8/13 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  Today, we received the condo rent check and combined it with our ebates rebate, my daughter's birthday check, and I scraped $2.16 in chage out of my purse.  That covered the money my husband "borrowed" to pay the new insurance bill in full and her education fund deposit.  This is a 3 paycheck month for my husband - so, I am hoping he can finally get ahead.  Even though we don't have a budget set in stone, our goal is to spend my husband's income or less to fund all household expenses for both residences.  My salary is split approximately into education fund and savings.  Rental income is for investments.  I will say our retirement accounts are starting to grow ever so slowly again and our individual accounts are still lagging from our all time high.  Now that my daughter can drive herself around, I really do have some more "me" time.  I think I will get back crafting, upcycling, recycling and the like.  Since retirement is drawing closer for the both of us, we need really declutter and figure out what we want to do in the next phase of our lives.

8/12 Expressions

Today, we had a birthday BBQ for my dad and daughter - both share the same birthdate.  My husband BBQ's vegetarian items and non-vegetarian items.  I got a great deal on vegetarian kebobs from Gardein - originally almost $5 for 4 skewers - they were marked down to $1.99 - got 2 boxes and used the a $1.10/2 coupon.  My daughter made homemade cupcakes and buttercream icing - yum.  My dad brought over a large chocolate chip cookie cake.  We had 1 cent coleslaw from Publix (Wednesday's penny item), blue cheese potato salad from Earthfare - buy $5 get 1/2 gallon of organic milk for free deal.  Now we have plenty of left overs for easy meals for the rest of week.  The gift cards came in time - so, the dog got groomed for a discount - and my husband bought a 3rd remote for the garage.  My daughter gave her grandfather a FIAT hat - she is keeping the car.  We gave him a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card (ordered at a discount) and my husband added a coupon he got from his sports barber shop for a free hair cut.  The weather has been great these past couple of days.

8/10 Expressions

Finally, my daughter was able to take the road test and get her driver's license.  Note to self:  stay away from our County DMV and go to the next county over.  Our County's DMV is booked - walk-ins are chaotic - we got there at 5:45 a.m. were 3rd in line - got a "spot" and then because it rained - driving tests were cancelled.  Not only was I tired, annoyed, and used a vacation day - but accomplished nothing my give myself anxiety :(  Next county over - did not have to arrive early, 2nd in line - and done within an hour.  Sometimes it is better to drive further because our time is worth something . . . The only things I have made an effort to do this past week was order discounted gift cards - one for my dad for this birthday - Barnes and Noble so he can download books galore onto his Nook, a Lowes Gift Card so we can buy a third garage door opener since we are now a 3 car family, and a petsmart giftcard so the dog can get a "do" at a discount.  Tomorrow, just the ladies will be eating lunch at PF Chang's - my treat (oops, should have ordered a gift card) and adoptive Grandmother will treat us to see "Hope Springs".  Sunday, my husband is BBQ'ing for my dad's birthday luncheon and my daughter and I will make a few side dishes and dessert.  Lots of freebie magazines came in the mail.

8/5 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the day:  Did I mention yesterday that we went thru the Burger King drive-thru for an ice cream cone and the cashier gave it to us for free :)  Sometimes you just have to be at the right place at the right time.  Seems the manager was training the person and let him use a free cone coupon from their stash as my payment :)  This afternoon, we went to Kohls and since we wanted more wash cloths - we used our $10 and 5% off coupon and got 18 wash cloths for $1.80 after sale and coupons.  We also got a free face wash at ULTA and a free trial sized lotion at Bath and Body Works.  Shortly, we will attend the "Pink Party" at Victorias Secret and at a minimum, pick-up some free panties.  My husband filled out some paperwork for refunds from IRS and his state tax organization.

8/4 Expressions

This is tax-free weekend for us.  So, armed with a bunch of coupons and few gift cards, we headed out for some school/office supplies, groceries, and apparel.  First, we hit Barnes and Noble with the new BOGO latte (iced) coupon and left my husband to read a few magazines.  My daughter and I headed out to a few stores.  We browsed - but only found dress at Anthropologie.  It was heavily discounted, plus she had a 15% off coupon and no tax.  Even the cashier commented about her bargain.  Then we headed off to strip mall.  My husband got his hair cut while we browsed Stein Mart - we just couldn't find anything and the prices just were as good as they had been in the past.  Then to Target - we did some damage there.  My husband loaded up on "unders" and socks - we had a few $1 off Hanes coupons - and no tax.  We also decided to load up on ink for the printers, school supplies.  Using my Target credit card - I got an additional 5% off.  Then to Earthfare - they had a $5 for 5 natural/organic items coupon.  Most of the item were sold out.  But with such great service, we got substitutions that far exceeded our expectations.  I also took a bottle back for a $2 deposit (natural lemonade).  Then to Aldi for a few staples - EVOO, .69 for a dozen eggs, etc.  The final stop, CVS for dishwasher detergent - I had a $4 ecb burning a hole in my wallet - so, it was the perfect item to use it on.  Tomorrow, my daughter and I plan to head out for some more shopping.  We are hoping to find something at Kohl's with our $10 off anything coupon that can be combined with a 15% off coupon.  We also can pick-up a freebie item at ULTA, Bath and Body Works, and Victoria's Secret.  We will be going to the mall with those 3 stores later in the evening as we plan to attend VS's Pink Party.  We also got a lot of yard work done.  My husband mowed while my daughter and I pulled weeds out of the plant beds.  Now we are watching the Olympics.

8/3 Expressions

Received my first free issue of "Everyday with Rachel Ray".  We had a $4 Take 'n Bake pizza for dinner and I made a fruit pizza for dessert.  We had a Wal-mart brand instant cheese cake mix that was less than a dollar.  For the topping, I used Kiwi - .79 for a bag of 6 from Aldi that looked like they needed to be used shortly.  My husband got his first Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee and he loved it :)    We got a lot done.  The IRS sent us a form to file for our penalty back - they agreed with our rationale.  My husband re-scheduled his tax assessment reduction hearing for our foreclosure house out another couple of weeks.  This is tax-free, school shopping weekend for us - so, we will be getting the rest of the school supplies and maybe a few clothes.  We will stop by the consignment store for some $.  We also plan to "up-cycle" some clothes we purchased from the thriftstore - we mainly wanted the long dresses for the fabric - silk, etc. for $5.98 each - and we hope to make some nice blouses.  Added:  In the last couple of days, my husband and I have each been able to amass 80 Coke Rewards Points with free Olympic promo codes.  You can probably do a search for the codes.  Anyway, I ordered 2 20 oz Coke drink coupons and my husband ordered a coupon for a free chicken bites at McDonalds and a free 20 oz drink (Coke) coupon.  We each also entered a sweepstakes for no points 8 times each for entering the promo code.  Easy, peasy.  I just happened to stumble on the codes - they were on frugal sites and seem to expire, then re-load.

8/1 Expressions

Here is the car we picked-up last night - and I got a tag for this morning.    With the heat, and all of the errands I have been running - I really haven't found much time to be frugal.  We are in contact with a staff writer for a newspaper who is going to do an article on my daughter's audition.  It should be published next week.