We're snugly ensconced in The Mama's barnyard. The dogs love running between our fifth-wheel and The Mama's house -- they get spoiled in both worlds. We'll be here until late November, finishing up some things, seeing our brother's family and spending time with cousins. We haven't traveled up to the Upper Peninsula yet -- but we will, before leaving again for Colorado.
Thank you, Gentle Readers, for stopping by regularly! My blog 'followers' are still quite modest, compared to FB 'friends,' but the blog is getting 5,000+ hits monthly on a regular basis. I'm honored -- and humbled.
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| You can get this sticker from Zazzle.com (via Pinterest) |
FRUGAL HITS
(some of these are from late September)
*Read a LOT of books... mostly free ones checked out from the library, but also some sale books via Goodwill that I'd always wanted to read. Some were research for The Book revision.
*Some wonderful Western history books on Baby Doe and Horace Tabor for our library. These will come in handy for future writing. (Tip: If the seller offers a 'Best Offer' option, never pay what they're asking. My offers have rarely been turned down.)
*From the Michigan thrift stores: $3.99 blue canning jar; $1.25 hardcovers (for The Mama, and a Christmas present); kids books for 50 cents each; a coffeemaker for $6.99. Some Christmas items for regifting, including a Snoopy ceramic doghouse/cookie jar ($5.99). All at 15% discount, because I'm a senior now!
Our Michigan nieces and nephews think of a trip to the thrift shop as great fun -- which amuses me greatly.
*The Brick earned a $5 Amazon giftcard -- just by using Swagbucks. It didn't cost a cent; I got one for $25 last month. And you can do it, too.
*Two beautiful pots of mums -- one from each daughter. Another pot for The Mama ($4.99), plus a purple kale plant ($1.99) for me. Beautiful, vibrant color -- and edible, too!
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| From Old World Garden Farms - via Pinterest |
*Do your math -- even for small decisions. Case in point: King Soopers had a pile of yellow and orange peppers bagged up: 99 cents each. Then I noticed -- some bags had four peppers, others had three. (Peppers looked to be the same size, by the way. ) Both were a great buy, but the 4-pepper bag was a steal.
*Multiple markdowns, including pancake mix, tomatoes and soup -- all because our local Walmart suddenly has a clearance shelf. Always check your favorite store -- they may have started one of these, and few people have noticed. Found more good stuff at the Michigan grocery store -- including a pound package of pasta for 47 cents.
*Free jar of pasta sauce from Safeway, thanks to their 'rewards' program. I've been buying regular pasta sauce whenever I can find it on sale -- have you noticed that tomatoes have gone up considerably in price? Right now, at least, pasta sauce can give you the same amount of tomatoes for chili and Mexican food -- at much less. Also found at Safeway: 19 cent pound bananas.
At Daily Deals, a discount food place in the Grand Rapids, MI area: 99-cents/lb boneless skinless chicken; $1.37/lb burger; 79-cent 14 oz. packages of Ballpark beef hot dogs and Hillshire Farms smoked sausage. I haven't seen prices like this for years -- and they were brief. I was glad I stocked up on extra and put it in The Mama's freezer.
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| Oooh...I wish. But where would we put them in a fifth-wheel? |
*Made Brazilian and British food dishes for a friend's elementary school class -- countries of the world. Including Bakewell tart, which turned out beautifully.
*Got rid of STUFF. Both the Brick and I donated a lot of clothes that didn't fit, or we weren't wearing.
*BIG containers of chili garlic sauce and citrus-flavored soy sauce -- from Amazon's Warehouse Deals. (I still can't find the soy sauce packed away from our move last year.) They, as well as beef jerky I'll use for Christmas stockings, were marked down. As in waaayyy down...and free shipping.
*Found a penny in a parking lot. Another penny in our house. As far as found money goes, though, this lady's got me beat. Big-time.
