![_41290418_victoria_belyavskaya[1]](http://www.thecheapchick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/41290418_victoria_belyavskaya1.jpg "_41290418_victoria_belyavskaya[1]")
And, more importantly, do I care?
Tip Of The Day: It’s time once again to make it (‘it’ meaning this website in general, and this post in particular) all about you. What are you feeling today? What’s making you tick? What’s causing you to curse the skies and pull your hair out? Or, on a positive note, what ways are you being frugal and fabulous today? Share the wealth below.
Tip For Tomorrow: Attention, People Who Care – I’ll be on Fox 9’s Morning Buzz Friday this week, and not Thursday as usual. Therefore, tomorrow’s post won’t be my Buzz segment companion piece. Instead, I’ll be sharing the deets on two stores you might be overlooking. Which would be a pity, as they are both must-shops for the thrifty-minded.
Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: This week’s Hump Day Opinion Poll is all about the weather. Why? Because I’m a Minnesotan, dammit, and come winter time, we Minnesotans are allllllll weather, alllll the time. Like it or lump it, I say. I also say I’d like to know what nifty/thrifty ways you have of coping with inclement weather. Such as nasty blizzards in mid-December.
The Hump Day “Oh God, We’re In For At Least 4 More Months Of This Crap” Opinion Poll:
1. Do you stockpile for bad weather? Food, entertainment, booze, that sort of thing? Or do you treat days with eminent bad weather the same as happy sunshine days? I’m lucky enough to live mere blocks from the library, the liquor store, Target and Cub Foods – so I can get out for my supplies in even the worst weather. Ergo, I don’t have to stock up, I just have to drive carefully.
2. Do you try to save money on fuel when nasty weather hits, or do you throw caution (and the thermometer) to the wind and crank up the furnace? I’m trying really hard this year to keep my temp at consistent, lower setting. Plus, I’ve been turning the heat way down at night in an effort to a. save money and b. not wake up with a furnace-induced sore throat.
3. Do you think you have enough warm weather gear for this winter, or will you be buying more? If yes, where do you plan to shop, and what do you plan to buy? I’m set for this year on leather gloves, scarves and hats. But I can always use more fingerless gloves (impractical, perhaps. But I love them anyway.), and I’d like a decent pair of all-terrain mittens. However, I refuse to spend more than $20 on either.
4. Do you stay in more during the winter? And if yes, do you think this helps you save money on entertainment? As I am a Ren Festing gadfly in the summer months, I can’t help but spend less in the winter on entertainment. However, I go out as much as possible to see friends and family all winter long, to prevent the dread cabin fever. No one wants me to get all Redrum on them.
5. Speaking of cabin fever and The Shining, what frugal tips do you have to avoid going nuts come late January? As I aforementioned, I visit friends and family – just hanging out and gabbing, not necessarily whooping it up on the town. I also try to maintain a normal exercise schedule and spend time away from home, running (cheap) errands. Fortunately, I live in the city, so I’m not often snowed in. Unlike folks hotel-sitting in the mountains of Colorado…
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Now share yours – tell us your answers to those winter-themed questions in the Comments below. Or, be a rebel and share anything you’d like. No judgment.
3 Comments
I don’t stockpile stuff during the winter. I’m lucky enough to live very close to all kinds of stores, should I need anything. I see friends whenever time, money, weather, and schedules permit. Winter does sometimes throw a kink into social plans, of course. One of my favorite hobbies is reading, so, if stuck indoors (or if I choose to stay in), I have plenty of books to entertain me. For years, I’ve been considering moving somewhere warmer, but just haven’t done it yet. While I hate the cold and snow (I’m a MN native), I’d miss my family terribly. Alas, I endure the winters. For now.
1.We don’t stock pile, but in general I think it’s a good idea to keep a few extra cans of soup around this time of year.
2. we have a programmable thermostat, it keeps the house a bit cooler during the day when we’re at work and at night and it’s a bit warmer when we get home in the evening. If I’m home alone, I override the settings and make it a couple of degrees warmer, since my cuddle-buddy isn’t there. Installing the thermostat was easy and it’s saved us a lot of money.
3. Got new boots Black Friday and my mom gave me some new gloves, so I’m pretty well set.
4. We host most movie nights in the winter, but sometimes I just have to do something so totally not wintery, like go swimming. Goo thing there’s a hotel in town who lets the public use their pool for $4.
5. I try to make sure I get to see the sun at least a little bit everyday. If it’s warmer, I go for walks, ice skating or sledding and I actually like to shovel snow. (occasionally)
Well, I feel silly talking about weather since I live in Alabama and we don’t usually have a winter. But…
(1) I usually empty my freezer out during the winter with what I’ve stockpiled during the summer. I can’t stand to go without good fruits and vegetables so we put them up in the summer and empty them out in the winter.
(2) We installed a programmable thermostat and keep it quite cool during the day while we work and again it is cool when we sleep. 65 is what we usually have it at during the evening and slightly cooler at night. We just dress in layers and have lots of throws around
(3) Ummm, not much winter weather here so no need of much gear
(4) We do stay in a little more. Even though we don’t have a true “Winter”, we do have cooler nights in the 20s and 30s and a lot of times it is wet. That is what keeps us in more than anything, wet weather. We like to read and my passion is needlework but we also host game nights to see our friends.
(5) We swap dinners at each others home instead of meeting at restaurants so that keeps things a little less expensive. Between that and hosting movies we get from the library it keeps things as ‘frugal’ as possible.