Thrifty Thursday-More Small Economy

      Simple targets, simple strategies. I'm trying to cash flow our DC trip, plus still stay on target to save the equivalent of DH's take home over the course of 2022. While we're not going no expenses spared, we don't want to sweat the small stuff next week either. Sure, we'll have emergency "power through the day" snacks and water bottles to avoid vendors and convenience store impulse buys, but there's a few adorable cafe's and meals out we have our tummy's focused on. At home, I'm looking for the small economies to make room for a few splurges while we are away and for DH at home. 

• I used an online code to order some Splits at a good discount to bring with on our trip for my daughter, who likely will need soft foods again for the first few days of the trip.
• Found a Dunkin Donuts Card I got for my birthday and am bringing that along for the trip. Minimally I know there is a DD in the  airport. I'll find the Starbucks cards I have as well and see what might be on them.
• Found this pair of Lee Jeans for $7.99 tag at Salvation Army, but then she gave them to me for $4.99 because she thought they were over priced. They're in perfect condition. 
  

• By no means is going to movie theaters inexpensive, but DH really wanted to go out. We both have cabin fever. We ate supper before going and neither of us needed the massive bucket of popcorn so only bought movie tickets and avoided the concessions. We saw Dog by the way. It was advertised as a comedy, and there were funny moments, but the story was quite sad overall, and had a poignant ending. 
• Despite not meeting the February challenge, we took advantage of some bulk purchases that will save dollars over the course of the year. 
• My week has really long work days due to the holiday and a mandatory full training day today. I did not begrudge DH wanting the $4.99 rotisserie chicken at all considering I was able to turn it into three full, but very easy meals, plus leftovers.  Adding all the other ingredients, and I'm sure each meal only averaged $4.00, the most expensive ingredients being the tortellini and some cheddar cheese. 
• Sometimes thrift is walking away. I skipped the Aldi Gyro kit which has escalated to $10.99, or over $2.00 a sandwich, not counting adding  tomato, cucumber, and tomato. I thought they were a bit of a splurge when I bought them a few other times at $7.99, but a 37.5% increase. I've heard people say where the huge inflation has been is on convenience foods. If there is incentive to cook from scratch, that's it. 
• I spent some of my day off organizing for blog, IG, the trip using an old notebook from a past conference. In my YouTube watching, because of course I did, some girl bought a " oh so perfect rose gold" similar style- for $7.99. Had I not had this, I'd be in the school supply trunk where I still have many 19¢ back to school versions.
  
  
  
• As I type this, my hair is drying after home coloring my roots and gray. I still just use one box, but likely that won't be enough as the years take hold and need more solution. Not sure if I'll ever go natural.

     I don't know what DH has planned but I've got work after our trainings to do. Supper needs to be easy. We're fully stocked now, so that's not even a challenge. I'm trying to get portions froze for DH so he avoids fast food next week. I froze a hearty soup portion and he even said, "oh that will be good ". High accolades indeed. He's not big on leftovers but even he'll get sick of take out/ meals out. Those we're my thrifty wins. How about you? Any small economies to share or tips to pass on?

     

Thrifty Thursday: Gift Giving Strategy When Trying to Trim a Budget

      I feel like I already do pretty well in the gift giving department, finding nice gifts at decent prices, and try to avoid crap just to give a gift. In my quest though to reach a one earner lifestyle by January 1, 2024, every area of discretionary spending needs to be  reviewed, and gift giving is one of them. I have four categories of gifts-Christmas, birthdays for family members, "days Holidays", and miscellaneous for things like weddings, showers, and new babies, as well as  milestone b-days of friends. The miscellaneous bucket seems to be the hardest to plan for since these are gift giving events we have no control over, nor sometimes lead time to plan. Here's a few strategies to trim our spending.

Make a Gift Recipient List and Budget

     I need to create  list and a budget heading into the year, and stick to it. Whenever possible, I'll shop ahead of time, and if we truly do not have a good gift idea, just supplement with cash. I'm happy to stick in a favorite box of movie theater candy or a jar of homemade jam, or a fresh baked loaf of bread if just giving cash feels too impersonal. Gift cards towards specific activities might be a good gift instead of cash if I know it will be used. Cash and gift cards don't save me anything from my budget, but they keep me on budget and I'm not buying stuff that might just be wasted. The next ideas cross all categories.

