It's about the little things...

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I'm a Scrooge. I do not like spending money. I especially don't like spending it on myself. I guess I belong to that sad group of people who don't think they deserve "this" or "that", and would rather spend it on the kids (or stash into savings if kids don't need anything). I know that Dave Ramsey likes to point out the importance of the "blow" money but I'm yet to learn to blow without feeling guilty...

It happened to me again yesterday. In the past few weeks my body started turning from a cute little pregnancy-belly mama into a clumsy waddling duck. Just FYI, I measure about 34-35 weeks right now, and it's getting increasingly hard to walk or do simple things. Considering I still have more than 10 weeks to go (in reality), it makes me a little uneasy, to say the least...

The other problem I ran into is that I have less and less maternity clothes that I still fit into. In fact, I'm living in leggins and shorts about 80% of the time. I knew that I needed to buy more or, should I say, bigger clothes because even though I'm all for comfort, I still need to look presentable when I go to Church, for example.

I needed a new skirt. After scavenging a few thrift stores in fruitless attempts I had to accept the fact that there are just no comfy (or really any) skirts out there in a 25 mile radius from our house, so I have to buy new. The thought made me cringe because I would only wear it for 10 weeks... And yes, I could, probably, make one myself but try to do it when your belly extends another 10 inches in front of you... Yeah, not happening.

So to the Old Navy we went. I found a simple, black maxi skirt and turned the tag: $29.94. Ouch! After pacing a few circles around the store, I finally convinced myself, "Buy the skirt or go naked, girl!" At around that point my legs gave up on me and I passed the skirt to my sweet husband who was nice enough to accompany me to the store and then I found a spot to sit down...

As he was standing in line, he noticed another tag that I didn't see at first. He gestured me about the discount:

Nice!! The price was getting better by the minute. But when the cashier ran the tag, the price just became incredible. You want to know how much we spent??

Yep, just 51c!! Hubby even double-checked it with the cashier but she said that if that's what it rang for, that's what we pay. The little Scrooge in me was really happy! And there is nothing wrong with the skirt but, apparently, if it was returned for any reason, they are not allowed to sell it for full price. Store policy. Gotta love me some Old Navy...

It's all about the little blessings in life :)...

Have you gotten any awesome, fantastic deals lately that you care to share? Or, maybe, your best find ever?

How much do you need to live comfortably?

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The other day I was browsing frugal blogs online (it's my true weakness... what can I say?) and I stumbled upon this post from Countrified Hicks. Check out her blog. She has a ton of awesome frugal ideas.

I know, this post was written two years ago but it still intrigued me. It was interesting to see that we both do quite a few things the same way: yet there is no way we could live on only $1300 a month! Twice as much is still tight.

For example, we too drive an older car. Not 15 years old but our Toyota is from 2005 with a ton of miles on it.

We don't have a well but our water bill is only about $50 a month, so it's not too bad. And our electricity bill is actually way less than theirs in summer, probably because we have a small house and no central air (just a swamp cooler).

Our grocery budget is a little less and I shop weekly and not monthly but we too can and preserve a lot of our garden produce and rarely buy premade meals.

We don't smoke or drink.

We hardly ever drink soda. For real, we buy, maybe, one bottle (or pack) every two months or so. But, honestly, it's not even about saving the money but for health benefits. After my husband spent five years working at a bariatric clinic, we have definitely learned what soda does to your body... gross.

I LOVE Mypoints! Just cashed in another $50 Walmart gift card for Christmas.

We don't make our own detergent because I wouldn't risk using it with our HE washing machine but I use soda and vinegar for most of the cleaning in the house (not bathrooms though. I do have 3 boys :) And I own more than 3 pairs of shoes for sure but lots of my clothes came from thrift stores and I think they are super-cute.

So why can't we live comfortably on just $1300 a month? Well, our mortgage alone is 3/4 of this amount. And gas is a killer because Hubby constantly commutes for work. And I do rely on modern "necessities" like a washer and dryer or dishwasher, a lot. And with our soon-to-be family of six, I know I'll appreciate them even more. Mostly, it's the cost of life overall in the urban/suburban life. Yes, some of our bills are not too high but others are just killers (I'm dreading the gas bill in winter...).

So how much money do you need to live comfortably and why? What can you easily live without and what conveniences or "necessities" you will never sacrifice?

The Frugal Fridays. The money talk...

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Since it's the end of the month, it's only appropriate to start talking budgets and balances, right? :) I mentioned a few times before that August was a complete bust for us. But the whole summer was very expensive. In fact, with things popping here and there, we hardly put anything into savings in the past three months and not a dime in August. Well, we even dipped into savings this month... But I hope to bump it back very soon.

Today I got a very pleasant surprise. I don't know how I miscalculated it before but for some reason I thought that our 3-paycheck month will be in December. I'm due at the end of November (technically, December but I will be induced earlier if I even make it that far). We were going back and forth about getting a month of FMLA so my husband can be with us for the first few weeks after the twins are born. We won't get much help from anywhere else, and I'm not sure how I would take care of 4 kids completely on my own in the first weeks. But since FMLA is unpaid it will put quite a burden on our family, especially because I won't be able to work for a few months and because our savings will take a huge hit when all the medical bills will start rolling in...

And that's why a 3-pay check OCTOBER was such a pleasant surprise! I have no idea how I counted before but that's so awesome!! I really didn't want to lose that money and now we can beef our savings and put it towards weeks at home. My goal (or at least a desire) is to add another $1000 to it before the babies are here to be able to afford FMLA. Of course, at this stage, I cannot really plan anything. Nobody knows what next week will bring. But it doesn't mean we won't try to do our part and leave the rest in the hands of the Lord...

The next three months will bring tremendous changes to our lives, emotionally, financially and even physically. I'm trying to prepare myself and all of our family mentally but I realize that some things you just can't be prepared for (I wish, I could stock up on sleep, among other things...). It's kind of weird because usually these are the months when I try to get all the ducks in a row, make Christmas shopping one of the priorities and prepare for next year. This time everything but my family will be on the back burner. And I'm fine with that but it WILL be and is an adjustment that is very foreign for me. What can I say? I do love to have everything under control? :) Maybe, that's why God is sending me four kids to put me back into my place, lol? :)

So what does your fall looks like? Do you plan your finances month to month or do you work with longer periods of time in mind? Have you started planning for Christmas yet?

The Frugal Fridays. Sigh...

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I had to retype the word "frugal" in the post name three times! No wonder, since August life was anything but frugal for us. In fact, it was so expensive, we are way off the charts... First, it was an unexpected medical bill. We tried to fight it but there is not much we could do. It's all about the agreement between the hospital (or hospital system that also includes small clinics in our case) and the insurance company. They did give us a 15% discount for paying it right away but it was still $686. Ugh!!

Then, our dog... Our poor little puppy... When we went out of town before, a family member would usually take Toby but she couldn't this time, so we had to rely on a boarding place when we went to Bear Lake. Never again! To make a long story short, we came to pick him up early and he was covered with pee as if he spent days sitting in it, his bed was soaked and he was visibly miserable. I felt like the worst Mom in the world! We are still fighting with them to get our money back but so far it's one excuse after another. They do offer a complimentary bath before you pick your dog up but we hit the road earlier and didn't warn them we were coming. I guess I'm glad we didn't because we found out in what condition our dog lived in for 5 days... I was and still am heartbroken. We left all kinds of nasty reviews and are considering a complaint with animal control department...

And two days before we left, our puppy had some issues breathing so we had to take him to the vet. It turned out to be nothing serious. But add the vet bill to the picture plus a new bed that we had to purchase for him (because even the wash couldn't save the old one. It was that nasty!!), and we paid almost $300 this month. That's almost $1000 in unexpected bills alone! I'm grateful that we have money set aside for things like this but it still hurts...

But there are blessings too... Today my sweet friend gave me all of her baby girl clothes, a bounce seat, a car seat and an exersaucer. It's huge for us and saves us a lot of money on necessities. We are almost ready to buy a second car seat too (more on it tomorrow).

But yes, August was extremely expensive for us and I'm ready for it to be over....

And how was August for you? Was it full of blessings, nasty surprises or somewhere in between?

I'm back!!! And 30 things in 30 days, update #2.

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Hello, hello, my lovelies!

How have you all been??? I have so much catching up to do but, I hope, you are all doing great!

I did not mean to fall off the face of the earth for the whole week. It kind of happened. We went on a vacation to the beautiful Bear Lake this week:

 The problem was that the house we were staying in did not have Internet. I didn't realize how much I depend on it until it was taken away!! I was really upset at first (because I couldn't blog or work) but than I decided to just accept it and enjoy some much needed time with the family in this gorgeous place. And it was worth every second! The weather was great most of the time, the lake was breathtaking and the kiddos had a blast:

We came back Thursday night and things immediately started piling up, that's why I never got to write a post. But I'm back and I'm happy to be here! Thank you all for checking up on me and for your supportive and encouraging comments on my last post! You guys are amazing!! I don't know what I would do without you...

But today my friend had a yard sale and she allowed me to bring my stuff too. Surprisingly, I didn't have as much to sell as I thought I would. I have a few nicer items that I want to try to list on classifieds and Facebook yard sales to make a little more but I still had a table full of things, mostly smaller items. I didn't sell everything I hoped to sell but it was still a success in my book. My goal was to make at least $25, and I made $30.50. I'll take it :) The best thing is I sold 13 things and got rid of another 16 that I took to the thrift store to donate (I was NOT taking that stuff back home! No way!!).

