Care for a dumpster dive?

I've never dumpster dived, in till tonight. I read about it in The Frugal Gazette. I've heard other people talk about doing it. But I've never taken the plunge myself before tonight. We've grabbed free wood from a couple of local spots but thats as close as we have gotten. We live across from an auto parts store that appears to be re-modeling. They have a huge dumpster in the parking lot full of items. I suggested dh and myself go peek for goodies about 8:00 at night long after the store has closed, and later then most people would be walking on our street. We carted home a massive piece of pegboard, 2 smaller peg board pieces, a huge roll of plastic, and a weird display piece. I am quite excited about the peg board because its something we intended to buy to organize our shed. The display case has a few options it could be turned into a small shelving unit by inserting wood between the heavy wire rows, then mounted onto the wall to hold small tools. It could be hung from the ceiling so that items could be hooked onto it. Its a strange little piece but I think it will be useful. My hubby did the dumpster (really big dumpster) climbing as I am clumsy and not nearly as strong as he is. So when we went back to our house I got out the binoculars to make sure there wasn't something I could see potential in that he couldn't. There was not. lol We both felt a little strange dumpster diving but we did it somewhere we are familiar and because we stepped outside our comfort zone we scored some freebies!

Shopping and money challenge

Money challenge is completely out the window! But I found great buys on fabric storage boxes clearanced at lowes. At Home Depot i bought a clearance tissue cover (ceramic with pretty trim) for .01 cent. That's right folks! Very cool. My salaried dh told me he's making more then .01 cent while talking to me lol. He bought some new things, a palm sander at the pawn shop for $10. Maybe he can finish my $1 coffee table now! He also bought a drain snake, and is hopefully fixing the washer as we speak. Our brand new set is too powerful for the drain and has leaked water everywhere since we bought it. We've been draining the washer into the sink with a hose and that's no fun. It can be a huge mess as well!

I this post at thrifty fun, and it intrigued me. I love the idea of solar power. We bought a set of solar lights for outside, and they are nice but do not produce enough light to be used inside. We looked at bigger lamps at Lowes but they were pretty expensive $44 for two. They have a solar panel that powers regular appliances for $24 but they were out. We're going to look online. He likes the big power cell better because he thinks it will generate more power then the small cells that are on top of the lamps i liked. The lamps with a separate solar cell looked way too outdoorsy to go inside! Were going to look around more, and maybe wait for a sale before we purchase anything.

Money challenge

Well the $100 bill was used monday. I paid for walgreens and dinner with my original cash but after that we went to the grocery store. We spent $44 mainly on things for dh to snack on at work. He is working very long hard hours (from 7 am till 8pm without a day off for 3 weeks streight)and I wanted to get him some candy bars, power bars, and stuff to make him trail mix. I have enough of everything (except oatmeal) to make 3 more batches of trail mix. Homemade trail mix is nice because its cheaper and its customized to him. We used mixed nuts he likes, yogurt covered raisins, homemade granola and dark M&Ms. Yuck! lol

I made the granola using 'quick' oats instead of old fashioned oats and I like it much more then old fashioned oats. The bits of oats formed small clusters instead of each oat being sepperate. Its more like store bought granola and it makes it easier to snack on.

We spent another $20 on dinner tonight. You can see dinners out can be a big budget buster for us, we like to eat out when life gets crazy. Its healthier, cheaper and generally more relaxing to eat at home. However its something we struggle with and sometimes do better then other times.

Walgreens deals

On monday dh and I went to Walgreens to pick up some goodies. I was finally able to get caught up on my coupons. We spent $14.79 and we saved $30.12! Without using rebates! I dont have a problem with rebates, we all know I am a fan but its nice to walk out with $44.91 worth of stuff for $14.79. I can not list the originally prices, and what the coupon deals were because the receipt got wet and lost a lot of ink but I'll figure it out best i can.

We bought 2 excedrins on sale buy 1 get 1 for .01 cent. (I used two coupons)
2 Finesse shampoos 2 for $5 (I know I used a $1 off coupon)
Can of alpo dog food (free after coupon)
Can of mighty dog food (free after coupon)
2 bottles of Arm and Hammer laundy detergent 2 for $5.99
2 bottles dove conditioner on sale for 2/$5.99 ( I used buy one get on coupon)

If i remember correctly the excedrin made us .70 after sale + coupons. My dh just loves to hear the price we paid vs the amount everything was originally. But his very favorite is getting paid to take a product home.

