We turned the heat on in the evening two days ago. Our home was too cold. The next day we got the last bill with A/C usage on it.
The bill was for 33 days and was $ 153.47. We used 545 kwh and 4.1 therms of natural gas(only for hot water for showers, using the dishwasher, doing any pots and pans in the sink, and minimal stovetop usage).
Last year’s bill for the same time period was only for 30 days. It was $131.22. We used 405 kwh and 4.1 therms.
The difference was 3 more days this year and it was a lot wamer than last year so we ran the A/C more days.
Now with the heat on the bills will really escalate. It is supposed to be warmer this weekend so perhaps I can turn it off. We will see what weather each day brings.
Here is the prediction for what it will cost to heat your home this fall and winter:
National projections
NEADA: Average U.S. household heating bill projected at $1,030, up 8.7% from last year; electricity +9%, natural gas +5.8%, propane +8.7%, heating oil +31.3% NEADA.ORG.
And for we who live in the northeast and in New York:
New York is in the cold-climate Northeast, where absolute heating bills are among the highest in the U.S. due to high heating degree days and higher rates.
seenra.com. NEADA notes Northeast households face the sharpest oil price increases, and electricity costs are also rising.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But I want everyone to know so that you can plan ahead for these increases.
Our first company arrives tomorrow. Then the next day we will have more arrive. Hubby is going to be so surprised at who is coming. So I will be busy and I will be back on Wednesday after all of our company has left.
Today is my hair salon appointment and then I have 8 errands to run. I hope I have enough energy to get it all done. I am getting so excited!
Yesterday was surgery day. We had never been to this hospital before. We reserached and took the least mileage route to save on gasoline. We left at 6:30 in the morning. It made us appreciate the fact that we are retired because the rush hour traffic on the 3 highways we took was awful. I couldn’t imagine driving that every day. I was pretty numbed up until bedtime last night. So I got a lot of work for the party done when we got home. Today I am hurting but Tylenol is helping with that. I get my stiches out in a few weeks. Our annual checkups are in the same building that morning so I scheduled the surgeon’s appointment for right after those. That will save us some gasoline too.
They sent me home with one special waterproof bandage and a gauze pad to change it tomorrow morning. I was grateful for that because I need to change it daily. I ordered the same ones at Walmart this morning and they were very expensive.
I thought I would have my electricity and natural gas bill by now but for some reason they seem to be delayed. So maybe next post I will have it.
I cleaned our Keurig coffee maker and the parts that come off and all of the reuseable cups with hydrogen peroxide. The manufacturer sells special cleaner for this but it is between $15. and $16. a bottle. The hydrogen peroxide is only $1.00 a bottle and I think it does a much better job. Make sure you run clean water through a couple of times after you clean it. I always stock about 4 bottles of the hydrogen peroxide because I use it to clean so many things.
It is a bit chilly here this morning at 47 degrees. The house has gone down to 65. Instead of turning on the heat, we have the shades and blinds open on the sunny side of the house. I checked the weather the end of the week and it is supposed to go back to the 70’s. If not, we will turn the heat on so our guests don’t freeze.
We needed something easy to make last night for dinner. I had purchased Margaritaville Calypso Coconut Shrimp when they had it on sale for B1G1F. So I paid about $5.00 each. Instead of ordering out, we ate that instead.
I told you I thought there was something wrong with the brakes on the car. Hubby took it for the inspection last week. They passed inspection which really surprised me. But they gave him a paper that shows there is a recall of the braking system that just came out on Sept. 17th. Supposedly we are awaiting a letter with information on how to take it to the dealer for the recall. Hopefully they will have the website updated soon where you can put your VIN # in and check to see if your car is affected. But if we are included they will pay for the fix. Our inspection was only $21.
My annual check up for my eyes was done last week. Fortunately, my eyes are good and I still only need reading glasses that I can buy over the counter.
Hubby wants me to make lentil soup. I had no lentils so I ordered a 20 lb. bag and it fit perfectly in a 10 gallon bucket that I already owned. We will use a lot of them this winter.