And that means that I surpassed my goal for this challenge! But don't worry, I'm not planning to slow down:) And the best part is that I didn't just get rid of 38 things but also made $82.50 along the way. It wasn't part of my original goal but I hope now to make at least $100 by the end of the month. I think I can do it!!

And how did you do this week?? Are you close to reaching your goal or, maybe, you feel like you need a little extra push?

30 things in 30 days. Update #1.

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Hello, hello, my lovelies!

I apologize for skipping my regular "Frugal Friday" post on Friday. But yesterday I wasn't feeling like writing. I know, I've said it many times to other bloggers not to pay attention to unpleasant comments but yesterday I received one that made me realize that my skin is not nearly as thick as I thought it was. In fact, for a moment or a few, I even thought about wrapping up this whole blog and becoming a private person again. I felt like my integrity was challenged...

We all have different points of view on many things like politics (including, international), relationships, religion, family union and so on. And I'm trying to learn to encompass it all and understand others. But sometimes it just feels like a slap on the cheek. And I haven't mastered it yet to offer another...

But I'm not going to stop blogging :) I believe that people can read whatever they want, and I'm grateful for all of you who care about me with all my imperfectness...

So since I skipped the "Frugal Fridays" I'll just do a quick update on our financial situation. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about the crazy bill we received due to an agreement between the hospital (or medical group) and an insurance company. We will try to lower it a little bit but that's the most we can do. It' frustrating to think about it but at least most of it goes towards our deductible (which we will reach this year anyway). But yesterday we got an unexpected reimbursement bill in the amount of $325, and it will greatly help to outweigh what we owe.

And now to my little challenge of the month :) You might remember that in August I wanted to get rid of 30 things. I made a small dent this week. I did not donate, throw away or give away anything yet. Why? Because one of my friends decided to have a multi-family yard sale next Saturday and offered me to be a part of it. I don't have that much to sell, mostly smaller stuff, I would never have enough for my own sale. But it will be nice to have my own table at her sale, and, hopefully, I can make an extra dollar or two. I have 22 things on my for sale list so far, so even if I sell only half of it, it will still help me a lot with my goal.

But this week my goal was to return things or sell on Facebook yard sales because I could get a little more this way. I've sold this set (I'm going to cheat and count it as 5 items, lol:):

I got it about 6 years ago for $25 and all I wanted from it was the bowl with balls (I only used that and also the candlesticks). It was somewhat my style back then... My taste changed a lot since and I had no use for it any more. I listed and sold it for the same price on a Home Decor Facebook yard sale and, honestly, I could ask even more because it got quite a bit of interest but I'm happy at least to make back what I spent in the first place.

This week I also returned a few things (like some wrong knobs that I got for the changing table dresser or maternity leggings that I ordered online and that ended up being non-maternity plus a couple more things) in a combined sum of $30 and change. So even though I didn't achieve as much as I wanted, I still got rid of nine things and "made" $55 along the way. I'll take it :)

So, update #1: 9 out 30.

And how did you do??

Feeling overwhelmed...

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In the past few days life has gone from crazy to insane... So many things popped up that my head is spinning. I do want you to know that nothing really bad happened. The babies are doing great and growing, and the pregnancy is still very manageable at 22 weeks (even though I already measure at 27 but I always get big when I'm pregnant). In fact, I canned 10 quarts of pickles two days ago, so see, I'm not lying :) And we are all doing good here...

But there are other things that occupy my mind all the time right now. First, we have some family relationships that are just crumbling down, and we don't know what to do about it. The worst thing is that our kids are in the middle of this big mess, and they are hurting but other family members just try to portray us as unkind and inconsiderate. The truth is we are trying and willing to help but nobody wants our help, and then blames us for not being supportive. It's very frustrating and I could never imagine it would go this far...

The second was the news I got yesterday about a new citizenship law back home in Russia. I mentioned before that even though I've been living in the US for almost nine years, I have never received American citizenship. Many people ask me why. Well, a small reason is money because it costs quite a bit and the only extra right it gives me is the right to vote (insert a chuckle here...). But a bigger reason was always the exact situation that is happening right now between the two countries. I'm not going to go into politics (other than the fact that Obama has no idea what he's talking about and is quite ignorant) but all of their sanctions on both sides only hurt regular people... The new law basically tells me that I need to register with the Russian government as somebody who lives outside of the country (it wouldn't make a difference if I had US citizenship because, technically, I would have dual citizenship since my Russian one would still be there...) within two months. At first, it sounded like I had to go back home to do it but it looks like I might be able to just write a letter but it will be a royal paper pain and, most likely, fines and stuff. Ugh... But if I don't do it, they could arrest me if I ever tried to enter the country. So yeah, I'm not a happy camper here...

