Tuesday, June 25, 2013

This Week I'm...

Waiting for some sunny sunny weather!



  • picking hubby up from the airport this afternoon - seven days is the longest I have ever been apart from my sweetie, way too long, can't wait to have my best friend back

  • picking up our new-to-us car as a replacement car for the one I normally drive.  I found a smoking  hot deal on an '07  car with only 55,000 km in excellent condition and bought it while hubby was away, although he was involved in the purchase by telephone.  We have planned and saved for this purchase and will sell my older car to pay for part of the purchase.  We like to have vehicles that are less than ten years old and my car was just at that age with 155,000 km.  As we have a zero commute now I expect this new-to-us car will last a very long time.  And no, we are not purchasing a warranty for an extra $3000 like they suggested as we believe in pay as you go. 

  • planning a short holiday in our new-to-us car for a few days to Washington State as we cannot currently get away longer than that due to the business.  You can never be sorry that your business is doing well so you work with what days you have.  There is more than enough money in the travel fund for this and the remainder of the fund will sit there for our trip to Oregon in September as well as a future International trip, likely in 2014.

  • Taking inventory of grocery items in the freezer and cupboards.  Once again I have hit the end of the grocery budget with several days left in the month.  The high gas prices have obviously effected grocery prices as the way I buy groceries has not changed.  While in Washington state we will look for bargains to help future months of the grocery budget.

  • Re-doing the list I made last week that started with 25 things to do.  Every time I thought of something else I should do I added it to the list.  The list grew to 40 things and there are only about 10 things I did not get done, as some require hubby's help in doing them.  Instead of going to the gym this week I got my exercise by doing all of the yard work and these list items.  I lost two pounds this week.

  • Preparing some items to sell on Craigslist from our old Alberta home and a few items for my Mother.  I don't like to sell privately unless both hubby and I are home so now I have no excuse as hubby is coming back today.  Any money from our own items sold will be going into the sealed pot Christmas Fund and Travel Fund 50/50 split.

  • Banking funds from sealed pot this week as there was too much cash there so deposited $400 into the bank for the Christmas fund.    This year our expenses will be slightly higher than normal as we no longer have our home in Alberta so will be renting a car, paying for taxes on the airline tickets to get Alberta (using points), and will have to pay for a few more eating out meals so we can see everyone.  We will be staying with my Mother-in-law so will not have to pay for a hotel.

  • Organizing and cleaning all my jewellery.  Let me first say I likely have way less jewellery than the average woman.  Most of it is costume with a few nicer pieces that hubby has given to me as gifts.  I don't have a jewellery box so it had been a mess in a drawer.  We have a lidded basked that sits on our dresser that hubby had a few things in that I have now claimed as my own.  Mom gave me a bunch of small plastic bags that she had from crafting so now each set of jewellery is in it's own bag and cannot get tangled up.  This project cost nothing and I discovered several things I have not worn in a long time simply because they were tangled up.  Now I have a bunch of new jewellery to wear!

  • Getting caught up on cleaning the office and sorting/recording/dealing with a bunch of business paperwork.

What have you been up to?

5 comments:

  1. I always enjoy hearing about what you are doing! I do believe you are a gal after my own heart! I love your spunk and the way yo live a BIG life on a small budget! You, GO, Girl!!!

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  2. You just reminded me that my car is 7 years old now. I have my eye on a few models, but I figure as long as it runs and is reliable, and it's fully paid, I think I'm going to stick with it.
    I probably have less jewelry than you, but I do have a bunch of earrings and I keep them organized in an unusual way. I had gotten a box of chocolates that had 2 layers with those plastic molded compartments that each piece of chocolate nested in. They were perfect for organizing small things and so I keep my earrings in there in a drawer.
    Glad your hubby's back. :)
    Lorraine

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    Replies
    1. That is a great idea! Amazing how you accumulate so much jewellery when you wear the same ring and earrings almost every day.

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  3. Just discovered your blog. I am in northern Idaho, USA, about 6 miles from eastern Washington State. I have found the overall cheapest supermarket in OR, WA and ID to be Fred Meyer. (The most expensive: Albertsons and Safeway). Grab Freddy's Sunday ad and use as many of their in-store coupons as you can. Their unadvertised prices also are lower. There is one item I buy regularly that, in the last 4-5 years, has varied from $1.79 to its current high of $2.15. Other stores sell it for $2.79 and UP. I find this with a lot of things.

    If you are returning to Canada with a lot of food, it would be worth it to hit several different grocery stores and buy their loss leaders. I generally shop at Fred Meyer (ad on Sunday) and one other store (varies; most advertising in Wednesday paper or posted in store) and stock up on whatever we eat that is affordable that week.

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