May Frugalistas 2021

[historically accurate]

6 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Awesome list!  Thanks.  How long did you guys stay there? 

We were gone for 10 days total (driving from IL) - I just brought up my FB posts about it. 

Day 1: to Wisconsin - visited an Aunt there

Day 2: drive to Pierre, SD (did Corn Palace, Sioux Falls, and Dignity Statue on the way)

Day 3: hung out with family in Pierre (both my parents grew up in the area)

Day 4: Badlands & Devil's Tower

Day 5-8: Black Hills

Day 9 & 10: Driving back home with a stop at a college in IA

So we were in the area for 4 days total - everything is really close together, so it's not hard to hit multiple things in a day.

I said a "few years ago" - when I went to FB, I realized it was fall of 2019! Life has definitely changed.

Edited May 16, 2021 by historically accurate

[hjffkj]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Where do you want to go? 

We are going to the Badlands and horse ranch in the Black Hills.  We were going to tag Yellowstone on this, but I think we are just going to go back and go to Yellowstone later this year.  That way we have more time to just enjoy things. 

My plan for the summer was road trips and airbnbs but now with some of the kids able to have vaccines and they say air travel is safe, we might fly somewhere too.   We did nothing last year, which I regret, but I was way to freaked out about travel and transmission.  I feel like we know more now so I can relax about it a little.

The kids are so crazy excited after not traveling for so long.  I just found this place today and so crazy that they have an openings.  They had one cabin.  I have wanted to go to the Badlands and Yellowstone forever and have wanted to go to a horse ranch since I was a kid.  We are saving a ton of money with the dates we picked too.  Now I have to plan it all!

That sounds great.  Honestly, I have no idea what I'm longing for at the moment.  Prior to the pandemic we were planning a trip to either Costa Rica or Ecuador but now that seems like it won't happen for a LONG time.  So, now it is a matter of figuring out what we are comfortable with.  I'm excited to go camping but I also just want a vacation where I don't have to lift a finger unless I want to.  So, maybe just a beach trip, with or without the kids would be nice

[historically accurate]

Some frugalista things:

I just listed a whole bunch of curriculum on ebay. Here's hoping it sells. I want it out of my house. I have some dresses posted as well as a couple of games. I'd like to move it out of the house right now, but I'd like some cash as well.

I have a huge pile of BYL 8 books to sell, but they're really, really heavy, and I really don't want to have to ship them. I need to see if we have a sturdy enough box for it, and maybe list it Media Mail.

DD found a guitar in the neighbor's trash the other day. It needs to be restrung, so that's on the budget in a couple of weeks, but she's excited to give it a whirl.

DH and I fixed the lights in my van this weekend using a $35 part and Youtube. They work great now.

I bought another 4 bags of mulch and the back part of the garden is fully mulched now. Next weekend we're planning on buying some plants and probably more mulch.

My free seeds from the library are starting to sprout. I have little baby cilantro in my windowsill!

Still trying to get my EBB discount with Xfinity - our account is really weird with them though. DH just looked at the account today and it says we have a credit of $90.30, and we have no idea why. 

Youngest needs new shoes soon. Oldest says she needs some new clothes before going back to school. Middle just got some new compression leggings. I need a few things for my work wardrobe. The clothing budget is dry though, so I may have to move some stuff around depending on how much someone REALLY needs it...

[mommyoffive]

5 hours ago, hjffkj said:

That sounds great.  Honestly, I have no idea what I'm longing for at the moment.  Prior to the pandemic we were planning a trip to either Costa Rica or Ecuador but now that seems like it won't happen for a LONG time.  So, now it is a matter of figuring out what we are comfortable with.  I'm excited to go camping but I also just want a vacation where I don't have to lift a finger unless I want to.  So, maybe just a beach trip, with or without the kids would be nice

Isn't that the truth?  I hate that it has be a part of every thought now, are you comfortable with that with Covid.

Oh how I would love a trip without the kids.  Maybe next year all the kids go away to camp the same week.  That would be heaven. 

Did you ever get a trampoline?   I just saw another deal on them.

Little Tikes Mega 15' Trampoline Only $209.99 Shipped on Target.com (Regularly $300) - Hip2Save

[hjffkj]

8 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Isn't that the truth?  I hate that it has be a part of every thought now, are you comfortable with that with Covid.

Oh how I would love a trip without the kids.  Maybe next year all the kids go away to camp the same week.  That would be heaven. 

Did you ever get a trampoline?   I just saw another deal on them.

