Frugal Friday

Making our money behave.

Yesterday was payday!  Yay, especially since I was down to $23 in my wallet, $20 of which was earmarked for the empty gas tank in my car.  Aside from the bills we pay online and checks to our church; we primarily use cash.  In doing so, we make our money behave.

I must admit, seeing a few more Andrew Jacksons in my wallet is always exciting.  I tend to view it as a game to see which bills can survive in my wallet the longest.   Don’t laugh.  When you are trying to pay off a significant amount of debt, one has to be strategic and have fun when you can.  For the record, I don’t go around carrying wads of money.  Other than one Jackson that is kept hidden as a “just-in-case” sort of thing, my wallet primarily only has the gas and grocery money that I’ll need for the week.

So how did I make yesterday a Frugal Friday?  Having already spent the bulk of our monthly budgeted cash when hubby was home, I did (and do!) need to watch what is remaining.  Thankfully I also don’t need much in the way of groceries for the rest of the month.

First of all, I stopped at Lowes. They recently expanded their military discount plan and being a veteran (go Navy!), I wanted to be ready the next time we do need to make a purchase.  Their online site kept rejecting my service dates, which after spending 45 minutes in-store to straighten out, turned out to be an IT problem.  We will now get 10% off all our purchases, or at least until they change the program.

I put $21 of gas in my car.  I had a coupon for a dollar, stretching that $20 a little more.

Spent $19.97 at the grocery store, but was only out-of-pocket $5.47.  I had a $15 gift card earned from a previous purchase which saved me some cash for this trip.

Bought three pairs of pants (two capris and one jeans), two Life is Good t-shirts and one dress shirt at the Goodwill, spending just $17.47.  We don’t budget much for clothes, so thrift stores help keep that in check.  I rarely find everything I need, and there are simply some things I won’t buy used, which is why we do leave some cushion to allow for those items.  I still need a new pair of sneakers but am waiting for a decent sale at Kohls to purchase those.  When it comes to buying clothes at thrift stores, I think there is a bit of skill involved or perhaps just some sheer luck.  I have a friend who always dressed to the nines, most of which she proudly says comes from buying at thrift stores.  Had she not told me, I would have never known!

Our electric bill arrived yesterday, coming in at $18.98 under budget!  We had increased our budget by $15 on account of needing to start running the dehumidifier.  Our basement is fine without running it in the Winter, not so much in the Spring and Summer.   Thankfully the dehumidifier does a great job keeping musty smells at bay.  Worth the increased expense when/if it does happen.

I don’t anticipate spending too much more this month.  Gas and a few groceries should be about it.  No matter what, it won’t be more than what we have budgeted.  We are making our money behave!

Did you do anything frugal this past week?  Any great deals or even a bill that came in lower than expected?  Share your successes with the rest of us!