The mid-October snowstorm pushed the greenery in the Flatlands into color...and they've been glorious. I love this time of year. A late-month second snowstorm finished off the colors, but they were starting to fade, anyways.
I feel like we're still recovering from a big binge. Well, we are -- but everything should be fine and shipshape by now.
It isn't. But it's certainly better.
We spent much of the month staying with good friends while both the truck and the trailer were in the shop. The truck took two days; the trailer took NEARLY FOUR WEEKS. Aaarrgghgh. We are so fortunate to have understanding friends.
Meanwhile, we filled a storage unit. The Brick went hunting. I did some talks. We put away more stuff in the fifth-wheel, and cleared out more, but decided to keep the storage unit one more month. Then we headed for a Petterson family reunion (the Brick's mom's side) in Kansas City. It was wonderful to have the Brick brothers together, for the first time in more than 16 years. Love those guys -- all three of them -- and my sisters-in-law.
FRUGAL HITS
(These include a few late September items)
*Cancelled utilities and insurance on the 'old' house in a timely fashion. (Missed out on cancelling internet access, though -- so paid a few weeks' worth for internet we didn't use. Aarghgh.
*Changed addresses -- ditto. Renewed my driver's license, which had just expired, anyways. (This was an incredible hassle, made worse by the fact that our mailing address is now a P.O. Box. You'd have thought that the DMV people never ever saw this before -- despite the fact that a community near Castle Rock only delivers mail via P.O. Boxes.) This has been a struggle sometimes with the credit cards, as well -- don't they ever have other customers with post office boxes??
Saved on housing with our generous friend's offer to stay there. We reciprocated with a contribution to his climb, and some chores done.
*Went after the title company for extra money they held back during closing -- but never refunded. Note to people getting ready for closing: if you're paying off HELOCs or mortgages, they'll hold back extra for interest, just in case. Also -- the title company may not necessarily pay off those loans quickly -- which means you pay additional days' interest. Or it may be the bank or credit union doing this. (And they don't always refund the money.) DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT.
*Second note: if you have the $$, make payments on loans as soon as possible in the month, rather than waiting until the actual due date. You'll save a boatload of interest in the long run -- something Thrifty Mom in Boise taught me. She was right.
*Stayed with friends while the truck and fifth-wheel were in the shop, instead of booking a hotel. We helped out with free dinners out and at the house, cleaning, a filled gas tank, wherever we could. We appreciate their help soooo much.
*Watched a LOT of football -- no charge, but a great pleasure. Go Michigan! Go Buffs!
Ummm...go Broncos too, I guess.
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| Ralphie would drink to that... |
(Watched a lot of ball games too, thanks to our at-home friends, who love the Rockies -- and baseball, in general. No matter -- it gave me time to work.)
*Grocery deals: 99-cent pkgs of cheese (Safeway weekend deal). King Soopers is back to offering freebies -- Safeway has more, though, including a couple of free soups. (The chicken enchilada flavor is absolutely wonderful.) Returned some sausage that was bad, and got credit for a freebie that I should not have been charged for. (Another one is pending. Be sure to check your sales slip for this.)
Free potatoes from Friend, who got them from a field trip to a farm. (She got the hayride, I got the vegetables.) Also, from King Soopers: some autumn bouquets for $2.49 each, plus free hotdogs, cereal and a $1.50 Red Baron pizza. We did very well on general costs this month -- only about $25/week for groceries, if that.
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| I did NOT buy any pumpkins...they're good for pie, in my opinion -- and that's it. |
*A few 1/3-yard cuts of 'grunge' fabric, plus a couple of fat quarters and two $1 spools. (The latter are usually $5 or so.) The clerk also threw in a Christmas scrap of elves and windmills that will make a cute holiday gift for The Mama This satisfied my fabric itch -- and the fat quarters will be used to bind the autumn-themed quilt that's currently on our bed.
*Bought a new domain for $10! I'll be opening up www.bigfootbureau.com soon, and loading it with all sorts of things Mr. S-related.
*Found a handful of coins in the change cup at Safeway -- 32 cents' worth. On another trip: 12 cents in the change machine. (Don't people check?!?)
*Paid off a boatload of bills. We caught a credit card bill (barely, but in time!) that gave us six months for no interest. Paid off a bunch more, as well. Felt great.
*Got discounted flight tickets to and from London for the cruise -- with one checked bag each included! That detail alone would have cost us from $200-250 extra.
