April Frugalistas 2021

[mommyoffive]

No fooling we are still frugal!

 

[hjffkj]

I found a good source for the school lunches again!  A neighbor told me that one of the local schools stopped doing the daily pick ups because no one would pick them up.  So, they moved back to once a week! I'll start that back up in two weeks since they are closed next week. That will help bring our ridiculous grocery budget closer to normal. Also, with my dad home we can go to the Restaurant Depot and get our meat and cheese  in bulk again at great prices. Him and my sister made a trip there yesterday so we're stocked on chicken for the month. Beef prices weren't good enough this time to load up for the month but we don't eat much beef to begin with.

EBay wise I am struggling to try to aim for a higher net sales or to just aim for the $1000 again.  Part of me would love to push for $1500 but I don't want to get burnt out.  With the end of the quarter, I'll be sitting down with the kids today and determining what they want to aim for in regards to the next quarter.

Non frugal purchase of the month, new trampoline.

Dh has been ask to come and interview for the manager position but they haven't scheduled it yet.  I was really hoping the interview would be this week but it isn't likely now.  Trying really hard not to be impatient.

[historically accurate]

April should be a good month for us:

•  It's a 5 paycheck month. Always a nice bonus.
• My interview at the library is scheduled for next Wed. So I may have a job by the end of April.
• My oDD will be coming home at the end of the month.
• DH and I will both get our second Covid shots this month, which will be a load off my mind.
• mDD cleaned out her room this past weekend. She has a couple of things to sell so we'll be doing that this week. 
• Budget/Cash Flow plan is already done and set up for the month.

 

[mommyoffive]

3 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

April should be a good month for us:

•  It's a 5 paycheck month. Always a nice bonus.
• My interview at the library is scheduled for next Wed. So I may have a job by the end of April.
• My oDD will be coming home at the end of the month.
• DH and I will both get our second Covid shots this month, which will be a load off my mind.
• mDD cleaned out her room this past weekend. She has a couple of things to sell so we'll be doing that this week. 
• Budget/Cash Flow plan is already done and set up for the month.

 

It sounds like it is going to be a great month. 

Extra paychecks are always nice.    Sending good luck dust for the interview.    Dh and I are also getting our second shots in April!

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, hjffkj said:

I found a good source for the school lunches again!  A neighbor told me that one of the local schools stopped doing the daily pick ups because no one would pick them up.  So, they moved back to once a week! I'll start that back up in two weeks since they are closed next week. That will help bring our ridiculous grocery budget closer to normal. Also, with my dad home we can go to the Restaurant Depot and get our meat and cheese  in bulk again at great prices. Him and my sister made a trip there yesterday so we're stocked on chicken for the month. Beef prices weren't good enough this time to load up for the month but we don't eat much beef to begin with.

EBay wise I am struggling to try to aim for a higher net sales or to just aim for the $1000 again.  Part of me would love to push for $1500 but I don't want to get burnt out.  With the end of the quarter, I'll be sitting down with the kids today and determining what they want to aim for in regards to the next quarter.

Non frugal purchase of the month, new trampoline.

Dh has been ask to come and interview for the manager position but they haven't scheduled it yet.  I was really hoping the interview would be this week but it isn't likely now.  Trying really hard not to be impatient.

Yay for finding the school lunches.  It really does help keep the budget down. 

Fingers crossed for your dh's interview.

Good luck with Ebay, you are already killing it.

[mommyoffive]

Things I know of for April

Getting 2nd shots of Covid19 vaccine

Maybe our tax refund will come? 

Hopefully dh's bonus will get paid out

Tons of birthdays in our house and our anniversary

 

[WildflowerMom]

I just placed my walmart grocery pickup order... under $100!   The grocery budget certainly has gone down since ds moved out.   If he comes for Easter, I'll have to go back to the store for some things, but it'll be worth it.   
 

Second COVID vax is next week, I think.   
 

My regular GP is going to treat my anxiety now so I can stop going to the psych which means less med bills.   
 

We have our yearly auto insurance payment this month.  So far, I think we're doing ok.  🤞🏼

 

 

[saraha]

Missed the farmers box this time. When I got there, they had run out, boo. Glad I made my menu plan not counting on getting the box.

@WildflowerMomyay for reduced medical bills!

@hjffkjhope his interview goes well

Edited March 31, 2021 by saraha

[mommyoffive]

4 minutes ago, saraha said:

Missed the farmers box this time. When I got there, they had run out, boo. Glad I made my menu plan not counting on getting the box.

@WildflowerMomyay for reduced medical bills!

@hjffkjhope his interview goes well

Ugh, sorry that they ran out of boxes.  That stinks.

[cjzimmer1]

6 hours ago, saraha said:

Missed the farmers box this time. When I got there, they had run out, boo. Glad I made my menu plan not counting on getting the box.

@WildflowerMomyay for reduced medical bills!

@hjffkjhope his interview goes well

When I went last weekend, I was torn between get there when they open to make sure I get one, or go late in the hopes they might give me 2.  I opted to go early.  They were only suppose to go till 1 but later I saw them tell someone they ran out at 2.  So I still don't know if they ever gave out extra but at least I know they have a pretty good supply.  Next time, I might go a bit later and see what happens but it such a bummer to have made the trip and then not get anything.

[Soror]

We have had lots of expenses lately and more coming. Dh got the yearly mower and vehicle maintenance (belts, filters, etc), plus new blades. That was $300+ he saved on some things shopping around but had to replace some things not planned.

