Well, I have today off of work & am planning on getting a lot stuff done.

I am working to be uber-frugal to pay down the little bit of debt that I have left from my 'crazy spending time' a few months back. So my entertainment, eating out, and grocery expenses are going to be carefully thought out. I will share as I work through this

Today's MORE than 5 Things:

1. Laundry (DONE)
2. Groceries (DONE)
3. Pick up prescription (DONE)
4. Return to drug store (DONE)
5. Deposit at bank (DONE)
6. Get air in tires (NOT COMPLETED)
7. Look at discounted Halloween costumes (DONE - no purchases made)
8. REview meal plan (DONE)
9. Make ahead meals for Tues and part of the week. (DONE)
10. Clean up litter box (NOT COMPLETED)
11. Catch up on some tv (this is a fun one! haha). (DONE)
12. Pack lunch for work tomorrow & pack gym bag. (DONE)

Woohoo! Today at 3:30, I started the beginning of my 10 day vacation! I don't go back until Tuesday 11/3

After work, my friend & I went to the dollar store (picked up a makeup travel bag = $1.00). Then to 2 Halloween stores to look at costumes for the Halloween party on the ship. I wanted a new, cute costume, but couldnt justify the price. So instead, I am going with an old sorceress costume that I have (free!).

We went to Michael's crafts after that. My friend is trying to be the skipper from Gilligan's island and wanted to make a life preserver to go with his costume. He got all those items and I ended up buying a piece that was meant for a floral arrangement, but would actually make a good sorceress wand. $2 and it made my costume feel like new! I am hoping to hit the costume stores AFTER Halloween and maybe pick up a good deal on a costume for next year.

I leave for the cruise on Sunday, so I'm spending tonight & tomorrow organizing, cleaning & packing. I am spending time with the kitties who I feel BAD about leaving.

Today's 5 Things:

1. Get bloodwork done before work (DONE)
2. Clean downstairs bath (DONE)
3. Clean out fridge (To be determined!)
4. Do laundry (DONE)
5. Take deck furniture into basement (NOT DONE - came home after dark)

I also cleaned my bedroom and walk in closet, so I did accomplish more than I thought I would.

I also entered Savings Bonds that I have into the treasury calculator. I have a little over $1000.00, which I mean to cash in soon. However, I was checking a specific one that a family member gave me in 1980 and my mom just found in some old paperwork. That thing has a face value of $75 and is worth over $240! I'm heading to the bank to cash that one & 2 others out. I'll leave the rest alone for now & deal with them in 2010.

Hope everyone has a good Friday night!

Oh boy, its getting colder. I'm in the fleece pants and have the down comforter on the bed. The kitties are snuggling with me, so I know they are noticing the tempreture changes, lol.

We're expecting a Nor'easter soon and that is going to make things even colder. I may have to turn the heat on, but I am trying to hold off until the last possible second. I think we're in for a very cold winter.

Today's spending was .55 for a soft pretzel and $7.50 for groceries. Tomorrow, I'm hitting a movie with a friend.

OH! And I found the missing $12 from my budget. I forgot about a return credit on a credit card that I no longer use. I'll put that towards my next gas purchase

Today's 5 Things:

1. Meet buddy at gym (DONE - spent 1 hour for strength training and cardio)
2. Grocery store (DONE)
3. Pack food for tomorrow (DONE)
4. Upload photos to send to mom (DONE
5. Start new stretching routine (for flexibility) (DONE)

I had a GREAT weekend. Friday night I went to the movies with friends. We saw Zombieland, which was very funny. One friend had free movie passes & refused to let me reinburse her, so I splurged and bought us sodas as a treat ($5.00).

Saturday, I hit the gym, then packed & drove up to a friend's house in the center of West Chester, PA. About an hour drive through some pretty areas, which I enjoyed.

A group of us had tickets to a Brewfest. 40+ breweries to sample. We had great weather and we able to walk around tasting beer for a few hours.

Here's a pick of just a bit of the crowd.



That night, we ordered pizza (my share, $4.00) and stayed in and played games & watched movies. I spent the night and today, we met up with another friend to walk to the local Chili Cookoff 1 block from their house.

68 different groups participated. $10.00 for a wristband and unlimited chili tasing options. Weather was great again and I enjoyed being outside on one of the possible last good weather days of the season. The only other spending was for a fresh lemonade ($3.00) and for a Phillies tee-shirt ($10.00). This has been on my to-buy list for a while & they had cute shirts for a great price.

Here's a view of the tents & crowd.



The tents were run by local businesses and groups and a few had themes.





On my way home today, I stopped at Sears to return a dress (29.99 return). I went to the farmer's market for fresh veggies (4.15) and Walmart for other groceries (6.26).

