Five Frugal Things | Plumbing Probs Edition
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We are having some rather expensive plumbing problems right now (FYI, a crack in your vent pipe makes for a very smelly kitchen. So gross.)
So I thought a Five Frugal Things post might remind me that I actually am doing more than just paying plumbing bills at the moment.
(Though I have to add, thank heavens for good plumbers. Mr. FG and I wouldn't even have been able to properly diagnose this problem, let alone fix it! The plumbers did this cool thing where they sent smoke into the house thru the septic clean-out so they could trace where the problem was. That is, umm, waaay beyond our skill set/tool set!)
1. I froze collard greens.
My Hungry Harvest box recently sent me a big bag of collard greens. Since no one here is a fan of cooked greens, including me, I googled to see if they could be used in a smoothie.
The internet's verdict: yes!
I cautiously tried it, and I have to say, collard greens are possibly a little milder than kale, which I put in smoothies all the time.
So, I destemmed the greens and froze them for future smoothie use.
There's no need to chop the greens...they become rather brittle when frozen, which means they break up anyway.
And they're easy to grab and throw into the blender even if you don't break them.
At least, this is true if you have a Vitamix or Blendtec. I know some cheaper blenders struggle to liquefy greens like kale or collard greens.
The Vitamix model I bought is available refurbished on Amazon, by the way. I love my Vitamix so much!
It's a slightly older style, but I keep reading that it works better than the newer models with the wider, shorter container. Just so ya know!
2. I froze bananas.
I ended up with a bunch that were getting ripe a little too quickly.
So, I sliced and froze them either for use in smoothies or in this no sugar added strawberry-banana ice cream.
Seriously so good! You need to make a batch!
I know you CAN freeze bananas whole, but I find that they blend up a lot more easily if I slice them.
And it takes all of about 2 minutes to do anyway. 😉
I like to line the pan with a silicone sheet (I got mine at Aldi), freeze the slices for about an hour, and then transfer them to a plastic bag for storage.
The silicone sheet makes the bananas very easy to remove from the pan.
3. I mended Zoe's shorts.
(And a kitchen towel. WHYYYY do my new towel seams keep coming apart? What are they doing wrong at the towel factories these days??)
Zoe's shorts spontaneously sprouted a hole, but luckily, it was right on the seam.
Yay!
That makes for an insanely easy fix.
I did have to hand-sew the bit right down by the rolled bottom of the shorts, but it was still a fast job.
4. I got an AdoramaPix coupon.
I did start working on a photo book (one of the things on my summer bucket list!) and when I hopped over to the site, I got a popup with a 10% off coupon offer with email signup. Yay!
5. I...
froze some slightly squishy grapes (for snacking and smoothies), froze tomato paste in 1-tablespoon portions (WHO uses a whole can at once? Geez.), made granola and yogurt, and cut up some fruit that needed to be used (putting it out, ready-to-eat, in a bowl, ensures it'll get eaten by someone!)
Your turn!
Share your own Five Frugal Things in the comments.ave
I am grimly soldiering on with the bread baking, yogurt making, garden using-up and preserving, and dinner making. This seems like a great accomplishment to me at the moment, which is 7 months pregnant and feeling it. Soon I'll have to do the big push of prepping the freezer stuff--bread, meatballs, meatloaf, chili, etc.--so there will be food for AFTER the baby is born. Those previous three boys (and their father) will still require all the food they do now, I just know it.
I really wish I found store-bought prepared food palatable, but I don't, so I'll just have to suck it up and stock the freezer.
1. Shopped at Aldi.
2. Made dinner, on the fly, with ingredients I had on hand...spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. This was started at 6 pm, thus saving us from the dreaded drive-thru.
3. I also froze tomato paste, a half-can's worth...the other half was used in the aforementioned spaghetti sauce.
4. Had leftover spaghetti for lunch the next day.
5. Made chocolate banana bread out of over-ripe bananas. Seriously delicious!
Yay for the frugal wins! I know how frustrating it is to have home repair or maintenance issues. It literally stresses me out when something is not working properly at our house. I'm glad you found a great plumber! 🙂
Sorry about the plumbing issues- definitely not an area that most random homeowners are overly skilled at!