New brakes for his truck and ds' car and my tire had a blow out. $500+

Gas has gone way up with gas costing more and him getting called in frequently that is $200+ more than it had been.

I picked up prescriptions and she did 3 month instead of 1, so that was 3x more than expected, obviously evens out in the end. One of my scrips I don't need for 6 months now and the other 3.

We will be having lots of medical visits and prescription costs. I don't even know how much but am just expecting to meet deductible at this point and forget it. Dh has a clinic at work but they only have an NP and can't prescribe adhd meds. So ds has had to go to a ped for that. Dh tried to make an appt for a general check-up for ds there because they do labs for free and visits are $5 but they say they can't see him at all. I'm considering calling HR because that is a big load of hooey but don't know if it is worth the stress when he'll hit deductible sooner or later anyway. We've had nothing but trouble since the clinic changed hands.

I had been paying for medical and vehicle expenses and putting back money for sinking funds for these but will have to delay sinking funds on these a bit as it is more extra than the budget can absorb right now. 

Still waiting on tax return and stimulus. And the bonus dh is supposed to get.

I'll be funding vaca fund to 60% this month.

I don't expect to be able to fund any extra sinking funds or shop fund this month with the extra medical expenses. 

 

[saraha]

25 minutes ago, Soror said:

We have had lots of expenses lately and more coming. Dh got the yearly mower and vehicle maintenance (belts, filters, etc), plus new blades. That was $300+ he saved on some things shopping around but had to replace some things not planned.

New brakes for his truck and ds' car and my tire had a blow out. $500+

Gas has gone way up with gas costing more and him getting called in frequently that is $200+ more than it had been.

I picked up prescriptions and she did 3 month instead of 1, so that was 3x more than expected, obviously evens out in the end. One of my scrips I don't need for 6 months now and the other 3.

We will be having lots of medical visits and prescription costs. I don't even know how much but am just expecting to meet deductible at this point and forget it. Dh has a clinic at work but they only have an NP and can't prescribe adhd meds. So ds has had to go to a ped for that. Dh tried to make an appt for a general check-up for ds there because they do labs for free and visits are $5 but they say they can't see him at all. I'm considering calling HR because that is a big load of hooey but don't know if it is worth the stress when he'll hit deductible sooner or later anyway. We've had nothing but trouble since the clinic changed hands.

I had been paying for medical and vehicle expenses and putting back money for sinking funds for these but will have to delay sinking funds on these a bit as it is more extra than the budget can absorb right now. 

Still waiting on tax return and stimulus. And the bonus dh is supposed to get.

I'll be funding vaca fund to 60% this month.

I don't expect to be able to fund any extra sinking funds or shop fund this month with the extra medical expenses. 

 

Ugh, I’m sorry. Medical stuff is such a headache

[mommyoffive]

Got a letter that our car insurance is going to stop being discounted due to Covid in June.   I think it has been really great of that company to be giving a discount that long. 

Another thing for April get the $ for dh's class back from his work. 

The house is really stocked with food and supplies right now with grocery shopping and a Costco order.  

There are a lot of exciting things going on in dh's career right now.  I don't know how it is going to play out yet. 

Spent the last day or so focusing on looking at summer vacations.  I haven't booked anything yet, but I need to.  Something different and to look forward to.  I just need to firm up what to do.  What we are comfortable with.  Of course covid rates always make this hard.  

 

[cjzimmer1]

Picked up lunch boxes on Tuesday.  The one time I wished for carrots there were none so I had to swing by the store to pick some up for soup that night and of course it's almost impossible to pick up just one thing. Kinda  went over what I hoped to spend for March but it wasn't too bad.  Each week there is 2 "bulk" vegetables  in the lunch boxes, this week both were a pint of tomatoes so we've got 8 pints and they are already looking rough 2 days later.  My sister was just telling me about a recipe she got with her meal delivery box that used roasted tomatoes.  I was at her place yesterday and snapped a picture of the recipe.  We'll be trying it out and hopefully can use up a big chunk of these.  One DD will be unhappy because she absolutely detests tomatoes but she has some of her lunches or leftover soup as alternatives so she'll just have to pick what bothers her the least .

I also found a recipe for hot dog hash.  So rather than tossing the hot dogs we got in the farmer to family box, I'm going to try to cut them up small and add bacon and ground beef plus other hash stuff and see if I can bury them enough to not be objectionable. We have one bag of the meatballs and less than half a gallon of milk but the rest of it is all gone already.  It was helpful but for a family my size, it sure doesn't go very far.

Dh's company was doing pay adjustments this month.  One is the yearly raise (which he got) and one was pay adjustments if they feel yours in below market rate (didn't get that one) so yeah for some extra money.  

Really bummed at how much gas prices are jumping, the next 2 months is when I do the majority of my driving for the whole year so I'm going to have to refigure the gas budget.

We are doing this tracking program with our auto insurance.  We have to install this app on our phones and they monitor our driving habits for 3 months and then gives us a discount for the life of our policy with them based on how we drove.  Some of my drivers are more tolerant of this than others but so far we are at about a $300 discount.  We still have another 2 1/2 months to go and it can go up or down during that time, but so far it's looking good.

Still trying to meet with builders.  At this point, I'm seriously doubting it will happen this year but nothing is set in stone yet.  