The biggest headache though happened today when we got a certain medical bill. About a month ago my husband went for allergy testing for his esophagitis. The doctor's office is located in a small clinic but is a part of a huge hospital health system (the office is not located in the actual hospital though. Not even close!). So hubs spent about two hours in there been tortured - read, ninety pokes on his back with different allergens that itched like crazy for weeks after - and thought that a $35 co-pay was all we are going to pay.

Imagine our surprise when we get a bill today and realize that they charged us as if he had this procedure done in the actual hospital!! Apparently, when you go to a small clinic, you better check if they belong to a system and whether or not they are allowed to do that!! Because even after the insurance allowed amount and adjustments we still owe more than $800!!! For a doctor's visit! To say I'm pissed is to say nothing! My husband worked for a medical insurance company for 4 years, and it's a first for us!! Granted, we do have money set aside for medical bills, and because I'm pregnant with twins, we will meet our out-of-pocket maximum for this year anyway (the only consolation!) but I wasn't planning to pay for it right now and, really, I think, it's more a matter of principle! Has anything like that ever happened to you??

I just suddenly felt so tired.. It seems like every day it's a new thing, a major thing... This week cannot end soon enough... I know all of those things are fixable (well, at least, I hope they are) but sometimes life just becomes so overwhelming... Most of the time I'm trying to be a positive blogger, mainly because generally I'm a positive person but man, I feel drained tonight... Need some quiet positivity in my life...

Gonna go count my blessings...

Thank you all who keep our family in your prayers. I really do appreciate it!

Now I need to go and offer my own...

Hugs and good night to you, my lovelies! Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow with a better outlook on life...

The Frugal Fridays. Gearing up for the new month.

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Hello, my dazzling friends,

How's your Friday? Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? Are you ready for summer???

I can't believe it's almost June. We have only 4 days of school left, and this Mom is a lot more excited about it than my kid. I'm a weirdo this way - I love to spend time with my boys. I know, I might change my mind by the time they hit puberty but I'll enjoy it while I can :)

We are trying to gear up for the first summer month financially too. We had our big budget meeting today, and let me tell you - it will be painful! We have our getaway for just the two of us coming up at the end of the month (we are going to San Francisco, baby... I can't wait! We desperately need it). But there are some other big expenses coming up. We have a big doctor's appointment for our dog coming up - he needs shots, heart worm meds etc. He also needs to be groomed 'cause he's getting really shaggy. Also our minivan needs emission and registration, and last year's registration alone was $170. Grrrr!

So yeah, it aint' pretty, it will be one expensive month. With this in mind, we decided to try to keep all the other expenses on the low side. My boys desperately need some pajama pants but I might look into cheaper fabric to make them. The grocery budget will also stay the same for now. We will be really tracking every penny to see where it takes us. Hopefully, with warmer weather the produce will get cheaper, and we’ll be able to stick to lighter meals and lots of salads.

We do not anticipate putting anything into savings but, hopefully, we won’t need to dig into savings either. Keeping fingers crossed!

On the other hand, I managed to tuck away $310 in May. It’s not quite the $400 that I wanted but it still puts us up to $3910 in savings out of our yearly goal of $10000. Not bad at all!

The master plan...

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Who gets sick in 90 degree weather?? This gal!!!

I have the worst head cold right now... It started on Saturday but didn't fully "blossom" until yesterday. I stayed away from the computer most of the day but I'm still pretty miserable. I got all the fixings for the "Magic potion" but I just can't make myself drink anything even remotely warm right now.  WAAY to hot!!! Bleh... So I've been mostly just enjoying a teaspoon of honey here and there and hoping that it will do some good. I really want my sense of smell back...

But thank you all who left comments here the past few days. And especially for those who shared some ideas on the last "Frugal Friday" post. As I mentioned before, it's getting tougher and tougher for us to stay within a budget. So I decided to take the last $25 of our May grocery budget and try to stretch it through this whole week. Yeah, I know, quite ambitious of me :) But, honestly, we don't need much. I did not have a chance to organize our fridge or make a menu like I usually do on Mondays (believe me, even if something died there, I wouldn't be able to smell it... It makes it harder to go through leftovers and such). But I think, we should be mostly set. I already know that half of this will go towards milk because I found a great sale this week for a gallon for only $2.39 (Walmart sells milk for $3.08 right now!!), so I'll be buying a few gallons.

Then at the end of the week we will do a huge assessment and really crunch some numbers to see whether or not we need to adjust our budget... I'd rather not do it but it might be inevitable. Summer is usually a little more expensive for us but we will also have some bigger expenses this year (more on this later), so it's very important to do our best to stay within a certain amount.

And this is our master plan for now :)

Are summers more expensive for you or less? Did you have to make any adjustments to your budget recently?

The Frugal Fridays.

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Usually I like to post something uplifting or inspiring on Fridays. But today I feel tired. Tired of the prices constantly going up!

