Spring into Savings - April Frugal Chatter

[thriftygranny]

Oh marble love the look but don't ever get a marble tub or sink.You can't run straight hot water or they will crack over time.Yet my husband continued to do it!!!!Upstairs soaker jet tub cracked and had to redo my family room ceilings from the leak.
Today my stove started on fire some type of electrical short ...crap, stove shopping tomorrow.Does anyone have double ovens, always wanted one but not sure if I will be compromising space i still want to cook 30 pound turkeys!! Guess I will measure when i am out shopping, I hate shopping for big items on the fly I like to investigate things but this will have to be a quick decision.Leaving for holidays and I am pretty sure the house sitter will want to cook!!O the curve balls life throws at us.

[SassyAshley]

Sorry to hear about your stove, hope everyone is ok.

I am with you, I hate shopping on the fly which is my mom's way to shop. We need it, I want the best price, but the best price I can find today or before I get sick of looking. Where is me I want time, lots of time to compare decide. Doesn't help that I suck at haggling, I work with a girl who all I can say is WOW she can haggle almost everything and either sell it for more than she was asking or get it for cheaper than they were asking. I keep telling her I am going to take her shopping with me.

Oh marble love the look but don't ever get a marble tub or sink.You can't run straight hot water or they will crack over time.Yet my husband continued to do it!!!!Upstairs soaker jet tub cracked and had to redo my family room ceilings from the leak.
Today my stove started on fire some type of electrical short ...crap, stove shopping tomorrow.Does anyone have double ovens, always wanted one but not sure if I will be compromising space i still want to cook 30 pound turkeys!! Guess I will measure when i am out shopping, I hate shopping for big items on the fly I like to investigate things but this will have to be a quick decision.Leaving for holidays and I am pretty sure the house sitter will want to cook!!O the curve balls life throws at us.

[SassyAshley]

My advice is if you do not think it will fit in with your family's lifestyle do not use it. Two years ago we moved into a house where the previous owner was a contractor and used leftovers/extras from job on his own house (which I completely get I have seen my Dad do it as well) but there is a lot of impractical flooring in our house. Our Hallway and Kitchen are slate flooring, it looks great but it sucks big time. It is the most uncomfortable thing to stand on doing dishes is painful so we have had to go out and bug those foam mats that look like puzzle pieces and put those down. As well it is impossible to clean it rips apart any things you use. As well we have marble type flooring in our basement (not really sure exactly what it is) which we keep covered because even in summer it is so cold you can barely walk on it without slippers. IF we had the money we would be ripping both of these out, but we don't and since neither of us wants to stay where we are to me it isn't worth the money.

Managed to come in under budget this month- just. But now the fun begins. The bathroom has been gutted and I have to decide on tile in the next couple of days.

DH was given enough Carrarra mable (from a job where the customer change their mind) for our floor- but I don't think I want it. I have been looking at tile and the only way I can find anything that looks good with the marble- is marble. It is so porous and sensitive. One bit of blue toothpaste on floor and... stain!!. All I can think is in the main bathroom, I am not sure it is so practical.
Anyone with any experience with this?

[SassyAshley]

Our goal for April was healthier eating, which to mom meant buying different foods and is going to cost more. To me it meant how am I going to get mom to eat healthier and keep the costs down as mom is very much a grab and go person. So it has only been a couple weeks but so far I have managed to keep our grocery budget close to on track (we went over $3 this week as instead of 1 pack of yogurt we got 3 and they were the individual packs which mom prefers).

I would have to say even though we went over we are right on budget for 2 reasons, one $5 over or under I consider on budget. If we are $5 under I do not keep that money aside for later use I consider it on budget knowing at some point we have been a $1 or $2 over so for me it all washes out and I am not going to worry about $5 here and there. Second well we work out what foods mom likes and will eat (I know sounds childish but a lot of the time in our house we buy something and some how between the store and home it becomes less appealing and I refuse to continue to be the house where produce comes to die) I am willing too and have room in my budget to go up to $75/week (but deep down I really do not want too, but I will keep that deep down and try not to get moody if we do spend the $75).

My budget really does not change from Month to Month. I know there will be extras but for the most part my over time covers all of these expenses so I really do not have a clothing budget as I use my OT to pay for those. Also helps that I am super cheap so I do not go over board on these things.

The only things for May will be the fact we have a couple of large purchases coming up as mom gave away all of our patio furniture. I really could care less about the furniture as I keep my swing and I do not spend a lot of time outside (even with sunscreen, I burn). Really the only things I want is a new BBQ, I miss having a BBQ. Only downside is getting a propane tank as it is impossible to get into our backyard so it is going to have to he hauled in and needless to say I know it is going to hurt.

May's goal is to get the healthy eating all worked out and back to my $50/week budget. Just hoping for some good produce sales and maybe some more free time to be able to get more processed and cooked.

Question of the Day - many parts

What goals did you achieve during the month of April? (could be making your own baked goods, to cutting/purchasing prepackaged food by 1/2, implementing a meal plan) ANYTHING GOES that you are proud of or have implemented?

