All Entries

Sorry, the column line breaks are going to be obnoxious on this one since there is no way to take them out.  The website is annoying me to no end today, especially since they have somehow disabled my AdSense on here and didn't care to respond to me when I asked them about it.  I bring in a lot of traffic to this site, look at my hit count, and now I'm not even getting my tiny fraction of ad revenue from it.  I really want a viable alternative to here, but I hate...
[ Read More ]

There was not much many left in the grocery envelope this time around as I bought a lot of food for canning, but there was some to add to the freezer envelope.  We will get there bit by bit.
$858.00 Beginning Balance
+_29.00 Amount Added
-------------
$887.00 New Balance
[ Read More ]

$8203.84 Beginning Balance
+_436.00 Amount Added
--------------
$8639.84 New Balance
I really hate the fact that I can't take line breaks out, even if I do it in Word first and transfer it.  At first we could.  It makes the column of numbers take up way too much space this way and it looks stupid.  Anyway, it feels nice to be able to start building this fund up again.
[ Read More ]

Hi everyone,
I keep trying to update my settings and it does not work. Where can I get help? Rachael
This is the error. Line 13 is the blog description. I did not try to change that but when I got this error I deleted the description and it still gave me an error.I did not try to modify the header.
 
ou have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MariaDB server version for the right syntax to use near ' journaldesc = '', ...' at line 13Warning:...
[ Read More ]

Covid has definitely changed my habits.  We will not be going back to eating out all the time both take out and out once this is all over. I can definitely see myself not going back to quick prep meals either.   As the months drag on I will not say that I am in love with cooking but my skills have greatly improved. I have found many recipes now and I'm doing things my family enjoys.
I was never a terrible cook nor did I not cook.  But I was very limited in...
[ Read More ]

I looked at my credit union account this morning, and it posted a balance transfer fee of $44.  I added that to my spending spreadsheet.  Variables are at 37%.
Yesterday I made strawberry sauce, which I will have on pancakes today.  Today I will make some spaghetti sauce with mushrooms.
There is a lot of room in my fridge and freezer, with all the compromised food gone.  Still, I have plenty of food in the pantry.  I'm going to stretch it as far as I...
[ Read More ]

Yesterday I pulled out one of the half chicken breasts from the Costco frozen chicken.  They are huge.  A 10lb bag of chicken yields 9-10 half chicken breasts - so about a pound each.  I baked it with some seasonings, lemon juice and butter and made some quinoa.  So good.  I was able to cut the breast and quinoa into thirds, and made 3 meals out of it.  Since this made 3 meals, I calculated dinner at $.90!
For breakfast, I made a scramble using 2...
[ Read More ]

I transferred my Discover balance to my credit union credit card this morning.  It is interest-free for 12 months.  I set up a payment reminder to myself to get it paid off in 10 months.  What I like about this offer is that I didn't have to get a new credit card.  I can use one I already have.
Now that I have that big chunk handled, I can concentrate on paying off the electrical contractor, and buying Christmas presents.
I still wish I could update my sidebar. ...
[ Read More ]

Yeah, it's 45 degrees out, I've got wild rice in the cupboard, and a budget that needs a little help, so, as usual, it's soup time.  I love the Instant Pot wild rice soup I started making last winter, so will start a pot as soon as I get offline.
I'm trying very very hard to pay DD's tuition bill without moving money from her 529 plan or our savings.  I think I'll be short, but not by much.  And since they let me put it on the credit card with no additional charges,...
[ Read More ]

Are you in a local group that is part of The Buy Nothing Project? If not, please consider joining. The Buy Nothing Project aims to empower people to engage in a generous giving economy. When you are part of a group in your area, you can post things that you don't want - it helps create less waste, less landfill, and goes to helping people. You can pick up things that others post. And if there is something you need, you can ask on the group, and only buy it if no one has the thing...
[ Read More ]

