tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26224327496714236762024-03-12T21:24:09.235-07:00Pig Pennies - Pennies in the Piggy BankA personal finance blog about becoming more frugal, saving more money, and making smarter financial decisions.PigPennieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175370972701344498noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-59516782863949468312012-09-16T17:09:00.000-07:002012-09-16T17:09:59.088-07:00Fusion Cash - Free Money!I just cashed out $25.02 from @FusionCash. You can too by clicking <a href="http://fca.sh/16dsd">this link</a> and get a $5 signup bonus!<br />
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This little banner brings my total cashed out to $326.03. Not making me rich, but Mrs. Pig Pennies doesn't turn her nose up at any free money!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-10328490187252704632012-09-10T01:19:00.003-07:002012-09-10T01:19:00.784-07:00A Review of Blinds.comThe little house we bought this year is on a very small lot in the city. We're really happy here, and it's plenty of space for us, but we're on a busy street and on top of a lot of neighbors. We have no less than 4 houses and a block of condominiums that can all look into our windows. I've never really been a fan of blinds (I prefer to be able to see outside) but when you're staring into your neighbors kitchen (from our bedroom no less!) instead of over some pretty foliage, blinds become kind of essential.<br />
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We looked at a few different options for blinds. First, we called Costco thinking they'd be inexpensive, but quickly found that wasn't the case. Next, we had someone from 3 Day Blinds come by, measure, and give us a quote. We needed 5 small blinds for the bedrooms, and one huge blind for the living room. The quote came to over $1500! That simply wasn't in our budget.<br />
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Finally, I started searching online. I was a little nervous about this - what if I measured wrong? Custom blinds didn't seem very returnable. But when I saw Blinds.com return policy (if it doesn't fit - even if it's <i>your</i> fault - they'll redo the blinds at no cost to you) I decided it was a safe choice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeE9fVD4cFKQJK2CQCUuUyvRqgqXzOh_-5bXRkoECudzLinyUBLAMWvmAZbQx40hlCLLMde2t4f4npZKLVAoObnRxvgmSO4K8Vj_62RXSNvrrzYAV_RHaS-ruILF5ualb2veDLQb8eWOr8/s1600/BaliBlinds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeE9fVD4cFKQJK2CQCUuUyvRqgqXzOh_-5bXRkoECudzLinyUBLAMWvmAZbQx40hlCLLMde2t4f4npZKLVAoObnRxvgmSO4K8Vj_62RXSNvrrzYAV_RHaS-ruILF5ualb2veDLQb8eWOr8/s200/BaliBlinds.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Because of baby's impending arrival we went with cordless blinds in the bedrooms. The style we went with was the Bali DiamondCell 3/8" Daybreak Double Cell blinds. The cordless lift system added $35 a blind, but when I first started looking (before I got nervous of ordering online!) there was a free upgrade available on the cordless option. They seem to have rotating discounts going on a lot, so keep that in mind. We couldn't get cordless for the living room because the blind was too wide, but we did want to get a Bottom-Up/Top-Down lift style so that we could lower the blind from the top and see a little bit of the trees outside without seeing the sidewalk and busy street below. This added $27 to the cost of that blind.<br />
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When we purchased, we went with Bali because they were offering a 15% discount. Since ordering I've also consistently gotten discount e-mails, so be sure to look for coupon codes online along with the deals you see listed on the site. Our total order (no tax, no shipping!) came to $812.45 - half the price of our lowest quote!<br />
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The blinds are quality, look great installed, and are just what we need. Of course we had to measure ourselves, which took all of a few minutes, and then my husband had to install them, which was easy peasy (and not just because he's good at that kind of thing - I could have done it) but the savings more than made up for the tiny bit of extra work. We ordered on May 3rd, they shipped on May 10th, and arrived on May 15th, ahead of their predicted schedule.<br />
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Now onto the interesting part, and the reason I REALLY recommend Blinds.com. When I first placed our order, I couldn't get my credit card to go through. It seemed like the site was having some kind of issue. I tried to put it through a couple of times, and then gave up and went to sleep. In the morning I double checked that I hadn't received a confirmation e-mail, and tried again. The order went through, and I had a confirmation e-mail within seconds. When the blinds shipped a week later I received two tracking numbers. I didn't give it a second thought - I figured the 6 blinds we'd ordered were coming in 2 different packages - until 12 blinds arrived at our house. I checked the credit card statement, and lo and behold, we'd been charged twice.<br />
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I called Blinds.com, almost immediately got a live person, and she immediately saw the issue, apologized for their mistake (never trying to put it on me, even though I probably should have called after trying to run my card multiple times) and went about solving it. The best part? Their solution when a blind needs to be returned or remade is not to have you mail the blinds back to them. They have you find a reputable charity in your area, donate the blinds, and e-mail them a copy of the donation receipt. Then they refund you in full! I have a friend who works for Habitat for Humanity, so I chose to donate them there. She wrote up a receipt for the full value of the blinds, and within a couple of days of e-mailing that to Blinds.com I had a refund on my credit card statement.<br />
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How cool is that?!<br />
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Not only am I happy with my blinds and happy with the deal I got, I feel like I worked with a company with a conscience - and unparalleled customer service. Since I'm not earning any referral or paycheck for posting this review, you can trust that I only took the time to write it because I was blown away with my experience with them.<br />
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And now the neighbors don't see me naked in the morning!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-37621029609378720522012-09-09T01:32:00.001-07:002012-09-09T01:32:00.491-07:00Baby by the Numbers<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">When dear husband and I first started talking about kids, the planner in me wanted to know how much it was going to cost and how we were going to pay for it. The non-planner in my husband shrugged his shoulders at me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course I went to work trying to figure these things out so that I could report back to him while he stared blankly at me, and then make what I thought was the soundest choice. What I discovered is it’s really hard to figure out how much your kid is going to cost based on how much other people spend on their kids. Spoiler Alert: everyone is different.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For instance, are you both going to keep working? Will you need to pay for daycare? A nanny? A nanny share? Do you have a fairy godmother in your life more than happy to watch little Junior simply for the pleasure of getting to do so? How much do kids eat? When do they even start eating? Will we breastfeed? How much does it cost just to give birth to this little <s>blood</s> milk sucker in the first place?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After hyperventilating a little, I decided to be much more zen-like about the whole thing than is typical of me. I decided to live by the quote, “If you wait for the perfect time to have kids, you’ll never have kids.” After all, teenagers make it work on MTV. We could do it too, right?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now at almost 9 months pregnant I’ve learned something very important – the amount you spend on your child will most likely follow the philosophy of the other spending in your life. If you tend to buy the latest and greatest with a credit card, you’ll probably spend a lot of money getting a nursery ready for your bundle of joy. If you regularly peruse Craigslist and eBay for almost everything you buy, and perhaps compost like you’re single-handedly saving the world, you’re probably also willing to buy used cloth diapers for your baby.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>This is a break down by the numbers of what it took us to get ready for baby number one:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First, we needed a crib. For awhile I stalked the free list on Craigslist, but eventually gave up on being the first e-mail respondent. It’s like trying to win the lottery! I did learn one thing, though – a lot of recalled cribs will show up on the free list, but many of these will also have repair kits available for free from the manufacturer to make the recalled item into an approved and safe item for your baby. People tend to give these away rather than trying to sell them. If you can get in there first, you can walk away with a stellar freebie. Also, if someone is trying to sell something with their give away, offer to buy it! Odds are you can sell it for the same price and keep the freebie you were really after. (Lesson learned the hard way.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ultimately, we ended up with an almost brand new cherry crib <i>and</i> mattress for $75. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles. It’s not a sleigh crib, and it doesn’t convert into a queen sized bed to last your infant to their first home purchase, but it’s a solid crib that won’t make a racket or fall apart when our toddler decides to jump up and down in it, and it doesn’t have any issues or recalls.