Saving & Giving

He who does not economize will have to agonize.
~ Confucius

Sometimes I post about what I'm doing to save money from time to time (you can search "frugal" in my posts to see some of them).  Other times I post a running tally of what I've saved during particular shopping trips.  It helps to keep me on track and accountable for spending.

I was inputting all my shopping expenditures onto a spreadsheet each month for awhile.  That way I could compare the costs over the year(s).  I still have all my receipts but whether I continue to input the information will depend on how much time I have.  Right now I am busy making projects on a deadline as I'm trying to get them finished for Christmas gifts.  When I am busy crocheting or quilting, I spend so much time on projects.  I hate to tear myself away to look at receipts and input data.   I'd rather work on projects, read or get together with friends for a frugal outing.  Having said that, my major savings strategy is still to shop the sales and examine my savings.  I just do it in a more general way.

At the beginning of each month or the end of each month, it is always time to do the "big shop" for the month's food and household items.  This week savings were as follows:

• savings $9.12 Canadian on 2 weeks of meat (chicken legs, chicken backs, pork ribs, pork steak, ground beef).  Actual cost - $51.23
• savings $ 28.43 Canadian on food from the pharmacy (eggs, butter, milk, cream, canned tomatoes/beans/salmon, popcorn, toilet paper. Actual cost - $54.52
• Total cost ~ $105.75 Total saving ~  $37.55 Canadian

This week I have spent more at the pharmacy than usual because there are a number of things that were on sale that I wanted.  At the pharmacy I collect points for my purchases.  Once you reach a certain level of points you can redeem a certain amount of dollars and use it toward a purchase. I will be reaching $85 (Canadian) soon.  This is only the 2nd time I have been near  this level because I usually spend when I reach the $10 level.  When I reach $85 I will purchase multiples of things I need (butter, eggs, toilet paper, coffee, bacon, etc.).

I still have to shop at the grocery store for items which are only purchased once or twice per year (oil, lard, flour). These items are all on sale this week.  I also get a lot of savings week after week on vegetables and fruits at the local produce store.  The produce store is consistently less expensive for most vegetables.  When you add these savings up week after week they can be quite substantial.

For some time now, I've noticed that more and more things have risen dramatically in price.  Virtually everything is the local grocery store is now 30% higher in price (or several dollars more) than they were a few months ago.  I have watched prices steady increase over the past 3 years or so.  I've also noticed that some things, like toilet paper has doubled or tripled in price yet the number of sheets per roll has been cut in half.

Did you notice that the manufacturers have reduced the size of double rolls yet still call them double rolls?  Or is this only happening in my corner of the world?

You really do have to shop carefully and make sure you shop the sales if you want to keep your grocery bill close to what it was a year ago.

How about you dear reader?

Have you noticed the same things at your supermarket?

I purchased a high powered blender recently and saved a $100.00 Canadian, plus the cost of shipping and handling which was an additional $19.30 Canadian.


It arrived in the mail a few days ago.  I washed it right out of the box and promptly tried it out with some vegetables that were on their "last legs".  I didn't follow a recipe I just threw together a number of veggies. I didn't add water.  What came out was quite thick and tasty but more like cold soup than juice. I will have to read up on some recipes.  I already have a good blender but in order to use it I have to chop my fruit and veggies into smaller pieces and then I have to throw out or compost all the pulp and fibre that is extracted.

I am so looking forward to the new blender to use as a juicer. I am thinking I can simply wash the fruit and veggies and turn them  juices that retain the pulp and fibre. I will also be able to make hot chocolate and hot soups for the coming winter and ice cream in the summer!

 The new blender should save me a lot of money every month but I did notice it is extremely loud to operate. I will have to experiment before deciding if it is practical to use at different times of the day and night.  I worry about waking the neighbours or annoying them. If it really is too loud, I will have to send it back and look for a quieter version.

Well my friends you've heard what I'm doing to shave costs from the budget.

What are you doing to keep your food budget or household budget down?

Besides the ever increasing cost of food and household items, the needs in Kenya are always on the top of my mind.  The needs there are great.  The needs here at home have also been great and I've spent a lot on short travels.  Every dollar counts.

I'm still trying to raise funds for Elvis to finish his medical studies in Kisii, Kenya.  The number of those willing to help him have been small but I remain optimistic that a few more people will help out. Elvis is in his last year and time is short to come up with all the funds to help him graduate.

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.

~ Charles Dickens

Kenya is a country that desperately needs medical officers (doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians).  When Elvis is finished his training, he is hoping to work with the people in the isolated northern regions of Kenya.  They can really need medical help.  They have to travel so far just to get a simple medical check up & many go without help for even the simplest of things.

If you could help spread the word about the campaign to help Elvis or even add a donation to help him that would be awesome.


For your convenience, you can use the button on the top right of this screen.

