Penny Pinching Patio Project – Flower up date May 20, 2013

Just thought I would give you a quick update on some of the flowers that I posted about that I got for cheep.

They look wonderful. This weekend I am going to move them over to the patio now that Missouri has decided it is spring.

Behind the big pots there are some small containers of flowers that I need to plant. We got pansies for teacher apperception week at school and the red flowers are from Mother’s Day. I also got a cute pot with my babies’ foot prints on it.

I also planted so pole beans that I though would be fun for the kids. I need to add a trellis still.

They have come in even better then this the last few days. I am starting to get excited to see things start to come together.

Gift cards….how should you spend them? May 19, 2013

When I was a kid, or any time before I had kids, and I got a gift card I knew I was going to blow that money on something I wanted. Anymore that is not the case. Now that the big kids are old enough to know that they got a gift card we give them the joy of blowing the money. We do try and teach them to make good choices with the gift cards.

For example my daughters birthday is in October. She got a $25 Amazon gift card. She wanted to spend it then. We talked to her and we all decided the best thing would be to hold on to it until after Christmas. That way if she did not get something she wanted she would have the gift card. It turned out she got another $25 Amazon gift card for Christmas. We talked a lot about what she could get with her $50 at Amazon. My 7 year old loves to read and thought it might be nice to have an ereader. We looked it up and for $60 she could get the bottom of the like Kindle. With her gift cards and giving us $10 of her Christmas cash she got her self an ereader. I was impressed with the thought she put into it.

My husband took my 3 year old to Target to use a gift card one time. He said that they looked at toys for along time. My son found a $25 toy on clearance that he was able to get with his $15 gift card (I think that mom and dad did pay the tax on that one).

Now how do I spend my gift cards….most of the time….on food. If the card is to my husband and I we by things we need for all of us. An extra $25 in the food budget can go a long way (use some coupons with that and it can go really far!!)  or be that special thing that you don’t normally spring for. If it is a gift card for the baby or as a shower gift I spend it on the baby. I have gotten nipples, formula, and diapers. It has helped our bottom line and they where things that he truly needed…not just stuff I thought was cute or fun.

Do I miss the fun stuff….yep. Have I found other ways to put fun in my life…yep. But in the end teaching my child to make a good choice with money (or a gift card) or knowing that my son has formula for the next month helps me sleep at night.

 

Penny Pinching Patio Project – Outside toy storage

One of my goals was some outside toy storage so the kids can get to a few toys with out me having to let them into the garage. This way I can send them out if I am working on something in the house or doing something with the baby that will not let me go out. They can stay in the back yard and be far from the street and I can still see them from every room. We had been using a Step 2 plastic toy box in the garage for years  but it was not working well for us any more. I had my husband drill several holes in the bottom and then he attached three pieces of 2×4 so it was off the ground so it would drain and would be heavy enough to not blow away.

This solution is by no meas water tight. It did rain some last night and when I checked it today it was nice and dry. The real test will be tonight. We are on the edge of a massive thunderstorm right now and then there is another one about 30 min behind it. Everything we have in it will be fine if it gets wet so I am not that worried.

I got the toy chest used about 6 years ago for $25 but for the sake of this project it was FREE because we had all of the things already. You just have to think outside of the toy box and get a bit creative with the things you have.  Any other good ideas for outside toy storage??

Summer Saving – Door Snake

Saving money on electricity is always a big thing at our house.  Everything we own is electric (no gas or propane). The last few days we have had to run the AC due to the humidity and the fact that my son has been sick and was having a hard time breathing.  We do all the normal things they tell you to do….keep the hose has warm as you can handle (for us that is about 75 during the day and 73 at night)…we turn it up to 78 or so when we are not home….the normal stuff.  We also still use the door snake. In the winter you use it to keep the cold air out…in the summer to keep the cold air in.

This past winter I made a door snake from an old towel and some rice.  I had an 16 lb bag of rice that I got for $8 just for projects like this (and heating pads….but that is another post!)

I measured the bottom of the door that I was going to use the snake on and then added 4 in. This would give me room to sew up the ends and have the snake be longer then the door. I made a tube by sewing three ends shut. I turned the tub right side out and with the help of my husband and a funnel filled it with rice. I then sewed up the other end.

Gearing up for summer saving May 17, 2013

Well as I sit here waiting for the morning bell to ring on the last Friday of the school year I am reflecting on what I need to do to save this summer.

I am looking for a new job and I know I have a paycheck until August so the need to build my stockpile now is very important. I have not had time to coupon the last few months due to work and family but now I am ready to go.

To go along with my savings plans I will start a new series called Summer Saving.

Well the kids are here so I should start class.

Penny Pinching Patio Project – Frugal Flowers May 5, 2013

I posted a bit back about how I got the kids flower bulbs for their Easter baskets. A few weeks a go I hit a good deal on some plants for the yard and the patio.

Bushes at Aldi -

 

Yep I got bushes at Aldi and they where $2.99 each. Now I do understand that it will take a few years for these to be the big full bushes that I want but they will help hid the shed! They have been in the ground for about a moth now and they are looking good and have new growth!

Lows clearance -

Missouri can not decided if it is spring or winter. We keep getting snow and flooding and all kids of crazy weather. There where lots of plants that got damaged in a snow storm. This is what we got.

I got these three min roses bushes for $2 each. There is one for each kid and they have named them. I can’t remember what they named them and the big kids fight about what the babies bush is called…it is kind of cute. They have done fantastic even with the crazy weather. All but one of them has bloomed. I did plant these in the front of the front porch so they are not really part of the Patio Project.

 

These 6 packs of Pansies where 75 cents each! I potted them and will put them on the patio when it gets a bit warmer. Right now I have them up by the house on the deck just so they stay warm at night. They are stating to fill out the planters nicely and are getting ready to bloom big time. I will try and remember to take a photo.

The Cost of Convenience May 4, 2013

I had to stay at school late for a function a few weeks ago and in order to save money I packed a salad. That was one of the days I packed all three meals. I decided that I needed a little something else to add to my dinner. I had to get gas and decided to pay inside so I could check out the chips and drinks. I was SHOCK at how much things really cost at the gas station. I then remembered that this is a Dollar General in town. I payed for my gas…got in my car…and went to the DG. For $2 I got a box of Wales and a Snapple. For $2 I could not have even gotten the crackers at the gas station. Just a little extra time saved me a lot of money!