Day 27....twenty seven days in...nothing going on but the rent...
It's hard to decided whether it's the cold, Iowa weather or the inability to go shopping that has me in the ho hums. We had an ice storm here overnight, so that helps to keep a person at home and not spending money. Since we have gotten rid of cable television I have found myself cleaning the house a lot. Not that one could tell. It's not my favorite activity.
I am trying to show some restraint. My nine year old daughter has this uncanny ability to have a growth spurt every year around the first of the year. 2013 is no exception. Even my husband commented that one of her shirts looked a little too small. Things must be bad if he's noticing. I think we can limp her pants along through the season but I must go and buy her some new t-shirts. I am going to try and wait to do so until February. We've had some unusual expenses this month.
What are those you ask? Well, for one my husbands trusty old 1990 Honda Accord won't start on very cold mornings. It's January in Iowa, there are lots of those. So, he needed to buy a new battery. The tire on his chipper had to be replaced. Our furnace quit working on one of the coldest nights of the year. The fan motor blew out. I haven't gotten the bill for that yet, but the technician said the motor itself runs about $200. That's before labor.
I've been clipping and using coupons whenever possible. Last week I went and bought some things I had coupons for which were expiring soon and wanted to use to get the savings. I managed to save nearly 20% on the total cost of the trip to the store. That was pretty cool. I have been continuing to purchase almost all of our groceries on sale or with coupons. I have been using whole chickens that I got on sale to make chicken salad or eggs on sale to make egg salad for the husbands lunch. Which reminds me, I have eggs in the fridge waiting to be made into salad...
Thanks for checking in with us. :) Another week or two and I'll have some percentages to give out, what we were able to pay towards our mortgage after having done this whole shebang for a month. Honestly, I don't think it'll be all that great, but at least we're trying!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Day 20 - Birds of a feather?
In our quest to pay off our mortgage, I have been poking around the Internet looking for other blogging people who are trying to accomplish the same, or similar objectives. Really, I haven't found many. I find this very odd. Certainly we can't be the only ones? Or one of the few?
I've seen many blogs written by people (mostly women) who are living "frugally". This usually entails making your own beauty products, stretching your grocery dollars, living a sustainable lifestyle and various other DIY topics. Generally speaking, we already do a lot of these things. Perhaps it's a byproduct of our upbringing (poor), or the fact that we're Midwesterners. From what I understand, Midwesterners are some crafty folks. What am I missing here? Am I not typing the correct key words into the Google box?
I fancy myself a trailblazer, but this is ridiculous. I cannot fathom that I am one of the first 10 people who have decided to make this commitment to financial "freedom" and have also decided to blog about the journey.
Maybe I am a pioneer!
If you're better at Internet searching than I am, or happen to know of some great like-minded blogs out there, clue me in. I'd like to see what others are doing, what is and isn't working for them.
I certainly don't need the notoriety or press of being the first person to bring this topic to light. I don't need to be flown in to appear on the "Today Show" to enlighten all of humanity about my epic lifestyle of not spending money. I simply couldn't do it, I haven't colored my hair since July!
I've seen many blogs written by people (mostly women) who are living "frugally". This usually entails making your own beauty products, stretching your grocery dollars, living a sustainable lifestyle and various other DIY topics. Generally speaking, we already do a lot of these things. Perhaps it's a byproduct of our upbringing (poor), or the fact that we're Midwesterners. From what I understand, Midwesterners are some crafty folks. What am I missing here? Am I not typing the correct key words into the Google box?
I fancy myself a trailblazer, but this is ridiculous. I cannot fathom that I am one of the first 10 people who have decided to make this commitment to financial "freedom" and have also decided to blog about the journey.
Maybe I am a pioneer!
If you're better at Internet searching than I am, or happen to know of some great like-minded blogs out there, clue me in. I'd like to see what others are doing, what is and isn't working for them.
I certainly don't need the notoriety or press of being the first person to bring this topic to light. I don't need to be flown in to appear on the "Today Show" to enlighten all of humanity about my epic lifestyle of not spending money. I simply couldn't do it, I haven't colored my hair since July!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Day 17 - Grocery Store Blues
Ugh. The grocery store is getting me down. I'm really feel like struggling with keeping our food costs down. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, I don't know.
I know I've done a good job at sticking to the menu we've planned, and using leftovers or food I already had on hand. We haven't eaten out once, and I've still been spending $20 a day, or every other day, just for the "essentials".
