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~~~~~~~~~ December Frugalistas ~~~~~~~~


mommyoffive
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We're not quite done shopping yet.  But don't have too much more.  I'm not really motivated to finish up like I usually am. As far as the budget goes, we don't have too much big spending to do, which is nice. I did just get word that dd8 was added to the party scene in The Nutcracker production so I have to make sure she has everything she needs for that

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4 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

We're not quite done shopping yet.  But don't have too much more.  I'm not really motivated to finish up like I usually am. As far as the budget goes, we don't have too much big spending to do, which is nice. I did just get word that dd8 was added to the party scene in The Nutcracker production so I have to make sure she has everything she needs for that

Same exact thing happened in our house.  That is dd8's 4 role in the show.  I hope she can remember everything.

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I finished shopping on Friday; however, now DH has been bitten by the Christmas mood and wants to go shopping!?! He does this every few years or so - always leaves it to me, but then he has an idea of one item to buy for someone, so despite me having already purchased something, goes and buys that and like 5 other things. It drives me batty. 

Car tags are due on one car this month.

We reached max out of pocket for medical this past month, so I'm making sure everyone gets in if they can before the 31st.

Illinois passed the Paid Leave for All act which gives me more time off available at both my jobs starting January - whoo-hoo! 

Transferred a few subscriptions to DD's college email address for the college discount.

2 of the 3 DDs have part time jobs now and both are enjoying having some spare money. Other DD recently had knee surgery and is recovering well, but she'll have to start looking for a job soon. 

2 of the 3 are planning to do classes at the local community college next semester - middle is doing a few DE classes, and oldest is going for a mechatronics certificate. DE was paid with grandparent 529 money; mechatronics was covered by scholarship.

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2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Same exact thing happened in our house.  That is dd8's 4 role in the show.  I hope she can remember everything.

This is only dd8's 2nd role. There really aren't other roles for her age group. Actually, her age group regularly only has 1 role. She is the first to get in party scene at her age level.

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We don't buy much. I ordered DS some house slippers, and I will fill his stocking. Dh and I share a stocking, but I will buy him a gift. Parents and sister won't be exchanging gifts. It got to the point with my parents that we were trading money back and forth, so we decided to end it. I get them a Mother's Day/Father's Day gift. My sister and I exchange birthday gifts and sometimes Christmas.

I'm not sure what else to get DS, and the only thing I can come up with for dh is a picture of our favorite beach. Was intending to do that for anniversary, but I was down with my foot surgery at that time. 

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44 minutes ago, math teacher said:

We don't buy much. I ordered DS some house slippers, and I will fill his stocking. Dh and I share a stocking, but I will buy him a gift. Parents and sister won't be exchanging gifts. It got to the point with my parents that we were trading money back and forth, so we decided to end it. I get them a Mother's Day/Father's Day gift. My sister and I exchange birthday gifts and sometimes Christmas.

I'm not sure what else to get DS, and the only thing I can come up with for dh is a picture of our favorite beach. Was intending to do that for anniversary, but I was down with my foot surgery at that time. 

Agreed. We did ended the adults years ago, because that is what it felt like to us too.  And either people were really specific of what they wanted or you were just coming up with things they did not want.  How old is your ds?  

I feel like we have kind of hit that point with my kids even though one is kind of young.  I think we would easily just change things up to a trip instead of gifts.  They really do not want anything or then Lego sets and dance stuff.    It is kind of sad to be at that point, because it was so fun when they were little and got toys they were really excited about.  But I know we can still have fun just enjoying being together too.

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DS is 29, so yeah, no fun kid gifts. He got cash for his birthday. I do still get him an ornament every year-I thought I would be stopping that, but he let me know he wanted to keep it up. And the stocking stays, but  I need to put things in it besides candy, since he is battling his weight. We will be keeping our tradition of  Turkish Delight, which we started getting after he read Chronicles of Narnia.

Yes, you are right. It's sad, but being together is the most important thing. 

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Christmas stuff is coming together.  I was searching for matching pjs and frustrated because they are so hard to find now with my kids’ range of sizes, but finally happened on some very nice ones with a coupon available that put them into my budgeted price range.  A small, local grocery store had a tree sale this weekend and we got a nice tree for $39.  I ordered the kids’ books when the Amazon deal was going, and we only need one gift for dd14, dd13, and ds2 still, plus a shared one for the nephews.  Our foster girls’ dad has made it clear that he doesn’t want us to have a relationship with them anymore, so we have decided to put some money into their savings accounts for birthdays and Christmas from now on.

