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Archive for January, 2007

Mostly rambling....

January 30th, 2007 at 04:46 pm

I'm home today. DD#1 is sick. I'm sure it's strep throat. She has a high fever and a sore throat. Plus, strep throat is going around here. I was planning on today to be a no spender, but I need to take DD to the doctor this afternoon. They'll send my office visit to the insurance, but I'll have to pay for antibiotic.

Dr. appointment isn't until 3:00, so I'll work on laundry, bill paying, and budgeting today. I might even try to sneak in a nap this afternoon before the appointment! I'll have to revamp my menu for this evening since I KNOW I'll be getting home late. The receptionist at the doc office said that they are double booked today, so by the time I get out of the doc, get to the pharmacy, and get home, it'll be late. I might splurge and bring home pizza...who knows? I have a coupon "buy a large get a medium for free". That feeds my whole family for a little over $10!

Frugal things I've today 1/29/07

January 29th, 2007 at 08:49 pm

#1 Packed lunches for myself and DD's.
#2 In my lunch included a corndog that my sister was going to throw away because her kids didn't want it after she cooked it. I gladly snatched it up!
#3 Brought a tea bag from home instead of paying .50 for hot tea at the cafeteria.
#4 Assembled all of my ingredients for tonight's supper(Ravioli) in the crock pot so supper will ready when I get home.
#5 Made plans to carpool to a church meeting tonight so I won't be using any gas(I'll drive next week...I'm not mooching!)

Today's been a no spender so far, but DS has a dentist appointment this afternoon and I'll need to write a check for that(no dental insurance).

Costly weekend and menus

January 28th, 2007 at 08:30 pm

Well, I've had a VERY costly weekend...for me anyway! Friday I got my van back from the body shop and left my big fat $500 check with themFrown But, my van really does look nice. Unfortunatley, we haven't had ANY warm weather so we are going on week #3 with ice still on the ground and roads. Hopefully I won't wreck again before the thaw.
Friday night we picked up carry out. We had a $10 gift card so the meal "only" costed us $15. Yesterday I did grocery and household shopping. I walked out of Wal-Mart with $210 dollars worth of food and household supplies!! YIKES! In my defense, I was reimbursed by hubby and kids for $55 of that. Also, I haven't made a "real" shopping trip in close to 3 weeks because of the weather. We were out of everything! You know, furance filters, deoderant, tampons(for 2 of us gals), shampoo, toothpaste, soap...you get the pictureWink
Last night our church group went out to dinner to plan this year's activities. DH didn't go(he stayed home with kids), but it still ended up costing me about $15 for the Chinese buffet. Some of that was extra tip money I put in because I didn't think that some of the other's in my group tipped well enough.
Anyway, I'm glad this costly weekend is about over!LOL

Here's my menu plan for this week. I only plan 5 meals for the week. That leaves 2 nights for leftovers or "any man for himself" evening. Some of these are a repeat from last week. I ended up not closely following my menu last week because of some free leftovers from my sisSmile
#1 Beef Pot Pie(made from leftover roast, carrots, taters, and gravy), biscuits, and salad
#2 Polish sausage, mac and cheese, corn bread, and green beans
#3 Ravioli, garlic toast, frozen mixed veggies,
#4 Frito Pie and applesauce
#5 Potato soup, grilled cheese, baby carrots w/ranch dressing

Totals January 17-24

January 25th, 2007 at 02:56 pm

I've been doing very well with my budget this year. It's a good thing too because I'll have to write a $500 check to the body shop for my van tomorrow(hopefully). I have the money in my EF but, GOSH, I sure hate to hand that money over! Oh well, it's gotta be doneFrown

1/19 Food: $33.50
1/19 Allowance for kids: $15.00
1/19 Art pencils for DD $1.53
1/20 Beer for DH: $19.00
1/22 Prescription: $32.00
1/23 Driver's license for DS $24.00
1/23 Food: $21.72
1/24 Eye Doctor: $79.00

