On Sunday we got a couple inches of snow. My husband used the snow blower to clear the driveway and sidewalk leading up to the house. Later that day we went to leave the house using the front door, opened the regular door to leave and the glass on the storm door shattered all over the hallway :( We assume that my husband hit the door with a small rock and didn't know it :( $342 later we have a shatter proof new storm door.
A few years ago this would have been a big expense and would have stressed me out. Now we just adjusted the budget a little bit and we have a new door. No stress. Not necessarily what I wanted to spend the money on but at least it is covered and we didn't have to put it on a credit card. Murphy does come knocking even when you are debt free but it is just annoying instead of becoming a big deal.
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Thursday, March 14, 2013
New Furniture Pictures
I had been meaning to post pics of our new to us furniture. I found this on a local Facebook yard sale group. There were originally 3 pieces that I got for $250. The over sized chair was to big for the space we needed it in so I resold it for $50. So I ended up with a super, nice, looks brand new couch and love seat for $200. I didn't stage the pics. Figured might as well keep it real. This is what it looks like most days. That is my cute little doggies favorite spot. She loves to look out the window :)
Sunday, February 3, 2013
January Grocery Budget and Spending
My grocery budget in the past has always been $400 a month. This year I am hoping to cut that by at least a $100 a month. We will see if that happens or not. Either way it is a challenge I am gonna try to reach.
For the month of January I spent $411.13. $11.13 over my normal budget :( After further looking over my receipts I come to realize I spent $160.88 stocking up on good sale prices I saw through out the month.
For February we should do much better with the budget. I plan to do my grocery shopping this week for most of the month.
We just had a Costco open up 7 blocks from our house. My biggest obstacle in keeping my grocery budget low will be keeping my husband out of that store. He is fascinated with shopping there :(
In January I did not take my grocery money out in cash to spend. This month I have already withdrawn half of the cash from our account and I plan to withdrawal the rest this week. Whatever is left in cash at the end of the month I will deposit into our car fund.
I am really hoping that my meal planning has helped to pay off. Now I just need to be weary of buying to many sale items even if they are at a good stock up price.
For the month of January I spent $411.13. $11.13 over my normal budget :( After further looking over my receipts I come to realize I spent $160.88 stocking up on good sale prices I saw through out the month.
For February we should do much better with the budget. I plan to do my grocery shopping this week for most of the month.
We just had a Costco open up 7 blocks from our house. My biggest obstacle in keeping my grocery budget low will be keeping my husband out of that store. He is fascinated with shopping there :(
In January I did not take my grocery money out in cash to spend. This month I have already withdrawn half of the cash from our account and I plan to withdrawal the rest this week. Whatever is left in cash at the end of the month I will deposit into our car fund.
I am really hoping that my meal planning has helped to pay off. Now I just need to be weary of buying to many sale items even if they are at a good stock up price.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Mid-Month Check In
I tallied the numbers for our grocery expenses so far this month and they totaled $257.55. Not to bad but I was really hoping we could just spend that amount for the whole month, not gonna happen. I have a small grocery list that I need to go purchase. I think that will be it for the month though.
One thing I have learned in all of this is we are snackers. We go though alot of snack foods and I doubt that will change. So I really really need to plan for these also. I will be starting that with my small grocery list for the rest of the month. I also need to be more proactive about making some snacks for us from scratch. I think that would really help with keeping our grocery budget low.
One thing I have learned in all of this is we are snackers. We go though alot of snack foods and I doubt that will change. So I really really need to plan for these also. I will be starting that with my small grocery list for the rest of the month. I also need to be more proactive about making some snacks for us from scratch. I think that would really help with keeping our grocery budget low.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
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 :)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Searl House Happenings..........
I finally got all of my fall planting done that I had been putting off for the last few weeks. I also transplanted some things to a couple different locations. We are planning to get a new storage shed hopefully by the end of the month. Some of the flowers and things I transplanted were in the way of the spot we would like to put the shed.
