Frugal Friday – Grocery Shrink

How Three Orphaned Kittens Saved My Parenting Fail

By Angela on September 30, 2016

Before school started this fall, we made our kids a terrible, misguided, poorly thought out deal. We told them if they all made straight A’s at semester, we’d get a puppy. They have been begging for a dog for YEARS and finally we thought we’d consider it.

First of all this deal was awful, because everyone wanted a puppy except for me. All of my kids have high IQs and were motivated very much by a puppy. So bad result #1, they get straight As, earn a puppy, and leave me to care for it while they are at school. (Which would be fine for a few weeks, but long term would be very stressful for me.)

Bad result #2. My daughter with learning disabilities is working her tail off for a puppy and earning straight Cs. It’s the best she can do with the mis-wiring she has in her brain, even though her IQ puts her in the gifted range. It is possible that everyone will earn the puppy except for her, and there’s not one thing she can do about it. According to our agreement, she could blow the puppy deal for the whole family and bear the guilt and shame on top of everything else she’s dealing with.

We either get a puppy—bad, or don’t get a puppy—BAD! This is why I should THINK before making stupid deals with my kids. Good Parenting 101: Give your kids choices when either option is a win. There was no possibility of a winner here.

I can’t tell you how many hours I laid awake thinking about this terrible situation and how to fix it and stay consistent with our promises. I knew I had to get an animal in our house some way that would negate the deal and make this ok. To make the situation a little more challenging, my special girl has on-going medical expenses that I need to save an extra $200 a month for. With our new budget, pet food and vet bills aren’t a possibility. Gah! What was I thinking?

I went to the local animal shelter website just to see what foster care was all about. Turns out it’s amazing. Our shelter only fosters infant animals or high medical need animals, and it’s usually a 1-3 week commitment until adoption. They provide all the medical care, food, and accessories. We provide the love. Since we aren’t trained properly for high medical needs, we’re on the infant only list. I filled out my application one night and the next morning, got a call to come pick up a litter of kittens. Kittens!!!!!

Abandoned infant animals are a little challenging. There might be fleas to combat, toilet training, and minor health challenges like loose stools from abrupt diet changes. But oh my! They are so cute and snuggly and fluffy and adorable. It’s so worth it.

These kittens will be available for adoption at some point and prospective parents might meet them at our home. When they are adopted, we’ll be available to foster someone else. It might be more kittens, puppies or even a rabbit. I can handle the care for a few weeks and take a break when necessary. The kids help out when they are home and have a lot of the benefits of pet ownership without the long term commitment. Now that’s a win-win.

Frugal Friday #11

By Angela on April 22, 2016

rgIf you are new here, this is the day I share some of the frugal things I’ve done recently and then you share yours in the comments. the idea is to encourage and inspire each other.

Happy Friday! I’m so excited! Darren made arrangements for me to have a whole 24 hours to myself this weekend. The kids pitched in to clean up the kitchen and main living areas, so my 24 hours wouldn’t be spent on chores. I’m going to read a book, spend time outside, stretch and exercise, soak in the bath and eat super healthy food. I’ve been struggling the past couple of months with feeling exhausted, dizzy, & foggy in the brain. I have a few good hours in the mornings and by noon, I’m working flat on my back with the computer propped on my knees. Sometimes I’m in bed for the night by dinner time and miss out on all the family time.

Yesterday afternoon I started to feel a bit better after several weeks of going back to the food choices and supplements that have been proven to work for me. Darren came home around 6pm last night and I was not only out of bed cooking dinner, I was dancing a little jig in the kitchen—just because a good song came on. He walked in and said, “Wow!” It was a big change.

If I know what works, why would I ever quit doing it? It’s crazy, but as I start to feel better I think, “I’m healed–finally! The nightmare is behind me!” and I skip a dose of supplements, I accept an additional responsibility, I allow myself some junk food. I don’t feel the affects right away, so I think, “See, you just ate a couple of Oreos and feel great. You’ve finally beat this!” Then after a while of bad behavior I start to notice, “Hey, my hair is my hair falling out! Were those lines on my face this deep yesterday? Ouch! my nails sure are brittle. My arms feel heavy. Yikes! The room is spinning! Sob, I’m crying and I’m not even sad.”

Having adrenal insufficiency messes with my ability to do DIY frugal things. We’ve been talking about making more memories as a family. Darren said, “Honey, there was a free kite festival last weekend. The kids would have loved it,” and we both knew that I wouldn’t have made it physically. I’ve learned to take advantage of my good hours by preparing evening meals in the morning when I have the most energy. For a time I stopped making as much from scratch (like our breads) to conserve my energy. It’s a vicious cycle, because scratch stuff not only saves money, but it’s healthier too.

The affects of making bad choices aren’t instant and good choices don’t bring instant results either, so it’s hard to stay motivated. I’m writing it down today, so I can look back and remind myself that my choices matter. Since I’ve felt better, I did a little more scratch cooking this week.

I made breakfast. The first time, I made breakfast cookies. And the second day I made muffins from cereal crumbs. We only buy bran flakes and toasted o’s from Aldi. Which averages $.10 a serving (plus milk.) It’s not coated in sugar, but it’s still more processed than I’d like. The kids can fix it for themselves after I’ve left for work, so for this season in life we have cereal. The crumbs collect in the bottom of the bag and I save them for adding to muffins and cookies. This time we had banana muffins and I used up some really old frozen bananas I found in the bottom of the freezer.

I saved my homemade mayo. On instagram a few weeks ago I showed a photo of my lovely but very bitter creamy 100% EVOO homemade mayo. It was so bitter even my real food loving mother-in-law coughed when she tasted it. I added some stevia, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika which made it tolerable. Then I made a homemade dressing with it, cutting it with buttermilk and cilantro. It was delicious. The mayo is keeping a long time in the fridge. It’s almost gone now, but I might try it again with a different blend of oils.

Contemporary Ruffle Maxi Dress

3. I didn’t buy dresses. I filled my cart at Forever21.com and had a 20% off coupon to use. It didn’t feel right buying the clothes right then with all of the other goals we had for our family, so I waited 24 hours. When I checked back in they had sold out of my size in several of the things in the cart, so I skipped the whole thing. It felt really good to let it go, even though they were such pretty things.

It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #10

By Angela on April 15, 2016

Happy Friday!!! If you are new here, this is the day I share some of the frugal things I’ve done recently and then you share yours in the comments. the idea is to encourage and inspire each other—not to make anyone feel guilty.

I’ve been having a hard time thinking of things to share on Frugal Friday. It’s been almost a month since I last post. Most of our fugal things have been relating to not doing something instead of getting a better deal on something. They are kind of every day kind of things and didn’t seem too note worty to talk about. Then it occurred to me that those simple every day things are JUST THE THINGS we should talk about.

We didn’t go to the movies. We had planned to see the new (can I still call it new?) Star Wars movie as a family, at a matinee where it would be cheaper. It was still going to be expensive when you think about buying a ticket x8, but we’ve only taken the kids to the movies one other time in their entire lives that I can think of–and it was going to be really special. Kind of like our Disney World—bww ha ha ha! BUT FIRST, Darren thought we should watch the first 6 movies. I hadn’t seen any of them and neither had several of our kids. So we borrowed them from the library and netflix and watched them in order. By the time we found enough family time to get that done, The Force Awakens was available on DVD. It should arrive today. We rarely buy movies, but in this case it was $18 for the DVD instead of $48-$80 for movie tickets. I could have saved the $18 and waited for it to come at the library….that would have been a little more thrifty. I’m still looking forward to seeing the kids’ faces when the mail comes today.

2. We pack our lunches. School lunches cost between $1.75 and $2.50, which is really cheap for eating out. BUT we can pack a lunch at home for less than $1. When you multiply that times 5 school age children, we save $240 a month just packing lunches.

3. We try to remove stains from clothes. This one sounds silly, but I have heard people tell me they had to throw clothes away because of stains. They wouldn’t dream of donating or selling a stained item in a garage sale. While I admire their integrity, there are a LOT of ways to remove stains from clothes. I’ll buy stained clothes if they are low priced, since it’s likely I’ll (and by me, I mean my mom) will be able to get the stains out. I should get her to show us how, yes?

Here’s not really a thrifty thing, but it relates. We have so many house projects to do that it would take every dime we could squeeze from our budget for the next 10-15 years to do them. I’ve been thinking lately about living in my house unfinished instead, except for the really cheap things I can do to make it liveable (like paint.) Then we could use the money to make memories with the kids while they are still dependent on us. We’ve dreamed of taking them snow skiing, and to see other parts of the nation and can’t do both. I’ve decided I’m ok with looking at 2×4 studs and pipes and bare insulation if that means I can do better for them.

It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #9

By Angela on March 4, 2016

I got a new ring. Read more…

Frugal Friday #8, Special Edition

By Angela on February 5, 2016

If you’re new here: On Fridays I share a few frugal things I did during the week. Then in the comments you to share a frugal thing or two you did during the week. If you are a blogger feel free to link to your Frugal Friday post in the comments and we’ll come check it out.

