Tag: grocery savings

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Every Day

Free Shopping

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been doing as little grocery shopping as possible lately. There are a few reasons for that. First, we are eating from our stockpile. Second, my diet will be changing drastically soon. And last, I am enjoying keeping as much money as possible of our budgeted grocery money.

This week and perhaps for many weeks to come, I have been doing “Free Shopping”. It’s fun and a challenge for myself. Have any of you just exclusively done this for a period of time? Perhaps your pantries were full and you wanted to use up what you had before it expired? Or maybe you just wanted to free up some money to throw at a debt or a goal?

I started doing this yesterday with a few rules. First, I don’t want to waste gasoline money driving around for a few things here and there. So I am trying to combine trips with other errands. This week, I have shopped at Walmart and Top’s. They are about a block apart.

Second, I don’t want to make many trips. No more than two a week unless I can stop somewhere on the way to an appointment, etc. Gasoline is expensive so I don’t want to waste what I am saving on filling up my tank.



At Walmart I purchased:


– 1 Forto Coffee Shot which was a $1.98 but I got back $ 1.98 from Ibotta

– 1-16 oz. Axe 2 in 1 Shampoo & Conditioner which was $3.97. This was a $.03 moneymaker. I used a $ 2.00 MQ and got $2.00 back from Ibotta

– 1 Bic Flex 5 Hybrid Razor which was $ 5.97 and I did a mail in rebate for the full cost. The rebate form is HERE.  They have lots of choices to get the full purchase price back.

– 1 Count Command Hook which was $ .97 and I used a $1.00 MQ so this was a $ .03 money maker. 

The $.06 I made came off the tax which was a nice bonus. I was getting ready to add a cheap candy bar if it didn’t. 

At Top’s I purchased:

– 2 Oikos Oh Yogurt -$1.00 each and I used 2- $ .50/1 coupons doubled = Free 

– 2 Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt – $1.00 each and I used 2- $.50/1 coupons doubled = Free

– 2 Two Good Greek Yogurt – $ 1.00 each and I used 2 – $.50/1 coupons doubled = Free and I got $.50 back from Ibotta


– 1 Ollys Single Protein Bar – $ 2.29 and I used a $ .50/1 coupon doubled and I got $2.00 back from
 Ibotta which was a $ .71 money maker.

 I also got $.25 back from Ibotta for submitting my receipt.


I also submitted my receipt to Fetch Rewards and got 1000 points. Fetch Rewards is so easy. You just upload all of your receipts. You get credit for those and for things that are certain items that you may have bought. If you would like to sign up and give me a referral credit, use my code which is: JQ5QH. I would be most appreciative.



That’s all the shopping for this week so far. Please feel free to share with all of us what you are getting free this week in the comments.

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Every Day

My Thought Process

I told you recently that I will be mentoring two couples that have asked me. I will give you more information on their circumstances next month. However they both have outstanding credit card debt and after looking at their after tax spendable income and their expenses, I have come to the conclusion that both families are spending way too much money on food. One family shops 3 or more times a week and the other spends way too much money eating out.

So some of the recent posts that you have seen me post is to get them thinking about their food spending. You may have seen this information before because I have had a # of blogs since I started doing it 11 years ago. Some of you probably know me as Precious. 

However, every one needs a reminder once in a while. So today I am again going over my thought process on how I grocery shop. You saw on Monday that I purchased 7 sirloin tip steaks on sale to grind into ground sirloin and how I saved on that. You all know that I buy at rock bottom prices on sale when I can.

I hadn’t planned on going to the market again this week. However you know what they say about the best laid plans. We have a dry erase board in the kitchen where Hubby and I write down things to get at the store. Well, it had quite a few things on it this morning and I have company coming tomorrow for the weekend. So today I needed to shop.

Above is the list I copied from the dry erase board minus the hash browns which Hubby had me add when he knew I was going to the store. 

