Thrifty Ray bought a blender. As I commented on her blog that I like to make breakfast shakes, I also mentioned that I’d been meaning to try and make pureed soups. So I stood up and made one, using some steamed broccoli I had the other night. Reconstituted dry powdered milk, broccoli, a tiny but of bouillon, and about a tablespoon of ranch-type dressing (left over bottle-I put a dash of water in it, swished, and poured it in the blender). I then blended, nuked, and had really good soup.

Usually I like my own concoctions, and sometimes I’m the only one that eats them. But this soup passed the My Guy test! So now I have a new simple recipe. I think I’ll play with variety-cauliflower, carrots, pumpkin puree. Try some spices. I love being able to control the ingredients-sometimes low-fat foods have a lot of gunk in them. I’d be willing to serve this to guests, it’s that good. I can also use the idea to make “cream of” soups used in casseroles and other recipes-I can make it thicker to have the condensed version.

I love finding a new little trick. This one, homemade soup in minutes from left over veggies, is definitely a keeper.

Using the recumbent exercise bike is becoming a habit. I think once it hits a month it’ll be pretty routine. Also, watching less TV is becoming a habit. I’m using the time on the bike as my time to watch “bad” TV without guilt. Otherwise, I’m watching mostly TV I deem decent, or even better, listening to more music.

Today repetition paid off; I was able top bust out a double batch of muffins and a batch of granola in minutes. Plus I made my first batch of homemade popsicles in my new ten-cent mold.

I used the big bag of quick oats I got from Freecycle, as part of the grain in the muffins, and for the granola. I took a cheapo can of papaya, drained part of the juice for popsicles, and blended the rest into a puree for the muffins. I put some of the puree back in the popsicles for texture and color. I used some homemade bread crumbs for the muffins too; we make them more quickly than we use them. I also use soy flour instead of eggs, and substitute apple sauce for half the fat. Since it’s the second time I made the granola, I altered the recipe to make it cheaper, and lower-calorie. (I can’t necessarily say healthier; I’m trying use up some corn syrup, which ain’t the best, and I also used some Splenda, which some might object to.) The oven was used for both the muffins and the granola, and now I have snacks and breakfast galore.

The first time I made muffins it took a while. Now it’s so familiar, and I can use what I have on hand.

It’s Amy Dacyczyn’s basic recipe, Tightwad Gazette II, page 164.
* 2 to 2-1/2 cups flour/grain (substitute oats, cornmeal, bran, etc. for part of the flour)
* Up to ¼ cup fat (Oil, lard, butter, etc. Applesauce can be substituted for part-or all if you don’t mind dryer muffins.)
* 1 cup milk (reconstituted dry powdered, or regular, or soy, or some juice)
* 1 egg (can substitute 1 heaping tablespoon soy flour and one tablespoon water)
* Up to ½ cup sweetener (sugar, corn syrup, brown sugar, Splenda, honey)
* 2 teaspoons Baking powder
* ½ teaspoons Salt
* Up to 1-1/2 cup additions (moist or dry. Raisins, shredded zucchini, mashed banana, sunflower seeds; the choices are endless)

Preheat to oven to 350. Bake 20 minutes at 350 in lightly greased muffin tins.

Homemade breadcrumbs: put bread bags with unused heels or broken pieces of bread in the freezer. Next time the oven is used, put all the miscellaneous pieces in a metal container in the oven after using it; let the left over heat dry the bread out. Put these pieces in a tub in the cupboard (I use a one gallon mayonnaise tub). When the tub is full get out the Universal grinder, and grind all the pieces. Store in an airtight container. Use as a topping on casseroles with butter or margarine; used as a breading for oven-fried fish; sneak into muffins. I only dry the bread every few months, and I grind the crumbs maybe once or twice a year, when I’m in a rare kitchen putter mood.

Today’s Garage sale Haul:

Five smaller gifts $2.00

Manual chopper .10

Popsicle molds .10

Potholder (silicon) .25

Crazy light bulb .25

5 CDs 10.00

Colander .25

Tortilla shell molds 1.00

Raspberry Bar .50

That’s $2 gifts, $11.95 household, and 50 cents entertainment.

The CDs were the big expense; otherwise it would have come under $5. However, I feel like a good used CD, in a case with inserts, is not a bad deal at $2 each (they were 2.50 each, 5 for $10). I got The Best of Eric Clapton, Tori Amos- Little Earthquakes, Rolling Stones-Stripped, Neil Young-Harvest, and Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits.

I tried to find a picture of the light bulb online and was unsuccessful searching for novelty bulbs. It’s an incandescent, regular bulb shape. But it has silicone “spikes” on it, in a pattern, in three different colors. A little odd, but it spoke to me. It’s not exactly my style, but we have a bare bulb fixture in the laundry room so I put it in there.

The five smaller gifts include a nice bunch of candles for one of the women who periodically brings me gorgeous cardigans. My gifts stash, or either person specific or good general gifts, is growing nicely.

For the household items, My Guy was really excited by the Tortilla mold set; I figured he’d be which was why I was willing to spend a dollar. It came with instructions, and we hope to bake some molds soon. I love the idea of the tortilla shell for a salad being low-fat baked instead of fried. The chopper also excited him, as he plans to use it for onions. The colander is a nice sleek metal thing which will replace the battered melted plastic one we had. I’d kept my eye out for months for one at a low enough price.

If you ever hold a garage sale, consider hanging the clothes. I’ll bet you sell at least three times as much. At a few places, since I don’t need any clothes except fancier work stuff, I’d take one look at a piled high table and pass. It was even worse when the stuff was piled on sheets or tarps on the ground. Maybe there were excellent items in those piles, but I wasn’t up to looking, whereas I’ll always flip through any hung clothing.

