Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week 27

[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!

I have bought a few books this past week, either on Kindle or physical books. While we were at the beachhouse, I DL'd a free Amazon book, but then it wasn't really holding my interest, so I DL'd a different book that was $12. I also just received "It's Never Too Late to Begin Again," after my publicized Crisis.

 

Went to the farmer's market today and bought peanut brittle and patty pan squash. Had a good chat with most of the vendors (this is a tiny market) and met some interesting folks.

 

My own garden is having a serious weed problem. I was weeding this morning, but I am really annoyed. A large amount of the weeds are grass, so weeding them was pretty much like going out and trying to pull up the lawn by hand. :( Also, I think vine borers are getting my squash again because the small fruits are dying on the vine. I have heaps of green beans coming on, though. I haven't hit my usual forage spots for raspberries, but I need to do that soon; they are in right now.

 

Bought a coffee out with a friend and then lunch at Cal Tort with another friend Friday.

 

Oh! And I ordered a pair of Joules wellies! I had wanted to get myself a pair if/when the price was right. I happened to look and found an adorable Black floral wellie with only my size remaining, discounted to $37. :) yes, I snapped that up!

[Jane in NC]

There is no foreseen break in the oppressive heat that has dominated our weather for a while now. I was thinking about parents of young children and how challenging this must be. Yesterday my husband and I were out for a walk before 6 AM to beat the heat. I saw long lines of families at the movie theater in the late morning as I drove by. But what about folks who can't afford movies and swimming pools? It must be tough.

I spend a lot of my life around water and sand. I ordered these hyper zip bags for electronics that are supposedly waterproof so that I can take my phone (which I use as a camera) on boats where there is splash up. The product is rather cool (from a company called Loksak). I suspect that Loksaks will make great stocking stuffers.

Now for the confession on how I found Loksaks. It is all Quill's fault. On more than one occasion she has mentioned Jag jeans. I was eyeballing some Jag shorts but decided I did not need them. You know how the Internet follows you about and reads your mind? A sale on Jag shorts appeared in a banner on some website and there you have it. Shorts and Loksaks and something for my husband...

I am leading a book discussion for a group with which I am involved. I tried to borrow the book from the library but it was not on the shelf and possibly lost. Thus I bought a copy which is probably not a bad idea since I can mark it up if I choose.

We have some travels scheduled for down the road. I want to plan some portable craft projects with an eye to holiday gifts. I am quite proud of myself for being on task with this one. I find that if I wait until October or November, I never accomplish as much as I would like.

My big extravagance for the week was buying a bunch of pre-made deli salads, a treat in the heat.  I think I need to do some baking though. Maybe in the morning.

[Guest]

Yeah, Jane we've been having the heavy heat, too. That's why I was weeding early in the morning. Yesterday was an Energy Savings Day. We can get a nice credit on our electric bill if we reduce our consumption during peak use on hot days. Last year, I got around $75 total credits over the summer.

[Baseball mom]

Sunday -- breakfast items (dh was wanting big breakfast Sun or Mon), dh new shoes (old ones had a hole), truck gas after a ride

Monday -- milkshakes after watching fireworks

Tuesday -- shirts for my guys, green tea (dh is on a green tea kick and it was on sale), toilet paper and trash bags

Wednesday -- mower gas

Thursday -- 0

Friday -- 0

Saturday -- truck gas, cokes for family at ball game

 

Spendy week but good week.

 

Went for ride last Sunday,  fun family day.  Took a cooler and snacks so we didn't have to buy anything

Dc got an awesome deal at the fireworks stand. Lots of free stuff. 

Dh brought home 2 boxes of tomatoes, 3 cantaloupes and 2 containers of blackberries people gave him.  I shared some tomatoes with mom and with neighbor, kept some out for eating and canned the rest.

A friend stopped by and paid me for something I picked up for her.

We got free tickets to a AA minor league game. So another fun family night.

 

 

[Annie G]

Spendy week. Lunch out when I took dh to his doc appointment.  We did some much needed shopping- a few new towels, new bathmat, and two new frying pans. 

 

Took a day trip to Dyersville, Iowa. Spent money to get into a farm toy museum but the Field of Dreams and the basilica were free. Spent $12 on lunch. 

 

Paid a landscaper to fix the mess left behind after we had the parking area repaved and had the deck built. There was a 6 by 25 foot section that was torn up. The labor cost was only $120. I was shocked. They leveled it, installed the pavers for a walkway, put landscape fabric down, planted bushes and day lilies, and planted grass on two small side sections. And added mulch.  The whole project was reasonably priced but I was most shocked by the low labor cost.  Yay!

 

In the 'completely unnecessary' category - I'm a quilter and quilt stores are doing this thing called Row by Row and participating stores have designed a strip. I'm collecting about 10 to make a quilt- from 7 states. So I spent some money buying from Iowa and Wisconsin. Sister bought Florida so I'll pay her.    I spend mindfully on my hobbies so I'm ok with that expense. 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

So much spending. 

 

Thursday, I went to the dentist. I did not cancel. I did not cry. Dentist was proud of me for showing up. I prepaid $30 for future dental work. The rest is covered by insurance. Requoted$300 instead of $500 for periodontal work. I guess I got better. So that's good.

 

Friday, groceries. We were so low, we were buying fast food and convenience foods just to have something to eat. My meal plan utterly failed. I let the kids choose, planned one week instead of two, because we always seem to run out of things a little past the midpoint. 

Simple, easy meals, hot dogs, sandwiches, Mac and cheese, tacos, etc. 