My $10 gift

I put together a present for each of the ladies that live on our block. They both like to bake. I bought 3 nice spatulas on sale buy 2 get 1 free. It was $6 for 3 so $2 apiece. The jello molds were $3. The napkin ring was clearance marked down to $1. The basket, kitchen towel, oven mit, and glass jar came from the dollar store. That brings the current price of the gift to $10. I intend to fill the jar with a baking mix. I'm not going to count the cost of that as it comes from my kitchen supplies. I would like to add a cute Christmas napkin but if I can not find one for $1 or under I will leave it out. I'm having some problems finding a cute napkin that's not $2-$3. If I don't find a napkin I will probably remove the napkin holder from the gift, it seems a little silly by itself! I could have spent less and not bought the jello molds. However as someone who likes to cook I get such a kick (and a lot of use out of) mine that I wanted to include them.

Envy

Yesterday dh and I drove to a small semi rural area about 20 minutes from us to pick up freecycle stuff. That area is pretty much our dream area, close enough to stores to be convenient, about 30 minutes from the area's major shopping center, and probably 20 minutes to base. Its a quite area with pretty homes, old trees and plenty of land. Exactly what we want. Well i think dh would really like to be on a lake as well, but the area is very close. The whole way to the freecycle house we were quiet or occasionally sighing over a big beautiful house with tons of old growth land. It made me start to compare my little inlet house to those big beautiful houses. And my little house was coming up short. In till I remembered one simple, solid fact. I truly love my little house.

Sure it doesn't have several acres of land, or a massive house with 5 huge bedrooms, and 3 grand bathrooms. Yes we do live in the city, behind an auto parts store with not a not so nice neighborhood behind us. And yes the city has been annoying the snot out of me for the past few months, beeping and tearing things down. But i LOVE this house.

So what if our yard is not huge? I've spent the past 5 years without a yard. Theres plenty of room for a rousing game of puppy football, room for flowers to grow, and possibly a small garden. Right now its overrun with growth but that's one of the reasons we bought this house for a good price. And I really enjoy chopping away at blackberry bushes, and annoying branches. I spent 4 months taking big dog outside while he was a little puppy in a second floor apartment. I am very grateful for my fence and yard!

Yes 2 of our 3 bedrooms are small. But ours is huge! :) To me anyway. The downstairs bedroom will make a perfect nursery and fits a twin bed with room for a dresser and desk. The upstairs bedrooms is a bit smaller but it still fits a huge rabbit cage, daybed, small entertainment center and a cabinet. All 3 of our bedrooms have a view of Puget Sound.

The upstairs bathroom is tiny but that's ok all we needed was two sinks and two toilets. I've seen shows with people that have 12 kids and one toilet. No thank you! The downstairs bathroom is roomy, but the tub is small. That is just fine. I have remodel plans thought out! :)

I really, really love my kitchen. I plan to replace the linoleum at some point, get a better fridge, maybe remodel the counters but all that is stuff that can wait. I love it just the way it is.

Our living room is wonderful, i wish the table did not have to go into it but it doesn't cause a problem. Its off to one side, the living and dining areas are clearly separated. The living room has some of our best water views, and plenty of space.

In addition to that we have a small laundry/mud room with a stacked washer dryer combo, with room leftover to fit the dog's crates. Big dog's crate is so large he can curl into the back and have room leftover for another 65 pound dog. Upstairs we have a computer nook with a pretty wide hallway we're currently storing things in.

Our street is great, its quiet and currently mainly unoccipied. We have two sweet old ladies for neighbors, and occasionally our next door neighboor comes home. Our street was made into a cul-du-sac and all the power and phone lines are going under ground. The city is improving lots next to us. And the not so nice neighboor hood is behind us they dont bug us down here.

I have so much to be thankful for, and that's just my house! It doesn't include my husband, family, friends, and animals. Next time I drive past those big houses with lots of land I'll think about my 'little' house and smile. Because I love it here.