The popsicle molds excited me; not sure how soon I’ll play with it yet. I have lots of ideas re: gelatin, yogurt, jams, iced tea, juice, canned fruit, canned fruit juices, etc.

I had a bunch of clothes that I took in to be exchanged. These were bought pre-Challenge, so I wasn’t sure how to handle the money aspect of it. I could have gotten cash back but I certainly wouldn’t have counted it as income. I exchanged for 3 items, and spent less than I exchanged for. (I used the rest of the credit to pants for My Guy for which he’ll reimburse me). I got two $10.99 dresses and a $12.99 skirt. I wasn’t going to count these an expense on The Challenge because I didn’t put any money out, and if I didn’t have exchange credit there’s no way I would have ever bought them. If anyone has an issue with this, I can reconsider posting it as an expense. I have some work events coming up that are going to require that I bump it up a tad; I know that to some an $11.99 dress is cheap, but to me it seemed quite high end.

I forgot to conclude the Clear Lake story (driving down to help my dad’s wife with a piece of property a couple weeks ago). As far as gas (3 hour drive), D paid to fill up my tank, and I almost worried about it, except for two reasons. First, My Guy and I went down there to perform manual labor to help her. Second, sometimes when I feel generous and give someone something or treat them, it can be a small frustration when they say “oh no, you shouldn’t,” or act embarrassed, when I truly want to be generous. So I figured that it’s good to learn to graciously receive if you want to give a lot. On that note I also accepted when she took us out to eat, at a nice little Mexican restaurant with very reasonable prices. As an extra bonus, I got a little travel kit that she wasn’t using-a facial scrub, cleanser, lotions, etc. It was awfully nice seeing D, and I was a little jealous of My Guy who went later in the week to get some more done.

I traveled for work again. For this trip I had 2 co-workers with me, and I went to a Department Store for the first time in quite a while. Idly browsing, as the others were the ones who had chosen this activity, I was just flabbergasted at the prices. I know we all gasp at $1,200 blouses and $3,000 dresses and the like. I can now be shocked at much less. I was looking at 50% off racks, and being just shocked that a skirt could be $120 reduced to $60. Some of the clothes were quite lovely, but I just can’t see shopping like that. I suppose that I could conceivably want a high end work outfit at some point and buy a nice skirt and blouse, but it would be such a rare, thought out occasion. As in once every five years, perhaps.

The funny thing for me is that I could have bought clothes if I had wanted to. I have money. I thought to myself, “Maybe if there is a deep clearance $10 skirt I’ll try it on.” I further thought, “Do I actually want any of these? Am I not buying (or even seriously shopping) because of The Challenge?” I was very pleased to be able to answer that no, I wasn’t interested. The Challenge is something I take quite seriously-I’m on Month Four and I’ve really worked very hard at not bending any rules at all-I mean I sweated whether recycling income was acceptable on The Challenge. (I decided it was.) But no, I wasn’t longing, craving, desiring, or even kinda wanting. Challenge or No, I am not depriving myself when I choose not to buy clothes at this price level. I felt very free, actually. Light and unencumbered.

And the end of the story is, my workmate bought a purse and wallet, and she was going to toss her old wallet. Now I have a beautiful wallet in excellent shape to replace my current one that has had a broken clasp for months. Of course I will look for a way to repay her; she didn’t want money, and even if I did have homemade jam in stock her family wouldn’t eat it. However I firmly believe that to continue to be gifted with hand-me-downs, it’s important to offer a tangible “thank you” periodically to those who hand down. Perhaps the next time I make a batch of bath salts she’ll get a jar.

Amongst those on the forums I get so used to the frugality that I am surprised at the spending and consumerism “out there.” It’s very heartening to come back and be re-grounded with the benefits of simplicity, frugality, and gratitude.

My Guy had a job fall in his lap; what a good day. It’s part time, so he can still be kind of a bum, which he defines as “being incredibly involved in his own pursuits.” The job is for a non-profit, small and local, so he’ll feel god about working there. A bonus is that it’s decent money, so the part time will pay full bills. (He spends like I do, which is nice.) He wasn’t even looking for work, which makes it all the better.

I used a huge chunk of this month’s entertainment budget and treated him to a big celebratory burrito, and even got him a SoBe drink he loves-it surely does takes a mighty celebration for me to pay for a beverage at a take out place. With my little burrito, I spent $13 out of entertainment, and I feel good about the expense.

My water aerobics buddy wants to take a “semester” off too, so that’s good. I biked five miles today on the recumbent, and may do some more. I’m fitting in to some stuff I couldn’t before, so another good thing. Saving on the workout budget will help with the medical bills I’m still working on.

There’s nothing on TV tonight, and I’m glad. I’ll take a bath and blog and bike and putter. The end of the season has come at an excellent time for me, right when I wanted to cut out some bad TV. That will leave me with 6 regular shows next fall in primetime, many of which I tape (an hour becomes 40 minutes!). I do still watch some syndicated sitcoms and news and Oprah from 5 to 8. Since I have no kids, and my commute is 3 minutes, and my house is pretty clutter free, and I’ve admitted I’m lazy, this should come as no huge shock.

I figure if I’m cleaning house, hanging laundry, biking, washing dishes, etc., I shouldn’t feel too guilty about watching. I would like to move more towards music though. When I was younger, boy I had no time for TV, it was music music music.

The coffee is pre-made for tomorrow and the smoothie is in the blender just waiting to be blended for breakfast. Nice.

