Wrapping Up A Thrifty February

February turned out to be a great month.  I had budget extra money for gas in January because my daughter had two out of town dance competitions to attend.  I filled my tank on my car at the end of January and miraculously managed to make it last the entire month!  I also had $91 left in my checking account so I was able to add that to my paycheck on the 5th which included an extra day on it as well as quite a bit of overtime.  I definitely felt I was starting out the month with a good footing.

I was super thrifty with my fuel

With my first paycheck I took care of all the savings goals I had budgeted for as well as paid the usual monthly expenses - heat bill, car payment, medical bills and groceries.  With my second paycheck I hit the savings goals once again, paid our mortgage well ahead of schedule and the water bill.

I received my state refund already and deposited it into my savings account

I filed my income tax returns at the end of last month and received my state refund which I deposited right into my savings account.  I also received a refund from my daughter's doctor's office for an overpayment and I deposited it back into our emergency fund.  Now I am eagerly waiting for my federal tax refund to arrive as I have pretty big plans for what I'm doing with that money.

I feel like I have made a lot of really good financial decisions so far this year

Additionally I received a pay raise at work which is a long time coming and is going to make a huge difference for me financially.  I am very much looking forward to restructuring my budget and financial goals once that comes into play beginning in March.

I sold some old inventory I've been storing in our garage

To earn more income the girls and I have been very busy listing items to sell on eBay.  I pulled a large amount of old inventory from our garage and began grouping items together, taking loads of pictures and listing them for sale.  Most of what I've posted to sell has sold too.  We are planning to continue doing this to earn extra money and get our medical bills from the prior year paid off.

The girls have been going through their toys and making some decisions

So while the month of February may have the fewest days we did really well making each one of those days count.  I am absolutely thrilled with the progress we have made so far and excited to see what happens next month.

My Super Thrifty Grocery Budget 2020 - February

I opted to go with my regular $150 dollar grocery budget this month as opposed to only $100 as I feared the gaps in my pantry would increase to the point that I'd end up overspending one month to make up for it.  That would kind of defeat the purpose of intentional and mindful grocery spending.  I was super happy too that I was able to fill in some pantry gaps, buy some meat this month as well as quite a bit of fresh produce and stay completely on budget.

This was my biggest haul this month.

I ended up buying 4 of these on sale by month end ($5.97 each)

I had gone over on my nonfood budget last month by $7.65 so I did start this month with a deficit.  However, I kept my spending in check and was able to get everything we needed which came to $15.81 and I was still $1.54 to the good.  I've opted to toss the remaining balance into the change jar and start fresh next month with my regular $25 budget.

A handful of nonfood items purchased in February

I was able to purchase quite a few items for my daughter to cook in her dorm.  She did some meal prep here at the house to makes things a bit easier for her during the week which I thought was pretty smart on her part.  She has limited space in her dorm for preparing meals as well as limited refrigerator and pantry space.  Nonetheless she has managed to accumulate quite a little stockpile.

My trip to Winco filled in the gaps in our pantry

Here is the list of food I bought this month:

$147.46 ÷ 29 days ÷3 people = $1.69 per person per day!!!  Not too shabby!

I am very happy, once again with how my grocery shopping worked out this month and I feel encouraged as I head into March with the another small grocery budget.  From the total $250 budgeted so far I still have $25.29 left to spend plus the $150 I have budgeted for next month.  I'd say we are doing pretty well for groceries in 2020.

Food Management - Meal Prepping

I have to be completely honest, meal prepping is hit or miss for me.  I have to be in the mood for it and when I am I can be very productive, but if I'm not in the mood for it I just don't do it.  Having said that I do see the true value in meal prepping and I strongly recommend it as a great tool for busy families on a budget or for those with diet and nutritional concerns.  Because of that I do try to meal prep often and find that I manage to do it about once or twice a month.

