Frugal Hits & Misses: March Report

     In some ways, March has been the usual: sunny, warm days that make you think, "Yup, Spring is here" -- and stormy, snowy ones that promise it isn't. 

    That takes a real toll on hope and optimism after a while. 

     Nonetheless, we persevered. I had several deadlines to finish before a trip in our near future. The Brick needed to change the oil in the truck (a complicated procedure), and we both (he mostly) helped a friend move to McNeal, AZ. (Yes, the same place we volunteered at. And hope to go help at again someday.) 

     We're gradually moving back into the fifth-wheel, and tidying up the house. We only lived in a few rooms, so it won't be that difficult. Our friends are returning in April, and need their home back. I'm loooking forward to living in the fifth-wheel again, for several reasons. For one: it's our home! For another:  I'll know better where everything is. And it definitely should look more tidy. We did not want to move our friends' things out, so generally we just piled our stuff on counters, shelves, etc., instead of emptying the cupboards. Now all we have to do is scoop our items up, lug them out to the trailer (the hardest part), then wipe off the shelves. So that's good.

     I am not looking forward to lugging over the canned goods, though. .

Hopefully, we'll get lots ot rain and/or snow this coming month. It's so dry here in Colorado -- we always can use it. 

    A thank you to all you Gentle Readers out there -- the blog has consistently had nearly 6,000 - up to nearly 7,000 visits every month! I'm honored you would want to spend time here -- thank you so much. Please let me know if you have questions, or there are subjects you'd like me to cover. I'd be happy to help out.

FRUGAL HITS

(some of these are from late February)

*Finally got a haircut this month! We both needed one -- badly.

*Took a big risk and bought stock in Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Credit Suisse. We'll see if I was smart -- or not.

*Bought myself a bunch of Walmart clearance clothes: a long-sleeved 'flannel' plaid shirt for $5, several long-sleeved undershirts for $3, tanks for $1 each, a hoodie for $5, and new underwear! (Plus a very reasonably-priced swimsuit for the Brick.) These aren't best quality, but they're good -- and they wear out quickly over a year, anyways. These prices are better than thrift shop shirts. (Our local thrift shop has suddenly decided that its stained, worn t-shirts are worth $5 each. I don't think so.)  We also got two sets of queen sheets ($20 and $30 each) and a $15 hand-hooked rug from our local Tuesday Morning, which was closing. (The same one I worked at.)

*Downloaded several free e-books, thanks to a heads-up from Money Saving Mom.   

*Scored a few $2 videos from the library booksale room -- including Proof of Life, which we'd never seen. It goes on our 'Best Movies Ever' list. 

*Used a $25 giftcard (given out at the Brown Palace tea) to augment Fogo de Chao's high-priced lunch. But the Brazilian-style meats and salads were wonderful at this restaurant, and customer service was some of the best I have ever seen. 

     This was for Son #1's delayed birthday celebration, highlighted by a very strange tradition: birthday cake, served off the back of the truck in the parking lot! It was too windy to keep the candles lighted, but we all enjoyed the chocolate cake, anyways. 

*THREE free meals at snazzy restaurants.  One was for a new restaurant opening up (Postino's), thanks to Daughter #2 and Son #1's invitation. The others (Eddie Merlot's and Fleming's Steakhouse) were for investment seminars. Hey, I always learn something!

*Planted the hyacinth I got last month, and held off until month's-end to put in peas and greens. This was much smarter than I'd intended. The temperatures have been much lower than usual this time of year. (In fact, it's about 16 degrees while I'm typing this.)

*Found money! A quarter, plus an Eveready round battery, in the change machine at Safeway. (No, I don't know why the battery was in there.) Just when I was getting discouraged, after checking the return slot every time I went there. The Brick thinks this is very funny....but it turns out that Daughter #2 and Son #1 do the same thing, with good results. (Maybe people are more careless with their change in Boulder.)

Discovered something helpful for cleaning out small giftcard balances -- reload your giftcard balance at Amazon! Sooner or later you'll order something from there. Otherwise, it's very hard to finish off a giftcard when there are only a few $$ left on it. I hate losing small amounts, even when it's just pennies. Or 22 cents.

*A $50 Red Lobster giftcard to spend -- thanks to Daughter #1, for her dad's birthday.

*St. Patrick's and Easter cards: 40-50 cents each, both from the thrift shop and Dollar Tree.

*Mysterious Island -- the dvd was $8 and change from Amazon. Love this odd Harryhausen movie.

*Helped our friend clean and pack for moving to McNeal, AZ.  We hope to be there ourselves next winter for a while.

*Closed the door on buying a subscription to the symphony.  I'd still like to go, but we'll pick and choose what we attend, instead of trudging to everything.

*Kept repeat-growing green onions.