Yesterday on the way home from taking Kid #3 to the Orthodontist we stopped at GFS Marketplace and purchased a few items. I picked up a two -2lb blocks of cheese that we will shredded as needed for different meals. I also got a 1 lb bottle of chili powder and a 2lb 6oz container of dry roasted peanuts. Total spent $24.50
Today I did my big grocery shop at Aldi. I am to tired this evening to list everything I bought there but my total was $84.17. $9.99 of that was on a utility/shopping cart, you know, like the ones you see old ladies walking and pulling around. I have wanted one of those for a long time and they had them marked down from about $15. I live close enough that I could walk to purchase some of my groceries but I would need a cart or wagon or something to be able to get them home. Now I have one :) I will add the 9.99 back to my grocery cash. So I have about $59.70 left in my two week budget. I have to make one more trip to get sugar which I forgot and the kids are out of salsa. I need to look over my two week menu and see if we actually have to have the salsa for any of the meals or if they will need to just deal without it until the next pay period.
Last week was Homecoming here for Kid # 3 and 4. I have posted before that we had a surprisingly cheap and frugal homecoming. Kid # 3 found her dress and shoes at Goodwill for a total of $20.98. She wore long black gloves from Kid # 5's dress up box. She already had earrings and she borrowed some bracelets from Kid # 2. I made her corsage and her boyfriends boutonniere. I did pay a friend $20 to do her hair. That may or may not have been pricey but since the friend is 9 months pregnant and did a practice session on Kid # 3's hair before homecoming I think it was OK. Here are a couple of pics of the corsage and boutonniere :)
For Kid # 4 I found his homecoming clothes at a yard sale. I paid a total of $1 for his dress shirt and dress pants. Woohoo for me!! He needed a royal blue tie to wear with his shirt and it turns out that Kid # 3 and her boyfriend wore that color last year so he borrowed the boyfriends tie. Kid # 4 and his date opted not to do flowers since neither of them are old enough to have jobs. I was OK with that if they were. I did give Kid # 4 $15 to buy the tickets required to be able to attend homecoming. So total spent for two kids to go to the dance was less then $60. I do not think that was bad at all and the best thing is they both had a wonderful time. Both Kid # 3 and Kid # 4 attended the dance together with both their dates which I also think is wonderful!
So that is what has been happening around here. I will post my Christmas plan update soon!
Yesterday on the way home from taking Kid #3 to the Orthodontist we stopped at GFS Marketplace and purchased a few items. I picked up a two -2lb blocks of cheese that we will shredded as needed for different meals. I also got a 1 lb bottle of chili powder and a 2lb 6oz container of dry roasted peanuts. Total spent $24.50
Today I did my big grocery shop at Aldi. I am to tired this evening to list everything I bought there but my total was $84.17. $9.99 of that was on a utility/shopping cart, you know, like the ones you see old ladies walking and pulling around. I have wanted one of those for a long time and they had them marked down from about $15. I live close enough that I could walk to purchase some of my groceries but I would need a cart or wagon or something to be able to get them home. Now I have one :) I will add the 9.99 back to my grocery cash. So I have about $59.70 left in my two week budget. I have to make one more trip to get sugar which I forgot and the kids are out of salsa. I need to look over my two week menu and see if we actually have to have the salsa for any of the meals or if they will need to just deal without it until the next pay period.
Last week was Homecoming here for Kid # 3 and 4. I have posted before that we had a surprisingly cheap and frugal homecoming. Kid # 3 found her dress and shoes at Goodwill for a total of $20.98. She wore long black gloves from Kid # 5's dress up box. She already had earrings and she borrowed some bracelets from Kid # 2. I made her corsage and her boyfriends boutonniere. I did pay a friend $20 to do her hair. That may or may not have been pricey but since the friend is 9 months pregnant and did a practice session on Kid # 3's hair before homecoming I think it was OK. Here are a couple of pics of the corsage and boutonniere :)
For Kid # 4 I found his homecoming clothes at a yard sale. I paid a total of $1 for his dress shirt and dress pants. Woohoo for me!! He needed a royal blue tie to wear with his shirt and it turns out that Kid # 3 and her boyfriend wore that color last year so he borrowed the boyfriends tie. Kid # 4 and his date opted not to do flowers since neither of them are old enough to have jobs. I was OK with that if they were. I did give Kid # 4 $15 to buy the tickets required to be able to attend homecoming. So total spent for two kids to go to the dance was less then $60. I do not think that was bad at all and the best thing is they both had a wonderful time. Both Kid # 3 and Kid # 4 attended the dance together with both their dates which I also think is wonderful!