Driver's license and birth control

January 24th, 2007 at 01:08 am

Did I get your attention?!LOL

I wish I could report on another no spend day, but I can't. I did have to spend a bit of money today...sigh. I had to fork out $24 for DS's driver's license. I've had this money budgeted for for a long time, though, so no big deal. BTW, he could've gotten it a while ago but he broke his right ankle during football so he couldn't drive anyway. Dr. cleared him yesterday so, of course, the first thing he wanted to do after school today was get his license!!LOL Hey, I can't blame the kid...I remember what's it was like at that ageWink

Pretty much on budget other than that. I went to the doctor yesterday and he put me on birth control pills to correct a problem(I'll save you all the gory detailsSmile). Anyway, I'm hoping insurance will cover it since they've already paid to have my tubes tied!!LOL If not, that's $32 extra a month I'll have to come up with that's not budgeted forFrown

I don't have all of my numbers together for the week yet. I'll try to post that tomorrow. I know I stayed well within budget though!

No spender and weekly menu

January 21st, 2007 at 08:24 pm

Because of the weather it's been ANOTHER day at home. So, no spendingSmile Luckily the temp is up today so some of the thick ice and snow are melting to some degree. I'm glad I have had plenty no spending days this month because we have FOUR doctor appointments this week...ouch!

I haven't done much of anything today. I browned about 4lbs of ground beef and put it into the freezer for future meals. BTW, this is a wonderful tip for anyone cooking at home with limited time. Now, any recipe that calls for ground beef, I already has a lot of the work already done. For example, if I were making spaghetti this week. All I would have to do is pull out the already browned ground beef and add it to the sauce. It's perfect for crock pot meals. Just throw everything in the crock pot because your meat is already browned.

I also planned my menu for the week. I usually only plan 5 meals a week. The two remaining nights will either be leftovers, a bowl of cereal, or "any man for himself" meal.
#1 Aztec Chicken over rice(great crock pot meal), salad
#2 Spaghetti Pie(made with leftover spaghetti I have in the freezer), garlic toast, green beans, salad
#3 Roast(again, crock pot), baked taters, biscuts, Cal. mixed veggies
#4 Burritos with fixin's
#5 Frito pie(make with leftover chili I have in the freezer), apple sauce

Frugal day at home

January 20th, 2007 at 11:38 pm

Not a lot to report on today. It's snowing and sleeting/freezing rain....again. Hopefully we won't lose power. We're crossing our fingers that one of our metal buildings doesn't come down from all the weight of the ice, and now heavy snow.

We're settled in nicely for the evening. There's homemade bread bowls and Cheeseburger soup on the stove for supper. We'll probably just watch TV all evening.

I haven't been out of house all day so I haven't spent any money. I did write out a check for the van payment that I will put in the mail on Monday.

It's been a frugal day here. Just doing some house cleaning and budgeting. Last night's leftovers for lunch and homemade bread and soup for supperWink

Well, the good new is.....

January 18th, 2007 at 11:41 pm

We're all okay. The bad news is that I wrecked my van on the ice today on the way to schoolFrown I went into a ditch were, of course, there happened to be sign! I knocked the sign over, and in the process I smashed in the driver's side door and smashed the window as well. Glass went everywhere! Luckily, it mostly hit me. I have small cuts on my face and hands, but no biggie. DS has a few small cuts on his neck(he was sitting in the passenger seat). The girls are just fine. The important thing is that we're all okay. Car's can be fixed or replaced, people can'tSmile

So, I've already taken my van to the shop to get repaired. My deductible is $500. The good news? I have the $500! Emergency funds are a good thingWink You know, it got me to thinking. Yeah, we didn't get to eat out a few times. Sure, we didn't get to see a few movies at the theatre or rent a few movies. Maybe we didn't get to go on very many weekend get-a-ways. But, it's SOOOO nice to have the money in place to repair my van. I don't have to worry at all! Peace of mind is soooooooo much better than a restuarant meal that has absolutely NO value. I can always check a movie out for free at our local library. Weekend get-a-ways? Well, we took plenty of camping trips this past summer. We haven't missed ANY of those things. But, being able to have our van fixed and NOT worrying about is a pure blessingSmile All I have to say is "Dave Ramsey Rocks!"...without his teachings, I never would've put an emergency fund in place.

