and I used the yogurt ice-cream - yum.  Tomorrow, we hope to use our livingsocial certificate for a highlight and brow-wax for me - she is hoping they will exchange her brow-wax to a manicure.  Mail was great - more free magazines - Smart Money and Elle.  I also got a few more cherry tomatoes from my "garden".  My husband found a property insurance company to cover our house - premium for a $1000 deductible is high - so, he is going to ask for quotes for $2.5K, $5K, and $10K.  We have also decided to increase our deductible for our other properties.  Since it seems insurance companies will "ding" you for filing for insurance - even though  that is what it is for - it seems they are really not expecting you to file - unless it is catastrophic - so, why pay the premiums for a $1K deductible if they aren't happy to pay-up.  So, that is our money saving tip.  We are considering the deductible for our cars also.  Self insuring for a larger deductible - and savings on the premiums may just be worth it.  My daughter enjoyed her internship.  Now she is thinking she may go into an engineering field instead of medical - right away.  She surmises that she can always go into the medical field with an engineering degree with carefully selected electives if she wants to.  Not much more time for her to embark on that journey.  With the rental check for the condo - we have met her car fund amount - actually, we have exceeded it.  So, probably in a week or two - we will be searching/bargaining for a "new-to-her" car.