I am now a couple weeks into Summer break! It’s finally warm enough that we have been swimming once in the pool. Then it has rained for a week straight. It’s very weird not to be going to work every day and grading a million things.
A few frugal things
– We had not gone grocery shopping since last month. We picked up a few small items here and there and made due. We saved a lot of money doing that but we got to the point where we will have to go get groceries and we are trying for a $100 meal plan for the last two weeks of the month.
– Mother’s day just passed and, rather than wanting flowers or jewelry, my mother wanted help around her house (she is a smart lady!). B completely replaced the insides of her toilet and we painted her garage door. Her roof was damaged during the last hurricane so she just got a new roof from the insurance company. We are slowly improving her house that will be paid off in 2 years. We also took her to lunch and Dollar Tree and the hardware store and then did work around her house.
– My mother gave us a lot of flower pots that she wasn’t using. They will be perfect to transplant our current plants into bigger pots.
– We are taking advantage of the rain to water our plants and fill the pool.
– We have really been enjoying our small veggie garden in pots on the patio. We haven’t killed anything yet. I was thinking that we should really start a garden in the backyard. We have been hesitant to do that because we are renting and farm hunting and didn’t want to start a garden to have to try to move it. But I can’t keep waiting.
– No sooner did we decide to plant a garden but we found some wood by the side of the road in a neat trash pile that will be perfect for making the garden box walls. A garden made from scavenged material! I’m excited. See above picture of the wood.
– Composting is also going well so hopefully that will help create some good soil for the garden.
– I got a really amazing, waterproof raincoat at the thrift store for $2. It should be especially helpful for the rainy FL summer.
– We absolutely love Swagbucks! We have both won hundreds of gift cards in the past year. We have been having fun playing their daily trivia gave through phone called Swag IQ. We earn points called SBs that we redeem for the gift cards. It’s kind of like being on a game show from your house! You can actually win a decent amount of SBs which you can turn into PayPal cash or gift cards.
– We finally bought the groceries we needed for the last two weeks of the month and only spent $120.
– I met someone who lives around the corner from me at my Friday class. We are going to carpool which will save us both money on gas and tolls. This will actually probably save me about $20. She also has a return to make at our downtown IKEA and I volunteered to go with her so I will also be able to get the $2 two hot dogs and a soda lunch! I love IKEA hotdogs!
– Hurricane season is fast approaching and after last year’s disaster where we didn’t have power for a week I have stocked up on some supplies from the local thrift shop and dollar store including a battery-operated fan, a battery-operated lantern, candles, a kettle, a million small phone battery backup chargers and some more solar lighting. We still need a radio.
Not so Frugal
– We might have to take the cat back to the vet for her UTI. We were going to take her but then I spoke with a friend who owns the cat’s parents and she gave me a few good suggestions to try first. We are going to try buying special UTI cat food. I’m sure the food won’t be cheap but it will be cheaper than the vet.
– I really need new break pads for my car. I spend a lot of time committing. When I was at the dealership recently for a free recall they told me it would only be $800. No way! My father volunteered to do it or I will take the car to our family mechanic but either way it won’t be $800.
Extra Income
– I am taking a faculty development class, every Friday for 5 weeks. It stinks to have such a set Friday schedule for most of my break but I will get paid $500. They also already bought us free lunch the first week and snacks and hot drinks every week.
– I sold a Lane Bryant jacket today that I had bought at the thrift shop for $2. See above picture. Today I found a pair of Miss Me jeans that sell very well for $2.50. I have now sold 4 items on Poshmark. Not bad considering I only started using it at the middle of last month.
Harmful Chemical Free and Reduced Waste Living
– B bought this very odd drain snake thing for $1 at Dollar Tree and it worked! That AMAZING $1 item completely cleared two of our sinks that were no longer draining properly. No more toxic drain cleaner for us!
Follow Us!