Black, White, & Red All Over - Part 1

Original title, I know. ;o) I couldn't think of anything more fitting, though.

I LOVE my red, black, and white bathroom, but it has been hard to find bathroom decor in those colors. I chose red, black, and white after having seen a collection by Candie's at Kohl's in late 2007/early 2008. I never did actually buy anything from that collection, but I did like it. Since Nate really loves red, it was a perfect choice for us.

Annnnnnnyway. The bathroom has been like 95% done (as far as decorating and tweaking) for a few months now. Most of it has just been moved from our old house. But each room always seems to have a few things in limbo because of craft projects I want to do. I found this link on Pinterest for one of the last two things I wanted to make to finish it. Click [this link] to see the other project I made to finish my bathroom.

It's a mason jar match container. I love the versatility of mason jars in decorating. They just make everything look cooler. This is perfect for our bathroom as we like to use matches for a more natural air freshener. The reason for this is mostly that spray fragrances have bothered my allergies in the past and only seem to attempt to cover an odor rather than do away with it altogether, and besides, matches are cheaper. We all know how much I like cheaper!

It is not my intention to replace the tutorial(s) that already exist by other bloggers, but I did learn some things that I thought were worth sharing.

Mason Jar Match Container

Need: 

Strike Anywhere Matches  

Small Mason Jar with Ring/Seal - clean (8 oz. jar, but any jar large enough for matches is fine.)

Sandpaper - black (I am fairly sure any grit will work, but I used 400. Nope. Find something that's more coarse. After doing this project, I discovered 400 was too fine.)

Hot Glue

Glue Gun

Scissors

Do:

1. Round up your stuff. This is the hardest, and I found it to be the most time-consuming part of the whole project. I already had a jar (with lid) that was formerly the home of a Bath and Body Works candle that had been used up. It is probably a 6 or 8 oz. jar and is a little more squatty than your typical jelly mason jar. So for me, that part was free! The sandpaper was kind of pricey as I limited myself to black to go with my bathroom. I only used a fraction of the package though, so overall, not a bad deal. I also already had the hot glue/glue gun and scissors.

2. Hunt down strike anywhere matches. This was so difficult that it gets its own step. I first checked my local Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, and Lowe's. Come to find out, they ALL sell matches but NONE of them sell strike anywhere matches, at least not in my area. You must use the strike anywhere variety as the regular strike-on-the-box type does not work. Trust me, I tried it. ;o)

I did a lot of searching online to see if they even still made these matches, and apparently they do. It seems they are common for people who do a lot of camping. Some Walmarts carry them in the grocery section (which is helpful to note which departments to search) as do some Lowe's. If you are looking for matches, the most likely sections are the barbeque/fireplace/grilling section which is probably part of a store's seasonal department, but they are also usually found in the kitchen section and occasionally with candles (though not usually). 

There are all sorts of these matches on eBay for around $4 a box of 300 including shipping, but that was a bit more than I wanted to spend. I found a hint that they were sold at Ace Hardware as well as camping supply stores. So, I found my nearest Ace, asked an employee, and was out the door with them for $2 in under 5 minutes. Great experience, and I would definitely check your local Ace first if you can. They really are "the helpful place." Haha.

3. Remove the seal part of the lid from the jar and trace it on the back of a piece of sandpaper. Cut it out. Hot glue the sandpaper to the ring and then to the seal, making sure to press the sandpaper flat inside. I have found that when I need to replace the used sandpaper, it's pretty easy to pull the hot glue from the seal and ring.

4. Insert matches. You're done! It's that easy.

It's been fun to scrape up cute stuff for our bathroom, but now it is finally DONE. Now that it's finished, I need to take pictures to show the finished product.

Frosty Cappuccino

I originally wrote this blog entry in my live journal in July 2008, but I figured it was worth reposting in blogger as a refresher for me. I have edited it to make the costs more applicable to prices now since apparently some prices, such as the cost of milk, have gone down since 2008.
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I love Frappuccinos from Starbucks or even the McDonald's Mocha Frappe version. They are soooo good, but I hate to spend $3-5 on a drink! So, naturally I was so excited to find a recipe on how to make a homemade version for about an eighth the cost! I have modified it quite a bit to fit my tastes, preferred serving size, and to make it lower in fat and calories. 

MODIFIED FROSTY CAPPUCCINO:
Makes 2 - 8 oz. servings
Approximate Cost Per Serving: $.47
Approximate Calories Per Serving:  118


1/2 cup - fat free half & half
1/2 cup - fat free milk 
1 1/2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon - chocolate or caramel syrup
1 teaspoons - instant espresso powder or instant coffee
4-5 ice cubes
2 Tablespoons - Light ReddiWhip whipped cream


1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, blend the ice cubes and combine the half-and-half and milk until ice cubes are sufficiently blended.
2. Add caramel/chocolate syrup, espresso/coffee, and ice cubes. Cover and whirl until the mixture is smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into two glasses. Top with whipped cream and drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon of caramel/ chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.