Combine gift cards to restaurants with "freebies" in our entertainment budget.      

               For example, I just bought $50 in Applebee's and got $20. We can buy several gift cards for others, but use the $20 freebie, usually with a very short window, towards our own entertainment budget, shifting the funds to the gift category.  The limitation to this is it probably will all be gift cards to chain and not local restaurants. Still, it can be a good gift that could be bought in advance if you know you have several milestone birthdays, or new parents that might love nothing better than either a night out, or a call and pick-up meal. 

Shop with Discount/Freebie Gift Cards

     I plan to put all my Target earnings from MS Rewards toward Christmas again this year. I also have a few from the "free" gift card promotions Target periodically does, so those will get applied as well. I'm leery of sites like Gift Card Granny, but I've heard or read there are places that sell or have sales on gift cards form time to time. Does Dollar General ring a bell? If you know or have good luck with any sites, let me know. 

No frills practical gifts: 

     Interesting fact I learned at Trivial last night, 56% of people surveyed like getting socks for Christmas. I hit a great clearance sale at a high end outdoor clothing store last January. Guess what a lot of gifts will be this  Christmas and for winter birthdays? Extra thick socks, wooly mittens, and hats are a necessity in my part of the states. Likewise, stocking up on  summer items for those gift giving needs help defray paying full or even the on-sale price in the current season. Then there are seasonless gifts for some people on my list that I've targeted for collection. Think tank tops, leggings, and athletic shorts for the girls in my life who wear year round in layering or for working out, swimsuit cover ups (Summer and travel), and men's high end quality t-shirts. I hit a rock bottom sale on thick white cotton Ralph  Lauren tee's over a decade ago. The one's DH has look better than basic Hanes he just got  a year or two ago. I need to think beyond clothing though, and sporting and camping stores or departments in stores can yield some great buy ahead gifts, like Fire Starters I got for 1/3 price. Now that I have a virtually clear closet in the office, I can  better organize my purchase ahead gifts. 

Miscellaneous Gifts: Baby, Wedding Shower. and Wedding and Milestone Birthdays

     I'll start the year thinking through the potential life events with my family and close friends.  Once I do that, I'll pad my budget with  2 small (b-day) 2 mid (new baby/showers) and 1 large (wedding), then add all, decide my budget, and divide by 12 to build the cash reserve. These events can be tough as it seems  more and more new mom's and couples have specific wants, or already have a lot of stuff, but have big ticket items only left on a registry. I try and combine any deals I can with the items on the list like rebates, applying coupons, or earning points/gift cards back. To tighten my belt, I might have to change what I do with those savings as historically, I've used the savings to  put back more into the gift.  Sometimes, or most often, times, cash in the range I budgeted for, or a gift card to a preferred store, in the amount budgeted for is where I'll end up. So while not really a savings strategy, it keeps me on budget. 

      This sounds terrible, but one gift recipient that seems to blow our budget regularly is DH's mom. Either DH or his sibling will identify a need type for her-at her house, or at the lake, and determine if we just give it as a gift, then we'll know it has been taken care of. It's not a bad plan, but everyone also still ends up giving individual gifts as well. And, the big gift, even split three ways, is not cheap. For example, we replaced all the door handles in her large townhouse with the type that are push down and pull, so she no longer has to turn the door knob. Excellent for her independence, but split three ways, we still spent $250 each for her birthday. Now, my MIL is not a  penny watching pensioner living on  SSI. She is quite comfortable, bordering on wealthy. She also though is very careful about money, and would not have gone out and replaced perfectly good door knobs on her own, even though she complains that on her bad days she can hardly turn the door to get into her bathroom. 

     What's my plan? Well, She tends to give DH and I cash for both our birthdays and at Christmas. We too do not need anything, and if want something, we tend to plan, budget, then save. My way to offset these extra expensive gifts is to put her gift money to us, towards these gift purchases for her. It wouldn't be a quid pro quo, but more of a "the cash is there" kind of process. To be honest, I think that is kind of what DH's sister does, based on a comment or two. Quite frankly, peace of mind that something has been done to make her life easier and safer is a gift to all of us! 

