Canine’s Christmas Stocking And Different November 2022 Bills

November is at all times a month of celebrations in our household! We hosted Thanksgiving for what we predict is the tenth 12 months–though there have been a number of years off for Covid–and Kidwoods turned seven!

Our bills are at all times greater in November on account of those festivities and I don’t thoughts in any respect. Being able to spend on issues that matter deeply to me is why I’m frugal. It’s why I monitor my spending. It’s why I interrogate my priorities and the way my spending displays them.

It’s an illustration of values-based spending:

Save on stuff that doesn’t matter–or which you could get used for a less expensive value–to allow your self the liberty to spend on the issues that matter most.

Earlier this month I wrote about how I’ve saved hundreds of {dollars} on my children’ wardrobes by sourcing all of their clothes second-hand. The explanation I do it’s because I can. As a result of I can outfit them in completely good clothes for a FRACTION of the worth. Then, when it comes time to have a good time and host household, I’ve the monetary leeway to spend extra on groceries and wine and birthday events. My method isn’t about depriving myself or reducing again in each single class, it’s about being strategic with how and the place I spend my cash.

A Christmas Stocking for A Canine

One in every of my traditions is to brighten for Christmas the week earlier than Thanksgiving. Don’t come after me! I LOVE CHRISTMAS decorations and I gained’t cease!!! I do that, partially, in order that we are able to get the sensation of celebrating two holidays with my husband’s household since we don’t spend Christmas with them.

As I used to be placing up our decor–all of which I re-use 12 months to 12 months–I spotted one thing was lacking. When our oldest was born, my mother-in-law purchased GORGEOUS monogrammed Christmas stockings for us from Land’s Finish. When Littlewoods was born, she purchased her a stocking as properly.

That is how I discovered myself on the Land’s Finish web site looking for the proper stocking to monogram for…. the canine. I do know, I do know, she will be able to’t even learn, however I needed one! So I purchased it. Whereas on there, I availed myself of a screaming deal on winter base layers for the ladies and, uh, ya know… additionally purchased a gown for myself. What can I say? It’s Christmas-y plaid!!!!!! I’ve a factor for Christmas-y plaid, as all vacation pictures of my youngsters amply exhibit. 

Kidwoods’ SEVENTH Birthday!

Kidwoods requested a celebration to which she may invite her whole class together with a good variety of children in different courses as properly. Trying over her visitor checklist, which she wrote herself and included such luminaries as her trainer and the principal, we realized it will be folly to try to have all these of us at our home.

And so, we had her occasion at our city heart, which has an excellent playground! Good. For a mere $50 we had been capable of hire out the city heart, host a birthday celebration and are available house to a clear, non-destroyed house. WORTH IT.

We served sandwiches, chips, fruit & veggies, cans of seltzer, juice bins, cupcakes and cookies, which–mixed with internet hosting Thanksgiving–is why our grocery funds was about $200 greater than regular.

Whereas most of her birthday presents had been bought second-hand at yard gross sales and thrift shops, we did purchase one reward new: Qwirkle!! Our pals launched us to this board sport throughout our seaside trip with them earlier this fall and it’s pleasant! It’s kinda like Scrabble, however with colours and shapes, which implies the entire household can play.

We’ve been a bit restricted in whole-family video games since Littlewoods can’t learn but, however Qwirkle is ideal (affiliate hyperlinks)! It’s really enjoyable for adults to play, there’s some severe technique concerned, AND a four-year-old can completely do it. Extremely suggest!!

Family provides had been additionally up this month on account of buying some birthday celebration paraphernalia together with, however not restricted to, a unicorn piñata, which I’ve taped again collectively for reuse subsequent 12 months.

The ultimate birthday-related expense was $5 for a Daniel Tiger stuffy that Kidwoods purchased for her sister to have on her birthday. I used to be so touched by this gesture of kindness that I ended up paying for Daniel and never having Kidwoods pay me again. Littlewoods was thrilled and shocked that she bought to open a gift too! I’ll undoubtedly be doing that once more.

