Frugal Friday

Well, I blew it again -- it's now Saturday.

I'm clueless what to post about frugality at the moment.

This week Thomas and I ate out twice: Once at Taco Bell in Civilization, a town an hour from us where we take puppy classes. Tonight we ate at McDonald's. Taco Bell was $8, McDonald's was $11. So there's a 20 shot. However, I did only spend $60 on groceries this week, so that's much less than normal.

I also spent some money on school this week. I bought two used text books. We're going to stop studying history for awhile and start a unit on civics. It's a good time with the election and all. I find it easier to use a text as a spine and then supplement. I bought two identical texts, because they were $6 each and it included shipping. I prefer it when we read together and then talk -- I can see what Thomas is reading. I don't typically buy two texts for social studies, though.

This week I called the bank where we have our car loan. I had it set up so it automatically comes out of our bank account. For the entire time we've had our car loan, they have only sent us a year-end tax form. I wanted to check to see when it would be paid off. I knew it would be this spring. I was correct, it will be paid in full in April. Woo-hoo to that!

That's it. I am completely uninspired to talk money, think money, or save money at the moment. Sadly, I'm never uninspired to spend it, though. However, I have a new motto: When in doubt, do without. That works for me.

Frugal Friday

Cheap Prescription Glasses

Sometime eons ago, last April to be exact, my eye glasses broke. Bob and I went to the eye doctor, got new prescriptions, and paid over $500 for new glasses. I bought glasses and prescription sunglasses. The sunglasses I got dirt cheap, that is for a brick and mortar store, as the frames were only $19.99 on sale. I think I ended up paying around $85 for the sunglasses.

I hated my regular glasses with a passion. I returned them. Even though my glasses were broken, I was very proud that I marched back into Shopko and got my money back. I kept the sunglasses.

Sam, at A Desk Full of Clutter, had commented about Zenni Optical when I blogged about my glasses and the search for a cheaper pair. He had read about someone who was happy with their glasses from them.

I went to Zenni Optical, looked around, was shocked that they had frames starting at $8 a pair, and quickly made a selection. The frames I chose were $29.90. Well, that is the total for the glasses I chose, I'm not quite sure if my wonky prescription bumped the price up or not.

The customer service was fantastic. Within a day of my order, Zenni emailed me asking for verification of the prescription. My left eye is really bad but my right eye is really good. They questioned that I put the prescription in correctly before they made the glasses. I scanned the prescription and emailed it to them.

Within less than a week, my new glasses arrived. I LOVED THEM. I love them to this day! This is one of my all-time favorite pair of glasses -- ever. They fit fantastic. They're much more stylish than I would have normally bought.

They arrived with a nice case and cleaning cloth, too.

I will never buy glasses in a brick and mortar store again. My total bill, with shipping from Zenni, was $34.85.

The only down side I can see to this is that you don't get them custom fit to your head. I really don't see that as a down side for me at all, though. These glasses fit great.

I highly recommend Zenni Optical! I will always buy from them. It is nice to know that I'll be able to pick up a pair of glasses, and much-needed prescription sunglasses from them for under $100.

That was my best money-saving adventure of last year.

Frugal Friday

Another Frugal Friday is here. I have lots of things I want to write about, but today's thoughts out loud are focused on health.

It's cheaper to be healthy than unhealthy. It makes one feel better, too.

Currently I'm on two medications, one for high triglycerides and one to help me sleep. $50 a month, and that's with insurance. (And yes, I know that's cheap compared to what some people are on.) It's highly likely that if I were to lose weight and exercise daily, I could get off that triglyceride medication. Perhaps the sleeping pills, too.

I always feel icky. I have aches, pains, headaches. My back hurts, my feet hurt, my legs hurt. I get out of breath, I have no energy and I just feel blah.

I used to be a member of Weight Watchers. I love the program. I know it inside and out. I've decided to not spend the money and join again, saving me about $14 a week. Instead, I'll do it on my own. I'll be accountable to myself.

That is the single-most important thing for me to focus on at this time: my health. It wills save me money in many ways.