Happy Friday! In this edition of Frugal Friday, I’m going to list the hacks we did in the boy’s bedroom to save money and how much they saved. If I already have the tutorial on the blog, I’ll link to it.

DIY Woven Burlap Headboard
1. DIY Headboards: $15 each (original $149.95 each) Savings: $275

Boy's Frame

2. DIY Picture Frame: $12 (purchased around $150) Savings $138

Shared boy room after 2
3. DIY Trofast Toy Organzier: Ikea doesn’t sell this size or color but if they did it would be around $50. It cost me around $30 to make and not much more time than assembling one from the box. Savings $40 I used this tutorial and adjusted it for our size preference. This is the FIRST wood thing I made without help and I’m a little proud of myself.

4. DIY Sawhorse Desk: This cost around $44 to make. I can have one made here for $250. Savings $206 I used this tutorial but replaced the top with a slab hollow core door.

Shared boy room after 3

5. Electrical Conduit Curtain Rods and Ikea BETYDLIG Brackets. The large window used a 10 foot conduit pipe for $1.99 and the two smaller windows used 5 foot pieces for $1.65. All together the widow hardware was $15.65 for the 3 windows. Traditional hardware would have been $40 a window. Savings $104.35

6. Burlap ribbon valances: I wanted bamboo window shades for looks only. Bamboo shades are see-through at night so we use roller shades for privacy. I like the warmth and texture of bamboo shades and wanted something to hide the top of our roller shades and the gap between the top of the window and the ceiling. The large window shade would be around $70 and the two smaller ones $30 each. Instead I thumbtacked up 2 layers of burlap decorator mesh ribbon for $20. Savings of $110 Click here to find out why I hang my curtains so high.

7. Restored Night Stands: I found this pair of nightstands on craigslist for $30 (for the pair.) They had been abused with spray stone textured paint and tiles that were improperly installed then ripped off. I sanded off the texture and gave them a fresh coat of paint, pried off the old tops and made new stained wooden tops for them, and replaced the hardware with handles leftover from our kitchen contractor packs. I spent an extra $15 in wood and supplies, so $45 total for the pair. New nightstands like these are $125 each. Savings: $205

Ikea vs Target Duvet Covers

8. Switched from Ikea Duvet Covers to Target Clearance covers: Target’s were $18 each, Ikea’s were $50. Savings $64

9. Spray painted black lamps green. Old Time Pottery had nicely shaped lamps with the right kind of shade for $30, but they only came in black. The inspiration lamps from Amazon were $107.09 for the pair. Savings $42

10. Bought the sofa on Craigslist instead of Ikea: Ikea’s prices are great, but if I can save a bit more I’m on it. A motivated seller had his Ektorp Loveseat on CL for $30 because the cover was ripped and it had cat hair on it. New they are $375. I bought a new cover for $39 and that problem was solved. Savings $306

The other big savings were: keeping their original beds and flooring; removing the popcorn ceiling ourselves; and painting ourselves. Savings $3,000. Without counting those, we saved $1,490.35 on the furnishings. Not bad for a little bit of elbow grease.

It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #7

By Angela on January 22, 2016

Frugal Friday

I made soup, 3 days in a row. They were different soups: tortilla soup, beef and vegetable (to use up leftover veggies) and chicken with homemade noodles. I love soup because it’s a one pot meal, fast, nutritious and filling. Hot leftovers pack well in a thermos so my kids can have a warm lunch at school. The third night Dub said, “Oh! Soup again!” He tried to make it sound cheerful, but I could tell I was pushing it, lol. Since soup is mostly water, it saves on the grocery bill and just feels right with the snowy weather we’ve been having.
I used swagbucks gift cards to amazon to buy art for Darren’s office. It was mostly free and every little bit helps to bring this project under budget.

blue map

4. I built a huge picture frame from an inspiration photo. I did buy the wood, but even so the project was around $30. Buying one custom sized from hobby lobby would be more than $100. I haven’t learned to use a router yet (still a beginner wood worker), so I just duct taped the picture to the back.

Shared boy room after 3

Here’s the inspiration. Scale is hard for me to estimate in before photos, but the more afters I do, the easier it is.

Brandon and Grant's Room Gray rugby stripe

I’ll give the details about the room next month :).

It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #6

By Angela on January 9, 2016

Remember that office plan for Darren? To make that work for him I need to buy a leather chair ($1,500), an oak executive desk ($900), an 8×10 rug ($700), 2 locking lateral filing cabinets ($600), a 42 by 36 picture frame with glass ($65), and a royal blue velvet moroccan pouf ($200), for a grand total of $3,965. There are a few other expenses too (like wood for the build in bookcases, flooring and the optional tv and tv cabinet.)