It seems like it's getting harder and harder for us to stay within a budget. And it comes to no surprise. Within just a few months the price of a gallon of milk went up more then 40c, eggs - anywhere between 15 and 30 c (depending on the retailer). I don't remember the last time I saw a good price for boneless chicken breasts (good thing, I had a good stock in my freezer but it's really getting low...). We switched completely from ground beef to ground turkey, and not just because it's healthier but also because the prices for lean meats skyrocketed. The drought in California will, more than likely, affect produce prices this summer. And bacon... hahaha... I feel like I need to throw away all of my price books and start all over again.

How far can you stretch a dollar?

I realize that we will, probably, have to increase our grocery budget a bit but this increase will have to come from other categories. Not sure which ones yet... Especially because food is not the only thing that goes up, unfortunately. Just today I heard on the news that our state is considering a tax increase on gas. And gas itself went up about 40 c. a gallon in just a couple of short months.

Ugh... Sorry for this gloomy and negative post, people. But this is reality. And if anything else, I prefer to stay real on this blog. Too bad, it can't always be my positive real side :)

I digress...

Do you feel a pinch punch of inflation in your everyday life? Did you notice a significant difference at the grocery store? What are your personal secrets on how to keep up with all of these changes?

The Frugal Friday

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This week somebody asked me how much fun money we have set aside in our budget, and if $550 a week seemed too much... When she was talking "fun" money, this girl included everything but utilities, groceries (and necessities), other bills etc. into this number. So it's eating out, fun with a family, gifts, clothes shopping and anything and everything that might fall in between.

And yes, $550 a week seems a little too high for me. In fact, that is only slightly less than our whole monthly budget was for the longest while, including mortgage. But my first question for her was whether or not she could afford it. Her husband and she are both professionals and make good money. They have two cars, both paid off, no mortgage or any other consumer debt, and they set aside a certain amount into retirement every month. So in their case, I think they can afford it if they really want/need to spend that kind of money on unnecessary things.

I did tell her that I personally would not spend that much for something of such little value. I think, it's important to have some fun money. But I would rather take a big chunk of it and put it into savings. Another way how I would spend extras are vacations. If they just trimmed their expenses to $500 or so a MONTH, they could afford to go to a nice place for two of them in just a couple of months. To me, experiences are much more valuable than things or life's little pleasures. I prefer to have big ones... but on a budget :)

But this conversation made me curious... How much money do you set aside for "fun"? And how did you determine this number?

The Frugal Fridays.

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I know it's Saturday already and I apologize. This week just flew by, and the weekend is hurrying away as we speak too. I can't say whether this past week was especially frugal or not. In fact, it was quite ordinary. I didn't spend much because I didn't shop much, and I didn't find any deals worth mentioning because I didn't hunt for deals...

But I had a conversation with somebody about emergency funds recently and I thought that it would be interesting to talk about. We all know that bad, unexpected things happen. But it's different what each of us might consider an emergency. No, I don't mean those girls who think that a broken acrylic nail is the end of the world... But we all still have different needs. For some of us, having a reliable car is a must but others can do buses just fine... I could live without AC because that's how I lived most of my life but my husband will probably die from overheating...

The real emergency hit our family when my hubby lost a job last year. It was unexpected, it was scary, it was devastating... We didn't know what the future held and, honestly, we were a lot more optimistic and couldn't even imagine it would take my sweet man almost six months to find a job.

But before it happened, I never really had a plan to save for emergencies. We had a recommended $1000 in a bank and a variety of other accounts that we used to set money aside for many different things. I have to be honest with you, it's much easier to save for a particular item (like a minivan) than for some imaginable emergencies. When it hit us, we consolidated everything we had and created one big "emergency" account. We did not know how far we would have to stretch it but we promised ourselves that we will do our best not to use credit cards. And we didn't. We were lucky that my husband could find a nice job before we completely depleted that account....

And if anything I've learned from this lesson is that $1000 is not enough when the real emergency strikes! In reality, your emergency fund should cover all your needs for a certain period of time, preferably 3-6 months. Start by calculating your fixed expenses every month. These numbers can include mortgage/rent, insurance, car payments, child care and any other regular payments you need to make every month. I like to add to this list an approximate amount of your utilities because your life will become significantly harder if you lose heat, electricity or water. Then calculate the bare minimum you need for variable expenses. That will give you a base and an idea of what your emergency fund should be to cover one month's expenses.

Another important thing that, I think, everybody should know is their medical insurance out of pocket maximum. One of the most common and serious "emergencies" often has something to do with our health. You might not have the whole sum sitting in the bank all the time but at least you can be somewhat prepared.

Now that you have an idea of where you need to be, start saving. Create a plan and set some money aside regularly. It's a lot harder to reach your financial goals if you do it sporadically. Even $25 set aside every month is better than nothing.

Now, I don't think you need to be discouraged when you only have $1000 sitting in a bank. No, it's a perfect start. But don't stop there! Do what you can to bring it to where it can serve your family when a true emergency knocks on your door.

