Last post for a while

I started this blog to catalog my journey day to day to be frugal. However, my other blog Frugal Moms Network is where I want to focus my energy. I might come back here and do more with this someday, but for now, I hope you will check out http://frugalmomsnetwork.blogspot.com for up to date information on living the frugal life. Join in the conversation. Thanks.

Eating out

Yesterday I was reminded of why it is good to be frugal. My daughter was gone, so it was just my husband and me for dinner. My husband has gone through kidney stones this week and we have both been exhausted. I didn't want to cook last night and my husband said a sandwich sounded good from a local place. Since I knew he really hadn't had much of an appetite this week, I was more than willing to go get him whatever he wanted.

One of the things that we cut out was routinely eating out when we started cutting back.  We both feel better, and the savings is significant. But this was special, a one time thing, so off I go. We haven't eaten at this place in a year and a half, or so.  This particular place is a chain, and the food is good, but I was stunned when I walked in and realized that the two types of sandwiches we wanted were almost $5.00 each for a half size. No drinks, no chips, no cookies, just two small sandwiches. I got them, special occasion, one time thing and all, and brought them home.

I had my husband open his first and since he's ordered a tuna sandwich, asked me where the tuna was. They were pretty stingy for $5.00. Then he asked me how much it cost? I told him and he couldn't believe it. We both decided that we could do a LOT more with $10.00 and that we learned a great lesson. There is a good reason we don't eat there anymore.

I do want to add a little disclaimer here and tell you that we do eat out on occasion and once a while drive through is a good thing.  However, we are very careful about what we get. Quiznos has their Sammies for $2.00. So, I don't mind grabbing one of those for us when evenings are hurried. That and a salad from home or piece of fruit makes a great light meal.  Also, our local Safeway has a really good guy that cooks pretty good Chinese. By getting a meal deal for $6.00, we get two entries, rice, chow mein, potstickers, and fortune cookies. There is plenty of food for three people. So, I am in favor of eating out once in a while, but doing it frugally.

Do you have a favorite place you eat out? How do you do it frugally?

Tell us your success stories. Comment below.

Menus

What are the things that get in the way of your menu planning, or organizing coupons. Today life got in the way and I didn't get anything done today. I don't like that because I start feeling scattered.  I am detailed and organized, but I am a planner, and I am still learning what to do when I don't get something planned for dinner, or my family says that they really aren't in the mood for what I have planned. Monday night is usually a 4H night, so if I haven't started something early in the crockpot, it ends up being a fend for yourself night anyway.  I try to have several items ready for suggestions and have all of the ingredients on hand.  This is one planning aspect that I need to get better about. I am going to try and put a list together of Monday night go to meals and will post that as soon as I have it.

Just ask

I grew up in the south. Appearances are very important in the south. My mother would probably be mortified to know that I am not afraid to negotiate for anything. And to speak up when I am charged a wrong amount. Somehow by using coupons and shopping sales, it might look like to others that we were frivolous with money.

I have been on my "frugal journey" now for 2 years or more.  And one thing that I learned is that you cannot be afraid to ask.  It took a little while for me to change that mindset.  Perhaps some of you are the same way.  If the grocery store charges you full price for the meat you just bought instead of the sale price, do you accept it and not say anything or do you ask if they can check on the price?


So here are some of the things that I have learned:

1.  If you are using coupons at a store, tell the cashier up front, and apologize to anyone in line behind you for the delay.
2.  If you are charged incorrectly for an item, have patience, take your receipt in and go to customer service, or get back in the cashiers line. Be polite, it's not their fault.
3.  Ask friends and family about places to shop around for items. Recently I found out that I needed a heating core replaced on my car, which will cost more than $1000.00 at the dealer. At bible study on Wednesday I asked the group if they knew of someone that might be able to do the work for less.
If that gives you chills, let me clarify that you are not asking for a handout, and no one is going to think that you are poor or can't pay bills that come up.
4.  When unexpected bills come up call immediately and negotiate.  Both my husband and my daughter had health emergencies earlier this year, and the bills that came in were well beyond our monthly medical budget. As the small bills came in I paid them, and then as the larger ones came, I called and talked to the billing departments and told them what I could pay a month. In most cases, they were extremely generous and will work with anyone to let you pay over time.  In some cases, I was also able to get some of the larger ones reduced.

