Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

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floridacatlover
Posts: 8058
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:21 am

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by floridacatlover »

frugalmom wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:16 pm 1. Xfinity called us (retention center)-I only had internet for 49.99 for everything and they offered in my area to add on limited basic cable package with internet for the same 49.99-one box for free and then I asked for another box for free and got that! So no added charges at all so no brainer and got that for a year when it is up, there is a program for the internet only hopefully we will qualify to get it for 10.00/mo or we will go to another company deal/package or renegotiate with the retention center trying to get the best deal. The antenna thing we have is a pain (my bil set it up so Idk if it was his installation or bc it just gets crappy reception!?). It always hits the good part of the movie or story and it gets a weak connection and we miss what they say! So my dh was not happy about that-lol-but we still stuck with it bc I refused to pay more which I think just internet was high enough. My bil pays 29.99 /mo for his internet but they would not give me that same deal stating it no longer had that one.

2. I asked for a refund of a bb camp-which they said they do not give refunds but put it towards the next camp which is in a year. Preston fractured his wrist/hand :( so I explained the situation and our situation and told them it was already a stretch for us since we were injured and not working but we did it for him and I texted pictures of him in his cast so they will refund the money in full they contacted me! It does not hurt to try, I always say,the worst they can say is no. In that case,if that happened I would have just cancelled it from the cc end and let them fight me,but thank goodness they were very nice about it which is good for their business bottom line bc now when he is better next year I will definitely send him to that camp!

3. For our entertainment,(we don't do much bc of limited funds and we save for college and bb only),for 10.00 we went to a competition and jamboree and had a pizza party,cake and drinks there so had lots of fun(despite he could not play with a broken wrist/hand). SO cheap night out with friends.

4. On all the days we travel to practice,games,tryouts,tournaments and to even pick up my dd from college. DH always brings food and water/drinks with him and even tea-lol-so no excuse for Starbucks(rare for us-too sweet for me anyway),drinks,food or I am hungry or I am thirsty excuses from the kids-they know not to whine or say anything anymore bc dad will pull out the food-lol! Plus dad has to eat every few hours so he has it right there! So for two or three days this week whether to practice,game,tournament and picking up dd we brought it with us-even a thermos with tea.
For all of his 36 working years he would bring snacks and his lunch so never ate out. It was also easier not only on the pocketbook,but from a practical matter of going to the place and ordering and transportation(hard to stop a bus to buy lunch but some do it!) or on break you have to drive our car and lose parking at work! Hassle!

5. Did our taxes-getting money back-we made the least ever(well maybe except at the beginning of our marriage I think we made 19k!)-since he worked only like 3-4 months and had to go back off bc of symptoms. We are going to SAVE the money that we get bc it was the answer to our prayers of money for dd's college for next year and moving to apartments(think it may pay for a lot of it plus with our savings already we should be set for next year I hope). I want to make sure I have it already to give her monthly money for rent and living expenses. She will also find a job to help out-for spending money she saved up 2-3k already and just barely spending that money. I think one month she spent only 20.00 so she is good about it. Transportation is free since buses are free for the students.

6. My bil(CPA) does our taxes and we don't pay him directly but we do treat him out to lunch as an exchange and thank you. He had his wife and daughter with him(they work at the office-his dd is a lawyer now too) and my other bil was with us too so for 6 people we went to this good restaurant (Pakistani food) and spent 45.00 for all of us which is not bad for that many people! Also we saved the leftovers for dinner for 4 and for breakfast for my dh the next morning so we really stretched it for 11 meals!

7. Preston made about 160.00 this week on selling games,hoodie,shoes on top of about 400.00 the other week. He did buy two pairs of jeans with his own money on sale 2/55.00(which I find expensive still) and then had another 20% off promo code. Usually he can buy off these sites for cheaper than that even and he does not cared if used or not. Garage sales are even cheaper bc I bought a nice sweater for 1.00 and it was a brand that young women like(forgot which it is now)-now these are good to sell also if you can on our site to make a good profit even. My dd's friend just made 4k in a month for his thrift store finds-textbooks are popular and designer clothing. Surprised-we have not got to his level yet!

8. Made my "orange" muffins at Preston's request for breakfast but instead of oj,made it with papaya,guava juice I had and it was even better Preston said!
FrugalMom, I did not know that Preston fractured his wrist. I hope it heals quickly. He is certainly a natural entrepreneur with his buying and selling. I give him a LOT of credit. I can already see that he is going to be a success. (In years to come we will be reading about him in the business press. I really believe that!)

You got a great deal with the cable company. (Although I still think they are all vultures.)
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by Dgflorida »

Congrats Frugalmom on refund money and Preston skills on resales. Sorry to hear about his wrist. Great job on the cable and camp money.
NoisyPorkchop
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:59 pm
Location: In the middle of the Willamette Valley, Oregon.

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by NoisyPorkchop »

Hmm, let me think:
1) I have improved my driving habits and am now driving less and keeping it local and so far I have saved a bunch of gas. With my driving to and from work and grocery shopping and such over the last week I haven't even gotten down to a half tank of gas :D so I will call that a win for me!

2) Have been eating down the food in the pantry and freezer and eating at home. Although I told DH I would treat him to a dinner at the local Shari's restaurant tomorrow evening for our version of Valentines Day I have a coupon for "2 for $25" which is an appetizer to share, two entries and two sides and two slices of pie. I think it isn't too shabby of a deal! Just had to tell Hubby not to go and buy and bunch of expensive drinks like he did last time we went to Applebees and, even though I had a gift card for $25, we still managed to rack up another $28.00 (including tip) which defeated my whole purpose of eating on the cheap. Told him if he wants some beer I will buy him a six pack of his fancy beer for much cheaper than what a restaurant would charge. Gotta keep it frugal!

3) Kept the heat turned down here in the house. Hasn't been above 65 degrees and have been sleeping in the bedroom down to 60 degrees. This has saved us some money on our electric bill and I want to keep the momentum up.

4) Noticed I have had 9 No Spend days this month which I am happy about.

5) Returned a new baseboard heater that ended up not fitting in a space we wanted it to. DH told me to just keep it 'just in case we want to use it' and it has been sitting in the box for weeks driving me crazy because I know we have no other use for it besides where we originally wanted to put it and it was almost $32.00. So, I quietly returned it and got my money back at Home Depot and spent some of it on something we really needed, weed spray. Still have money on the store card they gave me so I am able to put the money to better use.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Focusing on the frugal is the lifestyle for me.
frugalmom
Posts: 1710
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:52 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by frugalmom »

THANK YOU! We just went for his recheck yesterday and they did another xray and found that the other part of the hand that was hurting did have a fracture too! So two fractures and this part has low blood flow(scaffold bone) so it may take 3-4 months instead of the original 6-8 weeks! So we may miss most of the season! Maybe it is God's way of telling us we need a break!?

Since he has been off the teams (3) they have been losing almost every game when they were winning every game before(except one),so it is not good as Preston was the main player that made most of the points on those teams(not bragging it was just the fact). One team even got really mad we were going to another team and told us we could never come back since HE made Preston good,NOT the other team-like what!? And this is a famous national team where NBA players come from,so I said we will have to forge our own way then but bc of his determination.ambition and drive he will be recognized for his good playing no matter where he goes if he continues to work hard and be dedicated(plus I said I don't kiss a$$ as a parent just to get him ahead, I will do what I want with MY kid).

It was like I was going through a breakup with the back and forth of how dare I leave them after he built up Preston and it was not the other team who made him good-like wow all the drama! Preston was already good before he went there as he has been playing and top at that time since he was little and then I give him every opportunity in camps,training sessions,etc(they did send him to two camps though). So I felt bad but ultimately I did what I thought was best for my son,as he clicked with the kids on the new team( all good players and all humble which I liked) and loves the new coach who is inspiring and intense in his training and like I said work hard is more of what I believe in(the other one is a top team but they fly in kids from other states,sometimes cheat by bringing older players in to play in the younger teams and that never sat well with me and I would complain about the cheating which they did not like). I even said that is how they are the top team bc they cheat(we played one main team and we are the newbie team of the group and they would not count in the score of my son's free throws and three pointers and I had it on recording but our coach would not go against the main team). I told them I believe in integrity and this new coach people tell me and I can feel it is one of integrity.

Our other coach is a famous coach and even won coach of the year nationally but Idk the way he does things did not seem right to me-he even told me one kid is not going to break me or make my team and he says millions of kids (and all over the world I know) contact him to be on the team and what I am giving up! It was a very hard decision and much easier to be on this team, but I just kept thinking what would be the best training for him and where he played best(best opportunity may have been the other team bc they are famous already and college coaches gravitate towards them automatically and they have D1 offers and full scholarships for all their players). And this new team is being watched but very new and unorganized bc new(other one has it down)-so Idk if I made a mistake or not,we shall see-but I guess now I burned that bridge!

Anyway, I was not looking for NBA status as some parents are, I am just thinking first getting into a good high school (hopefully with a scholarship if there is any tuition) and then a decent college at least. BUT I was reading only like 3% of students get a scholarship to the colleges for sports,so I am not holding my breath. I made the decision that he will go to this new team bc I like their name WORK HARD,play hard and good motto we live by too. He is now ranked in just two years(we are number 2 in CA and #10 in entire west coast-though this year if Preston does not play anymore Idk-they ranked when Preston joined in the winter). Preston is number 10 in CA on one ranking organization and on the to watch list in all of CA but that may fall now if he cannot play this year.


FrugalMom, I did not know that Preston fractured his wrist. I hope it heals quickly. He is certainly a natural entrepreneur with his buying and selling. I give him a LOT of credit. I can already see that he is going to be a success. (In years to come we will be reading about him in the business press. I really believe that!)

You got a great deal with the cable company. (Although I still think they are all vultures.)
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frugalmom
Posts: 1710
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:52 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by frugalmom »

Dgflorida wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 9:08 am Congrats Frugalmom on refund money and Preston skills on resales. Sorry to hear about his wrist. Great job on the cable and camp money.
THANK YOU!
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Five Frugal Things You Did This Week

Post by Dgflorida »

My frugal five

1) froze the discounted meat in recycled plastic vegetable bags
2) shined up my copper bottom pots using dried up toothpaste.
3) used garden coupon $5 off
4) got cheaper eggs by waiting 2 days for the price to come down
5) got cheaper car gas by waiting for the price to come down.
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