September Frugalistas

[Brittany1116]

New month is here. How is your saving/spending/debt payoff going? Any big changes or plans?

[historically accurate]

I don't think I even jumped into the August one. It's been a wild couple of months.

I am in the free trial of YNAB - so far I like it and am thinking of doing a year subscription. DH really likes it and so it may be worth it just for that.

[DawnM]

We are still spending a small fortune on the possible move to a new house.   $400/mo storage, way too much on staging furniture (it goes on Sept. 18th and that will be it!), and two kids in college.

My goal is to save in other ways right now.   We aren't eating out as much as we were.   Originally, when we thought the house would sell fast, we ate out or got take out to save on messes.   Now we don't care and are eating our own food again.

We have saved up to fix the pool.   It has needed some repairs since we purchased the house 4 years ago.   We just haven't done anything about it.   I think it is going to be around $10k but we haven't had a quote in some time now.

We also need a new water heater.   Don't know the cost of that but we may wait a bit on that.

And we are purchasing that land next to our house, so we will need to move the fence and add some fencing to the existing fence.   That will be costly as well, but we can wait on that too.

Just too much right now.

[prairiewindmomma]

We are in saving/maintaining mode this month. We have saved a lot over the years by fixing problems when they are small. We’ve been going through the house and dealing with little things that need to be taken care of. I still need to touch up a bit of paint on some repairs we made outside. We’ve also been maintaining people—doing eye exams and physicals, making dental appointments, seeing specialists, etc. 

I am working on my winter projects list and sketching out when that is naturally going to fall in with life. I still need to finish painting the closet we built (it’s beautifully trimmed in now!) and I will need to move forward with our stairs at some point. I want to replace some entryway light fixtures along the way with that so I will start pricing and saving for that also. 
 

 

 

[mommyoffive]

My van needed new tires.  It isn't even 2 years old, but we put stupid miles on it.

Got some returns and a rebate

Bought some new pants for my 2 oldest.

Now we are doing back to ballet shopping.   Sigh.  Pointe shoes for my 2 oldest they are each getting 5 pairs.  My next dd got moved to pointe level.  Everyone needs new flats.  Tights and new leos for the year too.

Done a lot of medical appointments for everyone.

Dance is changing this year.  

Have done a tiny amount of school shopping.

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

11 hours ago, historically accurate said:

I don't think I even jumped into the August one. It's been a wild couple of months.

I am in the free trial of YNAB - so far I like it and am thinking of doing a year subscription. DH really likes it and so it may be worth it just for that.

I hope things are going well for your family.  Are you still going to move?

[wisdomandtreasures]

Last month we purchased supplies to turn the garage into a homeschool room. I just need a desk for myself it there. My kids need new piano books. And one of my kids has a birthday. Other than that, I'm hoping to put half of my husband's next paycheck into savings.

Earlier this year we got new windows. The next big house project will be painting, which will involve replacing a bunch of siding on one side of the house. We're saving up and hope to do it next summer. 

[DawnM]

10 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

My van needed new tires.  It isn't even 2 years old, but we put stupid miles on it.

Got some returns and a rebate

 

We just got new tires and rims for our Sequoia.  I forgot to mention that.    That was another $1,000.

[Shoeless]

No big plans or changes, knock wood. 

I feel like we hemorrhage money at the grocery store. If we stick to fresh, made from scratch foods, the budget is fine. We don't eat a lot of processed food, but the few items we do buy are outrageously expensive now.  $5.70 for a bottle of mayo?! (That same mayo was $3.88 2 years ago) $4 for a stupid box of crackers?! Nearly $5 for Kings Hawaiian rolls?! 

We can afford those prices, but I don't really want to spend that. So, I guess my project for September is to get really good at making those things from scratch. It's healthier, anyway. 

In positive news, there was an end-cap of eggs marked down to 71 cents a dozen. I bought 4 dozen and baked a bunch of things to freeze. 

DS announced out of the blue that he'd like to study physics this year. The Thrift Gods smiled on me and the very next day, I found a College Physics textbook at Goodwill. The openstax lab book will work fine with the textbook; we have almost everything we need for labs. We'll use online labs for the 2 or 3 in the manual the require fancy equipment. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Shoeless

[historically accurate]

11 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I hope things are going well for your family.  Are you still going to move?

Things are going. We ended up with over $4000 in car repairs, have another looming surgery, and my brother, who we are currently supporting, got Covid (he's on the mend slowly now). On the plus side, acupuncture seems to be helping DD's migraines and middle DD received her CNA papers. 

We've decided we are here until we are financially a little more secure, but at the rate we're going, we're not going to make the move ever. 

[JustEm]

Aside from buying dd13 new pointe shoes we are on a pretty tight no spend budget. We desperately need to rebuild our emergency fund for me to not feel anxious about finances. Hopefully, it'll only take a few months to do so. 

We will set a bit aside for an event called Fairy Fest that we'll be going to since dd13 is performing at it. We'll plan to eat at home but bring a bit of spending money just in case.

Thankfully we have all our major things paid like property taxes, dance for the year, and our January Puerto Rico trip. So, really the only major expense for the rest of the year should be Christmas, which I plan on going low key on anyway

Edited September 3, 2023 by hjffkj

[mommyoffive]

6 hours ago, historically accurate said:

Things are going. We ended up with over $4000 in car repairs, have another looming surgery, and my brother, who we are currently supporting, got Covid (he's on the mend slowly now). On the plus side, acupuncture seems to be helping DD's migraines and middle DD received her CNA papers. 

We've decided we are here until we are financially a little more secure, but at the rate we're going, we're not going to make the move ever. 

Oh that sucks about the car repairs, I am sorry.  I hope the surgery goes well and isn't super expensive.  That is so kind that you are supporting your brother.  I am sorry to hear he has Covid and hope he feels better soon.

Congrats to your dd on getting her CNA.

 

[mommyoffive]

Through September 6th, head over to Walgreens where you can score SIX Free 5″x 7″ Premium Cards when you use the promo code DEAL6FREE and select same-day pickup at checkout!

Choose from a large selection of birthday, thank you, and holiday-themed cards. They make cards for just about every occasion you can think of! Personalized cards can be made with photos of your own, or you can choose no pictures to create cards for any occasion.

from hip2save

[Condessa]

Well, dd's bunny was very sick yesterday morning.  We drove an hour to the closest vet that was both open on Labor Day and treats rabbits.  I was surprised that he made it.  I think he would have been dead in another 15 minutes.  He spent about 12 hours at the vet yesterday and is now home again, better than yesterday but still sick, and with a bag of medications to take.  Hopefully he makes it through.  $713 on the free bunny.

[mommyoffive]

9 minutes ago, Condessa said:

Well, dd's bunny was very sick yesterday morning.  We drove an hour to the closest vet that was both open on Labor Day and treats rabbits.  I was surprised that he made it.  I think he would have been dead in another 15 minutes.  He spent about 12 hours at the vet yesterday and is now home again, better than yesterday but still sick, and with a bag of medications to take.  Hopefully he makes it through.  $713 on the free bunny.

Oh no.  I hope he ends up getting better.  One of my kids is currently begging for a bunny.  I think it might be cheaper to just sign her up for some horse back riding lessons she wants to do.

[historically accurate]

2 hours ago, Condessa said:

Well, dd's bunny was very sick yesterday morning.  We drove an hour to the closest vet that was both open on Labor Day and treats rabbits.  I was surprised that he made it.  I think he would have been dead in another 15 minutes.  He spent about 12 hours at the vet yesterday and is now home again, better than yesterday but still sick, and with a bag of medications to take.  Hopefully he makes it through.  $713 on the free bunny.

Awww, I'm sorry. Poor bunny; poor wallet. My cat had to have 6 (!) teeth pulled a couple of weeks ago, but nothing close to $713 worth of pet bills. 

[JustEm]

Oh pointe shoes, why are you the way you are. And the price you are!

[JustEm]

A million pairs of pointe shoes tried on and $240(we didn't just get pointe shoes) later we're ready for dance and to stop spending money for a bit

[Ausmumof3]

Really need to change things up here. Maybe back to work for more hours next year. 

Aus gov is offering a year of free internet for kids in school so we signed up and hopefully that will help. During school hours it’s kind of unlimited but outside of school hours it’s limited to 50Gb.

I need to stop buying processed foods at all. For some reason toasted muesli (granola) is super expensive now even though the price of oats hasn’t changed.

I need new tyres as well, so need to try find the best price for them.

[mommyoffive]

42 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

A million pairs of pointe shoes tried on and $240(we didn't just get pointe shoes) later we're ready for dance and to stop spending money for a bit

One pair or 2?  

Just  bought 5 pairs for each dd.  My oldest 2 did 9 weeks of summer intensives and were on pointe for 4 hours a day for most of it.   I am glad they didn't tear through pointe shoes like I feared, especially because 5 weeks of that they were in humid Florida.  But I think their brands are better than some of the ones that odd used to wear and jet glue helped.  DD 3 just got moved to pointe level.

 

I wish I would have known how expensive pointe shoes are and how fast you go through them before we got started in this.  Oh and dd2 her pointe shoes went up $16 a pair.  Boooooooooooo

[JustEm]

Just one pair because she outgrew her old pair and had to try on a bunch of new to her brands. I told her I'll start buying multiples once she is sure it is a good pair which she never knows for certain until she starts actually dancing on them.

