Since I am done with Christmas shopping for 2010 and have a good start for 2011, I have decided to start cutting back now. So unless life gets in the way :-), I will be posting a daily challenge post.
The best way I know how to do that is to post what I do during the day and why I do it whether it be spending or not spending. So let's get started.
This morning I spent about an hour on my computer catching up on e-mails since last Wednesday. If they didn't look important, they just got deleted. Time saving is very important when it comes to keeping your money. When I was done, I put the screen in sleep mode to save on electricity and turned off the wireless mouse and keyboard to save on batteries. This will all get reversed when I need to use it again.
I did not take a shower today. We do not take showers in this house every day mainly because our skin is very dry and only gets dryer in the winter. We only take them every other day. My hair is good for two days before it needs washing so I just wash up with a washcloth quickly on the off days. This also saves water and natural gas. Then I slather on the lotion to stay moisturized. I use free lotion or samples. I rarely have to buy hand or body lotion with our cash.
Having company left me with a lot of leftover items that we don't normally buy or make. So while DH had his Cheerios with the last banana that my DIL brought, I had some coffee cake to try to use it up. I hate to waste things. DH also is trying to finish a carton of Smart Balance milk before it goes bad. I have been trying to buy milk that won't go bad quickly since there is just the two of us. This milk is dated way off in the future and keeps about 3 weeks in the refrigerator after it is opened.
Since I made turkey soup yesterday and I made it thick, I knew that most likely the rice soaked up most of the broth overnight in the fridge. So I quickly checked it and sure enough that is what happened. So I checked the stockpile to make sure I had enough soup base or bouillon to add to water to add to the soup tonight. I do but if I hadn't, I would have grabbed a packet of turkey gravy mix and made it with double the amount of water. It works nicely when you are in a pinch.
Now that my company has left, I have shut the heat off in the second and third bedrooms and put the draft snakes in front of the doors to save on natural gas. I would like to also shut off that bathroom but I don't want the pipes to freeze so I am not going to. It is a very nasty day outside...rainy, windy, and cold. So the shades are down on the all of the windows to keep the heat in and the cold out. We have Hunter Douglas energy saving shades and they seal things up pretty tight. So we need to use artificial light. But we only use it in the rooms we are actually working in. I am working at the computer right now with just a flourescent light above my desk.
I turned off the coffeepot after our second cups . It will automatically go off after two hours but you just push a button so why leave it on when you are finished.
We have to constantly turn off the light on the garage door opener. It is supposed to sense when you walk in the garage or when the door goes up which it does. However, it is supposed to shut off after a couple of minutes and it doesn't. So DH wrote the company and they offered to send out a new sensor unit ( we believe there is a known defect). We are hoping it arrives today.
We now have 4 bags of bottles to be returned to the store. I hate returning them for bottle deposits and would just as soon recycle them which I did most of this year. But since I am trying to save as much money as possible, they will be returned. I just put the four bags of bottles in the van because DH had to go to Home Depot ( using a giftcard earned through a points program) and is returning them to the store on his route. He is a good guy and knows how much I hate doing this chore. He came home and gave me the $ 2.35 worth of receipts which I will use towards our next grocery bill.
I did some general cleaning including scooping my kitty's litter box. I scoop it into a saved plastic bag from a store. Scooping saves me on litter each month even though every 2 weeks I empty the box and put new litter in.
Lunch was turkey sandwiches because we need to use up the leftovers and an orange that my DIL brought which DH and I split. Beverage was ice water.
After lunch DH and I decided to watch Grand Turino with Clint Eastwood. I rented it with a Free Coupon yesterday. My son had told me it was a wonderful movie. He was right! It was a great movie and a nice way to spend a rainy, dark afternoon. While we were watching it, I multitasked and pulled all of the November 2010 expiration coupons from my binder and then filed all of my loose coupons that have accumulated over the past week. I now have my binder all up to date.
After the movie, I did the treadmill for 30 minutes for exercise. I slacked off while I was busy getting ready for company and while they were here. So I now need to be right back at it.
The mail brought nothing but Christmas store catalogs. Since I have all my shopping done, I put them in the recycle bin pretty quickly without reading them so I wouldn't be tempted.
Dinner was leftover homemade turkey soup and crackers and Smart Balance. We had a glass of wine for a beverage. We have soup left so I divided it up into 2 serving portions and put it in freezer containers. That way when we want some hot soup for lunch we can just pull it out and microwave it.
Tonight is our entertainment night of NCIS and NCIS LA! Yeah!
I want to clarify something. No one has to blog any particular amount of time to join the challenge and let me list your blog. We all have different circumstances and different amounts of time. So you can choose to blog about your savings whenever you want or not. I choose to blog almost every day but that is just me. I love your comments though and learning from each of you.
It's that time of year when everyone should be thinking about what their financial goals are for 2011. Our number one goal is to save as much money as possible. You say " But that goal is so broad and we are all trying to do that!" You would be correct. However, let me expand on our goal.
We WILL not spend 50% ( or more) of our annual expense money that is set aside for us to spend for the year. Since most of your situations are different than ours, call it your net income. Does that sound impossible? Perhaps for many it would be but we have very few recurring monthly expenses...cable, internet, telephone, 2 cell phones, and gas and electric come to mind. We are actually checking to see if our contract is up on the more expensive cellphone and most likely will cancel that one. DH and I very rarely go out with out each other and if we do we can just take the one available cellphone in case of an emergency. Most of our other expenses are yearly like insurances and taxes. The taxes we can't do much about reducing but the insurances we do check once a year for a better rate.
What are we saving for you ask? Is it a vacation home or to winter in Florida? No, I say. We owned two homes for two years before. It is a pain to maintain two homes especially since we would have to hire a property management company. DH and I have NEVER liked traveling and don't plan on doing any more except to go visit our children and grandchild who are within state. We can get there by car or train very comfortably. We also will travel across the border to Canada being that we are in their backyard. Sure we hate the cold and the snow but not enough to be far away from our family again for any length of time. Since we are retired, we can wait for the town to clear the roads of snow before we venture out.
We are saving so that we can meet our everyday expenses for the next 10-20 years. With the economy on the verge of collapse and inflation going to be rearing it's ugly head, we need to feel comfortable that we can live a nice middle income life and not have to worry about where are next dollar is going to come from. All you have to do is look at what is going on in other countries right now with bail outs and all of the protests to know that we have to tighten our belts to be able to survive. We want to be able to take care of ourselves not matter how much prices go up on food, medical, etc.
In order to save that 50%, we will have to watch every expense and really think about do we need this or can we go without. 2011 will be more about NOT SPENDING than spending. It will be about substituting for the things we think we need. It will be getting our food and non grocery items for cheap or free without harming our health. It will be about cutting back the gift budget and making more of our gifts. It will be about shopping all during the year for the rock bottom toys for our grandchildren for Christmas and Birthdays. It will be about ONLY buying for special occasions. It will be about lowering all of our bills to as rock bottom as possible. It will be about these things and many more.
