Sweet Deals...

I'm off to Aldi (one of my friends commented that she doesn't shop at Aldi because the one time she went there, "it looked like a narcotics anonymous meeting had arrived.") What? I really don't care what the other shoppers look like. Besides, one day when I was in line, Abby's plastic surgeon (from an accident, in case you're wondering....)was in line in front of me buying bananas. He left and got in his BMW. Cool. Anyhow...pineapples for 99 cents this week, along with 4# bags of really good oranges for $1.49. I also bought the cutest $50.00 Christmas sweaters for gifts next year on sale at Sears for $7.99. (Don't tell the grammas....actually, it's OK, they know me....)

Dinners fru-gal this week: white chicken chili, baked mac and cheese, venison stew, chicken/taters/corn, and spaghetti with meat sauce. It think it goes without saying that these were homemade.

Your best deals this week? Favorite tightwad meals?

Ode to Fernald Linscott

You may, of course, wonder why I'm writing an ode in a blog about frugality. If you look closely, you will notice that my subtitle mentions living a life of thrift and value, emphasis on value--that's where Fern comes in. Not that he wasn't thrifty also, he's a Mainer, thrift happens by default.

Fernald and I both grew up in Springfield, Maine, population 500ish. He was just 30+ years my senior. And he stayed there. I'm a little jealous on that count. But I digress.

Fern was a rare individual. He particularly loved the youth of the area and spent many hours coaching pee wee basketball, little league and high school baseball. There wasn't a kid on any of his teams who didn't know how much Fernald cared about them. He was also a businessman; he owned some heavy equipment and ran a small construction company. (His son is the owner now, and my brother still works for him.) He was involved in town politics for as long as I can remember (New England still has real town meetings...if you're ever in the position to see one, take the time. The entertainment factor can't be beat.) And he was also the postmaster for 28 years, which I'm sure has a great deal to do with the reason that he knew EVERYBODY in our little hamlet. So that's what he was by profession, but in the realm of character and values, he was so much more.

As I read through the online testimonials left at the funeral home, I was poignantly struck by a couple of things. Fernald made everyone feel special. He offered strangers a hand, stopped and chatted with neighborhood kids (how many adults do that?) and would willingly give you half his sandwich if you caught him eating lunch. He regularly did "dirt" work for our little village chuch and never charged a dime. You always left him with a smile on your face. He wasn't a world-renowned man, and I think that's one reason he so special. He was content in his own little corner.

I started collecting stamps in 6th grade, a hobby that still sneaks up on me at strange times, causing me to grab envelopes out of trash cans and rip the stamp off, stuffing it in my pocket for later use. Since Fern was the postmaster, he helped me out. When I would go in with my meager earnings to buy the newest commemorative or plate block, Fern would give me a few extra. And no, I don't think for a nanosecond that he was ripping off the feds. When I went away to college, I wrote notes to him on the back of letters to my parents...he responded in kind. (OK, hopefully that's not a federal offense...I just thought it was sweet.) He always treated me with the utmost respect for the four years that I was the manager for the baseball team. As in, he told the boys not to swear around me.

Several years ago, after I'd been "away" for quite some time, my husband and I bought a camp near Duck Lake, just up the road a piece from Fernald's camp. One evening we were out for a stroll and just dropped in (in Maine, you can still do that). We stayed for a couple of hours, sitting on deck watching the sunset over the lake with he and his wife, Babe. It was a wonderful evening. Fernald had a stroke shortly after that, and the effects were slow and insidious. I still went to visit him a few times, and even though he had changed, he was still Fernald. It's hard to watch people vanish while they're still alive.

There are very few people in this world who don't have any enemies. If Fernald had them, they stayed hidden. I've never heard an unkind word said about him...that's a rarity. He taught me so much about so many things. I will never forget the man, and even though I'll never measure up, I will carry his values with me. Babe and family, you are truly in our thoughts and prayers. Fernald, well done.

A day in the life....

Maybe I just need to start, maybe that's the key. When I decided to blog, it seemed like a really good idea, but I didn't think that I should just write about any ol' thing. Since (one of) my passions is saving money, I thought it would be a good idea to write about that. One of my other passions is politics, but I don't take criticism too well and when you write about politics you have to have pretty thick skin....either that or only have like minded people reading your blog. Then my husband got a little torqued about how much time it was taking me to blog and suggested that I write during the day when he's not here....and when I don't have errands to run....or kids to cart....or work to go to.....and well, I just kinda let is slide.

