Did you pay for anything today? Bills, luxuries, food, entertainment? This is a NO GUILT list. Just add what you've spent money on today to help you be accountable for your habits.

I also have a thread in this forum on what you have SAVED today.

Okay, spending. I will start with yesterday: I bought some chocolate vodka. So far nothing today, but this will be a big spending week as the bills are almost due.

You've gotta try this Jilly:

https
://www.mint.com/

Best on the Planet !!

Works better than a Charm !!

cds

at what interest rate Gemineye ?

I do use mint. Thanks for mentioning it!

This is a running list for funsies, where we can talk about what we spent. :-)

Gemini, music cds or investment vehicles?

oh... torry >?(

Burt, did you spend money on anything today or this weekend?

I treated myself to a latte, only because I had to drop something off at my daughter's school.

I had an expensive weekend, but my daughter's first high school dance is in two weeks. I treated her to an early haircut and her first makeup. We also had a trip to a frugal shop so she could buy some used clothing. She found a great pair of shoes, a couple wool sweaters and a couple jackets, a shirt and hat.

I made a visit to the doctor. Nothing fancy to talk about. :-(

Kitty cat food

MOnday - nothing
Tues - two ebooks
wed - no plans yet, but i might pay some bills.

Monday - nothing
Tue - cigarettes
Wed - nothing

Great job, Burt!

Jodi - Drs are a necessary evil, aren't they?

Vi, that's great that you used a thrift shop for your daughter's purchases. I find the best stuff in those.

We deserve a latte treat now and then.

i bought them on ebay burt.i received some money recently.
i actually never buy anythingbutfoodigotnorent to pay or anything else .
but ilove cds and music.

Gemineye, that is nice - music is important to our moods and well being. Good for you for being able to treat yourself.

I did okay while traveling for eight days. Not great, but not bad. I bought a few magnets, a fedora, a skirts, some socks and car sticker. Oh, and fuzzy dice for a friend.

Also a few drinks and a lunch buffet.

Now that I am home, I am back to super frugal. I have some bills to pay this week (phone), and i need to buy gas for the car. Other than that I should be good for the rest of the month.

Today I bought a bottle of nice vodka. Around ten dollars, and cake flavored - recommended by my sister.

I bought a wheat-grass shot. Not nearly as yummy, but hopefully it will contribute to my whole-health goals.

I have not have wheat grass juice since i lived in Boulder. I remember liking the taste.

I bought a half a tank of gas yesterday and then a movie ticket and a couple of beers. That was a spendy day for me. I did bring my own food bars to eat from home, so i saved myself a dinner out.

Today I bought nothing!

Another no-spend day.

What did you you guys buy?

I bought a 10 foot DC extension cord for my 140 watt inverter. $5 from Walmart - was cheaper than the one on amazon. It works well!

For $4, I also went to a thrift store and picked up some used AC to DC chargers for my various appliances. I got ones with different sized plugs. I am putting all my DC items in a cloth bag and keeping them to use in my car, until I get a nice deep cycle battery for my home.

yesterday I bought two inexpensive bottles of red wine. Came to $11 for both.

my friend who brews his own beer said how easy and cheap it is to make his own beverages. I think i might have to start researching that soon!

Another non-spending day!

I do have to pay my bills this week, so I expect tomorrow will be a expensive day.

Isn't it great to have a non-spending day, Jilly? I always feel so "accomplished" on those days. Unfortunately today started with me paying my cable bill, but I started eating leftovers for breakfast at home a couple of months ago instead of going to McD's or stopping at the supermarket for a bagel and soda.

Saving quite a bit of money that way!

The only money I spent yesterday was 50 cents for a bottle of water from the work room at school!

Dianne and Vintage GS, those are great non-spending experiences!

This week i paid my water, internet, sewer and mortgage bills. my electric is covered right now from an assistance charity, so that is nice, and I am learning to decrease my electrical wattage each day so the assistance will stretch out for as long as possible.

I have not bought anything else lately. I do need to pick up cat food, but that is really it.

Yesterday I bought cat food (without even a coupon or sale, boo), some bachelor buttons seeds (edible flowers), a start of garlic chives (yum), a self reliance magazine, some hair color and coloring shampoo, some mexican beer (on sale) and five one dollar bottles of seltzer water (i have fresh lemons from the food pantry to flavor them with). I was able to use food stamps on the water.

Everything but the cat food and the chives was from CVS, where I had a 25% off coupon, plus ten dollars in Extra Care Bucks and from using the Green Bag Tag. So at CVS, i really just paid for the beer out of pocket, and everything else ended up free.

Today I will pick up my meds from CVS and will again use my Green Bag Tag. That gives me a free buck every four times I use it. What a nice system. And my meds are free for me through my health care program. It all works out nicely.

Yesterday I used up the remainder of this month's food stamps on some fresh food, and also picked up some bread and produce from the Cornville food pantry. So no expenses there.

I did spend six dollars on a crank battery charger for phones and other electronic devices. I am really into solar and crank electrical models, and thought six dollars was a great price for something like this. I do have a solar charger for my phone, but a crank unit will work even at night or on dark days. Plus i get to write about it from a frugal POV - it takes no electrical utilities to use.

I got the charger from a preparedness store. I love going into that shop.

So it was a six dollar day.

I am finding it very illuminating to see what exactly my expenses are!

Yesterday I went to Amazon and picked up another power switch - this one is the simple two prong kind - as the price had dropped on it and i needed one for my laptop.

I also picked up a set of sweat wrist bands to help me stay cool this summer. Sounds paradoxical, but i will be using them to wipe my brow when i go hiking. Those were also very cheap.

Lastly i also grabbed a set of USB heating fingerless gloves to use when I am on the computer in the winter. Normally I would have waited until winter to pick this up, but this was another sale price I did not want to miss. It might even come in handy for camping this summer, so I am not complaining. They even have little depictions of Pooh Bear on them. heh.

So i spent $13 for the three things. None of these were actual needs, but the first and last item were bought with the idea of saving watts in my house and lowering my electrical bills.

Today I spent...nothing! I got a free dinner at a free workshop about better living. I actually am getting paid $10 per class with this 12-class workshop (plus free dinners). YAY!

I did have to drive out there but hopefully will be able to find a free ride out through the guidance clinic going forward.

I also found a new used bookstore, and there are certainly books I want - but I am going to compile an assortment of my own books to trade in, too keep the price as low as possible.

Mainly just the bills.....yuck! LOL.....I did get some needed perishables as well....bread and milk.

Bills and food! The boring expenses. Good on you for not buying anything else, Debbie.

Mostly, people's biggest expenses are housing, utilities and food, in that order. All of those things can be adjusted and trimmed, unless you are locked into a mortgage or have to stay in a particular apartment, for whatever reason.

I have the lowest possible mortgage I was able to find and I both have food stamps and use food pantries for my food, as well as doing the super-coupon thing. So for me, food is a really minimal expense.

Utilities is the thing I have the most control over and is the most interesting thing to save for me right now.

--------
I should start to gather up books for trade, so I can spend less on the used bookstore on thursday.

I don't expect I will have other expenses this week, except maybe i will top off my gas tank before the prices rise again.

I was SOOOO good today! I bought nothing! Though I took my kids to buy gum and nail polish - they spent their own money

Ooops... I forgot - I bought decaf-coffee, but that was at 6:30am LOL. That feels like yesterday

Good for you, Deanna! that is a really small expense - the decaf - you did great!

And i like how the kids spent their own money on their treats. That's a perfect way to handle non-necessities and children, IMO.

It's so good to see you in the forums.

I think so too! And it teaches the kids how to watch their money. I remember the look on my daughter's face when one day she had $60 to spend (she'd earned it the old fashioned way - by working for it). Then she decided she wanted some hair bobbles or something. The cashier rang up $40.

Another time she was shopping at her favorite store in the mall - and I had her brother take her over their while I hung out in Barnes and Noble. He called me to tell me she'd gone $12 over what she had. I just had to laugh... I told him to tell her she just needed to put something back. She was really expecting me to come bail her out with an extra $12.

hehehe, from the magic money fountain.

It's good that she is seeing firsthand how quickly expenses rack up.

Also, bookstore, huh? Those are evil places for my wallet...

Jilly....I don't have a choice but to be frugal and to only buy absolute necessities due to being unemployed and looking for work. My unemployment compensation has long run out, so every penny counts these days.

I love your money saving tips on this forum!

Debbie, I've talked to a lot of people about frugality, and I do try to tell them that being frugal is actually kind of fun. It's like a game for me, to decrease my expenses to the lowest possible point, and still have plenty to live on. It's a mindset.

I know your situation isn't exactly fun for you, but it's great experience for when you are working and want to SAVE money in case another bad situation arises.

I hope you find a job soon! Looking and interviewing and waiting is no fun at all.

I'm glad you like my tips! I do think some people might see some of my advice as extreme, but anyone can certainly read what I offer and then dial it back a bit.

I do have an example to set, after all.

------

Yesterday i got a free dinner at my Getting Ahead workshop (and I actually get paid $10 to go to each class!) and also exchanged some of my books for 'new' books at the used bookstore. I love new used books!

I did have to drive to Cottonwood, but i carpooled with a friend who gave me three dollars for gas.

I have to admit i did buy an expensive craft draft beer at a local bar after class. One pint came to $6.45! Yikes!

I should stick to my $1.50 beers in my hometown pub.

Today: no expenses. YAY!

Okay, no expenses today. How are you doing this weekend?

Zero expenses today. Weekends are too easy.

This week i will be spending money on gas for the car, and my mortgage and utility bills.

I will also need to pick up cat food again this week - they go through it so fast! Not to mention the ferals that come through the cat door and eat it too. I try to look the other way. I am a sucker like that. Don't they know how limited my means are?

Picked up milk and found out that frozen bagged veggies were on sale so I got some of those too.

Went to the dollar store after that and picked up a picture frame and a pack of three toothbrushes. Also got a greeting card there for 50 cents. Spent only $2.50 plus tax in that store.

debbie, that's a great inexpensive day. i LOVE the dollar store. It almost feels like not shopping at all, or like you aren't using real money. It's a giddy feeling! But for reals, if I keep tossing everything I like into a basket, it does add up, doesn't it? I have to keep reminding myself to put things back!

I went to a dollar store today, and to a thrift store that was having a 50% off sale.

At thrift store
.25 staple opener + misc folder clips
.50 ace bandage, lg, for first aid kit
1.00 vintage black enamel skillet
5.00 my big splurge - a table fan that uses only 15 watts! WOW. That is almost negligible in watts! I feel so silly being all excited over fans, but I really am going to go start a thread on fans right now. Me = watt geek.

At dollar store
$6 six gallon size bins to hold my rice and noodles
$1 grabby thingie for when I go picking up recyclables from in the bushes (out here bushes have spines!)
$1 set of four square food container things that will fit in my dorm fridge (to encourage me to cook my eggs/veggies and set them aside as meals for later in the week)
$1 - car USB port
$1 - kindle foldable LED light

And some food that I used food stamps with, plus i got two boxes of food from the food bank tonite.

So expense-wise, $16.75 today. A big day for me. The fan was an unplanned expense, but with the low watt use I expect to get that money back. Also, it was half price...

Jilly - You my dear are the frugal queen! I love your tips!

You're right, the dollar store can definitely add up! I also find the need to be careful because sometimes you can actually find the same item cheaper at another store like Walmart, like dish soap.

I also find it very difficult to not spend during the week. I'm always forgetting my lunch at home. The kids need something...etc... Weekends are usually easier if I keep my bottom parts at home...LOL...

Dianne, I do try to be the frugal queen! Thank you. And it's frustrating to buy something there and then see it less than a dollar at a big box store or a drugstore sale. There's an art to the dollar store shopping...

Now you gave me an idea to write an article on how to shop frugally at the dollar stores. hm...

Oh, and here is the link to my new thread about fans, in excruciating detail - A fan of fans

I spent $5 on beers at the Salt Mine Cellars last night. I found a $1.50 draft brew!

Today, I spent $10+ on dish washing liquid, toilet bowl cleaner and a shower cleaner. Should have just spent $2.69 on a bottle of Boone's Farm wine and not worried about cleaning and washing dishes.

Jilly, a $1.50 draft brew is a terrific deal!

Jenny, lol about Boone's Farm. heh.

I admit i have a weakness for cleaning agents. I love having a cleaner for everything, and trying out new ones...it's like a little fetish. I am learning to use only a few items for all my cleaning though, like vinegar, baking soda and hydrogen pyroxide. Also, one squirt of dish soap can be added to a larger amount of water to also clean most things.

I have not made my own laundry soap yet, but will experiment when mine is all used up.

I spent 99 cents and bought an ebook from Amazon.

Today was an expensive one for me. I bought my son's birthday present--over $200!!!

Wow, Vintage, that's a big present! I am sure he is going to love it.

yesterday: YAY! Nothing. Weekends are really easy.

Today I expect to pick up cat food and some gasoline. I only have $27 in the bank, so we will see how this works out.

I wish i could find cheaper cat food.

Today: $8 on a cheap 12 pack of beer. I can't afford wine anymore. But i guess 12 cans of beer should last me awhile.

To truly be frugal i need to learn to brew my own!

Anyway, not bad. I was able to get a few free cat food samples so the cats can hold out while I get to the store that has the food i get them.

Nothing today! It's too hot to buy anything! :P

I did good until this evening. I was off today, stayed home and did reviews. I was rather proud of myself...LOL.. My son is visiting from out of town so I spent money on food tonight.

Today I bought two ebooks from kindle for 2.99 each and they were terrible. So i returned them. Which means today, so far, no expenses.

Nothing yesterday.

Thursday was a spendy day. I bought cat food from walmart, a small used coffee pot, a 120 volt warming travel coffee cup for the car, and a vacuum food saver. Prices were $5, $3 and $3, respectively. Cat food was $9. So it was a $20 day. That is a lot for me.

That is great! You did good. Food is one of those things it's hard to regret spending money on; we need food. With family, it's often a celebratory thing. So it's not like little luxuries you didn't need.

Food and family seems to be a common theme with people and spending.

Today I bought an angus burger at mcdonalds. I NEVER eat fast food - this was a special treat for me for no real good reason. It was almost $5.

I also got some free tupper-type containers from the free box at the Senior Center Thrift Store.

Yesterday I bought nothing.

Monday I bought a few things at ACE hardware that were free and almost free rebate items. After i get my money back, I will only have spent a few dollars for some metal glue, a bottle of bug spray, a spray water pressure bottle (gallon size for my outdoor shower) and a bit of rope. I like it when ACE has freebies.

Over the weekend i bought nothing.

And on Friday I spent $10 on a beverage for myself and one for a friend at a nice wine bar.

I need to be better about keeping up with this, so i can track my spending and make a report for you guys. Let me think - last week i got my meds and vitamins from CVS (free with my health plan), and picked up some seltzer and food items with my food stamps.

I got a few bags of food from the dented can store using food stamps. I love that store.

I did get $25 in free gas from a low income voucher program, and will be getting another three vouchers over the course of June.

Crud, my post disappeared.

Ok, i got two small crockpots that use a tiny amount of watts, a hand cranking grinder, a salad spinner and a thermos cooler at goodwill - $17 for all.

5 solar stake lights for one dollar each at walmart - $5

$22 - a big spending day for me.

Today: zero purchases. A good day!

What did you buy? There is no judging here.

Yesterday I bought a gift for Father's day, 2 slices of pizza for the kids' lunch, 3 drinks at Sonic during Happy Hour, and the stuff needed to paint my daughter's bedroom. She is supposed to pay me back for the paint, etc. but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe today I'll be more thrifty!

Yeah, buying gifts always throws off a budget, don't it?

I bought a couple of beers the other night, but i think that's all i bought all week. Oh, and I spent $11 cash on used books (i earned some cash selling scrap metal and allowed myself some books and beers!).

I spent money this week on my mortgage, sewer bill, and ten dollars monday night at the tavern.

Last week my family was visiting and I bought a few used books ($4), a loaf of artisan bread for my dad for father's day ($5), a bottle of $6 wine, and I think that is all.

I am trying to get assistance on my water bill from the SHARE program, which would be great. And since i now have my eye prescription ready to go, I am waiting on my appointment with Lions Club for new free frames.

I spent another ten at my pub this week. That is $20 in one week, which for me is outrageous. However there will be no pub tabs next week and no pub tabs last week. I don't think i went pubbing in the first week of june - i have to check.

I have managed to avoid any and all eating out, however. I just can't afford that. if i have to meet someone at a place there is food, i make sure to eat at home first so i am full and won't be tempted.

So i think it's evened out for june...i just feel better when i only spend $5 for a night out.

I had Dan and his mom staying with me this week, and guests always cost money, what with driving around, eating out and shopping excursions. Also i had to plug in the RV as a guest house and that consumed a lot of energy with the AC unit running continually.

I bought:
$13 in used books at Bookmans
$10 in beer/tip
$6 in closet hooks from ACE hardware

I think there was more? I don't remember. I really need to be better about logging in to this thread more often.

What did you spend money on today or last week?

I spent money on my absolute necessities....milk, cheese, and tea. I spent under $10.

I did not leave the house yesterday so I did not spend one penny! I'm trying to recover from being on vacation last week which always seems to cost more than one thinks.

Debbie and Vintage, you are doing a wonderful frugal job!

Vintage, not going out is a GREAT way to not spend money. Unless you end up on Amazon.com...hehehe

This has been a good week. My month's food stamps came through and i used the various store sales to buy the food and earn money back coupons from Frys, Alco, CVS and Walgreens. I managed to get a free ten dollar gas card from CVS plus some extra bucks from my quarterly purchases and green bag tag uses. I got $28 in register rewards from Wags, two coupon bucks from Fry's for picking up gatoraid, and a ten dollar Alco card from spending $50 on food.

One of the cereal boxes I got from CVS also has a mail in rebate in the back to cover the total cost of the item! More money back!

I figure that if i am going to buy food with the stamps anyway, it's better to buy food that gives me a reward. Then i use the rewards to buy non-food.

And I can plan my meals around the foods i end up with or at least put in the pantry for later use.

Today I used a free gas voucher for $25, got some more walgreens register rewards from buying food, and filled up about 25 gallons of water in my water jugs at the Catholic Charities, for free.

I needed the water, as I have my city water turned off. So i plan to do some washing in the Wonder Wash this weekend - yay! Clean clothes!

I wanted to do some of my barters, but i got out too late and everything was closing up. So i had to prioritize. I will try to do my bartering next week.

Anyway, it was a free day for me bc of the food stamps.

Vintage, did you say Sonic has a happy hour? What is that about?

today I spent just over $20. I topped off my gas tank at the local neighborhood store, they have good gas prices and 10 cents off on fridays. I spent $1 on a soda, which I admit I didn't need.
A friend gave me two large skeins of high quality German sock yarn, so I should get a few projects and patterns for my site out of that.
Money has gotten a little tight for us, and I am going to get serious about living well and frugally. It amazes me how fast I get spoiled. I want to come up with a long term plan so my family can reach some long term goals.

Lisa, that's pretty good on gas. What place has ten cent friday discounts? The best gas I find around here is usually at Frys, where you buy food and then good gas discounts at their pumps. Frys is also known as Krogers.

I want to hear more about your long term plan? How do you want to get serious about frugal living? I can totally help if you want to bounce your ideas off me. I like to help.:)
------------------
Me: I spent around 50 cents today for a few gallons of nice drinking water from the 15 cent kiosk in front of my local grocery store. There are kiosks all over town, but most cost 25 cents or 20 cents a gallon. i like the 15 cent ones.

Reverse Osmosis drinking water is really yummy. I find i drink more water when i love the taste of it. It becomes my favorite treat.

No expenses today! But then, I didn't leave the house.

I have errand running tomorrow; we will see how I do.

Last thursday I spent eleven dollars at the tavern, but that was all I have spent so far this month except for bills. This week i did pay my mortgage and sewer bill, and I will be paying ten dollars towards a traffic ticket this week too.

I managed to get some donated bags of cat food yesterday, which is nice and will help a lot.

