March Madness Controlled/No Spend Thread

[MittenKitten]

I just went grocery shopping/errand running yesterday. Eggo Waffles that last month were $2.59 are now $2.99! The pancakes my kids like went from $2.69 to $2.99 also!

The waffles I can pick up cheaper at SuperTarget but the pancakes they do not carry. At least I had a $5.00 off $50.00 purchase before coupons. I didn't notice a big increase in price on anything else, and I do have a good idea of the cost of things.

[MittenKitten]

Oh and we are purchasing really nice blinds for some rooms in our home. While DS#2's waiver will only pay for his room blinds they are very necessary for the west side of the home as we have no heat and the sun kills us in the summer. They will also take away the concern of cords as the new ones will work on a short pull system AND we can pull them down from the top.

We didn't order all the blinds I would have like to so there will still be some with cords but we have also not been spending money on anything lately so it is time. At least the ones we are purchasing have an energy efficiency tax credit of 10%, so they should also help with our cooling bills. Looking forward to that!

Also need to have the sump pump replaced or the wiring checked. I wonder if it is the wiring as we have one light socket that seems to be blowing light bulbs ALL the time in the basement. Will need to have DF replace the light socket and see if that fixes the problem.

[muttleynfelix]

SES - It is amazing how wants like Ipads, TVs, etc and even things like clothes have stayed the same in price, but things we need like food, energy, and health care costs have gone up.

Speaking of health care costs, our insurance plan is actually staying the same this year ... except for the fact that DH jumped up in age brackets.

[sheilaincali]

Forgot to share my good news yesterday. DH got called back to work He starts back on the 28th. So I have one more week to add things to his honey do list. In all total he will have been laid off for 9 weeks. Which is way better than the 15 weeks he was laid off last winter. Plus he was eligible for UE this year which helped a ton. We didn't go into any debt this winter and didn't need to borrow from savings at all. So we are finally (after 3 years of spotty employment) starting off on a good foot as he goes back to work. Don't have to play catch up at all this year!

[dianartemis]

Yeah sheila!!!

[Honeylioness]

startsmart - Hmmm, a video "butt kicking" ... maybe that is what I need to get off the stick and finish some things. ;D

sheila - YEAH for DH!!!!! Way to go managing things this winter.

SES - I had to chuckle at you finding your darning egg. I will confess that I have three - a small celluloid one that I cannot image EVER saw any use, a wooden goose egg sized one great for toes of socks, and a third also in wood that is a mushroom shape which I like better for elbows of jackets or heels of socks. The last two are well worn and scratched from use.

And I am laughing again as I imagine some people reading these posts, shaking their heads and wondering just WHAT we are talking about.....darning? eggs? Ah well, they can Google it if they really are curious. www.hjsstudio.com/darn.html

Someone in the crowd hollered out "I can't eat an iPad" Someone else asked "When were you last in a grocery store?"

Not sure if I should laugh or cry at these statements.


Food and other Prices - As I mentioned in an earlier post we are currently using more frozen rather than fresh vegetables. Last weekend during my weekly shopping trip I was specifically aware of the cost of several items:


Milk - My local grocery store $2.50/gallon. Costco $2.09/gallon. This is why I bought four gallons and froze them.

Green beans - $2.99/pound. I just about fell over. BEANS are now at the same price as asparagus??? Oy.

Bread - Averaging $2.50/loaf for store brand wheat bread. This just seems to me to be way too high. It may be time to get serious about baking all my own bread again. I have seen some name brand breads selling for $4 a loaf.

Fish - I used to be able to find simple white fish such as cod or haddock for just under $3 a pound, but it has been MONTHS since I have seen that price.

I am anticipating the price of coffee, clothing, meat, electricity and gas to noticeably increase in the next three months.

[sheilaincali]

Honey: We like the Sara Lee 45 Calorie bread. At the regular grocery store it costs $3.48 a loaf. At Walmart it's $2.69. At the local Sara Lee bread store it's $1.75. Yesterday it was on sale for $0.75 per loaf so I bought 6 and froze 5 of them.
I have noticed the prices creeping up quite a bit at the grocery store lately.

[constanz22]

I am so happy that I coupon and stockpile when things are a great deal. I know it doesn't work for everything, but, it does for many items and really relieves the pressure of increased prices!
I saw a head of iceberg lettuce this week for over $3! My little local grocery has it on sale for .97 this week, so, you will be sure I will be buying one. I just wish they lasted a little longer and I'd get 2 at that price!
I'm also stocking up on Classico pasta sauce this week for .50/jar and getting $3 off beef for every 6 I buy. The expiration date on the sauce is sometime in 2013 so I am buying as many as I have coupons for.
The price on Eggos is crazy! I like having them in the house for occasional breakfast and was lucky enough to get them for $1 a box last week so I got 4.
I can always get free toiletries, cleaning products, OTC meds, etc. but find it much more difficult to stockpile food, so, when I have the chance, I do it!