$200. Over my two week budget. Sigh.

 

Saturday, I had a special day out with Taurus. Children's museum, and a special vegan lunch. $30 for each. But I learned that the children's museum will give me and a guest free admission if I bring my homeschool affidavit. We will be back. It was seriously amazing. 

Lunch was fantastic. I waited ten years to try this place. It was so good.

On the way home, we stopped at BRU for tiny, size 1 sandals for Luna Moon. We found a pair that she loves on clearance for$7. Also got a squeezy spoon feeder that she adores, some baby cereal and a package of diapers. The cereal and feeder saved my bacon on today's shopping trip. A little splurge, but so good for my girl. Anything helps her grow is good.

 

Today I took the kids to Ikea. We needed mattress covers and a baby tub for Luna. It's an hour away, so we had lunch and we tried all of the cakes. It was divine. I got bath towels for $2.50 each. Cute colors, nice quality, big enough to wrap all the way around my ample curves. Picked up a few other necessary items, put some back so we could use the express lane, spent $45. Opted for the$5 mattress pads instead of the$15 ones I had picked out. Grabbed an extra for the spare room. 

 

This week I is all appointments. Dentist for me, Endo for Luna, therapy for Luna. 

 

Tomorrow we are supposed to hammer out a budget that hopefully includes getting my van window fixed.

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2016 by Desert Strawberry

[Jane in NC]

Ha!  Just received an extra discount on those Jag shorts. They are backordered with a ship date of Friday.  Thus I was baffled by an email from the company asking if I was still interested in the Jag shorts that I once put in a shopping cart.  If I wanted them, they would give me an additional 15% off.  I called the company because I thought it was a little odd to reorder a backordered item. I think they made an error but the upshot is that I got an additional discount.  :D

 

Never hurts to ask, eh?

[SKL]

Hello, we're baaack....

 

As mentioned in the last thread, we spent the first half of the week in Eastern Europe, where everything is cheap (for US people) except for the air fare.

 

Flew in early Thursday morning, and haven't had time to do much since then.

 

I did have to pay for a damaged comic book my kids borrowed from the library.  No more comic books!  It was only $3, but that's not the point.

 

My kids got invited to a birthday party on Saturday, so we had to come up with a gift.  Each kid gave a beanie toy and a small gift card.  It does add up though - card, gift bag, toy, gift card ....  If I'd had more time, I could have found the bags and cards at home, but we'd been running nonstop since the invitation came.  It was nice for the girls to spend some time with their schoolmates, and I bonded a bit with the hosts.  :)

 

I had to buy some things for the girls' scout camp which they are attending this week.  Pocket knives, water shoes, a thingy to make their glasses float if they fall out of the canoe ??  I decided to buy some flip flops since they were less than $1 per pair.  Just junky ones to wear to the shower at camp.  I also bought some cheap junky watches.  They have decent watches, but wearing them to camp seems like a bad idea.  :)  And I had to buy two tins of Altoids, because they needed the empty tins for some outdoor badge stuff.  Anyone here like Altoids?  I can send you some ....

 

It should be a quiet week without the kids.  I plan to eat leftovers and old canned stuff to clear out the cupboard. 

 

One thing though, my kid says she again needs a bigger swimsuit.  The last one I bought was size 14, but she says the chest part is too tight.  My kids' large chests and skinny butts make for wardrobe challenges.  Which reminds me - pretty soon I need to order a whole new school wardrobe for my youngest.  And new riding boots.  I guess I will start filling up the Amazon cart this week.

 

It's time to pay for some summer activities I planned but did not pay for yet.  Basketball Session 2, and a zoo overnight (which might be canceled due to low attendance).  I will also check to see if they have opened fall registration for Saturday math classes.

 

This coming weekend, after picking my kids up at camp, I plan to drive down to another city's zoo and then further to an amusement park.  I don't know what that will cost me, but these were two things I wanted to do this summer anyway.  (The kids have never been to either city before.)  Fun mom that I am, I have plans for reading/math/science lessons based on the zoo and amusement park visits.  :p  Thus using some books I bought in the spring.  https://smile.amazon.com/Polar-Bear-Math-Learning-Fractions/dp/0312377495/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468296741&sr=8-1&keywords=polar+bear+math https://smile.amazon.com/Thrills-Chills-Amusement-Parks-Science/dp/1481428586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468296772&sr=8-1&keywords=amusement+parks+science   https://smile.amazon.com/How-Amusement-Parks-Work-Geology/dp/1433303086/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1468296772&sr=8-5&keywords=amusement+parks+science  https://smile.amazon.com/Amusement-Parks-Perimeter-Dianne-published/dp/B015UUMJYE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1468296866&sr=8-4&keywords=amusement+parks+perimeter+area.  I also hope this contributes to a scout badge - something relating to state studies (can't remember the name).

Edited July 12, 2016 by SKL

[mommyoffive]

Dh had some dental work done last week.  I honestly don't know how much it was.  I should ask him.

 

Grocery shopping yesterday.  Dh hit Woodmans instead of Aldi.  

$150 there.

 

Other than that, nothing.

 

I normally sign the kids up for every single thing all summer (and the year) but we decided to just have a old fashioned relaxed summer.  We signed up for swim team (lessons) depending on age.  And I really love not waking the kids up early, rushing them to eat, running from here to there all the time.  We are just having fun and spending lots of time outside, reading, and exploring.  

Why didn't I do this long ago? 

 

Ha.  We will go back to doing lots of things, but I like it better for fall, winter, and spring since we live in a place that is cold that whole time.