DH's car was not starting so after googling figured out it could be the battery. I watched a YouTube video on changing batteries for his exact car year, ordered a battery on the Advance Auto mobile app, used a 20% off coupon and ebates referral, picked it up and had it ordered to install in under 2 hours. AAA and car shop would not have gotten it done that fast. Car worked perfect when I started it up. While it did cost 136 (I needed a tool but am now set for life for changing the whole neighborhood's batteries, guy at shop gave me a coupon for the tool too), it gave me confidence to actually do car DIY. It was really simple actually!
I love seeing everyone's posts. We are almost halfway through February.....anyone thinking of UFM(arch)? I am up for it.
Well done, nottoolatetostart! And yes, UFM sounds good to me. Nothing too dramatic, but continuing to try to be conservative with utilities, minimize driving, refrain from (much) shopping - though a thrift store trip specifically for pants may be in order, continue to try to eat down the pantry/freezer/fridge (I still have lots of food left!) Will need to continue to supplement with fresh fruit/veg/dairy, but should be able to spend minimally on groceries for at least one more month.
I do have an idea that I've been cultivating for some family birthday gifts coming up, that may need some creativity to keep frugal. Since most of our family birthdays are in April and June, and they are all going to be basically the same gift, it would make sense to work on them all at once, and if I take a few days off in March as planned, that will be a good time to try to get them done.
I've spent so much money on groceries this week! Part of it is that I needed to replenish some pantry staples and part of it is that I keep buying $&@#%* meat. The freezer is full, knock it off, self!
Y'all know about my overstocked rice by now, right? Or is it only in the Eat All the Food thread that I've been posting about that? Yeah. I have a lot of packages of rice/grain dishes. So yes, tortoiseshell, knock it off! Otherwise you might find yourself buried under an avalanche of food from the freezer one day, like I literally had a half dozen boxes/packages of "rice side dishes" fall on me from the cupboard the other day! Apparently (as I'm learning) those things will go on sale again in future...
Then it popped into my head, guys, I used to take Photos FOR A LIVING. I'm a bloody photographer. *facepalm* I have done newborn and family photo shoots. This is something I can EASILY offer. So Hubs is going to design a nice personalized card in photoshop and BAM Baby shower gift :)
Great baby shower gift idea! Well done!
PJ, I think it really is as simple as calling around to see what different insurance rates would be. I just went to the websites of big ones that I've heard of (Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Metlife, etc. - they are prob different up in Canada) and put in all my same info from the insurance we have now. A bunch came in with higher quotes, but Metlife had a much lower one. Who knows why - I really don't have a good sense of where their numbers come from. I know some things that lower our rates are:
- bundle auto and home
- pay the whole year's worth at once rather than having monthly payments (there's a small discount for that)
- no accidents for either driver basically ever
Thanks Road42! I already have auto and home bundled, which I highly encourage others to check out if they aren't already doing so. I only had to add contents insurance because I rent, but my insurance cost ended up being LESS once I added the contents to my auto policy! I have been lazy about checking insurance options because my employer has a broker who assists us, and we get a group rate, and other people I know have said that when they've checked around, these are the best rates. But, it's always worth checking, especially since I think there are group rates available to alumni from both of the two universities I've gone to. They could be even better, for all I know!
Home decorating is my weakness, not dining out or buying Starbucks coffee. I was online shopping, for what reason I don't know (fail!) , but actually found curtains for my son's room from Land of Nod (he has pink and green floral curtains now that came with the house). I never find exactly what I am looking for, so this stumble was a find. Really wanted to buy them, especially since I only need 2 panels, but thought of you all and UFF, and closed my browser. So, I will either sell something to make the money or try my hand at DIY-ING it with coupons since the fabric shold be easy to obtain. If I DIY it, I need to find a good tutorial as I have not been happy in the past. In March, I guess. I am so glad I have a small (by American standards) house since I have less stuff to furnish.
This comment made me laugh. I stopped by Walmart today on the way home from church. Meds for cat - justifiable. Package of tofu because I'm craving a bit of variety after several weeks of mostly beans/split peas/lentils - semi-justifiable. Couple of small packages of Valentine candy (less than $3) - semi-justifiable - will explain below! But then I walked straight from the produce dept, where I'd picked up the tofu, and right over to the baked good. And as I picked up a pack of these awful (delicious!) glazed donuts that come in 6 packs for $1, there was this terribly intrusive thought in my mind about having to confess to you all that I'd bought them! They're obviously not that expensive, but they are NOT good for me, especially since I will eat them all in a couple of days. I might just as well buy a bag of sugar, mix it up with some margarine or oil, and eat it by the spoonful! (But they are much more delicious, and so far tonight I've had ... several!)
A word about the Valentine candy. I got so sick over Christmas, first the flu and then bronchitis, and we were really really busy at work, with one funeral after another back to back. I had done a lot of my Christmas shopping early (for people at work) but never got around to wrapping stuff and giving it out! So I wrapped up the little gifts I had bought for my leadership team volunteers, and took them in today. I'll take our admin asst her gift tomorrow. I posted about this in the "Odd Job a Day" thread. I had also bought a gingerbread house kit and a cat toy for my downstairs neighbours, which I also never got around to dealing with, and kind of forgot about. So, I bought a few little packages of Valentine's candy, and will give them the gift on Tuesday, with an explanation of what happened, and the suggestion that they can make a Valentine's themed gingerbread house instead of a Christmas one :-)
Total cost of Walmart trip - $26 dollars or so.