Friday, October 24, 2008

not so frugal day 24

i caved.

i went to marshalls last night. i bought the skirt. i bought the shirt..three of them. i am justifying my well-spent $92. i do need some needs duds and these will go well with what i currently own, thus opening up some new combos of clothes. but i just noticed my fave boots are badly cracking ! :-(

went out to lunch today too- but my co-worker paid!!
see- frugal!!!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Frugal day 23.

Frantically paging thru my entertainment books as i feeling the pinch and the coupons expire November 1, little over a week away. but i guess i don't need an extra sandwich at arby's..in fact, i'll cook my own food.

so many things i have and want to spend my money on but just reigning it in b/c my year-long renter...who ahs only been here two months- has decided she wants to move out. And so i am keeping her security deposit. if you break the lease, i get compensated for you screwing me. she thought she could just move out whenever she wanted to. Um no. should have said that before you signed the lease. Casa lecki is not a hotel. Brad keeps telling me not to be emotional- it’s just business. But wouldn’t YOU be pissed if ten months of rent just got yanked out from under you!?!? AND her deposit is only a hundred bucks!

So now i placed an ad on craigslist and someone did respond, but then he went another way. Maybe for the winter months I’ll just try to find one roomie b/c we are indoors more than usual.

I guess i don't need a pumpkin spice air diffuser, or a skirt from Marshalls. maybe I’ll just see how much it costs...i am running on very low on winter clothes. i have about two pairs of black pants- basically, I’ve gained so much weight that many of my winter clothes don't fit. if i just get serious about working out and healthy eating and lose my belly, I’ll be back in style!

i did however, give away a bunch of entertainment coupons- made my co-workers happy!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

hi frugal day 21! although i did drop over $100 on wine at the ren faire, i only spent admission, a sandwich, brought my own water and soda and i did buy some dessert- fried apples and gelato with caramel sauce..was divine!

i plan on using about half of those as christmas gifts!!

also, my lunch today was 2 sandwiches ganked from an office meeting after they were done!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

I just deposited checks for articles and the Y. Yay happy! now i can (hopefully!) pay off my visa. next i shall tackle my line of credit!

i did go to a housewarming last night and i bought 3 bottles of wine for $32, 1 for the party and two others (Mondavi chardonnay and bogle sav/blanc) were on sale for 10-11 each and so i got them for me! Party was fun, sat under the campfire, and then onward home.

today- i had a busy morning and just ran out to the bank and then wendy's...i so am not being frugal, but i didn't pack a lunch, i ate all my leftovers. i have odd things in the fridge, like homemade applesauce and an egg soufflĂ© thing. and a hunk of raw broccoli, mushrooms, and strawberries…must eat them first!

Okay- just had a another huge meeting- so busy now! Whohoo!

Tonight- attempting to make Kung Pao chicken for B.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

I'm on TV and i got paid!!

I did a focus group last night in king of prussia and was on hardball w chris matthews and msnbc. We did have to watch the entire debate and then Norah O'Donnell of msnbc interviewed us. Plus I got 80 bucks!

Monday, October 6, 2008

hmm, i guess i am not so frugal after all

i just checked my visa. i owe over $1000. it's like $1023. so i took a good long look at it. what the hay am i buying!?

every week, there's about $60 to wawa...for gas. i drive an suv, so there ya go.

there is far too spending at tarshaaay on there. archer farms espresso chip ice cream is my downfall, and at $3 a pint, i am going to try to make my own w low fat vanilla yogurt, choc chips and finely ground coffee.

i am canceling match.com, too. i sure hope there is someone special out there for me, but at $70 every three months, he is gonn have to find me another way.

i am getting rid of netflix. btwn DVR and cable and the lieberry, i have enough to watch..and i really should be writing, not watching other ppl's creative efforts!

i def spend too much on groceries. i need to seriously eat everything in the house first. and since B turned me onto amelia's grocery outlet, i tend to buy a lot for cheep, but it's still a lot of food that i prob don't need right now.

i need to do one last BIG haul of stuff at the flea market and then shut up about it. but i have become a dumping ground for stuff from ppl, which is kind of cool- i either get some $$ or a goodwill reciept for their stuff! i also need to do a walk thru of my house and see what i can purge.

i will get rent from my renters today, but it won't even cover the whole visa bill. but at least it is something, for which i am thankful!

frugal day 6

Here’s how you can save more than $8,000 a year by going green . . .


Limit portions. According to the US Department of Agriculture, roughly 25% of all edible food bought by Americans goes to waste. The average US household spends more than $6,000 a year on food. If you eliminate waste by preparing smaller portions, eating leftovers and storing foods efficiently, you could save $1500 a year.

Be thrifty with clothes. Only a small fraction of all clothing thrown away in the US is truly worn out, representing a tremendous waste of resources. If you buy gently used clothing, expect to save about 80% or more compared with the same items purchased new. With each US household spending an average of $2000 annually on clothing, buying half of your family’s clothing at thrift stores allows you to save a fashionable $800.

Drink tap water. It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil every year to manufacture disposable plastic water bottles for the US market – that’s enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year. Also, if you drink only bottled water, you’ll spend about $1400 annually to get your recommended daily amount of H2O, as opposed to 49 cents for one year’s supply of just-as-healthy tap water.

Stay close to home. Each US household now generates an average of 10 vehicle trips per day. With the price of gas at close to $4 a gallon, if you consolidate or skip just two or three of those daily trips, you’ll save big money and reduce pollution. It costs $9,369 a year to keep the average car on the road. So, a 25% reduction in use could mean a savings of $1782.

Use your library. You already own almost every book worth reading – your tax dollars were used to stock your public library. So instead of buying books, borrow them. You’ll save trees and help reduce the publishing industry’s carbon footprint. Also borrow music CDs and movie DVDs. If you borrow one book a month instead of buying a hardcover for $25 and borrow two movies a month instead of spending $5 per movie at a video store, that’s a total savings of $420 a year.
And here's a fun resource for you: Use this Personal Emissions Calculator to see how much more you can save by living green.


October already!!!

pretty decent couple of days. most of my team was out of the office so i had a quiet week. slept good b/c of the benadryl i took. friday night rach and i took the train to philly for margaret cho's show, beautiful. it was pretty awesome. i, um, had no idea it would be so vulgar, eating pxssy, a$$, and she is queer, which i did not know, and rach and I were def the minorities in the audience. but it was way way funny!! and everyone was so cool. and the opening act, Liam Sullivan (as kelly) was funny! then back home & in bed by 12.

up at 7am, hit up a couple yard sales and got some really great stuff including, burts bees gift pack BNIB, a little antique half-circle table for a buck, a black velvet fringy shawl, a full pack of coffee notecards, a free winerack, some cool B&W lights to hang up, and an antique pitcher covered in grape leaves, all under $5!!off to the Y to work with the kids from 9-12.and so i've been cleaning, watching 90210 reruns, cleaning, etc.

Good weekend- although this morning am wiped out, and didn’t do anything really that strenuous yesterday. I wonder if I am getting sick. I sure hope not. I have far too much to due!

sat night ended up going to see Eagle Eye with di and deb. was cool and we had a great time hanging out after.

Hit up produce junction with Jen yesterday and we split some of the stuff so it wouldn’t go bad, and I spent about $8 for mini pumpkins, broccoli, peaches, lettuce, mushrooms, raspberries, strawberries, cukes and corn. And we walked, so that was good for the environment and our tushes. Then I put myself on Facebook, when I proceeded to get friended or whatever up by so many of my high school pals! That was cool, and they all told me I look great! thank you!!

Of course, I took a nap then ate about an oz of pasta with cheese and then espresso ice cream for dinner (not so good for my tush). This is when I felt really crappy.
Made my egg bake for the week- broccoli, shrooms, cheese and eggs in the crock pot for 3 hours (this will be my b fast all week) and I have the rest of my pumpkin soup for lunch today.