DH and I will continue to have a wonderful life without wasting a dime. As I go along this journey in 2011, I will be transparent and writing almost daily about what I am spending on and what I didn't spend on that day and how.
So if any of you would like to come aboard and join me, let me know. If you are serious about joining the Money Saving Challenge and have a blog, I will be happy to add it to the sidebar under the Money Saving Challenge for 2011. Set your own goals and come along for the ride. It is going to be a very interesting year.
For those of you who joined this past year, let me know if you plan on continuing so that I can add you to the 2011 list.
Remember, we all can ALWAYS learn from each other. I don't have all the answers and I learn daily from many of you. So you are always welcome you to leave your comments. I have learned many, many things from those comments and for that I thank all of you!
Since I had to make a return at Bon Ton and return 2 Free Movies and 2 Half Price Movies to our local video store, I decided to stop at Top's since it was on the way. I wanted the Meal Deal because the frozen pizza is handy to have in the freezer when DH and I are craving one. This is what I purchased:
1 DiGiorno Rising Crust Pizza - $ 5.99 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn and Top's Doubler Cpn = $ 3.99
1- 12 oz. Fresh Express Iceberg Garden Salad - $ .00 ( Free with pizza purchase)
1 - 2 Ltr. Diet A&W Rootbeer - $ .00 ( Free with pizza purchase)
1 Top Round Roast on sale for $ 2.49 a lb = $ 5.50 ( I will cut this up for stew beef)
1 lb. Bag of Tops 100 Ct. Cooked and Tailess Shrimp - $ 4.99 ( Put these in the freezer for our shrimp cocktails on New Year's Eve)
3 Bailey's Creamers - 3 for $ 5.00 - Used (3) $ 1./1 IP Cpns and (3) Tops Doublers = Made $ 1.00
Total OOP Including Bottle Deposit was $ 13.53
If you like Kansas City Steaks, this is a great deal. Go to Groupon and sign up if you haven't. Then look at the city of Philadelphia. The deal is $50. worth of Kansas City steaks and shipping is included for $25. Make sure you check the fine print before you order. These will go very fast, so order quickly!
I am ordering this for sure!
Our family left this morning to drive home. So in between washing sheets and towels and picking the house up, I made a quick trip to Rite Aid to pick up some deals. Here is my shop:
2 Dial Hand Soap - $ .99 - Used ( 2) $ 1./1 Rite Aid Booklet Cpns = made $ .02
1 Dawn Dish Liquid - $ .99 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn = made $ .01
4 Rolls of Scott Toilet Tissue on B1G1F - Used (2) $ 1./1 IP Cpns = $ .32 or $ .16 a roll
3- 100 Ct. Boxes of Splenda - $ 2.99 each - Used (3) $2./1 Mfrs. Cpns = $ 2.97 or $ .99 a box and I received (3) $ 1.00 UP Rewards
1 Fusion Proglide Razor - $ 9.00 - Used $ 4./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 5.00 and I received a $ 5.00 UP Rewards
Used $ 3.00 in Up Rewards
Total OOP including tax was $ 6.40 but I received $ 8.00 in UP Rewards. The 8% sales tax is a killer. I am now going to enter the receipts online for the SCR giftcard deal.
Not much else going on today except trying to get caught up around here and having turkey leftovers for dinner. Then I will be making turkey soup tomorrow!
I hope everyone is stuffed with turkey from yesterday and that you all had a wonderful day.
It is rare when I venture out on Black Friday. However these two deals were worth it. At BonTon, the Thomas The Train Laptop was regularly $ 49.99 and I got it for $ 22.97. The Uno Moo Game was regularly $ 39.99 and I got it for $ 17.97.
Then my DIL and I went to Carters over on the Blvd. and got my grandaughter some pajamas and boots at 50% off.
We never go out on Thanksgiving Day but yesterday while the turkey was cooking we ran all over town looking for a potty seat. We have elongated toilets and didn't want her to fall in. Thank God, Walmart was open! :-)
Did you get any great deals today?
My son, DIL, and grandaughter arrived about 6:15 PM. We finished a wonderful beef stew dinner and have enjoyed playing with my grandaughter for the evening. Now that she is in bed, I think we will all be turning in soon. We have to rise early morning to make the stuffing for the 22 lb. turkey and get it in the oven.
But I wanted to wish all of you and your families a Blessed and Wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for and I am sure all of you do also. Enjoy your turkey dinners and your time with your families. I will be back when my family leaves on Sunday.
God Bless Each and Everyone of You!
UPS just came tonight with an order from Amazon and my last Christmas gift for my grandaughter from Gymboree. So I finally have wrapped all the gifts that will go back with my son, DIL, and Alexa from their visit here for Thanksgiving.
My Amazon order is pictured above. I purchased 2 Zoe Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tins using Subscribe and Save for $13.09 with my Free Prime Two Day Shipping. I used gift certificates earned by searching through SwagBucks to pay for it in full. I was just about to order olive oil from The Olive Mill in Arizona when I saw this deal. So these will hold me for a while.
It has been a nerve - wracking day for me. I had to have minor surgery to remove a lesion on my forearm. The Doctor has sent it out for biopsy and I will have the results in 10 days. I was more nervous over having this done than getting my two knee replacements a few years back. The worse part was waiting for my appointment until mid afternoon. But it is all over with and I have 6 stitches and a huge bandage. My grandaughter, I am sure will kiss it and make it all better. :-)
Also, I have to tell you about the great customer service we got from QVC this morning. I had ordered 4 Bethlehem Lights Prelit Battery Operated LED Wreaths to put in our 4 front windows.
They came a few days ago and DH put two up last night and was working on putting the other two up this morning. The third was fine but when he went to put the fourth one up, it would not light. We thought maybe the batteries were bad so we tried new batteries. Nothing worked! I was pretty upset since I wanted them up so that it is the first thing my grandaughter sees when they arrive tomorrow night. So I called QVC resigned to getting the replacement after my grandaughter returns home. I nicely explained all of this to the nice lady at customer service and explained how disappointed I was because of my grandaughter coming and that she would not be coming again until after Christmas. The customer service person is shipping a new wreath to us overnight so that it will arrive tomorrow via UPS. I am thrilled! Now I am just hoping that the UPS man arrives before my grandaughter and DH has time to put it up!
Not much else around here. I am tired and I am off to watch the Continued NCIS's from last week. Tomorrow, I will be making beef stew for dinner and the pies for Thanksgiving and anything else that I can do ahead.
There are some great deals at Groupon today. Remember on these deals you don't have to live in the same city. You just have to sign up at Groupon to get them:
- $ 12. for a $39. value membership to Angie's List ( Baltimore)
- $ 35.00 for $ 70.00 worth of online merchandise from Tree Classics - this is a great deal if you are decorating for Christmas - Free Shipping also ( Cedar Rapids - Iowa City)
- $20. for $ 40. worth of greeting cards from Pear Tree Grettings Online ( Central Jersey)
- $10. for $ 20. worth of sweets from Chocolate.com ( Colorado Springs)
- $18. for Two Low Calorie Pies from Guiltless Pleasure Desserts ( $36. value - Groupon includes shipping) ( Greenville) - This is a great gift for that diabetic who you don't know what to buy
- $10. for $20. worth of build your own Chocolate Bars online from Chocomize ( Lexington)
- $15. for $30. of Coffee, Teas, and Gifts from Joes Coffee House Online ( Memphis)
As always read the fine print very carefully before ordering.
