Frugal Hits & Misses: January Report

It's so much more fun to work on posts like this, instead of my reports! 

 This was my 'waiting month,' with projects that needed to be finished before we could head further south. Many of the days were surprisingly warm...but at night, the cold hunkered down. We went through a fair amount of propane, as a result, and used the electric fireplace every night. We had only a few storms, and the snow they left was minimal.

      That's January in Colorado for you.

Whenever it gets to be too much, I wander over to Millenial Revolution's Travel Series, and plan where we could go next. Assuming that the Covid Dragon Restrictions lose their grabby claws, that is. We stayed home a lot and watched Westerns, as well as the Brick's Christmas videos. (I am a huge fan of Festus in Matt Dillon's Gunsmoke.)

     No swimming...I miss it.

FRUGAL HITS

(some items from late December included here)

*Finished my part on The New Book. Now Colorado Curiosities goes into production, with a projected Fall 2021 publication date. (Maybe even late June -- we'll see.) I'll have some editing to do, and a revised Bibliography, but that's peanuts compared to the rest. 

     I was reading back posts, and realized how often I'd announced this was 'done.' I'd thought it was -- but my editor would change something...or delete something, and ask for replacements...then need changes in photo captions, Bibliography, etc. Lo and behold, nearly everything they took out (on mountain/Western Slope items), they put back in! So the book will be more substantial, and cover the entire state. A win/win situation for me, even if it meant extra work.

*Our friend Daniel brought us a hambone. Well, he really brought it for the dogs...but they didn't get it until I'd made some excellent pea soup. (Dan got a bowl of it, too.) Soupwise, we tried Progresso's new 'lasagna' soup -- but the meat in it was so tiny I called and complained. Result: replacement coupons. 

*Free food from other friends, including green chili, milk and grape juice. (We took them to the airport both ways -- but according to our friend Thommy, we still 'owe' them!) We met for game-playing nights, each of us bringing leftovers from the holidays for meals. No wasted food that way. They also treated us to a meal at Outback, the sweethearts.

*The apples are finally finished! The tally: two pies last week, and a pie and a walnut apple tart this week -- as well as a bagful for an additional pie in the freezer. Also a small batch of applesauce. The spoiled apples (a few), peels, etc. went out for the deer -- which drove Ruby absolutely nuts: 'Mommm, How DARE those deer eat your apples!'

*A few extra appraisals. All the better to pay that hefty ASA membership fee I'm still wincing from.

*Two books from Amazon -- paid for one with my allowance, and the other with $8 of giftcards earned through Swagbucks. Purchased used 'like new' -- at much less!

*Finally -- we THINK the partial refund from the aborted world cruise has been refunded. It only took 9 or so months! Two out of three credit card companies have given the money; a third is investigating. If we're lucky, they won't remove the $$ from our account after all this paperwork is processed. 

*The Carnival cruise we planned to take with our cousins in April -- cancelled. We asked for a refund, which the cruiseline's promised. (In a month. Maybe two.) Thought about scheduling another cruise, but both Cousins, plus the Brick, argued that there were too many uncertainties. (The stinkers. I hate it when I want to be frivolous -- and am overruled by Common Sense. They are right, btw.)

*A $30 gift card earned for an online survey.

*A great price on two Bicentennial ribbons -- $7 each. I didn't even know the Ford ribbon existed.

*Chocolate goodies -- I thought I'd gotten a great deal on one pack of Halloween candy, at 18 cents an ounce. (Used my $25 giftcard from Swagbucks, too, to cover the order.) Then came Walmart clearancing out its holiday 'candy dish' pack: 8 cents an ounce! 

*Those pkgs of Hershey's chocolate snacks -- 21 of them -- went mostly for our church's His Hands program. (They fill needy kids' backpacks with food for the weekends, when they can't get the school meals.) The rest were meant for Valentine's gifts...plus a few for us. At about $1.75 for a 21 oz bag, it was a steal.

*Eight $10 bonus coupons to spend at Outback before 2/7.  We used 4, gave 2 to friends, and sent 2 to The Mama, who loves Outback food. We also used up a free small combo coupon at Del Taco.