Monday we had Chili and Cornbread for dinner. I had all of the ingredients for the chili on hand (a by product of the "CANTASTIC" sale), but needed buttermilk for the cornbread. I know I went to the store for that, and ended up buying buttermilk, milk, coffee creamer and cheese. Dairy, anyone? I bought two packages of shredded cheese because I had a coupon for $0.75 off of two, and I had a coupon for $1 off of the creamer. I forgot to use the coupons. Stupid, yes, but I'm new to this. I'm estimating all of that cost $14. However, I'll already have buttermilk next time around, because I discovered I can freeze it, and we only ate half of the cornbread I made, so I froze the other half.
Tuesday we ate chicken pot pie for dinner. I had left over chicken in the freezer, vegetables in the fridge and I made the crust, BUT, I had to go to the store for chicken broth and Crisco. If memory serves me correctly, I also bought lunch meat and sliced cheese for the husband, and tea. I bought 6 cans of chicken broth because they were on sale 3 for $2. Trying to think ahead! That trip probably cost $25.
Wednesday I made bbq ribs, macaroni and cheese and applesauce. I already had all of those things in the house, but had to go to the store at the last minute because I underestimated how much bbq sauce I had. $3.
Tonight I decided to stray from "the plan" and we had nachos. I had to go to the store for a fresh tomato, lettuce, green onion, taco seasoning, chips and sour cream. A few other items and $25 later, we had dinner. And yogurt, and bananas, and more milk...
Sigh. I don't feel like I'm getting the hang of it. The only two coupons I had for the things I was going to buy I didn't use. I still went to the store each of the last four days.This feels like a loss.
Also, we haven't really been finding coupons for grocery items will seem to make a significant dent in our grocery bill.
I'd be grateful for any helpful tips or suggestions you might have for me when heading to the grocery store! Help a sister out?
I know I've done a good job at sticking to the menu we've planned, and using leftovers or food I already had on hand. We haven't eaten out once, and I've still been spending $20 a day, or every other day, just for the "essentials".
Monday we had Chili and Cornbread for dinner. I had all of the ingredients for the chili on hand (a by product of the "CANTASTIC" sale), but needed buttermilk for the cornbread. I know I went to the store for that, and ended up buying buttermilk, milk, coffee creamer and cheese. Dairy, anyone? I bought two packages of shredded cheese because I had a coupon for $0.75 off of two, and I had a coupon for $1 off of the creamer. I forgot to use the coupons. Stupid, yes, but I'm new to this. I'm estimating all of that cost $14. However, I'll already have buttermilk next time around, because I discovered I can freeze it, and we only ate half of the cornbread I made, so I froze the other half.
Tuesday we ate chicken pot pie for dinner. I had left over chicken in the freezer, vegetables in the fridge and I made the crust, BUT, I had to go to the store for chicken broth and Crisco. If memory serves me correctly, I also bought lunch meat and sliced cheese for the husband, and tea. I bought 6 cans of chicken broth because they were on sale 3 for $2. Trying to think ahead! That trip probably cost $25.
Wednesday I made bbq ribs, macaroni and cheese and applesauce. I already had all of those things in the house, but had to go to the store at the last minute because I underestimated how much bbq sauce I had. $3.
Tonight I decided to stray from "the plan" and we had nachos. I had to go to the store for a fresh tomato, lettuce, green onion, taco seasoning, chips and sour cream. A few other items and $25 later, we had dinner. And yogurt, and bananas, and more milk...
Sigh. I don't feel like I'm getting the hang of it. The only two coupons I had for the things I was going to buy I didn't use. I still went to the store each of the last four days.This feels like a loss.
Also, we haven't really been finding coupons for grocery items will seem to make a significant dent in our grocery bill.
I'd be grateful for any helpful tips or suggestions you might have for me when heading to the grocery store! Help a sister out?
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Day 13 - Apple Cake
On Friday afternoon I was looking down the barrel of the weekend. I was starting to become concerned that we would just be sitting around all weekend, not doing anything. Certainly not spending any money and probably going crazy.
I needed a plan.
In fact, I will say that "having a plan" is probably the biggest change that I have made so far in this experiment. You see, I am the epitome of a "fly by the seat of your pants" girl. I think most people who know me would agree with that. I am so bad at planning that a few summers ago we went on a family vacation to South Dakota, my husband, I and our three kids, without much of a plan at all. We had a few things we wanted to see/do while we were there, but we didn't have hotel reservations or an agenda. We had a BLAST! The South Dakota vacation is just the tip of the iceberg. I never used to plan meals, shopping, chores, bill paying, working out, etc. Maybe I get some sort or rush or satisfaction for figuring things out on the fly. Whatever the reason, that's how I (used to) roll.
