A Year of Savings: July 15, 16, 17

July 15:  Teach Your Children Well:  Kay's birthday fell towards the end of last month...And she was given cash or gift cards by nearly everyone in the family.  Praise the girl, mindful of school coming up here at the end of this month, she decided to purchase all of the clothes she needed for school, right down to underthings.  I gave her $20 to help buy the underthings, but the rest of the clothing she bought herself.  She saved us about $200.  And she got many items that will last through more than one season.  She really knows how to shop well that girl!  Wonder where she gets that from?

July 16:  Surprise!  Remember a week or so ago I wrote that I was having sloppy joes for supper?  Our kids have never liked sloppy joes, though I can't tell you why.  I've used the canned sauces (two different brands), I've made my own from scratch, I've tried several dozen recipes.  They all turn their nose up at the mention of words "sloppy joe". 

Well I had about 1 1/2 cups meat mixture leftover after Chance and I had a couple meals from the sloppy joe.  I put it in the fridge and there it stayed.  So I decided it was time for some culinary sleight of hand, a makeover of my leftover if you will.

I mixed up homemade buttermilk biscuit dough, and then pressed dough into a muffin tin, forming little cups.  2 tbsps of the sloppy joe meat went into each cup.  I topped the filled cups with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and then baked the "BBQ Muffins" for about half an hour at 350F. 

Hmmmm!  Guess who ate every single bite?  Anyone mention sloppy joe?  Nope!  Guess it's all a matter of what you call it.   Savings to me:  I got an extra meal off that sloppy joe mixture and was able to postpone another meal so we'll say it saved me about $5.

July 17:  School Supplies.  Kay's requirements for school this year were longer than before.  The report folders and notebooks that she used throughout junior high and the beginning of highschool finally wore out.  So on the list this year were new notebooks, new dividers and a new calculator as well as pens, pencils, a pocketsized notebook for homework assignments and fee due deadlines (she'll be a junior this year, so class fees begin to be paid), and a couple of report folders. 

This girl of mine isn't a costly child.  None of those expensive, must have it notebooks for her!  No sir.  She wants 1 inch plain basic binders.  All she asks is that they have a clear plastic cover. Why?  That clear plastic cover is open at the top.  And creative Kay likes to make collages, or drawings, or uses pretty wrapping or scrapbook paper to make each notebook a work of art, as well as practical.  She'll use those notebooks for the two final years of schooling.  And her ingenuity and care will save us $15.00.

A Year of Savings: July 11-14

July 11:  The $64 Question:  Mama needs me to take her to her eye appointment on Tuesday.  Knowing how intensely I shop on my Big Shop day, I could see that I needed to rearrange my schedule.  For the third pay period in a row I've had to shop prior to payday.  This always makes me feel a bit uneasy.  It isn't that we can't afford the purchases that I make, but it's just a natural caution.  Chance is very adamant that we have what we need  but I feel wary of making impulse purchases and stocking up when we've yet to pay our bills.

Being cautious, I spent more time in thought about where to shop than I did on the shopping list itself.  There was quite a choice of stores to choose from.  I could shop locally and while I might have picked up discounted meats (it's doubtful as they generally don't do markdowns until Monday or Tuesday), overall the cost of nearly everything I most needed was more than a little bit higher in cost.

I could shop in the next town over at the discount grocery.  The quality of their fresh foods and meats are excellent, the store brands reasonable and tasty, but the choice is limited severely.

I could go to the usual grocery where I like to shop.  Here there are occasionally meats we eat in the markdown bin, they have terrific loss leaders and a wonderful selection.  But I couldn't justify buying less than $100 worth of groceries at a store that costs me $8 just to drive to and from.

Then there's the classy grocery I really adore shopping at, but tend to avoid due to the costs, the distance and the incredible impulse splurges I find upon there shelves.  After all, it was Friday and 'my day' to do as I please...

Ultimately I chose the discount grocery in the next town over.  I spent about $100 there on good basic foods, no impulse items.  I know I saved about $50  over the costs of shopping at the other three stores.  No, I didn't buy everything I wanted.  No, I didn't stock up.  But I did get all we needed just as my husband requests I do when shopping prior to a pay period. 

July 12:  Fresh from the Bakery:  Poundwise's Bakery that is!  Yes, I've spent the morning baking.  What do I have to show for my efforts? Two loaves of lovely bread (value of $2.89 each), 1 1/2 dozen Cinnamon rolls with caramel frosting (value of $7.50) and 1 lovely applesauce cobbler (value for cobblers half the size of mine at the grocery ran $5).  Baking at home, besides filling the house with lovely scents, and affording me the enviable task of eating a warm from the oven cinnamon roll with melting frosting on top with my mid-afternoon cup of coffee break, saved me: $17.50.

July 13:  Saving for a Rainy Day.  It rained Sunday afternoon.  Poured rain.  And it saved me money by doing so.  Not because my plants got a good soaking.  Not because the car got a much needed bath.  No, those were good savings all in themselves, but I saved even more than those two things netted.  I saved because I loathe, loathe, loathe getting soaking wet anytime.  And though I needed to run by the grocery to make a needed purchase, I simply couldn't bring myself to do it on such a wet afternoon.  So my savings for this afternoon, totals $20,  the cost of the items I was going in to purchase, but decided to do without.

July 14:  Homemade Half & Half.  Growing up there was no such thing as cream upon the tables.  We had instead what Granny called 'light cream', better known as canned evaporated milk.  That sufficed in our homes for years on end.  It wasn't until I met my late father-in-law that I even heard of half and half!  But once introduced to the wonders of this dairy product, I realized that coffee was just better with it than without. 