Now I am at work and feel LOUSY. Drinking some coffee and trying to fight the dizziness and the sweating.

Joni just told me she has a dr appt at 4. I am so leaving right after her. Going to go swim at the Y. then going to make fresh applesauce in the crockpot with apples from my co-worker. Going to get the rent from my renters! ($750!!) then sleep.!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Frugalness Day 2

October 2, 2008

I have to get gas today, no coupon for that sadly…. But I do have cash, which is better since I am trying to pay down my CC.

Breakfast today was a bit of my egg quiche cooked in the crock pot – very filling and easy check out ‘365 days of crockpotting’, with the crockpot lady Steph!

Lunch was about 6 harry and david meatballs I found in the freezer, some honey ham (also H and D) and a fresh tomato and an apple for dessert. No need to eat out here my friends!!

My evening tasks are to be:
Go swimming. Tidy living room. Finish OT article. Wash whites.

Make apple butter in the crockpot (again, thanks Steph!) using apples I bought and a bunch that were left in the common area at work. I do need to buy whole cloves tho, and not aiming to run to the store…and btw Target doesn’t have cloves!

Dinner will probably be ??
I’m feeling adventurous. Grilled cheese… with fresh sourdough bread and my new pack of Gruyere cheese, with a hint of Swiss. I need a veggie in here somewhere. I have green beans in the freezer or I’ll hit up Produce Junction and get some cukes and shrooms.

Frugalness- day 1 !

I got this idea from One Frugal Girl’s website to only buy things on sale or with a coupon and never pay full price for anything for a month. My friend a friend of mine, that’s the only way he shops, but I am going t ]o try it.

Oct 1
8x10 picture frame- first thing I bought, before I decided to take on this challenge. From Michael’s and probably could have found a coupon online, or better yet, bought one at a flea market for a quarter or something.
$7.15 (tax incl)

50 oz bottle of vanilla flavoring- I got this for my cappuccinos to make at home. My old-old ex the evil H got my rents a cappuccino maker for Christmas out first year together..oh 1994? The thing still works perfectly and for pennies a cup, it’s much cheaper than spending $3.50 for a tall latte. I got this at Marshall’s, so it was already a bargain!
$6.35 (tax incl)

Free Chocolate Fondue Dessert from the Melting Pot- My friend Kathie and I hit this up last night- very yum! And i had a coupon from my BD for a free dessert- got the yin and yang chocolate (white and dark!!) fondue. BLISS!!!
Dinner was pricey, but saved $16.00. And so worth it. Also probably didn’t need to buy the none-dollar martini either.

Lemongrass and soap- After dinner K and I ran to Pier one around the corner. I love this store! I try not to frequent it too much anymore in the issue of saving money. I really wanted one of those reed diffusers but they were $12. I got some lemongrass soap (98 cents) and a small bottle of lemongrass shampoo ($1) b/c I seem to have an excess of conditioner and not enough shampoo. All from the faboo clearance section of course! Originally these items were for $5 each! So I saved about $8!
$2.15 (tax incl)

On the way home form my evening excursion I realized I forgot to stop at Petco and really needed kitty litter. (I cleaned out the box the day before..OMG yuck. Sorry GingerSpice!!) So I was on the phone with my frugal friend who said kitty litter was on sale at tar-shaaaay, so i swerved in before they closed and got two 20 pound jugs for $7 each (Saved about $4) and fancy feast cat for 10 cans for $5- a very big bargain b/c Genuardi’s sells these for 87 cents a can!!

Then I dropped the jig on the ground at home and some poured out…not cool. But I managed to scoop some back in.

So I guess I saved about $7. So I bought some espresso chip ice cream that I have been craving and that this target hadn’t stocked for WEEKS! So I was happy!

Saved about $30 if I had paid full price for everything!!! Go me!!!

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