Happy Monday! Here are last week’s frugal highs:

1. Received a payment of $136.31 for purchases made via my Amazon store.
2. Scored a free roll of paper towels at CVS.
3. Used lettuce from my garden to make salad one night.
4. Received a SavingStar cash back payment of $6.94. (I earned cash back on my purchase of grapes, Fiber One cereal, and Fiber One granola bars this week.)
5. Earned a $0.25 cash back credit from Checkout 51 on my purchase of bananas.
6. Watched the first two episodes of Six Feet Under, Season Three on DVD from the library.
7. Picked up some unsold items at the local children’s consignment store, plus a credit of – brace yourself – $3.39. Hey, every little bit helps, right?

How about you? What were some of your frugal highs last week?

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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.)

Steven D. Levitt (Author), Stephen J. Dubner (Author) (1799) Buy new: $16.99 $9.57 542 used & new from $2.80

Organic Pest Control Made Easy: How To Naturally Keep Your Home, Garden & Food Pest Free (Pest Prevention, Natural & Homemade Insect Repellents Recipe, ... Spray) (Square Foot Homesteading Book 1)

John Stone (Author) (37) Download: $0.99

Happy Friday! Our week started out hot, humid, and sticky, but turned to what I consider summer weather perfection midweek – sunny, clear, and under 80 degrees. (I especially love the fact that we don’t need to use the AC on those days!)

Our weekend plans include a lot of driving. Late this afternoon, we’ll be driving to my parents’ house, about 2.5 miles south of us. We’ll spend the night there, then drive to an extended family member’s house on Long Island, another two hours south. We’ll spend the day there with my parents, grandfather, aunt and uncle, and my father’s cousin, celebrating my grandfather’s successful completion of treatment for colon cancer this winter/spring. He’s 91, widowed, and still lives on his own. He deserves a little celebration! Sunday, we’ll head home from my parents house, and do some house and yard chores before the new week starts.

What about you? How was your week, and what are you up to this weekend?

The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

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Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

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As you may have noticed, I’m a huge fan of SavingStar. Since I’ve been using it, I’ve received $76.06 in cash back, mainly for purchases at my grocery store (Price Chopper). However, I’ve also earned cash back on purchases at CVS and Rite Aid. (There’s a full list of participating stores on their website.)

Until now, I haven’t been able to use it at my favorite store, Target. But – it’s official – SavingStar can now be used at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General, Family Dollar, WinCo, and Meijer, via their new (free) iPhone/Android app. Yippee!!

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Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use

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All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

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I can’t say that I’m organized enough to have even thought about my family’s 2014 holiday card, but here’s a deal I’d be taking advantage of, if I was. Save 25% on Tiny Prints holiday cards and party invitations with code JULYHOL14, now through 7/29. Happy Holidays!

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Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre

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You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think

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My husband is paid biweekly, and last Friday was a payday. I’m a bit obsessive and check our bank account each day, sometimes twice. Friday I was surprised to see that his payroll deposit was about $35 larger than usual. Since we started a new health insurance plan year on July 1st, I figured it had something to do with that. (This was the first full pay period paycheck in July.) His employer had told him that insurance plan costs had gone up slightly for family plans, but they decided to cover the cost themselves. (Another piece of good news!)

Sure enough, when I compared this pay stub with the last one, the difference was in the health insurance amount. So this means he’ll be netting an additional $70 each month!

What about you? Have you received any good news lately?

Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses

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Bonsai (101 Essential Tips)

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When I last wrote about propane, I had just received a bill for the $99 fee to lock-in our rate for all of next season. The offered rate was $3.59 per gallon, a full $0.94 per gallon more than we paid last season. With a 500 gallon tank, that could conceivably cost almost $500 more per tank filling. (We never completely drain our tank, so it won’t, but it’s still a huge difference.)

Last week, I called our propane company to ask if this was the best rate they could offer us. Pretty quickly, I was offered a rate of $3.05 gallon. Then I called the local home heating fuel co-op, and learned that their rates vary throughout the season, but would probably cost us between $2.30 and $2.70 per gallon.

The difference between $3.05 and $2.70 per gallon was enough to convince us to make the switch. Doing so would entail paying a $40 service call fee, plus $0.35 per gallon pumped out of the tank at the time of removal. Our tank is currently 65% full – we barely use any propane during the warmer months – so it would cost us $113 to have it pumped out. (Side note: The thought of paying to have propane we’ve already paid for and won’t be using pumped out of tank, kills me!) It seemed worth it, though, so I called our current company to let them know that I won’t be paying the $99 fee to lock-in our rate, since we’ll be switching to the co-op in the fall, after we’ve used up some of the propane that’s currently in our tank. Lo and behold, they offered me a lock-in rate of $2.77! I couldn’t believe it, but I guess the thought of losing the several thousand dollars of business we give them each year was a good enough motivation to lower our rate – again.

