Thrifty Thursday: Month End

 

Friday:  I was planning to make a purchase but wanted to check with someone knowledgeable about the item before I bought it.  I'm glad I did.  Sam came over to return a borrowed item and was familiar with the product.  I need a much more expensive item.  I'll save my money until I can afford to buy what is actually needed.

We were home all day today, though I did run into town to get hot dogs and buns.  I told John I wouldn't buy much else and I didn't.  I picked up more Pork Rinds for him.  He's gotten very much into those once more.  And I got a bottle of Apple Juice for Caleb.  I picked up two bottled items off the clearance shelf: pickled diced jalapenos and a marinade which looked good.  I also got a half gallon (or whatever size they are now) of ice cream.  I spent about half the money I had left for groceries.  I will have hot dogs and buns left over.

I used my allowance to pick up a cooked lunch for us in town while I was running errands today.  Every time we do this I recall that it's pricey to eat from our local eatery but then I remind myself it helps keep them in business.  When GLC closed about two years before Tim's started their business, the only cooked food in town was at the hotel or the gas station.  Tim's might be priced a little high, but it is consistently good food and they employ locals. I guess I'll not complain about prices after all.

Sam donated a tank of gas to John for mowing his yard.  We were very pleased over that as it saves us a trip to town next week when John mows and means he can mow both yards again.

We had a fiasco occur.  It started with my trying to 'fix' something.  I've mentioned my granddaughter is flying down this summer for a visit.  She bought her tickets in December and is flying into central Florida.  The tickets were cheap.  Really cheap.  However, she's underage so she can't rent a car.  Sam has offered to go down and get her if I'll keep the kids.  It's a long drive down and back.  

It so happens that she bought round-trip tickets.  I wanted to save them another long trip back to the airport in Florida.  I went to look for cheaper airfares from Atlanta flying to her hometown.  On Thursday I could purchase two tickets reasonably enough (she's flying with a friend).  So I talked it over with Sam and John today and we all agreed I'd broach the plans to Lily and Emma.  They agreed. I looked online at the same sites I'd visited yesterday and the flights had doubled in costs.

When John came in from mowing, I told him I'd failed to find anything.  He went online and found another site offering a cheaper flight.  I had not heard of this site but was willing to book flights from it.   The website took Lily's info but left me no place to put in Emma's to get her ticket. So I called to try and get a second ticket.  That was all fine and well but once they had all my payment information they told me their policies. NO refund, NO exchanges allowed., NO baggage or carry-on.  If I wanted to add them to have a backpack the price jumped by 500%. I told him I didn't wish to purchase either ticket.  He informed me that I was 'locked in' and couldn't back out!

I called my credit card company to see what I could do and was told I couldn't do anything until they'd charged me.  If I chose to close my account, if the company could prove I'd 'purchased' the tickets (which I continue to deny I had completed), I could only dispute the charges which still might not be refunded to me.  I chose at that time to cancel my credit card entirely.  At the very least, I wanted no further charges placed against me.  

John considered himself personally responsible for the whole fiasco.  I assured him we learned one more hard lesson and were not the first to fall into that trap.  

I'm just as peeved with my credit card company.  Not because they couldn't resolve my problem.  I've been with them for over 30 years and to date I've been late ONE time and for the past 20 years I've paid my account in full every month.  You'd think they'd want to keep me as a customer, or at least offer me the option of having them issue a new card but no, they didn't.  Phooey.

Saturday:  Cody and Bella could not come today, so we had more leftover hotdogs than I'd planned.  John and I will eat some with scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast, have a few in buns to heat and eat and the rest go into the freezer.  

Things were kept super simple today.  I'd asked Katie to get an extra dozen cupcakes since we always seemed to run into someone unexpectedly joining us which meant we ran short.  She wisely bought mini cupcakes as the second dozen which pleased the little kids.  That saved a load of wasted cupcakes, too.

John and I ate leftovers of previous suppers as our evening meal.

John has wanted a new children's guitar for the kiddos.  We have one he recently put back in good repair but the kids always fought over it.  Today he took trash to the dumpsters and came home with a small plastic Disney Planes guitar.  He said someone had set it out by the fence (unofficially this is a 'free to good home' zone that all the neighborhood uses when we have items we no longer want but know might be useful to others).  He was so stoked to have that new guitar.

