Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

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alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

It has been a challenge to keep up with everything. I have to triple wash a lot of things bedding and towels etc daily. I change out the sheets on the couch and two chairs as well as my bed due to the possibly of contamination from Teddi. I have given him a bath and I still broke out on my arms and legs so he must still be carrying some poison ivy oil in his fur. The rash is not as severe as the initial one which I am still dealing with but improving. Also had a computer crash that is taking a lot of my time to restore and to reorganize. So much of my budget and banking was on my computer so I have been recreating it and making a paper copy.

Speaking of baths I canceled Teddi's grooming appointment but paid the groomer. I only gave her an hour notice since it was for a Monday morning appointment.I was concerned that he might contaminate her and her business since I have not been able to get him decontaminated She said it was ok but I feel that she set that time aside for us and she has bills to pay so it was the fair thing to do. I gave her 20.00 since sometimes his bill is between 20.00 to 25.00 depending on what he has done.

I have been frugal with my food and did some creative cooking for myself but Mr Picky Pants has been a problem. I decided to buy him some fresh dog food at Petco and they were completely out. When questioned as to when they will be restocking two of the clerks said they did not know since the company had scheduled with them 3 times and never showed up. I bought some ground beef and cooked it and then mixed it with cooked rice and he would not eat it. I never know if he is sick or just holding out for something good. However at the same time his breed tends to have digestion problems if they do not eat so I bought him and myself beef sliders at Arby's. I did not think about it until after I ordered but it was too early in the day to get the discount. So it came to $6.00 and change for our food. Yikes! He did scarf the meat down so he is being obstinate. I saved his buns and used them for myself for several days. So I bought Teddi another chicken. I was going to buy fresh chicken at the grocery store and cook it at home but decided it is just too much for me with the shopping, cooking, and clean up and worth the money to buy a chicken. It is actually cheaper than his fresh dog food but I worry about the nutritional balance. However one problem at a time.
I was completely out of chicken, pork, and beef for myself and was going to try to wing it with eggs, cheese, and veggies but decided I really need to get things in the house for quick meals for myself. So I bought another chicken..lol. I had $3.00 from a survey and $2.00 in reward points at the grocery store so the chicken cost $1.46. Woo hoo. I also filled in with eggs (3 doz) .78 cents a doz, 1/2 gal of milk .59 cent, lettuce $1.15, radishes .99 cents, and a cucumber .49 cents. Also bought some sausage on sale for $3.78 (2) and a small pork roast for $2.88 also on sale. A few more bricks of cheddar cheese 1.79 ea and cream cheese (2) for. 79 cents each. This will work out well combined with what I have in the house. Oh forgot I did buy some store brand cottage cheese that was on sale for $1.99. I bought two. Combined with canned or dehydrated fruit they make for a quick breakfast or snack. Although I spent more than I planned on for the month of May I am still under budget for a typical month. I was hoping to squeeze more money out of the budget for my 500.00 deductible for my roof replacement.

I have used up all of my dehydrated strawberries. I saved the soaking water and added some stevia to it and it made for a nice refreshing drink. I have used up all of my canned pineapple. I still have a lot of dehydrated peaches in my basement emergency pantry. Which is good since there will not be any peaches from my trees this year due to the cold snap when they were in blossom.

I made a quick tour of my property yesterday while out trimming some suckers on the trees. I do have apples not sure how many since it is hard to see when they are so tiny. I will have some pears, mulberries, and choke cherries. Also my strawberries in the terracotta pots made it through the cold winter in my garage so they will be setting more fruit this year. So not too bad. At least I will be able to work with some things for maybe freezing, canning or making jelly, and dehydrate some with my new dehydrator which I was able to buy really cheaply from Walmart with gift cards and some cash.

I have the most recent chicken cooling off. I put the carcass in my crock pot this morning so that I could get all of the little bits of meat off more easily and then will put the bones and skin back in for 24 hours to make bone broth. Bone broth is really healthy to just drink or eat but makes great soup.
Janet Alliesmama
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Jackielou
Posts: 13425
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:51 pm

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Jackielou »

You are going to love your dehydrator. I use mine a great deal.
Jackie
http://inthelandofthelivingskiesii.blogspot.ca/
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

I need to learn how to use it. I bought a bag of frozen corn at Dollar Tree to experiment with.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Today I finally got my banking set up on my computer completed and everything balanced with the bank as well as my own figures.. Another thing I am grateful for is, I hate to say this too loudly, but I have the $500.00 deductible for my roof repair and a little bit of a cushion.. Sussshh do not repeat that since the universe will send out an message that that is not allowed to happen..

Tomorrow I am going to take Teddi for a heart worm test and get him started on medication. We have had such a wet Spring we are having an increase in mosquitoes. Last year things were so tight I could not afford it. Plus he really does not spend that much time outside where he would be exposed to mosquitoes. I am lucky where I live that they are not that prevalent like down around the river. This is an unplanned for medical procedure. I do have his flea medicine from the Drs office however they said there is a combination of heart worm/flea medication. After the test I will weight the options. Teddi is not wanting to eat like he should so we will start with the heart worm and then see how things go. Maybe next month he will have to go for some additional testing if he does not perk up. He does eat tid bits here and there. His previous owner said a Shih Tzu's diet is more about water than food so as long as he is drinking I will see how things go.