Need to take two DD's out for a few more work clothes(suitable for them to work outdoors so thankfully nothing fancy).  I hate clothes shopping with a passion so hopefully we can make this a one stop and done thing.

Have to run errands today and tomorrow to pick up things for the greenhouse business.  One involves over an hour of extra driving, but none of the other family members are available to go get it and we need it tomorrow so I can work so I'll be making the side trip on my way to the greenhouse tomorrow.

I have a few other outdoor projects I wanted to buy supplies for but since I'm so focused on trying to save money for the building project, everything is being weighed in context of that on whether or not I should purchase it.  Unfortunately I expect I'm going to have to spend about $200 on things that just can't wait till another year. Will probably try to knock most of those out this month since I have zero time in May to get anything done around the house when I'm working 6-7 days a week at the greenhouse.

And one of our summer events/trips got canceled.  We kinda expected that so while disappointed, I'm okay because that's money I don't have to spend either.

Edited April 1, 2021 by cjzimmer1

[historically accurate]

Like everyone else, I'm finding gas to be a budget buster lately. DH has been going into work 3-5 times per week lately, and I've been trucking DD to more in-person doctor appointments as the doctors want to see her after having been on telehealth for months. Also, my brother, who doesn't have a car, has had a slew of medical appointments lately - he's still waiting on the last Covid check to pay me a little for gas. We a little more than doubled our gas bill in March than in Feb. I'm shoving some stuff around in April's budget to plan for the higher gasoline prices and usage.

I'm probably going to go to the Farmers to Family box distribution today. I haven't been in a while, and my grocery budget has been a little on the high side lately. It's been kicked back until 3 pm today, and I don't have anything going on at that time. 

[WildflowerMom]

Just spent $50 on Amazon, the bane of my existence.   $40 of that was vitamins for ds and I, $8 for a rug, and $3 for a stocking stuffer I came across.   I'm doing well in my stocking stuffer purchases.  My goal is that December won't be a money pit for us since I'll (hopefully) have it covered.  
 

Dh is grabbing supper, so that will be a little money spent, but well worth it.   
 

Picked up my groceries at Walmart after tweaking my order late last night and it was only $89.  😱😱😱   I wanted to jump for joy!  👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
 

Beagle needs to get her nails done and booty squeezed at the vet next week.  That's a chore I don't mind paying someone else to do.  😆

Listen to this, I had some strawberries last week and one didn't look so great, so I cut it in half (top to bottom) and planted it.  One of the halves has sprouted a leaf!   I was shocked!   So today, I planted the top bit of a kiwi.  I seriously don't think it will do anything, but what the heck.  I told dh I'm going to try planting some veggie and fruit scraps and see what happens.  I did that last year with green onions and those things grow like weeds now.    Anyway, may be something to try, and a fun project especially if you have young kids.   

[historically accurate]

1 minute ago, WildflowerMom said:

Just spent $50 on Amazon, the bane of my existence.   $40 of that was vitamins for ds and I, $8 for a rug, and $3 for a stocking stuffer I came across.   I'm doing well in my stocking stuffer purchases.  My goal is that December won't be a money pit for us since I'll (hopefully) have it covered.  
 

Dh is grabbing supper, so that will be a little money spent, but well worth it.   
 

Picked up my groceries at Walmart after tweaking my order late last night and it was only $89.  😱😱😱   I wanted to jump for joy!  👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
 

Beagle needs to get her nails done and booty squeezed at the vet next week.  That's a chore I don't mind paying someone else to do.  😆

Listen to this, I had some strawberries last week and one didn't look so great, so I cut it in half (top to bottom) and planted it.  One of the halves has sprouted a leaf!   I was shocked!   So today, I planted the top bit of a kiwi.  I seriously don't think it will do anything, but what the heck.  I told dh I'm going to try planting some veggie and fruit scraps and see what happens.  I did that last year with green onions and those things grow like weeds now.    Anyway, may be something to try, and a fun project especially if you have young kids.   

And this is why I love this thread - I had no idea you could plant a strawberry and grow strawberries. It makes sense - just nothing I ever thought of.

[WildflowerMom]

My dad sent my husband and I a link to an app called 'GetUpside' for gas.   I have not done it yet, because frankly I use so little gas (like a fill-up every few weeks) and because of my anxiety, I like to stick to two gas stations that I feel comfortable at.  However, dh did download it from my dad's link.  Every time dh gets gas, he and my dad get a few cents on the gallon.  After using it about a month, dh said he has $10 in his account.  He said you can get that money through PayPal, a gift card, etc.  Anyway, y'all may want to look into it and see if it might be worth it for y'all. 

[WildflowerMom]

8 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

And this is why I love this thread - I had no idea you could plant a strawberry and grow strawberries. It makes sense - just nothing I ever thought of.

I didn't either!   Now, who knows if I'll see an actual strawberry, but I was so excited to see that leaf this week!  

[mommyoffive]

59 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

And this is why I love this thread - I had no idea you could plant a strawberry and grow strawberries. It makes sense - just nothing I ever thought of.

Me either.  I am so going to try that.  Ugh, I threw a few out from the 6lbs we bought last week that just got a bit gross.  We end up throwing all our scraps to the chickens and they love everything.  But maybe save some to plant.  We have strawberries in our garden already and they spread well.

Thinks for the idea.

