Thrifty Easter Goodies For My Girls

As I've shared with you several times one of my goals this year is to be really mindful with our spending.  Another goal I've shared is to use up what we have on hand rather than purchasing something else.  Easter is going to be a great way for me to work within these two goals.  My girls are at an age where they've let go of their Easter baskets and lowered their expectations.  Nonetheless, I still like to make the day special for them when they wake up in the morning.  I plan to make a nice brunch for all of us to enjoy and typically we have an early afternoon dinner.  We often have guests for Easter dinner.

Easter themed gift bags and pastel tissue paper I've saved to reuse

In my gift wrap bin I have Easter themed bags save from when their grandparents gave them goodie bags in years past.  I plan to reuse those this year and fill them up with goodies I've been collecting for them.  I set myself a $10 budget to spend on those items and I think I've done really well.

They always got a new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste in their Easter baskets and this year I planned to put that in their bags.  I picked up Colgate toothpaste on sale at Fred Meyer for 88¢ a tube and three packs of Colgate toothbrushes for $1 at Dollar Tree.  They'll be all set with toothbrushes and toothpaste now until Christmas.

The last remnants of my gift box fit in this bag

I've gone through my stash in my gift box and dwindled it down to nearly nothing, but that's okay.  Part of the goal.  In the past few years I've redeemed enough "Free Gift" coupons at Bath & Body Works to amass quite a collection of the small sized lotions and shower gels.  Some of those made it into the bags.  Fred Meyer Friday Freebies have also netted my quite a collection as well.  I've picked up several full sized candy bars as well as some I picked up on sale and used coupons with to make them super cheap.  I think the most I've paid so far for one is about 38¢.  I picked up two packs of sugarless gum on sale and used a coupon to make them 50¢ a piece.

At Dollar Tree I found cute little notepads cutout in each girl's initials and used a 50¢ OFF coupon I printed from Coupons.com to buy a tube of deodorant.  I picked up another one on sale for $1 at Walgreens.

I think the bags are darling and the girls will love all the goodies I've stuffed inside.  How did I do on my budget?  Total spent came in at $9.78!  I'd say I did just fine, I stuck to my budget and my goals.  Yes!  Now to figure out what to do for everybody else.

Our Saturday Outing

One of my goals this year is have more "me time".  Not just time alone, but time spent doing things I want to do.  All my life I've put my needs and wants on the back burner ahead of others.  Often I'll have plans and someone else will invite us over or the kids will want to do something and I'll immediately change my plans to accommodate them.  This year I'm trying to work on that and make myself more of a priority.

Lately I've been telling my girls I'm going to go and do something and they are welcome to join me if they would like.  Most of the time one or both will join me and sometimes I'm on my own, which is really fine.  I enjoy spending time on my own.  This past Saturday I thought it would be fun to walk down to catch the #29 bus to the mall and have lunch at Sizzler and maybe do a little shopping afterward.  I had a gift card to use as well as the end of another one to use up too.  Both cards were set to expire in a couple months and I sure didn't want them to go to waste.  My youngest thought my idea sounded like fun so she decided to join me.  We had a great time.

We left the house and walked down to where the bus stop was.  It was a good walk and the weather was really nice.  We caught the bus and it took us right to the mall and dropped us off.  A quick walk across the parking lot and we were at Sizzler.  I used the gift card to pay for our lunch.

After lunch we walked back across the parking lot to Dillards where I found a summer nightgown on clearance for $18.  I used the rest of the gift card from lunch and the rest of another one to pay for $11 of it and the rest I paid out of pocket.

We walked all over the mall and my daughter had fun trying on clothes.  We found her a couple pair of shorts for summer and a pair of gym shorts for the P.E. class she'll be taking this summer on sale.

We went to the clearance shoe store where I'd found my Clarks work shoes and I found a pair of shoes I was hoping to fine.  Trail running shoes that will be perfect for all of my hikes and the scads of trails I'm planning to explore.  And they were only $29.98!  I was really excited about that.  Having the right footwear is super important and I'm well stocked in that department now.

We caught the bus and headed back, then we made the walk up the hill to our house.  It felt so good to be out and about and kind of nice to use an alternate source of transportation to get where we wanted to go.  We are blessed to have nice buses and nice bus drivers too and loads of routes all over the city.

I definitely got my steps in that day as well.  Set a record in fact.  I'm looking forward to setting a lot of records as time goes on.  Lots more adventures ahead for me and if anyone wants to join me they are welcome to tag along.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Another crazy week is in the books!  And it is officially spring!  Yes!  So many good things going on and I am feeling pretty blessed and grateful.  Oh my goodness, life is good!

On Sunday I caught up on a few chores around the house and did a quick meal prep that surprisingly kept us going through the entire week.  I didn't think I'd prepared that much food, but apparently it was more than enough.