When I was little, we’d get to pick one item each time we went to the grocery store. The item was usually on the cheaper side; maybe grapes, or a can of smoked oysters. I still sometimes treat myself to one item. It’s usually no more than three dollars, and is still usually fruit or smoked oysters. The idea that shopping always involved a treat probably wasn’t the best lesson; however learning that treats can be little is something that I still benefit from.

I have a case of popsicles in the freezer that I got for a dime apiece in the winter. They are the fancy all fruit kind, very tasty. They are a treat. It’s not the cost that makes them a treat; it’s that they are a sweet and that I have no more than one every couple of weeks.

If I live simply, and without too many frills, little things can feel like such treats. The less I spend the more bang I get for my treat buck. I spent ten times more dining out in two months, January and February, than I have spent in the last three months. I am enjoying the recent meals out so much more.

Cheap(er) treats (the more infrequent, the better):
Sticking a load of laundry in the dryer instead of hanging it.
“Blowing” $5 in a thrift store or at a garage sale.
Having one can of soda.
Getting a burrito from the local place (less than $5)
Making a day a no chores day, even if I have to do a little more the night before.
“Blowing” three dollars at the dollar store.
Sharing a fancy $2 can of soup and not cooking.
Having a fancy three dollar coffee or smoothie from a store
Getting a couple items off the dollar or value menu at a fast food place.
Pulling out the dusty paper plates to avoid dishes.

I’m not talking about having these be treats because I can’t afford more. Heck, I could do all these things at least once a week if I wanted to. But why would I want to start taking something for granted, when I can really appreciate it as a luxury?

Treat items can be things that were previously taken for granted. I’m working my way off of club soda and seltzer, and am drinking tap water. Bubbles are now a treat. (Originally when I quit drinking years ago, I gave myself permission to spend as much as I wanted on non-alcoholic beverages. Now I'm trying to get over being spoiled.) If I got a mocha every day, it wouldn’t be a treat, but since I always make my coffee at home, a store-bought cup once every six months can be pretty special. Forget the ski trips, the Nordstrom trip, the daily Starbucks trip, the luxury car – I’m easy, give me a popsicle.

I’m not sentimental, yet Garrison Keillor made tears rolls down my cheeks, with a simple prayer.

I’ve read Lake Wobegon Days numerous times and always love it. I just now picked up Leaving Home, a Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. The stories are funny and poignant. You may have heard some of the stories on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion. I see Keillor’s books all the time at yard sales and library sales.

At the end of the first tale, a man lies in bed and thinks, “Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.”

I need to print that for myself, for when I forget to be grateful.

Well, I am a major goob. I was moping like a big baby, then I looked at a few blogs and Hot Diggity, there is a mighty amount of success going on. So many goals reached and exceeded. Ignore the fuss in this corner-some people are total rock stars right now!

I felt like Taylor Hicks, doing the full three months of spending less than half my net, and I'm dancing around on top of the world, and I got only one (cherished) kudos. I guess need more validation than I thought. My savings account is full, but clearly I have issues than money can not solve. It's funny, I'm a grown woman but sometimes I'm just like a little kid.

I love the recumbent bike. I earned 9 miles of cruddy TV tonight.

And I'm weaning myself off of club soda. I miss the bubbles, but I'm hanging on.

My Guy has been thinking for many months now about getting an exercise bicycle, or a trainer to put a bicycle in, or a recumbent bicycle. We read Consumer Reports, and we price shopped a couple of times. It turns out that recumbents are expensive, and trainers are more expensive than we would have thought. (If it’s just something you hook a bike to, shouldn’t it be much, much cheaper than an exercise bicycle?) Recumbent exercise bicycles are great, but evidently one needs to spend more to get a quality one- more so than with regular exercise bikes. So we had just kept pondering. We are often that way with big purchases, whether shared or individual. That way when we do finally take the plunge, we are pretty comfortable, and it’s definitely not an impulse buy.

We went down to Clearlake this weekend to help out My Folks with their little piece of property. Do some landscaping, learn how to start gas and water, etc., for when we caretake, and spend some time getting to see D before she and my dad take off for other continents. I was the labor; My Guy actually has a background in this type of stuff, so he and D were the Planners. Well, there was a shed of stuff that was gonna get hauled away, and I figured we should really de-clutter and take advantage. I looked in another shed, and there was exercise equipment.

As we dragged a bike to the Garbage shed, I realized it was a recumbent, in great shape. D wouldn’t be using it for at least a couple years, if ever. We loaded it into the car, and brought it home. This model seems to be going for $599. (D bought it at a Garage Sale, not sure how much, but definitely not even close to $599.)

My Guy went 6 miles this morning. We are happy with our find. I plan to "earn" TV by biking when watching.

I’m on auto-pilot, that’s what it is. I couldn’t exactly come up with right term of why I’ve been doing fine on my (Modified) Minimum Wage Challenge, without lots of effort, but Priceplus nailed it. I’ve often noticed that he’s a man of fewer but more pertinent words, and he’s done it again.

I do not have to work at living frugal now; I’m on auto-pilot. I’ve kept my old good habits going, that enabled me to even think about doing this, and my newer habits (eating out much less) are starting to sink in.

It makes me think of Jeffrey’s post on collecting 101 Painless ways to save. How many of us do frugal things that feel very easy to us, and we can’t see why anyone would think bulk purchased cooked from scratch plain oatmeal would be Painful? We think hanging clothes is just another same old. Others of us may have been shocked at the idea of cutting things out, or buying things used, or making things from scratch. Well, it’s not so much a matter or hard or easy, or painful or painless.

