~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~August 2022 Frugalistas~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[QueenCat]

8 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

Gas is creeping back up here. 

 

Oye... not good... still going down here. Another 10 cents since last week.

[plansrme]

10 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

 I did decide to get DH a massage gun so I am shopping for a decent value. 

 

Theragun usually has a good Black Friday special if you get on their mailing list.

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Am I the only one who is not feeling the holiday gifting spirit?

My kids have satisfactory lives.  They don't need anything.  They're quite happy with what they have.  Besides our usual gift of socks, I'm at a loss.  I half joked that everyone was getting their own clothes drying rack this year and both of them cheered, so I mean, that's where we're at. 😄 (I still might do it.  We have 2 larger racks but they're always in use.)

 

Yeah I haven't been in it for a few years.  My kids have so much stuff.  They get tons of gifts from my family.  Just to much.  They still have unopened presents from Christmas for the last few years.  I gift a lot of stuff they need.  New clothes, underwear, dance and bike gear, and we do socks here too.  My kids love the fun sock calenedars.  Before Covid we did trips as gifts a lot.  I wish since Covid started we would have done trips to local airbnbs as gifts.  We are doing a trip as a gift this year.  Hopefully it doesn't end up getting cancelled as it is an international trip.  We gave them a trip to Asia for Christmas 2019 that ended up getting shut down because of covid.   But I like to get them things to go do. Trips, a day of fun, tickets to shows, memberships to places.  

[heartlikealion]

4 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Am I the only one who is not feeling the holiday gifting spirit?

My kids have satisfactory lives.  They don't need anything.  They're quite happy with what they have.  Besides our usual gift of socks, I'm at a loss.  I half joked that everyone was getting their own clothes drying rack this year and both of them cheered, so I mean, that's where we're at. 😄 (I still might do it.  We have 2 larger racks but they're always in use.)

My in laws made Christmas big. My side of the family was pretty low key about it. Now it’s just my dad and aunt on my side that I’d potentially see at Christmas and they are totally fine with, I think actually prefer, no gift exchange. So this year I think we will only shop for kids and I may make some baked goods but my dad isn’t even into sweets. Ds has never been really big into gifts and we wrapped up a bunch of food for him last year 🤣 Snack foods. He loved it. I will probably wrap up a few pieces of clothing, too. 

[JustEm]

4 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Am I the only one who is not feeling the holiday gifting spirit?

My kids have satisfactory lives.  They don't need anything.  They're quite happy with what they have.  Besides our usual gift of socks, I'm at a loss.  I half joked that everyone was getting their own clothes drying rack this year and both of them cheered, so I mean, that's where we're at. 😄 (I still might do it.  We have 2 larger racks but they're always in use.)

 

I'm not feeling it at all.  I really just want more crap coming into the house. I'm really not sure how we'll handle christmas and all the winter birthdays.  At least my oldest is now asking for concert tickets as gifts so that'll be nice.

[prairiewindmomma]

I struggled for a few years with the holidays but now that presents are almost all from just us (other family died or it’s a gift card) and we are out of the toy phase, gift giving is fun again. There’s no more overwhelm.

[heartlikealion]

Re: the car seat trade in event. I wish they would stop limiting the coupon to baby items. Some of us getting rid of car seats don't need any more baby/toddler stuff lol. I currently have one car seat that isn't expired but takes up a lot of space and I don't know if I'll keep it for babysitting purposes or what. A mother was going to accept it for free from me and then fell off the face of the earth. And I didn't have an infant insert so I told her she'd have to get that separately if she intended to use for an infant*. Walmart did ONE year where you could get a coupon for anything in the store (or maybe it was cash value) and were swamped with customers so I don't think they'll bring it back. 

*I mean an infant insert made by the manufacturer since it normally comes with one. Not an after market product. 

I have another car seat that is a booster and I ended up using it recently for a babysitting gig. The parents left one booster in the house for their youngest, but I installed my boosters before going to their house and had each kid use one (the girl was at a stage where she should still use one but doesn't always). As a CPST, I just feel better if they use one until they are 4'9". I didn't measure her but she still fit in the wider tall back booster pretty comfortably. I had the younger kid sit in the more narrow one. 