[cjzimmer1]

Of the 8 pints of cherry tomatoes that they gave us in the school lunches on Tuesday, 2 pints worth were completely spoiled (as in molding and splitting skin) today.  I knew they weren't great quality but this is right up there with the milk they gave us (to last a week) that was curdling within 3 days.  Cleaned up the rest and made this orzo and roasted tomato dish based off a recipe my sister had gotten in one her meal delivery kits.  Turned out really good considering I was totally improvising on ingredients and quantities plus it used up all 6 pints of remaining tomatoes because I doubt most of them would make it much longer. 

I'm going to have to try the strawberry thing too.  I've never heard that one.  I've sprouted celery, onions and potatoes(not intentionally on those) but strawberries is new and sounds like it could be fun.

Edited April 2, 2021 by cjzimmer1

[mommyoffive]

Checked the bank account and the tax return was there a few days ago. That was about 1.5 weeks after filing.  Dh's bonus was there too.  Dh's 401k is maxed out for the year.    I can't wait for his next pay check.

Trying to figure out what to do with our savings.  No luck finding land or a house.  I am feeling that isn't ever going to work out.    I will probably do some household spending.

 

 

 

 

[mommyoffive]

8 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Of the 8 pints of cherry tomatoes that they gave us in the school lunches on Tuesday, 2 pints worth were completely spoiled (as in molding and splitting skin) today.  I knew they weren't great quality but this is right up there with the milk they gave us (to last a week) that was curdling within 3 days.  Cleaned up the rest and made this orzo and roasted tomato dish based off a recipe my sister had gotten in one her meal delivery kits.  Turned out really good considering I was totally improvising on ingredients and quantities plus it used up all 6 pints of remaining tomatoes because I doubt most of them would make it much longer. 

I'm going to have to try the strawberry thing too.  I've never heard that one.  I've sprouted celery, onions and potatoes(not intentionally on those) but strawberries is new and sounds like it could be fun.

Ugh.  Sounds like you have to use up the stuff almost right away.  I have sometimes get fruit that goes bad really quick like that from Aldi.  

[mommyoffive]

The puppy chewed on my computer charger while the kids were "watching" her.

I noticed one pair of my Thinx undies is falling apart.  Ugh super annoyed.  I haven't had these a year and only wear them once maybe 2 (which is rare) times a month.   I hang dry them.  I really was hoping they would last years.  So not happy as they were expensive.  

[historically accurate]

Today was clean out the fridge day. 

Made spaghetti and "meatballs" with some leftover hamburger patties someone hadn't eaten. I just chopped them up and made a chunky meat sauce. I got a can of corn the other day in my food box, so I served that as the side. Garlic bread made with slightly stale hot dog buns. Used up the last of the chocolate milk and made chocolate pudding for dessert. I also made banana bread with 3 bananas that had passed their date for snacks for the week. We also finished almost all of the box lunches from the Y today - there's a couple of juice boxes still hanging out. My fridge looks a little bare, but it's grocery day tomorrow, and I have a plan so we won't starve. 

[historically accurate]

We went through the spring/summer clothes yesterday. I hate that job!

yDD needs shorts and tees - she has a ton of dresses (those don't get worn as often so passed down), mDD actually needs nothing (because of her disease, we've changed her wardrobe mostly to compression shorts/leggings and cooling tees over the past couple of years - she finally has enough). oDD said she didn't think she needed anything. I am also set. I'm getting rid of my biggest sized capris and shorts as they are now 2-3 sizes too big. 

Listed some of the plus sized capris and the kids' school uniforms (co-op requirement - we won't be returning) on the local freebie site. 

Ordered yDD a couple of jean shorts and a couple of tees from Old Navy. I went and picked up last night. We'll see if they fit this morning. 

Will be listing an American Girl doll for one of the kiddos and some of the kids' dresses today. Have a lot to list for sale this week, so I'll be shooting for 3-4 listings a day. 

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

We went through the spring/summer clothes yesterday. I hate that job!

yDD needs shorts and tees - she has a ton of dresses (those don't get worn as often so passed down), mDD actually needs nothing (because of her disease, we've changed her wardrobe mostly to compression shorts/leggings and cooling tees over the past couple of years - she finally has enough). oDD said she didn't think she needed anything. I am also set. I'm getting rid of my biggest sized capris and shorts as they are now 2-3 sizes too big. 

Listed some of the plus sized capris and the kids' school uniforms (co-op requirement - we won't be returning) on the local freebie site. 

Ordered yDD a couple of jean shorts and a couple of tees from Old Navy. I went and picked up last night. We'll see if they fit this morning. 

Will be listing an American Girl doll for one of the kiddos and some of the kids' dresses today. Have a lot to list for sale this week, so I'll be shooting for 3-4 listings a day. 

I hate that job too.  It never ever ends. 

I just did it this last week with shoes and coats.  I need to move on to summer stuff and then outgrown things.   I just did it with ds and he is at that age where we are buying clothes and then a few months later he needs bigger things.  

Good luck selling things.  I need to do that for some stuff in the garage to just try and get a bit of cash out of the clutter. 

[mommyoffive]

Ticonderoga Pencils 96-Count Box Only $7.97 on Amazon or Walmart | Parent & Teacher Fave - Hip2Save

[historically accurate]

I got 3 dresses listed today. We'll see. 2 of them still had the tags attached - my mom likes to buy dresses; my girls don't necessarily like to wear them. 

