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September Frigalistas


hjffkj
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Haven't seen it posted yet so I'll start this months post. August ended strong for us and I've got plans to keep that going into September.

 

Today was a paycheck day and it felt really good being able to pay all our bills with one paycheck! That shows me how hard I worked at getting our bills lowered. And since it is a 3 paycheck month the other 2 paychecks are mostly going into savings. I saw mostly because there is still grocery, gas, and our fun money.

 

This month we are committing ourselves to spending our fun money on activities and not eating out or stuff. One activity will financed this month but won't happen until next month. We'll be paying for a hotel night in Baltimore and going to the aquarium one day and the science center the other day. The outings won't cost money because my best friend gets us into the aquarium for free and the Science center is part of a reciprocal program with a place we have a membership.

 

This month with house repairs to prepare to sell we have drywall repair, install kitchen cabinets, and gutter replacement. We'll be doing the drywall and cabinets ourselves and hopefully will sell the remaining cabinets to recoup some money. Gutter replacement will be the cost of the gutters themselves and then one of dh's students will trade the install for free private lessons.

 

What does everyone anticipate for September? Any major expenses getting in the way of being frugal?

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Dh got a full refund for the tire fiasco last month. Still thinks one tire says it's low but we'll probably just take it somewhere else. It was a nightmare.

 

I recently learned that you can pay 3 months at a time for time4learning.com to save money. I will ask dh when we can do that option because even though you pay more upfront, you are paying less in the long-term. Currently we pay approx $20/mo. for the site. The discount means about $45/3 months. Our next billing cycle won't come up til the end of Sept. so maybe we can do it then?

 

Ds started doing tutoring with a college student. We pay her in food. I try to find stuff on sale. She is gluten-free for medical reasons, but apparently okay with someone else cooking it in their kitchen? Last night we gave her gluten-free pasta to eat (made sure the sauce was GF). I have a few boxes of different pasta here, all purchased on sale. Need to see what else I can buy. The school cafeteria has really nothing she can eat besides like salad. The main reason he's doing the tutoring is because I can barely accomplish one-on-one work with him. Also, sending him to the library to meet with someone means he's more likely to stay on task. The toddler is the Energizer Bunny and has not been napping. Or you know, wants to nap around dinner time.

 

I've been shopping for baby showers lately, but cost isn't bad. The latest one I got invited to I found items on the 75% off rack in ToysRus/BabiesRUs. Five onesies for $2.50. I clipped some digital coupons and have some paper coupons I would like to use this weekend, but not sure if that will happen. Apparently Family Dollar has a spend $25 save $5 deal right now, but I have to locate the coupon or I'm not going to spend the $25. Dh thinks that this huge jug of laundry detergent he bought during a fundraiser will last six months. That seems optimistic to me and it's not even my preferred detergent. The one I want to get at FD will be $6 for a large bottle (without requiring the $5/25 coupon) and is the brand I normally buy. Pampers are on sale at both FD and DG so I plan to buy some of those. They will come out to $6/bag after digital coupons. I haven't done the math to see if it's better at Sam's Club where they don't take coupons, but I know $6 is a good price for them. Dd is not wanting to cooperate with potty training. It's like she's regressed.

 

I started using TopCashBack. There's a bigger payout than ebates on a lot of stores. No minimum before you cash out. Still using swagbucks. I'm 137 points shy of my $25 Sam's Club gift card. Dh is like a nickle away from his next ibotta gift card.

 

Went to GameStop recently. Got a shirt for myself on clearance and the guy said it was buy one get one half off. I picked out one for my BIL as a Christmas gift. When I got to the register he said that instead of half off it gave me the second shirt free. I keep an eye on brickseek for deals, too. That's how I found a SW lego figure on sale. At this rate I will be done Christmas shopping quite early. Dh is stressing about money but he's the one that wanted to eat out tonight. I hope I talked him out of it, at least paying for a sit down place. He took the kids grocery shopping with him and they will inevitably need to eat something. When I do that I am cheap and give them a lunchable or something else cheap lol.

 

Dh's pay and hours fluctuate different times of the year so we really shouldn't be spending much now. Hopefully no major expenses. Our flex spending plan restarts in Sept. so we've moved a few dr appoints to Sept. (we already got all the money back we could from last year's cycle). Last time we collected receipts and got reimbursed. This time we opted for the cards so I think I'll just hand the card over and not have to pay out of pocket? I need to double check. Ds has an appt. (no insurance taken there) next week.

