There’s something almost magical about reaching week number 6
in our journey. It's a milestone that says if we can do this
for 6 weeks, we can do it longer! The
next milestone we’re aiming for is the 3-month mark.
We think we can! We think we can! We think we can!
So, what did hunkering down look like for us during the 6th week?
I’m just going to fess up upfront, that I narrowly escaped
another Amazon ambush, their enticement didn’t cause me to part with any of my
money, but it was a close call!
We spent $20 of our food budget this week, giving us a total
of $39.16 spent thus far this month on food.
Hubby continued to carry his lunch to work, eating out only when
necessary ... which was once this week.
We’ve been working toward reducing our power bill with a focus
on keeping the lights on only when needed.
In fact, in the evenings, we’ve been sitting in the dark with only the
TV for light. It’s been kind of
nice! We’re using our wood stove to help
cut back on the cost of heating our home as well.
We’re chipping away at our goal of paying off half of one of our debts this month. I mean we are literally 'chipping’ away; no amount is too small for me to log on and apply. If we save $20 from our grocery budget for the week, it immediately gets applied to the debt. If we save $10 on a prescription, it immediately gets applied. Hanging onto the 'unspent' money until we have more sets us up for allowing it to get spent rather than applied to the debt ... so we just don't do it. It's amazing how just doing this one little thing adds up. It brings us great pleasure to see those little chips flying off the mountain of debt with every swing of the pick ... yes, we are intent on keeping those 'chips' flying regardless of their size. Every little step that we take towards completing our goal adds to our motivation ... and I'm talking about little, small turtle steps. Never underestimate the power of 'turtle steps!'
I continue to 'baby' our washing machine that needs to be replaced and plan to continue until it stops working. Yes, it gets frustrating at times, but as long as it continues to clean our clothes, we're hanging on to it.
I continue to cook our meals from scratch using what we have
on hand.
We remain focused and serious!
One more
thing, for the ladies who are following our book of Esther ladies Bible study,
lesson 17 has been posted HERE!
How did you do this week, I can't wait to read your comments!
until next time,
mrs.
patsi @ A Working Pantry
She
looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living
and pantry building
My second blog: From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and
His Word through my personal Bibe study. Physical preparedness is
important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness. Ladies,
join me over at From
This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.
You can view my privacy
policy HERE.
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Y’all are doing a great job. It can’t be easy but your perseverance will pay off in a big way.
ReplyDeleteOn storm front news- we have a new 1/2 roof. Our insurance wouldn’t pay for the entire roof but we’re fine. The tarps are gone. God provided.
Lee Ann, so glad your roof is repaired and that it's behind you now.
DeleteI chipped away at the mountain that same way to pay off our house ten years ago. It was kind of fun to see where I could get a few more dollars each month to wipe that out. Oh boy, I remember the washing machine war. Our last one before the Speed Queen waited until just a few days after the one year warranty to have troubles and I played the game for three years. Woman against machine and I won for a long time!
ReplyDeleteOur budget month starts on the 3rd of the month so we have just been one week gone now. I noticed that many of my budget categories had way to much money in them that was not needed so I moved the extra to savings so it can earn some interest. I was quite surprised to find $850. We only spent $31 at the grocery store getting perishables and produce and don't need a thing else for a another week.
I had my teeth cleaned this week and some things were found on one side of my mouth that they wanted me to go to the endodontist for and also have a crown replaced. I had suspicions that it was actually just an infection that I could treat myself so I am doing that and we will see if those areas clear. I have no reason to think they will not. NO I do not recommend this for anyone else! This goes along with my training in natural medicine and kinesiology. I had what I need to treat that area on hand.
My dear Hubby jumped through a bunch of hoops to reactivate my library card that I had not used in awhile and set up an account for me to check out ebooks. I did not realize that there were so many choices and how easy it would be to use this service. And it is FREE! That is where Amazon was going to get me. I was considering a Kindle Unlimited subscription with my pocket money. No need for that now!