[mommyoffive]

Through April 5th, they are offering a FREE 8×10 Photo Print (regularly $3.99) when you use promo code EASTER8X10 at checkout!

[historically accurate]

It was a productive Easter day yesterday. Hope all of you who celebrate had a great day. Kids were super happy with a Wii Just Dance game and Zebra cakes. Gorgeous weather, so we did some stuff outside. 

• I listed 2 more dresses for sale.
• DH hung up the free mirror we got last weekend. It works perfectly, and it only cost me $2.57 for hanging hardware!
• I cleaned out an area in my bedroom to use for my Zoom interview on Wednesday. 
• We trimmed back a bush and filled in the vole holes around it - ugh! They've completely taken over a corner of my yard. DH made some pepper concoction and sprayed everything hoping it'll deter them and they'll move on. Never thought I'd miss the lady who used to live 2 houses down and her annoying cats who used to poop all over my yard LOL!
• I swept out the garage. Found a pair of ice skates and a kids' croquet set I might be able to sell.
• DH spoke to the cable company. We sat down and kind of made a streaming plan to dump the cable TV. It should save us about $30 monthly, and DH is pretty sure that the lower speed internet will be sufficient - we have super super fast now.
• I dropped a return off at the UPS box.

I can pick up school lunches this morning, and I'll drop off a bag of clothes at Salvation Army when I do so. Brother got his Covid check Saturday, so we'll be getting some $ to pay us back soon. I want to list another 3 things today - probably some CJ Banks plus sized clothing. 

Anybody ever sell on Poshmark? I've been listing on ebay, but I'm wondering if I'd have better luck with Poshmark for clothing. 

I worked on a menu plan a little. I'm getting bored with my normal rotation, so I pinterested some new recipes.

[WildflowerMom]

We bought ds a used washer and dryer when he moved out and he texted last night saying the dryer is broken.   This is the second used set we've tried, so we may be taking it back, too.   If that happens, we'll just get a new one.  I am not dealing with this crap again.  🤯🤬🤯

Trying to get ds in to a doctor, sitting around this morning making calls...

Will be taking ds to lunch today since I have to take him something anyway, so that's a little money spent.  

Going to try my best to eat what's in the house this week instead of going to the grocery store.  I'm ready to get that stupid insurance payment paid! 
 

 

[historically accurate]

11 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

We bought ds a used washer and dryer when he moved out and he texted last night saying the dryer is broken.   This is the second used set we've tried, so we may be taking it back, too.   If that happens, we'll just get a new one.  I am not dealing with this crap again.  🤯🤬🤯

Trying to get ds in to a doctor, sitting around this morning making calls...

Will be taking ds to lunch today since I have to take him something anyway, so that's a little money spent.  

Going to try my best to eat what's in the house this week instead of going to the grocery store.  I'm ready to get that stupid insurance payment paid! 
 

 

Awww, bummer about the dryer. We went through a slew of them before we gave up and bought a new one too. 

 

[Soror]

 

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

It was a productive Easter day yesterday. Hope all of you who celebrate had a great day. Kids were super happy with a Wii Just Dance game and Zebra cakes. Gorgeous weather, so we did some stuff outside. 

• I listed 2 more dresses for sale.
• DH hung up the free mirror we got last weekend. It works perfectly, and it only cost me $2.57 for hanging hardware!
• I cleaned out an area in my bedroom to use for my Zoom interview on Wednesday. 
• We trimmed back a bush and filled in the vole holes around it - ugh! They've completely taken over a corner of my yard. DH made some pepper concoction and sprayed everything hoping it'll deter them and they'll move on. Never thought I'd miss the lady who used to live 2 houses down and her annoying cats who used to poop all over my yard LOL!
• I swept out the garage. Found a pair of ice skates and a kids' croquet set I might be able to sell.
• DH spoke to the cable company. We sat down and kind of made a streaming plan to dump the cable TV. It should save us about $30 monthly, and DH is pretty sure that the lower speed internet will be sufficient - we have super super fast now.
• I dropped a return off at the UPS box.

I can pick up school lunches this morning, and I'll drop off a bag of clothes at Salvation Army when I do so. Brother got his Covid check Saturday, so we'll be getting some $ to pay us back soon. I want to list another 3 things today - probably some CJ Banks plus sized clothing. 

Anybody ever sell on Poshmark? I've been listing on ebay, but I'm wondering if I'd have better luck with Poshmark for clothing. 

I worked on a menu plan a little. I'm getting bored with my normal rotation, so I pinterested some new recipes.

I'm getting a little bored of the same ol recipes here too. I need to make a menu here and want to change things up for the spring.

_____________

Me three on hating going through clothes. The girls got heir own out a few weeks ago but I need to inventory and see what everyone needs. Middle daughter is growing like a weed and I perpetually see her in too short pants.

_______________

My parents bought a new grill so we are getting their old one. I'm beyond thrilled. We've only ever had cheap ones and the last one we finally took to the scrap yard as it entirely rusted through. This is a giant gas grill. Dad said it could use a little work but I know they've been using it so it is in pretty good shape. 

________________

More things bought for lawnmowers. $80+ on that. Dh is also replacing outsdie faucets. He did one last year and bought one. So, he still has 1 more to buy and some more pipe fittings. I'm not sure how much that will be but I'm expecting $50-$75 at least.