I am now doing laundry (which I find kinda relaxing). I'm making dinner at home & lunch for tomorrow. Then I'm putting my feet up for the rest of the night.

I hope everyone had as good a weekend as I did!!

Happy Monday All!

If you haven't already noticed, I am a fan of lists and plans. Following them is always a challange though, because I don't like being told what to do. Even if I'm the one doing the telling! LOL

I have a spending plan, meal plan and workout plan for this week. While at work today, I made a little chart on paper:

MONDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym
Planned Spending: $0.50 library fine
Meals: Pasta salad/Shake N Bake Chicken
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

TUESDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym, Civic Association Meeting
Planned Spending: $8.00 groceries
Meals: Sloppy joe/Tuna Wrap
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

WEDNESDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym
Planned Spending: $0.00
Meals: Tuna sandwich/Pasta with meat sauce
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

THURSDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Park for walking, Nephew's baseball game
Planned Spending: $0.00
Meals: Salad with pasta/Soft taco
Exercise: Park 25 min walk

FRIDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym, Movies
Planned Spending: $10
Meals: Turkey Meatloaf Muffin/Salad with pasta
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

SATURDAY
Planned Activities: Gym, Kennett Brewfest (beer tasting event); Spending night in West Chester
Planned Spending: $15-20 dinner
Meals: Salad & meatloaf for lunch/Dinner out with friends
Exercise: Gym 45 mins in early am.

SUNDAY
Planned Activities: West Chester Chili Cookoff
Planned Spending: $10.00 Cookoff Entrance fee, $5-10 drinks
Meals: Unknown breakfast; chili lunch, salad at home for dinner
Exercise: Walking around cookoff


In other frugal news:

- My heat is still off. I even had the windows open for a few hours yesterday.

- Most of my entertainment (other than planned events) has come in the form of books and movies borrowed from the library & new Fall shows on tv.

- I'm packing all my food for work & saving a bundle

- The addition of exercise into my routine has helped me sleep better and have more energy. Hopefully, in the near future, it will help with some of my health issues.

- The laundry I'm doing tonight will not need the dryer, so all of it will be line dried in the spare room.

Today I enjoyed some awesome weather and a half day off from work. I still made it to the gym and worked out for a bit.

Then I hit the grocery store. My budget for this pay period is $85.00 and I spent $26.94. I won't need any further groceries until my veggie and fruit shop at the Farmer's market this weekend.

After I got home, I watched borrowed dvds and made meatloaf muffins and browned ground turkey with onions to put in the freezer. And I still made a separate meal for dinner - Cajun Rice with beef. Unfortunately it wasn't that good. I won't be keeping that recipe. Oh well.

As I said before, my spending focus is grocery & entertaining. Today started a new pay period & I spent on plan with groceries, and spent nothing on entertainment today. Its a start

Out of the 5 Things I set for today, I accomplished.

1. Hit the gym (even though I have a 1/2 day of work! DONE
2. Sort paperwork, file & shred DONE
3. Grocery shop & attempt to get below budget! DONE
4. Try a new recipe for dinner DONE
5. Sort 5 items for Craiglist & list them for sale NOT DONE - PAPERWORK TOOK WAAAY TOO LONG!

Tomorrow's 5 Things are as follows:

1. Bring packed breakfast, lunch & snacks
2. Call & close extra money market account
3. Call & cancel Dentist appointment (need to find a new one in plan, which will be cheaper)
4. Go to dinner & a play with Mom, Sis & friends and ENJOY!
5. Stay on plan with eating. Packed all day food. Stick to fish, baked potato & salad for dinner out. Keep bill under $20.00!

The big item - getting rid of mold in the basement - got scrapped due to poor weather planning. Its pouring and a dry basement would be best.

In between the gym, my newphew's baseball game and horror movie night with friends, I was able to knock off a LOT of items. Its like spring cleaning, but Fall cleaning instead.

I feel like I'm getting the house ready for the colder weather. Deep cleaning and airing out the house with the windows open possibly the last time before the winter.

And the only spending I've done this weekend, other than groceries is the dinner I bought for myself & my nephew Friday night. And I feel AWESOME that I got so much accomplished.

Below is a running tally of what I've accomplished this week.