     I know my gift buying list probably seems excessive to many readers. It does to me as well. Until I trim the number of reasons for gifting and to whom, I'll use strategies to not blow my budget. Of course, a really great gift is time, so if you want to truly show people you care, carve out time to spend with them this season. 

Thrifty Thursday and Balanced Splurges

      I try to make the best use of my time, resources, and money to try and live a good life on a non endless budget. This is my view of being thrifty and it can be challenging. Many things beg for our money and time, and sometimes making the resourceful choice costs precious time or money. I summarize on Thursdays as I keep looking for balance. 

Time

• I had a lovely day out with my daughter on Saturday, and while we splurged for lunch and coffee, the time together was priceless. 
• Spent time helping my daughter get all her laundry done, and will no doubt do another load or two so she goes back on Sunday morning with clean clothes. 
• Used time off I've accumulated to be with my daughter at the surgery plus stay with her to make sure she had what she needs. Her sister stayed over with her.

Resources  

• More garbage pick up when walking pup and then separated recyclables
• DD2 used the library for some entertainment - more books to read at home.
• Took my own coffee in an insulated cup. 

                                        Money

• DH really wanted a burger, and I didn't really have any leftovers yet, so he used a coupon to buy us a BK burger last Thursday. Not perfect, but I had a very full work day and he was getting outdoor stuff done and progress over perfection worked for us this day.
  
• I hit another $5 Target gift card with MS Rewards. 
• Had $2 Walgreens dollars to put towards DD1's meds after her procedure.
• I earned a $70 credit towards our family's annual  health deductible through the wellness challenges through work. 
• Used a coupon to get DD1 a vegan pizza from Papa Murphy's for her "last meal" request before her surgery.
• Ordered the two student comp tickets for DD2's on campus concert in December. 

     The little extras add up, so saving where we can on everyday items helps stretch our funds. I'm very intrigued with Chef Owings and her husband  doing a challenge to live just on their SSI payments, without any draws on other funds. It has me thinking  that DH and I should see how well we could live off just my income  as we enter the new year, and the, fingers crossed, last two years of DH in the work force. It would mean targeting what we already have saved towards those  big life goals-college costs, home remodel, life events, but I think it could be doable.  If we can push back drawing on his  retirement fund until I too am retired, we will be that much better positioned for a comfortable retirement. I'm not committed yet, but it is a worthwhile conversation. These were my success and splurges over the previous seven days. How did you do this past week?

Thrifty Thursday -Cooler Weather

       The days are finally cooler, though  yesterday despite the blustery wind, it felt quite pleasant outside even with no sun. The house was chilly when I woke up-I loved it. I slept better last night than I have in ages and I know the right temperature to blanket ratio was the positive doing. On Thursdays I recap my week of thrift-how I made the best use of my time, resources, and money to try and live a good life budgeting these things where they matter. Sometimes there are good wins and other times, utter fails, but  overall, I strive for balance. 

Time

• Lot's of time this weekend with DH gave me a taste of what retirement life (for him first) might be like. It was nice knowing he had nothing he "had" to do on Sunday.
• My family did a formal park clean-up on Sunday morning, followed by brunch at my sisters. It was not as messy as one might think-people might be doing their part, but we still filled a large black garbage bag. 

Resources  

• We took the time to sort the recyclables from the garbage at the park clean up. I give my brother that credit as he was adamant! 
• Took home my leftovers from our BBQ meal. 
• Rescued a jacket that was misplaced with something to be thrown out It was an old Columbia jacket of my son's that might still fit. If he doesn't want, I'll donate as it is in perfect condition.
• DH has the annual furnace tune up scheduled for this morning. This will ensure the furnace runs efficiently, and we don't waste gas keeping our house warm. 
• We are keeping the heat off. Now starts our game (my game) of how long we can last before turning it on. I love this time with no air, nor furnace blowing. 

