Monday, October 31, 2011

Candy Bargains

News flash.

Just when tired of hearing about Halloween candy, along comes a deep discount candy deal at Walgreens and local grocery stores the morning after Halloween.

When stalking these bargains, we usually head for the good chocolate and those brands we love most - Snickers and Butterfingers.

We freeze almost all of it in a little sack in the back of the freezer.  When we get a hankering for sweets, the Cowboy and I pull out a frozen treat and make a cup of coffee.  Then we relax in an easy chair and enjoy.

Truth be told, we still have some Fannie May leftovers from Christmas.  Fannie May is absolute a great candy maker of chocolates and caramels.

My Aunt Nell and Uncle John would get a two-pound box from my Uncle Harry back in the day, tell no one and treat themselves all year from their stash.  The joke was really on my sister and me as Mom also got a two-pound box.  

  


Thursday, October 27, 2011

Halloween Tree Witch

Here is a cute idea for next year.  Use old, flashy witch-style clothes, a wig and a broom.  Arrange on tree.  The story goes that the witch under the darkness of night aimed for local trick-or-treater, missed and crashed into the tree.


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Discount Bread Store

Once a month or so on a Tuesday, I make a trip down 44th to a discount bread store.  I get multiple loaves at a good price plus a couple of freebies.

If you are going to do discount bread, too, make sure you like their brands of bread.  It isn't a bargain if it gets moldy or feeds the birds or ducks (neither should eat bread).

On Tuesday, they have double punch days.  That fills up your card faster for more free bread.  Occasionally, we will cash in our cards and donate the bread to a local food bank.

Because we like variety, we supplement our discount bread buys with bread from our local grocery's mark-down rack as discussed in a previous post.







Monday, October 24, 2011

Completing the Circle - Rims for our Tires

Finding the correct rims is not easy.  Luckily my cowboy had been through it before.

We watched Craigslist for Saturn Vue rims with five lug bolts for a couple of weeks.  No luck.  However, we did find reconditioned ones at a junk yard for $640 for four.   Too much.

We needed Plan B.   Hubby went to this rim-conversion site.  Click here to see what other vehicles take the same rims as the Vue.  The conversion chart is somewhat hidden as one must scroll down to see it.  I added those vehicles to our lists of potentials.

Theresa, a mechanic friend of ours, gave us a bolt circle template, and we fit that over one of the existing rims and measured the distance between lug bolts.  See picture below.  We wrote it down.  We plan to take it with us when we looked at prospective rims.

Finally, some rims became available that were on our secondary list.  Were they 16-inch?  Check.  Did they have places for five lug nuts?  Check.  Did the patterns of lug nuts match our pattern as per our template?  Check.  Did the rim bolt to the car at the proper place so the tires wouldn't be too far in or out?  Check.

We met the seller at his place of employment where he had the rims stored.  We double checked the above list in our minds, and his rims met all our requirements.  The only difference was that they had the GMC logo on them.  Logo, smogo, we didn't care.

We bought the four for $265 - we like this price much better.  And they came with one good tire, and we could probably use on one of our trailers.

We brought the rims home, and hubby put one on the Vue just to make sure.  And they fit.  If they hadn't, we would have put them back on Craigslist and continued to look.

Last Saturday, we loaded the rims and new-to-us tires up and went to the tire store.  We got the tires mounted, balanced and put on the Vue.  We also had the vehicle aligned.  Since it would take awhile, we left the Saturn and took our other vehicle for more errands.

Then something unexpected happened.  The tire store called, and the Saturn needed a front brake job.  As we have almost 70K miles on this vehicle, we weren't too surprised.  Since we hadn't spent all of the money we had allocated for the tires, rims and alignment, we could have the front brakes done that day.

Having the brakes fixed now saved us time and money.  We didn't have to spend another Saturday fooling with the Saturn, and the brakes were not at the dangerous or cost-us-a-huge-bundle stage.

Sure it took us some time and effort, but we feel our effort was worth it.  When winter is over, my hubby will take off the winter wheels and tires and put on the summer wheels and tires.

bolt circle template



new tires

Friday, October 21, 2011

Estate Liquidators Web Site and Email List

Many professional estate liquidators have web sites and email blasts advertising their next sale.
If you like the personnel, what they are offering (limited junk) and their prices, check them out.

