Frugal things

What frugal things have you been up to lately?

Here are some frugal updates in my world:

1. Maddie's birthday is on Saturday and she wants her room painted as part of her birthday present. She also wants some new room accessories. One thing she has been asking for is a specific kind of lamp. She has been talking non stop about it, and she even saved it on my favorites page on my phone. I ended up finding it today at Home Depot. However, it was cheaper at Walmart - but it was sold out. I nicely asked the Home Depot people if they would match the price that Walmart was offering. And they did! I love that. It pays to ask!! Always ask. Nine times out of ten, people say yes.

2. I have satellite radio in my car.  I know. Who pays for radio? Well - when I first got the car, I had a trial period. I found that I liked having it  - but I wasn't going to pay however much it was to have it. (I think it's around $54 per month).  So when the trial ended, I let it run out. Meanwhile, Sirius literally called me weekly wanting me to renew.  I usually ignored the call. But one day, I answered it. They offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. I ended up paying $28 for 6 months. Okay. Even my frugal self decided that was a good deal.That averaged out to about $5 per month.  The Sirius customer service people told me that the normal price would kick in after the 6 months was up. So I made a note on my calendar to call them about a week before the normal price would kick in. When that date approached, I called and I told them I was going to cancel. And because they wanted to keep my business, they let me keep the same price for another 6 months. So I kept it. And then when the 6 months were up, I called again. And they let me keep the same price! So basically, this cycle has been going on for 2 years. Sometimes it pays to keep meticulous records and follow through. I really like the Coffee House acoustic station. It is worth the $5 per month.

3. We had a family birthday party for Maddie on Sunday. I was really tempted to just order pizza and wings and call it a day. Then I thought about ordering a cold cut platter.  But - then I decided that I should be a good mom and cook.  Plus - it would save me some money. Did I really need to order the $50 cold cut platter? Nah. Instead I whipped up some pasta salad, baked beans, green salad, and cole slaw. We grilled some burgers and dogs.  It was yummy, cheaper than ordering food, and we had lots of leftovers!

4. We had a roof put over part of our patio last summer that gave us some much needed shade in our back yard. It is fabulous and we love it. However, around evening time when the sun is setting, the sun sneaks in and that whole area under the patio gets hit with the sun. We talked for months about putting some type of curtains up to block the sun. So we finally did it. And we did it for $61. It would have been crazy expensive if we had bought real curtain rods and real curtains. So, I looked on pinterest for some cheaper ideas. And this is what we did: Brian bought steel rods at Home Depot. Then he bought some hooks. Then for the curtains, we used painter drop cloths! I know. How random. But you seriously can't tell. The drop cloth is a nice linen color and it is durable and heavy and it was the right size. And it was so much cheaper than real curtains. Then he hung them up and it looks so cute! In fact, I want him to do it all around each opening. But I don't think that is necessary. But it is super cute and now we can enjoy the patio even when the sneaky sun tries to come in!

5. My parents recently bought new mattresses. They were going to pay to have the old mattresses taken away. But, I am snagging one of them for Aidan.  (His mattress was never really that good to begin with). So now he will have a decent mattress and my parents didn't have to pay to have the old one taken away. A win-win for everyone!

Have a fantastic weekend!