I hemmed and hawed about going to the dr to get an xray of my tailbone. I irritated the receptionist at first but he eventually gave me the quote of what I could potentially pay for the xray. Based on that figure I said ok I'll make an appt. But they had no openings with a spine dr til Sept 6 so he said I could just walk into their urgent care. I did that yesterday to get it over with. They couldn't see any fracture or break so just told me I could use OTC pain/inflammation stuff (which for whatever reason I'm bullheaded enough that I hadn't tried that... because I dunno, I have trust issues or something. Like does this stuff even help? So last night I took an ibuprofen tablet and I dont' think it did anything. I can try taking 2). And suggested I buy a donut pillow. I was trying to avoid doing that... I made it a week without one and don't know if I want to buy one now. But she said expect the pain to last a few more weeks. I can sit without a donut pillow but it might help. Long story short, I owe a copay (they had closed down that part of the system when I came out so told me to just look for a bill) and whatever ins doesn't cover on the xrays. This girl said the most ignorant sounding thing to me yesterday. I asked should I wear an apron over my torso for the xray and she said no because it is so long it covers up too much. I said well I know I'm not pregnant at least. And she said you get more radiation from going outside in the sun. WTH is she talking about... we don't have warnings about birth defects for going into the sun but they have that sign in their x-ray office. Correct me if I'm wrong but that sounded like some BS to me. 

I secured a dog sitting job this weekend. Totally random. A woman on facebook asked and I offered. I met her and the dogs after my dr appt. But she wants me to come by Friday (dog sitting is Sat morning to Monday afternoon) to get a key or garage door opener. That sucks because I live so far away. But I plan to attend a networking event on Friday and will see can I just swing by after (it's not super close but like one or two interstate exits away). I figure my dog sitting will cover my stupid medical appt. I'll be lucky if I have anything leftover. 

Edited August 30, 2022 by heartlikealion

[mommyoffive]

9 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Re: the car seat trade in event. I wish they would stop limiting the coupon to baby items. Some of us getting rid of car seats don't need any more baby/toddler stuff lol. I currently have one car seat that isn't expired but takes up a lot of space and I don't know if I'll keep it for babysitting purposes or what. A mother was going to accept it for free from me and then fell off the face of the earth. And I didn't have an infant insert so I told her she'd have to get that separately if she intended to use for an infant*. Walmart did ONE year where you could get a coupon for anything in the store (or maybe it was cash value) and were swamped with customers so I don't think they'll bring it back. 

*I mean an infant insert made by the manufacturer since it normally comes with one. Not an after market product. 

I have another car seat that is a booster and I ended up using it recently for a babysitting gig. The parents left one booster in the house for their youngest, but I installed my boosters before going to their house and had each kid use one (the girl was at a stage where she should still use one but doesn't always). As a CPST, I just feel better if they use one until they are 4'9". I didn't measure her but she still fit in the wider tall back booster pretty comfortably. I had the younger kid sit in the more narrow one. 

I hemmed and hawed about going to the dr to get an xray of my tailbone. I irritated the receptionist at first but he eventually gave me the quote of what I could potentially pay for the xray. Based on that figure I said ok I'll make an appt. But they had no openings with a spine dr til Sept 6 so he said I could just walk into their urgent care. I did that yesterday to get it over with. They couldn't see any fracture or break so just told me I could use OTC pain/inflammation stuff (which for whatever reason I'm bullheaded enough that I hadn't tried that... because I dunno, I have trust issues or something. Like does this stuff even help? So last night I took an ibuprofen tablet and I dont' think it did anything. I can try taking 2). And suggested I buy a donut pillow. I was trying to avoid doing that... I made it a week without one and don't know if I want to buy one now. But she said expect the pain to last a few more weeks. I can sit without a donut pillow but it might help. Long story short, I owe a copay (they had closed down that part of the system when I came out so told me to just look for a bill) and whatever ins doesn't cover on the xrays. This girl said the most ignorant sounding thing to me yesterday. I asked should I wear an apron over my torso for the xray and she said no because it is so long it covers up too much. I said well I know I'm not pregnant at least. And she said you get more radiation from going outside in the sun. WTH is she talking about... we don't have warnings about birth defects for going into the sun but they have that sign in their x-ray office. Correct me if I'm wrong but that sounded like some BS to me. 