Christmas Playing cards

I continued my custom of ordering enterprise postcards for our household Christmas playing cards as they’re SO MUCH cheaper.

I like postcards as a result of:

• Their smaller dimension means they’re cheaper
• If you choose “enterprise” postcards, they’re a fraction of the worth of normal “vacation” postcards
• You’ll be able to nonetheless do full-color on each side of the cardboard
• Postcard stamps are cheaper than common stamps
• They arrive with the return handle already printed
• You don’t have to purchase envelopes

I’ve been utilizing this hack for the final 8 years and it’s nonetheless going sturdy! I ordered from my previous standby, VistaPrint, and spent $52–together with transport–on 150 full-color postcards. I really bought myself in gear this 12 months to order on Black Friday, which meant I used to be capable of benefit from a sale they had been working. I’ve bought to recollect to order on that day yearly!

Be a part of a UFM Mastermind Group

There’s a BRAND NEW strategy to take part in my January Uber Frugal Month (UFM) Problem: be a part of a Mastermind Group!!!! These teams are your likelihood to fulfill (on video) with me and another frugal of us as soon as per week for five weeks beginning in January! Learn extra right here; sign-up to hitch right here.

Signal-up For The UFM to Win…. A PRIZE!

I’m freely giving three prizes to a few of us who sign-up for the FREE January Uber Frugal Month:

Prize #1: A one-on-one fundamental monetary session with me, AKA a non-public reader case research ($1,500 worth!).

Prize #2: A spot in a UFM Mastermind Group ($300 worth!).

Prize #3: A photograph of my canine with a nametag on her head along with your title written on it by my seven-year-old. You suppose I’m kidding? This child LOVES placing nametags on this canine’s head (priceless worth!).

To enter, sign-up for the Uber Frugal Month within the field beneath. I’ll select three winners through random quantity generator on Monday, December nineteenth. If you happen to’ve already signed up for the January 2023 UFM, you’re already entered within the drawing!

Can I Speak To You?

Sure! In September I launched Personal Reader Case Research, that are a chance for folk to rent me for a full monetary session. I additionally now provide hourlong video calls. You’ll be able to:

1. Rent me for a personal monetary session right here.
2. Schedule an hourlong name with me right here.

To be taught extra about personal one-on-one consultations, examine this out.

I Love the Free Cash Monitoring Instruments from Private Capital!

I take advantage of a free on-line service known as Private Capital to prepare our cash. It tracks our spending, web price, investments, retirement, every little thing.

Figuring out the place your cash’s at is likely one of the best methods to get a deal with in your funds. You can’t make knowledgeable choices about your cash in the event you don’t understand how you’re spending it or how a lot you will have. If you happen to’d prefer to know extra about how Private Capital works, try my full write-up.

And not using a holistic image of your funds, there’s no strategy to set financial savings, debt compensation or funding objectives. It’s a should, of us. Private Capital (which is free) is a good way for me to systematize our monetary overviews because it hyperlinks all of our accounts collectively and gives a complete image of our web price.

If you happen to don’t have a strong concept of the place your cash’s at–or the way you’re spending it–contemplate attempting Private Capital (word: the Private Capital hyperlinks are affiliate hyperlinks). 

Credit Playing cards: How We Purchase The whole lot

We purchase every little thing we are able to with bank cards as a result of:

1. It’s simpler to trace bills. No guesswork over the place a random $20 invoice went; all of it reveals up in our month-to-month expense report from Private Capital. I additionally spend much less cash as a result of I KNOW I’m going to see each expense listed on the finish of the month.

2. We get rewards. Bank card rewards are a easy strategy to get one thing for nothing. By means of the playing cards we use, we get money again in addition to resort and airline factors for purchasing stuff we had been going to purchase anyway.
3. We construct our credit score. Since we don’t have any debt, having a number of bank cards open for a few years helps our credit score scores. It’s a grimy delusion that carrying a steadiness in your bank card helps your credit score rating–IT DOES NOT. Paying your playing cards off IN FULL each month and conserving them open for a few years does assist your rating.

For extra on my bank card technique, try:

Money Again Playing cards to Contemplate

If you happen to’re now cash-back curious, there are a selection of playing cards available on the market providing fairly good money again percentages. Listed here are a number of I feel are a great deal:

1) Blue Money Most well-liked® Card from American Specific:

• 6% money again at U.S. supermarkets on as much as $6,000 per 12 months in purchases (then 1%).
• 6% money again on choose U.S. streaming subscriptions.
• 3% money again at U.S. fuel stations and on transit (together with taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and extra).
• 1% money again on different purchases.
• Earn a $350 assertion credit score after you spend $3,000 in purchases in your new card inside the first 6 months.
• $95 annual payment. Charges and charges particulars right here.
• Phrases apply

2) Blue Money On a regular basis® Card from American Specific:

• 3% money again at U.S. supermarkets (on as much as $6,000 per 12 months in purchases, then 1%).
• 3% Money Again at U.S. fuel stations, on as much as $6,000 per 12 months, then 1%.
• 1% money again on different purchases.
• Earn a $200 assertion credit score after you spend $2,000 in purchases in your new card inside the first 6 months.
• No annual payment. Charges and charges particulars right here.
• Phrases apply.

3) Capital One Quicksilver Money Rewards Credit score Card:

• 1.5% money again on each buy, each day.
• $200 money bonus after you spend $500 on purchases inside 3 months from account opening.
• No annual payment.

4) Capital One SavorOne Money Rewards Credit score Card:

• Limitless 3% money again on eating, leisure, fashionable streaming providers and at grocery shops (excluding superstores like Walmart and Goal).
• 1% again on all different purchases.
• 8% money again on tickets at Vivid Seats via January 2023.
• $200 money bonus after you spend $500 on purchases inside the first 3 months from account opening.
• No annual payment.

5) Chase Freedom Limitless®:

• Earn an additional 1.5% on every little thing you purchase (on as much as $20,000 spent within the first 12 months), which is price as much as $300 money again:
  • 6.5% on journey bought via Chase Final Rewards
  • 4.5% on eating and drugstores
  • 3% on all different purchases.
• After your first 12 months (or $20,000 spent), you earn:
  • 5% money again on Chase journey bought via Chase Final Rewards
  • 3% money again on drugstore purchases and eating at eating places, together with takeout and eligible supply service
  • Limitless 1.5% money again on all different purchases.
• No annual payment.

6) Chase Freedom Flex℠:

• 5% money again on as much as $1,500 in mixed purchases in bonus classes every quarter you activate.
• New 5% classes every quarter.
• 5% money again on journey bought via Chase Final Rewards
• 3% money again on drugstore purchases and eating at eating places, together with takeout and eligible supply service
• Limitless 1% money again on all different purchases.
• $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
• No annual payment.

If you happen to’re thinking about journey rewards, individuals love the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked Card®. You’ll be able to earn 60,000 bonus factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening, which is $750 whenever you redeem via Chase Final Rewards.

Enormous caveat to bank card utilization: you MUST pay your bank card payments in full each single month, with no exceptions. If you happen to’re involved about your potential to do that, or suppose utilizing bank cards may immediate you to spend extra, stick to a debit card or money. However when you have no downside paying that invoice in full each month? I like to recommend you bank card away, my good friend! (word: the bank card hyperlinks are affiliate hyperlinks).

Money Again Earned This Month: $55.60

The silver lining to our spending is our money again bank card. We earn 2% money again on each buy made with our Constancy Rewards Visa and, this month, we spent $2,780.18 on that card, which netted us $55.60.

Not some huge cash, nevertheless it’s cash we earned for purchasing stuff we had been going to purchase anyway! Because of this I like money again bank card rewards–they’re the only strategy to earn one thing for nothing.

To see how this provides up over the course of a 12 months, try How I Made $712.59 With My Money Again Credit score Card.

The place’s Your Cash?

One other straightforward strategy to optimize your cash is with a high-interest financial savings account. With these accounts, curiosity works in your favor versus the rates of interest on debt, which work in opposition to you.

Having cash in a no or low curiosity financial savings account is a waste of assets–your cash is sitting there doing nothing. Don’t let your cash be lazy! Make it give you the results you want! And now, take pleasure in some explanatory math:

Let’s say you will have $5,000 in a financial savings account that earns 0% curiosity. In a 12 months’s time, your $5,000 will nonetheless be… $5,000.

Let’s say you as a substitute put that $5,000 into an American Specific Private Financial savings account, which–as of this writing–earns 3% in curiosity (affiliate hyperlink). In a single 12 months, your $5,000 can have elevated to $5,150. Which means you earned $150 simply by having your cash in a high-interest account.

And also you didn’t must do something! I’m a giant fan of incomes cash whereas doing nothing. Is anyone not a fan of that? Apparently so, as a result of anybody who makes use of a low or no curiosity financial savings account is NOT getting cash whereas doing nothing. Don’t be that particular person. Be the one that earns cash whereas sleeping.

Sure, We Solely Paid $28.24 for Cell Telephone Service (for 2 telephones)

Our cellphone service line merchandise isn’t a typ0 (though that definitely is). We actually and really solely paid $28.24 for each of our telephones (that’s $14.12 per particular person for these of you into division). How is such trickery attainable?!? We use an MVNO!

What’s an MVNO?

Glad you requested as a result of I used to be going to inform you anyway: It’s a cellphone service re-seller.

MVNOs are the TJ Maxx of the cellphone service world–the identical service, A LOT cheaper. If you happen to’re not utilizing an MVNO, switching to 1 is a simple, slam-dunk, do-it-right-away manner to save cash each single month of each single 12 months ceaselessly and ever amen.

Listed here are a two MVNOs to think about:

For extra, I’ve a full chart of suppliers and their costs right here: Tips on how to Save Cash on Your Cell Telephone Invoice with an MVNO: I Pay $12 a Month*

*the quantity we pay fluctuates each month as a result of it’s calibrated on what we use. Think about that! We solely pay for what we use! Will wonders ever stop. These MVNO hyperlinks are affiliate hyperlinks.

Expense Report FAQs

Wish to understand how we handle the remainder of our cash? Try How We Handle Our Cash: Behind The Scenes of The Frugalwoods Household Accounts

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  2018 Christmas Postcard

  Don’t you will have a rental property? Sure! We personal a rental property (also referred to as our first house) in Cambridge, MA, which I focus on right here and extra lately, right here too.

• Why do I share our bills? To offer you a way of how we spend our cash in a values-based method. Your spending will differ from ours and there’s no “one proper manner” to spend and no “excellent” funds.
• Are we probably the most frugal frugal individuals on earth? Completely not! My hope is that by being clear about our spending, you may acquire insights into your personal spending and be impressed to take proactive management of your cash.
• Questioning the place to begin with managing your cash? Take my free, 31-day Uber Frugal Month Problem.
• If you happen to’re thinking about different issues I like, try Frugalwoods Recommends.
• Why don’t you purchase every little thing domestically? We do our greatest to assist our local people and purchase as a lot of our meals as attainable straight from our farmer neighbors. Our city doesn’t have any shops, so we depend on on-line ordering and large field shops for requirements. The closest shops are 45 minutes away and we go a number of occasions a month to fill up on what we are able to’t get from our neighbors or on-line.

However Mrs. Frugalwoods, Don’t You Pay For X, Y, Or Even Z???

Questioning about widespread bills you don’t see listed beneath?

• We don’t have a mortgage as a result of we paid it off (particulars right here)

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  2014 PRE-CHILDREN postcard

  We pay payments in full the month we obtain them. That’s why you gained’t see month-to-month funds for issues like automotive insurance coverage or property tax. These bills present up as the complete annual (or bi-annual, and many others) quantity within the month we pay them.

• Right here’s what we do for medical insurance.
• We don’t have any money owed and we paid money for our automobiles.
• Right here’s how we make charitable contributions: How We Donate To Charities Like Billionaires and likewise How We Make Significant And Tax Environment friendly Charitable Donations.
• Right here’s an outline of how we save for our youngsters’ greater training: How We Use 529 Plans To Save For Faculty
• We reside on 66 acres in rural Vermont, so our utilities and family bills are totally different from conventional city and suburban houses:
  • We don’t pay for water, sewer, trash, or heating/cooling as a result of we’ve got a properly, a septic system, our city doesn’t present trash pick-up (we take it to a switch station as soon as per week in luggage we buy from our city), we warmth our house with wooden we harvest ourselves from our land, and we don’t have central air-con (we use window models through the hottest components of the summer time).
  • There are, in fact, prices related to sustaining these programs (similar to having our septic system pumped and inspected) and people bills present up within the months we pay them.
  • Now we have photo voltaic panels, which account for our low electrical energy invoice.
  • For extra on our rural life-style, try my sequence This Month On The Homestead in addition to Metropolis vs. Nation: Which Is Cheaper? The Final Price Of Residing Showdown

If you happen to’re questioning about anything, be happy to ask within the feedback part!

Alright you frugal cash voyeurs, feast your eyes on each greenback we spent in November:

Merchandise	Quantity	Notes
Groceries	$810.64	Roughly $200 greater than regular attributable to: Internet hosting Thanksgiving Kidwoods’ Birthday Get together Cash very properly spent!
Truck repairs	$740.76	Ugh automotive repairs. The truck wanted entrance struts, an oil change and its annual state inspection. Very grateful for our native mechanic who expenses rather a lot lower than a dealership!
Studded Snow Tires for the Outback	$687.01	We purchased 4 225/65/R17 Nokian Nordman 5 studded snow tires for the Subaru Outback. Cautious readers will recall that we purchased used snow tires and rims over the summer time. However, our intention was at all times to make use of the used rims and purchase new snow tires. Can’t put a value on security and safety throughout ice and snow season. Or, I suppose you may and it’s $687.01…
Beer, wine and alcohol	$299.24	A lot greater than regular on account of internet hosting Thanksgiving.
Gasoline for automobiles	$269.85
Canine and Hen Meals	$181.67
Eating places	$159.25	Dates with my husband!
Canine Coaching	$150.00	We took Gigi to a canine coach for a number of classes, which had been nice!
Chickens	$142.00	6 complete, frozen, free-range chickens from our farmer neighbors
The Canine Stocking + human clothes	$127.87	It’s attainable I had a bit an excessive amount of enjoyable on the Land’s Finish web site… I REGRET NOTHING
Preschool	$120.00	For Littlewoods
Family provides	$104.66	Increased than regular on account of shopping for some provides for the birthday celebration
Bulk meals order	$98.18	50lbs white complete wheat flour and 25lbs of natural oats, ordered via our native co-op’s bulk meals ordering
The Thanksgiving Turkey (+ some maple syrup)	$81.00	Free vary, recent turkey raised by our farmer neighbors. It was DELICIOUS.
Web	$72.00
Medical insurance	$52.43
Christmas playing cards + transport	$52.00	150 full-color postcards from VistaPrint
City Heart Rental	$50.00	For Kidwoods’ seventh birthday celebration
The Vermont Almanac	$37.10	A standby in our home yearly
Sensible plugs and sensible lights	$35.73	I’m obsessive about these sensible plugs as they imply I can activate ALL of our Christmas lights with ONE button! I’m in heaven. Additionally bought these sensible gentle strips to interchange our ageing fairy lights, that are burning out after seven years of steady use (affiliate hyperlinks). What can I say, I like heat and comfortable lighting!!
Utilities: Electrical energy	$31.52
Cellphone service for 2 telephones	$28.24	Thanks, low cost MVNO!
Qwirkle sport	$26.49	Extremely suggest Qwirkle for all-ages household enjoyable (affiliate hyperlink).
Non-stick skillet	$26.45	I make scrambled eggs for myself for lunch on a regular basis and so I bought this little nonstick skillet for my very own private egg utilization (affiliate hyperlink).
Physician go to co-pay	$20.00
Spotify subscription	$13.77
Canine License	$13.00	Canine is now formally registered with the city
Daniel Tiger Stuffy	$5.00	Awwww
TOTAL:	$4,435.86

How was your November?