Tag: saving money

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Outdoor patio heaters are awesome

When my sister got married, she and her husband wanted to have the wedding outside, with tents set up for the guests and food, but they also wanted to get outdoor patio heaters, which to me are awesome to have. My sister wanted to buy them so they could sit out on the patio in evenings that got a bit chilly. She figured also that since our family are always celebrating one event or another, we actually all wanted to go in together to get these heaters, since we no doubt would be borrowing them if needed for a big get together.

I have liked these patio heaters because though I don’t know too much about them, I do know that when we built our deck/patio, I wanted to get a small heater right away. We did a lot of shopping, and comparing prices. We changed our minds at least twenty times also. Not to mention the fact that I would like one kind and my husband wanted another. Personally, just to be fair, I don’t care really what make it is, as long as I am warmed by the machine, it isn’t too pricy and it lasts.

I’m thinking that by buying a couple of the outdoor patio heaters, we’re going to be happy with them, especially after night time swimming. Even in the summer, for the most part the evenings and into the night time, it gets a bit chilly now and then.

 

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Barstools for gifts

One of the home furnishings that my aunt needs is to find a bar stool like the other three she already has. I love going to her house, since it almost looks like it could be a place that was built for the tropics. She has loads of hanging and potted ferns and plants in all of her ceiling to floor windows. What she calls the breakfast room, has a great bar type island and there are supposed to be two rattan and wicker bar stools on each side of it.

I’ve wanted to replace the stool for her for about three years now, and she also has wanted to replace it, but we haven’t found anything that looks like her other three. I know that the set was expensive, and looking for one bar stool to match has been so unsuccessful that she’s decided to spend the money and get the four of them that look similar, but also have more of a soft seat and a higher back to them.

She looked online and found a great set that she can also pick the type of fabric for the seat that will match her breakfast room. I love the ones she showed me, since they are even named Hospitality Key West. I think they will look very tropical in her beautiful room. Bless my Aunt, as she said to save my money for more plants, since she wants these and they are way over my budget, but not hers.

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Improper venting

After the storm we had yesterday, I went up into the attic since I thought I had heard water dripping on the attic beams. I was a bit leery to go up there since I actually was afraid of what kind of damage I would find. To be quite frank, my husband is not one to do home improvement or home maintenance well at all. If he isn’t interested in a certain project or a “need to be done” chore, he won’t do it, and if he does, it is rigged. Some guys are like that, but it ticks me off when I have to hire someone to follow simple instructions on home fix it things that I can’t do and he won’t do right.

I’ve always been a jack of all trades. A lot of trades. Meaning with me, I know a little about a lot and what I don’t know, I find out. So onto the attic…I ventured upstairs to see that the vent for the bathroom was vented into the attic and that is it. No where except the attic for the moisture to escape. In other words, the husband did a really improper vent job, to say the least. I wasn’t impressed and ticked off great to lots more.

While upstairs, I also notices that the roof is leaking. This is not good. I have to call someone to help me get this fixed a what I am hoping is a reasonable price. I am going to ask a friend of mine who has and will help with the vent for a home cooked meal. Not a problem at all. This is how we barter back and forth.

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Tile cleaning for round rock

When my friend called me to tell me all of the things she was doing to her house, including tile cleaning round rock, (on that one, I’ll admit she stumped me) I had no idea what round rock was. This coming from a person who is a big rock collector. When I say big, I mean big in size of rocks. I collect small rocks and stones also, but I actually had no idea what my friend Amy was talking about.

Amy being from Texas and being a true Texan, tends to use words and sentences, or words for objects, that I (being from the North) have not a clue what she means. When she said she had hired a company who is experienced in tile cleaning round rock, I thought she meant the round rocks that line her driveway. I shake my head on this one, simply because I don’t know what her house looks like, since she just moved in and I’ve not visited, yet. I know she had hired various businesses who specialize in what she want’s done and needs help with, when it comes to the house, so it sometimes confuses my about that my friend is doing next.

After a lengthy phone call, from the Austin area, I found out about tile cleaning round rock, which led to garden talk, of course, since she laughed about what I had thought she was doing. With the money she saved, and help with the matters she needs done to the house, it sounds like I’m going to have to take a trip to Texas!

 

 

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Home improvement with young adults

Deciding what colors to paint the living room, has been a challenge for me. The room is only 13’x13″ and I want to make it look bigger using paint color and mirrors and lighting from the windows. My son is trying to help me decide on the colors and other planning, but he is color blind. Yes, he was tested and indeed he is color blind. Some people call it colored blind, so this is the same thing. However, despite of his troubles with certain colors and shades, he is one excellent-judge of them, and then mixing various colors together, that one wouldn’t think would work for wall.

We’re both leaning to a deep terracotta. I call it, baked pumpkin pie…the top, before it is cut into. White trim and ceiling. and a deep blue. The only way I can describe it, is in the old big boxes of crayons that Crayola made. After they changed the original colors and shades, I stopped buying the big pack. The color blue was the original Midnight Blue. Forest Green was another awesome shade.