Little Tikes Mega 15' Trampoline Only $209.99 Shipped on Target.com (Regularly $300) - Hip2Save

No trampoline yet. We keep getting distracted. There are only a few brands I have researched enough to be confident in their durability but those ones are hard to find at the size I want. So, I've started looking into other ones. My children will use it for hours a day so it has to last.

[mommyoffive]

16 hours ago, historically accurate said:

We were gone for 10 days total (driving from IL) - I just brought up my FB posts about it. 

Day 1: to Wisconsin - visited an Aunt there

Day 2: drive to Pierre, SD (did Corn Palace, Sioux Falls, and Dignity Statue on the way)

Day 3: hung out with family in Pierre (both my parents grew up in the area)

Day 4: Badlands & Devil's Tower

Day 5-8: Black Hills

Day 9 & 10: Driving back home with a stop at a college in IA

So we were in the area for 4 days total - everything is really close together, so it's not hard to hit multiple things in a day.

I said a "few years ago" - when I went to FB, I realized it was fall of 2019! Life has definitely changed.

Thank you for helping me plan.  It really helps.  

Aww so glad you got to take an awesome trip before the world shut down.  

[Soror]

Good for you @mommyoffive, glad you got a trip planned.

We live for our little vaca in 1 week. This week I have got to plan food. I'll be bringing food for breakfast and dinner and snacks for driving. We'll likely eat take out for lunches (some of them at least). We have an AirBnB with a kitchen and I'll be buying food here as it will be cheaper. I will be precooking things or bringing things easy to cook.

I can't remember if I posted but dh got paid on Friday and I made the rest of the budget for June.

Still waiting on a check from the college. Paid for dh's summer college course. 

Had ds' Eagle Court of Honor. It all went smoothly. I spent 2x my budget (I had no clue what to budget- I took from my monthly slush fund to cover it). However, I only spent about 1/10 to 1/5 of what the other 2 Eagle CoH that dh has attended. He is still an Eagle and could care less about such things.

Must call termite guy this week. He still hasn't come to do the house so I've not paid him for the other. He said I could just pay for the spraying of the pad when he did the house.

Ds got some new shorts, including swim trunks. Dh got him some shorts. Everyone is good now except dd1. She says she needs a swimsuit but hasn't shopped for one. I've still got quite a lot in the clothing budget so it is covered if she ever goes looking. I think she can likely fit into the ones she has if she needs to as I don't think she has really grown but teenage girls. 

My check this month(paid in June) is going to be short. I'm working Sundays but didn't start soon enough to cover the 6 days I'll not be working. I guess I'll be working some Sundays or evenings in June to make up for it unless I can come up with some things to sell otherwise I'll not meet my goal for the vaca fund.

[Soror]

Dh and I did some talking about our vaca next year but we've got to reign it in and reconfigure or we are just going to keep on increasing the cost and I don't want to do that. In a couple of years I want to get a "new" to me car and want to get something nicer and newer than I have in the past. The last 2 vehicles have been around 7-8 yrs old when I got them and I really want to get one only about 3-4 yrs old and a hybrid. I plan to downsize to a car then as ds will be graduated and dd will be driving (as it is since ds has had his license we've only drove together as a family less than 5 times). Dh is going to have work a ton of hours this summer and we are going to be socking some into the car fund then, hopefully he FINALLY gets his bonus and we can put even more into it and top off the vehicle repair fund.

[mommyoffive]

3 minutes ago, Soror said:

Dh and I did some talking about our vaca next year but we've got to reign it in and reconfigure or we are just going to keep on increasing the cost and I don't want to do that. In a couple of years I want to get a "new" to me car and want to get something nicer and newer than I have in the past. The last 2 vehicles have been around 7-8 yrs old when I got them and I really want to get one only about 3-4 yrs old and a hybrid. I plan to downsize to a car then as ds will be graduated and dd will be driving (as it is since ds has had his license we've only drove together as a family less than 5 times). Dh is going to have work a ton of hours this summer and we are going to be socking some into the car fund then, hopefully he FINALLY gets his bonus and we can put even more into it and top off the vehicle repair fund.

How are you increasing the cost?  Adding days, countries, or things you want to do there?   

Is there ways you can bring it down in the specific area?  Rent an airbnb for cheaper?  Travel hack? Do some cheaper activities?   Score some cheap flights?  Go to a cheaper country?   

Do you think you are going to do a family trip back to Europe?   If not would it make sense to add more to this trip? 

[Soror]

4 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

How are you increasing the cost?  Adding days, countries, or things you want to do there?   

Is there ways you can bring it down in the specific area?  Rent an airbnb for cheaper?  Travel hack? Do some cheaper activities?   Score some cheap flights?  Go to a cheaper country?   