If you have never hung laundry, and have always had clothes come out of the dryer, hanging clothes takes getting used to. Maybe you need a rack or a line. Maybe you currently wash 6 loads at once and can’t hang it all. You might not have cloths pins, not know that clothes dry in the house or on mild days, not like the look of the hanging clothes, be put off at the stiffness.

Over time, you get into a groove. You know how much will fit on the drying space you have. You learn that hanging clothes on hangers can help you fit more on the line. You get used to stiff socks, and you put your work shirts in the dryer for five minutes when they are almost dry to avoid stiffness and ironing. You find a good place for the rack, and you realize that clothes pins can have lots of other uses as well. It used to take more time, but now you hang them lickety-split, maybe while watching the tube or listening to the radio. You get to be on auto-pilot.

It’s the same task: hanging laundry. But it went from hard to easy, painful to painless. There are skills out there that I didn’t have, and when I worked to get them it was a learning curve, but now they are easy. And other ideas, I’m intimidated by, but can tackle one at a time.

It really goes along with my idea of habits being the key (my second favorite post, from April 7).

Take on one thing at a time, fine tune it to your lifestyle (go generic and store brand for almost everything but decide you must have Campbell’s chicken noodle soup), do it over and over, and you’ll be on auto-pilot.

I Picked up the Freecycle peanut butter; three 18 ounce jars. Since My Guy can take out 64 ounces in a week, no fooling, these will not go to waste. I also got a bag of quick cooking oats, and a liter of tonic water. I’m so excited by Freecycle I put in for fluorescent light bulbs with small threads. I hoping they fit in our chandelier fixture in the living room.

The homemade granola I made is really good, so that’s good news. I ate pinto beans for lunch, along with fruit, and tortillas and beans for dinner. Frugal, healthy, and, bonus time, tasty.

For the weekend I might be driving to meet with one of my folks. My folks are going to be traveling the world come 2007, and we might be somewhat caretaking a small piece of property with a trailer about three hours away. It could be that in a way, it will be like a free vacation house. However no details are worked out; we just know we’ll be very happy to see her and have the nice drive this weekend.

Tonight is bath night (as it so often is). I put in a good days work so will sleep the sleep of the just.

I picked up my bag of Freecycle clothes. I hit the jackpot; here’s my haul:

Five tops, three dressy scarves, two purses, two pairs of pants, two sweaters, two pairs of sweatpants/sleep pants, one winter scarf, one skirt, one pair jeans, one dress jacket.

Some items I’m not sure I’ll wear, because they are not my usual, but I’m looking to explore a little bit, and this exploration doesn’t have a price tag. I may choose to give away some of these items, and that’s fine.

I also have eight items for the “see if it fits in September; if not toss” hamper. The items I chose not to keep at all fit perfectly in a duffel bag I chose not to keep. I was trying on clothes for a full hour, and it was all free, all of it. That beats garage saling, though I was enjoying my quarter blouse today. I got a compliment on it from the director of the agency, and I blurted “it was twenty five cents!” I could learn to tone my frugality enthusiasm down, I suppose, to look like less of a goober, but I get such a kick out of it. I think I’d rather be a goober than embarrassed about my frugality.

I also got another call back from a Freecycle person that I had thought didn’t get my e-mail; three tubs of peanut butter may be in my future.

We used a gift certificate that we had for the town the clothes were in, to make the 10 mile drive even less of a gas hit. It was okay, but I can’t see paying actual money for what we got. It’s nice to know that when I do go out to eat, I get more of a bang for a 6.95 Mexican dish than a 12.95 plate with soup and salad deal. I also again realized that portions are too darned large. We could have probably split an entrée and an appetizer; but since it was a gift certificate I don’t regret it too much. My Guy is picking up the tip since the certificate was mine, so no expense, a point in the meal’s favor.

As if my day didn’t ring enough frugal bells, one of my frugal buddies at work dropped off a vintage Pyrex refrigerator container, a half pint jam jar, and I note asking me if I want more jam jars.



These two women (I’m not sure which it was this time) have brought me beautiful cardigans over the last couple of years. I particular like men’s golf sweaters.



I do my best to keep these women in plum jam, but I may need to ramp up my contributions-I so appreciate their gifts. (I tried direct repayment and didn’t get anywhere.) These two women are so elegantly well-dressed, it thrills me to know that much of the clothing they wear is from thrift shops and garage sales. Neither of them carries any extra weight, so everything they do wear, no matter what the cut or style, looks beautiful.

Oh, and yet more frugal good news. I have a garage saling date for Saturday, and I made a big pot of beans so I have seven lunches in the freezer. Oh happy day.

I hiked quite a bit today; it was a very nice time with good friends, and a needed workout along with needed nature time. I live in an exquisitely beautiful area of the country, and each time I drive home I realize that I don’t take enough advantage of that. We hiked uphill through the redwoods, to a meadow with wild flowers and oak trees, and got a beautiful view. I had sweat on my brow from hiking uphill. We stopped at the brewery afterwards, but one of the many benefits of no longer drinking is that I was quite happy with ice water only, so it was easy to be free. We sat on the back patio and enjoyed more sun. And then I’m the perfect permanent designated driver.