Friday

- Clean junk drawer in kitchen
- Organize freezer, make list of items
- Wipe kitchen blinds
- Organize & wipe down pantry
- Meal plan for the week
- Grocery Plan for the week
- Entertainment budget/plan
- Make new workout playlist on MP3 player


Saturday

- Grocery shop
- Cleaned downstairs bath
- Clean kitchen, wash floor
- Wipe down refrigerator and cabinets
- Polish kitchen table

Sunday - Already accomplished

- Get produce from the Farmer's Market
- Vaccum stairs & upstairs hallway
- Clean spare bedroom, vaccum & wash floor
- De-hair the chair in the spare bedroom that the cats sleep on
- Clean bedroom, vaccum floor
- Clean upstairs bathroom & floor
- Polish wardrobe in bedroom

Still to do today:

- Laundry (edited - DONE)
- Budget
- Make meatloaf muffins (edited - DONE)
- Make blueberry muffins (edited - DONE)
- Mani/Pedi (edited - DONE)
- Organize garden stuff, store in basement (edited - DONE)
- Clean, dust & vaccum living room (edited - DONE)
- Wipe down living room blinds, dust fan (edited - DONE)
- Clean out car (edited - DONE)
- Put out fall decorations (edited - DONE)
- File/shred paperwork.
- Pack bag for gym (edited - DONE)
- Clean litter box

Made a new budget tonight. I am working on spending little on eating out & food, but since I didnt make it to the grocery store today, I'll be buying my lunch tomorrow. After that, I'm hoping to make it through the rest of the month without eating out at work. We'll see how it goes

As for today, I had a VERY frugal day. I bought a bottle of soda & bag of cheddar popcorn for $4.00 and headed to a friend's house for a John Hughes movie marathon. Between my movie collection and hers, we had 3 movies to watch for free. Lots of fun and worth not getting to the grocery store for!

Today I have a day off - and I'm running errands for 1/2 & chilling for the other.

I already headed to the Farmer's market to stock up on veggies with the last $11.78 of my grocery budget for this pay period. I ended up spending $11.86, but I'm perfectly happy to go over budget

I love my deals at the Farmer's market!For that amount, I was able to get the following:

- 2 bags of mixed greens (its a LOT of lettuce)
-3 cucumbers
-5 large tomatoes
-baby carrots
-3 green peppers
-mushrooms
-onion
-celery

I definately get a lot for my money & its all healthy

This afternoon, I get to head to the vet with the little kitty. Expensive, but necessary Poor guy is gonna hate me when I bring out the cat carrier.

Hope everyone has a good day!

For the month of May, I was 100% successful in packing food/drink for work! Yay for me I'm going to try to keep it up next month with maybe one exception when my work group goes out for lunch. You know, I find that I eat better food of more variety when I pack my lunch? Who woulda thought?


For the month of May, I have also kept the heat and A/C off for 29 days straight! It may be more, but at the end of April, there were a few days where I had the A/C on and I can't remember which ones. I'm hoping to keep the air off as long as possible. If I'm reasonably comfortable with the windows open and air off, then I'll do it. When summer hits & the humidity goes on, the air will go on


I went grocery shopping today, purchased almost everything I'll need for the week. Just have to head to the Farmer's market tomorrow for fresh produce. I have a grocery plan for this pay period and I hope to purchase the rest of my staples tomorrow and will only need to hit the grocery for milk, eggs & yogurt and the Farmer's market once more between now & the 15th.

Total Grocery Spending today: $36.29. This included some more expensive items such as olive oil and five 12 packs of soda (at least 5 weeks worth of soda). I also purchased a treat for dinner!

Now for social obligations: As I've said before, I'm working with a limited budget right now & am wrestling with the conflict of wanting to have a social life vs not spending too much money for entertainment. So, with planning, I seem to find my balance

- I planned to stay in tonight - so I got that treat at the grocery store - shrimp. LOVE it. Its yummy AND very low in points (for the Weight Watchers I'm following). I have books & movies from the library. In fact, I'm about to watch Murder on the Orient Express Since the shrimp came out of my normal grocery budget - tonight is Free!

- Tomorrow, I am going to my nephew's baseball game at 9:30. I'll pack a water & snack for the games. (Free) After, I'm going to the park for a 2.5 mile walk. (Free)

In the evening, I am spending time with some good friends. I'm hoping to convince them to stay in so that we can catch up. Maybe make some dinner together. Shouldn't be a problem because we've done it many times before. (Free - or just the cost of food)

- Sunday, I am supposed to meet an old coworker and a friend of hers for lunch and drinks. I think we'll be hitting a local restaurant I know where I can just get a small app and a single drink. No need to overdo, especially since I'm watching what I'm eating (Estimated spending: $10)

- Tuesday, I am meeting friends at a pub for karaoke. Well, they'll be doing the karaoke and I'll just be watching Plan on buying a few beers. (Est spending: $10)


- Thursday, a friend is having a book club meeting at a local bar. They serve their own beer. If I go, and I haven't decided yet, I'll just get a soda & bring my book to talk about (Est spending: $5 tops)

- Friday, I'm going to a minor league baseball game. Very local. My nephew's class is singing between innings and most of my family is going. I plan on eating ahead of time (est cost: ticket, drink $15.00)

Saturday, I'm going to another one of my nephew's baseball games (free). Saturday night, I'll be heading to a friend's house for a small party. I'm bringing veggies on my new to me veggie plate! (est cost $3.00)

So lots of obligations and none too costly. The trick is to not spend a ton of money on eating out and drinking!

