This is kind of a combo post on frugal accomplishments over the last several weeks with Alvah being in recovery and all, so it will be a BIT longer than normal on the frugal accomplishments front. I somehow managed to get things accomplished despite a kid that has VERY sudden mood shifts right now...gums start bothering him and he goes from happy to "holy cow" very very quickly. So, it's been a bit rough the last few days especially.
But, without further ado, let's get to the frugal stuff (enjoy the pictures I managed to get of a really cool sky the other night dispersed throughout :).
Frugal Accomplishments for the last few weeks:
1. We got our garage roof fixed *happy dance inserted here*! Shopped around and found a roofer that had our color 3-tab shingles in stock (which was a miracle in itself). By going with the roofer we did, our new shingles match on our roof still and we saved well over 100.00 off what other outfits were quoting us, which was a double bonus for sure. They even fixed a few rough shingles we had around our upper chimney where my husband had repaired it after the earthquake that were coming loose, before they became a problem later.
2. I turned off electric baseboard heaters. Finally. We still have to turn them on during the nights on and off, but it's way better on the electric bill to not have the bedroom heaters on 24/7 for sure. Hoping summer gets here soon *sigh*.
3. I bought a “used like new” case for one of Alvah's I-Pads WAY cheaper than buying it new. It came in like new condition, which was good (wish Otter Boxes still came with screen protectors built in, though...had to order one of those *grumble*).
4. Found a book I wanted to read in the internet archive instead of buying a copy.
5. Repurposed/moved an old bookcase that wasn't needed in its space anymore to use somewhere else.
6. Bought groceries early this week to take advantage of sales on items we normally buy and then just bought loss leader meat on Memorial Day sales. Worked out great and we're now stocked up on ribs and hamburger patties as well...for about the same price as our regular grocery shopping trip would have cost. Yay for good sales!
7. Took the patio furniture out of storage in a spiritual state of optimism that we will see nice weather sometime soon. Treated the furniture with linseed oil we already had to help protect it from all the moisture we are getting (it was getting rough from the last few summers of constant rain we had). Working well so far. I'm folding up the furniture when it rains and putting it under the eaves of the roof to protect it from just constant water bombardment, which will also help to protect it from damage, I hope.
8. Found out our garbage service was getting bought out by a bigger (and more expensive) company, so paid bill early so we are paid through the summer. Will give me time on the cheaper rates to shop around for new service before steeper pricing kicks in.
9. I was able to split up the purchase of some equipment I needed to get over several pay periods to alleviate the hit to the checking account and stopped me from having to put it onto a credit card or something.
10. I fixed the zipper on my son’s jacket.
11. Fixed a sneaker with shoe goo.
12. Lightbulb burned out over our table and was worried I’d have to buy a replacement bulb, but was able to look up my order history and realized the last time I had bought bulbs I had gotten a 4 pack of bulbs. I was able to find where I had stored said bulbs and replace the bulb without having to pay for a new one.
13. Received some overripe bananas and put into the freezer to make banana items with later. This was actually a really nice windfall, as I've been not purchasing bananas of late (they are always either way too green and don't ripen or they are gone over in two days time, it seems...I'd rather buy apples or something that has a better chance of being edible for longer right now) and had just used the rest of my frozen bananas to make banana bread last month.
And there you go folks. Some of the ways we've been trying to save money the last bit. Hope your money saving endeavors are going well, too.
Enjoy!
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