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next, I purchased an Ikea Poang chair with Ottoman. I liked the look better than the expensive traditional rockers, and with a little bit of bounce to it, I figured it would be just as soothing as a rocking chair. Actually, I bought two for $100, and then sold one for $60. Total cost to us: $40. At the same time, I picked up a nursing pillow, baby carrier, and baby monitor for another $30 when I discovered the nice couple selling the chairs was selling all of their belongings to move overseas. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The changing table and dresser ended up being free. I already had a dresser from my own childhood, and when friends at an organization I volunteer with found out I was pregnant they banded together and bought me a changing pad with a beautiful cover that perfectly fit the top of the dresser. The dresser is a little tall, but for free I decided to make it work. Don’t have a dresser lying around at your disposal? This is a great one to find either in the free section of Craigslist or really cheap, and a banged up dresser can look like a million bucks with a coat of paint and new knobs. Changing pads can also be found for around $20 (I was even offered one for free with a different Craigslist purchase), or for double that you can find entire changing stations if you’re looking for a little extra storage. I saw a ton of these at a local baby consignment store, so if you don’t find it on the used sites, check out used stores around you.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I found a very well reviewed baby swing on Craigslist for $40. I can’t speak to its usefulness yet, but this is one of the things that other moms told me was essential, and at a quarter of what the price plus tax would have been new, I was very happy with this deal. The swing bedding even came already washed for me! The only minor defect is that one of the eight songs it plays doesn’t work perfectly, but as my husband pointed out, everything we have for the baby seems to play music, does it even matter which speakers it’s coming from? I personally plan to snag the Jemima Puddle Duck wind up music box from my mom’s house, and place it near the swing rather than playing the mechanical sounding music.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUhGVvDnyigwgTQQg0xea2TdQgKE0vvFYfv4Z9NrK7t1pHnevEhOoAw8Oee-XgXtHsmPuROUCOEXcRHI8B_1dbtkJ1h9dl7kKAugj14LDfgsptXyYmZDsYyjAhOgCr-srRJwgd59rzInX/s1600/Dipes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUhGVvDnyigwgTQQg0xea2TdQgKE0vvFYfv4Z9NrK7t1pHnevEhOoAw8Oee-XgXtHsmPuROUCOEXcRHI8B_1dbtkJ1h9dl7kKAugj14LDfgsptXyYmZDsYyjAhOgCr-srRJwgd59rzInX/s320/Dipes.jpg" width="220" /></a>We also decided to take the plunge and give cloth diapering a try. Everyone likes to look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them this, so I made sure to buy everything used at good prices so that I could resell it and recoup my money if this turns out to be a big failure as everyone predicts. But, truth be told, I’m committed. After hearing about the 12 diaper changes a day my close friends are currently going through with their newborn, and witnessing them use two disposables in just two minutes, I’m determined to make cloth diapering work for us. I purchased enough diapers to last us 3 days without washing so that we don’t go crazy, and also invested in a sprayer attachment for the bathroom to get rid of most of the grossness before they even go in the wash pile. I went mostly with pocket diapers and all-in-ones since that’s what the daycares around me will accept. My assortment includes Fuzzibunz, Happy Heinys, BumGenius all-in-ones, some brand new Grovias, Thirsties duo wraps – you name it, I probably have it. I spent $305 total, including $80 at a garage sale for 9 diapers, $75 on Craigslist for 12 diapers, and $150 for a lot which included 40 diapers ranging from the very used to the brand spanking new, and included the toilet sprayer. I plan to sell some, see what works for us, and then continue to sell to fund the purchase of bigger sizes or our favorite brands. Considering that the average child tends to use about $66 worth of disposables a month, I think this will be a sound investment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The décor in the room cost me almost nothing. I purchased three 12x12 canvases and painted animals on them for a total cost of about $15. I also scavenged the décor my sisters-in-law put up at my shower including a baby name banner now above the crib and some poofs hanging over the change station. My husband’s old baby blanket is hanging on another wall. The truth is, with some minor talent (or talented friends and family) decorating the nursery can be done very cheaply. Get creative. Get on Pinterest.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I also purchased a cream-of-the-crop nursing pump for $80, and will spend about $15 to $20 purchasing new tubing and shields for sanitary reasons. I also exchanged a maternity shirt from my mother-in-law for two nursing bras, and paid the difference of $10.95. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The rest of what I have for baby (and oh, boy is there a lot of it) I all came by free through the generosity of family and friends. I was completely overwhelmed by gifts at my baby shower. I think the key is that I registered for things that were relatively inexpensive – prices I myself would be willing to pay – so people tended to buy me multiple gifts. I received sheets, blankets, a crib mobile, tons of onesies, toys and stuffed animals. My sister-in-law also gave me all her old bottles, and offered us her high chair. My grandmother and mom chipped in and purchased me a very nice stroller, and my dad purchased the car seat. I would have purchased both of these items used if I was buying them myself. If I’d had to, I could have spent another $400 or so in total. Things like onesises are practically given away barely used (baby will grow out of them quickly) and infant toys that are very expensive in posh stores are then sold in 50 cent piles at garage sales.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All in all, I spent $610 spread out over the course of 9 months, and have about $200 in gift cards to cover future purchases. Of course everyone is different, and some of the items I’d be willing to buy used you might not be, but based on my experience you can go from zero baby gear to fully outfitted for about a thousand dollars without receiving any gifts. Of course, you might be more frugal than me, and see some of my purchases as unnecessary. Or you might think that a used nursing pump is unacceptable and a humidifier might be essential in your climate.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Most people will also find that friends and family are very generous when a new baby is involved, and many people have stored their baby gear waiting for this very opportunity to shower it on you. A friend of mine worked at a coffee shop while pregnant, and had customers offering her their gently used items!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So far, getting ready for baby hasn’t broken our bank, but only time will tell how much it will cost to get us from birth through college and beyond, where we’ll be able to pinch pennies, and where we won’t be able to.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-12090724286164806592012-09-08T17:13:00.001-07:002012-09-11T15:58:17.001-07:00Oh look! I posted!It's been over a year and a half since my last post. Time flies when you're working yourself to death! In that time we rented out our house, moved onto our boat, bought another house, remodeled it and moved into the city. During all of this time I <strike>went nutz</strike> decided to bump up my school credits from one class a quarter to full time. 3 classes. Every day of the week. On top of full time work.<br />
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Here's the interesting thing about college tuition (at least at the good ol' U of W): 5 credits costs about half of what 10 credits cost. But 15 credits costs <i>the same</i> amount as 10 credits. We're talking big bucks here, especially since UW raised it's tuition by 20% between the 2010-2011 school year and the 2011-2012 school year. I decided not to hang around later than that to find out what the next year would bring.*<br />
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*Sidenote: It brought zero increase. I took 15 credits for 3 quarters followed by 20 credits this summer <i>and they raised the tuition none.</i><br />
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Anyhoo, on top of graduating with a second degree (this time a BS, cuz I'm full of it ;) I also decided to turn my MRS degree into a MAMA degree, as you may have noticed from the below <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2012/09/dear-baby-heres-little-piece-of-advice.html">letter to baby</a>. And how pregnant am I you ask? Why, very! 37 weeks, so officially good to go, although thinking it will happen anytime soon is probably just the delusional wishes of an uncomfortable preggo.<br />
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So, you're all caught up! Except I don't even know who the crazy pregnant lady is talking to, because obviously after a 21 month absence (my absence can legally drink already) I don't have any readers left. But not to worry, because I have plenty to say even if I'm just talking to myself.<br />
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Por ejemplo:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Renting vs. Buying and why we decided to buy again</li>
<li>Becoming a landlord (terrifying) and paying the tax man (mixed emotions)</li>
<li><a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2012/09/baby-by-numbers.html">The cost of outfitting a nursery</a>, or Why I <3 Craigslist</li>
<li>Making fresh pasta! (!!!) (because that's how delicious it is!)</li>
<li>Navigating the college savings account</li>
<li>The budget compromises of a saver and a spender</li>