I just purchased a very nice wallet from Naturalizer for $ 5.39 including tax.
- Go through Ebates first to get 5% cash back
- On the Ebates page search for Naturalizer
- Then go to their sale page where there are a lot of wallets for $ 14.99
- Use the promo code - ECU810 to get $10.00 off a $10.00 purchase
- You will also get free shipping!
I am running around I am sure like the rest of you trying to get everything done for Thanksgiving. Since I am having minor surgery tomorrow, today is the only day that I really have left to finish up.
So I was up and out early to the bank, Ace Hardware and Home Depot. I was looking for some kind of hooks to hang our battery operated LED prelit wreaths in our 4 front windows. DH already put the battery operated LED candles in the windows. I finally settled on Command hooks but when I got home DH said they would not work. So he is off to return them and get materials to rig something to hold them. If it ever stops raining, we can decorate outside.
Next stop was Walgreens to pick up on sale batteries for the wreaths. Then onto BonTon to return a top that I bought last week, pick up a turkey pan, some toys for my grandaughter to play with when she comes, and a tablecoth for my dining room table. The turkey pan was a steal. It is pictured, is non stick, was $28. on sale for $ 7.99 and holds a turkey up to 25 lbs. I threw my old one out when we moved. So I was hoping to find a good deal. Then to Tops for some minced garlic since DH used up the last of it to make his deer spray:
Since we are so rural, we have lots of deer, rabbits, wild turkeys and skunks hanging around. The deer like to eat the bushes in the winter when they are starving for food. Since we paid a fortune for landscaping, we need to spray repellant on the plants and bushes to keep the deer away. Our landscape company offered to do it for $200. but with no guarantee. So DH decided to make the repellant himself and spray it on. It conists of a mixture of eggs, red hot sauce, and garlic juice. It stinks and I will bet that it doesn't taste good to the deer. It cost us a whole lot less then $200. to make.
Next stop was the local liquor store to stock our bar. Then to Big Lots to pick up some vinyl tablecloths for a project.
Since I went out without eating breakfast, I went to the drive thru at Anderson's and got DH and I lunch.
I came home to both the mail being delivered and UPS having been here. The coupons you see pictured are from Campbell's. Last week I opened a can of soup to find a foreign object in it. It actually is a piece of plastic. I called them and they sent a mailer for me to send it to them. But they also replaced the can of soup with a $ 3.00 off coupon and a whole bunch of $1.00 ones good on any Campbells product.
UPS brought my Puritan Pride order which was 5 bags of Organic whole coffee beans and two bags of ground breakfast blend. Using a $15.00 off coupon code and a 1B1G1F and B2G3F, I only paid $22.47 for all 7 bags. Thanks to Swaggrabber for this deal!
Tom turkey is now in the refrigerator defrosting. I am pretty much done for the holiday except for the cooking on Wednesday and Thursday. We are so looking forward to our son, DIL and grandaughter arriving to spend a few days with us. There is nothing better than spending time with family.
Don't wait until January to think about your budget for 2011! Start planning now. I know you are all very busy with the holidays but this is something that is so important to your life that you can't afford to put it on the back burner.
Take an evening and sit down with your spouse, partner or just by yourself and decide what your goals are going to be for 2011, 2016 and 2021. Yes, you need to not only plan your one year goals but your 5 and 10 year goals also. Otherwise, you will wake up one day 10 years from now and wonder why you aren't attaining what you want in life. You will also wonder where all that money that you made in those 10 years went to.
Do you envision being able to save a down payment for a home, a vacation home or camp? Then figure how much you want to spend and how many years it will take you. Then set that money aside in an investment or bank account just for that purpose. Make those monthly payments to yourself and realize to get to your goal that you can't touch that money for anything else.
Do the same if you want to pay cash for a new car, pay your child's college or private school tuition, build your emergency fund, or any other dream that you have.
Let me give you an example. Let's say I want to save $ 30,000 for a downpayment on a vacation home.
I want to start looking to buy that home in 5 years. Then I would need to save $ 6,000. per year for 5 years to reach my goal or $500. per month. If I do that I will have more than the $30,000. because of interest or investment income. But that is a good thing because there will be other expenses such as closing costs. This isn't rocket science. It's basic easy math! The hard part is making that commitment and then actually following through.
You also want to make sure that you are maxing out your 401K's before you set any other goals. This is the single most important thing you can do for yourselves because you will be retired before you know it and you will have to take care of yourselves. There will be no Social Security as it is today and most pension plans will be gone. You are already seeing in this economy what is going to happen to those. I have always said and it is worth repeating, "No one will take care of you in retirement but you!"
So what are you waiting for? Get going! Set Those Goals!........... you won't be sorry. You can and will make an amazing life!
Here are some prior posts that I wrote regarding setting goals:
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2009/11/plan-for-2010-now.html
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2010/01/money-saving-challenge-112010.html
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-can-i-reach-my-goal.html
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2009/12/gearing-up-for-my-money-saving.html
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-can-i-reach-my-goal.html
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-2009-grocery-plan.html
I will be posting what our goals are for 2011 very soon!
Have you already set your goals?
We took this print that we bought in the 1980's to the local art shop. I wanted it framed with gold and black to match the framing on the other artwork in the hallway that we bought this year at Ruby Gordons:
http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/2010/06/weve-been-decorating-and-organizing.html
We were in a way testing the art shop to see if they did a good job. We are very happy with the results. So now we have 3 more to take and have reframed for our master bedroom.
Reframing is so expensive though but much cheaper than buying new. So I will be glad to get the last three done and have that expense over with.
What I had to do only took a few hours this morning so we are back!
I will be taking this blog private tomorrow for a couple of days while I work on it.
Precious
I decided that the crowds at the market are only going to get worse not better. So I ventured out to finish my groceries after dinner. These are again only the pics of what I purchased. I hope I am done for a good long time. I spent $ 153.90 OOP after store card discounts and coupons of $ 116.79.
This time I picked up our New Year's Day spiral ham and invited family to celebrate the New Year with us. I also picked up a 21.73 lb. turkey but it is not in the picture because I dropped it at my son's home on my way home. They now have over 130 lbs. of turkey ( 6 turkeys) and want to pick up 3 more.
I also stocked on Barilla Plus, cheeses, soups( especially some Healthy Kids ones for my grandaughter when she visits), walnuts, veggies, cream cheese, eggs, sour cream and cheap after coupon Pillsbury pie crusts.
I am so glad that I am done with major shopping for a while.