Breakfast today was eggs over easy and sausage. Dinner will be hot dogs and some kind of veggie. I only have a few hot dogs left from the summer so we are going to use them up.
I have to look over my menu for the party and make a list of all the things that I still need to buy. That shopping will be done on the way home from my hairdresser later this week.
That is it for today! I hope you all are having a great day.
You all know that our dentist was expensive. We have spent a fortune especially on my denture expenses. Well our dentist sold his practice to a group that is actually owned by a private equity firm. He stayed for a while and then left abruptly a couple of months ago. The group actually started setting the prices about 6 months ago. Their priority seems to be making as much money as they can. They kept my old dentist’s prices as a starting point when they took over. Since then they have raised their prices twice. Hubby had an appointment recently for a cleaning and Xrays. He did not like the new hygenist. She was slow and he did not feel she was as good as we have had. The bill was outrageous.
I have been on the hunt for a new dental practice closer to home. I found one that will work for us thanks to my neighbors recommendations. I called them and asked a ton of questions. The receptionist was very helpful. The practice has more than one dentist so if we have a problem there is always someone to fill in if our dentist is on vacation. One of my questions was about my denture which is still under warranty until the end of February. I found out that warranties are not transferable between dentists. So I have an appointment for a cleaning coming up in October which I will keep with the old practice. My next one won’t be until March. So I will transfer my records on March 1st to the new practice. Hubby has an appointment in November so he is deciding if he will transfer then or wait for me and then we will both transfer.
Anyhow, the new dental practice has their own insurance plan for people who don’t have dental insurance. The plan is $400. for the first year and renewal each year is $350. It includes:
2 Cleanings (prophylaxis) 3 Exams including 1 emergency exam 4 Bitewing X-Rays 1 Panoramic X-Ray 1 Oral Cancer Screening 2 Fluoride Treatments 15% off all additional treatment needs (Crowns, Bridges, Sealants, Fillings, Veneers, Dentures, Root Canals, Implants and more.)
We will save more than 1/2 the cost of these procedures. It sounds good. However they have other insurances that they take. So I will be researching them this Fall. We will enroll in the best one for each of us. Bottom line is that we will save a lot of money. Their prices are much cheaper to begin with than the practice we are with now.
I had to go to our bank a few days ago with some legal paperwork. I pass B.J,’s Warehouse Club on the way home. I stopped in and picked up 2 rotisserie chickens at $4.99 each. One of the ones I got was huge compared to the others. When I got home, I took all of the meat off of that one and put the carcass in a large plastic bag in the freezer. When I have more time, I will make chicken stock. The other one I put in the crockpot on warm and we had chicken sandwiches for dinner. After dinner, I did the same with that chicken as the other one. All of the meat was portioned into 2 cups in each freezer bag. One bag I kept out in the fridge and that we have been eating. We made chicken Caesar salads for dinner last night. So we will be eating a casserole, salads, or sandwiches all weekend. I have lots of work to finish up before my surgery so I will be busy.
While I was out, I went to the catering department at Wegman’s and ordered all of the food for Hubby’s party with the exception of two salads that I will make. The cake has been ordered at the bakery. All of the paper products that we will be using have been purchased. I have some other odds and ends that need to get shopped for. That will get done this coming week! I am almost done.
I have saved a ton of money by shopping our pantry for loss leader meals for most of the past few months. That money was earmarked to pay for Hubby’s party and to replace our food that we are eating up when we see a great deal. That way I didn’t have to take money out of our investments for the party.
Our first company who will be staying with us will arrive this Friday afternoon. The second wave will come in on Saturday afternoon. Everyone else is local. I can’t wait. Hubby is going to have such a great time with family and good friends. I haven’t even thought about all the other meals that I will have to make. But I can whip them up quickly from our stockpile.