1. I bought a huge bag of freshly picked peaches on our road trip through Amish Country on Friday.. ate a bunch but yesterday felt they needed to be processed quickly... I slipped the skins off and sliced them down... I added spices, sweetener and cornstarch before I poured into a foil lined pie plate.. froze all day them slipped the disk into a freezer bag... Peach pie this fall!
2. 6 good sized zucchini's came to be the first pulls from the garden... 4 went through the food processor and into baggies for future baking..
3. Baked 1 batch of zucchini mini breads and 1 batch of banana bread muffins ( using previously frozen bananas).. took some to a friend at her fathers funeral ( kids get snacky no matter where they are!) froze some and left some for kids to munch on...
4. made a batch of homemade strawberry syrup since the kids were not eating the strawberries fast enough...
5. Finally got through the husbands side of the closet...Took 1 armload of men's clothing to the local consignments, saved items for oldest son... the rest is in the pile to go to the local mens shelter... Found another pile of random items to take to the consignment.. love purging and new found space!
Sorry for the plumbing issues, Kristen!
1. I batched errands with an eye appointment. One was to remember to take gallon jugs to our local plant and flower nursery where you can get their lovely fertilized water for free.
2. I picked our first cucumber. I planted late because we were waiting on dirt to be delivered for the new garden beds but everything is doing wonderfully and I should be up to my ears in produce in about two weeks.
3. The previous owner of this house left a huge, heavy birdbath. My husband found some old masonry paint he purchased at a garage sale to paint it. We borrowed our neighbors dolly to move it to the side of the house. This weekend using plants and other items already owned, I made a charming fairy garden.
4. My husband had to move quite a bit of limestone when we had some ground leveled. I used small pieces this weekend for the fairy garden and washed off several large rocks to put in the flowerbeds around the house perimeter. We planted purchased small shrubs and daylilies from the old house but it will take time for those to fill in. Looks really nice!
5. Plumbing wise, we were having trouble with our bathroom sink draining. My husband purchased a new part with a gift card but then I mentioned seeing a piece in the basement. Sure enough, when the owner put in a new expensive faucet, he didn't put the drain in that came with it. After installing that one, drain works perfectly. Purchased part went back to Home Depot. Aggravation aplenty but no money spent!
Good gracious, I'm not so sure about my last week. Hubby was out of town (the cook in the house) and my parents were in town to help with the kids. But here is my "go" at five frugal things.
1. I've been striving to start an emergency account, but with two kids in daycare, I've not been able to save a dime. I did find an amazing emergency savings plan that starts out by saving $2 a week and then works up until you have $1000 saved in about 10 months. Thankfully, my next pay will reflect a small raise, so I won't miss the few dollars a week that I need to save.
2. A few months back I purchased some material to make dresses for my daughter and finally this weekend I got around to making (with my mom's help) two of them! I didn't need to buy the material, but since I did, it need to be used up.
3. Packed lunch every day last week.
4. My cell phone's power button stopped working and the phone finally shut off and I was unable to turn it on. Because it was a manufacturer's defect, Verizon sent me a new one for free. I got over two years out of that old phone, and I hope to get at least that out of this new one.
5. Going along with my new cell phone, I had to ship back the defective one back via UPS. The shipping store here in town charges $1 per package to ship from their store. Sooo, instead I saw the UPS truck leaving that store and followed him until he stopped again and I handed it to the driver. Free of charge. A little bit stocker -esque....but it saved me $1.
No. 5 - Now that is hilarious. 😀
I have honestly done worse things to save money.
Love your stalker behavior! Recently I was running errands for my mom and saw the Schwans truck.. definitely NOT Frugal... but I love their rootbeer float popcicles.. So I pulled in to my moms allotment and flagged the truck down.. bought a box and drove off.. so they don't have my address and they don't stop by weekly to push sales! lol
When you freeze your tomato paste, do you freeze it in an ice cube tray or do you do it like you did the bananas in little dollops? I need to do that more often because I know of no recipe that ever calls for a whole can of tomato paste....
