Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week 23

[Ginevra]

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 forgot to post yesterday. Brain glitch.

 

I bought more groceries and nicer groceries than typical. I bought some pepper plants for my garden. Those are usually long since in the ground by now, AND I grow them from seed, but we had a wet and cold spring here. Then, the plants I did have hardening off on the patio burnt to a crisp Memorial Weekend. So I had to buy some.

 

Last Sunday, I took DS 16 out and bought some new clothes. I mentioned this before, that I don't want him to think he doesn't "deserve" anything new. Plus, he looks very handsome; I hadn't realized that his tee shirts were looking small and tight. He needs a Large now. I had a coupon at Hot Topic, and also one for Dicks, but the Dicks coupon had SO many exclusions it was totally worthless. It seriously would have been easier if they had listed which brands *can* be bought with the coupon.

 

Bought pizzas yesterday for DD and her (I'm sorry, but) picky friend. I was going to make a real dinner, but I think she eats, like, three things. So I got pizza.

 

I had to buy a new chicken waterer because mine leaks out in half a day.

 

How is everyone else doing?

[SKL]

Whew, we have gotten through our first week of camps - 1 day camp and 1 sleep-away (weekend) scout camp.  I didn't have to buy anything for my kids, except for a couple cheap flashlights.  (I had bought some sleeping bags and self-inflating air mats over the past year, so we were ready).

 

One thing that bugs me is how many pairs of shoes they expect you to send with your kid - mostly for getting wet and nasty.  Who has that many pairs of "play shoes" for a growing kid?  For this weekend (2 nights, only 1 day of activities), they wanted 2 pairs of regular shoes and 1 pair of "water shoes."  OK my kid's feet are growing like crazy and I don't buy multiple pairs of shoes in every size.  :/  Luckily the water shoes bought last year were extra big, and I sent the kids with one pair of slightly small shoes for backup to their regular "play shoes."

 

I bought the food for breakfast and snacks for all the kids, which I donated.  I could be reimbursed, but I wanted to donate.  The troop can use the money for other things.

 

I got my monthly "nature box" full of supposedly healthy snacks.  That is about $20/month IIRC.  Not a bargain, but it's mostly just for fun for me.

 

I got Amazon to give me a $$ refund for not including Office software on my kid's computer.  Now I need to download Office from their website, but I will look for a better deal if possible.

 

I paid and got fingerprinted for fast pass or whatever it's called - to get through domestic security faster at the airport.  Supposedly this could save hours, but we'll see how it actually works.  (My kids don't need it as long as they are with me.)  You know how they say time is money - and avoiding stress is health which is also money.  :)

 

We're enjoying a library audiobook in the car these days, so I guess that is mindful thriftiness.  :)  Also, the library reading program has links to a lot of free online math sites.  I also signed my kids up for the library's middle school book discussions - they are finally old enough.  Hopefully this will encourage some higher level thinking.  :)  LIbraries rock!

 

This coming weekend, there is a "mini belt camp" at taekwondo, which I plan to attend with my kids.  It is not cheap, but I need to get caught up.  Before that, I hope to find the form on the internet so I can mostly learn it.  It's all about muscle memory, at which I do not excel.  :)  One of my kids also wants to attend a "Ninja Night" party there, $25/kid IIRC, but I am not sure about that.  I probably also need to buy my kid a new head guard, because we somehow managed to lose one of ours - meaning someone took it home and decided to keep it as his/her own.  :/  We hadn't marked it with our initials yet.

 

That's all I can think of right now.

Edited June 12, 2016 by SKL

[Prairie~Phlox]

I was very blessed garage saling this weekend. Found a soft sided cooler that we needed. Found cushions for our outdoor swing for $2 each (2 total) my son found a broken tv, 42" plasma flatscreen that does work. He was excited. The hdml doesn't work, but not a huge deal.

[Annie G]

Bought groceries and a lot of things for the current renovation projects. Menard's had a rebate to get back 11% so we bought all the wood and stuff for the deck build and the tile, shower base and door for the bathroom renovation. 

 

Money I spent that was not essential: 2 new deck chairs and cushions for them.  Also, we went antiquing with friends yesterday. I didn't buy anything but I did treat them to lunch. They always drive because they have a big truck in case we need to haul stuff home. Plus they are helping me build the deck, so lunch seemed like a mindful expenditure.  I also treated my youngest two to Five Guys. They've been working hard and we needed a break. 

 

Went to Trader Joe's with a friend and splurged on a few   a lot of things. Mango lemonade. Oh my. 

[knoxinsox]

Other than a 99 cent slushie at QT for hubby, I didn't buy anything with $$.  I did order some essential oils and Kam snaps from Amazon, but I paid for them with Amazon GC from Swagbucks.

  

Gearing up for a yard sale, so I'm going through everything looking for things we don't use anymore.  I saw an article about a lady having a dream where she was in a warehouse full of all the stuff she had purchased and then gotten rid of---and I can see myself in that.

 

Mindfully, this week....

Menu planning from the pantry, getting ready for a big shopping trip in a week...I combined a few half empty containers of stuff for a yummy Skillet Bowtie Lasagna...made lots of bread last week, but we are out of lunchmeat, so its PB &J, egg salad, cheese..Also leftover meatloaf is good on pizza with BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce and an extra sprinkle of cheddar on top of the mozzarella.  We'll be eating hardy veggies from the fridge this week, since the lettuce is gone, thinking of carrot raisin salad, and roasted sweet potato cubes.   