I secured a dog sitting job this weekend. Totally random. A woman on facebook asked and I offered. I met her and the dogs after my dr appt. But she wants me to come by Friday (dog sitting is Sat morning to Monday afternoon) to get a key or garage door opener. That sucks because I live so far away. But I plan to attend a networking event on Friday and will see can I just swing by after (it's not super close but like one or two interstate exits away). I figure my dog sitting will cover my stupid medical appt. I'll be lucky if I have anything leftover. 

Very true that some people don't need to get another carseat.  I do remember that with Walmart.  It was a gift card I think either 20 or 40 bucks.

I am sorry you are still in pain from your fall.  What is going on with that?  Will the post office cover the bills or something? 

[heartlikealion]

3 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Very true that some people don't need to get another carseat.  I do remember that with Walmart.  It was a gift card I think either 20 or 40 bucks.

I am sorry you are still in pain from your fall.  What is going on with that?  Will the post office cover the bills or something? 

I never asked the post office if they are liable. I did report the issue to the postmaster and she said she'd "make a call" but seemed unsympathetic. After that encounter I found out a neighbor's friend actually had a fall there and broke a leg! So I think the next step is I need to call a senator or House of Rep (?) to ask about it. That's what was suggested in another thread. I feel like if I go to the post office and ask "did you make a call?" they will just lie to me. Or they made a call with no intention of anything being done. And I can't trust the PO to relay messages or call back because at the start that's what I did and no one reached out to me. 

[prairiewindmomma]

The radiation from one X-ray is about .1mSv. That amount of radiation is about 10 days worth of natural radiation we receive from the cosmos. Natural radiation numbers will be higher if you are at a higher elevation, have radon in your home, or sit out on the patio and have a brick home. There’s radiation in bananas (because they are rich in potassium).…..all weird stuff I learned talking about radiation exposure with various radiologists since I need a lot of imaging and need to manage my lifelong exposure.

It’s one of the reasons I don’t fly much anymore. A flight from one coast to the other is about 0.035mSv. It’s not much when you fly rarely but cumulative frequent travel is a problem.

[Condessa]

We had a couple cloth diapers in our emergency supplies, and I got them out and started using them last week. Also picked up another really nice one on sale for a dollar yesterday.  Obviously not a big difference to the budget, but I wash laundry on most days anyways, so three fewer disposable diapers used every day or two can only help.  I don’t want to go spend a lot of money on a full supply of nice cloth diapers right now, or go back to the old folded and pinned ones with plastic pants that I used for my oldest when things were really tight years ago.  But I figure I’ll keep an eye out for more deals and see if I can gradually get enough to just use cloth at home.

 There have been some extra expenses with kids starting extracurriculars.  I couldn’t get back from the hospital in time and sent dh with dd11 to get tap shoes from the used dance gear sale.  I was very surprised that 50% off used shoes cost $42.  I had no idea they were so expensive!  The charter school will cover extracurricular lesson costs once their school year gets going in a couple of weeks, but since the lessons actually begin before the school does the first month comes out of pocket.  I’m very grateful the school will be covering those costs for the school year, though.

Dd13 is attending public school this year, and dh thought we therefore needed to buy her the kind of things his mom always packed for his school lunches.  If he bought her those tiny bags of chips and cookies and drinks to take, not only would I have an issue with the effect on her diet and our budget, but I would have a mutiny on my hands with the three at home!  I’ve convinced him not to get them for now, but he is concerned that she is going to go hungry because she is picky and doesn’t want to take a lot of the sides we have available.  She turns down cheese sticks and nuts.  She likes hard boiled eggs, but she doesn’t like to repeat the same things so she will turn those down about 3/4 of the time.  She likes seafood snackers, which is just imitation crab, so I got a large package and separated it into portions in baggies because that was more cost effective than the individual packages.  Does anyone have any other healthy side ideas?  (She takes fruit and veggies and a sandwich with these, as well.)