Sunday:  We bought coffee at church this morning.  They are a better value than any Coffee Shop, at $5 for the two of us.  I even got the 'fancy' kind as my coffee.  John always just wants a cup of black coffee.

We came home to have lunch today. I put together Tuna Pasta salad. I  used up two partial boxes of whole wheat pasta.  This was under 2 cups of dried pasta.  I chopped a lot of vegetables to add to the salad because it increases fiber and nutrients.

I washed a full load of dishes in the dishwasher.  

I sorted out the fridge.  I like to do this once a week. I need to check things more carefully.  I have had a jar sitting at the back of the fridge for weeks.  I was sure I knew what was in it, a grain I wanted to keep from going rancid.  I pulled it out today and it wasn't what I thought it was. It was a partial jar of broth.   It was most definitely spoiled.  Note to self, check every item, don't assume I know what it is.

To date, I have received no airline tickets.  I did receive the credit card bill.

Monday:  Well, if airline tickets prove problematic, I am happy to say that a seller on Amazon has surprised and pleased me to no end.  I went to Amazon to get a return label for the capris I ordered that didn't fit.  The seller asked me to donate the items, refunded my money immediately, and was courteous.  Isn't that awesome?!

John and I have never really celebrated holidays since he began work in EMS 30 years ago.  That's because he was always working whatever holiday came up.  However, today we grilled out because what is Memorial Day without a grill date?  Everything we cooked I had on hand.  Our menu: Country-style Barbecue Ribs, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, and 24-hour layered salad.  We cooked Teriyaki Chicken for a meal later this week.   

John cleaned and restrung the 'new' little guitar using up a variety of string packets he had on hand.  He tuned the guitar after that and played a song on it.  He wanted to fuss that it didn't sound that great.  I reminded him it was plastic and the kids would think it sounded beautiful.

Tuesday:  I have bread ready to go into the oven and yogurt incubating on the counter.  We've just finished our supper.  I need to go back to the kitchen and clean up.  And I will in a moment.

I made breakfast sandwiches for us this morning.  John and I are doing a modified lower-carb eating plan.  I had an open-face sandwich with one thin slice of homemade bread.   John's had two slices but again, they were thinner.  I'm not following a plan, not counting calories, not 'dieting',  just trying to cut back on sugar and higher-carb foods. So far so good.

After breakfast, I went out to work in the yard.  I wanted to dig up my clematis and work on the rose bed on the backside of the house.  The Clematis have not liked where they were planted, although the heavy rains these past two months made them both happy.  One had grown nearly 4 feet this year which is more growth than I've seen in all the years I've had them.  

For lunch, I took the rest of the 24-hour salad, chopped pepperoni, and a small piece of ham into the vegetables. I added Italian dressing, pepperoncini, green olives, and oregano.  We each had a very generous salad bowl and it was GOOD.  Both John and I were blown away by the flavor.  It was not a traditional 'Chopped Salad' but it surely was delicious and something we'll do again in the future.

John mowed grass this afternoon and I headed to the kitchen. I had half of a jug of milk that was past date.  It was still good, but I wanted to make yogurt.  Two one-pint jars are what I typically eat in a month.  I can always make more if I eat more.  My ratios: 4 cups of milk and 2 overflowing tablespoons of yogurt.  That nets me 2 pints of yogurt.  I find it best to put the yogurt milk in hot jars.  I fill them with the hottest tap water and let them sit with lids on while I heat my milk.  

I noted today that the best price on yogurt was 70c a 5-ounce cup.  My cost: 60c just using the milk in the fridge (half-gallon for $1.29) and this is my fourth batch of using my own yogurt as the starter. 

I wanted iced coffee this afternoon but I had not put a sachet in for the cold brew.  I recalled Dalgona coffee which was all the rage a couple of years ago.  I still had about 3/4 cup of milk after making yogurt.  I made a half recipe since I'd found it too strong and sweet to suit me when I'd made it ages ago and found it delicious.  1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of instant (decaf) coffee, 1.5 tablespoons of hot water whipped together was all I needed.   

I am out of green produce of any sort. I don't even have canned green beans!  I'll remedy that tomorrow but making supper proved to be a challenge.  I planned to have the Teriyaki Chicken Breasts we cooked on the grill yesterday.  I decided to make a small batch of fried rice.  Fried rice works best with cold rice.  I cooked mine, let it cool for a few minutes, spread it on a cookie sheet, and slid it into the freezer.  It didn't take long to get good and cold.  I chopped red cabbage, red bell peppers, onion, celery, and carrots.  I made Ambrosia from two oranges I'd bought from the clearance produce shelf two weeks ago.   John was very complimentary about supper.  