Yesterday, I made a three page list of things that we needed to stockpile for the winter, the holidays, and a party we are planning. I pulled all the coupons and planned on being out the door very early this morning. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. I was awake until 2:30 A.M. so never woke up until 9:15 A.M. After breakfast and a shower, I was just about ready to leave when my son called. He needed a ride to the Honda dealer where his car was being repaired. His car broke down on his commute this morning. So after I dropped him off I continued on to Tops.
It is a windy nasty day and I was hoping this would keep everyone home. I was SO wrong. It was so crowded and hot in the store that I couldn't wait to get out of there. When my cart was overflowing and I had to push the cart and carry the orange juice at the same time, I realized that I would have to go back another time to get the rest of the stuff on my list. I was only able to do about half of the shopping.
After shopping, having DH drag it all into the house, and putting it all away, I am beat! I just don't have the time or energy today to break down what I bought and for how much. But I will tell you that I spent OOP $ 183.39 and had $ 97.25 in store card and coupon savings. Double click on the pictures if you want to see what I purchased.
I stockpiled Dole canned pineapple, DelMonte fruits, coffee, stovetop stuffing, mayo, chicken broth, and soda because they were all on sale. I picked up party items and double of everything that DH needs to make his party mix. We usually make one batch for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I got my Thanksgiving 22 lb. turkey and that is the last space I have for one.
I will be going back this week to get the rest of my list which has more stockpile items and a ham for New Year's. I am going to pick up another 22 lb. or so turkey and drop it off to my son and DIL. They have the space and it will help them with their turkey stockpile. I will post the pictures when I do that.
With prices escalating and things on sale right now, my goal is to not have to go out in the winter cold and snow except for anything free, milk, orange juice and produce. I will be making any bread products we need.
So are you stockpiling because of the escalating prices and the great sales right now?
Are you a list maker? Do you keep a planner so that you feel organized? I do. But every once in a while I feel like things are getting out of control and I have to revisit what I have to do. This time of the year ( the holidays) I start feeling like that and I am sure so many of you do too!
I keep my Franklin Planner which is pictured above. I started using one when I worked and I love it. It has two pages for each day and plenty of space for my do list, appointment calendar, and daily notes.
So this morning, I sat down with my cup of blueberry coffee and made a long list of what has to get done by Thanksgiving because I had the feeling I was forgetting something. I also wanted to make sure that all items were evenly spaced so that I can get everything done by then. Then I started checking my planner to make sure it was all planned out and that I wasn't missing anything.
This is what I have to get accomplished by Thanksgiving:
- Clean House - DONE
- Read the utility meters and submit readings online - DONE
- Get the snow tires put on the van - DONE
- Make a grocery list and pull all coupons- DONE
- Laundry -
DONE
- Put turkey in the refrigerator to thaw on Monday morning- DONE
- Bake apple and pumpkin pies on Wednesday - DONE
- 2 Dr's Appts. - BOTH DONE
- Finish wrapping one more gift - DONE
- Finish writing Christmas Cards - DONE
- Change sheets on all beds - DONE
- Check to make sure I have bedding for rollaway bed. If not, shop for it.- DONE
- Grocery shopping - DONE
- Make Party Mix _ DONE
- Bake Banana Bread - DONE
- Gather Dishes that I use for Thanksgiving - DONE
- Babysit West - DONE
- My son's birthday this weekend - do card and gift - DONE
-
Fix any dish I can do ahead on Wednesday for Thanksgiving _ DONE
- Find all Christmas decorations so they can be put up Thanksgiving weekend - DONE
Now that everything is planned, I can relax. The last thing I want to do is get stressed since stress is so unhealthy for you.
How do you keep track of what you have to get done?
DH opened the paper this morning and there was a Valu Home Center ad. There was my double draft stopper for the basement door for $4.97. They also had the single ones for the guest bedroom for $ 3.97. Since the single ones were so reasonable, I decided to buy 3 of those in total. I will do the guest bedroom, guest bathroom and the exercise room. The exercise room only gets used once or twice a day and since I work up a sweat, it can be cool. The total for all with tax was $18.23. I don't think I could have made them for that. I did well!
After living here since March, I found a Bon Ton Department store. I did not know that we had one close. DH sent me there to buy him 14 pairs of warm socks. He hates clothes shopping. I found a beautiful Calvin Klein peacoat on sale for $ 139.98, original list price was $280.00. I tried it on and instantly fell in love. It is warm but not as warm as my really heavy one that I bought last winter. The peacoat will be perfect for riding in the car and shopping so that I don't sweat to death when I am in the stores. I also found jockey sleep pants and shirts, two pairs of Breckenridge jeans, three long sleeved tops, and 2 pair of dress pants. The lady asked me if I wanted a store charge. I immediately said no. But then I quickly realized that I would save 20% or $ 70.22 if I did. That was an additional 20% after sale discounts. So I did and charged it. Then I immediately wrote a check and paid it off at the register. The charge will be good because I will get discounts and coupons in the mail. But I will never carry a balance more than the few seconds it takes to write a check and pay the bill. I abhor any kind of debt. Moral of this story: DH probably won't send me for socks anytime again soon. LOL!
The funny thing is that I have been driving many miles to get to Eastern Hills Mall to shop or going to the local Walmart. I didn't know that we had a Bon Ton right around the corner from Walmart. DH did but I guess the subject never came up!
1. Wait until after Christmas to buy those much needed winter clothes. They will be deeply discounted in January. Buy them in January at the factory outlets for an even better deal.
2. Are you looking to buy a big ticket item like a laptop or desktop computer or big screen TV? Shop the sales but also ask about buying the display model. You can usually knock another 10% off the price. If you find any kind of cosmetic scratch or dent ask for an even bigger discount.
3. If you go out to eat, consider splitting an entree with your spouse. The portions are huge so you will not only save money but calories also.
4. Don't buy high octane gasoline for your car if your automobile book says a lower one is fine. You will just be wasting your money on that premium gasoline.
5. The biggest moneysaver in my mind is deciding between your wants and your needs. Do you really need that item that you are about to purchase or is it really a want?
6. Forget keeping up with the Joneses. Most of the Joneses stuff is owned by their credit card company.
7. Look into refinancing that mortgage. Interest rates are at all time lows and you can save a bundle in interest by taking the time to look into this. Wouldn't it be nice to pay off your mortgage in 10-11 years rather than 25? Educate yourself and do your research to make sure that this is really profitable for your circumstances.
8. I avoid buying clothes that need dry cleaning. All of us do have some things that are dry clean only like blazers, jackets and coats. Try Dryel. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and how clean my coat came out.
9. When your hot water tank dies, look into a tankless water heater. DH and I are saving a fortune on our utility bill because we don't have to keep 40-70 gallons of water hot all the time.
10. Roast your own cold cuts. It is significantly cheaper to buy a turkey breast, roast beef or ham on sale than to buy these at the deli counter.
11. When your printer goes kaput, look into a laser printer. You will save a lot of money on ink. A laser cartridge lasts me 1- 2 years depending on how many coupons I print. Use the backsides of junk mail to pirnt coupons.