My daughter requested a batch of fried rice to reheat for quick lunches

It was spring break for the girls, no I'm not joking, so I got a nice week off from preparing school lunches.  No picking up anyone after school so I got to go straight home each night.  It was a tiny slice of heaven.

Monday evening I got home and got into my workout clothes, put on my cross trainers and headed out the door for a nice three mile walk.  Same thing on Tuesday and my youngest joined me.  Thursday she joined me up at the Military Reserve for a nice hike in the foothills.  She loved it.

What could this possibly be?
My daughter told him it was a jar of toothpicks

Thursday morning I dropped my oldest off to catch the Salt Lake Express bus.  She went to visit her boyfriend and his family for a few days.  I sent his birthday gift along with her.  He thought the way I wrapped it was hilarious.

On the way home from work Friday I stopped in at Fred Meyer and picked up a bag of kitty litter, on sale and with a 75¢ OFF coupon, as well as my Friday Freebies and a box of PopTarts I had a free item coupon for.  Broccoli, on sale and with a 75¢ OFF coupon, three organic bell peppers marked down for $1 and some salmon on sale for $6.99.  I was super happy about the salmon.

My youngest babysat and earned some much appreciated money.  Like my oldest she is a saver, even more so.  That money won't see the light of day for a long time, believe me.  LOL

While she babysat I suited up, grabbed my backpack and hoofed it to Albertsons to pick up a few items on sale that I wanted.  Two pounds of strawberries for $2.98, some low carb yogurt, a couple of salad mixes and two bananas.  Then I hoofed it all the way back home.  It felt really good to walk like that with a pack of healthy food on my back.  Sounds crazy, but it did.

I rinsed out an empty laundry detergent bottle and we ended up with enough soap to wash the bunny blankets.  I replaced the empty bottle with an new one from last year's stash.  I can't believe I'm still working off of last year's stockpile and I still have one more jug.

I used up a jar of salsa by adding it to taco meat I made on Sunday.  I rinsed out the jar with a little bit of water and added that to the pot as well.  No waste there!

We sold two dozen eggs to a friend.  All of our egg money goes toward buying their food and supplies.

I worked a little bit of overtime.

My Fred Meyer freebies
I set aside the candy bars for the girls Easter bags

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

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, super scrubbed the toilet.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped floor, cleaned the sink.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  My oldest cleaned the bathroom.  Daily swish & swipe.

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

How was your thrifty week?

Getting A Move On

I hate to exercise and workout.  The repetition of it drives me up the wall and the thought of investing in a gym membership makes me roll my eyes and groan.  For me it would be a total waste of money, I'm sure.  But who knows?  Someday I may just change my mind and attitude about all that.  Right now, not likely.

What I do enjoy a lot is walking and hiking.  So I've started getting a move on now that we've had some warmer drier days.  I put my cross trainers on, grabbed my pedometer and hit the road.  Or trail.  My goal is to hit 6000 steps four to five times a week, a minimum of at least three times.  With our crazy schedule it can be hard and it takes me at least an hour to get my walk in.  But it is important.  I need this.

Hard to be bored with views like these

In order not to get bored I'm checking out a variety of trails and paths as well as taking different routes in my neighborhood to get the job done and so far I am loving it.  When mapping out my route I try to include a good sized hill too, get my heart rate up and feel the burn a little bit in my legs.

Walking is a great way to start exercising.  It is relatively low impact and it is really good for you, both physically and mentally.  I find it to be a great stress reliever as well as a way to add some fun and excitement to my day.  We can get a bit caught up in our daily routines and busy schedules and walking is a great way to break it up and do something really good for yourself.

Our greenbelt follows the Boise river - So lovely!

I am so fortunate to live in a city with so many walking and hiking options nearby.  As well as some great neighborhoods and parks to walk to and through.  It should be a very long time before I find any of this boring or monotonous.

I renewed my State Parks Pass too when I renewed my car this year.  It is still a touch early but I'm excited to get out and use that thing.  Take some day trips and do some hiking and exploring.  Eeeeeee!

Last month I joined Keto Quest.  I've been following the founders and coaches on YouTube for about a year now so when they launched Keto Quest I signed up.  I also bought one of their T-shirts so I could support their cause which, if you haven't figured out by now, I'm rather passionate about.  I have a plan for that T-shirt too.

My plan is to see all of the places I can take this shirt and take a picture of me wearing it once I'm there.  Then I will post them on Keto Quest to share what I'm doing.  That is part of the fun of being a member, you get to share your Keto life and see what everyone else is doing too.  Great, positive and uplifting experiences.  And it is free to join so if you are interested be sure to check it out.