                                        Money 

• Found a deal on little chocolate chip/teddy bear cookies, 10 for $10. I nabbed 10 boxes for Trick or Treaters. I usually buy a good $25-$30 worth of candy so these will do the trick, plus, no leftover candy to tempt me. If there are leftovers, I can give the unopened boxes away and keep any left from an open box for DD2 when she is home at Thanksgiving. 
• This is a usual one, but worth saying hat  I ate lunches at home every day.. 
• I did a $9 meal shop for my 3 at $3 challenge. I cooked meal one last night. A full recap will be done next Wednesday on how we fired and what was made. 
• Took a chance on washing an old hand me up wool coat my daughter gave me. I washed on delicate, then dried flat. It seemed to work well and saved the $10 dry cleaning fee. It will need steaming or an iron perhaps. I am pleased because it is a pretty coat, just way to big for her, and motivation for me. 
  
  
  

     It was a quiet week for us after all the coming and going on the weekend. We are taking a break on any take out or meals out this week, through the weekend, and through next week. With my Meal Challenge shop, I had a separate grocery/household item shop of a few odds and ends and we will  make due for another week.  I'll do a shop before the college kid comes home.  It will be a home focused weekend, but  a few things will be tough if we don't get a problem fixed. We are having a drain problem again in the kitchen-similar to the one that cost us a couple thousand last year. DH is trying a few things, but we may need to call someone to blow out the line. It makes no sense as we do not put things down the drain other than water. I read on the Next Door app others have complained as well and perhaps it is a city water line issue.  Frustrating. That aside, life in the thrifty lane is going OK. Any wins in your life this week? 

Thirfty Thursday- Little Investments

       Another week trying to make the most of my limited time, resources, and money. Family was a prominent feature in the past week, as they are the constant in my life. While I'm trying to spend as little as possible this month while still living the good life, I made a few investment purchases that will save money in the long run, but will try my best to categorize into the monthly budget targets. 

Time

• A text from my sister resulted in an impromptu meet up for dinner and drinks on a patio restaurant overlooking the river. It was a perfect night and I'm glad I said yes-even though it was a meal out I had not planned so early in September.  
• We had a lovely another good day at the lake on Sunday and took care of things that needed done. DH got the boat out, after we had a little tool around the lake by ourselves. 
• Even though I had to work about three hours on Monday, it was a good bonus day off. I did some baking, baked extra chicken for dinner and later in the week, got my porch cleaned, and also got a long walk and a few hours outside relaxing. It was a pretty good Monday holiday.
• I spent time on my Saturday post laying out how I want to tackle mini challenges. I did a bit of research, AKA, YouTube watching, to see how others have  approached the $5 Dollar Tree, or 3 meals for $3 each. I have a lot of fun with my challenges, which are for amusement purposes only, but with the side benefit of keeping a bit more money in my wallet. 
• By test and email, my sisters and I have been planning a surprise 70th birthday for our brother.We finalized the plan this week. It will be at a county park and we'll all share in the food prep and the nominal rental fee for the pavilion so it can happen rain or shine.  

Resources  

• I meal planned again, after a semi successful week last week. I based a few meals on cleaning out the fridge. 
• I froze the corn of two ears of corn. They will go in soup once it gets colder.
• I used the last of the red potatoes and onions from my daughters take home produce. The bonus produce was a real gift and I will remember this when I make our next donation to our local food shelf. 
• While not really chili weather yet, I have a sort of chili going in the crock pot now using the rest of the tomato and juice  form the can I used for black bean and corn salsa, the rest of that salsa, a large cut up chink of a zucchini, two wilting celery stalks, 1/2 a red pepper,1/2 a tomato and a can of chili beans. Our daughter is joining us for supper and she's bringing the loaf of bread left in her freezer form my younger daughters take home items from a month ago. 
• I bought my fresh vegetables this week at the farmers market. 
• My daughter had bought a box of whole wheat crackers early in the summer for the lake and they never got opened. She passed on to me and I've been enjoying with hummus and cucumber for snacks. They are dated the end of September, but we'll use with the chili, as well as I'll keep snacking on them. 
• My daughter picked up two vacuum sealed containers of  tomato red pepper soup, and two of DH's granola at Trader Joes for me. This will both  add to our pantry, and saved me time and gas since she was there already.