Previously, I talked about setting a walking goal for the summer. I still plan to do it, but haven't figured out how to incorporate the elliptical into that

And lastly, here's a picture of my little boy kitty. He's watching the storms roll in over the field behind my house. Such a little cutie!

Today was a very busy day. I worked, took a 2 mile walk, went to my nephew's ball game, did 2 loads of laundry, made dinner and premade food for tomorrow.

I spent $2.89 for a drink for my mom & a soft pretzel for me at the ball game.

In the mail, I received my water bill - $68.82 for 3 months. The water bill went up from last year. I can attribute it to two things - using more water for the garden and being lazy and using the dishwasher more often. So today, I went back to handwashing for meals and using the dishwasher when doing big cooking.

Also, my electric usage has been down. No air or heat usage this month. So hopefully my usage will be really really low

I also received my car insurance renewal in the mail. It went up again - third year in a row. I'll be doing the usual calls for quotes before making a decision. I like the company I'm with, but I also need to make the best economic choice. In the past two years, I still was getting the best deal with this company, but who knows what this year will bring.

Tomorrow, I'll be calling Comcast about downgrading the cable. I'll probably cancel my phone service with them & switch it to Verizon who can give me a local only plan for about $12 per month. When I had the cable, phone & internet package, it was the most frugal choice. But changing the cable will stop be from being able to use the package. By itself, the phone is $24.95/month.

I also went to the dentist Thursday last week - I have 2 cavities. They say they'll need $285.00 after insurance, but this dentist is not in the plan that I have. It never mattered before because the dentist's office always gave me a discount, and I used to pay just an additional $5.00 after the insurance. But now, they have a new office manager & that went away. And with the needed fillings, its too costly to continue to go out of plan. I'm going to have to finally make the leap to an in plan dentist. Its a shame, I really liked the dentist that I was with.

Tomorrow should be a no spender - I plan on coming home after work & heading straight to the park or get on the elliptical. Thursday, I'm going out with some friends, I have $10.00 to spend, thats it. Should be doable.

So my friend & I completed our little lunch challange. Both of us succeeded 100%! My friend was the one that said he'd fail the first week, but he pulled through. AND he suggested that we do it again next week, with 1 exception out of the 10 days.

So next week, we'll continue the challange. He can use his exception if he wants to, but I'm going to try not to. Money is tight & I'd rather go out at night or on the weekends than eat a sandwich from the cafe at work.

I've cashflowed the bee treatment ($190) this month, but it means less funds in other budget catagories such as groceries and entertainment.

So I've already made a meal plan and grocery list for today through the 30th, which I'm going to do my darnest to stick through. I leave the meal plan flexible because sometimes I just don't feel like eating what I planned to

This weekend, my goal is to do a lot of free or nearly free things

I do have a birthday party at a bar tonight. I plan on eating dinner before going, buying only a beer or two and leaving early. I'm pretty beat and want an early night.

Tomorrow, I have my nephew's baseball game - as long as the weather holds. After, I'm supposed to hang out with some friends. I'm gonna try to convince them to grill out for dinner & watch some movies.

As for entertainment - I have several movies from the library & a bunch of housework on the to-do list. I certainly don't have a problem with things to do this weekend

And a final note - I'm on day 15 of no heat or air!

Sunday I did the Philadelphia Breast Cancer Walk. It was very moving. Thousands of people walking for such an important cause. Here are a few pics to give you an idea of the crowds.

The people in the all pink tee shirts are all breast cancer survivors participating in the opening ceremonies.



This is a view of all the people in front of us waiting for the walk to start.



This is a view of all the people behind us at the same time.





Yesterday, I ran errands, but resisted eating out & came home to make dinner.

Today I had a doctor's appointment. $30.00 coapy. Afterwards, I met up with a cousin to head over a family member's house to start a plan for cleaning out it out for sale since she's moved into a nursing home. Its a long complicated story, but lets just say that I've met them both on only one occasion, so this was awkward.

We took the family member to her house to discuss what we would be doing. There is a TON of stuff to go through. Thousands of books, cookbooks, instruction manuals, tons of cookware & old construction equiptment. Its going to be overwhelming, but I think its doable.

While we were there, we cleaned out her fridge. Unless it was very old, they didn't want to throw out anything. So we split the stuff up between my cousin, a neighbor and myself. I came home with a bunch of stuff that I would never eat because its sketchy if its safe. And a bunch of baking supplies that I have no idea what to do with.

I did, however, come home with some english muffins, 2 containers of butter (frozen), 2 containers of cool whip and a large package of chicken wings. Also came home with some pine nuts, so I'm going to make some pesto - or at least try to



She also gave me a marble cutting board and a very nice italian piece of cermanic flowers. Really pretty. I didn't ask for any of the things, but I think it made her feel in control to give things away, so we let her.