Do you think you are going to do a family trip back to Europe?   If not would it make sense to add more to this trip? 

Yes, considering adding countries. Adding countries increases transportation and accommodations as with AirBnB's there are always fees and the more different places the more there are. I am torn because I'd like to see more but it is not as if there will be a shortage of things to do. WE were just going to do 10-14 days, then it was for sure 14 days now he's pushing it to maybe 3 weeks. I don't expect we'll get another family trip to Europe but money is still finite and maybe we should slow down and enjoy more where we'll be. 

[mommyoffive]

10 minutes ago, Soror said:

Yes, considering adding countries. Adding countries increases transportation and accommodations as with AirBnB's there are always fees and the more different places the more there are. I am torn because I'd like to see more but it is not as if there will be a shortage of things to do. WE were just going to do 10-14 days, then it was for sure 14 days now he's pushing it to maybe 3 weeks. I don't expect we'll get another family trip to Europe but money is still finite and maybe we should slow down and enjoy more where we'll be. 

This is always our problem with going to Europe.  IT is so easy and cheap to get from country to country and we thought the first time we went it was a once in a life time trip for our family.  So we ended up adding tons of countries.  We sadly did that each time.  And for us it didn't turn out well.  We always get sick traveling abroad.  Maybe that has to do with we had young baby who was putting everything into her mouth.  We would had a better time staying in one place.  But we also were able to have see lots.  I think your kids are all so much older it is so much easier to do stuff during the day and not have naps or crabby little ones.  The first time we went we had 11, 9, 7, 4, and 1 year old so it was a lot harder.  There is just so much to see and do there.   We even took a ferry over to Africa on our last trip.  I didn't even know you could do that.  Each of our trips overseas are 3-4 weeks.  We do that in part because you are spending so much to get there might as well stay there awhile.  We took in the fact of jet lag messing things up, but for us it wasn't ever an issue in Europe.  

Yeah I do hate all the excess fees that a lot of Airbnbs tack on.  Going to a cheaper country can be a huge savings.  Honestly is so hard to plan trips to Europe because there is just way to much to see and have to decide on.  I can't wait to hear where you end up deciding to go.   For as much troubles as we had traveling with them so young, the kids reflect on those trips all the time and are so glad they were able to go there.  And given the last year and half I am glad we had the memories.

Awww you have me wanting to plan a trip there now.  🙂

Edited May 17, 2021 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

Sold something this morning.

Got the trip all planned except maybe the last night.  Doing Airbnbs the whole time except maybe for the last night so I feel good about the risks with that.  One is a ranch where there are lots of cabins and rvs, but we will be outside and can mask up when things are tight.  I have saved a lot of money on the trip and are staying at some really cool places.  Super excited now. 

Picked up free meals. 

 

 

[hjffkj]

My brother closed on his new house today, which is across the street from us. So, we were able to move a few loads of his stuff in.  I'll likely spend a good chunk of time tomorrow helping him with a few more loads, then dh and other relatives can help with the final move on Saturday.  But after tomorrow I plan on spending 2 hours a day at my parents house cleaning, making some small repairs, etc.  My hope is to have the entire upstairs done by Sunday since it just needs deep cleaning and a few other things. 

Plan for tomorrow night is to plan meals for the week so I can dump them in the Instantpot before I leave to work at my parents'. I do not want to eat out more than once a week during this process, for health and financial reasons.

[mommyoffive]

11 hours ago, Soror said:

Good for you @mommyoffive, glad you got a trip planned.

We live for our little vaca in 1 week. This week I have got to plan food. I'll be bringing food for breakfast and dinner and snacks for driving. We'll likely eat take out for lunches (some of them at least). We have an AirBnB with a kitchen and I'll be buying food here as it will be cheaper. I will be precooking things or bringing things easy to cook.

I can't remember if I posted but dh got paid on Friday and I made the rest of the budget for June.

Still waiting on a check from the college. Paid for dh's summer college course. 

Had ds' Eagle Court of Honor. It all went smoothly. I spent 2x my budget (I had no clue what to budget- I took from my monthly slush fund to cover it). However, I only spent about 1/10 to 1/5 of what the other 2 Eagle CoH that dh has attended. He is still an Eagle and could care less about such things.

Must call termite guy this week. He still hasn't come to do the house so I've not paid him for the other. He said I could just pay for the spraying of the pad when he did the house.

Ds got some new shorts, including swim trunks. Dh got him some shorts. Everyone is good now except dd1. She says she needs a swimsuit but hasn't shopped for one. I've still got quite a lot in the clothing budget so it is covered if she ever goes looking. I think she can likely fit into the ones she has if she needs to as I don't think she has really grown but teenage girls. 

