I Want New Furniture!

Jodlbauer’s is having a HUGE sale on furniture! (They are always having a sale these days! I think most furniture stores are struggling in this economy.) I would love a new bedroom set and a bigger dining room table.

My bedroom has never looked very pretty. I haven’t had a bedroom “set” since college dorm days! I wrote an article on repurposing furniture and talked about how I added a toy box and a dish cabinet to my bedroom. So, you can imagine what it looks like! I need a new bedroom set.

My dining room has a kitchen table in it. It seats 6 people only. To seat large amounts of family I need to put 2 or 3 tables together. I need a table that can seat 10 or 12.

I need? Do I really need? No, but dang it, I WANT these things. How to get these things? Do I run out and buy 2 rooms of furniture because it is a good sale and use a handy-dandy credit card? NO! I am going to save up for the furniture and then take advantage of another good sale at one of the many furniture stores, and buy it.

I am sitting here thinking it will be a long time before I get the $6,000-7,000 to spend on the new furniture. Maybe there is an alternative. Maybe I can save money – probably about $1,500 - and purchase some very nice used furniture. That seems do-able. That is not such a large number that it seems impossible to achieve.

I encourage you to all decide if something is a want or a need. Then use your brain and your creativity to come up with another way to get something or to substitute something cheaper.

What's Happening In and Around Cecil

Saturday night the North Elk Coffee House is hosting Brooks Williams. Admission is $8 for adults. Here is a link with more information http://www.stmaryanne.org/coffeehouse.html

On Wednesday nights UD is hosting an indie film showing that is free and open to the public. Here is the link to that: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2010/dec/indie121109.html

Jan. 21-Feb. 20: Delaware's REP to stage 'She Stoops to Conquer' I have tickets and am looking forward to another wonderful, cheap production from UD’s rep theatre.

True West, a play by Sam Shepard, will be playing at the Millburn Stone Theatre on Jan. 28,29 and 30th. It is only $5 a ticket!! http://cecil.edu/common/pages/calendars/theatre/2009-2010/true-west.htm

Not a lot happening in and around the county so we must all resort to more frugal forms of entertainment. Last Friday night my husband, son and I played a board game (I came in very, very last!) We bought the game a few years ago at The Days of Knights in Newark on Main St. They have many wonderful board games there and we bought it after speaking with one of the employees. We haven’t regretted it. We usually play it on long winter nights. We also employ Scrabble, Rumikub, cards and puzzles to take care of those long nights. As the kids have gotten older they have joined us. My son and I often play 3 rounds of Rumikub to see who wins the most. (I won’t tell you who wins most either!)

The weather will be warmer this weekend so maybe people can get out and walk more. If anyone knows of any cheap events being held in or around Cecil this weekend, please leave info in the comments section. The more we have to choose from the better to chase the winter doldrums away.

Welcome North East Library Attendees!

Welcome to the Frugal Living to Accomplish Your Goals blog. I hope that you enjoyed last night's program and that you find this blog useful.

January Budget Blues

Every January, after the excesses of Christmas, I feel the need to put my wallet away. I stop spending on almost everything that isn’t essential. Every purchase is thoughtfully weighed in my mind. This year the zipper to my six year old parka broke. I can still use it by stepping in and out of the coat and then zipping it up. I was using a paper clip to pull the zipper up. This is my thought process about what to do about replacing or fixing the coat:

1. Is it a needed item? Or is it a wanted item? A winter coat is a definite need.

2. Is it usable? Yes. But not in social situations. (Sorry, I am not stepping into my coat when I put it on at work!) It has now become an outdoor work coat which I did need.

3. Can I fix it? I cannot get it unstuck but maybe a family member can. I can purchase a cheap zipper pull from Jo-Ann Fabric for a few dollars.

4. Should I repair it? I don’t know. It is stained and looks a bit worn. I do need an outdoor work coat. I don’t want to come into work with hay on my coat like I did a few weeks ago!

5. Do I have something else to use instead? Yes! My long, dress coat is toasty warm and quite usable. I can wear the old coat for doing work or sledding or dog walking, and the dress coat for “social situations”.

6. If I don’t repair it, can it be bought second hand? Not likely! I have often searched for nice coats at garage sales and thrift stores. You can get some children’s coats that look nice but most adult coats, if they are in good condition, are quite dated.