And tonite I have to spend $15 in Extra Bucks and Register Rewards at CVS and Walgreen (they expire tonite, so i have to go down and pick out some things to buy for free, YAY. Free is fun).

Okee dokee. I used my free extra bucks and register rewards and got some freebies. I did miscalculate a little and had to shell out two dollars and seven cents at walgreens, though.

The trick with walgreens register rewards is that you have to have an item for every coupon/register reward. So with five RRs you have to have five items. So i was forced to run around and find three filler items to use all the RRs.

If this sounds complicated, that's because it is.

CVS Extra Bucks are MUCH easier to redeem. You can stack them all together for just one item if you wanted. But then, it's easier to earn Register Rewards than Extra Bucks. So there is sort of a trade off.

Next time I will take more time (they were about to close tonite) and figure out how to walk out of there without opening the wallet at all.

I have another handful of RRs ($12) to use up by thursday, so I will come back and report on that.

I used my register rewards today and did relly well. I made a couple of mistakes and ended up spending almost three dollars, because the walgreens money has a lot more rules to follow than CVS money. I can usually get out of CVS without spending anything.

I did manage to use some product coupons with the rewards, which is great, but that also means you have to add more products to the checkout! I usually grab packs of ramen noodles to cover the extras, but then i go over a little bit in terms of money.

In any case, I was able to pick up a free $12 item using RRs; i got a Flat Fix It for my car. I have it now in the jeep with me in case i have a tire blow out (on the many dirt roads here). This makes me feel safer driving, and i would not have been able to afford picking this up without acquiring register rewards to do so.

The key is to buy things you need, but wait until there is a register rewards sale (or CVS sale) to do so. Then use the RRs on things you would like to have, or on the things that never go on sale.

I hope this is coming across in a way that makes sense. I don't want to write an article on how to shop at Walgreens until I feel i can explain the rules properly.

In other news, I did manage to only buy things at CVS today that would earn me Extra Bucks and I used a red machine coupon that gave me $4 back. So i spent nothing, got a bunch of things I needed, and earned another $8 in extra bucks for next week.

Hopefully next week they will go back to having the gas card freebies.

Do you need to spend money everyday? Then will you calculate everyday?

Yesterday I spend $13.50 on gas. The kids' have multiple activities everyday that they need taken to. It is too far for them to walk plus it wouldn't be healthy for them to be out in this heat for that long. Hopefully the gas will last me for 5-6 days.

Hi Vintage! Yeah, gas is one of those things. It costs too much, but we need it to get around. It's really my hardest thing to budget. If I had kids I don't know how I'd deal with it. And yes, it is too hot to walk right now - you don't want to be dealing with heat exhaustion!

For me, i try to drive as little as possible, combine errands, walk when I can (when not over 100 degrees out - yuck), try to conserve the gas while driving (experimenting with hypermiling)...and stay at home a lot.

I also have a little errand trailer set up for my bike, but it is also too hot to be cycling!

Today I stayed home, like I do a lot, so I spent nothing. It's fun to work on eating up my perishable foods, instead of buying more all the time.

Bummer. I had saved up eighteen dollars, which for me is about all the money I have to spend in a month. And someone stole it out of my wallet.

I am grateful they left behind the wallet and purse, but that is low. Stealing from someone on food stamps with no income.

Sorry about the theft >:-(
It is pretty disheartening when things like that happen. But, maybe that person needed it more? Or maybe Karma will get him/her for being a meanie.
carleen

It was a couple who I was telling about how nice the pizza was at the bar I was at. They also stole the menu, which is just weird. I hope my 18 dollars makes them happy.

I was really looking forward to picking up some Hot Spot, to get the urine and poop out of my fabrics here (the kitten I am taming has digestive issues). I also needed some containers from the dollar store. I could have gotten a whole bunch of needed things with that money.

Okay, I feel better about the theft now. It could have been worse. Moving on.

I haven't spent anything all weekend. I didn't actually leave my property.

I have some errands to run in town this week, so I'll report on my expenses then.

Okay. I found out this week i have to use my debit card ten times a month to make POS purchases. Or i get a ten dollar fee. WTF?

Does anyone else know about this? I have Wells Fargo and have been with them since the early 90s.

In any case, I have been trying to make tiny debit card purchases. I am up to four. I bought - a 9 cent folder at walgreens, a decaf coffee, a can of cat urine enzymes, and a bottle of seltzer water.

This really is silly.

I think i am up to six POS purchases and need to have ten by the tenth. This is crazy. I was going so well with the not spending any cash plan. Now I HAVE to spend cash.

I went to the dollar store today and got a few things I cuold use, but nothing I actually needed.

I need a better plan or a different bank (WELLS FARGO, you are peeving me off!)

I am still irritated at Wells Fargo. They haven't returned the fee to my account. And apparently i need to make two more purchases this month to prevent another service charge. Or more. It's hard to tell by looking at my online statement. I am super annoyed.

Jilly, I did not know that about Wells Fargo. But I do make more than ten POS charges a month.

You really inspire me. What a great challenge, though, to see how little you can spend each month. I am careless about spending and tend to be impulsive.

We went grocery shopping today, and I used coupons for the first time in a long time. They tempt me to buy products I typically wouldn't buy. Today, we had to buy sundries that add a lot to our bill, like shaving razors, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper. As for food items, I needed olive oil and that is pricey. It was on sale though.

Brought my hubby which seems to change what we put into the cart.

Jilly, I paid the monthly bills today. I just wanted to chime in on the Wells Fargo debit card. As I understand it, the banks are looking for any way they can to make money. As if those huge bailouts weren't enough! I think they have realized that people caught on to how dangerous credit cards are to their finances and went to using debit cards. Now the banks figure that's where they can get the money.

I, too, try to stick with paying cash and I am inspired by your frugal lessons. Wouldn't it be lovely to find a way to beat the banks?

Beat the banks! I am inspired by this. I am going to start researching. Thank you!

Lori, there are secrets to using coupons to make things almost free. Just using them in general never really seems to be that helpful. I need to start a coupon using thread.

These things you mentioned:shaving razors, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper - no one should ever pay more than 50 cents for these items.

I bought Lisa Shea's new mediaeval novel today in the Kindle version.

Wow Jilly! No more than 50 cents for deodorant or toilet paper?

Please tell us more and start that couponing thread. That would be like found money and I know I could sure use it.

At the dollar store I spent a total of $2.66 tax included, for three greeting cards and a three-pack of toothbrushes.

Good job, debbie! There must have been a special on cards?

Sandra, I will totally do this. do you have a walgreens or CVS near you? That is my area of expertise with buying things for almost free.

Today I bought an herbal tea at a coffee shop, and earlier this week i had to spend $67 to fill my tank with gas, since I am camping for the next month or so.

I did turn off my electric at the breaker, so that will save me some money this month.

I've been spending a lot of time in this bookstore cafe, and picking up teas and pastries to justify hogging a table all day.

So i've actually been spending between $3-$5 each day while camping. This is actually on the expensive end for me. I need to find a better way to get a table and wifi i think.

Maybe a supermarket cafe?

I bought a couple dozen eggs today, but I had to go to Whole Foods. I like organic eggs from free range hens, and the farmer whom I usually buy my eggs from does not have any available right now. With the hot weather and the older hens he won't have eggs for at least 6 months while he raises some chicks to be laying hens. I don't like commercial eggs that are cheaper. The hens live an unhealthy lifestyle in cramped cages, and the eggs to me have no taste. So until I can find another farm, if I can, I will have to pay more money for my eggs

That is one expense I was hoping to avoid. Last fall I stocked up on the farm eggs and coated them with mineral oil to keep them fresh. I had farm eggs until the end of March, even though the farm was closed for the winter season.

I hit the dollar store again for some needed greeting cards. You sure can't beat 2 for $1.00. I walked out of there with 4 cards for $2 and change. You can't get one card for that in a lot of places.

My uncle just hospitalized this week and he owes money to me to buy his medications. But I'm not regretting it. :)

I work from home so usually I only spend money if I make an Amazon purchase of something we need. I'm very much in a "get rid of stuff" mode right now. So today was zero.

ZERO! I did not realize we could post if we spent ZERO until I saw your post.

Great job, Angela! That always feels good.

I spent nothing today, although I did buy a bottle of wine a few days ago. I also used my foodstamps, although that doesn't count.

I bought nothing today, nor all weekend. Being home sick helps! Good thing I already had leftover Nyquil, Chloreseptic and Excedrin PM.

On Friday I did purchase three episodes on Amazon of Project Runway. Total was $6. I was really fed up with the Lifetime video player and I consider this a worthwhile expense!

Still sick and still lying mostly abed. I did get out and see my case manager today, and that's all I accomplished. Still, I didn't buy anything, so no money was spent today.

Since it is the new month, I will be paying bills this week...But those are fixed costs. I really don't need to buy anything right now - I have medicines, books, food, cat food and internet.

I do have some free Extra Bucks to spend at CVS with the new quarter, so maybe I will get down there tomorrow if I feel better. I could use more kitty litter and canned cat food.

I find that purchasing or renting movies and tv episodes with Amazon is really nice - i don't have any late fees, and I don't have to brave poor driving conditions. I recently purchased episode 1 of Dr. Who season 7, which hasn't aired yet here in the states. It was a only a few dollars. I can wait for the whole season to air, but it was really fun to get to watch one episode before anyone else I know has seen it.

I spent about $5 today. I grabbed a coffee and oatmeal at a coffee stand. It was a treat for myself when I had been out and about town this morning.

Jilly, is there a public library nearby where you are with free wifi? or a college campus with wifi for everyone?

Hi Lisa! I do have lots of places with free wifi I can use. Library, chamber of commerce, coffeeshop, wine bar, mcdonalds and starbucks.

That is really cool that you got some Dr Who to enjoy!

This week I spent $20 on a date, which I shouldn't have done at all, but I wanted to make a good first impression on the date and not be the normal cheapskate that I am. That blew my entire wad of personal funds for the month, though.

Other than that I spent nothing this week.

I do need to get more cat food tomorrow. I have some extra buck notes from CVS that I can use to pay for that. I love CVS. :-)

Today I had to pick up a lot of cat food, so my pet sitters would have plenty of kitty chow while I am gone. I did buy one large bag at ALCO for $10, but that is fair enough - i set aside money for them for that each month. What is nice is that everything I by at ALCO gives me points for free rewards money. So I really prefer to shop at a place that does that. I end up spending those rewards on more cat food!

I also picked up five little cat food bags for FREE at CVS, just by using my CVS extra bucks. I had $20 in extra bucks to spend, PLUS the cat food was several dollars off from being on sale.

If anyone can get to CVS by Saturday night, there is a great sale where if you buy $30 of product (they tell you which things apply), you get a $10 gift card free. If you buy mostly food, or things you need anyway, it is an excellent system for getting free CVS gift cards that you can use any way you like.

I forgot to get this week's CVS circular, but there are still two days left to see what the extra buck specials will be. Anyone know?

Today i bought some wine and that's it.

I like this thread! It helps keep me in check.

Today so far, I haven't spend a penny but that is because I haven't gone out the door...yet.

Fro the last three days or so, I haven't spent anything. That is because my drivers side door froze open during some weather we had. I just got it thawed out! I actually enjoyed all the time at home, though.

Jilly,

Your post about the CVS circular reminds me of previous posts we used to do about upcoming savings. I will try to be more diligent about stopping by sometime and posting the week's sales so everyone can save.

Maria - i do miss those posts! I'd love to see more of those here again.

Speaking of CVS, I've been getting a TON of those free $10 gift cards, and $5 extra bucks rewards in the last few weeks. The trick is timing your purchases for things you need with the sales, and stocking up, and rolling those extra bucks.

If this is greek to anyone, let me know and I will explain further!

I really love CVS. They've really 'gamified' the shopping process in a fun way.

This weekend I didn't buy anything, and the only thing I spent actual money on the entire week was, again, some wine. You can't use extra bucks on wine, but you can get 10% off wine deals at both CVS and Walgreens.

In the week prior, I did pick up a few things at Goodwill. I'm staying with family in Florida, and realized I didn't bring much more than tank tops here. So I had to pick up a few long sleeved shirts, a knitted wrap, and a hoodie.

Another non-spending day, today, although I used CVS extra bucks to pick up some cotton balls and q-tips for free. I also used food stamps at Walmart. But I didn't spend any actual money.

Yesterday I bought wine with cash. I definitely have a spending pattern. I buy wine, and I buy cat food/cat litter. Sundries like soap and beauty supplies I generally can get for free using stacked coupons with sales.

I also usually come home from the dentist with free bags of toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss - my dentist is happy for me to take as many samples as I want.

I also pick up a lot of Kindle ebooks for free (the titles change a lot, so there is always something new to download).

Blah, blah, blah. So, that was my spending recently. How are you guys doing?

Today my sister in law took me out for lunch, so i left the tip as a thank you to her.

Earlier this week i bought some wine, and i also spent $5 on a magnet from Kennedy Space Center.

In Key West this week I bought a margarita.

That's really it for the week, except for paying recurring bills like the mortgage and sewer.

The last time I spent money was on February 5. First for waxing (arms, underarms and half legs...cant afford the rest anymore) then on Magicalomaha (a website) where my mom also got something (i got 3 candles that come with a pendant, a tee-shirt and a sweetgrass braid).

Good for you, Nancy!

What have i spent lately, besides bills?

Regular Expense
catfood
wine

Occasional Expense
fluoride rinse
cotton balls
qtips

Unique Expense
a book in Goodwill about editing novels
card for my dad's bday

Today I bought things in a drugstore (1 toothpaste, 3 sanitary pads and 4 chocolates) and in a dollar store (3 candy and 5 of 12 pair of earrings).

Nancy, that is so great that you are using this thread! This really helps to notice one's spending patterns.

Don't you just love dollar stores?

One gallon of milk. That is all.

Angie, that's a great spending day! It's always good to get what we need, and nothing else. :-)

Hi Jilly! When I found that thread a while ago I thought it was a good idea. I like dollar stores. If I wouldn't I would not have a choice to go there anyway since here it's small and the cities that are closest are not much bigger so there are not a lot of stores. I was used to take the bus and the subway and shop in different stores and shopping malls, I also had a job that paid well so I also buy a lot of things while being able to also put money aside.

Today I spent 16,40$ at a drugstore (pills, 1 toothpaste, 1 toothbrush and 1 rubbing alcohol) and 67,83$ at my aesthetician (underarms arms and half legs waxing + a bar of soap).

I spent a few dollars today - Office Max where I purchased some web design software to play with (I need to practice writing my own code); then Dollar General - a couple of items for my grandson's Easter basket and some canned vegetables. The products I really went into the store for were already sold out.

I bought a little piratey-looking skirt and a tank top at Goodwill.

I certainly don't need any more clothes, but I felt a need to get these. I like them a lot, but don't feel incredibly frugal about it. So there we go: I'm not perfect. :-)

Jilly, that sounds like a comfort purchase.

Angie, you are so right. I feel a little out of my comfort zone here - there are too many things going on, too many people around. It makes me feel good to shop in thrift stores and find something I like.

What I bought today was food.Had lunch in my fav.restaurant,
the special of the day was :Chicken Lasagna with spinach,chicken and a gravy to die for.Them met one of my friends we went to a beautiful coffee shop.where we spoke for 2 hours.
Great day.That gravy hhuuummmm!
loong

Loong, that sounds like a fantastic afternoon. Good for you! It is nice to take yourself out to your favorite place sometimes. :-)

Jilly, where are you that there is so much going on and so many people? What's happening?

Hi Angie. I have been spending the last two months visiting family. First I was in Florida with my husband and his family, and now I am in SoCal with my own family.

It really is too much for me. I am not used to this much interaction: at my home I don't see people except like once a week. I am at the point of being constantly agitated.

Well we're about to go see the 3D Movie Hanzel and Gretal today. Looking forward to it. Margaret

Margaret, how did you like the movie? I was thinking maybe to see it.

I didn't spend anything yet today...but i have a friend visiting tonite and I know we are going to the pub. So there will be beers. I hope we can find happy hour prices.

I purchased a Chic-filet sandwich and a Dr. Pepper.

Whoops. With my friend here visiting, been spending more money on drinks and food out than I have.

Today I spent money in three stores. First 30,52$ at Familiprix (drugstore...1 toothbrush, 1 box of q-tips, 1 bottle of complete vitamins, 1 body lotion and 2 bags of chocolates). Then 14,55$ at Rossy (store...[my mom only wanted to buy an artificial flower at 1,39$ so she gave me 2$ and i bought it with my things] 1 nail polish and 2 boxes of little Mr Freeze). Lastly 8,63$ at Dollarama (dollar store...6 boxes of Starbursts).

Nancy, that is great that you can keep track like this!

Today I had one pear cider and three fish tacos, so this was a lower spending day than the rest of the time during my friend's visit.

I went to Cabrillo national monument and got in free with my parks pass, and almost bought a magnet in the gift shop, but then reminded myself that I really should restrict my magnet collection to just the places that I find really meaningful.

Hi Jilly! I have to since losing my job and not finding another one since then. I had no problem doing it until this month when I received my Mastercard bill, my last internet purchase was done not too long after the one before and that bill ended up being more than seven hundred dollars! Thankfully I had enough money to pay that bill (a good portion of what i had set aside is gone now thanks to that) but that sure was a wake up call for me! I was far from rich but I was able to buy more freely (example...if i liked a shirt i would buy it in every colors) and mostly without looking at the price and not listening when the cashier would tell how much it was costing. Until now I have been able to always be able to pay my credit card bills fully and on time, if I can calculate more carefully I will be able to keep on doing that.

Hey Jilly, a fish taco - or 2 or 3 - in SoCal, or even Baja Mexico, is a fare worth planning in any budget.
Glad you didn't hold back, because it reminded me of my days in San Diego & border jumping to Ensenada for fish tacos/cerveza & stopping by Puerto Nuevo on the drive back for lobster dinner

Today I bought for 44,73$ on Sequoia Records (4 CDs...1 and the shipping is free).

Well, home in AZ from CA. I spent way too much on food and drink in CA, but nothing since I got back. I got some delicious free produce from the food bank and had a wonderful meal tonite, and am also working on eating the stuff out of my pantry.

No expenses today.

Today I spent 15$ at my asthetician (for electrolysis of my eyebrows [started on January of 2009..now im at 16 weeks] it was 13 something dollars and the rest was her tip) and 53,59$ at my drugstore (1 box of calciums, 1 nail treatment, 10 bags of chocolate and 2 boxes of individual easter chocolates).

I bought a humidifier at my local thrift store for $3.50.

I spent $4.31 on a used book from Amazon, and ordered $22.43 worth of products from the Avon lady.

Today I bought a tree on Tree Nation for the memory of my brother. I picked the nicest one which is also the priciest at 45 euro dollars which is 61,93$.

I bought almost all of my Easter greeting cards for family and friends at the dollar store where they are 2 for $1.00. What a savings that was. Even with the cost of a postage stamp for each card I got one heck of a bargain.

I spent nothing--yet--but it is early in the day. I might get out to buy some chicken, mushrooms and wild rice for dinner casserole. If the menu changes, I might be able to avoid the store but we are tiring of Japanese food.

Nothing.. not much money to spend this late in the week.

Today I spent 28,05$ at Familiprix in Amqui (pills, 1 toothbrus, 2 toothpaste, 2 bags of chocolate), 10,35$ at Rossy (2 boxes of small Mr Freeze), 49,44$ for waxing (the same as the last months) and 23,55$ at Familiprix in Causapscal (1 box of easter chocolate and 1 gift for a neighbor [she will take me with her at Rimouski this month so i wanted to give her a thank you gift since thats nice]).

Yay. I didn't spend any and I found a penny!

I just spent 42,25$ (43,99$ in Canadian dollars) on Ebay (1 Toss Bounce & Tickle Elmo...i wanted that doll so much when it came out but it was never available in Quebec and a few days ago something told me to go see on Ebay [i had done that often while looking for this online and it was never there] and there it was and brand new!!! i did get an account then remembered myself that i had no job since july of 2009 but tonight i went back there sad because that sell was supposed to have ended yesterday and it was still there so i got into my account and bought it...that made me happy...cant wait to get my Bouncy Elmo :-D!!).

