Sometimes the best laid plans don't work out. When we were packing to leave Arizona, I believed that we would be in our new home by the end of February. Because of that, I packed my calculator, that I use every year to do our taxes, to go into storage. As you all know, that original date has been pushed back about 2 months. Since I am now ready to do our taxes for 2009, I needed a calculator. I ran over to Target this morning hoping to find one that not only plugged in but also ran on batteries. I found exactly what I wanted and was pleasantly surprised to find it on sale for $ 16.99. Normally I would be kicking myself over this waste of money, but DH and I will have separate offices in our new home, so we can use the two for our desks. While I was there I picked up a package of staples since we are getting low on them and eggs. I have found that eggs here are very cheap at Target, so I usually pick them up there.
Did you all get your Babies R Us E- Gift Certificates from the sign up on Facebook? My $5.00 one was in my e-mail so be sure to check for yours. I love the fact that I can not only use it online but at the store.
This morning, for breakfast, I made biscuit sandwiches again for us. Yesterday, I baked the entire can of biscuits so they were already made. I also cooked double the amount of turkey bacon so that it was ready to use. It was just a matter of cooking the eggs, putting the sandwiches together, topping each with a slice of cheese, and putting them in the microwave to melt the cheese... about 20 seconds. Easy and so yummy!
My tax book came in the mail this week so I have been brushing up on what I needed to know. With a house sale this year I had to bone up on that and all the info I needed for capital gains on investments and any tax changes for the year. I also needed to find out the information on the current homebuyers tax credit to see if we qualify. Since we will, I now know that I have to file our taxes and then file an amended return after we close on the house. The closing date is going to be too close or after taxes are due to wait. Tomorrow I will work on Federal, Arizona State and New York State taxes, so I will not be posting to this blog.
We went up to the house to see the new basement floor and garage floor. It looks good. On our way back, we stopped at the Top's Gas Station and filled up our van using our $.10 off per gallon on our card. I really feel like we made out well this time because we were driving on fumes.
For entertainment tonight, DH and I will be watching "The Fountain" DVD which we borrowed for free at the complex office. I will make a big bowl of popcorn and we will feel like we are at the movies. :-)
I also caught up this morning on my surveys for points and cash. I also signed up for some free makeup ( Thanks SwagGrabber ).
Tomorrow, I plan on cooking a nice turkey breast for dinner. So I put that in the fridge to thaw. I will need comfort food after doing taxes all day. :-)
We are getting very low on meat and some foods, so I was debating on what to make for dinner tonight since there is not a lot of choice and I don't want to go out to dinner on a weekend when it is crowded. I had a package of marked down ground beef. So I will cook that with spaghetti sauce adding diced onion and spices that we like. Then add some cooked macaroni to all. Lastly I will melt some shredded pizza cheese on top that needs to be used up. I will warm the rest of the biscuits to go with it and add a glass of wine.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you are doing today to save money.
I ventured out to Walgreens this morning figuring if I could find the Huggies Wipes $ 1.00 off Insert Store Coupon that everyone is talking about, I could score some for West. My friend, Leanne sent a bunch of $1./1 Mfrs. Cpns. But alas they didn't have the in store coupon, so I will save the coupons I do have for a better sale.
But I did go to Tops to get 9 more Contadina Tomato Paste and 1 Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid. The tomato paste were all free with the $ .75/3 Mfrs. Cpns Dbled. The Seventh Generation was Free with a Coupon I got from Recycle Bank. All I paid was $ .24 tax. I hate the sales tax here of 8.75%. Thankfully food is not taxed.
Then I stopped into Target to check out their clearance. I found this neat play center with the balls on 75% clearance for $ 4.78 +tax. I am going to be keeping this for our home for the grandchildren to play with. I think my sons and DILs will be most grateful that they won't have to pick those balls up all the time.
My rolling grocery budget for the month was $21.43 minus the $ .24 I spent today leaves $ 21.19 for the rest of the month.
I have been doing a few things to build our net worth the past few days even though we haven't been able to get out as much as we would like with all the snow. This is what I have been doing:
- Shopped for the deals at the stores shown in my prior posts this week.
- Picked up $55.00 worth of prescriptions at CVS and paid with Free Giftcards.
- Did 3 loads of laundry using cold water, minimal detergent and minimal dry time.
- Made Applesauce Chicken in the crockpot the other night from this site:
4 Hats and Frugal . It was quick and easy to make on a day that we were spending some time checking out the house and visiting with our grandson, West. It sure was delicious!
- Yesterday was a snow day around here and we were stuck in all day. I made Pizza Muffins. The recipe I found linked on Lucky's site which is here: Making My Own Luck . I love these!
- Breakfasts have been homemade biscuit sandwiches using Pillsbury Grand biscuits that I bought really cheaply last week, eggs, ham and cheese.
- Lunches have been homemade tomato basil pasta soup( well I did cheat using tomato bisque soup as the base) and today we treated ourselves to Subway submarines using a coupon to buy them of course.
- Received 2 Huggies Diaper Samples in the mail along with some coupons.
- Got an envelope in the mail from my friend, Leanne, with Huggies diaper and wipes coupons, J&J $2.00 off any product coupons and Neosporin coupons. Thanks so much, Leanne. Now I will be able to do the fabulous Walgreens Diaper Deal this Sunday.
- Got e-mails with great coupons and deals from my friend, Jodi, and from my friend, Lisa, whose blog is here: Easy Frugal Living . Thanks girls!
- I also received my Free Weight Watchers Magazine in the mail.
- The mail also brought a $5.00 refund check from Southern Comfort, my Recycle Bank Coke Coupons and Free Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid Coupon.
- I have been cleaning and boxing up some things that we won't need anytime soon like presents I bought at Christmas clearance sales, Christmas cards, etc. This will help me get the boxing done here in the apartment little by little.
- I bought that cute little sleeper in my previous post for West for $ 4.00.
- I became a fan on Facebook and snagged the Babies R Us $ 5.00 Giftcard. Thanks to KC at her blog here for that tip: Desert Diva Deals and to my friend, Jodi for letting me know about it also.
- Dinner tonight will be a light one since we had the subs for lunch. It most likely will be tuna on crackers.
- I picked up greeting cards that I needed at the Dollar Store at 2/$1.00. They had some really nice Valentine cards and I needed a sympathy card.
- I am planning my Valentines menu for DH to surprise him. We do not go out on Valentines Day because restaurants are too crowded, the service is rushed and the food is terrible. Just my $ .02 from prior experiences.
- We only have two sets of sheets here for our Sleep Number Bed. They were both purchased when we bought the bed a few years ago and are starting to get thread bare. The other night I put my foot through the bottom sheet on the bed. So I have been looking for the best price on California King sheets with the 18 inch pockets so that they will fit. They are hard to find and expensive. Last night, I turned on the TV just as HSN was showing a set of sheets that were perfect and they had the California King size which was the flat and fitted sheets and 2 King size pillowcases for $ 39.99 plus shipping and tax. That was the best price I have seen, so I snagged those.
- I borrowed two more movies to watch from our apartment complex office for Free! Yeah! Their stock of movies should be changing with the new month too. I am thrilled because we have seen almost all of them.
- We are researching cable, telephone and internet companies. Verizon has a great deal but when we researched we found that their fiber optic is not available at our new home. So I think our only choices will have to be from Time Warner. But you can be sure that I will get some kind of deal out of them when the time is right.
- As I told you previously, we are researching furniture to buy and appliances. We want to buy some of them early during rebate weeks and on sales.
- Groomed our cat ourselves. She got a bath, a good brushing and her nails clipped.
- Filed coupons from the week keeping my binder updated.
- I continue to try to save on electricity by doing navy showers, running the dishwasher and washer full, etc. We finally have had a months worth of gas and electric bills which totaled $ 134. I think that is high for a month in this apartment but I don't think it is insulated as well as I would put in my house. The hot water tank and furnace seem to be minimum efficiency. I wouldn't be surprised if we only pay a little more than this in the new house. We are starting to research NYSEG's rates for the house and who we will choose for our supplier.
- DH and I continue to enjoy the Wii for entertainment. Tonight we will watch CSI and The Mentalist.
