My Frugal Year

So no, didn’t get done what I wanted to get done today. I spent most of the day working on homework and catching up on laundry, so my basement project was yet again delayed. No biggie – I’ll get to it. That makes me laugh because I have about four years worth of “I’ll get to it” down there. I just don’t want so much time to go by that I suddenly have twenty years of “I’ll get to it” down there.

I did take a little trip to the thrift store today and got an adorable pair of jeans for six bucks and a couple of shirts for my son. My son is growing out of things faster than I can keep up. And me…well, I needed an extra pair of jeans that actually fit until I lose this spare holiday weight.

Speaking of holiday weight…in case you didn’t gain enough, Hickory Farms is having a killer sale. I mean RIDICULOUS prices on some seriously yummy stuff. Very well worth checking out. That is some serious savings – like 75% off. Can’t go wrong with summer sausage and cheese!

Costco is a great deal. I enjoy shopping there. The store is always nice and clean and the stuff is quality. The deals are really good too, compared with the grocery store on a lot of items. I got my handy little Costco coupon booklet in the mail last week, so that helped even more! Now not every price there is better than in the grocery store so you have to do your comparisons.

Some things are hands down a better deal. Garbage bags, for instance. I used to get the Hefty 33gal at the grocery store. Right now for 33 bags of the 33gal. size, it’s running anywhere from $11.99 – $12.99 at the grocery store. I just got the Kirkland brand 33gal size – 90 bags for $11.99. That’s a great deal. Almost three times as many bags for the same price. And seriously – how long will it take me to go through 90 bags that size? A long time, I’d guess.

I was still driving the little Mazda today. Man, that thing is cheap to run. I put $10 of gas in it and it’s almost full. Won’t have to fill it up again for a while.

So…today’s totals:

Spent:
$10 on gas
$141.14 at Costco
Saved today:
Costco coupons $18
Transferred to savings $18
Year to date savings $89.29
and that doesn’t even count what I save shopping for certain things at Costco over the grocery store. This is going well!

Another no spending day. Just work and taking my daughter to the orthodontist. I did find some cool savings stuff online that I want to share though.

$120 in coupon savings from Proctor & Gamble

Save $1.50 on Coffee-Mate

$10 in coupons from EatBetterAmerica

Save Money – Print Grocery Coupons Anytime

Save on cable:

Get 50 Free Digital Camera Prints and only 9 cents per print at Snapfish by HP!

Print REAL coupons from your computer at CoolSavings! Just click here!

Happy savings to you!

Well, just a tiny bit of savings today. I had to do one of those “quick trips” to the store for milk and cheese. I didn’t have any coupons with me, so I just used my store card and saved $3.

I was thinking about various aspects of frugality today, and buying second-hand. For most anything we need I always check second-hand stores. Some things, though, are worth buying new. This occurred to me after a long shift supervising in the ballroom this weekend. Shoes. Don’t get me wrong – I have a lot of second-hand shoes, but those are aren’t the ones I wear when I know my feet are going to take a beating. I’m saving up to buy some nice black Danskos for work. The way my feet feel after a long day walking all over the complex, I think it would be worth it. They’ll last a long time and be good for my feet. I figure $114 at Norstrom is better because they’ll last for years. Better than spending $20 a pop multiple times over the years for cheap shoes that aren’t as comfortable.

When I’m feeling REALLY flush, I’m gonna blow the $300 or so for some LaDuca character shoes for my theater gigs.

That would be heaven! The Rockettes wear LaDucas. I want them!! Aren’t they pretty? And they are sooooooo comfortable. Sadly, you don’t find LaDuca coupons. But you see, that’s part of why I’m frugal…so that I don’t feel guilty when I get around to buying $300 shoes! Someday…someday I will treat myself to that luxury.

Meanwhile, I need to seriously consider turning down the temperature in the house to save some bucks on utility bills.

Saved today: $3.00
Year to Date Savings: $71.29

Being stuck at home will certainly put a damper on spending! My husband had to take the good car today. The “other” car…bless it’s little engine…doesn’t do snow. Seriously. I love my Subaru Forester. That thing gets through anything. The other car is a 1988 Mazda 323 that’s been hit by a garbage truck. It’s not pretty. But my goodness, it’s frugal. Hardly costs anything to run and insure. It’s just these pesky days when he needs the Subaru and it’s snowing, I’m stuck. Luckily I was able to do some work remotely and I have a very understanding boss.

