What a July -- a huge amount of credit card bills, thanks to truck repairs and the letters. Hot weather: on one trip north, we experienced 101 degrees in the Springs, and 103 in Pueblo. (Thankfully, when we got home to Fort Garland, it was in the low 80s.)
And fatigue. That's been the worst part. I have felt very, very tired all month.
Thankfully, the plant bins on the deck are growing nicely -- we've eaten several tomatoes, and I expect beans to begin forming any day now (The first blossom just showed up!) Even the pots I planted with herb seeds are finally sprouting. And no pesky grasshoppers, like last year.
August will bring a gig early on -- and both Daughters' birthdays, on 8/3 and 8/8. We will celebrate them later, since Daughter #2 has a booth for Phenomenal Gems on her birthday...and Daughter #1 usually goes out of town on hers. We'll see.
Lots of work still to do. Hopefully the weather will moderate some -- and that should help. Otherwise, we're in big trouble.
FRUGAL HITS
(Some of these are from late June)
*Bought out the Fort Garland post office's first class stamps -- literally. It was the last day before the rate hike -- and all they had left was just under $60. Another reminder we live near a small town.
*Fewer credit card bills due in August -- in great part because we held back this month, or made minimal purchases. (Including visiting places -- grocery stores, etc. -- that we needed to use the cards.) We had enough to keep the bills paid, and put a triple payment on the house loan, as well...God's grace.
*The deer head under the wheelbarrow is no more -- we gave it to our neighbors for their daughter, who enjoys decorating deer skulls with paint and embellishments. (Lest you think that weird, I should mention that we -- and a number of our neighbors -- decorate with rocks and bones outside. Think of it as an O'Keefe touch.)
*A steadily growing number of giftcards, thanks to our medicare insurance benefits. I've held back on using the pharmacy allowances, as well: up to $375, so far!
*Solar powered deck lights -- a $20.99 Warehouse Deal and free shipping on Amazon. Totally unplanned, they fit our needed space EXACTLY. And boy, do they look nice at night.
*More appraisals. These have been holding steady through the summer months, which is unusual.
*Some 'get-well' presents sent to family in Michigan.
*Baby herb and greens seedlings from a friend's garden, along with bunching green onion bulbs. She's promised some perennials in the fall, which will be wonderful. The parsley seeds have finally germinated, too.
*A $30 topper (from the thrift shop) made the guestroom bed much more comfortable. We really need one more mattress for guests --
*Took care of our granddog Freya for several days. Ruby not only tolerates her, but looks for her now...which is nice.
*Schwanky meals: A $5 luxury lunch at Mickey D's...Sam's rotisserie chicken and salad for supper at Daughter #1's. (They gave us a bed for the night, too.) Daughter #2 and Son #1 treated us to a Chili's meal, complete with frozen margaritas. (Thank you for all of it, Dears!)
*An elk hunting license for the Brick! Either-sex...for our area. (This came from Costilla County via a drawing for leftover licenses. One of our friends got one, too.) Fresh meat in the fall...I hope. (Daughter #2 and Son #1 gave us a big package of venison, plus two of antelope, to get us in the mood.)
*Saved 50 cents a gallon when having our propane tank filled. When you're dealing with hundreds of gallons, this really adds up. The final price per gallon: even cheaper than when we lived in Sedalia.
*Generally came home and ate meals here - thanks to items I could fix quickly, from both storage and the freezer. We also had leftovers from meals eaten out. I found some Totiino's pizza on sale, so made chicken sub rosa, too.
*Supper and games with friends; had Chili's '3-for-You' special with other friends. (Your choice of chips n' salsa/soup/side salad, plus a burger and drink for $10.99. Yum.) Supper with a third set of friends, including several rousing rounds of Rummikub.
*Another $37 bill for electricity! If you don't count the house loan, we are actually paying less in utilities/internet to live here, than we were paying in Sedalia. It helps that we're very careful about turning lights off, and keeping the woodstove supplied when it's chilly. But weird, nonetheless.
