Penny Pinching Mom

Responsibility? What’s That?

My brother-in-law recently got a lump sum of money. I’m not exactly clear on what it was for- it wasn’t disability or a settlement or anything like that. But anyway, he has been going hog wild with it. Stockpiling cases of beer, buying movies, and all sorts of other stuff that he really doesn’t need.

What burns me up is that he has a little boy, and I have yet to see him buy anything for him with it. No clothes, toys, baby bedding or anything. I can’t say it really surprises me, but it makes me angry. Here we are struggling to keep food on the table and buy our daughter the things she needs, and he blows all his money on himself.

You’d think he would take some of that money and get his own place, but no. He’s still living with his parents, and that’s probably where he’ll stay unless he finds someone else who will let him stay for free. Sorry for the rant, but I just have a low tolerance for freeloaders.

Birthday on a Budget

Pumpkin’s birthday party is this weekend, and I’m trying to plan her a nice party without spending much money. It’s not turning out to be very easy. Too bad there aren’t any textbooks on the subject.

I went to Dollar Tree in hopes of finding some inexpensive gifts and party favors, and came out nearly empty-handed. I did get her two helium balloons, some barrettes and ponytail holders, some pretty plates, and a sort of banner for decoration for her party. But that’s all I managed to find.

I guess I’ll be hitting the other dollar stores. They don’t actually sell much for $1, but surely I can find some inexpensive stuff there. I’ll also be attempting to make her a cake or some cupcakes, but given my oven’s past performance I’m not sure how they’ll turn out. I think the thermostat is off, so I should be okay if I can find the right temperature. I think it’s about 25 degrees lower than called for, but that remains to be seen as I’ve never attempted baking in it before, just heating frozen stuff. I’m more of a crock pot and frying pan kind of cook.

It has been interesting so far to say the least. I’ll let you know how it all works out.

The Ups and Downs of Freelancing

Being a freelancer is awesome in many ways, but some things about it aren’t ideal. I’m fortunate to have a couple of rockin’ clients that give me work every month, yet it’s rather scary when I don’t have plenty of stuff lined up. I got down to just the project I’m working on currently and one that is due in a few weeks for a few days there, and I nearly freaked.

Actually, never mind nearly. I did freak. I looked at the freelance job boards for the first time in a few months. I even did an admin job search for steady jobs that allowed telecommuting. I found a few leads, but I didn’t act on them just yet.

I don’t guess I will be following up on them at all, because I now have another report lined up plus a promise of more work. Rock on. Now I have to worry about keeping up, but that’s nothing new. If I could ever get out of this mental fog and constant exhaustion I’m dealing with that wouldn’t be much of an issue, but that’s another story for another day. For now I’m just glad to have enough work that I need to be concerned about that.

When You Need a 4-Wheel Drive

Hubby and I have considered selling one of our trucks. It would save us a substantial amount of money each month, what with the absence of a truck payment and lower insurance. I still have my T-Bird, so we would still each have a vehicle. But around here, you really need a 4-wheel drive vehicle in the winter. They don’t keep the roads very clear, so if you have a 2-wheel drive, or worse, a rear-wheel drive like the Bird, it’s not safe to go anywhere.

I know, I work at home, so I don’t need to go out much in the snow. But I worry about having to pick Pumpkin up from school. Most of the time if the roads are bad they cancel it, but sometimes when they are bad in just a few places they do. And I hate the thoughts of not being able to get to her if she needed me.

It would be nice if I could just slap some snowmobile parts on the Bird and it would go anywhere in the snow. But it doesn’t work that way. So we’re stuck with two truck payments for the time being. At least we don’t owe much more on mine. It would be paid off in about a year if I just kept making the monthly payments as scheduled. But I’m hoping to get it paid off early somehow. If I could, the finances wouldn’t be nearly as tight. Because once it’s paid for, I’m not getting another vehicle until it’s an absolute necessity.

Gotta Get Away

I haven’t been anywhere to speak of in a long, long time. I desperately need a change of scenery. I’d love to go to the Bahamas, but one of those Disney cruises for kids would probably suit me just fine right now.

Pumpkin is going to Grandfather Mountain soon with her troop, but I won’t get to go. They’re also planning to go to the Land of Oz festival, but I don’t know if either one of us will make it to that due to budget constraints. I would make Hubby take me camping, but it’s getting too chilly at night for that. So I guess I’m pretty much stuck for now.

As soon as I start bringing in enough money to put some up, I’m definitely going to start a vacation fund. And as soon as there’s enough money in it, I’m going somewhere. I don’t care if it’s in the dead of winter, I’ve got to get a break from the same old same old before I go crazy.

No Glasses for Me

I’ve been slightly nearsighted for as long as I can remember. I recall having my eyes checked in school and the guy telling me I had something like 20/30 vision in one eye. I guess that’s not very good, but I can see plenty well enough to do anything I need to do. I can pass the eye exam at the DMV, so I’m good.

My parents were never terribly concerned with my vision, so I didn’t have glasses when I was younger. Hubby keeps saying I need them, but I think it’s mainly because when he points something far off out to me, it takes me a minute to figure out where exactly he is pointing. He has a hard time understanding things from other people’s point of view.