And to finish it up, another important emergency fund that, I believe, everybody needs to have on hand is some cash in a sock somewhere. Quite literally. The tiny earthquake we had a few weeks ago was a rude reminder that natural disasters can happen anywhere. And if they happen, more than likely you won't be able to access the money in your bank no matter how much you have there. You don't need thousands of dollars hidden under the mattress but a few hundreds that  could buy you much needed water and other emergency supplies would do (yes, we all need to do some other emergency preparation too but it's a whole other topic on it's own...).

So what do you think? Do you have a satisfactory emergency fund or are you trying to build one?

The Frugal Fridays. Good bye, April. Hello, May!

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Good evening, everyone!

 Did I mention before how much I love you?? You, guys, are awesome. Thank you so much for all your support and kind words and comments. I'm happy to report that my MIL was released from the hospital. She still needs to take meds (well, actually, give herself a shot) twice a day but we are happy that the worst is behind us now. Thank you for all your prayers!

And as you can see, I took a little break from this blog but I am back, rested and rejuvenated. I also got a few ideas from you on what to write about, so hopefully, the blogging muse is here to stay for a while...

And it's also the beginning of a new month. April was not our most frugal month but it was surprisingly quite good. I got a few nice deals but, mostly, I just stayed away from the stores and put a nice chunk into our savings. We are sitting nicely at $3600 out of my $10000 goal this year. May is actually a 3-pay check month for us (wohoo!!), so I hope to bump this number to $4000 but I doubt we can do any better because, more than likely, 1 check will go solely towards some sort of vacation. We haven't really planned anything this year but hubs and I desperately need a getaway, even if it's something small and local. After a year we just need to spend some time together...

But I was thinking about our savings goals and savings in general after one of the reader's letters (hey, Laurie :). These impromptu vacation ideas are kind of unusual for us. Most of the time we plan things like this way in advance and set money aside. As I mentioned before, this year we concentrate on general savings but we still create a plan on how to reach some other goals that we have. Our budget right now is more flexible than it was before because of a little better paycheck. But the thing is - it's not really better. At his previous job hubby used to get quarterly bonuses, anywhere between $800 to $2500. So overall, we were making the same amount of money but with getting a nice sum at a time it was easier to save. Now it's  more about planning and restrain to save a dollar :) I try to move a chunk into savings at the beginning of the month when we are done with our budget. Then I'm keeping fingers crossed for some leftovers. If we have anything left by the end of the month, I move it to savings too and zero out the rest of the budget. Then we start all over again :) There are months when we have to dip into savings. But, mostly, we've been pretty successful so far with pinching our pennies.

I think, I want to write a separate post on saving when you live on a tight budget but for now I just want to say that I'm back and I'm loving it :)

So how was your frugal week and the month of April??

The Frugal Fridays

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Hello, hello.
How was your week, my lovelies? Today I wanted to talk about free money that you can get from different rewards programs. Because who doesn't like free money, right?

Most of you have heard of programs like Swagbucks which I, myself, love. It works very simple - you do daily searches and after a few (used to be on the second try but now it's more like the 10th) you get some points that vary from 5 to 50. I've heard some people telling that they even got 100 points at one time but it's never happened to me. You can also earn extra points for watching videos, doing surveys or daily polls and just by shopping online. Then you can redeem those points for gift cards and other small merchandise. It really is pretty simple and points quickly add up.

My other favorite is Mypoints. It works somewhat similar to Swagbucks - you also do searches. The difference is I know exactly how many points I can earn each month for doing a certain amount of searches. I have to say, I kind of like it better :) They also send you e-mails but not all of them are worth something. With Mypoints you can do surveys and shop and get points back too that you later can redeem for gift cards to hundreds of different places. From the beginning of the year I already have $25 worth of points:)

Another one that I really like is Recyclebank. What I like the most about them is that I always learn something new about how to live green and conserve. Their garbage recycling program doesn't exist in our area but there are still plenty of ways to earn rewards on their site. I mostly prefer free magazine subscriptions (like This Old House for yours truly! Love it!).

Since I mentioned cash back sites, my favorite ones are still Ebates or Shop at home. I never buy anything online before checking both these sites to see who offers a better percentage back. I have to say, I don't shop online very often so it takes me some time to get to a pay off minimum ($20) but it's still worth it. When we bought our new fridge, we got $60 back from Ebates!

Last few programs that come to mind are rewards from the stores. I recently discovered that when you get a store card from Kmart, they will send some very valuable coupons. For example, a few weeks ago I got a $10 off $15 instant discount on anything in the store (bought a 10 pack of socks for Hubby, a maxi skirt for myself and a huge bottle of weed killer for our poor patio that vinegar cannot help any more, and spend less than $16 for all after coupon, tax included - basically just paid for the skirt :), then last Saturday they sent me $3 off $3 (got some candies and egg dye for Easter with it). There are many stores that occasionally send you some valuable coupons. JC Penney, Kohls, Kroger stores immediately come to mind.