Sunday money update

Ok so we fell off the cash band wagon. We stopped at Home Depot to kill some time ( waiting to pick up freecycle stuff) and I grabbed the thanksgiving weekend ad. They had a set with an 18v cordless drill, cordless saw, sweet flashlight, and radio for $60. Remember the $7 used drill? It gets the job done but very, very slowly. So we splurged on the Ryobi 18v drill, with cool extras. I'm glad we waited to purchase the drill because now hubby has a drill he really likes at a great price. We did put it on the credit card because we were not carrying enough cash and we were 20 minutes from home.

We also bought a power strip and bottle of nail polish from Rite Aid, free after rebate. We paid cash for those! :)

$60ish dollars on credit card
$7 rite aid free after rebate

Today's money review

Sold
Dvds for cash $48
Book for trade credit $22

Bought
4 books and new hat at used book store $8 cash after trade credit
Veggies, animal food, and tp at Walmart $18 cash
Mcdonalds $8 (bad frugal people!)
2 packs sandwich rolls, english muffins, 2 loafs of expensive wheat bread, 1 loaf cheap white bread at bakery thrift store $6

Spent $40
Made $48 cash so $8 cash left over.
We still have not cashed the $30 check.

Way, way WAY over budget

We are so far over budget we can't see the budget anymore. Most of our purchases were good needed items, good deals on Christmas presents, big dog's surgery. However its time to buckle down! My goal is to get to the first spending only cash. We have $130 in our cash bucket. I have a $30 check in my wallet. Dh has some cash but I don't know how much. We plan to sell some of the dvds and books we no longer watch or read. I would really like to not spend $100 from the cash bucket. That leaves $60. Which should be possible if we dont need gas ($50 last fill up) right now we have a half a tank. I need a little big of veggies, but no meat. We probably have 10 pounds of turkey. The animals have plenty of dry food they only need wet food.

What will we be doing? Projects of course! Earlier I mentioned a few things I would like to get done. On top of that there is a $1 coffee table we're refurnishing, a garbage disposal to install, washer maintenance, weather stripping, cleaning, sewing, patching, and baking. Not to mention taking dogs for walks and to the park. We can also frisbee golf, and geocache. Oh and the cat stand we started but have not worked on. Sheesh we have so much to do maybe we should very a strict budget more often!

Home!

I don't know about you guys but I'm beat. This was our 2nd thanksgiving in two weeks (both with my family and out of town relatives) that's a lot of cooking! Its a 2-3 hour round trip for us to go to my families home and it can get pretty stressful with 2 dogs in a 4 door car. I've been up much earlier then normal this week, I'm a night owl and its starting to get to me. Big dog is still wearing a cone (his pain pill is supposed to be 'mild sedative' HA!) and that comes with its own problems. I'm totally worn out today! It seems like dh and I are always busy but are not accomplishing much. We still have not been able to finish painting the trim on our home! I'm still trying to finish my candy wreath, and I'm weeks behind on my coupons. I think we've been busy with family things (on both sides) and its time to take a break. Its time to back down on outside activities and increase home time.

Vet

Today I took big dog to the vet.Total $220. It was not frugal but he's worth it. We went to a new vet (recommended by a friend) that charged $50 less for surgery then our favorite vet. We had him vaccinated while he was there for surgery, saving $30 visit fee. I opted not to have blood work done saving $40. Its recommended for dogs over 7 years old, big dog is 10 months old. I chose not to have microchip done at this time, which would have cost another $40. We will have it done at the base vet. We saved $120 not including the micro chip.

The new vet makes 3 different vets we use. One is far and expensive but the people are wonderful. They really care about animals. When our sweet kitty was injured we took her there. They did the whole exam with her in her crate (opens on 3 sides) I've never had a vet do that they always remove the cat. We use the wonderful vet for concerns, and emergencies. The other vet is right down the street but the doctor is a jerk. We use them only for routine procedures. I would really love it if the new vet was wonderful and inexpensive! That way we could consolidate to one vet! So far we've had a good experience. They seemed nice but I did not get to meet the doctor. They clipped his nails, and sent him home in a rope leash so we did not have to bug him to get his collar on.