12. Buy a gold reusable filter for your coffepot and stop buying paper filters.
13. Maybe you don't want to make your own pizza but at least keep a couple of frozen ones on hand that were purchased with coupons. It is much cheaper than ordering one to be delivered.
14. Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. They will save you on your electric bill. Just remember not to use them with dimmer switches. Don't forget the one in the refrigerator.
15. Dust off that breadmachine and start using it. Stock up on flour on the sales right now. With grain prices rapidly rising, you will be glad you did!
16. Air popped popcorn is a cheap and healthier snack alternative.
17. Switch from Cheerios (or any other cereal) to oatmeal for breakfast. It is cheaper not only for the cereal but you save on milk.
18. Borrow books from the library. If you absolutely have to buy that book, look for them used.
19. Vacuum seal your bulk purchases of meats to avoid freezer burn.
20. Use coupons for everything not only food. Check that Entertainment Book before you go shopping or look for printable coupons online.
21. When your Doctor says you need a prescription, always ask him if the generic will work for you. Ask him if he has any samples too.
22. Shop around once a year for your homeowners and insurance policies. A lot of companies give you a great discount just to rope you in the first year and then the renewal comes and it is astronomical. So beat them at their own game!
23. Ditch the gym membership and exercise at home.
24. Keep your tires on your car inflated to the PSI for your vehicle to get the best gasoline mileage.
25. Use filtered water from home not bottled water.
Feel free to add your tips!
I have been watching for a great price on fresh cranberries. Aldi's has them this week. The Oceanspray 12 oz. bag of cranberries is $1.29. Considering that Top's has the same bag for $ 2.00, this is a deal. I picked up a years worth when I went shopping this morning along with some other items that I wanted.
Aldi's:
12 Pkgs of Fresh Cranberries - $ 1.29 each
1 Neufchatel Cheese - $ .89
1 Large Celery - $ .69
2 lbs. of Unsalted Butter - $ 1.99 each
Total was $ 21.04
I put one bag of cranberries in the refrigerator for Thanksgiving and the rest are in the basement freezer to use in muffins, pancakes, and for meat roasts. I use them a lot cooked down with fresh apples on pork loins and with chicken. Plus they will also get used with turkey. The cheese we use on bagels. The celery was a terrific price and it was a nice head. I don't know about you but lately the celery in the markets has been awful. The butter is for baking and was a good price for me.
When I came home, I washed, dried and cut up the celery so that I could put it in it's green box. That way it is ready to use:
As you can see, I also keep other produce in the green boxes. Right now, I have lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and grapes in them. As I buy other produce, I get it washed and ready to use and put them in their boxes. I love the grape container because I can leave it on the shelf of the refrigerator and just grab a few when I want a snack. I hate throwing away produce and I find that since I bought the green boxes that is no longer happening. We use it up before it goes bad.
So are you stockpiling cranberries or butter?
It's been a busy couple of days. We had to deal with health issues yesterday. Today I vacuumed the house really well( shedding cat) because I was hoping that my grandson, West would visit. Katie called just as I was finishing and asked if she could bring West over to play. We were thrilled. He is so cute and he loved his new cars that Grandma surprised him with.
After they left, I went to Subway and got free subs for DH and I using a giftcard that I earned through My Points. Since that pretty much filled us up, we will just be having a bowl of homemade turkey soup for dinner.
Then it was time to rearrange the freezer to see if I could make room for more cheap turkeys.
Right now, it holds 3 whole turkeys and 9 turkey breasts. I have enough room I think for one more in the basement freezer and two in the freezer which is part of my side by side refrigerator. Then I put back many packages of chicken, 2 roast beefs, some filet mignons, pork loins, pork chops, ground chuck and ground turkey, some turkey burgers, some scallops, a few bags of vegetables, three packages of Smithfield spareribs, 3 packages of turkey meatballs, some hamburg rolls, some containers of cottage cheese, 1 lb. of margarine and some spaghetti sauce. I think I have a great start on cheap meat for the New Year. What do you think?
So tomorrow I will be on the hunt for more $ .38 lb. turkeys. I hope the ads bring some great sales on other things so that I can continue to stockpile.
And of course, I just can't resist one more picture of West. He loves to hang onto your hands and walk. He does well for a 9 month old.
So what are you all stockpiling now that prices are escalating?
This family is celebrating tonight! My son and DIL have been trying to sell their home in Florida since 2007 when they moved away from there for a career change. In this housing market it has not been easy for them. It has been on and off the market for three years, rented out, not rented, etc.
It has been a constant headache for them to have to pay a property management company to handle it, pay the mortgage, taxes, utilities, pay to have the lawn and landscaping taken care of, etc. They could have easily walked away from all of that responsiblity but they didn't. They paid the bills and did their best to maintain a decent lifestyle at the same time in a different state. I am very proud of them!
So tonight we are celebrating because they finally sold the house and the closing is done! So Congratulations Ryan and Michelle! I have a glass of wine in my hand and I am toasting you!
Not in this household! This morning I decided I wanted to get all of the Christmas gifts wrapped that need to go to Albany when my son, DIL and grandaughter come for Thanksgiving. So I got them all out and all of the wrapping paper that I bought two years ago. I don't know if I will have enough paper to wrap these and all of the other ones for my other son, DIL and grandson. We will see.
If not, I have plain white paper that I will stamp with my Christmas reusuable stamps. I have Christmas trees and bells and they make a pretty paper. There is no way I will pay full price for paper. I am sure that I have enough tags and bows.
I shop all year round and I keep track of what I buy and for whom in my Christmas organizer which is also pictured above. It also holds my Christmas card list. Any special recipes that I want to try for our holiday dinner or for a party I also keep in there.
My Christmas cards were purchased at 75% off last year and the Thank You notes were purchased for pennies on sale. So many of our family and friends live away that every year we write an annual letter to let people know what we have done this past year. I do have pretty Christmas computer paper that I stockpiled about 6 years ago for cheap which I put the letter on. So I will be writing this letter over the next few days and printing them so that I can get my cards ready.
Surprise, my son stopped by right after I got everything ready to wrap. He and my DIL and West got back last night from a week's trip to Ireland. So I stopped what I was doing because I would much rather chat with him. This is the second trip in the last few years that they have made to Ireland. They love it there. I am so happy that they all had a wonderful time and I am looking forward to seeing pictures of that beautiful country.
Now I can go back to wrapping and hope to get it done by dinnertime. Are you doing your cards or wrapping yet? Have you ever made wrapping paper?
Just how many meals can I get out of this? That's my challenge today. DH and I love turkey and one of my readers made one the other night and I just knew that I had to put it on the menu this week. So I thawed an 8.34 lb. turkey breast last night. I roasted it using the convection choice on my oven today. So it only took about 2 hours to roast instead of 3 hours which saves me $ on on my utility bill. I put whole potatoes into roast for a while with it.