I started slicing all the cheese instead of letting my kids do it.  Magically, it lasts twice as long.  LOL

Hung laundry outside.

Downloaded the QT app for my phone...free drinks, free iced tea on Iced Tea Day.  Also, downloaded the ChickFila app, and I am getting a free sandwich.  

Taking advantage of our Summer Reading Program at the library...this will keep the kids pretty busy this summer.

In light of the reading challenge, I have banned My Little Pony on Netflix for a few weeks. Just done. Its bad when they appear in your dreams. 

I had a bad sore throat, so I used Grapefruit Seed Extract and a tiny amount of Oregano oil in orange juice to help heal it.  Still coughing, but feeling like I am on the mend. 

Loving my simpler life---took a while to get there, but now that we are here, there's no turning back. 

[kubiac]

Just proud of myself because watching a lot of YouTube videos to self-educate plus investing in a Wahl clipper means I can now confidently cut my boys' hair at home!

 

 

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[Guest]

Just proud of myself because watching a lot of YouTube videos to self-educate plus investing in a Wahl clipper means I can now confidently cut my boys' hair at home!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's great! I used to do this. For several years, I cut both boys and DH. :)

[SKL]

Speaking of haircuts - mine is so long, and I am having trouble finding time to get it cut.  I used to always cut my own - I learned at a school "mini-course day" when I was about 11.  But cutting the length accurately is hard.  I dunno, maybe I should just do it ....  It's not that I would save a lot of money, more that I'd have one less thing to think about.  (My haircuts cost maybe $15 and I haven't gotten one in, I dunno, maybe 1.5 years.)

[Annie G]

Just proud of myself because watching a lot of YouTube videos to self-educate plus investing in a Wahl clipper means I can now confidently cut my boys' hair at home!

 

 

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I'm thinking about learning this and charging my guys. They both go to the same old guy for haircuts and they went together a month ago. I walked by the barber shop last week and saw that it's closed. Dh and ds said he was talking about having to vacate because they couldn't agree on a new lease but they weren't paying attention to where he was moving. And there's no note on the door. They've gone to this guy for 15 years and they don't pay attention when he says he's closing?!?   Sometimes I just want to smack them. 

[Jane in NC]

Hello my mindful friends.

 

We save money so that we can have the kind of week I just had. My husband had to be in Phoenix which gave me the opportunity to stay in a hotel courtesy of his employer. I like this sort of deal.

 

I used points to fly there--heck, I even used extra points for Delta's Economy Comfort class which gave me more leg room which I thought would be lovely on the return. I took a redeye last night and slept well.

 

But I splurged on all sorts of stuff. I joined a small group van tour to the Superstition Mountains (Apache Trail, Canyon Lake) and spent a day in the wonderful Museum Instrument Museum where I also purchased a lovely lunch. We stayed at a Residence Inn which gave us a kitchen but my husband's meals were on the company dime so we did eat out. One evening though we just picked up a big salad and also ate leftovers from my dinners of the two previous two nights. Portion sizes are so massive in many restaurants!

 

We met friends at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Sunday. They are members and provided us with free admission passes which I thought was really nice. Freebie things during the course of my stay included hiking in the desert and taking advantage of the hotel swimming pool.

 

The Sunday before I left for Phoenix, all was well with the air conditioning system when I left in the morning. Returning in the evening, the house felt cool but I noticed that the fan of the system was running continuously. One glance at the thermostat showed that there was a problem. First thing Monday morning I called our HVAC company. We had a tropical storm heading our way and the humidity was rising. It wasn't until midafternoon when a technician knocked on the door. Describing the problem, he said it sounded small. Turns out that a capacitor in the unit (heat pump and air conditioning combo) failed. He replaced one other part too I have yet to receive the bill, but I know that it will be considerably less than a new unit.

 

On the craft front...I came home the previous weekend with a considerable stack of pieces from the indigo dye workshop. I finished some linen and cotton voile before dying so I have several scarves to give as gifts. But I have fabric and yarn for constructing other items. I really need to focus on that sooner than later.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Jane in NC

[Annie G]

What a fun week, Jane!!! 

[itsheresomewhere]

Well last week was expensive.  Our dryer has been on life support for over a year but about two weeks ago, it gave up the will to work.  Then the washer which was needed some parts decided it couldn't work without its partner.  So I bought new machines instead of spending over 1000 in parts.  I am happy to report that the new machines not only work without duct tape but also clean the clothes :lol: .  Now DH and I need to have some dental work done in the next few weeks so need to save that.  

[Baseball mom]

Itsheresomewhere -- :hurray: new washer and dryer

Jane -- Yay for fun

 

Kubiac -- way to go learning to give haircuts

 

Annie -- guys :001_rolleyes:

 

Knox -- way to go on no spending

 

SKL -- awesome donating the food

 

Quill -- Yay on new clothes for ds

 

I spent money but it was for things like

new underwear for dh & dss.  They were in bad need of some.

A pair of shorts for me. 

A night out with friends for me (an old friend was in town and several old friends got together at a restaurant) 

Birthday gift for ds friend

Coke and popcorn at the ball game :lurk5: I love popcorn and a coke

And a few groceries.