November 15 - 24
I know. It has been so very long since I have written about my frugal accomplishments. It has been many months of exciting and unexpected things happening in our family. Maceo and I traveled to London twice for acting school auditions. Maceo got in to the school of choice so there was tuition and room and board to come up with and a trip to London for Maceo and Christian. We had Maceo's graduation celebration with a lot of family in from out of town. We had a scheduled family trip to New Mexico and then a second unexpected trip after a nephew/cousin unexpectedly died. We've had plays to be in and attend, scout camps and court of honors to organize and attend, an Eagle Scout project to do and so much more. This year has been quite the doozy. Now I find myself at the end of the year trying to catch my breath and find some balance. And what I find is Christmas is upon me, the property taxes are due, our monthly house payment is going up because our property values have increased, Maceo's tuition has to be secured as the G.I. Bill will not cover the school he is in (this was unexpected, sigh), Bishop will be graduating and possibly heading off to school, Keegan just got engaged, and a family member in another state is in poor health. There have been moments (just brief moments) of anxiety but, as a whole, I am feeling inspired to get focused and do the wonderful, responsible, creative things that save money and allow me to spend it on what is most important. So, with renewed determination and focus I resume my celebration of frugal accomplishments!
I know. It has been so very long since I have written about my frugal accomplishments. It has been many months of exciting and unexpected things happening in our family. Maceo and I traveled to London twice for acting school auditions. Maceo got in to the school of choice so there was tuition and room and board to come up with and a trip to London for Maceo and Christian. We had Maceo's graduation celebration with a lot of family in from out of town. We had a scheduled family trip to New Mexico and then a second unexpected trip after a nephew/cousin unexpectedly died. We've had plays to be in and attend, scout camps and court of honors to organize and attend, an Eagle Scout project to do and so much more. This year has been quite the doozy. Now I find myself at the end of the year trying to catch my breath and find some balance. And what I find is Christmas is upon me, the property taxes are due, our monthly house payment is going up because our property values have increased, Maceo's tuition has to be secured as the G.I. Bill will not cover the school he is in (this was unexpected, sigh), Bishop will be graduating and possibly heading off to school, Keegan just got engaged, and a family member in another state is in poor health. There have been moments (just brief moments) of anxiety but, as a whole, I am feeling inspired to get focused and do the wonderful, responsible, creative things that save money and allow me to spend it on what is most important. So, with renewed determination and focus I resume my celebration of frugal accomplishments!
Thursday/November 15: Last night I made our Thanksgiving Day menus and a thorough grocery list. Today I cleaned out the main freezer, food storage pantry and everyday pantry, a task that was seriously overdue. I was able to cross many grocery items off of the shopping list as I had them in stock. I also made an inventory list of the items that we have on hand and began constructing menus around these items. This is a technique that I have found to be very successful but I have had limited ability to employ once my husband retired and returned home. My rhythm has been totally disrupted but I am trying to resume doing the things that I know will help us be more efficient.
One of the things that I resumed was to have a smorgasbord on the day I clean the freezer or fridge. It is so odd how little tiny bits of this or that end up lost in the freezer. There were three buffalo chicken tenders, three egg rolls, two spring rolls, a handful of fries, three breakfast burritos, five waffles, two servings of meatballs, a slice of pizza and some potstickers. So I cooked them all up and offered them up to the family buffet style. They loved it. My boys said that they missed me doing this. My boys are happy and my freezer has space for Thanksgiving groceries. We also had a treat of hot chocolate with big dollops of cool whip in them. I found a little bit of cool whip in the freezer. It was not enough for our Thanksgiving meal so I really wanted it out of the way. Everyone thought that it was a decadent treat. This is a great start to another beginning.
Friday: I spent some time today exploring some websites and facebook pages about frugality. I am finding inspiration and motivation. I found Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwoods and they said something that has really stuck with me. They said, "We decided to start from the assumption that we'd spend $0 each day and that every dollar we did spend was a debit against our future." There were several times during this day in which this came to mind, when I wanted to buy just a nibble to snack on or a delightful little extra and I resisted. Even while grocery shopping this quote came to mind. I would consider little extras but this thought gave me a new perspective and I found it easy to stick to the shopping list. Towards the end of the day I ran into an old friend who I hadn't spent time with in quite awhile. She wanted to have dinner and catch up with each other. I thought about the quote and determined that this moment in the present was worth that debit against the future and agreed to dinner. I was truly surprised and blessed when she refused to let me pay; how very gracious of her. And what a truly successful day.
