Caps for Sale

Eerrgh.  I *WISH* we had caps for sale.  That seems easier!  Instead we have half of a storage unit up for grabs.

Others may think we are a little hasty or spontaneous about purging our goods, but we happen to think we are just less attached and by the way, purging feels really good.  No not that kind of purging, the *getting rid of excess stuff kind of purging!

We’ve been thinking over our future lately, how long we will rent, when we will purchase our next home, and the absurd amount of money we pay to keep our things locked up across the highway.  It’s actually not that absurd, but still if we can save a little by downsizing our unit, then it’s cash in hand.

So this past weekend we put our thoughts into action.  Only problem we didn’t have a plan in place.  We just sauntered over to our unit, gasped in horror as to how much was actually in there, took almost everything out and then stared at each other.  Um…we need a plan.

We had furniture and goods for Goodwill, we had boxes to sort through, and plenty of tools to open a small hardware store.  So we rented a truck right there on the spot and got to moving.  Oh, and it felt so good to rid ourselves of so much stuff.

Our plan by the way was focused around the future.  We don’t know where we will end up but we are certain, in our frugal minds, that we will end up in a smaller starter home sometime in the next 5 years.  At the end of the day, we’d rather save and save until we can BUILD the house we really want.  That or renovate the perfect house.  Whichever one comes first.  To be honest, we're just really waiting until we can attain a mortgage for the same amount we are spending on rent and we spend peanuts on rent.  We'd also like to have money to run the company and invest in rental property.  We could be in a house now, but wouldn't as easily be able to BOTH of the other things.   Right now, we want the other things more, that and Alex has a view on when the housing market will hit bottom and his estimation is not for awhile.

So back to the caps or in our case stuff.  I’ll post a list later today with all the items and their cost before everything goes on craigslist in case anyone is interested.

One valuable lesson we learned, it doesn’t take a lot to make us happy and content and for that we are eternally grateful.

Our outdoor transformation

(note the barrel planter and window boxes)

Our house was in dire need of some curb appeal.  We have the cute window boxes and carraige garage doors already in place, but we needed a little sprucing up to make things pop.

On Saturday, Alex and I made a game plan and headed over to Menards.  So after shopping around a little, we found this was the best deal for plants and such.  Imagine our surprise, when after setting foot in the Burnsville Garden Center, their plants were not only cheaper but the best looking ones we've seen, and believe me we window shopped quite a few places...Yea!

I really wanted to spruce up our front door with a couple of urn planters, some plants, and hopefully a chance to use some spray paint.  I have been so enamored with this couple on their blog and after seeing all of their transformations, I was itching to spray.  Well we found some inexpensive planters and transformed them with a can of hammered black, glossy spray paint.  They look pretty good, I think!

transformed planter

(new planters by front door)

We also spruced up our entry stairs with some hosta plants and new mulch, while the window boxes were planted with some great green plants that will hopefully get a little bigger and fuller.  We were going to add some more plants to the boxes but instead opted to plant all the begonias in our old whiskey barrel planter from our wedding.

Next weekend we are hoping to finish the project off with a privacy fence on the southwest side of our property and a cover for our gas meter that is a major eye sore.  Stay tuned!

Salvation Army

to those two or three of you who have not heard of this place downtown, check it out...it's fantastic!  A dear friend of mine swears by this place, and now I understand.  I realize I am one of few who are finally enjoying this vast resource, but now that I've been I think I might be hooked.  The basement is a Target overflow extravaganza.  Make sure you wear a tank top if you want to try anything on, there are mirrors but no dressing rooms.

Salvation Army (basement)

900 N. 4th St 

Minneapolis, MN 

I've been there twice so far.  My deals:

- First trip:  a dress for an upcoming wedding $8, and my mother in law pulled it in so it fits perfect

-Second trip:  white jeans, LS shirt, SS shirt, wellies, and 4 t-shirts for Alex (all brand new mind you) $30

Can't beat that!

Want a deal?

Here are a couple ways to save a dollar or two right here in the cities this weekend and beyond...

Half-Price Books are a good time to pick up bargains, but at its first warehouse sale (2980 N. Cleveland Av., Roseville, 651-639-1703), all merchandise will be $3 or less, including books, paperbacks, children's books, CDs, LPs, books on tape, comics, videos and DVDs. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Franklin Street Bakery (1020 E. Franklin Av., Minneapolis, 612-879-5730, www.franklinstreetbakery.com) decided to lower the price on all of its bread products to 99 cents, including loaves, buns, hoagies, ciabatta, focaccia and others, regularly $2.50 to $3.50.

(from Star Tribune)

Warehouse stores, are they worth the trouble?

VS

Yes! For our little family of two, a warehouse store pays for itself over the course of the year. Our first two years of marriage we were members at Sam's Club and have just switched over to Costco. Is there a difference? yes and no. The prices at Sam's Club are still slightly lower, but the stores are not as new and the brands are mostly generics. Costco on the other hand has more organics, and name brands. Why did we switch, location. Though we are moving back to Prior Lake and the Sam's is right down the street, it's worth the trek to Eden Prairie due to the fact that we are hoping to be back in St. Louis Park soon! What do you buy for a family of two? We tend to fill our cupboards with staples from these stores, so it is probably a good thing if you have some freezer bags and some storage space. Some things are better than others, but in the end we are saving money. Brogle Top Ten 1. Gas (Alex filled up a couple weeks ago 25 cents lower than the others) 2. Flour (25 lbs. at $6.99 vs. 5 lbs. at $2.50, 28 cents a lb. vs. 50 cents) 3. Chicken (averaging $2.99 a pound at Costco vs. $6/lb. at the regular store) 4. Ground beef (12% fat content, 6 lbs. @ $2.21/lb. vs. $4/lb. at the grocery) 5. Toilet Paper (36 rolls comparable to Charmin $19 vs. $24 for comparable amount) 6. Diswashwer Detergent (2 giant bottles (250 oz. total) $8.50 vs. $13 for generic equivalent 7. Romaine/Mixed Greens (huge bag for $4 vs. individual bags at $2/5) 8. Ziplock Bags ($7.87 for 216 vs. $25.86 for the equivalent) 9. Milk ($2.25 a gallon, cheapest otherwise is $2.99 at Walgreens) 10. Vanilla Extract (16 oz. pure vanilla for $6 vs. $5.60 for 2 oz, that's $44 for the equivalent) Other bonus buys: FRUIT, VEGETABLES, Laundry Detergent, Diapers, etc. These are just some areas we save in. Cost to join Sam's Club ($30) and Costco ($50). Not only are these things cheaper but how valuable is your time. It is so worth my time to spend an hour at Costco three times a year buying staples than it is to do it monthly or more at the grocery store. How do you budget for these items if you are on a tight budget? Well, Alex has set our budget up on Excel with a category that we save monthly for, for the quarterly trips to Costco. That way our food and staple budget will not get blown in the first week. We will be posting a generic budget form to illustrate this next week. If you are interested, let me know...I'd love to give you a tour!