Carole
- Booked a hotel last minute with Expedia. Saved $60.
- Made a solemn vow to cook dinner every night this week. Savings of approximately $40 by not going out for ribs with C while David is out of town.
- Did not buy the annual pass to the National Park system for $80 while at Zion's National Park. Savings of $55. Like last week at the State Park, knew we wouldn't use it enough to actually save money.
- Baked muffins as a present rather than purchasing a gift for a friend. The nice thing is that this friend now doesn't have ONE MORE THING to find a place for. The muffins were eaten and she could move on. Saved $20 -- give or take.
- Bought 3 graduation cards at The 99 Cent Store. Saved $6.
- Left my wallet back at the hotel when in St. George so I wouldn't buy anything while visiting my new favorite fabric store -- Ace Hardware sells great fabric. Who knew??
- Ordered 100 diapers for $3.36, thanks to Lisa's hot tip
- Printed off a Barnes and Noble coupon before going to buy a gift
- Took two blind taste tests at the grocery store (and so did Bart) for 4 $1 off coupons to be used on future grocery trips
- Got a carton of free ice cream because it rang up at a price different than the one listed
- Got free ice cream cones at Friendly's on Saturday afternoon for a promotion they were doing
- Popped out the top of my laundry detergent bottle to get two extra loads done
- Didn't buy dinner when I went out with my fellow librarians since I had had lunch only an hour earlier and wasn't even hungry
- Did my grocery shopping for two weeks and with careful planning and only buying things on my list, came in $15 under my budget
- Returned strawberries to the store that were growing mold 2 days after being purchased. Got a new carton of strawberries and didn't waste my money by just throwing them away
- Bought 84 diapers for $3.36 on the same deal as Janssen (I got a few less diapers because I bought a size larger than she did)
23 comments:
- Traveled to beach, got hotel for one night instead of two nights. Still able to take family to the beach twice. When we got there it was cooling off and could actually enjoy it. Then we got up, ate,and traveled to another beach 15 minutes away. So almost 2 trips in one- kids were in heaven.
- Also instead of buying lunch on the 2hr drive home, we stopped at Super Walmart to buy box of strawberries and individual chips. Spent $7 instead of at least $17 at fast food for our family of 4 on top of an extra bathroom stop for sure!
- Convinced hubby to open blinds and curtains during the day instead of turning on the lights. I love the natural light so much more than electric. Even have kids remnding him while he is home on vacation.
Love the blog! sjdhunt@yahoo.com
- Made meal plan for two weeks and did most of grocery shopping, leaving a few produce items to be purchased next week. Stuck to list and found ways to use up extra veggies.
- Made dinner every night this week (except Monday... see next item). Made enough each night to pack both lunches for the next day.
- Used Restaurant.com gift certificate (purchased at 90% off) for a fantastic French meal for my birthday.
--continued to make a effort to not text my sisters or husband (since I tend to go over my meager texting plan)
--Revamped the way we budget. Mint just has NOT been working for us they way we want so I reorganized the old paper/three ring binder way and will now only be using Mint to keep track of trends.
--like sjdhunt, we've been working extra hard to not turn on any lights or the (super expensive) air conditioning units. Blind and windows open (and trips to the park where there's a breeze and shade) have done the trick!
--Didn't go to Goldenspoon after a long disappointing day even though we wanted to (but couldn't afford it)
--cooked elk meat my mother and father-in-law gave us for dinners all week (I actually like it just as much as beef! surprise surprise)
--religiously read the ads to find which store in town has watermelon on sale... as I am craving it something dreadful and just can't pay Wal-Mart's high prices
--started the process of making newborn cloth diapers for baby #2--one down, 20 something to go!
- Carpooled down to the husband's high school reunion with his buddies. It meant we were not as flexible as we would have liked, but we saved 90-miles-worth of gas.
- Organized medical bills to start turning in for flex-plan reimbursement.
I had a quite sucessful week- more than I planned! I lost my debit card- yep- it's simply vanished into thin air- so that has made me be CREATIVE! I literally haven't been able to go grocery shopping or buy ANYTHING so we have eaten what we already have in the house- my husband has had to do check deposits with his card when he is off work (every other day) and since he sleeps on in between days mostly we havent spent a dime! Dinner- at home with whatever we had- I wonder if there is something to this 'losing' a debit card thing- I don't have access to cash as easily (have to wait for hubby) and I can't make impluse purhcases- or grab takeout on the way home.
Walked to splash park with hailyn instead of drive- workout and saved gas and money! score!
