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March Frugalistas 2021


mommyoffive
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Feb was a very successful first full month for reselling. We netted over $1000 and posted a total of 90 items this month. The goals for this month are to open up a new bank account strictly for reselling and aim to net $1000 again.

Outside of reselling, we should get out federal refund by mid March. That will all go to maxing out our Roth IRAs and buying a few needed bigger items for the house.

I think I need to start shopping for groceries in person again. Instacart is just too expensive and I'm no longer willing to spend up for the convenience. We'll see.

No major spending planned. One thing I want to aim for is eating out only once a week. We ate out a lot in Feb. I just hate cooking so much

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March goals: 

Vaca fund: 52%

Shop Fund: 100% (will be more OT and tax refund)= glad to have that big fund out of the way; Will also be spending nearly half of that fund (have 75% saved now) for concrete this month.

Continue funding sinking funds they will be at 33% or more this month.

Keep on with everything else. This is the last month I'll be saving for the half hog, I've been putting aside $100 a month of the grocery budget since December for beef and hog and will be glad to have those paid for so I can do some more pantry stocking. I'll be getting the hog the end of March or beginning of April. 

Counted my prescriptions and I don't technically need a refill until beginning of April but will aim for mid March to keep a buffer. I don't need my most expensive med refilled yet. Need to get ds an appointment by the end of this month with a new dr before his med runs out, sometime in April. Hopefully, insurance will finally be paying the $400 bill from last year, they are calling back next week. I'm not supposed to have to pay any of that. Will have a $36 dr bill coming. Need to call Endo for $25 refund as dental deductible was applied to other dentist. 

I can't think of any other big things but need to conference with dh. He just did the oil changes, home filters have been changed recently. Too soon for lawnmower maintenance.

 

 

Edited by Soror
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I’ve already spent $20 on a children’s album, lol. No regrets.

I also ordered a new phone and accessories for an obscene amount of money, but it was time. I’ve used my current one for 4 years, and the one before that for almost as long, so I don’t exactly feel guilty, I just hate spending that kind of money. Like cars, I do prefer to buy new with the latest and greatest, then “drive” something to death. And my phone is pretty close to death. (I could get a new battery, but the cost compared to the value of the phone is questionable.)

My grocery order is only just above $100 this week, so yay.  I’m hoping to get dd to groom the dog when she comes over this week, otherwise I may have to give a groomer a shot for the first time ever. I haven’t been brave enough to clip his nails in years. They’re so teeny tiny and he’s so wiggly!  He’s calmer with dd.

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Dh went through and priced maintenance needed for April- $230 for cars and $100 for mowers. I already have funds in those categories as I put in there monthly but will need about $170 more for vehicles and $60 for mowers (you would think we wouldn't have any mower expenses for the winter but he had to winterize mowers in Jan and then get something for the tractor to run in cold weather to take care of the snow this month). I will try to put some extra in this month but it depends on how much OT dh has as I want to get the shop fund finished first and the tax refund doesn't cover it all.

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March should shake out to be an interesting month.

Pros: I have a spending plan ready. It should be a light medical month for middle DD. Freezer is pretty full, so groceries shouldn't be more than normal. Hopefully, we'll get our taxes done, and DH can start shopping for a car replacement with the refund. We should have all the blinds changed out by today or tomorrow. I already have everything for youngest DD's birthday on the 5th. 

Cons: Rent increases April 1, so more being held every week for that. I have that annual bill that cropped up for $144. Youngest DD will have wisdom teeth removed and possibly braces put on this month (all will be paid for by FSA, but it'll leave very little for the rest of the year). We are paying for oldest DD to send her monitor in to be repaired as it has died. Hopefully, it'll be under warranty, but we will have to pay to Uber her to the UPS store, pay to have the UPS store pack and ship it, and possibly pay for the monitor repair.

Misc: Last year for my birthday, my mom ordered me a ton of tulip bulbs. I may start to see the first ones sprout by the end of the month! Hard to believe as we still have huge piles of snow laying about.

 

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7 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

March

Start of birthday month, 4 birthdays in 5 weeks in our house and our anniversary.

I am sure we will have our taxes done in a week or so. 

Possibly find out about bonus and raise this month.  

Lots of celebrations at your house this month!

Dh is supposed to get a bonus, it is listed on his contract and they have talked about it but no definite info on that. Very annoying. 