My check this month(paid in June) is going to be short. I'm working Sundays but didn't start soon enough to cover the 6 days I'll not be working. I guess I'll be working some Sundays or evenings in June to make up for it unless I can come up with some things to sell otherwise I'll not meet my goal for the vaca fund.

Yay for getting your ECoH party done!  I am glad that stress is off your plate.  Congrats to your son!!

Enjoy your vacation!!

[Soror]

8 hours ago, hjffkj said:

My brother closed on his new house today, which is across the street from us. So, we were able to move a few loads of his stuff in.  I'll likely spend a good chunk of time tomorrow helping him with a few more loads, then dh and other relatives can help with the final move on Saturday.  But after tomorrow I plan on spending 2 hours a day at my parents house cleaning, making some small repairs, etc.  My hope is to have the entire upstairs done by Sunday since it just needs deep cleaning and a few other things. 

Plan for tomorrow night is to plan meals for the week so I can dump them in the Instantpot before I leave to work at my parents'. I do not want to eat out more than once a week during this process, for health and financial reasons.

I've got to menu plan today too and make the grocery list. I need to plan for this week and next while we are gone.

Ds has some Spring Fling on Friday but I still had money in school activities. I don't remember putting it there and am hoping I didn't forget something! We'll get the girls ice cream tonight as they have TKD testing.

[Carrie12345]

I went a little over budget on groceries yesterday, but it was completely intentional.

We’ve been “eating down” some of our freezer and pantry stock, figuring it would make things look less weird when showing the house, lol, and easier to move. But now there’s really no telling when our new house is going to be ready, and I’m not okay with getting super low.

But even more pressing, I’ve been stressed and tired at the end of the day, and more tempted than usual to order take out.  So I restocked some easy junk for the kids to throw together and some meats to prep/make some freezer meals. 

If we had decent take out options, it might be different, but we really don’t.  It’s basically $35 for garbage “pizza” or a whole lot more for other mediocre options. So now I’m going to spend a good chunk of this beautiful day cooking, which stinks, but I’ll be less likely to pay even more for someone else to make me equally unimpressive food, lol.

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

I went a little over budget on groceries yesterday, but it was completely intentional.

We’ve been “eating down” some of our freezer and pantry stock, figuring it would make things look less weird when showing the house, lol, and easier to move. But now there’s really no telling when our new house is going to be ready, and I’m not okay with getting super low.

But even more pressing, I’ve been stressed and tired at the end of the day, and more tempted than usual to order take out.  So I restocked some easy junk for the kids to throw together and some meats to prep/make some freezer meals. 

If we had decent take out options, it might be different, but we really don’t.  It’s basically $35 for garbage “pizza” or a whole lot more for other mediocre options. So now I’m going to spend a good chunk of this beautiful day cooking, which stinks, but I’ll be less likely to pay even more for someone else to make me equally unimpressive food, lol.

Ugh, sorry you have to spend a great day cooking.  Hopefully it won't take all day. It does always save money to cook and be prepared. 

 I hope you can get an estimate when your house is going to be done.  

Edited May 18, 2021 by mommyoffive

[Soror]

I thought I had put extra in the clothing budget but then dh reminded me he needs boots for work. Good thing I didn't spend that on something else. Really wondering if there was something else coming up for school that I've forgot about and that is why there is extra money there. School finishes on Friday so can't be too many more things I hope.

[hjffkj]

dinner is planned for the night!  

I'll be pet sitting this weekend so that is another $400!  Ebay sales have slowed down because we're not listing things right now since we are so busy with helping my brother and starting at my parents' house.  We'll likely net $400 for the month.  

 

[mommyoffive]

9 hours ago, hjffkj said:

dinner is planned for the night!  

I'll be pet sitting this weekend so that is another $400!  Ebay sales have slowed down because we're not listing things right now since we are so busy with helping my brother and starting at my parents' house.  We'll likely net $400 for the month.  

 

Score!  Your side hustles are awesome!  How many pets are you watching this weekend?

[hjffkj]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Score!  Your side hustles are awesome!  How many pets are you watching this weekend?

Just two dogs from the same house. It is my client who needs me most weekends I'm available this spring/summer. If she needs me it is $400 for the weekend. 

I was actually considering advertising my pet sitting service for the first time in years this year because it is booming now that people are aching to travel. But once she reached out to me I decided not to since that was the amount I was aiming for on average a week across multiple clients. So, I can focus my energy elsewhere now.