_______________

Bookings are back up again for VIPKID as the kids are back in school. I'm ready to get the vaca fund done so I'll have that marked off my list. I'd love to receive my refund and/or stimulus to finish the shop fund and shore up some other funds. There are so many 'fun' things we'd like to have but with the shop costing so much and the boring medical bills and house maint/rep there isn't much left.

[mommyoffive]

Ordered free meals for the week.  Hopefully pick up the free craft and free book at the library today.

We had a good Easter.  Kids and dh made the meal.  We had our free ham and have tons of leftovers.   We zoomed with family and that was fun.  They are fully vaccinated, but dh and I are not yet.   Plus none of my kids are old enough to have a vaccine  yet.  

My aunt and uncle sent all the people with birthdays in my house checks.  

Looked for vacations, but I didn't book anything.  

[cjzimmer1]

Today is just one of those days that is turning out to be anything but frugal!

I bought some boards to put a second layer on one of my raised beds.  12 foot boards fit fine in my van, I've transported them many times. I don't know what happened today, they went in fine, back end closed fine.  We stopped a couple of places before coming home and come out of a store to discover the front window has cracked where the boards are.  It didn't look like they shifted at all but they must of have put pressure on the window somehow.  So now I'll have to come up with the deductible to replace the front windshield.  The crack is 3-4 feet long so I don't feel like I can just ignore it.

Then the neighbor is getting a new fence.  They started working on the far side of their lot last Friday.  The little bit I could see, it looked fine.  Today they've completed enough to see that nope, I'm in trouble.  It has an opening of about 4-6 inches under it.  I spent hours last summer putting up fencing so I wouldn't have rabbits in my yard, then I got a puppy since I finally had a fenced yard and starting tomorrow they are working on the side connecting my yard, and I will no longer have a fence to keep my puppy in (he's a small breed, he can easily crawl right under that) and the rabbits will have free access to my yard again.  

So now I'm spending another $200 or so to buy fencing materials so that we can have 2 fences sitting side by side (which also means , I'm going to be stuck spraying Round Up to keep the weeds down since I won't be able to mow right up to the fence anymore), all so that my puppy will stay put.  I know it's totally within their right, it just would have been nice to have a heads up because I have to order the materials and it's going to be a couple of weeks before it gets here and in the meantime, my puppy is only going to be able to go out on a leash and they won't be able to play all their fun games with him (he loves fetch, chasing the kids, etc) and this dog really needs to run.

Kids also needed some new clothes so we ended up running around all morning dealing with that.  I spent 5 hours trying to get everything done and I was so frazzled and then to come home to the fence, ugh, just not a good day.  And now it's almost 3 and we can finally START school for the day. I'd love to say hey let's just not do school today, but we are already behind and having to double up on lessons.  School MUST be finished by the end of April (I start working by then and when I work 6-7 days a week, school just isn't going to happen).

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Today is just one of those days that is turning out to be anything but frugal!

I bought some boards to put a second layer on one of my raised beds.  12 foot boards fit fine in my van, I've transported them many times. I don't know what happened today, they went in fine, back end closed fine.  We stopped a couple of places before coming home and come out of a store to discover the front window has cracked where the boards are.  It didn't look like they shifted at all but they must of have put pressure on the window somehow.  So now I'll have to come up with the deductible to replace the front windshield.  The crack is 3-4 feet long so I don't feel like I can just ignore it.

Then the neighbor is getting a new fence.  They started working on the far side of their lot last Friday.  The little bit I could see, it looked fine.  Today they've completed enough to see that nope, I'm in trouble.  It has an opening of about 4-6 inches under it.  I spent hours last summer putting up fencing so I wouldn't have rabbits in my yard, then I got a puppy since I finally had a fenced yard and starting tomorrow they are working on the side connecting my yard, and I will no longer have a fence to keep my puppy in (he's a small breed, he can easily crawl right under that) and the rabbits will have free access to my yard again.  

So now I'm spending another $200 or so to buy fencing materials so that we can have 2 fences sitting side by side (which also means , I'm going to be stuck spraying Round Up to keep the weeds down since I won't be able to mow right up to the fence anymore), all so that my puppy will stay put.  I know it's totally within their right, it just would have been nice to have a heads up because I have to order the materials and it's going to be a couple of weeks before it gets here and in the meantime, my puppy is only going to be able to go out on a leash and they won't be able to play all their fun games with him (he loves fetch, chasing the kids, etc) and this dog really needs to run.

Kids also needed some new clothes so we ended up running around all morning dealing with that.  I spent 5 hours trying to get everything done and I was so frazzled and then to come home to the fence, ugh, just not a good day.  And now it's almost 3 and we can finally START school for the day. I'd love to say hey let's just not do school today, but we are already behind and having to double up on lessons.  School MUST be finished by the end of April (I start working by then and when I work 6-7 days a week, school just isn't going to happen).

OH man I am so sorry, that really sucks about the windshield. 

That stinks about the fence too.  I wish they would have just told you what they were going to do.  What kind of fence are you putting up for $200?   Is it a small area? 

[mommyoffive]

Just payed ballet for the month for the main school where all the kids take classes.  I haven't had to pay that all year due to a credit we had and then school funds.  Holy smokes back to expensive town.    We have paid for 2 outside schools for them to take classes at .   Only have to pay for May and then this school year is over.  We did have a $400 credit for this month, but still had tuition of $800 for the month at that school.   Super expensive summer is already paid for.  Most likely they will take extra classes, but not to the price tag of what we already paid. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

Picked up free meals and the crafts.