*Found money: it's been sparse this month. One dime found at Daughter #1's place -- I left it on her table. A nickel found by the Brick while vacuuming, and a crisp dollar bill in the mail from the Neilsens, hoping we'll fill out a survey. (I did.)
*The Brick's monthly pension got a raise, much to our surprise: $121.99. Note: if you're due to get a pension, and are married or have a long-term partner, consider arranging it so the pension continues for your partner even when you're gone. It will most probably mean a lower $$, but will be worth it to your partner. The Brick did this years ago...and I am sooo grateful.
*I dried our clothes outside on the drying rack. Really saves on propane.
*A baby shower invite. I took something from the present box, plus beans we already had. (It was a shared taco bar.) Yes, we had the leftover beans for supper that night.
*Worked on emptying the freezer a little. Also stocked up some on coffee beans, as well as items for the winter -- particularly flour, sugar, canned chili and canned fruit/vegetable juices. Could we be having worse cold this time around, rather than 2023/2024's mild winter? Hmmm....better be prepared.
*$15 off Safeway groceries -- an unexpected bonus coupon. I had to get my 'free' items credited, though -- it seems like Safeway messes this up every other time.
*Thrift store bargains: Shirts for ONE DOLLAR EACH (we got 16!), books for $1-2 (including a history of the Spanish Peaks), tan jeans ($7), a pasta-making machine ($8) -- and 5% discount because we paid cash (Nazarene Thrift Store/Monte Vista).
*Estate sale bargains: $50 (via Marketplace) for a beautiful leather chair. (It's comfortable, too.) While we were there, we noticed the ladies setting up for an estate sale...so we bought a large coffee table and two bookshelves for $100, and a variety of 'hand vases.' (More on these later.) One of the bookshelves had a plant water stain, so they threw in a flow blue cup and saucer ($30). Beautiful stuff.
*Grocery bargains: More goodies from the Amish grocery, including Jimmy Dean sausage patties (79 cents, 9 oz.), 99-cent taco kits and Japanese steakhouse sauce (79 cents); I am amazed at what this store offers now and then (SLV Country Store). Butter ($2.27/lb), milk ($2.27/gallon), ice cream ($1.97/quart), boneless chicken breast ($2.27/lb), more ribeye steak ($5.37/lb), dozen eggs ($1.77), BOGO cans of chili and Bush baked beans, $2 off bakery goods (on BOGO blueberry muffins), and free jars of spaghetti and dipping sauce (Safeway). Marked-down mushrooms and artichokes, $1 off coupon, and free Poptarts. (King Soopers) Italian coffee beans, approx. $7/lb, Larabars and V-8 pomegranate blueberry juice for approx. 40% off. (Amazon Warehouse Deals).
*Finished paying off a beautiful quilt I committed to buy a few years ago -- $100 a month. I also did not buy anything at Bobbie Aug's textile auction -- prices went a big higher, for the most part, than I wanted to pay. (Hollander, Hollander.)
FRUGAL MISSES
*Extra driving hours, dropping off a car part and dropping off/picking up Freya the dog. But for the kids. We'd do anything for our kids.
*Two 11-cent Google claim checks from the class action suit - one for each of us. It cost more to mail them in postage!
*STILL no news on the wheel claim. I would love for this to be resolved.
*A frustrating 'clunk' still exists on the truck. This, in spite of extensive repairs. Some leftover bills on truck parts bumped this month's credit card bills higher than we'd like. (sigh)
*Renewed the fifth-wheel license. Not too bad.
*Lots of sneezing and aching eyes. Partly allergies, I'm sure -- but we're also getting a lot of smoke in the air from Canada's and Southwestern fires.
*Behind some on work... fatigue is a major factor here. Hoping to catch up on all this.
It's been an unusual summer, due in part to politics and uncertainty about what's going to happen. It's also our first here in southern Colorado. Dorothy, we are definitely not in Sedalia -- or Castle Rock -- anymore. And in some ways, that's good.
Last month's report is here. And here's 2023's July report, as well as 2022's version.
August is looming -- here we go!
No comments:
Post a Comment