*Ate at a hibachi place with friends. (That's where we used up a Groupon that was expiring -- and I found the penny.) Tip: they'll generally give you extra rice, for no charge. Dump the unused sauce in with the rice, add whatever leftover protein and veggies you couldn't eat...and you've got a nice lunch for the next day.
*Lunch out with Daughter #2 and Son #1 -- who paid. (The sweethearts.) That visit included a trip to 'Sally's,' our name for Salvation Army. Tip #2: If you're in a wealthy area, or a university town (like Boulder) with well-off students, ALWAYS check the thrift shops. We found a heavy-duty saucepan, popcorn popper, hand-pieced and quilted wallhanging ($2.90!), a Thai puppet (Christmas present - $2.99), several other Christmas presents, and t-shirts to replace some that are wearing out. ($3.90 and $2 each) Also a pair of Nike sneakers in good shape ($4.99).
*Supper out with The Mama -- she paid. (We paid for some meals, too, including Little Caesar's pizza and breadsticks. Kept the sauce and used it on my own homemade pizza!)
*Threw away two pairs of pants (for me) and a pair of shorts (for the Brick). This is really difficult for me to do, but they were old and shredded. The shorts actually dated from our Brazil trip in 2008.
*Watched quite a few series on Amazon Prime, including The Night Manager, Hunters and Missing 411. (We share this membership with Daughter #2.)
*We voted! That in itself is of great frugal importance.
*Almost used up all the paper napkins I've been stockpiling for years -- including a few stragglers from Daughter #2's high school graduation, almost 20 years ago. (Go ahead and laugh. She did.)
*A few more $2 videos and $3 books from the library used bookroom. Including a Dickens tome and an unusual history on typescripts and paper. We still borrow a lot of videos from the library, including the latest Godzilla -- I love the Big Guy. (The Brick was less than impressed.)
*Finished with drum lessons. My teacher gave me another pair of 'sticks' -- and two pages to practice 'scales' while we're traveling. I hope to get in another lesson or two before the end of the year.
*More photos for the new stories in The Book, and some upcoming articles. Thanks to sales, they were $1-3 each. I own these photos, instead of renting them, so they can be used indefinitely.
*Saturday-night suppers with friends. We took turns supplying the entree, salad and dessert. In return, we got thoroughly trounced at Ticket to Ride.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Two new computers purchased. Both of our laptops are dinosaurs in the computer world -- the Brick's, especially. His has been ailing and working increasingly slowly for the past year -- mine is starting to show its age, as well.
He got the best prices possible, and put one on a credit card to get the cashback...but still.
*Got some insanely hot green chilis, by accident. They smelled ok. I bought them on sale. But the minute I cut into one, a cloud of spray went out -- and we both started coughing. A tiny bit, minced into our breakfast eggs, was almost unbearable. And touch my face with my hands? Forget it, until I scrubbed multiple times. These were just too hot to salvage. (And we LIKE spicy food.)
If the military needs a new weapon, they're welcome to these.
*Delay on Social Security payments -- the Brick got his, but I did not. (Our credit union changed the routing number on our account -- and who paid for it, with delays? We did.)
*Discounted clothes from Zulily weren't nearly as nice as the photos showed. Lesser-quality fabric, not the best-cut...and almost impossible to return. They weren't even good enough to pass on to someone else. I won't be ordering this way again.
*A lunch out -- that we paid nighttime prices for. As the Brick pointed out, we got more food...and it was only $1 difference for each entree. And, I reminded myself, we got enough leftovers for another full meal. Be still, my Hollander heart. (It didn't like it much.)
*White peaches - two bags worth. They were a great price. They also were hard as rocks. Days later, they softened a little -- but started spoiling, as well. Slight flavor, too. (I tried billing them as 'good fiber' to the Brick, but he wasn't buying it.) At least the apples and mandarin oranges - also purchased at discount - turned out better.
November should be fairly quiet -- but I'm looking forward to that peacefulness.
Here's last year's October report.
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