Frugal Doings for the First Half of November 2015

   

The medical bills are rolling in like tidal waves, the holidays are upon us, it's getting colder and we need to run the pellet stove more and prices at the grocery store are going up.  I could get depressed but I'd rather be proactive, remain positive and do what I can to stretch Jeff's income.  On that note, this is what I have been doing to accomplish that during the first part of this month:

~doing my points programs to earn points that I cash in for cash or gift cards

~cashed in at Swagbucks for gift cards to Walmart

~cashed in at Mypoints for a Olive Garden gift card

~took advantage of free magazine offers

~cashed in some of the points attached to our credit and debit card accounts at the Credit Union for another gift card that will be a gift this Christmas for some very special people in our lives

~bought a chest freezer for $75 from a friend

~using up things in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry before they go bad

~looking over our medical bills very carefully and challenging some of them with the insurance company

~cashed in a Pinecone Research for a check

~using the money from Pinecone Research to shop for things at the thrift store

~limiting my outings and staying home more so I do not use as much gas in my car

~combining errands all into 1 trip when possible

~heat turned down most of the time and just wearing warmer clothing in layers and house slippers

~Jeff is remodeling my closet with materials that we already have

~bought a section of downspout for .69 at the Habitat for Humanity resale store

~watching dvds that we already have

~borrowing movies and books from the library
~found 3 snowbibs for the grand kids at the thrift store saving about $18 on each set over the price at Walmart

~stretching a ham into many meals

~stocking up on things when they are rock bottom prices

~bake to baking now that I am healed up enough to do so

~put extra blankets on the bed to help keep us warmer at night and still be able to keep the heat turned down

~Jeff put the snow tires on the car himself

~making sure I either bake several things at once or at least do piggy back baking so I don't waste energy

~using my crock pots and cooking in bulk and freezing some of the food for meals later

~Jeff buried some of the blackberry branches so that they will produce new plants for us this Spring

~used some of the Walmart gift cards I earned to buy groceries

~signed up for some free samples

~trimmed my bangs

~watching shows and videos online

~keeping my coffee warm for longer in an insulated mug

~cashed in my Disney Movie Rewards points for a dvd for my grandsons for Christmas

~listening to Christmas music on the TV

~still eating tomatoes from our garden that I brought in green before the frost hit and are ripening up now

~working on making Christmas gifts with supplies I bought after Christmas last year
~using some huckleberry jam that did not set right as syrup over pancakes and ice cream

I'm still trying to come up with more ways to save...any suggestions?