Frugal Hits & Misses: September Report

    September is one of my favorite months of the year. Except half of it acted more like August...

We enjoyed a short trip to Glenwood Springs, plus a few hours extra drive on for the best peaches in the world. (They're all gone now -- sigh.) I did buy some apples ($1.27/lb on sale) to sort of take their place. Other than the usual work/chores/Worship Team stuff, we went to a trad music session at an Irish pub (loud, but good) and had lunch at New Saigon, one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Denver. Then we stopped at one of the Asian markets nearby. And a liquor store. (Husband thought this was hilarious, since I am NOT a big drinker. But I needed some things.)

   I love spending time with the Brick, just wandering around. Since we spent a good bit at the Asian store (stocking up), the liquor store (replacing) -- and finally Sam's Club (stocking up), he said that showing his wife a good time was expensive. I reiterated that he was going to enjoy a lot of these items, too. 

    He just grinned...and bought me a luxury supper: the $1.50 hot dog and drink special at Sam's Club. It was delicious. 

    Vietnamese leftovers for breakfast. 

FRUGAL HITS

(A few days early, but hey...)

*Flowers, new slippers, mead, notecards, a pendant and a book -- all from the kids. (The sweet things. Thanks, dears.) Chocolates from friends. (Thanks, guys.) The Brick gave me two outdoor folding lounge chairs in bright Michigan yellow and blue, plus added a beautiful mother-of-pearl watch face with turquoise trim to a watch bracelet I already owned. (What a guy.) 

       Turning 64 will get that for you, I guess. 

*Redeemed a $25 Amazon gift card -- with Swagbucks points. You can earn these, too, just for doing your normal looking-up and shopping work. Go here for more.  (I spent mine on a new queen-sized sheet set -- marked down to $13.32! The rest went for corned beef hash; see below.)

*Tried some Armenian cucumbers -- they were crisp and crunchy. I collected seeds, so I can try planting them next summer. (These handle the heat better than regular cukes -- I learned about them, thanks to my blog friend, The Prudent Homemaker.)

*A few appraisals, plus a collection appraisal report. Quiet in this area -- but that's normal this time of year. I still have an update review for a client to go, plus some restoration work. 

*Booked a cruise on MSC!  Why is this a 'hit,' rather than a 'miss?' Let's see... a free upgrade to balcony on the already-reasonable price; $500 credit for our cabin; 10% off (we've used it before, the Brick is a veteran), and we booked 6 months ahead for another 5% discount. Rules have eased up on vaccines and COVID, thank God. And two cousins we love are also going with. (More in coming months.)

The world cruise was fun -- just a little complicated.

*More than a dozen bags of zukes for freezer -- and several meals of fried zucchini. In spite of (what I thought was) careful checking, still ended up with two 'baseball bats.' And the zuke plants are still producing. Plus five bags of okra for the freezer, destined for gumbo-- see below.

*Went out to lunch at Red Robin with friends.  Used my free birthday burger. Had breakfast with a friend at Leja's, a new Puerto Rican restaurant in town. (The empanadas were delicious, and only $3.50 each. Snagged some bags of Puerto Rican coffee for $8.50 each, at the same time.)

*A HUGE $24 bag of jewelry, broken and otherwise. Got a number of embellishments, charms, etc. out of it, plus several necklace chains and at least six bracelets. (I wear a lot of bracelets...and wear out a lot of bracelets.) I think this is a 'hit,' but wasn't sure when I first opened the bag.

*Used up several things in the freezer, and a number of bits and pieces. Put the 'basement' pantry in order, so I can see more what I've got. Refilled several emptying containers of things like flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc. 

*It stayed cool enough inside the trailer to keep the oven's pilot light on. More baking, including peach pie and crisp, biscuits, etc. An apple pie will be happening for the Brick later this week. 

*Didn't go here. Didn't go there. When we did, we combined several errands with appointments. Saved on gas.

*A little bit of interest. Stock prices are not stable right now, thanks in great part to the White House's announcement that inflation is stationary...or decreasing. It is?!? (It would have been funny to point out that stocks REALLY tanked on the same day President Biden threw a big party at the White House to celebrate this... except it wasn't funny.) 

*The Brick drove for Broken Tree, a church for disabled people.

*Hooked a temp job working for Douglas County Elections.  Just a few days, but every bit helps.

*Got some new clothes -- from the thrift shop. Two shirts ($5 each) and exercise pants - a high-end brand ($7). Plus a dress for a daughter (99 cents!) and a shirt for the Brick ($5). A few Christmas stocking presents at a buck each. Also bought some goodies for the kids' stockings -- half-off, with a $1 coupon applied, as well. Whoo hoo!