Back at work/Frugal things I've done today

January 18th, 2007 at 12:16 am

Went back to work today. We are one of the few school districts in the area that are back in session. Boy, I would hate to be in those other districts when they are making up their snow days in May!LOL

Today was a no spend day. Even better than that, it was a PAY DAY and no spend dayWink

Frugal things I've done today:
#1 Ate my lunch from home.
#2 Made lunches for the girls and I for tomorrow.
#3 Decided I could wait one more day before going to the store to replinsh milk and fruit.
#4 Already have chicken ready for tomorrow's supper. I just have to stick it in the oven tomorrow morning before we head to school.
#5 Turned my thermostat way down before leaving the house this morning. I hate coming home to a cold house, but even more than that, I hate paying for propane that I'm not using because I'm at work!LOL Note to self: Look into a programable thermostat!

Frugal things I've done today 1/16/07

January 16th, 2007 at 11:57 pm

#1 I didn't spend any money because I didn't leave the house!
#2 Made a pan of homemade granola bars for snacks and lunches.
#3 Already made lunches for school tomorrow(got a call from the school district and we ARE having school tomorrow...although most of the other districts aren't yet)
#4 Made a GREAT homemade dinner tonight. Cashew Chicken with Fried Rice. Went to buy cashews last night at the grocery store and they were too expensive. Sooooo, we actually had Peanut Chicken tonight!LOL I substituded peanuts because they were a lot cheaper than cashews!
#5 Sent in an offer to another credit card to have my balances transfered to a lower rateWink
#6 Didn't have leftovers for lunch so I served PB&j sandwiches, carrot sticks, and homemade granola bars for lunch.

All in all a pretty frugal daySmile

Totals for January 9-16

January 16th, 2007 at 04:05 pm

Today is a snow day for us. Even though I'm sick of being in the house at least I'm getting paid for it today! We were home yesterday too, but we already had the day off for the Martin Luthur King holiday...which I don't get paid forFrown

I've had a very low spending week. Mainly due to the fact that I've been stuck in the house for 4 days this week(can you tell it's starting to get to me???). However, we finally braved the roads last night and bought some well needed groceriesSmile

1/10 $0
1/11 $0
1/12 $0
1/13 $6 Household
1/14 $0
1/15 $130 Mastercard payment
1/15 $90.81 food
1/15 $15.38 Household
1/16 $9 DS School Lunch

I've hardly touched my budgeting evelopes and I get to replinish tomorrow! YIPPEE!!!

Weather and menu

January 15th, 2007 at 05:42 pm

It's still frigid and icy here. We did lose power last night, but only for about 1 1/2 hours. Just long enough to be quite an adventure for the kids, but not long enough that it was uncomfortableWink

We're getting out of the house for a while this afternoon/evening. When DH is done working he's going to drive us into town so we can replenish some groceries. Also, we got a gift card to Applebee's for Christmas so we're planning on using it tonight. YUM!

Here's my menu for the week:
Monday-Applebee's
Tuesday-Sticky Chicken, mashed taters, biscuts, and steamed broccoli
Tuesday-Nacho's For A Crowd, salad
Wednesday-Ravioli, garlic toast,green beans
Thursday-Cashew Chicken and fried rice
Friday-Muffin taco's, refried beans, salad
Saturday-leftovers
Sunday-Cheeseburger soup in homemade bread bowl

Totally bored out of my mind!LOL

January 14th, 2007 at 12:04 am

Man, I am soooooo bored! We have bad winery weather here so there's no way I'm going to brave the roads! Church has been cancelled for tomorrow because of the weather. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself tomorrow!

Today, I cleaned the house and worked on the budget a bit. I wanted to bake some cookies but we really don't need the extra calories.

The good thing? No spend days!LOL No spending yesterday, today, tomorrow, and probably Monday(no work or school because of the Martin Luther King holiday).