What brands do your girls wear?

[mommyoffive]

17 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

Just one pair because she outgrew her old pair and had to try on a bunch of new to her brands. I told her I'll start buying multiples once she is sure it is a good pair which she never knows for certain until she starts actually dancing on them.

What brands do your girls wear?

One tip on buying shoes.  Discount Dance carries the kind my odd wears.  They have a 30% discount off everything on their site a lot.  (They have one right now).  I also buy giftcards when they sell them on discount.  The last ones I bought were 28% off.   So then I use the giftcards when there is a sale and save a lot.  It is great if they carry the ones you wear. 

ODD wears Capezio and dd2 wears Virtisse.  They don't sell virtisse on discount dance, but I signed up for texts and they send out 20% codes.

We do what you are doing when getting fitted for new brands or sizes, get them from a store in person and then buy them in bulk when they are sure they like them.

Some of the Brick and mortar stores I have seen will offer a buy 5 pairs and get one free or 20% off.  

Edited September 5, 2023 by mommyoffive

[JustEm]

26 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

One tip on buying shoes.  Discount Dance carries the kind my odd wears.  They have a 30% discount off everything on their site a lot.  (They have one right now).  I also buy giftcards when they sell them on discount.  The last ones I bought were 28% off.   So then I use the giftcards when there is a sale and save a lot.  It is great if they carry the ones you wear. 

ODD wears Capezio and dd2 wears Virtisse.  They don't sell virtisse on discount dance, but I signed up for texts and they send out 20% codes.

We do what you are doing when getting fitted for new brands or sizes, get them from a store in person and then buy them in bulk when they are sure they like them.

Good to know. I will certainly get to the multiple pairs point soon.

Dd13 had a pair of virtisse 2 shoes ago but was not a fan. Haven't tried capezio. She hated Nikolay.

She really liked the Russian Pointe ones but we can't find them for her feet anymore  😭

After trying a million shoes today she finally found some that work, Gaynor. I have a feeling her teacher's aren't going to be happy but that is all we had to work with.

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, hjffkj said:

Good to know. I will certainly get to the multiple pairs point soon.

Dd13 had a pair of virtisse 2 shoes ago but was not a fan. Haven't tried capezio. She hated Nikolay.

She really liked the Russian Pointe ones but we can't find them for her feet anymore  😭

After trying a million shoes today she finally found some that work, Gaynor. I have a feeling her teacher's aren't going to be happy but that is all we had to work with.

I think odd had Gaynor.  Maybe that was right before the ones she has now.  She also had Russian Pointes.  It is crazy trying to keep it straight with all the dancers here what kind of shoes they wear.  Everyone of my kids is going to be dancing a lot more this year so any savings we can get on shoes and clothes I am for.  If you ever come across any good sales on dance stuff let me know. 

We did a few times score some half price new pointe shoes on Ebay.  But that is pretty hit or miss.

[JustEm]

10 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

I think odd had Gaynor.  Maybe that was right before the ones she has now.  She also had Russian Pointes.  It is crazy trying to keep it straight with all the dancers here what kind of shoes they wear.  Everyone of my kids is going to be dancing a lot more this year so any savings we can get on shoes and clothes I am for.  If you ever come across any good sales on dance stuff let me know. 

We did a few times score some half price new pointe shoes on Ebay.  But that is pretty hit or miss.

I will certainly let you know if I come across good sales. 

Dd13 will certainly be dancing more this year. She has 4 hours of pointe a week, 5 if her variations class is on pointe. She will also have many hours of Nutcracker rehearsals. And we're still waiting to hear if kids will be dancing in the company's other 2 major productions. 

We also haven't ruled out one competition this year because someone offered to pay for all of it. 

[mommyoffive]

Just now, hjffkj said:

I will certainly let you know if I come across good sales. 

Dd13 will certainly be dancing more this year. She has 4 hours of pointe a week, 5 if her variations class is on pointe. She will also have many hours of Nutcracker rehearsals. And we're still waiting to hear if kids will be dancing in the company's other 2 major productions. 

We also haven't ruled out one competition this year because someone offered to pay for all of it. 

Oh wow, that is awesome!  Let me know if you do it.  Some of my kids are wanting to do that this year.  We shall see.   All my kids are dancing more hours before shows and most of them are in Dracula this year.  Ballet 7 days a week already for most of them.  This year is going to be exhausting........ for me.  🙂

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh wow, that is awesome!  Let me know if you do it.  Some of my kids are wanting to do that this year.  We shall see.   All my kids are dancing more hours before shows and most of them are in Dracula this year.  Ballet 7 days a week already for most of them.  This year is going to be exhausting........ for me.  🙂

I will certainly let you know.  