<li><a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-review-of-blindscom.html">A review of Blinds.com</a> - one you can trust, because I'm not a famous blogger getting paid to review (spoiler alert: I love them)</li>
<li>A look at how much money we spent on takeout the month I was too nauseous to cook, and hubby and I both got home from work/school after 9pm every night</li>
<li>Cloth Diapering - can we do it?!</li>
</ul>
And that doesn't even count all the adorable baby photos I will no doubt be flooding this site with. So on we go!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-51346280381576841402012-09-07T17:45:00.002-07:002012-09-09T09:15:01.204-07:00Dear BabyDear Baby,<br />
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Here's a little piece of advice - always back up your data. In the past few years I've lost the picture of your dad and I on the day we got engaged, had to pay about $200 to rescue our taxes on tax day when my USB drive broke, and as of this week lost the letters I've been writing to you since January 20th, the day we found out we were pregnant with you.<br />
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So here I am, starting over!<br />
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You were very planned for, and excitedly anticipated. We got pregnant right away, leaving me a one month buffer between your birth and completing school. Your dad - the eternal optimist - had no doubt it would happen easily for us. I didn't at first, and then I browsed around the internetz where everyone takes 5 years to get pregnant and then immediately miscarries and got a little worried I couldn't wait to take the pregnancy test, and bought a 3 pack since I knew I'd probably cave and take one too early. Your dad wisely hid them from me, and didn't bring them out until the night of January 19th. I left a coffee mug with fish painted all over it in the bathroom that night, and crept out of bed excitedly in the morning to pee in it. The test was almost instantly positive, but I dragged your dad out of bed to see it with his own two eyes and confirm.<br />
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Your dad drove me to work that morning because it had been snowing all week, and the streets were still covered in slush. I still remember what I was wearing because I remember looking at a reflection of myself in a window as I walked around the office with my hand already on my non-existent belly. Besides being pregnant, I also had a bladder infection - just the first of three this pregnancy gave me! I had your dad call the doctor's office for me, since I couldn't do it in front of everyone at work. He scheduled me an appointment and then came and picked me up and took me in. The nurse came in with the results before the doctor had a chance to. She said, "You're definitely pregnant! And you definitely have a UTI."<br />
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I suggested your dad start talking to you, which he thought was crazy. Then one night he gave me a kiss, pulled down the blanket and said, "Excuse me, I need to have a chat with our baby." He'd been working late every day getting our new house ready. He told you he'd been installing the door on your room that night, and thought about sitting up with you at night, rocking you back to sleep, and realized he'd better get you used to his voice so you'd know he was your dad and be comforted. That's your dad - the sweetest man on earth when you least expect it. He's going to be amazing, I know already. He'll have you fishing and crabbing, and skiing, and hopefully you'll get a good balance of my practical planning and his never stressing out. Seeing his huge hands holding your teeny tiny future best friend so protectively over the past month makes me even more excited to see you.<br />
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I started to feel you move in April - at least I thought I did. At the end of the month I flew to Arizona to visit the future mom of your other future best friend. On the plane I realized it was for sure you - your tiny shrimp body was doing little somersaults the whole time we took off and landed! You'd been moving for a long time before your dad felt you for the first time. You have the uncanny ability to freeze as soon as I tell him to put his hand on my belly. When he did feel big strong kicks from you the first time he was blown away - and they weren't even the biggest you'd been doing! As you got even bigger, your little bum would stick out under my ribs when I lay down. He likes to grab it and wiggle it from side to side! You're already almost too big for that now, though!<br />
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You started to hurt me with your kicks about a month ago, maybe a little longer. You like to push your bum out to the right with your feet low down on the left and stretch. You better not give me any stretch marks in these last few months! I've been lucky so far. You have stretched me out on the inside enough that I have a numb patch under my ribs - at least it was numb. Now it feels like it's tearing every time I giggle! And last but not least, yesterday I noticed my stretched flat belly button was officially starting to pop outwards at the top, something I never thought it'd actually do. I think that means you're cooked!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZposRvRdHqDVjS4BPwrW55PRT-EUnsFHmc9GCQ8VZE-uNmTE71DVn_eqjYvM1PCbfdzzhWlwJFLGyDbg-ByL0Jc6cjr9SRCHAioSCxXzg_BqgkQgeWytIemGDLoBSu4dTKdx0dtlyku-E/s1600/BabyMahnke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZposRvRdHqDVjS4BPwrW55PRT-EUnsFHmc9GCQ8VZE-uNmTE71DVn_eqjYvM1PCbfdzzhWlwJFLGyDbg-ByL0Jc6cjr9SRCHAioSCxXzg_BqgkQgeWytIemGDLoBSu4dTKdx0dtlyku-E/s200/BabyMahnke.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>We don't know whether you're a boy or a girl yet. In the beginning everyone guessed girl, and now everyone guesses boy - even strangers I meet in line! At your 20 week ultrasound they had us close our eyes while they checked that everything was as it should be. We'd invited your GrandNana along to check you out since she won't be here to see you born. When they told us we could open our eyes again, I opened mine to see her grinning at the screen - she peaked! She swears she couldn't tell, but I don't think I can trust the old bag! She knitted like crazy for you while she was visiting - you have a full closet of sweaters - but never gave us any clue with pink or blue. The doctor may have ruined our surprise this week though. On Tuesday I went in for what are now weekly appointments, and your dad came with to discuss our birth plan. At the end she said, "Is it a boy or a girl? It's a boy, right?" Whether she remembered right or not, I don't know, but now we're leaning to thinking you're a boy. We better figure out your middle name, if so! We have baby girl set in stone, but too many baby boy names we like, and none we love together yet. Maybe we'll know when we see you - so don't be long! (But don't be too early either, your dad is away this weekend helping G-Nan move.)<br />
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Love,<br />
Your MommaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-32967565402930535032011-12-15T14:18:00.000-08:002011-12-15T14:20:23.157-08:00Holiday Savings and a Philosophy Coupon CodeI just completed my holiday shopping - and I did it in about an hour online. Jealous? You should be, because I also saved money on every single one of my purchases!<br />
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I got 3% cash back from Best Buy and Crate & Barrel by going through <a href="http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=X4hQvplIKBa8gVbDrGEBZA%3D%3D">Ebates</a>, and I <i>finally</i> got to use the Crate & Barrel gift card I've been holding onto for some time. I had a brief moment of panic when I couldn't find the card in my cluttered purse. What a waste that would have been. Thankfully, I avoided <a href="http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/12/15/consumers-bear-the-risk-with-gift-cards/">that trap</a> this time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsJIwKaRbBoRV7ODRyW3skhHEXFH0KEF9V7L0F-euharOLThlc52AcCqGYM9lihFrRk1c_DpYKPG068ZhBWuZE52v2QTB-m_UdGgEIOH2AbUBODYRHPrCPye9AdhhdiJ1OtAi9PTZfB4M/s1600/SockMonkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsJIwKaRbBoRV7ODRyW3skhHEXFH0KEF9V7L0F-euharOLThlc52AcCqGYM9lihFrRk1c_DpYKPG068ZhBWuZE52v2QTB-m_UdGgEIOH2AbUBODYRHPrCPye9AdhhdiJ1OtAi9PTZfB4M/s200/SockMonkey.jpg" width="130" /></a>I also got 2.5% cash back through Urban Outfitters <i>and </i>got an additional 20% of my order over $100! I must confess, I was $2 short of the minimum order, but I surfed through the apartment sale and found a stuffed sock monkey for a reasonable price. This will be going to friends who just got pregnant, and although I wasn't expecting to find their gift at Urban Outfitters, I would have probably spent more on it <a href="http://www.landofnod.com/plush-toys/toys-gifts/blabla-mozart-monkey/f396">elsewhere</a>.<br />
<br />
I'll be giving Amazon money to a Kindle owner, and thanks to the $75 I've racked up since September through <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/oonamas">Swagbucks</a>, it's not really costing me anything!<br />
<br />
In case any of you out there are planing to buy products from Philosophy this year, I stumbled upon this coupon code for 10% off now through Sunday and thought I'd pass it on: ebatesjolly10. Of course you can always get 5% cash back by signing up for <a href="http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=X4hQvplIKBa8gVbDrGEBZA%3D%3D">Ebates</a>!<br />
<br />
Now all I have left is a Costco run for socks and boxer briefs, and I'm sure Santa won't forget my husband's fruit pastilles :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-60738808772307509982011-08-30T16:44:00.001-07:002011-08-31T08:18:35.775-07:00School Related WinsI've made a few frugal wins related to school so far. The main expense has been text books, and I've found that the last place you want to buy those is at the school bookstore.<br />
<br />