Money

• I  spent $14 to send the college kid a 16 ounce food thermos. She is really stretched for time to come home between classes and with this, she can microwave leftovers in the morning, and it will keep  for whenever she chooses to eat. While at her jobs there is a microwave, she doesn't work at times she would typically want to eat. This will help her get a hot meal while finding a quiet place between class and work to do homework. 
• The college kid also ordered a new keyboard protector. As expensive as her computer is, making sure to keep dust, food, etc. falling into the keyboard area is an essential investment to prolonging the life. Her cover is beat up, filled with stickers, but it still is protecting the case itself so she decided she didn't need to replace that. 
• She got her course schedule/registration verification sent in for the scholarship she will receive through my work. She'll need to send her final verification at the end of the school year and will get her $1,500.
•  I ate leftovers for lunch my lunch most of the week with exception of last Thursday.
• DH used a coupon and got us BK for lunch on said Thursday. It was a $5 savings off two meals. I do like a Burger King Whopper, one of the only fast food burgers I like. 

    I've spent another $13 this week on the items my daughter picked up for me, so will take that off the weeks shop. As I do not need much fresh stuff, I'll put a bit of my grocery budget for the week, towards a few more pantry items. It's another perfect September day and plans are to take a walk by the river tonight after supper with my daughter. Its a perfect way to maximize time, resources, and money and have an evening out of the house. What wins did you have this past week? 

Thrifty Thursday-Now. on to September

      It's a new month. Picture me with my hand in a fist, shaking to the sky, as I vow that it will be the most thrifty month of them all! This means using my time, resources, and money well, not frittering away any of them away. We have no big events this month, no birthdays, and no extravagant spending needs on the horizon. Murphy may decide otherwise, but for now, I'm entering the month with a rose colored glass filled with good intentions. Here's  my recap of the last seven days. As a reminder to myself, I try and look at thrift beyond just money and include how I use my time and resources.  . 

Time

•  Meet up with my mom friends. While I saw one earlier in the week, I hadn't seen J since her son's grad party, and S since May when we last met for a group walk. Life intervenes but I hope now with cooler weather in September, we'll have a few more meet0us outside for long walks, and catch-ups.
• We had a lovely day at the lake on Sunday-two empty nest couples, but we also did our own thing and stayed later than they did so had time to ourselves. 
• We got a Facebook four way call to work with all three kids on Monday night. My son does not have set hours, and both the girls had a lot on their plate, but we managed an hour live!
• I was in charge of the gift and we had a Zoom  retirement party for a colleague that has already relocated to another state. I actually had a previous working relationship with her and have known her for 28 years.
• DH left work early so we went with me to the birthday party for the twin and their brother. There's always a weird vibe with my SIL's parents, but I had a short, but pleasant conversation with her mom. 

Resources  

• I meal planned, and so far so good, with items we had on hand. We did pick up brats and buns plus sweet corn for the lake though. 
• I brought two ears of corn over to DD1. The remaining I cooked and then took the kernels off the two ears not eaten and popped in the freezer. They will go into chowder this fall.
  
• i watched the YouTube video on treats from the pantry, and made the bars I shared yesterday with stuff on hand. Correction-my daughter shared not all rice crispy are vegan, so I need to look better to determine what are or not. 
• I cleaned out the refrigerator last night, and identified a few more things that must be used up this week before grocery shopping. Sadly both some carrots and celery needed to be tossed. 
• I made some dog treats for pup with  part of a sweet potato, oatmeal, and peanut butter. After a second time getting sick after having dog biscuits (tough we don't for sure know that was the cause), we won't buy them any more for him. 
• Did a couple loads of clothes and line dried more than I normally do. I know I should line dry in the nice weather more often, but I just don't think enough to do so. 

Money

• I passed on the $20 towards $50 purchase from the Gap to my sister-in-law I earned from the twins sweatshirts and tee's for their b-day. I do not need to buy anything more from the Gap, but she stays current on fashion and thought she could likely use.
• As I mentioned I was in charge of the retirement gift, a preloaded Visa Card, for our colleague. We each contribute voluntarily and I made the purchase for the total. There was a 1% services fee, but I found a code that saved 1%, so avoided the service fee. It was though Vanilla cards. 