The list here is after I thought about every item on it. Hubby does not go down to the basement unless it is absolutely necessary. It’s hard on his back. So he doesn’t have a clue what is in my pantry down there.

He wanted taco sauce to make a crock pot full of meat chili soon. We had a large bottle down there and part of a bottle in the fridge. So it got deleted from my list but put on a list of items that I don’t need right now but need to keep an eye out for a good sale price and coupons.

He wanted hash browns for breakfast this weekend. I have a 5 lb. bag of potatoes so I will grate them instead of buying a package.


We had a large can of Chinese noodles and Panda Express orange sauce in the pantry so they got crossed off and put on my other list.

That left the items above that I needed to purchase. I looked at the sale ads and pulled the only coupon I could find and marked it on the list along with a saving star rebate. Have you noticed that the coupons stink since the “Extreme Couponing Show” was on TV? They have even gotten worse recently. I actually know a coupon blogger from this area who did the matchups for Top’s each week. She has quit doing them because the coupons have gotten so bad and the sales are just as bad. Aldi’s and Walmart look better and better every day.


Then I went to both Top’s and Aldi’s. I could get the Kikkoman stir fry sauce for $.34 after the $.55 doubled coupon and a rebate at saving star for $.55 at Top’s plus I wanted to check their prices on other items so I went there first.

So this is what I purchased at Top’s:

stir fry sauce – $ .34
18 ct. large eggs – $2.19

This is what I purchased at Aldi’s:

American cheese singles – $ 1.99
Romaine Hearts – $ 2.29
4 qt. container of Vanilla Ice Cream – $ 3.99


My total for my grocery shop was $ 9.16.


The eggs were cheaper than buying them at Aldi’s by pennies. The BOGO free Kraft singles were $ 5.29 for
2 packages or about $ 2.65 each. I knew that I could get them for $ 1.99 at Aldi’s. Top’s romaine hearts were $ 3.49 or $ 1.20 more expensive than Aldi’s.

And yes, I purchased the ice cream that wasn’t on my list. It was a great price and we can use it for desserts for company this weekend. Root beer floats and hot fudge sundaes come to mind. I was going to bake something but when I saw the ice cream I changed my mind. I won’t heat up the kitchen since my A/C is still on. I sure hope we can turn it off permanently soon.  


I hope you all have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend. We will enjoy our company and have a great time.

Most of the children in the Northeast go back to school next week. I wish them all a great school year. I know that my granddaughter and grandson are excited that school is starting.

And lastly, we had a rainbow yesterday which I didn’t get a picture of and shortly after a beautiful sunset. The blues and oranges were magnificent.


I will be back posting soon.


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Every Day

Trying To Make The Best Of It

It’s been a rough couple of days. After two hours in the dental chair yesterday, I came home with a numb mouth and nose after having 4 teeth extracted and the temporary partial bridge put in. As the novocaine wore off, the pain set in. I took two tylenol which did absolutely nothing. My daughter in law told me to try some ibuprofen the next time. So before I went to bed last night I did that. 

I slept like a baby. I am normally up anywhere between 3 and 6am in the morning. Today I slept until 7:45am. 

Anyhow last night, I tried to eat some Thai chicken soup. The broth was great but the rice and chicken I couldn’t chew. So broth and some yogurt for dessert was it. 

Today, I feel like someone has hit me with a sledge hammer. So I again took some ibuprofen. It hurts to take the partial out to clean it but I must and then put it back in. The dentist wants me to wear it all day round for the first 48 hours so I am doing that. After 48 hours, I can sleep without it.

The right side of my mouth is not feeling too bad. But the left feels like a sharp needle is pushing in my gum when I chew on that side. My dentist does not work Friday – Sunday. Since I have an appointment on Monday, I will have him check to see if there is a stray piece of bone in there which he told me could happen. This side was where the largest tooth was removed so that may just take more time to heal.

