Guest Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (Theme for this year is shopping locally whenever possible.) Yesterday's grocery shopping was done at the locally-owned Shoprite (the same family owns and operates 5 grocery stores in our county) and at the local natural foods store (which we joined 22 years ago this month when it was co-op only; last year it moved to a huge location within walking distance of our home and is wonderfully busy all the time). Lucky, I was thinking about your local-shopping theme yesterday. There is the cutest little locally-owned shop in downtown Mt. Airy; I bought several Christmas gifts there last year....actually, every Christmas for several years, I go there. I saw a sign on the store yesterday, though - they are closing. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoxinsox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I hear ya, sister. I showed up at a laundry mat with my clothes in shredded plastic bags. I'm sure everyone there thought we must be truly destitute. It was oddly ridiculous. I need to buy some laundry baskets. I used the big blue Ikea bags when we were going to the laundromat, and occasionally some Rubbermaid tubs. Ikea bags are awesome. I could bring it in pre-treated and sorted, and then take it home folded, and sorted by person. I tied the long handles to keep it all in. We lived in West Texas and a lot of people were living in RVs, and it was interesting to watch what they carried their laundry in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 My kid announced today that she needed bigger shoes again. :/ So I went on Amazon Smile and ordered them, plus a big garbage can (I can't go buy one with my kids because there isn't enough room in my car), a couple church outfits for Miss Grows-too-fast, whole-food vitamins that nobody sells around here, and some other small things. I just remembered today that my friend, whom I see once a year (in February when I do her taxes), told me she would like me to bring her souvenirs from my travels. I rarely buy such things any more, so now I am wondering if I should go online and get something. Or just fess up that I forgot. Ugh, I suck. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Is this continuing into the new year? If so I'd love to join you all. I've been very mindful so far, but there is a J Crew coat on sale that I'm eyeing. My current coat is only 4 years old, but it's feeling small. When I drive the wrists go half way up my fore arms. :laugh: It's also short, and the sale coat is long, which I would prefer due to wearing lots of forgiving tunics these days. ;) I'm sitting on it for a day or two as to not be impulsive, maybe it will sell out before I talk myself into it. Yes, join in, for certain. :) I find it is better for me to "forget" to look at sales info to my favorite stores. ;) It's not hard to find a "good reason" to buy something else if I start looking for a reason. You should see my "Freekin' Cold Outside!" Coat. God, is that thing ugly! I bought it on clearance one year. It comes down to my ankles, is poufy as all-get-out, and is powder blue with a furry hood. It looks like I put a zipper on my bed comforter and just zipped myself up in it. I'm like a giant, powder blue marshmallow. :D Every year, I think what an absurd coat that is. Then, I keep it. I generally only wear it when it's so cold I couldn't possibly care what my coat looks like, because everyone is so cold, their eyes are probably blurry from tears anyway. :D I also think when I passed 40yo, my general Don't Shive A Git factor increased exponentially. YMMV, of course. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Hmm....so unexpected purchase of 3 books for school because they were so cheap. We do have a set amount of money that goes into an account for education expenses, so it will come from there and won't mess with the rest of our budget. I think I'm just a little bit irritated that with my first real temptation I couldn't resist. :cursing: I have also been working on DH to help him understand me more. We are so different when it comes to money. He's very matter of face and I need to play mind games. I explained that I'm actually trying to NOT spend all that we have budgeted each week and he just doesn't understand why we don't just lower the budget and put the difference in savings. I told him that then I would feel stifled and and burdened by "only" having so much to spend. BUT, if I make it a game to spend less, it works for me. Also, I know that there will be some months where we just won't be able to spend less, and when we go over our budget I feel like a complete failure. Does it show that I was never taught anything good about money by my parents? I also respond well to thinking it is a game. It definitely doesn't work out so well if I'm focused on what I am missing out on all the time. this past summer, our power company had Energy Savings Days at random times. It became a game for me to see how big our energy credit could be on those days, without feeling ridiculously spartan. I would unplug TVs, put the house temp as I high as I could bear, cook on the grill so no oven use, and avoid doing laundry those days. It was fun! I didn't feel like, "oh, boo hoo, I have to sit in this hot house with no TV!" It felt like, "Let's see if we can get a bigger credit than last time!" :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I'm still wearing an ugly cold-weather coat I bought at least 20 years ago. My friend is embarrassed by it and has been trying to get me to replace it for years. :P Well, it does have a ripped pocket which I should sew up at some point. It's nice and warm and roomy, with big pockets, and just the right length (not too long or short). It's the same color as the coffee'n'cream I spill on it. And it's washable. I don't know if I will ever find one that suits me better. Not that I'm looking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I used the big blue Ikea bags when we were going to the laundromat, and occasionally some Rubbermaid tubs. Ikea bags are awesome. I could bring it in pre-treated and sorted, and then take it home folded, and sorted by person. I tied the long handles to keep it all in. We lived in West Texas and a lot of people were living in RVs, and it was interesting to watch what they carried their laundry in. Genius! I have couple of bags in the closet. I have a washer, but my dryer isn't hooked up yet. I'm bringing everything in wet-and heavy- and just drying it. It's raining all week, so my drying racks aren't doing it. Same herewith the RVs. Everyone else at least had some kind of container. I didn't. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I lucked out and have a pretty nice coat that I got 1/2 off at Goodwill in a really uppity area in our state. I paid $4.99 for it and have gotten two years so far. I have several nice Goodwill coats & jackets that I rotate, depending on the weather. Good coats are hard to find. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Hmm....so unexpected purchase of 3 books for school because they were so cheap. We do have a set amount of money that goes into an account for education expenses, so it will come from there and won't mess with the rest of our budget. I think I'm just a little bit irritated that with my first real temptation I couldn't resist. :cursing: I have also been working on DH to help him understand me more. We are so different when it comes to money. He's very matter of face and I need to play mind games. I explained that I'm actually trying to NOT spend all that we have budgeted each week and he just doesn't understand why we don't just lower the budget and put the difference in savings. I told him that then I would feel stifled and and burdened by "only" having so much to spend. BUT, if I make it a game to spend less, it works for me. Also, I know that there will be some months where we just won't be able to spend less, and when we go over our budget I feel like a complete failure. Does it show that I was never taught anything good about money by my parents? I need the games, too. Dh doesn't get it. But to me it's a more positive way to handle money. I budget a decent amount for food and when I come in under budget, I feel good that I have money left over. If I budget exactly what it *should* cost then when prices go up ( I'm looking at you, eggs!) I go over budget and feel like I didn't meet a goal...but it was a goal that wasn't realistic. So anyway, I'm with you on the games. Dh does acknowledge that my method works better than his. We each have set amounts of money deposited into our accounts every month and we each have certain bills/expenses to cover. And I always come out ahead because I am more mindful. He's leap years ahead of me tracking expenses but it's not just about tracking them...ya gotta watch how they got there in the first place! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Grrrrr. The dishwasher has decided that it is tired of working and went on strike. Thanks to making it go into diagnosis mode I know what is wrong. There are two possible parts failing. The part that you replace first is 110 but thanks to Amazon, I got it for 65 with prime. However, if it turns out to be the more expensive part, I will hit the dent section of the appliance place. Got the estimate for DS oral surgery and it is better than we expected. January is shaping up to be a expensive dental month: Edited January 7, 2016 by itsheresomewhere 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Well, it's January, so we're doing all of the medical stuff we put off the last quarter of 2015. I'm hitting my deductible (and possibly also my max out) in January, but it was planned for ugliness. I just got back from a big stockup trip to Costco. I'm buying more frozen foods to try to minimize waste. A lot of my fruits & veggies right now are from frozen. I am struggling with an inadequate library. I'm having to rethink things a bit. I did a trial of kindle unlimited and was very disappointed at the selection. I need to look at some other digital options as I'm not keen to store stacks and stacks of books (but I will if I have to). My priorities this month: feeling well, eating well, reading well. I need to get onto making and ordering birthday presents. I have a number of gift giving things coming up, and I need to mind my budget. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Ravin, we had the same situation last year. We decided to go with repair because this is not an optimal time for us to be in a car loan again. It worked out for us in a very fortunate way because the transmission was actually only leaking fluid. (I'm not suggesting that surely yours is also just leaking fluid and low on fluid; just sharing that I'm glad we decided to investigate repairing instead of replacing.) It ends up being a bit of a gamble no matter how you handle it. This would not be the first rodeo for major repairs to the transmission on this vehicle. We won't be doing a loan, beyond maybe up to $1500 on DH's paypal line of credit. I have a loan for my car (it was the only way to get into a reliable vehicle to start my job) in August. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 This would not be the first rodeo for major repairs to the transmission on this vehicle. We won't be doing a loan, beyond maybe up to $1500 on DH's paypal line of credit. I have a loan for my car (it was the only way to get into a reliable vehicle to start my job) in August. Aww, that's no fun at all. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Yes, join in, for certain. :) I find it is better for me to "forget" to look at sales info to my favorite stores. ;) It's not hard to find a "good reason" to buy something else if I start looking for a reason. You should see my "Freekin' Cold Outside!" Coat. God, is that thing ugly! I bought it on clearance one year. It comes down to my ankles, is poufy as all-get-out, and is powder blue with a furry hood. It looks like I put a zipper on my bed comforter and just zipped myself up in it. I'm like a giant, powder blue marshmallow. :D Every year, I think what an absurd coat that is. Then, I keep it. I generally only wear it when it's so cold I couldn't possibly care what my coat looks like, because everyone is so cold, their eyes are probably blurry from tears anyway. :D I also think when I passed 40yo, my general Don't Shive A Git factor increased exponentially. YMMV, of course. The bold part had me laughing. That is how I feel about a lot of things since I hit 40. Hey if the coat is warm who cares what it looks like. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Day 4 - 7 -- $0. Well dh spent some money but it was out of his little stash. I got sick (stomach virus) Ds called dh and said "when you get off work go to the store and some Lysol spray and mom some 7up." Smart boy. We did leave the house yesterday. Stopped by the consignment shop. Ds needs new boots. No luck. Then to the library. Free entertainment. Oh wait I did spend $25 in gas yesterday. The van was nearly on empty. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I finished up my weekly grocery shopping and I shouldn't need a whole lot next week. Fresh Thyme: Nutritional yeast $1.10, 2 dozen eggs 2/$3 sale & got a rain check for 4 more at that price, 2 pkgs. Bob's Red Mill products, 10 lbs. potatoes, 4 1/2 pounds chicken breasts on sale for $1.47/lb. Spent $21.05 oop. Meijer, 2 more gallons of milk, green cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and cashews for $15.87. Total for the week $82.51 on food and cleaning supplies/toiletries. $9.42 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I went to the dentist. Nothing out of pocket, but I'm scheduled for $500 of cleaning and then we have to talk about fillings. That's supposed to be another $1000, but there has to be a cheaper, less ridiculous way to handle this. It's been raining for a week, our insurance was denied ( sort of, we're on probation. We have coverage but we have to fix the roof by mid-February.), and we still have NO ROOF. Only one puddle in the house that I can see. The stove pipe for the wood-burning stove is seeping some water. My baby need to see two specialists, and will need itty bitty newborn sized glasses at the absolute least. Possibly surgery, long term hormone replacement therapy, and we are crossing our fingers nothing more serious. Waiting is SO hard. Still no dryer, and The racks and line are useless in the rain, so I'm off to the laundry mat again tomorrow. My 4 yo wants to go because he thinks there will be yoga mats there. He takes Yoga Tot classes, and wants his own mat. Isn't he adorable? He has red curls, big blue eyes, chubby cheeks and a dimple. He could not be cuter. I went shopping today. I bought 2 pairs of leggings for myself. ( yes, I know they are not pants. I don't care. they are warm and comfy and I'm freezing.) Under $4 each.4 pairs of Garanimals pants for my two little ones ( they share). 2 pairs were on clearance for $2.50, the others were under $4 each. We did a little bit of math and figured out that I will save a few pennies and a lot of sanity by buying the big box of pullups for my bedwetter. We bought a giant frozen pizza for $5, two boxes of shrimp poppers at $2 a box, 3 bags of frozen potatoes at $2 a bag, 3 bags of discount rolls, and some deli meat. I had the deli girl give me 4 slices of the cheese I wanted. It cost 72 cents and is just exactly what I need for a snack. I don't know why I never thought of that. I always hesitate to buy good cheese because it's $$ and I don't want more than a couple of bites. If I just ask for x slices, that solves all my problems.I got a big bag of Asian crackers for $5, a can of cashews for $2, mixed nuts $2, and sweet and crunchy peanuts for $3. I'll mix all of that together to make our snack mix for the week. Doesn't that sound yummy?I got a better deal on coconut oil than I would get from Amazon, and picked up a bottle of sunflower oil, which I love for baking and can only get at Walmart. Natural PB was on sale, so we got a big jar. Oh, I also bought 3 boxes of cake mix and 2 cans of frosting for a dollar each. We will use them for donuts in my super fun donut maker. My kids LOVE it. So do I :D Not completely necessary because 1. No one NEEDS donuts, and 2. We have everything we need to make them from scratch. BUT we did it once with store-bought and this morning from scratch. I hate to say it, but the box was better, and easier. I'm sure we'll be doing lots of batches of both kinds in the future, so nothing will go to waste. Then we went to the 99 Cents Store and I got all of the rest of my groceries there. This is a light 2 weeks, because I bought a TON last time. I let the kids each choose one breakfast and one lunch. I planned simple soups and stews for our dinners. Easy, mostly crock pot meals. I have bread, salad veggies, a few root veggies, cheese, english muffins, rice, and LOTS of beans already. I only had to fill in the blanks. I got almost all of the food we needed ( still need cabbage, leeks, oranges, and fresh bagels), 4 bowls, and some cute lollipops for Luna's birthday party, when we get around to celebrating her. The buy of the day is 15 pounds of Fugi apples for $5. Not a bad price. We picked up a caramel apple kit, too for $1. That will be a fun project for us. The bowls are my first step toward all white dishes that were discussed in a previous thread. I have been having my eye out for a while, but everything I have found is wrong! The bowls are too big, or too flat, or a funny shape (not, oh that's unusual, but nice. Oh that's awkward and uncomfortable.). Even the ones I bought today are not right. They are the right size and shape, but they are a weird matte, hyper-white, almost blue-tinged color. I don't love them. I hope they grow on me. I had to buy some because someone broke a bowl, and we were already down a bowl. So now at least we have enough. Even with the leggings, pants, pullups, and bowls, I came in right at $160 for two weeks. Not terrible. I was cringing when I saw the first total, but it all balanced out ok.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I ran to the store and picked up some Antifreeze because our van was not getting warm and dh added it and said there's a small leak, but should be good for now. Also got clearance gloves for him and small pkg of Lard and Silk Cashew milk. Spent $23.56 oop, saved $9.29 because of sales (antifreeze was buy 1/get 1 half off) and will also get $3 on my next purchase on my shoppers card for spending over $25 on dairy the last 30 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 This is kinda funny and stupid. I have a tire with a slow leak. It was getting really flat, so I drove until I found a working air pump at a gas station. It was a pay one, and I didn't have cash, but it took Visa, so I went with it. The sign said "read the instructions before you swipe your card," but I was too smart for that. :P After I swiped, I saw the small print that said "air starts pumping as soon as you swipe your card." So then I went to unscrew the cap on my tire, but it was frozen shut. I couldn't do it with or without gloves. I dug out a wrench, but it was frozen shut too. :P Finally I found a pair of pliers and got it to work. I did have to swipe the card twice, for $1.25 each time. Oh well, live and learn. :P So then I got this message from Visa saying, there might have been fraud on your card. Did you authorize this purchase? And it's the $1.25 air purchase. Really? I have had many far bigger charges on my credit cards recently, and they are worried about someone stealing my card to use the air pump at $1.25 a shot? On a freezing winter night? LOL. I have to add a few contemplated purchases for this week. Chiropractor, eye doctor, and maid service. Oh, and I found out that I accidentally gave my kids one of the Christmas gifts I had ordered for a nephew. Oops, now I have to buy another one. I think it was around $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 DH bought a Prius from a private seller. We still have the Durango, and I have to park in visitor parking at our new place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 We removed the door from the kids closet thinking we would use it for their bedroom ( the door is missing). D tried to install the door, but it's a good 2-3 inches to narrow for the frame. He asked me to hang a curtain, so I found the flat sheet that matches the pillowcases I used for their curtains, spent $2.50 on a tension rod, gathered up the left over curtain clips, and... The rod is 1/2 an inch to short. So now I need to exchange the rod for a bigger one. Luna has been in disposable diapers since our move. I washed the cloth diapers, but didn't manage to dry them till today, so I bought a new pack for $5.75, and a box of envelopes for a dollar. THe dryers at the laundry tonight were $2.50. I splurged on a soda for Aries, my laundry buddy, 75 cents. Tomorrow, I break out the drying racks and hope that stuff gets dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 14 yo literally had the sole come off his shoe so Sunday we went to Kohl's. I had $15 worth of coupons/bday awards and he picked a pair marked down to $37 so it was a win for me. As an aside it took him about 5 min. He saw a pair tried two for size and was done. Shopping with my sons is very different from my daughters. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Today at CVS- gallon of milk .69 (sale for $2.69-$2 survey ECB that I got from a survey) got back $1 in ECB. Meijer $2.14 for a pair of clearance gloves for dh, he wanted me to see if I could get more after getting the pair last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I'm doing my best to not spend any money. I did go buy cough drops and packets for cider and cocoa, $5 and change, last night. I have about $50 cash that has to last until payday for food and gas. Payday is Monday (Maybe Tuesday). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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