Tonight DH and I had turkey slices, gravy,baked potatoes,and broccoli. We will have leftovers tomorrow night. After dinner, I took all of the meat off of the bone and set aside some slices for tomorrow night. While we sleep tonight I will make turkey broth in the crockpot using the bone and skin. That will be used for a third and fourth meal of soup.
There were enough turkey slices from one side of the breast for tonight, tomorrow night and for a lunch. After cutting up the other side of the turkey breast and saving some for the soup, I had enough for 5 more meals for us. The meat is in the freezer in separate food saver bags.
So I am very happy to say that I will be getting 11 meals out of this one turkey breast! That is frugality!
I would love if some of you could share with me and others who read this blog, what you do with your turkey leftovers, especially with turkey day looming in a couple of weeks! Thanks!
DH is outside right now putting the new cover on our central air conditioner to protect it from the snow. He is also draining the oil from the riding lawn mower and hooking up the battery to keep a charge over the winter. The snowblower arrived while I was in Albany and it is all ready to go.
We still have to make an appointment to get the snow tires put on the van. Today I got out the winter comforter for our bed. I am going to see if we can survive with our regular sheets. If we can, I won't bother to buy flannel sheets.
Since we have such high winds here, I will be going around the house today to make sure that all of the screens are secure for the winter.
I need to buy a couple of draft snakes. Do you know what I mean? The cloth filled snakes that you put up against doors. I want to put one in front of our basement door to seal any draft from the basement into the house. Does anyone know where to buy them? I also want one to seal off the guest bedroom door when we don't have company. I don't plan on heating that room except when we do have company.
Since it is the beginning of the month, I changed the furnace filter. A clean filter every month saves on energy used. The humidifier is all ready to turn on, on the furnace when we feel we need it. Right now there seems to be plenty of humidity in the house.
The house is an energy star house and the builder seems to have done a good job sealing and caulking so nothing to be done there. I do need to put my large basket out to house boots so people don't track into the house.
Most of these things will save me energy in the long run. DH has the heat set at 70 during the day. We will leave it at that for now and bump it down a degree or so after the holidays to see if our bodies can handle that. At night it is set at 68. We came from AZ and our bodies are not used to the cold yet. Maybe our blood will adjust this winter. All I know is I get cold easy, whether that be age, or just not being used to the cold. It is not worth fooling around with our health to save a few pennies. When we were younger, we kept it a lot cooler when we lived in upstate New York before.
Here are the other things we will continue to do to save on utility bills:
- Leave the dryer open when we use it to let the hot air out.
- Line dry when it isn't too cold in the basement. We do have heat down there but I choose not to heat that space.
- Open the oven after I have used it to let the heat into the house.
- Minimal use of the bathroom fans. As they draw the moisture out, they also draw the heat out.
- Invite people in when they come to the door so that I can shut it and not let heated air out.
- If I am only cooking a roast or one item, I will use the Nesco because it uses less energy.
- When I do use the oven, I will pepare more than one item and use convection because it saves 1/3 of the energy.
- I will use my small appliances and the microwave whenever possible.
- Navy showers
- Fit the size of the pan to the burner and cover the pots. Turn the burners off a few minutes before things are done. I do the same with shutting off the oven earlier than things are done because it retains heat and the food continues to cook. If medium heat does the job, there is no reason to use high.
- Lights off in the daytime.
- Limited computer time.
- Open shades and blinds on the sunny side of the house and change them during the day as the sun moves.
- An organized freezer limits the amount of time you have to keep it open looking for things. The same goes for the refrigerator.
- I have started cooking all pasta in the microwave.
- I only run a very full dishwasher and I use no heat to dry. I let then air dry.
- I only run a full washer and dryer also. When the clothes are dry, I hang them or fold them right away so as to not have to run it longer to get wrinkles out.
- We will be using LED light strands on our Christmas tree this year and for outside decorating. We also have battery operated ones for our windows.
- We only turn on the TV when we are actually watching it. We don't leave it on for noise.
- We charge our cellphones while we are driving in the car.
- At night, we only keep lights on in the room or rooms that we are using. The only exception is our outside lights which are on a timer so that we don't forget to turn them off.
- We use battery operated flameless candles in the bedroom at night instead of nightlights. They give us enough light so that if we get up in the middle of the night, we can see; but not enough light that we can't sleep.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you are doing to make yoru house energy efficient for winter or how you save on energy. That way we can all learn from each other.
DH has been craving antipasto for weeks. When we go out to our favorite Italian restaurant, Falletta's, in East Amherst, we usually start our meal with an antipasto. I was just too tired to go out to dinner tonight. So I made us each an antipasto, as good, if not better than Falletta's for dinner. But I made it a main dish. Due to the fat content this is not something that we would eat all the time. But it tasted pretty darn good!
So we each had a dish with the items that we wanted in it. You are looking at lettuce, tomatoes, extra sharp provolone cheese, mozzarella cheese, black olives, cappicola, prosciutto, ham, salami, and whole pepperoncini's. DH also added some green olives to his. We dressed it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoyed it with a glass of merlot!
Not only was it delicious but I am sure I made it for 50% less than we would have paid at the restaurant. Besides, if we had gone to dinner, we would have had drinks, the antipasto,our dinner entree and dessert which would have cost us close to $ 90. So being tired saved us a fortune and DH got what he really was craving!
In my quest to stockpile because of rising prices, you will see me do a lot of shopping over the next few weeks, especially since it means cheap turkeys. So I made a trip this morning for stockpile and to start getting the things we need for a party. So this is what I purchased:
Tops:
2 Pkgs. of Thomas English Muffins - $ 2.19 each = $ 4.38
1 Bag of Tyson Anytizers Popcorn Chicken - $ 9.99 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 8.99
1 Bag of Gortons Beer Battered Fish - $ 6.39 - Used $ 1./1 Peelie = $ 5.39
4 Quaker Instant Oatmeal - $ 2.50 each - Used (4) $ 2.00 IP Cpns = $ .50 each = $ 2.00
1 Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup - $ 2.50 - Used $ 3.00/5( in conjunction with the oatmeal)Quaker Tops Cpn ( so I paid $ 1.50 for 4 oatmeal and 1 pancake syrup)
2 Smart Balance Buttery Spread - $ 2.50 each = $5.00
4 Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - $ 2.00 each = $ 8.00 - Used (2) $ .75/2 Mfrs. Cpns Dbled = $5.00
10 cans of Tops Assorted Fruits - $ 1.00 each = $10.00
4 McCormicks Turkey Gravy - $ 1.00 each - Used (2) $ .25/2 Mfrs. Cpns Dbled = $3.00
2 Pillsbury Brownie Mixes -$1.00 each = $2.00 - Used $1./2 Mfrs Cpn = $1.00
2 Pure Protein Bars -$1.00 each - Used $1./1 IP Cpns = Free
1 - 12.10 lb. Tops Turkey at $.38 a lb.= $ 4.60
Used $ 5./$50. Tops Cpn
Used $ 1.25 OYNSO Cpn
Total was $ 42.61.