7. If I need to buy it new, do I have the money to pay cash? Are there any good sales, etc? Luckily, it is a great time for sales and I need to get one before the coats are gone.

My solution, right now is to wait to get a coat. I have a second coat I can use and the parka is still serviceable for around the house. I will keep track of sales, coupons and dig into the budget to find the cash for the coat. If I can’t find the cash before the end of March, I will look for a new one at the garage sales this summer.

When I feel strapped for cash in January, thinking of other solutions to an issue does two things. The first is it saves me money but the second is it gives me piece of mind to actually do something different so I do not have to lay out the cash for a purchase. I try to find other solutions for expenditures at all times but often forget. January serves to remind me of my frugal roots and gives me a push to be more frugal.

Holiday Vacation and Interesting Articles

I am back after a LONG hiatus. I tried and tried to think of some frugal topics to write about but my mind drew a blank. Instead of putting up junk, I decided to wait until inspiration struck. I am still waiting a bit but until it strikes, I wanted to draw readers attention to a series of articles that Trent Lott at the Simple Dollar is doing.

Yesterday he had an article on How the Average American Family Spends their Income and How to Trim It. I found it very informative. The best part is that he is taking each one of the budget areas and writing a detailed article on how to trim that area. Today’s article is on housing . It is a very good article. I urge readers to check in every day for the next few weeks and read his articles and the comments (which can be equally informative).

Starting a “Frugal Club”

This is it! I am taking the plunge and inviting readers and people on the Cecil County Discussion Forum to join me in starting a “frugal club”. Here is an article from Wisebread about what a frugal club is:

http://www.wisebread.com/entertainment-value-start-a-frugal-club

The author gives some great ideas on what a frugal club could do. I envision it as a place to talk about how to save money in particular areas, or talking about what stores have what good deals and maybe doing bulk purchasing of food/goods. I like her ideas for “field trips” and swaps. We could have monthly swaps of things. Maybe one month it is kitchen and dish ware. The next month we could swap toys and kids stuff. These are just my ideas. I am excited to hear other people’s ideas and get this off the ground!

If you would like to join send me an email from the web site or post a comment. In it let me know a good evening of the week for you to meet and what library branches you are willing to travel to. I will take care of getting the room reservations. Bring your ideas on what our frugal club should include in its activities. Tell your friends and see if they want to join. I will also post something on the CCF Discussion List.

Applesauce – The Frugal and Healthy Food

I think applesauce is a great invention. I love to eat it alone or on pork chops. Babies usually are given applesauce as one of their first solid fruits. Applesauce is, also, great in baking as a substitute for oil.

To make applesauce you will need to purchase a large quantity of apples from a local orchard. You can purchase “seconds” from Millburn Orchards. They give you a large paper bag (about 20+ lbs.) for $9.95. Colora Orchards sells apples for $8 a half bushel and $16 a bushel. What is a second? A second is an apple that is, usually bruised, or strange shaped or just not perfect. They are usually fine for eating and excellent for baking.

Once you have your seconds, you will need to store them in a cool, dry place. I put mine out in our unheated, inside porch area (along with the potatoes).Wash, peel, core and cut up as many apples that fit in your crock pot with a few inches at the top to spare. Put a bit of water in (maybe half cup?) and turn the crock pot on to low. You can do this before bed. In the morning, when you wake up, you will have applesauce. All you need to do is mash the apples. In the crock pot you will have extra moisture from the apples so they will not burn over night. You may want to pour off some of the moisture before you start mashing.

For baby food, I also puree the cooked apples in the blender. You can put the rest in jars and refrigerate or freeze some in plastic containers. I also can jars of applesauce.

In winter, we go through a lot because I substitute applesauce in recipes that call for oil. I have used it in brownie mix, pancakes, quick breads and muffins. This is a healthy alternative to oil and no one knows the difference. Whoever discovered this is brilliant!!! I do not know if it is cheaper but it probably is if you make the applesauce yourself from seconds. (Really, the math boggles my mind sometimes!)

Applesauce is, also, a cheap, delicious snack for young children. Instead of buying individual serving containers of the stuff for your child's lunch box, buy a reusable, plastic container and fill it daily. Just make sure your child doesn't throw it away.

Now you know why I love apple sauce!