Month: July 2019

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Every Day

We Had The Best Weekend

Last Friday we started our journey to a family reunion. We left in the AM to drive to our Hilton Hotel in Eastern NY. That was a 5 hour drive. 

We drove non-stop with plenty of iced water, iced tea, and snacks in the car that we brought with us. I gassed the car up using $.20 off per gallon before we left.

After checking in the hotel, we left to drive to see our DIL and granddaughter and go out to dinner. My son was working.  We went to the Silver Spoon in Ravena. It is a cute diner that has just delicious food. They were able to accommodate my diet and that I appreciated. 

After spending some time with them, we returned to our hotel to get a good night’s sleep because we knew we had a long day on Saturday.

On Saturday, we made coffee in the room and had a snack that we brought from home for breakfast. We knew we would be eating lunch and dinner at the reunion.

Then we hopped back in the car to drive the almost 3 hours to the reunion in South Salem, NY. We are so glad that we decided to attend. Many of our generation have died but more of us are still here. We loved seeing each other again. It was like we had never been apart.  Many of the next two generations were also there and had a great day swimming in the lake, playing horseshoes and badminton and, going out in the canoe. We just loved catching up with each other and watching the young ones enjoy themselves. We also got to see a brother and sister and her husband who we don’t see as often as we like because of distance from each other.  

Lunch was a number of huge subs, fruit, salad, and greens and a myriad of salads. I was able to eat greens with some cheddar cheese on it and some strawberries. I always carry avocados from home whenever I travel. So I had 1/2 an avocado broken up on the greens which served as a dressing. Water was my drink of the day.

Dinner was hamburgers, chicken kabobs, greens and more salads. The kabobs and greens tasted terrific.

All day long there were cookies, cakes, cheesecake, etc. At 3PM, everyone minus me had their choice of a variety of ice cream. 

I have learned how to eat properly no matter where I go and that there are always things I can eat. When I weighed myself this morning, I had lost 2 more lbs. over the weekend.

Shortly after dinner, we left to drive the 3 hours back to the hotel. 

The next morning we left about 7AM to go to our son’s home and have breakfast. We picked up our granddaughter to bring her back with us for a week. So that was about 5 hours for our trip back home.

It was a lot of driving 3 days in a row and Hubby did it all. 

So with the exception of a short post tomorrow, I will be spending all of my precious time having fun with my granddaughter this week. After tomorrow I will be back posting again on next Monday. You guys have a great week!

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Every Day

The Rule of 72

I have always assumed that everyone knows the Rule of 72 when it comes to investing or saving your money. But having spoken with a number of people recently, I have found that my assumption is wrong. So many of them had never heard of it. So for those that don’t know or are new to saving and investing, I will explain it here.

The Rule of 72 is pretty simple to calculate. It says that if you want to know how many years it will take you to double your money at a given interest rate, you just divide the interest rate into 72.

Here is an example. If I earn an average annual 6% in the stock market, it would take me 12 years to double my money. If I earn 10% it would take me 7.2 years. 

If I only put my money into a savings account and the interest rate is 1.45%, it would take me 49.65 years to double my money. This shows you pretty quickly that investing in a savings account isn’t going to build wealth rapidly. But if you want a safe investment, savings accounts are fine.

When you invest in the stock market, it is risky for a couple of reasons. You can lose a lot of money if the market tanks like a lot of people did in the mortgage meltdown. They lost because they got nervous and pulled their money out at a big loss. So they ended up not being in when the market went back up. Your money invested in the market is not FDIC insured. 

Your savings account is FDIC insured up to $250,000. per depositor per bank. If you have a joint account with your Hubby, you are insured up to $500,000. on that account.

So each person or family has to decide if they want risk or not. Risk builds wealth quickly. Not taking risk takes many years to build wealth. Do what you are comfortable with.


Anyhow this is how to calculate how long it will take to double your money using the Rule of 72.


I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

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Every Day

Saving With The Small Pressure Cooker

I love pressure cooking. I have two, a large one and this tiny one.
Remember the smaller the appliance, the less electricity it takes to operate.  I believe I paid $19.99 for this and I have more than gotten my money’s worth.

I use this over and over again especially to cook rice.  Hubby loves rice and I hate the mess it makes when I cook it on the stove. I usually end up with a spill all over my burner.

Besides rice it makes just enough macaroni and cheese for two to three. I no longer eat pasta or rice but it is perfect for 2-3 servings when we have the grandchildren.

