Frugal Hits & Misses: The August Report

 What a month.

Hot, dry and seemingly endless. We continue to look for land and/or a house and land -- so far, two of the houses we liked went way over our budget. What's left, so far, at least, probably won't work for us. So the search continues. [Oops, three now. But we're looking at a fourth.]

Financially, we're doing ok -- in great part due to God's grace and careful purchases. (We're not the only ones being careful right now, and for good reason.) I've had work too, which helps. But it all seems like trudging toward several goals. It's been difficult concentrating, because of the heat, fighting off allergies and near-bouts of flu. And fighting off the blues. But I am hopeful this will change soon. We did spend more this month than I'd planned, in part because of several sales on needed/useful items (tools especially, but books and fabric, too). And we paid a few September bills at the same time we paid for August. That, plus gas for our house hunting trips, all adds up.

 I am really looking forward to cooler temps and fall colors. 

FRUGAL HITS

*Judged for the Sheep Lead contest at the Douglas County Fair. No, I don't know much about sheep -- but I do know about the costumes the kids wore, to complement the sheep's accessories. (The other two judges were 'sheep-ish.') It was a lot of fun to see the sheep kick up their heels and prance around. Even more fun to watch the kids!

One feisty girlie -- Evelyn Maxcy and her sheep (Show photo)

*Didn't buy anything at the Fair. Funnel cakes for $12? Corn dogs for $20? I just couldn't...not even a drink. And it was hot as all getout, too.

*Managed NOT to take allergy medicine...so far, at least. Itchy, burning eyes were the worst part.

*Kept the hummingbird feeder full, just for the pleasure of seeing them. (Unfortunately, seeing them fight over it, as well.) They will be leaving very soon.

*Read several years' worth of my old blogger friend, The Prudent Homemaker. I do like Brandy's ingenuity and cheerful attitude, all on an extremely low budget. I always get some new ideas to try, too.

*Used fans and a portable cooler (all several years old, from the thrift shop) to minimize the air conditioning. 

*Some beautiful fabric found on Ebay -- some of it vintage, some for a quilt I'm working on: $6-9/yd. (Those prices are good nowadays.) Including this

This, too. I couldn't help it... just so whacky.

*Found a penny on the floor of the fifth-wheel. Whoo hoo,...

*Returned a bag of rolls and a bag of oranges -- they went bad too quickly.

*Ordered a present for myself -- and a girlie. Half off on Amazon, plus free shipping.

*Ordered some books a sister-in-law has been wanting for years. Bought myself some, too...all discounted, and all shipping for free (Ebay). Most were 2 for 1. (Yow!) Tell me -- why were books on sale like this in August??

*Went without at the library (sob) -- it's still closed .until the 26th, when it will FINALLY reopen. I will then return all the books and videos I've kept over the summer. Update: It did! I even stopped by the grand reopening...and put a boatload of items on hold. 

*Pulled a ham from the freezer, which covered a number of breakfasts and other meals, including some tasty beans seasoned with the hambone. (Slice ham, Swiss cheese and seed crackers -- our newest appetizer!) Used several other things from the freezer, rather than going to the grocery store, including milk and some of our free pizzas. Adapted recipes as needed, when I didn't have exactly what the recipe called for.  (It worked, by the way.) I also tried cooking some things on top of the stove, instead of baking them. (That wasn't so good. Cornbread 'muffins' don't translate to pancakes.)

*Thrift shop buys:  a bath mat, books (Christmas presents)...and a great New York City print.

*Met with our investment firm, Lord and Richards -- to double-check what we could afford for buying a house.

*Free Faith Day at the Rockies - thanks to L & R. We had a shady spot in one of the suites,  all the hot dogs, cheesesteak and chicken tenders we could eat, and a concert by Hillsong United afterwards. A fine day was had by all, even though it was really hot -- and the Rocks lost. (We did have to pay $20 for parking. They really gouge you down by Coors Field.)

    If you're looking for an honest investment firm, consider Lord & Richards. They've been careful with our money. True, we could have earned a bit more interest -- but at this point in our frazzled world, I'd rather they erred on the cautious side. 

*Got an invite to be an election judge this fall. That will be fun again. 

*We kept busy. I cleaned bathrooms, washed windows, washed clothes, dusted and scrubbed -- and kept trying to tidy up. The Brick repaired the lawnmower (again), mowed the lawn a few times (a monumental job, taking a very long day to finish), did some other repairs...and drove for Broken Tree. Sang on worship team for church a couple of weeks We dropped our friends off at the airport -- and picked them up. 

*Finished a boatload of reports.  A few more to go.

*Did prep work for Medicare -- and finances, so we know how much we can use as a downpayment on a house/land. 

*Our land-hunting trips were all very long days -- so no hotel needed. We ate frugally at places like McDonald's and Burger King, too.

*Hosted a fun birthday birthday party for our friends Jenny and Letha -- burgers, cake and pie, oh my!

