Hot! Hot! Hot!

Oh.My.Word. This heat has got to GO! Yesterday was Day 1 of what will likely be a solid week of triple digit heat here. And the preceding days were high 90's. My plants are well and truly ticked off and so is my AC.

Our house has NO shade because a couple of years ago we had to take down 2 HUGE trees due to structural issues (that were discovered after another one had fallen on my car during a storm). So our really ancient central air unit gets a hell of a workout when the temps go above 90!

I tend to bump the air down to 78 at night so we can sleep decently, but we suffer through 80+ during the day. Lots of shorts and tanktops and hair pulled up off of the neck around here! Yesterday though, I made a terrible mistake. I got in a hurry getting ready for work and forgot to bump the AC up. I got home and the air was running full blast, and it was still 83 degrees in the house (1957 house with crappy insulation and original windows). I looked at the thermostat and realized it was still set on 78. Oh, crap. That meant the AC had likely been running like that since at least 10 am! I bumped the thermostat up so that it would shut off and take a break for a bit.

I'll have to be a lot more careful today. The Princess has to work so at least she'll be keeping it cool there. For me, no yard work today.... I think I'll clean house, do laundry and maybe get started on cleaning out that disaster I "call" a home office --- which is really just a room with crap everywhere!

Happy Saturday Y'all -- and keep it cool if you can!

Not Really Groceries

Lately I've noticed that often if I go do my grocery shopping after work on the day the sale starts, a LOT of my favored deals have already disappeared. This is always frustrating to me. This week I realized that pretty much everything I wanted at "stock up" price was NON perishable and could sit the afternoon out in my care, so I made a 7 a.m. trip to Publix on Wednesday to take advantage of the deals!

This is NOT what I'd call a "grocery" trip, but more a household consumable trip featuring rock bottom prices (or close to rock bottonm) for things we use all the time.

So here's what I grabbed in my 15-minute-pre-work-shopping-extravaganza:

4 Herbal Essences Shampoos

4 Herbal Essences Conditioners

2 Dial Liquid Handsoap

8 Purina Busy Bone Packs

1 Publix Tortilla Chips (Penny Item!)

Spent: $27.05

Saved: $38.95 - or 59%

 

A (Mostly) Free Vacation

A friend of mine, Singer Girl, has invited me to the beach for a week. Given my current freaking out about the financial aid situation, my first instinct is to not go. However, this trip will only cost me the food I eat and the beverages I drink. That's it. Nothing else. She's got the place to stay, she's covering transportation and despite the fact that I live in a Gulf State, I haven't put my toes in the white sand of the Alabama or Florida beaches in almost 2 1/2 years!

I completely trust the Princess to stay on her own for a week -- however, she's not 100% comfortable doing that, so I've asked my niece to stay with her on the overnight part. This would also let us avoid having to board Thing 1 and Thing 2 and my plants and veggies will be watered. My niece can do it, except for a couple of nights so we will have to figure those nights out.

I know that this trip will involve quite a few restaurant meals --- Singer Girl likes to eat out mostly. I will have to be very careful about what I order when we are out to keep control of the costs. I see a LOT of salads in my future that week!

So, I'm going. I'm going to put my toes in the sand of the Gulf Beaches. I'm going to sit on the edge of the water in my beach chair with a good book while the waves lap at my toes. I'm going to walk on the water's edge and daydream about the future. I'm going to slather on sunscreen and enjoy all that the white sandy beaches offer. I cannot freaking wait!!!!!!

Tightening That Belt --- Again!

After the rigamarole of the IRS losing my tax return, delay after delay in getting my income verified, we FINALLY got everything necessary together for Financial Aid (for the 3rd time). And today we got the Award Letter.

I've heard that the longer it takes to get the Financial Aid stuff processed, the less Aid is actually available. And let me tell you, I think that is ABSOLUTELY the case. The award came in at about a quarter of what the estimated "qualified amount" was. The freshman year on campus will completely wipe out ever penny I have saved for the Princess's college education.

Now, more than ever, I've got to get out from under this hell I call my credit card debt. I've got to make harder cuts and harder choices. And I'm not even sure where to start.

So, time to cut and snip, tighten and stretch --- its going to be an interesting four years.

Grocery Shopping Just For Deals

I generally try to just hit Publix once per sale cycle to take advantage of the best deals available. Fewer trips generally means I spend less money on impulse purchases. However, I had gotten pretty far behind on my coupon clipping, and I knew from my previous trip in the week that I was missing out on some pretty decent deals (especially on the clearance rack) by not being prepared. So, I took the time, and went through my STACKS of coupon inserts and finally caught myself up! Plus, I RAN OUT OF COFFEE! (Being behind on the clipping meant I also missed some coffee deals --- sigh).

So coupons in hand, I made the trip to Publix and got the following:

3 Voskos Greek Yogurt
4 Schick Shaving Gel (yeah, we don't care that it is for "Men" --- we just don't want to cut our legs to ribbons! Clearance Rack)
2 Secret 6 Barbeque Sauce
2 Cesar Dog Treats
1 Magnum Double Caramel Ice Cream Bars
1 Maxwell House Coffee (not my normal brand, but I just couldn't pay full price for my normal one -- yikes!)
2 Disney Gummy Vitamins (Clearance Rack, but don't expire for another 18 months)
1 Emerald Breakfast ToGo (These are for my snack drawer at work --- I've been too tempted by the vending machines lately)

Spent: $24.21
Saved: $35.17 or 59%

They were also out of a couple of things I had planned to get, so I picked up rainchecks for those which will definitely be used!

eBooks vs. Textbooks -- What to Do?

So, yesterday I sat through hours and hours of parent seminars for the Princess's new adventure in college. Textbooks are, of course, one of those areas that can blow a budget out of the water, and it also seems to be one of the easiest areas in which to cut costs. Reviewing all of the information it seems like we have several options:

• Buy New (NOT gonna happen)
• Buy Used (also unlikely)
• Rent the Hardcover (bookstore or other source such)
• Buy the eBook
• Rent the eBook

Of course to have the eBooks you have to have a device to read them on, so then you have to choose among the devices. Kindle or Nook?

The school bookstore is a Barnes & Noble, so of course they were pushing the Nook. However, it seems the Kindle has many of the same options after browsing over it. So, then of course we are looking at which one.... given that there seems to be "only" a $120 span between bottom of the line and top of the line, one then has to decide on which option.

So, please... give me your thoughts! What are your experiences with either device? Has your student (or you!) used the eBooks instead of traditional textbooks? Pros, Cons?

Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! Off to School I Go!

I'm up bright and early thismorning ---- well technically not bright --- because the sun isn't even up yet. Today I am heading to the Princess's college of choice for orientation and registration. This is a 2 day event in which the students stay overnight on campus and the parents go for seminars too. After talking with the admissions office, we determined that it is not really necessary for me to be there on day 2. This is good in that it saves me quite a lot of money in hotels, meals out and boarding Thing 1 and Thing 2.

The Princess, back from her cruise will meet me there, as she is still at her Dad's, which is further south. I'm a bit nervous about her making the drive, mainly because she is taking a route she has not taken before, but she has my GPS, and her roommates Mom will be following behind her a little bit later --- so basically, if she has any trouble, another Mom can get to her rather quickly.

For now though, I've got to go get myself ready for the adventure that lies ahead. Y'all have a fabulous Monday!