[startsmart]

Food/Price Increases/Stockpiling
This week I bought a 5 pound bag of mozzarella cheese at costco and packaged it in 1 cup ziplock bags to freeze. I do the same with cheddar cheese shredded from Costco. I bought 2 containers of large mushrooms so I'll make stuffed and sliced mushrooms to freeze. Also bought ground beef, steaks and salmon fillet to freeze. So while it was a big grocery spend this is going to help for months to come.

My smoothie this morning is one over ripe banana, one small vanilla yogurt, splash of almost spoiled milk (smells okay but need to use quickly), frozen raspberries and blackberries.

Same strategy I've employed since I stopped hard core stockpiling: use what I have, buy in bulk when I can to save and use less overall.

If you want the most amazing quesadilla recipe EVER check out the pioneer woman for bbq chicken and grilled pineapple with mozzarella cheese quesadillas. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Work- very frustrating this morning. Ended up talking with our operations manager to get some clarity on how we can resolve the problems and my stress level. Basically it breaks down that I'm overwhelmed, I've told them I can't handle everything they want me to do in the time I'm supposed to do it in, we're working on bringing in someone who can support that and in the meantime I'm not getting any relief. If anything more pressure. So she helped me write a very PC "back off" email to let the boss know I'm doing the best I can and her efforts to micromanage are making things worse. I hope it works.

[startsmart]

Also, it's my WIR Anniversary! Woot!

In 3 years I have:

• paid off over $11,000 in raced debt
  bought a house
  traveled to Europe
  furnished a house
  saved over $11,000 (current balances)
  paid cash for a laptop, tv, ipad and DSLR (as well as other less fancy toys)
  taken online courses
  kicked off a freelance career
  made some amazing friends and met women like firebird, GLDNLVLY, ABF, gin, red2black2011, sapphire, sbcaligirl, keeker, ombud, and many more!
  
• 
  
• 
  

[Honeylioness]

Stockpiling - One of the things I am very grateful for is the space and resources I do have available to be able to take advantage of stockpiling options.

My condo came with a 4' deep and 8' long "closet" off the kitchen - something none of the other units have by the way. Not only did I install an electric socket into this space to accommodate a freezer, but I put up floor to ceiling adjustable shelves made of wood planks and study metal brackets. This lets me keep all my canning/preserving supplies organized and in one space. And gives me room to store preserved fruits, veggies and jams.

I buy in bulk items such as paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, flour, sugar and salt. When I find a great deal on items like frozen orange juice (two weeks ago we found a store brand at $1 a can), milk, ground beef (Costco $1.49/lb) or chicken (Costco $0.89/lb) I can bring it home and re-stock the freezer. I keep large plastic bins in the freezer to separately hold juice / meats / fruits etc.

For dry goods such as flour, sugar and salt - I find that Costco either meets or beats my local store unit pricing. Plus I can buy anywhere from 10-50 pounds at a time. I have large plastic tubs in the pantry (sterilized and re-purposed cat litter buckets actually) that I transfer the goods into. They not only are strong and seal tightly thereby keeping out pests, but they help the item stay fresh. Extra flour is store in the freezer also as it keeps the natural oils from going rancid. Salt is kept in a large mason jar with a piece of chalk wrapped in cheesecloth sitting on top to absorb any moisture that might get in.

[muttleynfelix]

AHHH!!! How did I go from not being sure I was going to have enough work to work 5 days this week to being so swamped that I'm not sure I'm going to get everything done by the 23rd (we leave for 'Bama on the 24th for my BFF's wedding)!!! ACK!! How did this happen! It is great, but OMG I'm in a bit of a panic. On another note, DS was at the office with me from about 9:30 to 3:30 today. We were gone about 45 minutes to get our taxes done (getting $1400 and $800 back ... not sure if I want to adjust my withholdings again or just roll with it). Then we came back to the office and I had a quick meeting. Just before the meeting DS fell and bonked his head super hard against the built in book shelves we had. Oh my gosh I felt so bad for him. But he was happy and went to my office manager so I could be a little professional. Then DS and I went to lunch. He loves the mexican restaurant down the street from my office. We had chicken fajitas and he loved the food and music. We left a huge tip because he made a mess. Then we came back to work and he took a nap while I attempted to get something done, but then he only napped an hour because of a poopy diaper. Fortunately, his daddy came back for him about that time because I was getting nothing done (and I am still not getting anything done). Back to wrok.