What I do like about meal prepping is the way I am able to create meals or components for preparing meals to help me get dinner on the table relatively quickly.  Especially if we have a very busy week ahead, as we often do.  I also like that I'm able to make sure we hit all of our nutritional needs because everything is planned and organized.

Another benefit of meal prepping is that it really minimizes food waste.  This saves a lot of money as you obviously aren't throwing food away, you don't need to do extra shopping to replace spoiled items and you are far less tempted to hit the drive thru or order a pizza delivery.

Meal prepping is a healthy, low cost option for feeding your family.  It also saves a lot of time and I have to admit, on the days following a meal prep I am able to quickly get meals on the table without much thought or work either.  The added benefit of meal prepping, which is probably the best benefit of all, is that it lowers stress and works hand in hand with meal planning.

So, in a nutshell, I need to embrace meal prepping and try to enjoy it more so I do it more often.  I'll see if that is something I can work on and improve.

Simple Christmas 2020 - Update #1

We are ten long months away from Christmas and I'm totally okay with that!  Believe me, I am in no rush, LOL.  Nonetheless I have done a handful of things around here in preparation of the holidays.  I do find that preparing ahead and working on Christmas works much better for me.  Last year I was really more lackadaisical about it and that didn't bode well for me at all.  We weren't planning to exchange gifts initially and then at the last minute we decided we were going to after all and I wasn't prepared.  Not one bit.  I don't want any repeats of that this year.

So far I have tucked away $20 into our Christmas fund and haven't touched it.  In January we used grocery funds to purchase several containers of sprinkles, some decorating items and two packages of candy coating that was on markdown after Christmas.  Our baking bin is already well on its way to getting restocked for holiday baking.

I made more cards to add to my stash

In January I updated my Christmas card list and in the past two months have made almost two dozen Christmas cards to send out.  All of the cards were made with items I already had on hand in my crafting center.  Oh my gosh, do I ever love having all my craft supplies organized and stored on one space.  Makes card making a dream.  I used some of my card making scraps to make a half dozen more gift tags and added them to our gift wrap organizer.  Right now I have plenty of cards and gift tags for this year.  I plan to pick up a book of Christmas themed postage stamps sometime in November and that is all I will need to buy as far as sending Christmas cards goes.  Once again I have plenty of pretty paper to print out our annual letter on so that is covered as well.

My daughter found more fun sprinkles to add to our baking supplies

I started a preliminary gift list and jotted down some ideas I have.  Once again we will be doing food gifts for our extended family, friends and my co-workers.  I'm hoping to incorporate the supplies we need for those into our regular grocery budget so I free up the Christmas fund for stamps and gifts for my girls.  Also, I've started collecting all my freebie finds in a bag.  Several items are my Friday Freebies from Fred Meyer.  I think they will make for some fun and quirky stocking stuffers this year.

We found this decorating kit on markdown in January

We really did enjoy our modest Christmas last year.  Having a very slim budget meant we had to really think about what we bought each other and that made the gifts much more meaningful and appreciated.  I think, honestly, last Christmas was one of our better Christmases, especially because of the gifts.  It was really neat.

Food gifts are the best in my opinion

Have you done any Christmas planning or preparing yet or do you prefer to wait?

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday we had a nice family day all of us together.  With Monday as a school and federal holiday my oldest came home for a long weekend.  She really loves her new bedroom by the way and she and my oldest hung out in there quite a bit.  I gifted my daughter with some money for dorm life essentials and she chose to used it to purchase more groceries.  The three of us headed off to the grocery outlet store and Wal-Mart to pick up what she needed and I was really impressed with all that she bought.  And!  She did say she is willing to do a post on dorm cooking as time allows so I'm hopeful she is able to do that.  Some of you have asked and she is thrilled that you are interested.

Eggroll In A Bowl & Sauteed Asparagus

Sunday evening the girls and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and shared and order of fajitas.  It is sooo much food I cannot imagine that order being for just one person.  We had enough leftovers to bring home for me to have for lunch the next day.  Since we had only ordered the one meal we also ordered dessert and the girls shared a fried ice cream.  They had never had it before and they loved it.  It really was fun family day for all of us.