*More $2 videos from the library bookroom. Read a number of books for free, thanks to borrowing. (Some of them, like One Red Paperclip, were ridiculous -- making me glad I hadn't bought them.) Used the free meeting rooms to do appraisals. (Yes, I love this place.)
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| Me and Norman Rockwell... we love books. |
*Four new (to us) books for research on the next book... $15. Found while speaking at the Ghost Town Society.
*Did some surveys for Pinecone. Only $3 each -- but they don't take long, you sometimes get products to review, and the money adds up. You may want to look into joining Pinecone Research yourself.
*Set up a Medicare plan to kick in for the Brick...while we're on the cruise.
*Jonny Quest for less than $7, a series I loved as a kid, thanks to Amazon. I also ordered a triple Sharknado collection, plus a double Deep Blue Sea collection, for $7.99 each. (So I like shark movies. Don't judge.) Paid for partly with my monthly allowance, but mostly from a twenty The Mama gifted for my birthday. (She was puzzled by my choices -- but they made me happy!)
Update: Jonny Quest was a beautiful case -- full of empty DVD spots. Ended up requesting my money back. Better luck next time...
*Some appraising. A few restoration jobs finally finished -- close to it. Whew.
*A few talks for the Ghosts & Legends book...and a perfect opportunity to promote the new book-in-progress!
*A $25 Red Robin giftcard, as a birthday present. (We asked our friends to help 'eat it up.') A free burger (buy 10, get 1 free). We took other friends out as a thank you for their help during the recent move; they gifted us by splitting entrees, rather than each ordering one. (We went on happy hour/weekend discount time, too.) A final thank you supper for the best neighbors in the world was full price...but at least I could put the leftovers to use for breakfast the next morning.
Another meal out, this one at Dickie's, gained free kids' meals for other friends. Nice to be able to help these wonderful people out.
*The Brick got breakfast several times -- using the dollar menu at McDonald's.
*Free filling replacement -- because the first one on one of my teeth wasn't quite right. Unasked-for -- he noticed and offered. That's the kind of outstanding dentist we have.
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| The fall leaves were definitely gone in Colorado -- but a few are hanging in there in Michigan yet |
FRUGAL MISSES
*Paid a bunch to renew the passports. Not that we needed to -- they were good for 6 more years. No, we needed extra pages. So adding pages for a 52-page passport cost us $220. If we'd known about the cruise, we could have requested the extra pages back in 2016 -- for no extra charge. (I won't forget this, either.) Thankfully, the 6-8 week wait time only took about 3 weeks, so we could start requesting visas. (More on this in the November report.)
Update: the passports arrived. Now on to the visas.
*Hunting expenses. New truck tires. Both necessary. At least the Brick got a veteran's discount, plus a $100 Visa card, on the tires.
*Rented the storage area one more month. (They really nail you on the 'use fees' for the first month -- including buying a lock.) We saved some by deciding to make a flying trip back with the truck to pick up the final items, rather than rent a U-Haul truck for this trip. (The trailer is too heavy to haul -- and pack a lot of extra in, as well.) It means extra time and effort on our part, but that's doable in November.
*Gave away dry beans and canned goods. Wish I could have kept them, but they were just too heavy in bulk. (They've been helping feed our friends and kids, though.)
*Had to pay full price for a book I needed to finish researching the new book. Groan, moan, complain.
*More doctor and dentist bills. Soon, soon these will be a past memory. Until the next visit...or the next bill. (We're paying some off month by month -- no interest or late fees, as long as we make the payments regularly.)
*Items need to be purchased to keep the trailer warm and winterized: a generator, commercial-use heat-tape (to keep the hose from hydrant to trailer, then into the trailer, from freezing), things like that. More will be needed -- but these are necessary to keep us going long-term. It is what it is -- sometimes these expenses all come in at the same time.
At least we paid for this equipment via credit cards, which meant cashback rewards, AND paid them off the same month. (no interest)
*Fifth-wheel repairs. (I can just feel the steam rising off the Brick about this one.) Almost three weeks' delay, lots of conversations and a bit of arguing...and of course, a hefty bill to thrill our souls. At least we've got the fifth-wheel back and are living in it again. The replacement freshwater tank seems to be doing its job, as well. (It should -- it cost enough.) More repairs are needed -- but this time, the Brick will supervise them.
Last month's report is here. October's report from last year is here.
Upward and onward.
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