Frugal Hits & Misses: January Report

January is often our 'hunker down' month -- and this year was no different. Generally, we stayed put, ate mostly out of the refrigerator and pantry and just spent time with each other. We didn't do much, other than some work, but watch videos and feed the woodstove. (Oh, and Charley, too.)
      We had very little snow -- no scraping off the windshield, which was a relief -- but plenty of cold. Only one storm, and that wasn't a huge deal.

He likes to watch Dad add in his vitamins.

Ditto for Michigan, which I ended up flying to for our grand-nephew's funeral in mid-month. (Heart-breaking, but necessary.) Other than that, January was pretty quiet, particularly when Mr. Flu hitched a ride back.

Bizarro strikes again..

FRUGAL HITS

*Grocery shopping was minimal: mostly milk, butter, sale items and the Friday freebie digital coupons.  (Go to the King Soopers website (Kroger for you Easterners) on Fridays, and you'll see what I mean. Safeway has them too, but more sporadically.)
     Some specials: 2-pound bags of meatballs: $2.99.  (I have had a craving for Swedish meatballs, for some odd reason. These did the trick.)
     75-cent cans of Chunky soup.  Half-pound bags of grated cheese: 99 cents.
     DiGiorno pizza: buy-2-get-1-free...plus a $2 coupon. Not as cheap as previous sales, still, pretty good.
     BIG Reese's Peanut Butters (not cups) -- almost 7 oz. bars for 99 cents (reg. $4.99). Brought back from Michigan for a surprise. Their heft freaked out TSA, who apparently thought they were blocks of explosive. I got searched - big-time.
     Eggs for $1.25 a dozen. It feels weird to be buying eggs.

Serves you right, Missy...

*Got just a few after-Christmas items. Just two tins of cookies...though I drooled over the German nutcrackers Tuesday Morning had out on clearance.

*Hardly any other shopping, either out and about or online. The Brick did get some struts and shocks for the Outback, which needed them.  But:

*The Brick installed the parts on the Outback himself, saving those costs. What a guy.

*I missed attending some events... partly due to flu, and partly from heading out of town unexpectedly. Saved on admission and food costs.

*The chickens finally went to that Big Soup Kettle in the Sky: all eleven of them. Beforehand, though, they cleared out the remnants of the chicken feed, and ate up several stale or deteriorating food items leftover from the holidays.
     We gave several dressed chickies to neighbors and Daughter #1, and kept a few for ourselves. Delicious...but boy, were they tough.
     I still catch myself thinking I need to go out and feed them...that's what habits will do for you.

*Managed another Seniors Luncheon, with the help of a small group at Creekside Bible. It went great, with lunch for both of us -- and no further cost on my part. (See the Jan. 2016 version of the Seniors Luncheon here.)

*One large dogsitting job -- and another booked for February. Two of our favorite puppies: Luna and Dabbey.

This is Luna.

*Several restoration jobs -- in progress and nearly finished. Plus a few appraisals. I also picked up more teaching and appraisal commitments.

*A few piano lessons -- for three of my favorite kiddoes.

Love 'em dearly.

*An armload of Elvis DVDs, bought on a hunch from the library's used book sale room. Lesson learned: Elvis movies, with few exceptions, may be popular -- but they're not sought-after.
     Fortunately, The Mama loves Elvis...and really enjoyed watching Blue Hawaii and G.I. Blues, as well as the others. Actually, so did I. (Elvis was in Germany, with the same Army company, at the same time my dad was stationed there. He remembered seeing Elvis, but was casual about it. Weird.)

Thank you, Wikipedia.

*Sold one item on Amazon. (Ironically, I'd gotten it for free.) Then just before posting this, sold two more!

*The cheapest ticket EVER to fly to Michigan. Then again, I was meant to go.
      I was also careful about expenditures while I was there. A few (inexpensive) meals were purchased, and I paid the tip for a few others. (The Mama enjoys going out to eat.) This included a bonus card for Panera's, earned for buying giftcards.

*Only one day's work for Tuesday Morning. I've finished my stint as a seasonal employee, which has allowed my gimpy knee to heal faster. Would I do it again? Maybe, maybe not. But we do have the property tax payment for February covered now.

*Some very cool reusable shopping bags, for only a buck or two. Graphic illustrations of Bigfoot and the Denver Broncos -- after I use them for a while (5-10 cents off per bag per trip), I'll cut them up for quilt backs.

*We went out to eat a few times - but used our Red Robin bonus bucks to cover nearly all of it.

*We watched a few seasons of JAG (thanks to the library), plus Blindspot (free, via the Internet). I checked several movies out from the library, but also got some, plus a few books, from the used-book room ($1 and $2 each).

(I still don't quiiite understand Blindspot -- the ongoing saga of a tattoed chick whose inked motifs solve crimes -- but the Brick loves it.)

*Got a 1500 Swagbucks bonus (the equivalent of $15.00) for buying shoe polish we needed, anyways. Swagbucks continues to be a great way to earn gift cards, just by doing everyday searches I would have done, anyways. Go here to learn more and sign up.




*Bagged up and cleared out more stuff. Every time we do this, it feels refreshing. It's also one step closer to our plans for spring.

*Bought antique photos (off Ebay) for the haunted history book, including several in a Buy 2-get 1 free deal. Got permission to use some others. (Thank you, Sybilla and Jim!) This is going to be one of my biggest commitments in Feb. and March.

*$500 -- just for opening a credit union account! While I was in Michigan, the Brick noticed a three-day promotion. A new credit union was opening its doors in town, and the first 50 people each day would earn $500 -- just for opening a new account.
     We had trouble believing it -- but it was true. 
     The Brick went there at opening time on Day #2, only to find that people had been lining up for hours before that. So Day #3, he went over at 2:30 a.m., with a deck chair and sleeping bag.
     He was person #13. Even more puzzling, by the time the crowd was let in, his position magically changed to #18. No matter: he got the $500. Which made our Hollander hearts happy -- and sad, because I wasn't there to get an additional $500!
     No matter. I'm stopping by this week to open an account, too -- but I'll only get $200 extra for doing it. Darn, darn, darn. Update: I did -- and they did.

FRUGAL MISSES

Not much this month, unless you count some spoiled or fading food: a bowl or two of old beans, a couple of mushy apples (leftover from our September Palisade trip) and a tangerine looking distinctly under the weather. (The Brick couldn't eat all of the ham and beans I made for him, while I was gone.) 
     I need to clean out the vegetable crisper and make soup.

*We did lose our darling puppy -- which was hard. I will always miss her.

*Car parts for the Outback.  The Brick got the best deal he could, but still... we are thinking of selling it, and want it in tiptop shape beforehand.

*Bought a denim dress on Ebay.  For less than $15, true, but I really don't NEED it.
       I am a bad girl. (snicker) I also bought those Ebay photos, which actually can be used for other things, besides the book. Paypal Credit lets me pay for them gradually.

*Bought a group of miniatures from Sally's in Michigan, on a whim. (Salvation Army) Thought I'd make big bucks...but I should be able to double my modest purchase, for investment purposes. Maybe.

God has been very good to us, both this past year and this month.
    God is good -- all the time.
    All the time -- God is good.

both Colorado mountains and rose photos from Morguefile

Curious about the other Frugal Hits & Misses reports? Start with December 2017. 
Or you might enjoy comparing this month with last year's January report.