Penny Pinching Mom

It’s the Little Things That Drive You Nuts

So I’ve been thinking about what I need to buy when we get our tax refund. I won’t be buying much, that’s for sure. I’m going to try to find a good deal on a computer, make sure Hubby gets some new work boots, and try to find some killer deals on clothes for all of us, besides catching up on the bills. I doubt there will be much left after that, and I would like to put some away for a rainy day if possible.

But there’s one little thing that’s not necessary that I think I’m going to indulge on. And that’s some new refrigerator magnets. Almost all of the ones we have are those little flimsy things that bend easily and do not stick very well. I always have photos and Pumpkin’s artwork and such on the fridge, and they’re constantly falling off because of those crappy magnets. So I’m going to try to find some nice, strong ones.

I know magnets are not really a big deal. But anything that helps keep me sane in some small way is a good thing.

I See a New Computer in My Future

I finally broke down and got started on our taxes. I really didn’t want to do them myself this year since they’re so complex, but budget concerns left me no choice. The good news is that it looks like we’ll get a pretty good refund. Can you say “new computer”?

All I can say is “It’s about friggin time!” This machine is absolutely driving me nuts. Programs are constantly freezing up for unknown reasons, and while they eventually come back to life most of the time, it’s a serious drain on my time. I’ve estimated my time lost to computer issues at about an hour and a half a day in the absence of a way to measure it, but it’s quite possibly more than that.

If that was the only problem, I would consider a memory upgrade. But it’s not. It’s starting to do some pretty weird things. It decided that it doesn’t want to play nice with any of my three printers, and try as I might, I cannot change its mind. There are also a couple of programs that have ceased to work as they should. I’ve scanned for viruses and other malware and come up with nothing, so I guess it’s just working its way up to a major fatal crash due to old age. I just hope it holds out until I can get a new one.

I’m going to start comparing prices when I get the taxes done and finish the huge project I’m working on right now. Maybe by the time we get our refund, I’ll have found a killer deal on something. At this point I don’t really care if it’s a laptop or desktop, as long as it has the programs I need and the capability to multitask like I need it to. You can bet I’ll be posting the details when I find something!

Oh, the Irony

I recently discovered some websites that link to all sorts of printable coupons. I actually got to print out a few of them. Then, guess what happened? My computer decided that it doesn’t like printers any more! I did everything I know to fix it, including a system restore and reinstalling my printer drivers, but nothing worked. So now I can’t print coupons or anything else, and I can’t afford to get someone to fix it. I might not even bother, because when we get our tax refund I’m going to try my best to get a new computer.

I’ve been fortunate enough to find some sites that link to places where you can get free coupons by mail, so I’ve been doing that. And there are always those nifty online coupons. You don’t have to go to the trouble of printing anything, so it doesn’t matter if your printer (or computer) is being uncooperative. And there’s no waste of paper, either.

As soon as I get some money, I’m going to try to find some good online clothing coupons. Hubby and I could both seriously use some new clothes. I can’t remember the last time I bought any for myself, and the last jeans I bought for Hubby are badly stained because he had to wear them to work before he got his uniforms. By shopping online I can get a much better selection than I can around here, and I can compare prices easily. Between that and the availability of coupon codes, I think I can do better than I would locally.

I’ve got work to do right now, but I’ll try to get around to posting links to some of those printable coupon sites soon. Just because I can’t take advantage of them doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to share!

Groceries Are Getting Expensive

When the media started talking about how food prices were going to go up, I thought (or hoped) they were just overreacting. This was back when gas was at all-time high prices, but I didn’t see much change in prices at the places I buy groceries. But over the past couple of months or so, prices have risen substantially.

Take ramen noodles for example. It wasn’t long ago that they were normally 10 packs for $1, and sometimes went on sale for even less. Then they went up to 7 for $1. And yesterday when I went to buy some they were 5 for $1. That’s double the price they were a few months ago.