Used free ice cream passes (I recieved a TON from a friend) as a treat- free u-swirl and golden spoon this week! score!
booked a cruise for Ryan's work crew and recieved an ok reate- after calling in and negotiating I got a better deal, and by not taking our baby (who couldn't go in the children's camp or anything and she would be super clingy to me) I am now trying to convinve my sister or ryan's mom to look after her- win win- hailyn would not have fun on the cruise and we'll get a much needed break- also we saved $495 by not booking her too (fingers crossed on a sitter for a few days!)
Ate at home this week- didn't have a choice- I still don't have a debit card!
SoI didn't plan onm not spending ANY money this week but I did! I don't know if I ever want to get my debit card back!lol! My wallet certainly has appreciated it!
-I've been opening the blinds for light and just dealing with the increase in heat
-Rented a movie (Pride and Prejudice. Sigh) from the library instead of doing Redbox
-Planned crockpot meals all week which significantly reduced our grocery bill for the week AND uses less energy.
-Planned next week's meals around foods we already have or have coupons for so it will also be significantly reduced
-Sewed several baby gifts from fabric or old clothing I already have in my stash
-Took Wes out to the free lunch our school district is doing all summer
So, you mentioned Lisa's diaper tip, but I can't find it on the site that you linked to. Could you link to the actual post for that? Thanks!
Merry, the diaper sale was really brief and only lasted approximately 24 hours (last Friday night).
This was the deal, though: http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/2010/06/04/medco-diapers-for-1-68-shipped/
~Cleaned all the windows in my house (that were nasty!) with vinegar and water and now they are sparking clean!
~Went on a much needed date with my husband to celebrate the end of his master's program. Grandparents babysat the kiddos and we spent time at the park, used a(n 80 or 90% off) restaurant.com gift certificate for dinner, and a gift card for a movie.
~Picked up snacks for said movie at the grocery store instead of the concession area.
~Finished up the date by buying some ice cream at the grocery store to eat at home instead of going out for ice cream.
It's very inspiring to read how everyone is saving! Here are mine:
- I saved $50 ($25 per trip) by bringing a carry-on bag instead of checking luggage on my trip to see family.
- Used a $10 off coupon at JC Penney's, so I got a sweater that was on sale for $11 for only $2 (including tax).
With Coupons and Albertson’s deals we did two weeks of grocery shopping for less that 25$ and with a savings of 26$.
We’re hosting a BBQ tonight for 50+ guests and instead of buying “fun” drinks we got powdered lemonade and instead of buying a super cute pitcher we borrowed one of those orange igloo drink dispensers from the church. Also, I did not buy the really cute table cloths or napkins too. It’s silly, but this is an area where I have the potential to splurge.
I met a potential volunteer for “coffee” and used a gift card.
We made all of our dinners and all but one day of our lunches. The day we missed making lunches, I brought fruit then walked to the corner deli and made a salad-by-weight and spent 2.40.
Made a broccoli casserole just before all of that broccoli went bad. We also made smoothies with the slightly squishy strawberries.
And our most fun: We hosted a smoothie “taste test” to see if the Yoplait smoothie mix was superior to a similar home made smoothly. The cups were numbered and no one knew what they were having. Results: The Yoplait smoothly was voted tastier and sweeter but some said that it was too sweet and everyone agreed that the homemade smoothie was wonderful if you were not comparing it to Yoplait. Cost effectiveness? If you buy the frozen fruit on sale then it wins out price-wise compared to buying Yoplait smoothies at Costco (which is less than half the price of getting them at the grocery store).
jj
I listed and sold a bunch of things on Craigs List instead of giving them away for free. Now they are out of my driveway and I have cash in hand!!!
Made all of our meals from food storage and groceries I had already bought.
Checked out movies from the library instead of renting them.
- Did the diapers deal, but only did it once and failed to go back before it expired. Got 50 for 1.68!
- Did not turn on the a/c or heat at all. Not once. Was diligent about turning off lights, fans, etc. This is hard for me as I have a hard time making a sweep of the house on the way out to work some days. Checking to be sure there are 2 kids in the car is sometimes the best I can do!
- Bought a watermelon on sale and made my children eat it all week for treats. I'm not sure this counts, but that $4 watermelon went a REALLY LONG WAY!
Leaving another comment so I can subscribe to comments, oops.
I made Father's Day cards instead of buying them (saved about $6.)
I also made a laptop case instead of buying one (would have been $40 but cost only $20 and I have lots of leftover fabric.)
