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~~~ November Frugalistas 2021 ~~~

mommyoffive

By mommyoffive,
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saraha
saraha

So DD18 was in an accident today. Everyone is all right thank God. We are now down a car. Ugh

historically accurate
historically accurate

Oldest DD does not have Covid!! Just run down from it being mid-semester and came home from the test (and class afterward) and slept until dinnertime. She says she has some homework and then she's goi

EmilyGF
EmilyGF

This was a bad week. Too bad to write about. You would think I was trolling if I described it. But we're stopping every non-essential that we can until we can get a better cushion built up. We're

EmilyGF

EmilyGF

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Hey guys, give me your thoughts on this.  Would it be a cost savings to use electric heaters in our house this winter instead of running our gas furnace? 

NO NO NO NO NO. My parents tried that one time and about tripled their bill while insanely decreasing comfort. They had a huge, drafty, poorly insulated house, so they decided only to heat two bedrooms with electric. It was still more expensive than running the furnace.

Emily

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cjzimmer1

cjzimmer1

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Hey guys, give me your thoughts on this.  Would it be a cost savings to use electric heaters in our house this winter instead of running our gas furnace? 

 

20 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

NO NO NO NO NO. My parents tried that one time and about tripled their bill while insanely decreasing comfort. They had a huge, drafty, poorly insulated house, so they decided only to heat two bedrooms with electric. It was still more expensive than running the furnace.

Emily

Probably depends on your space and how much you are trying to adjust the temps.  We have a split level with southern exposure so the upstairs get warm but the downstairs can be quite cool.  It's much cheaper for my husband to turn on the electric space heater for a bit each day when it's too cold down there than to bump up the temp for the whole house.  But I wouldn't try heating a whole house with electric that would definitely be expensive.

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Soror

Soror

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Hey guys, give me your thoughts on this.  Would it be a cost savings to use electric heaters in our house this winter instead of running our gas furnace? 

 

1 hour ago, cjzimmer1 said:

 

Probably depends on your space and how much you are trying to adjust the temps.  We have a split level with southern exposure so the upstairs get warm but the downstairs can be quite cool.  It's much cheaper for my husband to turn on the electric space heater for a bit each day when it's too cold down there than to bump up the temp for the whole house.  But I wouldn't try heating a whole house with electric that would definitely be expensive.

I agree with the above. Everything I've read is that spaceheaters are generally pretty inefficient for heating a whole house. Now, if you are doing like cj and keeping the house cool and just using the space heater to warm up a small space it isn't bad.

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prairiewindmomma

prairiewindmomma

Posted
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1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Hey guys, give me your thoughts on this.  Would it be a cost savings to use electric heaters in our house this winter instead of running our gas furnace? 

Uh…..all of the wattage and therm calculations aside, I don’t see how you are going to have even enough distribution of heat to protect your pipes unless you are heating every room that has plumbing or sewer pipes through it if you are in an area that drops below 40F.

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prairiewindmomma

prairiewindmomma

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Here, with cheap electricity, a very small 1500w heater costs about .25/hr to run. We keep our house cooler and run a tiny space heater in our bedroom in the morning so we don’t crank heat for the house. Once we have our sweaters and wool socks and beanies back on, we turn it off. That math works out. But heating an entire house, in a true winter? It would be pricey. Especially if you are in a home that normally only uses 1.5 therms a day. 

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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Score $10 Off a $25 Kohl’s Purchase & Earn Kohl’s Cash (hip2save.com)

 

Through November 12th only, Kohl’s is offering a whopping $10 off a $25 online purchase when you use the promo code TAKE10 at checkout. Or, if shopping in-store, you can print the in-store savings pass here.

Even sweeter, through November 20th, you can also score an additional 15% off select purchases when you use promo code SHOP15 at checkout – valid in-store or online. If you are planning to shop in-store you can print this in-store shopping pass here.

Or, you can text SAVE02 to 56457 and get a unique code for an extra 15% off your purchase! If you already receive Kohl’s texts, reply STOP to unsubscribe, and then text SAVE02 to grab your code!

