Cutting Costs

Even though we are decluttering. we are still cutting costs when we can.

We have leftovers today from the other night when we had the rotisserie chicken. So I will be using those to make a chicken salad for dinner using some of the green grapes in it along with celery and mayonaise. It will be an easy dinner that I will prepare this morning. Waste not, want not!

I have been going through a lot of garbage bags and they as you know are very expensive. So I have been packing them as full as I can.

A piece of trim had fallen off at the bottom of the cupboards where they meet the hardwood floor. It didn’t take Hubby long to realize that they glued the trim on and didn’t nail it. So hubby used some heavy duty glue that we already had to put it back where it belonged.

Hubby is going to take some time today to fix the button that popped out of our dishwasher panel. This happened a while ago but eventually Hubby gets to things especially when I make him a to do list. It will be time consuming because he has to take the entire panel apart.

Hubby is done going to physical therapy so that will save us $50. in copays a week and gasoline for a 24 mile round trip twice a week . They have done all they can do for him and it has really helped. He will continue to do the exercises at home.

The black plastic part of the top of the key for the riding lawnmower broke. Superglue worked like a charm.

Hubby has been keeping up with all the trimming of flowers and weeding the gardens but we have so many that it is hard for him. So he is looking for a gardener not a landscaper to maintain them all summer. This won’t be cheap but this is why we have been frugal so that we can afford help when we need it.

Hubby wants me to hire a housekeeper to clean our home every two weeks. That won’t work because I am a perfectionist and I will just end up firing them. We have tried this twice before when my sons were babies and when I worked. They did not clean the way I did and I couldn’t stand it. So this is one of the reasons why I am decluttering. It will make it easier for me.

I found a basket in the basement to use to corral all of Eloise’s toys. I pick them up before I go to bed and in the morning I find she has taken a lot of them out overnight and put them under a chair where I sit at my computer in the kitchen. It is her way of telling me she wants to play. I already have a small caddy for things like her brush, nail clippers, and battery chargers for some of her water things and birds and a duck that makes noises.

I have been taking soda and beer cans back when I get one bag’s worth and I am running errands. If I am going to Top’s, I use their new return room. They have 3 machines that take plastic and cans that are super fast and if I go when it opens at 7am there is no one there. This way I don’t have bags of them piling up in our garage. Then I just cash in my receipt for them against my grocery bill.

I continue to scan my receipts into Fetch. I am almost up to where I can get another Walmart gift card which helps defray costs when I get delivery orders.

We still have our A/C on because this summer has been so hot and humid. But we are keeping the temperature at 74 instead of 72. We can’t go any higher because the humidity is so bad here. Our utility company has just asked the state regulating agency for a a 33.5% increase in natural gas delivery rates and a 23.7% increase in electricity delivery rates. As if our bills aren’t high enough now! They say they need it to upgrade critical infrastructure upgrades. They probably do because the grid is aging. But this is going to hurt on top of how high the bills are now. So more cutting is going to be necessary. UGH!

I am already trying to make cold simple meals for dinners as much as possible to keep the costs down this summer. We use the outside grill when we can. If it is really humid outside, we can’t tolerate that so we have used it less than other years.

We were able to not use our sprinkler system until about mid June. But we haven’t had much rain recently so we have had to use it.

I submitted $10. in rebates this week.

Lastly, we had an unexpected savings last night for our anniversary dinner at a local restaurant. It could have been a disaster but they made it right. I almost always order the Queen size prime rib for dinner there. They have always been quite delicious. Not last night. I ordered it done medium and it came well done. Not only that but it was only about 1/2 inch (if that) thick which is extremely unusual. I tried a piece and it was unchewable(so tough). I mentioned it to the waitress and she said I see a little blood on top so try it and walked away. When I realized how tough it was, I pushed the plate off to the side of the table and ate the French fries that came with it. The waitress came back to check on it again. I said to her you know I get prime rib every time we come here for the last 15 years. I told her this is the worst prime rib I have ever had. It has always been fantastic before but this time I don’t even know if it is prime rib. She agreed that I always get it I should know. She took the plate of it and asked me if I would like a 6 oz. filet mignon instead. I said sure. It did not take them very long to cook it to perfection. It was one of the best filets I have had. I realized there was a difference in price. The prime rib was $31.99 and the filet mignon was $27.99. They charged me the filet price and they also took a draft beer off the bill. The draft price was $6.00. So our anniversary could have been a disaster and they would have lost a customer but they did the right thing. Yes, we will go back again because we all make mistakes. But next time, I will order the filet mignon.

I am off to declutter a lot more things because tomorrow is garbage day. You guys have a good day!