Used a 50% off coupon on my oil change at Jiffy Lube (saved $20.)
1. I dug in my garage to find all the pieces of my blender (we just moved) instead of just going and buying a new one.
2. I wrapped books that needed to be mailed in paper bags instead of buying padded envelopes.
3. I did a phone survey for 15% off my favorite fast food dinner last night.
4. My friend and I watched a movie I already owned instead of renting one and did our own pedicures instead of having them done.
5. I spent 3 dollars on Borax laundry enhancer instead of 10 on Oxyclean brand.
-babysat a friends 1 year old while she gardened at another members house...she saved on a babysitter and I got fresh garden vegetables!
-cooked dinner every night this week according to my menu...saved going out to get extra ingredients
-kept extra lights off and the temp. a little higher to keep the cooling costs down
-oh and went to the library for more books for my little boy and some free video rentals for us! Gotta love that!
A few things over the last few weeks:
-buying food to keep in the hotel fridge rather than eating out. $25 to feed 4 for 2 days on vacation.
-bought Home Depot paint on sale, even though I hadn't chosen a color--I can take it back and they will add the color for free.
-used the big rebate check I got from my Costco AMEX-yeah credit card rewards!
-bought a like new iPod rather than a brand new one.
-took my son to free water parks and library activities to keep him entertained
-used vinegar in my FloorMate to clean the floors
-bought a $1 graduation card for my niece instead of a fancy one
Used my coupons for FREE hot dogs, buns, soda, and tortilla chips from the WINCO mailer to stock up for our camping trips this summer. Grabbed my mom's mailer, which she was not using, to get double.
Purchased a Bountiful Basket (an entire laundry basket full of fresh produce for only $15), and waited to plan my grocery list around what produce we received. (If you don't need that much produce, this is something that you can split with a neighbor).
Signed my kids up for the free summer bowling program, the local library's reading program which earns them a free book, and bought them a summer movie pass. By buying the pass early, the cost was only 50 cents per movie instead of $1.
Bought new makeup that I needed from my sister-in-law who sells Mary Kay and gives me a substantial family discount (40 percent off).
Received a free razor for my husband, and large samples of body wash and deodorant in the mail by signing up for them online.
Set the temperature of the air conditioning higher than I have in the past. I have only used it twice so far this year.
While in the process of buying a five piece kitchen table set (table and four chairs), we opted to go used. After a couple of weeks of looking, we found the perfect table, but didn't want to spend $250 on a used table. We talked down the owner to $200, and now will have our kitchen table set at least half the cost of the new table set at the RC Willey outlet and probably much cheaper than new at a regular furniture store. Saved $50-$200.
-Did the diaper deal mentioned above. Then had my mom and mother in law also do it. Three large packs of diapers for $5.04.
-Prepping for vacation. I redeemed our two free movie tickets to see Toy Story 3 (we got these for purchasing the first two on Blue Ray. I got a great deal around Easter on these for their Easter baskets.) Then, found lots of cereal boxes going to the trash at VBS at church. These each had codes on it to earn free stuff. Earned enough points from these codes to get another movie ticket and $5.00 in concession cash. We will only have to purchase 1 ticket to see a movie while on vacation.
-Prepaid for the Disney Photo Pass CD. Saved $50. We loved this option last year because you don't have to make sure you get all the pictures with your own cameras, plus you get pictures with the whole family in them.
-Took a survey and earned $10 ECB from CVS. This will pair with the $4/$20 coupon that they sent me really well. SAVED $14
- Went to Publix. Bought a bunch of groceries paid $11 and saved $21
-Bought my son's ticket to Disney from an online broker. Saved $35 This ticket will last him two or three Disney vacations, since we buy the 10day, no expiration ticket.
-Have my husbands, The Boy's, and my Disney tickets leftover from the last Disney vacation...so we don't have to fork over any money for our tickets this time. (We still have at least two Disney vacations left on our tickets.)
-Got a free Redbox code for "liking" them on Facebook. (My husband got a free code as well.) The code is only good on Monday, June 21. This will make a great evening activity on our vacation.
- Found my dad's Father's Day present on Paperbackswap.com Saved $25-30.
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We bought 4 gallons of cherries and proceeded to make 3 batches of cherry jam, a batch of black forest cherry preserves which I will give out for christmas gifts, and froze a bunch of cherries whole to be used throughout the year in smoothies and baked goods.
Made mozzarella from scratch using a kit I gave my husband a year ago on his birthday.
continue to use homemade cleaning solutions, deodorant, shampoo, etc.
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