AND, through November 20th, Kohl’s Rewards Members can also snag $10 off a $50 or more of select Home Purchase when you use promo code HOME10 at checkout – valid in-store or online. If shopping in-store you can print your shopping pass here. And yes, this stacks with the coupons above!

 

If you’re a Kohl’s Cardholder, be sure to check your inbox as you may have received an email from Kohl’s that contains a new single-use coupon worth up to 30% off your entire Kohl’s purchase – valid through 11/20 only!

Just look for an email with the subject line: “Savings that add up: $10 off + $10 off + an extra 30%, 20% or 15% off!” coming from the email address “kohls@am.kohls.com“.

Please note that your mystery discount cannot be combined with any storewide %-off discount codes, but it will stack with category offers.

In addition to all the sweet savings mentioned above, you can also score some Kohl’s Cash! For every $50 you spend, you’ll earn $10 in Kohl’s Cash which will be redeemable from November 19th through November 24th!

This is the perfect time to shop for some new holiday decor for your home, grab a must-have small appliance, or new holiday outfits for the family to get ready for parties and family get-togethers!

Hip Tip: Your %-off savings will be revealed when you head to Kohls.com, add item(s) to your cart, and head to checkout!
 
 
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JustEm

JustEm

Posted
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1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Score $10 Off a $25 Kohl’s Purchase & Earn Kohl’s Cash (hip2save.com)

 

Through November 12th only, Kohl’s is offering a whopping $10 off a $25 online purchase when you use the promo code TAKE10 at checkout. Or, if shopping in-store, you can print the in-store savings pass here.

Even sweeter, through November 20th, you can also score an additional 15% off select purchases when you use promo code SHOP15 at checkout – valid in-store or online. If you are planning to shop in-store you can print this in-store shopping pass here.

Or, you can text SAVE02 to 56457 and get a unique code for an extra 15% off your purchase! If you already receive Kohl’s texts, reply STOP to unsubscribe, and then text SAVE02 to grab your code!

AND, through November 20th, Kohl’s Rewards Members can also snag $10 off a $50 or more of select Home Purchase when you use promo code HOME10 at checkout – valid in-store or online. If shopping in-store you can print your shopping pass here. And yes, this stacks with the coupons above!

 

If you’re a Kohl’s Cardholder, be sure to check your inbox as you may have received an email from Kohl’s that contains a new single-use coupon worth up to 30% off your entire Kohl’s purchase – valid through 11/20 only!

Just look for an email with the subject line: “Savings that add up: $10 off + $10 off + an extra 30%, 20% or 15% off!” coming from the email address “kohls@am.kohls.com“.

Please note that your mystery discount cannot be combined with any storewide %-off discount codes, but it will stack with category offers.

In addition to all the sweet savings mentioned above, you can also score some Kohl’s Cash! For every $50 you spend, you’ll earn $10 in Kohl’s Cash which will be redeemable from November 19th through November 24th!

This is the perfect time to shop for some new holiday decor for your home, grab a must-have small appliance, or new holiday outfits for the family to get ready for parties and family get-togethers!

Hip Tip: Your %-off savings will be revealed when you head to Kohls.com, add item(s) to your cart, and head to checkout!
 
 

looks like it's time for my annual whole family socks purchase!

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EmilyGF

EmilyGF

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2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Today only, Under Armour is offering an extra 40% off sale items when you use the promo code OUTLET40 at checkout! And you can get free shipped when you sign into your account.

 

Hmmm, it looks like that was for yesterday. Drat, my son needs some cold weather running gear!

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saraha

saraha

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On 11/4/2021 at 1:45 PM, hjffkj said:

Does anyone use the recipes from budgetbytes to save money on food?  I have found some of our favorite meals on that site over the years.  This week all of my meals are from the site and no one has complained once!  I do find that I do have to tweak many of the recipes a bit to add more flavor or more veggies but overall they are a great base for cheap and healthy meals.