I’ve arranged my first successful Freecycle pick up. A woman listed a bag of clothes, sizes 12, 14 and 16, some “slouchy”, some “dressy,” all “in good shape.” I’m picking it up tomorrow after water aerobics. I figure even one acceptable piece will be worth the gas money, and more will be gravy. I’m hoping that someone either has gained or lost a bit of weight and that these are nice clothes that just don’t fit anymore. I’m a 16/14, working to a 12, so this is perfect. I hope the pickup goes well; the concept of Freecycle, an exchange of goods that benefits both parties with no cost, is very frugal, and ecologically sound as well. I’d be thrilled if three items work well for me, especially for work. I lack items that are slightly dressier for work, so this is a need, not a want; something I thought of before asking to pick up a bag of stuff. If the items don't work, I have a collection of thrift store donations ready to go.

Very good day; only expenditure is a full tank of gas. The gas is less noticeable than the medical as far as budget hits, but I did groan for a minute or two.

The bath water is running; a luxury that I'm not sure I could ever give up.

Except for regular bills, nothing much happening on the money front. And we don't have that many regular bills: rent, Netflix, cable, phone, and PG&E. So spending has been low. I was in Sacramento with a car, and I thought about making a Trader Joe's run, and I didn't need anything, so I passed. Then I thought about going to Big Lots just to check it out, but passed again. I don't have any needs right now. I even passed on the super cool Deseret Thrift Store, thinking if I hit it every two months it will be more exciting.

This is all good, because I have another medical bill for that "bad" mole - over a hundred dollars. This thing is going to end up costing me around $250 by the time I get all the bills from the various people who cut off, carried, or looked at the funky thing. I am determined to stay on the challenge, and not get derailed. I have to remember that the healthcare I am getting is better than many receive, and what I pay for it is not comparatively high at all.

Somehow against that new $100 making granola and adding herbs to the vegetable garden seem low impact. However, since I do love granola in my yogurt, and since even the bulk cheap stuff isn't really cheap, the granola is a good move. Now that I know a basic recipe works, I can explore less sweet, less fatty options as well.

Well, now that I ponder it, the granola and herbs this weekend aren’t small measures. Anything that I do or learn to aid in healthy eating or long-term frugality is another tool to add to my tool belt. All my little tricks and skills can come together to keep me on the Challenge despite medical mishaps. That means being frugal has given me control and a sense of security-things that I value.

Tomorrow I go hiking with friends. Shared gas money will be the only expense, as I am packing a lunch.

We’re doing a little gardening this year. Here on the northern coast of California, it’s not the best gardening area for some items, but we though it might be nice to try. Tomatoes (the littler ones seem to do better), lettuce, cucumbers, and squash. In black pots, container gardening. It was a mini-investment: with the dirt it was $34. We’ll be able to use the dirt next year, especially since we have compost. I am hoping that we get at least $34 dollars of produce this year. That won’t be too hard, with the price of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers what it is. I do have to admit that My Guy has done all of it so far, while I was out of town. I told him I’d pay half into it, so I can’t yelp about the dirt cost.

The gas and electric bill was down again, to $122.48. Our changes are making a difference. Big headache today, but if it calms down, some garage saling.

I was on the road again. It looks like work is going to be like that for the next couple of months. I used my per diem money to go crazy on fruits and vegetables at the stands I passed while driving. (The flights were sold out.)

Strawberries, cherries, asparagus, pea pods, an apricot. I pretty much got drunk on fuit and vegetables. Driving in the sun, through the redwoods. It was nice.

Yesterday I spent $2.80 at garage sales for 12 items, at an average of 24 cents an item.

What I got:

a small frame

Tupperware thingy perfect for spaghetti

four gifts - Jeff Gordon ponchos stuff for two NASCAR fan friends, a porcelain lemon for a collector of fruit things, and a wool sweater in excellent shape

A very nice high quality child’s sweater that I will give to some grandparent or parent at work (I stuck it in the bag of clothes for a dollar bag)

Clothing for me: one piece footy jammies (these things sell new at $35!), a sweater, a nice blouse, and a pair of slacks

A shirt for My Guy

I spent perhaps two hours at the sales, and I’d say used no more than half a gallon of gas maximum.

I can’t recommend garage sales enough. I’ve heard various arguments against it, but I feel they have their place. “It’s too easy to buy things you don’t need.” If someone has trouble scooping everything up I understand that. But if you avoid garage sales for this reason, you miss the items that you do need. I’ve been wanting a crock pot with a lift out crock for quite a bit. I was able to get a very nice one last week for $3. I’d have missed it if I hadn’t gone to the sales.

One thing that I plan to use sales for this year is gift shopping. I’ve gone to thrift stores and garage sales with a different mindset: if I see something a friend would really like, I buy it, then stick it in a gift box until a birthday or Christmas comes along. I’ve gotten nine gifts for $4.90 so far, an average of 55 cents apiece. Since I didn’t have to pick out a gift, what I have selected has been very spot on-I feel confident that most of these gifts will please the recipient.

Now, you won’t always get lucky, but sometimes you hit the jackpot. One year I was getting cases of 24 canning jars for a buck. I’ve been looking for footie jammies for years, and now I own them for a quarter. I also saw other people’s jackpots waiting: at this one sale, there was a large quantity of beautiful large sized women’s clothing. A woman who wore a 2X to a 4X would have had an excellent selection of high quality clothing that looked very well taken care of, at excellent prices. Even though I didn’t need any of those items, there was part of me that was excited for a woman to come along and see that smorgasbord!

One last thing about garage sales: they give me an appropriate sense of sticker shock when I am at regular stores.

I’m going to bed soon, as I’m supposed to have regular sleep patterns to help prevent migraines. Tomorrow I’ll get up early, same reason, and go Garage saling. Again, Christmas shopping. And I’ll be doing a ton of recycling-a small portion of it stuff I’ll get money for.