Darren's office before fireplace view leather chair

Darren's office blue desk

I’m not in a hurry to start this project since I have a few other rooms I’m working on. On the other hand, Darren really needs a space to be organized in. So I started looking around the web on craigslist for affordable options. You’ll never guess what I found?!!!!

There was an office having a business closing auction. I got those locking filing cabinets for $16 each or $32 instead of $600. All they need is a new coat of spray paint (since they are putty colored now, and I have my heart set on white.)

The executive desk was $60 instead of $900. It just needs a coat of blue with black glaze in the details.

The giant picture frame for the dry erase board was only $6.

Then Craigslist had a leather chair for a mere $50. It just needs a coat of leather stain to nudge it a little more golden brown instead of reddish brown (for $6.)

leather chair

The area rug was on sale 80% off for $156!

I found a sewing pattern for the moroccan pouf on Better Homes and Gardens. I haven’t settled on fabric for it yet, but my mom is looking in her stash for something that might work and I have old towels and batting on hand to fill it.

My grand total: $304 for a savings of $3,361

It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #5

By Angela on December 11, 2015

1. We ran out of butter. Horrors! It’s so expensive this time of year that I couldn’t bring myself to buy more than a pound at a time even though I was hoping to bake. My mom went shopping with Heather and I, and we stopped at a grocery store to look for the sale priced pineapples. They were sold out of pineapples but had butter for $1.99 limit 2. All 3 of us went through the line separately to buy 2. Let the baking begin!

2. Heather and I needed dresses for our Christmas concerts this week. We’ve both grown and nothing fits. Happy for her, sad for me. I found mine at Ross for $17 and hers at Burlington coat factory for $12. They were both name brand dresses that retailed for $65+. We also grabbed sparkle shoes at payless at a 50% off sale plus an additional 25% off coupon for members (About $12 a pair.) I wouldn’t have had the coupon, but I did a quick google search to see what was out there before heading to the store. I saved the code to my phone, just in case, even though it said “online only” and the cashier made it work.

3. I used up a bag of frozen wild blueberries that had been in the freezer a little too long. I used 4 cups of them to make blueberry muffins for snacks/breakfasts. For half the flour, I subbed the crumbs saved from the bottom of the cereal bags over the last few weeks. Then with the remaining blueberries and thawed liquid I made jello by adding stevia, plain gelatin and chia seeds for nutrition. It’s delicious but the family won’t touch it–more for me ;).

It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #4

By Angela on December 4, 2015

Frugal Friday

This is going to be a quick post! I’ve got to get back to work so I can finish a present and run it over to a birthday party that’s already started. I’m so happy that the party’s next door! Having a best friend next door is every girl’s dream come true.

I’m making a birthday present from items on hand. Mine is a copy of this scarf with regular worsted yarn instead of super chunky. As a bonus, I really needed some de-stress time and crocheting does that for me. We’re rounding out the gift with a fun new lip gloss from my Mary Kay stash.

Color Block Scarf Tangled happy

2. We bought a car used with cash off craigslist. We did a lot of research on KBB.com first and looked at all the available options. We weighed things such as tire condition (a new set of tires is around $800) and when the next round of maintenance will need to be done–like replacing the timing belt. Timing belts are around $1100 and if you don’t do it on time it can pop and act like a live grenade in the engine (a $3,000 mistake.) We had our mechanic check it over for us before we bought it to make sure we knew what we were dealing with.

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It’s your turn. Inspire us with one of your frugal activities this week.

Frugal Friday #3

By Angela on November 27, 2015

Frugal Friday

My dad was hospitalized last weekend and had his gall bladder removed. It was a little bit scary for awhile and Mom and I spent several hours together in the waiting room where they conveniently have a bistro/coffee shop. We didn’t buy anything.
It’s Black Friday and I’m staying home. We don’t need anything, but really good deals tempt me anyway. That and the crowds make me cranky.
I had to allergy proof my bedroom this week. Turns out my intense rash was caused by breathing in fine dust particles created by dust mites. They live everywhere, too small to be seen with the naked eye. Some people are sensitive, some aren’t. The doctor said if I was any more allergic I’d need to carry an epi pen, so everything in my bedroom was encased in dust mite proof wraps. That itself was not cheap, but we saved hundreds by researching products online, reading reviews, and comparing prices. One day I was mildly allergic, the next day SEVERE. What causes a big swing like that? Every doctor unanimously said, “Stress.”

It’s your turn. What frugal things did you do this week?