Congratulations, Nancy. It feels so good when you can get what you want on Ebay. Enjoy your Elmo!

Today I spent $103 to buy my cats medicines and food at the vet.

Thanks Sandra! That was the first time I bought something on Ebay. It was a fixed price and it was supposed to be over the day before but there was more than twentynine days left when I went back there all sad thinking Bouncy Elmo was gone. I have spent many years searching for that Elmo and it would of been stupid of me not buying it especially since it was new!

Elmo is cute.

My daughter, grandson, and I had lunch out today to celebrate her birthday. I then spent $20 on a pile of books and DVDs at the Friends of the Library Book Sale.

Today I spent 35,58$ at Familiprix (1 toothpaste, 1 toothbrush, 1 shampoo, 1 back sponge, 1 box of 1-tips and 1 3in 1 base strenghtener top polish).

I spent money in four places today, it would of been more if I could of found more of the discontinued face products I use (we are NEVER told in advance when products are discontinued!!!!!!!!!), only two of one were left (Nivea for normal to combo skin). 34,79$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal (2 boxes of calciums [these too are discontinued...i wont cry about them though] and 2 packages of towels for washing the face [so at least thats 25 days of soap]), 3,16$ at the Familiprix of Amqui (pills), 8,05$ at Dollorama (1 thing twice for my mom [she had given me the money when i left] 1 box of 4 nail polish and 1 nail polish) and 64,38$ for waxing (today i added the face in addition of half legs arms and underarms).

I spent 27,33$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal today (2 face cream for 8,99$[that is discontinued in my country] 8,79$ for vitamins and 5,99$ for a antibug band [can put it on wrists or elsewhere...will try it on a hat...cant wait to see if these things work).

Thanks to Nivea discontinuing my face products in Canada I just spent (after several hours of searching the internet for places with the better prices and who also ships here) 420,33$! I do not have allergic reactions to beauty products but it is hard to find something that do not destroy my face (i have combo skin...if the cream is not for me then the shine and dry spots are just awful...spent years before finding 1 that was fully working then i could not buy it anymore when i moved then miraculously the first cream i pick works better then less than 3 years later they take it off the market in my country!!!!!)! If they would of warned of this I could of bought more for way less in the stores here and I would have for more than just next Summer!

Today was a splurge day for us, we ate out at Ruby Tuesday with a $10 off coupon that we got on RecycleBank for recycling each week. I recommend using RecycleBank, you get free coupons for recycling, which we should all do anyway.

Then Bob got us a "fire pit" - i.e. a way to burn all this dead wood we have in our back yard. We've had dead wood stacking up for years now and we had no way to get rid of it. So now we have a metal pit and we can start burning our way through it safely, to get our yard cleared out again. So that is a good step towards decluttering (and I suppose making the back yard less of a fire hazard).

I received an email tonight from the seller of the face cream saying that he could not ship to me so I went ahead and asked for a cancellation of my other order too. I won't get one more year of my products but on the bright side that's 420,33$ more in my pockets (i just hope the other seller understands and dont give me any problems...dont want a toner without the cream that goes with it).

Bob got us some stones for around the fire pit today, so that was our only purchase. That will help us burn through this wood. We had our first fire tonight!

Nancy, that is too bad about your favorite facial products. Have you found a decent replacement yet? I know I'd be pretty lost if my Paula's Choice stuff was discontinued. I try to make mine last for as long as possible, since it's not as cheap as drugstore brands.

Lisa, your fire pit sounds wonderful! I know I love mine. Could you not use wild rocks from your area?

I've been sick all week and haven't left home, nor bought anything online. I did manage to fill up some water jugs from the outdoor tap from the guidance center in my town, but that was free.

Last weekend I did go to Flagtaff, though, which cost me $15 in gas and around the same amount in beverages and food out. So that was pretty much all my April money, and I enjoyed it.

Hi Jilly! I am very sorry to hear that you are sick! I hope you feel better soon!

I was able to get two of my daily moisturizer (could be used as night to but was using another for night and could not get it anywhere) and will keep them for later with the tonic (never got to use it..was waiting to finish an old cleanser from my old aesthetician before starting using tonic) and unused exfollient from the discontinued line (its just 1 bottle that is small but i never use a lot of exfollient so ill be able to use that along with the 2 bottles of cream). Now with the two bottles opened I with strech them as far as they can go then I will use other products until I finish the ones who don't exist (in Canada that is) anymore, I think I know which I will try, I'll keep on searching on the internet then order (or buy in a store if its something thats sold here) next week. It's a shame about that, not only were they great products but they were also cheap.

Today I spent 21,05$ at Rossy in Amqui (1 game and 3 little bags of bath confetti), 4,60$ at Brunet in Amqui (1 tongue cleaner) and 51,90$ at Familiprix in Amqui (1 nail polish dissolvant 1 bag of chocolate and 4 nail polish).

Jilly -

It sounds like you're doing an awesome job of living frugally! I hope you feel better soon.

We do have stone walls but I tend to take stone walls fairly seriously and would not cannibalize an authentic stone wall for a project. We don't have enough other loose rocks to make a properly sized fire pit.

This photo is as far as we currently have gotten, and it still needs another layer of rocks before it's high enough for me. I want to make sure no fire can get out. We live in a forest so it's important to me that it's as safe as possible.



The next step is to build a stone patio to go under it, so even occasional sprays of sparks can't set anything alight.

One of my glass hummingbird feeders has a leaking tube, so I ordered a new one on the web for $4. That was my only purchase for the day.

Your backyard looks beautiful Lisa. Is the wood we see in the first picture yours? How big is it? We do have lots of trees here along with mountains and forests but our yard is not near a forest or mountain and it is small. We do have flowers and trees along with raspberries and a garden (that we have not used yet). It has been many years since I've sit near a fire outside, I was a young teenager the last time.

Lisa, what a lovely firepit! I am so happy for you.

I keep forgetting not everyone has a zillion rocks everywhere. The southwest is made of rocks. We don't buy them out here - we just try not to trip over them all. :-)

Nancy, I am so proud of you for returning here so diligently to record your expenses! It is so useful to track and observe our spending habits. Good job.

Today I paid my mortgage but I don't consider it something I 'spent' today...it's not like i had a choice about that one.

Other than that I spent nothing. I thought about taking myself out to eat because I accomplished a few good things today, but then decided I could just make myself something and save the money for my goals.

It really helps having a big goal like Europe to save for.

Hey Jilly......I hope you are feeling better.

I am out of work again so I really need to live on the cheap. I had to get four Mother's day cards and one birthday card this week so I went to the dollar store. I got two cards for $1 each, and the rest were 50 cents each. I could not go wrong with that, considering how inflated the prices of holiday cards can be in other stores!

I have made my own cards at times or have used a blank note card and have written my own note. The price at the Dollar Store is hard to beat though.

Buying from Avon's website in Canada is now hard! First we are forced to be tied to a seller and then what you ordered is sent to that person and they are the ones who can aprove or not, if it's approved we are then contacted by that person. She'll probably freak out since I asked to have English as my main language and she only speaks French. One of the things I ordered is a face cream (i was going to go with 2 more but i ended up in their American website and i read the reviews and many people with combo skin uses it and loves it so i figured what the hell ill try it) and I want to start using it on June 5 so I hope I can get it before that plus I bought my dad's birthday gift and it's on June 6. I really don't understand why make this so difficult, I used to often order from them online and it was easy and fast!

I have a representative for Avon but this last time she sent me an email and directed me to online (I figured to save money on catalogs because I do not see her that often or order that often). I did respond and asked her a question as well but never heard back from her. I didn't think the address was a noreply type thing. Oh well. I always enjoyed looking at their gifts and other items as well as cosmetics.

When I was in high school I sold Avon. I guess I did it about a year. I did door to door but gave up on that. Some people were awful - they would place a large order and never pay for it.

I met my rep through work. She had a good thing going there. It's harder now that she is retired.

Hi Angie! I too was an Avon representative but only for a campaign. The people did not like us where I did this so I only made two sells and one was a friend, I ended up buying a necklace and the earrings that went with them and that took all the money (+ some more) that I had made with these two sells. I still have not been contacted by the person they gave to me, I bet she will call tomorrow when I will be gone for many hours!

I sold Avon too, a few years back, to write it up for the BellaOnline editors so they could see what it was like. It was fun, but none of my friends are interested in Avon products so it was only me buying things to test them out. I don't wear makeup so after a while I gave it up.

I didn't buy anything today - just been catching up on work!

Avon is a nice product and I always enjoyed their gifts as well as some of the clothing items.

Avon was an early opportunity for women to be in business and work on their own schedule.

There is a lot of competition now.

Today I went to Matane for an eye examination and I was excited to see many stores I like (1 of my fave is in the same shopping mall!!!!) but besides for my favorite drugstore (none here) I decided to shop when I will go back to pick up my glasses. At Iris I spent 394$ (the eye exam was free but only 79$ will go for my glasses [the secretay calculated it for me and it was deducted already eventhough i have to fill up a form for this] and she gave me something to mail and they [the glasses maker] will give me back 100$ by mail) and 68,27$ at Jean Coutu (a Vichy eye cream [apparently its miraculous] and a Vichy 3in1 [it serves as an eye makeup remover makeup remover and something else] i used it when i was using makeup and it was a fabulous product...hopefully they did not changed it).

To all or none,

Today changed my car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

loong

Wow !

Good for you loong !!

I got an email from Avon tonight telling me that my order was accept by my representative, no details about when and how I would pay and no details about the shipping so I went into my account and found her email address and asked her these questions and I told her that one item is a gift for my dad's birthday that is on June 6 and another item I want to start usimng on June 5, I ordered this almost a week ago so she cannot say to me that I should of ordered these things earlier (i actually tried but they were down for maintenance when i first tried), who knew buying from Avon could be so difficult!

I spent 25 cents on a photocopy.

As for Avon she called while I was out and answered almost all my questions (the only answer she did not answered was answered in an email) so looks like I will get my things and it will be next week. I will reply to the email instead of calling her (she did say that 1 of the payment options was through email) because I don't know her so I do not know when she eats and if she has kids.

Nothing today. Which is a pretty big coup. Of course, I didn't leave the house except to go on a walk.

She called me almost immediately after I sent the email and she said that she cannot accept credit cards so I will go to the bank or post office and pay by a money order (dont really know how that works and she doesnt either). She told me that she waited that long to accept my order because she thought that Avon made a mistake giving me her because she lives in another province. She just sent me by email my receipt. 0,89$ for a men deodorant (my dad will pay me), 0,89$ for a men deodorant (my dad will pay me), 20$ for a face cream, 7,99$ for a Montreal Canadians glass (my dads birthday gift) and 2,99$ for a cold cream. The shipping is 8$ and with the taxes it's 46,87$.

Today I spent 54,94$ at the post office (money order for my Avon order, 1 stamp for a letter and an envelop with a stamp for the money order).

A friend of ours got married today and there was no wine at the bar, so I had two bottles of Sam Adams. Then we stopped at a grocery store on the way home and bought $20 (exactly!!) in groceries. So that was it for today.

I've been spending money on gas for my car the last few weekends, since I've been doing a lot of camping. I can't get over how expensive it is to fill a tank nowadays.

I also took my friend out for dinner for his birthday, which I couldn't afford to do really, but this is an important friend.

I also have been picking up cat food, but at least I have ways to get discounts on that.

Jilly -

It's even more astounding when one realizes how cheap gas is in the US. Most places pay far, far more than we do for gas. To them gas is a precious commodity that is treasured drop by drop. So in a way we have it sort of easy.

Today was a challenging day for me, money-wise. I had a lunch meeting with one group. Then a dinner meeting with another group. So I spent much more than usual (usually I spend zero). But both meetings were quite important and gave me a lot of valuable, helpful information in terms of building traffic.

Lisa, in many of those countries they have decent public transportation, which makes up a bit, in my mind, for the gas prices.

Dear Lisa,
In the village where I live an american gallon costs $4.94
If it were a canadian gallon $5.65.
In the city the gas sometimes goes up to $5.70 american gallon,
canadian gallon $ 6.75.

I remerber in 1970 when I did drag racing,Sunoco 260 the highest
octane ever made for cars cost #0.69 for a canadian gallon!

loong

Today I bought a 5 pound bag of ground round hamburger. As a special now and then the butcher offers it cheaper per pound if you buy it in bulk 5 pound bags. I can use it to make hamburgers, salisbury steaks, meatloaf, stuffed peppers, or brown it up to put in pasta sauce. I don't eat a lot of beef but it is nice to have it on hand for when I have the urge once in a while to indulge. I will separate the meat into 5 equal packs and freeze them. I like that I saved about $1.00 per pound.

I usually freeze my ground beef in quarter pound patties. They defrost quickly and I can easily tell how many I need for a recipe.

Today I spent 5,95$ at the Familiprix of Amqui for one toothpaste.

I just paid the satellite bill by phone with a credit card, my parents were supposed to take care of that but lately I have been checking them carefully (should of woke up about that earlier than a few months ago since they have stolen my savings), today was the last day so I told my mom (my dad is off somewhere outside) that this is in my name and just now she decided to tell me that it was almost always paid late! They're probably jealous of me since I have a good name and have always paid my bills fully and on time so they wanted me to be like them without a good name. So now my mom is angry at me, I'm used to her acting like a baby so I don't care anymore. They did it so sneaky too because I had taken that bill out last week when they went out to run errands and they had put it where they put the paid bills so I thought it was done, now I have 0% trust in these two people and I know 100% that when I am out of here they will not know my phone number and address.

I purchased two quarts of Brunswick Stew from a local organization.

Went to Matane to pick up my glasses and spent money in a few places while there, I did go to Ardene which is one of my favorite store but I did not have money to spend there (technically i had but had to think of the money i have to spend the next month) there was this awesome pair of jeans but there was only one available and it was not in my size thankfully so because I would of bought them since they looked awesome.

First I spent 44,58$ at Wal*Mart (15,86$ for an Elmo who gives kisses and hugs [i was careful to make sure it was the real Elmo...dont want anything to do with the new voice] 4,97$ twice for 30 facial cleansers from Pond's 4,97$ for a face cream from Pond's 4,00$ twice for a back sponge cleaner), 14,85$ at Dollorama (1,25$ 3 times of 6 little boxes of incense, 1$ for a little jelly teddy that you squeeze [it also has a little thing inside] 0,69$ for an Aero bar, 1$ for silk paper, 1$ for a big page of Sesame Street stickers, 2$ for a box and 1$ 4 times for Chef Boyardee microwavable meals [took 4 different ones...not the best food but when youre hungry a little its fast]), 61,66$ at Jean Coutu (2,99$ twice for 2 different types of sanitary napkins, 6,99$ for a box of chocolates, 15,49$ for gummy calciums, 5,19$ for toothpaste, 7,99$ for a toothbrush and 11,99$ for a 240ml Glycerodermine), 6,98$ at Les Aliments M&M (2 poutines...i told the people there that if its good ill try other things [that made them laugh] its a frozen food store...they also told me that now we can go 1 place in Amqui and we can order there where they deliver the orders every 2 weeks so thats cool) and 17,20$ at KFC (3 poutines and 1 family size gravy).

Nancy,

Glad you had an enjoyable shopping day. I love to read your spending experiences because it gives me a glimpse into how someone in another country lives.

By the way, what is a jelly teddy?

And give your new Elmo a hug from me.

Hi Sandra. By jelly teddy I meant a little bear made of jelly (or something else...its something you squeeze...theres a little ball too inside...its cute and relaxing too). It will be my pleasure to give Elmo a hug for you!

Nancy -

There definitely is a line crossed when someone puts bills into your name without your permission. Never mind when someone outright takes money out of your bank account.

I would shut down all accounts that they have access to. As an adult, no other person should have legal access to your accounts, not even family members. That is, I have a mother who is alive. Even though she is my mother, she has no legal access to my bank account. If she tried to do something to my bank account, the bank would not let her.

So I would shut down accounts that they were given access to, and create new ones which are explicitly in your name only.

If it was me, I would shut down any accounts like the satellite account that had my name on it. If they want it, they can create their own account in their name. You can even tell the satellite company that you want a note on the account that they are not to make one in your name because it would be fraud.

On the other hand, if it really is you using this account, then I would put it fully in your name and retain full control over it. Set it up with auto-pay so you are in control of it.

Does Canada offer free yearly credit reports. We have that in the US. So once a year I run my credit report and see everything on it in my name. I highly recommend you do that.

Hi Lisa. My parents have no access to my accounts. The satellite bill has always been in my name but they promised to always pay it before we moved. The bill comes in the mail so they take it to the bank and pay it there. From now on I will always check the mail and take that bill so like that I know it would always be paid and in time. In my parents's minds paying late is no big deal so this is why my mom was shocked when I told her that my credit was good and that I wanted to keep it that way. I don't know how it works in Canada with our credit names. My mom said that it was always paid in full just late, I really have a hard time believing that this did not affect my good name. My mom told me that it would take more for them to cut us off but I only care about my name, my parents don't care about them so they figure I'm like them. It took many years and many awful things to help me not trust them with anything, I'm really ashamed that it took me so much time and hits to make me realised this! If NHL would also have their playoff games on their website I would pay to watch my games online and have all the English channels off and put that bill in my dad's name but can't do that, being with Shaw would cost me less money but I can't go with them before I know for sure that I'm still stuck here for years, don't want to pay to break a contract (first appartment i find that has electricity included for 400$ or less im outta here).

Also, tomorrow my dad will go to the bank when I will be at my aesthetician, if they would not be heartless he would take out the money that bill cost and give it to me (after all tomorrow would of been the day he would of paid it) but I won't hold my breath for that to happen! I think he did that on purpose to say to my mom just after we left for Matane that tomorrow he'll go to the bank, just another cheap shot and then my mom made that cheap shot when I was eating my first KFC poutine, so yeah I'd be surprised if they give me my money back tommorow! The more cheap shot that will come the more it will help me not having remorse to not give them my contact information when I will move out.

Nancy -

The first step is always to get as many facts as you can.

This looks like the Canadian version of a credit report -

EquiFax Canada

And it appears like in the US you can get one for free, to monitor your credit.

So I would request your free credit report. See what it says. Maybe satellite bills never show up on there, in which case this isn't something to worry about for now. That being said, I would still get it out of your name, especially if you're planning on moving. Put that on your list of things to do.

Different people have different views on bill paying. That's normal and natural. Some carry credit card balances. Some would never do that in a million years. So it's OK that you and your parents differ on how to manage this. The key is that things in your name are managed the way you want. If it was in their name they could manage it any way THEY wanted. So if they want to pay late, then it should be in their name. No emotion, no confusion, just simple.

Money is the #1 cause of arguments in relationships. It becomes emotional. We all have different views on what is "right". So the best thing is to organize the finances so it's perfectly clear. If they're paying a bill, their name should be on that bill.

Thank you Lisa for that link, I will go check it out right now!

Today I spent money in three places. 64,38$ for waxing, 5,39$ at Dollorama (1 Aero, 1 necklace [just for the chain that i will use for a wishbone for hanging it] and a pack of 3 red cords for necklaces [they too will be used to hang things]) and 8,30$ at Pharmaprix (hand soap, two sponges, my pills and another prescription).

And of course my parents did not gave me the money for the bill they wanted to pay today! The worst is actually the hand soap which they absolutely wanted to pay me back, it was done with extreme urgency, and, my mom gave me a 5$ and asked me with great fear if I had a 2$!

ToNancy,

Today spent money on my car ,that I am fixing to look brand new.

loong

Nancy -

It sounds like they have a different mentality about paying bills. It's probably best to either make them pay their own bills, or to accept responsibility for the bills you have to pay. Anything else will just bring stress.

We went to Red Robin for dinner tonight. Normally we don't eat out much but it's Bob's birthday month and he got deluged with substantial coupons, and was interested in them. Since most of the time he has to be on his own because I'm working so much, I wanted to spend time with him.

I just spent 83,18$ with the seller Kiddie Collection USA on Amazon Canada (1 baby SpongeBob for 12,87$, 1 Elmo with pajamas for 28,64$ and 1 Elmo with a bathrobe and a box of tissues for 36,72$...the shipping is 4,95$).

