Five Frugal Things | Rice, French Toast, Coupons, and Moles
I feel like it's been forever since I wrote one of these!
1. I made rice pudding to use up leftover rice.
I just simmer cooked rice, cinnamon, milk, and a bit of cream together to make it. My girls love to eat this sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
It's usually gone in the space of an hour or two, so no rice waste here!
2. I made French toast with marked-down bread.
On a recent grocery trip, I picked up a loaf of French bread from the day-old, 50% off rack. I had no use for it at that moment, but I like to throw these in the freezer for future French-toast-making days.
3. I used some coupons while clothes-shopping for Mr. FG.
On our last date night, we needed to buy a few things for him, and before we left, I grabbed some coupons from my little stash on the side of the fridge. We got $10 off shoes at DSW and 20% off at Kohl's.
I'm not a big grocery couponer, thanks to Aldi, but I do save some non-grocery coupons when they show up in my mailbox.
I just use them when I need something, so I don't end up redeeming them all. But I use enough of them to make it worth my while to save 'em.
4. I bought a Christmas present for one of my girls with a coupon.
I can't say more than that because all three of them are subscribed to my blog. Hi, girls!
5. I made dermatologist check-up appointments before the end of the year.
Right now, our deductible is satisfied but come January, everything resets. We have a high-deductible plan, so that means things cost a lot out of pocket for a while once a new year starts.
For the moment, though, things are very cheap, and happily, I was able to get a dermatologist appointment scheduled for Mr. FG and me before the end of December.
(Just the usual look-at-all-the-moles-to-see-if-they-are-normal check. 😉 )
We're hoping that maybe we'll have a calmer medical year in 2017 and won't even need to meet our deductible. At the very least, we shouldn't need a rhinoplasty or tonsillectomy again!
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The first picture really makes me want rice pudding!
1. My mom gave my daughter head lice. I have been using your conditioner/comb through method to deal with it instead of chemicals. I also cut about 6 inches off her beautiful, thick hair myself to help with the combing (I guess that makes two frugal things).
2. I used my husband's company discount to buy one of his Christmas presents.
3. I made a batch of energy/protein bars for my husband so he could have some snacks ready to take to work with him. I also plan to eat them too since they are tasty.
4. For the first time I set money aside throughout the year for Christmas presents (I used a Capital One 360 account you mentioned in a post) so now I don't feel quite so panicky as I buy everything.
5. I am trying to plan out homemade gifts for the kids' teachers. There are a lot and it really adds up. This is getting challenging as all three kids have/had the same kindergarten teachers (there are 3 in the classroom) and my special needs kiddo was in the class twice. I'm trying to not to repeat gifts. Any suggestions?
My oldest child was special needs and had the same teachers for quite a long time in school. I think teachers always appreciate anything they receive. I remember a teacher / blogger addressing this very subject. Expensive gifts are not necessary. She mentioned that each year she received many Dollar Tree items and every gift was appreciated. She did say that hand written notes meant a lot to her and that baked goods were appreciated as well. I think that sometimes the thought really is what counts and special needs children are blessed to have special teachers.
I would caution with homemade food goods. I know many teachers that will not eat the homemade food goodies that are given to them because they are either afraid of germs or not 100% sure what was used in the baking (they have allergies). I do think teachers appreciate classroom supplies. There is always a surplus of classroom supplies at the beginning of the year, but in the middle those have dwindled down and maybe providing classroom supplies will help a teacher out.
This is always going to be my favorite post of yours! Here goes mine:
1. Our garbage bill comes quarterly and i save a small portion each paycheck to pay that bill. The next bill came and I calculated the $ I had saved over the last few months and realized I had $25 extra saved. After paying the bill, I was able to apply that extra money to a medical bill that was waiting to be paid.
2. I cashed out on some children's consignment that I had dropped off two months ago. I marked the 60 days on my calendar (the time required to cash out) and stopped in to get my $75! Very helpful this week.