Our water bill came the beginning of September. It is for a 3 month period. This bill usually runs about $300. because it is summer and we water the lawn. However, this year we have had a lot of rain. Hence we only watered about 6 times. The bill was for $124. so that saved us quite a bit of money. Aqua Systems came and blew our lines out this week so there will be no more watering this season. Our bill will go back down to the normal of about $58. each time it comes now.
We will have a electric and gas bill coming on Monday. I will let you know about that when we get it. The government let us know that because of all the oil and inflation problems, this heating season the bills are going to increase about 31%+. Hence we will try to keep the heat off this year later than when we usually turn it on.
That’s it for today! I hope you all have a great weekend.
With the food prices going up beause of diesel costs, I firmly believe you should stockpile some food asap. I think it will be a very costly Fall and Winter and that prices will explode. It is a good time to can or freeze some produce if you can find farms that are selling the last of their crops at great prices. You can get potatoes, squash, and onions cheap in the fall that should get you through most of the winter.
We have been rationing our food for a while now. Make sure you have the proper portions when you make meals. How many of you never look at how many portions are in those cans or freezer packages that you open up for meals? Do you know what a proper portion of meat is? We do. It is 6 ounces. But we usually eat about 8 ounces because we only eat 2 meals a day. We need to get our protein in. We have lots of dried beans that will give you as much protein as meat and it is the cheaper option. With homemade soup season coming, we will use lots of beans in them. Hubby has decided to eat lentils too which is something he has never eaten before. They will make a great soup along with beef stock and whatever else you want to add. There are many charts on the internet that will show you what proper portions are of different foods.
In this season of high prices, rationing will help you save money while also keeping you healthy. It will also help you waste nothing. Have you ever kept track of what food in your fridge rots and then gets put in the trash? Look every week at what needs to be used up or can be frozen so that it doesn’t end up there!
Pork is not our favorite meat. I used to be able to roast a pork loin and have it turn out really tender. The pork I have gotten over the past few years at the supermarkets has been tough and very chewy. Hubby refused to eat it. So for about 3 years, I ordered ribeye pork chops from Rastelli’s Meat Market in New Jersey. They were tender and delicious but the price finally went up to where I refused to pay what they wanted. I think I have 6 of them left in the freezer. They will get used up over a two month period.
However, I did have this pork loin in my freezer for years along with some center cut pork chops. But I just kept ignoring them. On Saturday, I decided to find a way to cook the pork loin and make it tender. I wanted to use it up and never buy one again. So I found this recipe online:
It has a lot of ingredients which I don’t like but I had everything for it. I decided to try it. Yesterday morning I put it in the crockpot. Two thirds of the pork loin is pictured above. I forgot to take a picture before we ate. This recipe is excellent. It turned out melt in your mouth tender after cooking for 8 hours on low. We wanted the sauce to not only spoon over the meat on our plate but to put on some mashed potatoes also. So I doubled the chicken broth and soy sauce. When the pork was done, the sauce needed to be thickened a bit. So I used a little bit of brown gravy mix to do that. When I cut up my really large vidalia onion, I made thick slices which did not disappear after cooking so long. They were delicious and served as our vegetable in the sauce. Hubby and I loved it. It was the perfect meal after watching our Buffalo Bills win. The best part was that it is no longer being ignored in my freezer.
We have enough leftover to make 2-3 more meals. Tonight we will have this for dinner again warmed up in the sauce over rice. I will probably cook some broccoli to have with it. Perhaps the next night I will make pork tacos and the last night some pork fried rice. Add some easy meals the rest of the week like grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken patties on buns, or breakfast for dinner and we will eat well. We had leftover mashed potatoes last night and I made potato pancakes for breakfast along with some sausage. Waste not, want not!
I will keep my eye out for another pork loin on a rock bottom sale to put in the freezer and use down the road. In the meantime. we will use the same recipe to cook the center cut pork chops in about 2 months.