*Bought a collection of novels by Grace Livingston Hill for Kindle -- 99 cents. (I also found a number of books on Project Gutenberg for "Gracie." (These are free, and can be downloaded or read online.) 'Gracie' is one of sister-in-law's and my favorite authors for relaxing reading. 

*25 pounds of jasmine rice at a reasonable price, thanks to Sam's Club. (Don't be surprised if rice prices double -- or even triple -- in the near future, thanks to India's decision in July to ban rice exports.) Ten pounds of pinto beans from the same spot -- 69 cents/lb.

*A number of photos purchased for future books and articles -- BUT I made offers (and was accepted) on every single one. I saved up to 50% of the asking price by doing this. After I paid postage for the first photo, shipping was free on the rest.  (Historic Images on Ebay) These are huge money-savers in the long run; it can cost up to $200 just to rent a single image for a book. (Ask me how I know!) 

*New energy-saving LED lightbulbs - brighter and not hot. This is a real blessing, since I almost set the fifth-wheel on fire, by propping a book against the reading lamp on my side of the bed. The book was charring and smoking when I just 'happened' to notice it.  (Thank you, God.)

*Received some Bigfoot presents from silly friends. They're great!

                                  (After all, they must have made it onto Noah's ark somehow...)

*Grocery buys: gallon whole milk x 2 ($1.97 each), free sour cream, half-priced eggs (Safeway). Free Pop-Tarts, 99-cent milk, peanut butter and bread (King Soopers). Kraft ranch dressing - big bottles for $1.97 each; $16.58 pkgs of Kona coffee (24 oz), boxes of animal crackers (for Christmas stockings & a friend's classroom), a little more than $1 each. (Amazon Warehouse).  Not many things were on sale this month -- and another price jump in most, including milk and meat products, is evident. I didn't even go to the grocery stores for a few weeks.

FRUGAL MISSES

*Some salad greens and diced tomato spoiled - due to free supper 'Spirit' week at church. (See the July report.) Plus a cube of butter. Ruby got some goodies before they spoiled -- same issue.  Bought my first full-priced gallon of milk in two years. (More sale-priced milk is in the freezer now.)

*Multiple trips to look for land/house. We're up to six, so far. Seven, counting the weeklong trip down to Arizona. We were careful on food purchases and didn't stay overnight, but paid for a lot of gas. 

*Struggles with our computers. Is it the heat that caused them to act up? 

*The garden: pretty much a total loss, unless you count a couple of marigolds, petunias and two small tomatoes. (The grasshoppers apparently couldn't make it up to the balcony, where the barrel planters were.) I didn't bother planting more, since 1) those stupid grasshoppers will probably live long enough to eat the baby plants, and 2) our first possible frost date is approaching.

    Here's an irony: I've been watering the pansy basket from spring...and thought it was a goner. It's starting to bloom again!  P.S. Don't tell THEM.

Grrrrr....

 I washed a hooked rug, and it disintegrated. Chinese-made, so I'm not heartbroken, but still... Hopefully the bath rug I got from the thrift shop will hold up better.

*No TABOR check this year. The Powers That Be are hoping that we'll pass a 'property tax relief' amendments in November's election...which will seriously affect how much we get. They have been trying to get rid of TABOR ever since we've lived in Colorado -- because it requires, after a certain amount of sales tax collected, to refund the overage to Colorado citizens. Which means less money to play with by the legislature. After all -- they know best. Right?? 

    Anyways, no checks until 2024. Maybe even 2025. 

*Paid for lunch at Big Bills NY Pizza in Littleton-- but we got the special, thanks to our friend. Amazing food. I also spent some fun moments gawking at possible-Mafia types. (But I really need to go back to Gaetano's for that. See my book, if you're curious.)

*Paid for the trailer license  -- less than $100, which was nice.

*Renewed our Sam's Club membership -- half price. Not as good as last year, but $25 still saved. 

*Sold all but one share of Red Robin. A recent report shows they only have a year's worth of expenses left. Also, it had negative earnings for the quarter. All of this makes me very uneasy. (I could have sold sooner for more. Ah well.) I did keep one share, as a sort of memory.

*Stocks went down. A lot. I did buy some extra at lower prices. A few dividends came in, too.

*Two packages of videos, to friends plus our darling nieces & nephews in Michigan, never made it past the Detroit shipping facility.  "I can understand one -- but BOTH?" the postmaster here in Colorado said. Yup. A third pkg  -- a CD I ordered for the Brick -- never arrived; at least the Amazon seller refunded that one. Maybe DHL and the Post Office have it in for me?

*Broke a plate. Chipped several mugs, but we're still using them. (sigh) 

*Still trying to use up items in cupboards.  (Not by breaking plates!!) We're going into the fifth year -- and we still have personal care items from before we moved. The curse of being a packrat. Or is this a HIT -- because we don't have to buy those things?

Seven years of writing Hits & Misses monthly reports!! Hard to believe. Here's last month's report.  Plus the August report for 2022 -- and the year before that.  What's next?!? At this point - who knows.