Groceries.....

Today I spent 10,52$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal (1 box of q-tips and 4 Aero bars).

Didn't buy anything today but bought gas yesterday.

It's that time of year again. I had to buy fly spray for my horses, and there is no frugal way around that. Sigh....

No expenses today, but i just had a very expensive week. I drove out to CA, so i needed gas and a tune-up, a new air filter, an oil change, a new tire, wiper fluid, Seafoam, and some catfood.

Later this week I need to pay the mortgage and sewer on my house.

No other expenses right now.

The zoo with my grandson

I just bought a tree on Tree Nation (45 euro which is 62,69$).

Groceries. I tried to buy a few small parade size US flags but the stores that I dropped into did not have what I needed. Today is Flag Day.

I bought a few cards at the dollar store for 2 for $1.00. I also bought some liquid handsoap for $1.00. I bought it countless times before because I love the scent of pears, but now the size of the bottle is slightly smaller. With the smaller size is a new formula evidently, because now there is no pleasant fresh pear scent to it at all, just a soapy smell. I don't like it and I am disappointed, and I can't wait until I use it up, because I won't throw it out. I will be opening the bottles at the store from now on to take a sniff before I buy.

Today, I've spent money on groceries and some stuff for the home. I bought groceries for my baby and silk bedding from a store near my place.

Books on Amazon.

Also, crafts supplies from Amazon. Good thing the selection still isn't that great, or I'd be buying more. The buying process is just too easy.

Today I paid the satellite bill (201,76$...if i see that i cannot move soon im going to switch to Shaw...im going to have more channels and it will cost more but i cant do that before knowing for sure that im stuck here for a few more years since i dont want to break a contract and pay money for nothing...my dad will stay with Bell and the bill will be on his name...if i do that i will take off all the english channels since he refuses to speak any other language) and had waxing for 64,38$.

It will cost less I meant to say (thats what happens when you reread yourself AFTER submitting and not BEFORE...lol).

Today I went to Rimouski for the first time with my parents. There was lots of stores I love and haven't been able to go since moving but since I have basically no money I was not able to buy a lot, I stopped myself from going into two because I knew it would be too hard for me not being able to buy anything from them. At Jean Coutu I spent 15,15$ (1 toothbrush 1 toothpaste) and at Winners I spent 5,74$ (a toy for a neighbor's Golden Retriever..his birthday is coming he will be 5). I did pick seven things at Les Aliments M&M (6 poutines and 1 box of small cheese pizzas) but my dad wanted to pay for it so I let him.

Today I picked up a prescription, bought 2 bottles of sunscreen, multivitamins, a birthday card for my boss, 2 bottles of Dawn (on sale), forgot to get the bottled water and hair and nail vitamins that I went for in the first place. Loaded $20 on my smoothie king gift card for a free smoothie. Came home and paid the appliance repair guy $90 for repairing my washing machine. Oh yes I paid a Dr. bill for my daughter $102. UGH!I spend it like water! I need an extra source of income!

Today I paid my cell phone (46,05$) and I spent 13,28$ for my eyebrows electrolysis (im up another week...im not at 16 weeks), 17,67$ at Familiprix (pills for 3,16$ toothpaste for 5,19$ q-tips for 3,99$ vitamins for 3,44$), 54,02$ at Librairie d'Amqui Inc (19,99$ for black printer ink 26,99$ for color printer ink) and 4,59$ at Brunet (tongue cleaner).

Today I spent money on all the groceries needed for tomorrow's cookout (a little over $60). But many of the ingredients I bought will be used again for other dishes.

Went to Matane today and I spent money there. 6$ at Rona (1 box of cone incense...my parents bought 2 other things so i asked them to pay it then i would give the money back home...did that so no taxes for me..hehe), 33,34$ at Le Grenier (1 trenchcoat...it was 99$ so that was a great deal...i first saw it when i went there in the beginning of may and hated it when i came back a few weeks later i entered the store but was not too sure and today i was hoping there was 1 left in my size), 17,25$ at L'Aubainerie Entrepot (14$ for a blouse and 1$ for a teeshirt), 4$ at Dollorama (4 big Aero...with that too my parents bought and then i gave them the money [without the taxes..hehe] back home) and 13,96$ at Les Aliments M&M (4 frozen poutine).

I just bought my third tree on Tree Nation (45 euro and in Canadian dollars its 62,82).

Today I spent 18,49$ at the Familiprix in Causapscal (4,49$ for shower gel 5,19$ for toothpaste 2,99$ for q-tips 0,99$ for sponge 1,99$ for back sponge 0,50$ for a loto ticket) and 100$ at my hairdresser (an hair cut, bleach, hair color, shampoo, conditioner and tip).

Today I treated myself to lunch. $11.10 Stopped at Savers and found a beautiful framed picture for 3.99 which is why I bought it. If I had to buy the same frame in an art shop just the frame would probably cost 30.00 and with a matt easily 50.00. Today was Tuesday and Senior disc day so knock 25% off the price. Then headed over to Aldi's and was going to buy some blueberries fpr 99 cents/pt. Picked up two and someone took them out of my cart. %$#@!!!! Later at my grocery store on the way home had to pick up milk and bread but we know when you walk out of the store it is never just for what you came in for. Add 14.00 to that. (btw the blueberries were 2.99 pt there)

Today I spent 30,48$ at Amazon Canada (12,99$ for a 19 piece cup and spoon measuring set and 6,76$ 2 time for 30 cleaning towelettes from Pond's...the shipping is free).

Today I spent 9,52$ at the Familiprix in Causapscal (1 body lotion and 80 makeup remover tampons), 27,55$ at Hart (10 socks), 3,16$ at the Amqui Familiprix (pills), 9,20$ at Dollorama (5 little bags of original Skittles 12 earrings and a Stawberry Shortcake shower gel) and I had my waxing done (arms, underarms and half legs...more than 60$...she forgot to give me the receipt..we talked for several additional minutes after the waxing...she got distracted and me too..haha).

gas (ouch) and groceries.

Technically I bought postage to send out an origami rose order, but really the person paid for the postage as part of their payment price. So I didn't buy anything "myself".

My daughter had her wisdom teeth out today, so we spent quite a bit today. Not to mention the supplies I had bought in anticipation - gatorade, ginger ale, yogurts, mashed potatoes, all the things that she can drink and eat over the next few days.

I paid the satellite bill today (173,02$).

I met my friend for lunch today but was a bit early so I went to the Dollar Store and then the Truck and Tractor store where I picked up a magazine on patio/deck garden. I then went to the store to discuss and order my new glasses. OUCH!!!

My first post on this forum so Hi to everyone...today i spent 168$ on groceries and saved myself 36$ due to using coupons!!

Welcome to Bella Online kylie007! 36$ on savings is awesome especially with groceries since food cost more and more money!

I'm a great believer in coupons and my MVP cards. I don't go overboard with the coupons like some you see on TV but I do seek out the ones I use.

My daughter and I went to see "The Wolverine" today.

i paid the breakfast and snack.

Today I spent 17,73$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal (12,99 for chewable calciums and 2,79 for 12 small water bottles).

My girlfriend and I went out to lunch today.

Today I spent 44,73$ on Sequoia Records (4 cds...1 and the shipping is free).

Normally I don't really leave the house, but my boyfriend has been putting in lots of hours volunteering to help his friend who runs a bike store, and he was exhausted. So I took him out to dinner (normally he does all the cooking). He did just eat $3 appetizers for his dinner so he tried to keep it inexpensive.

I also went to the doctor's today, and she says my keratosis - small, scaly skin growths - are just something I have to live with. I love experimenting on myself so I'm curious if that's really true. Surely they can be removed. So I ordered a little tube of wart remover. I've been reading online that it might work, so I'll be photographing and documenting the process .

I just spent 41,87$ on Amazon Canada (1 30 Pond's towelettes for 6,76$ [only 2 in stock...these are not sold here...i only wanted to use this product for a little while and this is the last time im buying some...im using the cream for dry skin at the same time...only bought 1 bottle and it will be enough] and 2 cds [the scores of Prometheus {12,54$} and Sinister {17,12$} it was the last in stock for both of the cds so i was lucky i went there tonight] the shipping is free).

I'm leaving on the kitchen table the 200$ my parents need to take their little vacation. I am a little afraid that they'll spend that money then say that they don't have the money to go but if they do that then me not having a lot of money won't manner anymore and I'll leave and they won't never hear from me again. This is a good test to see if they have any heart and conscience left.

Please tell me you're not serious...

A vacation is something you save UP-4.

If you have any desire to exit a position you're in...take the money that you do have and build toward something that you have, and begin looking forward to it!

What is that in US dollars?

The satellite bill? Are u supporting your parents?

Elleise,

I'm not supporting my parents (well they did steal 16,000$ from me...it was a "loan"...i was too stupid to realise that they would never be able to pay me back...in 2 years they will renew the mortgage and i was told that they would borrow 16,000$ to pay me back...yeah right) the satellite I got in 2000 and when we moved in 2009 they were supposed to pay it for me but I learned that they did pay it but late so I started paying it again (in their mind paying late is normal....i hope they did not screw with my credit).

The 200$ for their vacation pays their gas, the rest they are okay with. I figured that it would cost me less to pay their gas then to rent a place and to buy what I would need while on vacation.

I technically have enough to move out but I would need an appartment 400$ or less by month with electricity included, these are rare. I was able to put some money away (i have no idea how...now that i pay the satellite again it will be harder) and this could help me paying internet for a few months while on my own, I would have to find a job quick though!

My mom took the 200$ and she left me a note saying that she did not tell my dad and that if something happens and they don't go she will give my 200$ back. They better go because I am about to go crazy always with them around. They know that I am going crazy and they don't care. Sometimes it's like they do what drives me crazy on purpose.

I think that now the difference between Canadian and American dollars is very tiny.

Lately I have been buying a lot of veggies and some fruit at a local farmstand. Not only has it been cheaper to shop this way than going to the grocery store, but it is much fresher and tastier, not to mention healthy for me to eat. I am enjoying the fresh produce and I am not tempted to buy much else like I would be if I was shopping in the grocery store.

Over the weekend we spent money on all the back-to-school essentials. We have a "tax-free" weekend here in Georgia for going back to school, so we took advantage of that. It covers all basic school supplies, plus clothing (under $100 per item) plus some computers (we already have those, so didn't need to purchase any.)

Today I spent 43,66$ at Rossy (15,70$ for 14 socks, 11,29$ for 6 individual bubble bath, 7,99$ for aa batteries) and 52,52$ at Brunet (14,94$ for 9 bags of sanitary napkins, 4,49$ for 1 box of q-tips, 3,99$ for Vaseline with aloe [will use it as an hand cream], 9,99$ for a kid electric toothbrush, 3,99$ for 1 tongue cleaner, 5,29$ for toothpaste, 2,99$ for 1 keyring).

I bought lunch for the kids. We are trying to save because we have a Disney vacation coming up next week. It will be so much easier taking the kids now they are older and no longer want every toy they see! :-)

Today I spent 41$ for the bleaching of my roots and pink coloration.

Happily, I didn't spend any money today. Lots of annual renewals have been due this week though.

Today I paid the satellite (206,17$...we have new channels...i wanted 5 but 4 came with extra channels and 1 should of been added to my channels but Bell likes to screw people so that channel we have to pay to keep), spent 55,19$ (waxing), 2,30$ at Dollarama (5 AAA batteries) and 12,25$ at Familiprix (3,16$ for my pills 1,19$ for an original Lypsyl and 1,39$ for 2 packs of makeup remover tampons).

Zero today but I'll make up for it tomorrow.

I just bought my fourth tree on Tree Nation (45$ in euro which is 64,10$ in Canadian dollars) but they went down right after I paid so hopefully I will get my tree (know many people who lost trees with them but were charged...they always get their tree or money back but its always a lot of work)!

I finally received my tree, it took almost an half hour!

Today I spent 15,71$ at the Fmiliprix of Causpascal ( 5,19$ for toothpaste, 3,49$ for handwash refill and 4,99$ for body lotion).

We bought our daughter's Homecoming dress today - ouch! $150

Still have shoes and accessories to buy.

Planned on going clothes/underwear/sock shopping today. However, I stayed up until 3 a.m. this morning, in between movies, so I said "girls clothes shopping is tomorrow!". I went to the store for groceries and spent $84.00. Half of it was Crayola markers, pencils, erasers, rulers, protractors, journal books...the list goes on. My hand basket was full before I purchased dinner.

So clothes shopping tomorrow for 2 x 10 yr olds. I need another job! lol

Today I spent 16,63$ at Brunet (7,49$ for a kid electric toothbrush 3,99$ for a tongue cleaner 2,99$ for a keychain), 26,89$ at Familiprix (3,16$ for my pills 10,99$ for a face cream 7,99$ for a face wash 6,99$ for batteries 2,79$ for bottles of water....i had a 10$ rebate with a points cosmetics card), 2,88$ at Dollarama (1,25$ for a calculator 1,25$ for 2 kids toothbrushes) and 49,44$ for waxing.

Buffet breakfast with my girlfriend; Tuesday Morning (lots of little things); Tee-top at Kohls; groceries.

Today I spent 46$ for bleaching of the roots and pink coloration.

I just bought my fifth tree on Tree Nation (45 euros which is for me 64,45$).

What is Tree Nation?

A website where we can plant trees. My Tree Nation profile is in my Bella Online profile if you or anyone else want to check it out. When a waterable tree has 200 drops (we can give one drop per tree each day...theres a limit when we join but with actions we can get more..i only have 23 but im planning on posting recipes for more drops) another tree is planted (these trees are not waterable).

Today I bought veggies at the local farmstand.

Nail polish - it's my little reward for eating healthy. I now have a huge basket downstairs and another one upstairs.

I bought beads! I got some lovely turquoise and brown colors to start a new bracelet and maybe a necklace.

I didn't buy anything today, but tomorrow I will be renewing my AAA membership. Actually, the Plus membership that gives you more towing miles and covers RVs.

Anyone here use AAA or a roadside service? I love using AAA and getting free maps and triptiks and tour books.

My AAA is renewable this month too. Over the years it has come in so handy. I never leave home without it.

I spent $10 on my Metrocard for my train rides to and from work. My husband spent more, but not sure of what! I think it was yogurts, laundry soap, kitty litter and some cold cuts. He transferred $60 and I haven't figured out yet what the balance is!

Oh I love those kinds of days! That and "Farmer's Market Day" or going and picking your own apples and/or pumpkins. I used to grow them..miss that.

BUT! today I spent nothing.

I made tortillas by hand and crushed all of the recyclables. so I'm thinking of taking those in w/my change jar...

But I did do laundry puting away stuff from Spring. So if that counts, I probably spent $1.50.

LOL...Elleise

I love AAA! I get the extra package myself so that I have enough towing miles if there is a problem. The standard amount simply doesn't help much here in Alaska, but the gold package is invaluable. Probably one of the best things for peace of mind I can think of. It's also an excellent gift for a single parent.

I have AAA, just the standard plan. I don't travel much so I didn't feel the higher plans benefited me.

I didn't spend money today. It's kind of turned into a game for me. I want to - but I don't or won't.

But since people are talking about AAA. What is it exactly? Like extra insurance?

I don't drive, but my husband does. So, just wondering the benefits?

Hi Karen!

Triple A (AAA) is an auto insurance company that gives you a package for a monthly or yearly premium...It's not that expensive as I remember. We had it in California. If you break down, have a flat tire, your car burns out, they are there for you. They will be there efficiently and friendly and give you a ride if necessary.

Check out their website. AAA.com and find your location. I looked and you have to scroll to the bottom of the page and there is a link right there! Then you can type in your zip code. Start off by going to the Membership tab and it gives you an insight of what they offer and go from there.

It was great for us. We locked our keys in the car so many times, or lost them. They would be there with a crow bar! LOL>>NOT KIDDING! Check it out! It may be worthwhile for you if you drive a lot.

My son locked his keys in the car in our driveway. Both of us have coverage so AAA came to our D/W and were able to open the door for him. Whoever has coverage in the that has need has coverage.

Yesterday I spent money on a pedicure. I don't normally do that, but hubby wanted us to do it together as a couples thing, a gift to each other. It was nice. He got his toes painted in the Bama football colors. I got Caribbean blue.

That was after we signed up for this year's AAA, which was around a hundred dollars, since we have the upgraded package with RV option.

We also went to Goodwill to get a belt for dan, and picked up a few Rubbermaid tubs to outdoorsy type things store things along the side of the house. I needed tubs, so it was great to find some used!

So, kind of an expensive day for me.

I didn't buy anything today, though,

I really love AAA, so I started a thread about it, and wrote about many of the services: Is AAA worth buying?

I am kind of new here a Bella, but enjoy reading this post. I guess today was sort of a splurge day for me. Doctors visit, spent $10.00....copay but at the same time asked them for a free blood glucose tester...yeah...so got that free. Bought $25.00 worth of gas...at $3.15 per gal. Bought my meds....plus mouth wash, and talc powder = $59.00 Then had a burger and coke......$4.00 Oh....and a MacD's coffee.....$1.10

Lately I have been stocking up on veggies I get fresh and more affordable where I work at the farmstand. I have made zucchini breads to freeze, and I also froze other veggies and blueberries too. I will enjoy these things in the winter when prices at the grocery store are much higher for produce because all of it will be off season.

Debbie, it is so smart to use your freezer to set aside fresh, homemade goods for winter. I wish we all took the time to do this.


Do you have a secret to your zucchini bread?

Welcome, PeggyAnne. It is so important to track where our spending goes, and you made a great contribution to your own awareness with your post.

Good on you for asking for the free glucose meter. Usually we can get all kinds of things we need, simply by having the courage to ask for them.

Yesterday I bought a few beers out with hubby, at the Wavehouse on Mission beach. We had perfect chairs against the ocean, to watch the sunset. We also split nachos.

So that was all a splurge. We need to make sure splurges like that are really infrequent. How often do most people eat out or hit the pubs?

Yesterday I did get a free notary signature at AAA, so that saved me at least $7. I will need a few more this week.

Today I am not buying anything, except that I am considering picking up a set of ebooks on how to sell your stuff online. It's $47 for the kit, and that's a lot of money. I am thinking i will make it all back and more by selling stuff, and can also share the findings with everyone here, and review it.

What do you guys think I should do?

Hey Jilly,

Nice to see you posting again

I'll always remember you reaching out to me in friendship when I was new to Bella and kinda down and out in Beverly Hills

Now I get to return the favor

Connie, my better half, has been experiment with on-line garage and yard sales for over 4 years now and she had a bumpy road for a long time.

There was a lot of chaos and drama against the admin for enforcing decency rules of respect in the groups.

But, as she has just told me, all and all it is a good place to get rid of unwanted merchandise and things you simply don't want or need anymore.

Connie went through a lot of bummed out times when it was slow and did not take off.

Well, it did take off and over time she grew it to over 5000 members and had to have help with other admin.

She was structuring it on her own and was trying to keep people in the right categories and manage drama.

Well, as luck would have it, she was very fortunate to find out that there is a group of folks on facebook who have solved the majority of problems with an app inside facebook called

https:
//www.varagesale.com

So, save your $47 and find a VarageSale group in your area !!

They have over 300,000 groups that span the globe.

It is all done through facebook.

1) Have to have a facebook account.
2) The app is inside facebook called VS
3) Find a group in your area and ask to join !

I really, really hope this helps you out as it is very organized and orderly with over thousands of people buying and sell per group 24 / 7 !! !!!

Though this VarageSale, Connie and I have gotten everything from pots and pans brand new in the box to patio furniture Brand New $75 for the set -- brand new computer for dirt cheap, clothes, books, beds, antiques, jewelry, real gold for pennies on the dollar !!!

She is sitting in a slightly used leather chair with a matching ottoman for $15 !!!

We even got yard work done simply by asking who wanted to do it !!

Very inexpensive.

Times are hard and people are really taking advantage of this buying and selling person to person without a middleman !!

Here in Florida you have to have a permit for a physical yard sale limited to 2 per year.