And actually, we had an interesting conversation about how she packed so much stuff in there, never wanting to let stuff go. Its something that I've seen discussed before. Its leftover from living during the Great Depression. Somebody might have a use for it someday!

Finances seem to be getting tighter & I
have a lot of upcoming house expenses. I FINALLY paid to have professionals come out to spray for the carpenter bees. $190.00 for a one time treatment to kill them. In 2 weeks, hopefully, I'll have my sister's boyfriend's company to come out and replace the gutters & soffits. That should be around $800-$900.

In good news, I spent nothing but the doctors copay. I'm still packing breakfast, lunch & snacks 100% for work! So has my friend. I think he'll finish the 2 week challange with me. But I plan on continuing through the rest of the month.

I called Comcast about dropping my cable or lowering it to the extreme basic. But I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do. I have til Monday to make up my mind.

I also responded to a couple of ads looking for rooms to rent from facebook. Getting a roommate would REALLY help right now.

In more good news, I've had the heat/air off since before May 1st. Not sure exactly when it went off & stayed off, but I'm hoping to keep it off for a long, long time.

Also, my garden is doing very well, but I don't have any updated pics. I'll try to post some tomorrow.

Yay! I've made it through the first week of my Lunch Challange. As far as I know, my friend is packing his food today & will be on track as well.

I've managed to pack breakfasts, lunches, snacks & drinks for work. Now that I've gotten used to it again, its pretty easy

Tonight I'm doing happy hour with some friends. I think we're going to a place with a free taco bar as part of the happy hour. I'm going to try to keep my spending to 1 drink and then get my free taco dinner

Tomorrow should be a no spender. I'm having a movie day with friends. I'm supplying movies that I already own - The Usual Suspects and Suicide Kings. We're bringing our own snacks and just plan to enjoy each other's company. Should be a fun day!

Sunday, I'm walking in the Philadelphia Breast Cancer Walk. We have to get up really, really early to get there on time. I have to fill the car up with gas, but we're packing breakfast for the car ride & the walk organizers supply us with water & snacks there. So really, this should be a low spending weekend.

My friend & I are still doing the Lunch Challange, but he asked that we start on Monday, which was fine with me. I still need to do a big grocery shop

Today I packed part of my lunch, but did buy a soda and a 1/2 sandwich. I have a nasty sinus headache & wanted some caffine. But I have soda on my grocery list & will no longer be buying it at work

So all in all, today I spent:
-$2.90 at the work cafeteria
-$1.25 in library fines - gotta work on that
-$4.00 on grocery items at the dollar store.

I'm also going to be tracking heating/air usage. Our weather has been crazy - going from 89 degrees to 50, up and down every few days. I have managed to keep the air/heat off since Wednesday.

Tonight, I have spent a pleasant evening at home. I have windows open, so a fresh breeze is coming in. The sound of the rain is relaxing. There's a wonderful smell of birthday roses on the coffee table next to the couch. I'm watching library movies and tv and am catching up on emails, mypoints emails, and reading. It was a great way to wind down tonight!

Tomorrow, my plans are to hit the farmers market for fruits & veggies. Head to my nephew's baseball game. I want to try to get a walk in at the park. But that & the game all depend on the weather. So we'll see how it goes.

I've said before, over the last few months, my spending is out of hand. Now that I have several upcoming home expenses, I need to tighten the belt even more. So I've planned my $0.00 based budget for 4/30 to 5/14 pay period.

I've made a grocery plan, a meal plan. I have a very, very strict cash flow this pay period, so I am looking to stick with it.

My biggest challange will be grocery and entertainment spending. One thing that will help in both areas is that I am going back to doing Weight Watchers. I was following the plan loosely, but now will be 100% on plan.

In addition to planning my food out (which saves on groceries), I plan on working out a lot more. This means skipping dinner out in favor of walking (free entertainment) I will also be limiting drinking as part of the plan.

Speaking of exercise, I have set a goal for myself: I plan on walking 100 miles between now and the end of August. I'll be tracking my progress here. Wish me luck!

I had a blast at my Birthday Happy Hour. I was the recipiant of some great timing and UPS delivered my fixed camera to me 15 minutes before I had to leave!

I really got a good deal with it. Paid $9.00 between packaging & shipping & I got a fixed camera back in 10 days!

SO because of that, I was able to capture some fun pics of the outing. I had shrimp for dinner & several drinks and my awesome friends would not let me pay for anything! That was not expected!

Now that I have my camera back I can share a few things.

Here's an updated pic of the tomato plants. I am transplanting them to new pots tomorrow.