I've seen some pretty great deals on used books through Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. I'm picking up a used copy of the text book for one of my classes on Amazon for 78 cents! Granted I can't take advantage of Free Super Saver Shipping when it's a used book, but with shipping at just $3.99 who cares? I'll be purchasing that baby just as soon as my Amazon Gift Card code comes through from <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/oonamas">Swagbucks</a> - anyone know how long that usually takes?<br />
<br />
I also snagged two books for another class from a friend who just took the class. Rather than selling them back to the bookstore for pittance, I figured he'd be happy to sell them to me. Luckily I already have the book for my third class since it's just an extension of the class I took last Spring. I will definitely not be selling that hefty paper weight back to the bookstore when I'm done with it. After checking out prices on Amazon and eBay I see I can get a lot more for it if I sell it myself.<br />
<br />
I snagged 3 Top Flight notebooks for 50 cents apiece at Safeway last week. They're 70 pages each and should be enough for each class. The 3 subjects-in-one notebook sitting next to the smaller ones was $3.99 and only 180 pages. By taking a few seconds to compare prices I scored an extra 50 pages for $2.49 less!<br />
<br />
I still have to write a huge check in October, but the little things can really add up too, so I'm doing my best to take a bite out of them, and to keep the spare pennies rolling in by using <a href="http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=oonamas">Fusion Cash</a>, <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/oonamas">Swagbucks</a>*, <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/bing-rewards.html">Bing Rewards</a>, <a href="http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref7359038">Inbox Dollars</a>, <a href="http://www.cashcrate.com/2051881">Cash Crate</a>, taking advantage of <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/01/banking-incentives-getting-free-money.html">bank incentives</a>, and selling things on <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/02/ebay-success-free-listing-ends-today.html">eBay</a> and Craigslist.<br />
<br />
*I'm going to write up a review of Swagbucks soon - I can't believe how easy it was to cash out my first $5 Amazon card!<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-62060681309313542532011-08-29T17:04:00.000-07:002011-08-29T17:04:33.061-07:00Throw me a bone!I think I must have gone cah-razy, because I've decided to take school FULL TIME starting this fall. That's on top of my full time job, and of course being a full time wife and full time budgeting, saving, penny tracking obsessive compulsive. More on my plans to keep afloat later...<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I've had to plug some pretty big tuition bills into my tracking ledger in October, January and April. My monthly savings goal has now been sadly changed to zero (<i>shudder</i>) other than maxing out my Roth IRA. Luckily there are two of us in the Pig Penny household, so it's not as if we won't be saving anything, and luckily I've been saving some bigger than usual chunks of change over the past few months.<br />
<br />
Sadly, there are still some negative numbers showing up in the coming months. Thanks to aggressive savings I won't be actually overdrawn, but I am loathe to cut into my savings - especially since I won't be growing my savings account each month anymore.<br />
<br />
So, I am trying to scrounge up a spare $2 thousand. Certainly easier said than done. I do have a little extra cash floating around that wasn't specifically earmarked for my savings account over the past few months. I have a $25 offer from Chase to open a savings account and keep a minimum of $300 in it. I also just opened a savings account for $1500 with Chase and earned <a href="https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/shared/marketing/page/176091_get125&ID=0000012987&MSC=IQ14507595">$125 bonus</a> for doing so, which you can do too! So, after meeting the minimums on the savings and checking accounts with my spare cash, I have about $650 left over.<br />
<br />
I also have a $50 gift card from USBank courtesy of their <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/start-saving-at-usbank.html">START Saving</a> offer, and $25 should transfer from my PayPal this week for some eBay sales I made.<br />
<br />
That leaves me $1275 short of my goal. Deep breaths...<br />
<br />
I am a little short over at Fusion Cash this month. I need a little bit extra in order to cash out at the end of the month, so if you'd like to earn me a referral reward click <a href="http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=oonamas">HERE</a> to sign up for Fusion Cash. Verifying your e-mail will earn me $1 and completing an offer will earn me $2. I still haven't had a single one of my referrals actually cash out, which is kind of sad. Kind of nice because they earned me cash without actually gaining anything themselves, but kind of sad because Fusion Cash really does work. I have cashed out over $225 and hope to hit $250 this month.<br />
<br />
If I manage to cash out every month for the rest of the year (which takes $25 minimum) I'll be $100 closer to my not-eating-my-savings goal. Again, feel free to throw me a bone by <a href="http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=oonamas">signing up</a> :)<br />
<br />
Other than that I'll be rolling counts, taking a look at what else I can Craigslist and eBay, and trying to earn Amazon gift cards over at <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/oonamas">Swagbucks</a> to help cover my Christmas shopping. Yes, I've succumbed to <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/oonamas">Swagbucks</a>. Earning Amazon cards through <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/bing-rewards.html">Bing's reward program</a> proved addicting!<br />
<br />
So feel free to throw me a referral bone to help me towards my goal, and hopefully I'll be able to pay for school without going broke!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-47912088413174155882011-08-23T13:45:00.000-07:002011-08-24T13:45:57.566-07:00Practically Free Jeans!My grandmother in laws new puppy has been systematically ruining my clothing with every visit. On our first visit she chewed up my very favorite scarf. The one I got compliments on every time I wore it. The one someone brought me back from Korea as a gift.<br />
<br />
Bad dog.<br />
<br />
On our most recent visit I was wearing a pair of jeans that I knew I'd have to replace in the next few months. There was a worn spot that was becoming more and more of a hole, but wasn't quite there yet. One visit to grandma's and the worn spot was officially a hole. Puppy's sharp little claws and constant jumps were just too much for my poor worn jeans to bear.<br />
<br />
Very bad dog.<br />
<br />
The last thing I wanted to do right now was spend $200 on a new pair of jeans. Yes, I know there are jeans that aren't $200. I just haven't ever been able to find any that I would want to wear! So I headed over to eBay to peruse the Paige pages.<br />
<br />
I found a pair of jeans with a Buy It Now price of $37.10 with free shipping. They were listed as new, but washed once. Do I care that they were washed? No! Honestly, I wouldn't have really cared if they were technically worn. The pictures showed jeans in perfect condition, and other listings like it were a lot higher.<br />
<br />
I knew I'd have to have them hemmed. Nordstrom does this for free on jeans purchased at their store. Otherwise, they charge $14. All in all, I would have had a pair of good-as-new Paige jeans for $52.43 after tax. Pretty darn good deal, if I do say so myself!<br />
<br />
When my jeans arrived they looked perfect. When I tried them on, I realized they were not. The zipper was broken. The pull was completely missing and the teeth were all funkified.<br />
<br />
I really didn't want to return these jeans. Even with the cost to repair the zipper they were still a great price. I decided to take them in for hemming and repair and ask for a refund on the zipper price. It cost $16 to replace. I asked the eBay seller to refund the price plus tax to my account. I was a little nervous that she was going to demand proof of the broken zipper which I had neglected to photograph before taking into Nordstrom, but I figured I had my receipt showing I'd paid for a new zipper if it came to that.<br />
<br />
Not only did this not end up being a problem, the seller was so apologetic for the inconvenience that she insisted on refunding me the entire price of the jeans. I spent $32.85 for hemming and the zipper, and that was that.<br />
<br />
And that is the story of my practically free jeans! Now if I could lose just 5 pounds, I'd be the happiest frugalista on earth.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-1267697682511457942011-07-06T16:16:00.000-07:002011-07-06T16:20:16.965-07:00Banks Profiling Your SpendingThe new regulations on banking have taken a big chunk of change out of the banks pockets. I believe better consumer protections needed to be in place, but it hasn't made my life much easier. As one of those people who doesn't overdraft, pay interest on credit card debt, or otherwise get hit by fees, I was able to profit off those who do. I've enjoyed free checking and will only have to deposit $400 into my Roth this month thanks to the $100 cash back bonus I'm getting from my <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-credit-card-choices.html">2% rewards card</a>.<br />
<br />
Now, it's becoming harder and harder to find free checking - especially when there's no way you're going to be able to talk someone into switching to direct deposit who hands you a handwritten paycheck every week and thinks that automated payments are for losers. Yes, seriously.<br />
<br />