But that does not apply to on-line yard sales.

It was made by a lady in Montreal Canada who's husband wrote the app to keep things orderly.

So, check it out Jilly

They have a map so you can find a group locally to you in AZ or CA.

Virtual Garage Sale !!

Best on The Planet !!!

There are individual yard sales on facebook, but since Connie started one on her own and was the admin, it became to unruly to manage, so now VarageSale is more organized and orderly so it pretty much runs itself without her pulling her hair out.

Hope this helps

Burt & Connie

Burt, what a great concept! I looked, but didn't find a group for any of my local areas. So I looked up Facebook Yard Sale on google, and found some other similar sites.

Looking through things now. There are a lot of 'scam' weight loss systems posted, but other people are mentioning their things for sale.

I'll keep looking into this. Thank you for your helpful post!

Oh we have an online yard sale in my area, and I have used it.
Put a utility wagon up for sale and it was gone in less than 2 minutes....the seller and buyer always meet up at a public place, and never alone....complete the deal and away we go.

Works well, it is on facebook.

Oh today I spent way too much money, but it was all a necessity.
Food and gas.....did splurge on a buger and coke.

Hi Burt and Connie, hugs to you both.

And Jilly thanks for the warm welcome. hugs to you too.

I didn't buy anything today, but Dan wants to pick up a $20 fire safe for holding valuables.

What do you guys think of fire safes? Worth it?

For $20 I'd say it is worth it. You never know when you might need it - and there are some documents that are really worth protecting (birth certificates, SS cards, marriage license, etc).

Gosh Darn I was hoping that legit vetted on-line yard sale group was in your area ?!

Hi PeggyAnn and Chelle

$20 is definitely worth it for a fire safe !

I have most of my stuff on autodraft with the bank but The State of Florida collected $87.85 due to them in sales tax.

We have a fire safe .....

We purchased some scrapbooking materials for an album for this year's trip, some office supplies and groceries.

I guess we are getting the fire safe

We picked up some wine today and a DVD of the 3rd season of Glee.

No fire safe showed up yet. I will ask if we bought one.

Spent no money today.

No fire safe showed up yet. I will ask if we bought one.

Spent no money today.

I love it when things like this align.

Just yesterday my husband said we should get a fire safe? I mean out of nowhere. Just me in the kitchen. So, lol, me thinks he might be right (I call these affirmations).

I spent "0" money today and I'm quite proud of this one...

But had a bottle of club soda from the store. I'm like I'll bet I can make the same thing. I REALLY have sensitive taste-buds.

GOT IT! (virtual clappy-hands).

My husband had purchased a Soda-stream. I messed around w/some ingredients. He couldn't tell the difference.

Someone also sought me out. Likes some of my ideas. Wants to have dinner, discuss business? I don't do public, so it has to be a small place, but I've been broke for so long, it felt really nice

No fire safe showed up yet. I will ask if we bought one.

Spent no money today.

Yesterday we bought a camping kitchen set up on craigslist that was going for $50. Since this was a great price, and I'd wanted one for years, I didn't haggle. It was brand new in the bag and never set up. There cost $165 on Amazon and around $200 in retail stores. I was pretty happy with that, and I,m excited to get a lot of use out of it.

Today i am going to eat out with my family and I am worried about the spending for that. Eating out is never a good deal, compared to eating at home.

So while the camping table is an expense i feel good about, I am anxious about dinner with the family in Little Italy tonite.

I'm going to see if we can persuade the family to do taco tuesday in Ocean Beach tonite, with the 2 for 1 special. They have the best fish tacos in San Diego, and my mouth waters just thinking about it. Plus, the food will be healthier than the pasta and alfredo sauce we will probably end up with otherwise.

What do you guys think I should do? It's more or less a goodbye meal with my family, and I have a feeling Dan will offer to pay for everyone.

Yesterday we bought a camping kitchen set up on craigslist that was going for $50. Since this was a great price, and I'd wanted one for years, I didn't haggle. It was brand new in the bag and never set up. There cost $165 on Amazon and around $200 in retail stores. I was pretty happy with that, and I,m excited to get a lot of use out of it.

Today i am going to eat out with my family and I am worried about the spending for that. Eating out is never a good deal, compared to eating at home.

So while the camping table is an expense i feel good about, I am anxious about dinner with the family in Little Italy tonite.

I'm going to see if we can persuade the family to do taco tuesday in Ocean Beach tonite, with the 2 for 1 special. They have the best fish tacos in San Diego, and my mouth waters just thinking about it. Plus, the food will be healthier than the pasta and alfredo sauce we will probably end up with otherwise.

What do you guys think I should do? It's more or less a goodbye meal with my family, and I have a feeling Dan will offer to pay for everyone.

Yesterday we bought a camping kitchen set up on craigslist that was going for $50. Since this was a great price, and I'd wanted one for years, I didn't haggle. It was brand new in the bag and never set up. There cost $165 on Amazon and around $200 in retail stores. I was pretty happy with that, and I,m excited to get a lot of use out of it.

Today i am going to eat out with my family and I am worried about the spending for that. Eating out is never a good deal, compared to eating at home.

So while the camping table is an expense i feel good about, I am anxious about dinner with the family in Little Italy tonite.

I'm going to see if we can persuade the family to do taco tuesday in Ocean Beach tonite, with the 2 for 1 special. They have the best fish tacos in San Diego, and my mouth waters just thinking about it. Plus, the food will be healthier than the pasta and alfredo sauce we will probably end up with otherwise.

What do you guys think I should do? It's more or less a goodbye meal with my family, and I have a feeling Dan will offer to pay for everyone.

In other news, the activity for the day will be totally free. I have a parks pass, and we are all going to Cabrillo National Monument. so that is helpful. I'm really glad the parks are open again.

So today worked out okay. Dan and I ate our fish tacos (taco tuesday pricing) and each had a happy hour pint of beer. So that really was pretty inexpensive, and this was for a special family occasion.

The park was free with my parks pass, and we really enjoyed doing all the activities they had and spending time with my family. I bought a magnet for $3, which was a totally unnecessary expense, but since we didn't drive our car, we saved more than that on gas. I collect magnets, but am really selective about the ones I get, and this was a nice-looking one.

Coming home, my mother and I walked around her pool for an hour and talked (free fitness and social time).

Then I did some reading and posting online, and will trade backrubs with Dan tonite (all free).

Tomorrow there are a ton of things to do, and i expect we will spend some money at CVS, pay an electric bill, and use some gas to get to AAA for a free Triptik and a notary signature. But we also plan to walk along the bay, which is fun and free.

How are you guys feeling about your expenses these days?

Today, I had to fix the bills and then grabbed some lunch and chocolates for the kids (not mine)

Today, I had to fix the bills and then grabbed some lunch and chocolates for the kids (not mine)

This is weird...why is/are things posting twice?

But anyway, I didn't spend money to day.

In fact, I found a nickel and received 5 for doing a survey. It was sort of an uncanny and unexpected surprise, so I just put it in a "rainy-day" jar or change jar and cash the little things in, here and there.

It irritates my husband a little - I think it's frustrating, wanting a certain way of life all at once, but be careful what you wish for.

In small increments those little things really add up and you don't have to give those types of things away or sell your Soul to the "Devil..." so to speak

Karen, i love finding and saving change. Even finding a penny makes my day. I often have dreams where I find change in the road, and they are good dreams. :-)

In fact, what i bought today from a thrift store was a used change sorter. it has test tube-like things that you load the change into, and then it tells you how many dollars it has become. I love it. It was $3.23 with tax.

It seems silly to spend money on something to save money, but I hope ultimately it will encourage dan to save his change, so that he will see that change becomes actual cash with very little effort.

I also picked up two pretty storage boxes for Dan, since he feels like his misc items are everywhere. At the thrift store, they came to $6 for both, and he was really pleased to get the gift. He's already happily filling his boxes up. :-)

So that is $8.23, with no gas used (went in my mother's car with her).

I didn't go to AAA and CVS today, since we are waiting around for someone from craigslist to come and buy our mini-fridge.

I do need to call the electric company in AZ, since there is a disconnect notice due if I don't pay that by tomorrow. So it is a good thing the mini-fridge sold.

I found a dime today, and a quarter on the sidewalk yesterday.

Spent? I ordered a magnifying loupe on amazon today, and a gram measurement scale - both came to around $6 with the shipping.

Yesterday I went out with my niece to a bar and spent $23 - a big expense for me. But also a rare occasion, so i won't beat myself up about it.

The day before I spent 16 on a used desk and chair to use while i am here in orlando, and spent $2 on a bag of books.

While i was traveling out here, though, I spent nothing. My gas was paid for, and I used food stamps for food during my cross country drive. We also slept in the car, so we didn't have to get a hotel room. So that was a week without expenses.

Hopefully I won't have any expenses today. I might want to take my MIL to the $2 book bag sale. If I do another bag of books, I will pay for it with the change I have been sorting through (zinc pennies).

Dear Jilly,

Finally bought myself real eyeglasses today.They are a beautiful dark to medium blue.Total price under $300.00

Loong.
Son of the Universe.

Jilly, zinc pennies might be worth a few dollars each.

I bought a lamb gyro from the street vendor for lunch (delish)..$5.00. PLUS $5.00 on my Metro card for back and forth from work today.

Aside from all the "pop-ups," I guess I found something significant or profound in having it happen. I found I spent something without having it to do w/finances.

But today, I've spend nothing, "dollar-wise." In fact, it's really weird, but I keep getting gifts here and there that pretty much make everything broken around the house work, lol.

I'm kinda lookin' for the bale of hay and the 3-wise Men!

Because, it's just one thing after another...from fruit to "Apparatize" (my own word) that's enabling all the stuff I DO have left - functioning better than anything I could afford or have yet to see on any market doing the same job or one that's actually worth paying for

Okay, yesterday I took my MIL to the Restore and we got a lot of books with the $2 a bag sale. We also got the $3 a bag deal with misc christmas stuff. What was really nice was that she paid for everything. So besides driving the two miles to the Restore, I didn't spend anything yesterday.

I also didn't spend money on anything today.

Loong, that's great about the eyeglasses. That is one of those things that's worth spending real money on. It's a beautiful universe, and it's such a gift to be able to see it.

Angie, which zinc pennies are worth that much? How does one find this info out?

Allyson, I love a good gyro. I'd like one right now.

Karen, good job not spending anything today. What 'gifts' around the house are you getting?

Today I spent money on ground beef, red bell peppers, onions, romaine lettuce and some fresh buns...made my delish Sloppy Joe sandwiches which will be coming to a Home Cooking website near you soon! (laughing)

Mmmm, Allyson, that sounds yummy. Can I come over and have some? lol

Dan and I went for a walk along Lake Mary yesterday, which was a free activity, although driving there did cost $1 in gas.

This past weekend I have been to several stores and purchased a number of Christmas items. I have also made purchases on line.

Hi Angie. This is a hard time of year to save money.

I purchased a little gram scale for my niece today, from amazon. $6.35: it was something she said she wanted for xmas, plus I got free shipping.

I will be wrapping people's gifts with some fabric this week - we already have the fabric, it will look cute, and such gift wrap will cost me nothing and ALSO be reusable. I'm going to add this part of the post to the thread about frugal gifts, actually.

Hi Jilly. I have a supply of giftwrap left from last year so I will not purchase anything new. I picked up cards at the Dollar Store so made out like a bandit there. I save my Christmas cards from the previous year and make gift tags - I cut the pictures from the cards into gift cards and tape them to the gift boxes.

I sometimes use the pictures to make other special cards too.

I didn't spend any money today, but I always think about electricity for whatever reason.

I hate (let me rephrase) HATE-HATE-HATE, the cold!!! I bundle up like a polar bear in the winter, but am today under a heating blanket on pretty much high, lol.

But, purchases? Nothing. In fact rummaging through the deep-freezer downstairs, I had a lot of herbs I grew and some bags of by one get one shrimp. So, this evening I may make some Shrimp-Scampi w/Angel-Hair pasta.

Great ideas on the Christmas gifts!!! I too utilize bows and ribbons - even un-staple the middles, using scissors to curl them and name tags out of scraps of paper.

Elleise,

there was an article in one our local publications about how much electricity we use even when we're not doing anything - the author suggested going around the house and checking for the little glowing lights to see what is running - microwave with the clock, TV, cable box, DVD player, PC, printer, chargers, adapters, etc. I would hate to turn everything off and have to remember to plug it back in before each use. One suggestion was the multiple plug outlet which can be turned on and off with one switch. Chargers need to turn off automatically when the item is fully charged.

I went and did some holiday shopping this morning before the severe weather hit. I also stopped an bought some necessities like milk and laundry detergent.

I'm glad you made it passed the weather Diane! WE just got the ice and snow today and luckily, my husband didn't have to go out in it!

I think it's things like this, that come across, when there's posts about having extra things on hand, even powdered milk or canned veggies when they're on sale. I keep my eyes out for all that stuff. Lol, ironically I do very well w/pictures

But especially when they're like .38 a can, the lowest I've seen is .32, but it's then I purchase a case of beans or corn and potatoes? Those along w/broccoli, again when they're on sale, I simply chop them up for later use. Glad you're safe

Thanks Elleise. My son had spent the night at a friend's house then went to the mall, so I did have to pick him up around 2, fortunately there was enough traffic so the main roads were still passable. I did use it as a teaching moment about driving and running around in bad weather.

His school is closed tomorrow, but I'm thinking we will still have to work since they very seldom close the local government.

Stocking up sounds like an excellent idea. I remember the major storm a few years ago where everything was closed for days. We've had such mild winters especially the last two years, it's easy for us to get complacent down here. Many of us are in for a rude awakening with really bad weather. You've got a great plan we need to follow!

Diane, I know what you mean about being complacent. We have been very fortunate the past couple of years but here in Central Virginia we tend to get ice storms and then power outages. It's always a problem salvaging refrigerated and frozen items. I think we are in for it this year although folklore says otherwise. Weather patterns are so strange all around the world.

Everyone needs to take care during the winter.


>>>Stocking up sounds like an excellent idea. I remember the major storm a few years ago where everything was closed for days. We've had such mild winters especially the last two years, it's easy for us to get complacent down here.<<<

Angie.....I like your idea of making gift tags from old Christmas cards.

My most frugal purchase lately was buying boxes of 14 or 16 Christmas cards for only $1 each at the dollar store. With having to spend money on postage for these cards the savings was well worth the trip to that store.

Debbie, the cards at the Dollar Store were beautiful too with a true Christmas message - not holiday message - what a buy...

My gift tags have unusual shapes but they work well and are pretty large. I either tape the card to the box or hole punch and use a piece of ribbon to attach it to the bow. I enjoy making them.

>>> buying boxes of 14 or 16 Christmas cards for only $1 each at the dollar store<<<

Today was a zero spending day. YAY! I have been making a bunch of purchases lately, due to being in a new home, but today was just spent cleaning and organizing.

Most of my shopping has been at Goodwill, the Dollar Store, Walmart and Craigslist. I don't feel great about shopping at walmart, but have been at least thoughtful and frugal about it.

I had forgotten about this topic. Thanks Jilly for coming here. I added it in my favorites and will start coming here again like I used to.

Awesome, Nancy. Great to have you back.

So, it's St Pattys Day. Going to spend money on some green beer? :p

I totally would, except the only bar in walkable distance is closed on Mondays, and I am carless today.

mcafee

Today we went to some furniture resale shops and got a bistro set ($120) to eat on in the kitchen, and a movable screen ($39) to divide the kitchen from the living room. Also a desk chair for me for five dollars. Oh, and I grabbed a pair of house slippers from goodwill for $1.50. Very comfy.

Two days ago I got a livingroom chair for me from Goodwill for ten dollars.

Still need a couple more items of used furniture, and then we will be set.

Today I spent nothing.

But...I as well shop at Goodwill as well as donate. The only things I'll actually spend money on are those that bring usefulness and/or peace which, lol, for me happens to be the kitchen!

If you know what you're looking for, you can find appliances from dehydrators, food savers and mini-food processors for even $3.00

Today I paid the satellite bill (256,92$) and bought four things at the Familiprix of Causapscal (10,69$ for eye drops 6,99$ for an electric kid toothbrush 1,59$ for lipsyl 5,19$ for toothpaste ~ 28,12$ total).

Too true, Karen! There's almost no excuse to buy new appliances. I prefer to keep usable things in the use cycle, instead of in the waste stream. We can all help do better in this.

Nancy, good deals at your pharmacy!

Yesterday we picked up a few things at the dollar store for the kitchen and laundry room, and I found some useful things for my office at goodwill.

The day before I found an entire bed for $50 on Craigslist. Metal frame, box spring, two mattresses and full bedding. I have a very nice nest now.

It all smelled a little like smoke, but i aired it all out, washed the bedding, and sprayed the heck out of my dollar store Fabrese on it all.

There were nicer bed sets for $200-$225, but i couldn't see spending that. i already had a nice memory foam pad to top it all off with anyway. ;

Today I (i left a 30$ for my parents with what i wanted on their list.....they went too early....i will probably take a break of these 2 things but in case i decide not too i preffer to have some in advance...i have enough for until tomorrow [calciums] and half for sunday [vitamins] the third thing i did not add on the list because i thought 30$ would not be enough [i was too lazy to get upstairs for more $...thought about that late just after finishing the last dishes and while i was eating my last thing before my night beauty routine]...it wasnt...my mom knew i needed some so she covered the rest) spent 32,85$ at the Causapscal Familiprix (8,79$ for vitamins 14,79$ for calciums and 4,99$ for body lotion).

I just ordered one item on Dermadoctor (Total NonScents ultra-gentle antiperspirant....22$ for it and 9,95$ for the shipping....its a lot but it lasts for months & it does not stain & it works & you dont even have to wait until it is dry you can just either go to bed or put on clothes immediately after putting some).

So far, nothing -

But...tonight's going to be a different story

Every now and then, my husband will take me out. He understands - I don't do "public" unless (and this is weird) a public speaking engagement, where there's a separation of some sort. Proximity seems to be a problem for me. Maybe too much information coming through

However, IF we go out, it's always after we've saved for like forever and my husband is kind enough to get my butt in the car w/the coaxing of "No one will be IN the restaurant...they'll be closed in 1.5 hrs."

Since he's worked IN the food business, he's mindful of just how irritating it can be for someone to come in 15 min. beforehand.

They all pretty much want to get back to what they call home as much as we do

Ellise, I didn't spend anything today but I did attend a 100th anniversary luncheon for Catholic Women's Club today. So, I sent in my money a month ago - It was very nice. Thee historian recounted a short history based on the minutes of the organization. Women can do remarkable things.

Did some household, kitchen, bathroom and home office shopping today at the Dollar Tree. Spent quite a bit, but these things should last a while.

Karen, i don't mind public speaking either. There's no interaction to worry about, like with actual talking WITH people.

Today was a non-spending day - yay!

I might be ordering my Paula's Choice toner and exfoliator today, since they are on sale. I make them last as long as possible, since they aren't cheap.

Very Little. A B.L.T. and big cup of coffee before I started work.

allyson! you are sideways! how does the world look that way? hehehe

so far i haven't bought anything today. i did get those exfoliants the other day, and yesterday i got some highlighter pens from CVs that were on sale for a dollar. six in a package.

Today I spent money in three places. 34,57$ at the Familiprix of Amqui (5,41$ for my pills 5,19$ for toothpaste 9,99$ for face cream and 6,99$ twice for 2 easter chocolate [big hollow bunnies.....1 has blue eyes and the other pink eyes...both also have a matching ribbon]), 49,44$ for waxing (underarms & arms & half legs) and I also (did not have the time before my appointment...she was going there anyway) asked my mom for a pack of AAA batteries at the dollar store (2$...thats what i gave my mom after we were back).

TheFriends of the Library began their semi annual book sale today - of course, I purchased some books and videos. How can you resist when the prices range from 50 cents to $2.

Nancy, i'm buying meds tomorrow - that won't be cheap. but at least they are all generic brands.

Angie - never pass up a library booksale, that's my philosophy~

I purchased 4 DVDs (kids stuff), 1 CD (kids music), and 2 paper back books for me. $10. I can't pass it up because I am a member and I worked 'til 4pm. I've been a member of the Friends for umpteen years. Friends work hard for their libraries.

It was the first of my two days off today so I went shopping for food - what else! LOL

I was frugal and still spent $140.00 on groceries along with cat food and kitty litter for 3 cats. Have enough food for 7 meals though...Not bad giving I live in New York! Forgot the milk and toilet paper! Got to go to the store again now...Cya!

I spent $200 on groceries and $450 on utilities. Have to make another trip back to the grocery store to get blue cheese dressing and bread. Forgot that.

Today I bought four items on Sequoia Records for 44,73$ (4 cds 1 is free and the shipping is also free).

books at the book sale - but not many.

I went to two Goodwills today and got some household stuff -

-three bath towels at one dollar each (all we had here was one beach towel and one hand towel, and some washcloths)
-a bath mat - 2 bucks
-file cabinet - 5
-toaster - 4.50
-vintage breadbox - 3
-vintage flour sifter - 3.50


...and I returned the keyboard that i bought, as half the keys were dead, so i got $2.50 back.

We did get subs at subway, so that was an expense I hadn't planned on, but i only ate half, so the leftovers will make a nice meal tomorrow.

No expenses today, so that's good. i've been working on using up the things I own before buying more.

I bought some one dollar paperbacks at the library bookstore today - a bunch of the Pern stories from the Dragonriders series. I can't wait to read them all again.

They have the original artworks and look so pretty on my shelf.

No expenses today.

I spent money on groceries today.

I just bought a polyvinyl envelope to hold receipts in my purse - .74 cents with tax.

Today I spent 47,38$ at Familiprix in Causapscal (4,99$ for a 2/1 shampoo 3,99$ [2 times] for q-tips 1,59$ for a lypsyl 4,79$ [2 times] for toothpaste 8,29$ [2 times] for face wash and 0,49$ for gum........i only technically needed the face wash [have some until tuesday] and after deciding to buy 2 to have more in advance i figured to buy other things i use everyday to have more in advance [every things had at least 1 in advance] the gum i took because i was hungry and anyway i hadnt had that brand in a few years + the things in advance were all on sale...saw that when i went to get them after deciding to do that so that was a nice idea!!).

Went to Vista farmers' market and found that Baja Animal Rescue had a stall (we adopted our cat from them), so spent $8 on some toys for both cat and dog - they're happy!

I spent another $5 on flowers, and husband spent $8 on two packs of Medjool dates.

Today was a nothing spent day, and so was yesterday. But on my birthday, I bought some beers and wine.

Paula's Choice is having a sale, and i will probably pick up some toiletries there this weekend.

I don't think I will spend money today, but I did yesterday.

I bought a tank of gas ($3.43 gallon).

Went to goodwill and got a pillowcase, pretty throw pillow and a tote bag.

I also went to the Dollar Tree and got some office supplies, a little gift for dan, a pair of cute socks, two eye colors, a perfume, and some bath mats for the floor in the RV. The office supplies made me the happiest: I find organizing supplies soothing.

It was a big spending day for me, but I was doing a little 'shop therapy', since I got some rather bad news that will be a big hassle to deal with. Which I do not recommend as a rule, the shop therapy. But it was better than the anxiety attack that preceded the shopping...

I add this info here to let people know that YES. These things happen, even in our best attempts at living frugal lives.

Jilly, I hope you will be OK. I was not frugal today.

thanks, Angie. I got some good sleep, and talked over the issues with Dan, and we agree that, while this is unfortunate, it's not the end of the world. We can work around it.

What did you spend money on?

Talking things out is always helpful - clears the table and helps simplify the problem. You know you're not alone.

I went to the mall - I bought a few tops and slacks. They were more for next fall and winter than now. I used a seat belt cinch that had velcro on it and it put holes in a lot of my tops - in the tummy area. Some of these items were on the clearance rack.

Angie, that sounds like you had fun.

Today, I will have a happy hour special with some friends for a birthday shindig - 3 drafts for 3 dollars each.

I didn't spend any money today but my husband took me out to dinner tonight. My grandsons spent the day with us.

Yesterday I bought some things at the dollar store for my truck - I traded my jeep for a chevy truck yesterday (private exchange off a craigslist ad). Spent $10. I need to return a few things that simply don't fit.

I also had two beers at the local pub.

No expenses today!

Sundays are easy.

me too -

Today I paid my satelite bill (179,94$) and my cell phone bill (46,05$.......i always forgot to mention it since its billed on 1 of my 2 credit cards but now that i remembered to mention it here i wont forget anymore).

The past few months I was very careful and I was able to set enough aside to buy something I have wanted since the Olympics (an authentic red jersey of Benny [Jamie Benn])!

Nancy, that is wonderful you were thrifty enough to save for something you really wanted! Good job, lady.

I spent $98 filling up the tank of my new used Chevy truck - yikes. Time to drive less and bike more.

Jilly,

I tried buying it yesterday but it did not go through, at first I got a message about my credit card being denied but the page changed to a blank page with "error!!!" on it so it looked more like a technical issue. I almost went back and tried with my second card but in case in was accepted anyway I decided to wait. Still no email saying that it was done so I will try later, if not tonight then another day (unless i decide that i should not spend that money on that....its really something i want though...i would also look good with it while out..haha).

Today I spent money in three places in Amqui. 5,41$ at Familiprix (my pills), 6,54$ at Dollarama (0,69$ for 12 pieces of Juicy Fruit 2,00$ 2 times for AAA batteries and 1,00$ for a pack of 10 boxes of 40 pocket matches) and 49,44$ for waxing (arms & underarms & half legs).

Nothing spent today, but did find things on the neighbor's curb. Too tired to report on it tonite, but hope to have time tomorrow.

baby food, ground beef and rolls.

Today Dan and I splurged on pizza and had an Iron Man movie marathon.

Yesterday, no expenses.

I just spent 26,80$ on Amazon Canada with the seller (first time buying with them...they dont charge for shipping and they have very cheap prices) Wise Mall (1 pair of sunglasses for 3,69$ [the reason why i bought from them...these glasses are like goggles...the sides are covered...i have like a psychosis with protecting my eyes and its worst here since theres so much dirt] 1 apple memo note pad for 1,29$ 1 pear memo note pad for 1,29$ 1 mushroom 7 changing color night light for 1,79$ 2 elastic headbands for 2,89$ [1 is for my mom] 1 4 different gel pens for 4,69$ 1 wall sticker for 1,61$ 1 starfish earrings for 2,09$ 1 adjustable headband for 1,49$ 1 ying yang earrings for 1,29$ 1 green stars earrings for 1,79$).

I bought some facial samples from a website I love, as they were having a 15% off sale. I got some samples I always wanted to try, but at a discounted price.

Nothing else today.

$3 from a website special on body oils and a lip gloss. I have a weakness, clearly, with buying toiletries. I have way more than one body can use, but i love playing with them, trying new things, and looking at my goodies.

It's good to realize this. I didn't really notice this was a spending habit until I started posting my expenses here.

What are your weaknesses?

Today I spent money in two places in Amqui. 18,71$ at Familiprix (5,41$ for my pills 3,99$ for shaving cream [i still will wax...this is for my face....i spent a few years not caring about the little white hairs but now i cant take them anymore...i shaved my entire face for years so its nothing new...hopefully 1 day i will have money for electrolysis {sp???} because im doing my eyebrows like that and its awesome] 5,99$ for an electric toothbrush and 1,59$ for a lypsyl [finally have 3 again...i used to always have 1 for the morning 1 for the day [apply it 2 more times during the day] and 1 for night but when the day 1 ended i just used the night 1 then too...now the day is almost gone and the day/night too...with 2 previously bought in 2 different times i now have 3 again...will wait until they are all done to use 3 again) and 49,44$ for waxing (full arms, underarms and half legs).

Today I spent some money to bought attire and for pair of cufflinks and necklace.

I bought a couple of 0.99 cent Kindle books. Nothing too excessive.

I didn't spend anything today. Really, I don't think I spend anything on most days. To be fair, Bob buys our groceries, shampoo, and such. So those things just "appear" . But we don't tend to get anything special most of the time. He likes to be frugal.

We did go kayaking but all our kayaking gear is years old at this point.

Today I spent $2 on a special to get a subscription to Real Simple magazine. I love that one, and actually read it. I couldn't resist it for two bucks.

Lisa, that is so nice that Bob does all the shopping, and I'm glad he's frugal about it. Dan isn't really frugal. He doesn't buy much, but when he does, he doesn't mind spending money on the best of something.

For example, yesterday, we went to REI's big anniversary sale, and dan decided he needed new sunglasses that were over a hundred dollars. I would feel weird spending that much on non-prescription glasses.

James is over so I spent $25 on ordering in Domino's pizza which will feed us all for today and then half of tomorrow. Bob was going to be frugal and go get it, to save us the $5 or whatever delivery charge, but that would have taken another 2 hours so I paid the delivery charge to get us fed. I do sometimes err on the side of feeding James. It bugs me to have him hungry.

I do have tinting prescription glasses - i.e. my daily glasses tint. That's what I wear for all seeing. So on one hand I paid "extra" so they tint. But I do think it's important to wear sunglasses when out in the sun, and as I have to wear prescription glasses, that's what I needed to tint.

I think it was money well spent to have my glasses able to block sunlight. Eyes are vital. UV radiation can cause cataracts (or exacerbate ones that are already developing).

If I didn't wear any glasses at all normally, I'd definitely wear sunglasses when outside. But that being said, I don't think I would pay $100 for them. I'd get something cheap but durable and functional.

I have prescription sunglasses too, which is why i worded things the way I did. I don't mind paying a lot for those, since they ARE expensive. And they ARE my eyes.

But if they weren't prescription, I wouldn't spend more than $20 on a pair. I think what he spent - $103, plus tax - is honestly outrageous.

Today spent money on a movie ticket to see X-Men Days of Future Past but it was worth it. I like Real Simple magazine, too.

I miss going to the movies! There's a movie theatre here but it only shows French versions! I hate dubbing, it's a torture for me, it was when I only spoke French!

Fassy on a big screen, you are lucky Val!

I just paid my satellite bill by credit card on the phone (had to because i received it yesterday and monday is the last day...not too sure that i can go to the bank then so did not take any chance). It was 199,29$ but I had 5,75$ (should be 5$) credited and it was taken out before I gave my credit card number. For some reason on May 20 they added four channels (Hollywood Suite...when it arrived on Bell i checked it out the free month and every channels were censored and i hate censorship so i did not add them...finally there was a free preview and now 3 [still havent seen a movie i know on the other with the f word in it...it should be like the others but before i see a new movie i want to be 100% sure] do not censor so i want them) and I was charged for them even with the free preview until May 31. He has never seen anything like that (that has happened a lot since i moved here) because the client has to call and ask for the channels for it to be added to your television. I asked if they had like psychics or witches that could enter the heads of their clients and that's not what happened, LOL. Now only one channel (before it never interested me but now that they changed the name like 25% of their shows interest me...ill wait and then ask what $ it is and if its less than 5$ ill get it) and the porn channels, the channels of the languages I don't speak and the sports I don't watch I do not have.

I really enjoyed this Xmen movie - saw it on opening night. This was one of the best in the series. I had a free ticket, so there wasn't any cost for me to see it this week. YAY!

Oh, and yesterday I went to a brewpub and bought some beers. I met some people from an Aspergers' Meetup. That was well worth doing.

I also got some clear shoeboxes, and a few sets of pretty sticky notes from the Dollar Tree. Doing some organizing this weekend. :-)

Dan bought us sub sammies from the grocery store. That's all for today.

I will probably hit the Dollar Tree tomorrow for some more clear shoebox bins, and maybe some gift tags to use as labels. Those shoe boxes are awesome for organizing. I want to put everything in them.

Last night I gave my parents money so that they could buy something for me at Les Aliments M&M which was ten frozen poutines (3,49$ each) it was a total of 34,90$.

Forgot to mention that it was in Rimouski, there's not a lot of those stores especially here. Rimouski and Matane are the closest and both cities are more than two hours away so I don't get to buy their products often.

Close to two hours away not more. Sorry, I'm still suffering from insomnia (its less worst though...i had a good night 2 nights ago and for about 2 weeks now i can at least sleep 1 hour without waking up).

Nancy, I am sorry to hear about your insomnia. Have you ever tried chamomile tea in the evening before bedtime?

My husband and I went to Costco today and then I had to go to the grocery store to finish my shopping.

Angie,

I don't like tea so I never tried that.

It normally goes away (rarely i have insomnia...probably happened less than 5 times in my 37 years) but it has been going on for months. The worst was that I could only get a few seconds of minutes of sleep at a time with hours of trying to fall asleep in between. When I finally had a complete hour I woke up refreshed, that feeling was awesome.

I don't understand how I am still standing, usually I am a zombie with just one bad night of sleep. I space out a lot and before I was able to get one full hour of sleep I was starting to be able to talk normally but now it's better.

It's still bad but not horrible.

Nancy, I hate it when I toss and turn and cannot get to sleep. I hope your sleep returns, as you say this isn't a chronic thing for you.

Hot milk with honey might help, if you don't like tea?

Today Dan and I went out for a lunch special at our local pub. No other expenses.

Jilly,

I had a good night last night but I should not have been in bed that long (was going to add 10 hours to the time it was but did not...i did wake up after 6:00 and figured id soon get up but fell asleep soon after for another 4 hours or so) because my player is still playing in Paris, as long as it's not the Quarter Finals I will have to get up between 2:00 and 5:00.

I hate milk more than tea. When I eat cereals as a breakfast I have to add sugar with every spoon and not have lots of milk because that makes me sick otherwise (im sure i would throw up from it).

I should just learn to get up when I see that I won't fall asleep. Being up is better than staying in bed for hours awake.

I agree that it's better you should get up and do something else, rather than lie there frustrated. Let me know how it goes.

No expenses today.

Yesterday I went to the Dollar Tree and spent $70. That's a lot for me. Mostly office supplies, and things to organize/clean the house. For instance, I bought 20 of those clear shoe boxes. That makes things add up quickly.

I also met with an old college buddy downtown, and we had some beers.

So, an expensive day for me.

I went to two nurseries and purchased flowers and an outdoor thermometer. I have a gift card and used some of the funds on the card for the thermometer.

Today I paid my cell phone bill (46,05$) and spent money at three places in Amqui. 30,38$ at Brunet (1 bag of chocolate for 4,49$ and 1 tongue cleaner for 3,99$ and 6 sanitary napkins packs [2 of 3 different sizes] for 2,99$ each), 62,25$ at Hart (8 teeshirts of 6,77$ each [2 colors and 4 of each] i had a 9,54$ saving thanks to a 65 years and older card my dad has) and 13,28$ for my eyebrows electrolysis.

Today I (by phone...asked for a store [well technically its not a Sears store but its still a store] pickup) bought three things at Sears for a total of 96,49$ (1 blanket for 39,99$ 1 pair of 2 pillows for 14,99$ and 1 Sesame Street throw for 24,99$).

Yesterday I went to goodwill and found two Star Wars tees, which i had to get. $1.50 each. It meant I had to select two tees to be donated away, which was fine.

We also bought some garden plants at Walmart, with our food stamps.

I just spent 42,08$ on Amazon Canada (1 book for 22,56$ & 1 cd for 10$ & 1 dog toy for 5,99$) I ordered enough to get the free shipping.

Today was a non-expense day, but yesterday we got a lunch out, after we did some hiking in Woodfin.

Today I paid my satelitte bill (195,46$) then bought seven things at the Familiprix of Amqui (5,41$ for my pills 5,99$ for a toothbrush 5,19$ [2 times] for toothpaste 4,29$ for a bag of chocolate 10,99$ for a face cream and 2,49$ for a bottle of rubbing alcohol...the total was 44,67$) and then I spent 49,44$ for waxing (arms & underarms & half legs).

I bought a tape core on Amazon. My neighbor threw away on of those nice heavy tape dispensers, and I couldn't find the core, since it probably fell out and was buried in the damp garbage (I try not to actually go through yucky wet stuff). Amazon has those cores for around two dollars with free shipping, so i ordered one. I've always wanted one of those big dispensers, so this is nice.

They also tossed a nice heavy-duty stapler and a lot of desk organizers. I don't get people. There's a thrift store just down the street.

Today I spent 17,90$ at the Familiprix in Causapscal (3,29$ for a bag of original Skittles 7,99$ for Olay towelettes for sensitive skin 4,29$ for a box of q-tips).

I had a thrift store day yesterday with my mother in law. We found some nice things. I love getting tee shirts for $1.50!

It does mean i have to get rid of some older tees, but that's okay. trying to do the one in, one out rule.

I just spent 59,17$ at Amazon Canada but two of the things bought are for my mom and she will pay me after it has arrived (my mom: 2 books at 14,95$ each me: 1 book at 13,86$ and 1 book for 12,59$ shipping: free).

Today I paid my cell phone bill (46,05$...was billed twice but thats because they decided to change the charge date...was on the 22 now its on 17...will have to check that correctly next month on my Visa bill) then bought fifteen things at the Familiprix of Causapscal (preffer the bank there instead of in Amqui...its bigger in Amqui but the 1 in Causaspacal is nearer and better in my opinion) for a total of 36,97$ (15,99$ for body lotion [its 1 of those base creams with not a lot of ingredients...i thought about trying this type of cream for a while since it cost a lot...saw the name brand was on sale so figured ok will try it...would be cool to add oils to make different lotions...if its non greasy i might try it] + 3,99$ for hand soap [i have many bottles waiting aside but that 1 was new and it had a cute thingy {looks like 3 rocks...it does have a cute face} on it...that was a sale] + 3,43$ for 7 packs of Juicy Fruit + 8,74$ for 6 packs of Trident [6 different ones]

Today I spent money in two places in Amqui. 35,72$ in Familiprix (5,41$ for my pills 6,99$ for a toothbrush 5,19$ twice for toothpaste and 8,99$ for a squeaky baby toy [for me...i saw it the last 2 times i went there and i was feeling bad about it...lol]) and 49,44$ for waxing (arms & underarms & half legs).

I paid the satelitte bill which was 196,04$. I did the correct thing to not freak out last month when I was charged twice for my cell phone bill, it was just like I thought, they just changed the date to which we are billed.

Today I spent money in four places in Amqui. 64,69$ at Hart (1 boombox at 39,99$ 1 body sponge at 1,29$ 1 Elmo doll at 14,99$), 28,69$ at Familiprix (1 pack of rasors at 5,99$ 1 baby squeaker toy at 6,99$ 3 toothpaste at 3,99$ each), 8,41$ at Dollarama (1 squeeze ball at 2,00$ 2 Mentos candy at 0,50$ each 2 packs of 2 toothbrushes at 1,00$ each 3 different kind of Bubblelicious at 0,77$ each) and 5,40$ at Brunet (1 tongue cleaner).

Today I spent 39,26$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal (3 packs of 25 face wash towels at 1,79$ each 6,99$ for a toothbrush 12,99$ for calciums and 8,79$ for vitamins).

Today I spent 13,63$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal (3,99$ for q-tips and 6,99$ for a small sheep that make noise when you shake it it also has a cute bow saying sleep sheep).

12,63$ I meant to write.

I went to the movies today. The movie was The Hundred-Foot Journey. It is excellent.

I spent money on -

My kids health insurance premium, some pickling onions for my recipe this weekend, a $5.00 metro card so I could get back and forth to work...and a much needed bottle of wine...I'm on vacation from work this next week...I'm celebrating!

Tomorrows spending is another story. I have to go clothes, shoe, underwear, swimsuit shopping for my twins. They are going on vacation for 4 days visiting family in New Jersey. My hubby and I are going for 2. First break in 11 years...happy but sad. We've never been apart since they were born.

I think it will be good though for all of us. So all in all, this week I will be broke! LOL

I went to the mall today. Need I say more?

I also stopped by the vegetable stand - eggplant (I've already cooked that up and prepared an eggplant parmesan), cukes, peaches, watermelon, and ordered 1/2 bushel of corn for next week - I'm going to make cream corn and put it in the freezer.