Edited August 31, 2022 by Condessa

[heartlikealion]

18 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

The radiation from one X-ray is about .1mSv. That amount of radiation is about 10 days worth of natural radiation we receive from the cosmos. Natural radiation numbers will be higher if you are at a higher elevation, have radon in your home, or sit out on the patio and have a brick home. There’s radiation in bananas (because they are rich in potassium).…..all weird stuff I learned talking about radiation exposure with various radiologists since I need a lot of imaging and need to manage my lifelong exposure.

It’s one of the reasons I don’t fly much anymore. A flight from one coast to the other is about 0.035mSv. It’s not much when you fly rarely but cumulative frequent travel is a problem.

Oh yeah I forgot about planes… I had considered flight attendant as a potential job before. The reason I steered away from hygienist is all the toxins in the office they are exposed to. 

[heartlikealion]

3 hours ago, Condessa said:

We had a couple cloth diapers in our emergency supplies, and I got them out and started using them last week. Also picked up another really nice one on sale for a dollar yesterday.  Obviously not a big difference to the budget, but I wash laundry on most days anyways, so three fewer disposable diapers used every day or two can only help.  I don’t want to go spend a lot of money on a full supply of nice cloth diapers right now, or go back to the old folded and pinned ones with plastic pants that I used for my oldest when things were really tight years ago.  But I figure I’ll keep an eye out for more deals and see if I can gradually get enough to just use cloth at home.

 There have been some extra expenses with kids starting extracurriculars.  I couldn’t get back from the hospital in time and sent dh with dd11 to get tap shoes from the used dance gear sale.  I was very surprised that 50% off used shoes cost $42.  I had no idea they were so expensive!  The charter school will cover extracurricular lesson costs once their school year gets going in a couple of weeks, but since the lessons actually begin before the school does the first month comes out of pocket.  I’m very grateful the school will be covering those costs for the school year, though.

Dd13 is attending public school this year, and dh thought we therefore needed to buy her the kind of things his mom always packed for his school lunches.  If he bought her those tiny bags of chips and cookies and drinks to take, not only would I have an issue with the effect on her diet and our budget, but I would have a mutiny on my hands with the three at home!  I’ve convinced him not to get them for now, but he is concerned that she is going to go hungry because she is picky and doesn’t want to take a lot of the sides we have available.  She turns down cheese sticks and nuts.  She likes hard boiled eggs, but she doesn’t like to repeat the same things so she will turn those down about 3/4 of the time.  She likes seafood snackers, which is just imitation crab, so I got a large package and separated it into portions in baggies because that was more cost effective than the individual packages.  Does anyone have any other healthy side ideas?  (She takes fruit and veggies and a sandwich with these, as well.)

Would it make any sense to occasionally buy chips and cookies and portion out into snack bags? 

I have packed fruit in lunches in a bag or food thermos or small (1-2 cup) Pyrex dish. I have sent pasta salad in the food thermos. I’ve occasionally sent granola bars (not the healthiest but not the worst). Lately dd has been taking individually wrapped apple sauce cups. She likes both regular and some pink one - strawberry? Since they come that way it’s less crucial they stay cold but I send with an ice pack. 

The fruit varies - sliced apple & strawberries are the main ones. Bananas would likely go to waste in lunches here. As I’m typing this I realized strawberries are on the dirty dozen list ugh which is the reason I don’t buy grapes as often. You could try pineapple in the thermos. Or even store bought fruit cups. I like to buy the ones in water or juice vs syrup. 

[HomeAgain]

4 hours ago, Condessa said:

 Does anyone have any other healthy side ideas?  (She takes fruit and veggies and a sandwich with these, as well.)

DS is picky as well. For him, it makes more sense to sit down and plan out a meal together.  Some of the ones he came up with were these:

Chicken skewers, rice, mango

Turkey sandwich on a toasted bagel with dijon and cheddar, cheese cubes (he won't eat cheese sticks) OR yogurt, and grapes

Tortellini with pesto, a piece of french bread, and salad with caesar dressing on the side.

