30 Days of Saving Money-Day 3

Win!  This month we saved over fifty dollars on our electric bill.  How did we do it?
1) We turned the water heater down...I was afraid someone was going to burn themselves anyway.
2) See Vampire Post.
3) We turned our air conditioning unit to a warmer temp.
4) I became a light turner offer Nazi.
5) I started to hang dry a lot of our clothes.  This keeps everything looking less used AND it saves electricity. PLUS, if you find a stain on your clothes after washing/air drying it...it's MUCH easier to get out!

So, if we continue this for 12 months we will save $600 in one year!

30 Days of Saving Money-Day 2

Entertainment.  I think there should be an entire blog devoted to thrifty diversions.  Joel and I noticed we were paying a lot of money for entertainment each month.  So, we budgeted a specific amount, withdrew it from the bank and started paying cash for "fun things."  (Our fun things included wine, eating out, bottles of Diet Coke, coffee and bagel stops and other superfluous items).  When the cash is gone, we don't allow ourselves to purchase ANY of the aforementioned items until the next month. I REALLY don't like cutting out fun things, so we've started coming up with some activities that are cheaper, but still entertaining.  Here you go...maybe our ideas will help you too.

1) Hors d'oeuvre Night.  Every Sunday evening we make yummy finger foods,  and treat ourselves to our favorite drinks.  It's like a restaurant night in our own home...w/o too many dishes (that's a huge plus for me!)

2) Hike.  There are lots of trails around us, so this is FREE and fun.

3) Movie night.  We've been watching Harry Potter every Friday night....(it's hard for us to agree on movies, so I don't know what will happen to this night when we are done with the series).

4) Bagel morning.  Bagels are amazing in NJ.  Every Saturday we grab two from our local bagelry and bring them home.  We use our own cream cheese since the kind in the shops are really expensive. This only costs a little over a dollar.   It's a fun little tradition.

5) Dog walks. I mostly do this by myself.  I find that it's really relaxing and entertaining.  My dog always does silly stuff that makes me chuckle.  So, if your bored...take your pooch for a walk.

What does your family do for free/thrifty fun?

30 Days of Saving Money-Day 1

Since I'm not able to make any money right now, I've decided to see how much I can save during the next couple weeks of unemployment.  Some of the things I'm trying seem a bit granola-ish and my husband laughs at me! (I would laugh at me too if I weren't so bored! I honestly told Joel I missed poking veins today...errr...for those of you who don't know...I'm an RN)  I'm not using newspaper for toilet paper or anything, but as you saw in my last post, I've given up paper towels.

You may wonder why Joel is pictured above with buck teeth?  I told him to make a vampire face and this is what appeared. That being said, I've learned through other's blogs that vampires are real...when it comes to unused electrical appliances that are plugged in, that is.  This phenomenon is called Vampire Power.  Apparently, electronics still conduct electricity when they aren't pulled from the wall, EVEN if they are turned off.  So, since our electricity bill kind of shocked us last month, I decided to see if we'd notice any difference if I started unplugging untouched appliances. I have set some limits though.  I'm not going to reset my clocks every day....or my coffee maker.

Wish me luck.  I hope this new "hobby"saves us money AND keeps me occupied while I'm not working:)  Come back for 29 more days of my saving money journey.

My Newest Endeavor to Save Money

I have a lot of time right now.  Sometimes this is good...other times it is not!  I'm trying to make myself enjoy these free hours, because I'm hoping to work a full as well as a part time job in the fall.  Since I'm not working like a crazy woman right now, I've been reading a lot about saving money.  It's a topic that really interests me.  I've found blogs about a lot of little ways to build up your bank account.  Some people make their own deodorant.  Others, have their significant others cut their hair......other's do weird things like this (*WARNING*-this has to do with menstruation).   I've decided I'm going to stop using paper towels and clorox wipes.  If you have ever been around me, you have probably noticed that I LOVE both of these products.  I believe this is due to my nursing background.  Paper towels and clorox wipes seem cleaner than rags.   Due to this fact, I probably use at LEAST 15 paper towel sheets a day and at LEAST 7 clorox wipes a day.  That's a lot of money that I will never see again.  So, I have made my own "clorox wipes."  I found this recipe from someones blog....I WON'T be using this to clean up after raw meat or anything else that could cause illness....just general spiffing up.