Things are a little blurry far off for me, but it hasn’t gotten any worse over the years. And I’ve heard a lot about glasses making your vision worse. I guess that’s why people have to keep getting stronger prescriptions. If I ever do have anything done about it, I’ll probably get Lasik. I know a few people who have had it done, and it was quite helpful.

I Don’t Wanna Go Back to a J.O.B.

Hubby has been trying to talk me into going back to my old restaurant job. I know they would hire me back, but I’m just not interested. The pay sucks, and they won’t hire anyone who won’t work weekends. And I do not want to work weekends, period. I’ve done more than my fair share of that over the years, and I need some time to spend with my family.

I have thought about looking for another job and going through the whole employment screening process once again. But I want something part time that would allow me to continue with my writing, and it would have to pay better than most jobs in this area to make it worthwhile. As expensive as gas has gotten, it’s just not worth driving 40 minutes to an hour round trip to go to work unless you’re making decent money. But Hubby can’t seem to grasp that concept, even though he faced it at his last job. Where he works now, he meets up with a guy who lives less than 5 minutes from here and rides to work in a company truck.

I might see if I can find a secretarial job of some sort that’s part time. We could use a little more dependable income. I would have it if I could concentrate on my writing like I used to, but I’m still not back up to full speed yet. And I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever get there.

No More Mountain Dew

Have you ever heard of anyone being allergic to Mountain Dew? I am.

It started when I was a teenager. I had mono, and I started breaking out in hives. I had no idea what was causing it at first, and neither did the doctor. He just gave me some legal steroids to straighten it out and didn’t dig any further, I guess assuming that it was because of my temporarily impaired immune system.

The medicine made the hives start fading, but they would flare back up every now and then. I started looking for patterns, and I found that they got worse when I would drink Mountain Dew, which was quite often. I stopped drinking it, and they went away.

I started drinking it again every now and then a few years later, and it didn’t bother me. But about 4 or 5 years ago, when I started working night shift at a factory, I needed something to help me stay awake. I don’t care much for coffee, so I started drinking the Dew again.

All was well until my first weekend. I woke up in the middle of the night, covered solidly in hives from my neck to my thighs. It was horrible. I instantly knew what was causing it, so I once again quit drinking my beloved Mountain Dew. I continued to drink other soda, and until the hives went away, it would cause them to flare a little. But once they were gone, other kinds didn’t bother me.

I more or less left MD alone until a couple of weeks ago. I bought a 2-liter for a change of pace from our usual Pepsi. I only drank a glass or two, but I got a mild case of hives. Guess I won’t be drinking it again for a while.

That’s not the only weird thing that has ever broken me out. When I was just barely old enough to remember, I had a similar reaction to Vitamin C. I was taking supplements plus drinking orange juice pretty often, and I broke out in hives. It hasn’t happened since, but I haven’t taken vitamins and eaten foods containing a lot of C at the same time since then either.

Cell Phones in the Mountains

Out here in the boondocks where I live, we have few cellular service options. There are two providers that offer local numbers here: The small local company Hubby and I are with, and I think U.S. Cellular. If you want to go with a different company, you have to go down the mountain and get a number that is long distance from here.

I guess the bigger companies aren’t interested in offering service here because of the small population and the difficulty of getting a good signal. We’re fortunate to be able to get a clear signal at my house by some miracle, but at our old place we could only get a signal good enough to hold a call (with lots of cutting out) on the back porch. Now I can take advantage of our provider’s unlimited long distance, so that saves us a little money.

Our cell phone company doesn’t offer a lot of the stuff the big guys do. They don’t have a very good selection of phones, and you can’t use an unlocked phone that you buy elsewhere with them. And I wish they had a less expensive family plan. We have way more minutes than we need on the plan we have now, but it’s the smallest one they’ve got. But they are the best option available to us right now.

Saving on Your Grocery Bill

I’ve really had to watch the grocery budget lately, and it hasn’t been easy considering what a picky family I have. I could spend much less if they would eat some of the recipes I like. Still, I’ve found some ways to cut back. Here they are for those of you who could stand to save at the supermarket:

• Use frequent shopper cards. Mine saves me at least a couple of bucks a visit, sometimes much more. And at Food Lion, where I do most of my shopping, as well as some other stores, you can get valuable coupons that are printed at checkout for things that you actually buy.
• Plan your meals around what’s on sale. I’m not much of a meal planner myself, and I rarely make a list when I go to the store (yes, I know I should), but I look for the best deals and try to plan meals around them. This is especially helpful with meat and produce.
• If you’re like me and refuse to do a lot of cooking for yourself, buy up frozen dinners when they’re on sale. Michelina’s entrees are often on sale for a buck or so apiece. They’re quick and easy to fix for lunch, but they can really add to your grocery bill when they’re full price.
• Look for coupons online. There are lots of coupon sites out there, and you can also find them on manufacturers’ websites.

That’s all I’ve got for now. How do you save on groceries?