Normally I don't get cabin fever like this. I don't know what's the matter with me????

Trying to stay warm....

January 13th, 2007 at 12:22 am

because it is COLD outside!LOL

Old man winter is knocking on our door here in mid America. It's only 20* right now with a wind chill in the single digits PLUS freezing rain/sleet. We're hoping and praying that the electricity doesn't go out. But, even if it does, we have a generater to get us throughSmile Still, it won't be fun without electricity. Since we're on rural water there are no back up generaters on the pumps...
no electricity=no waterFrown Not good.

But do you know what the BEST thing about this storm is???? I DIDN'T HAVE TO RUN TO THE STORE TO STOCK UP! I took inventory yesterday to see what I needed to get at the store. Um, NOTHING! I have plenty of food in my freezer. A full gallon of milk. 3 loaves of bread in the freezer. Plenty of batteries and candles. We have gasoline tanks down at our shop full of gas to fuel the generators. A GENERATOR(that most people don't have)! Plenty of wood cut for the woodstove insert. And, we've already cleaned and filled several coolers with water. We have a whole camper full of camping gear if we need it too.
Honestly, I couldn't think of one thing we needed!

Good for DH and good for meSmile

Don't get people

January 11th, 2007 at 11:06 pm

Sometimes I don't get people....

I have been noticing this for a while now. Whenever I'm asked to go somewhere or buy something(usually Tupperware or Pampered Chef or something along that line) I get two very different attitudes when I turn the person down. #1 If I tell them I'm just flat broke and can't afford to go out or buy something, I get this look of sympathy. They are very nice and don't act at all affected that I've turned them down.
#2 If I tell them that I'm really watching my finances closely and I'm trying to pay down debt, they look at me like I've grown a second head! They act as if I've offended them somehow and I'm the greedest person in the world!

When did living within one's means become so terrible?? Am I stingy with my money just because I'd rather use it to pay on my credit cards instead of buying some useless household item that I won't use more than once?
Honesty, people make me feel Scrouge or something just because I don't want to order a $10 "gourmet boxed lunch"(this happened at work today).

Don't know where I'm going with this. I just sick of people's attitude with money I guess.

Totals

January 10th, 2007 at 10:44 pm

Here's my January spending so far:

1/1 Food and Household(didn't separate these for some reason?) $115.11
1/3 Insurance(car)$80.56
1/3 Electricity $98.66
1/4 Food $32.47
1/7 Food $54.73
1/7 Tithing $50.00
1/7 Household $25.97(trashbags, shampoo etc)
1/8 Water $32.40
1/8 High speed internet $39.00
1/8 Lunch money for DS $15.00
1/8 School supplies(DD had to have art supplies from an art store) $31.00
1/8 Haircuts for myself, DS and DD $30.00
1/9 School lunch for myself(not sure, around $2.60..it's taken out of my account)

Pretty good so far for a family of 5Smile I probably won't need to spend any money tomorrow or Friday. On Saturday we are going out to eat, but we have a gift card from Christmas to use.

Can everybody else read comments?

January 10th, 2007 at 08:50 pm

Is it just me? I can't read the comments from my last entry. I know the comments were down this morning. For some reason only the comments from my last entry aren't showing up. The ones from my other entries are still there.

?????

Kicking myself....

January 9th, 2007 at 07:58 pm

for forgetting my lunch at home today!! I was in such a rush to get out the door this morning that I forget to get my lunch out of the frig. I work in an elementary school, so I can buy a decent lunch for less than $3, but I can make a lunch from home cheaper than that. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't dwell on it for long. There's nothing I can do about it.

