Tag: cutting costs

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Every Day

A Savings Day

Before I talk about our savings today, I wanted to post a picture of our filet mignon and tossed salad dinner last night. I put ranch dressing on mine and Hubby had Italian. The filets were just seasoned with salt and pepper before Hubby grilled them. They were melt in your mouth good.

Our son who lives in the Adirondack’s in the eastern part of the state called Hubby yesterday afternoon for his birthday. We both enjoyed talking to him. It is rare that we get to see him because he works a full time job, owns a business, and is helping two different friends renovate their homes.

Today will be a savings day and I will list those as I do them during the day.

My son who lives just a little over an hour away called Hubby last night for his birthday. He told us that his family is going to the Buffalo Bills store downtown for when it opens on Sunday morning. So they will not be here for breakfast but will come later when they are done. Hubby invited them for lunch. They all eat Keto. So I made out a list of things that they will eat and was going to go to the store early this morning to get those things that I did not have. However when I was done with my list, I saw that I had a text message from him. He said his wife said we should go out for wings for lunch. So that is the plan sometime after they get done shopping. I imagine they will treat us. So I cancelled the grocery shopping trip which saves us on spending money for food and gasoline.

I did a very full load of laundry with just a couple of tablespoons of detergent. According to my appliance people that is all you need. I have been trying to get down to just one load a week to save on electricity. I have finally done it. I have an energy efficient Speed Queen washer and dryer. I use cold water to wash. Most things are hung to dry. I do dry sheets and towels in the dryer but for only 25 minutes and then hang them if they aren’t quite dry. I just replaced my dryer balls after almost 14 and a half years of use. I found a set of 6 at Walmart a month ago with a storage bag for $ 9.00. I do not use dryer sheets and haven’t for years.

I caulked all the spots that needed it on our window frames and sills. We are trying to get ready for winter. Hubby has been cutting the lawn down really low and mowing up the leaves as they come down. He has also been trimming the bushes and cutting some of the plants down. This is keeping him really busy and saves us on hiring our landscaper to clean up for the winter.

We still have no heat on. That is amazing for the end of September. I hope we can go a few more weeks without it by wearing sweatshirts and long pants. I have gotten our draft stoppers for the outside doors from our storage area so that they are ready to use.

Dinner tonight will be the leftover honey bourbon chicken, which Hubby loved, roasted potatoes, and brussel sprouts from Thursday dinner. I like to cook two meals at once. When we eat these, all leftovers in our fridge will be used up.

I love coffee as I am sure many of you do. I never buy coffee at a McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Horton’s or Starbucks. I always make it at home. If I want it while I am out running errands, I bring my travel mug with coffee in it. However I drink 4-5 cups a day. As you all know, coffee has gotten so high in price, especially the last two weeks in which it took a huge increase of $3.00- $5.00 for a large can. So I am cutting back to 2 cups a day. If I need something else hot, I will have tea. I have lots of tea bags. Plus I can use my teabags to make two cups of tea.

When we got Eloise, we needed to buy litter. It was so expensive that I was shocked. We seem to be going through it quickly. If you have a kitten or cat, can you tell me where you buy it the cheapest and what you buy? Also how high do you fill the litter box with clean litter when you change it? I scoop her litter box twice a day. She also really likes to cover things up and manages to get litter all over the floor when she is doing that. Do the covered boxes work better than the flat ones? Thanks to anyone who responds and helps me out. I am headed in there now to clean and wash her box. Then I will vacuum and sanitize the floor.

Popeye’s contacted me with an apology and a $15.00 coupon for my next order. I’ll take it. When things go wrong on your order, it pays to let them know.

Did you do a little something to save or not spend today?

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Every Day

Friday’s Happenings

Today is Hubby’s birthday. We are celebrating at home because mine is in a couple of weeks so we go out to dinner in about a week to celebrate both of them. This year Hubby will pick the restaurant. We take turns.

But for his celebration today, we will grill filet mignon outside. We will have that with a glass of red wine and a tossed salad. Hubby wants an apple pie for dessert. Tonight we will watch college football.

