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Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week 38


Ginevra
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The "rules" of this challenge are self-defined. Anyone can join in at any time. The aim of the challenge (for me) is to combat consumerism, wastefulness, mindless buying, and overspending. It is meant to nurture creative problem solving, ecology, frugality, intentionalism, and resourcefulness. To support these goals, I seek to buy nothing new/unnecessary. I aim to use existing resources, borrow, hand-craft, and buy existing second-hand materials to the greatest extent possible. However, I recognize that life is unpredictable, and family life increases this factor exponentially, so I will buy new in the following cases, when a non-buying option does not present:

 

Food, health, and necessary household goods excluded.

Requirements for school, work, or health and well-being which cannot be obtained used.

Gifts, when a creative non-commercial option will not suffice.

Anything animal or gardening related that cannot be obtained used.

Fuel/energy sources.

 

Posts will appear each Saturday, referring to the week that is ending. Post your successes, creative solutions, relapses and weak moments. It doesn't matter if you have a weak moment! Just keep swimming!

Bought some new undies as per my underwear thread. Got three Vanity Fair pairs at Pennys and a package of the Fruit of the Looms from Walmart. They are acceptable. I drew thw conclusion that my butt is too fat to wear the intended jeans without some line. So there's that.

 

I impulsively bought a beanbag chair for DS at Wally World for $30. He's very happy with it, so I'm calling it worth it. I also bought a folding chair, which is why I was in the chair section to begin with. That was, I think, $26. DS' desk chair is broken on the cross piece and when he sits to do schoolwork, he bounces his foot incessantly on the broken bar and it DRIVES. ME. NUTS. So, bye bye broken chair!

 

I bought a couple supplies for the bracelet class at co-op.

 

I spent money on a dental appointment for DS (check up) and today paid for filling two cavities in DD's teeth. :( College life not keeping her teeth perfect, I guess. Later this afternoon, DD's car went wonky and won't disengage from park. Resourcefully, she troubleshooted this on-line and found a description of exactly her proble. Unfortunately, the proposed solution did not rectify the problem. So this may be costing money this coming week.

 

No other spending that I know of.

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Quill, I was hoping for an update on the underwear. LOL

 

Got my car fixed...running like a top again for $215.

 

4 Amazon orders were placed. 3 are Christmas presents, thanks to Swagbucks, only $2 out of pocket. The other was a toilet handle. This is the year of fixing things myself.

 

Wal-Mart trip today...$62. Mostly non-grocery items except for milk, bananas, and a bucket of ice cream. The buckets are then recycled into Lego storage. We're going to be eating ice cream for a long time. My daughter settled on a costume for Halloween. She will be Applejack from My Little Pony. Bought Orange leggings and shirt. Looking for a cheap cowboy hat yet and some yellow tulle to make a mane and tail. She will wear her cowboy boots and we'll do some creative cutie marks. She is delighted. Invested in an outdoor push broom instead of a leaf blower. I have someone who needs some hard work. And that is all.

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Let's see ... last week was again a blur of crazy work hours and other stuff.  That kept me away from stores and such.

 

I did go on amazon just now and order some dressy shoes for my kids.  One kid is about to have a birthday, and she's grown out of the heely shoes I bought for her 8th b'day.  I tried to find her a bigger pair (she loved them so much), but they don't sell them any more.  So I ordered two pairs that I think she will like - I will let her choose if they are the same exact size.  (But you know how that goes.).  They were pretty cheap.  I also bought a cheap pair for the other kid, who is about to grow out of the only shoes she can wear to church.  I hope the new ones fit.

 

My kid's birthday requests (10th) are:  a phone, a rodent, money, and make-up.  (I am going to let my sister do the make-up.)  My kid notes that those are only a few small things!  Right?  I have to figure out what kind of phone I want her to have.  As for the rodent, it will have to be something small and hopefully not be too smelly or fragile or mean.

