October
turned out to be my uber thriftiest month of the year so far and I couldn't be
happier.
I began the
month with pretty much nil in the checking account and my car on fumes. My first paycheck had a little overtime pay
on it so I was easily able to pay all the monthly utilities and expenses before
their due dates and fill up the car. I
wrote a $75 check to the high school to cover my oldest's marching band
expenses. I also made a good sized
payment toward my debt elimination goal.
I'm getting closer! I can see the
light at the end of the tunnel.
My second
paycheck had some overtime on it. I made
the house payment well ahead of time and paid the orthodontist bill. After that I added another $100 to debt
elimination. Yaay! I always like that.
We managed three
family outings last month. A trip to the Old Idaho Penitentiary, my oldest
daughter's marching band competition and her band concert at the end of the
month. All three events offered plenty
of entertainment. Instead of dining out
at one of our favorite restaurants we opted to save some serious cash and used
coupons we received in the mail for a fast food meal at Burger King. Not my favorite place to go, but the girls
really enjoyed it. Additionally, I took
each of my girls on a mommy/daughter date for less than $20.
It was
definitely all about wise use of coupons last month. At the beginning of the month I received
coupons for free grocery items and used those to stock our freezer with bacon
and English muffins and our refrigerator with eggs and orange juice. I used other coupons I had printed online to pair
up with sales items which allowed me to spend a lot less at the grocery
store. As a result I was able to purchase
quite a few things, including a few stock up items and still came in below my
grocery budget.
I used a $10 OFF $10 purchase coupon I received
from ShopKo to acquire two extra Christmas gifts for my girls at no cost. I was super excited about that. I was also able to treat myself to a little
vintage stereo I've had on my "wish list" for a couple of years now
by combining a $10 store coupon with a sale to get it at a super low price.
October was
also a month of using up every last bit of things around the house. I added water to a dish soap and a laundry
detergent bottle and managed to get an extra couple of loads of clean dishes
and laundry out of the deal. After
squeezing as much face cream out of the tube as I could I cut the bottom open
and scooped out the rest giving me enough for another week. With a little water I laminated a sliver of
bath soap to a new bar so it could easily be used up. And I used a toothpick to help me dig out the
last of the pumpkin pie flavored lip balm out of the tube of Chapstick the
girls got me for Christmas last year. I
wasn't about to waste one bit of that!
I used
proceeds from egg sales to purchase a bale of pine bedding and finished
stocking up on feed for the hens this winter.
Even though their egg production slows this time of year they are still
completely self sustaining. We wait on
them hand and foot and give them lots of kitchen scraps and treats and they
provide us with about a dozen eggs each week.
We finally
got some much needed rain after a long dry spell. Even got some snow in the mountains. So far we have yet to turn on the main
heat. Instead we are managing quite
nicely with just the living room fireplace in the evenings once the sun goes
down and on rainy days. We've added the
winter blankets to our beds and dug out our warmer pajamas too. Fuzzy socks are also nice this time of year
and we all have plenty of those.
At the end
of the month I splurged and purchased the girls each a new winter dress coat on
sale at JC Penney. I used my store
credit card to pay for the purchase and will use the overtime on my first November
paycheck to pay it off in full.
October was
very busy, but also very thrifty and I am quite pleased as I look back to see
how it all went. Now for November. I have a feeling it is going to be a really good
one.
You had a great month!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn. I was pretty happy with it.
DeleteWow, you are really impressive :o)
ReplyDeleteTania
Awwww. You are so sweet! Thanks!
DeleteYour daughter's are learning important lessons from you. I predict they will be savvy with their own finances when they are adults. You are a great mom! I love the daughter date idea too :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for those kind words. I sure do hope so. The daughter dates have been a lot of fun for us.
Delete