Chicken/mango/avocado wrap, cucumber salad, yogurt with fresh berries

Pearled couscous with apricots, olives, almonds; hummus and pita chips, roasted veggies

 

Most of these are things I can buy in bulk and have for our own lunches or leftovers from dinner, but I'm also not going to go out of my way to have more than 3 parts to his lunch: protein, veggies/fruit, carbs.  A sweet at the end will round it out and I have a few options in the house, plus his help on the weekends to make things like cookies or lemon bars if we want.

[mommyoffive]

6 hours ago, Condessa said:

We had a couple cloth diapers in our emergency supplies, and I got them out and started using them last week. Also picked up another really nice one on sale for a dollar yesterday.  Obviously not a big difference to the budget, but I wash laundry on most days anyways, so three fewer disposable diapers used every day or two can only help.  I don’t want to go spend a lot of money on a full supply of nice cloth diapers right now, or go back to the old folded and pinned ones with plastic pants that I used for my oldest when things were really tight years ago.  But I figure I’ll keep an eye out for more deals and see if I can gradually get enough to just use cloth at home.

 There have been some extra expenses with kids starting extracurriculars.  I couldn’t get back from the hospital in time and sent dh with dd11 to get tap shoes from the used dance gear sale.  I was very surprised that 50% off used shoes cost $42.  I had no idea they were so expensive!  The charter school will cover extracurricular lesson costs once their school year gets going in a couple of weeks, but since the lessons actually begin before the school does the first month comes out of pocket.  I’m very grateful the school will be covering those costs for the school year, though.

Dd13 is attending public school this year, and dh thought we therefore needed to buy her the kind of things his mom always packed for his school lunches.  If he bought her those tiny bags of chips and cookies and drinks to take, not only would I have an issue with the effect on her diet and our budget, but I would have a mutiny on my hands with the three at home!  I’ve convinced him not to get them for now, but he is concerned that she is going to go hungry because she is picky and doesn’t want to take a lot of the sides we have available.  She turns down cheese sticks and nuts.  She likes hard boiled eggs, but she doesn’t like to repeat the same things so she will turn those down about 3/4 of the time.  She likes seafood snackers, which is just imitation crab, so I got a large package and separated it into portions in baggies because that was more cost effective than the individual packages.  Does anyone have any other healthy side ideas?  (She takes fruit and veggies and a sandwich with these, as well.)

Those are crazy expensive shoes.  My kids used to do tap and we never paid that much for new shoes.  Unless it is a crazy big size or some amazing brand that sounds really expensive. 

At the park and rec they just had a box where people put their outgrown shoes and people could take them for free.  

Then at the next place they did the sale of used shoes before lessons started, but they really were not that much cheaper than the new ones.

Most of our shoes we buy online from dance stores when they have sales.  Our favorite it Discount Dance.  They run sales ALOT.  They just had 20% off all shoes that ended yesterday.  I bet they will do something over the weekend too.

[mommyoffive]

Just checked my email and Discount Dance has 30% off site wide.

Until Sept 5th with the code LABOR22

[prairiewindmomma]

Re: school lunches….my kids pack their own, but we don’t really do fun sides. Salads (my son’s favorite lunch), or sandwiches, veggies and fruit…that’s pretty much all that gets packed. School lunches are pretty disgusting, so anything fresh is welcome.

 

[JustEm]

48 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Just checked my email and Discount Dance has 30% off site wide.

Until Sept 5th with the code LABOR22

And the leotards my girls need are still cheaper on amazon!

[mommyoffive]

Just now, hjffkj said:

And the leotards my girls need are still cheaper on amazon!

What kind do they wear?

[Brittany1116]

I need to check discount dance. I just started ballet again after 18 years. New shoes were $30, which I expected, but leos in the shop were $50+ and tights were over $20. 😳 The class is adult and has no dress code, so I am okay in workout clothes. But I will buy a leo and tights soon, even if on Amazon. I tried a few in store to know my size across brands. 