Saturday: I did spend money today, let's see what it was on...
I filled up my gas tank and look forward to seeing just how long I can make this tank of gas last. I used to know just how much I spent on gas per month. I am now out of touch. It is now time to refresh my memory and adjust for new habits.
One suggestion that has been given is to wait 72 hours before making a purchase. I have heard this many times in the past but have never employed the technique. I thought I might give this a go but I did make a purchase today that I didn't think on for 72 hours ... not exactly anyway. It is traditional for me to give Christmas ornaments to each of the kiddos. I purchased some of the ornaments today as I found some that I liked for 'buy one, get one free.' That offer was set to expire today. Now I only thought about these particular ornaments for about 12 hours but I had researched other ornaments so maybe, in some sense, I had a 72 hour thinking period!
I bought some poster board at Walgreens today. I used $5 in reward and ended up spending about $2 for multiple sheets of poster board. The quote mentioned yesterday popped into my head as I was at the store. Then, immediately, I realized that this $2 wasn't a debit against our future but an investment towards our future as I needed white poster board to use as a backdrop for Bishop's art that I need to photograph for art school applications and art competitions. An investment, I tell you!!
A definite win today was dinner. I was put on the spot suddenly as to what was going to be served for dinner. (There is a back story to why this happens but I will share that later, maybe). I remembered that I had found a bag of taco meat in the freezer while cleaning it out. So I pulled it out, heated it up along with some refried beans, and served it alongside the rest of the fixings for burritos. The kiddos gave it rave reviews!
I also got the yard cleaned up today. It was really important that I get the yard work done as some cold weather is supposed to be moving in. I cut what was remaining of the herbs. I harvested quite a bit! I also brought in the succulents before the freeze sets in.
It was a pretty good day!
Sunday: I had some disappointment when I really took a good look at the checking accounts. Sigh. Otherwise, the day was successful. I finished the grocery shopping, picking out the remainder of the Thanksgiving items and some odds and ends to make some quick meals if the need arises. I bought only what was on the list, nothing more.
Herb made a nice lunch using what we had on hand, including some of my herbs.
I made banana bread for a snack and for tomorrow's breakfast. When I cleaned out the freezers I found approximately a million frozen bananas. We have lots of banana bread in our future.
I ended my evening eating some warm banana bread and sipping hot apple cider out of a mug that Bishop gifted me for Christmas some years back. It was my first cider of the season. Others had had some cider so there was only a little bit left. That bread and cider made for a wonderful, and frugal, end to the day.
Monday: The other day I got the Shutterfly app and, through it, received a code for ten free cards. I made thank you cards using photos of Maceo in London to send out to those who gave him graduation gifts. I paid $7 for the shipping and received 10 perfectly stunning cards in return. Now it's time to do some 'thanking'.
I have also been doing some brainstorming about ways to bring in some money. I am working on some ideas that I am certain I will share with you soon!
Tuesday: Today was a really great day full of fun and fulfilling activities. Bishop and I started our day with a field trip. Our science group and some other friends went on a field trip to the landfill. It may not sound exciting but it was actually very interesting. We love activities like this and it was free, other than the gas needed to get there.
From there Bishop needed to get to a little bakery where he was having the opportunity to help them fill their Thanksgiving pie orders. This was a huge win that redeemed a huge fail. I had signed Bishop up for a pie making class at this bakery. It was to have been a week ago but I forgot and he missed the class. I sent them a message apologizing for having missed the class and they offered to have him come in, give them a hand getting their Thanksgiving pies made while he worked on his pie making skills. He took them up on the offer. He spent four hours in a professional bakery using big time professional equipment making the pie crusts for their pies. He even brought home a maple bourbon pecan pie (with his pie crust) that is absolutely amazing. These pies sell for around $45. I think that was a pretty good "makeup lesson."