Hubby has been great!  He is doing everything for me. He cooks me a meal and them makes himself a  different meal. This morning he made me eggs with cheese melted on top. It was hard to chew on that left side but I managed. I have to still try to eat the proper protein and other nutrition. Tonight he is going to make me Annie’s Bunny Pasta at my request. I have a few boxes that I keep in the pantry for my grandson. I am hoping it will be soft enough.

Hubby tells me to rest and he is doing every thing that needs to be done. There is only so much resting I can do. So I will be reading some of the blogs that I frequent that I haven’t had time for lately. I will also watch some You Tube videos. 

Moral of this story: Teach your children to take really good care of their teeth from the time they get them. Take good care of your teeth. Otherwise you could end up like me. I grew up very poor so we only were taken to the dentist when we had a toothache. They handed us the toothpaste and told us to use it. There was no such thing as floss in our home. That was the beginning of my downward spiral to a terrific amount of dollars being spent at dentists over my many years. And it just never seems to end. Sure some of it could be genetic but starting off on the right foot when your kids are young gives them a much better chance. 

The other thing I plan on doing today is making a list of the things that I can do to save more money in investments. Also cutting back where I can to reach the goals we have set for the next few years.

We finally have our heat off for good. So I am hunting down the portable fans we have to put in the rooms where we have no ceiling fans. I will have Hubby put a new filter in the furnace. Our goal this year is to keep the A/C off as long as we can but when we do turn it on, we will be ready to go with that new filter. I would like a couple of months without heating and cooling bills.

We continue to eat from our stockpile and always update the inventory spreadsheet. The less money that I spend at the grocery store each week the happier I am. 

I wish you all a great day and weekend.      

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Every Day

Monday’s Grocery Shopping Trip

I am sharing with you a small grocery shopping trip that I did on Monday. 

One of the most important things I went to get was a whole NY strip loin that was on sale for $ 6.99 a lb. With grilling season on the horizon(if it ever stops snowing here), we needed steaks. We had none left from last Summer and Fall. This price is a $ 1.00 more than last year’s price but beef prices do tend to fluctuate. I think it is probably the best price we will find here right now. I only bought one so that I can see what they put it on sale for later in the season. Plus I need room for the bacon that is coming from 
Zaycon Fresh next month.

I had the head butcher go back into the freezer and pick me out the best one. He is always willing to do this for me. He then cut it into 1 and 1/2 inch steaks which is how thick we like them. One steak is enough for the both of us at a meal. I ended up with 11 steaks.  

This is what I purchased:

Whole NY Strip Loin at $ 6.99 per lb.= $ 76.61( ignore the price on the wrapper- it rang up properly)

8 TicTac Gum – $ 1.00 – Used 4 insert coupons for $ .50 ea. that doubled and 4 printable coupons for $ .50 that doubled= All 8 were free.

2 Tropicana OJ on sale for $1.00 each minus $ 1./2 MQ that doubled = $ .50 each

1- 2 ltr. Pepsi – $ .29 with Monopoly token

2 Truvia Sweeteners – on sale for $ 1.99 each minus $2./1 Printable Q’s = made $.02

I also used a $ 2.00 OYNO Catalina so my OOP was $ 75.89 plus tax. Yes, this is over my $75.00 a week grocery budget but I don’t spend the entire amount every week and have accumulated quite a bit of money since the beginning of the year so it’s all good. One of the reasons that I don’t spend it all each week is so I can buy at the rock bottom prices on meat, chicken, and seafood when I see them. 


The first thing that I did when I got home was have Hubby food saver each individual steak. Then I put them in the downstairs freezer. I can’t wait until it stops snowing here and warms up so we can grill one.


Last night for dinner, I sauteed Montreal steak sausage with some Vidalia onions. Hubby cooked our French Fries in the air fryer. They were so crisp and yummy. 

Today I have my hair salon appointment so I already have a pot roast in the crockpot on low with assorted veggies that I chopped up. After my appointment, I want to stop at BonTon if they are still open and see if they have any of the jeans I wear. They fit me just the way I like them. With BonTon closing, I don’t know where I can find them. So I am going to stock on smaller sizes since I am dieting.

Have any of you gotten any good grocery prices this week on items that you stocked on? Please feel free to share with us in comments.

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Every Day

This Week’s Shopping Trip

At the end of last week, I had $ 6.49 left in my grocery shopping budget. On Sunday I added this week’s $75.00 for a total of $ 81.49.

I showed you yesterday, my Rite Aid shop which totaled $ 17.36 which left me $ 64.13 for today’s shop.

I shopped at Top’s and this is what I purchased:

1 dozen Top’s Large Eggs – $ 1.99

4 Brown and Serve Sausage $1.00 each =$4.00

5 -2 ltr. Diet Coke – $.99 each = $4.95 + bottle dep.

3 Chobani with a hint of flavor yogurt -$1.00 each- used 3- $.50/1 Q’s dbled = All Free

1 Arnold Rolls – $3.69 – $ .55/1 Q= $ 2.69

1 Top’s Sandwich Bread – $ .99

1 Pkg. of Romaine Lettuce $ 2.99

1 Apple $ 1.15

3/4 lb. of Turkey Breast – $ 5.24

.53 lbs. of Provolone Cheese – $ 3.70

7.54 lb. Turkey Breast at $.99 lb.= $ 7.46
4 Hellmans Mayonaise – $2.99 each – used (2) 1./1 Q’s and $1./1 CTC Q = $ 8.96 and earned a $2.00 Catalina Good on My Next Shopping Order

2 International Delight Yogurt $.125 each – used (2) $ .75/1 Q’s = Both Free

2 Frank’s Hot Sauce – $2.50 – $. 75/1 Q = $1. for one and $2.50 for the other and a $1.00 Ibotta Rebate for buying 2.

2 Ritz Crackers – $ 3.49 each – used $ .75/2 Q = $ 5.48 and a $.25 Ibotta Rebate

2 Ortega Good Grains Blue Corn Tortilla Shells $ 1.25 each – used $ 1./2 Q = $1.50 

2 DelMonte Refreshers -$2.00 each – used (1) $.75/1 Q = $ 2.50 for both

2 Kettle Chips -B1G1F = $3.69 for both- $ 1./2 Q = $ 2.69 and a $1.00 Ibotta Rebate

I also used a $ 5./ 50. Tops Q so my OOP was $55.81. I have Ibotta Rebates of $ 2.25.
After this trip we have $ 8.32 left for this week.

Now let me show you how I messed up. The Extra Large Eggs were on sale for $.99. I picked up the Large by accident. 

Also there was a $1.00 Lady Alice Ibotta Rebate. I know I picked up the right apple. However, it looks like it had the wrong sticker on it.  


So I may or may not go back and try to exchange the eggs and the apple. It depends on if I get back that way for something else.  

We were on our last jar of mayo which is a sacrilege in this house. So I bought 4 to get us through until the next sale. I would have loved to buy more turkey breasts but I only had room for one which I will cook soon. I am trying to make room for my $ .79 a lb. boneless chicken breasts that Zaycon will bring the end of March. I needed the eggs and free yogurts. Hubby asked for the Ritz, cold cuts, soda, rolls, lettuce, and hot sauce. The rest are for Super Bowl Sunday. 

I hope you all got great food sales this week. Enjoy the Super Bowl. We are looking forward to that on Sunday and we will have our grandson for the weekend so lots of fun.  

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Every Day

Preparing For Freezer Cooking

I will be going to Disney World the beginning of January. The closer it gets the more excited I get.

Hubby is not going so I know I have to prepare some easy meals for him. If I don’t he will go out and buy junk or eat snacks. He is not fussy about eating the same thing over and over again for days. So I have decided to make a lot of two different meals that he can pull out of the freezer and just nuke in the microwave.

I decided to make a large pan of lasagna because he loves my lasagna. And I will also cook some chicken so that he can just cut it up on salads. I will also make a chicken dish that he can throw frozen into the crock pot and cook all day. He loves salad and applesauce so he can do those for sides. There is always fruit and cut up veggies in the fridge for him to snack on. He will also have tortilla chips and salsa for snacks.  

I had no ground beef in my freezers. So I have been looking for a decent price to buy some. In yesterday’s flyer, Top’s advertised their 80/20 ground beef meal deal. You buy a 4-5 lb. package of the beef and you get 9 named items free. Now I know that the ground beef will not be a great price for this deal. And I rarely buy these deals because of that and the fact that the free items are things we don’t normally buy. 

So I set out to investigate whether this was a good deal or not. I called my Top’s meat department and asked what the price per lb. was that they were charging for the meat. They told me $ 3.99 per lb. Then I looked on Wegman’s website to see what they are charging for their 80-20 ground beef. I had already noticed that Walmart’s was $ 4.99 a lb. when I shopped there yesterday. Wegman’s was $ 2.29 a lb.
I estimated that a package would be 5lbs. So at Wegman’s that would cost me $ 11.45. The meat at Top’s would cost me $ 19.95. That is a difference of $ 8.50.

However Top’s was giving me 9 items free with my purchase that they estimated would be $14.00 if bought separately. I looked at the list and we could use all 9. If I used coupons with a sale price on those 9 items I estimated that on sale, I could buy those items for $ 10.95. So I am paying $ 8.50 more for the beef at Top’s but I am getting $ 10.95 in usable product. That is only a $ 2.45 gain. 

But Top’s is less than 7 miles round trip from my house and Wegman’s is 26 miles away round trip. With gas topping off at $ 2.60 a gallon, this was a no brainer. I also asked myself if there were other necessary errands that I could run down near Wegman’s. I could go to the bank and deposit six checks that I have sitting here. But I could deposit those checks via my mobile phone. So I opted to get the Top’s deal. This is the kind of thinking I do on anything I buy to make sure that I am getting the best deal.

I bought a 4.63 lb. of ground beef ($18.47), a dozen eggs for $.69 with a store Q, one family size bag of tortillas chips ($4.49), 2 large containers of cottage cheese ($2.79 each). The 9 free items were Italian bakery bread, Fresh Express lettuce shreds, a jar of spaghetti sauce, a bag of Mexican cheese, a can of chili beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a bag of taco wraps, 1 lb. of thin spaghetti, and a package of chili seasoning. My total grocery bill was $29.23. That leaves me $18.39 through December 9th to spend. I am done with the big shops for the week because we have snow in the forecast from tomorrow through Sunday. If we need something desperately like milk, I will send Hubby to the gas station which is close.

I came home and used my scale to measure out the meat into 8 oz. portions because that is what Hubby and I eat at a meal. I will use 16 oz. in the lasagna along with a lb. of Italian sausage that I am thawing from my freezer. To my surprise when I measured it, I got a full 5 lbs. of meat not the 4.63 lbs. that I paid for. So I will be using the 1 lb. tomorrow when I make the lasagna. Seven of the bags I put in the freezer. One I kept out for dinner. Hubby can pull one out if he wants hamburgers while I am away. I did not food saver the bags of meat because it will get used up over the next few months and Ziplocs are cheaper than food saver bags.

Tomorrow, I will make and bake the lasagna. When it cools, I will freeze it in individual portions for Hubby’s lunches and dinners.  I will post this meal with recipe when I make it. 

Tonight we will have taco salad using 8 oz. of the beef cooked with taco seasoning, the lettuce shreds, onions, fresh tomatoes, black olives, taco sauce, hot sauce and Mexican cheese. Hubby will have tortilla chips with his. I just eat it like a salad.