We gave up exchanging gifts for birthdays and holidays years ago. That decision was made because we buy what we need or want when we need or want it. Our wants are few.

But before we celebrate, I had a few things to get done. As soon as Great Clips opened at 9AM, I signed in online and got my haircut. The senior price for a haircut is usually $18.99 but I have a $12.99 coupon that came in our ValuPak. I keep my punch card in my wallet at all times so I always remember that. After 7 haircuts, I get 1 free. I shampooed my hair this morning so I didn’t have to pay $6.00 extra for that. I have saved so much money since I left my pricey salon. First, Hubby cut it and then I found this Great Clips close by. It sure beats paying $ 140. a month for my salon treatment. It’s even higher now. Of course back then, I was getting my hair colored and high lighted. Now my hair is white and I like it.

Next I brought back some bottles to Fast Cash to get our $.05 deposits back. It’s in the same plaza.

Then I picked up a prescription at RiteAid for Hubby.

Next I stopped at Niagara Produce because Hubby wanted one of their apple pies for for his birthday dinner. They are his very favorite. I could make him one but not as delicious as the one he wanted.

Last stop was at Popeye’s because Hubby wanted spicy fried chicken for brunch. I got 2 orders of the Signature 3 piece chicken deal that I saw on TV on Sunday. They were $5.00 each plus tax which came to $10.80. My box had a wing, a leg, and a breast. Hubby’s had a wing, a leg, and a back. I have never served any of my family a back. It was awful. I tried to give Hubby my breast since it was his birthday and I felt bad. But being the gentleman he is he would not take it and told me to eat it. I did not want to go back there and waste gasoline to do it. Instead I wrote to Popeye’s online. They say it will take 24 hours for a response.

All of my errands were run in a loop as usual to save on gasoline. BTW, I went by my cash gas station today and the gasoline is down to $3.09 gallon.

That’s it for today. I want to go spend the rest of the day with Hubby.

brate

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Every Day

Busy Monday

We had corned beef reuben sandwiches again last night. So tonight we will be having turkey BLT’s so that we can use up the turkey and tomatoes. Bacon was cooked on Saturday for breakfast yesterday and the BLT’s tonight.

This morning I was up and out at 7:15 a.m. for an eye doctor checkup. My eyes were the same as last year. No cataracts and no sign of any damage at all. I can continue to use my cheap reading glasses. They only put one dilation drop in each eye so I was able to stop at Top’s on the way home and get these two packages of chicken breasts for $ 2.49 a lb. Chicken seems to be scarce in our area so I am grabbing what I can when it is on sale.

These will be preserved with the food saver and put in the upstairs freezer. I have other chicken breasts frozen. Those will come out of the freezer and be thawed and canned because they are older.

I cashed out points for a $10.00 Amazon GC at Pinecone. I am signing up at some more sites to earn points.

I did one load of wash using cold water and hung it to dry. I also did one full load of dishes in the dishwasher using 1 tbsp. of dish soap. They are air drying now.

Hubby is outside watering all of the flowers that are in baskets and pots. I am continuing to go through all of our stuff and either toss it, donate it, or sell it.

What have you been doing to save a little money?

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Every Day

Friday’s Doings

Dinner last night was made using the above items. We have leftovers from this dinner and the shrimp fra diavolo which we will use up for dinner tonight. Waste not, want not!

I was given a $ 12.99 haircut coupon by Great Clips so I had my hair cut today and used it and gave her a generous tip. The price is usually $18. I washed my hair at home so I didn’t have to pay for a shampoo.

The Running’s Labor Day sale flyer came so I went and got 10 boxes of regular canning lids for $ 2.99 and 10 boxes of wide mouth canning lids for $ 3.99. Best price I have seen in a long time. They were $9.99 at my N.P. the other day. I also got a Mrs. Wage’s pickling and canning vinegar on sale for $ 3.49. I have more than enough tomatoes, vegetables, and fruit done for the winter. So it is time to can some sale meat to get it out of the freezer. So if you have a Running’s and can, go get yours.