3. On a recent grocery store trip, we found marked down bread and rolls (left over from Thanksgiving most likely) and we bought up enough bread to get us through the month of December. They are all frozen and ready when we are.
4. In anticipation of buying gifts for our daycare teachers (both of my kids are in daycare right now) I found a coupon for a soft pretzel place - buy 10 get 10 free - and will use it to buy the entire staff soft pretzels as a gift for the holidays.
5. The not so frugal decision of the week came when we decided to keep our children at their current daycare instead of moving them to a new daycare that is significantly cheaper. The daycare is new, so there aren't that many children enrolled and our son would be the only 4 year old. We are concerned about his learning if he is the only 4 year old. So for now, the more expensive daycare it is!
Number 4 should be a big hit! What a nice idea!
I have become enamored of rice bags. These are long tubes of fabric, half-filled with rice. They can be frozen for cold packs, or nuked for hot packs. You might be able to get scraps for free from a seamstress or tailor; and certainly you can buy the inexpensive leftovers from a fabric shop or Joane's. A good size for the fabric is 14" x 21" but there's no set rule for size. I had access to a machine embroiderer so I embroidered the recipient's name on the bag.
That said, it's hard to beat a handwritten note, detailing the support the teacher has provided and how much the teacher's work helped your children.
My family makes these really long and skinny by cutting all the way accross 45" muslin at 1/4 yard. 5 cups of rice. Then make a cotton calico cover that can be taken off and washed. (same measurements as above, but the edges lapped over on the skinny end so you can stick the long tube of rice in the cover. Use only natural fibers, so nothing catches fire in the microwave.
They are reusable infinitely, or until your rice turns basically to dust. Guess how I know?
My sister is a teacher, and while she likes gift cards to office supply stores, her most treasured gift is a letter of appreciation written by a girl who was surly, stubborn, and insistent that she hated math and could never learn it, for most of the school year. The next year, the girl wrote to her that she'd learned from my sister that math could be learned, and could even be fun, and that she was sorry she'd been such a problem, but she was very grateful that my sister didn't give up on her. That letter couldn't mean more to my sister if it had been written on a solid gold bar.
Do you sew? How about rice packs? You know the kind that you make out of sturdy material and stuff with dry rice and then they can be popped in the microwave and warmed up? You could make one larger one for use around the neck or behind the back and a couple of smaller pocket sized ones for use as hand warmers. You could use the denim from an old pair of jeans.....any fabric similar to denim that's tightly and densely women would work as well.
So many simple things but yet so many complicated ones.
1) Going to see as many specialists as I can get appointments with before this year is up. Baby girl does not have insurance so I took her to a walk in clinic and paid for all her expenses. Baby girls Cocker Spaniel has me worried so off she goes too. My grandchild puppy may have an ear infection. GRRRRRRR other two children just woke up and are sick too. No problem, Mommy has this covered.
2) I really shopped the coupon sales etc and stuck to my Christmas budget. All my gifts were about 75% off and I am about 100.00 out of pocket. I also have avoided my regular deal blogs although the one posted here the other day really tempted me .
3)I have managed to keep my heat turned off and my bill is still down to a little over a hundred. The children are still hanging their clothes out to dry and the savings is mammoth.
4)Doctor bills have adjusted the holiday dinner. No Honey Baked ham as requested by the only child who will be the only one home this year. I have coupons for ham at Publix bogo and we are still good. So happy we have everything else we need for a great dinner,
5)I used some ECB,s at CVS. Gave my daughter two Groupons for Target and a free papa Johns pizza from Visa to help my sick college daughter get what she needed.
We have very little money. For some reason the problems keep coming faster than I can cover them. And yet, we have everything we need and pretty much want. Faith is an incredible blessing but learning to trust has saved me. I have been reading this blog for a year now and dear friends, each post inspires me. Thank you.
Good luck to you. That's a lot to deal with.