I am trying to use up a lot of my gluten free flours in order to switch over to a low carb/keto diet. I still have some basics but hopefully will finish up with what I have this month.

I cooked the bones and skin of the last rotisserie chicken and made a nice broth. I strained it and tomorrow will make cabbage soup. It is loosely based on a recipe that I had years ago in restaurant. It has shredded cabbage, onions, and mushrooms which I have in the fridge. Also their recipe used Little smokies but I am going to use kielbasa thinly sliced and then cut in to quarters. It is going to be a little bit cooler tomorrow so it will go well with some gluten free muffins.

My brother called regarding his son's wedding next year. He said they are going to be married in a state park and that he has rented 5 cabins for our side of the family. He will be paying for everyone. I am glad to hear this since I had been looking in to hotels/motels in the area and it looked like they were hard to come by if you wait too long due to the various festivals and activities that happen in that area. My niece from Arizona will be flying in and we will drive down in my car and share expenses. Since the cabins have a full kitchen we will take our own food and save more money. Teddi will be staying home with a house sitter so that is money that will need to be set aside.. I have a year to do it so it will not be such a hardship.

Right now things are looking good but as soon as you start to feel things are going well there is always the unplanned, unexpected surprise.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

It has been a while.. I am so busy doing nothing..lol. I have had to prep for possible storms so went to Big Lots to buy ready to eat Indian meals. The packet is suppose to be good for two meals if you are not a pig...lol. I did eat half of one last night for dinner and then later on made Indian nacho's. Black lentil curry is somewhat similar to chili with a bit of an Indian accent. So I used some taco chips added some of the curry to them with some shredded cheese and sour cream. It was really good. Then I had an idea. I can further stretch the packets by cooking my own lentils and adding them to the sauce.. I think I will be able to get at least 4 to 5 servings out of each packet. I already have lentils of various kinds on hand. The expensive part of making Indian food is buying all of the various spices to make your own from scratch. I am really looking forward to making this next week.

While out shopping I ran across some meat bargains for quick sale. A small beef roast for $2.83 and some small steaks for $1.44. The steaks will work in a beef stir fry and the roast will maybe become Italian beef. Not yet sure what. However I am now going to concentrate on using up what I have on hand and see how far I can stretch things.

I did not take Teddi the other day for his heart worm test. Cannot remember now why but he is going to go tomorrow. He is up and down with his eating and he sleeps a lot.. Anyway I am going to start with the heart worm testing and then see if I can get him in do more outside exercises.. He seems to do better about eating if we have been outside with me working in the yard picking up sticks and he running around the yard..

My brother has been working on getting Bids for my roof replacement. The second man was just here today. Each sound good. We have one more on Wednesday and then we will decide. I am really grateful that my brother is so helpful and really knows what questions to ask. He then does research on what they are offering. So far they all have A+ BBB reviews it is just a matter of deciding on the type of shingles they are offering and the warranties. There is more but I am too tired to go retro active and write all of it.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Going to try to stay on track now that the poison ivy situation has settled down. I still have red marks on my legs and there is itching but it is vastly improved. The medicine (ointment) was suppose to last for a month but due to the large area I have not been using it twice daily or even daily. My insurance has already paid for around $260.00 for the ointment and that is ridiculous. I use it only when the itching is driving me nuts and some areas I use calamine lotion.

Yesterday I went for my B-12 shot and we decided to stop for Chinese food on the way home. I have been dealing with a lot of stress and decided a meal out would be nice. I wanted to pay for my aide but she refused. So we had a nice meal. I went next door to Dollar Tree to buy a few things that I needed. Came to 3.00 and change. Then went down the road and bought a rotisserie chicken for Teddi as well as myself.. I had just earned another $3.00 from another survey so the chicken came to $3.46. Great bargain for both of us. Teddi's dog food cost a whole lot more.

Teddi ate well yesterday and was even begging for treats which is rare so gave him a little more chicken and his treats. He was suppose to go for his heart worm test this morning but I was a bit wobbly from all of the activity yesterday so I canceled his appointment.

The other day when Teddi was at the groomers I had the oil changed in my car and then gassed up. Gas was $2.80 a gal down from a much higher price earlier in the month.. So I filled my tank thinking I was saving money. So yesterday gas was down to $2.66 a gal.. Buying gas is like gambling you just never know what is going to happen.. Also I went to Rapid Lube to get my oil changed and it came to $40.00. I thought they would be cheaper than going to Ford. Apparently not. I will go back to having it done at Ford since their oil change is 39.99 and at Ford you get points and can apply them towards future oil changes or if you need some kind of repair.

I plan on doing some kind of cooking ahead this week-end I have lots of food to work with and want to see how far I can stretch things.
Janet Alliesmama
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