 

hjffkj, I hope you can find someone to buy the old cabinets. Dh and his coworkers just did a process to spruce up old furniture in their library. It came out pretty well. They did this technique to make the counter top look like marble and the sides look like wood. They also added some of that tile with the sticky back to a portion of what is their new circ. desk

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Yay for full refunds! And I really wish I was more ahead of christmas purchases. I have a total of 4 gifts, all I got for a great price.

 

Hope you were able to convince your dh not to eat out. That is our biggest downfall when it comes to being frugal and I don't know how to consistently not do it. I guess if I didn't hate cooking so much it'd be easier.

 

We aren't trying to sell the old cabinets, they are in awful shape. When we bought the new to us ones we bought 17 for $1000. We don't need all 17, only 8. But when pricing them out 8 new would still be more than $1000 and not as nice quality. So I'm hoping to sell the other 9 or at least some of them to make the total project even cheaper.

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I made a pretty big money blunder last month. I hadn't had my hair cut in over a year, and we've moved and my hair stylist moved the opposite direction. So I wanted to find someone new. There are two salons within walking distance of my house so it seemed ridiculous to drive so far. Anyway I asked around for a recommendation on a local mommy FB group for a good nearby stylist who could cut and color my hat for around $100 (what I've paid in the past for a good overhaul). I got so many varying recommendations I called the closest ones and got all the same answers on pricing (all the exact same starting price for what I was asking. Hmmm.) I picked a walkable one. You know where this I going right? $170. More than I've ever paid on my hair and not the best work I've received. I was so sick.

 

 

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Yay for full refunds! And I really wish I was more ahead of christmas purchases. I have a total of 4 gifts, all I got for a great price.

 

Hope you were able to convince your dh not to eat out. That is our biggest downfall when it comes to being frugal and I don't know how to consistently not do it. I guess if I didn't hate cooking so much it'd be easier.

 

We aren't trying to sell the old cabinets, they are in awful shape. When we bought the new to us ones we bought 17 for $1000. We don't need all 17, only 8. But when pricing them out 8 new would still be more than $1000 and not as nice quality. So I'm hoping to sell the other 9 or at least some of them to make the total project even cheaper.

 

Oh I see. Yes, I hope you can sell the other 9 or find something to do with them. I just cashed in my Pampers rewards for a $10 restaurant.com egift card. Maybe that will help us eat out soon. I did find at least one place on the list that sounded good (rib place). Somewhere I have a list of which places have kids eat free nights. We really need to plan out our trips to eat at those places on those nights lol. Typically those require you to eat out on a weekday and that's not easy for us with distance and dh's schedule and bedtimes. Like tonight might screw up their bedtime if they get home late, but at least it's a Friday night.

 

I made a pretty big money blunder last month. I hadn't had my hair cut in over a year, and we've moved and my hair stylist moved the opposite direction. So I wanted to find someone new. There are two salons within walking distance of my house so it seemed ridiculous to drive so far. Anyway I asked around for a recommendation on a local mommy FB group for a good nearby stylist who could cut and color my hat for around $100 (what I've paid in the past for a good overhaul). I got so many varying recommendations I called the closest ones and got all the same answers on pricing (all the exact same starting price for what I was asking. Hmmm.) I picked a walkable one. You know where this I going right? $170. More than I've ever paid on my hair and not the best work I've received. I was so sick.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ugh it's so hard to find a good stylist and one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! The last one I found was closer but I wasn't super happy with the cut. She didn't seem to believe me when I said one side was a bit longer.

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Y'all are doing good on the Christmas shopping. I have nothing. Oh wait I do have a puzzle and gag gift for my stepdad.

 

August was a spendy month.  Among other things our fridge went out  but was blessed when we got a great deal on a new one.  I am so very thankful.

 

September is starting out in the hole. And we have a couple extra bills this month. So I am trying to be creative.

 

We do have food in the pantry and freezer.  I am trying to come up with meals from there as long as I can.  

 

Planning on only shopping for necessities (milk, bread, toilet paper etc. ). 

