It will be wonderful to start our next phase of 'normality.'
Whatever that turns out to be.
We continue to spend as needed in order to get (and keep) the house ready for visits. Unused items have been returned, balancing out costs more than they've been doing in past months. Selling some things has helped, too. We have to maintain an extremely tight budget right now, though, to keep the checking account funded.
Something that's especially amusing: we have been getting all sorts of glossy real estate catalogs, touting million-dollar properties. Apparently the Powers That Be think we should upgrade. I'm just waiting for the upscale vehicle catalogs to start. (Update: they have!)
August was busy, birthday-wise: several cousins, a friend, the girlies and The Mama all have natal days this month. That meant extra $$ for presents and special food (or going out to eat). Fortunately, I'd planned ahead for this, knowing that our money would be focused on the house sale.
This report is a bit early, but I had some things to take care of the rest of the week.
FRUGAL HITS
*Kept careful watch on both the freezer and fridge. Only had to throw out a few small leftovers. Now THAT'S better. Cleaned out the fridge/freezer in the 'other' house, and transferred items to the fifth wheel fridge/freezer, which is admittedly smaller. That meant I couldn't stock up...but it also didn't let me waste or freezer-burn food as easily. It also meant, though, that I walked away from some good grocery deals, because we had no extra room in the freezer. We were able, though, to use the leftovers from the house-leaving partay.
*Fresh zucchini and cucumbers, from friends. Garden produce is wonderful. (Thanks, Tim and Elle!) We watched their kitties, in return. Swapped future sitting for a few weeks of watering our plants while we were gone.
*Sold some furniture. Every bit helps.
*Got some $2 videos from the library's used bookroom. This includes series -- like a full year of Stargate and years of Battlestar Galactica. Five or six DVDS in the set still equals $2 at checkout!
*Negotiated the final sale price of the house...a second time. For people who loved it, and will care for it. Wonderful. God willing, it will proceed smoothly through the closing date.
*Made final repairs on the house...from caulking the chimney to changing out the outlets in the kitchen and laundry room to GFCI versions. I helped some, but the Brick is the real champ in this department. We hired some of it done, as well, but used a coupon for the plumber, saving a little.
*A few small purchases here and there -- but kept to as little as possible. We weren't sure how long this waiting period was going to be. Except for the par-tay, I didn't buy many groceries, except for the real loss leaders: 99-cent Chips Ahoy, 99-cent pkgs of white tortilla chips, lots of freebies (Safeway really excelled this month), and a real buy: ground beef $1.29/lb. Palisade peaches came in at 88 and 89 cents a pound (Ok, they were a tad green.)
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| Colorado peaches - the best (and that's coming from someone who grew up in the Fruit Capital of the country) |
*Frugal entertainment, too. Five-dollar tickets to the movies...and another investment dinner at a fancy restaurant -- for free. (They keep inviting us...)
*Gave birthday presents we'd purchased earlier. Our main cost was food for the birthday supper. Yes, we:
*Brought food to Daughter #1's place for the girlies' birthday supper. It wasn't free, of course -- steak, salad, apple crisp, cheesecake -- but it sure was cheaper than taking everyone out. (And the food was delicious, thanks in large part to Daughter's and Partner's kind ministrations.)
*Used up coupons at Burger King and Red Robin. A few times. Got an IHOP gift card as a house-leaving present. (Thanks, Todd and Laura!)
*Came home from Safeway without the toilet paper I'd paid for. Went back -- and got it, plus credit for items I should have had coupon discounts on. Tip: Grocery stores especially do this more than you would think. Don't hesitate to bring problems -- including produce that spoiled too quickly, and such -- to Customer Service. I have NEVER had them not willing to fix the problem.
*Large pepper plant group -- $1.99! The two peppers on them (60 cents each, if I bought them at Sprouts) brought the price down to less than a buck.
A few small marigold plants were bought to fill in blank pot spaces, as well...I had to throw out four petunia baskets as the heat took them under. The flowers are all showing heat stress now, in spite of regular watering. But that's late August in Colorado.
*Appraisals finished up.
*Some restorations worked on.
*Fewer allergy problems than usual -- at least, neither of us took as many pills to deal with it, than we usually do. Charley made up for it, though, with his allergies.
*Free mulch -- half a truckload -- thanks to the county's site. Figured out a way to transfer a load meant for the dump into trashcans, instead, for the weekly pickup.
*Bought a second DVD/CD folder -- which means we can keep up to EIGHT HUNDRED CDs and DVDs in an area the size of a small cupoard. Amazing
FRUGAL MISSES
This is what happens when you:
(Or you DO let your guard down...sorry, couldn't resist)
*Paid off MORE house-related bills. At least they were smaller ones.
*More medical bills. Someday these will ease. One more payment to the dentist in September, and our bill's paid there.
*Didn't make it to Michigan in time for The Mama's birthday Aug. 16 -- so had to mail her presents. Ah well. Cheaper than the gas it would have taken to make the drive.
Take a look at last month's report here. The August report from last year is here. I started writing Frugal Hits & Misses reports three years ago -- seems like decades! Time just flies by.
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Actually, Home is where the Brick and the dogs are. And the family. That's where my heart is. |
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