So what rewards programs do you do and why? And how was your frugal week?

PS - this post does not contain any promotional links

The Frugal Fridays.

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Hello, hello!

How was your week? It's time for another Frugal Fridays here :)

I have to be honest, at first, my week didn't seem very frugal.But after giving it a second look I realized that I was wrong -

• First, I made my controversial sign using stuff I already had on hand. I was actually surprised at the response this project had received :) It really is interesting to see the cultural differences between many of us, and the diversity that makes life so interesting. Just to answer some of your concerns, I have slippers available for my guests and I rarely point out directly to people to take their shoes off. We do have carpets almost everywhere that keep feet warm but are also  dirt traps. But I hope, the sign will be a polite reminder that that's what we do in our house. And going back to thrifty life, the only thing I had to buy for the sign was a set of stickers :)


• I made a huge batch of vegetable (not vegetarian) soup that will last us for a few days. Vegetable soup is a great, healthy way to stretch your budget and it can easily be modified to everyone's taste. I actually cooked a piece of meat separately, used some of the broth from it and froze the rest, and now we have the option to use some of that meat in the soup or add it to casseroles or omelets. It will allow us to stretch the piece of meat much further and get a few meals out of it.


• The gardening season is almost here!!

I went to my favorite nursery the other day. Unfortunately, I'm way to late to start with our garden this year. I'm ashamed to say but it's still not completely dug up and fertilized (that's why these beautiful plants are still sitting on my kitchen table). Keeping fingers crossed that it doesn't rain tomorrow... But I got some peas for $1/4 (again, not the cheapest price, especially for peas but I'm late to plant them from seeds). I also got cucumbers, including Japanese that are impossible to find at the usual retail stores, kohlrabi that I couldn't buy in seeds and something I'm most happy about - sweet 100 tomato plants! I love them! I bought my first plant three years ago, and my kids eat these tomatoes from the vine. I know, it's a little early for tomatoes but I just couldn't resist. And only 75 c??? Deal! The hardware store charges almost $4 for this tomato, and it's always sold out. I do love my nursery!

• And the best deal of the week:

Last Saturday True Value was giving away 1 qt of any color satin paint. I got pure white. I have so many projects that I need it for, so the timing was just perfect. I love me some free :)

So what were your frugal deals and achievements last week? Come, share :)

The generation of entitlement.

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Some of the representatives of the current generation have an amazing sense of entitlement. You hear the stories about kids suing parents for not providing them with the "lifestyle" they deserve, the offspring who feel that their family should give them all of the "necessities" of the time like cars, fancy clothes and toys of all sorts. And everybody and anybody owes them to please them and let them have what they want.

The other day I stumbled upon an interesting discussion on a community group of a famous parenthood website. I wanted to post the link here but the people in charge promptly removed that quite heated conversation. Here's why.

The girl who started the topic was asking about GoFundMe. Have you heard of them before? It's a website that gives you an opportunity to set up an account to raise money for personal reasons allowing your family, friends and sometimes total strangers to donate to your cause. I think the idea is actually brilliant. It's a great way to donate to people who are struggling or going through painful life changes like sickness or death.

This girl wanted something different. She's a few weeks pregnant with her second child and she wanted to raise money to have her "dream delivery" - naturally in a birthing center. Not a bad goal, right? Well, she continued to explained that it's OK if she doesn't get it but then she would be forced to go to the hospital because its covered by Medicaid. Huh??? That's not all. Somebody responded to her saying that it's a bit tacky to ask for money for our dreams and that instead she needs to create a budget and save the money herself (we are talking about $3600).

Her response blew my mind! She said that it would be much easier if they hadn't just spend $3000 on new furniture (seriously, when was the last time you spent 3 grand on new couches???), and if she tried to cut back right now she would have to cancel a maternity photo-shoot, new baby photo-shoot, and a Christmas family photo-shoot. Oh, and Christmas for her first child (who will be two by then, mind you).

You've got to be kidding me!!! I don't know what bugged me more - the fact that she wants somebody else to pay for her "needs" so she can afford indulgences, or that she's on Medicaid. Really?? She wasn't joking either.

Do I think that all of this generation have this entitlement mindset? Of course not. I myself could probably be on the border of the millennials (even though, in my case we are talking about some cultural differences too). But, honestly, it's hard to imagine people feeling so entitled at the beginning of the last century. At least, where I'm from.

I had an interesting experience last year when we were going through unemployment. Among other ideas that we got from the unemployment center was to use Food Bank resources for our needs. Even though we weren't starving, we didn't know what the future held, especially after a few months of constant search and millions of applications. So I decided to try it out. I went to the location of a mobile Food Bank in a nicer part of the city. I was ashamed to be there at first until I realized how many people in that quite extensive line had their hair or nails done, or played with their iPhones. I thought that maybe I should've done it long before. A young couple behind me was discussing how they would spend their next paycheck to buy a new tablet. I almost felt like I didn't belong for a totally different reason...