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20 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

March should shake out to be an interesting month.

Pros: I have a spending plan ready. It should be a light medical month for middle DD. Freezer is pretty full, so groceries shouldn't be more than normal. Hopefully, we'll get our taxes done, and DH can start shopping for a car replacement with the refund. We should have all the blinds changed out by today or tomorrow. I already have everything for youngest DD's birthday on the 5th. 

Cons: Rent increases April 1, so more being held every week for that. I have that annual bill that cropped up for $144. Youngest DD will have wisdom teeth removed and possibly braces put on this month (all will be paid for by FSA, but it'll leave very little for the rest of the year). We are paying for oldest DD to send her monitor in to be repaired as it has died. Hopefully, it'll be under warranty, but we will have to pay to Uber her to the UPS store, pay to have the UPS store pack and ship it, and possibly pay for the monitor repair.

Misc: Last year for my birthday, my mom ordered me a ton of tulip bulbs. I may start to see the first ones sprout by the end of the month! Hard to believe as we still have huge piles of snow laying about.

 

We already spent most of the HSA here too by Jan 18th with fillings and a root canal. It stinks but good to have that money to help pay for things. Fingers crossed the monitor is under warranty. Do you know how much the rent increase is to plan for it? Is your dh still getting some OT?

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40 minutes ago, Soror said:

We already spent most of the HSA here too by Jan 18th with fillings and a root canal. It stinks but good to have that money to help pay for things. Fingers crossed the monitor is under warranty. Do you know how much the rent increase is to plan for it? Is your dh still getting some OT?

The owner sends a letter (it's IL law) 4 months before the rent increase. Lot rent increases annually. By law, the increase is capped at 7.5%. This year it's a hair over 4%. 

DH is getting OT, although this week's pay won't include any as he took Friday off. He has to use the PTO or it disappears, and I think he has 6 days to use before July. 

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16 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Can you have them where you are?  We have gotten them almost every year for 7 years.  One year I saw an add that our hardware store had them and we went to just see them for a fun free thing to do and came home with some.  The kids LOVE them.

Yes we can. And we'll likely get them one of these years.  

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It’s so easy to score free or cheap Walgreens photo items just by using a coupon code! Plus, most stores will have your items ready in less than 2 hours. How awesome is that? We also love their free in-store and curbside pickup options and great personalized gift deals.

Through March 3rd, you can score a FREE 8×10 Enlargement when you apply the coupon code CHEERS8X10 at checkout!

From hip2save

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5 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Does anyone have a place online they buy flea and tick meds for a good price? 

Has anyone bought from this site?

Innovative Flea And Tick Collar With 8 Month Protection | Seresto Collar (serestocollarsonline.com)

I know nothing about the website you linked but I just read this article, open WTM, and your post was the first one I read after reading this.

Seresto pet collars found to harm pets, humans, EPA records show (usatoday.com)

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7 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I know nothing about the website you linked but I just read this article, open WTM, and your post was the first one I read after reading this.

Seresto pet collars found to harm pets, humans, EPA records show (usatoday.com)

UGH.  Our vet has been telling me they are safe.  Off to read.   Ugh just read it.  We have used Seresto Collars for 3 years and never had an issue.  But of course this freaks me out.  

What are you guys using for flea and ticks for your dog???

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58 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

UGH.  Our vet has been telling me they are safe.  Off to read.   Ugh just read it.  We have used Seresto Collars for 3 years and never had an issue.  But of course this freaks me out.  

What are you guys using for flea and ticks for your dog???

I actually don't use flea and tick treatment on my dogs regularly.  They just do not regularly get covered in them even though we have woods behind us.  In the 13 years I've had both dogs they have gotten fleas twice, both times from dogs who already had them so they've never picked them up in the wild. And ticks are a few a year but that is the same amount as when I was using flea and tick treatment so not worth it.

 

But when I did use I used Frontline or Revolution. They always seems to do the trick and still do on the rare occasion that they get fleas and I need to treat them. 

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1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

UGH.  Our vet has been telling me they are safe.  Off to read.   Ugh just read it.  We have used Seresto Collars for 3 years and never had an issue.  But of course this freaks me out.  

What are you guys using for flea and ticks for your dog???