[mizbear]

sheila- Such great news!

UPDATE: 14/15 NS, 2/15 CS, 1 S

[dianartemis]

reenee: You could try apartments.com. I've used them in the past to find contact info and rent info.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 11 NS Days and 4 CS Days = 15NS/CS Days
Sheila and Muttley -- Great news on the increase in work.
Stockpiling-- I do this in some areas but my freezer begins to be cleaned out/used up beginning in April due to the hurricane season. That way if I have to leave town, the little I have left will travel with me to where ever I end up. After replacing both the fridge and freezer after Katrina, I now plan to empty them out as much as possible before the need arrives. If I don't have to leave then I know that all the restocked food is fresh. I do stock up on things like TP, paper towels (don't use a lot but have some on hand), cleaning items, HBA, etc.

[mizbear]

Stockpiling- I stockpile, then I eat/use it, then rinse and repeat. I have a nice pantry space I created out of a nook in my apartment, and use the linen and coat closets for the paper stuff. I keep my extra freezer stuff at my DGMs, but am getting out of that habit since I will not always be able to do that.

[ses]

I stockpile when and where I can whenever I find a great deal. Today I found a great deal. For the first time ever I combined a sale and coupons and saved TWICE as much as I spent! I may go back this weekend and do it again. I will stockpile canned tomato products, my favorite Green Giant Nibblets and Green Giant Green Beans and canned mushroom pieces. Especially when the use by date is three years out. Oh, I will also stockpile canned tuna. I always have some extra flour in the freezer and sugar I but cheap at Christmas to use in my jellies in September. I also stockpile yeast by the pound in the freezer.
I envy those of you who can take advantage of Cost co and Sam's Club. It is two hours to the nearest Sam's Club. Sometimes when I am in Rapid City I will visit the bread outlet and find some great deals.
Tomorrow I will be cleaning and inventorying the freezer prior to a visit to Rapid City next week. It will be interesting to find out what I will be eating the next few weeks that I have forgotten are in there.

I visited with a financial planner for the first time ever today. She made it a very educational experience. She seemed pleasantly surprised with what I have accomplished on my own. The big hole she found was the lack of a will (bad me) and no long term care insurance (which I have found to be very hard to research on my own.) She will do a detailed analysis of everything and get back to me in a couple of weeks. I appreciate the fact that she is letting me be as conservative as I need to be without pushing more risk on me.

Gotta go break up a cat fight! They were quietly snuggling just moments ago!

[reeneejune]

Hi All! Had a very productive afternoon today. Work was slow so I came home early. Since 3:30 this afternoon I:
- Took photos of my most recently completed sewing project for the blog.
- Finally updated my blog.
- Covered the lamp shade for one of my awesome Goodwill finds ($5 for the lamp, $5 for the shade, $2 for the fabric, glue on hand = $12 lamp that looks like it cost me 4 times as much!)
- Got busy on costuming and have one costume basically complete, from cutting out to making button holes in one night!

Before bed I need to track down some wayward fabric that's slated to become a lunch bag, and if I have the energy, cut out the pattern for Saturday's sewing project. I have Saturday off since it's my b-day, and I think I'm going to spend some quality time sewing, take myself out to dinner and maybe go and see a movie.

[Honeylioness]

And now for a Friday Fun Fact


Goddess of Fertility Day

When: Always March 18th

Flower of the Day: Baby's Breath





Goddess of Fertility Day celebrates Aphrodite and other gods and goddesses of fertility. In ancient times, many cultures had multiple gods and goddesses. Each one represented various aspects of life. The ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite was by far the most well known goddess of fertility. People would pray and make offerings to Aphrodite when seeking to create a family.


If you are looking to procreate, today might be the perfect time. However, if you are looking to avoid the unexpected pitter-patter of little feet, one might suggest today is a day of abstinence.

[mrslynch]

sheila--that is great news about dh going back to work early and not having to play catch up! so excited for you!

today was a big, unplanned spend day and for the first time ever, i don't feel guilty about it at all. dh and i are gung-ho paying off our remaining debt and we've moved back to wanna-be gazelle intense (we're not as intense as some but we're close) but today, when i got my paycheck for my second job, we splurged on concert tickets. i am now going to see rush in april and jimmy buffett in june!!! i have seen rush before (3 times) but it will be my first time seeing buffett. i am so excited i can barely sit still! it may put us one month behind in paying off our debt but it's totally worth it.