Summer Skies

Fall is well under way here on the west coast but I am reminiscing about summer ;-)

Lazy, hazy days of summer 2013 down at English Bay.

Skywatch Friday is the place to see glorious skies from all around the world with our hosts, Sylvia, Sandy and Yogi.

Crochet - A - Long Thursday

Hi friends, it is time to check in with the Crochet-A-Long with Chrissie Crafts & Ladybird Diaries.  Last week I did make a small amount of progress on my afghan but didn't have time to post anything.

I'm pleased to report that I have an additional 28 hexies over the past 2 weeks. I now have 62 hexies. I have to weave in the ends of 20 of them. I will work on that part of the project when I have a few moments here and there.

I've been working on the hexies to the left of the photo over the past 2 weeks. I haven't had a lot of time for this project but am pleased with what I did manage to get done.

I'm not quite sure how big I will make this throw. I will use up the yarn I have now and see how many hexies I have before deciding whether to buy more yarn and make a larger throw.  I'd prefer to make it larger but I am not sure how long I want to spend on making this throw before I finish it off.  Whatever the case, I am hoping to complete this project by the end of this month and in plenty of time for Christmas.

If you missed my last post Saving & Giving, please click here. I didn't space out my posts very well this week. Please know I appreciate all your visits and your comments! I always reciprocate.

Pretty in Pink

pink and beautiful grace notes

 brighten my days but

 rains usher in the new month

I was very pleased to find these luscious flowers about 2 weeks ago. I took a few more floral photos which I will share another day during our gloomy winter months when I need a "pick me up".

I apologize to my blogging friends if you see me less these days.  Even if I don't leave as  many comments as I usually do I am still reading most of what you write or post.

I've been busily trying to catch up on my crochet-a-long but didn't have time to post an update last Thursday. I'll try to post a progress report and photos on Thursday.

I've also finished two of the books I borrowed from the library.  Reading borrowed books is the most frugal hobby one can have.

Of the two books I borrowed and read, I enjoyed Almost French best.  It is an engaging memoir of a young Aussie woman who ends up meeting a Frenchman on her travels around the world. He invites her to his country and they end up making a life together. The book highlights some of the cultural differences between France and Australia and the difficulties of making a new life in a new country.  I've read many such books and this one is one of the better ones.

The Tiger's Wife is set in an unnamed Balkan country. Although it starts off well I lost the story line along the way.  Perhaps I took it too literally while the author likely meant it to tell a few folk tales as told to her by her grandfather.  In my humble opinion I just don't think the two main folk stories in the book hold together well as one book. 

My little poem says that rains started the month of November. We had a bonus day today (Sunday) and I took advantage of it for a brief walk after church. I hope you are having some nice spots of weather too.

Well my friends that is what is happening in my corner of the world.  Come by and visit again soon :-)

Our World

Haiku My Heart

 

November

The soldiers did go away and their towns were torn down; 

and in the Moon of Falling Leaves (November), 

they made a treaty with Red Cloud that said our country would be ours as long as grass should grow and water flow. 

Black Elk

October Draws to a Close

In these closing days of the month most people will probably write about Hallowe'en.  I don't celebrate Hallowe'en so this isn't that kind of post but the photo content seems to fit the season.

This is a different sort of post for me.

I'm featuring a few photos and an attempt at a verse to go along with them.

spiders spin your web

on tangled roots standing tall

and catch bloated drops

 

  If you like to write poetry (it doesn't need to be Haiku) perhaps you would like to share a short verse about the two photos in the comment section.

That might be fun!

Haiku My Heart


If you don't want to do that, that's fine too.

Our World Tuesday



I wish you the very best for a fantastic November.

CAL # 4 & Skywatch

 

I'm a bit late today with my CAL posting with Ladybird Diaries and Chrissie Crafts.  But hey, better late than never!

Truth be told I didn't do much work on my hexies this week due to travelling and other time consuming matters.

I only made 1 more hexie and wove in the ends on two hexies. I also made the beginnings of 2 more hexie pieces.  Altogether not much progress but every little bit helps. I hope to do some crochet work later today.

I am ready for Skywatch Friday. The skies that are clear blue with the brilliantly coloured trees were taken in Vancouver last week.

A few days later I took some photos in Ladysmith, British Columbia.  Ladysmith is a small town located on the east coast of Vancouver Island.

How different the weather was there.  But it wasn't as bad as it appears in the photos. Very cloudy and misty but not raining.  The air was so damp that there was moisture on the benches, trees and trails and even spider webs.

I thought this spider web made an interesting photo.  You can see that the web caught a lot of water from the moisture in the mist.

I also loved looking up at the sky through the trees on my walks.

I'm joining in at SkyWatch Friday with others from around the globe who love to look at the sky. A big thank you to Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy for hosting this meme.

If you like the photos from my recent trip to Ladysmith and want to see more, please click here.