it’s time to start thinking about school supplies!  I’m soliciting your help today at Dollar Frugal - what are your best deals on school supplies?  I usually buy them whenever I see them on a good sale and then send DS on his merry way when school actually starts (if I’m around - otherwise, DH just purchases whatever’s on the list!).

School supplies (AKA office supplies) are one of my favorite things to buy - does that make me a dork?  I don’t think so, but maybe…something about the smell of fresh notebooks and looseleaf!  I guess I should have been an elementary school teacher.

M’kay - ‘fess up!  Where do you buy school supplies and when?  What time of year?

Best idea gets a free banner ad for one month on this blog - you and I must agree on design.  You must reply in the comments below.  I’m the final judge on best idea.  I might just go out and test your idea, if feasible!

Another note:  lately, what constitutes school supplies has been changing.  DS’s teacher last year requested two boxes of cereal each month (afternoon snacks) and all kinds of hand sanitizers, etc.  What other weird stuff have teachers been asking for in your area last year?

Photo credit:  •°*°•Zoe•°*°•

My father and I have had many discussions about my choice not to biologically have a child yet. DH and I have adopted our nephew, and it has been quite an eye-opener for everyone involved. In the interests of keeping this short and sweet, here are the things that I’m concerned about when having more children:

Looking for a bit of info here…DS lost yet another molar last night.  Going rate for a self-pulled molar?  I think I got $1 for each tooth, but I know with inflation….things are probably different.

Suggestions?

We went to Six Flags on Saturday.  DS deserves a lot for getting straight A’s again this last quarter of school.  So, I bought the tickets online for half price (BOGO) and we hopped on the Metro.  I took $40 worth of cash, figuring we could figure out how to eat for $20 per meal, since I’m usually so crafty.

Not so.  We got there and I had forgotten that you get charged an arm and a leg for lockers.  I found a locker tucked away at the very rear of the park for $1 for every two hours, so I took advantage of that.  I also had used  a dollar to tip the hotel maid out of our $40 for the day.  We had to walk to the back of the park every two hours.  Our lunch cost $21 for two very old pieces of pizza and a small soda, which we split.  The water fountain water was warm and not very easily found.

But I had the advantage that I hadn’t even thought about…DS’s legs wore out before my money ran out.  He looked up at me at about 4:00 (3 hours before the last bus back to the Metro) and told me he was tired of walking.  I told him we could sit down for awhile and rest, but he said no, he was ready to go.  He slept the whole way home.  I had $7 left in my pocket (from the $40) when we got back to the hotel room.

We could have driven, but it would have cost another $15 to park in the parking lot there.

How do you hack the theme park system?

Sounds like cow-tipping!  I never used to tip my maid, but I recently (about a year ago) started, since I think the maid could really mess up my life if she wanted.

I talked to a friend in the same hotel last night and she said the maids have been stealing her quarters.  I asked her if they were set out on top of a dresser or something and she said yes.  I told her they probably thought they were a tip.  She said altogether, they’ve taken $3.00 in quarters from her, and she never tips her maid.  I have a feeling they know she doesn’t want to tip them.  Here was her reasoning:

1.  They are paid minimum wage, unlike a waitress.

2.  She doesn’t have to make up for the minimum wage difference.

3.  She never sees them, so she doesn’t feel bad about it.

I’m not really sure I follow her logic, but I know I feel a little better when I tip my maid, so I think I’m going to continue.  The cheap side of me says that the dollar or two per day is killing me (I know, I have a problem!), but the sensible side of me says that it’s worth it not to have the maid use my toothbrush as toilet paper.

What is your opinion on tipping maids in hotels?  What are the factors that weigh in for you?

I sometimes get crazy ideas.  Right now, I’m considering taking all the money I’ve been throwing at my mortgage for the last 7 or 8 years and, once the house is paid off, sending DS to a super-expensive boarding school.  Like super-expensive, as in, $29,000 per year for 7 years, super-expensive.

What, Brooke?  You’re nuts!

That’s right.  DH thinks I’ve blown a gasket.  But I just think this could really set him up well for life.  Does anyone have any experience with prep/boarding schools?  Am I out of my league here?

I know we could afford it.  If anyone can come up with the money, it’s me.  But we’d still be living frugally, and I think DH can’t take it much longer after he graduates.  How can I convince him?  We’re not having any more kids, and I want to do right by this one!  Either way, I’ve got two grades left to save up the money for the first couple years.

Okay, the words that no parent on a budget wants to hear:  Braces!  I’m lucky; I have almost perfectly straight teeth, so I didn’t need them, but the dentist said the dirty B-word on Tuesday and said that in 6 months if DS’s permanent teeth come in, he could be referred to an orthodontist on his next dentist appointment.