Now, between the field trip and the pie making I did swing through the Taco Bell drive through. It was the only money that I spent today. No regrets! It was relatively inexpensive and sustained Bishop through all of his activities, including the drawing class that he had after pie making.
He had a really great day!!!
Wednesday: This proved to be a very special day. The kiddos bought me tickets to see Elvis Costello in concert in St. Louis. They even paid for the gas that I would need for the drive and gave me money to stay at a hotel if I needed it (I decided to just drive home, may have been folly but I managed). Bishop joined me and treated me to dinner. I, personally, did spend $60 to buy shirts for Bishop and I and I have zero regrets about that. The evening was amazing. It was a dream come true.
Thursday: Ahhhh, Thanksgiving! The day was full of food prep and visiting and sleeping. I kept busy which is a great way to keep from spending money. I did buy a bag of ice and a small bottle of tea; otherwise, spent nada. I prepared way too much food which I hope will feed us for days. I guess, we'll see.
Friday: Feasted on leftovers today which, of course, makes for a fabulously frugal WIN! The other frugal win of the day would be processing some photos that are needed for some Christmas presents. After utilizing a code for 50% off then using my rewards for a further reduction in price, I spent 85 cents. Also, I was originally going to have these gifts printed and bound at a printing center. I, instead, purchased some presentation folders from Staples online. I saved the nearly ten dollars in shipping but just requesting that it be picked up in-store. And to top it all off, I used the shop & earn feature to get some Swagbucks from those purchases.
Saturday: I'm going to end the week on a really strong note. I spent $0 today!!!
I was tempted several times but resisted. Also, I accomplished a task that I have been failing to complete for months. I love how being determined not to spend money not only frees up money but seems to free up time as well, time to complete things left undone or begin things that have long been desired but somehow never had time for.
Ta-da! I did it!
I managed to complete a blog post and make some progress on financial awareness and goals.
Hopefully, you will be hearing from me again soon!!!
Friday: I spent some time today exploring some websites and facebook pages about frugality. I am finding inspiration and motivation. I found Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwoods and they said something that has really stuck with me. They said, "We decided to start from the assumption that we'd spend $0 each day and that every dollar we did spend was a debit against our future." There were several times during this day in which this came to mind, when I wanted to buy just a nibble to snack on or a delightful little extra and I resisted. Even while grocery shopping this quote came to mind. I would consider little extras but this thought gave me a new perspective and I found it easy to stick to the shopping list. Towards the end of the day I ran into an old friend who I hadn't spent time with in quite awhile. She wanted to have dinner and catch up with each other. I thought about the quote and determined that this moment in the present was worth that debit against the future and agreed to dinner. I was truly surprised and blessed when she refused to let me pay; how very gracious of her. And what a truly successful day.
Saturday: I did spend money today, let's see what it was on...
I filled up my gas tank and look forward to seeing just how long I can make this tank of gas last. I used to know just how much I spent on gas per month. I am now out of touch. It is now time to refresh my memory and adjust for new habits.
One suggestion that has been given is to wait 72 hours before making a purchase. I have heard this many times in the past but have never employed the technique. I thought I might give this a go but I did make a purchase today that I didn't think on for 72 hours ... not exactly anyway. It is traditional for me to give Christmas ornaments to each of the kiddos. I purchased some of the ornaments today as I found some that I liked for 'buy one, get one free.' That offer was set to expire today. Now I only thought about these particular ornaments for about 12 hours but I had researched other ornaments so maybe, in some sense, I had a 72 hour thinking period!
I bought some poster board at Walgreens today. I used $5 in reward and ended up spending about $2 for multiple sheets of poster board. The quote mentioned yesterday popped into my head as I was at the store. Then, immediately, I realized that this $2 wasn't a debit against our future but an investment towards our future as I needed white poster board to use as a backdrop for Bishop's art that I need to photograph for art school applications and art competitions. An investment, I tell you!!
A definite win today was dinner. I was put on the spot suddenly as to what was going to be served for dinner. (There is a back story to why this happens but I will share that later, maybe). I remembered that I had found a bag of taco meat in the freezer while cleaning it out. So I pulled it out, heated it up along with some refried beans, and served it alongside the rest of the fixings for burritos. The kiddos gave it rave reviews!