I'd like to encourage you to invest in some good supportive athletic shoes and get outside.  Take a walk, breathe in some fresh air and watch spring pop.  It's that time of year again.  Spring is my favorite season and I'm excited to be outside to participate in all the changes going on outdoors.  Best of all I'm getting to experience a lot of changes going on with me too.  I love it!

The "New" Car

I encourage my girls to set goals and I like to coach them so they can succeed.  Before my oldest daughter even got her learners permit she was talking to me about a car of her own.  I told her owning a car is great, but it is also very expensive.  There is much more to it than just the price of the car.  There is fuel, oil, maintenance, tires, repairs and of course, let us not forget, auto insurance.  Which, as most of you are probably well aware, is really pricey for a teenager.  In order to get a car she needed to get a job.

My daughter loves these Nissan Cubes - Go figure!
This is not her car!

She got a job.  Last summer she worked full time as a paid intern and she put nearly every bit of that money into her savings account.  When that job ended she got another one and she once again put every bit of her money into her savings account until she had acquired quite a bit.  Enough for a car.

Or one of these.... not in the budget

So we started to look.  Actually, I've been steadily looking for about six months, unbeknownst to her, but that's what I do.  I start the process, see what is out there and what prices are like.  She had a certain style of car in mind and we discussed the fact that you usually don't get what you want right off the bat, but rather what you can afford and what is the best value for the money you have.  She scaled back her expectations.

She also wants one of these.  Keep dreaming sweetie.

I found a car on Craigslist that I felt was not only a good bargain, but would also be a good compromise to what she had her heart set on.  A 2005 Scion XB with fairly low miles and a salvage title.  I personally don't shy away from salvage title automobiles, especially for new drivers.  You save a ton of money on the car and the insurance because you only run liability on them.  Insurance has already paid out on them and they aren't going to do it again.

This one IS hers 😃

This one was purchased by an insurance adjuster that picked it up and repaired it for his wife to use as her daily driver.  Then his daughter learned to drive with it.  They owned it for six years and they were ready to upgrade.  He has done A LOT to this vehicle and it is in really nice shape for being a fourteen year old car.  We went over it from one end to the other.  I went over it myself and confirmed what the owner was telling me rang true.  The interior is perfect and while the exterior is showing signs of age it is something we can fix and we will be doing that this summer.

We have a few repairs to do, but nothing major.  It has newer tires, new brakes, a newer battery, a new windshield and has been routinely maintained.  It is super clean under the hood and runs like a top.  No leaks, no burning oil, belts and hoses look good, all the systems are functioning.  I felt pretty confident this car had been well cared for.

While purchasing a vehicle is exciting it can also be pretty nerve racking.  The guy had it priced really well so we knew it was a good value, nonetheless I coached her to tell him she liked the car but needed to go home and sleep on it.  The next morning I asked her if she still felt she wanted the car and she did.  She felt good about it.  I coached her to make him an offer of $500 less than his asking price and see what he said.  He accepted her offer and later that day we went to the bank.

I am really proud of my girls and how hard they are willing to work.  I'm also very proud of my oldest for how hard she is working to get into college and apply for every scholarship and grant she can get her hands on.  So while we were at the bank I removed $1000 from my savings account and gave it to her to use toward her purchase.  It was completely unexpected and she was incredibly grateful.  She is a great kid!

So, while this is not the car she initially wanted it is pretty darn close.  She has learned how to test drive and inspect a car, what questions to ask, how to negotiate a sale, navigate the insurance and DMV process, put license plates on and check her fluids as well as learning to drive and park it.  The lessons will continue as time goes on and next month she will be taking her driving test and getting her license.

The best part is - she loves it.

Clearing Out Our Freezers

I am not doing so great in my attempt to clear out my freezers and get the chest freezer ready to defrost.  For one thing I've come across too many wonderful deals on meat that I just did not want to pass up.  The other thing is I'm trying to get ready for a party in less than two months.

Not a lot of change here

Perhaps the timing is off for me to take this on.  You think?

I also realized, once I did start to clear out the chest freezer quite a bit that it wasn't as frosty as I initially thought so I decided to push it off until later in the summer or early fall.  And honestly, if it doesn't happen at all it won't be the end of the world.  But I do hope it will so at least I know it is all clean inside and then I can reorganize a bit before next winter.

This is a freaking mess LOL

Soooooo, instead of a progress post this is an absolutely NO progress post.  *sigh*

Instead my plan is to clean up some of the frost that has accumulated along the top edge of the chest freezer and then re-evaluate the situation in a couple of months.  And to shop a little less as well.  Hopefully.  Maybe.  We'll see.

The Standard American Diet - S.A.D.

I wrote a post for my other blog and decided I want to share it here too.  I think it is important enough to talk about because it concerns me greatly.  I feel pretty strongly that if we don't do something sooner, rather than later we are destined for a pretty rough time of it.

Please click here if you are interested in reading this post and I hope your day is fabulous!