Ginevra Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 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! Sorry I didn't get around to this yesterday. :) I did a little wreckless spending this week. I have a weakness for bunny tchotchkes. I love vintage bunny art. So, around Easter every year, I want all kinds of bunny things. I bought a vintage-looking teapot and serving bowl with bunnies on them. So cute! I also downloaded a kindle book, $13, not terribly necessary. I also bought a market basket and a big canvas hamper thingy, to keep knitting yarn in. We had to pay more unexpected car repair bills, this time for the car DD drives. The radiator and hoses needed replacing. So that was almost $800. We're going to have to look at serious car replacement strategies around here this year. Between my van, this "extra" car, and a DS who will be licensed before the year is out, we can't expect to limp along on these old vehicles forever. I really need to earn more money. I have been thinking about what to do. There are several "side earnings" things I can do, but I have also given serious consideration to getting the proverbial Real Job. I start browsing Craigslist and sometimes find a job that seems quite perfect for me. There is a Legal Secretary position beginning this May in a nearby town. Several features of this job are quite enticing not least of which is that it is in a small town and not the big city. Commute is pretty easy. But this would mean chosing B&M schooling for my lone remaining HSer for next fall. Plus he would be alone a lot this summer. #thingsthatmakemecry. I don't know exactly what I'll do. But enough about me. How are my frugalistas doing? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) Sorry I didn't get around to this yesterday. :) I did a little wreckless spending this week. I have a weakness for bunny tchotchkes. I love vintage bunny art. So, around Easter every year, I want all kinds of bunny things. I bought a vintage-looking teapot and serving bowl with bunnies on them. So cute! I also downloaded a kindle book, $13, not terribly necessary. I also bought a market basket and a big canvas hamper thingy, to keep knitting yarn in. We had to pay more unexpected car repair bills, this time for the car DD drives. The radiator and hoses needed replacing. So that was almost $800. We're going to have to look at serious car replacement strategies around here this year. Between my van, this "extra" car, and a DS who will be licensed before the year is out, we can't expect to limp along on these old vehicles forever. I really need to earn more money. I have been thinking about what to do. There are several "side earnings" things I can do, but I have also given serious consideration to getting the proverbial Real Job. I start browsing Craigslist and sometimes find a job that seems quite perfect for me. There is a Legal Secretary position beginning this May in a nearby town. Several features of this job are quite enticing not least of which is that it is in a small town and not the big city. Commute is pretty easy. But this would mean chosing B&M schooling for my lone remaining HSer for next fall. Plus he would be alone a lot this summer. #thingsthatmakemecry. I don't know exactly what I'll do. But enough about me. How are my frugalistas doing? Tough situation, Quill. Sometimes penny pinching is not enough. Would a part time job be a compromise--a bit more income while perhaps still homeschooling? How does your son feel about B&M? My husband and I had a lovely date this week: a long stroll in the gardens of a former estate, now open to the public. We have a membership there which easily pays for itself after a couple visits. DH took lots of photos of tulips in bloom. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch out. A J.Jill clearance deal came in my email box. I took advantage of the deep discount and ordered a dress and cardigan, garments that will travel well when I attend professional meetings around the state. The complete indulgence of the week was going to one of those over the top doughnut places where I picked up two dozen doughnuts for my husband's colleagues. They are all working long hours these days so the treat was most appreciated although certainly not needed. My sewing machine has been out this week. I am making a couple of baby gifts and plan to start knitting a baby hat this week too. None of these projects should take terribly long--unlike the socks that I am knitting. Needle size makes such a difference! Twos for the socks vs size six for the hat although at the moment I am staring at the circumference of this hat and thinking "Are baby heads really that tiny?" ETA: temperatures dropped here after summer like weather. I have a big pot of bean soup cooking on the stove. I don't know if there is anything as frugal as bean soup--something which I happen to love. Edited March 20, 2016 by Jane in NC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Tough situation, Quill. Sometimes penny pinching is not enough. Would a part time job be a compromise--a bit more income while perhaps still homeschooling? How does your son feel about B&M? PT could be helpful, if the right job appeared. There was a PT job posted a couple years ago in the tiny town five miles from my house. That might have been quite good. If something like that cropped up again, I would apply. It was an admin assistant job at a little fire damage and restoration shop. If something would crop up at a school, particularly DS16's school, that would be another optimal choice. I do also work PT for Dh's business, and there is always marketing and helping him secure work which utilately helps our bottom line. (Also, he is not the greatest at this aspect of business, so it is an area where our skills combine in such a way that the sum is greater than the parts.) but the temptation of the "regular" job, of course, is certainty. Paydays that definitely arrive, IYKWIM. DS knows that at some point he will go to b&m school, but he is not in a hurry for it to be soon. He is only going into sixth grade and I consider that one of the least attractive times to enter school from HSing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Hey guys :) My posting time has been slim lately! But let's see... --I'm still plugging away at intentionally shopping local merchants and local farmers! I have yet to move to truly local eggs as the weather is still too cold. And seafood/fish is a problem. I've been buying American wild-caught fish at a locally-owned supermarket. Would you believe our grocery bill has decreased since I began this experiment?! --Food waste is limited to the