7 days a week! dd13 is at 5 days a week for classes, 12.5 hours a week just classes.  rehearsals for things will certainly increase that.  Her first rehearsals start saturday for a festival she's performing at in 2 weeks.  Nutcracker auditions are 2.5 weeks away, then the crazy rehearsals for that. 

Dracula would be a fun one to be in.  The company put that on last year but it wasn't one with student dancers.  We're still waiting to hear if Coppelia and Sleeping Beauty will have students this year.  She really had fun doing Don Quixote with company last spring.

[mommyoffive]

Free Magic School Bus book

FREE Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up Book | Hip2Save

[prairiewindmomma]

Any ideas on how to cover the back of a jeans button? I am allergic to the nickel on the back of the button but I don’t want to have to tuck in my shirt always. 
 

Clear fingernail polish is flaking off too quickly.

[mommyoffive]

26 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Any ideas on how to cover the back of a jeans button? I am allergic to the nickel on the back of the button but I don’t want to have to tuck in my shirt always. 
 

Clear fingernail polish is flaking off too quickly.

Can you sew something over it?

Sticker, tape, paint probably wouldn't work if the nail polish doesn't.  

[cjzimmer1]

27 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Any ideas on how to cover the back of a jeans button? I am allergic to the nickel on the back of the button but I don’t want to have to tuck in my shirt always. 
 

Clear fingernail polish is flaking off too quickly.

Could you sew a thin piece of fabric in to cover it?

[mommyoffive]

Just now, cjzimmer1 said:

Could you sew a thin piece of fabric in to cover it?

Great minds

[JustEm]

Or, if sewing is too difficult just  glue fabric to the back of the button 

Edited September 6, 2023 by hjffkj

[mommyoffive]

We are not a game family, but I thought this was a cute idea

 

Hasbro Game Blankets Only $20 on Macys.com (Reg. $40) (hip2save.com)

[Condessa]

We finally received the insurance payout on our car that was totaled on the trip, so I can send that in to apply to the loan on the new car.

I also went through the process of updating our info for the state secondary medical insurance. I think maybe the kids may just barely still qualify for next year, but we’ll see.

[Condessa]

Also our federal tax return finally came a few weeks ago.  I saw it in the account and at first mistook it for something else because it was the wrong amount, but they they corrected their error.

We hit our goal for 529 contributions for the year (enough to qualify for our state’s tax credit).

[JustEm]

dh registered for his first college course through the university he is attending. He's already got a bunch of transferred credit.  The total for that course is $1198 but his work should be paying that bill.  But I'll count it as an expense until I see that they've paid it.  They pay for $7500 per year so we figured we'd better squeeze a bit out of what he's eligible for in 2023 since we can.  He may register for at least one more class this semester.  We'll discuss it tonight.  He still has a bunch to take at a different source but those are already paid for through January when he should be done.

[JustEm]

tonight dh and sat down and found another course for him to take this semester that won't add too much to his busy schedule.  So, that's another $1198 that his work will cover. The textbook is $174, which they should also cover but we're not sure if that is a reimbursement or if they pay for it directly like tuition.  When trying to order the book there was a place to put a voucher code so dh is going to figure out tomorrow how to get that voucher code from his company. But we can handle the textbook fee and wait for reimbursement if that is the easier route.

[prairiewindmomma]

That’s so awesome that work is covering some of his college costs!

Ds has some labs this fall that have jumped his fall course bill about $1500 over his normal tuition and lab costs. I am assuming spring will run higher too since it’s all related to senior project work so…fun. 

[mommyoffive]

*RARE* Amazon Sale - BOGO FREE Toys & Games! | Hip2Save

[mommyoffive]

Starting October 1st through the 7th, plan to head to Target where Target Circle Members (free to join) can score $10 off a $50 Toy Purchase or $25 off a $100 Toy Purchase during Target Circle Week!

Target will also be running extra sales and other promotions during Circle Week, so some of these toys may be on sale or BOGO too!

And, don’t forget that Target RedCard users earn an additional 5% off at checkout and score free shipping too!

from hip2save

[JustEm]

Dh started his 2 classes for this semester earlier this week. His employer is paying the school directly. All we have to deal with is figuring out reimbursement of the textbook. Other than that, Sept has been a pretty frugal month 

[prairiewindmomma]

We had some unexpected expenses, so October is going to be restrained as well. I think we are probably going to just postpone continued renovations for several months to a year and work on maintaining breathing room and focus on our upcoming travel.
 

Also, does anyone have a favorite hotel near Charles de Gaulle? We have an early morning flight home and don’t want to deal with the RER train commute that early. Once I book that I will be done with room bookings for our next trip.