I forgot to buy tomatoes at Niagara Produce the other day so I stopped at Top’s to get some so that we can make some turkey BLT’s. I picked up 2 beautiful beefsteak tomatoes at Top’s for a total of $ 4.60.

We got our electric and natural gas bill today and it was outrageous. The bill was $ 154.00 for using 619 kwh of electricity and 4 ccf’s of natural gas. We used less kwh’s per day than last year same period and the same amount of ccf’s. Last year’s bill was $ 113.05 for less usage. That is a huge increase for supply and demand.

This is what I am thawing to cook in the crock pot out on the patio tomorrow. Hubby is thrilled that I am going to cook this corned beef that I got at a great price last March. I see a couple of dinners and some sandwiches for brunches.

What are you doing to save money?

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Every Day

More Cost Cutting

We had Shrimp Fra Diavolo for dinner last night. These are the ingredients. They were all in my freezers and pantries. If you don’t have any white wine, you can substitute chicken broth for it. I have done that many times.

It turned out delicious as usual. This shrimp was getting close to being freezer burned so I needed to use it up. I think it was old when I bought it. Top’s marks over the expiration dates on all of their seafood. They have been doing that since the pandemic started. You have to ask why they are hiding the date. From now on, I will buy my shrimp elsewhere.

We had roast beef sandwiches with au jus gravy on buns for brunch today.

All meals were made with what we have at home.

I have another CD expiring soon so I am doing my research to see what the interest rates are at two different credit unions. I will put it with the one that has the highest interest rate.

Hubby mowed the lawn on Tuesday and today he is weeding some of the gardens. Turf Tec fertilized the lawn yesterday so we let the sprinkler come on today to water it in.

I am going through every item in this house and selling what we no longer use or donating it. The less we have the less we have to take care of.

That is it for today. I will be back tomorrow with more.

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Every Day

All Those Meals That I Posted Over The Weekend Were While We Were Away From Home

We went to visit my oldest son whom we had not seen since December. It is hard for him to visit us because he has a new job. That and owning a business too makes it very difficult for him.

He lives in the Adirondacks which I believe is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in the U. S. If you are not familiar with the Adirondacks, you can learn more here: https://visitadirondacks.com/about/adirondack-park

So we drove out to see him on Friday morning. We took the Thruway to Amsterdam and then all of the back roads from there. We do this not only because it is a more scenic route but we save money on tolls by not continuing on the Thruway. We have EZ Pass so we save $ 16.04 coming and going because of that. Then by getting off in Amsterdam and back on in Amsterdam, we save $2.40.

We went straight through without stopping for food on the Thruway. We knew that our son had a nice cold cut lunch awaiting us.

I was so happy to see him. He is so happy and healthy! I was so surprised to see how much weight he has lost. He looks great! He is trimmer than he was in high school.

He had a beautiful outside hot tub put in his yard last Fall. That is what I enjoyed on Friday night. You all know the back issues that I have been dealing with. Well, my back has not hurt since I was in it and it is now Tuesday. I checked to see if our YMCA has one but they don’t. I will check some other places because I really believe this helped me. We can put one in our yard but we don’t really have the space unless we take out a tree and a garden to do it. So I am hoping there is some place we can pay and go to use one. My other son has one in his yard but he is an hour plus away. But when we visit I am sure he would let me use it. Last resort would be to have one installed.

While we were there he had the book called The Terminal List. When I asked him about it he told me has the whole series of the books signed. Then he told us the first book was on Freevee. So we binged watched it. Now I can’t wait until the second book is done and we can watch it. It is addicting. I will check our library to see if they have the books. If so I can read them while waiting for the series to be created and streamed.

The Japanese Restaurant that we ate at for dinner was https://harusaratoga.com/ . Hubby was not up to going out with us so he told us to have a nice mother and son dinner. We did and enjoyed every minute of it. We did bring Hubby home an appetizer of steamed dumplings because he needed to eat and this is what he wanted.

On Sunday, my son invited, his business partner and his girlfriend, to the cookout. My son grilled burgers, hot dogs, baked waffle fries and made a delicious pasta salad. We have really gotten to know Travis really well. He is a wonderful person and his girlfriend was lovely. We had a great time catching up.