I was just a small girl when my family's cocker spaniel was neutered (he passed away a few years ago at 16) and I'm used to getting cats fixed. But big dog seems to be having a tough time. His big plastic collar is always banging into things and getting stuck which freaks him out. When we take him outside he runs to the edge of the property towards the road, and when we turn him around he runs back to the house steps. He wants to be constantly with someone so much so that we bent the 'no dogs on the couch' rule, but he still jumps down and bangs around till we lead him back to the couch. For awhile big dog wouldn't eat from hubby's hand he wanted me to feed him his kibble. Dh came up with squirting water into his mouth using a straw. We could tell his mouth was dry but he could not drink. The straw worked wonderfully. Little dog is having a cow! He was at a total loss with out his buddy earlier and now he still cant be with him but he can see him getting all this love. Little dog is so jealous he just cant stand to see big dog on the couch. My house is crazy but it is always an adventure.

Weather proof

This is the first year my dh and I have weather proofed. Before we lived in apartments, the last one was heated so strongly from the apartment below that we never turned on our heater. We like to be a little chilly but not as chilly as our little house gets without heat. I'm going to share with you the methods that we're using.

We have caulked the underside of our old windows, but have not had time to go all the way around. Dh and I went outside at night and we could see big cracks of light leaking out from under the windows, so we made sure to get those done. Hopefully this weekend we can do the whole window. I purchased a window insulation kit and dh has done 3 windows so far, the ones with the biggest drafts. I would chose to do all of our rear having windows (we live in front of a sharp retention wall nobody but us sees the back of our home) but the cats have other plans. Already I've had to pull a few away from the insulated window in our bedroom. However we did the ones with big gaps and intend to do a few more.

Last night I hot glued draft blockers for the doors. I would have prefered to sew them but I can not get the hang of putting in my bobbin and dh hasn't remembered to do it for me. Those made a HUGE difference. The dog's crates are in the laundry room and it gets pretty chilly in there. They have blankets, but for some reason big dog bunches his to the front of his huge kennel and curls up in the back. With the door blocker it was much warmer. We don't keep the dogs in there all night, they sleep with us but dh puts them up in the morning so I can catch some extra sleep. I didn't like them being chilly even if only for awhile. I originally made door blockers out of the legs of an old pair of jeans but they were not long enough. So i put them behind our couch on the window ledge where the cats sit. Even there I notice its not as drafty.

Today we purchased weather stripping buy 1 get 1 free. The ad ended Sunday but they still had a sign up, and the lady was quite surly about honoring it. I was angered to say the least, its illegal to not honor a signed price. Anyway they did and we got 4 rolls of stripping for the price of two. I believe hubby intends to use it on the windows.

We're heating our home with built in electric heaters in the bedrooms, an oil heater in the living room, and a space heater upstairs. We don't run them all the time, only when needed. Our furnace needs a pipe installed so that the heat does not dry out the chimney and create a fire hazard. Therefore we have not used it, we did check to make sure it worked before we bought it but not since. Hubby had a company give us an estimate, $325. That is cheaper then I thought, and affordable. But before we go ahead and have it done dh is going to research how much it would be to do it himself and how difficult it would be. If its cheap and easy he will do it, if not its time to hire a professional.

Tomorrow big dog goes in for shots and a neuter. Its going to be quite expensive (cats are so much cheaper! I'm in sticker shock) but its for the best. He's getting a little to interested in things he shouldn't be, and hopefully he will calm down a bit. The furnace, and big dog's shots and neuter were adoption road blocks I'll be happy to see removed!

FYI

My egg mc muffin experiment did not turn out well. I couldn't get the can opener to slice up the bottom of the cat food can so i made a scrambled sort of an egg patty. Fresh it was not as tasty as the mcdonalds version. I froze an extra one to see if it would turn out yummy from the freezer. Dh reported a big 'no' on that one. Oh well, its something I have been wanting to try for awhile. i will stick to breakfast burritos they come out delicious after being frozen.

Sorry

I have not been around lately! I have had a few out of town guests visit my family. In addition we had one slighly injured kitty who needed vet attention, a sick puppy and a million projects to complete. I'm happy to say dh and i are doing very well with our christmas shopping. Most people are nearly finished, or have ideas to finish them off.