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Every Day

Keeping the Groceries Under Budget

This morning I went to Super Walmart at 7AM to avoid the Saturday crowds. It was rather pleasant to shop with hardly anyone in the store.

We needed ingredients to make a dessert to take to a  Christmas party. I am making this Double Chocolate Mocha Trifle. I had planned on making this 
Peppermint Brownie Trifle. However I could not find the cream cheese pudding mix so I decided to do the other one that I had chosen. Hubby liked that recipe better anyhow.

So for the recipe I purchased:

Brownie Mix – $ 1.28
Heath Toffee Bits – $ 2.38
2 boxes of White Chocolate Pudding – $.98 each
Milk – $ 1.60
Instant Coffee – $1.00

I had all of the other ingredients. 

Yesterday, Hubby was looking for a fresh tube of toothpaste. Do you think we had any? Nope, my stash is gone. Knowing that we only have a little left in a sample tube, I purchased two of the Crest Cinnamon. They were $ 2.97 each. I will be looking for a good sale to stockpile some but these will hold us until I do. 

Hubby still eats a little snack once in a while and some carbs. The only carbs that I eat are in my food that I eat at meals…mainly veggies and meat.  So he asked for tortillas for his lunch wraps. They were $2.14 for a 10 ct. package. The chips will last him for a long time. They were $ 3.98 for the family size. He also drinks Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea. I purchased 2 containers for $ 2.48 each. I spotted a Great Value  SF Peach Iced Tea so I bought him one to try. If he likes that I will buy it from now on because it is cheaper than the Crystal Light. It cost $ 1.98. 

Lastly, I needed eggs to make some baked goods for gifts. I did not want to spend $ 4.98 for organic eggs for that purpose. So I purchased a regular large dozen for $ 1.28. 

I had $ 75.00 set aside in my grocery budget for Dec 1st through the 9th.  I used a $ 1.60 E-Cert GC from the Walmart Savings Catcher program to help defray the cost today. So I paid $ 27.38 for everything. That leaves me $ 47.62 left to spend through December 9th. 

I had ground chuck on my list but it was $ 4.99 a lb. at Walmart. I won’t pay that price unless I get it at my meat market. I will check the ads tomorrow to see if it is on sale anywhere this coming week. If not I will get it at the meat market when I have other errands to run up that way.

My monthly budget now is $ 300. a month for groceries, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, napkins, HBA and Ziplocs or other wraps. Since I divide the $ 300. into 4 week sections of $75.00 a week, it works well for us. I add the few days at the front of the month to the next week and the same thing works for the end of the month.  I like having a smaller amount to work with when I shop. It makes me be wiser with our money and I really think about what I am buying. I ask myself: Do I really need it? Can I substitute something else? Where can I buy it the cheapest? Is it worth my gasoline to run around to a few stores if the price difference is only pennies? 

I also rarely use coupons anymore. Most of the things we buy don’t really have any. I shop mostly at Walmart and Aldi and they have great prices so it is not worth spending a lot of time cutting coupons. If they are at my fingertips on the computer and I can print them quickly then I do. If I have to spend a lot of time searching for one, it isn’t worth my time. Have you changed the way you shop since coupons aren’t as good anymore? Have you changed your budget like I have recently? 

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Every Day

Inexpensive Turkey Soup and Other Topics

Turkey is one of the least expensive meats you can buy especially around Thanksgiving. I have one extra turkey in the freezer and I am keeping my eye on prices to see if any grocery clearances them. If I go by a grocery store, I stop and run in to see what they are doing with them. I suspect that Aldi will discount them but probably not until after Christmas.

That said, I paid $.99 a lb. for our Butterball 22 lb. turkey this year. It is our favorite brand and the breasts were huge. I have never gotten so much white meat off of a turkey. We got eight individual dinners and seven individual lunches out of the turkey and other leftovers. I also made eight quarts of turkey broth. I made a huge stockpot of turkey soup with some of it(pictured). The rest is in the freezer to use throughout the year. The soup has already fed Hubby and I two dinners and will probably feed us two more. We are definitely getting our money’s worth. Are any of you making soup?

I wanted to let you know that I finished my physical therapy today and I will be doing therapy at home using exercises they trained me to do. I have some of my answers but not all. I had 3 more tests yesterday and today. I am feeling much better but not 100% yet. 

We have started to think about income and expenses for 2018. We are setting the budget for the items that are not set in stone. You know the ones that fluctuate from month to month like groceries, entertainment, restaurant food, etc.

Our budget for food has changed because of the food that we are eating. We are on the Keto diet which consists of meat, chicken, fish, and lots of dark green veggies like kale, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, etc. We try to buy organic produce when it is important. We are finishing the meat in the freezer and only buying grass fed when we make a purchase. We buy organic eggs from chickens that have been grass fed. We are using butter, olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil to cook with and for salad dressings. We eat cheese and other fats like bacon. This isn’t everything that we consume but most of it. We started this diet about 7 weeks ago and I have lost 15 lbs. and Hubby has lost 10. We never snack between meals. Of course we cheated a bit over Thanksgiving because we hosted company. When the soup is gone, we will be eating all Keto again. It is an easy diet and we are never hungry because of the fats. 

So when we get done setting the budget I will let you know the budget amounts for food, personal care, HBA etc. which will all be included in the total amount. Then I will let you know what the other categories are for things not set in stone every month.

I realize that you are probably all busy shopping and getting ready for Christmas. But this month you should be setting your budget for 2018. The other thing that is important is to estimate your taxes for 2017 and decide if you should do some tax harvesting of stocks to lower your taxes for the year.
We are working on both. 

Talk with you again soon.

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Every Day

Frugal Things In Our Home

Here are five frugal things that we have done recently:

1. Using liquid hand soap is so much more expensive than using bar soap. The bottle of hand soap pictured above cost me $ 1.19 on sale. The bar of soap below cost me about $.25 after a sale and coupon.

We use the bar soap at both of our sinks in our master bathroom. A bar lasts each of us a little over 2 months. We use liquid hand soap in our guest bathroom and at the kitchen sink. I buy huge refill bottles of it at either Super Walmart or our warehouse club where it is so much cheaper than anywhere else. I refill empty soap bottles with the soap and water. The one in the guest bathroom lasts a long, long time because we rarely have company except for family once a week and a few times a year for an extended period. The one at the kitchen sink gets a lot of use so I refill a foaming bottle there to save us money. 

2. I borrowed two relatively recent Danielle Steel books from our local library which I proceeded to read over a two day period in my spare time. I now have 4 recent books on hold at the library so I will return these and pick those up next week. I no longer buy books unless we need them for gifts. We either borrow them from the library or read free ones on our kindles.

3. Changing up the way we do seasonal clothing storage has caused me to need some more hangers. I have always stored my seasonal clothing in the basement. Right now fall clothes are starting to be worn and summer ones would be boxed up and put down there. However the boxes are getting too much for me to carry and I hate to rely on my son bringing them up and down for me. So I am going to do what Hubby does with his. He stores both seasons in our master closet. I have decided that we have the closet space for me to do the same. That way in January when I need summer clothes for a Florida trip, they will be right where I need them to pack. This will also save me from washing them extra times before the seasonal changeover. All of our hangers are Joy Mangano from HSN. I only needed 20 so I went to Walmart and purchased the ones above. They are not the same color but will co-ordinate. I bought two packages of 10 that cost me $ 10.54 for all including tax. A 24 pack at HSN would have cost me $21.59 including tax. The Walmart ones are as sturdy and unslippable as Joy’s. 

4. My recent fresh pineapple purchase with a store coupon was $.99 which is a super price for this area.

5. Tap water with ice is our every day drink. Other than that it is just one cup of coffee a day. We have given up soda and juice. We never were milk drinkers. Sometimes we make iced tea.