Mid-week, I got an email from a liquidator my hubby and I met in Golden a couple of weeks ago.  they were advertising their next sale's location, starting dates and times and featured items.

I had signed up for their emails, and they added me to their list.  One could do the same thing on their web site.  Many have business cards, too.

Some estate liquidators who also have a store must charge sales tax in this state.

The friendly email was just a reminder.  My question: "Is it worth my time?"

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Comparing Light Bulbs

The CFL's (compact fluorescent lamp) annual cost is $1.69 compared to an incandescent light bulb (old style - ones used for years and years) cost of $7.23, and the light-emitting diode is $1.45 for the same amount of light according to the Denver Post, US Department of Energy, Wall Street Journal and D&R International.

A couple of years ago, we replaced most of our easy-to-reach and frequently used light bulbs.  So we wouldn't go too crazy over the rest of the light-bulb thing, here is what we do.  Since the light-emitting diode was $30-40 per bulb, we pass on that style - not cost-effective enough.

As for the more efficient and cooler CFL when an old-style bulbs burns out, we replace it with CFLs whenever possible.  Not all our sockets can take a full-sized CFL, so we bought a few shorties.   And a few of our sockets cannot use CFLs (our outdoor lights on remote sensors don't work right with CFLs, so we replace them with the old-style.  And when we replace those old and hail-storm damaged remote-sensor lights, we will search out those that are CFL friendly.

When one of our long-tube florescent lights or a CFLs burn out, we take them to Home Depot or Lowe's for recycling.

Don't know how many old-style bulbs we have left to replace, but the electricity portion of our utility bill is under 400 Kwhs.  You could say either we are energy efficient or live in the dark.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Interesting Benefits of Estate Sales

You can tell from my blog, my hubby and I like to go to garage or estate sales.  We especially like estate sales as we get to see some interesting real estate - garages, basements and backyards.  

The one in Golden recently was on a high point across from South Table Mountain and uphill from the Coors Plant.  The colors were changing and the view was  beautiful.  The estate liquidators said they had seen deer wandering the property early in the morning.  

My husband especially likes to see what creative and time-saving innovations the previous owner devised.  His father was quite handy, and I am sure he came by this appreciation through him.    

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Estate Sale

Mid to late afternoon this past Sunday while going to the recycling center, we spotted an estate sale sign.  As died-in-the-wool bargain hunter and lookie-lou of other's property and lifestyle, we stopped in.  Truthfully it was the Saturn Vue that saw the sign first, and steered us in that direction.

In the last hours of the last day, some estate sellers offer 75% off.  So was the case here.  In a back closet my cowboy found two sets of coveralls that were in great shape - although a little dusty and dirty (nothing that a spin in the washing machine hasn't remedied).  The summer-weight pair was $1 and the insulated-winter weight was $2.50 after the 75% discount.   We would have paid $50-75 at KMart or WalMart for the winter weight.  He will use them to work on our vehicles and retire or donate his shabby old pair.







Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Manager's Specials, Markdown Center

My grocery store has in-house bargains in three areas - meat, dairy and bread, bakery and other items.  Check with the manager of your store to see where these are located and the approximate time they are stocked.  

There are several reasons why items don't stay here long - charities for people and animals pick up items that are good but close to their "sell-by-date" and folks like us shop these areas first.

Lots of seniors shop one of the stores I frequent, and they time their marketing to catch the best bargains .

bread and other items

meat department

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Future Home of the Colorado Cowgirl's Chickens

This is the story of vision meets opportunity.  My vision was chickens for eggs and to eat grasshoppers. 

I have been looking on Craigslist for an industrial box.  Never would I have guessed that the box would come to me!

Last week there was construction crew on the main road robotically working on the water system.  I knew it wasn't the water main because they turn that off.  When I paid the water bill, the water gal said that they were lining the inside of the sewer line because the welds were leaking inward.  That means they were treating more water than they were selling - never a good thing.

At the construction site, I spied this empty, heavy-duty box below as the guys were preparing haul it away.  I hopped out of my Saturn and inquired if they had plans for it.   To make a long story short, the supervisor said I could have it, and the forklift driver would deliver.  Luckily I live a short two blocks away.

Hopefully my honey who has been working some long hours lately will have time this winter to make it into a great home for our chicken flock.

Two points, I would like to make about found objects like this: 
  • Make sure they are really available by asking the owner's permission to remove.  Sometimes, I have asked and found out that the kids left something valuable by the trash can or road.
  • If you see something you need, jump into action immediately.  In 20 minutes this treasure would have been gone.


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Consumables at Estate Sales

I always look for products that I use frequently at estate sales - especially half-price Sundays.

Last Sunday and for a buck each, we got a Costco-sized (very large) bottle of Drano for a dollar as well as a Costco-sized bottle of premium no-scent hand lotion.  The Drano looked like it had been used once while the hand lotion was hermetically sealed and never opened.

Keep track of retail prices as not everything for a buck is a bargain.

Here is a sign on the Harley in the garage that made me a chuckle:


Half-Price Sundays; Records, Tapes, CDs

In this neck of the woods, professional garage, estate and church sales and private ones are open Thursday (perhaps), Friday and Saturday.  Many will not negotiate prices on these days.  However, when there are items left over on Sunday, they may become half price or a whole bag for buck.

Before our ride in the mountains see Colorado Cowgirl Road Trips, we returned to an estate sale we shopped yesterday.  I had gotten multiple packets of skinny paint rollers for $5 that I will use with Annie Sloan paint.  My sister in Texas saw a demo at Round Top (a giant garage sale on ranch land that last for weeks), and the Annie Sloan expert used these kind of rollers.  My cowboy got Jim Reeves and Emmylou Harris records and Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris CDs.

We are careful about buying records, tapes and CDs.  Although we look them over carefully, we don't pay a huge price for them because we don't know how well they have been handled.  Also, we make sure the music inside matches the cover.

After thinking about it, I wanted the John Denver four-disc set I saw.  Usually things we want don't last till half-price day, but we stopped by in the afternoon just in case it was still there, and sure enough it was.  Can't wait to hear them.  I also got enough packaged no-calorie Kool-Aid to serve every girl and boy scout north of the Colorado-New Mexico border for $1.50.

My hubby is playing one of the John Denver CDs now, and it sounds great.

Last spring and late on a Sunday afternoon, I bought a whole bag of expensive, stain-free and barely worn kids winter coats for a buck.  I took them home and washed them up.  They are hanging in the closet in my husband's office waiting for delivery to a family charity later this month - just in time for cold weather.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Recycle Center Goodies

Every other Sunday morning we pack up the recyclables and head to the DIY recycling center in Golden.  We go Sunday mornings when there is still room for ours.  We enjoy doing this as we are doing something for the environment by diverting items from landfills.  Occasionally we score something we can use around The Place.

Recycling etiquette:
  • Don't leave a mess.  Messes will close a self-service recycle center faster than you can say "jumping jackalopes" -  just ask those using the closed center at the Grange on Youngsfield in Applewood.  Users were repeatedly warned by the grange.  These recyclers now must travel at least five miles to another location.  Most of us recyclers will pick up a few items to help out, but big messes are too much to ask.  
  • Break down boxes even if you brought ones with recyclables inside.  There will be more room in the bins for others. 
  • If all bins are full and can't make room for more recyclables, bring them back another day.  Don't leave recyclables next to the bins as the wind will whip them around.  Also bin haulers are paid ONLY to pick up the bins - not the recyclables next to them or down the road.
  • Dispose of only allowable items.  Most DIY centers will not take plastic bags, electronics, small and large appliances, broken glasses and dishes, etc.   Read the information posted on site. 
  • No trash
We have scored these useful things at different times:
A cool but broken aluminum ladder (my honey thought he could fix it; but the solution was a potential  finger pincher - not good), 5 brand new and one older moving blankets and a very large new tub (it now holds cans of oil in the shed outside the Car Barn).  

None of these were on the approved recycle list. 

Happy recycling.