 

We have a tradition of eating lunch out on the 1st day of school. We start Tuesday.  I have a little money set aside for this.  I am going to encourage ds to pick the taco house. They have a deal on Tuesdays.

 

We have a great group of friends that like to get together at the park and hang out. So that gives us something to do without spending money. 

 

The other day I got really down about the way things are. Then I decided I have to much to be thankful for. So I have been trying to be upbeat and get more creative.  It will all work out!

 

 

 

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More christmas shopping done today. $1 brand new star wars shirt for ds at Goodwill. Every Christmas we get each kid a themed article of clothing. Sometimes PJs, last year robes. This year it will be tshirts so starting with the first one being $1 is fantastic.

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We just got back from Europe yesterday, so the budget for August/september is spent on that.

 

 

Lots of bills that were for the whole summer of swim, violin, and the likes.

 

And now I am coming up to signing up for the whole year of dance for all my kids. $$

Hope you enjoyed your trip.

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I've been reading through the last couple of threads and would love to join :-)

 

I've started using eBates and swag bucks. I have a question for those of you who use swag bucks, how do you maximize the points earned? any good tips and tricks?

Welcome. I don't do either of those things so I can't help. Hope someone has good advice.

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This week went pretty well. One trip to BJ's and I only spent $160 and only on necessities. Filled up the van and my dad's truck, which we are currently borrowing so that was a bit expensive but planned. The only unplanned spending was some rat traps and poison because we have mice.

 

I've been decluttering the house and have found a few Christmas gifts for nephews and nieces. I'm so glad my family is huge into used gifts.

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I've been reading through the last couple of threads and would love to join :-)

 

I've started using eBates and swag bucks. I have a question for those of you who use swag bucks, how do you maximize the points earned? any good tips and tricks? 

 

Always use the shop link when possible. I've got 440 swagbucks pending for our dishwasher. I wish I had actually used swagbucks link to the gift card shop! I could have earned 2% back from Home Depot instead of 1% that way. I could have purchased the HD gift card and then paid for the dishwasher with the gc and have 880 SB on their way.

 

Dh tells me that SB is just a data hog so he doesn't like me running it on my phone to get the SB points. I don't do it as much anymore that way because it does take a while to get just 2 and that's 2 cents since 100 SB is $1.

 

I looked through the gift cards in the redeem section and saw which ones were on sale. Sam's Club had one 12% off so I could earn a $25 Sam's Card for 2200 points instead of needing 2500 points. I just redeemed it. Perfect timing, too. Dh usually grocery shops on Fridays and was bemoaning the fact that I spent part of our grocery budget last night when I stocked up on roll back fruit items at Walmart. I had coupons, too. I think I did pretty well. We can't use the coupons at Sam's and they don't have all the same things (these were like jello/fruit cups and large containers of fruit). Now where did the coupons come from? Mostly from the swagbucks coupon page! Supposedly when you redeem them you will get 10SB per coupon in 4-6 weeks. Do not hold your breath for that, but I figure if I get them that's a nice perk. The coupons are identical to stuff found on coupons dot com. The browsing feature is better on the real coupon site so if you want to search by brand on one site first that might help you find it easier on SB. The past couple weeks they ran specials that you got points just for printing. This might be shady but I "printed" some for points that I didn't really print. As soon as I send them to the print it says I have printed them even though on my machine it waits to print til after I accept the print preview. If I didn't really want the coupons I didn't go through with the print job.

 

TopCashBack offers more cash back for a lot of places than ebates. I'm on both now. With TCB you don't have to meet a minimum to redeem the check. I need to read the details again on both pages to see if my points will expire. I am no where near $5 or any reasonable amount lol. I shop through whatever link gives me the most back... swagbucks, ebates, topcashback or my cc site if they have a promo with a special link.

Edited by heartlikealion
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Always use the shop link when possible. I've got 440 swagbucks pending for our dishwasher. I wish I had actually used swagbucks link to the gift card shop! I could have earned 2% back from Home Depot instead of 1% that way. I could have purchased the HD gift card and then paid for the dishwasher with the gc and have 880 SB on their way.

 

Dh tells me that SB is just a data hog so he doesn't like me running it on my phone to get the SB points. I don't do it as much anymore that way because it does take a while to get just 2 and that's 2 cents since 100 SB is $1.