    I'll grocery shop, but I'll plan careful so I know what we have and have a plan for meals. We are presumably out of several cleaning supplies, but I'll do a deep  inventory of partial bottles and sprays to use up odds and ends, then restock more minimally. I'd like September to be a budget bare month. To off set the low spending, I'm crossing fingers that the weather is good for getting out to some state and county parks, eating and having drinks outside, and other free to low cost activities. What did you do that was thrifty this week? Are you looking forward to more outdoor time as the weather cools down or are you sad to see the hot days of summer leave?

Thrifty Thursday-Coming off Vacation Weeks

      I mentioned on Tuesday that since we didn't really travel for vacation, I was going to just not worry about what we spent eating out take out, or doing little extra things close by. I managed a few things worthy of note in the buckets I try to track-my use of time, resources, and money. So here are a few  wins in the thrift and economy department. 

Time

•  Went to lake both Wednesday, and then back again Friday-Sunday for a little break. The girls watched the dog over the weekend, who gets a bit anxious when too many people and other dogs are at the cabin. 
• I had a couple lunches with DD2 while we started getting her things sorted and purged. Gingers crossed she decides to pack only what she needs so she can fit in her car and save the 8 hour round trip for us.  
• DH and I had a home admin project to update our retirement account tracking. He's actually got more in his accounts than I was expecting. It gave me a bit more peace of mind for the timeline to have him retire. He did throw a curve ball at me though with a goal getting a certain  ongoing expense off our books before he retires. It's a pretty large goal-so motivation for down in the money category, essentially adding nearly a $25K additional financial goal to our already long list of spending priorities. 
• I sorted through all my gift wrapping items to store in a more organized fashion and can officially say, I need to buy no wrapping paper, bows, ribbons or other miscellaneous for the next year! I also sorted gifts I have bought ahead to make sure I know what and for whom was purchased. This was both a good use of my time off, plus a money saver as I bought a whole lot of items over the years that might go to waste had I not taken the time to do a proper sort. 

Resources  

• I'm sad to say, we did have more waste than I was happy with this past week in the food department. I had to throw two peppers, onion, and strawberry's that went bad before I used. I made sure then to look at the rest of the produce and have a plan. I used broccoli in a hotdish, chicken legs were both a meal of their own, and then meat taken off for the same hotdish, and for chicken salad for lunch. I need to remember to dial way back on fresh produce when I do my big shop. I love Aldi, but that is their major flaw, at least for the one near me, the produce needs to b used within days of purchase. 
• Speaking of both  take out and lunch, DD2 and I both  saved and ate the next day, 1/2 of our burrito bowl fixings. I order tortillas on the side and I ended up with two massive burritos, but not near the size they are when made as burritos-which then get soggy trying to save for later. 

Money

•  I started up Microsoft Rewards again and am happy to say, with points already there and new trivia games, I already have another $5 Target card. 
• DH's new computer was paid for with all but $27 of gift cards that he's had for years, earned through work promotions. These are the same group of cards that two years ago we purchased our bedroom and kitchen televisions with. 
• In cleaning out a purse, I found both a Starbucks gift card and a Target card with a few dollars balance on each. 
• When my new phone case arrived, I took the cards I kept in my old case out to transfer, and four postage stamps fell out the side. These are Forever stamps, so will still be good to use. We still use about 6 stamps a month. 

    Overall, it was not a frugal week financially, but neither did we break the bank with little spurges here and there. DH still has eight days of vacation before the end of  the year, and I still have  seven weeks already banked, and accrue  over two days a month. My second week was more to burn up carry over hours. I will be turning on Adsense-thank you all that made comments that it wouldn't bother you. I'll watch to see if it gets  too unyielding though. I am trying to think of other ways to have a little passive income and since I like my morning blog routine, that seemed about as passive as it gets! Feel free to share your  side hustles and any links that help you that might help me and others reading. 

Thrifty Thursday-A Few Finds and Wins

      Another week and more opportunities to make the most of finite, time, resources, and money. For me, this week off, as is next week, is focused on getting life to some sense of order. This is part of the vacation hours I was allowed to roll forward, but needed to use up by end of August. We are horribly chaotic people individually, and together, DH, DD2, and me make our lives resemble the aftermath of a train wreck. Odd, since in our work and school lives, we are so on top of everything. My son is a minimalist, mostly by default as he  relocated across country twice, with only items he needed, and has kept that intent of only having what he needs. Of course, I have bins of his stuff labeled and stored for "some day." My older daughter is a self proclaimed recovered saver/clutterer, and now truly lives by keeping things that are needed or bring joy. I guess I won't reach her level of tidiness and order, but I am both hoping to do better, and hoping our youngest turns that same corner. Here's my wrap up of where I feel we had some good finds and a few wins in the thrift and economy department. 