*Did an appraisal day at Holly's Quilt Cabin in Littleton. 

*Got a 'happy package' from my blogger friend in Boise: a cookbook plus more recipes. (Thanks so much, My Tireless Retirement!)

*The Brick did more chores, including cleaning/maintenance on ceiling lights, and changing the oil in the truck. (The latter is much more difficult than you would think.)

*Sold more Red Robin stock -- after it made a huge jump (28%!) in one day, then jumped more the following days after. (I still have no idea why, but I should have waited longer to sell.) Almost messed up by buying SVB stock; thankfully that order was cancelled when the stock was frozen. I would have lost a lot.

*Got my teeth cleaned and checked, as part of the 'Membership Club' at our dentist. I'd paid that fee earlier, so it was 'free.' Fortunately, the club also included a small discount. (See 'Misses')

these flowers have lasted three weeks -- incredible!

Benjamin Bunny (Royal Albert) was $1 at the local thrift shop.

*Our long-lost 2022 income tax refund finally arrived. Eleven months late. Fortunately, modest interest was included. 

*Complained about Tostitos Mexican Three Cheese chips (the taste was off), got replacement coupons for two bags. I believe if you don't get what you paid for, you point that out -- and I've been quite effective doing it.   I also got replacement coupons for three DiGiorno pizzas. (Problems there, too.) 

*Grocery Bargains:  97-cent half gallons of milk, 75-cent peppers, free cream cheese (gave the coupon to a friend) and Tostito's Toppers (the latter used for salad dressing), $1.97/lb hamburger, accompanied by an admiring comment from the checkout clerk: "Boy, you got a bargain there!" (Safeway)  A free jar of dip for every two (sale) bags of Tostitos, $1.48/lb sausage (I haven't seen this price for at least two years), a dozen fancy pastries for $3.60, $1 snack-sized packages of Reese's peanut butter cups, 99-cent mesh bags of green peppers (3) and apples (6), and a dozen eggs for a then-astonishing $3.19. Eggs are lower now, for some weird reason. (King Soopers)  Snow's clam chowder and Mary Kitchen hash -- two canned goods for the 'keeper' shelf, and a little more than $2 each. (Amazon/Amazon Warehouse) And a kind friend threw in a free dozen eggs, courtesy of her chickens. (I paid her back with homemade bread.) 

*Three rewards from Safeway (for being an 'elite' member -- snort), plus one already in my account, earned us a free 8-piece bucket of chicken.

*Four books, all short story collections by Joe Wheeler:  $13 and change on Ebay, plus free shipping. (A friend gave me a book a of Joe's old-time story collection, and it was wonderful. I passed several books on to other friends.)

*Bought a plant tunnel, plus packets of sugar snap pea seed and bush bean seed on Amazon. (The Brick found my other seed packets in the trailer.) I planted the hyacinth plant I'd gotten earlier, plus some of our sprouting potatoes. I'll start peas, greens and marigolds under the protection of the tunnel. Let's see if those pesky deer can figure this one out!   After all, April showers bring May...

FRUGAL MISSES

*A new crown for me: $1700 and change. I had a toothache on the other side, but it didn't need a filling. (Our dentist photographed and checked it for free...which was kind of him.) I am on the tail end of a 'membership club' at the dentist, which did save us $370 off the crown price. But still... the Brick got a crown last month. How come we both have crowns -- and still didn't get invited to King Charles' coronation??  (I know - silly me.)

*Once again, had to go to customer service (once at King Soopers, once at Safeway) to get mistakes fixed.  Both clerks were nice about it  -- but I am getting very tired of this. Be sure to check your receipts; this happens now more often than not. 

*Changing oil on the truck is EXPENSIVE.  We saved some, though, because the Brick did it himself. The one filter he couldn't replace, our friends at Tombstone Diesel fixed -- for no charge. ("Fellow Michigander," he told the Brick. What a nice guy.)

     If you need truck repair and live in the Denver area, this is the place to go to. They have always been fair with us. Now you know their coordinates, too!

*Wasted some onions. (They went mushy on me.) The potatoes were headed the same direction -- but I managed to get them eaten, and planted the sprouts. Considering that onions are not 79 cents EACH, instead of by the pound, this can get a bit pricey. But I've been doing better lately at not letting produce go bad. That's a comfort, at least.

*Still haven't gotten our Red Robin bonus bucks. This is freaky. 

* I think I may have lost some change.  A any rate, I was jingling somehow walking to Red Robin. And before that, I was checking rolls of half-dollars, hoping for some silver ones. (They weren't there.) Did a half-dollar hitch a ride somewhere, and land in the parking lot? (sigh)

Last month is here. March 2022 is here.  And just for fun, here's March 2021. We sure have had different experiences in March-April of each year...and this one is no exception.

Working on taxes now -- we may actually get them done early!