When we got our puppy in November the rescue used Advantage Plus on him.  Our vet prescribed Bravecto. I really have no knowledge of the subject but figured I shared the article since I had just read it. The article did make it sound like the ones who had problems seemed to have them within a few months of starting it so if you have used it that long without problems maybe it's okay for your dogs.

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I don't think I'll ever send anything to Goodwill ever again!  I'm almost positive I sent a book that is worth a few hundred dollars at the moment to Goodwill right after Christmas.  I just had to go through all the kid's books and get rid of ones they have never read. 

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1 hour ago, hjffkj said:

I don't think I'll ever send anything to Goodwill ever again!  I'm almost positive I sent a book that is worth a few hundred dollars at the moment to Goodwill right after Christmas.  I just had to go through all the kid's books and get rid of ones they have never read. 

Oh no, not again.  What book was it?  Was it a kids one?  I think once you start reselling things it is harder to just donate things without checking to see if things are worth money.  I hope it turns up and you can sell it. 

 

Picked up free meals yesterday and today.

Picked up free crafts at the library

Dropped off donations again.  I can't wait until it warms up more and I can just do a curb alert.  I still have more stuff to get to donation and to go through.  I just want things gone.  I am not even trying to sell hardly anything.  The space just is just worth it for me. 

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It was a dr seuss book. It was just announced that some will no longer be reprinted.  So they are selling for hundreds now on ebay. I don't think it'll be a long term high value sell but if I had it in my house I would have listed it today

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Taxes have been submitted. The refund will go to replace DH's car. 

Got some super soft & fluffy washcloths for my teen who uses prescription strength acne cream, $15. The ones I bought at Walmart weren't cutting it as her face gets pretty sensitive. 

Last of the blinds purchased. Finished off the gift card & it ended up costing a hair under $60 out of pocket. Not too bad considering I got 8 windows covered for that.

No estimate yet from oral surgeon; they were behind on submitting the info to insurance.

Middle DD's frostbitten ear is doing well - we had the doctor recheck this morning. 

1 minute ago, hjffkj said:

It was a dr seuss book. It was just announced that some will no longer be reprinted.  So they are selling for hundreds now on ebay. I don't think it'll be a long term high value sell but if I had it in my house I would have listed it today

Oooh, we have a ton of Dr. Seuss books. I should see the prices of them. One of my DD's was just telling me about the no reprints on those this morning. 

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1 minute ago, historically accurate said:

 

Oooh, we have a ton of Dr. Seuss books. I should see the prices of them. One of my DD's was just telling me about the no reprints on those this morning. 

here's the list: 

"And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street"

"If I Ran the Zoo"

"McElligot's Pool"

"On Beyond Zebra!"

"Scrambled Eggs Super!"

"The Cat's Quizzer"

 

sell them soon, i don't think the really high prices will last too long, other than real old prints

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5 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

here's the list: 

"And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street"

"If I Ran the Zoo"

"McElligot's Pool"

"On Beyond Zebra!"

"Scrambled Eggs Super!"

"The Cat's Quizzer"

 

sell them soon, i don't think the really high prices will last too long, other than real old prints

I found Scrambled Eggs Super - cheapest one is $113 on ebay. DD is taking photos now. It's stamped for a library but like new because I bought it from a Library printing company years ago. Probably for a buck.

I could've sworn we had On Mulberry Street, but we're not finding it. With my youngest being almost 14, we've purged through lots of books over the years, so that one probably came and went. 

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1 minute ago, historically accurate said:

I found Scrambled Eggs Super - cheapest one is $113 on ebay. DD is taking photos now. It's stamped for a library but like new because I bought it from a Library printing company years ago. Probably for a buck.

I could've sworn we had On Mulberry Street, but we're not finding it. With my youngest being almost 14, we've purged through lots of books over the years, so that one probably came and went. 

Yeah, I hope you sell it. 

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4 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

I found Scrambled Eggs Super - cheapest one is $113 on ebay. DD is taking photos now. It's stamped for a library but like new because I bought it from a Library printing company years ago. Probably for a buck.

I could've sworn we had On Mulberry Street, but we're not finding it. With my youngest being almost 14, we've purged through lots of books over the years, so that one probably came and went. 

If you don't have an established ebay history I would happily list it for you, no charge.  Make sure you put in your listing that it is an ex library book.  