 

My kids told me a couple weeks ago that they needed book covers.  I went online to order them.  I thought I ordered them.  I'm wondering why they never came.  Now I see they are not in any of my recent orders.  Weird.  My kids say the teacher is going to dock their grades if they show up without book covers on Monday (of course I just learned this tonight).  They also say Wal-Mart carries them.  (I already tried Target and Walgreens.)  So tomorrow I will probably stop at Wal-Mart and see if I can find some.  Otherwise, it's brown paper bags, like when I was a kid.

 

Today we did a volunteer thing where we planted wildflowers in a national park.  Just another example of fun, wholesome experiences that don't cost anything.

 

While we didn't really eat out during the week (only Friday dinner and Saturday lunch), we did have carry-out / delivery a couple nights, due to scheduling issues beyond my control.

 

Coming up is the fall scout camping trip (2 nights).  It is $25 per person, but I have been asked to buy some of the groceries, and to deduct the cost from our $75.  While I usually pay for the food and don't seek reimbursement, I'm fine with reducing my cost (and it may end up being $0 after the food is bought).  Works for me.  I hope we don't have to buy anything new for this weekend.  We should have everything already.

 

Can't think of anything else worth mentioning.

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Spent a few bucks on a Wooster Shortcut paintbrush (another purchase made due to reading about it here!) and a large bottle of shampoo.  The last bottle was bought in January so I'm pretty happy to be down to just buying shampoo twice a year. 

 

We saw The Magnificent Seven and it was ok...nothing spectacular but I'd pay to watch Chris Pratt read names from a phone book. 

 

Today we had a planned day out with another couple we hang with. We went to an antique fair...it was enormous. I bought a few things but nothing except what was on my list. We had dinner out but have enough left for lunch tomorrow so I'm ok with that. Spending the day with friends is well worth it. 

 

Oh, almost forgot...bought some fall candy. Fall M and Ms and some caramel filled chocolates shaped like pumpkins.   Dh has returned to work and is again super stressed. Chocolate helps us both cope. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

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Today I purchased razors. Yes, razors. So, you guys know I coupon right? Well, here was the deal: 

 

Target Price:

4 pack of Schick Hydrosilk Disposable Razors 9.99 ea. 

deal: buy 2 get a $5 gift certificate

coupons: 2 $7/2 coupons and 2 $3/1 coupons

purchased 6-4 packs for a total of 59.94 - 20.00 coupons - $15 gift certificates = 24.94 = 4.15 per pack = 1.04 per razor

 

4 pack of Gillette Simply Venus Disposable Razors 5.99 ea. 

deal: buy 3 get 1 free

coupons: 1 $3/1 coupon and 2 $1/1 coupons

purchased 4 - 4 packs packs for a total of 23.96 - 5.99 free pack - $5.00 coupons = 12.97 = $3.24 each = .81 per razor

 

Total cost of all razors purchased = 37.91 

Total number of razors purchased = 40

Average cost per razor = $0.95 each

 

For comparison, the store brand is $2.99 for a pack of 4, making them $0.75 each, so for $0.06 more each, I was able to get a significantly better razor. Since the store brands tend to chop of my legs, it's well worth the money! I expect these to last me almost a year, although some of them may go in a food bank box along the way (our local food bank occasionally requests hygiene items). 

 

Now, for the pricey side, I just got a Stitch Fix box. Awesome! Expensive! Worth it! I am rebuilding my wardrobe right now and am trying to do so with high quality items so that they last a while. This is the second box I have received. In contains: An LBD, a pair of ballet flats, two sweaters and a blazer. I know one of the sweaters is going back because I don't like the way it looks (it has chunky buttons down both sides) but I am going to try everything else on and decide. I'm hoping that the LBD and the blazer fit. I slipped the ballet flats on and they fit well, so I may keep those (I'm going to do some price comparisons on them first). I am also going to shop Talbot's for jeans this week - I have a 25% off entire purchase coupon code. 

 

 

ETA: We have drastically reduced our eating out over the past couple of weeks. We are down to two dinners and one lunch out per week. We are hoping to get that down one more dinner, so that we are eating out lunch on Sundays and dinner one weeknight. We'll see if we are successful! 