Here are the pepper plants:



Here's the original lettuce batch. One of the cats got into it.



Here's the 2nd batch of lettuce.




And here's a pic of the lovely hole that the carpenter bees have taken over. It started out as a crack & they made a huge hole out of it.



I plan on taking pics at the Track today and will share them. I've only been to the horse races once before. Should be fun!

Have some home repairs coming up. Estimates for the Carpenter Bee Removal: $185.00 for 1 treatment. This will get rid of the bees temporarily. The bug guy, which I and my family have used before, even said as much.

I figured I'd have to replace my wood soffits (the underside of the overhang from the roof) with aluminum. But the bug guy offered an alternate solution. He said its easy to have someone wrap the soffits with aluminum or something like that. So I have someone coming out to give me a quote on that Wednesday. No idea on the cost of this yet.

A kink in the plan is that the bees love wood and while that would seal the soffit, there's a wood panel across the back of the house that is used to attach the retractable awning. I would need that wood wrapped and I don't know if they would do that for the wood panel as well as the soffits. I'll talk to them when they come for the estimate.

In addition, there are a few smaller projects that I've been putting off.

-Replacing the ceiling fan. I don't feel comfortable tackling this myself, so I'd have to call in a handy man
-Replacing the garbage disposal

Got a lot done today. Was supposed to hang with a friend, but when she cancelled due to sickness, I decided to get a bunch of things done.

Went to the Dollar store - got some kitchen & gardening supplies - including an 8 lb bag of pottery soil. I saw it there the other day & after researching the brand online, found it to be pretty good. $10.00

Pathmark (next to dollar store) for 51 oz Olive Oil - $10.00

Local Greenhouse - $10.95 in herbs, starter plants & fertilizer (for houseplants)

Lowes - to view the seeds. Bought Lettuce Mix to try out $1.67

Safeway - Bought 5 2 liter sodas, 2 boxes Cheerios, 2 bags mixed lettuce, and 1 can Hunts Sauce - Total $9.00

Produce Stand - mushrooms, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers & strawberries - $7.83

Super G - 4 12 packs Pepsi, Good Seasons dressing $14.49

Redbox in Super G - $3.06 for 3 movies

Been a very, very busy week for me. I was out every night except Wednesday and now I'm beat!

Monday I went to the movies with a friend. We saw Watchmen. My friend bought my ticket before I even got there & refused to be reimbursed. So next time I'll try to get there first! Spending $0

Tuesday was St Paddy's and I went to the dive I hang out at, which we call the Pub. Bought a few drinks. The poor bartenders, who I know fairly well, were running ragged. I left a good tip because I knew they were working their butts off. Spent roughly $30.00

Wednesday I had the day off. Waited around for the electric guy to change the meter. Thought they were taking the whole thing out, but apparently it was just the gas portion. My dad came over & repaired the downstairs toilet & my dryer. I paid for the dryer part & lunch for him and my mom. For a total of $50.00. But completely worth it!

Thursday I had planned on staying home. Ran some errands after work, then was called by 2 friends for impromptu dinner. Went to a local mexican place. We had a margarita and some good food. Then our 1 friend paid for everything. Apparently he had been at the Casinos & won a lot. He wouldn't even let us leave tip.

On my way home from there, another friend called and asked me to meet him at a local bar. A friend of his was working there as a rep for a vodka company. We were given some comped drinks & caught up for an hour or two. So this was a completely free night, which was a surprise. Spending $0

Yesterday I went to the library. Picked up a few movies, couple of books. Some of the books were impulses, some not:

The Art Theif by Noah Charney
The Simple Life by Amy Dacyczyn, Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin
Houseplant Basics
Cents & Cents-abilities by Kathy Bradford
Good Housekeeping's The complete Household Handbook
The Frugal Gardner
Vinegar, Duct Tape, Milk Jugs & More by Earl Proulx

Friday was happy hour. A few friends had taken 1/2 days for March Madness. We met up after work & had dinner. They were ready to continue for the rest of the night. I was ready to go to bed. Made it home by 8, watched tv til 10. Then bed. Total spent $8.00.

Got a great nights sleep & now I'm refreshed! Gonna hang out with a friend today. Our big plans are a shoe store where I have a $20 gift certificate, the Farmers Market for veggies, she's gonna help me pick out some glasses & we'll possibly go shopping for some stuff for container gardening. We may end up doing none of that if she still has a cold. In that case, we'll be watching April Fools Day, a movie I own already that she & I loved as teens. Low key & low cost day!

I know container gardening won't be that frugal a hobby this year since I'm just starting out & a complete novice to anything gardening related. If anyone has any info, please feel free to share!

Yesterday I was up and in the city at 10am for the St Patty's Day Parade, of which I saw none of My friend was pouring beer at a local church and there was tailgating in the parking lots around the church.