Hope everyone gets well soon, pups and people both! We had one of those "sick" Christmases a few years ago. It was topped off by my "granddog" eating the entire bag of dark chocolate that I TOLD my husband to be sure to put up out of his reach....he did not. Christmas day emergency visit to the emergency vet clinic (thank God there was one open!) and $385 later and the "granddog" was as right as rain. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my bank account, lol!
I've been hanging all the clothes and towels (basically everything but sheets and comforters) up to dry for a good while now. I put things that get stiff, like jeans, in the dryer for about 10 minutes with a steam ball to soften them. So, all in all, I may run the dryer for about 40 minutes to an hour each week. I've been astonished by how much it's reduced my electric bill! It dropped my bill by about a third during the hot summer months. As an added bonus, I figure that I'm dramatically extending the lifespan of the dryer and the lifespan of our clothing and towels too!
1. I bought potatoes on sale and used them to make garlic mashed potatoes and also used them in the big pot of split pea soup I made yesterday. The soup used up some carrots that were close to needing to be composted.
2. I went to Aldi to buy the produce they had on sale and also stocked up on canned pumpkin and chocolate chips.
3. I chopped up 6 pounds of cranberries and froze them. They're ready for waffles and smoothies.
4. I called yesterday to schedule my dermatologist body scan appointment for next year (the first day they were making such appointments. They gave me a date in December (2017). Doing this hopefully prevents future problems.
5. I bought some acrylic paint to use on ornaments we made. I love hand made ornaments and the price of a bit of paint is so worth it. The ornaments were made with items we had on hand.
1. Shopped at Aldi. It's amazing how hooked I am on this store. I still have to go to another store in order to get everything, but I am buying much less there than I used to. Aldi's selections have definitely improved!
2. Ate leftovers for dinner last night. Wasn't thrilled about it but it turned out good.
3. Not caving and buying new wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby. I have so much from years past that I don't need it. But it's a weakness of mine.
4. I am a dog groomer and every customer who pays me in cash, that money goes into a jar for Christmas gift cards. I've done this before, and if I put the money in a jar immediately, I don't even miss it. This is at my home shop, not the clinic location.
5. Tonight is my granddaughter's preschool Christmas program, and we need to leave pretty much right at dinner time. So instead of a drive thru option, I'm cooking early.
Right there with you on the Aldi addiction!
I took my mom on a special birthday trip so mine are frugal on vacation ideas:
1. We used points from Kroger to get 0.60/gallon discount on gas.
2. We rented a house from VRBO instead of 2 hotel rooms which meant we could cook most of our meals and had lots of space.
3. We cleaned the house ourselves so we get our deposit back and no cleaning fee was charged. (Every owner is different, so you have to check the cleaning fees, but this saved us a lot.)
4. We bought tickets online for the special activity we wanted to do, this was cheaper than in person.
5. We got our 'on the road snacks/drinks' from a discount grocery before we left so no overpriced gas station raids.
1. Meal planned for the week. I’d fallen off the wagon for a while and am slowly getting myself back on.
2. Made Cowboy Bean Soup with beans, stock from the turducken bones, and other foods I had on hand. Used the pressure cooker to save on cooking time & energy. Froze in portions for lunch.
3. Made Turkey Bean Chili, with turkey picked from the bones used in the turducken stock[1], beans, and other foods I had on hand. Used the pressure cooker to save on cooking time & energy. Froze in portions for lunch.
4. Made Turkey Tater Tot Casserole, which used turkey (picked from the stock bones, natch), hash browns my roommate bought but doesn’t eat very quickly, homemade white sauce, and cheese I had on hand. Cooked this at the same time I cooked something else.
5. Roommate and I each took advantage of a “buy $50, get $10 gift credit for someone else” by giving the credit to each other. Very useful at this time of year.
6. Got download credit from Amazon Prime, by choosing the very slow delivery option. The $1 you get for this can be saved up, to be used all at once instead of just $1 off a download.