[shanendoah]

Update: 5 of 12 NSDs
We had a wonderful time last night with friends. DH made corned beef 2 ways (boiled and fried in rendered corn beef fat ala Bobby Flay, though he uses bacon fat), cabbage, and boiled red potatos. He also mixes up a honey mustartd and horseradish sauce for those who wanted it. And I made mrsl's cookie pie, which was quite yummy.
Our friends brought their two little dogs (a sheltie and a papillon mix) with them, so June got some socialization time. It was a really wonderful evening.

LTC Insurance: My mom bought some shortly after my step-dad died. She pays a little extra for hers because its partially refundable. She figures if she needs it, it will be worth every penny, and if she doesn't end up needing it, around 60% (I think, its been a long time since we discussed the specifics) of what she paid on premiums will be refunded to my brother and I.

[sheilaincali]

Mrslynch: Buffett is great in concert. Outdoor setting is the way to go Be prepared for lots of "2nd hand smoke DS still complains because the pot smoke (from other people- not us!) gave him a headache. But it's a fun show to go to.

[mizbear]

Salt- Salt- Salt!!!

Today will be a CS- I have a prescription to pick up (already budgeted) but I am picking up eggs that were semi-budgeted based on whether or not the kids were here- they are on sale AND I have a coupon! Eggs will be less than a buck. Plus I always have cheese and veggies on hand, so I can stretch a dozen eggs easy.

14/15 NS, 3/15 CS, 1S
Almost to my goal!

[dividend]

UPDATE 8 NS; 3 CS; 6 AS

Better than I thought I'd do, for sure. So far this week, the only thing I've spent money on that wasn't budgeted was lunch out on Tuesday. I love meeting DBF for lunch in the middle of the day - it feels like huge luxury. Even when it's $9 to split a plate of curry and spring rolls.

I've been thinking about food prices. I certainly notice huge increases on the rare occasions I pick up fast food. It seems insane to pay over $7 for a combo meal at Wendy's. I know that in college in like 2003, I used to be able to feed myself and my 3 male roommates on about $100/week. That's my budget now for just me and DBF, but I definitely eat a lot differently now. More whole foods, less of the mid-western comfort foods. In the summer (26 weeks) my vegetables mostly come from my CSA, which will cost $620 for the year. And most of my meat except for seafood (which I get frozen from Costco) comes from a local farm as well, and that costs me about $600 a year as well, which includes 2 dozen eggs a month. So I don't really have a good personal gauge. But I've noticed certain things, like paper towels, and bell peppers, seem outrageous.

At my office, it seems like most of the people who complain about food/grocery prices are the ones who I've never seen bring a lunch, just like the majority of the whining about gas prices are guys who own huge trucks to commute the 15 miles from the suburbs, when they need the actual truck functionality like once a year. Nothing like driving to lunch at some overpriced restaurant with your manager in his truck while he complains about both.

Funny side note. I was listening to a coworker rant about how expensive cars have gotten, even used cars, and I said, yeah it makes it kind of daunting to save enough to buy my next car with cash. He looked at me in astonishment, and said, oh, nobody does that!

[ses]

Reenee, Honey--In cleaning out my sewing box I realized I need some more little plastic plugs/corks that go on top of a spool of thread to wrap the trailing ends of thread around. What are they called? "Those little thingies to wrap a loose thread around?" I'd like to be more specific than that when I ask and not sound like such a ditz. I might invest in a new bodkin, the one I have is so bent and raggedy from use. Maybe get a couple of sizes.

[mizbear]

ses- my grandmother sewed professionally for years until her health no longer allowed and I never saw her put thread on anything but needles, machines, bobbins, etc. When she had excess thread on a spool, if there was not already a niche cut into it, she took a utility knife and cut a niche to put the thread in. On the metal spools, she would poke a sewing needle, still threaded through the paper on the end.

Do you guys ever use Clotilde ("pronounced like Matilda") do get your sewing implements? I stink at sewing but always read each new one my grandmother would get cover to cover.

[ses]

mizbear--What I want is a little plastic plug for the top spindle hole of a spool of thread that holds the loose thread end wrapped around the plug for when the little slit in the spool gets loose or breaks off. I have several but want more.

[sapphire12]

Evening ladies.

It was a fabulous winter day in the DC metro area. Temps ranged between 75 and 81. Yahoo. I walked outside twice today; once in the morning, another this afternoon. I met a friend at Chipotle for lunch and we ate outside. I ran plenty of errands after lunch. I wanted to do as much as possible with our 1-day weather wonder.

Happy Anniversary Start!

[reeneejune]

SES - I haven't seen those before that I'm aware of. I'll poke around and see what I can find.

[muttleynfelix]

Happy Birthday Reenee!!

DS is a major crab today. DH and I think it must be another tooth, but UGH!