Have you been successful in staying on budget? If not, What through your budget if anything?

Is your May budget completed or in the works?

Have you made adjustments for May's budget?

Do you have any set goals for May? (do you wish to share)

[matty's mom]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice. You all have confirmed what I suspected. So, it will be practical but lovely tile for the bathroom- no marble!

The tiles we received are 18x18 so too large and not enough for the shower stall. Because of the layout of the room- it is an all or nothing type of thing for the bathroom.

SassyAshley, I have had slate before without the problems you are experiencing. My hunch is that the slate that you have on the floor was actually for the walls. Can you seal it to cut down the ripping apart?

I found a gorgeous mosaic that is part glass and part marble. Glass pieces are grey, steel blue and soft grey green. The marble pieces are white, off white and dark grey marble. Because it has so many colours with depth & marble with veining- it looks fantastic. (And it was on sale!!) Now it is my inspiration piece, I am going to look for a charcoal grey flooring tile and a matching light grey tile for the shower stall. The mosaic will run around as trim on the shower.

Won't be on the computer too much today as the cutting/destroying begins. Too much noise. DH is cutting out the overhead stair ceiling to raise it so that he doesn't have to duck walking into the basement. Because the shower sits above the stair, the cutout will turn into a shower bench in the shower. DS is off the visit some friends and I will be putting in some much needed time @ the pregnancy support centre where I volunteer. We have a lot of new donations that have come in, but not all of it appropriate for our moms. So I will be sorting.

Hope everyone is getting fantastic weather and enjoying spring!!! Happy May 1st!!!

[sweet sparrow]

Question of the Day - many parts

What goals did you achieve during the month of April? (could be making your own baked goods, to cutting/purchasing prepackaged food by 1/2, implementing a meal plan) ANYTHING GOES that you are proud of or have implemented?

Have you been successful in staying on budget? If not, What through your budget if anything?

Is your May budget completed or in the works?

Have you made adjustments for May's budget?

Do you have any set goals for May? (do you wish to share)

We've finished saving our baby fund which is a huge weight off our goal. We were cutting back on our mortgage because of it so now we can return to our regularly scheduled programming which is our May goal.

Food was overbudget by one shopping trip in April and we went over by $34. I blame pregnancy cravings…. Our gas bill was doubled since April was so cold this year, and I sent in my wedding bands for repair (chipped the stone ) and spent another $300. It wasn't a necessity, but I didn't want it to get worse. A friend cheered me up by saying not to worry, it's just like maintenance on an expensive item like the car or house. Expenses suck, but they will happen. She also threw in that I needed the ring more than I needed the car (as DH needs it, but I can do without - at the time), which made me laugh.

Our toiletries were $20 higher this month, but I've also been stockpiling for baby's arrival. Last month was my birthday, so gift budget and eating out was up as well.

This month is a major car repair, involving brakes, tune-up, etc. It's DH's birthday soon so we'll eat out and I'm replacing his winter boots as his gift. I'm also thinking it's time to cave and buy that new vacuum so JellyBean can have clean floors to throw up on...I mean...play on. I figure we have a little more time since baby hasn't come yet, but I'm not sure how much time I'll have afterwards to comparison shop and read reviews.

Two years ago we moved into a house where the previous owner was a contractor and used leftovers/extras from job on his own house (which I completely get I have seen my Dad do it as well) but there is a lot of impractical flooring in our house. Our Hallway and Kitchen are slate flooring, it looks great but it sucks big time. It is the most uncomfortable thing to stand on doing dishes is painful so we have had to go out and bug those foam mats that look like puzzle pieces and put those down. As well it is impossible to clean it rips apart any things you use. As well we have marble type flooring in our basement (not really sure exactly what it is) which we keep covered because even in summer it is so cold you can barely walk on it without slippers. IF we had the money we would be ripping both of these out, but we don't and since neither of us wants to stay where we are to me it isn't worth the money.

Oh your place sounds like ours! We have hardwood in the bathroom. Yes, you heard that right.... He also had an unlined toilet, so the condensation in the summer made some horrible water stains on the dark red wood. Now it looks gross, even though it's just water dripping off the outside of the tank. One of our first repairs to the home was to get that toilet replaced with one that had a lined tank.

[jasperandchar]

Go, people, Go! I admire your determination! You are models for us all! - PS Jasperandchar - Dandelion jelly? We have lots of dandelions - how do you make it and what would you use it on? Where do you find dandelions that haven't been sprayed with chemicals - I know - your yard, right?

Dandelion jelly tastes like honey, I swear, I did taste test with friends and didn't tell them what it was and they said honey.

Use it as a substitute for honey but it's excellent on toasts, fresh bread, tea/coffee....yummy.

I'm rural and have 71 acres so no shortage of dandelions here and no spraying.

dandelion jelly recipe
http://the3foragers.blogspot.ca/2011...ion-jelly.html

Lilac Jelly recipe
http://the3foragers.blogspot.ca/2011...lac-jelly.html

[jasperandchar]

join us in May the Savings be with you - May Frugal Chatter found in the same section as this thread