The Power of Craigslist

My house is a little different than everyone else's... we dont have tv. Well, we dont have cable anyway, we do have tv's. They're the large clunky older ones and they date the space. When moving in to our house I knew the wobbly old wooden bench I had the tv on wasn't doing it for me anymore. I didn't have extra money to spend on furniture, but I kept my eyes peeled and a television hutch in the free section of Craigslist appealed to me. 

You have to have a little vision when seeing it for the first time. 

I bought a can of chalk board paint and got to it.

Cue my friends making fun of me for the Diet Coke cases used for edging material.

Spraying on the chalk board paint. It needs a few layers sometimes.

Pro tip - put something down in front of where you'll be spraying.

Mom tip - give your kid the camera. 

He gets some really good photos.

The finished piece. 

In it's final destination! What an upgrade! 

This was such a win. I paid less then 10 dollars for the paint, and nothing but my time and talent to transform an old tv hutch in to something a little more modern and useful again. Inside is a behemoth television, and underneath the tv shelf is storage space we use for toys and things. It's great to be able to shut the tv off and put it away. One day I'll upgrade to a flat screen, but for now I'm keeping what works and making the most of what we already have. 

May there only be a shower in the bathrooms

When I first bought this house I knew the soffet on the roof's front was worn. I knew we'd need to have that redone, so I did it. Then, a month later, there was an active leak in my living room. >.<

I had done some research on the house, the only time a permit had been pulled on file with the city was in 2009 for a roof permit. Well, the previous owners said there was a new roof, it was actually just a second layer of shingles. It was time to get the whole roof redone.

Every time it rained I looked at the crease in the ceiling in the living room with disdain. I didn't know how old the original roof was, and the second layer of shingles on the roof didn't fix any underlying problems. It was time for a new one. I did my research and found a great company with a competitive price. I told them I was going to wait for tax time and then pull the plug so I could pay them in cash instead of taking out a loan. Well, they came back to me after Christmas and asked if I were still interested in getting the roof done. I said yes, but again told them I wanted to wait, I was short a few thousand dollars, but if they could come down a thousand bucks I'd do it.

Well....a week later I had these guys at my house. I'm glad I haggled down the price, the cost of wood replacement past what they contract in to the sale drove my price up about 700 dollars. They also told me if I had tried to make it through the rainy season this year, there would have been a shower in every room of the house. There was just no knowing how old that original roof was, but it was bad.

They are laying down black paper that goes under the shingles here.

I posted this on Facebook and my friend thought I painted the house pink. It's just the reflection of the tarp. Doesn't look bad though...

The packages on top are the new shingles placed and ready to go.

The little Royal Palm in front of the house was getting awfully big. They usually grow 40-50 feet tall, way too tall and big to be 10-15 feet from the house. Palm fronds falling from 50 feet on a roof can cause damage. I gave it away to someone for free on Craigslist, the tree was re-homed, and the service was done for free. Win win for everyone!

This is what it looks like right now with the new roof and no palm tree. It's a little naked right now, but I'll fill in the rest soon. Next step, paint the house. You have to dig back the dirt to paint the house. So no putting the rocks down for the landscaping in front until the house is painted. All these steps!!! Moving forward!

Indecision at the check out lane

This morning my son requested 'sprinkle cookies'. This is his name for sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles on them. He really really really wanted them. I said we'd get them as a treat.

Today at work I was doing my math for the month and realize how tight things will be until I get paid, and as car insurance is coming up, I'll be tight again till the end of the month. Then tight again for my son's birthday where I intend to throw him a small party. At some point in the near future I'm also redoing my roof....so again this feeling of being broke.

I walked in to the grocery store prepared to buy sprinkle cookies and an oven pizza for dinner. And when I went to the bakery there were no sprinkle cookies! My grocery store, Publix, usually sells big packages only for 7 dollars and change. Target sometimes has smaller packages for 3 to 4 dollars. An oven pizza let's say 5 bucks.

I walked out.

I decided we'd make cookies at home. We have premade ones I can bake off put frosting on and sprinkles. And I had english muffins, cheese, and toppings for home made english muffin pizzas. I went from being 12 bucks in the hole to coming out for free today.

Decisions are hard to make. Sometimes learning how to eat at home is less about learning to cook and meal plan and more about making the decision to skip the store and take out and go home.

I took lots of great pictures. But my camera isn't registering on my computer...hmmm..I'll post photos as soon as I figure that one out ;)

-Ashley

Potluck lunch at work on the cheap

I've been working at my office for a little over three years. The first time we had a potluck luncheon I went to Walmart with out a plan. I NEEDED to get something to bring to work the next day. I walked out with three artisan loaves of bread and two packages of spinach dip at a cost of 30 to 40 dollars. 

Most people would say this isn't a large expense...but 30 dollars fills up half my tank, which is a weeks worth of gas. 40 bucks is a big haul at the grocery store - now a days. 40 bucks is my internet bill. 40 bucks can pay for a lot of things for your household, but it wont if you readily hand it over to a store.

Did I mention I dont own a knife set? Imagine cutting up three loaves of bread with a butter knife. That was my life that night, buyers remorse, financial insecurity, and no knife properly serrated to cut this expensive bread I just bought. 

We still have a potluck at work. However, my process for deciding what to bring has changed. Instead of thinking quick and easy, I turn my eyes to my cabinets and say what can I make with what I already have? 

This year I'm bringing rice crispy treats, with strawberry marshmallows, dipped in lime green melting chocolate, and dosed with sprinkles. I know...they're a little juvenile, but they're fun and I didn't spend a dime on impulse shopping at the last minute this year. I think they look like Christmas trees!! ;)

Price Break Down....

.75 - Box of Rice Crispies - couponed

~.75 Marshmallows - bought on clearance

~.50 1/4 stick butter - bought on sale

~1.25 Chocolate melts - bought on clearance

~1 Sprinkles - bought on clearance

Total = 4.25

Compared to three years ago I have a cost savings of almost 90% for my contribution to this event! 

Almost time for a New Year

My journey has been in the works for the last 5 years. My name is Ashley. I'm the single mother of a wonderful little boy Trevor. I work full time and am going back to school, taking night classes to work toward new life goals. In May of this year I became a homeowner for the first time in Fort Myers, FL, where I have lived and worked since 2010.

My goals for this year are to enjoy life more, improve my home, and find happiness in what I have. I hope I can share my daily successes, triumphs, and defeats. I pride myself on being frugal and creative to live an almost debt free lifestyle - my home is my only debt. I believe that positive, goal oriented thinking is the first step toward happiness, the next step is making a plan, then starting it.

Goals for this year:
1. Finish three more classes.
2. Teach my son how to read & write.
3. Re-roof the house.
4. Finish landscaping the front yard.