Wednesday:  Last night, I took homemade Lasagna from the freezer for today's supper.  I wanted it to be less frozen when I put it in the oven tonight.  I took it from the refrigerator and let it thaw for about an hour at room temperature.  It still took over an hour to finish thawing and heat through in the oven but it cost me nothing to have the lasagna for supper.  Takeout or something picked up at the grocery would have cost me a lot more.

I bought Mama lunch and a dessert.  I used my personal funds for that.  

Mama needed an item at the grocery and while I was walking down the aisle where the product was located I found some mechanic gloves for John for $4.99.  He wears these when working in the yard, changing blades, or mowing to protect his hands.  I knew his last pair was worn out.  He paid over $12 for them.

I also picked up a guitar pick I found in the parking lot. 

After dropping Mama off, I went to Kroger on my way out of town.  Eggs, milk, and cheese were on sale this week.  I also stocked up on produce: Mushrooms, cucumber, berries, cherries, grapes, bananas, lemons, lettuce, broccoli, and potatoes.  It was more expensive than I thought.  I bought only what was on sale.  I contemplated waiting until I could get by the discount grocery, but that clearance shelf is very hit or miss and the regular items are more than at Kroger.  I had over $10 in coupons for the produce, eggs, and milk.  

Today's purchases put me over budget by about $30.  Right now, I am coming in around $30-$50 a month higher than I plan to spend.  I either cut back more or increase my budget slightly.  This is something I shall have to think about.  To finish where I do each month, I have relied heavily on loss leaders and the reduced produce and meat clearances at the discount store.  I'm shopping far less than I have done in the past and am more prone to put off going to the store.  We are not being deprived but I say assuredly it's getting harder and harder to know what budget line I should adhere to.   I'll check the USDA figures again to see if I'm being unrealistic.  There are very few 'extras' in our budget these days. 

Thursday:  I was busy all morning long in the kitchen.  But while I was cleaning, I was planning out my meals for the day.  Since we skip breakfast (or at least eat a great deal more lightly) on Thursday mornings, I try to have a more substantial lunch.  I made Fajitas today using some steak strips I'd picked up from the clearance meat section at the discount grocery.  I had purchased a bulk package of corn tortillas and cooked a few to serve as our base.  I used reduced-priced tomatoes and Serrano peppers to make homemade salsa.  

I cleaned appliances really well.  It pays to do this now and again.  I focus on cleaning the stove, countertops, and cabinets but seldom look hard at the appliances on the counters.  

I divided the rest of the corn tortillas and put them in the freezer, but I cut about six into wedges to make my own tortilla chips tomorrow.  I want to eat some more of that yummy salsa!

I went over the checkbook this morning.  I realized this month we've had Mother's Day and two birthdays.  I bought four birthday presents.  Two of those gifts were bigger than usual because we chose to give something needed. We've hosted two family dinners. 

We've saved where we could.  I had money set aside for most of the gifts.  I used our entertainment fund for the special meals instead of for our own dinner dates.  I cut way back on what we'd typically purchase in the line of groceries and though we came in a little over budget it wasn't because of chips or sodas or candy and such.  I've made bagels, bread, salsa, and cookies.  Except for two occasions, I've made all of our meals here at home.  The month squeezed us and we squeezed for all we were worth right back and tried our best to balance things out.  I didn't win that battle, but I'm not ashamed of how I fought it.  

I don't know what June is going to look like.  Busy, yes, I know it will be busy.  I don't know what it's going to look like as far as finances go.  We have five birthdays in June. I still need to give two more gifts.  There are extra things tossed in that will need to be carefully planned or we'll find we're sinking lower in the coming month.  I'll spend a lot of time with my calendar looking ahead, trying my best to figure out where those low spots might come so I can cover them without additional expense.  

I finished the month's goals with some things left over.  I tried.  I'm calling that battle well fought too, even if I did not complete all I'd hoped to do.  I need to be more careful in my planning.  I  see what needs to be done and visualize the finished end, rather than seeing all the necessary steps required to accomplish tasks.  I'll do better next month, even if the goals will be lighter due to the busy days.

I hope your week went well.  I hope you found ways to save money and that you fought well.   Come tell us all about it!

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