Thursday, September 20, 2018

Thrifty Thursday: Frugal for the Better



As I posted a few days ago, despite being thrifty on most things, life still has expenses that must be paid. We have had a frugalish September, but not austere. I know I would struggle with complete austerity and feel whiny. Considering the natural disasters in my country and around the world, my worst austere days are living the high life compared to so many others. Now, another reason to belt tighten- so that I can increase some cash donations to help those impacted by hurricane Florence. Not feeling well and being on the run, I ended up with three extra business meal expenses, coffee, breakfast sandwich and coffee, and a burger. Between visits last Saturday, DD1 and I grabbed Subway. Nothing was over $7 a meal, but added up, to $29.36. We have dinner plans with friends on Saturday, so stretching in other areas of entertainment is happening. Saturday, other than these lunches and some by Hubs, will be our only dinner out for the month, so much leaner than our spending history. Here are my thrifty wins for the week.
  1. Finally submitted medical reimbursement for a new pair of glasses and medical deductibles that were lingering. $433.77 of my own money will be reimbursed by the end of the month.
  2. Layered clearance and 30% coupon to fill in the gaps on my daughter’s wardrobe. I earned $15 Kohl’s cash that will be used towards holiday or birthday gifts.
  3. Decreased the amount of ground beef used in stuffed peppers as they were pretty full. I ended up with enough to add to a sauce, starch, veg and cheese for another inexpensive dinner.
  4. My  daughters popped their own popcorn and brought water (neither are soda drinkers) to a free movie by the river Friday night.
  5. Grouped apartment visits with a stop at Aldi’s and avoided an extra trip to the grocery store, sticking for the most part to my list.
Nothing spectacular, but the pennies help. I’ll keep this up in October and hopefully will feel more financially stable, yet supportive to those in need at the same time.

6 comments:

  1. You are right about pennies helping! And a lot of penny savings can add up to a ton of money rather quickly.

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    1. I'm trying for better value for my money. Spend where things make difference, but I'm fine with Aldi's store brand peanut butter.

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  2. Yes, pennies count. I combine car trips/errands, too. I figure I'm not only saving pennies, but time, too!

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  3. Little things do add up. I never thought much about it until I started to concentrate on it and but within a few months I had money left over.

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    1. I know real frugal folks talk about a spending diary to see where the leeks are, but I know where I waste money. Pennies become dollars very quickly-in either direction spending or saving.

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