 

 

Edited by TechWife
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Today I purchased razors. Yes, razors...

 

<snip>

 

Now, for the pricey side, I just got a Stitch Fix box. Awesome! Expensive! Worth it! I am rebuilding my wardrobe right now and am trying to do so with high quality items so that they last a while. This is the second box I have received. In contains: An LBD, a pair of ballet flats, two sweaters and a blazer. I know one of the sweaters is going back because I don't like the way it looks (it has chunky buttons down both sides) but I am going to try everything else on and decide. I'm hoping that the LBD and the blazer fit. I slipped the ballet flats on and they fit well, so I may keep those (I'm going to do some price comparisons on them first). I am also going to shop Talbot's for jeans this week - I have a 25% off entire purchase coupon code. 

 

 

Ah razors...My husband uses the service provided by Harry's, i.e. automatic delivery.  Even though he is on the minimal plan, he seems to accumulate too many blades.  So I decided to start using Harry's for my minimal shaving (I am a very unhairy person).  This led me to wonder about something:  growing up there were razors. At some point, there were men's razors and women's razors.  Is there really a difference (asks the woman who is using a Harry's blade)?

 

I went through a wardrobe rebuilding phase after my son left for college. J.Jill became my go-to store but there are seasons when I find their styles to be too frumpy.  In general I still like J.Jill though and peruse their catalogs, making the occasional purchase (with coupon/discount deal). My favorite jeans and basic pencil skirts are from J.Jill although let me state here that I love the Jag shorts that I bought after reading Quill rave about her love for their jeans. Like things at Talbots, these clothes are not inexpensive but I find the quality and fit to be a worthwhile investment for my circumstances. 

 

My goal is to sew more of my wardrobe.  Every time I write or say that, I remind myself that it is time to get off the Internet!!

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Ah razors...My husband uses the service provided by Harry's, i.e. automatic delivery.  Even though he is on the minimal plan, he seems to accumulate too many blades.  So I decided to start using Harry's for my minimal shaving (I am a very unhairy person).  This led me to wonder about something:  growing up there were razors. At some point, there were men's razors and women's razors.  Is there really a difference (asks the woman who is using a Harry's blade)?

 

 

The only difference I have found is that sometimes the handles on the women's razors are curved and go around my calf muscles better. That said, I'll usually buy whatever is cheaper. There seem to be more coupons for women's razors than men's razors, though. 

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Since I took out the loan for my surgery, my budget for weekly unplanned spending is $30/week. This is for groceries I buy myself (for food at work mostly), and anything unexpected or "fun" and for medications.

 

This coming week, I have to buy DS some shoes. The ones we bought at the  beginning of the school year are already falling apart. His only request is that they be orange.

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Trip to SA and GW for t shirts for Sagg and me. Grabbed a package of the yarn I needed. GW had a half price sale the next day. I went back to get a few things, but I waited too late in the day and they were mostly sold out. I picked up a few kid books at $0.25 each, a bread machine, a couple of toys.  Got a yarn needle at JoAnn.

 

Sunday, I went to Big Lots to get coconut oil on sale $12 a gallon. Someone dumped my last gallon on the floor, so I needed more, and we wanted to get it before it was gone. I bought two, plus a few jars/packets of baby food for Luna. I went to Fry's for milks, butters, sugar, for baking. 

I have mastered amazing yeast rolls. I made breadsticks and knots. Both fantastic. Bread is improving. I've run the bread machine 4ish times since Sunday. 

D is buying celebration sushi tonight because HE GOT THE JOB! The local one at a mine, not the Antarctica one. WHile he would have enjoyed Antarctica, it would have been a financial setback. This job is closer than where he is now, no traffic ( it's out in the mountains), and they offered him more money. Yay! I like money! 

This seems to be taking the edge off his anger that my window broke again. He'll fix it this weekend. 

In the meantime, I'm frantically getting babies to doctors before we lose our insurance. 

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