So there’s a frugal topic for you – cars. They can be money-sucking beasts or they can be useful tools that can be used in a frugal manner. I suppose we could replace the old Mazda…but why? It runs. It gets us from point A to point B. It has great gas mileage and doesn’t need premium fuel. Our self-esteem isn’t wrapped up in how cool our vehicles look. Nope, we’re in no hurry to replace it. It’s a rare occurrence that it creates a transportation problem like it did today. 99% of the time, I could drop my husband off at work or the Light Rail station and go on my merry way. So it didn’t turn out to be a big deal. And I couldn’t do anything about the urge to shop.

I guess that’s a good day all around!

And here’s a happy freebie for ya! Get a coupon booklet with $27 in savings for cleaning products!

Nothing too exciting to report today. Just a tiny run to the store for a couple things I forgot yesterday.

Total Spent: $8.10
Total Saved: $1.80
Transferred to Savings: $1.80

Year to Date Savings: $68.29

I dutifully did my coupon clipping, made my list and went to the store. We were low on several staples, so I did a little stocking up. There were some good deals. It’s great when you can combine store sales with coupons. I got a huge thing of my favorite Tide liquid detergent for $8.49. It says it does 64 loads. I usually use less detergent than it says and the clothes always come out nice and clean, so I probably get 80 loads out of one. At that price, that’s about .10 a load. Not bad!

Here’s the damage:

Spent: 141.53
Saved on Store Card: $35.17
Saved on Coupons: $ 20.59
Total Saved Today: $55.76
Transferred to Savings: $55.76

Year to Date Savings: $66.49

Not bad for just day three, eh?

I remember back in junior high and high school having this attitude about hand-me-downs.  Being the youngest of three girls, I grew up in hand-me-downs.  My parents were fairly well off, so I think it was just a matter of convenience more than saving money.  Still, it was a big deal when I got something new.  By the time junior high rolled around and kids were concerned about being “cool,” I developed a distaste for the hand me downs.  I had no idea of the virtual treasure trove of wonderful finds at thrift stores.

It wasn’t until I had a family of my own that I learned to appreciate hand-me-downs and thrift store finds.  As a young couple with a limited income, we had to be very careful about how we spent our money.  I started shopping at thrift stores, consignment stores and resale shops for the kids clothes.  It was on those trips that I discovered the incredible number of great outfits for myself – practically new jeans, designer clothes, nice handbags and more at a fraction of retail.  I was hooked!

Now, whether I can afford to buy new or not, I always look first at thrift stores for what I need.  Only if I can’t find what I’m looking for at the many thrift and consignment stores around here do I purchase something new.  Of course there are some things I won’t buy used.  Underwear comes to mind.    When I look in my closet I estimate that over 90% of what I own now has come from thrift stores and consignment shops.  I have saved countless thousands of dollars over the years on clothing alone.

Bottom line is you can find amazing deals.  Shopping at places like Goodwill and Savers takes some time and patience.  You do have to sift through some junk to find good stuff, but it’s there for the taking.  An example would be a couple days ago I popped into Savers and found a practically new J.Jill comfy sweater – and ultra-soft cardigan that retailed for $69.  I got it for $5.99.  It’s in perfect condition and I’ll get tons of wear out of it.

I love a good deal, don’t you?

I’ll update the post at the end of the day with any savings!

A new year has begun and it’s time to focus on what is to come in the this year ahead.  The turmoil of the past few months has shown that now is a good time to watch our pennies and make the most of what we have.

I’m no extremist.  I’m not a crafty do-it-yourselfer type.  I’ve never made my own laundry detergent or used home made cloth diapers.  One thing I learned, however, is to spend less on just about everything.  Over time it’s been out of necessity, then it just became a habit.

This year I’ve decided to take another step and start tracking my savings and more importantly, start actually SAVING the savings.  It’s one thing to get a deal on something or to save a few bucks clipping coupons, but what good is it really doing if that money isn’t truly being saved?

This blog will track my savings and deals throughout the year and share information I find on great deals with you!  I hope you enjoy it.  It will be exciting to see what the savings account looks like at the end of the year.

Here goes…

Day One:

Had a little Christmas gift cash left over.  Went to Savers and got a practically new J. Jill super-comfy sweater and a nice pair of pants and a cute Kate Spade bag.

Spent $17.18

Sent my husband to the store.  No coupons this time, just the store savings card.

Spent: $53.51

Saved: $10.73

Transferred $10.73 into savings account.