I would have no luck at all.  Sometimes I feel that way.  Yesterday evening, after spending almost $100 on groceries, my power went out in a storm and stayed out for 18 hours.  A lot of the food I bought will have to be thrown away.  Sometimes I just feel like I'm hitting my head against a wall.
Had I been more on the ball I could have saved some of it, but it was black as pitch in the house and I didn't think the power would be out so long.  It's never...
[ Read More ]

In order to make anymore progress on https://budgetbloggers.com/ I need to add some blogs. Are there any bloggers here that would be okay with me copy and pasting a few of their posts over on my new website? After that is successful I will also be looking for a couple people willing to set up an account and make a few posts to try out the system. Let me know if you would be interested in that as well. Thank you!
 
If you are interested in setting up an account to test please...
[ Read More ]

I have almost all my clients switched over to either the new company or to myself. So far everyone except one account has paid their bill upfront for the next year. So I have a huge inflow of cash right now, but I have to remember it will only be once a year. I already saved back the amount I need to pay for the subscriptions that are due in a couple months, and paid for the hosting for all the accounts for 3 years. The rest I went ahead and put towards savings and debt pay off.
Still...
[ Read More ]

Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served! 🇺🇸 
I am taking my favorite veteran & military spouse out today. My parents, that is. Is there a word for the meal between lunch & dinner like brunch? That's when we're going out to avoid the crowds. 😁
It's also restaurant week here so there are good specials available. We are looking forward to heading to one of our favorite restaurants for restaurant week. They have a 3 course special that is really more than...
[ Read More ]

Yesterday I canned 14 more quarts of potatoes (and I mislabled them with today's date, but what are you going to do?  I washed up the jars and tops today so they won't be sticky in storage.  They didn't feel sticky, but I don't take any chances.  I have enough of my garden potatoes left to do 7 more quarts and that will also fill my potato shelf.  Then I will start on carrots and parsnips.  I am switching to the single decker canner instead of the double...
[ Read More ]

I have been looking at our grocery budget and the prices of things have gone up in a lot of areas...I knew they would at the beginning of the year because of last years bushfires here in Australia...but then covid hit and they increased again due to people panic buying....well the shelves have been full for months now but prices really haven't dropped...is that the same around the globe? although it hasn't really cost us anymore from what we budget...I am still keeping an eye on...
[ Read More ]

I have a big pot of split pea soup in the crockpot today.  I love this soup.  It ended up costing about $3 to make.  I used half the ham slab that I picked up for $2.99.  (The other half I will use with my eggs to make a nice breakfast scramble the next couple of days).   I added the usual veggies - onion, carrot, celery, garlic and some spices.  This will make 8-10 servings. I finished the last of the pinto beans last night.  I didnt need...
[ Read More ]

I just got back from Aldi, where I spent $98, on the nose.  I decided that I would stock up while I was there, in hopes that I won't have to go out again this month, and maybe longer.
My grandson's birthday is this weekend.  He asked for cash, and I have it ready for him, but I don't have a card.  Maybe I will make him one.  I haven't heard if there is going to be a gathering, but if it isn't an outdoor gathering, I won't go.  I am really getting uncomfortable...
[ Read More ]

I can't believe it's November already! We've had lovely weather lately in my neck of the woods and I am savoring every bit of it. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be very low key as we are staying home. COVID's second wave is here and I will be teaching remotely at least until mid January (I suspect longer). I'm grateful for that, but I realize that it is not an ideal situation for students and teachers.
Our Mortgage Payoff challenge is going great and I am confident that we can...
[ Read More ]

Hi Everyone,
I'll be taking a break from Saving Advice for a while. I'm just feeling the need for some breathing room from all social media for a bit. I will continue to post my monthly financial updates, and I will be back after the New Year with some well thought out goals for 2021.
I want to sincerely wish everyone here a very Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a joyous season to include any holiday you may observe.
Please stay safe and healthy!
Wink
[ Read More ]