Most of the time I forgo the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle to save calories, but I do add other flavors sometimes to vary the recipe, such as dark chocolate syrup instead of regular chocolate or adding mint extract or tiny chocolate chips. It is fun to experiment with this recipe to make a different flavor every time!


*I should note that all prices reflex the price I paid for these items in Texas in 2011 and that the price of milk, especially, varies.


Cheers. Enjoy your 118 calorie, $.47 Frappe. ;o)

Learning the Art of Couponing

So, at the beginning of November, I began a new venture. With our financial situation, specifically with me working mostly from home now, it became crucial that we cut our expenses wherever possible. We already do not get cable/satellite TV nor do we have a landline phone. Back in March, I found the least expensive cell phone service with the best reception possible, and we cut our bill from about $109 (with no texting in the plans) to $75. (I have 1000 texts and 1000 minutes per month - I've only used up my minutes before the end of the month once. Nate has unlimited texts and minutes. If we both had my plan, it would be as low as $60 for both our cell phones. :o)) Since our rent is already so low (we rent a two bedroom cottage for $300 a month!), moving wouldn't exactly help to lower expenses. We do have two vehicle payments and have seriously considered selling our truck. But, after looking at those bigger expense-cutting decisions, we needed to try to trim elsewhere. We are being even more conscientious of our energy consumption, trying to remember to use as few lights as possible, turning lights off when we leave rooms, etc.

However, I discovered the easiest place to trim is the grocery bill. I started following a blog of my friend, Katie the Frugal Lady, where she gives tips on the art of couponing as well as how to sign up for freebies. The goal of couponing is to match multiple coupons for the same product with sale prices in stores. I didn't know this before, but you can use a manufacturer coupon AND a store coupon ($1 0ff a specific product for use at Rite Aid only, for example) for the same single item!

What kind of deals can you get? One of the big rules I've learned is to actually read ads before/while you make your shopping list. I read Meijer's ad for the week of Thanksgiving and discovered that Meijer was doubling coupons $.50 and under that week! I eagerly flipped through my coupon binder to see if I had any under $.50 that I could match with sales to get good deals. Since I did my shopping yesterday, the last day of the sale, I didn't take full advantage of Meijer's coupon doubling special. However, I would like to highlight one example of an item I got 47% off.

MEIJER

Aunt Millie's 100% Whole Grain English Muffins

Regular Price: $2.49

On Sale For: 2/$4.00

(At Meijer, when they have items 2 for $4.00, 5 for $5.00, or a similar type of pricing, you do not have to buy two or five to get that price. You can buy just 1 item for $2.00 or whatever the sale is. For example, Pace Salsa is almost always on sale for 2 for $4.00. My husband LOVES salsa, so we go through A LOT. Sometimes I buy one ($2) and sometimes I get two ($4). The price is the same regardless.)

I had a coupon for $.35 off any Aunt Millie's Whole Grain product. (Don't know where I got it.)

Meijer doubled the coupon and took another $.35 off.

I paid $1.30 for the Aunt Millie's 100% Whole Grain English Muffins.

I hope to learn how to lower that even more, but I was pretty excited! I used to just buy the cheapest product, usually Meijer brand, but we all know that whole grain products are never the cheapest. So, I really ended up with a healthier product for less money than the cheapest Meijer brand version that I usually buy.

RITE AID

I have only done two of what Katie calls "heists" at Rite Aid. The first time I was told that I could not use two coupons for the same item. At the time, I did not have the coupon policy printed, so I could do nothing but accept what the cashier told me. However, the second time I went, I had the coupon policy just in case, but the cashier did not question it! So exciting. I am not going to explain how to do everything because Katie does that so well already. I am just going to explain what I did on my last trip so you can see that it works for other people besides Katie! :o) *Please note that you must have a FREE Wellness+ Rewards Card to get many of these prices.

2 - Hershey Milk Chocolate XL Bars (for my Christmas baking) - $1 each - $2

3 - 100 ct. clear Christmas lights (which we needed - I price compared at Meijer and Walmart for a like product. Meijer was selling them for $2.17 and Walmart for $2.27 per 100 ct. strand) $1.88 each - $5.64

2 - Fleece 50'x60' Blankets (price compared at Walmart - $5 each there!) $1.99 each - $3.98

1 - Total Advanced Clean Toothpaste (4 oz.) - on sale for $1.77 each

2 - Holiday M&M's 9-12 oz bags (for my holiday baking) - 2/$4

3 - Christmas Wrapping Paper - B1G2 Free (I accidentally bought a larger roll than I intended for my paid one, but I liked the print on the paper, so I didn't return it, plus I needed it to "pad my purchase" to get it up to $20) - $3.99 total

Before coupons:

Subtotal: $21.38

Tax: $1.28

Total: $22.66

Used my $4 off a $20 purchase coupon FIRST - dropped total to: $17.38

Used $1.00 off Rite Aid Video Values Colgate Total product coupon - $16.38

Used $0.75 off manufacturer's Colgate Total product coupon - $15.63

(I paid $.02 for a tube of toothpaste, people!!!!)