It is also perfect to make those rice mixes or even Kraft macaroni and cheese which I do sometimes for West. Many days I have made soup in it. It is just enough for us.

It takes so little energy over what it costs to use a burner on my stove. I  measured it with my KWH meter and it is just a few cents to operate. I only use my larger pressure cooker when I am cooking a larger piece of meat, making a stew, a pot roast, or when we have company.

So if you want to save money on electricity, think about the size of the appliance that you are using. Use the smallest one that will cook what you want efficiently.  And remember in the heat(summer or longer where you live), use it outside on your patio, porch, or garage.

Do you use any small appliances to save on energy costs? Please share with us in comments so that others can learn from you. 

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Every Day

Frugal Things This Past Week

These are the things we have done frugally this past week:

– We watched fireworks from our home. Neighbors at different ends of our street put on quite a show with lots of big stuff. We didn’t have to drive and use gasoline to go anywhere. 

– We cooked at home from scratch every night.

– I got another free $5.00 Amazon gift card. I used that gift card to defray the cost of 3 ounces of organic stevia.

– Even though we paid for mulch through the landscape company a few weeks ago, Hubby had to go and buy 5 bags to replace what got dug up with the tree. This will give us extra as needed. He purchased it on sale for a total of $10. at Home Depot.

– I went to the YMCA and exercised 3 days last week. I have also been doing a lot of walking.

– I purchased some more boneless chicken breasts at Aldi’s for $ 1.49 a lb.

– I purchased salmon fillets for a sale price of $10.99 a lb. at Top’s. I love salmon and this is a good price here.

– We were rebated $19.68 in credit card reward points. 

– We celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary with a home cooked meal. 

– We do not exchange gifts on our anniversary. But I did give Hubby a card and made a carrot cake for him.

– I collected warmup water from our shower and used it to water our hanging baskets.

– I read my library books in 2 and 1/2 days and  returned them. Cheap entertainment!

– We have been using up free toiletries that have been just hanging around here.

– We continue to cut our electric and natural gas bill as much as we can. 


– Scanned the grocery receipts into Fetch for rebate points.

– Returned Hubby’s soda bottles and cans for $ 1.25. 

– DIY: We had some squeaky hinges on some of our doors. Hubby oiled them all. Now when I get up at 4 in the morning, I won’t wake Hubby up.


Feel free to leave a comment and share what you did frugally this past week. 

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Every Day

What We Ate and Grocery Shopping

I only grocery shopped one time this week. This is what we purchased.

Chicken breasts were again $ 1.49 a lb. at Aldi’s. I purchased one large package. Then I cut the breasts into smaller portions lengthwise and used the food saver to package and freeze them. I also purchased 3 avocados for $.79 each and 2 heavy whipping cream to use in our coffee for $ 1.55 each. My Aldi’s total was $11.77.

At Top’s, I purchased 4 packages of Parmesan Crisps for snacks and to put on salads for $ 2.50 each. Salmon was on sale for $10.99 a lb and that will give me 5 meals. Hubby asked for the 100% apple juice boxes. So I picked up 1 package of 8 for $2.39. Lastly, I purchased 2 G. Hughes sugar free ketchup for $2.99 each. My Top’s total was $40.57.


As you all know, we eat from our pantry and freezer stockpile while replenishing our produce when needed. So here are the meals we ate this past week.

One night we had taco salads and one night we had Chef’s salads with chicken pieces on it. We also had pork chops and steamed spinach another night.

Then I had salmon and oriental veggies and Hubby had leftover pork made into fried rice.

One night we had lemon garlic chicken and asparagus. Last night I made our anniversary dinner. Hubby cooked porterhouse steaks on the grill. I made riced cauliflower for me and I baked potatoes in the air fryer for Hubby. I baked him 3 potatoes. That way he has two leftover for other meals this week. We have leftover steak to go with 2 breakfasts this week.

We skipped lunch all week and ate late breakfasts so that we could intermittent fast. Breakfasts were always eggs over easy or scrambled with our choice of Canadian bacon, regular bacon, or chicken breakfast sausage. Many breakfasts I had 1/2 an avocado with them.


So what did you cook this past week? Did you get any great deals while grocery shopping? Please share in comments so that we can learn from each other.
 

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Till Debt Do Us Part

How many of you knew that there is a Canadian show called “Till Debt Do Us Part”?  I didn’t. Since we are debt free, including no mortgage, I was never looking for shows like this. I stumbled upon it on Saturday on You Tube. So I did some binge watching of a number of shows.