[JustEm]

31 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

What kind do they wear?

mirella cap sleeve

[mommyoffive]

20 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

mirella cap sleeve

From what I am seeing on Amazon they are cheaper on DD with the 30% off.   I am only looking at the adult sizes.  

Price on amazon $25

price on dd 27.52

with the discount it is 19.27

 

did the kid prices

amazon price 18.50

dd price 22.04  

with the discount 15.43

 

This sale is awesome if you find stuff in the clearance section.   So yeah with the sale it is cheaper on dd.  They used to be on Rakuten too.  

Edited August 31, 2022 by mommyoffive

[prairiewindmomma]

Gas at Costco is $4.50/gallon. Most other places are $5.

It's been a medical month, and it looks like the next few are going to be also. Dd gets her post-op clearance tomorrow, we've been busy picking out glasses for everyone (7 pairs, y'all, between all of us), and then the rest of medical life of people with high medical needs has been keeping us busy. Our summer plans got derailed by it all (only once to the beach this month 😞 ) but we're all doing ok.  

Costco has all of their winter stuff out. We spent $$$ stocking up on wool socks, wool beanies, and other warm stuff.  Last year it all went so quickly and didn't really re-stock so we are buying early. They had good pricing on Pendleton rain jackets, 32 degrees insulated vests ($14), thermals, fleeces, and joggers. They didn't have their full ski gear out like they usually will later in the year, but they did have snow pants out. They also had a good selection of women's pull on trousers in the $15 range---all looked like good work wear opportunities.

We've been working on getting warmer winter bedding also. We got rid of all of our down and flannel stuff when we moved to TX and even though we've been back north 5 years we've been slow to re-buy.  We're looking at the energy markets--- Natural gas is up 525% from June 2020---up 70% just from June. Futures were at $9.33 per mBTU (Europe is trading around $70 per mBTU)---and realizing we might want to keep the house colder this winter. So, as we find stuff we like, we're rebuying. We have just one more bedroom that needs blackout/heavy thermal curtains so I've been watching the amazon sales on that also.

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Gas at Costco is $4.50/gallon. Most other places are $5.

It's been a medical month, and it looks like the next few are going to be also. Dd gets her post-op clearance tomorrow, we've been busy picking out glasses for everyone (7 pairs, y'all, between all of us), and then the rest of medical life of people with high medical needs has been keeping us busy. Our summer plans got derailed by it all (only once to the beach this month 😞 ) but we're all doing ok.  

Costco has all of their winter stuff out. We spent $$$ stocking up on wool socks, wool beanies, and other warm stuff.  Last year it all went so quickly and didn't really re-stock so we are buying early. They had good pricing on Pendleton rain jackets, 32 degrees insulated vests ($14), thermals, fleeces, and joggers. They didn't have their full ski gear out like they usually will later in the year, but they did have snow pants out. They also had a good selection of women's pull on trousers in the $15 range---all looked like good work wear opportunities.

We've been working on getting warmer winter bedding also. We got rid of all of our down and flannel stuff when we moved to TX and even though we've been back north 5 years we've been slow to re-buy.  We're looking at the energy markets--- Natural gas is up 525% from June 2020---up 70% just from June. Futures were at $9.33 per mBTU (Europe is trading around $70 per mBTU)---and realizing we might want to keep the house colder this winter. So, as we find stuff we like, we're rebuying. We have just one more bedroom that needs blackout/heavy thermal curtains so I've been watching the amazon sales on that also.

Gosh that just makes me want to puke.  

Good to know about the Costco winter stuff.  I am waiting for it to hit online here to hopefully get some kids new winter coats.  I am just seeing the snowpants online.  Don't they usually carry a men's and women's winter coat by Gerry?

The men's 32 degrees vest just went on sale today.  11.99 in store vs 13.99 online.  The women's two are on sale this week too.  One is 11.99 online and the other is 14.99 online.  We always make sure to get the deal online with the extra $20 off 5-9 items or the $50 extra off 10 or more. 

I am sorry about all the medical bills.  We just got finished with the all the eye doc apts too.  I am exhausted from all the apts.  Still have more to go this week.  I am glad you are doing ok.

Edited September 1, 2022 by mommyoffive