- We went up to the house today. They were pouring the basement floor and garage floor. They have been keeping the ground warm with heaters. They also were bringing in truckloads of fill and filling around the foundation. They were supposed to be shingling the roof also but no sign of the roofers. But I don't blame them. The wind and blowing snow here today is brutal.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you have been doing to save money this week.
UPDATE:
I broke down and bought an online subscription to Consumer Reports. It was only $ 26.00 for a year. Even though they don't rate furniture on a regular basis, it gave detailed instructions on what to look for when buying the sofa and chair. This will also help us immensely with picking out our appliances and a lot of other items for the house.
DH and I have been out looking for furniture. We sold our sectional sofa that we had out in Arizona to the buyer. So we need to buy a large sofa and a large upholstered chair for the great room. The rest of our furniture that we own will fit perfectly into the space.
So yesterday, DH and I started our research. We like to shop locally and give our business to family run furniture stores. It may cost a little more than Raymour and Flanigan or The Room Store but to us it is the American thing to do. We were very fortunate to be able to do business in Arizona at a nice family run business. So we are hoping for the same kind of store here. We found one locally and almost immediately found a gorgeous sofa and chair that we love. Of course, the material I want for them is the most expensive in the line but is worth the extra $300. for the sofa and $150. for the chair. The sofa will cost us $1499. + the 300. for the material. The chair will cost us $ 899. + the $ 150. for the material. These prices are before tax and delivery.
We didn't buy it yesterday, even though they said they would be glad to order them and warehouse them until we are in the new house. We were not familiar with the brand and we have a couple of other family run stores to go to. So we came home and started researching the brand on the internet. All we found were lots of complaints about the company. I don't put a lot of faith in that because people only write complaints when they are ticked. People who are satisfied never write anything.
So I need your help before I put out a serious amount of cash for these two pieces. The brand is England and is owned by Lazy Boy although the factories are separate. If anyone has any experience with this brand, please leave me a comment. Also, I do not have a subscription to Consumer Reports Online. If someone does, could they look the brand up and let me know what they are saying about it. I appreciate any help that someone can give me on this! Thanks!
It is so cold out that it takes your breath away! The wind is horrendous. The car door just blows out of your hand. But I ventured out all bundled up anyhow. First I had to remove all the snow off the car because it snowed during the night again. I got some great deals so I am happy. Here is what I purchased:
Walgreen's:
3 Packages of Huggies Diapers - on sale for $ 8.99 each - Used $ 2.50/1 Mfrs. Cpns = $ 6.49 each = $19.47 and I received a $ 5.00 RR for buying $25. worth
Total OOP was $ 20.75 and I received a $ 5.00 RR
Marshall's:
1 Cute Sleeper for West = $ 4.00
Target:
2 Pkgs. of Finish Dishwasher Tabs - $3.59 each - Used $ 2.50/1 Mfrs. Cpns = $ 1.09 each
Total OOP was $ 2.81
Top's:
9 cans of Contadina Tomato Paste - 2/$1. = $ 4.50 - Used (3) $ .75/3 Mfrs.Cpns Dbled = Free
2 Bags of Wise Potato Chips - on sale B1G1F = $ 2.99 - Used (2) $ 50./1 IP Cpns Dbled = $ .99 for both
2 jars of Hellman's Mayonaise - $ 2.99 each - $ .75/1 IP Cpns Dbled = $ 1.49 each
4 McCormicks Taco Seasoning - $ .69 each - Used $ 1./4 Mfrs. Cpn = $ .44 each or $ 1.76 for all
3 International Delight Creamers - $ 2.09 each - Used $ .55/1 Mfrs. Cpns Dbled = $.99 each
6 Green Giant Boxed Vegetables - $ 1.00 each = $ 6.00 - Used (2) $ 1./3 IP Cpns = $ 4.00 or about $.66 each
Total OOP was $ 12.70!
Before I give totals I have to make a confession. We have been so busy with running for the house and shopping for furniture and appliances, doing taxes, etc. We have also been picking out paint colors because we would like to paint most of the house inside before we move anything in to it. So when I posted my shops, I just quickly put them up without receipts. Being an accountant, I can pretty quickly post what I paid and figure tax by looking at the picture. I would usually just file my receipts when I came home. Today for the first time, I actually looked at my receipts. I was confused. I thought Tops doubled up to a $1.00 meaning a $.75/1 cpn would be doubled to $1.00. I see today that a $ .75 cpn is doubled to $1.50. So I called Tops to have them explain this to me. They double coupons valued up to $ .99 as long as they say don't say DND and the item isn't priced less than the doubling. For example, if a coupon doubled to $ 1.98 and the item cost $ 1.89 then they would only take off $ 1.89! So because of this any Tops shop is wrong up until today on my blog. I have actually spent a lot less than I thought this month. I am learning! Now. Alex M. if you are out there, does Wegmans work this way too?
My grocery budget for the month was $ 36.94 minus the $ 15.51 I spent today leaves $ 21.43 for the rest of the month.
Analysis:
The Huggies deal was too good to pass up for West. I went to Marshalls to look for California King Sheets but alas they had none. However, I found the cute sleeper in a newborn size for West. Since none of us bought newborn for him, most of his clothes swam on him. My son had to run out the other day and get two sleepers. I found this one and said now he will have 3. Both of these shops came out of our gift budget.
The Finish coupons expire on 1/31 so I wanted to use them up. All of the deals this week at Tops were too good to pass up, especially the mayonaise. That is the only mayo that DH will eat. I stocked on creamers, paste, seasoning, veggies and chips because I had the coupons. They are all things that we use alot of.
So many people have limited funds today because of the economy. Some have plenty of funds but choose to spend as little as possible on consumables. When I think of consumables, I think of many things but the #1 consumable in my mind is food.
I have decided to blog today about what we REALLY need to buy to sustain our lives and stay healthy. Hopefully this will help those of you who have lost your jobs or been otherwise hurt by this horrible economy. These are what I believe we need and how to come by it cheaply.
As adults we need 3-8 oz. of whole grains or refined grains daily depending on our gender and age. DH and I need 3 oz. a day. I can use brown rice, whole wheat flour,oatmeal or cornmeal which are whole grains. Or I can use white flour, white bread or white rice as refined grains. The better choice in my mind is the whole grains but DH and I do like white rice especially with Chinese food. There are many other refined and whole grains but these are the ones that I use most.
Brown rice or white rice can be purchased cheaply in bulk at whole foods stores, Costco, Sams Club and BJ's. I purchase mine, right now at the grocery store using coupons because I am too cheap to pay to shop at a retail store. I have belonged to each of the aforementioned, at one point or another in my life, but found that I did NOT save enough to warrant the membership fees. When I lived in AZ, I could buy the rice cheaply at the Asian market which is another option. I will definitely be looking for different sources here.
I buy whole wheat and white flour around Thanksgiving because it is at the cheapest prices of the year. I make 90% of our bread so we use alot. I just throw it in the freezer and it stays bug free.
Oatmeal and cornmeal are bought in their purest forms in those round containers. Stockpile it when it is on sale and use a coupon like the $1.00/1 IP coupon that is out now. I make oatmeal bread, put it in muffins, use it to make granola, and serve oatmeal for breakfast. Cornmeal is sprinkled on homemade pizza dough crusts, put in muffins and for making cornbread to eat and for stuffing.
We need 1 and 1/2 cups - 2 cups of fruit a day. DH and I need 1 and 1/2 cups. Fruits come in many forms: fresh, canned, dried or frozen either as juice, fruit chunks or whole frozen fruit. A small apple or orange would equal a cup of fruit. When fruit is in season, it is usually at it's cheapest price. I love to buy at farm stands which I believe have the best prices. You can also get a great deal at the U- Pick Farms when berries or apples are in season. Produce stores are another source for cheap fruits and vegetables. My son and DIL buy through co-ops and get great prices. When it is not in season, I buy it frozen or canned using coupons. I have found bags of frozen strawberries at Dollar Tree for $1.00 which is my best price at the moment. Bananas are usually $ .33 a lb. at Save -A-Lot.