 

On Mulberry Street is the one I know we had.  I have seen that darn book around our house daily for months.  But I'm almost positive I finally put it in a goodwill box right after christmas. the kids are going to check their rooms well in a bit

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I'll also note.  If your book sells, I would double bag it in a bubble mailer and send it USPS Priority.  yes, it could go media mail.  But customer service wise people want expensive books to go at least First Class.  But I do Priority because it gets there faster.

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I used to sell on ebay, so I have somewhat of a history - haven't done it in a few years though. Thank you for the offer to list it; that's so nice of you. It's listed now; crossing my fingers. 

I worked at Follett Software (they make software for school libraries) when I got pregnant with my first baby, and that year they had a sale for employees of books that didn't get shipped out to libraries at the Follett Library division (they print books for school libraries), so I went a little crazy buying hardcover picture books then. This book was one of those - who knew my 20 year old book would be worth a lot today?

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27 minutes ago, Thatboyofmine said:

Why can't you?   I've made pretty good money (considering the little I put in) and I'm itching to cash out, but I know mine will keep going higher.  Still, it's tempting to cash in.   None of mine are short squeeze though.  

Oh I can, I just have it in my long term hold category so selling is hard to let myself do. I have set my price for when I'll sell so if this week it keeping running up I'll sell

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6 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Wow, score!  Smart to be out looking for that.  I hope you sell it for that. 

with book in hand I had two other people approach me and say, "Oh man you found 1?  I looked on all the shelves." I found it because I didn't just check the spots with the rest of the dr seuss books. I looked at every single book spine. they admitted they only looked at the areas with all seuss books

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umm I think I have a first edition so I think I actually may reevaluate what I list it at or if I just hold on to it.  Another first edition on ebay in terrible condition sold for $340. Mine is in pretty good condition.  I'm waiting to hear from my mom who has been in the book selling business for a few decades.  She'll have a better idea of what I have.

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2 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Found a copy of On Beyond Zebra at an antique shop for $15 today. Gonna list it for $300 I think.

I was completely ignoring the idea of selling till you posted what yours sold for but now I had to go look what I had.  I have Scrambled Eggs Super (with some corner dings and wear and one page has a little bit of residue and some pencil scribbles on the inside front and back covers) and If I ran the zoo where about 3 inches of the glossy coating on the spine is ripped on one side and some yellow marker on 5-6 pages.  The spines are tight on both and they are completely readable but it's clear they've been used by kids. I really have no idea on to rate books. Are they even worth bothering with?

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I redid our family budget to reflect going from 9 to 6 household members (foster girls moved out).  Next week Ri goes down to only once a week with the neuro-trauma pediatric PT over an hour away, and once a week with a local, less specialized PT.  So that is going to save us a ton in gas and childcare.  Unless he needs to start up chemo and be traveling for that, but we’ll just see.  He has an MRI in a week and a half to find out about that.

Our state tax return came in—we actually got something back this year.  Waiting on the federal tax return.  We have an appointment to take care of some minor things on the big van to get it ready to sell.  Hopefully by the time it’s fixed and cleaned up and ready to go, the tax return and stimulus will come in so we can pay it off and sell it.  Then we can use the proceeds to pay off the last of the red car, finish refilling the emergency fund from having nearly drained it last year, and pay enough off the mortgage to refinance, which will allow us to drop PMI as well as getting a better interest rate.
 

I had been trying to convince dh that we should replace the red car with something more fuel-efficient, but he wanted to keep it for the four-wheel drive, when the weather made his point for him.  We had a few snowy, icy weeks during which Ri would have missed about 5 medical appointments if we hadn’t had 4-wheel drive to get us there.  So we are keeping the gas-hog, but under normal weather conditions I will take Dh’s car into the city for appointments and he will take the red car to work.

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1 hour ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I was completely ignoring the idea of selling till you posted what yours sold for but now I had to go look what I had.  I have Scrambled Eggs Super (with some corner dings and wear and one page has a little bit of residue and some pencil scribbles on the inside front and back covers) and If I ran the zoo where about 3 inches of the glossy coating on the spine is ripped on one side and some yellow marker on 5-6 pages.  The spines are tight on both and they are completely readable but it's clear they've been used by kids. I really have no idea on to rate books. Are they even worth bothering with?

look at sold comps on ebay I've seen some crazy bad copies going for a few hundred.  But be aware ebay has started removing listings. So don't do an auction, do buy it now and require immediate payment. or list it on facebook which isn't removing listings yet

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