odd squishy potato and the tomato with a dinged bottom. Nothing freezes in our new fridge (I used to lose lettuce at the back of the crisper drawer). --Dh and I have had a few dates: a world music concert (through the university subscription) with dinner after (the music department paid except for our drinks-----dh is on the board for the concert series) and then we saw Zootopia today using a gift card from our Discover points. --I signed up for another 6 months with the trainer at the gym. I love lifting heavy. I love learning new things. I think of the trainer sessions as an indulgence, but dh reminds me constantly that it is an investment in longterm health :) --We bought tickets on Southwest for our 25th anniversary trip this October for an amazing price. We'll be going to WDW during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival :D --Library usage remains high. I have purchased one kindle book in a month. Ds is coming home during Easter. We'll see him part of the time; The Girlfriend gets most of his time ;) That's ok, we like her! Grocery spending will be increased as dd21 will also be home on her spring break. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Hey guys :) My posting time has been slim lately! But let's see... --I'm still plugging away at intentionally shopping local merchants and local farmers! I have yet to move to truly local eggs as the weather is still too cold. And seafood/fish is a problem. I've been buying American wild-caught fish at a locally-owned supermarket. Would you believe our grocery bill has decreased since I began this experiment?! --Food waste is limited to the odd squishy potato and the tomato with a dinged bottom. Nothing freezes in our new fridge (I used to lose lettuce at the back of the crisper drawer). --Dh and I have had a few dates: a world music concert (through the university subscription) with dinner after (the music department paid except for our drinks-----dh is on the board for the concert series) and then we saw Zootopia today using a gift card from our Discover points. --I signed up for another 6 months with the trainer at the gym. I love lifting heavy. I love learning new things. I think of the trainer sessions as an indulgence, but dh reminds me constantly that it is an investment in longterm health :) --We bought tickets on Southwest for our 25th anniversary trip this October for an amazing price. We'll be going to WDW during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival :D --Library usage remains high. I have purchased one kindle book in a month. Ds is coming home during Easter. We'll see him part of the time; The Girlfriend gets most of his time ;) That's ok, we like her! Grocery spending will be increased as dd21 will also be home on her spring break. Nice update. I should have noted that my recent garden/lunch date with my husband included a stop at the library. May I applaud you for your commitment to buying American wild-caught fish? The fishermen who help fuel my local economy would thank you. I do think that buying "ingredients" (as opposed to processed food) and minimizing food waste reduces food budgets over all--and is certainly the healthier way to go. Enjoy having your DS and DD home! My guy is off on an adventure--I won't be seeing him for a while. Sigh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Wellll, I've been pretty bad this past week. I placed a couple more Amazon orders for my kids - soccer cleats, training bras (!), and some educational videos. And my "special coffee." I also spent over $100 at the pet store for our birds and fish. Most of the pet stuff was a one-time thing. I had to move one of our birds into a different cage to stop them from fighting. So they now need twice as much of all the durable stuff. The fish were due for some new gravel and filters. Coming up this week is a run for Easter basket stuff. I want to go light on the sugar this year, so I will probably go to an office supply store and buy some stationery type stuff in pastel colors, and maybe some stuffies / MLP toys. I had a bunch of items in my Amazon shopping cart along these lines, but I wasn't sure they would arrive before Easter, so I took them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoxinsox Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 So I shopped this week. Two separate thrift store trips. My son and daughter were with me on the first one since we were out taking advantage of free ice-cream cones at Dairy Queen. We were able to replace my son's bike for $10. It is a newer, bigger sized one, replacing the one that got stolen out of our yard a couple of weeks ago. While there, the kids entertained everyone by playing piano for all the shoppers. Thanks to Hoffman Academy for the free lessons. Also picked up a few misc. items that were on my shopping list, plus more jeans/pants for my son. New with tags Dockers for $3.25, I'll take them, thank you!! Bought a pair of shoes for my husband. Very much needed for the business trip coming up. Grocery shopped. Drove up to Dallas for a bulk trip to Winco. Picked up some items that are cheaper than Aldi. Wishing they would let us bring our own containers so we could have even less trash, but we will take what we can. Then on to Aldi. Spent my whole budget for the month. $300. I will have to get milk and bananas, but with my husband being gone for a week, the groceries should last 5 weeks. We also got our chocolate bunnies and chicks and a potted daffodil for an Easter centerpiece. My 10 year old said, "Mom, do you think Dad will be comfortable with you spending that much???" LOL, I think I need to point my son to the USDA spreadsheet on how much most families spend on groceries. Not sure if this is thrifty, but it is mindful. I've given myself a deadline for using up fabric in my stash and finishing up my WIPs. I'm putting together the blocks for my son's quilt that I started 3 years ago. I should have that all put together this coming week. So I'll be purchasing batting and a flannel back for it. Also, continued sewing mama cloth, which I love!! Using up scraps!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I am afraid to look at all the WIPs I abandoned when we began homeschooling five years ago :eek: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Last week The dc went bowling. It is a yearly group thing. They look forward to it. Bought some things for a project ds is building for me. Had a meeting. Bought supper for myself while out. Groceries were random things we were out of but of course it was the more expensive items I have been putting off buying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.