How did I save money today?

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Day 6 of not spending any money today.

I did spend money on gardening that is not included in my no spending as we are building our garden beds here and I used our money wisely -

- bought a 30 mt x 3.66 mt wide roll of shadecloth on eBay using a discount voucher saving $501 over buying it in our local hardware stores here by the metre.
- Purchased bulk polypipe, fittings and adaptors, a tap timer and grey water sprinkler from our ag store saving $119.06 over buying it in our local hardware stores.
- Not garden related but listed 10 homemade items on eBay on a free listing promotion saving $16.50 on usual listing fees.
 
Received a third party notice that a license of mine was up for renewal. Notice offered to spare me the frustration by submitting the renewal for me. All I had to do is pay $49 to join the organization and another $15 for handling. Well bless their hearts. Yes the online renewal process was a bit arcade but it was free. 5 minutes later I had it figured out and license is renewed. Save $64.
 
I had a jar of crushed ginger that needed to be used up so I mixed it with some dried ginger, half a chopped lemon and a kilo of sugar and filled the pot with water and made ginger cordial.

It turned out delicious.

Ginger cordial is very expensive in the shops, from memory it's about $4 + for a small bottle and I got 3 750 ml bottles for less than the price of
the store brought item.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
@Tank-Girl homemade cordial is the best and we make our own homemade orange, lemon and rose petal cordial as well and it tastes divine. I would make ginger cordial but I am allergic to ginger :) .
Click to expand...

I agree and it's unfortunate you are allergic to ginger..I love the stuff.
This made up recipe worked out so well I need to write it down.
I'm even tempted to get another soda stream refill just so I can enjoy it fizzy.
I've made rosella cordial out of my failed jam and that turned out ok.
 
Day 7 of not spending any money today.

I did buy a grocery e-voucher from our roadside assist club but won't count that until I spend it on groceries next week as it comes out of the grocery and electricity account where we keep the money. I saved 5% or $7.88 on groceries before I spend it and will likely couple this with any specials on items we need too for more savings on Tuesday next week.
 
Bought a truck alternator that hurt but saved on mechanic install did it my self.
Charged the alternator but will pay off when I get paid at the end of the month.
For Christmas going to look into auto mechanic class for either myself or my son.
His truck could become costly.
My dad was the first owner, my son the second.
Truck only had 78000 original miles on it when dad got his new to him Dodge Ram truck.
Dad bought son's truck new, 1997 Chevy.
Mechanic install savings over $125.
Cost of alternator $81.
Minus alternator core fee of $10 so alternator cost$71 plus tax.
 
I love the idea of the warm washing machine to let bread rise....

Carole Drennan‎



SOURDOUGH BREAD STARTER 2 cups flour; 1 pkg. dry yeast; 2 cups warm water. Combine in large bowl (not metal). Mix thoroughly until blended.. Let stand uncovered in a warm place, 80 to 85 degrees, for 48 hours. Stir occasionally. Stir well just before using. Pour out required amount for your recipe and replenish by adding 1 cup each, flour and water. Let stand uncovered in warm place for a few hours until you notice it's bubbling again.
Cover loosely and place in refrigerator. Use and replenish at least every 2 weeks. Will keep in refrigerator indefinitely if you will do this.
SOURDOUGH BREAD 3 cups plus 3 1/2 cups flour; 1 cup sourdough starter; 2 cups warm water; 2 Tbsp. sugar; 1 Tbsp. salt; 1 tsp. baking powder; cornmeal; melted butter. Measure 3 cups of the flour, starter, water, sugar, salt and soda into large mixing bowl (not metal). Beat until smooth. Cover bowl with barely-damp tea towel and let stand in warm place, 80 to 85 degrees) at least 18 hours. Stir batter down. Mix in more flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and satiny, about 8 to 10 minutes. Shape dough into 2 loaves and place on a greased baking pan that has been sprinkled lightly with corn meal. Brush with butter. Cover with tea towel and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until doubled. Bake in 400 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Brush with more melted butter after baking.
*There are no shortcuts with this bread. The long rising time is what gives you the excellent flavor. In the wintertime, I like to fill my washing machine with warm water, place a towel on top of it, and let the dough rise there. And you have an excuse for postponing the chore of laundry, if you need one.
 
