Even though we’ve had quite a few expenses recently between a funeral, car repairs, and medical stuff, I’m focusing on saving where I can. Recently, a financial newsletter I read weekly talked about saving money as the skill of spending. I really liked that!
- Not buy Starbucks or Joe Beans coffee; made coffee at home – On Tuesday, my daughter and I had to drop one of our cars off for an insurance repair estimate and then headed to the pediatrician for a check-up. We’ve had 2 out of 3 cars hit by deer within 2 weeks. According to the estimate, our CRV has about $2,000 in damage which isn’t too bad considering it’s a 2011 car. My daughter wanted to stop by Starbucks. I said no, I’ve got coffee at home. A few years ago, I bought a Keurig machine with a frother. Best buy ever because I can do a latte any time. Any time.
- I applied for a seasonal retail job and was hired – I’ve been talking about returning to work for several years. While I’d love the income and benefits of a full-time job, I wasn’t ready to commit to one. The extra expenses this fall pushed me to apply for a retail job at a small department store. As an associate, I’ll get 15% off my purchases. I’ve worked for this company before and enjoyed it a lot. I also like knowing I’m contributing with income on top of monitoring expenses.
- Signing up for Janus rollover bonus program – We finally rolled over a 401(k) to my husband’s Janus IRA. Then, we received information from Janus that my husband could receive a bonus for his rollover and they would match his 2025 contributions with a percentage. All of it is based on the amount of money rolled over. Sign us up! The paperwork is going in the mail today.
- Leaf collection for building soil – Last weekend, we did the leaves. This weekend, we’ll do the leaves again. Basically, I rake out the beds (yes, I leave some behind) into the grass. My husband runs the tractor over the leaves to mulch them in the grass. Then, he comes back with the bagger attachment on the mower to collect the mulched leaves. Generally, there will be mulched leaves left behind. When we’re finished doing the leaves, we’ll put lime down on the lawn and alfalfa pellets in the flower beds to break down over the winter.
- Learned that I could recycle beef bones 3 to 4 times for beef broth – Out of curiosity, I did some reading on beef broth making this weekend when I read about a celebrity drinking it several times a day. I’ve been adding broth made from chicken or beef to my dog’s dry food once a day. I was considering using broth in my smoothie instead of water. So, I learned that I need to cook my broth longer AND I can reuse those bones 3 to 4 times. It was a good reminder to research a little before doing something that I’ve been doing for a long time in case I can learn something new to do a better job and save money.
2 dogs and a house 
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