It only crossed my mind to ask because I'm currently looking on there for ideas of meals tonight. I have to switch up our menu a bit because the heater is broken so it is colder in here than I would like so I've been making filling warm meals all week. Dh is working on the heater right now.  It always seems to have an issue the first time we turn it on each fall so I doubt we'll need to call anyone.

I use/tweak several of her recipes and enjoy getting her email updates. Fun fact, before Beth got really big I emailed her about a free budget cooking class I was getting ready to teach and we collaborated  on a few projects for that class. She is really nice.

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JustEm

JustEm

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My mom just informed me that since their house is being settled this week that they are going to pay me rent for Nov, Dec, and all of 2022 upfront!  This will make planning our financial goals for 2022 so much easier since we can fill all of our 2022 sinking funds with it and not need to factor them into our budgeting.

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EmilyGF

EmilyGF

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So, I'm not sure if I'm spending less money by thinking about it or not! I think I feel a sense of deprivation that is leading me to feel like there's scarcity, which then makes me want to spend more money. Argh. 

DS16 needs winter running gear for his cross country/track team. The coach is pretty intense, so they have off-season running practice, and we live in the midwest. On the positive, though, his knee is all better and it turned out we didn't have a copay for his eight or ten sessions of physical therapy. Also positive, he now has friends at school for the first time (he's a junior and he started there as a freshman). 

I need to buy a new cover for my iPad. The original one's screen protector wore out at the home button and I think my kids will likely destroy it if they use it without the cover. A cover is cheaper than an iPad.

I'm keeping my eyes open for new cal king sheets. I love the bed size, but I don't love buying sheets for it. I wish IKEA had Cal King sheets!

I had to buy DD13 violin strings to keep in her case. Wowsers, have you ever bought violin strings???

Emily

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Longtime Lurker

Longtime Lurker

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1 hour ago, EmilyGF said:

DS16 needs winter running gear for his cross country/track team. The coach is pretty intense, so they have off-season running practice, and we live in the midwest. On the positive, though, his knee is all better and it turned out we didn't have a copay for his eight or ten sessions of physical therapy. Also positive, he now has friends at school for the first time (he's a junior and he started there as a freshman). 

This is well worth the cost of running gear! I have heard that cross country teams attract really nice kids 🙂

1 hour ago, EmilyGF said:

I had to buy DD13 violin strings to keep in her case. Wowsers, have you ever bought violin strings???

I have! Viola strings, actually. I have also bought the actual viola, though, so the strings don't seem so bad anymore...

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historically accurate

historically accurate

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Another wild weekend of home repairs!   New toilet seat (budgeted for), youngest DD's room trimmed out and ready for Oldest DD to come home & share it. DH tightened some loose bolts on middle DD's bed.

Cooked the turkey from the freezer on Thursday. Made a casserole with some of the leftovers today. Going to make another tomorrow to put in the freezer for later.

Sold two items this week - neither were much $, but they're out of my house and I got a little money. A few bucks sitting in my Ibotta account after groceries this week. 

Started the pension plan at work, so I'm working 22 hours a week now to cover the money they take out of my check. 

 

 

 

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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2 hours ago, historically accurate said:

Yay for the Nutcracker - boo for the price

Fingers crossed it happens!   Rates here are horrible.  They were dropping, but now going back up to really high.  The last 3 weekdays there were 10k new cases in WI.   They cancelled it last year and it was really sad because this has become our holiday tradition.  But it isn't the same and exciting as normal which really stinks.  They also are doing shows for the Afghan refugees in our state.  

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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12 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

Ack, so close! Youngest told me last week she needs some more panties, but she wears a 16. 

Fruit of the Loom Women's Underwear 9-Pack Only $8.98 on Walmart.com (hip2save.com)

 

I think there were some girl sized ones on Black Friday sales at Walmart, but I can't find it right  now.  I will post if I do.

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JustEm

JustEm

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13 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Payed the performance fee for Nutcracker for my family.  Almost as much as our monthly tuition.