Over the weekend, Hubby recovered the 6 dining room chairs. It was not easy because it was so hard to get the old seat covers off. There were so many staples holding them on. But he persisted even though he worked up a good blister on one hand. They look so fantastic. So all it cost us was the price of the fabric. The lady who owns the Fabric Warehouse told me that there is a man who lives about 35-40 minutes away from us who would recover them for $25. a chair. You would have to bring the chairs to him along with the fabric though. So Hubby saved a lot of gasoline and $150. by doing them himself. I am very grateful.
I needed to do a load of laundry while we watched the football game. I do not use dryer sheets ever nor do I use fabric softener. Instead I use vinegar in place of the fabric softener. It is cheap and does a great job of softening and getting the extra soap out of our clothes. I only use 1/3- 1/2 of the soap that the manufacturer wants me to but it still leaves residue. I wash 99% of our clothes in cold water. I hang most of our clothes. But I do dry the towels and sheets in the dryer. So I use my wool balls to help them dry faster.
I had to go to an early Doctor’s appointment this morning. When I started our car this morning, the brake warning light came on. Every time I turned the car off and on while I was out the same light came on. I told Hubby when he got out of the hospital that the brakes seemed bad. He told me they were fine. He checked it out and saw the warning light too but now he is trying to tell me that it always comes on when you start the car. I told him I drive the car and he rarely drives it. I have never see that warning light before. I told him I refuse to drive the car until he gets them checked. Well he made an appointment for Thursday to have the yearly inspection and the brakes are part of that. So now I have to rearrange my plans this week and perhaps push ordering platters and rolls off until the day after my surgery. I will call Wegman’s today and see if I can order everything over the phone or not.
When I got home from the doctor’s, I changed out of my good clothes and rehung them in my closet. They were not dirty from the hour or so that I was in them. This is how I save on laundry loads which saves money over a year’s time. I do not wash clothes that are not dirty and don’t smell. I have older clothes that I wear around the house especially to clean.
I got a great deal on some pillows yesterday. They were delivered this morning. Our pillows in the house are getting old and flat so they were a necessity.
I have the dishwasher running with a full load. I use the Eco cycle. It does not heat to dry the dishes. I open the door and let the dishes air dry. I also wanted to tell you that the best dishwasher gel that I have found is Great Value. It cleans really well and leaves no film. I also use vinegar for the rinse instead of Jet Dry.
Well sorry to drone on and on. But my brain works overtime most of the time. I hadn’t planned on posting today but I had to drain my brain. So look for more as we do them to cut costs around here.
Feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us anything you are doing to cut costs in this bad economy. BTW, the stock market is in the red today. I figured this would happen today because of the pipeline porblem in Saudi Arabia.
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh spoke on September 11th. He gave a warning to all Americans in his speech that inflation is going up. Of course we all have been aware of that. Remember, that food and gasoline are not in those inflation numbers. Because of the inflation numbers they looked at in August, they will probably raise interest rates on September 16th. I believe they will raise them again in the next 6 months. This is the only way they will get inflation under control.
He said, “If the Fed gets inflation wrong and judges the economy wrong, who gets the worst of it? Not the financial highfliers. Hard-working Americans are the ones left to deal with inflation that is too high or jobs that suddenly appear less secure.” He needs to do this to control inflation and stabilize prices. In my estimation, this should have been done years ago under Powell.
They should have learned from the history of the Carter Administration. We had the same scenario we have today but I believe inflation is worse now. During the Carter administration they raised the interest rates and they went up to 20% over a few years. Finally inflation started cooling. Prices went down somewhat but never returned to what they had been. They won’t now either.
I know most people will not like it. But it is a necessity to raise interest rates to get inflation under control. This will raise mortgage rates, loan rates, and credit card rates. Most likely people will not buy homes when the mortgage rates get too high. So your home value may also take a dive.
Inflation is making everything cost more. We all know that the necessities of food, most products, appliances, our utility bills, our water bills, our property and school taxes, the cost of medical, home, and auto insurances, and gasoline have all been affected. We see it every day in our daily lives. Inflation has devalued the dollar. It will continue to do that until the Feds get this under control.
Since I believe that it will take a few years to get inflation down, it is important to realize that the rest of 2026, 2027, 2028 or beyond will not be easy.