Luckily, it should be a no spend day. Since I had to spend over $61 yesterday I'm grateful that my money is staying in my pocket todayWink

Frugal things I've done today 1/8/07

January 9th, 2007 at 02:07 am

Frugal things I've done today:
#1 Packed lunches for myself and the two girls today.
#2 Drank water all day after my morning coffee.
#3 I got home later than expected this evening. It would have been sooooo easy to stop somewhere and pick up dinner but I didn't! I pulled some already browned and seasoned ground beef out of the freezer, opened a can of refried beans, chopped some lettuce, and put together a quick meal of burritos(a family favorite).
#4 Packed lunches for the girls and myself to take to school tomorrow.
#5 Got oatmeal ready to go for tomorrow's breakfast. Killing two birds with one stone here. Oatmeal is very frugal AND a very healthy breakfast!
#6 Got tomorrow's laundry started and only used 1/2 the amount of detergent the manufactorer recommended.

Not so frugal things I've done today:
#1 Spent $31 on school supplies for DD and DS.
#2 Spent $27 on haircuts for myself, DS, and DD#1. However, I didn't pay for a trim for DD#2. She's only 8 so I can successfully trim her hair and she doesn't care yet. Also, didn't have to pay for a haircut for DH. I trim his hair too. I can make it look just as nice as a professionalWink

Grumpy Monday

January 8th, 2007 at 09:11 pm

Tired and grumpy today. I haven't spent any money so far, though. But, that will change after work. DD#1 needs new art supplies for art class at school. Of course, since she's in 7th grade Crayola won't due anymore!LOL So, we'll go to the art supply store. I've never been in there before but can't imagine it will be too cheap. Also, DS, DD#1 and myself are getting hair cuts this evening. Everything is budgeted for thoughSmile



DS's catching frugal fever!

January 7th, 2007 at 08:22 pm

LOL! My 15 year old football playing son is out scouring the countryside for aluminum cans! DH convinced him to pick some up the other day just to clear some trash off the highway near our house. They took them to the recyclers yesterday and he made $25. Now, he wants to walk every stretch of highway around!LOL He and DH are avid hunters and he's saving up to buy a gun. If he keeps up at this pace, he could have his new gun in two weeks!

Pretty good day

January 7th, 2007 at 01:41 am

I got a lot of housework done today. All my laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away. Bathroom scrubbed(including the shower which is my MOST dreaded chore). I also got the kitchen and bathroom floors swept and mopped. All before noon!

I pretty much had a no spend day. I actually did spend $1 on two 7-Ups. Not for me though. My aunt lives across the street from me and has the flu something terrible. So, I stopped and picked her up a couple of 7-Ups. Other than that, nothing spent. All meals were eaten at home.

I watched my beloved KC Chiefs get the crap kicked out of them todayFrown Too bad, but kinda expected. BUT, DH's friend stopped by and brought him a case of Bud Light as a consolation gift!LOL Free beer! It was almost worth the loss!LOL

A good start....

January 6th, 2007 at 03:57 pm

To a new year.

I'm just going to pat myself on the back a little!LOL I have several goals that started at the first of the year. I have really kept up with them so far!
Goal #1
Keep spending as low a possible. For instance, today at noon we are having a budget meeting at church. We are supposed to bring a sack lunch with us. Now, how many people do you think will bring a sack lunch from home, and how many do you think will stop at a fast food joint? My guess is that most will stop and buy fast food. Not me! I'm bringing my sack lunch from home. Sure, a fast food lunch would "only" cost me $4, but that's $4 completely wasted with nothing to show for it!
Goal #2
Keep up on my house work. I have really kept up on my house even after returning to work this week. I even dug out my old Flylady charts and I intend to start implimenting them on a daily basis.
Goal #3
My weight. I've done fairly well on this. Oh there's been a few times this week that I've eaten more than I should, but not too much. But, I'm not really dieting as much as just cutting back. So, I consider it a sucessful week.

All in all I think I've done very well. I have to say that a lot of the credit goes to you guys here that are blogging away, working on the same budgeting issues that I am. You guy's have kept me very motivated!! Thanks everyone!

No spend day:)

January 5th, 2007 at 09:53 pm

Well, it's been another no spend day for me! Yippee! I did have to go have some tests ran at the hospital, but I didn't have to pay for those today. Hopefully my insurance will over the majority of it.