I know 20 cents a pack is still inexpensive, but if other stuff went up that much there would be mass protests. But that’s not to say that there haven’t been price increases on just about everything else too. My beloved Caffeine-Free Pepsi has gone up to a regular price of $1.59 per 2-liter. It’s almost always on sale, but the sales aren’t as good as they once were. Once in a while they will have a deal where you can get them for 89 cents each if you buy five or more, but they average $1.11 to $1.29. I suppose it could be much worse. Still, I’ve been drinking more of what’s on sale when it’s something I can tolerate (like Hawaiian Punch or Sunkist), and trying to make myself drink more water. I would switch to juice, but it’s more expensive than soda.

These are just a few examples of things I buy regularly. Literally everything has gone up at least a little bit. So I’m using coupons when I can, and trying to catch stuff on sale. And the last time I bought groceries, I saved a total of about 30% on my bill. Not too shabby, especially when you’re buying for two of the world’s pickiest eaters.

If It Ain’t One Thing…

On Friday, Hubby realized that the tags on his truck died at the end of last month. He noticed it just in time, because here we have until the 15th of the next month to get them. So I got ready and went out the door to get in my truck and go pay them. I just happened to think to look at my tag, and guess what? It died in December! :O

Needless to say, I drove his truck to the courthouse to get his tags. I had to spend a total of over $80 just to get them, because we owed taxes on his truck and the tags cost almost twice as much because it’s over a ton. We could have done without that expense right now, but what can you do? When you live where we live, having your own transportation is a necessity if you want to be a productive member of society.

So now I’m not driving my truck unless it is a dire emergency. Not that I was driving it much anyway. It needs a bunch of work. A mechanic could probably put it up on one of those car lifts and work on it for two or three days straight and still not have everything done that it needs.

I’m sure we owe taxes on my truck too, because the tax office refuses to put our correct address in the system so that we can get our bill. They say they get their information from the DMV, but the DMV says they have our correct address, and the tax office does not. What a crock of hooey. If I thought it would do any good I would refuse to pay taxes because they refuse to send the bill to the right address.

But at any rate, I’ll have to pay those taxes and get a tag as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen too soon. We’re struggling to figure out how we’re going to pay the bills this month as it is. So I guess my truck will be sitting for a while.

The Clutter Is Driving Me Nuts

My office is so cluttered it’s not even funny. I’ve been promising myself that I was going to get all of the stuff that doesn’t belong in here out for ages, but it has yet to happen. I can’t really justify doing that until I get the same thing done to the rest of the house, and that’s a neverending job. So it continues to be cluttered in here.

As soon as I get my work caught up to my satisfaction, I’ve got to get to work on that. It’s downright distracting, and the last thing I need is more distraction. I need digital signage on the walls that says “Kristy, concentrate on your work!” as it is.

The hard part is going to be figuring out where to put all this stuff. There’s the basement, but it’s seriously damp down there. And the garage is cluttered enough as it is. We have an attic, but it’s impossible to get up there. I’ll have to figure something out, though. I can’t deal with this much longer.

It’s a Good Thing I Don’t Drive Much

My truck is in serious need of work. It gets me from point A to point B reliably for now, but I try not to drive it any more than I have to. It has some problems that are only going to get worse with more driving.

For starters, it needs a new clutch. I had hoped to get that fixed a while back, but it was going to cost $300. Hubby’s cousin said he could do it and wouldn’t charge us anything if we bought the parts back when he was staying with us, but he went back home shortly after that. So I guess we’ll have to try to get that fixed as soon as we can afford it.

There’s also something wrong with the suspension. It needs new shocks, or coilovers, or something. I’m not too familiar with stuff like that, but I do know that it needs some kind of suspension work. Something underneath it is denting up the bottom of the bed, and that’s not good.

And last but not least, the 4-wheel drive is no longer operational. It quit working when I was having brake trouble about a year ago. I’m not sure if it’s something simple or if my messed up rotor took out a hub, but I’m betting it’s the latter. And hubs are not at all cheap.

In addition to the cost of gas, that’s why I don’t drive much any more. I take Hubby’s truck when I can, but it’s a gas hog. I’m hoping that whenever we get my truck paid off (or better yet, before then), I can get everything fixed that needs it. It runs great, and I think it would last me a while if I could get all of that stuff straightened out. And heaven knows we could stand to go for a while with one less payment to make.