Add to this the fact that Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline was blown up and has been taken down while they try to fix it will affect the stock market on Monday. Oil prices will surge. Hopefully, you all have full tanks of gasoline before that happens.
You can take all that I have said with a grain of salt or you can prepare yourself to deal with it. Only you can help yourself which I have said many times over they years. NO ONE is coming to rescue you!
The first thing we will do is try to cut expenses where ever we can. You should too.
I will post more on how we will do this starting sometime this week. I have a busy schedule of doctor appointments this week along with getting ready for Hubby’s party.
It has been so stressful the past 6 weeks. I keep putting off things that need to be done……like writing here. I keep telling myself that I will do it tomorrow but it doesn’t get done. Perfection is not my strong suit! It is so easy to procrastinate.
So what have I been doing? Besides taking care of Hubby, Eloise, the house, and my wound in my back, I don’t have much time for anything else. At least that is what I have been telling myself. I am tired all of the time.
But yesterday, I said to myself enough is enough. Things need to get done around here. I am planning Hubby’s birthday celebration the end of this month and so much needs to get done. Besides cleaning my home which has been neglected the past few weeks, I had ordering to do. Yes, you heard that right. My family and Hubby convinced me to order out as much as I can for his celebration. It’s still work but not as much. I am very thankful that we have saved so that we can let other people help with things when needed.
Yesterday, I went to our favorite bakery, which is owned by one of my neighbors, and ordered Hubby’s birthday cake. It will be exactly what he wanted. Next week when I have time to go to the town south of us, I will order cold cut platters. I am going to see if I can order the rolls I need from their bakery ahead also. I was planning on having hot food catered in by a restaurant but it’s Hubby’s party and this is what he wanted. I have been shopping for the other needs for the party when I see a loss leader sale. I got some soda 12 packs on a B2G2 free sale a week or so ago. Yesterday I got Ruffles potato chips on a B2G2 free sale. We have plenty of pickles, mayonaise, and mustard in our pantry. We have plenty of beer, liquor, and wine along with mixers.
I will be making a potato and macaroni salad most likely the day before. I do not like to buy them out because a lot of them come out of a can. So I will make my own. Really good friends are coming from another state to stay with us for 3 days. Perhaps she can help me make them unless I get them done before they arrive. My neighbor will be making a chaccutterie board to munch on in the afternoon since we will not be having dinner until 5-6. I am grateful for their help.
We also have family member from out of town coming to stay with us. I am so excited because I have not seen this person in 10 months. My son and his family(who live close) will be here too. So we will have a houseful of company from Saturday to Tuesday and we will enjoy every minute of it. Meals will be an issue but we can do some eating out or ordering in or eat leftovers if we have any.
Since the Buffalo Bills will be playing that afternoon at 1pm we will be starting this party early and enjoying the game too. I originally was going to have people arrive at 2pm but then I realized there was a game and most everyone here will want to see it. So the party will be in full swing by 1pm.
Besides cleaning the house, we have another project that Hubby is going to work on. I have 6 chairs at my dining room table. Two of the seat covers are stained. Both done by family but accidents happen. I have been putting off getting them recovered. So I had Hubby take one of the seat covers off the other night. I went to the Fabric Warehouse yesterday. I found the same heavy material in the same weave that we had. But it is just a little tiny bit lighter in color but will match other colors in the room. It will be perfect! I needed 2 and 1/4 yards to do them. Hubby will make a pattern and lay them out on the material before he cuts it. No room for mistakes. I paid about $ 70. for this material. But having them professionally done would have cost us a lot more. He will do a great job because he has done it before in one of our other homes.
Besides all of this I have a special birthday card to order along with paper plates, cups, candles, forks and knives. I told everyone no stuff for his birthday. We have enough stuff that we are slowly getting rid of. If someone really insists on giving a gift, Home Depot, Amazon, or Walmart gift cards are the way to go but they are not a necessity.