*More 'gently used' buys:  A two-quart canning jar full of thread: $8, plus two bins of wrapped embroidery floss: about $3 each. A couple more long-sleeved shirts: $4 each...and the best buy of all, several pairs of new and barely worn Sorrel and Rocky boots -- $10 -20 a pair.  And thank you, 20% senior discount! (Thrift shop) A few $2 videos and $2 & $3 books from the library's used booksale room -- plus a bunch of free magazines. (Including Quiltfolk -- a $22 value.)

*Peaches from Palisade:  Colorado has the best peaches in the world -- and that's coming from someone who grew up in Michigan's fruit belt! We picked up boxes for ourselves, plus friends who put in orders. I also bought Armenian cucumbers and a basket of okra. On the way, I appraised a collection for someone on the Western Slope, which paid for gas and expenses, as well as a soak in the hot springs pool at Glenwood. (Palisade is roughly 5 hours drive each way.)

*More rain!  Those of you in 'runny' climates (like Michigan, for example) will never truly understand what having some regular showers means to us 'High desert plains' rats.

*Booked an April teaching/lecture 2023 gig -- hooray!

*Grocery and food specials:  Oscar Mayer hotdogs - $2.49 -- but BOGO, for a total of $1.25 each! Pizza for $1.97 and 8 oz sliced Swiss cheese for 97 cents each. Also, free cucumbers, green onions and a 3 lb. bag of yellow onions, milk $1.97, 18-pack of eggs $1.97 (a truly astonishing price nowadays), peaches at 87 cents a pound. (Safeway) Safeway has this crazy trick for fruit. You can buy up to a certain amount -- in this case, it was 5 pounds. But go over that...and you get charged full price for the whole bag. Those peaches weren't that great, sadly.)

    Other food bargains: Mary Kitchen corned beef hash, slightly over $2 each; Mandarin oranges in fruit juice, about $2.50 each; Armour canned beef stew, $1.71; sardines in mustard sauce, 3 oz. about 85 cents -- then an even better deal, 6 oz. for 98 cents. (Amazon Warehouse) Chicken tamales (canned), frozen Korean dumplings and tins of smoked oysters for $1.25 each. (Dollar Tree) I went back for more tamales and dumplings -- but have been skunked, so far. Plus free bread, including baguettes and bagels from the thrift shop.

Photo from oprahmag.com. Here's another good recipe...

I don't mention this much -- but every time we buy, on Amazon and elsewhere, we use our credit card, particularly Capital One. We get cash back -- and because we pay in full each month, we're not docked for interest, either. Sometimes the card will run a special, and offer extra cash back if you buy in a certain category, like gas or restaurants. You can be sure we take maximum advantage of that. It doesn't seem like a lot at the time, but these bits and bobs generally add up to $100-200 saved over the year. And that isn't chump change. (Go here for more, if you're interested. I'll get a bit of a bonus...and you should, too. BUT paying off the cards in full every month is the key -- otherwise, your savings are eaten up by interest.)

*Used our $45 credit at Sam's Club -- part of the benefits of renewing a $45 subscription to same.  Stocked up at Walmart, on stuff I hadn't bought since we moved,  e.g., soap and deodorant. I'd overstocked three years worth!?! (We still have plenty of hair conditioner.)

*The Brick is busy winterizing our fifth-wheel. My clever man can repair just about anything, including replacing seals that have cracked and degraded. This would have cost us hundreds, if not thousands of dollars at the RV center.

FRUGAL MISSES

*My gig at the Higher Ground Fair was cancelled -- not enough quilts in the competition. Ah well. I did get a cancellation fee, which helped -- since we were forced to 'eat' the hotel reservation fee.  

*Wasted some of the okra -- I thought everything was still firm in the bag. It wasn't. (I did ok on the peaches, though. Not one went bad before they were eaten.)

*Our internet problem seems to have been solved. But it took extra money and equipment to do it.

*Okay, so we booked a cruise on MSC. Bad kitties.

*A $3 movie. Why is it in the 'Misses?' Because Thor: Love and Thunder was terrible. 

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Feel free to admire the poster, though.

*The 2021 income tax refund... where is it??  (We've been waiting since April.)

*No extra change found. (I looked, too.)

*Visited the hot springs -- felt wonderful, but ouch. $29 each.

*Lost money in the stock market. Just like everyone else. (sigh)

*Paid out more than $100 for postcards?!?  Well, yes. 50-plus postcards I can use for articles and books -- at peanuts, compared to what it would cost to 'rent' these from institutions.

     I also found an antique Denver Hanging Tree postcard. Very rare. Paid more than I wanted to, but less than they were asking. 

Time to get used to this restful period. Last fall, we were headed to The Mama's in Michigan. She loved this time of year, too.

Last month's report is here. Last year's September report is here. And just for fun -- September two years ago.