$2.99 +UP from a previous purchase - $12.64

Subtotal: $12.64

Tax: $0.76

Total: $13.40

Plus I walked away with $6 in +UP rewards to use on a future purchase.

I received $36.67 worth of merchandise for $13.40!

If I did my math correctly, that's $63% off! I didn't buy anything I wouldn't have already bought/didn't need for Christmas baking, gifts, etc. Oh, and I'm also returning one of the strands of lights because it was shorting out and I had one too many strands for my tree anyway, so knock another $2 bucks off my total. :o)

GROCERY EXPENSE LOG

In order to discern how much we have actually been spending on groceries in order to accurately assess whether we are saving more money or not, I had collected all of our grocery-related receipts from January to now, and have kept them in a folder in our filing cabinet. For our budget, I had been guesstimating our grocery expenses at about $125-150 per month. I recently discovered we had actually been spending an average of $195.50 per month! For two people, I think this is ridiculously high. I now have a "Grocery Expense Log" where I record the date, the store, the total bill, the savings, and the out-of-pocket expense. I also keep a running total for each month. It sounds like a lot of extra work, but after the initial setup, it really isn't. Also, since this is a grocery/household expense list, I try to either keep extra purchases separate (ring them up separately or subtract them from the total bill) so that we don't have gift purchases, etc. mixed in with our grocery bill as that would obviously affect the total.

I have only been keeping the "Grocery Expense Log" for a month now. I knew going into this that you don't notice the lowered expenses immediately because you are buying more than you normally would (due to stockpiling). For example, I don't drink coffee. Nate does. I bought two large 34 oz Folger's coffee B1G1 Free for $11.99. I also had $1 off coupon. So, for $10.99, he has coffee to last him for months (ideally). I hope to be able to lower this by using multiple coupons when it is on sale again, but you get the idea. It's a lot to add to our bill for the month, but since I won't have to buy coffee again for a long, long time, it will save me in future months.

Our bill for October (the month before I started couponing) was $210.67. Yep, kinda high.

For November (I am done grocery shopping for the month), our grocery bill is $182.41. It's lower, but not by much. We shall see what December holds.

10 Tips to Simpler Living

I was recently looking through the July/August 2009 issue of Relevant magazine. I came across this list: 10 Tips to Simpler Living. I found some really great insight. Simple, but inspiring. will summarize them here, if only for future reference for me.

10 Tips to Simpler Living

1. List what is important to you. Spending time with your family? Volunteering? After identifying your truest priorities, think of ways you can bring how you live into closer alignment with your values.

2. Make a budget. Get an idea of how much you are really earning & really spending. You worked hard to earn that money; are you spending it in ways that fulfill you? *Am I spending more than I earn?

3. Start small! You've probably spend a good portion of your life acquiring the clutter that surrounds you; don't expect to purge it all at once! Try clearing out a drawer a day.

4. Take a time inventory. Make a list: in one column, put things that are uplifting; in the other, put those that well, aren't. Brainstorm ways to move the second column into the proverbial recycling bin.

5. Get a little less connected. Constantly checking your email and keeping your cell phone on at all times keeps you in a continual state of alert--code for stressed out. Be inaccessible for a little time each day.

6. Get out. Take a little time every day--for gardening, a hike, even a simple walk around your neighborhood--to remove yourself from the rat race. It will do wonders for getting you out of the consumerist mentality and in touch with your deeper self.

7. Ease up on the boob tube. Commercials drive consumerism: Have you ever seen an ad that say, "You have enough already"? Didn't think so.

8. Change your mindset. If you worry that doing without something will make you feel deprived, notice the feeling of empowerment that comes with deciding to make that change. Apply this idea to little things, then watch more things seem possible.

9. Shift your assumptions about living frugally. Thinking up ways to get by on less can be fun and creative--and help on the eco front. Apply "reduce, reuse, recycle" to other things: using less shampoo, buying dry goods in bulk, using cloth napkins, etc.

10. Lose the impulse. When you see something you want to buy, stop yourself. Take a day to think about whether you truly need it. If you realize you really do want it, then buying it will be all the sweeter, knowing that it's a conscious decision.

I've found some of these are much harder than others! I know I need to be reminded of these on a regular basis! :o)