So tomorrow we’ll be paint or at least some sample cans if there are any available. I love home improving, especially when one of my kids have a creative streak. I welcome their input. I also like the fact that they help me find bargains and who doesn’t like to save money?

 

 

 

 

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Saving money by rain harvesting

Talking to a lot of farmers that live in my area, and I know personally, have been telling me about rain harvesting. I personally think it is an awesome idea. We pay a water bill here now, when before the township decided to pipe “city” water in, we had well water. I am a firm believer in having a well, and also I make sure my cistern is clean and it always fills up with water from the rain. I used to depend on it for my gardens.

Rain water barrels, I’ve decided will be one of the ways I’m going to start collecting rain water.  Sometimes, thinking about it and what is now in the atmosphere, it’s kind of scary what I’d be using, but memories of my Papa washing my hair in rain water, since he had harvested rain, won over thinking about what might be in my rain water. Besides, it serves at totally useful survival tips.

I have a feeling, like the farmers I’ve talked to, that we are going to be in for some rough dry weather around mid summer. This makes watering the livestock really costly. Plus with a large family and using so much water now, I’m going to start looking for rain barrels for sale, and get quite a few of them. Better to be safe than sorry. It would give me peace of mind to be able to have water if needed. I’m still remembering also, how soft and silky my hair was after washing and rinsing in rain water that was harvested!

 

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The cost of solar panels

My daughter and her family are moving into a very large home this coming week. Because of the size, she and her husband will be looking into solar panel costs. I believe with this house, in our climate, this would be totally ideal for them, if they decided to use solar panels in their home. I’m hoping that they will eventually be putting them in.

Because of the fact that this home is so big, and my daughter’s husband bites off more than he can chew, I’m sure he has not given the price of heating and cooling a thought. He is out for looks and size, since he is that kind of a guy…what one owns and the more of it, to him is what counts. My daughter on the other hand has been raised with solar energy in our homes that we had while she was growing up. She is the one that makes sure the bills get paid and is also the one in that family that worries.

The home has five bedrooms with attached baths, not to name the other numerous rooms in the house, that have to be heated or air cooled. I’m going to tell her to continue showing her husband the pros and of course some of the cons, ( but there aren’t that many cons) to using solar panels. It’s would help with money matters and also be some piece of mind for my daughter. I believe in solar energy, and it might be a solution to a major heating and cooling problem that I know my daughter and her family are going to have in the future.

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Auctions in the area

The village news is all filled with various farm auctions in this area, a long with the contents of barns, sheds and outbuildings. It’s sad to see some of the very old homesteads being sold. No doubt the houses will leveled and the land sold to make sub divisions. Some of the families are not able to, or just don’t want to contend with the cost or the hard work that it takes to run farms now, so a lot of these places are going to auction because of those factors.

The great thing about these auctions, is I’ve been finding all kinds of treasures, that I actually have had my eye out for. I make lists of items that is listed in the paper and then compare it with the list I have had been adding to in my journal, and it’s a good system so far, that saves me from spending a lot of money on things I don’t need, but just want.

There is an auction this Saturday that my whole family would like to go to. I should be able to round them all up early for this. Hopefully, they won’t overbid me, as this will be the kid’s first auction.

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Savings with home energy efficiency tips

When our heating and lighting meters were read by some man that went meter to to meter, we got our bill and knew it was way to high. I decided to find home energy efficiency tips to employ in order to save money. I knew that my family would not stick with these tips, but I wanted to at least try to make a good example by using the tips myself, so that perhaps the kids and my husband would learn by example, so to speak. I was wrong in thinking such a thing.

Months went by and there was only a slight change, and it was especially noticeable even during this winter, which was the most mild winter we have had in nearly 20 years. Global warming is getting pretty scary if you ask my opinion. Since I am concerned about how hot the summer may get and the fact that my family want air conditioning when it is hot, something because of the bills, I decided to talk to my husband about a home energy audit. I figure if someone who is a professional on this subject told him what was what, he’d indeed be more willing to use the tips I have been trying to use.

Also, since the weather has been so weird, and it’s hard telling what is going to happen in months or even a few years on down the line, I would like to check in to some home insulation contractors. We need more insulation in this house, and I’m sure it would help tremendously during both winter and summer.

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After Easter sales

Tomorrow my oldest daughter and I are going shopping for what ever we can find left over from Easter that is on sale. My daughter does volunteer work at the school for the younger kids in grades 1 and 2, and she wants to find things that she will be able to use for next years class room decorations.

She was bringing up memories today, about how I have Easter traditions, and how I used to go all out on decorations, baskets and egg hunts. I’ll admit, when the kids were young and up until about three years ago, I still did that. Now…no one believes in the the Easter Bunny, hadn’t for years, which I knew, but yet I still I did the Bunnie, “thing.”

Now, I just buy the candy they like and are their favorites, at sales after Easter, and give it to them. It’s kind of sad in a way, not to have anyone to decorate for, except me,  but as long as they don’t mind it, I’ll have to get used to it. At least I’ll be saving a great deal of money hitting the sales, and my daughter will find the decorations she wants for the little ones who still believe!! I love it when small children believe in the figures of holidays.