So that is what has been happening around here. I will post my Christmas plan update soon!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Grocery Shopping Today
The last two weeks in September I almost made it to my goal I posted about here of only spending $100 for two weeks. We spent ( I had some help from the husband) $ 106.38. I really don't think that was to bad. This two weeks ( Sept 29 - Oct13) I withdrew my normal $200 in cash but I am really hoping to spend way under that. I have planned out my two week menu and included some snacks which really seems to be helping. I have made my grocery lists for all the different store I will need to shop at. Here is what I have spent so far:
Walmart
4-bars Fels Naptha Laundry Soap - 0.97 cents each =$ 3.88
1- Box Borax - $ 2.98
1- Box Washing Soda - $ 3.24 ( I do not think this is the cheapest place I have seen this priced in my area and will be shopping around to see)
( can anyone guess what I am making?)
1- Walmart Brand Coffee Creamer - $ 2.12 ( this has went up in price I noticed)
1 - Walmart Brand Jar Salsa - $1.98
Total = $ 15.45
Kroger -( Kid # 1 works at Kroger so we get employee discount on Kroger brand items)
1 - Kroger Brand Gallon Milk - $ 2.99 - 0.30 discount = $ 2.69
4- Frozen Kroger Brand Veggies - $4.00 - 0.40 discount = $ 3.60
1 - Box Kroger Brand Kosher Salt - $ 1.25 - 0.13 discount = $ 1.12
3- Bags Kroger Brand Tortilla Chips - $ 3.00 - 0.30 discount = $ 2.70
1- Kroger Brand Applesauce Cups - $ 1.61 - 0.16 discount = $ 1.48
3 - Italian Sweet Bread Loafs off the bakery discount rack - $1.29 = $ 3.87
Total = $ 15.58
Kroger - ( Sunday morning trip by husband and Kid # 5)
1- Dozen Bakery Doughnuts = $5.99
Total = $ 6.05
Dollar General Store
1- Poster Board ( normally I do not count this in with my groceries but it was 50 cent) -$ 0.50
1 - Duracell Batteries ( I do count this as part of my groceries along with all cleaning supplies) - $ 3.75
Total = $ 4.54
So as of right now I have spent $41.62. I still have a couple of grocery shops to make one of them is a bigger one at Aldi. I will update later on how I have done. So far so good though!
Walmart
4-bars Fels Naptha Laundry Soap - 0.97 cents each =$ 3.88
1- Box Borax - $ 2.98
1- Box Washing Soda - $ 3.24 ( I do not think this is the cheapest place I have seen this priced in my area and will be shopping around to see)
( can anyone guess what I am making?)
1- Walmart Brand Coffee Creamer - $ 2.12 ( this has went up in price I noticed)
1 - Walmart Brand Jar Salsa - $1.98
Total = $ 15.45
Kroger -( Kid # 1 works at Kroger so we get employee discount on Kroger brand items)
1 - Kroger Brand Gallon Milk - $ 2.99 - 0.30 discount = $ 2.69
4- Frozen Kroger Brand Veggies - $4.00 - 0.40 discount = $ 3.60
1 - Box Kroger Brand Kosher Salt - $ 1.25 - 0.13 discount = $ 1.12
3- Bags Kroger Brand Tortilla Chips - $ 3.00 - 0.30 discount = $ 2.70
1- Kroger Brand Applesauce Cups - $ 1.61 - 0.16 discount = $ 1.48
3 - Italian Sweet Bread Loafs off the bakery discount rack - $1.29 = $ 3.87
Total = $ 15.58
Kroger - ( Sunday morning trip by husband and Kid # 5)
1- Dozen Bakery Doughnuts = $5.99
Total = $ 6.05
Dollar General Store
1- Poster Board ( normally I do not count this in with my groceries but it was 50 cent) -$ 0.50
1 - Duracell Batteries ( I do count this as part of my groceries along with all cleaning supplies) - $ 3.75
Total = $ 4.54
So as of right now I have spent $41.62. I still have a couple of grocery shops to make one of them is a bigger one at Aldi. I will update later on how I have done. So far so good though!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Grocery Shopping
This two week pay period the grocery budget is pretty tight. I over spent the last pay period and did alot of stocking up on sale items. In order to make up for my over spending I gave myself a $100 grocery budget for this two week pay period, Sept 15-28. So far I have spent $86.73. I have everything I will need for all of our dinners from now thru Sept 28. So we will see if I make it on $100. Please keep in mind I do have a small stockpile of items in my pantry and a freezer full of meat. Here is what I have purchased so far:
Aldi
2- Banana - $ 2.38
Granny Smith Apples - $ 3.99
3 - Baby Carrots -$ 1.47
2- Sugar Snap Peas - $ 2.98
Gala Apples - $ 3.99
2- Avocados - $1.98
2- Gallons Skim Milk - $ 5.56
2- Tomato Juice - $ 2.58
Vanilla Yogurt 32 oz - $ 1.99
2- Spaghetti O's - $1.38
Sour Cream - $ 1.29
2- Chili Beans - $1.10
Quick Cooking Oats - $1.99
2- Diced Tomatoes - $1.10
Butter Quarters - $ 2.79
Cream Cheese - $1.29
Flour Tortillas - $ 0.99
Wide Egg Noodles - $ 0.99
2- Fiber Bars - $ 3.78
2 - Cereal Bars - $ 3.78
2 - Graham Crackers - $ 2.58
Snack Crackers - $ 1.69
Sliced Pepperoni - $1.99
Cheetos ( aldi brand) - $ 0.99
2 - Eggs - $ 2.74
3- Bread - $ 2.97
Hot Dog Buns - $ 0.79
Total w/ tax = $61.76
Walgreens
Honey - $ 4.99
Total w/ tax = $ 5.04
Aldi
Potatoes - $2.99
Lettuce - $0.99
Zucchini - $ 1.19
3-Green Pepper - $1.69
Mushrooms - $1.69
Mexican Shredded Cheese - $2.99
3lb Polish Sausage - $ 4.29
5 - Hamburger Buns - $1.95
4 - Hot Dog Buns - $ 1.56
Total w/ tax = $19.93
While I was at Aldi today they Hamburger and Hot Dog buns marked down to $0.39. So I stocked up on them for my freezer.
I have $13.27 left in my $100 budget. Hopefully this will be enough to get milk or bread if we need it before the end of the pay period. I'll let you know how I do!
Aldi
2- Banana - $ 2.38
Granny Smith Apples - $ 3.99
3 - Baby Carrots -$ 1.47
2- Sugar Snap Peas - $ 2.98
Gala Apples - $ 3.99
2- Avocados - $1.98
2- Gallons Skim Milk - $ 5.56
2- Tomato Juice - $ 2.58
Vanilla Yogurt 32 oz - $ 1.99
2- Spaghetti O's - $1.38
Sour Cream - $ 1.29
2- Chili Beans - $1.10
Quick Cooking Oats - $1.99
2- Diced Tomatoes - $1.10
Butter Quarters - $ 2.79
Cream Cheese - $1.29
Flour Tortillas - $ 0.99
Wide Egg Noodles - $ 0.99
2- Fiber Bars - $ 3.78
2 - Cereal Bars - $ 3.78
2 - Graham Crackers - $ 2.58
Snack Crackers - $ 1.69
Sliced Pepperoni - $1.99
Cheetos ( aldi brand) - $ 0.99
2 - Eggs - $ 2.74
3- Bread - $ 2.97
Hot Dog Buns - $ 0.79
Total w/ tax = $61.76
Walgreens
Honey - $ 4.99
Total w/ tax = $ 5.04
Aldi
Potatoes - $2.99
Lettuce - $0.99
Zucchini - $ 1.19
3-Green Pepper - $1.69
Mushrooms - $1.69
Mexican Shredded Cheese - $2.99
3lb Polish Sausage - $ 4.29
5 - Hamburger Buns - $1.95
4 - Hot Dog Buns - $ 1.56
Total w/ tax = $19.93
While I was at Aldi today they Hamburger and Hot Dog buns marked down to $0.39. So I stocked up on them for my freezer.
