Penny Pinching Mom

There Is No Easy Money

Money is tight this month, as usual. I’m still optimistic that I’m going to be making more, and so far this month I’m doing pretty good. But I won’t get paid until the beginning of next month, so it’s not doing me much good now.

I’ve been scouring the Web looking for ways to make some quick cash, because Pumpkin’s birthday is coming up. Not a get rich quick scheme, mind you, but some legitimate quick cash. I’ve never had much luck with eBay, so I’m not bothering with that. I would try some online trading, but I have no money to invest. And I haven’t had any luck finding any quick pay one-off writing gigs.

I’m hoping Hubby will find me a place to have a yard sale. He said he would try to find a place in town so we can have it this weekend without having to advertise. If I can find a place where there’s lots of traffic, I think I could make a decent amount. I have plenty of stuff to sell.

If anyone has any other ideas that don’t involve pyramid schemes or similar junk, do tell. I’m up for pretty much anything that’s legal, moral, and actually works.

Capturing Memories

The years are going by way too fast. Pumpkin will soon be seven years old. It’s so hard to believe.

I’ve always tried to get plenty of pictures of her since she was a baby. We didn’t own a camera when she was born, so my father-in-law bought me a cheap 35mm. I happily snapped away, and took the film to the drugstore to get it developed. But much to my dismay, when I went to pick it up, I learned that the camera had malfunctioned and none of the pictures could be developed. I nearly burst into tears right there in the store.

But soon after that, my mom gave me one of her old cameras. It worked well, and I took several rolls of pictures with it. The only problem was affording film and developing, and remembering to actually have the film developed. But when Pumpkin was two I got a digital camera, and I’ve been snapping away every since.

I’m long overdue for a new digital, because my old one has seen its better days. I’d like to have one that takes good video, because I have very little video of her. Maybe sometime soon I can get a digital camcorder that also takes still photos. That way I could make videos of a decent length and take pictures with one device.

Even a cheap one is not in the budget right now. But you can bet I’ll be looking for good deals as soon as it becomes an option. I’ll keep you posted on what I find.

Save on HP Printer Supplies

If you have an HP printer, here’s something you should know about. HP has a program that can save you money on paper, ink and toner. It’s called My Print Rewards, and it’s free to join.

All you have to do is complete a quick sign-up, and buy your supplies online from the HP Home and Home Office Store. In return, you get exclusive offers and rewards discounts based on your purchase history. How cool is that?

To join or to learn more, click on the button below.

The Generosity of Others

When Pumpkin was a baby, almost everything I had for her nursery was either shower gifts or hand-me-downs. I got lots of crib sheets and blankets at my shower, and my sister gave me a crib and mattress. She and some other family members gave me some pictures for the walls, a diaper pail, and other odds and ends. I did buy her a musical mobile for her first Christmas, but that’s about all the money I put into the nursery.

I would have loved to have some nice, sophisticated crib bedding like what they have at BabyEarth.com. They have some awesome designs that are pleasing to both baby and mother. I just love the Bubble Gum pattern by Banana Fish. I wouldn’t mind having a set like that on my bed.

But I was very lucky to have such generous people helping me out. We had pretty much no money back then, so we needed all the help we could get. And they certainly came through for us.

You Get What You Pay For

Hubby is such a cheapskate. When we were dating, I noticed that he needed a new pair of shoes. So generous girlfriend that I was, I went out and bought him a pair of Nikes. They were a relatively inexpensive pair – around $50. I gave them to him, and he was appreciative. But somehow he found out how much I gave for them, and he refused to wear them. He made me return them and get him a cheapo pair from Wally World.

He goes through shoes really fast, and I think it’s partly because he doesn’t buy quality ones. The same is true for watches. I can’t remember him ever paying more than $5 for one, and he wonders why they fall apart or quit working.

One day when I have the money, I’m going to sneak and buy him one of those nice Sector watches. I’ll order it online, put it on my PayPal card, and be sure to destroy any evidence of the price. And no matter how many times he asks, I will not tell him how much it cost. Not until it lasts long enough to have paid for itself in comparison to all those cheap watches he would have bought.

Pumpkin’s Injury

Pumpkin got hurt on the playground at school yesterday. She got off the bus carrying a small Ziploc bag with water in it, and I asked her what it was for. That’s when I heard the story.

She was in the sandbox playing, when a boy ran by and tripped over her. They both fell, and her hand landed hard on a board of some sort. She went to the school nurse, who gave her ice to put on it and sent her back to class.

I asked her why they didn’t call me, and she said the nurse just told her to come back to the office if it got to hurting too badly. I was a little angry about that, but I checked it out and saw no evidence that it was broken. It was a little swollen, though.

She woke up about 2:00 this morning complaining about it hurting. She didn’t go back to sleep for about 2 hours, so we didn’t send her to school. I took her to the doctor, ended up sitting in the x-ray department at the hospital for 2 hours, and finally found out that it wasn’t anything serious. The doctor said to wrap it up with an Ace bandage, put ice on it, elevate it, and give her some ibuprofen for pain.

I came home to find that I only had 2 doses of liquid ibuprofen left. But after digging in the medicine cabinet, I found a bottle of children’s Advil pills. They’re tiny little pills, not like those huge antibiotics or diet pills, so I decided to try them on her again (the last attempt was unsuccessful, but happened a year or so ago). She did a pretty good job with them, so hopefully I won’t have to buy more liquid.

The hand is still hurting her. I hope it quits soon. I can’t stand to see her in pain, and she’s extremely sensitive to it. I have a feeling it’s going to be pretty brutal until it gets all healed.

Wake Me Up When My Emails Get Through

My computer really amazes me sometimes. Just when I think it has reached the pinnacle of slowness, it proves me wrong. It has gotten to the point that it takes several minutes just to check my email.

I have several email accounts, but it didn’t seem to matter until a week or two ago. I’d click “Check Mail” and it would breeze right through all of them, unless there was a problem with one of the servers or something. Now it just sits there forever saying it’s connecting, not just for one of the addresses, but all of them. Not the end of the world or anything, but very aggravating.

I would hate to see how slow this machine would be if I installed a keylogger. Even the kind that doesn’t slow most systems down would probably slow mine to a crawl. It’s really time for a new computer, but so far the funds haven’t materialized. I’m hoping they will within a month or two, because if they don’t, the guy who has the laptop I was going to buy will probably give it to his daughter for Christmas. And then I will be back to square one.

A Computerless Weekend

It’s rare that I go an entire day without turning on the computer any more, never mind a whole weekend. But this past weekend, I did just that. I didn’t even fire it up to check my email, look up a term life insurance quote, or read a blog. I’m so proud of myself.

I’m even prouder of the fact that I got caught up on my work before I went offline. Now if I can just stay that way, all should be well. We’re going to be in a tight spot this month because Hubby didn’t get in his hours last week due to rain, but if we can hang in there until next month things should be better.

I know today is Labor Day, but I’m trying to do a thing or two while I’m home alone. I’m not going to type like a madwoman or anything, just try to get a leg up on some research for the report I’ll be working on this week. But as soon as Hubby and Pumpkin get back in, the computer’s going off again and I’m going to enjoy the rest of this long weekend with them.