Do you have any idea how hard it is to get free checking without two direct deposits every month?!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeFmV4cRu3Ej-5nECv8CyHAAXsJZO3wNdKAUNFGYj8KHgNTMw7wYkMl3hwDb2K2G_kvcXPWH32Lr0GiGr5ng_nrIE1Ey-pB-z3k5AmDeWpJSg9nWcGXZubAArflhMRPvMPrl_TxwrtIbV/s1600/chart-personalized-deals.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeFmV4cRu3Ej-5nECv8CyHAAXsJZO3wNdKAUNFGYj8KHgNTMw7wYkMl3hwDb2K2G_kvcXPWH32Lr0GiGr5ng_nrIE1Ey-pB-z3k5AmDeWpJSg9nWcGXZubAArflhMRPvMPrl_TxwrtIbV/s320/chart-personalized-deals.gif" width="320" /></a>Anyway, I stumbled across <a href="http://investmentwatchblog.com/banks-could-make-nearly-2-billion-by-2015-from-selling-your-shopping-data/">this article</a> on CNN today about bank profiling of spending. Companies like Alite Group and Cardlytics analyze the spending on your credit or debit card and provide you with discount offers based on what you might be interested in. Much like the way companies like <a href="http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=X4hQvplIKBa8gVbDrGEBZA%3D%3D">Ebates</a> work, the banks take a commission when you make a purchase through these offers. The projections for the potential of these profits reach towards two billion over the next few years!<br />
<br />
I'm more than happy to be profiled if it means that I might get an offer for something I would be buying at full price anyway. I'm sure that for some people this would mean temptation (which is really the whole point of coupons, I guess) but I usually exercise pretty good self control. However, when a deal comes up on <a href="http://www.groupon.com/r/uu19576666">Groupon</a> or <a href="https://livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/12919401-kclc-a?ref=lnk">LivingSocial</a> that I know I will use and would have bought anyway, buying it really saves me money. And if the banks can get back a chunk of the change they've lost, that could save me even more money if the banks loosened up a bit.<br />
<br />
An interesting concept, and one I'm excited to see go into motion. What do you think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-64823803618334353542011-06-21T16:08:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:34:16.586-07:00Ohai There!<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><br />
You thought I had died? Yeah, me too for awhile there...<br />
<br />
I've been pretty busy. Not too busy to keep up with all my blog reading though, so I figured it was time for me to get back on the blogging horse and put my contribution to the blogosphere out there.<br />
<br />
Like I said, I've been busy. Among the many things that have been going on is one exciting development - I'm back in school! Technically speaking I have been in school for the past year, even longer than I've been blogging. The difference is I was taking care of some reqs that didn't suck every ounce of free time out of me and it didn't seem worthy of mentioning yet.<br />
<br />
Read: I didn't feel like mentioning it until I was actually accepted into my program. I'm a big scaredy cat like that.<br />
<br />
But guess what? I <i>was</i> accepted! And it was awesome! And I had all of about one weekend between being accepted and starting class. And then the first assignment was a breeze! And then it got hard...<br />
<br />
So during the spring I focused on school and I'm happy to say that I passed the weeder class that about half of my class was retaking for the second or even the third time and I even did it with a halfway decent grade and without my husband divorcing me. Or forgetting what I looked like.<br />
<br />
Now, for the first time in a year, I'm actually <i>not </i>in school. I started this whole back to school thing last summer, so this is the first time in awhile that I haven't been smack dab in the middle of a class. It feels extremely luxurious.<br />
<br />
I'll be back at it in the Fall taking another difficult class and hopefully passing. After these two classes are out of the way I hope to figure out how to work an actual full time schedule into my already full time schedule. I will have to broach that as <strike>2013</strike> 2012 (clearly brain is fried) comes about, and haven't quite figured out the details yet. A lot of thinking and planning is going into it, and the hubs and I are saving up all of our pennies as much as possible in anticipation of a year when I could be working part time and for a much reduced salary.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZOIPWJndeFSGM_nSNbE5y9k1dVEAw8ur5FvF4MpDt5Z1fj72LYWiVu_c6rBoZmXhQAVUHjLxfNSgen6hCI0yOKzqY3FUDHOsHMiXqXmScKR5iVXE_W832U7ksslebGlc8PsPSzOnraK1/s1600/GraduationHat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZOIPWJndeFSGM_nSNbE5y9k1dVEAw8ur5FvF4MpDt5Z1fj72LYWiVu_c6rBoZmXhQAVUHjLxfNSgen6hCI0yOKzqY3FUDHOsHMiXqXmScKR5iVXE_W832U7ksslebGlc8PsPSzOnraK1/s200/GraduationHat.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Hopefully the payoff at the end will be worth it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-42077129108401478112011-04-05T08:23:00.000-07:002011-04-06T08:44:40.177-07:00April Groceries - All About RestraintI went through my freezer on Sunday and took a look at what I still had for dinners. Even after cleaning out the freezer in March, I had dinner on the table Sunday (delicious pork chops baked with onions and apple) and still had enough food for eleven more main courses!<br />
<br />
So, my Monday grocery trip was all about restraint.<br />
<br />
<b>Safeway</b><br />
Jalapeno Chips - $4.29 (for hubby's lunches)<br />
6 Cans Tuna - $2.94 (49 cents a can!)<br />
Organic Milk - $5.19 (still painful)<br />
Red Leaf Lettuce - $1.49<br />
Organic Yellow Onions - $2.99<br />
<b>Total - $16.90</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Costco</b><br />
Frozen OJ - $9.99<br />
Grey Poupon - $6.75 (restocking)<br />
Dubliner Cheese - $9.90<br />
Organic Ground Beef - $12.99<br />
6 Red Peppers - $5.9<br />
Chicken Tenderloins - $16.38 (accidentally bought tenderloins instead of breasts!)<br />
Bratwurst Sausages - $13.99<br />
<b>Total - $75.99</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Then I went to Franz Bakery Outlet for sandwich bread and burger buns, only to discover they'd closed 15 minutes earlier. I swear, they changed their hours! There's no way I've been there before 6pm every other time I've shopped there. Back to Safeway I went...<br />
<br />
<b>Safeway</b><br />
Wholewheat Buns - $2.49<br />
Franz Bread - $4.69 (I could get two loaves for $5.29 at Franz...grrrr!)<br />
3 Whole Garlic - $1 (forgot before)<br />
<b>Total - $8.18</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Grand Total - $101.07</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Put that together with my <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/04/let-april-grocery-shopping-begin.html">grocery shopping on the 1st</a>, and my total for the month so far is <b>$146.91</b>. I'm trying to keep groceries as far under $250 as possible, and I think this still leaves me a lot of room. I know it's early still, but I'm very well stocked (hubby would say we have no food - not true!) and will probably buy more milk, maybe some veggies, just realized I need sour cream, and lunch meat. That can easily be accomplished below budget.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzj1so1vYTsH-ZEh5HOXtFPaPLv6NPsHOePHWC5QxBg_t6GmLVT7tD5pAZ7ULkRQzdGjt-50qQoWPDSVCgXxclmsRgJFk9dz9Uij-2jz2C4BDAFvFByZLNLHSYdXFxOmYaCz6LLfQF55I/s1600/oj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzj1so1vYTsH-ZEh5HOXtFPaPLv6NPsHOePHWC5QxBg_t6GmLVT7tD5pAZ7ULkRQzdGjt-50qQoWPDSVCgXxclmsRgJFk9dz9Uij-2jz2C4BDAFvFByZLNLHSYdXFxOmYaCz6LLfQF55I/s200/oj.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
A note on juice - my husband LOVES orange juice. Loves it. He will make a can of concentrate, and go through it in two or three days. Three if I'm lucky. I'm not such a miser that I want to deny him juice, but it is expensive. I buy a six pack of concentrate at Costco every month for $9.99. It goes straight into the deep freeze without him even seeing it. If he gets a hankering for juice, he has to go out into the garage and make up a pitcher. If he's willing to go through the extra hassle over just grabbing water from the tap, well....I figure he deserves his juice then :)<br />
<br />
He's also taken to filling an old drink bottle with juice for his work lunches. I'm fine with this, since normally he ends up buying a drink for $1.25 if he doesn't have one. If he keeps up this habit, I'll start buying 2 packs of concentrate a month.<br />
<br />
Does anyone have any thoughts on traveling juice containers? Right now he's using an old plastic bottle, which worries me a little...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-62062022087189227332011-04-03T10:28:00.000-07:002011-04-04T07:36:35.561-07:00Prius MPG - $3.83<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgVxVuUgpeF178SP7fyKDNZB5GL2WGoDFKJbjIWhvUG6DpaDTtkYyZg8yZsrCgo_k6cF-_FgpG9ecS7oTos1KAUfVGXPrEhCXRUHdy6FXTtsBIrZq5Wyl2175igChveJGxNPzrmNIFneH/s320/Prius+MPG.jpg" width="320" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I keep track of the gas I put in my Prius and my mileage every time I fill up. You can read about how I became a Prius owner <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/01/letting-go-of-living-above-my-needs.html">here</a>. I last filled up on <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/prius-mpg-379-per-gallon.html">March 14th</a>. Here's my latest miles per gallon...</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;">Distance Driven: 396 Miles<br />
Gallons Filled: 9.67 gallons<br />
<br />
Average MPG: 38.55</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;">My mileage is slowly but surely creeping up. I've read that the Prius gets worse gas mileage in cold weather, and I've certainly found that to be true this winter. Had I not lost all my data from when I first purchased the car last May, my average MPG would be showing much higher, but since this is only based on data over the last few (cold) months, it's lower than what I would expect to see.</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Spring is definitely starting to sneak up on us though. If I can leave my house without a jacket in the balmy 50 degree weather, then my little Prius can start showing me some better mileage! Especially since the $3.79 I posted about in shock in March would now be a great price to find.</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-21311923628125230392011-04-02T01:19:00.000-07:002011-04-02T10:53:23.138-07:00Let the April Grocery Shopping Begin!In case your interest was piqued by the recipe posted yesterday, it's my duty to report back that it was delicious! It always seems so hard to come up with new recipes to spice things up, and then <b>BAM! </b>Along comes <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/04/food-waste-friday-some-sad-lettuce.html">spicy beef noodle bowl</a>.<br />
