2011 Frugal Challenge

[peanut]

I visited a friend in hospital. took an unfrugal card and chocolates. $10. Avoiding paying for parking though by parking a few blocks away and walking.

Leftovers for lunch.

Canning bread and butter pickles in the morning.

Baking molasses cookies in the afternoon.

Researching FV for some fall/winter food prep ideas.

[Mojjo]

~all meals from home
~made the boys a cake instead of buying after school snacks
~laundry in cold
~DH got bills organized for thursday night - payday

[Starlight9803]

Tuesday:

*stayed home all day, no gas used or money spent
*dehydrated a huge bag of apples that tasted great but had an awful texture to them, now kids can't stay out of them lol
*dehydrated some grapes into raisins before they could go bad
*cleaned house with homemade cleaners
*read library books and played board games with the kids for entertainment
*no a/c use, limited lights on after dark
*used up all the leftovers and bits and pieces for dinner last night


for today (Wednesday):

*no a/c use
*going to town for groceries and errands, will make trip in a loop to save on gas
*organizing coupons before I leave to see if I have any I can use
*started dinner in crockpot, cause I know I'll be tired after shopping and don't want to give in to buying some overpriced convenience food from the store just cause I'm lazy
*laundry today in cold with 1/2 detergent

[Telephus44]

*Went to yoga last night using my Groupon
*Dinner was pasta, cheap and easy
*Took coffee to work today
*Used shampoo/conditioner samples
*Turned off DS's nightlight and fan before I left for work
*Laundry in cold

[Mojjo]

~meals from home, but ended up buying a diet coke at work
~ate at home before back to school night - this is a big change as normally we go out to dinner after, but since I went alone I decided to be good
~YDS's librarian and I are going to do a quilt hanging project together so I get to use up extra material
~pulled pay stubs early so we could start to work on bills and budgeting this pay
~took out ground beef for dinner for tomorrow so that we won't be tempted to go out just because we're getting paid.

[Telephus44]

*Took coffee and lunch to work today
*Made $125 in my focus group yesterday
*Went walking with a neighbor for exercise this morning
*Used shampoo/conditioner samples
*Laundry in cold using a laundry detergent sample
*Turned off DS's night light before I left this AM

[peanut]

Today...

~ loop errands - picked up 25 lbs. peaches for $25. Picked up four pillow forms 50% off. Mailed letters to people. Crucial mail. Picked up labels to label food for sale.

~ baking bran muffins and date squares. Making full use of a hot oven. Will see if I can bake something else this evening.

~ listening to radio on my laptop, rather than turning on the multi-component wireless sound system.

~ using phone and Net to contact people.

~ finished stuffing my cushion covers with the cushion forms. They look great! I'm hoping they don't sell. If they don't, I'll pay Crafting for Missions the $18 for the cushion forms and just keep them. Everything else was provided by me and they were sewn by me anyways. They look great on my sofa! Rule of thumb for Crafting for Missions has become "Don't make anything you don't want back". That way there's a home for it if it doesn't sell.

~ garden cucumber for cucumber bagel sandwich for lunch. Bagels were half price.

That's it so far.

[brennasmom]

* have avoided going to the store for a few days even though I *need* a few staples
* stopped at library to pick up books on hold
* took lunch and coffee to work
* investigating braces options for DD so I can use my flex spending in 2012 if I need to.
* Leftovers for dinner

[Mojjo]

~all meals from home
~laundry in cold
~went through ads and meal planned based on sales. Figured out baking for the week, mostly using what we have.
~exercised on Wii
~figured out DH and I won't go out for anniversary dinner tomorrow but will buy steaks and bring them home.

[Telephus44]

*Ran out to the gas station to buy bread this morning. Not uber frugal, but cheaper than running to the grocery store or have DS buy lunch at school. Bread is $2.49 and school lunch is $2.75 - plus I needed gas anyways, so I guess that's combined errands.
*Worked on bills/budgeting last night. Quicken seems to be refusing to update just about ANY of my accounts, so I had to do a lot of manual entry. Not pretty, but at least I have an accurate idea of where we stand.
*DH was able to borrow tables and chairs for DS's birthday party. He took a co-worker out to lunch to "pay" for the rental fee :-)
*Dinner at home last night
*Used shampoo/conditioner samples.
*Used a sample of a tab for the dishwasher.
*Used vinegar as a rinse aid in the dishwasher.

[Starlight9803]

* stayed home today, so no spending or gas usage
* no a/c use, it is really cool here today, so have a few windows open for air (though DH and kids keep complaining it's too cold in here lol)
* laundry in cold with 1/2 detergent
* bathed both dogs and trimmed their nails instead of taking to a groomer
* we ate up the leftovers in the fridge for lunch

[peanut]

~ given carrots
~ given beets
~ given canning jars
~ given cake (which I'm not supposed to eat, but did)
~ tried to do loop errands when possible. Phoned ahead to make sure people were home before I went to see them.
~ had to do a bunch of errand with a friend for her, so we took her car.
~ leftovers for lunch.
~ hm applesauce with breakfast.
~ not home most of the day so I guess no computer on!
~ supper out, but it was a 2 for 1 deal. Cost us $8.

[Telephus44]

*Friday I had a frugal lunch. Used up the last of the baby carrots and cheese in the fridge. DH and I finished up a bag of chips and salsa.
*This entire weekend we spent money on DS's party (food, drinks, balloons - etc.). I'm not even going to post how much we spent, but it was a lot. The bright side is that the soda was free at CVS (used coupons and extra care bucks) and that we'll have leftovers to eat for about a week. And I was able to use a coupon for the balloons.
*Took coffee to work today and ate leftovers for lunch
*Used samples of laundry detergent and cold water all weekend.

[peanut]

~ given zucchini, and giving the extras away.
~ leftovers for lunch.
~ loop errands.
~ Value Village - found a duvet cover cheaper than two king size sheets to make a duvet cover. So just bought the duvet cover to make an inside permanent cover for a duvet filling. The lady wants to make her original cover removable. The duvet filling desperately needs tacking every 6" or so.
~ Also picked up two sets of placemats to make casserole carriers for 9 x 13" pans.
~ Also picked up a styrofoam head for modeling hats for my Etsy shop and sales for $2.99. Not bad.
~ Went out to a free knitting group this afternoon and didn't stay after for coffee and snack. Couldn't afford it. Plus DH is home and I'd rather be with him.
~ Browsing the Village 'Home' area. Interesting stuff tucked away there. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.

[Telephus44]

*Had leftovers for dinner last night.
*Took leftovers for lunch today.
*Turned off DS's nightlight before leaving this morning
*DH is going out to dinner/Red Sox game for work, all free.