[mommyoffive]

9 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Just two dogs from the same house. It is my client who needs me most weekends I'm available this spring/summer. If she needs me it is $400 for the weekend. 

I was actually considering advertising my pet sitting service for the first time in years this year because it is booming now that people are aching to travel. But once she reached out to me I decided not to since that was the amount I was aiming for on average a week across multiple clients. So, I can focus my energy elsewhere now.

Wow, that is crazy high to pay for watching 2 dogs for the same house. 

[hjffkj]

41 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Wow, that is crazy high to pay for watching 2 dogs for the same house. 

Oh I know. She is paying me $50/visit which is anywhere between half an hour to an hour. I don't charge her that much but that is what she is paying me.  These dogs do have aggression issues and I'm the only person she has ever found that has actually been willing to watch them, so that is a huge factor in why she pays so much.

[Soror]

Ds finally got his car inspected. I know I said he was doing that 2 weeks ago. Bought 2 years plates. Realized that I've been saving more than I need in my plates renewal fund and have readjusted my goal (always good to find you are over funding rather than underfunding). 

Dh got a check from the college, part of one of the relief bills, so it looks like he will not get reimbursed for the spring due to that (we had thought he might not anyway as they changed the rules and didn't update him). We're going to use part of those funds for the termite spraying (still waiting on it) and put the rest into the college fund for the fall. I think with that and what we already have saved we don't need to save any more but college raised tuition rates and I don't know what if any pell grants increases there will be. I don't know when we'll get the bill for that I think dh is still waiting to enroll in one of the class he needs (waiting on his advisor).

I still need to figure out next week's menu and grocery list and get that done. I'll probably take dd1 tonight to look for swimsuit bottoms- not a lot of places to go in our town so I don't know if she'll get lucky or not. 

Ordered $90+ tractor ignition switch, didn't have quite enough in that fund, robbed from various house and other funds that had a bit extra and my slush fund($100 each month and I'm down to $15 in there). 

At dh's work they are giving hourly workers a 12% raise. Dh is not hourly but his boss did say that he would try to get him a raise as well. We will see. 

Dh had to go to college yesterday and went through the drive through for Chinese (it was his bday afterall). We didn't do any gifts but made him some no bake cheesecake (his request) and steaks from the freezer.

[mommyoffive]

On 5/19/2021 at 8:55 AM, hjffkj said:

Oh I know. She is paying me $50/visit which is anywhere between half an hour to an hour. I don't charge her that much but that is what she is paying me.  These dogs do have aggression issues and I'm the only person she has ever found that has actually been willing to watch them, so that is a huge factor in why she pays so much.

Wow, sweet deal!  Hope she travels a ton!

[mommyoffive]

Picked up free meals for the week

Grocery pickup yesterday.  Got kids new swimsuits.

Got the $ back from the refi. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by mommyoffive

[historically accurate]

Picked up school meals this morning. They were pretty sparse - poor kids only got one lunch - was supposed to be for both Th & F. I'm assuming the other "lunch" consisted of a cheese stick, carrot sticks, and a yogurt. I can't imagine that any kid was full after that lunch. 

After work, I stopped by to pick up the farmers to family box. Got the box (bbq chicken, hot dogs, milk, yogurt, cheese slices, apples, potatoes and onions) and a whole lot of extras from the church distributing. They gave us a huge frozen pizza (meat lover's - my favorite!), a box of cereal, 2 packages of cookies, a couple of packages of pasta, and some crackers.

So, tomorrow, since I don't work, I'll work on a menu plan and use up some of this bounty from today. 

I have a new boss at work. She asked if I can come in for some Saturday meetings over the next month as she learns the budgeting/financial ropes. So, a little extra $ next month. Yay!

Made about $60 worth of ebay sales this past week. Only one other item has bids on it. Ironically, it's the math book I bought at a library sale for $2. None of the other books that I spent $$ on are selling. 

Oldest DD's bill for a medical test came in yesterday. I don't know where that money is coming from. We'll have to set up a payment plan. Well over $1000 after insurance for a 25 minute test - Bleah.

[mommyoffive]

34 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

Picked up school meals this morning. They were pretty sparse - poor kids only got one lunch - was supposed to be for both Th & F. I'm assuming the other "lunch" consisted of a cheese stick, carrot sticks, and a yogurt. I can't imagine that any kid was full after that lunch. 

After work, I stopped by to pick up the farmers to family box. Got the box (bbq chicken, hot dogs, milk, yogurt, cheese slices, apples, potatoes and onions) and a whole lot of extras from the church distributing. They gave us a huge frozen pizza (meat lover's - my favorite!), a box of cereal, 2 packages of cookies, a couple of packages of pasta, and some crackers.

