How did I save money today?

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Bacpacker said:
Good on you Mo. Mom remarried after my dad was KIA. Step dad and his family always treated me like I was their own. He is my dad, maybe not biologically, but in every way that matters.
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No child should be made to feel unwanted.
This is what Granny's do, at least in my family.
Just to see her geniunely smile will be worth it.
Everybody makes big deal over the older children, but kinda forgets about her.
 
Saturday I put my order in for groceries and found that they had DH's probiotics on half price special so I saved $40 there. Also in the afternoon I ordered a fuel gift card saving 5% or $11.10 off the price of the fuel. We have now also through being frugal and saving in a lot of other budget categories put the money back in our home emergency kitty for all the cost of the storm water pipes, fittings and delivery costs.

Wednesday also DH earned $120 from a mowing job he did as well which will make up for some of the expenditure from the yard storm water drain installation.

Back to day 1 of not spending any money today.
 
No spend day.
Cut my grocery budget by $40 to cover "Turtle planter" project.
Just in case we go over on plant budget for the birthday girl.
I'm not eating much right now anyway.
My grocery bill is normally about $60-$80 monthly.
Leftover money is normally put into saving account or split into savings and emergency account.
Will be just less of a donation this month into both accounts.
 
I went into our local Family Dollar today after clipping coupons online. They have $10 off a $50 purchase. I didn't really need anything, but that's a good deal, so I went. I thought I did my math correctly before I checked out but the cashier told me I was still under for the $10 coupon purchase amount. So, I just kept adding to it since I was the only one checking out. OK....add another TP and paper towel and another vinegar. Finally, I had enough for the $10 coupon. I walked out with a whole cart full for $41. After I got home and went through my receipt I see that 2 of my items were not rung up. I have no idea how that happened since I saw her ring it all up. Those items were around $10 total. I really should go back but I hardly ever go there and I wouldn't have bought them if not for needing to get over the purchase amount needed for the coupon to kick in. Dang.....now I'm feeling a little guilty, even though it wasn't my fault. Oh well, I'll get over it.
 
I have made an adult decision today.
Two of the classes I wanted to take next semester has had a price increase.
The two class would have cost me $1000, plus books.
So I decided not to take anymore classes for awhile.
Also in four more payments all my student loans will be paid off.
So that money will go into savings and emergency fund.
Hard decision but will be worth in the end.
 
I have a shamrock plant that needs to be repotted ( I plan to give it away) so I went to the Dollar General store and picked up some potting soil for $4 yesterday.
While there I also grabbed 3 more huge plastic planters for $10 each. I could grow 3 pepper plants or even some corn in these things. I have 6 of them now.

I checked their seed supply and wasn't impressed. Dollar Tree store had a better selection.
 
Does advising another couple on how to cut expenses count?

A married couple we are friends with asked me for some financial advise. This past year they had sold their house and her mother's house. Used the money from the sale of both houses to buy an upscale house and had the mother move in with them. Paid contractors for landscaping and some remodeling. Once the dust settled they have a house Mortage free, the mother's cash reserves are almost gone and the couple has no cash reserves. The couple started feeling they had overspend and asked me to help get a handle on their finances. A bit late I'm thinking.

They both want to retire within 5 years and want me to provide some magic towards creating a nest egg for them to retire on.

First I had them list all of their regular monthly expenses. Any non-monthly expenses were divide by the correct number of months to convert them to monthly and added to their list. I asked if they were paid weekly, "Yes" they said so I had them total their monthly expenditures, multiply the total by 12 (months in a year) and then divide by 52 (weeks). The sum is what they spent on an average per week. They were spending $250 per month more then what they had coming in as income!

Then she told me that they "had" to build shelves in the garage for storage. He "needs" to join a health club. I explained to them that if a tree limb punctures your house roof and rain water is entering, that is a "need" and must be dealt with ASAP. Building shelves is a not a "need" but a "want". Joining a health club is also a want. I asked, "How did they think they could pay for these "wants" when they were already spending more than their income?" They said they couldn't (I do believe they are understanding). Shelves will have to wait and he can establish a regular walk routine in their neighborhood (free) instead of joining a health club ($$).