Hubby and I are combining our birthday gifts to each other since my birthday is two weeks after his. Sometime between his birthday and mine we will be ordering new furniture for our great room. Our leather chairs have seen better days and are worn through from constantly using them for 25 years. I hate to see them go because they are so comfortable but hopefully we can find something just as good.
I have done very little grocery shopping except for things for the party. We still are eating from our stockpile. I am neatening it up a bit because I will have someone shopping from it soon. We have been trying to eat up as much as we can from the refrigerator too so that I have room for party stuff. We did order a pizza from a restaurant that we had never gotten it from. It turned out to not be that good. We just can’t find good takeout pizza near us. So I will continue to make our pizzas. This morning I will be saute a pound of bacon to use for BLT’s for dinner tonight and to go with eggs for brunches. I will take a pork loin out of the freezer and thaw it in the fridge. That will be our meal in the crockpot for tomorrow since we have a Bills game to watch.
I brought our annual school tax payment to the school and have already gotten our paid receipt. That amount went up because we did not qualify for the enhanced rebate for seniors due to making too much money. I guess that is a good problem to have. We have only qualified for it twice in 16 years.
I have a $10. rebate that came in the mail so that will get deposited when I get to the bank soon. I also earned another $10. gift card for Walmart. I have been using those for my prescription refills.
I will be having my surgery at the hospital soon. When that is done and over with my life should be a little less stressful.
Here is hoping that I will be back to doing my frugal posts soon.
I hope you are all healthy and happy. I miss writing for you.
It was that day of the month again yesterday when the electric and natural gas bill hit our inbox. I was surprised that it was only $ 175.04 especially with the A/C on this past month.The bill was for 29 days in which we used 606 KWH and 2 therms of natural gas.This time of the year the gas is only used for range top cooking and to heat our hot water.
Last year’s bill for the same exact period was $ 188.59. We used 665 KWH and 3 therms of natural gas.
Year over year it went down by $ 13.55. I am not complaining since we haven’t had a reduction in our bill in a couple of years. As you all know this is one bill that usually keeps going up. I could tell you that it was something that we did to reduce it but the truth is it was not as hot as last year during this period.
However, it is almost September and heating season is coming faster than I would like. It is time to start thinking about what we can do to lower those heating bills. We had a new furnace put in a month or so before winter ended. It is a little bit more efficient than the original one. So this heating season will give us a better idea of what that will do to lower our usage if anything. We have a couple of leaky windows that we should do something about. And as usual, we need to caulk the windows that need it. We also need to check the weather stripping around our doors and the sweeps at the bottom of them. And I don’t want to forget to make sure we have enough furnace filters to get us through the winter. I believe the cost of those will go up again next month so I am ordering mine now before that happens. We have good insulation in the house and in the attic. So I don’t think that adding to that will do anything.
As usual, I will find the cloth snakes that I use at the bottom of the outside doors and for the bedroom doors that we don’t use in the winter. Most people don’t visit us during this season because our winters here are cold and snowy.
Hubby will get the car ready for winter.
I finally was able to get my hair done at the salon. It needed it badly since I had cancelled my appointment when Hubby was in the hospital.
On the way to my appt. I stopped and did some shopping at Top’s. They had Ronzoni pastas on sale for $1.00 each. I purchased 10 so that I could get the 100 extra gas points. Those will last 12-18 months. That will be the only shopping this week. On the way home, I picked up Hubby’s prescription.
Since one of the pastas was elbow macaroni, I made my grandmother’s bacon macaroni goulash for dinner last night. We hadn’t had it since last winter. I made a double batch which we will eat tonight.
Tuesday:
This morning I paid some bills and did some other paperwork. I am going to cook a couple of batches of white rice in my instant pot and bag them up for the freezer in the portions that we use for a meal. Prepping ahead makes it so much easier at mealtime. I was getting so lazy using the 90 second packets. I will not be buying them again. They are so much more expensive than using the 20 lb. bags of rice.
