1. Today, we finally purchased a programmable thermostat. During the work week, it's set to go up to 68 at 5:00 AM and back down to 62 at 7:30; then up to 68 at 3:00 until it finally lowers to 63 at 10:30. The weekend is much less frugal because it will only go down for a matter of hours as we sleep since we often try to stay home more to prevent unnecessary spending.
2. When we returned home after a long day of running errands (my husband is beginning his own side business of fixing and customizing Xboxes and advertising through Craigslist and his own website) I didn't have much time to cook as we were terribly hungry! Rather than caving in and ordering a pizza or stopping by Taco Bell, I'm proud to say we ate some similarly disgusting-but-cheaper frozen dinners. I'm not sure at what point I purchased these individual dinners, but they do not move quickly in our house and I can now see that it was a foolish decision. But at least they have filled their purpose and not been thrown away, right? :)
Ok, I confess, I had to throw one away. Like tossing a dollar in the trash can, I am fully aware.
3. After dinner and watching a Netflix online movie (alright, it was Wall E and we have it on DVD somewhere, so this is not frugal), I decided to get something done in preparation for the week. I used generic flip-top sandwich baggies (very cheap-less than a penny per bag) to make snack bags full of Cheez-its and another tray full of generic Fruit Loop cereal for breakfast for the week+. I will admit it is a rare treat to have brand name Cheez-its in our house, but these were Scrabble style with the letters and, as previously stated, I have preschoolers so I decided to use this opportunity to make learning letters fun and tasty. The cereal is a staple at our house. Sure, it's not all that healthy but for $2.99 for 2 lbs, it is a tasty treat. I like to send them with a bag of it and a banana for a better breakfast.
Other things I bought this weekend:
- de-icer for my windshield. It's worth noting that the pool table in the garage which is a good source of frugal entertainment with friends-forces my car to endure the bitter cold. Since the frost tends to make me run late to work, I feel this is JUSTIFIED.
- Books for my kids that were completely unnecessary $25 (BAD) though I justified this at the time by contemplating their potential for use in a hypothetical future classroom with younger students.
- A study guide for the GRE exam which I am scheduled to take December 31st (yes, I chose this date. I have no idea why, now. This $25 is JUSTIFIED because not passing the $150 test would be way more wasteful!
- Art supplies and craft type activities for my kids for Christmas (not previously budgeted). $16 Still undecided here: part of me says "Hey, this is for the kids. For Christmas, for crying out loud! Of course it's justified!" while the other part says, "Hey, dummy, this must be how we acquired our stinking credit card debt with all this justification!". Sooo, I'm thinking BAD.
- I'm not sure I even want to admit that Friday night, I drove for an hour to meet an old friend for Christmas shopping. Because I dropped the kids off with hubby right as he got off work, I had to grab lunch (yup, Taco Bell) and then we later grabbed dessert and drinks for a grand total of $17 in food just for me. Oh, and $3 for the school lunch. Worst part? It has been my goal to have our family of four eating for LESS than $20 a day. I killed that all on my own that day........
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