Ginevra Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 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! In the category of Things You Can Barely Believe, after having cleaned out the fridge at the beach house due to a power outage, today we just discovered a non-functioning fridge at our house! Now, mercifully, this is a spare fridge (feels wrong to admit we have one). I mainly use it to keep extra milk and cream, because my boys knock out close to a gallon of milk per day, and we use the fridge when hosting a party. I use the freezer part of that fridge mostly for keeping spare loaves of bread or rolls, so mercifully, not much was lost. However, replacing or repairing the fridge is not an expense I am excited to consider. And my frozen blackberries turned to mush when they thawed, and they seeped out of the poorly-sealed container, so there is a big purple juice mess to clean up now. However, at least it was not our main fridge, or the freezer with a large stock of beef from a steer we bought last year. Other purchases: bought two books and a jigsaw puzzle at B&N. The puzzle was on impulse. I enjoy them and I found this one charming. It was an intricate picture of a family in the Victorian-style, two-level library of their manor house. Tiny fairies fly in the corners of the image. Very cute. And should be challenging, as there will be many hundreds of pieces depicting books that all look alike. I bought DS15 a new desk chair at Staples today; they are very on sale right now. I was tempted to buy myself one, too! I bought a pattern to make DS10 a Halloween costume of a Merlin-style wizard. I did not accept buying the four packages of metalic bias tape called for on the pattern. Instead, I put a plea out to my mom, who is bound to have a better substitute. (Upside of non-minimalism.) I won $20 playing Bunco yesterday. :) So, what were your successes? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 We spent Friday at a music festival in a different part of the state. The cost of the day pass was well worth the experience. Last night's hotel room was covered by points my husband accrues from corporate travel, a sweet perk. Are you all familiar with Cooks Illustrated magazine? As far as cooking magazines go, I think this is a good one as there are no ads. They rate equipment as well as offer recipes. About two years ago I took advantage of an offer they sent. It was ten bucks for a year's subscription which seemed reasonable but I refused to pay a higher rate when they asked me to re-up. Earlier in the week I received a copy of the latest issue with the same offer of $10 for a year. (Actually $7.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling--is that silly or what?) There is a part of me that says this is $10 for a good cheap thrill for someone like me who enjoys cooking and baking. But there is another part of me that says "Just another thing entering this already jammed packed household..." So I am holding off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Quill, so sorry to hear about your fridge. Never fun to deal with that even if it is an extra fridge. Jane, I'm envious of your Cook's Illustrated subscription rate offer. I was considering putting Cooks Country on my holiday wish list because dh and the kids like to get something for me and I'd rather it be something I won't buy myself. But I grabbed a subscription card out of a magazine and it was double the rate you're getting. But that's ok...I really don't need a subscription. This week for me: Pretty typical. Dh and I like to take short day trips a couple of times a month and we've had a crazy year so haven't had many. Fall is here and soon enough the weather will be snowy and our weekend jaunts will end for a while. So we took trips both last weekend and today. last weekend we spent a grand total of $18, as it was a day riding through the country looking at scenery and fall leaves. Today we hit an architectural salvage place and spent $35 on some fun stuff. And hit the Madison farmers' market and bought some groceries for the week and some of the world's best cheese popcorn. (Groceries I can justify. The cheese popcorn...not so much) Other spending this week: A replacement rug to go under dh's computer chair to protect my beloved 135 year old hardwood from being worn out. A $10 quilt pattern from my favorite quilt designer. And a bag of locally made pretzels to send to our niece. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Well, it was my daughter's birthday Saturday. I only bought her one thing myself, because other people bought her tons of stuff. :P I took my kids and my sister to an amusement park with free admission and $10 for the ride bracelet. I paid $5 for each of the kids to get their faces painted. Coulda been worse, right? Tomorrow I'm going to take them for our second guided hike in the nearby national park (two hours, no cost) - weather permitting. On the negative side, I am disgusted because of a traffic stop that just happened. The cop alleged that I didn't make a full stop at a stop sign. (I denied it, but got a ticket anyway, and my options are limited.) This is just what I don't need right now. This week I'll be paying for our next TKD belt test. They will be attending a school-day-off theater camp on Friday. The theme is based on a book, which I bought for them to read before the camp. Total cost of the camp (for both kids) and the book was roughly $85. Could have saved $20 by putting them in the generic day-off camp, or let them stay home and distract me from my work (which they will be doing on Thursday anyway), but I think theater camp is good for them. Tax returns are due this week. I hope I'm not in for any unpleasant surprises. I think I should also schedule my eye and chiropractor appointments, while my boss is away. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 More house renovations like painting the bathroom and redoing the seams on our roof other wise normal stuff 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 More house renovations like painting the bathroom and redoing the seams on our roof other wise normal stuff I don't mind spending money on that kind of thing- I love doing home improvement projects. I hate spending money on things that I can't hold...like electricity, property taxes, etc. Did you guys do your own roof work? Kudos! We hire that out. I am fearful of heights. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 I don't mind spending money on that kind of thing- I love doing home improvement projects. I hate spending money on things that I can't hold...like electricity, property taxes, etc. Did you guys do your own roof work? Kudos! We hire that out. I am fearful of heights. Yeah we have a mobile home with an aluminum roof so the seams are supposed to be sealed every year (we missed the first 3 years we lived here). I'm not sure if it's actually every year but dh's grandpa does it that often on all of his aluminum roofed mobile homes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 I was partially successful. I stayed out of stores, only bought less than $20. groceries. But the cars decided that this was the week. newest car is a 2008, failed the emissions test. Automatically 150. for repairs. All it needed was a new gas cap and oil cap, they threw in a "free" oil change. :-). But the law requires me to spend 150 to attempt to fix. so the charge was $183. totally unplanned. my cars radiator was cracked but finally bit the big one. So the repairs for that (replacement which is good but still, ) 198.00 And the big one was tires for kids car. lots of freeway driving. tires were bald (almost) when I noticed them. $890. But son who drives this car mostly, is stepping up to adulthood, and paying half. I am really proud of no meals out all week til Friday when it sorta fell apart. But that is huge for me. So this week, low groceries, and hopefully no more car repairs and putting money in savings to rebuild. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 That's a stupid law that requires you to spend a certain amount if it fails. What's the point of that? Wait- if it still fails after spending at least $150 do you then get a pass because you tried to fix it? Kudos on the low grocery bill!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 I finally live close enough to an Ikea to get the high chair I've always wanted. $25 with the tray. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/childrens_ikea/18715/ While we were there, we also got a changing pad-$7 instead of the usual $15-$30. An hour of free playtime/childcare for my middle 3. Lunch for 5 for $15.Free coffee and quiet. Ahh.Over 60 hangers for around $10.Aries wanted to buy a $20 stuffed dog. I couldn't talk him out of it, but luckily, he was a dollar short. I promised to find him one used for cheap. Yesterday, we went yard saling. He got a huge pillow pet dog for 50 cents,, along with a few other goodies. He spent one dollar. He is now a committed used shopper :) At one yard sale, I found a lovely 3-in-1 crib with a nice mattress for $40. D had offered to have me buy one at IKEA, because I've been hunting like mad, and he wanted me to just have it done. $150 minimum. I got a good deal. I attached the crib to our bed as a cosleeper. When she's old enough, I'll detach it and it will be her toddler bed-at her size, probably until she's 6, like Gemini. Then I'll move it to the play room to use as a little sofa/bench. Finally, if she wants it, it will convert to a full-size headboard. I plan to paint it when we move, I'm thinking a soft gray, then again when I make it into a sofa ( a fun color like red).I used a sleeping bag for a bedsheet. for now. I will buy some used sheets to make crib sheets- I like a pillowcase style. and another sheet to make a canopy over our bed. Because Luna has her own bed, I was finally able to put our bed on the frame, and I used the little side rail for a head board for our bed. I'm also making a ruffly bedspread for our bed. Next up : Building a trundle for the day bed we acquired, raising the other two beds to bed height, and adding skirts/bedding. Total cost : under $5. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 We also had to buy a new refrigerator this week. I caught a decent sale and have free delivery, but that was expensive! We are still saving for a number of things: new furniture, new curtains, etc. for our house now that we have made our cross-country move. For now we are using a folding table and chairs in our dining area. I need to order some garage hooks to hang our bicycles. The alternative is selling the bikes, which we could do but I am not happy about. Our new house is much smaller so a number of things are going to a donation center...I may not have much this luck on the nothing new end, but hopefully I am facilitating that for someone else. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Aries wanted to buy a $20 stuffed dog. I couldn't talk him out of it, but luckily, he was a dollar short. I promised to find him one used for cheap. Yesterday, we went yard saling. He got a huge pillow pet dog for 50 cents,, along with a few other goodies. He spent one dollar. He is now a committed used shopper :) I love it when the kids learn the benefits of mindful spending. dS15 bought a pair of Nike Airs (fancy sneakers) from a guy at school for $20. The guy he bought them from "has shoe game" (translation: has a lot of the coolest and very expensive shoes). Shoe Game guy's feet grew and he was left with these high-dollar shoes that don't fit. So, DS offers to buy them and gets them for $20. :D That's my boy! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I very mindfully booked a tropical vacation this week. Haven't actually paid for it yet, but I will when the Visa statement comes. I can't wait until January! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 That's a stupid law that requires you to spend a certain amount if it fails. What's the point of that? Wait- if it still fails after spending at least $150 do you then get a pass because you tried to fix it? Kudos on the low grocery bill!! If it still fails you get a waiver. But you have to attempt to fix it. It is stupid since it was a relatively cheap fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 If it still fails you get a waiver. But you have to attempt to fix it. It is stupid since it was a relatively cheap fix. I'm gobsmacked that if it fails because of a $10 part that you still have to pay $150. That's just...stupid. How could lawmakers have read that and concluded it makes sense? Glad I don't have to deal with emissions inspections. Man, I hope they never come to where I live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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