Busted on our no spending as we had to buy 4 jerry cans of fuel to top up fuel supplies as we were going into town. We purchased gift e-vouchers from our roadside assist club last month and got 5% or $5 off the fuel and a further 4c per litre or $3.66 off using our supermarket rewards card. This brought the fuel price down from $1.479 c per litre to $1.365 c per litre for E10 fuel.
 
Spent the afternoon in "free" classes.
Spent the morning at home while son had car.
Received 12 juice glasses, 12 drink glasses and 4 iced tea glasses free from son.
Also received 12 coffee cups that had been my Gram's.(my grandmother's; my son's great grandmother's).
He's cleaning out his cupboards getting ready for final push to get moved.
This afternoon took apart older raised bed, filled up 3- 5 gallon buckets with potting soil from older raised bed.
Will be moving the old raised bed, my old soil is going to help recondition old sand box into 4 ft x 4 ft garden.
Using my old stuff that I'm not using saves them money too.
All the glasses are washed up, just have to find place to put them away.
Then will wash up Gram's coffee cups.
Saved $3 on each 5 gallon bucket I bought today.
And I bought 3 for a $1 each.
Son is borrowing my shovel and 2 trowels too.
So his lady's kids can help with the garden too.
 
Just saved $50.42 at the grocery store this morning.
Bacon was BOGO so I only paid $3 each for a full pound of meat. So many of the name brands are only 14 or 12 oz now and are twice the price of other brands
Brown and Serve sausages were a BOGO. I use those when I'm just not up to cooking in the mornings lol
Also the big boxes of Steakums were a BOGO so I only paid $5.50 each
Store coupon for $4 off $40 or more bill
I have enough points to get .10 off a gallon of gas now so when I go into the bigger town to go to the supply store I'll top off my tank

So I think its been a good day at the store lol
 
Yesterday we bought one e-gift card from our roadside assist club which covered our fuel and groceries for future weeks saving $12.55 in total or 5% off. We like to have one on hand at all times if we see super specials on grocery items we need to buy or when fuel gets low and we need to fill up multiple jerry cans.

Today we are picking up free cow manure from a friend's farm which we will load into the trailer and we will let you know what that saves us later today.
 
Bust today on spending money today.
Strawberry had another Emergency room Vet appointment.
Spent $150 on Strawberry, but my girl was ill.
I'll worry later on how to pay the bill.
Tonight me and my girl are snuggling together on my bed watching TV.
Tonight don't mind the dog hair everyplace.
Just glad my girl is better.
She has lost 10 pounds in 3 months, but don't worry I found it.
2 toxicology blood draws $120
Office visit $25
Contribution to treat jar $5
Total $150, but my girl is so worth it to me.
Pink stuff for upset stomachs already had so that was free.
 
Well we accidentally saved money today as we picked up a trailer load of well composted hay or about 2 large bales worth about $200 for free. Only problem is that DH got which pile of manure to pick up wrong and we picked up hay. Oh well we have now explained the dilemma to the lady and will pick up the manure in the next couple of days and then help her get more hay on a trip. Oh dear :oops: apparently we took all her garden mulch for the winter.

Day 1 of not spending any money today
 
I was finally able to consolidate enough to unplug the extra freezer :) I will see in the morning how much of a difference in power usage it will save. It might not be a ton, but every little bit helps when everything in this place is electric. We are down to about 20kWh per day - give or take. It was over 100 per day when we first moved in though we had a horrible cold snap requiring heat. I had extra laundry (company one night) last week so that used a bit more than our norm. My goal is 12-15 kWh/day which is extremely optimistic but I am hoping doable as long as we don't run heat/ac unit. I would love to just throw the main breaker in the morning when I left - if it weren't for the refrigeratoro_O Really not liking shopping around here so that helps save $ as I don't go to stores anymore than absolutely necessary so am not tempted by "good deals." We did have to get a mattress & box spring for the spare room, but that's definitely a one time purchase, a spendy one-timer, but at least a one-timer.
 
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