Remember that savings yesterday?  Well this particular grocery has Half & Half by the quart.  Which will last me about 3 weeks in my home.  It costs $3.89 for that quart.  And coffee with 2% just isn't going to come up to snuff without it, I'm hear to tell you. 

So I decided to make my own version of half and half.  I put into a pint container 1 cup of the 2 % milk I had on hand, and 1 cup of canned evaporated milk (it's a pantry staple in my home).  Voila!  I have a reasonable replica of Half & Half.  I get the taste of milk and the luxury of 'cream'.  My savings: $0.  That's right, because this homemade version cost roughly the same as the store bought real stuff.  It's good to know though that I've found a reasonable substitute when I'm out of a favored item!

Total for week of July 8-14: $127.50

It's Time for a Blogging Break

It's time for a brief blogging break.  I may break in and post here and there, and will certainly keep the year of savings going.  But please pardon me while I take a brief timeout to enjoy the last of summer vacation with Kay.  She's back to school on August 1.  Aside from the necessary errands and shopping associated with the return to school, I'd like time to do a few special things with her.  She's growing up so fast that I won't be able to spend time with her as I choose.   I want to enjoy the wee bits of time left.

I'll see you all again on a regular basis August 1.  In the meantime, I'll check in now and again.  

A Year of Savings - July 10

Breaking up the Routine:  It's cleaning Thursday.  That means I cleaned Mama's home, then we went shopping and out to lunch.  Typically on such a day I'd spend about $40 on groceries or household needs, or on something for my wardrobe.  Today, I decided to shake up the routine.  I bought nothing.  That means I saved $40 by opting to break my usual routine.  And golly but it was the easiest money I've saved in a while!

Currently Reading EXCEPT FOR ME AND THEE A COMPANION TO THE FRIENDLY PERSUASION see related

Working Wednesday

I started my day at full run.  Before Chance had left our own roadway, I'd made the bed, loaded and started dishes in the dishwasher, and picked up the kitchen.  Then I showered, cleared up a few little areas that were looking a tiny bit shabby and headed up to Granny's for our morning coffee.

When I arrived I found her sitting on the front porch, empty coffee cup in hand.  She'd already enjoyed her first cup, sitting right there on the porch.  Can't say I blamed her, either.  It was lovely and cool and full of the happy sounds of birds busy about their home keeping duties.  After our breakfast we slipped back outdoors to enjoy more of that nice morning air.  And of course, Lucy the terrier came to join us.

There must have three dozen mockingbirds flying about or bouncing across the lawn this morning.  The silly narcissistic redbird showed up as well, alighting on my sideview mirror to gaze rapturously at himself before setting about seeking out his breakfast.  A woodpecker tapped out morse code on the big old oak tree.  A bob white called steadily, without a reply as far as I could hear, from any quarter.  Granny tells me that the bob whites have a family and she enjoyed watching them walk across the lawn the evening before.  A few brown bunnies nosed about around the edge of the field, keeping a careful eye out for dogs and cats. 

Oh it was a lovely morning to sit upon the porch and so peaceful.  And I sat quietly enjoying the morning air and the company for about a half hour.  But my desire to get home and tackle a special task finally made me restive and I got up and took my leave. 

Now the job I planned was a good sized job.  I knew full well I'd be worn to a frazzle when all was done, so I did the last few jobs of housework first.  That took about an hour and a half, so I rested for 20 minutes prior to beginning.  It sounds as though I might have just been postponing a dreaded job doesn't it?  Well that's only partially true.  I was and I wasn't.  With Kay and Chance both gone from home, now was the perfect time to do it.  But with neither Chance nor Kay at home, I knew too well that I was likely to really overdo it.  I was trying hard to take care of me along the way of getting this task completed.

Well about 10am I was ready to go tackle the job.  What was it?  Clearing out that stuffed-to-the-gills closet in the music room, the one that Chance suggested I should tackle if in the mood to clean closets a few weeks back.  About 1/4 of the space is taken up with what is termed 'my' things.  My things are largely composed of seasonal decorations and a few pieces that while not in use are too treasured to part with, the leaves to the dining room table and a lamp that neither of us want in the house, but we keep for sentimental reasons...I know, but we keep it all the same.

Then about 1/2 the items are things that Chance can't part with for one reason or another.  I won't even go there.  I have my ideas of what is worthy of keeping and he has his and I'll not toss anything that belongs to him.  And about 1/4 of the things was stuff the two boys left behind.  At least one of those boxes will be packed up and shipped out to Doug here in the next month. The other things I pulled from the closet.  It's time Alan made up his mind to keep or get rid of and so I've got them out where he can come pick them up and make his own decision. 

And then I found that Chance, like myself does have a penchant for hanging onto sturdy empty boxes.  I found a shelf filled with empty boxes.  I did pull those out to ask if he wanted to keep them, or if we might use them to ship the items to Doug in. 

What were the results of all that cleaning?  I filled a trashbag with things that were just tatty or silly to keep (old shoe brushes?  When we've got five in the house already?! Trash!), and I have a huge carton filled to overflowing to go to Goodwill.  There are a few remaining items on the chairs in the study that I haven't quite determined whether to box back up or send off. 

I took a little while to rearrange the items in the closet and while initially it looks as full as it did to begin with, it takes only a moment to realize that we can now actually see over the boxes to the back of the closet, that everything is well below waist level instead of towering over head as it did.  However, I'd dare say that there were still things that could use sorting, but they aren't mine.

I was all done by 11:30am.  Hot and sweaty and thirsty and hungry as well.  Had anyone been home about that time they'd likely have regretted speaking to me.  I didn't feel nice in the least.  I feel better now I've had a hot lunch and time to cool off.  And thankfully, other than loading my dirty dishes into the sink, the work is done!  I've a movie I've saved  to treat myself with this afternoon.  It's my reward for working so hard on this Working Wednesday.