August Budget

It is August. Where in the world is summer going? It is time to make or tweak your August budget. There may be a few things that you have forgotten to include.

If you have children they will need school supplies, a backpack, lunchbox, water bottle, 2 pairs of sneakers and maybe some clothes if they took a growth spurt to get ready for back to school.

There are only a few weekends left and you may want to plan a day trip or sneak away for a night.
Put all of these things in your monthly budget.

CHRISTMAS! I have 11 pays until Christmas 🎄 last week I went through my bins and made a list of what I have and what I will still need to purchase.  I figured out the cash I need and will save that during the next 5 months.

What did you forget for your August budget?

July 30...my addiction

Today I am going to be real with you. I have a confession to share only with my frugal pals.  I am addicted to second hand shopping.
I love Yard Sales and thrift stores.  I buy clothes way in advance for my kids if it’s  in good shape and a good brand.

In our basement we have 3 long wooden shelves with shoes and boots waiting for our kid’s feet to grow.   I tried many ways to store footwear and if you have space old wood nailed onto the wall is the best solution for us, and could also work for you.

In the basement I always had kept the kids clothes in totes with the sized written on the outside.  Now the girls are getting older and I don’t have as many sizes in advance. I now use an old dresser and each drawer is a size and a season for the future.

Their closets also have a section for storage of the next size.  At Frenchy’s I bought hanging organizers that are labelled for each day of the week.  In our home they store t shirts, pants and hoodies.

I know many of you think second hand clothes are dirty, out dated and expensive for what they are.  Know your prices, and dig.  I am very careful at Value Village.  On Thursday I saw kid jackets for $18.99, yet got a North Face one marked $9.99


Here are my scores for the week:
Value Village ( after price had a voucher for 30% off since I donated items)
Kid North Face jacket $9.99
Iviva hoodie $14.99
Books 1.79 every 4 get one 1 free, my kids read a lot
Under armour sneakers 2.49
Coach purse 7.99
Marble maze building game 3.99

Frenchys for the week
Kid under Armour spring coat $4.99
Michael Kors pants for me $5.75
For $9.80 kid under armour long sleeve shirt, J crew tank top and J Crew dress for my girls

Often I leave without making a purchase but I am ok with that.  Dig Deep, have patience and Resolve spray and enjoy the treasure hunting.

It pays to be frugal.

July 28...Take your lunch

This frugal tip is BORING, but it works.  Take your lunch to work. 
When I am cooking supper the night before I try to make enough to have leftovers.  When I am cleaning up from supper, I pack the leftovers into reusable containers right away to be my lunch the next day.  I don't think clearly at 620 in the morning, so it is a two fold bonus, I don't have to think just grab while I am waiting for the coffee to kick in.  It also saves a lot of money.  At first, buying your lunch doesn't seem like a big expense.  Realistically, even being frugal, a lunch from the grocery store deli would be about $7.  That number is conservative but is still $140 a month.
I work in a school and we have a super cheap lunch at $4.25. Even so, that's $85 a month.  I order lunch once a week, unless it is a week that hamburgers are on the menu, then twice :)
Sock your lunch money savings away towards your debt, or your fun money and watch it add up fast!

It pays to be frugal.  Check out my ebooks on Amazon.ca  A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada and A Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid. 

July 27...snacks

I love to eat and I always feel hungry!
This week I did two days of road trips.  Knowing that I would be driving a lot and would need some treats.  Stopping at coffee shops along the way for treats can add up quickly.  I packed a cooler each day and was ready to go.
I made a coffee before I left to bring with me.  Most coffee shops give a 5 or 10 cents discount if you bring your own mug. Every bit helps plus it’s  one less cup for the landfill.
I also peeled a bag of carrots to make carrot sticks and put them in a Tupperware keep fresh container.
I packed a few bananas.
I popped popcorn and brought it in a bowl with a lid, it made it easy to eat in the car.  This was the first time I’ve done that and it was great and hit the spot.
I also packed water bottles and granola bars.
We were not hungry over our two days and it saved us money.
Do you pack snacks when you leave the house?

It pays to be frugal.

Donat Dollar$

No Frills
2.00 arm and hammer laundry detergent 50 loads
1.00 ragu sauce
1.00 cucumber
2.00 dole fruit cups 6 pack

SOBEYS
Spend $100 in store 50air miles or 10 cents off a litre of gas
33 cents cob of corn
2.49 bag spinach
59 cents bunch green onions
1.79 pound of mussels
2.49 bag of pretzels 🥨 buy 4 6 Miles
2.49 source yogurt
2/5.00 cavendish crispy fries use coupon

Suoerstore
1.99 pound grapes
2.99 Mickey Mouse eggo waffles new product EXCITED

Giant Tiger
2.85 pack avocados

Shoppers Drug Mart
Saturday spend $75earn 25,000 points
1.88 Christie crackers
1.88 eggs

Lawton’s
95 Air Miles with $35 our compliments products
4/5$ compliments chips

July 22...More Laundry

I don't know about you, but I feel I am always doing laundry!  I don't mind the task, there are worse cleaning chores, like vacuuming!
I stockpile bottles of laundry detergent and they take up a lot of room. Over my washer and dryer there are 3 shelves where I keep my cleaning supplies. 
I had a glass lemonade pitcher from a yard sale that I fell in love with instantly.  I put it in my laundry room and poured 3 jugs of laundry detergent into it. 
It had a slow leak, and because I am frugal and hate to waste solved that problem quickly. I cute a plastic pop bottle and hung it around the hook and it catches detergent and when it has enough in it I use for a load of laundry.
Now, the point of this blog entry and frugal tip: I use one tablespoon of laundry per load.  A bottle lasts forever this way!  When I bought our front end washer a plumber told me they don't need to use all that detergent, and using a lot of detergent leads to the machines needing to be replaced more often. 
I happened to hear this tip on the morning that I fell in a puddle at Walmart and was covered head to toe in mud!  I washed my clothes in a tablespoon of detergent and they were clean.

It pays to be frugal.  Check out my Ebook on Amazon A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada, and A Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid. 

July 20 Stock Pile

 I love a bargain.  When I see a great deal I buy multiples of the item, this is called "stocking up".  I started to build my stock pile slowly, and over time it has become quite large.
Stock piling toiletries is a great place to start if you have storage room. 
Did you know that if an item is on sale you can also use a coupon on the item? Sometimes cash back apps also have money back options on the item, or bonus points with your loyalty cards.
I stock pile body wash, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toilet paper, paper towel, cleaning supplies, razors and shaving cream just to name a few.
Mail in Rebates are around a few times a year for items and take advantage of these for your stock pile. 

 Shopping your stock pile helps save you money.  I have not needed to buy some items for a long time, which allows money from the budget to go towards other financial goals. such as paying off det or saving for a vacation.

It pays to be frugal.

On Amazon check out my Ebooks A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada and A Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid.