Wrapping Up A Thrifty April

I began the month with my car literally on fumes, in fact I drove to work with the low fuel indicator light on for two days.  Good thing I live close to work and really when that light comes on I know I still have a couple gallons left before it is truly on fumes.  Nonetheless, it always feels good when I get to fill it up and the light goes out.

I get paid on the 5th and the 20th of each month so on the 5th I pay all of our monthly expenses and fill up the gas tank.  I also buy groceries and any non food items as well as transfer a set amount to my savings account.  I did all of that and we were good to go.

On the 20th I paid our mortgage early, added more to savings and picked up a few more groceries.  Last month I didn't do much grocery shopping so that expense was rather low.  Instead we used up a lot of items we already had in our freezers and pantry and I mainly focused on picking up fresh produce a few different times.  I was able to get my car serviced using a $19.95 coupon they sent me in the mail.  It made their regular service half price and they also wash my car for free.

We did a little thrift shopping for some needed clothing items and I found a free charcoal grill on Craigslist to fulfill another need we had.  I took back a few return items to Home Depot and used my store credit to purchase a can of BBQ paint and gave it a facelift.  I picked up a 2 pack of foil pans at Dollar Tree to use for the charcoal tray and spent only $1 out of pocket on that grill.  We also picked up some wood at the FREE WOOD bin near where I work and were able to acquire what we need for two upcoming projects we have planned.

At the beginning of the month I turned off the main heat and we stopped using our infrared heater as well.  We had a few rainy, chilly days but the fireplace was more than enough to keep us comfortable.  We've needed no heat a all the latter half of the month so I am looking forward to some much lower electric bills.

With loads of expenses coming up we are tightening our belts and getting pretty creative to get the things done around here that we need to.  So far we have been really blessed to find what we need when we need it and I'm praying the trend continues.  So much to do and so much going on it can seem a bit overwhelming.  But when it does I just take a step back, a big breath and focus on one thing at a time.  It will all get done.