 

 I also saw that Azure Standard is having a promotion with 15% off of their azure market, azure market organic, and azure canning co. brand items right now for orders of at least $150.  The canning supplies are also on sale for 15% off, so this is on top of that.  I was able to order some things I have been wanting to build up my pantry supply of for cheaper than I can get them anywhere else, and get some half-gallon canning jars for $1.61 each.  The promo code is ABUNDANTPANTRY2023 https://www.azurestandard.com/?a_aid=dad23cd9c4

 

And this year I am finally remembering to do something that I have wished I had done each of the last several tax filings—start a record of my mileage for medical visits at the beginning of the year to fill in as I go, rather than retroactively trying to figure it out at tax time.

Edited by Condessa
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Through December 9th, head on over to Target where they are offering a buy 2, get 1 free sale on Select Kids Books! The discount will automatically be applied at checkout.

Plus, check your Circle Offers as you may have a “Just For You” $15 off $75, $10 off $50 or $5 off $25 Tech, Toys, Sporting Goods & Entertainment Circle Offer that stacks with the Buy 2, get 1 free sale on Kids books for even more savings!

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An expensive grocery store in town that occasionally has very good coupons had their deal on diapers going.  It comes around every couple of months.  I checked their website that showed they weren’t out of the ones we needed, went to the store, and used the machine by the door to print out my recycling voucher (they give more per can/bottle recycled if you use it at their store than if you take cash).  I hadn’t taken out the funds for my recycling in over a year, so the voucher was for $48.  I went to grab the diapers and found that despite what their website had said, they not only didn’t have the diapers I wanted, but there was no place on the shelf for them anymore.  I think they must have decided to stop carrying the large boxes of the less expensive brand.  And apparently I can’t use part of the voucher funds; I have to use it all at once or the rest of the funds are lost.  I don’t know when I am likely to want fifty dollars worth of anything from that store again if their diapers are no longer worth it.  And I have this tiny slip of paper to keep track of until I have a use for it.  

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1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Can you buy something that isn’t prone to going on sale but is relatively shelf stable and needed occasionally? For us, this is Tide sport and Biokleen Bac-Out. Every once in a while all of the athletic cleaning needs a good enzymatic wash.

I could, but their normal prices are 1.5 to 2 times the cost of the exact same products at the other stores in town, so I wouldn’t get $48 worth of anything for it.  I usually only shop there for the sale items and the occasional fancier item that isn’t carried at the other stores, like when I want Gruyère cheese for my French onion soup. 

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16 minutes ago, Condessa said:

I could, but their normal prices are 1.5 to 2 times the cost of the exact same products at the other stores in town, so I wouldn’t get $48 worth of anything for it.  I usually only shop there for the sale items and the occasional fancier item that isn’t carried at the other stores, like when I want Gruyère cheese for my French onion soup. 

Could you use it for fancy stocking stuffers? Like for good chocolate.

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I stopped by the farm supply store the other day to get chicken feed, and saw a sign that they were having a 10% off sale on Wednesday.  So I didn’t buy the chicken feed then, but went back yesterday and got two months’ worth.  Also, they had a deal on gift cards going where you could buy a $30 gift card for $25, so I paid $150 for $180 of gift cards—chicken feed paid for the next year or so.

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Today, December 8th only, zoom on over to Target.com where they are offering 40% off LEGO Sets with this Circle offer – valid for shipping only!

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

Now is a great time to grab some new LEGO sets for yourself or some to have on hand for gifts for upcoming birthdays or Christmas!

HIP TIP: Don’t forget to link your LEGO VIP Rewards to your Target account so you can earn on these sets too!

 

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Hurry over to Walmart.com where you can score up to 40% off select LEGO sets with prices starting as low as $20! Better yet, you can also earn cash back with Walmart Cash and via Ibotta! Note that these offers cannot be combine

LEGO Classic Medium Creative Brick Box $20.99 (regularly $34.99)
Pay $20.99
Get $5.25 Walmart Cash when you buy LEGO Classic Medium Brick Box (limit 1)
OR get $5.25 cash back via Ibotta when you buy LEGO Classic Medium Brick Box (limit 1)
Final cost $15.74!

Check hip2save for more ideas

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I made a big batch of laundry detergent last night, so we’re set for the next couple of months.  I really like the homemade detergent.  Our clothes continue to seem to be a little cleaner than when I was buying laundry detergent, and this is significantly cheaper and smells good without any fragrances to cover up other scents.

 I thought we were just about done with Christmas purchasing when today dh told me we need to buy presents for the kids from his parents. Apparently they asked him if we would do that and said they will pay us back, and he said sure.  Except that he doesn’t know what kind of budget they have in mind.  Ugh.  If they don’t want to do the planning part of gifting, most of my kids are old enough to be perfectly fine with cash.  Only ds2 really needs a gift to understand that someone is giving him something.

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