My project for the Fall and Winter( as my stockpile dwindles) is going to be making many things that I now buy from scratch. Seasoning packets come to mind along with homemade bread, salad dressings, etc.
Most of the meals I make in the next month are going to be based on using up the things in my refrigerator. I need to make space because we will have lots of company the end of September to celebrate a birthday. So the space is needed for foods I will need.
As soon as I throw a load of wash in, I will spend the day working on my pantries.
I went to Aldi’s and got broccoli florets($1.15), a 4 pack of greek yogurt($2.65), and the small Naan flatbreads($4.99) for a total of $8.75 after rounding. I wanted the large Naan flatbread but they were out of stock. These will do for our pizzas for now.
Next I went to Walmart to pick up Hubby’s prescriptions for $ 0 co-pays. I was down to about 7 eggs so I needed the 60 count to get through the next couple of weeks. They were $ 8.12. They only had one zero sugar creamer that I like which was the pumpkin spice for $ 3.94. I also got 1 heavy whipping cream for $ 4.74 and 1 half and half for $ 2.56. My total was $ 19.36.
Last stop was Top’s where I purchased the Coffeemate creamer for $ 4.69, the bag of Vidalia onions for $ 6.49, and the white cheddar cheese for $1.88 for a grand total of $ 13.06.
So my groceries came to a total of $ 41.17.
However I did spend $60.00 more on groceries at Top’s. I struck up a conversation with a young woman who had her 3 year old little boy shopping with her. I came upon them in the store when I heard the little boy ask his mom if he could have some real cheese sticks. She nicely told him they could not afford those today. The little boy accepted that with no tantrum. I said to her things are so expensive now. I had noticed that most things were up $1.50 since I shopped Top’s 5 weeks ago. She said she has a family of 7. I can’t even imagine how much she spends for groceries for that size of a family. She is a stay at home mom and her husband works. I imagine that daycare for 5 children is too expensive for her to work. She told me they do not get food stamps. She said they were on Obamacare but the premium for the new year is going to be in the thousands so they will go without it and just pay as needed. I noticed besides some healthier cereal and milk she had a few other healthy items. Not much for such a large family but it could have been a fill in the gap shop. So I got in line behind her to pay for her groceries. The little boy asked his mom if she would take him for a ride in the cart. She said to the cashier to ring her items up and she would be back in about 2 minutes. I quickly handed the cashier a $100. bill and told her it was to pay for the young woman’s groceries. I did not want the woman to know I was paying. Too late because she came back quickly and saw me hand the cashier the $100. She told me I did not have to do that. I told her I know but I want to and I can afford it. She was so grateful. I remember when my boys were little and how hard it was to make ends meet while I was a stay at home mom.
It has been such a hard few weeks between my open wound and Hubby’s heart attack. The Lord has been good to us through it all. So it made my heart feel good to help this family out.
I think I told you yesterday that Chewy was going to replace my chunky Delectables for free. The package arrived a few minutes ago and they sent 2 boxes instead of 1. They are such a great company! I am very glad I found them when I got Eloise.
We continue to make most meals with what we have in our pantries.
I appreciate the couple of people who gave me ideas on what to take to the cookout tomorrow. I ended up being very busy today so I made chocolate fudge brownies with a bag of butterscotch chips thrown in. I may or may not frost them in the morning. There will be lots of desserts there so I only made one pan.
I did get my gas and electric bill today. But that is for another post.
Hubby is taping our preseason Buffalo Bills game because we will be at the cookout for most of the game and I don’t want to miss it.
As I have said many times before, there are only so many big things that you can save on. Then you go to the little things that really add up in a year’s time.
