1. I bought 36 pounds of peaches for $13.
While out running other errands yesterday, I popped by the produce stand and saw an overflowing box of bruised peaches. Whee!
I paid $13 and when I weighed them at home, I discovered I had 36 pounds.
That means I paid just $0.36/pound, which is pretty epic.
We’ll eat a bunch of them, of course, and I also plan to slice and freeze a lot of them for use in smoothies.
Oh, and I was lucky enough to stop by shortly after they’d just culled the bruised ones. So as bruised peaches go, they’re pretty darned fresh, which means I won’t have to trim much off of each peach.
2. I peeled, quartered, and froze a bunch of peaches right away.
The one downside to buying a box of bruised peaches is that some of them really need to be dealt with pronto.
I sorted through the peaches I bought, setting aside the most bruised ones. I cut off any moldy spots, peeled them, and quartered them for freezing.
After the iffiest peaches are out of the picture, I can use the other ones in a more leisurely manner.
3. I returned two college textbooks and got $200 back.
By exploring alternate buying options elsewhere, Joshua and I ended up being able to get those two books for $50 total. So I returned the ones we’d bought from the college bookstore.
A funny/sad thing? One of the books from the bookstore was used and still was over $100!
Anyway, I am way happier to be spending $50 instead of $100.
(I know some of you have asked for a post about saving money on college textbooks. It’s upcoming, promise!)
4. I tried three deck stain color samples.
The ultimate frugal thing would be to pick a color from a stain chip and buy enough for the project then and there.
But since I never can seem to get colors right the first time, samples are actually a frugal option for me.
That’s because it’s way cheaper to spend a few dollars on a sample and find out it’s not going to work than it is to buy a deck’s worth of stain and THEN find out the color is wrong. 😉
Luckily, I don’t think this is going to take as many tries as Sonia and Zoe’s room did. Remember that??
And while we’re on a tangent about their room, here’s the post showing the final color we chose for their room.
5. I got a free audiobook for Lisey.
Lisey seems to be an auditory learner (Unlike me. I’m visual alllll the way.) and as I was listening to the What Should I Read Next podcast, it dawned on me that audiobooks might be great for her.
So, I signed up through a link mentioned on Anne’s podcast, got a free 30-day trial, and one free book.
Lisey needs to read To Kill A Mockingbird for her literature class, so that’s what I chose. I’ve also ordered the physical copy (through half.com) because she’ll need that for writing purposes, but she can at least give the story an initial listen via audiobook.
We’ll see how this goes…if it seems to be a great reading method for her, I might keep the Audible membership past the trial period.
(If you want to give it a shot, I found an Amazon affiliate link that’ll let you try Audible and get TWO free audiobooks with a 30-day free trial. That’s an even better deal than I got! And you get to keep the audiobooks even after your trial expires.)
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Melissa Gorman
Wednesday 5th of October 2016
*Audible Hack*
They have a 100% return policy. Even if the book has been completed, you can return it online and have an immediate credit back to use.
Also, there's a way to get 3 months for $7.49 (50% off normal price) During your free trial, click the option to cancel your account. It will prompt you to answer why you're cancelling. If you choose the "membership too expensive option" and click next, it gives you the option to continue at that discounted rate.
I love Audible.
Jenelle
Friday 26th of August 2016
I am a day late on this, but I love the accountability of writing this up! So here is my weekly five things.
1. Three times this week we have had lunch at work and I have not had to pack. I work at a university and with the beginning of the semester next week (yikes) there are tons of trainings/meetings and the majority of them offer lunch or breakfast. 2. On my way to one of these said work meetings, I passed a home that someone was throwing out a tricycle. It was a bit rusty, but after pumping up the tires and putting one tire back on the rim, my little ones have a new bike. And if it's left outside and gets wet? I don't care...it's already rusty! 3. My husband also works for a university and is working mad hours with the beginning of the semester happening...and he is the cook in the family. So for me, I've had about two weeks without him at the helm of the kitchen...I was tempted a few times to just do take out, but I refrained and made something at home. 4. Our daycare provider approached me about purchasing the meal plan that they offer. I politely refused and will continue to pack the kids lunches every day. 5. My minivan needs new tires...like really bad...I called to schedule an appt for a few Saturdays from now. Because they have the time to order them, I was able to get a much better tire for cheaper than what they keep in stock.
Cammie
Thursday 25th of August 2016
1. Bought bruised peaches at local peach farm. 2. Cancelled cable tv (rarely watch it anyway so now saving $53 a month-yay!) 3. My son and I have eaten all meals at home this week. 4. Shopped at Aldi. 5. Made chocolate cream cheese brownie cookies as bday gift for my friend from existing ingredients. Treated her to bday lunch at my house instead of restaurant. She felt the love!
Brook Hart
Thursday 25th of August 2016
1. I searched state wide for a replacement vehicle for my totaled out car. I drove two hours away to get the one I wanted. I saved several thousand dollars and only used my insurance check for the replacement. Careful shopping and negotiating netted me an upgrade of 2015 from my 2012 Nissan. 2. I spent 10.00 for eye exams for my two children. We brought our prescriptions home and ordered our glasses from Zenni optical . I spent less than one hundred dollars for two pairs of glasses. This is more than we usually spend ,but this time we bought all the extras including the really thin lenses for the far sighted child. No coke bottle lenses here. 3. I bought my daughter a new desk and chair, a TV cabinet for her flat screen and a new headboard for her bedroom. We bought black spray paint and touched everything up. The bedrooms here are really small and she really wanted to get rid of her bulky sleigh bed, dresser and chest. My out of pocket was 40 dollars and she is tickled pink. All we need now is some new curtains. 4. The bedroom suite was donated to a local homeless shelter to be provided to a needy family. 5. We spent 10.00 at the Dollar Tree on cleaning supplies. My children and I all helped clean my college daughters apartment where she was moving out. Baby girl had classes and a shift to work. I didn't want her to incur any charges on the move out so we jumped in to cover her. I firmly believe in teaching the children to love and support each other.
Brook Hart
Thursday 25th of August 2016
I forgot to mention I paid for the car with my credit card. The rewards will more than cover Christmas. I will use the insurance check and pay the card off this week. I am hoping to have some extras to buy a freezer.
Becca
Thursday 25th of August 2016
I have a brand new freezer, and in researching how to freeze various things, I discovered you can freeze ripe peaches whole! Tomatoes too. When you thaw them, the skins slip right off, and when partially thawed, you can slice them still frozen, and just slice them off the pit. Can't report on how it works yet, since I've only frozen and not thawed yet, but I can attest that it does work for tomatoes. Potentially a way to freeze a ton of peaches real fast-just wash, bag in gallon bags, then pop in freezer.