Boring is good. I sometimes feel like it’s odd to like a Friday night of hanging laundry, washing some dishes, taking a nice long hot bath, doing some writing, and reading some blogs. But my life feels very restful, not empty. I do not miss the drama of my youth. I don’t need the constant ups and downs and activity. I’m going to nuke a brown paper bag of popcorn, crawl in bed with my book, and sleep the sleep of a contented woman. If I could of watched myself at 35 when I was 15, I would probably be horrified, but the reality is that if I knew at 15 how much more at peace I’d become, I’d be very jealous.

Tomorrow I leave for a 3 day trip for work, and I come home Thursday night. Next week I might be gone at least one night. June has a couple trips, too. This trip is to a place that’s sunny, and has a pool, so it might be nice to hang out after work around the pool. I like my co-workers a lot-that’s good, because I’m sharing a room with one of them.

You know, not spending is really a habit. I keep thinking, “how am I thrifty today?” And I keep coming up with a simple answer: Not spending anything. Other than some groceries and rent, really this month I’ve spent $8 bucks at garage sales.

This isn’t news, because a lot of people have figured out that being frugal can be a good for the body. Despite my history of thrift, I myself had never embraced the natural fusion of smart spending and healthy living.

I’ve hit eight pounds on my Credible Threat Challenge. I’m eating almost all meals at home (and packing lunches). I’m eating wholesome lower fat, higher nutrition meals. Lots of beans, whole grains, vegetables in all forms, small portions of lean meat and fish. I’m eating less, and certainly not eating the rich, oversized helpings from restaurants. I’m walking more (giving my car a break, and my gas bill).

Start at 196, goal to get to 176 or I face a bikini and a camera. I’m forty percent of the way towards my goal, and it has not been too much effort. I’m just focusing on always eating breakfast, never missing my morning and afternoon snack, eating more of the healthy stuff before I treat myself to rich or gooey or sweet stuff, and making sure I savor any treats instead of scarfing them. I’m working to have my eating habits become just that: habits.

It's an extra incentive that garage sales and thrift stores have a lot of excellent clothing in the smaller sizes.

Today I spent small money on some great stuff at garage sales, which almost compensates for spending money on something really stupid.

First, the stupidity. I have Pfaltzgraff tableware in the Salerno pattern on my wish list with E-bay. I bought a big set for $16.99 at Ross years ago, and I was an employee and got 20% off. I’ve probably spent triple that adding pieces, for no good reason at all. I like Asian looking things, and I like things to be all one simple pattern. So I’ve ordered more of this pottery to replace pieces broken over the years. Well, lately I have enough, but I still get the wish list mailings. So sometimes I make a low bid, and I’m always outbid, and I’ve shopped without spending. Except last night my low bid was the highest bid, and shipping kicked my butt. Seven ninety-nine plus 9.87 shipping for 4 cups is 17.93 spent out of the household category. I am not proud. It's a pretty pattern, but I can't find pictures that do it justice.



The good stuff: a crock pot with a removable crock-I’ve been wanting that for a long time-$3, household. Three gifts for Birthday/Christmas, $2.25. Gift for My Guy to give to his mom for Mother’s Day ,$1, which I’ll be reimbursed. Nice blouse and sweater, $1.75. Books, 75 cents, under the entertainment category. Might Bright book light, retails over 10 bucks, 25 cents, household. Wooden box and bath beads, free. Nine dollars, eight of them mine.

I met with friends at 8 a.m. to go garage sailing, which was nice for two other reasons. First, I’m supposed to be getting up at the same time on weekends (good sleep patterns to avoid migraines), and I got to do something social on the weekend, which I don’t always do.

Other purchases and income: a travel book sold on half.com, so I get $3.73 in income ($5.80 less the $2.07 postage). That’s a nice surprise, I haven’t sold two books in two months in a long time. Also, I mailed something to a buddy, so $9.84 postage. I had thought parcel post was cheaper, but I guess it’s been a while since I mailed something that wasn’t media mail. It’s not really a gift; I guess I’ll stick it in miscellaneous

Friday we did not go to lunch for Cinco de Mayo, so there is money unspent. Friday I also did not go the the barbecue and play poker. (I think it may have been cancelled; regardless, I was a little too worn from the week to attend.)So I still have my pretty eggplant, and I still have my $26 left for poker playing this year.

I've figured out a benefit to eating lighter and going out to eat. Tomorrow a couple of us are going to a Mexican restaurant for Cinco de Mayo. And because of my credible threat challenge, I'll be likely to order a smaller dish, as opposed to a Combination Plate that has tons of food. So, it will cost less. And I know I will savor it, because it's a treat now, not just another ten dollar "oh, well" meal.

Saturday morning I Garage Sale with 2 buddies, and I am darned excited. Sometimes I realize I'm not as social as I'd like, and I can have a good time while doing a worthwhile activity. I'll honestly be Christmas shopping!

There are quite a few blogs on this site that are really inspiring. I can't name names...it's like the Oscar speech, you list everybody and still forget to mention a really important person....

Suffice it to say that I thank all of you for being willing to share your daily lives, money aspects and other. It makes me think, and has actually started taking the place of some nightly TV for me. So many of you write so well, and have an honesty and simplicity I just love.

I watch too much bad TV, and I'm working on it. Most TV is bad, I admit. I'm not tackling it, because I'm not in a tackling headspace for anything other than figuring out Roth IRA stuff, the Minimum Wage Challenge, and the Credible Threat challenge. But, I'm working on it. The blogs help.