We mailed Valentines to all the kids and grandkids. My Mom always put a $5 bill in the Valentines and I continue that tradition. Those finds came from the cash fund we have to eat out or do fun things with the kids when they visit. The cards were 2/$1 at Dollar Tree. Mom's last few years that she had dementia and was in the nursing home I sent her a Valentine with a $5 bill and she loved it! That was something she did remember.
Lana, I'm glad you have the training and are able to take care of your dental issue. That will be a savings in and of itself.
DeleteYeah for getting your library card set up so you can access e-books. There really are so many choices and like you said, it's all free.
And finally, it does kind of become a game to see where you can chip off any amount of money in your budget to apply towards debt or savings, doesn't it! This is hard, but it's also kind of fun in a weird sort of way!
What a sweet valentine memory you have with your mom!
Good for you for resisting Amazon! I agree that every little bit of savings (or expense) adds up. A couple years ago, my sister-in-law came to me asking to teach her how to do a household budget because she was struggling. I told her that one of the first things she needed to do was look over last month's statement and make categories for all her discretionary spending and write down, going line by line, how much she spent on eating out, morning coffee, clothes, etc. She did it and it blew her mind. She said she had no idea that's where all her money was going and it was really $5 here or $10 there. Fast forward to today and she is great at budgeting and managing her household finances.
ReplyDeleteThe only money spent this week was on diapers (used a coupon plus cash back on ibotta) and half and half for my coffee at home. My big victory was not going out to eat at all after days of processing deer meat. Oh how I wanted to just pick something up last night so I could get my kitchen cleaned up and go to bed! But I thought, I really would like to report on Patsi's blog that I resisted the temptation and here I am! 😉 I have, however, made a note to self to get busy on freezer meals before gardening season starts. That would've helped a lot this week!
Next month is going to have some extra expenses in it, so I am incorporating that into this month's goals. I mentioned getting the sheep and putting back half the cost this month. Another thing is that we are now expecting some dear friends to come stay with us for several days. I have written down a menu plan and decided to start shopping for some of the ingredients this month. I will be watching for sales and getting what I can ahead of time. That way I don't go over budget in March. I also have some Sam's credit that I will save for next month's groceries. I am determined to stay on track!
Kelsey, I know you were beat after 4 days of processing meat and it would have been a HUGE temptation to order something in for dinner ... you win the "Rock Star" award for sticking to your plan! I'm proud of you!
DeleteI too, need to get some freezer meals in the freezer for our busy gardening season, thanks for that reminder. Some days when we've been in the garden most of the day or preserving all day, that's when the temptation to just go pick something up gets hard to resist. Freezer meals will circumvent that temptation.
I like the way you look ahead at what's coming up and then come up with a plan that will allow you to stick to your budget! That's really looking well to the ways of your household!
Chipping away works in so many areas. I'm "chipping away" at some dreaded house chores, and just a little bit at a time is a making a big difference
ReplyDeletexoxo, yes, indeed, 'chipping away' leads to progress and that's a good thing!
DeleteI have a big confession to make. Today I spent a lot of money on a haircut. I have been cutting it myself since before the pandemic and I looked in the mirror recently and just went urrrggghhhh! I looked so dowdy and old that I almost didn't recognise myself. It was time for action and I justified it by reasoning that being frugal means economising on some things so that you can spend more on things that really matter to you and at this particular time having a good haircut was at the top of my list. I still gulped when presented with the bill, but I am very happy with the result. I will be back hunkering down tomorrow ;)
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Haircuts are in my budget and I go every 7-8 weeks. It keeps me sane!
DeleteTracy, as soon as my schedule allows (I need someone to watch the kids), I'm going to have my hair cut also. I'm way overdue and have been feeling a little frumpy, myself. There is something to be said for looking and feeling our best.
DeleteTracey, I'm so glad you got your hair cut and I agree with you on what being frugal is. I think it's important that we feel good about ourselves, it affects all areas of our lives. Enjoy your new haircut and forge ahead with your hunkering down. It just might have been the 'shot in the arm' that will help you keep on keeping on.
DeleteI was just thinking of something my Mom used to say to me and I am passing it on to you all. 'You are worth it.'. (You are worth keeping your hair cut, an occasional treat, a new garment when it is needed, etc.)