You need 5 and 1/2 to 6 and 1/2 ounces from the meat or beans group. DH and I need 5 and 1/2. You can get this by buying meat, poultry, eggs, dry beans and peas, nuts and seeds, and fish. I buy our meat, poultry and fish on sale at rock bottom prices or reduced for quick sale. I use a coupon if I have one. You can buy the cheaper cuts of meat and slow cook them in the crockpot which tenderizes them. The cheapest chicken or turkey that I can buy are whole ones on sale. I stock when chicken is $.69 - $ .79 a lb. for the whole ones. I like to buy my whole turkeys at Thanksgiving for $ .29-$ .49 a lb. You will never get cheaper, healthier meat. If you have a freezer, buy 4-6 and use them during the year. If you have less room, stock on whole turkey breasts for $ .99 a lb. in the spring around Easter. Eggs are tough to stock on. I do buy them when they are $ .69 a dozen or reduced for quick sale and scramble 2 in a container with a touch of salt and freeze them. When I need them for a cake or for scrambled eggs I thaw a container. Dry beans and peas are cheap even in the market but I am sure that they are cheaper at places like Sams Club. The larger the bag, the cheaper they will be. Nuts are cheapest again during the holidays. I buy pecan, almonds and walnuts at that time of the year and freeze them to use throughout the year in breads,muffins, cookies and pies. I buy sunflower seeds when Davids has a coupon out. You can roast your pumpkin seeds from your Halloween pumpkin and lightly salt them. Fresh fish is expensive even when it is on sale. But since it is a healthy choice and DH and I both like it, we try to buy some at least every other week. If your funds are really limited, buy tuna fish on sale with a coupon.
Adults need 2-3 cups of vegetables a day. DH and I need 2 cups. These includes all vegetables including the dry beans and peas that were in the meat group. I try to serve a variety of dark green and orange or yellow or starchy vegetables. DH would be happy if we had corn at every meal but it is really not that good for you. I give in once in a while but not often. The cheapest way to buy these are the same way I mentioned buying fruits. I try to buy in season on sale most of the time. We also use a lot of carrots, celery, onions and peppers in our meal recipes. I buy peppers when they are their peak and really cheap, dice and slice and freeze them. We use them throughout the year in stir frys, skillet dishes, stews, soups, and on pizza. We also eat a lot of salads. I buy lettuce and veggies that are in season for these or the bagged salads when they are cheap with a coupon.
The next group is our milk group which not only includes milk, but cheeses, yogurt, ice cream and puddings made with milk. Adults need 3 cups a day. I buy milk on sale, and cheese on sale with coupons when possible. I make my own yogurt using my machine. I don't have it now at the apartment so I have been buying on sale yogurt with coupons. Homemade yogurt is so much cheaper and tastes so much better. I know that it can be made in a slow cooker also. Google for recipes. Sadly ice cream is our downfall in this household. So lots of times I buy sherbert since it is healthier. Both are purchased with coupons. I make puddings from Jello or Royal boxes which I can usually get cheap after coupons when Walgreens has sales on them. It is also pretty easy to make from scratch.
Then there are your fats and oils. We should all stick to a couple of Tbsps. of these a day whether they be oil that you cook with, olive oil which is the healthiest, butter or margarine. And of course then you have your extras like beer or wine, candy or soda. These should be used sparingly. If you have really limited funds, skip these extras. They are expensive. DH and I like a glass of wine with dinner. But we don't have it all the time. The same with an occasional beer. They have proved over the years that these can be healthy for you in moderation.
I think that just about covers the necessities except for water. I drink a lot of water. But I drink it out of the tap or refrigerator. The only time I have purchased water is when I have gotten it free or for pennies. I really do prefer it from the tap. I am buying it here in the apartment to drink and make coffee and tea with because I don't know whats in the pipes in these buildings. But I buy it at a $1.00 a gallon. That will stop in the new house because all of our water will be filtered there.
I really don't see that we need anything else to keep us healthy and full. So if you are having money problems and want to stay healthy, just buy these things. Most of these foods can be found in the perimeter of the market except for nuts, rice and canned veggies and fruits that are out of season. I think you will find that you are spending less money than buying the heavily processed items in the center aisles. If you can buy the stuff in the center aisles for pennies with coupons them that is a different story. But you do have to balance health and cost when it comes to those.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us your ideas!
I just needed a couple of things at Tops today. Since I am doing so well with my $ 150. grocery budget this month, I bought a couple of splurges this morning. This is what I purchased:
2 pkgs of 80% Lean Ground Beef - Reduced for quick sale- one was $ 2.09 and one was $ 2.05 = $ 4.14
1 pkg. of Deli Roast Beef - $ 4.94
1 pkg. of Tops Raspberry Cookies - $ 1.00
2 Pillsbury Flaky Grand Biscuits - 2/$3. - Used $ .75/2 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled = $2.00 or $1.00 each
1 International Delight Creamer - $ 2.09 - Used $ .55/1 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled ( Thanks Laurie) = $ 1.09
Total was $ 13.17 but nothing OOP because I paid with my bank giftcard.
My grocery budget was $ 50.11 minus the $ 13.17 I spent today leaves $36.94 for the rest of the month.
Analysis: The splurges were the cookies and the deli roast beef. Do you see the container in the picture with the juice? That is roast beef juice that Tops will give you with your deli roast beef if you want it. It's to make your Beef on a Kummelweck roll. I have never tried their au jus so decided I would tell them I wanted it this morning and try it out. I usually make my own au jus when we make roast beef. We are down to a turkey breast, some Italian sausage and some chicken in the freezer, so I decided it was time to get some more meat. I was very happy to see the reduced for quick sale ground beef, so I got 2 packages. Those packages will give us at least 4 meals. The biscuits were a great price after coupon and we love to use them for egg, bacon and cheese sandwiches for breakfasts. DH must have his creamer in his coffee. Laurie was nice enough to send me an envelope of creamer coupons. They expire this month so as soon as I determine that I won't need my budget money for other things this month, I will stock on them. I am pretty sure at this point that I will probably have the money left to do it. If not, I may borrow money from next month's budget in order to use the coupons up.
Today was a very busy day. Now that I am feeling so much better, things are getting back to normal around here. These are some of the things that were done today that affect our net worth:
- Breakfast was homemade banana pancakes and syrup, orange juice and coffee.
- Since I knew it would be a busy day, I put Hot Italian sausage and spaghetti sauce on low in the crockpot this morning. I am doing enough for two meals. This is so much cheaper than eating out or stopping for take out. The temptation is always there when you have so much to do. I had Italian rolls that I had frozen the end of December because I didn't want them to go bad. I pulled them out and made garlic bread.
- I received 3 Amazon gift certificates from Swagbucks. So I ordered J.K. Lassers guide to 2010 Income Taxes for free. Our taxes will be very complicated so I want to make sure that I have the most updated information.
- The mail had the Home Made Simple coupon booklet. I also received $13.00 in checks today.
- Submitted for my Rite Aid Single Check Rebate.
- DH went up to check on the progress of our home today. All of the interior walls have been framed and almost all of the roof trusses are in position.
- DH filled up the van with gasoline at the NOCO which is the cheapest in the area on his way to the house. Although with gasoline nearing $3.00 a gallon, it is hard to call it cheap.
- Filed coupons from recent magazines and the mail in my binder to stay updated.
- Lunch was leftover Chinese food from dinner last night. I always use up our leftovers. Otherwise it is money being thrown away.
- I ordered the free photo calendar from Walgreens today. I only had to pay tax and shipping because I used the code FREE4U at checkout which deducted the $9.99 that the calendar cost. Just go here to create your own: Free Photo Calendar This offer was perfect for me with having a new grandson. This offer expires on January 23, which is Saturday.
- I cleaned the living room and dining room and organized our files and my desk area. Staying organized is the key to upping your net worth. Disorganization will sink it!
