All Is Right

Such a beautiful sunset tonight.......

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

The end of the first week of November and the beginning of winter. With prices going up we are going to have to watch what we spend and the costs of keeping warm this winter. Especially since our power company does 2 months of estimates before they do a reading of our electrical usage. This month our bill is very high, the company estimated way over what we really used. Hopefully we can keep our usage down and get a bill where they owe us money instead of the other way around.

I have been turning off lights in rooms not in use, turning our heat down in the bedroom, keeping the heat at just below what would be 70, watching what I spend on groceries and Christmas gifts, and what could be our biggest frugal move staying out of stores.

So far this month I have managed 5 days where I have not spent any money what so ever. Hubby did spend today, but it is the first day he has spent money this month. Pretty proud of him as it is usually me trying to stay out of stores and such.

I worked one day this week and brought a bit of cash in. Nice as extra money at this time of year is a very good thing.

Using up all leftovers, I do want a zero waste week badly.

Hubby got the snow blower working without resorting to taking it to someone to fix. He also covered the air conditioner we have built into the wall. 

I made a grocery list and for the most part stuck to it. There were some great sales on a couple of items that made it into my basket. I even used a high value coupon and we received another batch of high value coupons that I can use a bit later.

I did my surveys and scanning, receiving another 600 pts. I am almost up to what I need for a Pandora bracelet. Hopefully I will reach that mark by the end of the year.

I only have a couple of extra cleaning jobs to do this month, and hopefully will have a couple (or more of my goals met very soon). Staying home at this time of year seems to keep me on track.

I have finished the back, left side and started the right side of Hubby's Christmas cardigan. I am hoping to get the right side and at least one sleeve done by the end of this week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

It seems like winter is once again slowly arriving. I woke up to snow this morning which made it just lovely to head out and get my little bit of shopping done. But I did venture out and managed to get everything done. Heck, I even managed to buy gifts for my two brothers. Christmas shopping is now done!!

It is hard to buy for my brothers as they are big men. One considerably big so when and if I can find something other than socks that fit them in the cart it goes. This year I was very lucky. I managed to find Henley shirts for both of them for under my budget. One is getting a greenish colour and the other is getting a smokey blue.

The rest of the day was spent reading blogs I follow, posting on a frugal forum I am part of, doing a few household chores (as usual), reading a few chapters of my book on my ereader, and doing some knitting (which I will go back to as soon as I am finished here). So all rather boring and laid back.

I did get some good grocery deals on some steaks and a pork roast. Love a good deal. My total grocery bill was $95.78 and I saved $12.27. Not as much as I would have liked but since I used my Visa to buy said groceries I will be getting another 2% back at the end of the year and since I am a Co-op member, well come July there will be another 4% back on top of the 2% on the card.

Saving money where I can means a great deal when one is on a fixed income and the holidays are coming up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Week And Already Tired Out

It is the middle of the week only and I am just exhausted. Part of the reason is more than likely because I worked today and after 4 months it just seemed to drain me right down. Part could be because of the rainy dismal weather we are getting, and part could be the beginning of a fibro flare.

Came home from work and made a freezer meal. Nice and quick and no preparation involved at all.

I also did a bit of knitting and some embroidery work while watching television (I am a Survivor fan) and enjoyed a glass of homemade wine.

While I was gone Harvey fixed our furnace. We got up this morning to a freezing house. It seemed the thermocoupler had burned out. Thank heavens it was an easy fix on our ancient furnace, I just want one more year, and then we will replace it.

Harvey also washed all the inside windows!! Now the problem is the outside, there are a few streaks from when he washed them about a month ago. He is planning to try on the first nice day to redo them.

Tomorrow I head out to the stores for our weekly shop. I am hoping to get some good prices and do a bit of a stock up on a few items.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

I suppose the thriftiest thing I did today was stay out of the stores. Mind you I had a great deal of help. It is rainy and cold, not fit for man or beast outside.

I also got something very unexpected in the mail, a gift card to one of the many eateries in town. It should more than pay for a meal. It seems as if the school I made the Puffed Wheat Cake for decided that since I did not want to be paid for my gift they would circumvent me by giving me a card in the mail. I do thank them from the bottom of my heart.

I am still turning the heat down in the bedroom and turning off lights in rooms not in use. I am hoping that this will help when our electric bill comes. The price of electric is supposed to be rising and we need to get a handle on that while we still can. I am not going to let it get out of control.

I will be taking my lunch with me to my subbing gig tomorrow, leftovers from yesterdays meal. Using up as much as we can saves us money in the long run. A penny here and a penny there does add up over a whole year.

Harvey pulled the snow blower out to get it ready for our first big snowfall. It would not start. In reading the booklet he saw that it was recommended that the spark plug be changed out every second year. Our snow blower is three years old so past time for this to be done. The book recommended it be taken to the dealer, but Harvey did it himself and saved us some more money.

Here is a thrifty tip I have tried and will be using once again this fall.

To bleach grimy grout mix 1 cup bleach in 1/2 gallon water. Scrub with an old toothbrush and let sit for 10 to 20 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Rinse a second time and wipe dry with a cloth. Much less costly than those grout cleaners, and it uses items you already have in your home.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

A new month, and more menus. I did have to change what I had listed for Sunday to something else entirely. Can you believe I ran out of pork roasts? That will be going on my shopping list and I will be watching for good sales this coming week.

Monday

Chicken breasts, rice, and salad.

Tuesday

Leftover beef roast (subbed beef for pork on Sunday) made into hot beef sandwiches, along with fries, and peas.

Wednesday

Cabbage bread. Quick and easy meal as I am subbing today.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge.

Friday

Fish Fillets, hash browns (using up some small potatoes here), and green beans/corn mixture.

Saturday

Hot dogs, the last of the baked beans, and sliced fresh veggies.

Sunday

Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and a salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

A New Month, New Goals

It is time for me to share my monthly goals once again.

1.   Finish the sweater I am knitting for Harvey for Christmas.

2.   Knit 3 hats to add to the gift of mittens for my brother's girls.

4.   Buy my brothers (Jay and Jerry) their Christmas gifts.

5.   Work on my embroidery again.

6.   Continue with Project Declutter.

7.   Try for 22 no spend days this month.

8.   Get Christmas cards done and in the mail in a timely fashion.

9.   Mail off the gifts for my brothers and my nieces.

I sure hope I manage to get all of them done this month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.