Strep Throat, Olympics and AC

(I helped my friend donate some stuff to the local thrift shop and kept a like new trash can. I finally got it set up in a kitchen station with cans for trash, laundry and recycling. I really want to have three perfectly matching cans but there is nothing wrong with these.)

A few frugal things

– I ended up with Strep Throat. I was able to get an appointment the same day at the Walgreens Clinic. The clinic visit and prescription were less than $23 combined and I feel so lucky to have AMAZING, FREE insurance though my job. I was paying $300 a month prior to this job. I am also thankful to get paid for the 2 and a half days I had to take off while sick.

– Staying home while sick also saved me money on gas, tolls and wear and tear on the car.

– We bought a bunch of groceries at the beginning of the month when family was coming to visit. We saved a lot of money during the visit by not eating out and then we had extra that we are still eating though now. We are making meals from what is left. Neither of us feel like going to the grocery store.

– We have been enjoying watching the winter Olympics. It’s free with our TV antenna and learning about the athletes has also been fun. I am a huge fan of the Canadian Ice Dancers Moir and Virtue.

– I used an old hose I found buried in the backyard to cover a cord that the cats could chew through.

– I enjoyed free lunch at work including a huge sandwich, chips, a cookie, and drinks from a local sub place. I didn’t finish and kept the rest in my purse and ate it on the way home when I was hungry again.

– I bought candy for class prizes and Valentine’s day cards from Dollar Tree. They are carrying a great new Travelocity line of cell phone chargers and I stocked up.

– I taught a workshop for other faculty and staff at work and although I only was paid as part of my normal work day, it is something else to put on my resume and I now have the workshop ready to go if I get the chance to teach it again (possibly for pay).

– I bought a solar light for less than $10 off Amazon. It seems to work well and I’m hoping that it will replace the light in our kitchen that is almost always on and will charge with the light through the window. I am experimenting with incorporating individual solar lighting in the yard and house to save more money.

– Spent a while price shopping plane tickets between airlines for a trip to visit my sister. Finally found a great deal including my luggage and seat and in-flight cable and snacks and drinks for $150 round trip. Even if it hadn’t included anything it was still the cheapest flight so everything that came with it is just a bonus. And the days and times worked great! So excited!

– We had some leftover milk in the fridge that was going to go bad so we made some instant pudding. A treat for us and less waste.

– We had a week left in the month and very little healthy food left in the house. We came up with a $50 grocery budget for the week and were determined to stick to it. We ended up spending $47 because we forgot sliced cheese for sandwiches and then we found a pack in the back of the fridge that family had bought when they visited.

– I also made blueberry muffins and egg salad from scratch to help stretch the grocery budget.

– I went to visit friends who were having a yard sale and they ended up giving me a bunch of stuff for free. That was fun and we got some nice clothes, cat treats and other small items.

Not so Frugal

– I paid to have the radiator replaced in my mother’s car. It was worth every penny for my mom to have a safe vehicle but I hadn’t budgeted for it.

– We continue to see a few fleas here and there on the pets. Not a huge problem but I wish we didn’t see any. We need to buy more flea treatments and it’s super expensive, plus I worry about putting chemicals on them. Over $70 spent this month on flea meds.

– I took pictures of stuff to list on eBay but I haven’t found the time to do the listings yet.

– Our poor kitty cat got sick and we had to take him to the vet. Not only is the vet 40 minutes away in gas and tolls but the bill was over $300.

– Found out a close relative is getting married in another state. Won’t be cheap to go but I know it will be worth it.

Extra Income

– I told the college I work for that I would consider substituting for other faculty who are sick and I get paid for it

– I finally got a lot of the lingering items I had bought to sell on eBay listed and I sold one older listing.

Harmful Chemical Free Living

– I did a lot of cleaning this weekend with rubbing alcohol as a sanitizer.

– I keep washing everything soft (pillows and bedding) in the house to remove any potential fleas. I use my homemade chemical free laundry detergent that is dirt cheap.

– I filled all of the hand soap dispensers in the house with a little Dr. Bronner’s concentrated soap and a lot of water.