Of course it is a lot of entertainment but if you have never budgeted your money, it might be helpful in that area. 

The premise is that a woman named, Gail, who has a background in finance makes house calls to people who are seriously in debt and need someone’s help to set up a plan to get rid of that debt. 

She shows the couples how much over their income they are spending each month and how much debt they will be in in 5 years if they don’t fix it. 

She also sets up a budget for them so that they can be out of debt in a few years.

Now I am skeptical about how many of these couples actually follow their plan after the three weeks of the show is gone. Especially of those who I am sure will never change their ways. There were some couples I watched who I hope made it to their debt free date. However, there were some who thought it was all a big joke and I am sure were just after the “up to $5000.00” that she would give them if they did what she told them and had good attitudes. Hopefully, Gail made sure that the money was put on their debt and didn’t leave it up to the couples to do it.

I am sure there are many couples like them who are just really bad with their money. Either they have never been taught how to budget with their money or they believe they “deserve” to buy whatever they want whether they can pay for it or not. The latter I don’t have any sympathy for. They are the ones who end up having their cars repossessed, losing their homes, and ruining their credit. 

If you have debt, please take a look at some of the videos that I will link. It may open your eyes. I can’t link them all but I will give you links to some of the ones that I thought were interesting: 

Debt On A Tight Rope

Slaying The Debt Dragon

Time To Pay The Piper

Cash Poor House Proud

Ground By Debt

Gail Force of Winds

You can find a lot more here or by searching for each Season in the search bar:

A Lot More 

I hope these motivate some of you to budget your money and tackle your debt. You can not have true freedom and less stress unless you do something about it.

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Every Day

Saving While Cleaning

Cleaning is something that will cost you a fortune over your lifetime. There are tons of cleaning products in the stores that lure you into spending your money over and over again.

Here are some ways that I save on the cost of cleaning products.

– Buy your Magic Erasers as generics at Dollar Tree or in bulk on Amazon. Cut them in half. You usually don’t need a whole one to do the job.

– Use microfiber cloths instead of paper towels. My window ones do a great job. I use these cloths for just about every cleaning job.

– I like the Method all purpose cleaners so I stock when I see a great price. I find these cleaners do 90% of the cleaning jobs around my home. Or you can make your own with vinegar and orange peels.

– Don’t use store bought Swiffers- dry or wet. I use an old fashioned dry mop and a reusable mop with washable pads.

– I use reusable dusting wands that I can hand wash and hang to dry. 

– Don’t use Lysol Wipes that you have to buy over and over again. Make your own with some paper towels and vinegar. Or use a microfiber cloth like I do. They do a great job in sinks and tubs. I only use Lysol wipes in the car. I keep a container of them in case of a messy car job on the road or a spill. 

-Make your own daily shower cleaner. I use vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water. Just use google to find one.

– We use our own steam cleaner a few times a year to keep the shower clean. It does a great job on grout. 

– Don’t pay to have your carpets cleaned. We have purchased two shampooers over the years and we clean our own.

– Use a packet of citrus Kool Aid like lemonade to clean the inside of your dishwasher. It costs pennies compared to the products they sell to do it.

– I use vinegar in my dishwasher instead of Jet Dry.

– Good old cheap Pine Sol mixed in a bucket does a great job on floors.

– Cut steel wool pads in half for whatever job you need them for. Half a pad will usually do the job.

– Clean your kitchen sink with baking soda and a microfiber cloth. Clean the garbage disposal with baking soda and vinegar. Make sure to mix it in a container in the sink because it will fizz up. Pour it down the garbage disposal and let it sit a bit. In between deep cleanings I throw my lemon slices from my lemon water in it and grind them up.

– Throw a cheap Equate denture tablet in the toilet and let it fizz. Then use a reusable toilet brush to clean it. 

These are just some of the ways I save. I am sure there are plenty more. Feel free to share in comments the way you save on cleaning. We can all learn from each other.    

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Every Day

Happy 4th of July

There will be no saving on utilities post so that our family can enjoy the day together.

I wish all of you a wonderful Independence Day. Enjoy your cookouts and fireworks! But stay safe. 

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Every Day

Frugal Things We Did This Past Week

These are the frugal things we did the past 7 days.

We only had the A/C on for about 24 hours. It is off at the moment even though it is extremely muggy outside. The temp in here is 73.