- I only needed a couple of things at Wegmans so I made a quick trip and purchased:
4- 2 ltr. bottles of Diet Coke - 4/$5.00 - Used $1./4 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 4.00
2 Boxes of Wegmans Kleenex - $ .79 each = $ 1.58
7 Bonus Softsoap Hand Soap - $ .99 each - Used (7) $ .40/1 IP Cpns Dbled = $ .19 each
My total OOP was $ 7.49. It is so nice to have friends that helped me get the extra IP coupons that I needed. I had to break my order into 3 because Wegmans would only double 3 coupons per order but the cashier was great about doing this. My grocery budget was $ 57.60 minus the $ 7.49 that I spent today leaves $ 50.11 for the rest of the month.
Entertainment tonight will be CSI and The Mentalist. Earlier DH and I will be bowling on the Wii! I love it when I beat him! :-)
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you did to up your net worth today.
These are some of the things I did today to save money:
1. Signed up at Kashless.org and linked my account to Recycle Bank. I did searches and earned the 300 points for the week last night. Today, I have the points in my account. I have ordered a couple of Coke coupons and will be keeping an eye on what else I can order. A Thank You to KC for posting about this!
2. Breakfast was French Toast using bread that was getting old and turkey bacon.
3. I ventured out into the fog this morning to go to Target, Walgreens and Rite Aid. This is what I purchased:
Target:
Childs Play Workbench - On Sale 75% off - $ 1.98
1 Dozen Eggs - $ 1.19
1 Child's Hooded Sweatshirt - On Sale 75% off - $ 1.75
Total was $ 5.17 including tax but nothing OOP because I paid with a bank giftcard. Thanks KC for letting me know that Target was at 75% off. I needed some baby gifts.
Walgreens:
1 - 14oz. Chocolate Peppermint Bark - on sale for 75% off - $ .50
2- Wet Ones Wipes - 40 ct. - On Sale for $ 2.00 each - Used (2) $ 1.50 IP Cpns = $ 1.00 and I received a $ 1.00 RR
1/2 gal. Of Milk - $ 1.19
Used $ 2.50 RR
Total OOP was $.58 and I received the $1.00 RR. I was thrilled with the Wet Ones because they are antibacterial so I use them to clean. We needed milk, so I needed a filler to be able to use the $ 2.50 RR. I was glad to find this big chocolate bark and it is now in the freezer until I make cookies.
Rite Aid:
2 Cadbury Cream Eggs - $ .50 each - Used $ .50/2 Rite Aid Ad Perk Cpn = both for $ .50
1 Bonus Pack of Bayer Aspirin 81 mg. - $ 1.99 - Used $ 2.00 Rite Aid Ad Perk Cpn - made $ .01
Total OOP was $ .58 including tax. Notice that I spent $ .58 at both here and Walgreens! :-) They had the regular box of Bayer on sale for $ 1.99 but I spotted the bonus pack and had it scanned and it too rang up at $ 1.99. So look for those. Both DH and I take these everyday so I am glad to find them free. The Cadbury Eggs will be put away for Easter!
4. Lunch was homemade chicken barley soup.
5. I ordered two Coke coupons from Coke Rewards.
6. I ordered another Amazon.com $5.00 GC from Swagbucks.
7. I spent some time, while I was watching TV, filing coupons in my binder. I found a channel that I hadn't seen before that has Clean Home on it. This show just grossed me out. They had the Messiest House in America on. It made me ill to think that people live like that. If you need a dumpster or trucks to take your stuff (clutter) out of your house, you need more help than a redesign.
8. My Tops list is made and I will pull coupons for it while I watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters tonight.
9. Dinner was frozen pizza. Since I am a little under the weather, I took the easy route.
I will update this post if I do any other money saving things today and I will show it in the title. Meawhile please leave a comment and share with us what you did today to save money!
Those of you who have been reading my blog for a couple of years now know that I do nothing without a lot of research. This morning we went up to the house to see our completed shingled roof. On the way back we stopped at the appliance store near us...Orville's. My son purchased all of his appliances through them and was very satisfied not only with his purchases but with their delivery and installation. They are more than willing for us to put a small deposit down on them and deliver them when we are in the new house.
We are just at the beginning of our research. We are looking to buy a stainless steel dishwasher...all stainless steel tub and whisper quiet. We liked this one alot:
http://www.bosch-home.com/us/products/dishwashers/dishwashers/visible-controls/SHE55M15UC.html?source=browse
DH researched it on Consumer Reports when we got home and it is top rated, so this is the one we will buy.
Next we looked at gas ranges and found this one:
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/kitchen-appliances/gas-electric-ranges/fggf3054kf
It is rated above average by not only Consumer Reports but a few other sites also. They seem to all be saying that it doesn't broil well. I never broil indoors so that is not a hang up that I have. We have not had a steak since we left Arizona because to us a steak does not taste good unless it is cooked on a gas grill outdoors. I love the griddle burner in the middle and the fact that the oven is also a warming oven. I love that it converts to a convection oven also. It also has the special coating on the stainless steel so you don't leave fingerprints. We are thinking this might be the one. We will be looking at the top rated one when we go back and comparing it to this one.
We also will be buying an above the range microwave oven and we were looking at this one:
http://www.bosch-home.com/us/products/cooking/microwaves/HMV9305.html?source=browse
However, Consumer Reports is not rating this one very well. So I think we will look at the top rated ones back at the store.
Lastly, I want a small chest freezer for the basement that will hold my 6 turkeys that I buy every Christmas and other meats, veggies, and rolls, etc. For years I had a 27 cu ft. manual defrost chest freezer and loved it. But since I no longer have children living at home and I have a large Kitchen Aid side by side refrigerator -freezer, I don't need that much extra space. My freezer side of the refrigerator is huge. A chest freezer is so much more efficient energywise than an upright. I refuse to pay for self defrost in electric bills. You only have to manually defrost about once a year and it is so easy to do. So I found this one:
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/kitchen-appliances/freezers/ffc0923dw
It is just perfect for what I want to do and it is top rated.
If any of you have any of these appliances, please leave a comment and let me know if you do or do not like them. Pros and cons please!
I had just purchased all new stainless steel appliances just before we sold the house in Arizona as you see in the picture. Here we go again!
Today was a busy day. DH made coffee, juice and English muffins with blueberry jam for us for breakfast.
I got busy making some telephone calls that needed to be done. Let me tell you a story. When we moved here, one of the first things we did was visit the bank where we had an account here in NY.
Besides doing a lot of banking transactions that day, we ordered ATM cards so that we could access our money more easily than going to the bank. That was in early December. Being the patient people that we are, we waited 4 weeks for the cards to arrive. No cards. DH called them this past Monday to find out where they were and was informed that they were never ordered. The banker told us he would order them and try to have them overnighted. The banker promised my DH that he would call him the very next day, Tuesday and tell us the status. He never called us. We went to pick up our mail yesterday and there were no cards. I decided to call the President & CEO of the bank this morning to find out why I can't get ATM cards 5 weeks after ordering them so that I can easily access my money. We have an ATM very close to us and that is much easier than driving on a very busy road, a direction that we rarely drive to get to the branch. I have talked to the President over the years and would not hesitate to do so again. I called so early this morning that a banker told me that I would only get a secretary at his office at that hour and that they would get me to a manager who could help me now. So I agreed to speak to the manager. The manager listened and apologized. I told her that I was now a little aggravated that it was coming up on a holiday weekend and my card would be delayed even longer. I asked her what could be done to get my cards to me asap. She informed me that they couldn't get the cards to me until Wednesday now because of the holiday. She couldn't have been more apologetic. She said she did not want us to go without money over the weekend. Her idea, not mine! We could have made the trip to the bank branch. She said she would be arranging for the branch manager to come to our apartment this morning and give us a $100. Giftcard so that we could spend some money and enjoy our holiday. Meanwhile she would get our cards overnighted to us and they would arrive on Wednesday. The branch manager called shortly afterwards and asked me if it was a convenient time for her to come. We said yes. She arrived and apologized and gave us the $100. Giftcard as a gift to enjoy this weekend. Shortly afterwards the manager I had spoken to in the morning called and said that she had good news. It seems the company they order the ATM cards from do not have the Monday holiday off and they will overnight the cards to us and we will have them on Tuesday. She wanted to make sure that we would be home to sign for them. I told her we would. It is really too bad that we had to put up with lousy customer service to get our cards but we feel like the bank values us as a customer and if the cards arrive on Tuesday, we will continue to do business with them. Meanwhile we will enjoy our weekend on them.
