What did you do to save money this week (2/4/07)?

[mrsbornkuntry]

I made my Mickey waffles yesterday, they're more like pancakes than waffles (I used a recipe off of a Bisquik box), but the kids like them.

I cut up our raw vegetables and put them in containers that have dividers in them in the fridge for the kids to snack on and also to set out with lunch so our produce will get eaten before it goes bad.

I have a pot of water with cinnamon and orange peel on my stove for humidity and my heat on 65, which is actually comfortable right now because it's 41 here anyway, I have two more sick kids so this will help them.

I steam cleaned my couch yesterday, I'm hoping this will extend it's life. It's starting to get a little worn under the cushions, but we LOVE this couch so we're hoping to hold onto it for at least two more years.

I saved myself a trip to the ER about 2:30 this morning. My ds7 woke up with croup and was having trouble breathing so I started to panic thinking I would need to wake up all of the kids and go, but instead I gave him his inhaler and looked up his symptoms in my "Take Care of Yourself" book which said he just needed steam so I set him up in my room with tissues, a cup of ice water, and my vaporizer and he's sleeping like a baby. The ER would've been free, but I probably would've picked up breakfast at Burger King for all of the kids after being there all night and possibly lunch, not to mention drinks/snacks from the vending machine to keep the kids from getting fussy. For those of you with copays for ER visits I highly recommend this book, or one like it.

 

[ohiominnie]

As a former pediatric nurse married to a pediatrician....for croup try this.

Sit with your child in a steamy bathroom. Turn the shower on hot and let it run. Sit on the toilet with your child (do not get IN the shower) for about 10-15 minutes.

Then, if it's cold outside, go outside for a few minutes. If it's not, open the freezer door and let the child breathe in the cool air for a few minutes.

The steam and then the cold helps decrease the swelling in the throat--the swelling is what causes the croupy cough.

HTH.

 

[tyluvsdis]

I have to say, since reading this thread for all these weeks, I am truly inspired to say money , and find ways to cut back every day! My husband had to run to the store over the weekend and said when he came home, that he could hardly buy anything because he didn't have any coupons for the items. Now that is what I call an accomplishment. Thanks again!

 

[ducklite]

I just signed up with a secret shopper company for restaurant shops. I'd love to be able to do a couple free or nearly free table service meals per month!

I also found out how to sign up to do demo's for a vineyard at various liquor/grocery stores and events, it pays very well! I'm going to look into doing that once a month and use that money towards the pay off the car loan fund.

Anne

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

As a former pediatric nurse married to a pediatrician....for croup try this.

Sit with your child in a steamy bathroom. Turn the shower on hot and let it run. Sit on the toilet with your child (do not get IN the shower) for about 10-15 minutes.

Then, if it's cold outside, go outside for a few minutes. If it's not, open the freezer door and let the child breathe in the cool air for a few minutes.

The steam and then the cold helps decrease the swelling in the throat--the swelling is what causes the croupy cough.

HTH.

Thanks. The steam from the vaporizer helped, but now that he's awake and moving around that horrible cough (and a fever ) is back so I'll try that, I didn't know about doint the cold air part. The poor kid just missed 7 days of school in Jan. .

 

[ohiominnie]

This is yesterday's saving money thing, but didn't get a chance to figure the savings and post it....
CVS trip.

bought $72.23 worth of items.
Saved $19.99 by only buying things on sale.
Used $27.48 in CVS coupons and ECB's
Used $5.55 in mfg coupons.
OOP spending $19.21.

savings of about 73%

 

[DisneyMomJen]

I have been reading these threads since they started and l you guys have really inspired me! I have always been a great grocery shopper (and shopper in general), but am trying even harder now. I always blew off the CVS ECB's, but tried CVS for the first time last week and will continue. You can do really well there! I called Verizon this morning and lowered our monthly bill by $30 (so $360 for the year). Our bill is bundled for phone, DSL and Directv. I had to call Directv separately to lower our bill which they lowered $10 each month - just for asking for any promotions! I have to see how I can lower any other monthly bills. Our garbage bill really upsets me since we pay $40 a month!

Ducklite, I am so impressed with your not eating out! I have tried to do this with our family. We have done well compared to our past history. I used to take DD4 for takeout after school about 2 - 3 times a week. We only had lunch out TWICE the whole month of January - a major accomplishment! We did takeout for dinner once during the week for the whole month, and went out for dinner twice due to celebrations (birthday and husbands promotion). I think it may take a month or two to see the difference in our bills since I charge pretty much everything (Disney Rewards Visa) which gets paid in full every month.