I now have 3 turkeys and I think I can fit 2-3 more in the freezer, so I just may have to use those other 2 $5./50. Tops Coupons that I got on my extra two newspapers at Rite Aid.
Normally I make my own rice but I like to have the ready rice in case I have a rushed day. So while they were on sale and I had coupons, I stocked on a few. The popcorn chicken and brownies are for partying.
I had not been in Rite Aid in months because I have been trying to use up the stockpile. However, I will be stockpiling everything we use over the next few weeks with prices escalating. I had only planned on getting the bodywash, toothpaste, and newspapers. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. I saw that they had the fun size bags of M&M's clearanced for $ .99. I was just going to pick up 2 bags until I noticed that each bag had a $ .50 coupon attached to it. So I paid $ .49 a bag and these will be used for Christmas cookies! Here is my tally:
2 Buffalo News - $ 2.00 each - Received $ .40 Wellness Rewards on both = $ 1.60 each = $ 3.20
1 Nivea Body Wash - $ 3.99 - Used $ 3./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ .99 and I received a $ 1.00 Up Reward
( $ .01 Moneymaker)
1 - 4oz. Crest Pro Health Clinical Toothpaste - $ 3.49 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn and $ 1./1 Rite Aid Cpn ( from Rite Aid Cpn Book) = $ 1.49 and I received a $ 2.50 Up Reward ( $ 1.01 Moneymaker)
10 Funsize Bags of M&M's - $ .99 each = $ 9.90 - Used $ .50/1 Mfrs. Cpn on each = $ 4.90
Used $ 4./20 Rite Aid Video Values Cpn
Total OOP was $ 7.82 including tax and I received $ 3.50 in Up Rewards.
I also went to Tops which I will post later!
When DH and I went to pick up the co-op vegetables this morning, our gas tank was on fumes. So this afternoon I made a run to Tops to get gas at $ 2.679 with points. While I was there I shopped for some things we needed and took advantage of the $ .38 a lb. turkeys again since I was spending at least $ 25. So now I have one for Thanksgiving and one for the deep freeze for either Christmas or sometime this winter. Turkey is cheap and nutritious and with grain prices and inflation raising the price of meat and poultry, I am going to take advantage of as many as I can purchase and have room for. I will never get poultry cheaper than this time of the year. My son says he will get 9...one for each month except the hot months. That is the way to save on your grocery bill. I still have turkey breasts in the freezer so I will have to see how many I can fit.
So this is what I purchased at Tops today:
2 - 1/2 gallons of Smart Balance Milk - $ 3.99 = $ 7.98 - Used $ 2./2 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 5.98
1 Banquet Fruit Pie - $ 1.00 - Used $ .35/1 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled = $ .30
4 - 2 ltr. Tops Diet Cola - $ .89 each = $ 3.56 + $ .20 bottle deposit = $ 3.76
2 Tops Shredded Mozzarella Cheese - $ 2.00 each = $ 4.00
1 Simply Orange Juice - $ 3.29 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. + Tops Doubler IP = $ 1.29
3 Coffemate Creamers - $ 2.29 = $ 6.87 - Used (3) $ 1.50/1 Mfrs. Cpns + 2 Tops Doubler IP's = $ .37
1 Bag of Reduced Price Bananas - $ .64
1.90 lbs. of Red Seedless Grapes - on sale for $ 1.29 a lb = $ 2.45
1 Head of Lettuce - $ 1.79 ( OUCH!)
4 pack of Tomatoes - $ 2.00
1 -14.44 lb. Turkey @ $ .38 a lb = $ 5.49
Total OOP was $ 28.07 ( Fortunately they use the total before coupons for the turkey!)
Analysis: The milk was not on sale but we needed it and since the coupon was on 2, I got them. It will get used with company coming. The Banquet Fruit Pie was cheap and will be a special treat for DH and I one night. The soda is DH's one vice and I try to keep the price of a bottle under a $ 1.00. We were out of mozzarella cheese and this was the best price I could find.
We are close to being out of orange juice and with the doubler it was cheap. I have to thank
Coupon Love for posting about the Tops Doubler IP's. If it hadn't been for her, I would not have known about them! I also stocked ahead on the creamers because they were cheap with the coupons and doublers.
The bananas were a real find. There were 10 bananas in the package. 6 were just starting to ripen; they will go into the freezer. And 4 were still green! I always check the reduced produce rack. The grapes and tomatoes were cheap. Hot house tomatoes to us are better than nothing in our salads. DH loves grapes for snacks. The lettuce price was awful but we needed it. I already explained about the cheap turkey!
As I told you yesterday, we will be having family stay with us for the Thanksgiving Holiday and weekend. My son, DIL and grandaughter will be coming here. So I will have 4 adults and a three year old to feed.
Since they will be arriving the night before in time for a late dinner, I had to come up with something easy for that evening. Wanting to stay within my stockpile, I have decided to do a beef stew in the crockpot. I have the stew beef( which I cube from a top round steak) in my freezer and the potatoes and onions in the fridge. So I will just pick up a pound of carrots and some celery. I always have beef au jus stock in my freezer to flavor it. When I make a roast beef, I make the au jus and freeze it for other meals. If I happen to buy deli roast beef for sandwiches, I always tell them to give me the au jus and I freeze it for this purpose. That way I don't have to ever buy beef stock. Since here in the Buffalo area, beef on a kummelwick roll is a popular item, the markets always ask you if you want the juice. Other areas they may not do that. I will also make popovers to go with the stew. It will be a cheap, delicious hot meal that they will enjoy after their long trip.
Thanksgiving morning, we will have French toast with real maple syrup, fruit, coffee and orange juice. Since we will most likely have our turkey dinner about 4PM, we won't need anything but some cheese and crackers between breakfast and dinner.
I purchased our turkey at Tops this week. They had turkeys on sale for $ .38 a lb. with a $25. purchase. So my turkey only cost me $ 5.16. I spent the $ 25. needed on sale flour, chocolate morsels, brown sugar, and eggs for holiday baking and canned veggies that were on sale that I sometimes use in homemade soups. I have at least enough baking goods to last me until next year. The thing we use the most of is flour for homemade bread. Bread is so expensive to buy and with grain prices escalating, it is going to get even more expensive. So I wanted to make sure that I have enough flour- especially whole wheat to last us a year. I freeze the 5lb. bags before I store them to make sure they remain bug free.
Believe it or not, I have canned pumpkin and evaporated milk that I got for pennies just before I left AZ. They have not expired yet, so they will be used along with the spices and other items that go into pumpkin pie for dessert. I also have a bushel of apples to make pie. The pie crusts will be homemade and I have the ingredients. I will be making whipped cream from on sale heavy cream.
I have been saving my bread crusts and stale bread for months in the freezer so I will use that to make stuffing. I have all of the seasonings, celery and onions that I will need. I have homemade chicken stock frozen for the liquid. If I see cranberries on sale, I will be stocking on those for the freezer and I will use some in the stuffing along with diced apples. I will also make cranberry sauce with them for dinner.