After a lunch which consisted of chicken sandwiches and chips, DH and I went up to our house lot. No one working there which was disappointing. Then we went to the Post Office so I could mail a package to my grandaughter of goodies that I have purchased her this past couple of weeks. Priority mail is so cheap from here to there. I am used to paying a fortune to mail from AZ.
On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at Pier 1 which is one of my favorite stores when they are having a sale. I got the stuffed elephant in the picture clearanced from $15.00 down to $7.48. I spotted him from across the store. So I have a lovely gift for my new grandchild who will be born soon.
One of my favorite places to eat out here is Duff's. I love their beef and their wings. So we are meeting my son and DIL there for a late dinner tonight. Since we planned on treating, that $100. Giftcard is going to get used pretty quickly.
Other than those things and some paperwork, I just did a couple of loads of laundry with minimal detergent, cold water and minimal time in the dryer.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you did to save money today.
One of the things that I like to do for dinner in the winter is roast a chicken. To me and DH, there is nothing more delectable than a Perdue Oven Stuffer. So this week when Top's had them on sale again, I purchased one. Since I wanted to spoil DH for dinner last night, I made the one pictured. We had chicken, stuffing, gravy, and homemade waldorf salad.
After dinner, I removed all the rest of the meat and we will enjoy that over the weekend for easy meals. By Monday, I should have just about enough left to make a nice size pot of homemade chicken rice soup. The chicken cost me $ 6.96 so if I can get 5 meals out of it, each meal will only cost about $ 1.32 per meal. Cheap and delicious is how I like to eat!
I went out to Target to pick up a plug in thingie for DH. He needed something to plug into the 2 plug outlet to make it more outlets. I found them on clearance for $ 3.48 each. How often would that happen? :-) It looks like I will be doing most of the errands and driving for a while. More about that at the end!
Thanks to KC whose blog is here: Desert Diva Deals I knew that Target was clearancing toddler shoes. So I got this cute pair of Mary Janes clearanced for $ 2.48 and these Dora Explorer sneakers clearanced for $ 3.74 for my grandaughter. Because of KC, I also knew that they were clearancing toys at 50%, possibly going to 75%. Mine only had them at 50% but I was able to pick up some neat toys for next Christmas. I won't post that picture so that they will be a surprise.
Now for the news about DH. When we were packing and getting ready to move in AZ, DH stubbed his toe. He didn't think much of it at the time but the past few weeks, his second toe has been pointing off to the side, is swollen and bothers him. He finally ( yes, he is stubborn) decided to make an appointment with a foot doctor which I took him to this morning. Not only was his toe broken but it was also dislocated. So the Dr. straightened it out and put a buddy splint on. So I will be pampering him for a while. :-)
Today I made 60 potstickers. We had about 20 for dinner and will have the other 10 for lunch tomorrow. The other 30 are in the freezer for a couple of other meals. Here is the recipe I kind of followed:
http://www.leanonlamb.com/print.php?in=appetizers1
I used ground lamb since I purchased it at a reduced price. I used bagged coleslaw instead of buying an entire head of cabbage. I used powdered ginger and instead of sherry, I used water. I skipped the jalapeno pepper. I served it with a choice of soy sauce, tamari sauce or Wasabi sauce. DH loved them!
I very rarely follow a recipe exactly. I make substitutions most of the time to make the cost fit my budget.
I am starting to write down ideas on organizing my new kitchen. Hating clutter and being a firm believer in a place for everything and everything in it's place, I want to put a lot of thought into this. My kitchen in my prior house, pictured above, was pretty well organized and clutter free but I want this one to be even better.
The morning room is going to be where our dining room furniture will go. This is where we will eat most of our meals. Otherwise we will eat them at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. The dinette area I am thinking about keeping totally open. The glass hutch area is the highlighted blue area in the dinette. It will house my second pantry and just to the left of that will be my built in desk area with internet and telephone for my laptop and phone. I am going to love that desk area for planning meals. The rest of the lower area will be cupboards and the entire upper area will be glass front cupboards.
I accidentally posted this. I will finish it later this afternoon. There are more pressing things right now.
UPDATE: Sorry about that, I am back now. DH and I went to Rochester to a family run furniture store where we purchased all of the furniture that we have been looking for. We also met our son, who works in Rochester, for lunch at our favorite Chinese Restaurant. More about that later...so back to the kitchen.
I am thinking, since the morning room is near the glass hutch area, that I will put all of our dishes, glassware, silverware, placemats and runners in the glass hutch area. The breakfast bar will be close to that area also. The bottom cupboards would be perfect for the small appliances that I don't use everyday. My Foodsaver will be put on the counter right next to the refrigerator so that I can vacuum my meat purchases before I freeze them. So the drawers there will also house bags for the Foodsaver, my Ziploc bags, saran wraps and aluminum foils.
Near where my gas range is, I am thinking I will make a baking center with space for pans, baking ingredients, mixing bowls and spoons, rolling pin, mixer, measuring cups and spoons, etc. All of my cupboards have shelves that pull out so this would be perfect for those items. The drawers will be great for large spoons, basters, floppers, spatulas,meat thermometers, etc. The corner between the range and the sink has a bottom cabinet that pulls out to house all of my cookie sheets and flat pans standing on their sides. So I think this area will be perfect for baking. I am thinking all of my other pots will fit in the cupboard to the left of the stove when you face it or in the stove drawer, although the range drawer would be a last resort. I like to leave that empty if I can except for the broiler pan and the griddle for the middle of the gas range, when I am not using it.
The sink area will be my wet and prep area. The counter will house the coffeepot which will stay out on it. The water is right there to use. One of my two sinks will be a prep sink so I will put the containers that roll out inside two of the cupboards there for garbage and a recycling bin. I had this area in Arizona and loved it. The upper cupboards to the left of the sink will house my cutting boards. The drawers will house the knives, potato peelers, can opener, bottle openers, cork screws, etc. Any other wet or prep area items will go there...vases, pitchers for making iced tea, teas, and coffees,etc. The cupboard under the sink will only house dishwashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, Jet Dry, brillo pads, sponges liquid hand soap,etc. The drawer next to it will have dishtowels.
The two pantries will be for dry goods storage and cleaning supplies. The dry goods will most likely go in the pantry next to the refrigerator. I will group like items together in there. The cleaning supplies in the one in the dinette area. I will also use the upper shelves in that pantry for my big Nesco roasters, my pasta machine, muy large stockpot, and the crockpots. I haven't decided whether to leave my breadmaker on the counter permanently or not.
So what do you all think? Have I left anything out? Can you give me a better idea on something? Please feel free to let me know what you think and if something has worked better for you. Leave a comment and we can all share your ideas.
It has been pretty quiet around here the last few days. But this is what we have done to save money:
On Sunday:
- I cut and filed coupons to keep them up to date.
- I did one load of laundry with cold water, minimal detergent and about 30 minutes of dryer time.
- I exercised for 30 minutes.
- Besides going to Rite Aid and Walgreens to get some things we needed on sale, I went to Kohl's in my quest to buy some more winter clothes. I looked at clothes for DH, my grandaughter and myself. There was absolutely nothing that I would buy. I have a couple of requirements when I buy clothes. They must be something I really love, fit well, and they must be on sale for at least 70-% off. Nothing at Kohl's met these requirements. I can take my time finding them because I am doing just fine with a minimal wardrobe of 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of wool pants, 7 long sleeve tops and a couple of sweaters. DH has much more than I do because he kept a lot of his winter clothes from before and they are in great shape. I am finding jeans worn with knee highs keep me really warm. I also purchased really nice slipper boots for myself and both of my DIL's from L.L.Bean for Christmas. Those have been a real necessity. DH and I both have outerwear. So if I don't find more winter clothes until next year, we are just fine.
- My son and DIL invited us to their home for dinner and to watch my beloved AZ Cardinals vs. Green Bay in the playoff game. I offered to get Chinese take out for all of us for dinner since I was craving Chinese food. However, my son said they prefer their own Chinese food and would prefer to cook. He made the best Orange Chicken that I have ever had. It was so much better than restaurant take out. It was served on rice with a side of fresh broccoli. So I saved entertainment money with the exception of bringing some soda and beer and we had the best dinner that we have had in a long time. Cheap entertainment was watching my AZ Cardinals win.
- After we got home from the game, I watched my two Sunday shows, Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. It was a nice way to end a lovely weekend.
On Monday:
- We watched a Free movie " Ironman" from the complex office. I returned that one and another one and borrowed two more.
- Breakfast was yogurt and cereal parfaits. Lunch was egg salad sandwiches.
- Dinner was mac and cheese and fish sticks baked in the oven. If I am going to turn it on, I may as well make full use of it. Veggie was a nice tossed salad.
- I did my CVS deal shopping and spent my ECB's that were expiring. I also found the Dent Building since we are going to a new Dr. in there this week. I still can't get used to picking up prescriptions without giftcard coupons.
- The mail brought $7.00 in rebates.
- I mailed the Tombstone Rebate which will pay $15.00 on my heating bill!
- I purchased a movie on Amazon and received the Free Movie ticket so see Alvin and the Chipmunks.
- Last night's entertainment was CSI Miami!
Today:
- Breakfast was cereal and milk. We sure have lots of cereal to eat over the next few weeks.
- DH and I watched a movie borrowed from the office called: The House on the Left. It was boring and dragged but we made it to the end.
- Then we went out to our home lot to find them moving right along. On the way home, we stopped at this little Italian Restaurant called Luigi's in Swormville for pizza. It was the best pizza that we have eaten in over 8 years. DH says it ranks up there as one of the best two pizza places that we have eaten at in our lifetime. We met and chatted with Nick who is the owner's brother. He served the pizza with the best breadsticks that we have ever had. He told me he makes them fresh every morning. They also have a nice dining room for dinner and a great menu so we will be going back to try their Veal Parm. We brought 1/2 the pizza home so that will be dinner tonight also. It didn't save us money over my homemade but it was so much better than mine and very inexspensive! Swormville is a very interesting little village. Lots of cute little places and I want to go inside and look at the architecture of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Maybe next time we pass it.
- I received a very nice envelope of creamer coupons from Laurie. Thanks so much Laurie for thinking of me. Creamer is so darn expensive and this will help me stock and defray the cost.
- We stopped at the cheapest gas station along the way so we saved $ .02 a gallon on gasoline. I would never drive any distance to save that but since it was right on the way we stopped. Every little bit helps with gas hovering at $3.00 a gallon.
- I ordered another Amazon gift certificate from Swagbucks.
- I took two surveys that pay cash.
- I am tired so I think I will take a nap! Priceless!
- Entertainment tonight will be the NCIS's which we both love!
Feel free to leave a comment and share with everyone what you did to save money the last few days.
I ventured out this morning to CVS and Tops. I sure wish the CVS was closer than it is but I at least found a quicker route to it today. This is what I purchased:
Tops:
3 Grande Tortilla Chips - $2.00 each - Used $1./1 Mfrs. Cpns = $1.00 each
4 Kimmelweck Rolls - $.45 each = $1.80
2 Quaker True Delights Rice Snacks - $1.00 each - Used $ .75/1 Mfrs. Cpns Dbled = Free
1 Perdue Oven Stuffer @ $ .89 lb= $ 6.96
2- 4 packs of Dannon Activia Yogurt- $ 2.00 each - Used $1./1 Mfrs. Cpns = $ 1.00 each
4 pkgs of Jennie - O Turkey Franks - 3 for $ 4.00 - Used $1./2 Mfrs. Cpns = $3.34
2 cans Campbells Chunky Soup - $ 1.00 each - Used $ 1./2 Mfrs. Catalina Cpn = $ .50 each
1 Family Size On Cor Macaroni and Cheese - $ 2.49 - Used Free Coupon = Free
Total OOP was $ 18.10
CVS:
1 Tide - $ 10.97
2 - 10 packs+2 Bonus ones of CVS AA Alkaline Batteries - on sale B1G1F = $ 6.49
2 Pantene Pro-V Shampoo - 2 for $ 6.97 - Used $ 3./2 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 3.97 and I received $2.00 in ECB's
2 CVS Green Bag Tags - $ .99 each = $ 1.98 and I received $ 1.00 in ECB's
1 Dry Idea Deodorant - $ 2.50
2 Cans of Gold Emblem Cashews - $ 4.98each = $ 9.96
1 Diet Coke -$ 1.59 - Used $ .05/1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 1.09
Used $ 5./20 CVS Cpn
Used $ 21.00 in ECB's
Total was $ 13.07 including tax and bottle deposit but I paid with Free CVS Giftcards so nothing OOP and I received $3.00 in ECB's. One note: I planned on buying some different items but they were out so I had to substitute last minute and didn't have my coupons with me. So that is why I had no coupon for the Tide or Dry Idea. I wanted to use up the $21. in ECB's since I only go to CVS when we need prescriptions.
I started with $ 78.05 in my grocery budget minus the $ 18.10 I spent today leaves $ 59.95 for the rest of the month!
I was up and out early this morning. So early that Rite Aid wasn't open so I had to wait for them to open. FrugalSuz , I finally found my Rite Aid. If it was any closer to where I live, it would be in my backyard. So today I started doing those single check rebates! I also went to Walgreens and Wegmans for a couple of things.
This is what I purchased:
Rite Aid:
4- 2 ltr. Diet Coke( for DH) - 4 for $5.00 - Used In Ad Store Cpn for $1.00- Used $ 1./3 Mfrs. Cpn = $3.00 or $ .75 a bottle
1 Theraflu - $ 4.99 - Used $2./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 2.99 and I will submit for SCR of $ 3.00, so a $ .01 Moneymaker
1 Contact Cold and Flu - $ 4.99 - Used $ 2./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 2.99 and I will submit for $ 4.99 SCR, so this was a $ 2.00 Moneymaker
1 Windex - $2.49 - Used In Ad Store Cpn for $ .50/1 - Used 1./1 IP Cpn = $ .99
Total OOP was $10.74 including tax and $ .20 in bottle deposits but I will get back $ 7.99 in Single Check Rebates. Of course, I used my Wellness card to get points and I got two Wellness Rewards coupons towards seasonal items and shaving items. They also are starting the Game of Life today and I received 5 game pieces, one of which was an Instant winner of 2 more game pieces. I think I am going to like Rite Aid!
Wegmans:
2 Wegmans Mouthwash - $ .99 each = $ 1.98
Total OOP inclduing tax was $ 2.15!
We were almost out of mouthwash and I noticed this deal the other day. It is in a display at the front of the store. Limit 2.
Walgreens:
1 Lubriderm Lotion - $ 3.99 - Used $ 2./1 IP Cpn = $ 1.99
2 Aveeno Lotion - $ 2.99 each - Used $ 2./1 IP Cpns on each = $.99 each
1 ROC facial Cleanser - $ 9.99 - Used $ 3./1 IP Cpn = $ 6.99
1 Thermacare Neck and Wrist Wrap - $ 2.49 - Used $ 1./1 IP Cpn = $ 1.49 and I received a $ 2.50 RR so this was a $ 1.01 Moneymaker
1 Buffalo Newspaper (not in picture) - $2.00
Total OOP was $ 8.61 including tax. For some reason the receipt shows they took off 1 Lubriderm Free for $ 3.99 and 1 Aveeno Free for $ 2.99, so the extra paid for the newspaper and part of the tax. I also received a $ 2.50 RR! I also spent $ 19.96 of the $30.00 for the $10.00 Beauty For All Ages Rebate that I am working on.
My grocery budget for the month was $ 99.55 minus the $ 21.50 I spent today leaves $ 78.05 for the rest of the month.
One of my online friends has told me they are thinking about downsizing from their home with a mortgage to an apartment where they will pay rent. I will keep that person's name private. They had a job loss many months ago and have spent most of their savings, went many months trying to find a job, and finally the DH found one but at less money than he was making before. They don't want to be in the situation of not being able to afford the things they need to buy. They can rent for about $550. less than their mortgage payment. They feel they can sell their home and lose nothing but the three years of mortgage payments that they have made on it. They wanted my advice on this situation. I am concerned that this person will not be able to sell their home and break even.
