Here are our frugal moves this last week of 2017......
* When in Rite-Aid this week I found money!
Two pennies in the foyer and a dime sitting in one of the candy bar boxes by the register.
Free 12¢ is Free 12¢.
* 8 bags of coffee were procured at Weis(PMITA)Markets(in two separate transactions)this past week for a total OOP of $5.96 or .74¢+ per bag.
* Now I can show some of the Xmas gifties I picked up cheap this year since Christmas is over. I shop during the year and throw items into my gift box when I can get something for little cash.
These Red Hot Chili Peppers CDs for College Boy were found for $1 each at a thrift store in IL.
These items for College Boy were also bought this past Summer on our road trip--a RHCP shirt for $5, a bag of specialty coffee for $1, a pack of candy cigarettes for .50¢. Also the large bag of M&Ms for $1 at a grocery outlet in MO. The bottles are vape juice I picked up for $5 each in Pierre, SC at a convenience store. The company that makes the juice changed it's name in 2017 and the "old" label bottles were on clearance for $5, regularly $15. That was an awesome score I didn't know was so awesome until later. lolz
My brother smokes cigars. We stopped at a tobacco shop on the Nez Pierce Reservation in Idaho and I picked him up some stogies for cheap plus no sales tax.
Daughter got an "Abraham Drinkin'" shirt, specialty coffee, candy cigarettes and a pack of cute socks from Shopko in ID. I signed up for a Q and got these items plus CB's shirt/coffee/cigs above for less than $15 after that Q. The Jackalope t-shirt was bought in Rapid City, SC in Walmart there since they had a souvenir section because they are so close to Mt. Rushmore.
The lip gloss balls were $1 at a thrift store in IL. Two small bottles of vape juice gotten at the Nez Pierce Rez tobacco store too for $5(smaller bottles so not as good as the other vape juice deal).
I also got my brother's wife some Bath and Body Works eucalyptus aromatherapy body wash during a sale last Spring for cheap for her Xmas gift. Eucalyptus is her favorite scent.
* I saved money on Christmas dinner too. While I got a free smoked ham(10+ lbs.)at Weis with Points I earned on my card we didn't use it for Xmas dinner.
Instead we used this 7.37 lb. whole eye roast. I bought two of these roasts November 2016 when it was a Fantastic Friday Weis deal then. We used one of the roasts last Christmas but I super wrapped the second one and tucked it into the depths of my little chest freezer. Took it out and it was just as good as when I bought it in 2016(the ham would have been the backup meat for dinner if this had gotten freezer burned). Why pay $9 or more a lb. for a roast at Christmas when I had this $2.50 lb. eye round bought on a great sale?
* I refilled all my prescriptions I could before December ended. January 1st means a new year and having to satisfy a $3K deductible(including Rxs)before we see a healthcare benefit. Some of these Rxs I don't use every day/month so I will be ahead of the game in co-pays for 2018.
* On Dec. 18th I sold an expensive item on eBay and shipped it out the next day. A 15 year old Star Wars lego set. I bought it on clearance at Walmart after Xmas in 2002 and meant to resell it on eBay but soon after purchasing it I stopped selling on eBay so it has sat unused/unopened in the garage since.
I wanted to wait until the legos arrived and the buyer was happy(and wasn't going to back out of the sale and/or return it)to mention this sale.
I can safely add this to my side money total for 2017 now. After fees, extra shipping insurance and what I paid I have $323.85 in extra income to report to the IRS.
$323.85 in my pocket instead of something sitting in the garage still. ;-)
* I've got a 70 cents discount at Weis(PMITA)Markets gas station. We'll take all 3 cars here up and get 20 gallons of gas between all 3 cars before the discount expires Sat. evening.
So what frugal wins have you had recently?
Here's to a frugal 2018!
Sluggy
* When in Rite-Aid this week I found money!
Two pennies in the foyer and a dime sitting in one of the candy bar boxes by the register.
Free 12¢ is Free 12¢.
* 8 bags of coffee were procured at Weis(PMITA)Markets(in two separate transactions)this past week for a total OOP of $5.96 or .74¢+ per bag.
* Now I can show some of the Xmas gifties I picked up cheap this year since Christmas is over. I shop during the year and throw items into my gift box when I can get something for little cash.
These Red Hot Chili Peppers CDs for College Boy were found for $1 each at a thrift store in IL.
These items for College Boy were also bought this past Summer on our road trip--a RHCP shirt for $5, a bag of specialty coffee for $1, a pack of candy cigarettes for .50¢. Also the large bag of M&Ms for $1 at a grocery outlet in MO. The bottles are vape juice I picked up for $5 each in Pierre, SC at a convenience store. The company that makes the juice changed it's name in 2017 and the "old" label bottles were on clearance for $5, regularly $15. That was an awesome score I didn't know was so awesome until later. lolz
My brother smokes cigars. We stopped at a tobacco shop on the Nez Pierce Reservation in Idaho and I picked him up some stogies for cheap plus no sales tax.
Daughter got an "Abraham Drinkin'" shirt, specialty coffee, candy cigarettes and a pack of cute socks from Shopko in ID. I signed up for a Q and got these items plus CB's shirt/coffee/cigs above for less than $15 after that Q. The Jackalope t-shirt was bought in Rapid City, SC in Walmart there since they had a souvenir section because they are so close to Mt. Rushmore.
The lip gloss balls were $1 at a thrift store in IL. Two small bottles of vape juice gotten at the Nez Pierce Rez tobacco store too for $5(smaller bottles so not as good as the other vape juice deal).
I also got my brother's wife some Bath and Body Works eucalyptus aromatherapy body wash during a sale last Spring for cheap for her Xmas gift. Eucalyptus is her favorite scent.
Instead we used this 7.37 lb. whole eye roast. I bought two of these roasts November 2016 when it was a Fantastic Friday Weis deal then. We used one of the roasts last Christmas but I super wrapped the second one and tucked it into the depths of my little chest freezer. Took it out and it was just as good as when I bought it in 2016(the ham would have been the backup meat for dinner if this had gotten freezer burned). Why pay $9 or more a lb. for a roast at Christmas when I had this $2.50 lb. eye round bought on a great sale?
* I refilled all my prescriptions I could before December ended. January 1st means a new year and having to satisfy a $3K deductible(including Rxs)before we see a healthcare benefit. Some of these Rxs I don't use every day/month so I will be ahead of the game in co-pays for 2018.
* On Dec. 18th I sold an expensive item on eBay and shipped it out the next day. A 15 year old Star Wars lego set. I bought it on clearance at Walmart after Xmas in 2002 and meant to resell it on eBay but soon after purchasing it I stopped selling on eBay so it has sat unused/unopened in the garage since.
I wanted to wait until the legos arrived and the buyer was happy(and wasn't going to back out of the sale and/or return it)to mention this sale.
I can safely add this to my side money total for 2017 now. After fees, extra shipping insurance and what I paid I have $323.85 in extra income to report to the IRS.
$323.85 in my pocket instead of something sitting in the garage still. ;-)
* I've got a 70 cents discount at Weis(PMITA)Markets gas station. We'll take all 3 cars here up and get 20 gallons of gas between all 3 cars before the discount expires Sat. evening.
So what frugal wins have you had recently?
Here's to a frugal 2018!
Sluggy
Wow, great job on the lego. Too bad you didn't have a whole garage full lol. We rarely find money on the ground here, Canada quit making pennies a few years ago and people here seem to hang on to their change more.
ReplyDeleteWow! Congrats on the Star Wars Lego sale. That's freakin' awesome!!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I took advantage of my having hit the deductible (for my 4 month plan) and refilled all of my maintenance meds for free. I recently calculated the bulk of my maintenance meds, excluding the slew of ointments and creams for my skin(also RX) and my allergy RX sprays (still have a stockpile), and they tally upwards of $4700/MONTH if I had to, not that I could, pay OOP. THUD!I played the ins. game these past 4 months of a plan year, and was happily able to minimize the financial damage, even with unexpected back and hip ailments which created extra, unplanned medical expense. I did, however, plan, as always, for the worse case scenario. Today is my frugal Friday as well as I had a few bills to mail out, and I received the bulk of my monthly income a few days early as the 31st falls on the weekend. Nice little perk. While my OOP costs for the slight increase in medical premiums hit with this month's pay, I still remain at the 30% savings rate, and I continue to tweak and reduce my monthly all inclusive, household budget where ever I can. Utilities are leveling out, we're in the throws of the heating season (5 degrees this AM). My mortgage comes out electronically on the first, I recalculated what is left, subtracted the total amount that I need to cover the rest of Jan's budget, subtracted some OOP medical bills that will soon hit my mailbox (will set aside the amount from Dec's savings so that when the CC bill hits in Jan, the funds are there to cover the CC bill increase. This buys me a bit of extra time and interest). I threw quite a bit of extra $$$ at the CC bill that has remodeling debt on it, which I deemed a necessary evil. Don't regret it, now throwing every penny possible at the CC in 2018 to get it paid off ASAP. I recently cashed in rewards points, which helped as well to whittle this down. Looking ahead, the new year will finally bring me back to a 12 month insurance plan (some one that I joined with just 4 months left in the plan year). I've calculated when I should* hit the first and second deductibles, and most of the first quarter will be covered thru ordering my expensive RX, with a copay assistance card from the drug manufacturer, leaving me with a very little OOP obligation before mid April. I calculated $450 approx. which is nothing, considering the worst case scenario, which is moving my current $6600 OOP max to $7800 OOP max. (just 5%). Currently, I have been setting aside $500/month to handle any OOP costs. $41.66 is a lot more tolerable.($500/year) I will still stuff some extra "emergency" money into that account as life happens. I need to revisit come the end of Jan, and go over the plan, tweak as needed. I have several projects I'd really like to address come Summer. I don't anticipate any big expenditures. I am also doing a pantry challenge to raise some more cash. I may send a second payment over to the CC in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteYou made $323 on one lego set? Since I mailed gifts, I have been getting refunds for items I did not use for gifts or forget to include in the boxes. And, some of the things I returned have been items I changed my mind on sending.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what other treasures you have in that garage? I always pick up money and I am thrilled when I find it!
ReplyDeleteWoo Hoo! I love finding money, no matter the amount. What a great deal on the coffee! Good deal selling those items on Ebay rather than having them sit in your garage. I hope you and your family have a fantastic New Year and many blessings in 2018, Sluggy. :)
ReplyDeleteStop in living on cheap. I've found some great things at local thrift store, Brand new and even use them as Christmas gift.
ReplyDeleteLove the two beagles. My first dog was a beagle. If you fine the time stop in for a cup of coffee