Thank you son for all of your hospitality. We had a great time and can’t wait to see you again.

Now that we are home, it will be the usual around here. I will try to post as often as I can. We have no more company or vacations planned until next summer.

Our neighbors usually take care of watering our flowers while we are away. One of them was away and the other was having their huge party they have every year and we didn’t want to bother them. I paid a 13 year old neighborhood boy to do it and he did a great job. We will be hiring him on and off to help with some other things.

On the agenda this week is setting up an appointment with our lawyer to make some changes in our trust. Hubby has some appointments and I will most likely stay home most of the week.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

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Every Day

Cutting Costs Yesterday

I got a good deal on 2 lbs. of strawberries this week at NP. So I washed them, drained them, dried them, and cut them up. They will last about 10 days for us. Since I started putting some of my fruits in mason jars with a paper towel on the bottom, they last a lot longer in the fridge than they used to. This was so that Hubby and I can have strawberries with zero sugar whipped cream for a snack or for a dessert. Sometimes, I will just have a small bowl for brunch.

We were very mindful of natural gas and electric charges since I got that large bill and it reminded me about how expensive they are. When I got up in the morning, it was daylight. So the first thing I did was open the shades and blinds on the non-sun windows. That gave me plenty of light in the house. I just did that all day while following the sun around the house. I never turned on a light until the sun set. One light was on in the room it was needed until bedtime. There were no showers yesterday. I waited until the garbage people had emptied both the garbage and recyclable cans before I used the garage door opener to put them away and get the mail at the same time. No sense using electricity to do it more than once. We knew we were not going out anywhere. My laptop was off and unplugged when I was not using it. I did no laundry yesterday because I am waiting for a full load. I did not run the dishwasher either for the same reason.

Brunch was a yogurt with a little granola sprinkled on top. Hubby had peanut butter and jelly on crackers and apple juice because his sugar was low.

Dinner was grilled cheeseburgers topped with sauteed onions and tomato slices. We also had a side of sliced cucumbers. I am trying not to waste any food in the fridge especially the food that Chris and her Hubby so kindly brought us. I still have a couple of cucumbers left for snacking and one tomato. If it doesn’t get used for dinner tonight, I will puree it in my Vitamix and put it in the freezer to add to my spaghetti sauce the next time I make it. That will most likely be next week when West comes for his summer stay. We’ll see. Bottom line is that I don’t waste food.

I got an e-mail from my library telling me my 2 year library card was expiring and that I needed to go there and renew it within 10 days. I like to keep it up to date so that I can read the online books. I did not want the card to expire nor did I want to go out in the excessive heat to renew it. They have no way for you to renew online. So I called them and the librarian renewed it for me. It saved me from the heat and I used no gasoline to do it. It never hurts to ask. All they can say is no and usually they don’t.

Hubby did some paperwork last night and I watched “She’s in Her Apron” on you tube last night. She was going live at 7:30pm. I can’t believe I watched the whole thing until 11:44pm. Hubby came to bed and could not believe that I was still awake. It was a good question and answer vlog and when her friend showed up and became part of the vlog, it got very comical. It was like being at a girl’s night out. Many people were complaining in the comments about how long it was lasting. There is a way to fix that. Just turn it off.

Did you cut any costs yesterday?

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Every Day

Cost Cutting on Friday

I took all of the chicken that was left off of our first chicken and did the same with the whole second chicken. I made homemade chicken soup for dinner and it will probably last for 3-4 meals.

I forgot to tell you yesterday that on one of my Top’s shops this past week, they did not give me the 200 gas points I earned. So when I went on Thursday I went to customer service with my receipt and they gave me the additional $.20 off per gallon. That brought me up to $ .40 off per gallon and after shopping that day I was up to $ .50 a a gallon. So I will be getting gas soon. Watch your receipts closely. They make mistakes sometimes. $.20 off per gallon is valuable today.

One load of laundry was done using cold water and about 3 tbsp. of laundry detergent. I never follow the directions on the detergent bottle or box. A repairman told me years ago to use only 2-3 tbsp. He said you do not need more than that because the agitation does most of the cleaning. I hung that load to dry.

