10-1-11

9:20am

44 degrees out but feels like 38 degrees.
I hate those words, Wind Chill!!
Just turned on the electric heater.
It was 65 degrees in here when I got up.
Part of me wants to turn on the furnace
and part of me sees dollar signs all over the thermostat.
So we'll see if the temperature starts rising
in here from a portable heater or I turn on the furnace.

I think back to Spring time and when the temperatures
outside start getting into the 60's and kids
start to run around without jackets on. I always tell
them it has to be 65 degrees out before removing jackets.
Well I feel the same way about the inside temp
of the house. If it drops below 65 degrees then
I'll turn on the furnace.

Kids wake up this morning saying brrr and one has shorts
on with a sweatshirt and the other has pants on with no
shirt. Well yeah it's gonna be brrr until they get
some decent clothes on, which they did.
It's common sense to dress appropriately. Wear
layered clothing so you can remove layers when you
start feeling comfortable. Wear socks or slipper booties
to warm your feet around the house and wear a sweater.

Now this past week we did turn the furnace on for
1-2 minutes just to make sure it was working correctly.
Don't ya hate that smell it has after sitting for
many months and the dust blows through the vents
and burns off the furnace, ewww.
Everyone should test their furnace before the
really cold weather gets here. You don't want to
discover on a freezing cold day that it doesn't work.
This test gives you time to get anything fixed before
the really cold weather moves in.

While our furnace works fine I am so thankful to have
a hubby who is also a maintenance guy who knows
how to work on things like furnaces and air conditioners
or has access to other maintenance guys who
are HVAC certified. Things that could cost the average
homeowner an arm and a leg to have fixed costs us
little to nothing. I think our furnace is almost
identical to the ones they use in the apartments
at Tony's work so getting or ordering parts are cheap.
They either have old parts laying around that they'll give
you or you can order them using their discount.

The cooler temps like that make for less sickies.
Have you ever been in a hospital in the Winter time
and it seemed chilly in there. Ya know those times
you are sitting in a hospital bed with nothing
but a gown on no thicker than a piece of
tissue paper and undies on and your backside peaking out
and request a warmed blanket? Well when I asked why
it seemed so chilly in there they told me it was
to reduce the amount of germs.

Today's high is 50.
Tomorrow's high is 56 and Monday 61 degrees.
Mom couldn't believe I hadn't turned on the furnace.
She said she's been running hers for the past
2-3 weeks and has it set on 70-71 degrees.

9:42am- The temperature in here rose 2 degrees.
It's now 67 degrees.

10:00am- 68 degrees. 3 degrees in 40 minutes.

Space heaters are not a long term answer to
heating your home since they run at 1500 watts
an hour, maybe 750 watts at low power.
They could become costly to use all the time.
This is why I only try to run them for 1-2 hours a day tops
just to take the chill out of the air instead of
running the furnace.

The gas prices keep dropping and I hope it stays that
way for a little while. Yesterday I saw gas at a Turkey Hill
for $3.06. I think the rise in gas prices had
something to do with the fighting in Libya.
And now that Libya is trying to resolve their problems
the gas prices start to descend some. Libya is one
of the suppliers for our oil to make gasoline.




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1:15pm

Back from running around this morning/afternoon
and getting all our errands done.
First stop was the Recycling Exchange.
I guessed earlier this week we would make $84.65.
Well it ended up being $91.10.
I love when I guess wrong.

Then we headed to Kroger to pick up Tony's prescription
which was $26 for allergy medicine. I think it was for
something like Claratin.
While there we needed milk. We usually drink 1% unless
we find another kind of milk on clearance.
Today we got Vitamin D milk for $1.99 a gallon.
And I also got loaves of bread for .59 cents.

I was walking down the pet isle when I noticed
coupons on the front of boxes of Arm & Hammer kitty litter.
I peeled off 2 of them and found these coupons inside-

$1.00 off 2 Arm & Hammer baking sodas 2 lb or larger.
$1.00 off any Arm & Hammer saline product.
$1.00 off 2 Arm & Hammer laundry detergent or fabric softener.
$1.00 off any Arm & Hammer toothpaste or whitening booster.

We saw something really weird in Kroger. Actually Tony
spotted it. An older guy was wearing a tennis shoe
on his left foot and a hiking boot on his right foot.
Not sure why. He was wearing construction type clothing
with the reflective tape across the front of a vest.

Next stop was the thrift store across from Kroger
on Henderson just to browse around. For the past
year I've been looking for Tony a thermos type coffee
pot to replace the one we've had for about 11 years.
It is starting to drip and leak. I have seen them
in thrift store but for stupid money. Today
I found a couple Gevalia ones that were identical.
The white one was $4.94 and a dark green one was $3.93.
So for almost $4 I got Tony a coffee maker.
Get this, I saw a used one on Ebay for $50.00!!!
The only thing I need to find now is another
reusable coffee filter because the one I have now
is a flat bottom one and the one that goes in the
"new" coffee pot is a cone shape.