And just as a disclaimer....I almost feel as though I'm being a little too green by doing this.  I've always been the girl who proudly carries her groceries in plastic bags. (don't worry...I re-use them for multiple things) I also get annoyed with everyone claiming to be "GREEN"  Before you get all mad, listen to what I have to say!  In some ways I feel that the "GREEN" campaign is just a campaign.  It's the cool thing to do right now.  Do I think we should conserve the earth's resources, YES.  Do I think it is good to recycle, YES!  Do I think there is a reason humans now live longer than they did a few hundred years ago-YES.  We learned about Louis Pasteur and genetics, chemistry and ect for a reason!  Is it possible for us all to eat organic?  No....not unless you want to go back to the 1800's.  There are so many people who just want food.  It seems like only the rich ones are worried about whether it is organic or not.....I'm just saying....I'll get off my soap box now before I get murdered or something!

Family in MN

We surprised Preta with a 40th b-day party!

Why, yes...I did blow up all of those black balloons!  Collin is standing behind me.  Unfortunately....we didn't get pics of all of Preta's kids...silly us. 

Just like the happy faces in this pic!

Nummy ice cream cake!

Are the kids really this big?!? They are all super cute, still! I enjoyed playing "Spotty, the snapping turtle with Luke...even though he wondered "who the lady in the purple dress was."

I think they look like mother and daughter!

We forgot to take pictures until the end of our trip....this is our usual style :)  Maybe someday we'll learn....but enjoy the end of our trip for now.

You Know You Need a Job When.....

Today, while Joel was on the phone...I decided I was going to mess around on iPhoto, which is a photo app. on our mac.  I was TRYING to snap a picture of myself and didn't realize I was actually filming.
Here's a play by play of my thoughts.....

"Gee...that makes my nose look really long."
"Hmm...maybe I can make my lips look really big."
"Maybe it would be funny if I opened my mouth really wide."
"hmmm....why can't I get this thing to take a picture?"
"Ohh...here's the picture app."

Does this hair cut make my eyes look too close together?

Wow...I never knew I had a twin!

And just so you know that I am actually a normal looking person (granted I haven't fixed my hair and have NO makeup on)  

I know you're all thinking that I married someone WAY too cool for me....I should've ended up with Mr. Bean....Joel probably thinks this sometimes too....but he still joins in on the fun.

Our Living Room

Guest Bedroom

Dining Room

WhoooHOOO!  His/Her sinks....I've been waiting for these for a while!

Our amazing closet...I don't miss having to go outside our bedroom and up the stairs to find my hanging clothes!

Master Bedroom...I don't have to worry about running into the wall when I get out of bed in the middle of the night!

Kitchen...we can both fit in it at the same time!

Why yes...there is always a freshly baked caramel apple pie on our stove.

 We are loving our new place in Jersey.  I was a little hesitant to show pictures.  It almost seems TOO nice...but a couple of you have asked.  I didn't show you everything...we'll leave that for when you come visit. If you hurry, you'll get your own bedroom and bathroom!  Were hoping our landlords will let us stay here for more than a year!....If not...you may end up on an air mattress!

Bear Mountain

This weekend we met Candace, Erik and Carinna for a hike up Bear Mountain.  There are so many beautiful places to visit in our area.  It's like we get to take a little vacation every weekend.

Candace and I checking out the lake.

One of our views on the hike

I insisted that we needed to take a picture of Joel as I am usually the focus of our camera.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a very good picture of Carinna or Erik. Carinna is SURE cute though!