A few items I picked up last week including Keto bread!
I am so excited to try this!!

Monday was a quiet day for us.  I went to work and the girls stayed home to do homework.  My oldest came into work and talked to our HR director about our company college scholarship program and filling out the applications for that as well as her interest in any internships or part time jobs that might be available.  It was a really good meeting and I have to tell you I am really proud of her and her initiative.

Low Carb/Keto bread options

Tuesday we were back in the swing of things with early morning practices and the usual school and work routines.  Thursday evening my youngest had an orchestra concert and that made for our longest day of the week.  Friday she attended a play her best friend was performing in and then Saturday was another competition day.  To me the entire week went by in a blur.

My oldest found herself a Brita pitcher for $1.25

Along with my youngest daughter's competition I was able to fit in a few hours of thrift store shopping.  It has been a while since I've gone thrifting and a very long time since I purchased anything for my kitchen.  I had a few things on my wish list and was thrilled to find some of these items.  Most notably the larger custard bowls and some Chinese soup bowls.  We also decided to give a salad spinner a try and so far we think we like it.  I'll need to write a post about the other items I purchase that are not for our house.  That is a whole other deal the girls and I are working on.

  

I think these are so pretty and they were in perfect condition at $1 each

One item in particular I've been on the hunt for was another Corning Sidekick, which I found!  I use one in my downstairs bathroom as a try for our soap dispenser and lotion.  I have wanted another one for the upstairs bathroom too.  I really like how it looks and it does corral any soap drips that may occur.

The larger Pyrex custard dishes have been on my wish list for quite awhile

For the last few months I have been lobbying hard for a substantial raise based on my increased level of responsibility at work and my overall job performance.  No problem with my boss, he totally felt I deserved it, but getting the upper muckety-mucks to agree has been a bit trickier.  Well, my steady perseverance finally paid off, not to mention a tremendous amount of patience.  I not only got the raise, but my boss lobbied hard and got me 25% more than I was originally asking for .  And!  The company president acknowledged me and recognized my efforts noting that I am a key player within the company.  Honestly, I wasn't even sure he knew who I was.  Guess he does.  So how am I feeling right now?  Fantastic!

I was able to work a few more hours of overtime last week.  We are busy!  Holy cow!  Right now the overtime is very much appreciated though so I'm not going to complain about it one bit.

At the beginning of the week I refilled the dish soap dispenser emptying out the big jug.  I added a little warm water to the jug and gave it a good shake.  I had enough soapy water to wash dishes with for the remainder of the week using up every last drop before I put the jug into the recycle bin.

Lots of Barbie stuff went up on the auction block last week

Including a bunch of fun accessory items

We listed a bunch of stuff on eBay to sell.  Hopefully we'll be able to get it all sold and out of the house.  We also purged some items to add to the donation bag.

I used a tablespoon of bath gel mixed into a cup of warm water to make foaming hand soap refill solution.  I used that to refill the hand soap dispensers in our kitchen and bathroom.

The Sidekick holds my soap dispenser & lotion bottle perfectly

Some of the 15 Minute Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, wiped down washer & dryer, cleaned sink.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor, cleaned dining room chairs.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped the floor, wiped down all appliances, cleaned range hood & microwave, wiped down upper cabinets, checked for cobwebs.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Scrubbed sink & tub, cleaned mirror, checked for cobwebs.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - two loads of laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry.  Swept front porch.

How was your thrifty week?

Quality In Our Everyday Life

I think it is important to strive for quality in our lives on a daily basis.  As part of my continuing endeavor to live my life with purpose and intention I feel a great part of that is to improve the quality of my life.  One day at a time.

For each of us, what defines quality of life is very different, very personal.  It can be to live without pain or illness, better living conditions, improved relationships or even more basic and fundamental.  For me, it is all about comfort.