So, back to the "plan" for the weekend. I thought about some things we could do, some things I have been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to. My husband bought me a commercial grade Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas. Besides whipping up coconut oil body lotion, I had not used it. What a terrible waste. I gave the book that came with the mixer to my 9 year old culinary genius daughter and told her to pick a recipe for us to make. Brilliant idea on my part. We'd have something yummy to eat and she and we would get to spend some good old quality time together in the kitchen. She picked an apple cake with creamy caramel frosting. Good enough. We planned to make the cake sometime on Saturday.
Saturday morning rolled around. The mail came. My husbands paycheck arrived! This meant I could go to the next town over and go shopping! No, that's not what that meant. Not anymore. My heart sank just a little bit. Adjustments, I'm making them.
Our daughter went to play at the neighbors house. My husband and I agreed to go to Goodwill and the grocery store. He needed some pants to wear to the gym, and I wanted to make granola and needed a few things for that. So, off we went! We came home with the items we needed and not much more. Success!
The day moved on and I busied myself with housework. There's never a shortage of that! My daughter decided to stay extra long at her friends, and the apple cake never got made. That's ok! There's always tomorrow.
I think I can squeeze baking into my pre-planned Sunday. Coupon clipping, meal preparing, treadmill running, house cleaning...apple cake eating? That is if everything goes as plannned.... ;)
I needed a plan.
In fact, I will say that "having a plan" is probably the biggest change that I have made so far in this experiment. You see, I am the epitome of a "fly by the seat of your pants" girl. I think most people who know me would agree with that. I am so bad at planning that a few summers ago we went on a family vacation to South Dakota, my husband, I and our three kids, without much of a plan at all. We had a few things we wanted to see/do while we were there, but we didn't have hotel reservations or an agenda. We had a BLAST! The South Dakota vacation is just the tip of the iceberg. I never used to plan meals, shopping, chores, bill paying, working out, etc. Maybe I get some sort or rush or satisfaction for figuring things out on the fly. Whatever the reason, that's how I (used to) roll.
So, back to the "plan" for the weekend. I thought about some things we could do, some things I have been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to. My husband bought me a commercial grade Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas. Besides whipping up coconut oil body lotion, I had not used it. What a terrible waste. I gave the book that came with the mixer to my 9 year old culinary genius daughter and told her to pick a recipe for us to make. Brilliant idea on my part. We'd have something yummy to eat and she and we would get to spend some good old quality time together in the kitchen. She picked an apple cake with creamy caramel frosting. Good enough. We planned to make the cake sometime on Saturday.
Saturday morning rolled around. The mail came. My husbands paycheck arrived! This meant I could go to the next town over and go shopping! No, that's not what that meant. Not anymore. My heart sank just a little bit. Adjustments, I'm making them.
Our daughter went to play at the neighbors house. My husband and I agreed to go to Goodwill and the grocery store. He needed some pants to wear to the gym, and I wanted to make granola and needed a few things for that. So, off we went! We came home with the items we needed and not much more. Success!
The day moved on and I busied myself with housework. There's never a shortage of that! My daughter decided to stay extra long at her friends, and the apple cake never got made. That's ok! There's always tomorrow.
I think I can squeeze baking into my pre-planned Sunday. Coupon clipping, meal preparing, treadmill running, house cleaning...apple cake eating? That is if everything goes as plannned.... ;)
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Day 9 - Two steps back?
So far, this whole "project" is going pretty well! I have had one little slip up. Something that I talked myself into thinking was a "need". I still kind of feel like it was, but...
While shopping for toilet paper, shampoo, hairspray, etc. I purchased a armband that holds my phone so that when I run it will track my progress. I am new to running, and like the fact that the app I downloaded allows me to track my progress. That helps to keep me motivated. I carried it in my hand the first few times but felt that I "needed" the armband for the safety of the phone and ease of use. The armband was just under $10. Please forgive me, for I have sinned.
I am also detecting a new coping strategy. Since I can no longer shop for shoes, shirts, vases and electronics, I have begun to purchase food in mass quantities. Buying food is within the rules! Today the hoard was canned food. Our local grocery store is having a "CANTASTIC" (their words, not mine) sale. I couldn't resist. Canned vegetables, $0.38! Canned beans, $0.48! Mac and cheese, two for $1!
My canned food shelves were already pretty full. I bought so many canned foods today that I'm pretty sure the unit would buckle if I put them away. What am I doing? At least it's stuff we'll use...eventually. "It will help my long term food budget" is what I kept telling myself... Does anybody need to stock their bomb shelter? I'll make you a great deal!
Acknowledgement is the first step to recovery, right?
While shopping for toilet paper, shampoo, hairspray, etc. I purchased a armband that holds my phone so that when I run it will track my progress. I am new to running, and like the fact that the app I downloaded allows me to track my progress. That helps to keep me motivated. I carried it in my hand the first few times but felt that I "needed" the armband for the safety of the phone and ease of use. The armband was just under $10. Please forgive me, for I have sinned.
I am also detecting a new coping strategy. Since I can no longer shop for shoes, shirts, vases and electronics, I have begun to purchase food in mass quantities. Buying food is within the rules! Today the hoard was canned food. Our local grocery store is having a "CANTASTIC" (their words, not mine) sale. I couldn't resist. Canned vegetables, $0.38! Canned beans, $0.48! Mac and cheese, two for $1!
My canned food shelves were already pretty full. I bought so many canned foods today that I'm pretty sure the unit would buckle if I put them away. What am I doing? At least it's stuff we'll use...eventually. "It will help my long term food budget" is what I kept telling myself... Does anybody need to stock their bomb shelter? I'll make you a great deal!
Acknowledgement is the first step to recovery, right?
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Day 5 - Omission of guilt
Today we took our daughter ice skating for the first time. It cost us $7.50.
We are terrible people. Failures.
Just kidding! According to our "rulez", there is an exemption clause for being able to take our kids to do fun things that will enrich their lives. We went to the city skating pond, and our money went towards supporting it and our local community.
Failures, terrible people. ;)
We are terrible people. Failures.
Just kidding! According to our "rulez", there is an exemption clause for being able to take our kids to do fun things that will enrich their lives. We went to the city skating pond, and our money went towards supporting it and our local community.
Failures, terrible people. ;)
Friday, January 4, 2013
Day 4 - Baby steps
Well, we have a few days under our belts now. I can honestly say I haven't purchased one thing that I did not need. I even went to the local big box store for a few necessities and only bought the four things I went there for, and I had a coupon for one of them! Yep. I'm awesome.
I did purchase some things today at the grocery store that I do not have an immediate need for. I'm trying to rethink my buying strategies. I swear I should live in Europe, as I always purchase the groceries that I will need for the next day, everyday. Normally, at about 2 pm I start thinking about what I want to make for dinner that evening. I think about if we need milk, butter, lunch items, etc. or not, and then I go procure my short list. On the first of the month, I sat down and thought about what food I already had in the house and managed to come up with a meal plan for the next 5 days. I only needed a few items to round the meals out, so I went and got those. Then last night I was looking over the "3 Day Sale" flyer for my local grocery store. They had 3 rolls of Bounty paper towels on sale for $3.77 and I had a 25 cent off coupon. The paper towels I usually buy are $2.97 for two rolls, so this deal combined with the coupon is savings in the long run. Now I'm rethinking my paper towel usage all together, but that's a topic for another day. While at the grocery store I noticed some other pretty good deals, $0.69 frozen vegetables. I bought 8 bags. Garlic bread was 2 for $4.00, I bought two. These are things I will use eventually and is savings in the long run. See how my thinking is starting to evolve?
My next big step in the right direction is coupons that I can print at home. I am currently waiting, waiting and waiting for a new computer to be delivered. I ordered it well before Christmas and it finally supposed to arrive on Monday. I am currently typing this post on a Chromebook, which does not have an operating system which supports the "coupon printer" programs needed to print the darn coupons. Can I say "coupons" one more time? Geez. Anyhow, I think once I am able to scour the Internet for the savings I will in fact, be saving.
Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I did purchase some things today at the grocery store that I do not have an immediate need for. I'm trying to rethink my buying strategies. I swear I should live in Europe, as I always purchase the groceries that I will need for the next day, everyday. Normally, at about 2 pm I start thinking about what I want to make for dinner that evening. I think about if we need milk, butter, lunch items, etc. or not, and then I go procure my short list. On the first of the month, I sat down and thought about what food I already had in the house and managed to come up with a meal plan for the next 5 days. I only needed a few items to round the meals out, so I went and got those. Then last night I was looking over the "3 Day Sale" flyer for my local grocery store. They had 3 rolls of Bounty paper towels on sale for $3.77 and I had a 25 cent off coupon. The paper towels I usually buy are $2.97 for two rolls, so this deal combined with the coupon is savings in the long run. Now I'm rethinking my paper towel usage all together, but that's a topic for another day. While at the grocery store I noticed some other pretty good deals, $0.69 frozen vegetables. I bought 8 bags. Garlic bread was 2 for $4.00, I bought two. These are things I will use eventually and is savings in the long run. See how my thinking is starting to evolve?
My next big step in the right direction is coupons that I can print at home. I am currently waiting, waiting and waiting for a new computer to be delivered. I ordered it well before Christmas and it finally supposed to arrive on Monday. I am currently typing this post on a Chromebook, which does not have an operating system which supports the "coupon printer" programs needed to print the darn coupons. Can I say "coupons" one more time? Geez. Anyhow, I think once I am able to scour the Internet for the savings I will in fact, be saving.
Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Day 1
So here we go! It's the first day of our adventure, it's the first day of the New Year and it's the first day of a new way of thinking.
I'm guessing there are a lot of people feeling this way today.
My husband and I sat down a couple of nights ago and wrote out all of our monthly expenses. We divided them into two categories; Expenses that are stable and reoccurring (mortgage, cell phones, utilities, car payments, etc.) and things that are variable (groceries, household supplies, gas). We added up what we expected our yearly income to be and subtracted our estimated cost of living. To be honest, we were a little surprised by the numbers. Just cutting out the "extras" and doing nothing more will not get us to our goal of paying off our mortgage in a year. That's OK! We thought that might be the case. It may take us a little longer, or we might have to be a little more savvy in cutting costs. Maybe both. I'm fine with that. Like I have said before, this has turned into a bit of a game in my head. I think I can trim down our "variable" expenses, it's just going to take some work.
We also talked about how it's going to take at least two months for us to really know and understand the new system. We'll have residual bills coming in from the cable and land line that are being disconnected which will affect our monthly savings in the beginning. We'll need to learn where to find coupons, and the best way to use them. We'll have to re-examine what we feel we can further cut back on, or maybe we'll find something we thought we could live without isn't.
We sound like we've got a solid plan, huh? Yep, we've really got it all figured out! (Is your sarcasm sensor blinking?) I'm sure that my frustration and miss-steps in the next year will serve as great fodder for you. I'm sure I'll be posting later about how I think I was so stupid to agree to this. I'm sure at some point I will want to give up. Nothing worth having comes easy, right? Isn't that what New Years Resolutions are all about?
Great, now I'm a cliche. To me that's the worst. Ever.
But, I haven't spent any money today!
I'm guessing there are a lot of people feeling this way today.
My husband and I sat down a couple of nights ago and wrote out all of our monthly expenses. We divided them into two categories; Expenses that are stable and reoccurring (mortgage, cell phones, utilities, car payments, etc.) and things that are variable (groceries, household supplies, gas). We added up what we expected our yearly income to be and subtracted our estimated cost of living. To be honest, we were a little surprised by the numbers. Just cutting out the "extras" and doing nothing more will not get us to our goal of paying off our mortgage in a year. That's OK! We thought that might be the case. It may take us a little longer, or we might have to be a little more savvy in cutting costs. Maybe both. I'm fine with that. Like I have said before, this has turned into a bit of a game in my head. I think I can trim down our "variable" expenses, it's just going to take some work.
We also talked about how it's going to take at least two months for us to really know and understand the new system. We'll have residual bills coming in from the cable and land line that are being disconnected which will affect our monthly savings in the beginning. We'll need to learn where to find coupons, and the best way to use them. We'll have to re-examine what we feel we can further cut back on, or maybe we'll find something we thought we could live without isn't.
We sound like we've got a solid plan, huh? Yep, we've really got it all figured out! (Is your sarcasm sensor blinking?) I'm sure that my frustration and miss-steps in the next year will serve as great fodder for you. I'm sure I'll be posting later about how I think I was so stupid to agree to this. I'm sure at some point I will want to give up. Nothing worth having comes easy, right? Isn't that what New Years Resolutions are all about?
Great, now I'm a cliche. To me that's the worst. Ever.
But, I haven't spent any money today!
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