I cleaned a bedroom today. I didn’t get the windows done so that will be on my agenda tomorrow.

Breakfast this morning was bacon and eggs again. I ate the scrambled egg that was leftover the other day. Waste not, want not! I also sent an e-mail to Top’s customer service letting them know that the quality of their bacon is tasteless and it is like chewing rubber. Their bacon has always been delicious. I don’t know what has happened to it. I will not be buying it again.

I also contacted Walmart. I have never gotten my Florastor order. They kept saying it was delayed. I really needed it as quickly as they told me it would be here. I am only taking 1/2 a dose of what I should be taking trying to make it last. They told me it is lost(probably stolen). Well, why should I have to contact you? Shouldn’t you have let me know me know and refunded my money? They issued the refund for $ 53.77 which will take 10 days. UGH. Now I am back to square one and will have to see where else I can find it.

My arthritis has been bad especially when it rains and we have had a lot of that. I tried Advil, Tylenol, and aspirin and nothing worked. My son suggested I try Aleve. He has some medical background and said many people say they get relief from it. I did and it works. I am hoping it continues to work.

I used my credit card reward points to get $100. cashback in the form of a credit on my next credit card bill.

I hope you all had a good cost cutting day.

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Every Day

Grocery Haul and Saving Money

I went to Top’s this week using a 3 day sale coupon. I got Italian bread that was on sale for $ 2.00 and then used a $ 2.00 off Monopoly Q to get it free. I got Porterhouse steaks on sale for $10.99 a lb. and used a $ 2.00 off Monopoly Q for a total cost of $ 42.07. There were 3 steaks in the package totaling 4.01 lbs. The shrimp was pricey but I needed it for a dinner I am making in a few weeks. It was on sale for $ 12.99 and I used a digital coupon for $ .40 off so it cost me $ 12.59. The total for all was $54.66 minus a 3 day sale Q of $5.00 off a $50. purchase for a total of $49.66.

The mayonnaise you just see in the corner of the picture was not bought on this trip. I just took it from my storage to put in the fridge when Hubby empties the jar that has just a little bit in it.

Then I went to Dollar Tree to get 6 qts. of shelf stable milk. We seem to be going through a lot of it between baking, making scrambled eggs, and making puddings for snacks and desserts. Some does get used for cereal once in a while too. These were $ 1.25 each totaling $ 7.50. I really like the whole milk but they had none. The 2% is just fine for what I need it for.

We continue to cut as many costs as we can around here. I started washing my own windows on the inside and one door on both sides and cleaning the blinds in the breakfast room. I have to be really careful because the windows are very tall so I have to climb on a ladder. I am using glass cleaner and microfiber cloths. I did not want to pay to hire someone to do it because it is so expensive. Hubby will pressure wash the outsides when I am done. I will take the screens out and clean them also. In the same room, I cleaned all of the walls and the door. We have a cathedral ceiling in there so that was not easy either. I could not reach our ceiling fan even on a small ladder. So Hubby cleaned that light and all of the fan blades. Onto another room tomorrow.

Hubby has been trimming bushes and weeding. We hired the landscape company to do the spring cleanup and some plantings. But Hubby is hoping to keep up with the maintenance throughout the year. That will save us a fortune. If it gets to be too much, then we will just hire them again.

Our cherries will be ripe in about 2 weeks. We will pick what we can reach and leave the ones at the top for the birds. They love them.

I did our net worth statement yesterday because I do it a few times a year. We are getting very close to our goals.We are so happy about that.

Besides the things we do every day like cook from home, do wash in cold water, cook outside on the grill or in the small oven, etc., that is about it for this week.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

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Every Day

Cutting Costs

In case you haven’t seen it, Aldi’s, Target, and Walmart say they are lowering food prices on certain items because people can no longer afford this inflation, have no savings, and their credit cards are maxed out.