Ages are a little “off” for my son; he entered school really late, but he’ll be in 4th grade and be 11 when they put the braces on him.  My mom and sisters had braces on when they were in high school.  Isn’t eleven a bit young?  Another thing - my mom’s teeth have moved back to their original positions….what’s that about?  Will DS’s do that?  How much is this going to cost?  I need to sit down with my insurance paperwork; maybe I’ll be lucky and it’ll be covered?

*sigh.

Who’s got brace experience?  Hook a sister up with some info!

The other day, I talked about becoming unaddicted to restaurants.  If you get to the heart of the matter, you might just crave a certain kind of food or to have people serve you instead of laboring over a stove and then washing dishes.  But I want these things less than I want to spend my money, so I’ve figured out a few ways to make the mundane special in food:

1.  Add some spices.  I always make spaghetti, but if you add some spices on top (as simple as garlic powder and generic “Italian spices”) it makes it special, like a restaurant.  I also dribble a bit of olive oil on top, too, to make it fancy.

2.  Dim the lights.  Try a candle or two.  They don’t have to be perfect taper candles in nice candle holders.  Any candle will do.  It’s the effect that counts.

3.  Try some music.  I always go for some Portuguese music, for some reason.  It reminds me of Flamenco music in Northern California, but that’s a different story for a different day.  I’m sure you could do a station for “Italian Music” on pandora.com (which is seriously the coolest thing ever, unless you’re overseas, where it’s not available).

4.  Special drinks.  We always get grape juice with ice in some glass goblets.  We don’t drink alcohol at home, so this is our version of “wine.”  I’ve heard grape juice has almost as many antioxidants as wine, but it has no alcohol, so I think that’s pretty cool.  And DS can participate.

5.  Homemade sauce.  I don’t do this, but I’m sure if you had a stellar sauce recipe, that would be extra special, too.  By the way, if you do have a stellar sauce recipe, forward that to me ASAP!

What do you do to make a meal special on the weekend?  Have you ever had a “meal-in” be better than a “meal-out” could possibly be?

My friend gave me all her plants when she had to move across the US.  The lilies keep blooming over and over each year, with absolutely no maintenance from me.

The thing I’m really excited about is that strawberries are just starting to flower in their bags (that’s how she got them).  She was disappointed when she bought the strawberry bags and they didn’t yield any strawberries.  My mom told me strawberry plants take three years to bear fruit, and this is the third year, so I’m hoping!  Any tips on strawberry growing?  DS is also super-excited - the Easter bunny must have gone to the store late, because he gave DS a flower pot instead of an Easter basket.  I bought DS some tomato, broccoli (his favorite for some reason???) and watermelon seeds on Friday and he’s excited to plant them and see what happens!

Okay, so I’m looking for broccoli, watermelon and strawberry tips.  I’m already an old hat at the standard, tomato-growing (every year as a kid).  Thanks guys and gals!

I have a hard time not being a packrat, especially being on a budget.  When I see “free,” I feel my heartrate increase.  I start to salivate.  Okay, maybe it’s not that powerful, but nonetheless, it feels pretty exciting to see free things.

The truth comes down to it:  I’m not going to use a blood pressure monitor (even if it’s free) from CVS for at least 20 years.  I’m not going to use the toe dividers from this month’s CVS power play.  I just don’t have the time to paint my nails.  I’m not going to read the newspaper that I pay $1.25 for just to get a couple $1 coupons that I can probably find online - so I just don’t buy it.

Be careful when you’re finding frugal deals out there - you don’t need to become a hoarder (the video midway down is powerful) to have a better life.  Here are some ways to save money and not hoard:

1.  Only buy things on sale that you know you use regularly and/or will immediately donate.  If you don’t know anyone with diabetes and you get a diabetes monitor for free, what is the purpose?

2.  Stockpile enough for 12 weeks at most.  The same sales tend to run about every 12 weeks.  Free shampoo?  Okay.  Shampoo for your whole apartment complex?  NO!

3.  Organize yourself, even in a small way.  My bathroom stockpile (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc) is organized so I can monitor when I need to stockpile again.

4.  Regularly inventory everything you have or have a cleansing week.  We just recently reorganized our pantry.  It’s a good thing.  There was some beef gravy in there that expired last year.  It still worked just fine in my casserole this week.  Our fridge gets cleaned out once per month to make sure that margarine tub in the back is really margarine and not leftover stir fry.

What about you?  Did I miss anything?  How do you keep from having a “full house”?