DeleteLana, your mom was a wise woman.
DeleteDon't feel bad. You deserve to look good and feel good about yourself. This is very important. Never forget it.
DeleteThank you, lovely ladies. As a carer I do tend to put myself last, but I am trying to work on taking care of my own health and well-being too. I think this haircut is the first step!
DeleteI finished making this scrappy quilt using only what I had, including a remnant of batting leftover from another quilt and a fitted twin sheet from Goodwill for backing and binding. https://pin.it/2dmFtyWBv and https://pin.it/3rVtbAf8Z . Into my gift cupboard it goes! No OOP cost!
ReplyDeleteAnd we haven’t gone for groceries until today and that’s only for a gallon of milk. So our grocery budget has been untouched!
Making meals/snacks at home almost exclusively!
This is helping us pay for our increase in property taxes.
Gardenpat in Ohio
Gardenpat, I love it when you comment! You are so good at living frugal resourcefully! I always learn something from your comments.
DeleteI really like the design of the quilt and those butterflies on the backing just set it off! Great job!
I am really loving these posts and want to keep this going. We have had a few days of nice weather and I was able to keep the heat turned off and this is saving me money. I was also able to wash our two vehicles at home, so this has saved some money. I have made all of my meals at home and have not gone out to eat at all for this week. I plan to try to keep this movement going as long as I can and see where this leads. So exciting. Love to hear what everyone else is doing. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteApril, I'm glad you are enjoying this series. You did really well this week. It's amazing how one thing builds upon another, isn't it?
DeletePatsi, you've done so well over these past six weeks, so I know you can, I know you can , I know you can continue longer. In some odd way, there is great satisfaction both mentally and spiritually in hunkering down and getting the job done. Ever since one of our freezers died in 2022 and then all the rest of the unforeseen happenings we've been hunkering down to replace all the money that had to be spent from our emergency fund. Hubby and I have discussed that as soon as we've accomplished the goal that we will loosen the strings, so to speak but probably not by too much.
ReplyDeleteThis week was a major shopping week for needed items for the medical pantry for OTCs, dental supplies etc. For anyone who may not know it, all veterans are eligible for VA care and prescriptions, which are free. Hubs gets his filled through the VA. We stopped at the Amish market as they were having a a meat and chicken special as well as a few fresh vegetables and eggs. Because it's just a few miles down the road from us on their farm it was a big time and gas savings. All meals were made from scratch at home with leftovers going into the freezer. The money we've saved from the food budget and just using what is on hand has been added to the emergency fund. All that being said, Patsi, my Achilles heel is art supplies, fabric, and cookbooks. And what I've found in the hunkering down for the last almost two years is that I don't need to spend on any of those things thanks to videos on Youtube and Instagram and learning new skills in creating my own art supplies, using the fabric I have(which is a lot), and recipes. What a treasure trove of information these two sites are and classes galore. Yesterday I learned how to make 3D cardstock roses and a cute little triangular box for some valentine treats what are decorated with these roses. Cookie
Cookie, I use Youtube for refreshing old skills or learning new skills too! When we take spending money off the table, we discover/realize that a lot of what we were willing to pay money for can be found in some form free or nearly free through other venues, the online world being one of them. Great comment!
DeleteIT was easy to not spend the past two weeks since we gave Daughter 4 all our extra money when her house (she rented) burnt to the ground. I gave her some of my kitchen stuff and food, my MIL gave her bathroom stuff and Hubby's brother passed furniture his granddaughter left in his rental. . BUT it let us know we needed to put extra money aside for us if we have a fire AND to make photo copies of Driver's license, SS along with credit card stuff. Bank and retirement accts. HEAVENS. Good thing I was stocked food and nonfood wise.
ReplyDeleteChef Owings, I'm so sorry your daughter lost her home to fire. I'm glad you live in such a way that you could help her get a new start in setting up another home. There are so many reasons to be prepared. That's a very good idea to make copies of important documents and put them in a safe place, thank you for sharing, it's a good reminder for all of us that preparedness comes in all shapes and form.
Delete