Ginevra Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 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. 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! How we doing, Frugalistas? This past week, I put a deposit on my DD's college for fall. Exciting times! We also went to see a seamstress who is hemming her dress for prom. Ddis happily wearing the same shoes she wore for Junior Prom, so that will be a savings. She plans to have her hair done at a beauty school; they did her hair for junior prom and she loved it. I expect to make dinner for her and her friends. Also, I will drive. I am not a fan of Limos. They are too wasteful to me. (No harm meant to others who think they are great; it's just not my cup of tea. I didn't have a Limo on my wedding day.) I bought three photo frames at GW. I will use one of them to give my mom a senior picture of DD. The frames were .48. :) I also got DS a few pairs of shorts, as I spoke about in the previous thread. I earned some money at co-op curriculum sale. I also sold some of my excess tomato and pepper plants. I am having an inner battle about selling the plants, though, and here's why: Last year, I gave them away. I also HATE to appear mercenary and am happy to be generous with those things with which I have been blessed. OTOH, there is some investment on my part that makes the extra plants possible. I run electricity for the grow lights, use seed starter soil, use peat pots to be enviro-friendlt, buy seeds. This is part of why I feel I should recoup some of that cost. What do you all think? Where is the line between acting mercenary and merely recouping investment? P.S. Nobody appeared upset that I was selling them, even my friend who had some for free last year. It's just my own guilty conscience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I think it's perfectly fine to sell the plants you grew! I'm sure that your friends who bought them would have bought some from somewhere else if you didn't sell them (or give them away), and I'm sure if your friends truly couldn't afford to pay for the plants you would have given them away. I would love to be able to buy plants started by a friend locally. Hope your daughter has a great prom! This week was focused on getting a renovation project started and I feel good about the progress. A dear friend who does reno work for us has been so so sick for months and he's able to start working again and I was so glad to be able to have him here for a day. His family really needed the money and I really needed the work done so it was win-win. My spending for the week was some batik fabrics to start a quilt for my middle granddaughter. The middle of the quilt will be a 2 1/2 foot giraffe munching on some leaves, appliquéd onto a pretty background. I'm having a ball making it for her. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Nothing out of the ordinary this past week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Nothing unusual this past week. Next week I'm going on a little trip, so I will make up for it. :) You are perfectly justified in selling your plants. Don't feel guilty. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Wait...what's the story behind the fake plant? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Wait...what's the story behind the fake plant? Lol, that made me sit up and take notice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I didn't buy anything this week except for a few math workbooks / summer bridge things from Rainbow Resource. It was my first purchase from them. I had to buy enough to get free shipping, but I will adjust my still-pending Amazon order accordingly. Oh, one thing - I had a really busy day as my kids went from soccer to horse riding to museum walking, requiring 3 different sets of footwear. I planned it so we would not have to go home between activities, but I forgot to pack socks. (Soccer socks have limited uses.) So I bought a few pairs of socks at a drugstore along the way. I think that is the only thing I spent this week that was not particularly mindful. ;) Oh wait, I indulged in a latte today because I deserved it between the 8 different stops I needed to make for my kids and my job. I rarely do that, but I really needed the caffeine. I did another round of summer camp registrations. My kids are doing less this year than last year. I am not really sure the gymnastics camps are the best investment I could make - mainly because the logistics are stressful for me. But I did it. (Only 5 days though). They did have a "buy one get one" deal so I got 2 of the 5 for "free." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 SKL, my DS10 loves gymnastics, but when we've done camp, it was disappointing. He doesn't want to do crafts and board games. He just wants to do gymnastics continuously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Target has some really cute fake plants right now! Which did you get? I made some impulsive purchases this week. I am not sure if they filled true needs, but they will get used. At Costco: 3 pairs of Dockers for dh; I do need to start replacing some of his slacks, but I didn't go in thinking I needed to buy those Sunhats for the girls--my boys need them for summer camp, and my girls also wanted some. A LED lamp. We do need a lantern for camping, but our flashlights would get us by an emergency, and again, not frugal. I needed a new summer dress to replace a torn skirt. I bought three because they were $20 each. Odds are I will be returning at least one since it was a web purchase and I rarely have it all fit properly...but again, impulsive as I was buying dd bike shorts (which she needs!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I bought two new skirts from Walmart. Ten bucks each. I also paid for a birthday lunch for my did and a few of her friends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Quill, I love how you are making a pre-prom dinner for your daughter and her friends! It seems that prom has become such an over the top thing for some high schoolers. You are not alone in rewriting the script on that one. Well the only money I spent this week was on groceries--until yesterday. I attended a wine tasting/silent auction fund raiser for a local organization where I came home with two things. One was a handmade farmer's market basket--gorgeous! And I got it for a song. I shall use it with pleasure when I visit the local markets as I do regularly. We also picked up a large seafood steamer pot. While we have other large stock pots, we don't have anything quite like this one. Will I wonder why in a few years or even months why I bought this? A good cause, yes. It looks like I will have to plan some festive events using this pot. C'mon over for shrimp boil, y'all! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Dh bought the wood to make the screen walls for our raised garden beds. We've making a deer- and groundhog-proof garden :) I scored a perfect condition textbook and its study guide (going to use the questions from it for tests) for next year's AP Psych for $15 total including shipping :D Today we're meeting our fellow travelers from last summer's China trip for a reunion lunch :) We see several of the people often at university events (they're profs who go to the same concert series we do lol) but some we haven't seen since July. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saraswati Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I completely missed last week! I bought some new clothes and sandals for summer - $400. I'm trying to reorganize my grocery shopping. I no longer have a costco to buy meat, and the local grocery shop meats are $$$$. I'm spending double or more on my weekly shopping trips now. I've found a couple local meat markets online, and quite a few farmers' markets - hopefully I can work out a plan to help reduce food costs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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