So, tomorrow, since I don't work, I'll work on a menu plan and use up some of this bounty from today. 

I have a new boss at work. She asked if I can come in for some Saturday meetings over the next month as she learns the budgeting/financial ropes. So, a little extra $ next month. Yay!

Made about $60 worth of ebay sales this past week. Only one other item has bids on it. Ironically, it's the math book I bought at a library sale for $2. None of the other books that I spent $$ on are selling. 

Oldest DD's bill for a medical test came in yesterday. I don't know where that money is coming from. We'll have to set up a payment plan. Well over $1000 after insurance for a 25 minute test - Bleah.

UGH on the medical bill.  That is so much for 25 mins.  I get salty anytime I think about medical bills and insurance.

Nice job selling stuff on Ebay.  It is always nice to make a bit of money on the stuff sitting around at home that you don't need.

Yay for the extra work hours.

Glad you got the extra food.  Probably the last F2F food box?  Is your area doing the free lunches for summer and next year?

[hjffkj]

Well today was the day to order food for dinner.  I had a meal planned but I've been in so much pain today that I can't think straight.  I even took one of my mom pain pills to see if it would take the edge off better than ibprofen and it did for a whole hour! but now the pain is back 😞  I think what makes it worse than it should be is location.  Neck pain just radiates to other areas so easily.

 

[historically accurate]

I haven't heard anything about the food program for the summer/next year. The school is currently running a monthly food pantry. So, I know the need is still here. I assume the school meals will remain through summer at least. Usually during the summer, it's actually at the library, which is where I work which would feel really weird. I hope they keep it at the school. The district has not put out their plan for the next year. I assume that if they do not have a virtual option in the fall, then I will not be able to access the food. We'll see. 

The food pantry will remain at the church, but I assume the F2F boxes are no longer. I don't know if I will continue to go or leave it for people who need it more than me. I often feed my brother and share with my neighbor who share with their daughter. So, maybe I'll get 1 household and split it amongst us? 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Well today was the day to order food for dinner.  I had a meal planned but I've been in so much pain today that I can't think straight.  I even took one of my mom pain pills to see if it would take the edge off better than ibprofen and it did for a whole hour! but now the pain is back 😞  I think what makes it worse than it should be is location.  Neck pain just radiates to other areas so easily.

 

Awww, I am sorry you are feeling so bad.  That sounds so intense.   Yep order food and take it easy.  I really hope you feel better soon.  Neck and back issues are the worst. 

[historically accurate]

I'm now swimming in yogurt. My neighbor got the F2F box today as well. She didn't want yogurt, so she brought it over. I'm going to try some frozen yogurt, and DD already made some chia seed pudding with some of it for tomorrow's breakfast. I can always freeze it for summer smoothies if I need to use it up, but tomorrow I'll be figuring out some yogurt recipes. 

@hjffkjI hope you feel better soon. That sounds miserable.

[mommyoffive]

Free Summer Reading Programs 2021 | Money Saving Mom®

[hjffkj]

Started work at my parent's house. Dh spackled while I washed walls to see which one didn't need to be painted. So far, 2 bathrooms and the master bedroom don't need to be painted! Woohoo, time and money saved. With that money saved I decided to save us more time by hiring a plumber to replace three faucets and fix a dripping toilet. All things dh and I can do but with me injured and him working full time we have to focus our time and energy on the things that are really expensive to hire out, like laying flooring.

I'm hoping to not have to paint the other three bedrooms too. That will save tons of time. 

[Condessa]

It sounds like my dh is going to get a raise and track to partner next calendar year.  So, ironically, we will have to tighten our belts.  It is an almost $15,000 real income raise, plus more on paper that will go towards buying in to the partnership for I think it was five years.  We have secondary state insurance for the kids, which has essentially worked out to pay up to the very high deductible on the private insurance through dh's work.  This will disqualify them for that, so the $15,600 deductible (not HSA eligible) will be out-of-pocket.  Meaning we will have slightly less money, but taxes for around $35,000 more per year.  Also, since the medical itemized deduction is tied to a percentage of taxable income, it will make a difference on that end as well.  Still worth it, in the long run, to buy in to the practice.  But somewhat disappointing when I realized what the "raise" would mean for us for the next few years.

