Fewer books. Tchotchkes. Clothes. Furniture. It's all part of the get-rid-of-stuff program we must do, in order to get the house ready to sell. The freezer is gradually emptying -- especially as I ignore grocery store sales each week. (Which is tough.) The shelves hold fewer canned goods. Surprise: I've been finding items I didn't even know we had...'good' stuff I'd been holding back for something special. Guess using these up now will be special enough.
We had a very relaxing time in Mexico. Not so much in Santa Fe -- but I learned a great deal that's going to help me do an even better job as a personal property appraiser. A third trip is on the horizon, to Michigan to see The Mama and take care of some other business. We plan to bring two full suitcases each: more items for storage.
And you know what? All this cleaning out, using up and putting away feels really, really good.
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| From Styled Snapshots, via Pinterest |
Gentle Readers, you've been hanging out here more often -- up to 8,100 hits a month! Thank you; I'm honored. P.S. If your friends would enjoy a mix of treasure, recipes, crafts (especially quilts), antiques and Bigfoot -- ask them to join us. I'd love it.
FRUGAL HITS
*Found money: 15 cents at LAX airport! Plus a nickel in Santa Fe...and a peso (about 5 cents) on the ground in Mexico. My lucky coin! In January, I wondered if gathering nickels would make it a lucky year for the Bricks. Every time I find another nickel, I smile to myself.
*A surprisingly inexpensive supper -- at an expensive Italian restaurant. The secret: a combination of coupons (free appetizer), half-priced beers (happy hour)...and a 10% discount because we paid with cash!
We got free entertainment thrown in: our friend Sal Mancini, who plays weekly at Rose's Bella Cucina.
*Free financial dinner at a very fancy restaurant, with friends.
*A couple of great food buys: $4.99/lb for jumbo shrimp and three lobster tails marked down to $6.99. (Thanks, Sprouts.) Didn't shop much, except for milk, butter, eggs.We were gone a lot, anyways.
*A BUNCH of $2 videos, including several seasons of Star Trek Voyager, from the library's used-book room. Some are going on sale, others into our collection.
*Invested $17 in six months of International Living's The Savvy Retiree, plus several free reports. Supposedly it's going to tell me how to make our round-the-world cruise practically free. I hope so.
*Two beautiful wool sweaters at a Santa Fe thrift shop: $10 each. Upscale clientele = high-quality merchandise, even if you have to wait for someone else to 'break it in' first. We have this same fortunate coincidence in Douglas County -- one of the highest-income counties in Colorado.
*Watched how many times we went out to eat...even when we were out of town. One meal at Burger King, and another at McDonald's. (A third at one of Santa Fe's best 'homey' restaurants, the Pantry.) The rest were either part of the conference, or homemade in the trailer.
* * * * * * * *The Mexico Trip* * * * * * * *
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| Cabo Pulmo, via Coastalliving.com |
*We saved on food for this vacation, as well. Specials helped, like 'Dos Pollo: $160':' a little less than $8 for two grilled chickens, tortillas, sauce and macaroni salad, that stretched into two meals. Bought shrimp for 290 pesos a kilo -- so less than $15 for 2 1/2 pounds worth. Bought fruit juice and water at the grocery store, instead of getting it at a restaurant.
We made supper in the room for several meals. (See an upcoming post on that.)
Our major splurge was breakfast every morning at the only restaurant in town that served coffee -- 20 pesos ($1) a cup.
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| Mexican food - yum. Generally cheaper, too...and the seafood was fresh. |
*Entertainment: spent our time at the beach (40 pesos a person/$2 daily), and went to two museums (10 pesos and 100 pesos). We also bumbled into a free concert, including dancers, one evening. Otherwise, just drove where we wanted to -- when we wanted to.
*Rented a car away from the airport -- took a shuttle to pick it up. (I'll have a post soon on how we saved in Mexico.)
*Used the ATM to pull money in Mexico -- cheaper this way, including a better exchange rate, than to try and change money.
*Used vouchers to pay for plane tickets. (Mostly - you still have to cover taxes and such.)
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| Snorkeling was another moneysaver -- because we own our own equipment. Learn more about Cabo Pulmo on A Luxury Travel Blog. |
*An incredible buy on lebkuchen: one of the best cookies in the world.
*Swapped dogsitting -- the neighbors we dogsat for last month took care of Charley and Ruby twice this month for us. They now have a free 'bye' coming! (They got some lebkuchen, too.)
*Did some mystery shopping -- a lot of work for very few dollars, unfortunately. I did find two pretty knit dresses for $6.99 each, though, for spring and summer use.
*Won a free needlework pattern from Thrifty Mom In Boise. Thanks, friend!
*Sold some books. (Gave a few away, as well.)
*A bunch of appraisal reports. Whoo hoo! Also -- did an appraisal day for Holly's Quilt Cabin, a local shop. If you live in the Pueblo area, I'll be there April 6, doing an appraisal day for the Pueblo quilt guild.
*Some piano lessons. (A new adult student is starting soon.) Played for some church services. Finished some restorations; hoping to get another, longer restoration done soon.
*Haven't spent much on the trailer. We're waiting until 1) the house sells, and 2) we live in the trailer for a while. That should make clear what's essential -- and what can be worked around, at least for now.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Didn't go to the doctor (again) because of flu. Same old story if I had: 'It's just a virus. Rest.'
The coughing has been the worst. I wake up in the night, can't breathe. We haven't had a night of uninterrupted sleep for weeks. Not only is it discouraging -- the lack of sleep contributes to feeling blue. (Mustn't grumble.) I'm finally starting to cough less; it will be good to see the back end of this.
*Dental appointments. Two crowns need replacing. Necessary -- but OUCH.
*We could have stayed home and saved even the frugal amounts of money we spent on vacation. But it was worth it.
*Wasted some food -- again. (Sigh) Including a little bacon overlooked before Mexico ('Bad girl, Cindy -- bad girl!') and the pumpkin debacle: I went to scoop out and cook the pumpkin that's been sitting on the counter for months now...and found it had rotted underneath. I am a bad kitty. (The birds enjoyed it, instead.)
On the plus side, I saved a gallon container of too-soft ice cream by mixing it with bags of frozen strawberries. A quick whiz in the blender, and voila: milkshakes or smoothies! The leftover ice cream stored surprisingly well in the fridge until the next session.
*Some repairs and additions are needed on the trailer. Okay, these are essential: a leaky roof, some damage on the side -- and extra batteries for power storage, so we don't freeze to death the next time it's cloudy.
Or raining. Or snowing. Who knows what it will do here.
This was a busy month...and despite the pleasures of the Mexican vacation, not the easiest. If you keep pushing, though, it's amazing not only what you can finish -- but that you can continue to trudge forward. That's an accomplishment in itself.
Here's last month's report, and the March report for 2018.
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