<br />
I took a picture with my super old iPhone. It really didn't do the dish justice. But, it did capture the red pepper that just begged to be a part of the dish. Lesson learned: add red pepper and get a new camera.<br />
<br />
Of course, trying out a new recipe meant heading to the grocery store. And a brand new month and untouched budget meant a couple (carefully planned) splurges.<br />
<br />
<b>Trader Joe's</b><br />
Egg Noodles - $1.99 (and only used half the package)<br />
Sirloin Steak - $11.39 (saved half of this, too!)<br />
Broccoli Florets - $2.49<br />
Red Bell Pepper - $1.29<br />
Dozen Eggs - $1.69<br />
Brie - $4.23 (because it's a pretty cheap treat when you consider how delicious it is!)<br />
2 Bottles Charles Shaw - $5.45 (we drink only the finest)<br />
<br />
Total: $28.53<br />
<br />
<b>Safeway</b><br />
1 lb Salami - $6.49<br />
1 lb Ham - $5.63<br />
Gallon Milk - $5.19 (this makes my eyeballs want to bleed)<br />
<br />
Total: $17.31<br />
<br />
Which brings the grand total so far to $45.84. Kind of scary since that's about a fifth of my budget. We shall see how this goes...<br />
<b><br />
</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-86981050172126521712011-04-01T10:24:00.000-07:002011-04-01T10:24:22.678-07:00Food Waste Friday - Some Sad LettuceI'll hopefully have a picture for you later today, but we do have some honest to goodness food waste this week. I was using some red lettuce no my hubby's lunches while the sprouts were growing. Luckily, I got down to the itty bitty center pieces that aren't big enough for a sandwich just as the sprouts reached readiness - perfectly coordinated if I do say so myself. But, of course, the last little bit of lettuce was forgotten, and when I pulled the bag out of the crisper last night it had that brown slimy liquid running around in it.<br />
<br />
The last of the fresh spinach is also on it's last legs, but I don't plan to let it go to waste. I'll throw the wilted pieces in a pasta or something. Actually, I was planning on trying out this recipe tonight for the first time, and some spinach tossed in might be perfect!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XE6iFza4KD1OJX3OqLgsflwlvSS2umtg7WQPuyjVHnRGW1_yynCSAMRX2UzYrd2CiggWiANYVmazVvIOTl7H8KU6J5-D_JzM8zstrks8vum2cpmaiRXmwZY2B7JnodzGlEg_Qza-tWL7/s1600/beefnoodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XE6iFza4KD1OJX3OqLgsflwlvSS2umtg7WQPuyjVHnRGW1_yynCSAMRX2UzYrd2CiggWiANYVmazVvIOTl7H8KU6J5-D_JzM8zstrks8vum2cpmaiRXmwZY2B7JnodzGlEg_Qza-tWL7/s200/beefnoodles.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<b>Spicy Beef-Noodle Bowl</b><br />
<br />
1 lb. beef sirloin, cut into strips<br />
1 Tbsp. oil<br />
28 oz. broth<br />
1/3 cup <a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/best-peanut-sauce/Detail.aspx">peanut sauce</a><br />
3 oz. egg noodles<br />
2 cups broccoli florets<br />
Sliced green onions for garnish<br />
<br />
Brown beef strips in hot oil in a Dutch oven. Add broth and peanut sauce, and bring everything to a boil. Stir in noodles and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Stir to break up the noodles, and add broccoli. Return to boiling. Reduce heat, and simmer for another 4 minutes or until noodles are tender. Garnish with green onions.<br />
<br />
Sounds good, and easy right? I'll let you know how it goes!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-42665815285694305502011-03-29T14:05:00.000-07:002011-03-29T14:12:00.629-07:00Speaking of eBay...<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.groupon.com/r/uu19576666"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryHQQbzJRkJoviOimJDN8qlLDnB_tBuURYSw-ubHa3bZ7NPYmiq46bQBflLTJskm6dk0QlH0EcIk2aMyKaKr7R8Hr7wW-TBVBJSIrr41TsZ-uvB7-FUHwDlgw1306XJMODLJOdt-fB0Vo/s200/ebay2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
...has everyone seen <a href="http://www.groupon.com/deals/ebay">this Groupon deal</a> for an eBay gift certificate? I know I just griped about a Groupon deal that was a total rip off, but when buying gift certificates like this, you just can't go wrong. <a href="http://www.groupon.com/r/uu19576666">Sign up</a> for Groupon and purchase a $15 gift certificate for just $7.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-45330269948553933062011-03-29T13:51:00.000-07:002011-03-30T07:47:39.750-07:00Spending Saturday & Monthly Reflection<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7Qqp7sG3E3m3aKBg173W6XUtSgBIAevGsPQBUg1Tpkhu7D3PbFD_16ZgTgi1UuzRsUrT0ycRl75GEtLJxOVEGztsu0GiToCyTUP0QcKX7mEtUMzA9YsSvEWiau0QhgBNuIoPk2qn4E0u/s200/smart_spending.JPG" width="200" /></div><br />
Big things have happened in the past few days - although not so much for your reading pleasure, as you may have noticed. My Saturday Spending round up is being posted on a Tuesday. Whoops!<br />
<br />
First, let's take care of the little details. Essentially, no spending to report in the past week. I did buy a bottle of red wine to take to dinner at my parent's house on Saturday in honor of my brother visiting. I included that in my general grocery budget, bringing my <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/so-much-for-last-groceries.html">grand total</a> on grocery expenses this month to $205.21.<br />
<br />
I am <b>very </b>happy with that number.<br />
<br />
As you know, other than bacon I didn't purchase <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/produce-purchases.html">any meat</a> this month. We had enough in the deep freeze to last us the rest of our lives. Or...you know...a month, as it were. It might be a bit of a challenge in April to keep the spending that low. I am aiming for $225 and crossing my fingers.<br />
<br />
I know the month is not technically over, but I feel confident that I won't be making any purchases in the next couple days, so that means my <i>only</i> miscellaneous spending this month was a <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/saturday-spending.html">$25 Groupon</a> for an art class. Side note: that art class was a HUGE joke. Has anyone ever asked for a Groupon refund? Because I think this really might be deserving.<br />
<br />
My 3 month miscellany purchase total now comes to $320.95 - only $20.95 over budget. If I hadn't bought that stupid Groupon, I would have totally made up for the February fling in Portland. Ah, well.<br />
<br />
There were also some <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/02/ebay-success-free-listing-ends-today.html">eBay</a> related expenses (i.e. tape and the 9% fee that eBay charges on sales). I'm not counting these anywhere in the budget. I'm hoping that I can pay these fees and put my eBay earnings in savings. In other words, I'm having my cake and eating it too. As long as I can afford to pay my credit card bill in full and still put my designated amount into savings/Roth IRA, I'll have accomplished the impossible.<br />
<br />
Perhaps that extra <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/spare-pennies.html">money I found lying around the house</a> has a little something to do with it.<br />
<br />
I also asked my husband to save an extra $200 every month. He currently contributes to his 401K and a Roth IRA, but I can see there's room for more. I reasoned that since I now make his lunch to take to work every day (and that food is included in our regular grocery budget) that he could afford to put the money he used to spend on eating out in a savings account. He agreed that made sense.<br />
<br />
Then my husband's company sent out a notice with their pay stubs that the 401K match is discontinued until further notice. One step forward, one step back. At least he still has a job though, right?!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-41765448958233370912011-03-25T09:49:00.000-07:002011-03-25T09:49:19.021-07:00Food Waste Friday - Living On The EdgeI don't have any food waste to report this week, but I am quaking in fear (okay, mild exaggeration) about a couple of items. After my success with my first <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/last-of-groceries.html">Italian loaf</a> last weekend (gobbled up by family at my sister's birthday dinner) I decided to make focaccia bread. Although delicious, the recipe also turned out huge. We have been ever so slowly eating a slice here and a slice there, and I'm a little afraid it's going to end up moldy before we finish it.<br />
<br />
Which would break my heart.<br />
<br />
I'm also mildly nervous about my <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/mason-jar-sprouts.html">sprouts</a>. But first, let me tell you how awesome they are. Every night, I pull a chunk of sprouts out of the mason jar and put them on my husband's lunch sandwich. I add a little water, swish it around, and pour the excess out to keep things moist, and the next morning the mason jar is full again. It's the coolest thing!<br />
<br />
The other cool thing is that they are a million times greener than the kind you buy at the store. Since they're just sitting in my window, they get to soak up a lot more sun than the sprouts that are quickly loaded into the back of a truck and then left to languish anemically at the grocery store.<br />
<br />
But, this never ending source of sprouts has me wondering if they're going to go bad at any point. I know technically they're growing and should be fine, but the ones at the bottom of the jar are packed in there so tightly that the little leaves are trapping water against the glass, even after I turn the jar upside down. Hopefully they are getting just enough moisture, and not too much.<br />
<br />
