Miserly March Wrap-Up

Well, Miserly March was a good experience. Nothing earth shattering happened. We were able to save a bunch of money, but to be honest that's in part because we made a lot this month. My hubby's been getting overtime pay, and I did a lot of tutoring.

We did have some notable saving experiences, though:

1. Thrift Stores
We needed wine rack. All the ones I found at stores were overpriced for what they were. So I decided to checkout the local Goodwill. Well, the first two visits, I had no luck with finding a wine rack. That's the bummer about thrift stores: you never know what they'll have. Well, that plus the smell. They always smell funky. On my third visit, though, I found the best wine rack! It fits in our space perfectly, it's sturdy, and it was only $4!

While at the thrift store, I also found awesome brand new pink heels for $6! They still had the sticker from the store on them! It made my day :-)

I don't love thrift stores. I dislike the smell, and the stigma of being there. But, logically, I appreciate them. Thrift stores allow me to get stuff in an earth-friendly way: I'm saving stuff from the trash, and I'm getting something without energy being used to produce it, since it was already produced and used. Plus thrift stores are inexpensive, especially for household stuff.

2. Costco in Moderation
Don't get me wrong here, Costco's great. But everything there does cost a decent chunk of change, and I am prone to getting stuff we don't really need, or at least we could live without. So by going to Costco less often, we end up saving a whole lot on groceries! I think we went only once in the whole month of March, which is great for us!

3. Going Out to Eat/Drink
We only went out once this month, I believe. At the beginning of the month we made an effort to eat at home, and that quickly became a habit. Now we usually eat at home, but we had taken to eating out when in a hurry or far from home. In March, we really tried to take food with us instead. This was surprisingly easy, even for a sandwich-hater like me. (I don't hate all sandwiches, just PB&J, which is the one type for which we always have supplies). When we took food, we made pitas with falafel we'd made a few days prior. We spread some homemade hummus, put in spinach and falafel, and voila! A yummy portable meal.

When we did go out, it was to visit with friends. We went to a local bar with a great happy hour, so it didn't cost us much.

Well, that's my Miserly March wrap-up. Sorry it's not too exciting :-/ Hopefully someone else gets some ideas to help save money!