 

I looked through the gift cards in the redeem section and saw which ones were on sale. Sam's Club had one 12% off so I could earn a $25 Sam's Card for 2200 points instead of needing 2500 points. I just redeemed it. Perfect timing, too. Dh usually grocery shops on Fridays and was bemoaning the fact that I spent part of our grocery budget last night when I stocked up on roll back fruit items at Walmart. I had coupons, too. I think I did pretty well. We can't use the coupons at Sam's and they don't have all the same things (these were like jello/fruit cups and large containers of fruit). Now where did the coupons come from? Mostly from the swagbucks coupon page! Supposedly when you redeem them you will get 10SB per coupon in 4-6 weeks. Do not hold your breath for that, but I figure if I get them that's a nice perk. The coupons are identical to stuff found on coupons dot com. The browsing feature is better on the real coupon site so if you want to search by brand on one site first that might help you find it easier on SB. The past couple weeks they ran specials that you got points just for printing. This might be shady but I "printed" some for points that I didn't really print. As soon as I send them to the print it says I have printed them even though on my machine it waits to print til after I accept the print preview. If I didn't really want the coupons I didn't go through with the print job.

 

TopCashBack offers more cash back for a lot of places than ebates. I'm on both now. With TCB you don't have to meet a minimum to redeem the check. I need to read the details again on both pages to see if my points will expire. I am no where near $5 or any reasonable amount lol. I shop through whatever link gives me the most back... swagbucks, ebates, topcashback or my cc site if they have a promo with a special link.

 

Thanks, that's really helpful. I haven't thought of buying the GC and then getting double points :-) I'll have to look into TopCashBack. 

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We've had perpetual costs.

 

Pipe burst, had to cut a hole in the wall and fix it. Car problems. 

 

Had to take dd to urgent care for stitches.

 

I cannot even remember.

 

HS expenses

 

Now scout stuff is starting back up.

We just got back from Europe yesterday, so the budget for August/september is spent on that. 

 

 

Lots of bills that were for the whole summer of swim, violin, and the likes. 

 

And now I am coming up to signing up for the whole year of dance for all my kids.   $$

Sweet! We are still hunting tickets but keep missing them.

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Sorry for all the expenses Soror

 

Past week was ok spend wise.

 

I went to the store for coffee. Had enough to get through the week and maybe the next but it was on sale, really good sale. I couldn't get extra stuff since I only took in enough cash to get coffee.

 

Dh brought home some lunch leftovers from work. Enough for us to have supper.

 

Hung out with friends at the park.

Downloaded a free book.

Good stuff and free.

 

I will have to go to store soon. We are getting low on necessities but think I did pretty good for the week.

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We've had perpetual costs.

 

Pipe burst, had to cut a hole in the wall and fix it. Car problems. 

 

Had to take dd to urgent care for stitches.

 

I cannot even remember.

 

HS expenses

 

Now scout stuff is starting back up.

Sweet! We are still hunting tickets but keep missing them.

 

Oh stink on all the expenses.  I hope that is the end of them for you. 

 

 

 

 

I forgot where are you guys wanting to go?   I will keep my eye out for deals.  

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We spent this weekend putting up the new to us cabinets and it was totally worth the money. $1500 for a nice kitchen. That includes cabinets, dishwasher, and countertops. I've got 2 people interested in some of our remaining cabinets so hopefully we'll knock another $200 or $300 off that total once we sell the additional ones.

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We spent this weekend putting up the new to us cabinets and it was totally worth the money. $1500 for a nice kitchen. That includes cabinets, dishwasher, and countertops. I've got 2 people interested in some of our remaining cabinets so hopefully we'll knock another $200 or $300 off that total once we sell the additional ones.

 

Wow! 

 

That is really impressive. 

 

 

 

 

 

Auditions that cost $

 

Grocery Shopping

 

 

Got an Ebates check

Returned stuff to a few stores

 

 

 

Still need to pay the big sum for the Dance year

Edited by mommyoffive
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I found bone-in chicken leg/thigh packages for $1.49/lb (really good for my area) and got several packages. I divided the packages in half and froze most of them. Tonight we'll grill, have mashed potatoes from scratch, and green beans from the garden. That will probably last us for two nights with some leftover for a fried rice lunch. We're still working on a late-season watermelon that I bought locally from a farm stand that was a good deal. 

 

DD needs a new blanket for her bed because the old one is literally falling apart and can't be repaired, and I couldn't find anything at thrift stores or locally that was nice and within what I wanted to pay. 

 

Then I remembered the big change jar. I went to Coinstar when I was buying groceries and was able to get her blanket and the calcium/magnesium supplement that I was out of from Amazon.

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Thanks for the commiseration all, that is the way it goes I guess. There is more upcoming too with registration for Scouts and residual car/truck problems (when your vehicles are 20+ yrs old there is maint. and repair). Oh, I forgot we also got passports, none of us have them. Aldi's is closed for the month kicking up my costs and hassle. Anyway, that is life. 

 

upcoming we also have-

ultrasound- $500+ I have thyroid nodules that are supposed to be checked at least yearly it has been nearly 2.5 yrs

Scout reg.and events- $150+ ($50 we already paid once- I would fight it but dh is a push-over it is this long sordid thing)

braces- dd1 is supposed to get them this fall, she really, really needs them

dr's bills- the urgent care bill whenever it comes in and dental work- some kids have cavities to be filled and dh needs a crown

 

On the plus side I have already paid for nearly all the homeschool events we are going to do this fall. 

 

 

mommytofive- we want to go to Rome, although if we happen to catch cheap mistake fares we'd like to take the whole family somewhere.

 

hjffkj- sweet on the kitchen remodel, kitchens can really suck the cash but it sounds like you guys got a wonderful deal

 

heartlikealion- good job on the deal hunting. I need an ultrasound (I'm 2 yrs over due) but have been putting it off b/c of cost, we have more coming in Jan. but it seems silly to put it off when our maintenance meds will take that all over the course of the year. 

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Thanks for the commiseration all, that is the way it goes I guess. There is more upcoming too with registration for Scouts and residual car/truck problems (when your vehicles are 20+ yrs old there is maint. and repair). Oh, I forgot we also got passports, none of us have them. Aldi's is closed for the month kicking up my costs and hassle. Anyway, that is life. 

 

upcoming we also have-

ultrasound- $500+ I have thyroid nodules that are supposed to be checked at least yearly it has been nearly 2.5 yrs

Scout reg.and events- $150+ ($50 we already paid once- I would fight it but dh is a push-over it is this long sordid thing)

braces- dd1 is supposed to get them this fall, she really, really needs them

dr's bills- the urgent care bill whenever it comes in and dental work- some kids have cavities to be filled and dh needs a crown

 

On the plus side I have already paid for nearly all the homeschool events we are going to do this fall. 

 

 

mommytofive- we want to go to Rome, although if we happen to catch cheap mistake fares we'd like to take the whole family somewhere.

 

hjffkj- sweet on the kitchen remodel, kitchens can really suck the cash but it sounds like you guys got a wonderful deal

 

heartlikealion- good job on the deal hunting. I need an ultrasound (I'm 2 yrs over due) but have been putting it off b/c of cost, we have more coming in Jan. but it seems silly to put it off when our maintenance meds will take that all over the course of the year. 

 

Ugh so many expenses.  It is fun being an adult right?  Yeah not. 

 

Passports add up fast.  Annoying that the kid ones are only good for 5 years.   Is it just you and dh going to Rome?  Or all the kids too? 

We just visited there and we want to go back.  So much to see. 

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Thanks for the commiseration all, that is the way it goes I guess. There is more upcoming too with registration for Scouts and residual car/truck problems (when your vehicles are 20+ yrs old there is maint. and repair). Oh, I forgot we also got passports, none of us have them. Aldi's is closed for the month kicking up my costs and hassle. Anyway, that is life. 

 

upcoming we also have-

ultrasound- $500+ I have thyroid nodules that are supposed to be checked at least yearly it has been nearly 2.5 yrs

Scout reg.and events- $150+ ($50 we already paid once- I would fight it but dh is a push-over it is this long sordid thing)

braces- dd1 is supposed to get them this fall, she really, really needs them

dr's bills- the urgent care bill whenever it comes in and dental work- some kids have cavities to be filled and dh needs a crown

 

On the plus side I have already paid for nearly all the homeschool events we are going to do this fall. 

 

 

mommytofive- we want to go to Rome, although if we happen to catch cheap mistake fares we'd like to take the whole family somewhere.

 

hjffkj- sweet on the kitchen remodel, kitchens can really suck the cash but it sounds like you guys got a wonderful deal

 

heartlikealion- good job on the deal hunting. I need an ultrasound (I'm 2 yrs over due) but have been putting it off b/c of cost, we have more coming in Jan. but it seems silly to put it off when our maintenance meds will take that all over the course of the year. 

Just saw this 

I can't remember where you are flying from or if you are flying on points. 

Non-stop from New York to Rome, Italy for only $416 roundtrip

http://www.secretflying.com/posts/new-york-to-rome-italy-for-only-488-roundtrip/

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Woot Woot! Just sold a dresser for $50. And my living room looks so much better without it {I was using it for a TV stand}. After bulk pickup this month, It'll be even better. And I'm going to scour the neighborhood during bulk pickup for saleable items {you'd be amazed what people toss sometimes!}.

 

After rebates and sales, I've made nearly $100 so far this month. And I just listed two things on ebay with another 3-4 in line to be listed this week. I've got two bags of books sorted out to take to Half Price - I won't get much, but I was going to donate them anyways so worth the trip. And I'm planning a homeschool book sale at my home either this week or next {probably next as I have to get the living room clean first}. 

 

I'm going to set a tentative goal of $300 in income this month. I might try for $500 but that would really be a stretch. If I can hit $300, I'll splurge and the next $75 will go towards fixing my broken window that's been boarded up for quite a while. 

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Woot Woot! Just sold a dresser for $50. And my living room looks so much better without it {I was using it for a TV stand}. After bulk pickup this month, It'll be even better. And I'm going to scour the neighborhood during bulk pickup for saleable items {you'd be amazed what people toss sometimes!}.

 

After rebates and sales, I've made nearly $100 so far this month. And I just listed two things on ebay with another 3-4 in line to be listed this week. I've got two bags of books sorted out to take to Half Price - I won't get much, but I was going to donate them anyways so worth the trip. And I'm planning a homeschool book sale at my home either this week or next {probably next as I have to get the living room clean first}. 

 

I'm going to set a tentative goal of $300 in income this month. I might try for $500 but that would really be a stretch. If I can hit $300, I'll splurge and the next $75 will go towards fixing my broken window that's been boarded up for quite a while. 

 

Way to go.  I don't know what is better getting rid of the stuff or the money. 

 

Yep I have often thought to pick up the good stuff people are throwing away and selling it.   A good move for the earth too. 

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Sold one of the cabinets for $60! Another one is pending and that is a $100 one. After that I've got 4 or 5 more to sell. Slowly but surely.

 

I'll be listing a bunch of books and some furniture to sell once I get a little more organized. That should net me about $200. My goal for September and November is to sell enough stuff to pay for the kitchen project (not counting the flooring because that is it's own project throughout the whole downstairs.)

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It's been relatively quiet here since I've been buried in work.  However, I have a kid birthday coming up, a scout fundraiser (which means I will buy a bunch of stuff for family gifts), and a few minor for-pay activities here and there.  I'm starting to think about Christmas.

 

I did buy myself some stretch jeans.  My second-last pair was ripped, so it was time.  I decided to buy a beige and a black as well as my usual blue, so that I can wear them to church until my [non-stretch] dockers fit again.  :P

 

This year I want to buy the "gift cards" our school sells for our grocery store.  We might as well use them since we shop there anyway.  I don't know if it's a discount price or not, but it would give the school a donation, me a tuition or trip discount for the future, and the various perks you get for having a membership card (fuel perks etc.).  If I do it for everyone in my household it could add up nicely.  (I used to pass this by since I shopped elsewhere, but now that isn't the case.)

 

I can't really explain it, but my credit card bills have been going down lately.  I guess that means we have gotten more boring.  :P

 

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Sold one of the cabinets for $60! Another one is pending and that is a $100 one. After that I've got 4 or 5 more to sell. Slowly but surely.

 

I'll be listing a bunch of books and some furniture to sell once I get a little more organized. That should net me about $200. My goal for September and November is to sell enough stuff to pay for the kitchen project (not counting the flooring because that is it's own project throughout the whole downstairs.)

 

Yay

 

I need to get back on the selling stuff bandwagon. 

