What To Do? Great Memorial Day Events

Staying local for Memorial Day weekend?  The Omaha area offers some fun events and activities.

LaVista Daze — May 23 – 26, various times and activities.  Car show Thursday, carnival, parade, fireworks!  Free.

“Field of Wings” Air Show — May 25, 3 – 5 pm; May 26, noon – 2 pm.  LaVista Sports Complex, Flying Field.  RC air show!  Free.

“School’s Out for Summer” — May 24, Sumtur Amphipheater at Shadow Lake, noon – 5 pm.  Free.

“Vibes” Summer Concert Series — Begins May 25, every Saturday all summer, 6:30 – 8:30 pm.  Village Pointe.  Free.

Lazlo’s On The Lawn Outdoor Concert — May 23, 5 – 10 pm.  192/Center.  $5 cover.

Bridge Beats — Fridays through June, 5:30; music starts at 7 pm.  Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge.  Free.

Loessfest in Council Bluffs– May 25 – 27, River’s Edge Park on the Council Bluffs side of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.  Beach Boys May 25th, 7 pm. Omaha Symphony and Fireworks May 26.  Festival May 27.  Movies in the Park, concerts, and the “Bluffs Bash” Family Weekend June 7th-8th. Free.

Added:

South Omaha Play Streets — May 26, 2 – 7 pm.  24th/L – P Streets.  Free.

Memorial Day Observance at Omaha’s Pioneer Cemetery — May 27, 10:15 – noon. 32/Parker.

River City Star Half Price Family Day — May 27, 1-2pm/2:30-3:30pm/4-5pm.  Freedom Park.

Military Appreciation Day at GAS — May 26, 11:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.   Active Military & Vets free; adults $5.00; kids free.  GAS singers & dancers perform.  Food & drinks available all day.

Share The Love — Omaha Gives and *FPs Starting 5/22/13

Today, 5/22/13, is THE DAY for Omaha Gives!  Please remember your local food pantries, like Project Hope, which serves its community directly with food, personal care, and clothing items.

Here are some of the fantastic deals for filling your pantry, or sharing with the food pantry (*FP), this week.  Remember that WalMart, BagNSave and NoFrills price match.  I’ve picked out what I think are the best deals for food pantries, not every single deal. This might be a good time to check out personal care clearance and combine with coupons.

Project Hope will gladly take fresh produce and frozen meats; contact them about that before heading out.  May needs:  personal care items.  June needs:  TP, paper towels, facial tissue.  July needs:  cereal, crackers.  Always need:  cereal, mac & cheese, boxed potatoes.

Fareway

50 oz Purex detergent 1.99

 

BagNSave/NoFrills

BarS franks or jumbo franks .88 (these freeze well and can go a long way)

Our Fam hot dog buns .88 (also freeze well)

Capri Sun 1.50 (limit 2)

select Big G cereals 3/$5 – .50/1 and .75/1 coupons HERE (click the star)

 

What great *FP deals have you found this week?

Ways to Save on Expenses

Here at Chez CT, we’ve been whittling away at expenses.  There are so many changes in the economy, changing family life, and such.  More than ever, I’ve been finding ways to cut down on spending.

There’s daily spending and then there are Major Expenses.  We’ve never been ones to purchase $4 coffees on a regular basis.  We review our use of cable and entertainment options regularly.  You know I keep a handle on grocery costs, and watch gas usage.  That leaves mostly Major Expenses for us to address.  And we have done just that in the last several months.

Mortgage:  If you’ve just crawled out from a rock, mortgage lending rates are historically low, but are starting to inch up.  We refinanced at a sweet rate, which brought our monthly payment to half of what it originally was 12 years ago.  There was no out of pocket cost to us for the refi, and the additional loan amount went right back into the loan, which actually bumped our equity.  We save $200/month over the previous refinance.  The one drawback is that our tax deduction for interest payments is much lower, which I can learn to live with.

Health Insurance:  I know this is such a powder keg, and there are so many unknown variables.  But the monthly premium for DH’s employer’s group plan was incredibly high, and the premiums were pre-tax, so we lost out big time.  For the upcoming renewal, DH stayed as a single on his health plan and switched to a $0 premium plan. I moved with the boys to an individual plan at the renewal period.  This leaves us options in the future.  Our combined coverage is almost identical to the group plan, and we save almost $450/month and will increase to almost $500/month savings in August.  These premiums are not pre-tax, so (fingers crossed) may be tax-deductible for this year.  Take-home pay is higher!

Graduation:  Talk about your rites of passage!  Not just for #1, but also for us as parents.  #1 attended a private high school, and even with scholarships, the monthly (year-round) tuition was a sacrifice (which we willingly made).  The final monthly payment is due today (the day after graduation!).  Anyway, we’ll be saving $480/month.

Vehicle:  The clunker for #1 has been laid to rest.  We put so much into repairs, I could cry.  For less than the cost of those repairs averaged monthly, we are paying a new vehicle loan (1.9% interest) on a 2010 reliable vehicle for me, and #1 had to get over it and learn to drive a stick.  When he is off to his new world in August, we will shift vehicles around and use the better-mileage ones for daily use.  Our insurance has actually gone down, and will go down substantially further in August.  Estimated savings right now is $100/month (plus gas savings); estimated savings in August could be $200/month.

Utilities:  Buh-bye, phone company!  We’ve had enough of your shenanigans.  New phone provider, and a $25/month savings, locked in for two years.  Plus, we will likely get entire house rewiring (may or may not be needed) included as part of the new service.