[1] If you do this, do it after simmering the bones for 30-60 min. If you wait till after the stock is made, the meat will be tasteless and have the texture of cotton balls.
How was your turducken, by the way!
I haven't cooked one yet, they're all frozen for later.
I won't have a single large gathering this year. What I'd really like is access to a food-grade bandsaw to cut one in half. Absent that, I may cook one for the first set of a few guests, and serve the (amazing!) leftovers for the next sets of guests. And freeze some for later, and save the (even more amazing) drippings, and make stock, and so on.
1. I made a batch of home made yogurt with a gallon of whole milk.
2. I am with you as far as phones go. Sold my 16gb iPhone5S for $160 and bought a SE 64GB for 200. Also, reusing my 5S otterbox case for SE instead of buying new one.
3. Shopped at aldi for some amazing gifts my girls can gift their friends for birthdays.
4. Our family of 4 went to watch Moana on a sunday morning that cost $5.95 per ticket.
5. Ordered restaurant gift cards for some little extra my husband received at work. This way when girls want to eat out, I don't have to worry about the bill.
1. We put up our tree this week with ornaments we've had for years and popcorn we popped on the stove. Our tree was a freecycle find in great shape. The owners were tossing it because it was a pre-lit that no longer lit. We carefully removed the strings of lights, and we have a beautiful tree for years!
2. I got another bill left over from when my husband was in the hospital in April. We didn't even know to expect a separate bill from the radiologists, and they didn't send it to us until after the cut off for claims from our insurance. Instead of paying it I called and told them they needed to appeal to insurance, and the representative told me to disregard the bill, they would take care of it. It terrifies me to think that some folks would just pay this $1200 bill or let it go to collections.
3. I've started riding my bike again daily to lose the baby weight. But the bike started slipping bad in third and fourth gear, so I took it to the repair shop a couple blocks from the house. The repair shop told me it was best case $10, worse case $30 to fix. Bikes are so cheap to ride it is obscene. I mean, come on, the worst case is $30!
4. I made meatballs Monday night with beef marked way down at Aldi. We had them with a side salad and rice with a little gravy drizzled on from a 35 cent packet from Aldi. I'm pretty sure that meal was $1/serving.
5. This week and next are exam weeks at my school. (I'm a grad student.) That means I might only have to drive to school, a 100 mile round trip, once in the next two weeks. This will save me way more in gas than it will cost to repair my bike.
This may sound morbid.(Sorry if it does) In the case of medical bills, I received a bill late for my Mother saying ins. would not cover. I called the office and told billing dept the reason was I had cancelled the ins. after she passed away. The billing dept told me that the doctor would just write it off since she passed away. The lady was very kind and told me if I received bills from other doctors to tell them the case and they would in some cases just write it off. I never received any other bills but was very thankful for this tip.
All great things! This week:
1. I discovered Mr. Picky Pincher and can combine our Google FI accounts to save $5/mo. Sure, it's just $5, but that amounts to $60 in a year!
2. We've been very good about eating at home this week. Love it! I think our success is due to trying more new recipes to keep things exciting. In the past I've been slacking on this, so it feels good to make the time to meal plan again.
3. Mr. Picky Pincher earned a free movie ticket, so we plan on paying half price to see a movie this weekend (a rare treat!). We'll use the car trip to also drop off items at Goodwill to declutter our home. I'll also purchase Christmas gifts at Trader Joe's for my sister, who lives in the middle of nowhere but loves that store.
4. I ordered a Time Turner necklace as my niece's Christmas gift. I was pleasantly surprised when the Etsy seller also included a free Deathly Hallows necklace with my purchase! I was thrilled to be able to give that necklace to my niece as well, since she's a huge Harry Potter fan! 🙂
5. We used our home warranty again this week to fix our plumbing issues. It did cost $75, but most of our plumbing problems were fixed in two hours. It would have taken us three times as much money and way more time to get these things done, so it was worth the money. I was skeptical of this warranty since the company has gotten so many awful reviews, but (knock on wood) it's really worked out for us financially.