But since the new year has started, I've made a commitment to crack down on the financial side of life. (My kids will groan if they see this, they already think I'm the most frugal mom in town.) So let me describe to you my last day of errand-running and you tell me if I'm too cheap:

1. I stop to buy a belt for the 12-year-old vacuum. $3.29. The lady always tries to get me to buy more than one: "Need to change that every year you know." I disagree. I've bought 3 in the life of the vaccum.
2. I get a haircut at Great Clips using a 7.99 coupon-- make it $11 with a tip. Since the Great Clips is right beside Harris Teeter, our friendly neighborhood yuppie-mart, I run in for the sole purpose of finding out if they have samples of my favorite bread. BINGO. Sweet snack. I buy nothing.
3. I stop at Aldi and pick up $35.00 worth of groceries. Milk is $2.10 a gallon, eggs 99 cents, and oranges 40 cents a pound. Beat that, Harris Teeter. I feeling celebratory, so I splurge on a 99 cent mocha iced coffee. I love Aldi!!
4. I stop at the library to pick up a couple books on saving money: The Ultimate Cheapskate by Jeff Yeager and Money, a Memoir by Liz Pearle. I've read them both before, but at my age I forget a lot and need to reinspired. I'll comment on the books later.
5. I come home and make 3 pizzas from scratch, remembering the time Abby had a sleepover and, on seeing me kneading pizza dough, one of her friends exclaimed, "You can MAKE dough?!? That always makes me laugh.

This is my life. Comments please.

eyeglasses and contact lenses

I've searched the web over for deals on eyeglasses and contacts...but this is one of those things that change almost monthly, so please feel free to add new sites.

My daughter and husband wear glasses; my daughter also wears contacts. There was a time when I wore both, but 8 years ago I had lasik eye surgery, and it was some of the best money I've ever spent. I will have to wear glasses for reading someday (probably sooner than I'd like), but going from 20/200 to 20/15 overnight was an amazing thing...let me know if you have questions.

So, with a daughter wearing toric lenses and the office price at right around$47.00 a box, I started the search. www.shipmycontacts.com has the best prices I've found, approximately $25 a box and free shipping.

Eyeglasses are getting cheaper every day. There are several sites that sell complete packages (frames and lenses,even bifocals) for $8.99, even with shipping they are less than $13.00 a pair. So check out the selections at the followiing: www.zennioptical.com, www.selectspecs.com, and www.globaleyeglasses.com.

white meat....best chicken deals

Ah, the glorious chicken. Produces eggs and meat for us, and even feathers for our pillows. I LOVE chicken, and could eat it five times a week, but we probably average only once or twice. So what's the beat deal for the money??

Let me just start by saying that I rarely purchase meat unless it's on sale. I've often wondered what gives the most bang for the buck with chicken. Obviously, boneless, skinless breast is the easiest to prepare and usually the tastiest, but it is also considerably more expensive, upwards from $2.50 per pound. So, I did some experiments.

First, I purchased ten pounds of legs and thighs for a sale price of 59 cents a pound. I cooked, boned and skinned them and ended up with 3.5 pounds of edible chicken, which is about $1.70 per pound. Then I compared bone in, skin on breast to boneless, skinless. My conclusion was that, overall, pound-for-edible-pound, bone in, skin on breast is the beast deal. I often find this on sale for as low as 79 cents a pound, and when I do, I fill my freezer. Boneless, skinless is rarely less than $2.00 a pound, even on sale, and it is very easy to remove the skin and bones from the other, either before or after it is cooked. Little effort for a decent cost savings. You only lose about one pound in ten after removing the unedible parts. Of course, you have to consider what you are going to be using the chicken for in the first place.

So there's my very unscientific analysis...anybody have some good recipes to share??

New system...

Here's my new strategy after not even LOOKING at my blog for weeks....I plan to post on Mondays and Thursday for those of you who really want to keep up with me.

Coming posts: which diapers are best for the money and great chicken ideas (eating it, not growing it:)!!

Movies, movies, movies...best deals in town

Ah, the movies...gotta love them! What can be more relaxing than falling asleep watching your favorite flick?? With so many options these days, allow me to tell you about some of my favorites:

The library!!! Yes, my all time favorite place to pick up a good movie. Our library has thousands of titles and lots of good documentaries. And if your favorite isn't there, you can place it on hold and they'll call you when it comes in. Best place for a freebie (if you don't count your taxes, that is.....TANSTAAFL)

Netflix: You sign up for Netflix online. There are different levels, but basically the way it works is that you pay X amount per month and get to chose from thousands of titles. For $8.99 a month, you get unlimited titles. You indicate the movies you want, Netflix sends out one or more at a time (dependent on your level) and boom! they show up in your mailbox usually the next day. When you're done, you mail them back in a prepaid envelope. This is especially great if you are in a rural area, which was the reason we participated in Maine. They have a 1 month free trial...you have nothing to lose!!

Redbox: Like a vendng machine for DVDS, these things are showing up on every corner. Swipe your credit or debit card and select a video. You are charged a buck a night until you return it...and you can return the DVD to ANY Redbox, not just the one you got it from. After 20 nights, the billing stops and you own it. You can also reserve copies online if you want a certain show. Biggest negative: not a huge selection.

Family Video: SOOOO much better than Blockbuster or Hollywood video. Huge selection, and not to be outdone by Redbox, new releases are now $1.00 for FIVE nights!!! Free kid videos, too. Can't beat that!!

So go get a movie!!