This is my car debt thermometer. It hangs on my refrigerator and I mark it off as we pay off each $1000. Notice anything about this picture???
WE ARE OFFICIALLY A CAR PAYMENT FREE FAMILY!!!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week
1. Stuck to the menu plan and ate at home!
2. Boiled a left over whole chicken and then made chicken noodle soup with it using a few other leftover out of the frig :) The roast chicken fed us one meal. The soup fed us 2 dinners and then 4 single servings for my husbands lunch! ( so we probably could have gotten 1 more dinner out of the soup if I didn't use it for the single servings!)
3. Sold a few things this week on the Facebook yard sale sites in my area and made $88 to snowflake towards my car!!!
4. Combined my driving so that I didn't waste gas when I was out.
5. My husbands car has finally died. We own a van which he uses for hauling music stuff around. We also have my car and Kid # 3 has a car. We have decided to not replace my husbands car for a while until we can pay cash for one. We will be making due with the vehicles we already own.
2. Boiled a left over whole chicken and then made chicken noodle soup with it using a few other leftover out of the frig :) The roast chicken fed us one meal. The soup fed us 2 dinners and then 4 single servings for my husbands lunch! ( so we probably could have gotten 1 more dinner out of the soup if I didn't use it for the single servings!)
3. Sold a few things this week on the Facebook yard sale sites in my area and made $88 to snowflake towards my car!!!
4. Combined my driving so that I didn't waste gas when I was out.
5. My husbands car has finally died. We own a van which he uses for hauling music stuff around. We also have my car and Kid # 3 has a car. We have decided to not replace my husbands car for a while until we can pay cash for one. We will be making due with the vehicles we already own.
Friday, September 14, 2012
5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week
1. I did not do any grocery shopping!
2. Sold a few more of Kid # 5's outgrown outfits making $ 8 to snowball towards my car.
3. Cooked dinner at home and we ate what we had!
4. Made some homemade all-purpose cleaner and some homemade wipes ( which I plan to post about soon) using grapefruit cleaner
5. I worked on my home management binder making some adjustments for the new school year. I made some of my own printables for it instead of spending the money and buying them from someone else. This was actually not that easy since I am not that computer smart. But I did it anyway!
2. Sold a few more of Kid # 5's outgrown outfits making $ 8 to snowball towards my car.
3. Cooked dinner at home and we ate what we had!
4. Made some homemade all-purpose cleaner and some homemade wipes ( which I plan to post about soon) using grapefruit cleaner
5. I worked on my home management binder making some adjustments for the new school year. I made some of my own printables for it instead of spending the money and buying them from someone else. This was actually not that easy since I am not that computer smart. But I did it anyway!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Household Cleaners I Make Myself
1. All- Purpose Cleaner
2. Laundry Soap
3. Powdered Laundry Soap ( this is the recipe I am currently using)
4. Grapefruit Cleaner
5. "Dryer Sheets"
I am linking this post up here:
2. Laundry Soap
3. Powdered Laundry Soap ( this is the recipe I am currently using)
4. Grapefruit Cleaner
5. "Dryer Sheets"
I am linking this post up here:
List of Things I No Longer Buy Premade
1. Frozen waffles
2. Pancake/waffle mix
3. Syrup
4. Most soups. I do still buy Tomato soup though cause I just haven't found a homemade version I like better.
5. Bisquick Baking Mix
6. Taco Seasoning Mix
7. French Dressing
8. Ranch Dressing
9. Biscuits
10. BBQ Sauce
11. Granola
12. Frozen Pizza
13. Pizza Sauce
14. Spaghetti Sauce
15. Rice packets ( like the Lipton Rice ones you buy at the store)
16. Cream Soups
17. Italian dressing
18. Sloppy Joe sauce
19. Coffee Cakes
20. Muffins - I never buy the box mixes for these anymore. They are so easy to just make from scratch
2. Pancake/waffle mix
3. Syrup
4. Most soups. I do still buy Tomato soup though cause I just haven't found a homemade version I like better.
5. Bisquick Baking Mix
6. Taco Seasoning Mix
7. French Dressing
8. Ranch Dressing
9. Biscuits
10. BBQ Sauce
11. Granola
12. Frozen Pizza
13. Pizza Sauce
14. Spaghetti Sauce
15. Rice packets ( like the Lipton Rice ones you buy at the store)
16. Cream Soups
17. Italian dressing
18. Sloppy Joe sauce
19. Coffee Cakes
20. Muffins - I never buy the box mixes for these anymore. They are so easy to just make from scratch
Friday, September 7, 2012
5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week
1. Made a menu plan for all of September
2. Shopped with a grocery list
3. Sold somethings around the house and made $35
4. Listed some more items on the Facebook sites to sell
5. Completed several projects around the house that I had previously bought the items for and never finished
2. Shopped with a grocery list
3. Sold somethings around the house and made $35
4. Listed some more items on the Facebook sites to sell
5. Completed several projects around the house that I had previously bought the items for and never finished
Thursday, September 6, 2012
$5 Light From a Yard Sale
I've been on a roll with getting some much needed projects done lately. This week I completed several.
A few months a go I found a much prettier over head light at a garage sale then what I had in my craft room originally. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was brass. But I figured for $5 I could go ahead and get it and remedy the brass color. I bought it right home and gave it a couple coats of brushed nickel spray paint. Then it sat and sat waiting on my hubby to take down the old light so that I could paint the ceiling around where the new light would go in. This week my awesome hubby did just that. After the ceiling was dry he installed the new light for me. Here it is
A few months a go I found a much prettier over head light at a garage sale then what I had in my craft room originally. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was brass. But I figured for $5 I could go ahead and get it and remedy the brass color. I bought it right home and gave it a couple coats of brushed nickel spray paint. Then it sat and sat waiting on my hubby to take down the old light so that I could paint the ceiling around where the new light would go in. This week my awesome hubby did just that. After the ceiling was dry he installed the new light for me. Here it is
I just love the pretty little bowl shaped shade it has over it. It is also much much brighter then my old ceiling light! Not to shabby for $5 at a yard sale huh?
One of these days I will post pics of my craftroom :)
I am linking this up to
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week - Really Late!
1. I made my nephew a present using items I already had!
2. I recovered some pillows using material I already owned
3. Listed several items to sell on the Facebook yard sale sites in my area.
4. My husband changed the oil and did some car repairs himself to save us money
5. Followed my menu plan
Hmmm I thought I had published this lol but as it turns out it was sitting in my drafts.........oh well :)
2. I recovered some pillows using material I already owned
3. Listed several items to sell on the Facebook yard sale sites in my area.
4. My husband changed the oil and did some car repairs himself to save us money
5. Followed my menu plan
Hmmm I thought I had published this lol but as it turns out it was sitting in my drafts.........oh well :)
Totaling The Numbers For August
Having a menu plan for the whole month of August went really well. I liked it so much that I am just finishing up one for September. I will be posting it soon :) I did not use up all of the meals I had planned in August. I just carried them over into this month.
I did find that menu planning for a whole month did save us some money but not as much as I had hoped. Our total for August was $294.86. My budget before has always been around $400. So this saved us about $100. I am hoping as I do this more I will get better at it and save even more money.
Now in my $294.86 that I spent for August, this included $45 worth of pet supplies which I should not have to buy for September. It also included a good deal on coffee I stumbled upon. The coffee should last us until the end of September I am hoping. My budget also includes all paper product ( not that we use many) and toiletries for the month. I could probably do better on those items if I got back into playing the "drug store game". I will have to think on that some.
Anyway not a bad experiment and one I plan to continue for a while. I'll keep you posted :)
I did find that menu planning for a whole month did save us some money but not as much as I had hoped. Our total for August was $294.86. My budget before has always been around $400. So this saved us about $100. I am hoping as I do this more I will get better at it and save even more money.
Now in my $294.86 that I spent for August, this included $45 worth of pet supplies which I should not have to buy for September. It also included a good deal on coffee I stumbled upon. The coffee should last us until the end of September I am hoping. My budget also includes all paper product ( not that we use many) and toiletries for the month. I could probably do better on those items if I got back into playing the "drug store game". I will have to think on that some.
Anyway not a bad experiment and one I plan to continue for a while. I'll keep you posted :)
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