I quickly scanned the Walmart site this morning and did not see much of a change in prices except for junk food which is not nutritious food. The White House asked these grocery stores to do it and they are taking credit for it. Gee another move for votes. Am I surprised? Don’t be fooled people. If this administration gets back in the White House for 2025, things will get worse than you have ever seen before. Our country as we loved it and have known it will be gone. It is almost there now. I hate to get into politics here but people were fooled in the last election and need to wake up to what is going on.

Also it is Walmart who made the statement about people not having any money and their credit cards being maxed out because of inflation. The White House is pointing fingers at these stores saying inflation is all their fault so please lower your prices. What a joke! The inflation is being caused by all the money printing by our government. And then they give it to foreign countries and the illegals. We, the taxpayers, are footing the bill. Ridiculous! I have been voting for almost 59 years and watching government all of this time. They are not there for us but just to enrich themselves. This has been going on since the 1960’s. People are just waking up to this finally.

Don’t be fooled by these grocery stores’ statements that they are doing this for us. They are doing it for themselves. They have lost customers to cheaper stores like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and grocery outlet stores. They are lowering prices to get their customer base back into their stores.

Now I am not saying that we should not take advantage of these reduced prices. But make sure that they are something you really need and really are the lowest price in your area. Here is a list of the reduced prices for the summer at Aldi’s:

https://corporate.aldi.us/fileadmin/fm-dam/newsroom/Press_Releases/aldi-doubles-down-on-summer-savings-to-put-100-million-back-into-customers-wallets-press-release.pdf

It would be nice if Walmart and Target would put out a list for all of us.

Those of you, who Walmart says have spent their savings and maxed out their credit cards, should be going to food banks until you get back on on your feet. Tough times is what they are there for.

That said here is what I did today to cut costs. First, I froze or used up whatever I could in the produce drawer. I hate wasting food.

Breakfast this morning was hard boiled eggs and the last of the ham. Dinner will be grilled strip steaks, purchased on a loss leader sale of $10.99 a lb. and a tossed salad. For those of you who don’t know, we only eat two meals a day.

Hubby has been faithfully taking care of our gardens. 100% of the flowers planted in the ground are perennials. I love them because they bloom year after year. This is our youngest peony. I just love the color. The only annuals we do every year are in the pots on our patio and the hanging baskets. This peony will be gone in a few days. By then our huge white peonies will bloom. Right now this peony, our two lilac bushes, our lilies of the valley, and our Siberian irises are in full bloom. Hubby had flowers, flowering trees and bushes planted that bloom different seasons of the year.

Hubby had a doctor’s appointment today. We had a postage paid package that needed to be taken to Fed Ex. They have a drop off in Office Max which was on his route home. The traffic was quite heavy on our main road here today with everyone heading to Lake Ontario for the long weekend. So Hubby avoided the main road. With gasoline prices so high, he did not want to waste gas idling in traffic.

While he is out, I straightened up one of our pantries in our kitchen and make sure that the oldest items will get eaten first. First in, first out and that is how we roll.

I am sending out a $5.00 liquor rebate. I also got a $ 18.40 rebate check in the mail today. That will get deposited in savings.

We got our mid April to mid May electric and natural gas bill today. I was very disappointed because it was $ 155.94 for 30 days. Last year’s bill for the same period was only 28 days and totaled $ 129.24. That is a $ 26.70 increase year over year. So I compared both bills which showed this bill was for 2 more days. Also we had an increase on our meter charge of $2.00. There were also rates increases that kicked in and the supply and demand charges were up significantly. Our natural gas therms were down by 1 therm. There is not much that can be done about any of it.

However, I can do whatever I can this month to make sure that my bill is down significantly next month. I did one load of laundry today using 2 tbsp. of liquid laundry detergent in cold water and hung a lot of it to dry. Towels I put in the dryer on medium heat.

Lights are off when it is daylight. We cook either in our countertop oven or grill outside. Laptop is off and unplugged when I am not using it. I do not let water run down the sink. I fill it a bit and then wash my dishes. I have a lot of paper plates that I purchased long before the prices went up. So in this season, I am using them to avoid washing dishes whenever I can.

It is time to relax with a book for the evening.

What have you done to cut costs today?