murphath
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Post by murphath on Dec 4, 2013 12:13:04 GMT -5
I love to sew, too, but my machine kicked the bucket a year or two ago. I haven't replaced it and would love some recommendations from you guys. I don't need all the bells and whistles--just the basics. I've looked at some at Sears, Walmart and Target but the look like they would fall apart during the first project.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Dec 5, 2013 9:42:13 GMT -5
I've tried doing a price book, but could never figure out how to keep track of all the different prices. Everything ended just being jumbled up and I could never find anything when I needed it. We live in the land of the WMT Home Office, have a couple of great WMTs to shop at, so I just stick to WMT. I'm hoping an excel spread sheet I can access through drop box will help. Here's to hoping!
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Dec 5, 2013 10:04:30 GMT -5
I love to sew, too, but my machine kicked the bucket a year or two ago. I haven't replaced it and would love some recommendations from you guys. I don't need all the bells and whistles--just the basics. I've looked at some at Sears, Walmart and Target but the look like they would fall apart during the first project. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I would look at a Singer. Our local Bernina dealer also sells Singers. Buying one from a dealer would get you a little tech support if you needed it.
The least expensive NEW Bernina would cost about $999 (had one and loved it). Looking at a dealer would also get you a gently used machine for a much lower price. I'm a Bernina lover through and through, but I did have a Singer that I bought in 1990 and I loved it. I wish at times I would have kept it for a backup.
At all costs I would avoid eBay or Craigslist for a used machine. There is no way, unless receipts are with it, to know how, when and if it was ever serviced on a regular basis.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Dec 6, 2013 15:17:55 GMT -5
If it's any consolation Pat, it has stopped snowing in NW Arkansas. About 8" of wet snow, hardly any wind. Low tonight around 0.
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Artemis Windsong
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The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Dec 8, 2013 18:19:18 GMT -5
This weekend I did the free item with coupon shuffle. I usually buy something like $2 to $5 so I don't look so skroogie. I got the coupon out of my paper but forgot to take it when I went on errands and had to go back. I also found items for the back packs full of food given out by the schools. I went to my fitness center to snag their coupon. Someone had ripped it out and set it on the arm of the sofa. A gift? For me? The free item came back to you along with my free item to your donation table. I thought of my friend who shops on Tuesday specifically for the public food pantries.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Dec 10, 2013 7:13:23 GMT -5
Our horribly cold weather has been really good for the budget. So far I have had 5 no drive (no gas used) and 7 no spend days (2 drive days were just the 2 mi to the library). Today is also going to be no drive/no spend. Too COLD to go out.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Dec 10, 2013 8:20:38 GMT -5
We have to go out again today, even though the only road that is safe is the interstate. Need to make a trip to Sams Club for their package of brownie bites that I said I would bring to the HOA meeting tonight. If we go around 11:30 we can get the hotdog & drink special for $1.86 ea.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Dec 10, 2013 13:46:59 GMT -5
Being diligent about keeping my holiday spending at $300. In doing so, I've become creative and it's been a lot of fun racking my brain to come up with alternatives. I bought DH a t-shirt online using a promo code to save 25%. I'll also use two coupons to buy a close gal pal a $30 item for $15. This leaves $5 to buy her a few "shooters" of different flavored vodka. Can't wait to find out what other savings are out there waiting for me!
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Dec 10, 2013 22:40:30 GMT -5
I used my Discover points to buy DH a gift online through Amazon.
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kadee79
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Post by kadee79 on Dec 11, 2013 20:26:40 GMT -5
I shipped 2 boxes of homemade goodies to my son & family today! Thank goodness for military flat rate boxes that ship for $14.85 ea. as one box would have cost me nearly $40 to ship otherwise. I had a new postal clerk so she was giving me the regular rates until I pointed out that these were military flat rate boxes....and the price! Son has ordered a bunch of stuff to be sent to me, most places won't ship overseas, so I'll be sending more goodies to them with the stuff he has ordered...as it comes in!
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Dec 15, 2013 8:18:32 GMT -5
We are still having a BUNCH of super (for the timeof year) cold days. Staying home a LOT. Spending appears to be WAAAY reduced for the month. Won't be going out until mid-week when we warm up (?) to 32ish.
This morning I took BUNCH of broccoli stems, ½-3/4 c left over chicken broth, chopped up a carrot, 2 c water and 2 bouillon cubes to make some broccoli soup. That will be breakfast/snack 3x this week. I don’t generally like eating the stems so this was a good use for them and I even do it in summer but drink it cold.
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Artemis Windsong
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The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Dec 16, 2013 21:08:01 GMT -5
Today, I was up and out to go to my gym class 1.5 hours early. I used the time to shop the coupon specials. I was in and out of the store in 20 minutes. The shelves were not picked over like they usually are on Monday. Later, the temp was near 40 degrees so I finished up at WMT and Sam's. I did not over buy at either place. I stayed with my list and even decided against some. I will replenish when they run out.
I didn't get the best deal on chocolate almonds at Sam's. The big bag that cost less than the one I got was totally out.
