Frugal Hits & Misses: February Report

     The Mama's death in late January affected February big-time. Within a few days of her funeral, we both came down with Covid...and lost our darling Charley. It has not been an easy time.

     The rest of the month meant beginning to sort and catalogue The Mama's estate, as well as rest and get better. Things have improved, with an odd twist. We love coffee and generally drink a lot of it. It's starting to taste better -- for quite some time, it was strangely bitter!

FRUGAL HITS

(including some late January items)

Read a year's worth of one of my favorite bloggers, The Prudent Homemaker, instead of buying or ordering books. I also read a number of books from The Mama's estate that we didn't plan on keeping. 

*Sold some Red Robin stock -- at a $57 profit. (I may re-purchase it when the price goes down some more.)

*Thrift shop buys: Several birthday gifts (new or near-new) for The Brick plus a sister-in-law; a beautiful large tapestry ($6.99). If at all possible, I try to shop on Tuesdays, when seniors get 15% off.

*Watched Reacher, series 1 --  and some international flicks. (Kesari was the best.)  All free, thanks to our online apps. This may change -- Amazon just sent notice that its Prime subscription was going to be $20 more soon. Do we want to pay that much more? Naaahhh...

     The Brick is also enjoying a video series I found at the thrift shop: the History Channel's Secrets of the Civil War. 

*Used up a Groupon for gift cards. 

*Sent a check for congratulatory flowers to Daughter #1 -- she has a new job!

*Some of The Mama's things that we gave her in years past are now returning to us -- crafts and quilts I'd made or gotten her; an electric fireplace; dishes, books etc. The girlies are having items come back to them, too.

    We're also finding money -- coins, dollar bills, etc. --hidden here and there. The Mama liked doing this -- it made her feel more secure, even if it was just a few bucks. But it's meant I had to hire our nieces and nephew, some of the most curious people on earth, to help me look. If THEY couldn't find it, it wasn't there. ("Like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle," our nephew says. Mrs. PW, in case you don't know her, lives in an upside-down house and lives on the money and jewels Mr. PW, a pirate captain, hid here and there.)

      The only ones even better at finding money are Daughter #2...and my brother. 

*Valentines specials: chocolate bars -- up to $1.50 each, including a stunning deal on full-sized Toblerone bars -- approx. 75% off!  (Amazon Warehouse). Cards for 50-65 cents each (Dollar Tree), including several Valentine and birthday cards The Mama had asked me to send these for her, plus some dollar boxes of chocolates for our nieces and nephews.

*Half-priced Ferrero Rocher chocolates for my darling Valentine, the Brick. 

*Did more surveys on my health insurance plan -- got a $50 reward, as a result. 

*Grocery deals:  14 oz. packages of baby sausages for $1.29, 25-cent corn dogs, $4.98/lb shrimp meat, chopped salad kits for .99 and $1.49  (Daily Deals); $10/lb 'Death Wish' coffee (Amazon Warehouse). Starting to use up a lot of the canned goods I got on sale earlier via Amazon Warehouse, including beef tamales and beef stew. (Neither of us felt like cooking much for a few weeks.)

     And a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread for the Brick...who loves it.

*Babysat the 'wild things,' our nieces and nephews, while their dad had outpatient surgery. Brought lunch/supper, as well. I love these rambunctious dears! 

*Cut back on food. Not only did we not feel like eating, but we didn't shop much. Then again, the food in The Mama's pantry and freezer needs to be eaten up.

*Didn't go out to eat much. That's what happens when you're sick, too.

*Free Red Robin birthday burger, for the Brick. And since we both ordered the 'Monster Burger' (and yes, it is), it became three meals, instead of just one. 

*Food from cousins - two loaves of bread, soup, muffins  and cookies, plus a boatload of veggies and fruit. Our cousins are wonderful.

*Seed packets 4 for $1.25 (Dollar Tree), some to be used, some tucked into mail to the girlies.  I also purchased kale, chard, onion, cilantro, a turnip/radish mix and bachelor's button seeds -- much more cheaply in bulk  from Outside Pride, and got a 10% discount. (I hope to have an actual garden this summer. Some of the seeds will also beef up a perennial-bed-in-progress on our friends' ranch. Maybe I can add some tulips, too.)

*We didn't go to Tucson, both to meet Daughter #2 and Son #1, and check out the rock sales in town. -- even though we wanted to.  It saved us money -- not that we had much choice, being so sick.

*Had flowers from The Mama's funeral --  gave two bouquets to Mom's friends.

*Ivermectin, borrowed from a cousin, helped us recover more quickly from Covid. (We'll replace it shortly.)

*Kept temps low inside the house to help out with energy costs. 

*Fifty pounds of birdseed from the elevator -- a lot cheaper per pound than elsewhere. (The birds have already gobbled up at least half of it, the stinkers.)

*Sump pump repair -- it kept running, instead of turning itself off after a while. The Brick fixed it. ("For now," he says.)

*Missed out on three weeks' shopping at the thrift store -- no money spent, although we did swing by to donate clothes and personal gear from The Mama's estate. (182 clothing items, 6 bags of personal care items, so far.)

*Found money!  A penny on the ground at Daily Deals.

FRUGAL MISSES

*Lost a lecture gig. (The group cancelled the series they'd been offering.)

*Lost out on more appraisal work. 

*Paid extra for The Mama's funeral costs. You pay sales tax on labor and services here in Michigan -- that doesn't happen in CO. The funeral was well done and the staff were great...but the bill was very, very expensive for two days' work: more than $12,000. And this with modest purchases, and the headstone and gravesite already paid for.

     We did pay for it via credit cards, to get a little cash back. But still...

*One birthday package had to be mailed-- only about 4 or 5 ounces, but it cost $5.95. Really, U.S. Post Office?!?

*Paid for two shipments of Colorado Curiosities books -- ouch. 

*Ate Valentine's breakfast at a new place (to us): Wolfgang's in Grand Rapids. Delicious -- and no, it wasn't on sale. But we did have enough leftovers for breakfast #2 the next morning, with a few eggs added.

*Had some plants (and potatoes) freeze in the trailer. Poor babies. Also had some greens and other produce spoil before I could finish using them. 

*Heating/electric costs were really high. (Yes, it's been cold.)

Last month's report is here, and last year's February report is here. Please come, Spring -- it can't happen soon enough.