I deposited 7 checks into our high interest savings account yesterday.

I repaired all of the clothing that needed to be, sewing on buttons, patching, etc.

I got an emergency visit and Xrays at the dentist on Monday at no charge because it was included in the discount plan that Hubby had already paid for.

I paid my dental bill yesterday for the root canal(20% off with our plan) with my credit card to get the reward points. We pay our credit card bills in full every month. 

It has been hot and humid here and it is supposed to continue the rest of the week. Up until yesterday, we had not used our sprinkler system. But we made sure to only water the minutes that we felt was necessary. It is not frugal to let our grass and bushes die.

I purchased 5 packages of reduced price meat on the Target $5.00 giftcard deal along with two regular priced items. A friend purchased two of them from me. I dropped them off on my way home from Target. 

We have sparklers left from two years ago that will be used to celebrate the 4th.  


I purchased bulk sea salt and bulk legal pads from Amazon because they had the best prices for me.

We harvested cherries from our tree. I see pies in our future. 

I paid $5.99 each for two rotisserie chickens on the way home from the dentist yesterday. I was not up to cooking after 2 and 1/2 hours in the dentist’s chair. Rather than go out to eat or get fast food which would have cost a lot more, I bought the chickens. Each will give us 4 meals. So the cost per meal is under $ 1.50 or $.75 each for the meat. I took all of the meat off the bones and used the food saver to divvy them up into meal size portions.



I went to the library on errand day and returned books. I checked out two more books and a movie that we had wanted to see. Pictured is the movie and the book I will read first.  We watched “Red” at my son’s home. “Red2” was $3.95 to rent on Amazon. The library was free.  

On errand day, I checked out a consignment shop in another town. I have decided that I will put the clothes that I am now wearing on consignment with them when they no longer fit. Some of them are getting loose already. 


I washed our SUV out in the driveway. It was so dirty and buggy from our trip across the state.


We continue to keep the sun out on the windows where it would come in and heat up the house. We are keeping lights off in the daylight. I continue to wash in cold water and hang clothes to dry. 


I redeemed Fetch points for a $10. Walmart gift card and Bing points for a $5.00 Amazon gift card.


What have you done this past week to save some dollars? Please share with us in comments so that we can all learn from you.    

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Every Day

Grocery Shopping and What We Ate

Most breakfasts were eggs and Canadian bacon except for Sunday when I made scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns for Hubby and West. I did not eat the hash browns.

Lunches were salads for me and sandwiches for Hubby.

The night West ate here I made hot dogs and added applesauce. On Sunday night, I cooked up the rest of the hot dogs and some broccoli. One night we had NY strip steaks with sauteed portabella mushrooms. I cooked up fresh spinach as a side. 

Two nights we had Chef’s salads with turkey, veggies, and a hard boiled egg. The other two nights, Hubby had spaghetti with meat sauce and I had zucchini noodles with plain sauce.

All of our meals are relatively simple and easy for summer. By having the same dinners two nights in a row, we avoid a lot waste. 

Groceries were purchased at a variety of stores. I did the meat deal at Target earning myself a $5.00 gift card. We were out of ground beef and ground pork which I make meatballs out of. Normally I don’t shop at Target because it is in a different town. But it is near my dentist, so I stopped while I was down there.

I spent $ 22.74 at Top’s and earned 200 extra gas points for purchasing the 6 Crystal Light. Since Hubby drinks a lot of this, I didn’t mind stocking on it. I had 4 $ .75 coupons that doubled for the 4 Blue Bunny sundaes. These are for my grandchildren. The 4 SF Cool Whip were on B1G1F. The Diet Coke was $.69 with Top’s Super Coupon. I submitted for a Ibotta Rebate of $ 1.15 for the sundaes.

I spent $26.24 at Walmart. The Lays Chips were $2.00 each. I needed them for company and Hubby. I needed the paper plates for a cookout. I was out of Organic garlic powder and it was on sale for $ 1.98. The salsa and guacamole minis are for snacks. The Lays snack packs were on sale for $5.98 and are for Hubby. The cucumbers were $ .58 each. The zucchinis were $1.57 for 3. The Gold Bond was a money maker of $.03 after a $1.00 coupon. 

Aldi’s total was $ 2.84 for hot dog buns and romaine lettuce.

And lastly, I purchased a 5 lb. bag of sea salt for $23.58 at Amazon. 

I managed to get this post done tonight so that it would be up earlier.


Did you get any good deals on groceries this past week?