Finance Gets Personal

Things have been soooooo slow at work lately. There are days when I don’t have ANYTHING to do except entertain myself at my desk.

The Internet is my main source of entertainment, and unfortunately, CNN, MSN, TMZ and my favorite blogs don’t always update every five minutes (horrors!).

That leaves me way too much time for shopping online.

I’ve found a lot of great bargains from deal sites like dealnews.com and slickdeals.net, but with my upcoming anniversary and outstanding speeding ticket, I seriously need to lay off the bargain shopping. I try to do other things like plan my weekly grocery trips, create a family calendar, schedule veternarian appointments, etc., but I am running out of ideas of things to do while I’m at work with nothing to work on.

At least you can look forward to more frequent blog posts!

Last year, I went to dinner with a couple friends that I had not seen in a while. “We should do this more often!” we said, and one of the girls suggested we follow through - we’d continue to go out to eat the first Wednesday of every month.

This sounded great, but also expensive given my tiny restaurant budget. So I was relieved when the friend suggested having a rotating dinner party each month instead of going to a restaurant.

Now, I’m not really a cook, so I was a little spooked during the first dinner party at my friend’s house, where everything was homemade and pictures were taken for her food blog. But, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find myself mostly capable, even if I do try to choose desserts and salads that I can make ahead of time so there are fewer opportunities to screw up!

What I was unpleasantly surprised by was the cost of making a “fancy” dinner.

Here is the menu I put together the first time I hosted:

Cafe Caramel Fondue
Creamy Restaurant-Style Tortellini
Cheesy Garlic Bread
Individual Grand Rasberry Trifles
Francis Coppola Merlot

Notice that there is no meat in any of these dishes, but I still ended up shelling out close to $100, plus the half day I took off work to cook and clean!

Obviously, I needed a lesson in fancy-schmancy dinner party budgeting. So, one year and three hosted dinner parties later, here’s the menu I’ve put together for this month:

Bruschetta and Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Italian Garden Salad
Squash Sautee
Banana Split Pie
Iced Tea (We’ve pretty much stopped serving wine since we live so far apart and can’t drink a whole bottle)

While I’ve done much better this month by purchasing the chicken and cheese on sale a few weeks ago and freezing it, choosing the pie based on a sale on strawberries and omitting the pecans, etc., total cost is still about $35, not counting the things I already had on hand like milk, tea and salad dressing. Sure, it will feed five people, but I usually spend much less than $7 per person.

I guess the good news is that I’ve finally reached the break even point for dinner parties versus restaurant meals. $35 every three months vs. $12 every month…?

Of course, now, we’ve decided to alternate restaurant visits and dinner parties. I wonder why?

(This post was an editor’s pick in the Carnival of Money Stories, hosted by Living Almost Large.)

Photo Credit: Elegant by Pinelife, used under Creative Commons licensing.

I have been shopping so much this week, it’s crazy! But I can’t believe all the bargains out there. Here are the places I visited in addition to CVS this week.

WalMart:

4 One-Subject Notebooks - On Sale for $0.05 Each
2 10-Packs of Bic Cristal Pens - On Sale for $0.88 Each, Used $1 Off 2 Coupon = $0.38 Each
Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner - $2.94 Each, Used $3 Off 2 Coupon = $1.44 Each, Plus a Free Pedicure!
Powerade Zero - On Sale for $0.60, Used $1 Coupon = FREE Plus $0.40 Overage
Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes - $1.32, Used $1 Coupon = $0.32
Honey Bunches of Oats Just Bunches Cereal - $2.50, Used $2 Coupon = $0.50
Kashi Vive Cereal - $3.46, Used $2 Coupon = $1.46
Krunchers Potato Chips - $2.75, Used $1 Coupon = $1.75
Other Non-Deal Purchases (For the Sake of Full Disclosure): Roma Tomatoes - $0.50, Lettuce Head - $1.28, Mission Tortillas - $2.18, Great Value Shredded Cheddar Cheese - $2.68, Great Value Sugar Free Syrup - $1.48

Total Before Taxes: $16.59 ($8.47 Excluding Non-Deal Purchases)

Hen House:

2 Pillsbury Toaster Strudels - On Sale for $1.93, Used 2 $1 Off Coupons = $0.93 Each
Blue Bunny Ice Cream Sandwiches - On sale for $2.99, Used $1 Off Coupon = $1.99
2 Keebler Ice Cream Cone Packages and Blue Bunny Ice Cream - Cones On Sale for $1.50 Each, Ice Cream Was $3.55 and I Got a $1.50 Discount for Buying the Cones = $5.05 (This would have been a better deal if I hadn’t accidentally bought Blue Bunny instead of Blue Bell, which I had a $1 coupon for)
Coke Zero - On Sale for $3.34, Used $1 Coupon Redeemed at My Coke Rewards = $2.34

Total Before Taxes: $12.80

Walgreens:

Walgreens has some great deals on school supplies this week, but everything was sold out when I went on Wednesday. I still managed to pick up a couple things:
Reynolds Wrap Foil - On Sale for $0.89 with Walgreens Coupon, Used $0.55 Manufacturer’s Coupon = $0.44
Bic Comfort 3 Razors 4-Pack - On Sale for $2.99, Used $2 Coupon = $0.99 (Look for the Packs with 2 Bonus Razors!)