We will make homemade mashed potatoes using the 10 lb. bag of potatoes that I have. And I will make two steamfresh veggies that I got for pennies in the microwave. I have many choices in the freezer but most likely it will be corn and green beans.
Turkey gravy will be made from the defatted drippings. If the drippings are way too fatty, I always have McCormick's turkey gravy packets on the shelf and they are Fat Free.
I will splurge on a bottle of white zinfandel to serve with dinner. So there you have it, not a lot of expense for this dinner.
The day after we will have cereal, oj and coffee for breakfast. Lunch will be grilled cheese. Dinner will be leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.
For Saturday dinner, I will most likely make tacos with ground chuck that is already in the freezer. I may have to pick up lettuce and a tomato to dice, some sour cream, and serve it along with canned sliced black olives, diced onions and shredded cheddar cheese that I already have. I will most likely have waffles with real maple syrup for breakfast and a tuna platter for lunch.
Sunday morning I will make a big breakfast of eggs, turkey bacon and English muffins before my family heads home. The bacon and muffins are already in the freezer.
So for the entire holiday and weekend, I will feed 4 adults and one child cheaply and nutriously and I will not be spending a lot out of pocket to do it. I will rely heavily on our stockpile.
So how are you saving on your Thanksgiving dinner? Feel free to share by leaving a comment!
With prices rising and the fact that we live on a fixed income, we are again tightening our belts. I do not want to have to live like a pauper down the road. So it is up to us to take care of ourselves over the next decade or more.
So we are going to be spending 50% less than our yearly allotment. Let me explain that to you since most of you have jobs and income coming in. Being retired, we only have so much money to live off of for the next 10-20 years or more if we live so long. Because of this we budget so much a year for expenses and we do not go over that amount.
For example, if we had a $30,000. a year annual allotment, we would save $15,000. If we had $50,000. we would save $25,000. You get the idea! We can do this for a couple of reasons. First, there are only two of us because our children are married and on their own. Secondly and most importantly, we have no debt.
We have spent a bloody fortune on the move and things that we needed for the house. Most of that spending is over with. The only major expenses that we have left to do is have our patio put in in the spring which we have money set aside for and in the next two years we will buy a new van. We will pay cash for the van. Thinking about that, if any of you have a Honda Odyssey Minivan, I would love to hear of your experiences with it.
So our goal is to do everything possible to cut our spending for the year by 50%. That way this money can stay in investments and at least have a fighting chance of earning 6-7%. Although since I believe that inflation and taxes will wipe those gains out, I will be cutting back as much as possible. Fortunately, when the stock market went south a few years ago, we took about 75% of our money out and we were able to put it into a ladder of CD's expiring at different times and at 4.5- 5%. So while money in savings has been earning 1% or less, we have been raking that in. When they expire, we will most likely put some of it back in the market.
I know that alot of you can't afford to spend 50% less than your income. But think about it, can you cut back 15 or 20% or more? Can you look at your priorities and see what is really a necessity and what is really a luxury? How much money dribbles out of your wallet without you even realizing it? Do you track where every penny goes so that you have an idea of where the waste is? With Christmas around the corner, are you spending more than you should? Can you cut back there with homemade gifts?
Perhaps your own situation doesn't allow you to save or put money into investments right now. But could you use the money you can save on other things to pay off debt and better your situation? Think about it especially this time of year. Don't wake up on January 1st and think how am I going to pay for Christmas now. Think before you buy! I have one more gift to buy for my grandson and then I am done with shopping. That gift like all the other gifts that we have purchased will be paid for with cash.
Tomorrow, I will start writing about how we will cut back. I will be starting with our Thanksgiving meal and how we will save on that. Our son, DIL, and grandaughter will be here for that holiday and the weekend but we can do it frugally with some planning. Each day I will talk about some other way to cut back. Please feel free to join in and leave a comment on how you would do it. I love your feedback and I LOVE to learn new things.
Did you hear the announcement from the Fed yesterday? I was listening with both ears intently. The Federal Reserve is going to buy up it's own debt by buying it's treasury bonds back. By June 2011 they will have spent 900 billion to a trillion dollars to do this. This is after they have already injected 1. 75 trillion dollars into the economy. So you say, "So what!"
Well, listen closely....I can hear the value of our dollars in our wallets going down again. The 1.75 trillion hasn't worked, so why would they even consider 900 billion to a trillion dollars more? Because they know that this will again lower interest rates, and they believe it will spur the economy, and finally create jobs. They believe that people will start spending again. I don't believe that people are going to open their wallets and spend like crazy because of this. Most economists say this will not work and some renowned economists believe we will end up with inflation, the likes of which we have never seen before. Having an accounting degree with a minor in economics, I do not think it will work either. By printing all of this money to buy the treasuries, it only devalues our dollar and makes anything that we import from overseas more expensive. When things cost more, I spend less! How about you?
Have you noticed that prices have soared over the past two months? So much for Bernanke's idea of keeping inflation away! Not only are our medical costs and clothing prices rising rapidly but the cost of our food baskets are rising!
According to the N.Y. Post, milk is up 6.5% and butter is up 19% since July. Manufacturers are also again reducing the size of our toilet paper rolls and other products and keeping the prices the same. Candy cost more for Halloween this year. General Mills says it will be raising it's prices on a number of it's cereals in the next few weeks. McDonald's says it will have to raise their prices soon because of grain and beef products are rapidly rising. Everything will be rising even more rapidly because of Bernanke's announcement yesterday. He is trying like crazy to defend his plan but I believe it is not going to work any better now than before. You can't keep spending and printing money and not have inflation. I am afraid we are headed down a dangerous path in this country and it is going to hurt all of us.
Because of all of this, I need to work out a roadmap as to how this family will cope with rising inflation over the next decade. Investments are just not going to keep up with the high inflation that we will see. I have seen it before in the 1970's and I am very afraid that we are seeing it again. I will be back to start posting tomorrow what I plan on doing!
I didn't know if I would finish my second pantry today since other things were more pressing like voting, laundry, etc. But I did. This is a small second pantry in my kitchen. I will break down the shelves for you below.
The tops shelf holds a basket with our paper plates, plastic utensils and straws. Next to that is a small organizer with our chip clips. And to the left of those is where I keep our liquor. Not much but rum there right now but that will change for the holidays.
The next shelf has our crackers and some small snacks for when the little ones in the neighborhood visit:
The third shelf holds our snacks, granola bars, sugar free candy, pretzels and raisins:
And the last shelf holds our pastas:
The floor of the pantry stores my breadmaker, some serving trays, a covered party tray and our sugar free sodas:
The left wall has my plastic bag organizer:
Lastly, the right wall holds my battery organizer:
The only thing left to be organized in the kitchen is the refrigerator and I will get to that soon! I hope you have enjoyed this journey through my kitchen organization. It has already paid off. While I was away, DH functioned very well cooking his meals because he knew where everything was and where to put it back. I came home to a clean kitchen and an empty dishwasher. I couldn't have asked for anything more. :-)