I have $13.27 left in my $100 budget. Hopefully this will be enough to get milk or bread if we need it before the end of the pay period. I'll let you know how I do!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Christmas Shopping???
Just wondering if anyone besides me has started their Christmas shopping yet? Our last immediate family birthday is at the beginning of August. Usually after this takes place I start my shopping for Christmas. This year I bought two gifts in July. I have ideas for almost everyone that we buy gifts for. Now I will be spending the rest of this time looking for good deals for the things on my list. I will also be looking for good sales and coupons to bu the supplies I need for the gifts I wish to make. I am hoping to have most of my shopping done by the end of October except for the Santa gifts for the 5 kids. How about all of you? Have you started shopping yet or at least started making your gift list?
Friday, April 8, 2011
You know it is getting warm when........
you start seeing signs for yard sales! Yesterday my husband and I went to the first yard sale of the season for us! Woohoo! I love yard sale season. I love to go to yard sales. I love to look for things we might need and be able to get them at a fraction of the cost of buying new. In my mind it is also good frugal entertainment on a nice day and a good way to get alittle exercise and fresh air in the process.
Here we are waiting for the sale to start!
Here we are waiting for the sale to start!
This is I am waiting in line to go in.
Here is what we got. Total spent about $14. I had been wanting a spring form pan and found one for 25 cents!
The best purchase of the day was these stepping stones. We got 6 of them for a $1 a piece. There is a spot in our yard I had been wanting to get some for so this was perfect! Here are 3 of the 6.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Walgreens Shopping Trip
Yesterday after I got done working I made a quick run to Walgreen's. I try to keep a small stockpile of things we use often. I also try to buy these things at the least expensive price and use coupons to help lower the price. But I am in no way a extreme couponer. I just use them for things that we normally use and I am not brand loyal to most things.
Here is what I bought:
Easter basket item: $1.79
Purex laundry soap 32 load- $ 2.99 sale price used $1.00 coupon = $1.99
Excedrin 24 counts- $4.99 - used coupon for free product = FREE
Herbal Essence shampoo 12 oz- $2.99 sale price used $1.00 coupon =$1.99
2 Right Guard deodorant 4oz- $4.49 buy one get one free sale and used bogo free coupon = FREE
My total before coupons and tax was - $21.74
I paid out of pocket - $6.80 I didn't think this was to bad :)
I do sometimes buy laundry soap when I can get it for under $2.00. I use it occasionally when I am out of homemade soap and haven't had time to make any. I have also bee trying to buy shampoo for color treated hair since my daughter and I dye our hair. That is what the Herbal Essence shampoo was for.
Here is what I bought:
Easter basket item: $1.79
Purex laundry soap 32 load- $ 2.99 sale price used $1.00 coupon = $1.99
Excedrin 24 counts- $4.99 - used coupon for free product = FREE
Herbal Essence shampoo 12 oz- $2.99 sale price used $1.00 coupon =$1.99
2 Right Guard deodorant 4oz- $4.49 buy one get one free sale and used bogo free coupon = FREE
My total before coupons and tax was - $21.74
I paid out of pocket - $6.80 I didn't think this was to bad :)
I do sometimes buy laundry soap when I can get it for under $2.00. I use it occasionally when I am out of homemade soap and haven't had time to make any. I have also bee trying to buy shampoo for color treated hair since my daughter and I dye our hair. That is what the Herbal Essence shampoo was for.
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