Supper is super cheap tonight. My sister made a large pan of lasagna last night and her family won't eat leftovers...guess who's family WILL? That's right, mine! It'll actually be buffet style tonight because not only do I have the lasgna leftovers but, I also have leftover homemade pizza and leftover BBQ pulled pork. We really have enough for two nights of leftoversWink

Frugal things I've done today:
#1 Packed lunches for myself, and both girls.
#2 Drank water all day after morning coffee.
#3 Had leftover pancakes for breakfast this morning(made double batch yesterday morning).

Frugal things I've done today 1/4/07

January 4th, 2007 at 10:33 pm

Well, unfortunately it wasn't a no spend day for me. Nothing terrible or anything. I had to replinish fresh fruit, milk, and ground beef(7lbs), oh yeah, and a bottle of Tabasco.
Grocery total: $32.47

Frugal things I've done today:
#1 Made homemade whole wheat pancakes for breakfast. Good for the budget and good for our health!
#2 Brought my lunch to work, but we had leftovers from yesterday's catered lunch. Soooo, I left my lunch in the frig for tomorrow and ate the free leftovers insteadWink
#3 Had a head of lettuce that was going south so I changed my menu around in order to have it for tonight's supper before it goes bad.
#4 Did laundry today and used 1/2 laundry detergent and 1/2 dryer sheets.
#5 After morning coffee I had nothing but water to drink. Good for the budget and good for my health!

Frugal things I've done today 1/3/07

January 4th, 2007 at 12:34 am

#1 Before I left for work this morning I pulled the leftovers from a pork roast out of the freezer and put it in the crockpot for supper. I'm killing two birds with one stone. I didn't spend any money on the main course of tonight's dinner AND I didn't actually have to "cook" tonight's dinner. It was already done when I walked in the door after workWink

#2 Made lunches for school/work tomorrow. I figure that I save at least $1.50 per lunch this way. This is for DD#1, DD#2, and myself. DS is in highschool and can no longer be bribed to take his lunch!LOL

#3 Absolutely no money spent today. I was tempted to buy a Diet Pepsi from the pop machine today, but resisted. For one thing I didn't want to spend .50 a can when I can bring it from home cheaper. And, also, I decided that water was better for me anyway.

Back to the 'ol salt mines!

January 3rd, 2007 at 01:12 pm

I'm headed back to work this morning. It should be a laid back day since the kids won't be there until tomorrow.

I was just thinking last night that this has been one of the best, most relaxed Christmas break's we've ever had! Of course, this is the first year I've been back to work and got a break along with the kids! In the past Christmas break has been more of a job than a break for me since I had the kids all home.
The reason it's been such a relaxing break? I haven't hardly left the house!LOL I spent virtually NO MONEY whatsoever. I'm getting a great start on a new year and new budget! WOOHOO!

Also, it should be a no spender day here. I don't even have to pay for lunch! Our priciple is providing lunch for the staff todayWink

Have a great frugal day everyone!

Okay, the tree MUST come down today

January 2nd, 2007 at 05:08 pm

...because I have to go back to work tomorrow! I've been putting it off because, well, I just love having it up! I don't want to have to deal with it after returning to work, though. So, it's coming down this afternoon.

It sound be a no spend day here. I will have to leave this evening to go to a funeral visitation(very sad...35 year old family friend just dropped deadFrown), but I shouldn't have to spend any money.

Lunch Menu: Sandwiches and chips(still from Christmas)
Supper Menu: Homemade Pizza and salad

Everyone must've had a hangover....

January 1st, 2007 at 11:27 pm

Cause there sure wasn't anybody out this morning!LOL

I had to get groceries this moring. I've been home from work since Dec 21 and I haven't hardly left my house at all. I decided I'd better re-stock my groceries since we'll all be heading back to school this week. We(DH and I) didn't even leave the house until 10:30am, but there was hardly anybody out at the stores! Gotta love thatWink

Frugal things I've done today:
#1 Resisted the temptation to have lunch out today. It was VERY tempting, but we got our groceries and came home and fixed ourselves a very humble lunch at homeSmile
Hmmmm. That's about it!