1) We are in the midst of a reflooring remodel, including my kitchen, but I am relying on leftovers reheated in foil in the oven (I always use the oven, not microwave, for reheating dinner leftovers, a personal preference 🙂 rather than going out/doing take-out to avoid the mess and my limited kitchen availability.
2) Gifted friends and neighbors with tamales I made, and then froze, at a tamale making party I attended a few weeks back. Making them was really fun, and fairly economical at about $24 in supplies to make 40 generously-filled tamales.
3) Bought BOGO tickets on Cyber Monday to see The Nutcracker a little later this month. I'd been considering paying full price prior to getting this offer, so yeah!
4) Sticking to my grocery list in spite of how tempting Trader Joes is at this time of year. So. Seriously. Tempting!
5) Am using every JCP Spend $10/Save $10 coupon I can find to restock our sock drawers. So far I've used two of them to purchase $24 worth of new socks for just $4. We need so many socks it seems - running, sleeping, under low boots, under high boots(!).
On vacation in Florida this week, so...
1- did grocery shopping in Aldi. We stay in a condo with a kitchen, only occasionally eating lunch out. So less than $50 for groceries for the week for the 2 of us, and we will have some stuff for next week too.
2 - did our usual arrival night supper of roasted chicken from Winn-Dixie. Super with made-up salad from Aldi groceries.
3 - got a ticket for Ripley's Museum as a door prize from meet-and-greet at the resort
4 - used a 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon for a silicon soap mold - flowers, perfect for my home-made soap
5 - $10 coupon + 50% sale at Eddie Bauer = new long-sleeve top and a pair of pattern socks for under $7.
Having frugal fun on my vacation!
This is a nice time to be in Florida! Beats the cold up further north.
I too have a high deductible plan and for us it's been working out pretty well. You just have to be frugal sometimes in managing it (e.g. I buy my glasses online, shop around for prescriptions etc.)
Anyway, here are my five things:
1.) I don't know how frugal it is but it's such a great feeling that we're done with bottles in my house. My daughter is now totally into sippy cups! Hopefully we can sell or donate the bottles we have but for the moment we're keeping them in case of a potential Kid #2 (which is most likely never happening)
2.) I mended the pocket in one of my jeans (I had to learn how to do a backstitch by hand) and my wife was able to machine mend the rip by the bottom hem of the pants with a small patch. She only had a scrap of white fleece but it worked well enough for a patch. I do need to get some new "for work" jeans because while I appreciate the fades that my denim has, I don't know that HR will.
3.) Keeping Christmas pretty minimal this year. But then, that's the way I usually like it.
4.) Made s stir fry with some leftover port and rice. I didn't expect my daughter to like it but she really did.
5.) Took advantage of some sales and the rising value of the dollar compared to the Euro and Pount and was able to import some films that I've been wanting to see. I plan on using my time off from work in watching a bunch of boring, pretentious, foreign silent films. Needless to say, I will be watching these by myself. 😛
Woohoo for mending!
I found it interesting that all your girls subscribe to the blog. Do they have email accounts? Do you have their passwords or do they manage their own online presence? Do they have social media accounts?
My daughter just turned 8 and I am wondering about navigating that tricky world of online parenting.
Sonia and Zoe (12 and 10) only have email at this point. Joshua and Lisey (17 and 15) have email and they also have private Instagram accounts. Our kids all have started out online with just email and with me copied on what they send and receive, so I can give them guidance and keep tabs on what they're doing.
Sonia and Zoe also do not have cell phones; Joshua and Lisey do.
While Joshua and Lisey are getting older and have more sense than, say, middle schoolers do, I still think it's a wise idea to keep social media accounts private, because who among us would want to have public records of our teenage selves? 😉
My hubby got a parking ticket, called the police and explained the situation and they were nice enough to waive the ticket (lesson learned) so that was a $175 savings.