I seek comfort in my surroundings, in my job, in my thoughts and actions, in my goals and practices.  I find that simplicity in life is a large part of feeling comfortable.  It took me a long time to figure this out, but by simplifying my life I finally found the calm and peacefulness I'd been seeking.  And then I felt comfortable.

The practice of simplifying my life has benefited me in so many ways and has led me to the point where I feel I have true quality of life.  I find my simple pleasures are more than enough to sustain me.  I find joy in everyday living.  I'm happy on a regular basis.  Life is good.  Every day.

Improving the quality of our lives begins with a single step.  Make something better.  Anything.  This year I chose to introduce fresh flowers into our home on a regular basis.  We all appreciate how them.  While right now everything outside is dormant, gray, muddy and cold, inside of our home we have a little bit of color and scent.  Along with that I enjoy burning a candle.  Adding the warmth and light of a candle adds to our quality of life.

In small increments I've improved our decor, decluttered the items we no longer want or need, fixed up our home, kept a tidy house, cooked better meals, bought more fresh produce, drank more water, purchased more varieties of tea and coffee, taken more time to talk to my girls, taken more time to spend with our pets, taken more time for just me.

I think more, I plan more, I contemplate more, I write more.  I listen to music, I laugh a lot, I don't take things too seriously or myself either for that matter.  I feel good, I'm healthy, I'm happier, more content, more comfortable.  Every day I choose to improve and enjoy the quality of my life.  Every day I have something wonderful to look forward to.

More Decluttering In 2020

We have been tackling a few more areas in our home lately.  A couple weekends ago I made another pass through my bedroom closet.  I found a few small items I no longer wished to hang onto, but the biggest thing I purged was my Miche bag and all of its covers.  I'd been on the fence for quite some time as to whether or not to let it go.  I decided in January to really use it for the month and see how it went.  Turns out I don't really care for the bag and I kept catching the edges of the covers and knocking them off the bag.  I gathered it all up and added it to the new donation pile we have started.

The next category we've started tackling is childhood toys.  I've gone through all of my own leftovers from childhood and kept only those items that mean the most to me, however it has been a very long time since we went through the girls things.  This weekend we pulled from storage the bins of dolls they had and went through everything.  It made a huge mess in the living room and took two days to get through the bulk of it.  We are still working on it.  The girls were amazing and they opted to get rid of all the Barbie stuff and most of the other dolls.  Some things went right into the donation pile while others have been photographed and are now offered up on eBay.  We washed dolly clothes, cleaned dolls and groomed them so everything is nice, clean and ready for its next home.  The girls hope to make some extra cash to offset some of the expenses we had last year.  Fingers crossed that these items sell.

Selling items rather than donating does tend to slow down the process quite a bit, however we are pretty much at the end of the major purging projects so we have the time.  Plus it is only February and with the wet and chilly weather not much else is going on around here as far as projects go.  Along with the girl's toys I'm still working on the old inventory from my shop that has been stored out in our garage.  I'm working on getting it all listed to sell and so far have sold most of what has already been listed so I am optimistic about selling off the rest.  I decided to only list a few things to test the waters and now I am ready to get the rest of this stuff sold and out of here.  I will also be donating quite a bit of this stuff too as selling it all would take an enormous amount of time and effort.

Before

After - the pile on the left is shredding

Last month I went through all of our "important" papers and old tax returns.  I was able to purge quite a bit and reduce a lot of what I had been keeping.  I've said it before and I will say it again.  Paper clutter is the bane of my existence.  It drives me nuts!!  But when I can shred, burn or recycle a huge pile of it I feel so good.  Like I've accomplished something really spectacular.  Paper clutter really weighs me down.

On the right is the Miche bag and covers

Cleaned, dusted and re-organized.  Ahhhh.

Purging and decluttering is a never ending process.  I have to keep at it all the time so things do not take over and become overwhelming.  Even a quick five minutes to go through the junk drawer, a stack of papers on my desk or a quick pass through a cupboard or drawer can make a huge difference.  I refuse to let stuff take over.