Total Before Taxes: $1.33

Target:

I heard the toys were on clearance at Target, so I got a few things for birthdays/Christmas.
Hulk Toy - Originally $9.99, On Clearance for $2.48
Star Wars Toy - Originally $9.99, On Clearance for $2.48
MXS Toy - Originally $14.99, On Clearance for $3.68

Total Before Taxes: $8.64

JC Penney: (Two Stores)


JC Penney is having AMAZING clearance sales right now! After this week’s sale shopping, my stepson is fully stocked for next summer.
4 Boys Shirts - Originally $24.99 Each, On Clearance for $2.97 Each
2 Boys Shorts - Originally $29.99 Each, On Clearance for $4.97 Each
Boys Swimsuit - Originally $25, On Clearance for $4.97 (Comes with Free Goggles)
Infant Pajama Set - Originally $22.50, On Clearance for $4.97 (Bought for a Friend’s Baby’s First Birthday Party)
2 Womens Blouses - Originally $30 Each, On Clearance for $2.97 Each
Womens Short-Sleeve Suiting Jacket - Originally $44, On Clearance for $2.97

I used a 15% off coupon on everything.
Total Before Taxes: $33.02 (Saved $279.92!)

Macy’s:

Boys Nike T-Shirt - Originally $16, On Clearance for $2.40
Boys Blue Shirt - Originally $24, On Clearance for $3.60

Total Before Taxes: $6.00

Children’s Place (Online):

5 Boys Shirts - On Clearance for Between $3.39-$4.24 After Additional 15% Off Promo Code
Boys Shorts - On Clearance for $2.54 After Additional 15% Off Promo Code

Shipping was $5.
Total Before Taxes: $27.05

Border’s (Online):

Use promo code BR41925 to get $5 off every book (making books under $5 free!). Read more details about getting this deal to work here.
Board Books for Babies (More First Birthday Presents!): Dr. Seuss’s ABC; Are You My Mother?; Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb; The Nose Book, Go, Dog, Go!; The Tooth Book; The Foot Book; Big Dog…Little Dog; Put Me in the Zoo
Books for My Stepson: The Day My Butt Went Psycho!; Guinness World Records 2008; How to Draw Pokemon; Football Nightmare; What’s Happening to Me: Boy’s Edition; Barfing in the Backseat: How I Survived My Family Road Trip; Who Ordered This Baby? Definitely Not Me!; Report to the Principal’s Office; Tsumanis and Other Natural Disasters
Books for My Niece’s Birthday: Camp Rock: The Junior Novel; Jammin’ with the Jonas Brothers

Free Shipping to the Store.
Total Before Taxes: $5.48

Ann Taylor Loft (Online):


I am not much of a bargain shopper when it comes to my own clothes, but I thought this was a pretty good deal considering the source.
Purse - Originally $49, On Clearance for $19.99, saved Another 25% with TEACHER20 Code = $14.99
Sandals - Originally $34, On Clearance for $16.99, Saved 50% on 2nd Sale Item, Saved Another 25% with TEACHER20 Code = $6.37

Shipping was $5.38.
Total Before Taxes: $26.74

In case you’re wondering…NO, I do not usually shop this much! If I did, I think I’d need a 12-step program! I’m just trying to get ahead of the seasons on gifts and clothes (to reduce spending) and cut my grocery/household item costs. All of the stores I visited are within a mile of my route to and from work. Please let me know if you have any questions about the deals!

Before:


After:


At $1,130 for the bed and frame (minus the $75 delivery fee that will be refunded), it’s not the cheapest purchase ever, but definitely worthwhile in my opinion!

Ah, the great “do-it-yourself or hire someone else to do it?” debate (also known as “time or money?”).

Well, I’m ready to chime in…

I have a notoriously dirty car. Not the kind with all lots of trash in it, just the kind with lots of dog hair, food crumbs and dust. I told a co-worker that I needed to take it to the car wash, vacuum it out and clean the dash/windows, and his response was, “When my car gets that bad, I just take it to the place down the street and have it detailed.”

Me, being a girl who doesn’t even like pumping quarters into the car wash, found this a little ridiculous. Even though car detailing supposedly “only” costs about $20, I can do it myself for $7 or less (I think $7 is expensive for a car wash, but this one has free vacuums and I usually end up paying less than I would if I had to keep pumping quarters in for the wash and vacuum - I’m pretty slow!).

For some reason, I was thinking about this today (maybe it was the sight of all that hair and crumbs around my stick shift?), and something occurred to me. If my co-worker offered me $20 to clean out his car, would I do it? I think I would!

If I would be willing to do the job if someone else paid me to do it, then I shouldn’t hire someone else to do it for me.

Now, onto the question we do not speak of: If someone paid me $2,992 to paint their house, would I do it? If so, should I be hiring someone to paint mine? Of course, another relevant question would be: If someone paid me to paint their house, would I feel qualified to do it?

I’d like to think I’d pass on that “opportunity.”

Photo Credit: Do-It-Yourself by iamPatrick, used under Creative Commons licensing.