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And guess what? That aforementioned One? Is FREE.
Tip Of The Day: Two, count’em TWO posts in one! That’s right, first up is my Weekly Spending Recap (sadly, I did really, really bad last week) and second up (?) is the companion piece to my Fox 9 News at 5 segment. I’m trying to give you more for your money, folks.
Tip For Tomorrow: Wednesday’s post will be a veritable potpourri of frugal tidbits. The expensive lesson I learned for us all so you don’t have to repeat my mistake, cool new frugal sites linked to my Empire, plus the inexpensive Payless booties my friends and I are lusting after. See? Loads of good stuff.
Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: So, yeah, I ate fast food again last week. And Sunday night, too, but that won’t show up until my next Recap. Plus I went to Target more than once. Seriously, these two bad spending habits are really hard for me to quit. I’m like a dieter who can’t give up the midnight munchies.
Weekly Spending Recap, The “Will I Ever Learn?” Edition:
Sunday, August 23
Nothing, Yay Me!!!!
Monday, August 24
JoAnn Fabrics, candy for the crew, $3.19
Cub Foods, Totino Party Pizza (at least it wasn’t Taco Bell) and a trash magazine, $4.70
Tuesday, August 25
Target, HUGE shopping trip for the week to include groceries, $53.60
Wednesday, August 26
Perkins, breakfast that wasn’t fast food, $9.69
Post Office, shipping for eBay sale, $10.80
Gas Plus, gas for the Honda, $27.78
Cub Foods, veggies, $7.76
McDonalds, dinner to off-set all those veggies, $4.00
South France BP, candy for Larue, $1.06
Thursday, August 27
NOTHING AGAIN! So, that’s something, right?
Friday, August 28
Styles On Boone, hair cut and partial foil, $72.00
Target, stuff plus another Totino Party Pizza and leave me alone, $8.85
Saturday, August 29
Farmer’s Market, veggies and bison and baked goods, $15.00
Byerly’s, snacks for Wench Posse gathering, $10.13
Total For The Week: $228.56. Which, given I had my hair done, isn’t bad for the week. However, I’m still eating out/badly/too much and it continues to hurt my bottom AND my bottom line. Here’s why:
I reward/comfort/celebrate with food. Had a bad day? Buy a Party Pizza. Partying with the girls? Buy Tator Tots and cheese sauce. Bored on a Friday night? Swing by Taco Bell for a food fiesta. Dieters work to stop curing what ails them with food, so they can loose weight. I need to cut back so I can save money. Either way, breaking this psychological pattern is HARD.
Anyhow, let’s turn my frown upside down and talk about something fun. Like being on Fox 9 and going to the State Fair – two things I achieved yesterday. Tonight at 5 PM, you can watch the results of my Fair-going, but if you’re impatient (like me!), here’s the lowdown on the new, free good stuff I found:
1. All the horse shows, including the rodeos, are now free. In the past, they (The State Fair Powers That Be) would charge for various shows – resulting in folks thinking ALL the shows cost money. Well, they don’t. Not at all – so swing by the Coliseum dealie and watch ponies prance, cowboys corral, and horses… do horse things. My mom and I watched a few shows, and sitting in the cool, comfortable arena was well worth the pit stop.
2. There’s a new, free, family show over by Heritage Square called Shenaniguns! Wild West Comedy Show. They do 3 performances a day, so you’re bound to find the time to sit a spell and watch.
3. Did you know you can bring in outside food? We make such a big deal about Fair Food, we forget we don’t actually have to eat it. My recommendation? Pick the one thing you’re dying to try (I love the deep-fried candy bars myself), and eat it. Then, round out the day with a nice picnic lunch. You can even cart around your own water bottles in a back pack – I saw a ton of Fair-goers doing that.
4. You can find a complete list of Discount Days, how and where to buy Blue Ribbon Coupon Books, which vendors have coupons in the Books, and which vendors offer Buck or Less deals at the very easy to use State Fair website. I love this site – it is sooooooo useful. Plus they list every single food on a stick available – if you’re into that sort of thing.
Food for thought – what is your favorite thing to eat at the Fair? Discuss amongst yourselves.
3 Comments
A few suggestions, re: the first part of your post.
1. Instead of a Taco Bell run when there’s nothing to do, have everyone bring their nail polish stashes to someone’s house for a DIY pedicure party. It cures the boreds.
2. I recently started using the envelope system to curb my spending on things I don’t really need. I get extra money envelopes from my bank, label them and put cash in each payday. One envelope for gas, one for groceries/misc. food, one for personal/household items, etc. If I have a big event (like my friend’s bachelorette party or a weekend trip) I put money for that in an envelope (like last weekend, I put cash to pay for my hotel room and some expected fast food in an envelope when travelling to a family wedding). I still use my debit card for some things if needed, but this has been really helpful for me. I’m constantly asking myself if I really NEED things, because if I spend $5 one day on something I don’t really need I’ll be SOL another day. It’s really been a good learning experience. And it forces me to take an hour or so on a Sunday and make a big batch of something so that I have leftovers, because when I’m out of money, I’m out.
Hands down my favorite thing to eat at the fair is mini donuts and cheese curds!
My favorite Fair food? The Pig Lickers (aka chocolate-covered bacon) from Famous Dave’s. I’m going back this year specifically to have it again. I haven’t heard good reviews of the peach-glazed pork cheeks, though.
Two amazing deals I have to pass along:
1. If you’re looking for jeans, Old Navy has several different styles for $19, and they were giving away a free t-shirt with each pair. Plus, it’s Stuff & Save time through 9/10, so if you have an Old Navy card you get an extra 20% off along with a reusable tote. They also have several t-shirts and tanks for $5. So I picked up 2 pairs of jeans, 2 t-shirts, and a reusable bag for $32. (The fact that they fit like a glove? Priceless.)
2. I just got a flyer for Clothes Mentor, a new consignment shop opening in Roseville in the Babies R Us strip mall on Fairview. They pay you cash on the spot for your items. I’ve been to their Maple Grove store and they have a good selection. While I’ve had pretty good luck consigning at Turn Style, it’s nice to have options.