Given the cost and hassle of changing companies and tanks, plus the variable nature of the co-op’s pricing, we decided to stick with our current company. Don’t you just love the power of threatening to take your business elsewhere?? I had a similar experience when I called our trash company to let them know that we were switching to another company.

Have you negotiated better rates for anything by threatening to take you business elsewhere? And, out of curiosity, if you heat with propane and have locked in your rate for next year, what is it?

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown (Author) (165) Buy new: $23.00 $14.07 56 used & new from $11.49

Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use

Rosemary Gladstar (Author) (269) Buy new: $14.95 $9.60 96 used & new from $8.75

Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was great, except for my daughter getting up at 6:15 Saturday morning.

Here are last week’s frugal highs:

1. Received a $90.01 payment for items purchased from my Amazon store.
2. Used a $0.83 per gallon credit when filling the car.
3. Made sandwiches out of leftovers from my parents’ house for lunch three days.
4. Scored six free portfolio folders from Target, and  two free Sharpie markers (after rebate) from Staples. (I love the back to school deal season!)
5. Dropped off a few items at the local children’s consignment sale, and picked up a $31.57 payment for items sold there.
6. Used a gift card from my in-laws to pay for a dinner out with my husband.
7. Finished watching the second season of Six Feet Under on DVD, borrowed from the library.

How was your weekend? What are some of your frugal highs from last week?

This post contains affiliate links. These affiliate links help support    this site, and cost you nothing. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown (Author) (165) Buy new: $23.00 $14.07 56 used & new from $11.49

Organic Pest Control Made Easy: How To Naturally Keep Your Home, Garden & Food Pest Free (Pest Prevention, Natural & Homemade Insect Repellents Recipe, ... Spray) (Square Foot Homesteading Book 1)

John Stone (Author) (37) Download: $0.99

Happy Friday! This week’s SavingStar Friday Freebie is very kid-friendly. Just log into your SavingStar account and activate this offer before you go shopping at a participating store. It’s for one FREE Keebler of Cheez-It Snack Cup (2.2 oz – 3 oz). This offer is good through Sunday, 7/20.

This post contains affiliate links. These affiliate links help support    this site, and cost you nothing. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Natural Green Cleaning: How To Organize, Clean, And Keep Your Home Spotless Without Toxic Cleaners

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Hydrogen Peroxide Cures: Learn the Extraordinary Cures, Benefits, and Healing Properties this Magical Elixir has to Offer Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Cure ... Cures, Beauty, Grooming, and More)

Juliette Mcknight (Author) (32) Download: $2.99

Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week.  The summer polar vortex has arrived here in the Northeast, and we’ve enjoyed several gorgeous summer days, with cool, crisp nights. (Read: No need to use the air conditioner!) Having experienced both, I’m a much bigger fan of the summer polar vortex than I am of the winter one!

I’m looking forward to a pretty relaxing weekend at home. Saturday, I’m taking my daughter to a small BBQ/party at a friend’s house, while my husband tackles some rather unpleasant home chores. He’ll be replacing the filter in our water softener, and taking apart the dishwasher to clean it out. (Lately, our clean dishes have come out of the dishwasher kind of stinky, despite me having deodorized it with vinegar pretty recently.)

Saturday evening, my husband and I are going out to dinner. We’ll finally be using the gift card his parents gave us last Christmas. We’ve heard great things about this restaurant, but haven’t been there ourselves, yet, so we’re excited to try it.

Sunday, I’ll get a few hours to myself for house chores, while my husband and daughter go to a town pool. I’ve had a difficult time getting much more than the basics of house-cleaning done while I’ve been home with my daughter this summer. She’s an only child, so we spend a lot of time doing things at the library, local parks, and with friends. And while she’d pretty good about entertaining herself, I never get more than 30-40 minutes of uninterrupted time to complete tasks or projects. Thus, I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting some serious cleaning done on Sunday. (Dust bunnies: here I come!)

What about you? How was your week? What are you planning for this weekend?

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible

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Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes

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Looking for a good midnight snack, or quick lunch for picky eaters? Log into your SavingStar account and activate these great offers:

• Save $0.25 when you buy any one Peter Pan peanut butter
• Save $0.25 when you buy one 20 oz loaf of Wonder Classic White or 100% Whole Wheat Bread

This post contains affiliate links. These affiliate links help support    this site, and cost you nothing. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Hydrogen Peroxide Cures: Learn the Extraordinary Cures, Benefits, and Healing Properties this Magical Elixir has to Offer Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Cure ... Cures, Beauty, Grooming, and More)

Juliette Mcknight (Author) (32) Download: $2.99

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