*We used up a few other giftcards -- before they expired. Memo to self (and you):  giftcards CAN expire! Be sure to check dates, then write them on the front of the card. You'll hate it if they go out of date before you can use them.

*$2 copies of The Last Ship, Seasons 1 & 2, thanks to the thrift shop. (I hadn't been to the one in Castle Rock for at least three months.) Plus a 'new' $8 coffeemaker (the glass carafe broke) and... my buddy Godzilla. Two new high-end sweaters ($5 each), plus a birthday present for the Brick. All with an additional 40% off, thanks to a coupon. Whoo hoo!

*More Godzilla movies -- a steal on Amazon.  I'm currently negotiating for the Mystery Science Theater version of Gamera, as well. If you've got one for less than $60... let me know! (Update: Got it -- for $55.88.  Next best price: $79.95.)

*Got our second stimulus checks -- thanks, U.S. Government, but I still feel a little weird about this. What exactly are we supposed to be stimulating, when we don't need much right now? (Maybe Godzilla and Gamera, I guess.)

*Free milk -- The Brick stopped by the convenience store to buy milk, and noticed it was going out of date. "Just take it," said the manager. (That Brick -- what a Hollander!) Also an armload of free bread from the thrift shop, including lavash and naan. 

*Ate down the freezer, and used up canned goods. These items came from sales squirreled away from Daily Deals and elsewhere during previous months. I didn't need to go to the grocery store much, as a result.

*Did a kind-of inventory on foodstuffs, both in the trailer and in our "basement." We have more than I thought! I also found items meant for Christmas presents that will now be birthday gifts. 

*Used the oven for baking during the evenings, when heat was needed in the trailer. (Colorado sun poured through the windows during the daytime, so we rarely needed extra heat in the day.) Kept the temp down at night. Brrr...but extra sweaters and snuggle throws come in handy.

*I cleared away Christmas presents, reworked books, clothes, etc. In the process, we donated a large bag of clothes.

*Scored a George Washington mourning cabinet card on Ebay: 99 cents. (The last time one sold, it went for more than $100.)

*A beautiful set of antique plates and serving dishes from the thrift shop in Michigan:  $9.99. (A Christmas present from the Brick, sweet man.)

*Some interesting jewelry on Ebay -- the most I paid was less than $2! Many pieces were less than a dollar, and shipping was free. I don't intend to wear all of these -- some are for presents, and others will be dismantled for use on Crazy quilts. Love this seller.

*Haircuts for both of us -- $8.99 plus tip at Great Clips. Saved a little less than $20 using these coupons.

*Paid $1 each for five t-shirts.  (Walmart clearance, yay!)

*Refilled propane tanks from our 'landlord's,' before we head south. His large tank is much cheaper than getting them refilled in town -- we reimburse him for any propane we take. 

*Sent a huge batch of Christmas cards -- on the last day of 2020! (That counts...right? Got some of the cards half-price.)

FRUGAL MISSES

*Changed the oil on the truck -- had to special-order filters. Not cheap on a Ram 3500.

*Paid a fine for Chicago tolls. Thankfully, it was only $20. (We both forgot to take care of this when we got home -- darn it.)

*Closed out an investment account that was doing nothing but charging fees. (Thanks for the $17+ loss for nothing, TD Ameritrade.) Closed out some other accounts that were just sitting there, as well.

*The Outback giftcards I ordered in December STILL haven't arrived. I keep asking...UPDATE: They finally showed up -- more than a month late. But at least they're here now.

*Both the Brick and yours truly had physicals, including shots (the shingles vaccine for me, flu vaccine for him) and bloodwork. At least insurance paid for the physicals. I needed the bloodwork also, to get our prescriptions refilled. (Mine ran out sometime in July, so I've been going without. I know, Bad Kitty.)

It should be a bit more peaceful in February; if all goes well, we plan to say goodby to the snow, and head south to the Tucson area. We plan to do some volunteering for Ethos 360 (formerly New Tribes), a missions group that trains and sends out pilots to various areas around the world. It will be such a sacrifice to skip the inevitable white stuff up north! 

Last month's report is here. Because we were on the cruise ship (with crappy internet), I never did a January 2020 report. Here's the 2019 version, instead.