I used up my milk that I would have thrown out to make yogurt.
Saved a office visit fee for my dog when she needed blood tests but did not really need to see the doctor. Plus the vet tech recommended buying several months worth of medication which saved us another $10. Love my vet!!
Our utility bill was $119 the lowest it has ever been thanks to the record warm month of November!
I got a $10 off of $10 for Peebles and I know I am frugal enough to go in and just spend the $10 but I have not been able to locate their new store. Not sure why they sent the coupon if there wasn't a local store.
1. We didn't have any leftovers from supper last night to bring to work today, but I had a jar with leftover chili in it in my freezer, so it became my lunch. I also remembered a quart container of frozen leftover stew, which will be our evening meal tomorrow, when we are busy getting a tree, running errands, and going to view a light display about an hour from here.
2. I love rice pudding! I rarely have enough leftover cooked rice to make it, though, because I also love heated rice for breakfast, with sugar, cinnamon and milk, and that's where my leftover rice usually goes. Basically, it's like eating rice pudding without the pudding part. A Japanese-American friend of mine does her mother's trick of forming patties out of the leftover cooked rice, sprinkling them with soy sauce, and broiling them until hot and the edges are a little crispy. They use sushi rice for their rice. She said they don't use salt when cooking their rice, hence the soy sauce.
3. We received some boxes here at work that will be useful for wrapping presents. They throw the boxes away here -- there is no recycling at all at my workplace. I'd rather take them home and reuse them. Luckily, my gift recipients have recycling in their towns, so no problem for them to recycle the boxes.
4. I got a $25 Swagbucks card for Amazon, and used it to purchase a $32 craft supply for a gift I'm making. Only seven bucks out of my pocket; yes, please!
5. I used the last of my homemade shampoo last night, so I'll make some more tonight. My hair is shiny and happy looking, so it approves. I wash my hair every other night to reduce costs and keep from drying my hair out.
1. Cooked and ate at home all week.
2. Line dried clothes as much as possible.
3. Reused wrapping paper from last year instead of throwing it out.
4. Had bought alot of gifts in sales last year cutting down on the expense this time of year
5. Used up all fruit in smoothies.
So, your rice pudding reminded me of a frugal/nonfrugal thing. Last year around Christmas time, we bought a Zojirushi rice cooker. It's not the most expensive brand on the market but it's fairly pricey. Before we bought it, I had been cooking rice on the stove or in my late mother in-law's 30 year old Hitachi, lol! I could never get brown or black rices to cook properly using either method and the family wouldn't eat them. Since we got the Zojirushi, they LOVE brown and black rices as well as quinoa and other grains and pulses and oats. So, the family eats healthier, the machine doesn't beat up the house the way the stove does (we live in a hot climate) and I can do something else while the rice or quinoa is cooking instead of babysitting it while it's on the stove. I call it a win/win. We also purchased an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Wow! Love this machine. Saves the majority of the nutrients in anything I cook, reduces cooking time dramatically, meats are moist and unbelievably flavorful, can presoak dried beans in 20 minutes instead of overnight, doesn't heat up the house, perfect boiled eggs EVERY time, can have a stew or chili or soup ready to eat in under an hour that tastes like it's been simmered all day and I can even make yogurt in it! The kids bought us a Zojirushi bread machine as a Christmas gift. It's in use twice a week at least. I haven't bought bread at the store in a year. I get organic baking supplies at Costco pretty cheaply so a loaf of bread costs way, way less than store bought and tastes a thousand times better! And, again, the machine doesn't heat up the house. As an added bonus, I bake a loaf of homemade bread for a cousin once a week in return for a dozen or more eggs from his roaming hens! We also splurged and bought the 6 quart Kitchenaid stand mixer that I've waited 35 years for. Pasta attachment is on my wish list this year, lol!
