Sunday, November 22, 2015

Frugal Happenings 11/22

Hello everyone. Happy, happy Sunday to you all.
I bet many of you are getting busy with activities relating to Thanksgiving.  I just keep thinking about all the yummy food!  This is probably by favorite foodie time of the year.   So many goodies to be had between now and the New Year, and we all KNOW, holiday foods contain NO calories!!!!!!

It was 18* this morning, and supposed to get to 32* today.  The sun is shining and I think it will get warmer.  The snow from yesterday is pretty well gone.  The temps on Thanksgiving are supposed to close to 60*!
I am still working on washing walls - I'm getting there slowly.  At least I know the house will be fresh and clean for the holidays and I can just rest some after the holidays.  I see me, a book, and the couch, on some cold winter days!

My frugal week:
  • I got 10 packs of bread, buns, rolls, muffins, etc. all for $3.50 on clearance at Kroger this week.  None was out of date.   One Kroger I go to closed on Wed. and opened up a new super store across the street on Thurs.  Instead of taking most stock across, a lot was clearance!!!
  • I got 2 big veggie platters, 2 lbs. of cut broccoli, and 8 bags of various salad greens for $10!  Same store.
  • Bed, Bath & Beyond - coupon for $13 item with any purchase.  I spent $6 and got a lotion for FREE.  Gift!
  • Office Depot - got ink and saved $15 with coupon
  • Ran to Dollar Tree for some little gifts and found cherry pie filling for $1 a can.  That stuff is expensive every where, so I got several cans for the winter.  That was the first time I had ever seen cherry filling there.
  • Cut G's and my hair this week
  • Dried enough bread for homemade dressing for just about the entire winter!  It's safe and sealed in gallon jars till I need.
  • Have been doing lots of little projects around the house that I didn't have time to do all summer.
  • Meals from scratch
I went through my Christmas list and checked for what I need yet.  I am getting close to being done.  There are many containers that I have here at home that I will be using for treat containers.  Some I will be re-gifting and others came from yard sales for pennies in summers past.  I have everything on hand I need for holiday baking.

I know you will all be busy this week with work and prepping.  Just don't over do it.  Remember to take time to enjoy life and rest a little.
"If we can't be thankful for what we receive, we should be thankful for what we escape".  Arnold Glascow
I love this saying!

Pooty is cuddled with her favorite toys and blissfully happy!  May you get to cuddle with your favorite things and people this week and just enjoy life. 
God bless you all.

10 comments:

  1. Hi Cheryl, It is the time of year when I where my husband's flannel shirt and have a quilt wrapped around my legs when I am on the computer. The furnace is on 73! I hope to get the Buck Eye candy/cookies mader tomorrow for the holidays. I wanted to go to the thrift store and look for tins but didn't get there so picked up a couple from the dollar store. Sounds like you got some real deals at Krogers! Nancy

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    1. Mmmmmm - buck eye candy! I may have to make some this year.
      I don't get cold any more. G and I switched roles. He used to be hot and me cold - now he is always cold and I am hot. Menopause is past by about 6 years - but still have the hot flashes and night sweats.

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  2. It sure does sound like you got some real deals! My daughter said her Vonns, bought out by somebody else, is now going out of business. I thought, go get some deals! but she doesn't have spare cash right now to do this...yet another reason to not do any splurges but save money for such a rainy day.

    She does have bus access this semester so she'll be able to get to other stores now, whereas this summer she only had her bicycle, and roads out there are very busy (and now her bike tire is flat). I think she should work on how to fix it by using you tube, but then she is studying for her candidacies in January, so it is not a priority to take time to learn a new skill.

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  3. My frugals this past week was to put myself again on a NSCC month, from November 16th through December 16th and beyond to the new year, I am not using my credit card for anything! I am going to end this year SOLVENT and I mean if I have to starve! Which we won't because we'll be eating from the pantry the first four months of next year until Uncle Sam has his take in taxes.

    And while my husband did finally do an online order for the girls for Christmas (sweaters), and while that money still counts to our monthly expenses, it is from his 'magic money' fund, his savings he made for retirement and big expenses in the house.

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    1. You go girl!!!!! I have found that not spending is really easy as you get used to it.
      After I finish the Christmas stuff, I plan on not shopping for a couple months at least - except milk & stuff like that.

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  4. I finished the second of two shawls for the daughters. I found out you can block superwash yarn. But I also found out that heat and steam caused the dye to leak onto my press cloth. So that's one more handmade gift for Christmas for them.

    I am making notes on what I wanted to buy this year but didn't think of it until too late and now the means to do it is gone....so I have put those ideas on the list for next year, yes I already have ideas for Christmas 2016. It really worked for me this year to plan ahead, and while I am behind a bit on outside the immediate family, I am ahead for our tight family unit.

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  5. And the monthly averages for food for my first year of tracking in the budget surprised me! It is way higher than I expected, Budgeted $300 but spent on average $550. Now do realize that we have our meat for the next twelve months in the freezer! And most of our vegetables and canned fruits.

    I planted four of the romaine lettuce stumps from a good lettuce buy at the grocery store, and they sprouted! TGMan was so excited he hooked up another solar light to give them a boost in these darker winter days. Will be exciting if they continue. Fresh greens in the winter would be wonderful indeed.

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  6. The best thing I think that I did was to finally post something for sale not just on Craigs List but also on eBay. So we shall see how that experience is. It was easier than I thought it would be, there is a form that is filled out online, stepped me through all the critical parts of a listing. Procrastination solved!

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  7. And finally ( I know this is a long post!) finally I see that the income from research participation is below the declared standard for the government, and the same for sales on Craigs List, so I won't need to report it on my taxes, so glad about that! We are so honest with our taxes, that it would have pained me to see those hard earned funds get subtracted to something less.

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    1. That's great news on the income. You have been a busy girl. Glad you got the shawls done. You immediate family is the most important when it comes to gifts!
      We ALL spend more per month than we think! But like you, much of my years has been adding to stock and prepping for the future.

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