I love tortillas and beans. Kinda simple statement, but man, we have been eating a lot of them and they are so tasty. Corn tortillas, flour tortillas, whole wheat tortillas. Refried beans, fat free beans, black bean. Some chicken or onions or veggies or tomato. Open faced or rolled. They make me pretty happy and I’m satisfied.

My car didn’t cost as much as I thought. Oil change, general check up, rear brakes fixed up, and a serpentine belt, $125.90. Not bad. My place may not be the cehapest in town, but all the employess have fair benefits, and I know that they are super honest, so I never have to lie awake questioning work I had done.

I walked to work today, because of the car. I’ll try to do the same tomorrow, even though my car’s done. I’m doing well on the Credible Threat, and getting below 190 into the 180s is darned close. A lot of folks at work are doing weight watchers; I decided not to, not just because of the cost but because it didn’t seem to fit me. I’ve heard wonderful things about it, but don’t feel it would suit me right now. The benefit, though, is that now at work there are quite a few of us working to be healthier and slimmer. I now have a regular walking buddy, which makes me take my breaks, too. The camaraderie isn’t about food and potlucks and candy, it’s about being motivated to make positive change.

Friday we’re invited to a Barbecue and Poker Tournament (followed by live game). I only have $26 left from my 2006 poker winnings, so I need to win or stay even to be able to keep playing. I’m not sure what I’ll bring; potato salad sounds good and easy and cheap. And to grill? Perhaps some eggplant. I’m not vegetarian, but I do have a nice, pretty eggplant. I’m intimidated by cooking meat sometimes, and though I love sausage a lot of it has nitrates which may (or may not) trigger my migraines.

I've had a series of overall good days, and that's helped me feel more energetic.

Friday I train nine people all day. I love training, but I know I'll be wiped at the end. It's good to be energetic going in.

April books are closed, and I’m making it. Success for month two of the (Modified) Minimum Wage Challenge. I have a total of $145.06 “banked” to use for future larger purchases (such as car insurance in July).

I tell ya, the health situation knocked me a bit. Darned body, causing me trouble. I spent more than I should have for the month, but I spent no extra on fun stuff. I was very lucky that all our hard work on the electric bill resulted in such a decrease in that bill.

It’s shaken me, a little. I know that I’m going to get a bill from the doctor’s office for the mole removal, but I’m not sure how much it will be. I know that I’m due for my 35,000 mile tune up – my brakes are starting to squeak, and my Change Oil reminder is lighting up. In June, I think I might have to renew my water aerobics; I’m weighing whether I should or not. (The woman I go with is a friend of mine who, due to bad knees, can’t do other activities. If it weren’t for her I’d likely drop it but being her Pool Pal is a real factor for me.) And Car Insurance is coming due soon.

What has shaken me is not the above expenses, or that I might wobble on the challenge. The reality is I have money to “cheat” with if it comes to that. I worry, knowing that others don’t have the safety of drawing on reserves. For many, living on minimum wage is not an idle Challenge for someone with too much time on her hands to blog about. I get a dose of humility when I think of myself in this position without my actual income. Meeting all needs while satisfying some wants is manageable, but it takes time and effort and desire and attention must be paid.

It crossed my mind to cut down on medications due to this challenge. I won’t do that, no worries, but I bet others do. A person with limited income facing some larger bills might think of halving the dosage on meds, driving uninsured for a couple months, not getting preventative maintenance on the car, or putting some of the bills on a credit card. I have the luxury of not having to do those.

I’m sticking with the Challenge. I plan to make it, and if I don’t make it, it won’t be because of a couple rough months. I have to remind myself, I didn’t think this was going to be easy. (Well, maybe I thought it’d be easier.) I’ll remind myself of the reasons for doing this challenge, and remind myself to give thanks for what I do have. I have a warm bed in a safe house with a full pantry, and to be ungrateful would be a dishonor to any person who goes without these this evening.

A raw dollar reason I was doing the challenge was to save money for the $20 challenge. My spent of $1073 is $519 less than my average per month last year. (I know I have some unspent as of now, but it will be spent on budgeted purchases.) Adding back in the $39 I put into "savings" under the challenge, I saved an additional $558 for the $20 challenge.

(Boring full disclosure: I drive to the airport in my car each month for work, 32 miles round trip. I get money back per mile, .44-1/2 cents. I didn’t want to include the “income” I get from driving for work in this Challenge. On the other hand, that trip is about a third of my monthly miles. I decided that I would allow myself one gallon of gas “paid for” by work each month to compensate. So I took $3 off the gas I paid in April, and I’ll do the same in May. It seemed like a fair compromise.)

Total on the $20 Challenge for two months: $1116.

We'll be going to the grocery store, to get some vegetables and perhaps some shrimp (supposed to be 78 cents for a half dozen?) to go to a barbecue. We'll perhaps play croquet, and enjoy the mild sun. Since I do water aerobics tomorrow, I may not close out my challenge books until Tuesday. I know I made it, it's just a matter of how much I am able to carry over into May.

We were blown away by how many trade dollars we got at the books store; $40.78! That will help with quite a few birthday and Christmas presents. And, we also have more shelf space, since we are no longer keeping books we have no interest in re-reading. A no spend day, which always helps, and a productive day. I take advantage of my perky moments.

My Guy got into the purge mood, which usually hits me much more often. So our pile for donations is nice and big, and I like being leaner. We’ve got a bunch of books we’re going to try to get some trade from-most mine. We’re gonna walk to the bookstore, which will be .7 miles there and back. I know that with my Challenge, I have to think gifts early, and getting trade will help with that. Most folks I’d get a gift for has at least one type of book they’d like.