We were there til 3. I paid $10.00 for a mug and had unlimited 'free' beer. Then we went to a local pizza place and between the group, split 3 pizzas and fries. Total out of pocket for the day: $23.00.

Today I had some college friends and their baby over for lunch. Used chicken from the freezer, potatoes & made some pasta salad. So no spending today.

I'll have to do some grocery shopping tomorrow now. I'm out of veggies!


Here's an updated list of my Freezer Foods. I'm working on my meal plan now

1 wheat wrap
5 wheat pitas
3/4 Loaf wheat bread
1/4 loaf rye bread
4 Blueberry/banana muffins

4 bananas
4 pints blueberries

5 servings Sloppy Joe
1 package turkey pepperoni
5 servings Bacon
3 servings Meatloaf Muffin
6 servings Ground Turkey and onion
4 servings London Broil
5 servings Chicken Fajita
5 servings Taco meat
11 servings Morningstar Chick'n
6 servings Chicken Breasts

1 bag Breakfast Potatoes

So I did my taxes & it turns out I owe a bit. I was expecting that and I have the savings to pay them, but I feel the need to go into SuperFrugal mode and try to cashflow it back into savings within the next month or so.

In SuperFrugal mode, I look for both big and small savings. I am going to limit entertainment spending, limit grocery spending, work to find additional sources of income and basically do anything I can to conserve spending and earn more.

The hardest thing for me, will be entertainment. Lately I've been a lot more social at work, with friends and dating. All of which entails spending. So this will be the trickiest.

Today was a no spender, which is good.

Tomorrow will not be one, as I have a date and will be offering to pay for dinner this time around. (Expected Entertainment spending $25.00?)

Wednesday, I'm having friends over to watch LOST and plan on offering them dinner. I will stop at the produce stand for veggies for the week, but will make dinner out of my freezer/pantry. (Groceries $10.00)

Thursday, my work group is going out to lunch. I'm hoping we can keep it really, really cheap, but as there's 10 of us, I'm only 1 vote. Worst case scenario, lunch will be about $10.00. I'll be staying in Thursday night. (Entertainment $10.00)

The weekend is up in the air, we'll have to wait and see what social things I have going on.

For frugal entertainment, I plan on doing the following:

Playing Wii with the nephew
Watching Library movies
Reading Library books

All of these I've said before, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of them and free is always good!

I just updated my request list at the library. Plenty of movies for me to watch as they become available.

Oh and to keep track of freezer food: I used 1 ground turkey with onion for pasta sauce for dinner. I used another to take to work for lunch. (2 ground turkey w/ onion used)

Packed 100% of food/drinks for work this week and stayed on my Weight Watchers plan. Yay!

Today I had:
Breakfast: Cheerios & Milk, apple
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Pasta salad, slice of (FREE) tomato pie
Dinner: Shake n bake chicken, baked red potatoes

I've done a little too much grocery shopping this week. My goal for next week is to do 1 big shop and 1 veggie shop. Shouldn't be too hard.

I went to a book club meeting with some friends at a local pub. $8.00 spent for a LOT of fun. Not my taste in books (Sci-Fi) and not really my book club (crashed a friends with their permission). But now I think I want to do a book club with some friends.

Went to the library today and picked up a couple of movies and books (a few recommended by the club last night). Stocked up on lots of entertaining options.

Tomorrow I'm having my nephew for the day & then he's spending the night. I picked up 2 movies from Redbox. The library kids selection was very slim and even though I won't be returning the movies until Sunday, 2 kids movies for $4.04 is totally worth it.

I also have food planned, games, cards, and my camera ready to catch all the cute moments. Its been awhile since my nephew & I have hung out, so I"m excited.

I'm working on cleaning up my paperwork and organizing my files. Its a big job & I'll take some before and after pics. Did I mention its a BIG job??

Still 100% packing food for work. Spent about 20 mins working out yesterday. Which I count as good since I spent 2 hours after that cleaning the house, running up & down the stairs, mopping & vacuuming

The only spending I've done yesterday & today was grocery shopping. Spent about $26.00 so far.

Tonight I'm hosting a LOST party. My two best friends and my two good work friends are coming over. I'm doing Shake-n-Bake Chicken and roasted red potatoes. Leftovers will be lunch tomorrow. And to make things easier on my self : last night I pre-portioned milk, cheerios and yogurt for breakfast tomorrow. I'll just pack up the chicken tonight & I'll be ready for tomorrow.

I received the 2009 sewer bill yesterday. It was a little under 1/2 was it was for 2008! I was able to reduce water usage and a neighbors issue with a burst pipe was apparently affecting me as well. Since it was fixed, my bills have gone down a lot!

Went to the store today. I'm back doing Weight Watchers & I've been eating at home/packing lunches more. But I'd eaten down the pantry & freezer. So I needed to stock up.