Do you negotiate or ask for deals? Is it hard for you to do that? What have you been surprised that you've gotten by asking?

6 fashion pieces on The View

A couple of weeks ago an editor from Marie Claire appeared on The View to show 6 must have items for your closet. What she said was the these 6 pieces can create a weeks worth of outfits going from day to night, casual to dressy. The grand total came to $390.75.

My frugal senses took over and I thought I would task my daughter to find 6 items that were comparable to these and see what bargains she could find.

I will post as soon as she is done. I can't wait to see what she finds.

Here is the link to the segment if you are interested in seeing the items. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/hl-50074662/the_view_closet_cleanse_season_13/

Back to School

I probably should explain why I haven't posted any resources or information on frugal back to school spending.  First, it is important to note that we homeschool, and are in a co-op where my daughter attends school two half days a week. She is in high school so she doesn't need the same type of supplies that many other school require. We purchased composition notebooks at the dollar store, several grid notebooks for Geometry at Staples on sale, and some new jeans at our favorite designer jean consignment store. Other than that we recycle year to year or simply don't need. 

Second, there are a number of wonderful blog sites written by great mommy bloggers that offer detailed school supply sales.

I will be blogging about high school activities and other things, and how to do those frugally. So look for those posts coming soon if you have a teen.

Grocery Outlet

I think I shared in a previous post a while back, that I used to be a grocery store snob. I thought grocery outlets were places where dented cans went to die, and meat was sold after it had expired. Well all of that changed for me when we started our frugal journey. I have become a huge fan.

Here is another reason why: when money wasn't tight, I bought Frosted Mini Wheats in a name brand box that was very expensive. My husband and daughter love to put fruit on theirs and eat it all of the time. I started trying the store brand versions and found one that was $2.49 a box. I was buying 4-5 boxes at a time. My husband also would take a box to work and buy a small milk from the cafeteria and eat it for breakfast and/or lunch. Prices went up to $2.79, but for a while I could still get it on sale. I started looking at other alternatives and tried a 50oz. bag of the Malt-o-meal brand for around $5.00.  That was a huge savings. So, I've been buying that and both my husband and daughter said it's very good. I just looked at the Grocery Outlet circular that I got today and the same bag that I buy is $2.99. 

So not counting the name brand, the store brand was $2.49 on sale for 18 oz. That is .14 an oz.  The 50 oz at $5.00 is .10 an oz. That's still a good savings. But the 50 oz at 2.99 is .06 cents an ounce.

I make a list of things that I buy all the time. I don't "stock up" necessarily because we go through it so fast. So, I know that if I buy several of these that they will not go to waste and I will have made a huge savings. So adding up the number of cereal boxes I normally buy in a month - looking at my receipts, and multiplying that savings out for the rest of the year, I end up saving a good amount of money.

One of the hardest things for me to do was to look at things over time.  In reality the savings on the cereal is a couple of dollars. But if you keep track of what you save, you will find over time it adds up to huge amounts. So much so, that the larger chains are putting your savings right on the bottom of your receipt.

Another grocery is bread. My husband is very particular about his bread. I buy it just for him, it's 7 grain, he doesn't like any other brand, or kind of bread, and it never goes on sale. I hate paying $4.19 a loaf, but I haven't found an alternative that he likes so I put it in the grocery budget.

Recently, his father went with him to the grocery store and showed him 7 grain bread from the stores bakery made fresh every day. It was half the cost of the other bread. Now he loves it and I can buy it fresh and save money. I noticed that it lasted just as long as the other packaged bread, and that the loaves were the same size.

Another great savings. What have you found recently that you changed brands on and saved money.