Time

•  Got a 80% complete, but  useable space completed for my more permanent shift to working from home. Even just with blogging this week it has felt good having a separate space, and I just didn't want to wait until we had  time and energy to paint and replace the carpet. 
• We had a nice birthday dinner out with DH and the girls and then to the movie. It was even a bargain as movie tickets are cheap on Tuesdays. 
• We had a nice Wednesday at the cabin-no one else there so we could really relax and do things on our own schedule. We'll be up over the weekend as well. 
• While I packed beverages and we had some at that lake already, DH ran to the country store about a mile from the lake for sandwiches and local cheese and meat sticks. We buy gas for the boats and lawn mower there as well as the occasional beer run. Sure, things are more expensive there, but we try and make purchases a the local store throughout the summer to support their business as it is a treasure to have so close.
• While I enjoyed the Olympics, I am happy to not have a reason to turn on the television. 

Resources  

• I made a slow cooker pepper and tomato soup from essentially misfit vegetables-and it was a success. Today is a mix of relax and productivity so it, combined with some pieces of one of the ciabtta loaves m daughter brought home last week, will be a nice lunch. 

  

  
  

  
  

• I decided I needed more light in the office and was going to add "lamp" to the list of things to buy, even if second hand. Then I remembered there was an old table lamp hanging out upstairs in  our bedroom, and decided it would work. Again, not a preferred option, but fits in with the make do for now office. 
• I was worried that after so much heat, then two hard rains, my flower pots would be dead. While they took a beating, They seemed to have managed to survive, and the  rectangular pot of flowers looks full again. 
• We weren't that hungry last night when we got home form the cabin. DD2 had chicken strips form Monday night leftover. I used those to make DH a couple wraps on tortillas, using 1/4 bag of a  bagged Asian salad mix for the sauce and greens. He said they were really good. I ate the other 1/4 (had mixed only 1/2 the bag) as my light supper-and a whole lot of tortilla chips! 

Money

•  While I originally thought I would want an iPhone for my new cell phone, I had absolute sticker shock on the price, even with 50% off. The technician showed us the T-Mobile version, made by Motarola, that was essentially free (tax and  activation fee  of $46 though) for trading in my dinosaur phone. As long as it turned on and did not have  broken screen, they accepted it. I use my personal cell for calls, text, occasional photos, and a few apps, but do not need the state of the art versions. I still got 8X the memory of my old phone. 
• At lunch at Chili's, I signed up on the spot for rewards, and got a free  soft drink. Better yet, their $8 lunch deals was so filling, I took 1/2 my quesadilla home and had lunch the next day. Always sign up for the deals. Create a spam email just for these if you want, but it is a nice perk to enhance an occasional meal out. Now we prefer local restaurants, but as we were in a  suburb for  the phone and a Kohl's, pickings were slim. 
• DH found a pair of tennis shoes he liked, already with a good sale price but we had both an extra 30% off, plus I received $5 off anything promotion for my Kohl's anniversary. I also had him get a good Lands End basic t-shirt as he has so few that aren't rags, but the 30% didn't work on that as a national brand. Yes, I do plan to make him purge a minimum of four items for both, but I'll likely tackle his purge next week or a rainy fall day.
• I used the last of the twinkle lights I purchased a few after Christmas's ago to go with my great niece graduation present. She's off to move into her dorm next weekend. 
• I made  "fancy" coffee using my Ikea milk frother.
  
  
  
• Last week I was skeptical on the quality of the $1 coffee pouch I bought at Dollar Tree. I had no coffee and didn't want to grocery shop, but was there for other things. I was surprised that the flavor was OK. While I didn't get 40 cups as I use more grounds and a bigger mug, I've likely gotten 10 days of coffee out of the bag.
  