Ended up spending $93.00 at Walmart and about $11.00 at the local produce stand.

I still have a couple of things to get from the Super G by my house on a few things that either Walmart was out of OR is less than Walmart's price.

So now I'm stocked up. I had a big salad for dinner, with pasta in it.

Tomorrow I am having:

Breakfast: Cheerios & milk, 1c yogurt
Morning Snack: All Bran Crackers
Lunch: Large salad with pasta in it.
Afternoon Snack: Mini popcorn
Dinner: To Be Determined - probably pasta

Tomorrow night I'm having a few friends over to watch LOST. Can't wait for it!

A while ago, I posted about having a big WANT for a new digital camera. I didn't buy one though and planned to start saving for one.

I'm glad I waited, because my parents gave me $100 towards a new camera or lamps. I chose the camera.

The original price was $149.95. After the $100.00 cash, a $25.00 gift certificate and $1.56 credit balance on my Amazon account, I paid 23.39! I will have to get a memory card, but I'm going to get that locally from a store. Amazon's prices were a bit high compared to what I've seen.

Can't wait to get the camera!

Spent $5.50 on produce today. Not too shabby

I went into the local branch of my bank today. Explained the situation about the mortage payment being duplicated on 1/1, which caused the checking account to overdraw. They refunded the $40.00 of fees that were put on the account. YAY! I didn't even have to come right out & ask, they just offered.

I'll be calling my mortgage company on Monday to discuss their $35.00 fee that they charged. Unfortunately, I think I won't have an easier time of it, but I hope to be sucessful.

Yesterday I was off work, but ended up dealing with doctors stuff all day. Doctors copay & medicine cost $34.70.

I did end up going out with some friends to Buffalo Wild Wings. We sat in the bar area & played trivia on the tvs. I split the order with one of the guys & drank water. Ended up paying $10 including tip. Not too bad for 4 hours of entertainment.

Took food to work, but did buy a soft pretzel to supplement lunch. Cost: 55 cents.

We just got an email that our work cafeteria is getting rid of the salad bar & the hot entrees. That will leave the unhealthy grill options, pizza and sandwiches. They will have prepackaged salads though. Sign of the times. Our company contracts the cafe out to another company. Its plain to see that they're cutting the budget. But its good motivation to pack my lunch more.

Tonight I watched my nephew for a little bit, came home & hung out on the couch. I made some lunch for tomorrow, already have preportioned milk, cheerios & yogurt set aside for breakfast.

I plan on having meatloaf & baked fries for dinner, but will have to stop & pick up the potatoes first.

Got a lot of Christmas stuff done. My best friend, her boyfriend & I all have known each other since we were kids. We have a tradition of doing some Christmas decoration shopping at some really awesome places, getting our trees, watching Christmas movies, ect.

So yesterday, we went to the Christmas shop (not the Christmas Tree Shop) but an place that is a like a Garden Center/Christmas decor place.

I came away with a few Christmas gifts and a huge tree. Its more cost effective to get the fake trees, but I can't bring myself to do it

Afterwards, we had pizza, talked, played some games & watched Its a Wonderful Life. Good times!

Today, we (my friends & I) went to Ikea cause they just moved & needed some things. I bought a picture and frame ($9.99) to go in my kitchen and a shoe rack ($9.99) to house shoes left in my entry. I also came home with lots of decorating ideas

Tonight I'm watching a library movie, decorating the tree and resting. Tomorrow I have another day off and I'll be doing laundry & cleaning. After I sleep in

Last night I went out with my sister to a local bar/club. Did some dancing and had a lot of fun. The place was in the city (meaning more expensitive) and I brought drinks for my sister. Out of pocket expense: $38.00.

Today I am helping a friend move. I'll be home to take a quick nap, shower & pack then I'm heading to West Chester (about 40 mins away) for a birthday party/outing. I'll be spending the night there and coming home in the morning.

I already have a card & a gift and I plan on spending $20.00 when we head to a local bar for the party.

Sunday I am going to get some stuff done around the house and then Sun night I'll be going to my nephew's 8th birthday party. Its at a roller rink! I already have the gifts for him - Legos! Not one of those Star Wars/Indiana Jones sets, but true Legos that you build stuff with out of your imagination.

Currently I'm trying to NOT purchase a new digital camera. I do not have one currently and I desperately WANT one. But its not a necessity. Since I didn't find any awesome deals around Black Friday, I'd put it out of my mind... until my sister showed me her new one.

Anyway, she was telling me some feature on it that wasn't on the camera we both had previously been looking for. So I went online today. And saw that the camera that she got was down to $89.99. She paid $129 yesterday. I might just give in & buy it. A Cannon 9.2 Megapixal camera for $89.99 is a really, really GOOD deal.