Keep up the great work everyone!!!

 

[Disneefun]

Went to Best Buy yesterday b/c they had a DVD that I've been wanting on sale for $4.99 (reg. 9.99). Well, while I was there I picked up three others from the sale rack, too. As I trailed along after DH who loves to prowl Best Buy, I talked myself out of those three, one by one, and put them back. We left w/just the DVD I really wanted ($5 vs. about $25).

And today I fixed our sink. It had been getting slower and slower and not responding to draino, etc. DH took it apart and couldn't find anything in the trap so we figured the problem was further down the line where we couldn't get to it. I was dreading having to call the plumber, but today I got to working the stopper up and down (pushing it up and down really hard) and it started to drain a bit better. Then I got the hot idea to get the plunger. Well, after a few plunges some yucky stuff came up and the drain burped and now it works fine. I plunged a few more times to push whatever it was on down the pipes and all is good. Let's hear it for low tech solutions. When in doubt, plunge away!!!

 

[ducklite]

Went to Best Buy yesterday b/c they had a DVD that I've been wanting on sale for $4.99 (reg. 9.99). Well, while I was there I picked up three others from the sale rack, too. As I trailed along after DH who loves to prowl Best Buy, I talked myself out of those three, one by one, and put them back. We left w/just the DVD I really wanted ($5 vs. about $25).

And today I fixed our sink. It had been getting slower and slower and not responding to draino, etc. DH took it apart and couldn't find anything in the trap so we figured the problem was further down the line where we couldn't get to it. I was dreading having to call the plumber, but today I got to working the stopper up and down (pushing it up and down really hard) and it started to drain a bit better. Then I got the hot idea to get the plunger. Well, after a few plunges some yucky stuff came up and the drain burped and now it works fine. I plunged a few more times to push whatever it was on down the pipes and all is good. Let's hear it for low tech solutions. When in doubt, plunge away!!!

Pour a large pot of boiling water down it every week to try and dissolve any of that gunk. My mom has done this her entire life and has never had a serious clog not caused by a plastic green army man. But that's another story...

Anne

 

[vhoffman]

Question about CVS ECB--I haven't done the card thing yet, but found what looks like a great deal in this week's paper--transfer any prescription from another pahrmacy and get a $30 gift card! Of course, you do have to buy the perscription, not just transfer it over

My question is this--is the $30 card good anywhere in the store, or just for the pharmacy? We mainly use a mail order pharmacy, so $30 in the pharmacy wouldn't do much for us. I have an open refill for an antibiotic for dental work, comes to $1.19, transfer that and get a $30 card

 

[vhoffman]

Ok, maybe this is a little off topic, but does apply to saving money.

DD needs braces and other dental work. We just set up a payment plan today, $98/month, for the rest of our natural lives! Well, its the cash flow. I was paying that much and more just to get my hair done ~ $150 every 6 weeks for cut, color, highlights, etc. I recently found a beauty school, went there this weekend, very nice cut for $7. The total color, base and highlights, would be about $45, not due yet. Or I could just do it myself--my colorist was charging $65 for the cap highlights--come on! I can do that myself.

So I figure we'll be money ahead by me going to a beauty school and paying dd's orthodontist. I'd much rather spend the money on my little angel's teeth than my "old lady" hair, anyways!

 

[minnie1928]

Here's my CVS booty:
10 boxes of kleenex
2 cans of Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner
8 rolls of Viva Towels
2 bottles of nasal spray
2 bottle of Loreal hair thickening shampoo (my DH says it works )
Total OOP after ECB and coupons: $13.75
ECB earned from this trip: $17

I wanted to also mention that I started using vinegar in my dishwasher instead of Jet Dry. It works beautifully and is dirt cheap!

I'm currently doing laundry in cold water and hanging up as much as possible.

 

[ohiominnie]

This is yesterday's saving money thing, but didn't get a chance to figure the savings and post it....
CVS trip.

bought $72.23 worth of items.
Saved $19.99 by only buying things on sale.
Used $27.48 in CVS coupons and ECB's
Used $5.55 in mfg coupons.
OOP spending $19.21.

savings of about 73%

Didn't mention....I'll be earning $20 in ECB's on this purchase.