  
  

    I keep making lists of things we need-new mattress for the bed in the office, a new vacuum cleaner, and when in Kohl's, I almost coughed up the funds to buy new flatware. Ours is very mismatched and while I do have a complete set of  inexpensive stuff we use when I care about a matching table, I don't really like it. This is in additional to the major house projects and finishing touches on the office. I'm contemplating turning Adsense back on for a bit of side funds along with getting back on track with the Microsoft points. Adsense was starting to earn me about $50 a month which sure would be nice fun money for these items that are leaning towards needs, but realy still a want. I hesitate as it seemed like I had no control over the location  and spill over annoyance. As readers I'd love your opinion. This was my week of trying to use my time, resources, and money wisely-while living a good life in the process. How about you? What finds or wins did you have?

Thrifty Thursday-Lazy Thrift and Not So Thrifty

     This has been a lazy week for any sort of thrifty living. It also was not a thrifty week considering two expensive meals out over the weekend. I regret nothing though, as both while not frugal, were a good use of my time. This fits my definition of thrift-making the most of my time, money, and resources, but not living in such a tight mindset that I miss opportunities. Here is my summary of the thrifty positives for the week.

Time

•  DH and I had a sort of date night and went out for dinner on Friday, even getting out of our own small town. We were after the Friday night rush, so (and nothing against families with children) there were no young children anywhere near us. There were also empty tables and no wait list by this time so we didn't feel compelled to eat and leave. I even treated myself to a blackberry martini. 
  
• Likewise, dinner out to my parents favorite restaurant with my siblings was also fun. My oldest brother and a sister and their spouses were not able to come, so were missed. 
• DH comes home so tired on Saturday, so he wanted to stay home, but I left him there and joined  others at my sisters fro a card night. I was the big loser, but it was still fun, and I didn't stay that late.
• Trivia was fun this week,even though a different group. My friend and her two younger daughters and a fiance and I were the full team. We didn't place, but had a respectable score. It was a nice break since I was stuck in meeting after meeting this past work week and nice to put my brain power to fun.

Resources  

• Per said meals out, I brought my leftovers home, and my Friday night meal stretched to Saturdays lunch and my saved ribs and large chicken thigh fed DD2 and me the next day. I know leftover containers/doggie bags are less a thing in other countries, but probably because the portions are more normal! Really, I would have been rolling out the door had I attempted to finish either of these meals, and I have a healthy appetite! I wish the American mindset of value=humongous portions would go away. Until then, I will try and not waste by bringing home my leftovers. 
• Truly lazy, I have avoided grocery shopping for yet another week, using up stuff on hand and picking up a couple must have's in the dollar tree when I stopped for a couple items, quickly in and out. I think I made reasonably decent meals. I have one large cooked chicken breast to squeak out dinner one more time tonight! I look at this as both resource thrift and money thrift-and tie savings. 
• We got the last of the stuff for donations packed up and to throw out of the office room-I had thought we were there last week, but my daughter helped push me to do another purge. I'm really motivated now to use things I already have in my home and not buy more stuff. 
• In that vein, I offered locker mates to my niece for her daughter who is starting  middle school. No response yet if she wants them, but if not, they will work in the back corner of the closet to add a bit more organization as I use the closet partially as a gift wrap and gift storage area. 

Money

•  DH caught an error on his paycheck. It needs to be fixed, but not finding it would have cost him $200 of his rightful earnings.  
• DD2 had another bounty last night. We ended up freezing two loaves of ciabatta bread and another package of ciabatta rolls, plus a package of  naan rounds-a new product. DD1 came over and got items she will use and is bringin to friends. She also had more of the precut fruit and sweet potatoes. As a reminder, all this would be thrown if not distributed. While so many of the things she has brought home I likely would not have bought (precut fruit for example), I've utilized all and figure I've saved plenty on our grocery budget, money that can be redirected elsewhere. 

    Yes, again nothing phenomenal to save money and we did treat ourselves. We have a vacation week coming up, but it will be spent relaxing, doing more projects, and at the lake, all activities that fit well with my thrifty definition. Tuition, room and board is due on August 15th, plus she needs to buy textbooks. It is in the planned spending, but I always need to mentally prepare when such a huge amount of money is released. Since we'll pay that while on vacation, it will be added incentive to follow my personal thrift  strategies.