First, I want to say I am no expert when it comes to finances. I also am not a realtor nor do I pretend to be. Fortunately, I have never been in the situation that this person is in so I really can't advise. I can only pull from our experiences selling our last three homes.
These are some of the things I think this person and her family and anyone else who is looking to downsize should look at before they make their decision:
- First and most important, do not sign a lease for the apartment or another home before you sell your home. You do not want to end up owning a home and having to pay rent also. I have a relative who owns a home in Florida who has not been able to sell their home for three years after having to move for a job. Fortunately, they now have been able to rent it for the past 10 months or so to decent tenants but they are not able in the renters market there to recoup all of their costs. But for most of the three years they have had to carry all of the costs. We signed to build another home here before we even put our home in AZ on the market. However, we had the luxury to do so because we had no mortgage on our AZ home and we knew that we had the money to carry both homes if our AZ home took a long time to sell. Most people do not have that luxury especially when they are downsizing for financial reasons.
- Do your research and find the best realtor you can. I researched realtors for a few days before I decided on the one we hired to sell our last home . I wanted one who worked full time as a realtor and wasn't just doing real estate as a second job. I wanted one who was familiar with our area of the valley, one who had been selling real estate for at least 20 years, and one who actually had a recent history of selling lots of homes. Then I interviewed her and decided whether she was the right one or not.
- Once you have picked your realtor, meet with he or she and get all of your questions answered well before you agree to sell. Make sure that they can show you the comparable houses that have sold in your area for the past 6 months. The more recent the sales the better to base what you can get your house sold for. Ask your realtor how long those houses took to sell. Ask your realtor what reasonable price they think you should list your home for and how much they think you will actually clear after the realty commission( make sure you negotiate a better commission percentage than what they first offer) and all of the other seller costs. Yes, there are seller closing costs. More about those in a minute.
I am going to stress reasonable pricing especially in this economy. You have to remember that it is a buyer's market today and they are looking for a deal. We priced our home in AZ to sell in that market. AZ, CA, NV, and FL have the worse real estate markets in the country. There are thousands of homes on the market. Many of them are foreclosures. That has brought the price of houses way down over the past couple of years. These 4 states also had the highest increase in housing prices over the prior couple of years before the bottom fell out of the housing market. So those states had farther for the prices to fall. We priced our home reasonably for the market. We did our own research along with looking at the comps from the realtor. Our home was not a foreclosure so we knew that it would be appraised "at arm's length" not at a foreclosure price. We also knew our home was immaculate, uncluttered, had been very well maintained for 10 years, and beautifully interior designed so would show well. These are all things you should look at when you are thinking of selling. Clear out that clutter and repair anything that needs to be done. So taking our realtors advice and knowing exactly how much we wanted to clear after realtors commissions and sellers closing costs, we priced our home to sell. We priced it $ 40,000 above the same model house with a pool that was for sale only 3 doors down from us. That house had been on the market for a small amount of time. We priced it $30,000. under the same model house that had been on the market for at least 6 months. Our model home had not sold in our neighborhood since the prices were at the top of the market so it was somewhat of a guessing game.We only had comparable square foot houses to go by. But she agreed that the price we listed it at was a reasonable listing price and that it should appraise for that amount. This is am important point. You can sell your house for a high price and then the bank appraiser for the buyer can come back with an appraisal that is lower than that price. Then you have a real problem. Our home appraised for more than we sold it at. She told us homes in AZ were taking 6-9 months to sell so we should get it on the market as quickly as possible. We signed right away. It was put on the multiple list at 2 PM one day and the calls started coming right away. It was shown at 6 PM that evening and our realtor had an offer at 11pm that evening. She presented the offer to us the next day. The price the buyer wanted to pay was very acceptable to us. However she wanted us to pay way too much of her closing costs. We told our realtor that was not acceptable and we counter- offered less than 1/2 of what the buyer wanted in closing costs. I think our realtor thought we were nuts to take the chance in such a horrible selling market. But she presented the counter offer and the buyer accepted. We got a good deal( we cleared after seller costs about $ 5,000. more than we thought we would) and the buyer got a good deal. Our realtor told us that was the fastest she had sold a house in 30 years. It also didn't hurt us that our home had been featured a few years before on a Phoenix TV station so that we could add that to the listing. Moral of this story: Price your house to sell; not what you think it should sell for. You should do everything you can to get the right price for your home but remember at the same time that luck plays a hand in it too. DH and I consider ourselves very, very lucky! BTW, those other two homes near the one we sold are still on the market.
- Make sure you know what the closing costs for you are going to be. You will have the realtors commission, that could be up to 6% or so. You may have to pay part of the buyer's closing costs. Most buyers are asking for some of this to be paid by the seller. Up and above those two items, we paid an additional $2,000. in closing costs for home warranties, HOA transfer fees, title company fees, property taxes(AZ bills in arrears), etc. Make sure that you have a pretty close estimate on what these are all going to cost you because they will be deducted from the sales price.
Bottom line, do your homework in advance and make darn sure that you are making the right decision for your family. I don't want to see you worse off. This person does not live in any of the hardest hit foreclosure states but in an area of the country where the housing downturn has not been as severe, but they still need to do their research. I hope this will help this family see what they need to do to know exactly how much money they will get out of their home. But, I will say this again: If you decide to sell your home do not sign a lease for an apartment until you know that your home is sold.
We have sold 3 homes in our lifetime. This one that I just wrote about. We sold our first one near Christmas which our realtor told us was a bad time of the year for a house to sell and not to look for any buyers until springtime. It sold in mid-December after only being on the market 5 weeks. Our second home we sold by owner in about 4 weeks( saving us a fortune in realtors commissions) to someone we knew. We have been very, very lucky! If this family who asked the question of me decides to sell their home, I wish them the same luck that we have had.
As I said before I am not a realtor and I am not an expert on finances. If any of you would like to leave a comment that could help this family make their decision, please feel free to. I don't have all the answers.
I decided it was too cold to go outside today. BRRR! But DH did go up to check on the house. I guess we are going to be in a deep freeze for the weekend. But I kept busy around here by:
- Serving a breakfast of fresh cantaloupe, oj, coffee and milk and cereal. That cantaloupe was so good from Save- A Lot that I will get another one when the rest of our fresh fruit is gone.
- I had two very ripe bananas left, so I peeled them and froze them. They will get used the next time I make banana pancakes or banana bread.
- The tax statements are going to start coming soon. I am getting prepared to do taxes since we have Federal, AZ State, and New York State to do for last year. I am unfamiliar with the New York State ones so I am researching the forms and instructions. Hopefully we won't owe too much on Federal. Both States will have to be paid because of no state withholding for us.
- I did another load of laundry in cold water with minimal detergent and minimal dryer time. So I am all caught up.
- Lunch was tuna salad sandwiches on English Muffins and iced tea.
- I made out two beer rebates for a total of $ 17.50 and got them ready to mail. Abigail's Mommy was right! You don't have to buy the beer for rebates in NYS. Yeah!
- My neighbors keep throwing small change on the ground. I guess some people just don't like pennies and nickels. Two days in a row this week, I have picked up money when I have gone outside. They want to throw it out; I will be glad to bend over and pick it up! Exercise that pays! :-)
- Since I didn't post the challenge yesterday, I wanted to let you know that my DIL and grandaughter called us on the web cam. We had such fun. My grandaughter got a microphone for Christmas and she sings songs to us. So cute! She is such a ham that she makes us all laugh. I just can't wait to hug and kiss her again and see my son and DIL. Hopefully, it won't be long. The cost of this entertainment: PRICELESS!
- I received a $ 10.00 Rebate in the mail today. That will go in our house fund.
- Last night, I made beef, veggie and rice soup from some of the leftover beef stew. We will be having that again tonight for dinner with homemade popovers with butter. I froze the rest of the beef for future dinners.
