My grandma nearly died as a teenager, when her house was overturned by a tornado. She was taking a nap upstairs, and wound up in the basement, with the stove laying on top of her. Fortunately, she was largely unhurt...and that was the way she met my grandpa! He'd been hired to take photos of the damage by the local newspapaper.
Grandma never quite recovered from the panic of that day, and she passed that feeling on to The Mama. Who passed it on to me. Knowing that helps me fight the emotion -- but I have to work at it.
The Brick, on the other hand, has lived through several hurricanes, and remains unflurried when the trailer starts rocking. That helps me stay calm, as well.
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FRUGAL HITS
(some of these are from late May)
*$1.87.9/ gallon for diesel -- we have never seen fuel this low before!
*Gift cards to friends and family, instead of sending presents, using Red Robin cards purchased back during the holidays. (We couldn't use the bonus giftbucks that came with them, thanks to the cruise, but friends could.)
*Restocked on birthday, anniversary, get well cards, etc. Thanks to the thrift shop and the dollar store, they were only 50 cents each.
*Cleaned up the takeout check from The Mama -- with a delicious local pizza from Piezano's. And it wasn't on sale. (gasp)
*Free lasagna from friends. (Thanks, Bert and Berta.) A big bag of potatoes from friends. Free bread at the thrift shop, as well. (Too bad we aren't eating as much bread and potatoes as we used to.) A free roast chicken plus a free roast turkey breast -- thank you, Safeway!
*A couple of free movies streamed, courtesy of Gofobo.com. This site can net you free movie tickets -- when the theaters are open, that is.
*If you don't get out much, you don't spend much. (Provided you stay away from Amazon, that is.)
*Black cherries for $1.79/2.79/2.97 pound. This may not sound cheap to you, but it is for our part of the West. Caught some bananas just in time for banana bread. (I'd forgotten they were there.) Wasted very little fruit or veggies this month.
*Picked wildflowers, rather than buy any. (Kept it up all month, too.)
*Stocked up on: meatballs ($2.20/lb) and boneless chicken breasts ($1.70/lb) from Sam's Club. Meat and chicken prices have already started going up around here. I was lucky to find steak for the Brick's Father's Day celebration -- a steal, ironically, at $5/lb, and T-bones for $6.77/lb. This is going to be an uncertain world, foodwise, for a while. I also took care, when buying non-freezer items from Sam's or Wal-Mart, to make sure they were in large clear plastic jars we could use for storing that 25-pound bag of rice still in our 'basement.'
*Some photo postcards for the book via Ebay -- between $1 and $1.50 each. Insane! I bought other photos for what was a steal -- but they were closer to $8-10 each. These photos, now in the author's collection, will come in handy for the future, as well.
The best deal? Two postcards of Augusta Tabor's mansion -- almost impossible to find, unless I paid $50 for one of those 'rentals.' How much did I pay? ONE DOLLAR each. Thank you so much, Ebay. (I plan to re-sell postcard #2.)
Why is this a great price? Just 'renting' two photos of Rattlesnake Kate for this book was FIFTY DOLLARS. And that's for a one-time use. I had to actually pay more for some of the Ghosts & Legends photos...which makes the generous folks who let me use their photos gratis so very gracious. This gets really expensive -- and the author, not the publisher, gets to pay. Don't think that all book authors get big bucks. Most of us don't; nearly all of my first royalties check for Ghosts & Legends went to pay back the money I spent on photos.
*Found a BUNCH of helpful photos for the new book on Wikimedia Commons. All for no charge. Does this mean I can actually get some royalties, instead of paying off my 'rentals?' (See above.)
*The Pickwick reproduction fabric! I would have paid more than I did.
*Some very nice sweaters -- and a shirt for Dave at the thrift shop. Washed mine, and it came out beautifully. His shirt's looking good, too. Start with higher quality, and your clothing will look much better, even when you buy it used.
*Had some odd meals this month, to use up food. The Brick likes to use up leftovers on Mondays, his 'cooking night,' which is ok with me. We've wasted very little, which is encouraging.
*Salvaged paper and stationery out of the garage -- rather than buying more. (Our family got some strange-looking letters this month.) Took an hour or so to make up a lavish order to buy more...then just closed the link. It actually felt refreshing.
*Videos from the thrift shop ($2), including Speed and Mystery Science Theater 3000. We continue to borrow a bunch of videos and books from the library, which STILL has only pickup. (You park, call in, and they bring out your holds.) I miss being able to wander in and choose my own stuff!
*Restocked on clothes! (My jeans were in shreds. I'll keep them for work pants.) Black pants (2 pr) for $4 and $7, a pair of tan jeans $7, and jeans leggings for $10. All in new or like-new condition. Thanks, thrift shop, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.
*Bought several birthday presents via Amazon and the thrift shop, plus a few Christmas stocking items.(And no marked-down chocolate Easter bunnies either, girlies!) I can't mention specifics because Daughters read my blog, and their birthdays aren't until August. But I got some very good discounts.
*Returned the DNA kits I'd gotten on sale in December. (Two others went out as presents.) Registered for Ancestry.com -- 3 months for a buck on trial. I'll get our family trees worked up and figured out, then cancel the subscription.
*Bought some cheap books via Amazon. Partly for researching the new book, partly for Father's Day for the Brick -- and partly for pleasure. Like this Bigfoot tome:
(Yes, I used my allowance.)
*Dug up some perennials from our landlord friend's other areas, and replanted them in the open section. They haven't been watered for years, but were still sturdy -- they'll do just fine in the new area, after I baby them a bit. The original spots should fill in quite nicely...but perennials always take time to establish. It will be 2-3 years before they really get going. Meanwhile, I fuss over them and keep them watered. I also scatter seeds from the poppies and other plants.
*Got a free share of stock for starting an investing account with Robinhood. No commission fees for buying stock!! You can, too -- it costs nothing to join, and we both get a free share of stock when you sign up. Just click here to find out more.
*Little Caesar's, Burger King (using coupons) - or nothing at all. We made up for it with one visit to Red Robin. (Which was so deserted, it felt strange.) We also ate t-bone steaks with friends at home to celebrate his birthday and both guys' Father's Day. (Got a marked-down carrot cake for it, too.)
*Returned a cracked vintage glass to the thrift shop. And a gallon of milk that spoiled early to Wal-Mart.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Bad eggs. I had planned to return them, but couldn't seem to remember to bring them along when we did errands. I even accidentally tried to return them to Sam's -- when I got them at Wal-Mart! Finally, I faced up to the truth -- they'd gone bad because I didn't move them to the front when I bought fresh dozens. It was my fault, not the store's. Bad girl, not bad eggs.
*Recertified my appraiser status for the American Quilter's Society -- $100, plus hours I didn't have to make a detailed report. You have to do this every three years. I also took an online class via the American Society of Appraisers to update my USPAP training -- twice. (I was put in the real estate class the first time, but should have had the personal property one, instead.) You have to do this one every two years.
I'm getting ready to take the final four classes for ASA's training -- I can do them online, thankfully, but they're nearly $1000 each. Ouch.
We've got a trip to do in July...maybe in August, instead. (Our cousin's memorial service has been rescheduled for Aug. 22.) We'll probably just stay a few weeks -- Michigan's summer temperatures can be brutal. I'll have some appraisals to finish up, a few restorations...then a blissful time of not much to do. I just need to last out this part for now.
Last month's report is here. Last year's is here. And summer is... here we go.
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