The next stop was Kmart to look for Tony another
pair of shoes. We didn't find any so ended up having
a $5.00 pizza for lunch from Little Caesars.
While there you couldn't help but notice they had
about 23 round clothes racks from the service desk
all the way to the pizza place in the store.
All racks were Spring and Summer clothing. ALL
were marked $2.09. I saw things for $17 to $20
marked down to $2.09!!! I don't have money to just
buy a bunch of clothes at the moment after just
buying some yesterday. It would be nice to get
things for next year though. The prices they has
on new clothing was about like thrift store prices.
I paid $1.99 each for jeans for the boys at the thrift store.
I noticed they had jean capris with elastic wastes in
the lady's section marked down to $2.09.
I held them up to the boys while standing there
and noticed that the capris would be the perfect length
without having to worry about hemming them!!
Just and idea when you need to buy boys pants
with larger waists, smaller crotch areas and shorter lengths.
I got to thinking that maybe since I don't have
all this money at this moment to buy another wardrobe
for the kids that maybe I could use the Kmart layaway.
I've never done it before so I searched it on their website.
They want 10% down of your total purchase along with
a $5.00 service fee. You pay bi-weekly, every other week,
and have up to 2 months to pay it off.
Now if you are a big spender, which I am not, and purchase $300
or more you have the option of spreading it out
over 3 months. So it's something I am thinking
about doing since you can't beat $20 clothing items marked down
to only $2.09!! Heck I could have it paid off by Christmas
and wrap the clothes up as a gift. A two fer, they get
some extra presents of clothing and get some clothes
for the upcoming Spring and Summer and maybe a little
Winter if I can get the jean capris!

So I'm thinking up this scenario-

20 clothing items for around $40.
$5 service fee & 10% up front- $9.00
Remaining balance on the $40 would be $36.
8 weeks into $36.00 is $4.50/week
but you pay every other week which would be $9.00
or $18 a month for the next 2 months.

Just an idea for those who don't have money at
the moment and can't pass up a hell of a deal of clothes!!
When you have growing kids you sure can count on
them not being able to wear about 1/2 of their
clothes the next year so this would be the time
to stock up and buy ahead of time in larger sizes.


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2:20pm

I still have not turned the furnace on. And I have
yet to turn the electric heater back on.
Right now it is 52 degrees out. It is 65 degrees in our home.
After being outside in what felt like freezing cold
temps with high winds and spitting rain it doesn't feel that bad
in here at the moment!!

Well, I am going to start laundry. I also want to
start putting about 90% of our Summer clothes away.
Don't have the room in the closets for both
Summer and Winter clothes so need to make the room
for one or the other.

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Sign into Betty Crocker and print coupons.
Here is just a sampling of coupons that I
think are the best ones. There are others to choose from as well.

.60 cents ($1.20 doubled) on BC cake mix and frosting.

.50 cents ($1.00 doubled) BC cookie mix.

.60 cents ($1.20 doubled) on Chex Mix.

.60 cents ($1.20 doubled) 2 Green Giant canned veggies.


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How to reduce food waste- Making the most of your food dollars.


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DOLLAR GENERAL

I hear that next week Dollar General will have
Snuggle Dryer Sheets for $1.00.
In tomorrow's paper there should be a coupon
for .75 cents off Snuggle Dryer Sheets.
That would make them .25 cents each!!!


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5:10pm


I've been trying to wash regular laundry in
cold water to cut back even more on the gas bill.
The only exception is when I do bleach loads,
which is not very often.
Diabetics are not supposed to have their sockies bleached.
Today along with laundry, I am also washing
pillows in hot, bleach water. Some people would
just throw out their pillows and buy new.
I cannot afford to buy new pillows all the time
so I wash ours, sanitizing them in hot water
and bleach and giving them
a fluff in the dryer. I then fluff some more
by beating them with my hands because sometimes
the filling can become uneven and need a little fixing.
In the end it's almost like having a new bed pillow.

Today I finally got around to making more homemade
laundry soap. It is so much cheaper than buying the
brand name from the store!!
It usually has Borax soap, Arm & Hammer washing soda
and grated laundry soap in it. I think I ran out
of washing soda because I couldn't find it.
So instead I mixed in about 4 cups of Tide
powdered laundry soap in it's place. I know,
what in the world am I doing with Tide if I am
trying to save money. I got a couple of boxes
of Tide for $2.99 with coupons and a sale.
I have saved them to mix in with my homemade
laundry soap to give it a boost with cleaning.


I've gotten two totes of Summer clothes packed away.
I also went through and weeded out some of my
clothes and kids clothes that were stained, tore
beyond repair, too small or something we no longer wear.


