Financial steps, books I am reading

I found 1 dime and 1 nickel and 4 pennies. It went in to the change jar as the Amish have been buying our change so they don't have to go to the bank that is over 20 miles from them.

We do all the daily habits, open curtains for light, keep furnace low, use wood stove when highs are in 50s (was nice to hear the Amish complaining of having to open windows because they need the stove on to cook but it's warm in the afternoons LOL), use the oil lamps (now the decorations saving on oil as it's a bit hard to get at the moment and we do have the option of electric where Amish don't, E ran out Sunday night and came over to fill a lamp. Hubby goes after oil on Friday with H) and clothes line. Hubby stacked more wood in the barn and said he is down to 1/2 cord to cut and most of it is kindling. E's dad H told Hubby to focus getting the scraps from A. R. or J.H sawmills as is saves gas from cutting. 

 I  listed the items we needed/wanted to buy...then I list the prices I am willing to pay.... then I go hunting for them. I make sure I think about sales tax or it can put us over budget

On the to buy list

hearth board with spacers for the wall behind the wood stove. Budget $100 plus tax

humidifier and filters if not like what we have. Budget $400 plus tax

Four fire alarms as the ones we bought for here is starting to act up. Budget $80 plus tax

Lighters (we have a burn barrel, wood/coal stove and oil lamps) Budget $6. plus tax

Bottled water. Hubby carries a case in the truck so if someone needs water to drink or wash with he has it. My brother does the same. Budget $20 (we planned 3 cases) plus tax* went to 4 as they had dropped in price.*

Two bags Chi Chi tortilla chips. We get them the cheapest at Menards. Budget $ 8 plus tax 

We figured $614 with 7.25 % tax  would require  a total of $658.52  We saved $675. 

Went to Menards (11 % rebate this week)  got everything on the list and some candy, hard caramels for Hubby to carry in truck, caramel creams (we only get around Christmas so being saved) soft caramels (use to cookies and ice cream) candied peach rings (me) and our standard Hershey plain and almond bars (we put peanut butter on them) and Reese's cups. Figure what ever was left in the $675 budget could be used on the candy that will last us through Christmas if not until Feb. 

We had $104.44 in rebates.  We were able to get $84 in candy. I split it up so Hubby is not tempted as he was raised and to this day his parents(diabetics) have a LARGE bowl of candy on the kitchen table. Not happening here. We will be getting back $56.82 in the 11% rebate.

On the stock up list (still) turkey (less than $2/lb.), pepperoni ($7/lb. A pound makes 12 pizzas) and G& R bologna We pay what ever they want as it is a special blend just made for them. Additional Prime rib for Christmas is a question mark still. 

I was suppose to go to Son 2's for two weeks while he was at Annual training. His last before he retires officially December 30th. It was canceled. Since I had wrote a menu of options for Hubby and brought it up to kitchen frig. freezer, we are eating from that. I tossed small potatoes from our harvest and brussels sprout I had froze in a pork roast and only enough veggies for 1 meal. Hubby loved it. I split the pork roast into 2 meals for the freezer. Both will probably make 2 meals also.  We had Autumn stew (chicken I canned (store bought chicken frozen chicken breasts), onions, garlic and butternut squash along with the dehydrated beet greens from our gardens) , ate for dinner and lunch and then with our hamburger sandwiches we had last night 1 pint going in freezer. Tonight is beef stew from the freezer with the apple cider bread I baked that isn't going to last through this week.  I still have tomatoes on the deck table turning red, should be canning those by Thursday or Friday as it's getting into the 70s (not our normal 50s) I still have 1/2 bushel of apples to dehydrate and 1/4 bushel of apples for fresh eating and baking besides the 1 full bushel in the frig for this winter.

I stocked up on vitamins and a few medical supplies that was on sale.

I put up some LED lights decorations for Halloween and fall. Hubby remembers to unplug the one set in the front room and I do the one in the dining room. We leave the one over the sink on and not plug in the night light we have there. Both use the same amount of electric but with how I hung the lights on the curtain rod , it gives more light off than the night light. Hubby thinks he would like it to become the night light if I can figure out how to make it look decent and not just a strand of LED lights hanging on the curtain rod (which has no curtain as I hang the windchimes there during the winter)

We have said no to a couple outings to lower the use of gas. As we know of at least one funeral we will be going to. Daughter 4's grandfather on biological side is dying. He has battled heart and diabetes for 20 yrs. 

We had our farm/car ins agent come over and recheck the place to make sure our coverage was up to were it should be. He added the stove and chimney, of course. AND advised us to start tracking how many miles we drive a year as we might be able to get a discount on that besides our ages. I had laundry on the line when he pulled up, he made the comment we had the same brand of dryer our neighbor had... M had her laundry out also. And then noted his mother never had a dryer until he was 10 and he is the middle child of 9.

We went through clothes, Hubby needs "dress" jeans and work pants. Dress jeans come from Rural King, work pants come from Tractor supply. Both places had jeans on sale so it worked out well. I bought 4 dresses at half price, one has no sleeves but I have different sweaters or shawls I can wear with it. My dresses are hanging on me but I will pass them to another family member that can use them. She is passing her clothes to one of the grandkids. Sale prices of jeans and dresses are 50% lower than budget.

We have stuff for the small projects we need to get done. 

I am going to need wide mouth pint jars. SIGH.

Hubby will be scheduling the winter maintenance for the lawnmower and the tractor. He will get a 10% discount for doing it now until Jan 31st. Slow time for the two businesses. 

Books I am reading

Decluttering your home in a Year or Less Workbook by Kai M. Jordan.

The Doomsday book of Medicine by Ralph LA Guardia MD

Essentialism  The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKneown.

Healing America How a Simple practice can help us recapture the American Spirit by Congressman Tim Ryan

Rereading Bay of Sighs (book 2 of the Guardians Trilogy) Bed time book.

AND 

Nov 1st (today) National Novel Writing Month of writing 50,000 this month (1667/ day).

I am also sorting seeds as next year's gardens will be limited with redoing the whole gardens over. 

I am inputting pantry inventory on to spread sheet ( 1 page per day as I have 22 pages left to do)

We decided on the 2023 budget. That's another post

Blessed Be everyone

Prayers for peace 

What are you doing to pinch those pennies?