This last week I’ve not missed water aerobics once, I walked to work once, and I’ve been very conscious of eating well, eating right. No migraine, and good energy; a nice rare not too lazy day!

So, after hanging laundry and walking to the bookstore, I’ll feel proud, and maybe even purge some more. The less crud I have, the less I have to clean and dust. I want to only have things I use and love.

In February, pre-challenge, I bought tickets to see David Sedaris. It is very rare I buy tickets like this; the last time was to see Spalding gray, in the late '90s. My Guy and I have loved to listen to Sedaris on National Public Radio, and read him in the New Yorker or get his books. The $45 tickets were a huge treat. I was shocked at the time; it had been so long since I had gotten tickets for a performance that I had really thought it would be maybe $18, or perhaps as high as $25. If I had been on the challenge in February, I still think I would have gone, however it would have made a huge dent in my budget.

It is an unpleasant decision to have to make: 20 pounds of cheese or an unforgettable memory. Usually I choose cheese, since so many unforgettable moments are free. Tonight I was glad to have paid for this memory. I felt joyful in his presence, and am sated. And, the next time a favorite performer comes around in 2014, I’ll probably pay for tickets to see them. I don’t mind paying….every 8 or so years.

I wrote a little piece on how being lazy and frugal can go together. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that people in my life think that my thriftiness takes a lot of effort.

Lots of frugal things might take more time; hanging laundry, or being crafty, or baking bread from scratch. When I have some energy, I do the active stuff, and prepare for those times when I won’t be up to it.

I admit I have a lazy streak. Some people aren’t lazy, but the complexity of their daily lives might lead them to think they don’t have the time to be frugal. It was a critical turning point for me when I realized some frugal activities are low effort, and could frankly be easier than costlier solutions. Here are ways in which laziness has worked for me.

Meals at home
When I do cook, I cook simply, and I cook a lot. Cooking one night can cover many meals. For most of the time when I don’t feel like cooking, I’m prepared. If I make pasta and sauce with some vegetables, I put a couple big tubs in the freezer and some smaller ones for lunches. I just have the regular freezer in the fridge, but I can sure get a lot of loaves of bread and tubs of food in there. Crockpot meals can be as simple as three ingredients. Bulghur, broth, canned tomatoes. Whole chicken, can of coconut milk, piece of lemongrass (from Asian foods store) makes Thai chicken. It may not be as good as a restaurant meal, but it is low effort and frugal and I’m not picky.

If I make muffins, it’s as much time to make a triple batch as a single batch. I can make muffins once every two weeks, taking advantage of an energetic moment. That’s breakfast and snack food for pennies.

Take out
To fight the urge for takeout when I can’t deal with cooking, I try to keep a couple low (no) effort but tasty things at home. I have a nice frozen pasta & cheese concoction in the freezer I made a while ago. In a normal mood, I’ll just use the lentils and stew and plain stuff. But when I need comfort food, and have the takeout urge, I can bring out that sorta special dish, which was the result of a simple recipe tripled. Even when bone tired I can press the microwave button. We’ve also used canned soup as Take Out-not much effort to microwave or heart on stove. Even when we splurge on a fancy $1.75 canned soup for these moments, we’re still saving big bucks. It’s less time for me to open a can of soup than to go to a place for take out.

Morning Routine
I’m not grumpy in the morning, but I don’t like to get up and do too much stuff. So I prepare the coffee the night before. I’ve even put cereal in a bowl on the counter the night before, which My Guy found funny, but I do what it takes. If I was even lazier, I swear I’d stick instant coffee in a cup with water in the microwave the night before. Having my coffee made for me, at a Java Store, would take much more effort. If I make oatmeal, three or four tubs go in the microwave. When energetic, the night before I’ll stick some fruit, yogurt and milk in the blender and stick the blender in the fridge. I have no excuse to not eat breakfast. Even if I’m running really late, I can grab the ever-present muffins, or a tub of oatmeal to microwave at work. I get out of bed at 6:45 and I’m at work at 7:30. Yes, that’s forty-five minutes including commute.

Housecleaning
I like simple and plain. My house lacks clutter. It’s very simple to clean, because not too much is in it. Living room is a couch, a book case, a TV, and a coffee table. That’s it. Cleaning means folding the blanket on the couch and taking coffee cups from the table to the kitchen. The less I take time to buy, the less I need to clean. A Laziness Bingo.

Lunch
I always have my tubs (see above) and my muffins. Sometimes I’ll hard-boil a few eggs, and stash those. It’s hard not to find time to grab some combination of these, plus maybe a vegetable or piece of fruit. If I still manage to not grab a lunch, I have an emergency stash in a drawer at work. On a more energetic day, I brought in a bag of nuts, canned sardines, canned veggies. If I didn’t have a desk drawer I could stash it in my car.

Grocery shopping
I don’t like grocery shopping. So I don’t do it very often. Our ideal is one run to the main store with good deals and bulk foods, then one trip to the outlet/seconds store, in a month. Sometimes we might go twice, but never even close to weekly. We stock up a lot on non-perishables. Some fresh foods are pretty hardy: eggs, carrots, apples, cabbage. If we run out mid month, oh well. It’s easier to get up the oomph to shop once a month than once a week. Yeah, I might miss a loss leader special -maybe I'll make that special trip, but if not, I can live with that.

People just starting out being frugal, peeking out from behind their credit cards at the promised land of No Debt and Growing Savings, should know that there is a form of frugality that fits everyone. Thrift is a mighty big tent. Those of us who aren’t on the go-go-go all the time are welcome in it.