The next time I decided to go to a location that was in a poorer part of the city because we were in the neighborhood that day. And that's when my eyes were opened... I saw people who were truly struggling. This experience really humbled me. I realized that despite unemployment we weren't in need. In fact, we had plenty for our needs and to share with others. That night I actually went home and collected a bag for the food bank.

I'm not saying that to boast or show off. Not even close! I have my fair share of entitlement and narcissism flowing in my bloodstream. But over time I've learned that when we share with others, we come to the realization that we ourselves have a lot to give and are so blessed...

Do you feel that this generation is a generation of entitlement, or are those just rare individuals, in your opinion? And what are your best ideas on how to help our children to grow up being more caring and less demanding? 

The Frugal Friday.

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As I've mentioned before, the upcoming summer season is not a cheap one for most people, and we are not an exception. With a new month right around the corner, we decided to spend extra effort to stay within a budget, even if it's a little inflated. The thing is, our budget is never set in stone. There are some bills that are more or less constant and change, maybe, once or twice a year. But other things tend to adjust depending on our needs and sometimes wants. And I'm OK with that, as long as we do our best to stay away from debt for which we use savings or special accounts (like Christmas or traveling fund). We try to be prepared when the sky is clear...

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I still need some help or a reminder once in a while on how to stay on track. I was inspired by some of the bloggers to take an extra look at what efforts they put into staying on the path of frugality over the week.

And I decided to create "The Frugal Friday" - Friday when I will look back and see what thrifty steps we took, deals we got, and any other budget-related thoughts or efforts. Maybe, I will write about 5 frugal things that we've done last week or I, perhaps, I would just boast a little that we stayed under a budget or that I went to the store only once that week (yea, like that's gonna happen...).

Anyway, I want you to join me :) Come over here every Friday starting next week and share your penny-pinching success with all of us.

And to finish on a frugal note, check out this awesome chair that I have scored completely free from the local classifieds.

It needs some help, a coat of paint, an arm has to be reattached and the cushion reupholstered . But I'm so excited about it and already know exactly where it's going to go :)

So will you join me on the Frugal Fridays???

Ok, let's talk money, shall we? :)

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Today was a beautiful day - the first day of spring that truly felt like the blooming season is right around the corner, a lengthy and great conversation over Skype with my parents because it's my Dad's Birthday. And did you know that it's actually the International Day of Happiness? I sure hope that you felt happy today :)

We also went to buy some wood for a few projects that we are working on in "the dreadful room" (which goes way slower than we hoped for). And I noticed how much easier it is to spend money in spring. Seriously, there are so many temptations out there as the days get longer. We all might want to do some updates to our houses or apartments, buy new flowers or shrubbery for the yards, maybe even add some outdoor furniture. We dream of vacations and trips. On a nice, warm evening it's a lot more tempting to go out and enjoy ourselves. And don't get me started on the new wardrobe cravings... Are you still with me?

In the past couple of weeks, as I was doing our budget, I realized that we were consistently over. It seems like we always need something. And because the kids grow like weeds, I know it's only the beginning...

I think, I need to reevaluate a few things...

What saving strategies make the biggest impact in your life when warmer days roll in?

The budget Thursday.

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I don't really do a regular budget post because, well, our weekly budget is fairly boring. But today is an exclusion :) Not that it's any less boring, I'm just writing about it, lol.

We received our tax return last Thursday. It was the quickest return we've ever received (just six days!!!), and we already bought a couch. I want to dress it up a bit before I share any pictures with you :) And I also ordered the green house and can't wait for it to arrive! The weather has been so beautiful lately that it's obvious, gardening season will be here before I know it! The rest of the money is sitting in checking for now, until we decide what we want to do with it. I'm still leaning towards buying a new mattress but we'll see. And I hope to be able to put at least $200 into savings.

Talking about savings, you might remember that we had a very ambitious savings goal for 2014. I don't know if it is going to end up being realistic but so far we saved $1700 and I hope to add another $300 at least to this number in March. It might not be much but it is for us, and I'm glad to see that we are right on track. It will slow down a bit as we get closer to summer because we are yet to have any vacation plans, even if it's a small, local trip. I don't really care where we go (well, I do but where I want to go we can't afford anyway...sigh), I just need a change of scenery. Maybe, visit another state or something :)

We also need to start thinking of Christmas (I know, who wants to think of it when we still have snow in places, right?). We've been putting aside $20 a month but it's not going to be much when the time comes. I definitely need some sort of a plan here...

Did you start thinking of Christmas yet? Or, maybe, you are planning a fun vacation instead? Or both? :) Do share, please!