Frugal Activities!

Still in NW Indiana and well, it’s kind of hard to stay on track AND keep tabs on stuff!

On Wednesday afternoon, we were down the street from the house on our way to go visit a friend and the front end of the jeep started to do some really odd things. Thankfully, we have a 90 day/3,000 mile warranty ... we are 60 plus days in and have over 800 miles left so the jeep is currently at the local dealership. I'm a little concerned in that it's Thursday and they are closed on Saturday and Sunday. HOW do working folks get their cars fixed around here?? I would say that yes, this would qualify as a frugal activity ONLY if it's really a front end issue. Hubby says it is and he is a #gearhead so yeah, I believe warranty will cover it. $100 deductible. I'll take it.

Here’s some of the Frugal things we’ve done this past week:

1. Hubby made the last-minute run to the grocery store over the weekend. Generally, if he goes, we spend way less money. I guess we did in that he bought the assorted packs of pork chops instead of boneless center cut like I would have 😉 Hey, a savings is a savings.

2.  Dropped off a few bags of household items at the local thrift store and got our receipt for taxes. We itemize like crazy on our return so we get every receipt we can for donations to charitable organizations. We actually made 3 stops total this week … some stuff was moved out discreetly, other items had heated discussions on … just for the record, wheelchair is STILL in the garage, regardless of the fact that he would receive a new one if he ever needed (it was his wife’s and I think it’s a separation issue).

Stayed

3. While there at the thrift store, Hubby and I ran inside to look at their winter clothes since we have both been really cold while here. I found a very nice winter jacket for $15. Hubby found nothing other than a University of Miami winter jacket which he just couldn’t bring himself to buy. I’m warm now and he’s still freezing

4. Stopped at Aldi to do my final (I hope!) big shop for food. Will share that on Saturday. Was quite impressed that I bought 4 dinners with full meat and all the ingredients to make a full meal for $105 total (and this included ice cream!)

5.  We did go out to eat for lunch one day and dinner another but all in all, that was very inexpensive and a well-deserved break from all the cleaning, tossing and sorting. $10 one day and $20 the other.

6. My brother in law and wife had us over for dinner and they had steaks (from that large cow they bought) and taters from their garden (!!) and I put together a garden salad to take over.

7.  Peeled off and then remove all my nail polish. Then grabbed a nail file and filed like crazy. They are a hot mess BUT I’m holding out til I get home AND then I’m going to do my own nails. Savings of $40 (if gl) or $15 if regular (includes tip). Trust me, I'm counting down the days til I get home and can fix them up! 

And of course, our full disclosure of the not so Frugal activities:

1. That last minute run to grocery store referenced in #1 above? Included a bottle of vodka, tequila AND bourbon. Oh, and the mixer for tequila. All which we could have done without at the end of the day since there is not ice in the freezer 😉 *Note, we still have not touched the tequila!

2.  Ended up going to the laundry mat to wash clothes on Saturday. The new well is having issues with sand and the instant hot water heater is not cooperating. Needless to say, it was just better for me to do laundry this way BUT did plan on spending $20 for laundry. I suppose it could be a frugal thing IF I saved the washer from dying at a later date with sand impacted inside?

3. Visit to Verizon to try and fix my jetpack for our mobile hotspot. End of the day, could not revive the thing, need to dispute the $100 from July that we put on there, ended up picking up a pay as you go phone for a discounted price of $30 and signed up for a pay as you go for $60 a month with 10 gig of data. Only good news? It’s cheaper than the jetpack was to do 10 gigs AND I have an actual phone now that works at the house in Indiana. Just didn’t want to spend more $

Samsung vs Apple

4. Went out to dinner with a group of old friends and had planned to NOT have an alcoholic (or two) beverage, thereby shaving about $12 off our bill. Uhm, I had 2 glasses of wine for $8.50 a glass. It was good stuff but so not the best thing to do. The boys all had Woodford Reserve which is my favorite bourbon and they were spending about $6 a glass so I was really bummed when I got the bill.

5.  After that dinner, I decided that I was buying a few bottles of wine next time I went to the grocery store. Was able to find the 19 Criminals that I like for $9.99. That’s a few bucks less than back home so I bought TWO! Two. That are still unopened. I have one week to drink 2 bottles of wine, a large bottle of tequila and mixer AND a bottle of vodka. Oh, yeah, and some beer too.

What did YOU do this week to save money? Anything that caught you off guard and made you spend more?

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)