Dropped off donations.  

Went to bed with a migraine last night and woke up with it this morning.  So today is starting off slow. 

 

 

Did everyone get their tax refunds back?  

Edited April 6, 2021 by mommyoffive

[historically accurate]

17 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Picked up free meals and the crafts.

Dropped off donations.  

Went to bed with a migraine last night and woke up with it this morning.  So today is starting off slow. 

 

 

Did everyone get their tax refunds back?  

Migraines are the worst. 

[Carrie12345]

April’s plans:

Pay bill for all of ds’s new pants after he had nearly nothing but high waters for his first in-semi-public appearance since lockdown.

Return call about a credit from my major dental work. 😁 

Dentist bill later this week for dd. 😔 

Pay taxes. 🤢 

Set budget for current home projects to do before listing. In conjunction with real estate agent.

”Inventory” food storage/freezers to keep grocery bill down and get some things out of the way before moving, while taking note of what to continue replenishing.

 

I don’t really know what’s “cool” these days, but I was thrilled to find FILA sneakers for under $30 for both me and ds. When I was about 18/19, FILA was one of my favorites, and way out of my price range. We both needed sneakers, so yay!

[historically accurate]

I've got a lot of running around to do today. 

• Yesterday was not free school lunch day - today is. Oopsies. So pick those up.
• DD needs a school book from the library - we'll pick that up when go to school. 
• DD has an ortho appointment - possibly she is getting her braces off! Over 3 years for set #2 - 4 1/2 years overall. It's either today or next month. She's going to be either EXCITED or super crushed - we'll see.
• Brother has a doctor's appointment this afternoon - needs ride to and from.
• DD has a therapy group tonight. 

It's almost like pre-pandemic driving today! DH has his second shot this afternoon. 

Tomorrow I have my interview and I'll have to run to the bank to straighten out my account - they screwed up my online access, and I need it back! I tried to call today, but they lost some paperwork that I need to sign when they got bought out. 

[cjzimmer1]

17 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

OH man I am so sorry, that really sucks about the windshield. 

That stinks about the fence too.  I wish they would have just told you what they were going to do.  What kind of fence are you putting up for $200?   Is it a small area? 

Not small, it's about 90 feet.  I'm just using 3 foot tall rolls of black vinyl coated wire, with those green steel, pound in utility type posts and attach the fence with zipties.  Nothing fancy but it gets the job done.  Technically it doesn't meet the "standards" of our neighborhood set by the builder, but once the neighborhood was completed and governing was turned over to the people who live here, the rules seems to be forgotten.  Pretty much every single person on the block has at least one "violation".  But I always thought the rules were way too restrictive but I suspect it was done that way so everything looked nice so the developer could sell all their property.  Besides my fence isn't visible from the road, actually it's barely visible at all.  I used that stuff on the 2 sides that weren't covered by neighbors fences but I have hedges and shrubs on both of those sides so it's darker and shady and the black fence just disappears among it. It will show up against the neighbors nice white fence but the only people to see it will be me. 

I talked to the fence builders yesterday and they were suppose to start my side today but it's raining so I'm guess that's not happening.  However, last night I was studying out their fence and realized the area where they have the big gaps under the fence is uneven sloping ground and once they stepped up past that part, the fence was touch the ground in the back.  Since the area between us is relatively flat, I'm holding out hope that maybe there won't be a gap on my side.  No idea if that is wishful thinking or not but decided, that it was worth the gamble of waiting a couple of days to see how they do my side before ordering the materials.  

[saraha]

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

I've got a lot of running around to do today. 

• Yesterday was not free school lunch day - today is. Oopsies. So pick those up.
• DD needs a school book from the library - we'll pick that up when go to school. 
• DD has an ortho appointment - possibly she is getting her braces off! Over 3 years for set #2 - 4 1/2 years overall. It's either today or next month. She's going to be either EXCITED or super crushed - we'll see.
• Brother has a doctor's appointment this afternoon - needs ride to and from.
• DD has a therapy group tonight. 

It's almost like pre-pandemic driving today! DH has his second shot this afternoon. 

Tomorrow I have my interview and I'll have to run to the bank to straighten out my account - they screwed up my online access, and I need it back! I tried to call today, but they lost some paperwork that I need to sign when they got bought out. 

You are going to do great on the interview!

 

[mommyoffive]

13 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Not small, it's about 90 feet.  I'm just using 3 foot tall rolls of black vinyl coated wire, with those green steel, pound in utility type posts and attach the fence with zipties.  Nothing fancy but it gets the job done.  Technically it doesn't meet the "standards" of our neighborhood set by the builder, but once the neighborhood was completed and governing was turned over to the people who live here, the rules seems to be forgotten.  Pretty much every single person on the block has at least one "violation".  But I always thought the rules were way too restrictive but I suspect it was done that way so everything looked nice so the developer could sell all their property.  Besides my fence isn't visible from the road, actually it's barely visible at all.  I used that stuff on the 2 sides that weren't covered by neighbors fences but I have hedges and shrubs on both of those sides so it's darker and shady and the black fence just disappears among it. It will show up against the neighbors nice white fence but the only people to see it will be me. 

