Got No Dough - Saving Money in Slim Times

We haven’t heard anything about my husband’s missing truck or, more importantly, its contents.  I’ve never seen him so depressed and it’s killing me.  He just got a contract with a major casino near here to teach guitar to a group of students and he starts tomorrow.  Nothing like teaching a guitar class when your guitar was just stolen.

So, anyhow, I want to make a miracle happen.  Somehow, someway, I’m going to come up with the money to get him a new guitar.  This is where you come in.  I need MORE ideas on ways to come up with some quick cash.  This is what I have in mind so far:

• Recycle and asking everyone I know to save their recycling for me
• Sell anything I have of value
• Make things I can sell (I can crochet, sew, bead, etc.)

Ok, my list is weak, but it’s because my mind is racing a mile a minute.  If only I had been in the first group of people to get their stimulus check!  But unfortunately, we’re due to get ours next Friday (hopefully sooner!).

Ok, so please send me your ideas.  I will do almost anything at this point and I thank you in advance for your thoughts.

So I’ve seen lots of talk about getting really great deals at CVS, but it just seemed like far too much work for me to take part in it.  Well, last week that all changed.  Today was my second week participating in the CVS deal game and I must say that I’m addicted.  Add that to the fact that they are building a brand new CVS right around the corner from me and I’m really excited.

I realize that I’m not getting as good of deals as some people are and that is for two reasons.

1. I refuse to buy things that I can’t/won’t use.  Some people will buy anything just because it’s a good deal - I will not.  Therefore, this week I didn’t get the Just For Men hair stuff.  Yes, it’s “free” after ECB (Extracare Bucks) but I just can’t use it and I don’t know anyone else who would use it.
2. I just started doing this and so I don’t have as many coupons as other people do.  Luckily there are a lot of coupons that can be printed online, so that’s how I’ve made some great deals.  Each week my arsenal gets a little bigger though.

So, without further ado, I would like to tell you about my special deals.  The first week doesn’t really count because it was kind of an initial investment, but I’ll share it anyhow.

April 20 - April 26

• Speedstick deoderant - $3.99
• Gold Emblem 24 pack water x 2 - $3.99 each
• Spa Radiance - $4.99
• Gold Emblem Peanuts x 2 - $3.69 (Buy one get one free)
• Kleenex x 2 - $1.29 (Buy one get one free)
• Circus peanuts - .88 cents - not on my list, merely a stress reliever

Minus $1.00 coupon for deodorant that I found online.  Plus, since I signed up for deals by email I had a $4 off a $20 purchase.

So, after all was said and done with tax and crv, I spent $20.71.  Remember, this is just my “initial investment.”  It kicked me back $3.99 in ExtraCare Bucks for the deoderant, $4.99 in ExtraCare Bucks for the body wash and $2.00 in ExtraCare bucks for the water.

April 27 - May 3

When I got to the store, I scanned my card at a little kiosk and it spit out a $3 off any $10 CVS brand purchase.  Very beautiful considering many items are buy 2 get one free.  I hadn’t planned on that, so I’ll try to use it later this week.

Bic Soleil Razor - $5.99
Gold Emblem 2.5 Gallon Water - $1.99
Softsoap Handsoap x 3 - $2.91
Pepsi 2 Liters x 4 - $3.18 (Buy one get one free - limit 4)
Essence of Beauty Face Scrubber x 2 - $2.98
Essence of Beauty Bodywash Sponge - $1.99

Minus $2.00 coupon for razor found online, $10.98 in ExtraCare bucks from last week and a $3 off any $15 purchase found online.

Total spent - $3.83 + I received $8.00 in ExtraCare bucks for next time

I’m so hooked.

I’m just beside myself right now.

Tonight I was waiting for my husband to get done with one of his appointments and so I ran to a Walmart near where he was so that I could wait for him.  He decided that when he was done, he would just run in and meet me and we’d go.  When we got back to the parking lot we found that his truck was gone.  A 91 Nissan pickup truck with 220,000 miles on it.  The parking lot cameras showed an SUV pull down the aisle we were parked in, a guy get out, walk up to the truck, open it and drive away - all within about 30 seconds.  The cop that we filed the police report with said that the older vehicles are stolen all the time with worn keys.

To make matters worse, he left his guitar in it.  He was just going to run in and out and there really should have been no harm in it.  That guitar is our bread and butter because he’s a music instructor.  Oh yeah, a music instructor who travels to people’s homes to give lessons - who now has no vehicle and no instrument.

And let’s just add insult to injury.  We just paid off a loan to a family member who helped us buy his school books.  Guess what else was in his truck?  $300 worth of school books.

It’s times like these that life feels like it’s over.  We were just starting to get back on our feet and now the means to make our money has been taken from us.

Tomorrow we hit the pawn shops to see if someone pawned the guitar.  Wish us luck.

Sometimes I look at what search terms brought people to my site and realize they must have been pretty disappointed when they got here. Therefore, every Friday, I’m going to take the top searches for the week and elaborate a little more on them.

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

By and far, the most frequent term to get to my site has to do with making your own laundry detergent. I think people are more interested in more recipes to make the detergent. Since I made that post, I have found a couple more ideas on doing it.

• How to Make Laundry Detergent from Keeping the Home (no washing soda needed)
• Making Your Own Laundry Detergent: A Detailed Visual Guide from The Simple Dollar

Do I have to use a dishwasher rinse aid if my dishwasher has a dispenser?

The easy answer to this is no. The dispenser is there for your convenience and doesn’t have to be used. If you find your dishes are gritty or spotty, then by all means use a rinse aid. You can either buy a commercial brand or fill it with vinegar. And if you don’t have a dispenser at all, you can buy a rinse aid that hangs in your dishwasher.

No money and in need of groceries

This is a situation I have found myself in too many times. First of all, if you have absolutely no money at all, you’re going to have to ask for help. Family, friends, church, or food banks will be happy to help you. Look into public assistance if you have to until you can get back on your feet.

If your budget is limited, I can give you a resource that saved my life: $45 Emergency Menu by Hillbilly Housewife. It’s based on making everything from scratch, which is a lot of work, but when you have no money, it is invaluable. In the process I’ve learned to eat healthier and learned to make so many things in the kitchen.

how to make slim with glue and borax

I saw “slim” appear many times and couldn’t figure out what it was. I searched wikipedia thinking it might be a foreign term. I searched urban dictionary thinking it might be slang. I was really at a loss, so I decided to Google it myself. That’s when I realized I was an idiot. It’s a typo and supposed to be: How to Make SLIME with glue and borax. Without further ado:

• Homemade Slime
• Blennophobia - Fear of Slime

And there you have it. Hopefully someone will be a little less disappointed this week.