This is my first experience growing sprouts at home (besides watching my mom do it as a kid) so I guess if they do go bad, it is just part of the learning curve. I've already gotten a week's worth of lunches out of this one jar, so I'll count it as a success either way. Next, I'm going to get some basil seeds started indoors.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-83126331264747121742011-03-22T16:32:00.000-07:002011-03-24T10:02:13.730-07:00Bing RewardsI haven't really caught on to the whole Swagbucks thing yet. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that since I'm such a sucker for free money, but I just don't like that it <i>surprises </i>you with rewards. I like structure. Guarantees. Nevertheless, I'm always jealous when some of my favorite bloggers - <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/TheFrugalGirl">The Frugal Girl</a> and <a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/NonConsumerAdvocate">The Non-Consumer Advocate</a> - post about cashing out for Amazon gift cards. I could really <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/01/livingsocial-deal-free-amazon-money.html">use</a> those!<br />
<br />
<i>(Clicking their names will take you to their referral links, if you want to show them love. Technically I have my own link, but since I barely use it your referral would be more useful for them than me. Plus, they are awesome bloggers who deserve it!)</i><br />
<br />
But today I took advantage of a Fusion Cash offer, and discovered Bing Rewards. It's very similar - they even have Amazon gift cards - but it seems more structured to me. All you do is download the Bing Bar and click on the Rewards Button. Today it offered me 6 points for looking at college basketball videos and another 6 points for looking at Lumiere Brothers videos. I also earned 20 points for my own searches - 1 point for every 2 searches. 40 searches = 20 points. See? Structure!<br />
<br />
The button tells me I can earn up to 20 points a day until April 2nd. We'll see what happens then, and in the meantime I'm going to max out my points every day!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=oonamas" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgPLk2fmpwenhagaMfA1bTDBrOc2_VyqQBxG5NAiskICuTf_PqQ02J4NdDlLhXyHGG7Wq9ZAgDuIq28ohJgfg2URg02Ue2_p1CsPYh24apQBM1FCtk7fBwzdk9EWJE52pRrvdBOTOUWvs/s200/bing.jpg" width="200" /></a>Bing gives you 250 bonus points to sign up, and on top of that Fusion Cash is offering $3 for downloading the Bing Bar and signing up for rewards. So, if you sign up through Fusion Cash, not only can you get started on your way to free rewards, but you can get paid <i>just for signing up.</i> You'll be winning more than Charlie Sheen!<br />
<br />
If you haven't yet signed up for Fusion Cash (I shamelessly <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/referral-extravaganza.html">begged for your referrals</a> last week, and I'm only 5 away from meeting my goal!) you can do so <a href="http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=oonamas">HERE</a>, confirm your e-mail, and then search the Offers page for "Bing" to get a $3 Fusion Cash bonus and get started with your Bing rewards. You'll also get a $5 sign up bonus with <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/p/using-fusion-cash.html">Fusion Cash</a> and be on your way to your first $25 cash out.<br />
<br />
I'm on my way to 1081 Bing points and a $10 Amazon Gift Card!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-2035355886605952442011-03-21T11:43:00.000-07:002011-03-21T11:43:17.660-07:00So Much For Last Groceries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDFbXsA9g4JeOUum9aOcduo43TarsRDrtIv7jDNkPVw1AJrcKIcTgx3UUDhdcflg3RnRrW2RZdYZnmUZY49EnRKqPlX5FUfInCxbtoTFCYahvrmTqBvi83Lff3Kz5xzfBmmZLqirZ_46i/s1600/amazon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDFbXsA9g4JeOUum9aOcduo43TarsRDrtIv7jDNkPVw1AJrcKIcTgx3UUDhdcflg3RnRrW2RZdYZnmUZY49EnRKqPlX5FUfInCxbtoTFCYahvrmTqBvi83Lff3Kz5xzfBmmZLqirZ_46i/s1600/amazon.gif" /></a></div>I posted this morning about my <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/last-of-groceries.html">"last" grocery trip of March</a>. Then, I got an e-mail from Amazon Fresh that I just couldn't resist. As a new customer they offered me $30 off my order of $50 or more using this code - KLFUYF9VW6 - now through March 23rd.<br />
<br />
I just can't ignore an offer like that!<br />
<br />
Ever since I raided all the change jars in the house and rolled <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/spare-pennies.html">$26 in coins</a>, my husband has been bugging me to buy him a 12 pack of beer with his portion of the bounty. Undeserved! At least in regards to his contribution to the coin rolling. But I will admit my husband is a hard working, good man who is handsome to boot and deserves a cold beer now and again ;-)<br />
<br />
I've been dragging my heels nonetheless (but what about the <i>budget! </i>and all) so I knew this gift from Amazon was the perfect time to buy beer guilt free. I also decided to stock up on flour since, you know, I'm now an expert bread baker and all. I perused The Frugal Girl to find out what brand she likes <a href="http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2008/11/the-thrilling-flour-sale/">best</a>, and it was also very economical. I got a 10 pound bag of Gold Medal unbleached and a 5 pound bag of Gold Medal whole wheat.<br />
<br />
Then I had to fill in the gaps. Popcorn? Don't mind if I do! More expensive per ounce <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/costco-versus-budget.html">than Costco</a>, but I figured I could treat myself to a small bag to tide me over. Quaker Oats - our staple breakfast on the weekends, and great for making oatmeal cookies/bars for weekday mornings - a no brainer. Two bags each of frozen corn and peas (won't have to restock those next month!) brought me to just under $50, so I put it over the edge with 3 apples. I think I'll make my really, really, ridiculously <s>good looking</s> delicious pork chops with apple and onions later this week.<br />
<br />
Total Spent: $51.80 + $5.99 delivery fee minus - $30 coupon discount = $27.79<br />
<br />
Bringing my FINAL March Grand Total to $187.70. Still happy!<br />
<br />
If you give the discount code a shot (remember, it expires March 23rd!) leave me a comment and let me know if it worked for you - and all about your bounty of goods!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-9658976301214849072011-03-21T08:08:00.000-07:002011-03-21T08:08:26.509-07:00Last Of The GroceriesHere's to hoping yesterday's shopping trip was the last of the month.<br />
<br />
<u>Safeway</u><br />
3 1/4 oz Yeast - $2.75<br />
Organic Milk - $5.19<br />
Carrots - $1.89<br />
1 lb Canadian Maple Ham Lunch Meat - $5.65<br />
Total: 14.98<br />
<br />
<u>Franz Bakery Outlet</u><br />
2 Loaves - $5.29<br />
<br />
That would bring my grand total for the month to...(drum roll please)...$159.91! To say I am proud of that number would be an understatement.<br />
<br />
This morning I sent my husband off to work with <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/mason-jar-sprouts.html">homegrown sprouts</a> in his lunch! The jar is so full I had to split the yield in two in order to allow light to reach them all and turn them a beautiful green. Let's gaze at the glory, shall we?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P0yMRhusguVyu35oz2F7EIpza6IyfW1XpqMNtG04ckuAptoT64VF4XyLEFAmFvEHpazdPIujviyMKXN4q_waOaHb9gpCMSFNlxksvjs6a5zi2Y6QX-wAgVTZhUuUlUqdAZNL_u21DVEW/s1600/Sprouts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P0yMRhusguVyu35oz2F7EIpza6IyfW1XpqMNtG04ckuAptoT64VF4XyLEFAmFvEHpazdPIujviyMKXN4q_waOaHb9gpCMSFNlxksvjs6a5zi2Y6QX-wAgVTZhUuUlUqdAZNL_u21DVEW/s320/Sprouts.JPG" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If anyone would like to gift me a Canon Rebel or equivalent <br />
on account of it being a Monday, I would be much obliged.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Aren't they beautiful? I can turn the jar upside down and they don't even budge they're packed in there so tight. Lesson learned - less seed next time. I am definitely going to be regularly stocking up on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Certified-Organic-Alfalfa-Sprout-Seeds/dp/B000E7VDEG?ie=UTF8&tag=pigpenpennie-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969">sprout seeds</a>. Growing your own sprouts is just too easy!<br />
<br />
Speaking of easy, <a href="http://www.themrs.ca/">The Mrs</a> also inspired me to take a stab at bread baking. She is working her way through 200 different bread recipes. It got me thinking of how she must have a whole range of flops and successes, but the point is she's trying. Too often, I let perfection get in my way - it's part of the reason I bought sprout seeds in January and didn't try to grow them until March!<br />
<br />
So I picked up yeast (enemy number one) yesterday and came home and just did it - I baked bread. And it turned out delicious!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jwDTegIqCNjNJwfw3hSoFrPpsNyei4gAXDf_-PJdFEjC3BS0wp2Iyog_Bx-I4pbSV8VXyjNy8gKpxTeqCqnVg3ks36gNk04UTTEXc4MPmeMcohBFVwDhG2apQ35jJW0AaV_DnvibO7yh/s1600/Italian+Loaf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jwDTegIqCNjNJwfw3hSoFrPpsNyei4gAXDf_-PJdFEjC3BS0wp2Iyog_Bx-I4pbSV8VXyjNy8gKpxTeqCqnVg3ks36gNk04UTTEXc4MPmeMcohBFVwDhG2apQ35jJW0AaV_DnvibO7yh/s320/Italian+Loaf.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Italian Herb Loaf - a success!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-15722586256659892872011-03-20T12:10:00.000-07:002011-03-20T12:55:07.729-07:00A Meatless RecipeIn the past week or so I've come around to the idea of cutting back on our meat consumption. My husband has pretty emphatically told me in the past that he is a carnivore - there must be meat in every meal. Nevertheless, I started thinking maybe I could twist his arm once a week, or even once a month!<br />
<br />
Last week I made "spaghetti and meatballs" using sausage and spaghetti squash. My husband isn't a big fan of squash (while I <i>love</i> all squash) but he really liked this unique recipe. His biggest problem with squash is the texture, and spaghetti squash isn't really your typical squash.<br />
<br />