Exercise is another important ingredient. I'm not going to join a gym -- too expensive, plus I don't like gyms. I was a member of Curves for a long time a few years ago. I liked it okay, and I was able to maintain my weight loss with exercise alone, but it was $30 a month, Thomas was in school then and so I was able to get there at convenient-to-me times (when it wasn't crowded) and I had the money to do it. Now I prefer to save the money, I don't want to go when it's crowded, and I choose to stay at home.

Right now I just need to get moving. I have a puppy, he needs to walk. Free exercise. When it's icy out, we go to one of the city parks because they keep the sidewalks there ice free. So no excuses. I also have a million exercise videos. I love Richard Simmons. I have many others to choose from, too. (Garage sale finds!)

Food: Well, eating healthier will cost a little more starting out. I'll need to stock up, watch sales for chicken, turkey and healthier protein choices and pantry items. I'll have to watch sales very carefully. I'll also be making more trips to the store to stock up on fresh foods.

Careful menu planning will help. I took all of my favorite WW recipes and organized them on one sheet into categories such as Mexican, Italian, beef, chicken, crock pot, etc. That helps a lot when I'm planning. I then plan one month's worth of dinner menus at a time. That way we're able to get variety in what we eat, and we have a little leeway if we're in the mood for something -- I can move things around.

I have looked into The Grocery Game but I don't know that it would work for us. I rarely use coupons because I don't use a lot products that offer coupons. I might revisit this and try their $1 trial, but I have my doubts. I think watching sales ads on my own will work better.

My favorite source of Weight Watchers recipes can be found here. Homemade snacks for Thomas and Bob are in order, which means me being in the kitchen more, but it's cheaper and healthier than buying prepackaged stuff.

Good health is more cost-effective than bad health. If I can take the steps to be healthier, I will save money because I'll have more energy to do more.

hmmm...not your average frugal post, is it?

Just think of all the books I can buy if I get off those medications...$50 a month!

Frugal Friday on Saturday

Topic: Books

Audrey at A Small Corner of Nowhere didn't just talk about Frugal Friday, she jumped right in.

And she hit a subject near and dear to my heart (and almost every homeschooler's heart, books!)

Hop on over and read her post.

Her post got me to thinking about some things. I don't use the library as much as I could/should. I think 2008 we'll strive to improve that.

I don't use the library that often because when we study something and I look for books, half are checked out, and it's usually the good half that are gone. Well, our library does have a system that you can place holds on books. So being organized would be the key to avoiding that problem. Organization is also the key for requesting ILLs so that they arrive when we want them.

I love to buy books, but as Audrey points out, we are disappointed with so many. My latest book purchase from Amazon cost $80ish. We got several books, but the one that Thomas really loved was the Eyewitness Africa book. That is one that he has read from cover to cover more than once. Facing the Lion was his second favorite. So only two of the books I bought satisfied Thomas. The rest, although not waste, was waste. lol

Another issue I have with buying books is that I have only one child. I don't have a bunch of kiddos to pass the books on to. That really does make a huge difference. If I had a house full of kids, I could see purchasing more as I'd get more bang for the buck.

I buy a lot of books at garage sales. We only have one thrift store in town, and the past couple of years their book selections have been dismal. I like to look for used books online, but with shipping, that adds up. Our Rotary Club has an annual book sale in the fall. Our library also has two book sales a year, and books are cheap. Other than that, we'd have to travel to a nearby city to find decent, used books. My small town does not have a book store!

Audrey also discussed the use of credit cards. I want to quit using credit cards this year. Impossible, for a homeschooling mom in a small town that has to order a lot online. My idea was to start a separate checking account of my own. Proceeds of anything I sell will go into the account. I'll budget so much per month to go into the account as well. I will get a check card/credit card to use with it so that I can buy online. The only difference is that I can't spend money that's not in the account. That will force me to choose very carefully what I actually buy. That will also make things easier for tax time, because in Minnesota, we get to claim our educational expenses on our state income taxes.