When you add that up, it’s almost like saving $1,250/month!  Wow.  Just… wow.

I’m still pinching every Lincoln till it screams, and doing grocery deals like a mad woman.  I promise to get back in the swing of blogging about those.  I’m thinking that trip to Hawaii may be in the cards, after all.

How are you saving on the Major Expenses these days?  What has this strange economy done to your monthly savings?

‘Tis the Season To Be Thrifting…

Folks have been spring cleaning their closets, and I am finding HUGE deals at local thrift stores.  Halogen chiffon tank for $2.  Several 100% silk vintage Vera scarves for .99 each!  What?!  Linen shirts, silk blouses, omigosh.  And can I tell you:  100% cotton Unworn, Unwashed striped Ann Taylor blouse that fits me and my summer palate perfectly, for less than $1!  (I did remove the sleeves and shorten it a little, but it’s great.)

Let’s face it: the weather has just been too unpredictable for garage sales.  Oh, they’ll start in full glory soon, I’m sure.  But I needed a fix, and discovered that thrift stores at this time of year are a wonderful place to be.  Yes, I did just clear out my own closets, thank you.

I recently scored on .99 items, and I’m going to continue my quest for highest-quality items at bargain prices.

I’m loving the scarves, with my new scarf ring that I posted about HERE.  Pics soon, perhaps.  Some of them are “definitely fall,” but one or two are “strictly summer.”  If I end up not using them, no harm, no foul, just re-donate.  They’re so easy to wash, btw.

And I’m going to be trying my hand at “refashioning,” which I’ve been reading about all over the Interwebz lately.  This is taking existing items and reworking the design, or sometimes just reusing the fabric if it’s voluminous, to create a fabulous wearable item.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  I used to do this all. the. time. when I was single (oh, don’t make me count the years).  It’s actually a blast, and gets the creativity pumping.  How wonderful to find so many ladies blogging about their projects.  I’m inspired.  So much so that I dug out my old dress form and reworked the measurements and padded it.  Yes, I did.

What have you found thrifting or garage saling lately?

How Much Food Can You Buy for $5?

How much of various food items can you get for $5 in different places around the world?  Our pal David Henry shared this link from geeksaresexy.net (just sayin’).  No voiceover, so you can keep the audio off if that’s an issue.

It was interesting to see the vast differences put forth in this video.  Makes sense, though, that the same amount of money will get you pounds more bananas in the area where they are grown.  The beer, though, was a bit misleading.  Ask any U.S. frat boy how much beer he can get for $5, and you’ll likely be presented with more bottles of cheaper beer than what this video shows.  And yes, we can find a super-huge can of premium beer for about $5 here in Omaha, too.

Still, it just goes to show that it’s important to watch those pennies when it comes to the food we buy and the nutrition it provides.  Thoughts?

Share The Love — *FPs Starting 5/8/13

Here are some of the fantastic deals for filling your pantry, or sharing with the food pantry (*FP), this week.  Lovin’ the magic, with BagNSave/NoFrills’ DOUBLE COUPONS this week, on top of their Price Matching!

Fareway

Old Orchard Healthy Balance 1.67 – $1/2 coupon HERE - .55 double value = .90 each wyb2

Betty Crocker Helper meals .75 Fri/Sat – .75/3 insert coupon – .55 double value = .32 each wyb3 (.75/3 printable is gone, sorry)

SuperSaver

canned store brand vegs 3/$1

canned store brand tomatoes 3/$1

HyVee

Van Camp’s pork n beans .44 (insert coupon is only for the Baked Beans)

Barilla pasta .99

BagNSave

Our Fam mac/cheese 3/$1

Our Fam 64-oz apple juice 1.38

Our Fam pasta .98

What great *FP deals have you found this week?

*FP Back By Popular Demand

Long-time readers will remember the *FP designations in my weekly grocery deal posts.  This called your attention to potential food pantry donations.  Many times, part of my grocery budget went toward these donations, and I hope my lists helped you help others, too.

But then I got away from that.  Life has a way of drawing attention to the issues at hand.  And while I did share some of the deals I found in some posts, I also cleared out my pantries and donated to Project Hope that way.  As I got into more fresh produce, and away from packaged foods for my family, I reconsidered these items as “food” donations to the food pantry.  Additionally, I am still boycotting Kraft products, which include Planters and Nabisco, so you won’t see those here.

Thanks to the gentle nudging of a few friends (who don’t even know each other, I don’t think), I’ll be doing my best to present these *FP deals to you.  I’ve reconciled some of the issues I have with donations, and realize that some things are always welcome at 42/Boyd. Thanks for reminding me of the things that matter.

To start off this new effort, I’ve made note of some deals that are available through Tuesday 5/7/13:

Our Family 16 oz peanut butter 1.48 at BagNSave/No Frills — this is the best deal I’ve found in a very long time

Our Family 32 oz coffee 3.99 with in-ad coupon at BagNSave/No Frills

Select Big G cereals 4/$9 at BagNSave/No Frills (use various coupons, including $1.50/4 Catalina)

Ranch and Italian dressing seasoning packets .69 at Aldi

Van Camp’s pork and beans .50 at Baker’s

Pace salsa $2 – .60/2 insert coupon at Baker’s

Dawn dish liquid .99 – .25 insert coupon at Walgreen’s

 

What other *FP deals have you found this week?