Today I spent money in three places in Amqui. 15,75$ at Familiprix (5,41$ for my pills 8,99$ for a squeaky baby toy), 4,60$ at Dollarama (1,00$ for a pack of 4 pages of Sesame Street stickers 1,00$ for an Elmo notepad 1,00$ for 2 50g boxes of bubble gum balls 1,00$ for a ghost hanging decoration) and 49,44$ for waxing (arms underarms and half legs).

After visiting family for an overnight stay and a whole day in New Jersey, my husband and I spent nothing - they wouldn't take anything.

However, our girls are staying the week in NJ and they dropped us off at home. My husband invited me to dinner (just the 2 of us) in Soho, NY to a restaurant that one of his clients owns. After a few blocks of walking, we found the place. We drew money out of an ATM because it was a cash only place....it was heaving with people!!

Suddenly, my husbands friend/owner came up from the cellar helping with the garbage and saw him. There was a 1 hour wait for seating. He got us seated at the bar where we ate succulent bbq shrimp and spicy garlic butter clams.

The check came back to us with $0.00. It was free. We tipped the bartender $15.00. The bill was $31.00. He was a happy camper and so were we! Sometimes, it's good to have friends!

We shall return. The restaurant was The Crab Boil in Soho, Manhattan if you're down that way. Awesome food and be prepared to wait a bit, They close at 11 p.m.

Today I spent 12,72$ in the Familiprix of Causapscal (4,29$ for 1 box of q-tips 4,99$ for 1 small dinosaur that makes a noise [also came with a small zipped pouch that i gave to my mom] 1,79$ for 25 face washing towels).

Hi Nancy. The only thing I have spent money on this week is lunch. In reality, it is more like lunches. Since we returned home from vacation I have been going out to lunch a lot. I think I am supporting all the local restaurants. Unfortunately, I cannot control the calorie intake going out to lunch.

I need to start walking again too.

I just spent 18,32$ with the seller WizKidz on Amazon Canada (1 Early Years Squeaky Legs Teddy Toy at 9,99$).

Today I paid the satellite bill (196,04$).

I just spent 39,80$ on Sequoia Records (1 free cd and free shipping.....1 cd at 9,98$ 1 cd at 14,91$ 1 cd at 14,91$).

I just spent 76,19$ with the seller Urban Inspirations on Amazon Canada (1 Elmo Through The Years at 62,79$).

Today I paid my cell phone bill (they again changed the billing date so last month nothing and this month 46,05$ twice) and I spent 16,66$ at Familiprix in Causapscal (advil junior blue raspberry).

Today I spent 39,03$ at the Familiprix of Causapscal (4,99$ for 2 Essentiel ultra thin medium pads with wings & 4,99$ for 2 Essentiel maxi medium pads with wings & 5,99$ for 8 Bic silky touch 3 razors & 6,99$ for 1 Gum crayola electric toothbrush & 3,49$ for 1 dandruff refresh shampoo & 7,49$ for 50 Freddo milk chocolate peepers with vanilla cream filling).

Cheap day for me today. Yesterday I purchased some postage stamps.

Cheap day for me today. Yesterday I purchased some postage stamps.

Forty-five bucks for dinner for two at Gardunos. I like to leave a 20% tip because food service looks like a hard job.

I will have to spend a lot of money in the future since I lost everything except my four musketeers and a few other things (pajamas mostly...my dad saved 1 things that had winter clothes in it and i will give it to my mom....the pajamas i will also give to her...i will start completely over).

The day of the fire I went to a drugstore and got my pills along with a few things. As far as my beauty routine goes except for the Lypsyl (that i use less often) everything I use are cheap products and I also stopped doing a few things like taking care of my eye area.

Last weekend I bought a tuque, coat and boots for walking when it will be cold. A few days ago I bought the things I will need for my nails (bought something for weak nails since they are like that now...1 broke and the skin is exposed a little and im waiting for that 1 to be growned enough so that i can all cut them to an equal size).

When I will get my deodorant (Dermadoctor) will arrive in my new house I will start buying my new wardrobe. The clothes I got with Red Cross I will either give away or use them to clean the house. I will also give away my wallet that I was able to save, I really want to start over, all will be left from my life before the fire will be the four musketeers.

Before October 8 I have to find a television so that I can have a satelitte dish installed on that day. Then I have to hurry to find a computer since Windows 7 will not be available for house use after October 31 and I do not want that Windows 8 horror.

I was also able to save my savings and I will not use any of it, my parents will give me back my stolen savings and that too I will not touch.

After the season of the Dallas Stars is over if my parents can be back to how they were before we moved here on November 9 I will be able to stay with them longer so I could have more money and maybe even finish high school if not then 21000$ is more than enough to start over. If I can stay with them that money could be use to get rid of body hair or/and travel or/and whatever else I want (i could even spend an hockey season in dallas!!!!!).

Twenty five bucks for breakfast for two at the Village Inn. I'm starting to realize how being sociable can cost money if it centers on eating out.

Got towels today. There was a nice deal of twelve washcloths for less than 8$ so I got a few of these (im used to using 4 per day so i got some for 33 days) and also took one big towel and a smaller one for my hair (that i was used to 1 per day each but i figured i wont die if i only use 1 for a while instead of 1 per day....i will wash them when i wont have washcloths anymore so every 32 days unless i give some to my parents...ill see later). I did not have to spend one cent since it was my dad who paid with our insurance money (that will always be the case except for my clothes & personal products & cds & things like that).

Friday we got our first furniture (almost all the house). Today we got a few other things (mostly for cleaning but also a toaster and matching electric boiler and some things to start in the kitchen) plus I got a air bed which I will use until my bed is delivered.


Friday should be the day I search for a computer and desk.

When I will have internet back I will order my deodorant and probably before start building a new wardrobe (about that i will use 1000$ of my 5000$...with the 16000$ my parents owe me i will have 20000$...not all that will be for clothes the rest for things i want right away like Shumi or Stars things).

This afternoon I spent 32,50$ at one of the two Uniprix in Mont-Joli (do not know why theres 2 in that town especially since its not a big town) which will be my drugstore from now on (5,41$ for pills 5,39$ 2 times for toothpaste [Pronamel for children] 2,79$ for a chocolate bar [caramel Aero] and 9,99$ for a box of Halloween candy [Life Savers]).

A few minutes ago I made an order on Dermadoctor (2 total nonscents ultragentle antiperspirants for 53,95$ [the shipping is 9,95$]).

Yesterday I spent 11,49$ at my drugstore (passport picture).

I made a mistake this morning, the passport picture was 11,50$, they still show the amount that it would of been then make the change (here we do not have 1 cents anymore).

Today I spent 29,20$ at Brunet (2 tongue cleaners [its the only thing I buy that is not sold at the drugstore I picked as my new 1] at 3,99$ each for a total of 7,98$ & 1 pair of earrings at 20,00$).

Spent money in two places today.

First at one Ardène in Rimouski, it was a small one inside a shopping mall, I will go to a bigger one soon (26,50$ for 1 bathrobe 7,50$ for 1 pair of gloves 7,50$ for 1 tuque 4,50$ for 1 keyring and 6,50$ for 1 pocket mirror ~ total 60,37$).

A few minutes ago I made an order on Amazon Canada from the seller Dealkings (41,98$ for an alarm clock [the 1 I had actually ~ lucky me since it was the last they had] ~ total 52,72$).

I also got a few other things while in Rimouski but it was all paid by my parents.

Today I made an order on Wayfair (1 sleeper children sofa at 178,97$ for a total of 290,91$).

Today I paid some bills and bought things at two stores.

Went to the bank where I paid the credit card bills (my cell phone is in my visa and it was 46,05$) and my driver's license (90,11$). Then I went to my drugstore and bought three things for 19,26$ (shaving gel at 3,97$ razors at 5,59$ electric kids toothbrush 7,19$). I finished at Hart where I bought three things at 70,44$ (a puffy sponge at 1,29$ sneakers at 29,99$ yoga mat at 29,99$).

Today I made three internet orders (wanted to do 2 but Overstock do not ship cds to my country and they wanted to add almost 50$ to the shipping cost of the 4 items picked so I got out of there) the Amazon orders I had no choice because the first CD for some reason is only available through sellers and not them (and it is my favorite cd of all time + wanted the 2 others are part of that collection so ordered them today too but had to ask for separated shipping since the last will be shipped in 3 to 5 weeks while the other was immediately ready to ship ~ that made me so angry to have to order these 3 cds separately that forgot to login Airmiles Shops so lost what that would of given me).

Sears Canada is 117,81$ (3 Disney long sleeves nightshirts at 14,99$ each [1 Snoopy 1 Grinch 1 Garfield] 1 thermal long sleeve shirt at 18,75$ 1 thermal pant at 18,74$ 1 two ways mirror at 19,99$) I will pick it in Rimouski.

Vanderbilt CA on Amazon Canada is 22,70$ (Batman Begins score at 19,21$)

Amazon Canada is 34,30$ (The Dark Knight score at 14,58$ The Dark Knight Rises score at 11,27$).

Today I spent money in two stores.

First at Ardene Depot where I spent 684,40$ (1 hooded zipped sweatshirt [will use it as a coat] + 2 coats + 3 boots + 3 bras + 3 jeans + 3 wallets [1 is a card holder] + 2 sunglasses [1 is clear] + 2 sunglasses cases + 14 tops [teeshirts & sweaters & blouses ]) I had a total of 201,25$ in savings so that was cool.

Then at Hart where I spent 149,70$ (1 coat + 1 brush & comb set + 1 boots + 1 handbag + 5 sets of 8 washcloths + 2 [2 different sizes] laundry baskets]) my dad gave his senior card so that gave me 17,70$ in savings.

i purchased one pair of flat snow boots from fashion24hours.com and a fluffy sweater from the shopping mall.

Spent money in two places today (Amqui).

First at a shoemaker's store (never went there me and my parents ~ we actually parked a little far from a store we went and had to walk pass it ~ needed purses and saw some in it so figured hey why not) a total of 217,99$ for two purses (119,99$ for a leather backpack and 97,99$ for 1 that looks like a small to medium sized messenger bag). Then I went to my aesthetician for the last time (waxing + 2 items) for a total of 81,62$.

Today I spent 224,20$ at Ardene (7,50$ was a wallet my mom picked for herself ~ 1 wallet + 1 purse + 1 coat + many shirts).

Yesterday I spent 16,00$ at the Uniprix not in a shopping mall in Mont-Joli (3,99$ for a body lotion + 3,29$ 3 times for 3 different sizes of sanitary napkins).

Today I made an order on Amazon Canada (1 Quebec Nordiques chrome stein [birthday gift for a friend] 17,87$ 1 La Petite Vie Noël Chez les Paré DVD [christmas gift for a friend] 24,95$ 1 mini santa dog toy [christmas gift for the dog of the friend] 8,95$ 1 Tiger Woods black cap [new year gift for the same friend] 33,60$) the total is 98,16$ and the shipping is free.

Today I made an online order at Ardene (289,05$ for 21 panties and 14 shirts ~ the shipping is free ~ they had sent me a code that was supposed to give a 20% discount and they did not gave it to me eventhough it was entered when it was supposed to ~ anyway their products are already at a nice price and always accompanied with a discount of some sorts).

Today I got a facial (66,69$) and an hair cut (35$).

Today I made an order on Vista Print (2 sets of 280 labels for my mom at 16$ each and 1 set of 140 labels for myself ~ total 55,64$ that my mom said they will pay me back).

Today I bought a mailing box at the post office for 5,75$ and then got my pills for 5,40$.

Today I spent 11,50$ at Pharmaprix in Rimouski (1 milk chocolate santas & 1 milk chocolate santas with caramel center at 4,99$ each) and then I made an online order on Ardene of 64,60$ (55,65$ for a coat 12,25$ for a sports bra 12,25 for a sports legging).

Today I spent 18,70$ at Hart in Mont-Joli (1,29$ for 300 q-tips [another brand] 14,99$ for a manicure & pedicure tool set).

Today I spent 4,60$ at the Uniprix in a shopping mall in Mont-Joli (3,99$ for body lotion).

I also got a few other things at Hart that my dad paid and one more thing that my mom paid at Dollarama. Also apparently my parents will pay my Visa bill tomorrow (its more than 1000$ i do have the money and wont have to take some off the 20000$ set aside but for some reason they want to pay it cool i guess but its scary coming from them with all they did to me the past years and are still doing to me by the way).

I purchased two three-ring binders and 14 Yoplait yogurts. I forget the gift card I went out for. I ran into four friends at the store and spent about an hour chatting!

Today I spent money in three places.

First 5,16$ at Animalerie Dyno (dog threats at 4,49$), then 12,17$ at Jean Coutu (4,49$ for a gift for my dad [small sock with chocolate and candy] and 6,09$ for a gift for my mom [ornament with a snowman and 2 kids]) and lastly 176,49$ at my aesthetician (waxing [half legs + underarms + arms] men shampoo for my dad and facial for my mom [new year gifts]).

Also my parents did pay both of my credit card bills plus they bought me four coast in Winners.

Tomorrow I will have to call Telus because this month they charged me more than double of what I pay per month, I will also try to get them to send my bills by mail instead of paying them by credit card (have no idea what my account number is + if i had that i would know why this month its almost triple what i pay normally).

The bill problem with Telus is no more. I called yesterday and it was because eventhough I'm with the same regional code my new zone was considered a long distance call so I was credited 49,50$ and after my phone number was changed I was given thirty minutes of long distance call free for one year. Today I called again because my phone number was not activated (this only happens with older phones).

Today I got my pills, it was 5,40$.

I just made an online order at Ardene. 54,73$ total (14,50$ for a teeshirt + 3,50$ for 4 hair ties + 1 blouse at 34,50$ + 1 blouse at the same price but free - the shipping too is free & i also got another savings added in my basket on top!!!).

I just made an order on Amazon Canada (a book for my mom [she will give the money to me later] at 9,86$ + a valentine's day gift for a friend [1 pen set - its a pen and a stand with 2 hearts - silver color] at 28,32$ + 1 valentine's day gift for her dog [a heart with a tail] at 16,12$ ~ total of 61,44$ - shipping is free).

Today I spent money in two places.

First at the post office to mail two gifts in one box (14,40$) and then at Stokes for seven silver colored butterflies for walls (5,75$).

I just made an order on Fathead (1 instant window at 79,99$ for a total of 104,98$).

I just made an order on Ardene (6 long sleeve blouses [2 different styles] - 1 at 0,00$ 2 at 15,00$ and 3 at 34,50$ - had 13,35$ in rebates and the shipping is free - total is 138,14$).

I just made an order on MagicWall (a decal saying "Everything happens for a reason" at 25$ for a total of 34,64$), I saw it not too long ago and decided I would put it above my bedroom door inside, I figured with what happened to me last night and the way I reacted to it that it was the time to finally buy it.

I just made an order on Next Millenium (Magicalomaha) I had to use my dad's credit card because they use only Paypal and I could not remember the email address and password I had with them (only use that website when no other choice is given) so I emailed them after asking them if this could be resolved. My mom ordered nine teeshirts at 19$ each and I order four wall plaques (Winter + Autumn + Spring + Summer) at 14,99$ each and one blue balls (its supposed to clean bad energy - they say to use it in water to wash the floors with or in a bath) at 0,99$. The shipping is 16,99$ and the total is 248,94$. I will go give the money after this to my parents (will cut the shipping fee in half).

My mom just came downstairs to give me back my money.

Just got a call from someone working with Paypal and she found my account then erased it so now I will be able to use my credit cards with my new account. I also was able to speak English which was cool (rarely am able to do that ~ its a wonder why my accent is not worst than it is).

Today I spent 23,28$ at Ardene (22,50$ for a Minion sweatshirt).

I just made an order on Amazon Canada (1 black waste can [its cute - looks like a bucket] at 20,02$ + 1 brush cleaner at 12$ + 1 pack of microfiber 3 cloths and 3 pouches for sunglasses at 9,90$ for a total of 46,72$ with the shipping free).

Today I spent 20,10$ at Uniprix (the 1 not in a shopping mall) in Mont-Joli (2,99$ for glasses cleaner + 14,49$ for vitamins with calcium for women).

Today I spent 44,84$ for waxing (arms + underarms + half legs).

I purchased a two-drawer file cabinet today (for my genealogy) and some after-Christmas beading kits (I ordered these kits hoping to learn a new skill).

Today I spent 11,15$ at the Uniprix in Mont-Joli that is not in the shopping mall (5,41$ for my pills and 4,99$ for a back sponge).

I just made an order on Ardene (1 shirt at 7,25$ 3 shirts at 19,50$ 1 shirt at 6,25$ 1 sunglasses at 8,50$ - the shipping is free & i was given a discount of 8,05$ - total 83,30$).

Wednesday I had my eyebrows electrolysis appointment and it was 12,10$ (2$ tip).

Now I just made an order on Sears Canada. My mom got a blouse and a workout bench (they will pay me later) and I got one Bodyform Orthopedic Hideaway Guest Bed (large format) at 151,99$ (the air mattress [my bedroom is not fully finished yet] started leaking air yesterday so the days are counted for that + even if i do not use it this thing does not need air and does not take a lot of place when not in used so it will be something not wasted).

Today I spent 4,90$ at Hart (1,29$ for qtips [not the originals] and 2,99$ for 3 small dishcloths). Before I bought a double Coleman air beg at Pronature at 80,47$ but right after I paid my dad arrived running saying that he wanted to pay and after going out the store and asking how it was he gave me 80,00$ so that only costed me 0,47$ (that is my third air bag since moving here - hopefully my bedroom will be done before that 1 dies on me)!

Air bed not air beg and not air bag, !

Just made an order on Amazon Canada (28,07$ total - my mom got a book at 22,46$ and i got a color by number book at 4,28$ - she will give me the money for her book later - shipping is free).

Spent money in three places today. First at Jean Coutu (the bigger 1 in Rimouski) 40,23$ (34,99$ for face cream), then 44,84$ at my aesthetician (waxing) and finally at Uniprix (the bigger 1 in Mont-Joli) 53,98$ (19,99$ for a gift 3,49$ for a gift 4,99$ for razors 3,99$ for body cream 14,49$ for vitamins).

I just made an order on Ardene (2 shirts at 14,50$ 3 shirts at 6,25$ 1 shirt at 12,50$ - subtotal of 60,25$ - 6,03$ in additional rebates - free shipping) for 62,34$.

Mushrooms, ice cream, Wheat Thins and Milk! It's what was needed for dinner, snacks and breakfast!

I just made an order on Ardene for 69,33$ (1 shirt at 14,50$ + 3 shoes at 12,50$ + 4 tanks at 3,75$ - subtotal of 67$ + 6,70$ of extra discount + free shipping).

Yesterday I spent 14,13$ at the Post Office (mailed a box with 2 gifts in it).

Today I paid my cell phone bill (46,45$).

Today I spent no money, car already had petrol so could drive to work. I made my lunch at home whilst I prepared brekfast and son had prepared an evening meal out of food already in the house. I paid no bills and bought no treats!

The only money I spent was to renew my travel insurance for a year. What with the age-related, covering-existing-conditions and most of all, visiting the USA, the amount was large. No money left to spend elsewhere, so at least kept me away from edible treats!

I just spent 75,53$ on Dover Publications (some of it was for my mom [25.88$ for 12 sticker books] me it is a total of 27,40$ for 9 different types of activity books by Winky Williams [got a color by number book not too long ago via Amazon Canada then later on find the publisher website and while mom was looking for her i decided to get that author other things except the stickers] the shipping is 18,65$).

Today I spent 22,07$ at Uniprix (the 1 not in the shopping mall in Mont-Joli - 5,41$ for my pills and 14,49$ for vitamins).

I tried a few minutes ago to make an order on Ardene but the two things I wanted mostly (the reason why i decided to make that order) when in my basket then disappeared. I wrote them about it, hopefully they will get rid of that bug before my size is gone (its strapless bras - im a 32A so its rare to see these my size), they also got other new bras my size and three I had picked .

I spent 16 dollars for the paperback Revival by Stephen King - I've been thinking about this purchase for a while and saved for it.

Today I made an order on Ardene, they still had that same technical issue with the two lace strapless bras so I was not able to get them, I will either just find them in a store or wait until I can order it online (a shirt for my mom [she will pay me later] at 14,50$ 3 bandeau bras at 6,25$ 2 bras at 15,50$ - 5$ discount - free shipping - total 68,12$).

Actually, only a $30 unlimited train pass for the week and a $1.50 cup of coffee.

Today I spent 83,55$ on Ardene (3 shirts at 6,25$ 3 shirts at 12,50$ 1 shirt at 24,50$ - discounts of 8,08$ - free shipping).

Today I made an order on Ardene for 60,53$ (1 sneakers at 14,50$ 1 boots at 34,50$ 1 gift [belt] at 9,50$ - discount of 5,85$ - free shipping).

I also order two things (1 for mom 1 for my parents) on Amazon Canada and dad gave me the money a few minutes later.

I just made an order on Ardene (4 shirts at 7,25$ 3 shirts at 19,50$ 1 shirt at 14,50$ - discounts of 10,20$ - free shipping - total of 105,55$).

Today I had waxing done (half legs + underarms + arms) and it was 44,84$

I bought two spring blouses at C&A in North Holland. I'm being optimistic! In America this chain is similar to Sears.

Yesterday I received my MasterCard bill and I was charged 164,90$ for all my bills from now to 2012 (i was told this is only until then they could go back but later mom called and she was told they can go farther - later i will call them back for that and also they did not changed my address correctly), the insurance company asked that. Dad paid it today and they will send that bill to the insurance company, they better pay that since this is why I was charged that amount! Visa went back farther (7 years) and I hope they won't charge me too )!

Today I bought flour, self-rising flour and vanilla soymilk. All this was for baking -- I'm writing a cookbook so my taxes will pay for it if the book gets published this year. SAVE those receipts!!!!

I just made an order on WWF Canada (all gifts for Earth Day) for a total of 90,76$ (1 small men shirt [for mom] at 22,99$ 1 large men shirt [for dad] at 22,99$ 1 travel coffee mug [for a friend] at 15,99$ 1 globe toy [for a dog] at 14,99$ - the shipping is 9,95$).

Today I bought four things at Uniprix (the 1 not in a shopping mall) in Mont-Joli (5,41$ for my pills + 1,79$ for a solid milk chocolate bunny + 14,49$ for vitamins + 2,99$ for body lotion ~ total of 27,56$).

I bought a volume pedal and also a sustain pedal online from eBay today. That ran about $60 total but I really needed them for my Roland keyboard.

I just made an order on Amazon Canada (2 easter gifts ~ 1 bunny dog toy at 21,94$ & 1 garden bunny figurine at 25$ - free shipping - total of 53,97$).

Today I bought 8 pieces of poster board, Hawaiian punch drink mix packets for water bottles, and a couple of canned good for the pantry. I ate a cheeseburger at McDonald's and drank 1/2 of a small green mint shake while I was out.

Today I paid my cell phone bill (46,05$) and spent 51,15$ at Perfecto (1 wallet at 4,50$ + 1 bag at 39,99$).

Today i bought two tatting shuttles and thread. Then I went to the grocery store and picked up a newspaper, a dark chocolate bar and some puppy cookies. At Wal-Mart I also bought a container in the deli of fried okra.

My husband and I went to Kohl's and he picked up some things there. My big purchase was a birthday card at the Dollar Tree!

I just made an order on Ardene (mom got a shirt at 24,50$ [she will pay me later] 2 shirts at 34,50$ + 2 shirts at 11,25$ + 1 shirt at 6,25$ - discounts of 12,23$ - free shipping - total of 126,50$).

I bought double-sided clear tape, two sugar free drink mixes and a twelve pack of Dr. Pepper.

Today I spent money in two places. First Brunet in Mont-Joli (3 different sizes of sanitary napkins at 2,99$ each + 1 easter card at 3,69$ + 1 easter gift at 2,49$ + 1 easter gift at 8,99$ for a total of 27,76$) then Post Office in Price (a shipping box at 4,99$ for a total of 5,74$).

Today I spent money in two stores in Mont-Joli.

Dollarama (1 easter gift bag at 1$ - total of 1,15$) and Hart (1 box of 300 qtips at 1,29$ - total of 1,48$).

I just made an order on Ardene (2 shirts at 34,50$ + 2 shirts at 17,25$ - discount of 20,70$ - free shipping - total of 95,20$).

Today I spent 44,84$ for waxing (arms + half legs + underarms).

I just made an order on Ardene (1 Minions tank top at 9,75$ + 1 Minions tank top at 19,50$ + 1 Minions sweatshirt at 22,50$ - discounts of 5,18$ - free shipping - total of 53,54$).

Today I spent money two times at Uniprix (the big 1) in Mont-Joli (first my pills at 5,41$ total ~ 1 kids electric toothbrush at 7,19$ + 1 women complete with calcium vitamins gummies at 14,49$ + 1 toothpaste at 5,39$ + 1 body lotion at 3,49$ + 1 face cream at 34,99$ - 10$ discounts - total of 65,37$).

I forgot to mention yesterday that I also paid my cell phone bill (46,11$).

I just made an order on Ardene (my mom picked a shirt at 6,25$ [she will pay me later] 1 shirt at 34,50$ + 1 shirt at 14,50$ + 1 shirt at 6,25$ + 6 leopard hair ties at 2,50$ + 6 zigzag hair ties at 2,50$ + 6 green camo hair ties at 2,50$ + 8 pastel hair ties [4 different colors] at 2,50$ - 9,23$ of discounts - free shipping - total of 71,59$.

Today I spent 2,70$ at Dollarama (1,00$ for silk paper + 1,00$ for a gift bag), 5,75$ at the Uniprix in the shopping mall (a card at 4,99$) and I gave the change of the 15,00$ to a man asking for money for Info Jeunes Canada.

Today I spent 15$ at Ardene in Rimouski (1 cap at 14,50$ - 1,45$ discount).

I just made an order from the seller Dollarium on Amazon Canada (a gift at 19,74$ with shipping at 4,51$ - total of 24,25$ + mom got 2 things from that seller and hers were put together and will ship together too so she gave me the money after i told her what it cost).

Only expense today was postage stamps. I sent out three submissions for picture books -- along with SASE for each. So probably about $5.

I forgot to say Tuesday that I spent 44,84$ for waxing (half legs + underarms + arms).

Today I paid my cell phone bill (46,11$) then bought my pills (5,41$).

Not a thing, but I wanted to spend it on a juicy, medium rare prime rib. It's nice to have dreams.

I went to my storage shed and picked out a lot of books to put in my house and paid the storage. I also went to WalMart (three times) and checked on some prescriptions from Arizona - finally they were there this afternoon.. Then I went by the real estate office to talk to a realtor about a check she wrote me. So it was kind of a [censored] day.

I just made an order from the seller StealStreet Canada on Amazon Canada (a 4 inch white and blue rectangle box with the word dream and with stars and a crescent moon at 12,39$ - the shipping is 9,99$ - total is 22,38$).

I didn't spend anything, but my niece bought my way, my granddaughters, daughter in law, and her and two of my nephew's ways into LEGOLAND. That was fun!

Today I bought a few food items, had lunch at McDonald's and picked up a file system I had ordered on WalMart.com.

Just made an order on Ardene (3 tanks at 5,00$ + 2 tshirts at 7,50$ + 1 tshirt at 12,50$ - 4,25$ discounts - free shipping - total of 43,98$).

Today I bought a 25$ gift card at Dollarama.

Nothing, thankfully...

I treated myself for my birthday and mother's day today - I felt I needed some new clothes: pants and tops.

Got an email last night from the seller on Amazon Canada about the small box, they have discontinued it because they received it all in bad condition. They asked me if I wanted a refund (i doubt my card was charged since with that store we are only charged when its shipped and thats like that even when we buy from sellers) or get something else instead and I asked for a refund.

I bought gasoline today, postage stamps and a few colored Xeroxes. Nothing much.

Nothing so far. If I just stay in my writing room I may be able to avoid spending any at all.

Spent money in two places today. First it was my eyebrows electrolysis (10,06$) and then I bought two things at the biggest Jean Coutu (face cream at 34,99$ + face cream at 43,99$ for a total of 90,81$ - do not need any of these 2 right away but had a coupon for X20 the air miles for 50$ and more of cosmetics so used that coupon before it expired).

I wish I had enough eyebrows left to need that type of procedure done and a bit more hair up front. It all sounded expensive, but I didn't do the monetary conversions.

Jana,

I thought it would be expensive too but since eyebrows is not a big surface it's not too bad. Of course when you start it is every week and you have more so then it costs more.

Depending on how much the insurance company will give me I may get electrolysis done for the rest of my face. If I get a big amount I will use it to move (out of this province probably) and if it is a huge amount I probably will go one year in Dallas with season tickets for the Stars. If it's not a big or huge amount but not too small I may be able to also get the bikini area done too (all of it - front and back) for this I think I will have to get laser then if some is left to get the rest by electrolysis.

My ultimate dream will be to only have my eyebrows line, eyelashes and hair on my head.

The coolest thing would be to become rich so I can do all that !

I hear ya on the rich thing. I'd love it so I could do a lot of things, like escape to HI and live during the winter here and come back during the summer to visit my friends and family here in the midwest.

Just made an order on Ardene (1 tshirt at 9,75$ + 1 blouse at 34,50$ + 1 sweatshirt at 12,25$ + 1 sweatshirt at 24,50$ - 8,10$ of discounts - free shipping - total of 83,82$).

a new food processor.

Today I had waxing done (underarms + arms + half legs) and it was 44,84$.

Groceries. I'm a chef at heart. It tastes good, I learn new things and nothing goes to waste. Well, usually

Just made an order on Ardene (1 Minion tank at 19,50$ + 1 Minion tshirt at 19,50$ + 1 Elmo tshirt at 7,25$ - discounts of 4,63$ - free shipping - total of 47,85$).

Absolutely nothing. I am trying to have at least one NO SPEND day per week and also one NO DRIVING day.

Nothing so far. Yipee!!!

I canceled the four seasons wall plaques that I bought on Magicalomaha in December. Last week I found it from a seller on Amazon Canada, I gave the other website a last chance but they still cannot get the two that are in backorder. Shame because the other place it will cost me double but I really want these plaques on my window wall. I will buy them later (still 6 left today so no worry + they have a lot of items so maybe i will find something else).

Lucky to spend on nothing to day. I stayed home again.

I just made an order from the seller Urban Inspirations on Amazon Canada (1 Willow Tree Sleeping Angel at 28,55$ + 1 set of the 4 seasons Greenman wall plaques at 109,47$ - shipping is 17,30$ - total of 163,09$).

Ummmmm, let me count the ways...... Target, Home Depot for flowers), and Walmart for Ice Cream and Yougurt.

Ah Trader Joe's...

I just made an order on Zazzle Canada and all the items were made by the artist Kim Hunter (1 Canada Flag Card Canadian Flag Greeting Card [this is for Canada Day for a friend and her dog] at 3,90$ + 1 Canada Souvenir Key Chain [the Canada Day gift for a friend] at 4,60$ + 1 Jumbo Canada Coffee Cup Mug Canada Souvenir Cup at 26,95$ [the Canada Day gift for mom] + 1 Canada Beer Mug Canada Flag Souvenir Glass at 32,40$ [the Canada Day gift for dad] - the shipping is 17,15$ [8,99$ for the keychain + 8,16$ for the rest] - the total is 85$).

I just made an order on Amazon Canada (1 HeroDogTreats All Natural and Healthy Dehydrated Chicken Breasts Dog Treats, 125gm [the Canada Gift for a dog] at 11,99$ + 1 Little Things Mean A Lot November Monthly Angel Figurine at 17,92$ - free shipping - total of 34,39$).

I just made an order on Ardene (1 long sleeve sweater at 15,75$ + 1 short sleeve onesie at 34,50$ + 1 short sleeve onesie at 17,25$ - free shipping - discounts of 6,75$ - total of 69,85$).

I got my pills today, the cost was 5,41$.

Today was my 'No Spend' Day. I try to have one at least very week.

spent only on food - lunch out at a very historic location, a Halfway House. This was originally a stage stop between two cities - Richmond and Petersburg.

then, I went to the grocery store.

I went to a 2 year old's birthday party. I bought her bubbles -- I got each kid at the party their own bubble stuff (mini size) and got her a big canister of bubble mix and a battery operated little bubble gun that shoots a ton of bubbles at one time. She was so delighted. In fact she was so thrilled she laid on top of her birthday cake and yelled, "YEAH YEAH!!!" The cake was a mess and so was she. But everything was great!

Just made an order on Old Navy Canada, it was supposed to be just for mom (she got a pack of 4 short sleeves white polo + 1 long sleeves red polo) but then I checked what they had for women (she is small so girls clothes fits her well) and I saw things I wanted (would of been more but the other things were not available anymore in small) so I took it (1 short sleeve shirt at 8,50$ + 1 short sleeve shirt at 11,50$) the shipping is free and the total is 77,03$ (mom things are 35,50$ + 11,50$) they will pay me for mom's things and her part of the taxes when it will arrive or before.

Today, so far nothing.

Also nothing so far today ...

I treated myself to lunch at a Chinese restaurant. And I went to WalMart to buy an American flag, some flower pots and silk flowers to dress up the front of the house. Also bought a cool airy pair of baby doll pajamas.

Today I spent 26,73$ at Dollarama (1 box at 1,50$ and 1 gift card at 25$).

Today I had waxing done for 44,84$ (arms + underarms + half legs).

I went to the dentist.

Just made an order on Ardene, two things are for my mom and she'll pay me when it will arrive (mom = 2 sweatshirts at 24,50$ each ~ 1 tank at 5$ + 1 tshirt at 5$ + 1 sweatshirt at 5$ + 1 sweatshirt at 22,50$ - discounts of 8,65$ - free shipping - total of 89,51$).

I'm not very frugal. I went to the store for art supplies, and bought a set of Sharpies and a glue stick. Then I went to my favorite bookstore (they send me thank-you notes because I spend so much money there) and bought a book and a magazine. Then I went and had a tuna melt and an iced tea.

Oh, does the yoga class I paid for last week count?

Tonight I wrote a check for a software update! and the list goes on...

Food, almond milk.

LOL, a small fortune at the grocery store. I have company coming in - daughter and her husband. It is my MIL's 90th birthday next weekend but we are celebrating a week early. It is also my daughter's birthday the same week and my other daughter's wedding anniversary in between.

I also went to Friendly's and bought a watermelon ice cream roll. YUM.

Just made an order on NHL Shop (1 Dallas Stars 3D Collectible Logo Figure at 24,99$ + 1 CCM Jamie Benn Dallas Stars Women's Name & Number Tri-Blend V-Neck T-Shirt at 31,95$ + 1 Women's Dallas Stars Original Retro Brand Ash/Kelly Green St. Patrick's Day Lightweight V-Neck Tri-Blend Raglan Long Sleeve T-Shirt at 29,99$ + 1 Womens Old Time Hockey Dallas Stars Hockey Fights Cancer Green T-Shirt at 14,99$ - the shipping is 12,95$ - the total is 141,88$).

Cereal, fruit, sharp cheddar cheese.

Just made an order on Ardene (1 Minions Canada, Eh? T-Shirt at 14,50$ + 1 You can sit with us Minions raglan tee at 19,50$ ~ discounts of 3,40$ ~ free shipping ~ 35,18$).

a 30 piece set of 6 place settings of nice stainless steel utensils for half price!

Today I spent money at the biggest Uniprix in Mont-Joli (5,41$ for my pills + 3$ for Option Plus body lotion + 14,49$ for One A Day complete vitamins with calcium gummies for women + 7,19$ for a Crayola kid electric toothbrush - total of 33,78$).

Today I spent $1 on lunch at the Senior Center. Then I bought the newspaper and an ice cream at the market.

I ordered two paperback books for my daughter's birthday - Chesapeake by James A. Michener, and The Returned by Jason Mott.

I paid my cell phone bill today, it was 49,56$.

Chocolate fudge cake and a pot of tea in a coffee shop. And in the evening a friend took me out to dinner and I left the tip.

Groceries for tomorrow. Company coming for the 4th.

I just made an order on Ardene (1 Elmo teeshirt at 19,50$ + 1 tank at 12,50$ - discounts of 3,20$ - free shipping - total of 33,11$).

Bills & Food

Sent out checks for bills.

Just made an order from the seller TruffleShuffleCanada on Amazon Canada (1 small Ladies Sesame Street Pocket Elmo T Shirt at 39,24$ + 1 large Unisex Yellow Dave Minion Despicable Me Hoodie at 49,06$ - the shipping is 5,95$ - total of 94,25$).

Today I spent 44,84$ for waxing (half legs + underarms + arms).

She also took care of something looks like a huge zit that is made of fat - it appeared on my left side at about the same level as my breasts about 10 years ago and last week it started hurting and yesterday it got bigger and was very painful, she took a needle and squeezed some of the puss inside then gave me something and told me to put some every night on it with a bandage on top, I'll go get the rest taken care of with her Saturday. She told me the next step was the hospital so I got her to do it instead. All free of charge, I'll bring here something Saturday and give it to her as a thanks (im used to give tips but i only did it 2 or 3 times at this place i feel bad about that).

Just made an order on Ardene (mom got a white small scoop neck tank at 7,50$ [she will pay me when it will arrive] - 1 small red striped short sleeves turtleneck at 19,50$ + 1 small extra soft red tank at 3,75$ + 1 small heather charcoal sleeveless pullover hoodie at 24,50$ + 1 small heather grey sleeveless pullover hoodie at 1,00$ - discounts of 5,63$ - free shipping - total of 58,20$).

Just made an order on Zazzle Canada from the seller happytreefriends(1 Lumpy frosted glass mug at 27,95$ + 1 Lumpy large ash basic men sweatshirt at 38,60$ + 1 large ash basic men hooded sweatshirt at 53,60$ - shipping is 8,05$ - total of 128,20$).

While this comment was submitting I remembered that I had a 15% discount coupon so I missed that! !

Just made an order on Amazon Canada (1 Ravensburger 80 pieces puzzle at 10,99$ + 1 SUCK UK Stress Ball Paul at 10,07$ + 1 SUCK UK Dead Mark Bookmark at 9,54$ - free shipping - total of 35,19$).

Today I spent 21,64$ at Uniprix (the 1 not in a shopping mall) I Mont-Joli (14,49$ for vitamins + 4,29$ for body lotion).

Just made an order on Ardene (1 small extra soft black tank at 3,75$ + 1 small extra soft cream tank at 3,75$ + 1 small extra soft orange tank at 7,50$ + 1 small extra soft seafoam tank at 7,50$ + 1 size 6 matte kaki rain boots at 12,25$ - discounts of 3,48$ - free shipping - total of 35,95$).

Today I spent 11,95$ at the biggest Uniprix in Mont-Joli (my pills at 5,41$ + 10 big Ban-Aid bandages at 5,69$).

Today I spent 4,47$ at Uniprix in the shopping mall (1 shower gel at 3,89$).

Just made an order on Ardene (4 shirts at 19,50$ + 3 shirts at 9,75$ + 1 shirt at 6,25$ - 11,35$ of discounts - free shipping - total of 117,45$).

This afternoon I caught a glimpse of my Visa bill (i should really sort these papers before it gets too hard to do) and I realised I forgot to say (it was on the 7th i think if not then it was that week) that I paid my cell phone bill (it was 46,11$).

Today I spent money in two places.

First 44,84$ at my aesthetician (waxing or half legs + arms + underarms) and then 68,03$ at Ardene (2 Minions keychain at 3,25$ each + 2 Minions keychain at 6,50$ each + 1 Minions tank shirt at 9,75$ + 1 Minions pajama at 36,50$).

Just made an order on Amazon Canada (1 REVISION Military Hellfly Ballistic Sunglasses, Black Frame/Smoke Lenses at 67,43$ + 1 REVISION Military Hellfly Ballistic Sunglasses, Black Frame/Clear Lenses at 79,76$ - free shipping - total of 169,23$).

A haircut and groceries.