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Archive for April, 2009

A Little Lettuce

April 29th, 2009 at 04:34 am

My lettuce mix seedlings are up as well. I'm glad they can tolerate chilliness since it's getting cold here again tonight.

And another bit of "lettuce": I sold some Gymboree pants on ebay for a lofty $2.75 bringing my total up a bit. I've taken photos of other of DD's clothes to sell and will try to get them listed tomorrow. My Disney Steve challenge money is lacking, but I'm determined to catch up!

Bagged the Bag

April 23rd, 2009 at 05:26 am

I had some happy bargain shopping today. Good old Walgreen's was giving away reusable bags with a coupon that also gave you 15% off. I got a nice bagful of things, including discounted "Easter" stuff (Just decorated with flowers and great for gifts)for under $5.

The grocery store also had great bargains, so it was a good day for frugality. My IRA statement did put some of this penny-wiseness into perspective. Although it's up from February's totals, I probably shouldn't have looked at last year's numbers. But Suze Orman's right--you gotta look at where you are now.

Ebaying

April 20th, 2009 at 10:54 pm

I'm back to listing on ebay after taking a week or so off. I list a lot of DD's outgrown clothes and shop a couple of times a year at the Hanna Andersson outlet store near my mom's. I also love a good rummage/garage/estate/tag sale.
Because I often find Hanna and Gymboree clothes for my daughter, I almost always end up reselling them.

Gymboree seems to have an almost-cult-like following, and I've found a site that identifies what "line" the Gymboree outfits come from. This does help ebay sales, but it's pretty amazing to me that someone actually took the time to do that.

So, with that site's help, I've listed a couple more things that I picked up at sales.

Not much else new financially. DH's job is still intact and I have about three weeks before the university winds up.

I'm making yet another pot of soup since it's so cold and wet here.

Coasting this Week

April 16th, 2009 at 03:41 am

Our daughter is off school on spring break, so I'm not getting much done. She's come with me to the university this week, assigning coloring pages to my students.

As a Spring break treat, we went out to lunch after my classes were done at a lovely spot with free kid's meals.

I'm airfare shopping for this summer's UK trip, and prices are very uneven. United is $200 less than anyone else, American is still high for the dates we want, and NWA/Delta is very expensive now. I'd like to fly Virgin, but it would mean driving to O'Hare which always adds a bit to our totals. DH will have enough miles to fly free, so my weekend goals will be to find and book somewhere.

Back on the Frugality Freighter

April 13th, 2009 at 08:58 pm

We're back from a weekend away. All in all, it wasn't THAT expensive, considering we hosted a birthday party for 25 for my Mom's birthday and had a couple of meals out.

But another contractor from DH's job just got laid off, and the situation there continues dire.

In the meantime, my ebay listings all sold, contributing $36.03 to this month's ebay total; now I just have to make up for missing March! And a nice thrifty dinner soup is next on the agenda.

Expensive Week

April 9th, 2009 at 04:52 am

It's been an expensive week. We're having a busy social weekend with a birthday party for my Mom, Easter travel, new clothes needed for DH and DD (and uhm, a new dress for me).

A dear friend lost her mom this week, and other friends are in the hospital. We've spent big chunks on flowers, memorials, cards, and everything else.

The crunch time of the semester is also here, so I'm very busy at work. Thankfully we've been eating from the freezer, but there's little time for bargain shopping or price comparisons.

I've decided this is "don't sweat the small stuff" week, and will get back on the frugality wagon next week.

Most of what we bought was necessary. DD outgrew her shoes, DH put his knee through a pair of work pants...it's just like that. So no sweat, and a better week for us next week.

Happy Easter, Passover and Spring to you all.

(and I did manage to list a few things on ebay!)