Since he <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/different-kind-of-food-waste.html">commandeered my Italian sausage</a> I decided to try my recipe again as a totally meat-free meal.<br />
<br />
First I cut up a portabella mushroom into long strips and set them marinating in the fridge. I marinated them in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, and powdered garlic. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jYhcfmtYt7NRvdUk_mqri5Hr_jHF79-hDdP-R4obgxhCLrqrOkS4If6kjuBjN7ZJ4VgHFijkkQrGi1hl9n214v-YWwYIsOqPrUVJ5eb00-SnFWcqBM_5tmvgI7TNelvEIOh2ViL0Owsk/s1600/spaghetti+squash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jYhcfmtYt7NRvdUk_mqri5Hr_jHF79-hDdP-R4obgxhCLrqrOkS4If6kjuBjN7ZJ4VgHFijkkQrGi1hl9n214v-YWwYIsOqPrUVJ5eb00-SnFWcqBM_5tmvgI7TNelvEIOh2ViL0Owsk/s200/spaghetti+squash.jpg" width="149" /></a>I also chopped up the stems into smaller pieces - no reason to let them go to waste!<br />
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I<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> s<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;">autéed </em></span>some chopped red bell pepper and then added in coarsely chopped red kale and a ton of chopped garlic. I stirred in some hot <a href="http://www.blurtit.com/q607729.html">cooked spaghetti squash</a> and removed from the heat so that the kale wouldn't cook itself into non-existence.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Then I </span>s<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;">autéed my portabellas. Not too long - you want to keep them meaty! I served these over my "spaghetti" and it was delicious!</em></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;">My husband was slightly less enthused than me. He gave me that look and said "You know I need meat." But does he? Do we really need meat with every meal?</em></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">He still loved it, and I'm so happy with the way he's come around to mushrooms since we first started dating. I'm also pretty sure he didn't wither away, but he does claim they didn't fill him up. I don't want dinner to be a war, and it got me thinking that I can easily cut down on our meat consumption by cutting down on <i>my </i>meat consumption. I can eat meatless meals (like this one) and still cut up a sausage for my husband's meal.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">I can also use half the meat I normally would and beef a meal up with mushrooms or beans or other protein substitutes, with both of us eating meat but half of what we normally would. This will be both easier on our budget, and more environmentally sustainable!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">Wish me luck ;)</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-78723572921050035142011-03-19T10:35:00.000-07:002011-03-20T12:13:52.528-07:00Saturday NO Spend<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATQSN0MsamtjO13UgU6HdEdNhl55FsINVxBuakQSl0Qzdwc-vMBVwnlHLqvMLnn9sY7fBzMHiva73haaDpah028AkqamHYiAUfMrPPEonvz3R7G_1z4pD1z4M3BkQSiaexTtWFM94VPqR/s1600/NoDollarSign.gif" /></div><br />
I stuck with my goal this week of <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/saturday-spending.html">not spending</a> any unnecessary money. Besides the phone bill, groceries and gas (which are all in the budget) I didn't spend any money! Pretty proud of myself.<br />
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Nevertheless, I am cruising Payless. As I focus more and more on being frugal, I keep finding cute things at prices far less than I've typically paid. I'm a little scared this is a dangerous path to be walking down, though. I don't want to spend money on things I really don't need - even if those things are cheap!<br />
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The one thing I do have to spend money on (technically part of next week's spending) is my sister's birthday. But this is also worked into the budget - pretty easy to predict the coming of a family birthday!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-88677479472106103462011-03-18T02:51:00.000-07:002011-03-18T02:51:00.250-07:00A Different Kind Of Food WasteMy husband offered to make meatloaf for dinner this week on a night when I was a little busy and stressed out. He made a really delicious meat loaf for the first time last month - but of course even a half recipe ended up being far too much food for the two of us.<br />
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I had halved a pound of ground beef and frozen the big half, so I told him to go ahead and take it out of the freezer. I explained that it wasn't a full pound, but would be plenty for us, and that if he wanted he could use half of the mushrooms to "beef" it up a little...so to speak.<br />
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I then left him to it. When I came down to dinner I found out he'd defrosted two of the Italian sausages I'd earmarked for future meals, de-cased them, and added them to the beef. He was very proud of himself. He'd also used half of the mushrooms. The meatloaf was even bigger than the first one.<br />
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I was...frustrated. I have my meals this month diligently planned out around 1) cutting back a little on our <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/2011/03/produce-purchases.html">meat consumption</a>, and 2) not <i>purchasing</i> anymore meat this month. Technically, we're fine - even without running to the grocery store. I can still make a meal out of the canned tuna or salmon that I hadn't planned on using. He also ultimately ate (most of) the leftovers for lunch the next day.<br />
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Still, just as I start to try to curb our meat consumption we end up with a meal that consists of no less than beef, sausage and bacon. Plus half my mushrooms! This screams wasteful to me.<br />
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And like I said, only most of the meat loaf was eaten the next day at lunch. The rest was left in a Tupperware container for me to discover the next day. Ick! I didn't get a picture of it before it went down the disposal. You're welcome ;)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXclCYZYbk4FZmELZBV4LzZL2lKBW8KjC1xO9yqlnC1467zCqJYcytaMreQD4rFpjQRsPpqEUnEPnqVmYEDLmVuIijUMT-vb1FHkhlJDn9U5SFg1nVUIl2AFU356l6WmfgTunaoKbDdR0h/s1600/carnivore.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXclCYZYbk4FZmELZBV4LzZL2lKBW8KjC1xO9yqlnC1467zCqJYcytaMreQD4rFpjQRsPpqEUnEPnqVmYEDLmVuIijUMT-vb1FHkhlJDn9U5SFg1nVUIl2AFU356l6WmfgTunaoKbDdR0h/s200/carnivore.gif" width="200" /></a><br />
There are certainly worse things. I have a loving husband who is not only a great cook but is also willing to help out when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Nevertheless, I felt a little derailed from the no-waste track and my budgetary and dietary goals.<br />
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Changing my husband's eating habits might be harder than I thought!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2622432749671423676.post-55787184576474766352011-03-16T16:34:00.000-07:002011-03-17T11:15:37.421-07:00Referral ExtravaganzaI have no idea if this will work (I'm definitely no famous blogger with any regular readers to speak of) but I'd like to give it a shot. One of my favorite frugal things is earning money online, and one of my primary sources of extra income is Fusion Cash. To have a check mailed to you from Fusion Cash, you need $25 in your account. I was just barely short in February, so I made it my goal to cash out $50 in March.<br />
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It's easy to slack off when you miss cashing out because you have all that "extra" money from the month before. By just doing the daily e-mail and <a href="http://pigpennies.blogspot.com/p/using-fusion-cash.html">paid to click</a> (which I spend about 3 minutes doing every morning) I already met the $25 minimum.<br />
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But, taking into account the daily tasks I complete each morning, I'm still going to be $15 short of my $50 goal unless I earn extra somewhere. I qualified for a survey today, and I'm going to keep taking surveys - but since there's only half a month left, I'd have to qualify every day to reach my goal, which probably won't happen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpwU91o-VXLEKLfvyyY1rbs7kLnD153uebZQy_z_5OmMpgJXvQ5219q5FcJG3x26eInFBz_3r2KCfRuO_1ogRRIyyN97AxB1n9FmEcAR7Xs4J9rS49AG6KmXEtk4b2cPt29-X7saDDw86/s1600/referrals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpwU91o-VXLEKLfvyyY1rbs7kLnD153uebZQy_z_5OmMpgJXvQ5219q5FcJG3x26eInFBz_3r2KCfRuO_1ogRRIyyN97AxB1n9FmEcAR7Xs4J9rS49AG6KmXEtk4b2cPt29-X7saDDw86/s200/referrals.jpg" width="200" /></a>So, if you're enjoying this blog and want to throw me a little love, click <a href="http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=oonamas">HERE</a> and sign up for Fusion Cash. By clicking that link and verifying your e-mail for Fusion Cash, I'll earn a $1 referral bonus and you'll help get me closer to my goal. You'll also earn a free $5 just for signing up. If you complete an offer or take one of their surveys, I'm sure you'll see how easy the site is and can work your way up to a $25 check of your own in no time!<br />
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And if you'd like to earn a little referral love yourself, post your referral link to your favorite sites in the comments. I'll happily check them out, and other readers can, too.<br />
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I've just barely gotten started as a blogger, and I know I don't have that many readers, so it will be interesting to see if I get any comments or referrals at all :) But I'd love to pass on the love, so if you're out there let the referral extravaganza begin!<br />
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<i>Update: I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU! I am already closer to my goal, and it means a ton to me that there are real live people out there reading my writing!</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3