8-21-16 A Few Frugal Things

2016-08-14-23-19-10

(Pickles Playing in Our New Trash Can)

A Few Frugal Things-

– I was really sad that I had to return my iPad to a college campus that I will no longer be teaching at. Then my Dad and Aunt decided that they should give me an older one that wasn’t being used. They even gave me chargers, cases and everything. It was so kind of them.

– It’s back to school season and as much as I want to buy some school supplies (I challenge you to find an educator that doesn’t love new school supplies) I haven’t bought any yet. I am trying to wait and see what the schools will supply and I still have a lot that are still good from previous years. That’s not to say I won’t pick up a few things on clearance with my mom’s employee discount.

– Finally called about a cosmetic factory recall on my SUV and it will be 100% free to fix but there is a YEAR wait!

– Went grocery shopping at ALDI and spent less than expected which is always a win

– I gave myself a French pedicure despite wanting to pay to have one done but the $45 savings made it worth it

– Aunt took us out to brunch and takeout for dinner which was very nice

– Went to a cheaper pet store and bought 2 months of snake food for cheap, it’s close to my father’s house so I will have to try to get him to go with me

– Found a cheaper version of the expensive eye shadow my sister had given me that I used up.

– My sister bought some face makeup for me at the makeup store where she works when it was not only B1G1 free but using her discount and now I have it for the entire year.

– I have had good luck thrifting lately for a few things I needed including black heels to teach in (I wear them out quickly), a dress to wear at a baby shower, shirts/tops for teaching and everyday life, William Sonoma cloth napkins (these don’t attract lint so I LOVE them).

– I have been donating stuff we no longer want (and I can’t sell on eBay) to the thrift store and I found a few more things but I will wait until I am already shopping there to drop them off

– I cleaned the house and I love that all I use is rubbing alcohol, my floor steamer that only uses water and homemade laundry detergent for wash. There are times that living chemical free saves us money.

– I continue to relist my current eBay listings and will list even more soon, I like making extra income here and there on eBay

– Next week I go back full time at the College I have been hired at full time, I’ve already been teaching there for a year as a contract employee. I’m so excited to only be teaching at one school and I receive free Dental and Health Insurance (I currently pay about $300 a month just for health) and cheap vision insurance. I have been waiting for my new insurance to kick in before I get new glasses, go to the dermatologist and get my teeth cleaned. This will be a huge savings!

– My discount Amazon Prime subscription is ending soon and I’m going to try not renewing it to save money. I will try to buy a few discount things that I need to take advantage of the free 2day shipping before it ends. I may renew later but I want to see how long it is before I need/want to use it.

– Hung some rugs to dry even though I really wanted to throw them in the dryer

– Amy of the Tightwad Gazette would tell you that saving money is often more about what you don’t do than what you do. Well this weekend we didn’t leave the house and we had fun at home. Not leaving the house is often the best way to save money!

– We also didn’t adopt a dog this weekend. We really thought about it but the dog we were considering was already adopted. Maybe it’s a sign.

– As always we have been enjoying watching TV at home. My father is kind enough to share his cable login with us so we can watch cable on out home devices through the different channel Aps for free.

– Using my sewing machine I repaired a comforter, underwear, a basket liner and a throw pillow

– I exchanged $10 worth of stuff at Dollar Tree. I was happy to get it out of my car where it had been sitting since the last time I forgot to return it.

– I had to mail something to my sister and went ahead and packed up a box for her that included an entire target sheet set in the color she wanted, an IKEA decoration, some pregnancy books etc. We used a flat rate box so it wasn’t expensive to mail.

– B and I cut each other’s hair today.

– I’m almost 9 months into my year of not buying any brand new clothing (with a few exceptions like underwear) and it’s so easy, I can hardly call it a challenge

 

Not so Frugal Things-

– Our AC completely broke in the scalding Florida summer heat and while our landlord paid for the repair and it was done swiftly we still ended up with a $50 higher electric bill and this is already the highest electric bills we will have all year. I know a long time ago people lived in Florida without AC but our homes are no longer designed to take advantages of breezes and the location of the sun so I feel no guilt in using the AC modestly.

– Had a great time when my aunt visited and we went to a really cool store Old Time Pottery which I had never been to before. We have lived in our townhome for almost two years and it’s the first time I shopped for brand new things for the house and I got a few things like a shower curtain, step to open trash can, hand towels and door mat that I hadn’t had any luck buying at our local thrift shops for the past two years. It’s not frugal to shop but after 2 years of not finding those items used, this store had them new for great prices.

– I am ashamed to admit that we threw away an unopened package of salad, an unopened package of broccoli shred, a whole bag of sweet potatoes that was bad when I bought them, some guacamole that went bad and some leftover chicken. None of this food was still edible so it had to be thrown out but this is a huge amount of food waste for us. We are trying to eat more fresh food but the downside is we sometimes think it will be good for longer than it actually is. I hate wasting food.

 

Frugal Goals-

– Pack lunches when I go back to work full time next week instead of buying unhealthy food

– Avoid stores and online shopping whenever possible (I’m not a huge shopper but I find the best way to save money is to avoid the stores altogether)

– Take advantage of my new free health insurance and dental and cheap vision insurance

– Be more careful about the AC usage, although because we will both be gone at the hottest times of the day now it will certainly lower our AC bill.

– Stop looking at dogs to adopt for a while, maybe we will go back to looking when the semester is underway and we have an established schedule

– Take an edible plants class

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  1. So glad you found us and saved money!

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