I also got the yard cleaned up today. It was really important that I get the yard work done as some cold weather is supposed to be moving in. I cut what was remaining of the herbs. I harvested quite a bit! I also brought in the succulents before the freeze sets in.
It was a pretty good day!
Sunday: I had some disappointment when I really took a good look at the checking accounts. Sigh. Otherwise, the day was successful. I finished the grocery shopping, picking out the remainder of the Thanksgiving items and some odds and ends to make some quick meals if the need arises. I bought only what was on the list, nothing more.
Herb made a nice lunch using what we had on hand, including some of my herbs.
I made banana bread for a snack and for tomorrow's breakfast. When I cleaned out the freezers I found approximately a million frozen bananas. We have lots of banana bread in our future.
I ended my evening eating some warm banana bread and sipping hot apple cider out of a mug that Bishop gifted me for Christmas some years back. It was my first cider of the season. Others had had some cider so there was only a little bit left. That bread and cider made for a wonderful, and frugal, end to the day.
Monday: The other day I got the Shutterfly app and, through it, received a code for ten free cards. I made thank you cards using photos of Maceo in London to send out to those who gave him graduation gifts. I paid $7 for the shipping and received 10 perfectly stunning cards in return. Now it's time to do some 'thanking'.
I have also been doing some brainstorming about ways to bring in some money. I am working on some ideas that I am certain I will share with you soon!
Tuesday: Today was a really great day full of fun and fulfilling activities. Bishop and I started our day with a field trip. Our science group and some other friends went on a field trip to the landfill. It may not sound exciting but it was actually very interesting. We love activities like this and it was free, other than the gas needed to get there.
From there Bishop needed to get to a little bakery where he was having the opportunity to help them fill their Thanksgiving pie orders. This was a huge win that redeemed a huge fail. I had signed Bishop up for a pie making class at this bakery. It was to have been a week ago but I forgot and he missed the class. I sent them a message apologizing for having missed the class and they offered to have him come in, give them a hand getting their Thanksgiving pies made while he worked on his pie making skills. He took them up on the offer. He spent four hours in a professional bakery using big time professional equipment making the pie crusts for their pies. He even brought home a maple bourbon pecan pie (with his pie crust) that is absolutely amazing. These pies sell for around $45. I think that was a pretty good "makeup lesson."
Now, between the field trip and the pie making I did swing through the Taco Bell drive through. It was the only money that I spent today. No regrets! It was relatively inexpensive and sustained Bishop through all of his activities, including the drawing class that he had after pie making.
He had a really great day!!!
Wednesday: This proved to be a very special day. The kiddos bought me tickets to see Elvis Costello in concert in St. Louis. They even paid for the gas that I would need for the drive and gave me money to stay at a hotel if I needed it (I decided to just drive home, may have been folly but I managed). Bishop joined me and treated me to dinner. I, personally, did spend $60 to buy shirts for Bishop and I and I have zero regrets about that. The evening was amazing. It was a dream come true.
Thursday: Ahhhh, Thanksgiving! The day was full of food prep and visiting and sleeping. I kept busy which is a great way to keep from spending money. I did buy a bag of ice and a small bottle of tea; otherwise, spent nada. I prepared way too much food which I hope will feed us for days. I guess, we'll see.
Friday: Feasted on leftovers today which, of course, makes for a fabulously frugal WIN! The other frugal win of the day would be processing some photos that are needed for some Christmas presents. After utilizing a code for 50% off then using my rewards for a further reduction in price, I spent 85 cents. Also, I was originally going to have these gifts printed and bound at a printing center. I, instead, purchased some presentation folders from Staples online. I saved the nearly ten dollars in shipping but just requesting that it be picked up in-store. And to top it all off, I used the shop & earn feature to get some Swagbucks from those purchases.
Saturday: I'm going to end the week on a really strong note. I spent $0 today!!!
I was tempted several times but resisted. Also, I accomplished a task that I have been failing to complete for months. I love how being determined not to spend money not only frees up money but seems to free up time as well, time to complete things left undone or begin things that have long been desired but somehow never had time for.
Ta-da! I did it!
I managed to complete a blog post and make some progress on financial awareness and goals.
Hopefully, you will be hearing from me again soon!!!
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