My darling husband accidently created additional work for another division and as i peace offering told them i would make them cookies. While i'm proud that my cookies are a sufficient peace offering, i find it amusing that while making up for creating extra work for them he makes extra work for me. :) I was excited to find a brand new cookie press at the thrift store for $6. However i have no clue as to what kind of cookies to make. The cookie press suggested 'spritz' cookies and i dont think I have ever had any.

On veterans day we found a lot of great treasures everything was half off at the thrift store. I bought several sweaters for $3 each, jeans for $4, a brand new christmas table runner for $1, a christmas wall hanging for $1, a new christmas candle lamp for $3 and a 25 cent christmas place mat. If i remember i will take a few photos to post.

My days are not likely to calm down, i have a ton of presents to wrap, things to bake, and projects to complete. My grandmother lives with my parents and has very few (read none) wants, and no needs. She is very hard to shop for! For one of her gifts i intend to decoupage a tissue cover, and buy her a bunch of tissues. An odd gift, i know. However she uses a ton of tissues but mainly uses toliet paper because its cheaper. Tissues are something she could really use and appreciate. I also intend to make her heating pad 'mittens' but shapped like squares, a neck heating pad, and a big one for her back or bed. I already have diabetic socks, diabetic cream ($19, free after rebate)cute socks, a fuzzy hat, and an adorable stuffed frog couple. I dont know if i have time to sleep! :)

Target goodie bins

I forgot to mention when we went to target I found good things in their discount bin. They had beautiful christmas cards that you insert a photo into. $1 for 8. Not bad! I bought 2 packs. I also found a dvd of underwater scenes about a half hour's worth for $1. I bought one for me and my fish loving mom. I'm very excited about the dvd! Frequently when I go into a store that sells TVs they are playing a fish dvd that i've wanted. I bought the dogs a santa toy that plays 'jingle bells' that they tore to bits in 5 minutes! That was $2.50. I purchased a beautiful calender of the Greek Isles for $1. A girl can day dream.

Christmas Presents

I found a beautiful set of earrings for my mom at Macy's half price. Normally $38 on sale for $19. They are gorgeous! I hope she loves them! I bought big half hoop earrings for myself $4.12. They were normally $33! Woo! I cant think of anyone that would like them besides me, so gosh I have to keep them myself. Bummer. I have my good friend Naomi thinking about Christmas shopping too I'm very thrilled. It is good for me as well because I help her shop and she gets a little crazy at the last minute! I found a singing bear at Jcpenny's that I think my mom will love. I'll have to write what it says later, I left it in my friend's car. Get your christmas shopping done the mall is already crowded!

Goodies

When Dh and I were at fred meyer we picked up some goodies for ourself. Dh picked up a poker mat normally $50 on clearance for $11 for $5.50. I got 3 jello molds (about 3.50 each) and we bought bug spray and sun lotion in one. I think it was around $2.50. Dh is thinking about buying another poker mat for his friend for christmas. We're both very pleased with our new goodies and it didn't cost us much!

Christmas presents

Goodness where did the time go? Its november!!! Christmas is almost here!! I have been picking up presents as I see them all year but I'm not nearly as done as I would have liked to be. Today we went to Fred Meyer and found a BUNCH of great gifts! I think my mother in law is almost done.


4 strawberry silicone molds, 4 cherry silicone molds, photo album, pink fleece blanket, magnetic bingo game, deluxe kitchen organizer set. Everything was on sale. The original cost of everything excluding the kitchen organizer was $44. It was on clearance for $35.18. Pretty good price. But clearance was 50% off so we paid $17.59. How awesome is that?? The kitchen organizer was on sale for $5 so total for mother in law's gift is $22.59. And I think its a pretty nice gift.



This is what we bought for father in law. The blanket was $3.35. The book was t expensive at $14.99 but i think he will like it. We have a shirt picked out for him, we purchased several movies and a belt buckle.




This is for sister in law she loves wine! Originally $24 on clearance for $18 and we paid $9.

Awesome deals!!!

Cooking

ve been having Egg Mc Muffin cravings lately. They are not very expensive but its cheaper and easier (with one car) to simply make them at home. I'm just not sure how to cook the egg so it makes a patty. I'm thinking maybe a cat food can with the bottom and top removed and well cleaned. Should make the perfect size patty if i can do it properly.