[historically accurate]

1 hour ago, Condessa said:

It sounds like my dh is going to get a raise and track to partner next calendar year.  So, ironically, we will have to tighten our belts.  It is an almost $15,000 real income raise, plus more on paper that will go towards buying in to the partnership for I think it was five years.  We have secondary state insurance for the kids, which has essentially worked out to pay up to the very high deductible on the private insurance through dh's work.  This will disqualify them for that, so the $15,600 deductible (not HSA eligible) will be out-of-pocket.  Meaning we will have slightly less money, but taxes for around $35,000 more per year.  Also, since the medical itemized deduction is tied to a percentage of taxable income, it will make a difference on that end as well.  Still worth it, in the long run, to buy in to the practice.  But somewhat disappointing when I realized what the "raise" would mean for us for the next few years.

Yay for promotion. Boo for medical care increases. 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, Condessa said:

It sounds like my dh is going to get a raise and track to partner next calendar year.  So, ironically, we will have to tighten our belts.  It is an almost $15,000 real income raise, plus more on paper that will go towards buying in to the partnership for I think it was five years.  We have secondary state insurance for the kids, which has essentially worked out to pay up to the very high deductible on the private insurance through dh's work.  This will disqualify them for that, so the $15,600 deductible (not HSA eligible) will be out-of-pocket.  Meaning we will have slightly less money, but taxes for around $35,000 more per year.  Also, since the medical itemized deduction is tied to a percentage of taxable income, it will make a difference on that end as well.  Still worth it, in the long run, to buy in to the practice.  But somewhat disappointing when I realized what the "raise" would mean for us for the next few years.

Oh wow, that is hard to swallow.   I am glad in the long run it is worth it.  

[hjffkj]

2 hours ago, Condessa said:

It sounds like my dh is going to get a raise and track to partner next calendar year.  So, ironically, we will have to tighten our belts.  It is an almost $15,000 real income raise, plus more on paper that will go towards buying in to the partnership for I think it was five years.  We have secondary state insurance for the kids, which has essentially worked out to pay up to the very high deductible on the private insurance through dh's work.  This will disqualify them for that, so the $15,600 deductible (not HSA eligible) will be out-of-pocket.  Meaning we will have slightly less money, but taxes for around $35,000 more per year.  Also, since the medical itemized deduction is tied to a percentage of taxable income, it will make a difference on that end as well.  Still worth it, in the long run, to buy in to the practice.  But somewhat disappointing when I realized what the "raise" would mean for us for the next few years.

That sucks.  But the opportunity is great

[historically accurate]

Got through 2 out of the 4 containers of yogurt - frozen yogurt was a hit. I also straight up froze some in popsicle molds I had laying about for the kiddos. Youngest said she found a yogurt/Jello pie she wanted to try out, so that'll use about 1/2 a container as well. 

The Orkin man comes this afternoon to deal with the voles. Ugh, took the whole home repair savings, but hopefully, they'll be gone within 6 weeks.

My washing machine is dying. The tub is very loose, and it is beyond LOUD. It's pretty old in new appliance age (13ish years?), so we'll be purchasing a new one in about a month. Until then, we hope it doesn't die all the way and wear earplugs or something...

One of my ebay sales is being returned. Buyer was an idiot and didn't look at the pictures closely enough, but it was easier to take it back than to fight about it. Here's hoping it sells quickly again.

DH went into work on Saturday again, but this coming week has a day off for a dentist appointment smack in the middle of the day. His company's year end is June 30, and he cannot carry over any PTO, so he has to use up a few days by then, so no overtime this coming month. 

Bought some shoes for youngest. She got orthotics recently and needed to size up.

Bought a geometry refresher book for middle DD - she's in desperate need of some geometry help.

I'm off to get school lunches this morning, and then 4 hours at work this morning. Kiddos have already done school (middle is only doing 2 subjects at a time; youngest is on math only for summer). 

[hjffkj]

Yesterday and today were spendy! Dh bought two pairs of works shoes and I bought a new pair of sneakers for working out in.  That was about $130.  Then we bought a sprinkler for the kids because it was so hot, $20.  Today I had to get more packing supplies, $30. 

And the big expense was a carpet cleaner for $199.  One of our dogs has dementia and because of that she has started obsessively peeing throughout the house.  She has a few spots that she will pee in every single day no matter how much she is taken out unless we watch her like a hawk, which isn't always possible.  Poor pup.  We'll just deal with it until she dies and then pull up all the carpets and lay hardwood.

[mommyoffive]

42 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

Yesterday and today were spendy! Dh bought two pairs of works shoes and I bought a new pair of sneakers for working out in.  That was about $130.  Then we bought a sprinkler for the kids because it was so hot, $20.  Today I had to get more packing supplies, $30. 