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It's been relatively quiet here since I've been buried in work.  However, I have a kid birthday coming up, a scout fundraiser (which means I will buy a bunch of stuff for family gifts), and a few minor for-pay activities here and there.  I'm starting to think about Christmas.

 

I did buy myself some stretch jeans.  My second-last pair was ripped, so it was time.  I decided to buy a beige and a black as well as my usual blue, so that I can wear them to church until my [non-stretch] dockers fit again.  :p

 

This year I want to buy the "gift cards" our school sells for our grocery store.  We might as well use them since we shop there anyway.  I don't know if it's a discount price or not, but it would give the school a donation, me a tuition or trip discount for the future, and the various perks you get for having a membership card (fuel perks etc.).  If I do it for everyone in my household it could add up nicely.  (I used to pass this by since I shopped elsewhere, but now that isn't the case.)

 

I can't really explain it, but my credit card bills have been going down lately.  I guess that means we have gotten more boring.  :p

 

Ha.  Funny that you can't explain it.  But down is good.  

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Just scored a $75 dishwasher because the person was swapping out for stainless steel! It looks brand new. Time to learn how to hook up a dishwasher. That brings the whole project budget cost down $125 because I allotted $200 for a scratch and dent dishwasher.

Edited by hjffkj
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:hurray:  :hurray: on selling & buying hjffkj 

 

:hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray: to all y'all for selling extra stuff or other people's throw aways  :thumbup:

 

I have been looking around the house for stuff I could sale but haven't found anything yet.  Most ours need replacing due to being old & wore out   :tongue_smilie:

I could have tried selling some school curriculum but chose to give it away.  The ones I gave it to needed it but we're in a tight spot.  

 

I went to the store. Think I did pretty good. Stayed within budget and got a couple extra items  :thumbup: Stuff to make extra meals.

 

 

 

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I'm going to make some phone calls when I get time (sigh, hard with toddler) to get proof that ds' auditory processing testing etc. is not covered by insurance so I can get reimbursed via our flex spending plan for any/all visits at the hearing clinic. Once I get reimbursed I'm going to buy a book for sale at the church and use that as my dad's birthday gift. It talks about mission trips and how the communities helped one another. It's about a parish in Mississippi.

 

Ds broke his glasses yesterday. First he lost them for a week or so. I finally found them and then this. I went online to order the same exact ones and saw they have warranty. He can get one replacement if they are in stock. All we'll have to pay is shipping. I hope this works out. Then I'll take them back to the optometrist and see if they can reset them. I don't know if that will work out, I hope so.

 

Ds is signed up for a children's business fair so we spent money on supplies for his business this month. Dh received his Amazon credit from ibotta and I received my $25 Sam's card and a $5 Amazon card from swagbucks. So I guess in a sense it evens out?

 

I gave up trying to sell some of our stuff. I am going to give our exersaucer to someone I know. I just want it out of the house LOL But some items I will probably sell for the few bucks they will give me just to get some cash.

 

I recently got a few items for myself. I am helping teach a Sunday school class so I figured it would be good to have some dressier clothes for class/church. I got a $2 top at Walmart on a clearance rack and a dress 50% off recently so it was less than $8. I don't remember if I posted about the dress already.

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We are buying more things in the no-frills store, where they sell their own house brands, out of boxes. No credit cards, nobody to bag your stuff, etc.  We started shopping there about 2 months ago, when my SIL told my wife about the price of their Laundry Detergent and said their cleaning things are very good. We started with their laundry detergent.  Their food things seem to be very high quality also. I think everything we have tried so far, my wife says is very high quality.  They have "everyday low prices" where in the regular supermarket, one thing is on sale, like FAB Detergent was yesterday, occasionally, but who knows when that is.

 

Their dish washing soap is far less expensive and my wife and DD say much easier on the hands.  I am the official Dishwasher and it washes off completely, in contrast to the "AXION"  Colgate-Palmolive product we used for years, which stuck onto the plates.  I haven't changed how I wash dishes, so it must be the soap.

 

Their Girasol Cooking Oil is much less expensive than the  brand we bought in the supermarket for years.  

My wife really likes their Bars of Soap (Avena) for washing hands in the bathrooms and it's much less expensive.

 

I have a theory, which my wife agrees with, that their "rotation" of their own house brands, is probably much better than the rotation of products in a regular supermarket.  

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