Today when my parents came to pick up my grandma I was taking rolls out of the oven. My mom was quick to claim one so I'm thinking I might make those for thanksgiving. I'll make a loaf of bread, rolls and some kind of pie. I hate pumpkin. My grandma can taste lemon (not much else) so perhaps a lemon meringue? Or i could make a decadent chocolate pie. I love cooking. I wish my parents had been able to stay for dinner, i made far too much beef stew and now I need a way to use the left overs. Tomorrow I am making chicken soup (dh likes thick soup, so its already pretty thick) into a casserole by adding sour cream and rice. The next night honey wont be home for dinner, and the night after I'm making pizza. I've put it off for a few days and I'm afraid hes going to riot dh loves pizza! Maybe i could make the beef stew into some kind of beef pot pie? That could be yummy. I don't want to freeze the leftovers because they wont get eaten. In fact leftovers in the fridge probably wont be eaten in less made into something new.

Budget

Ever since we bought our home our budget has been much tighter then what we are used to. After the mortgage is paid from the first paycheck we have only $450 to make it two weeks. Normally I budget $500-$600 for two weeks. We try and spend an extra $50 on our mortgage but sometimes it just doesn't work out. We pay all our bills in the second paycheck but some how one was missed so that's another $60. Instead of pulling from our savings we are trying to make do with our cash. Its not going to work very well, we're already down to $70. Bummer! However we have some cash, and $100 in another checking account. So we might be able to squeak by without taking from savings. The key to doing this is to not let it depress you. We look at it as more of a game then anything, and because its a choice (we have money in savings) we don't feel insecure about our lack of cash. I'm actually glad we're trying to spend far less as I feel like our spending has gotten out of control. A lot of it is spent on meals out because we run errands in the evenings (right now we're down to just one car and dh gets it during the day) so we grab a quick bite to eat. If we spend $15 twice a week that's $120 a month. Dinner 3 times a week at $15 is $180 a month. That adds up!

Halloween Candy

We did not get a single trick or treater!Not one! Our street is under construction so I am not surprised. We have a big mixing bowl full of candy left so why did I buy another $16 worth of candy? To make candy wreaths from living on a dime with my grandmother. We buy $8 worth of 75% off candy from walgreens. I think 6 bags of that was .50 a bag carmels for baking and candies. They did not have a lot of wrapped candy that didn't look halloweeny so we went to Rite Aid. Their candy was 50% off and we bought another $8 worth there. I'm going to use a coat hanger for the metal part. We also purchased ribbon marked down 70% off for .90 a roll. Its thick ribbon, 2 are green, and one is a deep red that I think will pass for Christmas ribbon. My grandma will be staying for 3 days, and she is not in the best health but mom and i think she will be able to do the wreath. I think it will be fun for both of us.

My rite aid rebates

I like to know how much money I save. It helps motivate me to save more! So I'm going to post my rite aid rebate totals because every month an old month's totals drop off.
May was $9
Looks like for shampoo and sunscreen.

June was $5.98
Looks like conditioner and some make-up.

July I missed! Man! I'm not to surprised that's the month we bought our house, moved, its our anniversary month, and my husband's birthday. Plus it took 3 weeks to get our Internet set up.

August was $25.75
looks like 3 conditioners, 1 manly body wash, pens, light bulbs, chewable antacid, toothbrush, mouth wash, air freshener, and duct tape.

September was $18.95
Looks like tooth paste, imodium, mylanta, body heat patch, and calcium pills.

October was $29.22
Looks like toothpaste, stoppain, Zucol, pepcid ac, vicks, cold eeze, lypsyl, and a toothbrush.

November I'm up to $48.52!

I'm not going to list all that stuff because I posted a picture.
All of that adds up to $132.47! My husband and I are thinking about doing something specific with the money from rebates. It tends to get absorbed into our normal spending money but instead I would like to put it into a savings account for something specific. We're not sure what just yet. However we are looking into adoption so we could save for that. We were thinking foster care but we are not sure we could deal with it. Its a wonderful thing to do and I would really love to but my heart is very soft and I'm not sure I can. My Dad is just positive I can't! :) He does not want to see his daughter hurt. But he would support us if we did go through with it. Adoption is very expensive!