20saver

+I modeled today for 3 hours= $36
+I will be modeling two more times next week= $66
+I applied for a job today and will apply for at least one more before the week is out
-Jake informed me that he didn’t have enough money to pay his student loans and now has to pay a late fee
+Jake has a strong lead for a better job
-Wedding invitations are expensive
-I haven’t studied for the GRE in weeks
-Our old landlords still haven’t gotten the unjustified fee cleared up and will most likely deduct it from our security deposit
+I sold a shelving unit= $20
-We’re still not completely unpacked yet
+Thank you for the wedding encouragement

I had my first good cry over the wedding today. Damn it.

We need to figure out a way to have this wedding on a budget without having it seem like we’re on a budget (read: no beans and weenies, no metal folding chairs, no casual family reunion feel). I hate to be so picky about this, but it is my once in a lifetime wedding, after all, so I’d like it to be remotely nice.

I managed to sell 2 DVDs, a CD, and a futon cover today for $19. That brings our total of money we’ve made from selling stuff because of the move up to $264.20. We also got $4 back from Kroger for returning our glass milk bottles. Now, if only I could sell the two pieces of furniture and large stack of DVDs and CDs we no longer need too…

After months of wanting to go to a farmer’s market to pick up produce, I finally stopped by one this morning with my dad.

Last night, I was looking around a few sites on local and organic food when it dawned on me that there’s a farmer’s market that’s open on Saturday mornings and I didn’t have to work at that time so I would be able to go this week. I called up my dad and asked if he’d like to go with me since the market is very close to his apartment and he agreed to go.

I picked up two cucumbers, four peaches, and a dozen brown eggs for $5.50. I was hoping to get more, but there weren’t a lot of farmers there (most likely due to the rain). There’s another farmer’s market that’s open on Tuesdays that I hope to go to this week to pick up the rest of our produce.

To see where there are farmer’s markets as well as organic stores and restaurants near you, check out localharvest.org.

On Friday July 11, in honor of 7-11 day, get a free 7.11 oz Slurpee at a participating 7-11 near you. More details and store locator at slurpee.com.

Everything has finally been moved in. We just have to go back over and clean up the old apartment before officially handing over our keys.

I can’t seem to get a reliable wireless signal at our new place so Jake and I may break down and sign up for our own connection. I hear it’s pretty pricey, so we’ll see. My posts will most likely be as spotty as our internet for the next few days. Apologies!

Sorry for the general neglect lately- tomorrow is our final moving day and all my extra time has been devoted to packing and moving. I hope to resume posting tomorrow night or Thursday. See you on the flip side!

Jake spent last night at his brother’s house since they needed to get up early this morning to play a rousing game of golf. Home alone, I was content reading for a good couple of hours and figured I would hit the hay early since I had a long, sweaty day of moving behind me. I hopped on my computer between chapters and saw that my best friend was online, so I sent her an instant message. I wound up calling her a few minutes later because, sometimes, it’s just easier to say things than to type them out.

We stayed on the phone until 2:30am talking about politics, weddings, school.  It was so good to have a long talk with her as we haven’t been able to in ages due to the distance (she still lives in Pennsylvania and I’m down in Virginia) and life generally getting in the way.

The cost of reconnecting with my best friend of 14 years: free.
The value of reconnecting with my best friend of 14 years: priceless.

Earlier this week, Jake and I stopped in at Kroger and Ukrops (a local grocery chain in and around the Richmond area) to pick up some sale items.

Our first stop was Ukrops. In addition to all the things on our list, we got some impromptu crackers and cheese. After we picked up our yogurt, we turned around and saw a Nabisco cracker display. They were on sale for $1.88 and there was a tearpad for $1 off 1 box of Nabisco crackers. $.88 for Nabisco crackers? Yes, please! We picked up two boxes and came across a peelie coupon on one of the boxes: buy two boxes of Nabisco crackers and get one block of Kraft cheese for free. Hot dang, free cheese too? We bolted over to the cheese section and picked up a block. All in all, we got:

2 boxes of Nabisco crackers $3.76 minus 2 $1 coupons= $1.76
9 bottles of Powerade (on sale for $.69 each)= $6.21 minus 9 $.75 coupons= overage of $.54
1 block of Kraft cheese $3.55 minus Nabisco coupon= FREE
12 cups of Yoplait yogurt (on sale for $.50 each) $6 minus 2 buy 6 get 1 free coupons= $5
2 cucumbers $1.76
1 4lb bag of red potatoes $2.48
2 lbs of zucchini and yellow squash $1.86
Total with tax: $12.96

Kroger was just as good:
3 packages of chum salmon (I’ve never heard of this type of salmon before, but it was super cheap and it turns out it tastes okay) $3.77
1 pouch of Starkist Tuna $1.69 minus free coupon= FREE
3 bottles of Lawry’s marinade $3 minus 3 $.50 coupons doubled to $1= FREE
1 roll of Bounty basic paper towels $1 minus $.25 coupon doubled to $.50= $.50
1 gallon of orange juice $3.79
1 container of sherbet (I was really jonesing for some rainbow sherbet that night) $1.69
2 cartons of Tropicana Coastal Groves lemonade (on clearance for $1.50 each) $3 minus $1 coupon= $2
1 jar of Hellmann’s mayo with canola oil $2.49 minus $.50 paper coupon doubled to $1 and $.40 ecoupon=$1.09
1 jar of Hellmann’s mayo with olive oil $2.49 minus $1 paper coupon minus $1 ecoupon= $.49
Total with tax: $13.86

Jake and I started moving things into our new apartment today. I’m exhausted from getting up so early and sweating from the heat and exertion.

I dropped off my car and got it inspected today. Nothing was wrong with it and I only had to pay $16. I think that’s the first time that’s ever happened.

Jake’s mom sent me an envelope full of coupons. It was nice to come home to that little surprise after such a long day.