 

[Pooki]

I am extra motivated to save money now...my husband and I decided to take a small spur-of-the-moment trip to Disney while we are headed to visit relatives the end of next March (we are transferring to Japan in June, so might as well take advantage of Florida's Disney before I conquer Tokyo's HAHA)

Last night my husband finally came home from a 3 week det (Navy's version of "business trip) ) Because of some problems with another plane he was supposed to be on, he ended up coming home really late. I REALLLLY wanted to not cook dinner so late and just stop by Wendy's and pick up a salad for us (we are also watching what we eat), but I felt guilty thinking about being lazy, and I knew that a salad would not be very satisfying, so I prepared dinner before I had to pick him up and just popped it in the oven when we got home. Much tastier

This weekend I took my kids to the mall to play in their preschool playground, and I had a shopping bug that needed to be satisfied! Luckily, sneaky me decided to save all of my gift certificates I received for Christmas for times like this, instead of running out and using them all right away, and I came home with my very first pair of Crocs, for free!

My teenaged sister stayed the night on Friday and my mother kept both kids, so it was just us. I kinda felt obligated to do something "fun" with her like take her to a movie, but we just ended up watching Animal Planet all night and goofing off. It was fun and free!

 

[liveforthemagic]

vhoffman--I was in the same boat with you and hair color....crazy expensive for foil highights-- about $100 every 3 months. So I decided to go back to close to my dark brown color--use Feria Havana Brown--it has some highlights in it that are very pretty and natural looking--and help to camoflouge the roots. Its about $7.50 at Wal mart. But I thought the color dulled about 3 - 4 weeks in--and didn't want to color that often. So now I get HappyShine--Clairol makes it. its also about $7.50/box--but you can always find a coupon for buy one get one free. Color. Wait 4 weeks. Use the HappyShine--wait another 3 -4 weeks, and recolor.

Note--if anybody has Allstate Insurance, they just got a program where you can have your monthly premium charged to your credit card. Just call your agent and they can set it up for you...I have a friend and fellow DIS-er that just set it up on her Disney Visa--Hi Shelly!

 

[Pooki]

Just thought of another one - can't believe I forgot this one already! This morning at my building we had the fire alarm go off, and we all had to evacuate! Apparently there was an electrical problem, but we were stuck out in the cold for about 30 minutes (not me... I was in my truck!). About 4 or 5 people from my office decided to make a Starbucks run, but I was so proud of myself and declined! I have been feening for one too, I havent had one since the new year (on purpose).

 

[jeni1072]

Yesterday at Walmart I dscovered a whole aisle of Danskin tap shoes marked from $14.97 to $2. I bought 6 pair - hopefully I'll never have to buy another pair for my two tappers!!

 

[curlybop]

I took some photos in our living room yesterday. We get a lot of sunlight in the late afternoon. So I grabbed the camera, and had DD sit in the sunlight, and I snapped away. I put the camera in black & white mode, and the pics are fabulous. I took 5 of the best ones & combined them in a collage with Paint Shop Pro. Now, her birthday photos are finished! I'll order some 4x6's online with a coupon for free prints (hopefully) and get a few 8x10's. I did this at Christmas also, and got about 50 prints for $6 shipped to my door. Much, much better than going to a portrait studio & paying per sheet.

 

[Weluvdisny]

Everybody was talking at work about how they were going to order pizza and wings for the Superbowl. I even called to get some prices. A sheet pizza and 50 wings for $30. I know, it's a good deal right? BUT, I couldn't do it!! I went grocery shopping Saturday instead and got the fixings for 3 homemade pizzas ($8) and some buffalo chicken tenders (on sale for $3.50 for 3 lbs.). And saved gas money by not going out Sunday and picking it up!

Too bad I didn't win any $ on the Superbowl board I was on!

 

[TyNicJen]

vhoffman--I was in the same boat with you and hair color....crazy expensive for foil highights-- about $100 every 3 months. So I decided to go back to close to my dark brown color--use Feria Havana Brown--it has some highlights in it that are very pretty and natural looking--and help to camoflouge the roots. Its about $7.50 at Wal mart. But I thought the color dulled about 3 - 4 weeks in--and didn't want to color that often. So now I get HappyShine--Clairol makes it. its also about $7.50/box--but you can always find a coupon for buy one get one free. Color. Wait 4 weeks. Use the HappyShine--wait another 3 -4 weeks, and recolor.

Note--if anybody has Allstate Insurance, they just got a program where you can have your monthly premium charged to your credit card. Just call your agent and they can set it up for you...I have a friend and fellow DIS-er that just set it up on her Disney Visa--Hi Shelly!

What state are you in? I'm not sure thery have all gone that route.
I usually pay my bill by credit card but have to call and give my CC#.
Also in NY you can save 3.50 per payment if you pay in full. That is 42.00 per year. ( If you can't afford to pay the whole year it will work if you want to pay say 1/2 the year and save etc.