Now we needed to go back over their expenditure list and find $250 a month to cut. The only debt they have is a car loan which they have been paying extra on to pay it off early. They have a life insurance policy that is up for renewal, the premium rate has doubled, they expressed concern on how they could afford it. They told me the reason for the life insurance was to replace lost income if one of them died. "That's an excellent idea" I told them "For young couples with children. I think it would be better to stop paying extra on the car loan and not renew the life insurance policy which would balanced their income with their expenditures."

When it is just the two of them they could sale the house and downsize considerably. Profit could then be placed in a low risk fund for their retirement. Not ideal not since they are starting late...it's the best advice I can give them.

$250 a week for groceries is what they budgeted. Should they put that in a separate fund, should they put all the budgeted items in separate bank accounts? He suggested they restart an envelop budget. I think an envelope budget (You have an envelope for every expense. Every week you divide your take home pay by the percentage to place the correct amount of money in each envelope.) is excellent IF both parties agree and hold to it. As newly weds the wife and I used this method. Wife started leaving "I owe you" in the envelopes because she borrowed money between the the envelopes. Needless to say this method didn't work for us.
 
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Lazy L - kudos for you for trying to change the mindset of these people, but considering what moves they have made, I doubt it made much difference. They sold both houses so they could get an upscale house and live WITH MIL???? OMG, never would I ever! LOL! In addition to the upscale house will come upscale maintenance costs, upscale taxes, upscale insurance, etc. They'd better learn to deliver pizzas at night and forget about retirement in 5 years. Instead of trying to convince other people of how to do things, I tell them to listen to Dave Ramsey or read one of his books so that I don't have to waste my time. They either will or they won't, but at least they have the tools needed to turn things around if they choose to. My guess is, they really don't want to and will vote for Bernie so 'he' can make things right in their world.
 
angie_nrs said:
...They sold both houses so they could get an upscale house and live WITH MIL???? ....
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Actually the MIL lives with them. MIL is at the point in life where she shouldn't live alone. So instead of housing her in a nursing home...I'm sorry a retirement center...this arrangement was agreed upon by the family.
 
Pension day tomorrow.

I'm pretty determined to buy a 4ltr stove top pressure cooker rather than another electrical device like a instant pot.

I use my slow cooker bowls and lids in the solar oven because I've taken the plastic knob off the top so I still have a "solar" slow cooker. It takes a good while for the bowl to heat up but once it does it works well.

I'm loving having steak burgers when I feel like it. Love, LOVE LOVE crispy grilled beef fat!
Nothing comes close.
So, I'm going to the same butchers and buying another whole sliced rump and this time I'll ask them not to trim the fat cap.
While I'm at it I may as well buy a large corned beef piece as well.

I've got my eye on a pack of 12 yoyo instant fishers. Take up no space in my BOB / ruck and it's a food gathering multiplier.
Maximum calories accumulated for minimal calories spent.
 
angie_nrs said:
I really should go back but I hardly ever go there and I wouldn't have bought them if not for needing to get over the purchase amount needed for the coupon to kick in. Dang.....now I'm feeling a little guilty, even though it wasn't my fault. Oh well, I'll get over it.
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Last December because of arthritis I replaced my parents back door round knob with a lever type. I had several extra keys made at wally's. I had on a coat... The guy who made the keys didn't put them in a bag, just handed me several keys with a little piece of paper stuck to each.

I had to get groceries... there was no where to put the keys in the cart without losing them so I put them in my coat pocket intending to pay for them with my groceries... I forgot until I got home and took off my coat. I didn't pay for those keys... It was several days before I was back a wallys, by then I had lost the little pieces of paper...

It still bugs me... but I guess I did save money... :rolleyes:
 
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Amish Heart said:
Go to the library often, Mo!
Saved some $$ by stopping at the day old bakery right next to where we went to breakfast.
Got a bag full of pkgs of little donuts, little cakes for the kid's lunch treats for 25 cents each.
Some free old bread for the chickens.
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I'm hoping I won't be gone too long.
 
LadyLocust said:
@MoBookworm1957 I'm with the others - you will be missed. Hope your library is close so you can keep us updated.
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It's about a mile away.
If I had to I could walk it.
At least one way for a while.
Rest at the library, then walk home.
But I have my lifesaving, peace of mind car.
So the distance is easier on my knees.
 
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