- DH and I watched the DVD " Nothing But The Truth" that we borrowed from the apt. office. I loved this movie but DH had the source figured out 1/2 way through it.
- Tonight I will be reading while DH is watching football for emtertainment.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us what you did to save money today.
I received the following excerpt in an e-mail from a reader yesterday:
I will never be able to live like you do. We are a family of four. My husband is 33 and I am 31 and we have two young children. Both my husband and I work fulltime and make a six figure income. There is no way we could ever own our home outright or pay cash for one like you are. We will always have a mortgage. We use credit cards to purchase the things we need so we will probably always owe those also.
You must have made a huge income to be able to be debt free, pay cash for a home and cash for all your other purchases. So fess up, how much did you make a year? $200,000, 400,000. or $500,000. a year?
I didn't print all of the e-mail because some of it was quite nasty. This e-mail at first, as Glenn Beck would say: "Made blood shoot out of my eyes!" But then I realized that perhaps the writer was really looking for an answer to their own problems. So I will make an attempt to respond to her question.
Let's clear up the income issue right away. When we first got married way back in the 60's, we made $5,000. a year. It took DH many years of working and going to school nights to get an advanced degree to get us up to a middle 5 figure income. The last couple years before DH retired, we made a high 5 figure income. I will also tell you that DH chose for most of those years to be a public servant which paid a whole lot less than he could have made in the private sector with his Engineering Batchelors Degree and his Masters Degree. We chose for me to be a stay at home mom for most of DH's career. I could have easily worked and we could have easily made a six figure income. But that is not the path we chose for ourselves and one that we have never regretted. I did go back to work for 6 years when the boys were 1/2 way through attending a very prestigious private military junior high and high school and to help with college expenses. I guess my small income did put us over the $100,000. mark for a couple of years but every penny of the money I made went to pay thousands of dollars in tuition and associated costs for the boys. We never used one penny of that money to live on or to save for anything. As soon as I had covered those costs, I quit working. I am a homebody and I loved taking care of my family and home. I HATED working with a passion because it took away from our home life.
We never made as much as you do now at your young ages and believe me we live on a whole lot less than you do now.
All of that being said, I see no reason why you can't be mortgageless in a number of years. If you choose to pay your mortage off early, you have the income to do it. We have paid for three homes in the years that we have been married. We are about to pay cash for a $300,000. one. It is all about choices which I have written about extensively here on my blog over the past couple of years. You are still young enough to be able to make the choices that you need to, to be totally debt free when you retire. You have to remember that what DH and I can do today is because of a lifetime of choices that we made that were best for us. When you don't pay for your needs on credit cards, especially when you make a six figure income like you do, you don't pay interest. When you aren't handing over interest to credit card companies, you are able to use that money for yourself. You need to reassess what you believe are needs. I would bet you that most of your needs are wants. When you pay off your mortgages early, you get to keep all of that interest that you would have paid. Oh yes, I have heard that ridiculous argument that you should not pay off your mortgage because of the tax write offs and the fact that your money would make more in the bank and the stock market. First, as I have said before, you only get a small portion of that interest back taxwise depending on your tax bracket. Secondly, the stock market is risky as we have seen only so well over the past few decades. The banks pay hardly any interest, especially now. So paying interest is a huge waste of money.
I have seen so many retired people who chose wants over needs over their 30-40 year careers. They can't even remember what they spent their money on and now are living at poverty level thinking poor me. They have nothing of any real value that they could even sell to make their lives better. They owe mortgages on their homes because they used them like piggybanks to pay off credit card bills or other debt every couple of years. There is only one reason in my mind as to why someone who purchased a home with a mortgage 30-40 years ago SHOULD still owe a mortgage. That reason would be because they needed that money to pay medical for a very sick child or relative. But the majority of people just made poor choices. They own a car or two but owe car payments on at least one. They wonder how they will pay their property and school taxes every year because they have not planned for them. Do you want to be that person? I know you are thinking that retirement is years away. Believe me when I say that life is short. It flies right by. So make good use of all of your choices while you are young and your money will snowball. You will be able to do what we can do, if that is what you want.
I sensed a bit of jealousy in your e-mail. There is no reason to be jealous of us. We made the choices that we knew would be best for us in retirement and we worked toward that goal for years. We lived a beautiful life while we were getting there without spending thousands of dollars frivolously. We have not missed out on a thing. We lived our life exactly the way we wanted to. We made our choices and we are now enjoying the fruits of our choices in our retirement. Anyone can do what we did! But you have to do what is best for your family. If you believe that having a mortgage, owing money on credit cards and having other loans for cars, etc., is the way to live and retire, go for it! But you will have no one to BLAME but yourself!
You have told told me you are new to my blog. If you really don't believe having a mortgage, owing credit cards and having other outstanding loans is the way to retire then go back and read my other posts. Start with these:
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/search/label/money,
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2008/11/should-they-retire-early.html ,
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/search/label/retirement ,
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/search/label/Saving%20money%20today
You are young and have at least 25-30 years before retirement. You can change your attitude and be where we are when you retire. Even if you are older and reading this, it is never too late to make your situation better. It can always get better if YOU make the right choices! As I have said before, I would like to see all of you be debt free and have a wonderful life.
This was another quiet day at Precious's residence. I actually like quiet days because I don't feel like I am running or rushing all of the time. We did go out for a couple of things mid afernoon though.
This is what happened around here that saved us money:
- Washed 3 loads of laundry( clothes, sheets, towels) in cold water with cold rinse and minimum time in the dryer. I hung all the permanent press before it needed to be ironed. All of these things were done to save on the electricity bill.
- I decided to cook the entire chuck roast in the crockpot today so that I will have all the cooked leftover meat for other dishes. I used up lots of carrots, celery, and onions. I made Beef En Daube which I will serve over rice instead of noodles. This saves me the electricity that would be used by turning on the oven.
- I earned $10. in Amazon Gift Certificates from Swagbucks
- I picked up and cleaned. Clutter in an apartment really shows! People that know me know that I love cleanliness and order. If you can find what you are looking for, you won't me tempted to go out and buy another item which saves money in the long run.
- DH and I watched the DVD"The Mist" which we borrowed from the complex office. No cost to us.
- Breakfast this morning was cheese omelets. I also threw real bacon bits in that were leftover from a TGI Friday's Skillet Meal. I served the omelets with some fresh cantaloupe.
- Received my $ 5.00 in ECBS for doing a survey as a member of the CVS Advisor Panel.
- Received $6.00 in ECB's for last quarter spending. Not bad considering we were trying to use up everything we owned that quarter.
- The maintenance man came and put new weather stripping around our door and put a new lock on. We were having trouble getting the lock to work. I don't want to be locked out in this cold weather. The new weather stripping has now sealed the door tight which will save us on our heating bill. Yeah!
- Received my Wellness cards in the mail from Rite-Aid, so now I can take advantage of that savings and the coupons.
- I also received in the mail today a package from a friend back in AZ. She saw on my blog that I was looking for the Wii Fit. She offered me a brand new Wii Jenny McCarthy "Your Shape" for Free and also sent me a dance video and a Free coupon and some other coupons. This will get a lot of use. Thanks so much Leanne! You are and have been such a great friend for years now. I have to say that I made some really true friends while I was in AZ and I miss you all.
- I did go out with DH this afternoon to purchase windshield wipers for our van though. The wipers we had on it were from AZ and Arizonans know how they bake in the sun. So we have been driving around with them and a dirty windshield because of all the sand on the roads. It was hard to see out the window to drive. DH went to Advance Auto Parts where we purchased them for both the front and back windows. They put them on for us. It set us back almost $70. But safety comes first!
- We also stopped at Walmart and picked up a cheap $24. TV stand so that we don't have to look down at our TV sitting on the file box anymore. We won't feel bad about garage saleing a $24. stand that we won't need after we move into the house.
- I returned the two DVD movies to the apt. complex office and picked up two more for this week. I am enjoying their supplying them.
- I cut up the beef and vegetables that was left over from dinner for fajitas and beef barley soup. The leftover sauce will be the base for the soup.
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DH and I will enjoy watching CSI NY tonight.
Please feel free to share with all of us what you did today to save money by leaving a comment.