I hope it doesn't get cancelled, that would be disappointing.  I think I've really been spoiled with our dance studio because there is no performance fee for Nutcracker other than $20 audition fee.

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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3 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

I hope it doesn't get cancelled, that would be disappointing.  I think I've really been spoiled with our dance studio because there is no performance fee for Nutcracker other than $20 audition fee.

Yeah a few of the other big schools around us do not charge a performance fee, it is just included in your tuition rates.  Don't get me started.  It bugs me so much that ours is not included in tuition.   They did however get rid of audition fees in the last few years.  

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JustEm

JustEm

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37 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Yeah a few of the other big schools around us do not charge a performance fee, it is just included in your tuition rates.  Don't get me started.  It bugs me so much that ours is not included in tuition.   They did however get rid of audition fees in the last few years.  

Yeah, one thing I really like about our school is that their are no extra fees to think about throughout the year.  It is a flat tuition and that is it, minus the $20 audition fee but they have people outside of the studio perform in The Nutcracker as well so I understand how it is easier for them to just charge everyone instead of collecting from non students only.

For the end of year showcase any costume pieces they want the kids to wear just come from the dance companies costume room. 

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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4 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Yeah, one thing I really like about our school is that their are no extra fees to think about throughout the year.  It is a flat tuition and that is it, minus the $20 audition fee but they have people outside of the studio perform in The Nutcracker as well so I understand how it is easier for them to just charge everyone instead of collecting from non students only.

For the end of year showcase any costume pieces they want the kids to wear just come from the dance companies costume room. 

Yep,  that is how it is at the other 2 schools we would pick from if we went somewhere else.  I like that much better.  Sigh.

 

How is your Nutcracker season going?  I forgot what roles did your kids get?  Is it just 2 of your girls?  How many shows do you do?  Is it with the school or with the professionals too? 

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JustEm

JustEm

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29 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Yep,  that is how it is at the other 2 schools we would pick from if we went somewhere else.  I like that much better.  Sigh.

 

How is your Nutcracker season going?  I forgot what roles did your kids get?  Is it just 2 of your girls?  How many shows do you do?  Is it with the school or with the professionals too? 

Nutcracker season is going really well.  It is just my oldest dd this year but I have a few nephews and a niece who are also in it.  My dd is an angel and a party boy.  There are 3 shows and it is with the professionals as well. 

How is your season going?

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Soror

Soror

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Posted

Did 7 hrs with Cambly this weekend- bringing my total to 8, 32 to go for my bonus. I'm aiming for 10 hrs a week for the time being.

Dh had to buy some odds and ends for his physics class experiments. We needed cat food. Dh bought a few of the T-giving dinner freebies for Ibotta. He kind of messed up the turkey but it looks like it went through anyway (ya!). As soon as that clears, I'm cashing him out. He got a $5 new customer bonus too. 

Today is dd3's bday. She requested a simple dinner- frozen pizza and waffle fries. 

I need to work on the grocery list and menu, time goes too fast. 

Got in a medical bill. They screwed it up again (in May they recharged me for something I already paid). I sent the check with the correct amount and my EOB highlighted to show it.

And my EOB for my labs is showing 3x higher for my last visit for the same tests. I foresee lots of phone calls on this one. The reason I went back to that lab was because of the great prices. I am NOT happy. 

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historically accurate

historically accurate

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Posted

Finished off our baseboard trim for the house yesterday. A little sore today because we had to move our ginormous cabinets in the living room to do so, but it's done. Cleaned walls and the oven yesterday as well.

Got the child tax credit today - already applied to where it needs to go. 

Going to be a long week at work - work 22 hours and the library won't have a computer system for a while (doing electrical repair work). So, I'm going to be digging around in the old files for several days. Might need a massage after the week.

Oldest DD is sick as of yesterday - getting a covid test today. DH was supposed to go get her for Thanksgiving this coming weekend; fingers crossed it's a cold. Especially since he purchased a non-refundable hotel room on Friday for the trip. 

Middle DD is feeling better today - yay!

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