5:25pm

I am now working on an easy but filling supper
because I am slowly starting to tucker out.
Earlier my hips down each leg to my knees
was hurting and throbbing but I buprofen seemed
to help those aches and pains long enough
for me to get things done.

Supper tonight is some baked potatoes with
butter and leftover shredded cheddar cheese
along with some hickory bacon and onion or
ranch dressing on top.
Then I am making up some Redi-Serve rib patties
in the microwave with some leftover BBQ sauce.
Will put those on some bread with a slice
of cheese and make sandwiches.

4 potatoes- FREE (rang up wrong at Kroger and I got 10 pounds free)
leftover shredded cheese- FREE (most leftovers I consider free)
Hickory bacon & onion dressing- FREE (was found)
Redi- Serve rib patties- $1.89
1/2 loaf of bread- .30 cents
4 american cheese slices- .28 cents (sale with coupon)

Total cost- $2.47
serves 4 @ .61 cents a serving


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7:50pm

I broke down and turned the furnace for tonight to 70 degrees.
67 in here now so only a 3 degree difference.
It's really chilly outside.
It's now 48 and feels like 44 degrees.
And it's supposed to get down to 41 and who knows
what it will be with wind chill.
Right now winds are 15 to 20 mph.
Overnight they are supposed to be 10 mph.


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Sneak Peak at Meijers sales ad for next week-
I don't plan on shopping at Meijers this week
but here are some deals I see.

Meijer veggies .50 cents each

Meijer chicken noodle, tomato, cream of mushroom and
cream of chicken soups .50 cents each

Meijer pasta .67 cents each

Meijer brownie mix, pound cake mix or frosting $1.00 each

Meijer peach or pineapple slices can $1.00 each

Meijer pasta sauce $1.00

Meijer steak or BBQ sauce $1.00 each

Meijer salsa $1.00 each

Meijer mustard or ketchup $1.00 each

Meijer dressing, croutons, bacon bits, pitted or stuffed olives $1.00 each

Meijer parmesan $2.40 each

Meijer cream cheese $1.33 each

55 to 75 ounce Arm & Hammer laundry detergent
$2.99 x's 2 is $4.98 minus $1/2 coupon found on cat litter
makes it $3.98 for 2 or $1.99 each.


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Save $1.00 when you buy
1 pkg Nabisco cookies along with a gallon of milk.
"like" Nabisco Cookies on Facebook.


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9:50pm

Woo Hoo, I just sent away for my 4th $25 GameStop
gift card. I kept checking every day for the last
week knowing it was a matter of time before I
qualified for another one. I now have $100
in Gamestop gift cards to use at Christmas time
to buy the kids gifts with!

$100 Gamestop gift cards- survey site
$114 - survey site
$91 from scrap metal
$100 gift card from contest at hubby's work
$77 another survey site
$8.65 in my newest survey site
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$490 in free money to use towards Christmas!!!!

If there is a will there is a way!!
Because at this point in time if it weren't
for these items above I'm not sure how
we would do Christmas! Getting money from
survey sites don't happen overnight. It's
taken me almost 10 months or more to get this far.
This to me is my Christmas savings account.


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Since we are short on cash this upcoming holiday season
due to all the doctor bills we've had this year
I have decided to make a few homemade gifts. Gifts don't have
to be expensive and the ones made from the heart are
more meaningful than ones bought from the store.

Here are some ideas of things I will be making-

1. Practical gift baskets. Made with things from
your stockpile that you either got really cheap or free.

Put together a basket with toothpaste, toothbrush,
deodorant, body wash or soaps, shampoo and so on.
Baskets are really cheap at the thrift store,
around .49 cents to a buck.

Make a snack or food item basket with like items in it.
For example bags of chips, pop, popcorn, crackers, cookies,
pretzels and so on.

Another basket might be a themed basket. Let's say
a box of spaghetti, jar of sauce, loaf of Italian bread,
seasonings.

2. Buckeye key chains.
I bought cheap beads and key rings at yard sales.
I have free ribbon or metal wire to string them all on
and I got the buckeyes all free.

3. If you are a sewer you can make fabric shopping bags.
I found some fabric, well actually curtains, for free
over the Summer and thought I could turn them into
cute tote bags. Teachers would like something like this.

4. Homemade baked goods. Cookies, pound cakes, breads
and/ or other homemade treats.

5. What about a homemade apron for your mom, grandma
or mother-in-law. I saw this APRON and thought it would
be cute to make. Instead of making your own ruffles I have
ruffled fabric I have removed from cheap bed skirts/dust ruffles
I bought at the thrift store for cheap. I thought maybe
I could use that instead. You can find dust ruffles for
a buck or two and make about 2 aprons or more from
it depending on the size you buy.


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