A Year of Savings: 2013






Nov 9:  Shabat dinner was easily prepared.  I mixed up a meatloaf yesterday, baked today.  No work at all.  I stacked dishes and waited until evening to load the dishwasher.

Nov 10:  Planned meals for week last night.  Had company for dinner today.  I meant to have meat balls and spaghetti.  Meatballs were in the freezer, sauce was a mixture using canned spaghetti sauce bought on sale, and additional vegetables.  I had leftovers for supper.

Discovered I was out of spaghetti.  I substituted bow tie pasta.  It worked every bit as well.

Washed a full load of dishes this evening.

I received an email coupon from JCP for $10 off a $25 purchase. I've been looking for new nightgowns for months now.  I like a certain brand and style that are difficult to find, but they LAST. I found the brand on the JCP site on sale.  Two nighties, ended up costing me about what ONE usually costs.  Even after adding in taxes and shipping I can count savings: $18.



Nov 11:  Oatmeal for breakfast.  We finished the apple muffins from Friday morning's breakfast.

Heated the smoked turkey while I cleaned the fridge.  I divided it into portions: breast halves, thigh meat, legs and wings, carcass and seasoning pieces.  We had some for dinner today and I'll use some for sandwiches later this week.  We'll get many meals off this meat.

Cleaned the refrigerator.  No food waste to report.  Glad of it!

Made pimento and cheese for sandwiches. Sandwich filling saves $3.59 the average cost of purchasing luncheon meat.

Switched meal plans today and switched up side dishes a little too.  I found my pear was about to turn over ripe.  I used it to make a salad for today. savings: $.50.

Nov 12: Harvest morning.  Paid an extra amount on our loan.  We've paid nearly $3,000 this year, far more than we .  It's been hard to keep up that pace of repayment.  I think it's safe to say we've saved money this year but I cannot calculate how much.

A morning out running errands.  I had the desire to SPEND.  I did not have the CASH.  I decided to avoid temptation and find a store that was likely to have all I had to buy but nothing else that would tempt me.  I did find such a store, near home and bought what I needed and fit my budget. Savings! Sanity and cash. 

I bought a few much needed grocery items: bread, eggs, lettuce.  We weren't sure we'd be able to shop this Thursday so I restocked those items.  I did not buy a single impulse item.

Anticipating cold weather, I made a batch of chocolate syrup for hot cocoa.  I had everything on hand.  Savings $6.

Nov 13:  Stayed home all day long.  Researched my Christmas Gift with John.  I wanted a subscription to a genealogy website.  I'm so glad we did this research.  I found a site that compared items.  The number two ranked site costs one fifth the amount the top ranked site costs.  AND the number two site's subscription period is one year.  The number one site's period is for just six months.  The big difference is that I don't get 'worldwide' access.  Savings $160.

I was surprised by the number of fish fillets in our box of frozen fillets.  I put half of them back in the freezer for another meal.  Savings $1.90.

Nov 14:  Up very early this morning for an appointment some distance away.  I made breakfast sandwiches which fill us up and keep us full longer.

We decided to save money and head to a different shopping town. No Aldi's there.  I had a shorter than usual list of absolute needs this week and could easily leave off the items I'd meant to stock up on.  I struck items off my list, we enjoyed shopping in a favorite but usually distant town, had the pleasure of a beautiful ride through the foothills.  Savings was about two gallons of gas, or about the same amount which we blew on a deli sandwich for our lunch.  Made a nice swap.

Nov 15:  Made a dozen turkey sliders to put in the freezer.  These heat well in the oven or microwave and make a quick and ready meal.  It will save money spent on takeout.

Made homemade bbq sauce to go on the sliders.  Savings: $1.69.

Stretched a small amount of ground beef with vegetables to make sloppy joes. 

Total: $191.68

No comments: