If you guessed that this month wasn't stellar in the life of the Bricks...you were right. We spent it in Michigan, with the fifth-wheel parked in the farmyard of our parents. My dad, the original Dutch farmer, has been gone for more than 12 years. (See you soon, Pa.) The Mama is still hanging in there. Sort of.
Her health crisis brought us here at a run in mid-October. Somehow she survived it, with two weeks in the hospital, and three in rehab. Now she's parked herself at the care facility, Learning to walk again and get around. We visit as much as we can, helping out wherever we can. We took her to Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's and sister-in-law's house, which she enjoyed very much.
We'll be moving into The Mama's house soon -- it doesn't make sense to heat both her house and our house, too. (The fifth-wheel.) That way, we can continue to take care of things, yet have our Stuff nearby.
FRUGAL HITS
(a few of these are from late October)
*Continued to visit The Mama in rehab nearly every day -- and incorporated errands into that drive time. Washed her clothes, as well. (No worries about lost clothing this way, although staff are doing it now. So far, so good.)
*Kept the heat as low as we dared. Not as low as this person, but low enough. To keep the propane from going too fast, we used a space heater and the electric fireplace to minimize the chill. After bed, though, the heat was turned WAY low. (That's what quilts are for, after all. The Brick also turned the water off, to minimize freezing pipes.)
*The Brick replaced a valve on the blackwater tank pipe. Result: a usable toilet again in the fifth-wheel. He also updated the insulation, repaired that section underneath the trailer, and emptied the blackwater tank a few times. What a guy.
*Daily Deals buys: $2.29 double-meat pizzas, P.F. Chang chicken dumplings for $1.49, a $4.99 huge meat and cheese tray, peeled large shrimp for $5/lb and 88-cent/lb spiral ham. Prices have generally gone up at least 15-20% even at this place. Other buys:
*Used up every bite of Macintosh apples we bought -- and didn't waste a drop of the two gallons of cider. (If you're in the Grand Rapids, MI area, try the Hill Brothers orchard -- they stay open all year round, and have won awards for their cider mixings.)
*Won six bags of beans and a set of chicken towels from One Hundred Dollars A Month -- thanks so much, Mavis!
*Dollar Tree buys: stocking stuffers, plus a notebook I'll use for my 2022 calendar, a buck each. Restocked on spring rolls and potstickers, too -- one of the great bargains of this store.
*Mel Trotter thrift shop buys: a Lands End red Nordic holiday sweater ($8.99 - 15%); some Christmas presents. (I'll tell you what after Christmas.) A beautiful Christmas cup, some books...and a shelf that clips onto our regular shelves, for more space.
*Sent cards -- instead of going back home to attend a friend's funeral service. (And boy, I didn't want to do this.) Also sent Thanksgiving, birthday, get well, thinking of you cards.
*Smaller flowering plants for hostess gifts -- on sale or clearance -- plus a ponytail palm to help keep things cheerful and focused, in spite of the gloomy days.
*Christmas 'bulbs' to replace the missing ones on the ceramic Christmas tree I got free out of the Missions Barrel at McNeal: $2.99 each, rather than their usual $5.99.
*Donated some books. (Applied for a library card, too.)
*Took some Civil War cemetery photos -- for possible use in an upcoming book.
*Some nice Amazon presents for the Brick. (Not saying here, in case he reads this post.) Also continued to stock up on canned items we use all the time, before they jumped in price: green chilies, Mexican-style salsa, more enchilada sauce, black olives, pickles, jars of mandarin oranges and tropical fruit. (I barely completed the order before the price changed, in some cases.)
*Turkey -- at 33 cents a pound! I have not seen this price literally in years. What happened to all those dire warnings about turkey prices skyrocketing?? Also purchased at the same time: canned green beans for 49 cents each. Thank you, Meijers.
*Free pumpkins and squash from a generous cousin. Made her a pumpkin pie, as a thank you. Trimmed some kale from the bottom of a rapidly-freezing flowering kale decoration outside the rehab center. Result: Tuscan soup! (recipe coming)
*Waited to get a haircut. So did the Brick. The Mama doesn't care, and we didn't spend much time with anyone else. He finally got one on Veteran's Day, when it was free for the Brick. He was also given coupons for two free haircuts. Cha-ching!
*Two free Veterans' Day meals. For the Brick, at least. Plus a free burger from Red Robin.
*A $20 Sam's Club giftcard -- for doing an order for pickup.
*Returned printer ink we bought for the printer that died. A nice credit out of this
*From Ebay: three photographs for future articles/books: bought 2, got one free.
*Mailed Christmas presents to the Brick's two brothers and sisters-in-law early...just in case. Media rate, too, which also saved.
and the best 'hit' of all -- our airline tickets refunded by Southwest Airlines, after we explained about having to leave suddenly to help with The Mama. Yay for Southwest -- thank you!
FRUGAL MISSES
*Driving, driving, driving. Went to visit The Mama nearly every day in rehab, as well as her care facility. And gas prices have gone up considerably. (But hey, you knew that.)
*Paid some of The Mama's bills out of our account, so she could keep a healthier balance.
*Let some food spoil. (sigh) Mostly romaine lettuce -- what we salvaged had hung around for at least three weeks, so I can't gripe too much. (Our landlord friend taught me a trick -- wrap the greens in a damp towel, then enclose in a plastic grocery bag. Salad lasts practically forever that way.) One of the pumpkins given froze -- lesson learned. Keep your squash INSIDE the car, rather than stacked in the garage. Inside the vehicle, it's okay -- outside, mush.
We actually didn't do that badly, using up leftovers. But for everything I have to throw out, I wince.
*Ordered some Christmas presents online. Usually I search for these -- but just didn't have the time and energy. On the plus side, most were on sale, and I got 10% off on the ones that weren't. 'Free' shipping, too, though I just LOVE how they smack you with an additional 'handling fee.'
*Donated some books -- mostly Colorado Curiosities, but a few of the Ghosts & Legends and children's books, too.
*Refilled a propane tank: $3.75/gallon. (We usually spend $2/gallon, so are trying to make this go as far as possible.)
*Lost some of the dogs' (expensive) food. About a quarter-bag's worth had to be thrown away when it got wet and started to mold.
*Weren't able to return some plumbing items -- we'd held onto them too long, and the receipts had disappeared. (ergh) Fortunately, the printer ink receipts were still in the bag with the cartridges. (See above.)
Last month's report is here. Last November's report is here -- and the year before that.
Life goes on...whatever and whenever.
1 comment:
Considering the world right now I think you have done a great job saving money.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
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