So, I guess my point is this. All those appliances added up to about $900 total. But the whole family is eating much healthier. I can buy inexpensive items like dried beans and make wonderful, quick meals with them. I spend less time in the kitchen yet produce better meals. The time I save in the kitchen can be put to productive use elsewhere. All of the appliances were well researched and should last many years sooooo.....while the expense seems to be not frugal, I think in the long run it actually is quite frugal. What do y'all think?
I think that frugality isn't "don't spend and if you have to, get the lowest-dollar cost item available." I think that frugality is not spending money you don't need or without thinking about it. Finally, I think that frugality means that when you do spend, you spend it mindfully, on something you truly want, that is well-suited to the purpose, and is as good quality as you can afford.
Yup, I'm of the same mind. I own plenty of things that are on the expensive side and I think they're worth it because they last and/or because they enable things like daily smoothie making (My vitamix!)
This is always one of my favorite features of your blog. Over the weekend after Thanksgiving I ordered some cuddle duds – sort of a V-neck, thin, Insulating layer – on major sale with free shipping. It will help keep me warm over the winter.
I was given two greatly appreciated frugal gifts. First, my medical condition prevents me from staying in the house by myself overnight. My husband went out of town on business, and my friends so sweetly welcomed me into their home. I was there for two days and nights and treated them to delivery pizza. Second, my oldest niece is in college and had laughed about "just giving everyone warm hugs for Christmas. "Actually, she sent me a copy of her statement of faith essay that she wrote for her seminary application. She cited me as a major influence, and nothing in the world could make me happier. A blessed holiday to everyone!
Aww, both of those things are delightful!
1. I went in to our dentist office to discuss an unusually high bill. Apparently the insurance company was billing for out of network fees. My dentist is in network so bill will be adjusted accordingly.
2. Picked up he rest of the supplies to finish a couple of my Christmas gifts. This was at a discount store.
3. While there I received a coupon via my cell for $60 off a $150 purchase at a favorite clothing store. I was able to check off a couple more Christmas gifts with this.
4. I was actually in another town while running these errands and gas was $.30 cheaper here. I filled up the gas tank before starting home.
5. My last stop of the day was the doctor's office. I needed to turn in my new insurance info. My work had changed insurance and apparently they were still trying to charge the old insurance. That will be another positive adjustment in medical bills.
I was quite pleased with this day.
So smart to check on the bill! Medical offices and insurance companies do make mistakes, and it's so worth it to catch one.
It rare that I don't catch an error in a medical bill or the associated EOB from my insurance company. One of the more egregious example is one recurring bill that involved three service providers. Insurance reimburses 100% of one and less for the other two. For some reason, they repeatedly "forget" to list the services provided by the 100% reimbursed person.
Re: your instagram post with flowers. Aldi flowers are FANTASTIC. I've gotten 3+ weeks out of a bouquet of mixed flowers (wildflowers? random flowers?) from them. Very frugal and festive.
Nice! I've never bought flowers there before, but I knew my friend loves yellow, so when I saw the roses, I was like, ooh! Yes.
* I work as a casual (on-call) so I'm never sure how much work I'll get each week. I have a goal to make a certain amount of money each year to make sure all the bills are covered and we have extra for savings. I'm happy to say that I'm already there this year, so December is basically all extra money!
* Using our membership to a recreational center as we speak. The kids are having fun while I'm sitting here relaxing. Win-win!!
* Daughter going to a birthday party today. Got the birthday girl 2 gifts from Michaels, all for 10$ (50% off). That's about my budget for kids birthdays (10-15$).
* Booked daughter's birthday party at said Micheals. While it's not "cheap" (137$ for 8 kids), it saves my sanity!!! No way do I want to host 8 kids at my place, I would go crazy!!! They take care of everything, we just have to show-up. Love it!
* Gym membership ending in 2 weeks. 1000$/year = not renewing. Got myself some exercice Dvds to do at home.
Have a great frugal day!
We're finally getting an Aldi tomorrow!! They sent out 10 off 40.00 coupons. Yay.