And the big expense was a carpet cleaner for $199.  One of our dogs has dementia and because of that she has started obsessively peeing throughout the house.  She has a few spots that she will pee in every single day no matter how much she is taken out unless we watch her like a hawk, which isn't always possible.  Poor pup.  We'll just deal with it until she dies and then pull up all the carpets and lay hardwood.

Yay for new shoes.  I love getting a pair of brand new shoes.

Ugh your poor puppy.  One of our dogs is 10 and I am always fearful of her aging and how that will go.  Do they have doggy diapers that would help out with that? 

Is she kenneled? 

[hjffkj]

21 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Yay for new shoes.  I love getting a pair of brand new shoes.

Ugh your poor puppy.  One of our dogs is 10 and I am always fearful of her aging and how that will go.  Do they have doggy diapers that would help out with that? 

Is she kenneled? 

She is 13 and has separation anxiety so she can't be kept in a kennel or she will bark and freak out the whole time. 

We have considered diapers but haven't tried them yet because I'm pretty positive she would just pull them off.  We'll see. 

[Carrie12345]

I screwed up a little bit today, lol.

I placed a grocery order based off the list in my notebook.  Apparently, that list was written for last week. And I just threw pantry bags down in front of the pantry last week and never got back to them.

So, I forgot that I had already purchased giant dish soap, plastic wrap, mayonnaise, minced clams. Vitamin D and a few other odds and ends. Not an insignificant amount when all put together!!!  At least I won’t have to buy these things for QUITE some time now.

 

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

I screwed up a little bit today, lol.

I placed a grocery order based off the list in my notebook.  Apparently, that list was written for last week. And I just threw pantry bags down in front of the pantry last week and never got back to them.

So, I forgot that I had already purchased giant dish soap, plastic wrap, mayonnaise, minced clams. Vitamin D and a few other odds and ends. Not an insignificant amount when all put together!!!  At least I won’t have to buy these things for QUITE some time now.

 

Not laughing at you, but with you!  You are stocked up!

[mommyoffive]

Got free meals today. 

I need to go to the bank and deposit some money.

Dh bought some new hiking/walking shoes at 75% off.   They will come in  handy on the trip instead any of his dressy work shoes/boots.  He wears Cole Hann work shoes and was going to bring some.  Now we always buy them on super sale, but still they are not the kind of shoes to wear to a horse ranch.  We stocked up before Christmas for $20 a pair for dress work shoes.  So when he has to go back into the office he is stocked up. 

[hjffkj]

cleaned the main problem area for the dog with the carpet cleaner this afternoon and I'm happy with the results.  The smell is still there if you stick your nose to the carpet but not if you are just sitting on the ground.  Plus, it got the actual stains out. This will do well until we can pull up the carpet.  

Now to start budgeting for hardwood floors once the dog dies, not that I want that to happen any time soon. 

[Condessa]

It looks like I was wrong!  The chart I was referencing on the state insurance’s website did not go up to our family size, and I apparently made a calculation error.  The raise should put us at barely still under the qualification for our kids to keep the secondary insurance, since there will be one more of us by then.

[mommyoffive]

2 minutes ago, Condessa said:

It looks like I was wrong!  The chart I was referencing on the state insurance’s website did not go up to our family size, and I apparently made a calculation error.  The raise should put us at barely still under the qualification for our kids to keep the secondary insurance, since there will be one more of us by then.

Yay!   So glad that you figured that out. 

Nice job baby!  Already a frugal little one!   🙂

[historically accurate]

Since school is getting out for the summer, I thought I'd remind people to look around their community and see what's available for food assistance. One of the food pantries in my city put together a handy chart. We have A LOT of choices this summer. I think they set it up this way for different days/different schedule accomodations:

• Continuing school meals in both county school districts during weeks when there is summer school (pick up M/Th)
• M-F at a park in the largest town in the county
• T/Th at the town's Y
• T/W/F at the County Health Department
• M at the Lion's Club in the north part of the county

[mommyoffive]

45 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

Since school is getting out for the summer, I thought I'd remind people to look around their community and see what's available for food assistance. One of the food pantries in my city put together a handy chart. We have A LOT of choices this summer. I think they set it up this way for different days/different schedule accomodations:

• Continuing school meals in both county school districts during weeks when there is summer school (pick up M/Th)
• M-F at a park in the largest town in the county
• T/Th at the town's Y
• T/W/F at the County Health Department
• M at the Lion's Club in the north part of the county

Good reminder.  I haven't heard what they are doing here really.  They are doing in-person summer school and have always had the free lunch at summer school.   We have always hated doing that because you have to eat in the school and it just so loud my kids would have headaches everyday.  Plus masks are now optional so that is a nope.