I got my income tax refund and put enough money in my START account at my bank to have saved $1000. This means I will be getting a $50 gift certificate, and if I keep the money in the bank (which I hope to - its my emergency account), then at the end of the year I get another $50 gift card. With interest rates being so awful, this is great for me.

I also got insulation blown into my attic. My neighbor across the street took me to Home Depot. If you buy 10 bags of insulation, you get to rent the blower for free (a savings of $85). He and another guy spent Friday morning blowing a ton of stuff into my attic. He charged me $200 for this and I gave him $300 and another $20 for moving a bed. Since my neighbor did the same thing with a contractor for $1200, I know I got a wonderful deal.

My house is 50 or 60 years old and has little insulation. Since I live in the desert, I don't worry as much about heating bills, but cooling bills can be $400 a month. The new insulation should save me about 20 to 25%, and make the house more comfortable.

They recognized people for service at work and I got a check for $350 for 25 years of service. Woohoo.

Since I have gotten over being sick as a dog for 3 weeks, using up almost all of my pt time at work, and wondering if I was going to die and the dogs would fight over my body, it came to me that I need to start stocking up easy foods and meds for when I'm sick.

Flu and cold meds.
gingerale
possibly popsicles (best things in the world for unhappy tummies)
canned soups with pop tops
stuff for allergies.
aloe saturated tissues for da node

When I was sick, I ended up taking children benedryl, which i have on hand when people do fireworks and scare the dogs into a frenzy. Actually, I'm starting to like children's benedryl as a result.

I may also box or bag my emergency supplies, so i'm no tempted to eat them at other times.

I also want to have more frozen easy foods in the freezer. When I get that sick, cooking is almost impossible.

When I'm really sick, I don't think about frugality, I think about survival and whether I'm going to make it throw up. So preparing for sickness will be the essence of frugality.