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Home > Lent, freezers, and goals. A day in the life!

Lent, freezers, and goals. A day in the life!

February 22nd, 2012 at 05:16 pm

Happy Lent. I decided I'm actually going to observe it this year. First time in a long time! I'm giving up all unnecessary spending-- meaning, no buying anything that isn't absolutely essential. And, giving up booze and sweets. I'm feeling compelled. It's only 40 days, right?

Now the chest freezer. I have two gigantic and growing boys (3 and 2), and they eat a ton already. I have been warned that they will one day view a box of cereal as a single snack. I've also been stocking up on sale meats and discount breads and buns. And, when the growing season gets started I always have a ton of vegetables and fruits to freeze. I'm busting at the seams, so I last night I bought a 7 cu ft chest freezer. Small, but not too small. Big, but not gigantic. I used $200 in Home Depot gift cards I earned as a bonus for signing up for the Southwest airlines credit card. free money! I did pay $49 out of pocket. It cost $229 plus tax.

I still have $300 in free Amazon gift cards from that signing bonus as well, but I am going to try to save as much of that as possible for Christmas.

Now on to goals. One of my big goals was to secure some higher-paying freelance gigs. I think, just like last year, the universe aligned. You put the vibe out there and things start to materialize. I'm working on my second back to back assignment for a national wire service, which pays $500 to $600/story, and yesterday I got a call from a new client (an old coworker recommended me) and landed a $250 gig that could turn into a regular assignment. It's not millions of dollars, but considering the major daily newspaper pays me $100 to $150 each for very involved stories every week, these other gigs are MUCH MUCH more lucrative.

Hopefully all of this new cash can help me pay off that car loan and reach that goal for the year. Fingers crossed!

8 Responses to “Lent, freezers, and goals. A day in the life!”

  1. Miz Pat Says:
    1329931704

    You did so wonderful on the freezer! Congrats on all the work - is wonderful! Good Luck on Lent. Our priest at church said that during lent, we have 3 things to do:
    1) Get Closer to God
    2) Fast
    3) Give Alms

    And I realized that in #2, if you are eating more simply and not spending money on lavish meals, you'll have extra money for food banks and people in need. Kind of kewl!

    Take care - I always like reading your posts.

  2. laura Says:
    1329934411


    Our homily today echoed Miz Pat's sentiments:
    1) Pray More
    2) Eat Less
    3) Do for the less fortunate Smile
    Happy Lent to you, too!

  3. My English Castle Says:
    1329940429

    us too Thrift. Sweets and Booze of all sorts. We can cheer each other on. Great job on the new freelance work!

  4. ThriftoRama Says:
    1329947036

    You know, I really appreciate the comments about the homilies. I think that is all pretty much in line with our goals, now and in the long run. I've been very troubled lately about how many families are having hard times-- like homelessness, etc. and I want me and my children to do as much as we can to help. Maybe for lent I can add an extra "fund" for supplies for the family shelter. Right now I take $10 a month and use coupons and perks to use it to buy as much as possible from their "needed supplies" list. Maybe I can take all the money I won't be spending on booze and sweets and redirect it to that. Let me think all this over!

  5. NJDebbie Says:
    1329951710

    Thank you for inspiring me to do more. I grew up Catholic, but lately I'd been at odds with certain things and I've grown apart. I do have to remember that there is good and bad and everything and first and foremost, I'm a follower of Jesus. I love ThriftoRamas idea and I may just follow suit! I'm going to get my Lent crosses out of storage.

  6. ThriftoRama Says:
    1329954127

    I grew up catholic as well, but have been apart from the church for a long time. I'm still in an existential crisis, so to speak, as a result of the death of my grandparents and my dad within a year 4 years ago. Makes you question a lot, and I haven't sorted it all out, but who can argue with the call to be a better, more giving and conscientious person?

  7. rob62521 Says:
    1329956519

    Sounds like a great deal on the freezer! Your freezer will be your friend.

  8. My English Castle Says:
    1329966746

    Thrift--I saw a site called something like "Couponing for Operation Christmas Child." The blogger was using her coupons and freebies for the food shelves (like our own retire@50) and for Op Christmas Child. We're trying to estimate how much we spend on wine and beer and save that for the food pantry too.

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