I talked to the fence builders yesterday and they were suppose to start my side today but it's raining so I'm guess that's not happening.  However, last night I was studying out their fence and realized the area where they have the big gaps under the fence is uneven sloping ground and once they stepped up past that part, the fence was touch the ground in the back.  Since the area between us is relatively flat, I'm holding out hope that maybe there won't be a gap on my side.  No idea if that is wishful thinking or not but decided, that it was worth the gamble of waiting a couple of days to see how they do my side before ordering the materials.  

Oh that is a great fence cost savings idea.  I never thought of doing that.  Hmm.  I have no idea what the fence rules are in our city.  I don't think it would work with our youngest dog as she is big, crazy, and strong.  

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

I've got a lot of running around to do today. 

• Yesterday was not free school lunch day - today is. Oopsies. So pick those up.
• DD needs a school book from the library - we'll pick that up when go to school. 
• DD has an ortho appointment - possibly she is getting her braces off! Over 3 years for set #2 - 4 1/2 years overall. It's either today or next month. She's going to be either EXCITED or super crushed - we'll see.
• Brother has a doctor's appointment this afternoon - needs ride to and from.
• DD has a therapy group tonight. 

It's almost like pre-pandemic driving today! DH has his second shot this afternoon. 

Tomorrow I have my interview and I'll have to run to the bank to straighten out my account - they screwed up my online access, and I need it back! I tried to call today, but they lost some paperwork that I need to sign when they got bought out. 

Super busy day.   Getting back to real life is going to be a shock for me.  I hope your dd gets her braces off. 

Good luck tomorrow!!

[saraha]

Yard saling wins for me this weekend! DS21 is moving out when he starts his new job and we found a bunch of things for his new kitchen pretty cheap! Also brought home all the Easter leftovers and are using them for lunches.

Haven't gotten any bills yet from dh's surgery or any of the trips back in, so am seriously dreading that, thankfully we have some savings and got our stimulus check.

[mommyoffive]

6 minutes ago, saraha said:

Yard saling wins for me this weekend! DS21 is moving out when he starts his new job and we found a bunch of things for his new kitchen pretty cheap! Also brought home all the Easter leftovers and are using them for lunches.

Haven't gotten any bills yet from dh's surgery or any of the trips back in, so am seriously dreading that, thankfully we have some savings and got our stimulus check.

Yay for deals.   Congrats on launching your ds!   Great work momma!

How is your dh doing?   I hope the bills are low and insurance covers lots of it.   I always dread the medical bills when things happen too.  It is so annoying to have no idea how much you are really going to be charged.  

[Soror]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Picked up free meals and the crafts.

Dropped off donations.  

Went to bed with a migraine last night and woke up with it this morning.  So today is starting off slow. 

 

 

Did everyone get their tax refunds back?  

I'm sorry you have a migraine I hope it passes soon.

___________

No refund or stimulus here. Refund is still processing and info on stimulus is not available.

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

I've got a lot of running around to do today. 

• Yesterday was not free school lunch day - today is. Oopsies. So pick those up.
• DD needs a school book from the library - we'll pick that up when go to school. 
• DD has an ortho appointment - possibly she is getting her braces off! Over 3 years for set #2 - 4 1/2 years overall. It's either today or next month. She's going to be either EXCITED or super crushed - we'll see.
• Brother has a doctor's appointment this afternoon - needs ride to and from.
• DD has a therapy group tonight. 

It's almost like pre-pandemic driving today! DH has his second shot this afternoon. 

Tomorrow I have my interview and I'll have to run to the bank to straighten out my account - they screwed up my online access, and I need it back! I tried to call today, but they lost some paperwork that I need to sign when they got bought out. 

Good luck!

_____________

I should be paid by tomorrow.

Making a grocery list today.

Got back $20 from endodontist from where we were overcharged due to the deductible being applied to a different visit. I had to send $20 to the HSA to reimburse for that so it is a wash.

Got our "new" grill from my parents. It is a 6 burner gas grill with a side burner and rotisserie. A burner or two is out and the rotisserie needs a new cord. No idea how much those will cost but it is perfectly usable as is and I've got enough to spend money on right now. 

Dh forgot to measure for the pipes he needed yesterday so will be buying those today (I think).

[cjzimmer1]

1 hour ago, historically accurate said:

I've got a lot of running around to do today. 

• Yesterday was not free school lunch day - today is. Oopsies. So pick those up.
• DD needs a school book from the library - we'll pick that up when go to school. 
• DD has an ortho appointment - possibly she is getting her braces off! Over 3 years for set #2 - 4 1/2 years overall. It's either today or next month. She's going to be either EXCITED or super crushed - we'll see.
• Brother has a doctor's appointment this afternoon - needs ride to and from.
• DD has a therapy group tonight. 

It's almost like pre-pandemic driving today! DH has his second shot this afternoon. 

Tomorrow I have my interview and I'll have to run to the bank to straighten out my account - they screwed up my online access, and I need it back! I tried to call today, but they lost some paperwork that I need to sign when they got bought out. 

My DD will be getting hers off before the end of summer.  Every appointment since last fall, she flat out asks about his estimate for removal.  She had a few weeks ago and he promised before end of summer but could be as early as July depending on how fast her teeth responded to the last tweak he was making.  Don't you have to make a separate appointment for getting them off? All 3 of mine who've completed, we had the yes, you are done, but then you had to schedule another appointment for the removal since that was always much longer than the standard appointment slot. Anyways hoping she gets good news and that you're interview goes well tomorrow.