When I got Hubby home from the hospital, both of our toilets were running. Not wanting to waste water, I researched where I could get flappers for the back of the tanks. I had 3 options to get them quickly. One was to go to Home Depot using precious gasoline. The second was to see how quickly I could get them from Walmart. I do have Walmart + delivery but I would have to order $35 of product that I didn’t need. But I do get free shipping on most everything that is not a food product. The third was Amazon whose price was the same as Walmart. Walmart and Amazon had them cheaper than Home Depot and I could get same day free shipping. However ordering from Amazon meant they wouldn’t arrive until later that evening. I go to bed early so that would not work. I ordered them from Walmart and had them early afternoon within 3 hours. Hubby ended up installing just one because the second toilet flapper just didn’t seal properly on the other. Hubby fixed that and it has been working ever since. So we now have a spare which is a good thing for when that flapper fails. Plus things will never be cheaper than they are today. As you all know things just keep going up and up in price.
I drove Hubby to his doctor’s appointment yesterday. Changes were made in medications but he has no restrictions. So he will be able to mow the lawn on our rider today. Our neighbor mowed it last Friday but it is already getting very long again. The same neighbor offered to mow it again this week. But Hubby needs to get out in the fresh air and do what he loves to do. We are very grateful for what all of our neighbors do for us!
I needed a quick dinner last night. I was so tired after taking Hubby to the doctor yesterday. Eloise has again been getting me up at 3AM every morning. Not wanting to get fast food, I again cooked from our freezer. Hubby was agreeable to a hamburger with no bun smothered in sauteed onions. He wanted some fruit cocktail with it so that is what we had for a side.
Today, we will have eggs and salmon for brunch. Dinner will be chicken tenders and a tossed salad.
I need to get a few things at the markets plus pick up Hubby’s prescriptions today. I will post tommorow about those trips.
Hubby is doing well. I went to the surgeon yesterday and he says my wound has to drain another 6 weeks. So I guess I have to order more large bandages.
So I need to post again to keep my mind off things.
Yesterday, our landscape crew came and did all of the weeding and trimming. Last Friday, my next door neighbor mowed our lawn. Hubby will find out this week what his restrictions are. We have a riding lawn mower so we are hoping he will be able to do that. If not, our snowplow guy mows. So we will contact him and find out if he can do ours for the rest of the season.
I tell you all of this because if we had not saved money over the years we would not be able to hire these people. We prepared for these things. So when you are saving for retirement, make sure you do the same. You don’t know what the future holds.
I am going to make some calls that need to be done today. Then I will spend the day in my pantry. I am writing down every meal on my shelves which will give me a plan to work from. We are still mostly eating from our pantry.
Yesterday on the way home from my doctor, I stopped at B.J,’s. I wanted organic romaine lettuce that can hopefully be trusted. Hubby was craving a chicken caesar salad. So I also picked up 2 rotisserie chickens because they are so cheap and I don’t have to buy chickens and roast them. That would cost me a lot more in price plus a higher utility bill. I stripped all the meat off and put some in the fridge and the rest into the freezer for future meals. As usual, I put all of the skin and bones in the crockpot and made chicken bone broth. It made a 1/2 gallon. I froze that until I need it.
We will have sausage and eggs for brunch today. If Hubby wants we will have another chicken caesar salad for dinner tonight. If not, we will eat some chicken slices with a vegetable.
I purchased a little over $ 75.00 in food at B.J.’s including other produce, meat, some potstickers, etc. Then I was able to use a $10. off coupon that they sent me. After that and some clipped digital coupons, I did well. My membership expires soon and I am not renewing it. Their shelves are 1/2 empty. Besides I have been tracking prices and Walmart beats their prices most of the time. Our new Costco will open soon and I will be buying a membership there. I have missed Costco since we left Arizona.
I have not really shopped Top’s in over 5 weeks now except for one small purchase that I did once. Their sale ads are disappointing so I just throw them away. Besides, I am doing 99% of our shopping in my pantry. If I get time this week, I need to go to Aldi’s for naan bread but that is our only need now. I use it to make our pizzas. Are any of you just shopping from your stockpile?
We have a couple of cookouts to go to that are coming up soon. We are going because Hubby enjoys the people. We will probably not stay long but I do need to bring a dish. Chris gave me some great ideas on what would be easy. Anyone else care to share with me what they would make and bring? I get tired of the same ideas.
NEADA.ORG.