I was delighted to see gasoline at $3.09. Maybe it will get below $3 again.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Dec 17, 2013 8:39:31 GMT -5
We spent money to improve our bathroom and finally get rid of some inferrior cheaper storage items that were in there... and the difference is priceless!
All in all it was two towel bars and 2 cabinents from IKEA... but it made a load of difference in our smaller bathroom!
In the process of purging our bathroom items, my mom might take a few of the things we no longer want to keep so that saves her some cash.
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Dec 17, 2013 22:56:02 GMT -5
I have a Singer that I've had for about 15 yrs. It's built into a cabinet and the doors of the cabinet have holders for thread spools & thimbles.
It does zig-zag stitch, hem stitch (different widths depending what fabric you're sewing), buttonhole attachment, etc.
It's the best machine I've owned. Even after all these years, the only thing I have to do is lubricate the gears every now and then.
I used to make all my slacks/pants and several blouses/tops and dresses for work. Also some more fancy holiday clothing. I haven't done quilting on it, since I'm not into that, but it could be done. I've even made blue-jeans/denim jackets.
I made placemats & napkins as Christmas gifts for family one year - or tree skirts for the Christmas tree. And tablecloths.
I love the Singer brand - but maybe I'm biased since I haven't had much experience with other brands.
(I still have my mom's old treadle Singer - I just finished re-finishing the wooden cabinet for it a year ago - it has yet to be re-assembled. I want to use it as an accent piece once it's put back together strictly for an accent piece/furniture decoration) It is an antique now.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Dec 18, 2013 8:44:28 GMT -5
Hubs is shipping our christmas presents out from his work because he will get a discount and not have to go to the post office. His work just invoices him for the shipping costs. They actually let a couple contractors who are nice to the same so its pretty cool. Right now, i'm just glad it saves time.
We also got 2 free LED lights from his office yesterday. They were defective but SCB was able to fix them when he got home so we swapped out two of our 4 lights for the LED's.
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kadee79
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S.W. Ga., zone 8b, out in the boonies!
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Post by kadee79 on Dec 19, 2013 21:51:08 GMT -5
I haven't saved a lot of money but I bought a new set of cookware at Sam's a couple of days ago. It is Tramontina, Italian made, and I love it! I had bought a set of skillets a month or so ago of the same brand and loved them so went back for the whole set of pans too. There are circles of little groves on the bottom of the pans and when you sit them on a burner, they don't move or slide even if you are stirring or turning something. The handles are rubberized so don't get hot/warm and if you lay a spoon on the handle, it stays put...no falling off! They are also non-stick and dishwasher safe...they look great when they come out of the dish washer. My old set was around 20 yrs. old and close to worn out!
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Dec 20, 2013 23:34:00 GMT -5
I am staying home not shopping, skipping Christmas except going to my brother's for dinner and making a layered bean dip. I am pretty much just not going in stores, I did buy two costco packs of dishtowels to get 8 I liked saved 4 plain ones and gave 8 plain ones away. Skipping three work days will save me gas. I only need to work 3 more days this year and 10 next year then I will retire, save a fortune in gas money. That doesn't save money, they will quit paying me when I quit coming to work.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Dec 21, 2013 13:26:13 GMT -5
I've become Re-gifting Queen this month for Christmas: Was given 4 bottles of homemade wine. Gave two flavors to my dad, and gave one as a hostess gift last night. Attended a gift basket exchange party earlier this week. 4 of 5 of the basket contents I received have been re-gifted for next week. Received a gift bag full of goodies for volunteering earlier this week. All but 2 things have been re-gifted. Immediately reused a gift bag (and its tissue!) received yesterday at lunch for the hostess gift last night. Years ago I cut out the front of many Christmas cards into gift tags. DH and I have been using them this week. The new tissue we've been using was purchased via a niece's fundraiser this fall. I used a total of 5 coupons for Christmas shopping this year, not including baking ingredients coupons: A 25% off a certain gift shop, a spend $30 receive $10 off coupon, a $1/2 storybook candy coupon, $1/2 Hershey's, and a .75 off Slim Jim snack sticks for niece2's stocking stuffer. I also brought in a large chain's advertisement to our local sporting good store, and the owner knocked $5 off the price of DH's gift. At $80, that was a big deal to me. I have saved at least $7 at the liquor store this month using their 10% off coupons. The CD my mom wanted was $16.99, on sale for $11.99 And may I just say it's amazing how far home baked goodies go? Everything from bringing cheer to someone, to thanking large clients, to relieving tension in certain business relationships. This month's grocery shopping winners: Buy two Jimmy Dean sausage rolls, get a free store brand jumbo biscuits. Got a free Betty Crocker mac & cheese using kroger's Free Friday Download. In total I saved 25% off my entire order ($79.17!!!!) using e coupons, Your Personal Price downloads, paper coupons, buying Manager's Specials and sale items. Last night I got a free King Sized Twix for DH's stocking using kroger's Free Friday Download coupon.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Dec 23, 2013 8:49:51 GMT -5
We were going to toss my husbands old ps3 into the gargage sale pile with all his games, but it looks like his older brother wants it for his kids, and since we have them for christmas anyways, it looks like we will be shipping that out too.
I just wish they would have figured that one out when we had the other items still left to ship to them...
Looks like another work run if we can get the PS3 back from my mom's garage in time.
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Artemis Windsong
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The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Dec 25, 2013 17:54:14 GMT -5
Most of our Christmas dinner came from the pantry. For Christmas, DH's sister sent us some candies that were available when we were kids. Our DS and certainly our GrS did not know what the candies were. We very much appreciated the gifts.
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Jan 7, 2014 19:35:37 GMT -5
My boss often "cleans out" her fridge and cupboards and brings everything into work. This week I scored a huge bag of walnuts about 80% full. When I asked her why she was getting rid of it, she says that she bought them to bake for the holidays and since the holidays are over, she's done baking.
Score for me!
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grits
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Post by grits on Jan 7, 2014 20:19:31 GMT -5
I went to the store, and did some coupon/sale combos to save over 20% on stuff that usually isn't on sale. Plus, I scored a big bouquet of flowers on the cheap for a friend who is having surgery. I went and spent a couple of hours with her today.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Jan 9, 2014 7:27:29 GMT -5
I made another batch of my brocolli stem soup BUT I forgot to include some cauliflower stems. However, that is ok since I will be getting more cauliflower this week & will make that kind of soup next.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Jan 15, 2014 9:00:45 GMT -5
I was able to make 2 copies of my car key down at Home Depot for less than $5-- despite the dealership saying I'd have to pay WAYYYYY more because of the "chip" thing... Even after looking at my key to see it was an older one they still wanted $43 to make a copy.
I'm convinced mine doesn't have a chip in it because i've been driving with the copy for about a week now with no problems.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Jan 15, 2014 14:52:49 GMT -5
DH and I did a little road trip today to a nearby state. Sams Club was our destination.
We bought Premier Turbo Tax for $69.99 saving $10 Bought some pantry groceries in bulk, i.e. Splenda packets 1000 box Large bottles of coffee flavoring syrup (dh likes it) Box of 24 Swiffer with a $3.50 savings Our total Sams Club instant savings was $19.50
....and misc. other stuff.
The reason for this little trip? Our state has a 9.75% sales tax, and on food it runs about 5% instead of the full amount. The state we shopped in has a 6.5% sales tax on non-food items and no tax on grocery items. Our total sales tax was $4.50 on a total bill of $200. We then stopped at Sams for gas using the WMT Discover card for a $0.5 gallon discount.
I'll wipe the smug look off my face later, but for now I'm enjoying my day.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Jan 16, 2014 10:07:27 GMT -5
Blonde G- Tax on groceries? I always though California taxed everything that moved... but thankfully no tax on groceries.. 8% on everything else, but thankfully not groceries... that would seriously pull from a lot of people's budgets.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Jan 17, 2014 10:54:44 GMT -5
We have tax on groceries here, too. Went to the Big City for a dentist appointment yesterday and did errands beforehand: Exchanged a blouse I received for Christmas for a stack of new skivvies. The goal is to start washing my clothes every two weeks like I used to to save 2 loads a month. Fuel is less expensive there anyway, and I used my Kroger value card to save an additional 20 cents off. Target: Had a coupon to buy 12+ or larger Cottenelle triple rolls and get a free box of Kleenex. The TP was on sale for $1 off. OfficeMax: Turned in 4 more ink cartridges for credit later on. Still have $20 credit I need to use. Sam's: Tuna .85 cents a can compared to $1 at the store Olives .85 cents a can compared to $1.25 Canned chicken $2 for a large can compared to $2.28 w/ coupon at WW
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Jan 17, 2014 11:06:35 GMT -5
Not only does our state tax food, there is a tax form you are required BY LAW to fill out whenever you buy something in another state that has a lower sales tax, If you bring the item(s) back into the state for use. <cough cough gag gag>
I'll get right on that soon. <cough cough gag gag> As I understand, it is reported that some people actually do this!
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 17, 2014 11:54:17 GMT -5
Made a huge pot of soup last night, using a combination of things I had on hand (turkey stock in the freezer, leftover chicken stock, some cooked diced chicken, corn and carrots from a stir-fry), plus noodles bought BOGO and matzoh balls made with cheap eggs, free canola oil and a bit of club soda (to make them light). Along with it: fresh hot bread, made from pizza dough from my local grocery store, bought from their bakery on sale last week and frozen. I defrosted it, rolled it out, gave it a quick egg wash and sprinkled on sea salt and grated Parmesan. The whole meal took 45 minutes to put together, tasted awesome and I still have about three quarts of soup left for this chilly weekend!
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NoNamePerson
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Is There Anybody OUT There?
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Post by NoNamePerson on Jan 17, 2014 12:05:15 GMT -5
My one year "special" with AT&T UVerse (phone/internet) was up and I informed them if it couldn't remain at same price I would be returning equpment and going with MediaCom and/or Dish - it remains the same thanks to the sweet customer service person.
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