We'll finish November at The Mama's, then move on to Tucson for a teaching gig in mid-December. Back home to Colorado for the holidays...then fly out on New Year's Eve for London...and the cruise.
There are a lot of loose ends to tie up before we go.
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| From Country Dirt (Facebook) |
FRUGAL HITS
Some of these are from late October.
*Deposited a bunch of checks that have been waiting -- and are planning to open a new business account. (I'd put this off while we were dealing with the house sale.)
*Two boxes (for older boys) for Operation Christmas Child. We do this every year.
*Went and cleared out storage unit, saving an additional month's rent -- and made a special quick trip west, saving on a rental truck. (Cheapest price we could find on the latter: $600.) Kept everything dry, thanks to God's grace, dry weather and some lining tarps. (The top ones ripped like crazy.)
*Stayed with friends during our recent trip to clear out the storage unit. Bought groceries and a meal to help out. Thanks, guys!
*Thrift shop buys: two pairs of new shoes (including imported clogs): $6.99 each; a few Christmas presents; Christmas books for someone who collects them; a sundress for the upcoming cruise. All at 15% seniors discount. The kids took advantage to score their own great buys, including a beautiful fitted pleather jacket; brand-new tennis shoes (apparently a sample), normally $150 retail. (He bought them for $16.99.)
*I am in shoe heaven! Not only did I find two new pairs at the local thrift shop -- and two pairs of boots (see below) -- but The Mama gave me a pair of slippers, plus a pair of moccasins she didn't want. Woo hoo! The poor flipflops I spent the summer in went to the trash bin in September, completely worn out, and I was making do with another pair of flipflops. It is so nice to have warm toes and protected feet now.
*Took advantage of Amazon's Halloween sales, and got a $9.99 copy of Creature from the Black Lagoon, one of my favorites. Too bad I couldn't get anyone to watch it with me on Halloween. But they will -- oh, they will. (And he did. The Mama, on the other hand, fell asleep. Oh well.)
*Did NOT buy any Halloween candy. We already have some 'pogey bait' for Christmas stockings, plus extra for snacks and desserts. Quite frankly, the Brick and I don't need the extra right now.
*Grocery buys: 99-cents/pound pork chops, buy-two-get-three-free pound pkgs of bacon (about $2.50 each) plus three pounds of apples for $2.50. A turkey for 25 cents/lb -- yow! (Family Fare in Michigan - the best price I saw in Colorado was 66 cents/lb.) Also from Family Fare: packages of cream cheese and sherbet for 99 cents each. Found a few great buys at Daily Deals, as well: 79-cent pkgs of roast beef and ham, plus a mozzarella/provolone grated cheese mix, and 6 pounds of hamburger patties for $9.99.
I walked away from several deals because they meant buying up too much food to get the special price. Darn.
*Saved on Christmas gifts, cleaners and stock-up items at Sparta Variety. This wonderful Michigan store is going out of business, and everything is 50-90 percent off. Because of the great prices I got, we were able to gift a special piano student/friend with a holiday decorations package.
*Bought some Christmas decorations -- bottlebrush trees, for 50 cents and $1, respectively, from the dollar store and Target. There -- now you know. I am a miniature tree freak.
*Four Ancestry.com kits -- two for us (a Christmas gift from The Mama), and two to gift elsewhere. They were on sale...and the fourth one was free.
*BOGO haircuts, thanks to Veteran's Day freebies. (Thanks, Great Clips.) No free meals this year -- we didn't even make the attempt. (The Mama had different plans that night.)
*Gift cards with bonuses -- both from Red Robin and Outback. These stretched our money for Christmas thank-yous and presents. (Check quickly -- these usually are only offered through early or mid-December.)
*A few free meals, thanks to The Mama. (We paid for some, too.)
*No loans or utility bills to pay! The only regular bill we have is for insurance (which we plan to shop around on) and the phone. Wow.
Don't peg us as freeloaders, though...we've been paying extra to cover The Mama's increased electrical costs, as well as our Colorado friend's. (Both have a well, so water isn't an issue.)
*Bought fall-themed door ornaments for The Mama -- for a buck each. (She loves them.)
*Got a number of high-end presents for family at extremely marked-down prices. (I can't say here because the recipients read my blog on occasion.) Used The Mama's huge box of Christmas paper to wrap them, for under the tree. We'll take the rest back to Colorado in a few weeks.
*One group appraisal, scheduled when we get back to Colorado. (I'll be doing some for the Tucson guild in early December, as well.) Some other appraisals finished and sent.
*Finished up some restorations. FINALLY. These have been in progress for the past two months. Three more to go.
*Contributed to the Thanksgiving feast -- and the early turkey dinner. Including poopers!
*Bought some quality clothes...at Amazon sale prices. Two cashmere turtlenecks, $30 each, and some of the best-reviewed leggings (which will double as long underwear) for $8 each. Free shipping...and I was even able to use the giftcard I got for free via Swagbucks.
Also ordered a pair of tan knee boots, with fringe, from DearJane -- for $13.99, including shipping. Two dresses from Target, both on clearance. (These are lightweight knits, for use on the cruise.) Another pair of heavier snow boots will cost more, but still will be half-price, thanks to Daughter #2's discount. A few thrift shop outfits -- but I'm being much fussier than I used to.
Sam's contributed a few buys, as well: lightweight pants for $6.81 each, plus a heavy lined flannel shirt, replacing a raggedy one the Brick promised to throw away. (I keep threatening to give it to some bum; they'd make a fortune, begging with it on.) I also snagged a heavy, substantial black hoodie with a Colorado logo on it.
*Threw away the grubbiest of the thrift shop clothes I used all summer and into fall. They were stained with paint and dirt, and full of holes. Buh-bye!
FRUGAL MISSES
*Lost at least two envelopes mailed to the new address -- with checks inside. One had a giftcard inside, too. I really wish I knew what happened to these.
*Had to turn some work opportunities down. Frustrating, but necessary.
*Paid for visas, now that our passports have arrived. Five countries, to be exact: Australia, New Zealand, India and the hardest/most expensive of all: China. The stinkers. Ironically, we cannot apply for India or Sri Lanka yet -- we have to wait until Dec. 20 (India) and when we're actually on the cruise (Sri Lanka). Go figure.
We still need to get shots, too. Oh goody.
*Had to make a special trip to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to get the Chinese visas -- which took hours, extra money and got us stuck in rush hour traffic. Lovely.
*Paid the rest of the bills connected with the cruise, trailer and truck repairs. I was glad to do it. The rest of the house sale money has gone out in various directions, and we're generally back to pre-sale levels. Which is ok.
*Paid the rest of the medical bills. At least there are no more dental bills...but the hospital/test/doctors' bills more than made up for it. This time, I contributed, thanks to flu, caught either before or during the family reunion, that turned into a lovely mix of bronchitis and pneumonia. A visit to the clinic, plus meds, helped break up the congestion, though the cough hung on. Another visit to the emergency room, too, after we couldn't renew a prescription any other way.
*Two pairs of new glasses and an eye exam for yours truly. Desperately needed, and I did get them on sale.
*Renewed my membership in the American Society of Appraisers. Don't ever think this business is cheap to be in, Gentle Readers -- I have to cough up nearly $650 A YEAR for this privilege.
*Spent more on some updates for the trailer. All needed, particularly to keep the waterlines from freezing.
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Some bloggers get way more specific in their regular reports. I try to strike a happy medium -- enough to let you know what we're doing (and how we saved), but not so much that you wonder if we have a life. Because we do. It's just a little different than the usual right now.
Last month's report is here; see last year's November report here.
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