I just do little dollops.
And yeah...very few recipes need a whole can of paste!
I now buy tomato paste in tubes so I can just squirt out what I need. Like this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cento-Double-Concentrated-Tomato-Paste-4-56-oz/36327283?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227024223806&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=52398446175&wl4=pla-79482747255&wl5=9021702&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=36327283&wl13=&veh=sem
Freezing is a good option too, but I tend to forget those little items and they sit in my freezer until I clean it out 2 years later!
Yes! I need to look for something like that.
Those tubes are great but expensive! The dollop-freezing is the frugal way.
I found that the tube tends to leak for me.
I use a whole can of tomato paste when I make spaghetti sauce.
That's about the only time I can think of that I've used a whole can too!
Me too. I would say I use a whole can (the little ones) more often than not.
At the 99 Cent Only Store recently, I found Hunt's tomato paste in 2 Tbs. pouches, six to a box. Each box was $1, so I bought eight boxes. Thanks to this post, I just realized I can probably just freeze the pouches. They're perfect for pizza!
I'm sorry for your plumbing issue! Having one pipe messed up just upsets the whole house, doesn't it? Especially a kitchen pipe, yikes.
1. I went shopping on Saturday instead of Sunday, to get the 25% off bulk bin sale at the food co-op. Even though I had oatmeal aplenty in the freezer, I bought more, because I eat oatmeal as part of my breakfast every single day. I stocked up on several different beans, on soft winter wheat berries for my grinder, oats, nuts, and dried organic cranberries. Oh, and coffee beans. My daughter gave me a little coffee grinder years ago and I'll sometimes buy whole beans instead of ground, when they are at a good price, for my husband, since I don't like coffee, myself.
2. I've been on the hunt for glass or stainless steel spice bottles to replace my plastic ones. I stopped at the local Humane Society thrift store and found six nice bottles for $2. I buy my spices in bulk, too, as it is insanely cheaper that way. My bottles are in a drawer, so I don't care if they don't all match.
3. As usual when we shop for groceries, we carry a cooler with water and drinks, and often a snack or two. Our ice packs come to us free -- my husband's insulin is shipped to us in ice packs. We don't always take snacks, because of the store samples that are always available.
4. I just opened up the free bag of cat food that I got with a coupon from PetSmart.
5. I will be on a liquid diet this coming weekend for a procedure, so I cooked broth from chicken bones in the crock pot, adding a dash of vinegar to pull the minerals into the broth. Free food from discards -- I always like that.
6. An advantage of being short -- I am wearing a Goodwill dress that is actually a child's size 16 simple tent dress. Since it's a child's dress, it was priced less than a woman's dress. I also check out their kids' sweaters and tops. I have to sift through some sparkly ponies and eye-rolling sayings, but occasionally I find some nice, classic stuff I can wear.
Silver lining in #6.. I have a 12 year old that is 5'7" and still growing.. the current swing dress/romper look is immodest on her legs... so when we find ones she likes they get paired with leggings.. We had a wedding this past weekend and she wore a romper my mom modified-(cut out the crotch and made it look like a tunic instead) with a pair of knee length black leggings.. I left husband in charge of the kids getting ready as I was attending calling hours... At the reception I noticed she paired her tunic with her long volleball pants!!! olol Oh well..
I did some of the same things as you:
* I blanched and froze a ton of collards (my collards just won't quit growing!), chard, and kale, for future soups and smoothies, and
*I mended three clothing items--my favorite work top, which had a hold in the armpit, some work pants, and my fav lounge top (that hole was on the front so the repair is visible but I only wear it around the house so don't care)
Other frugal-type behaviors:
* We went out for a spendy dinner for our 15th anniversary BUT used a Groupon, and chose wisely off the menu. This is the first time this year we've had a dinner out like that so I count it as frugal
* I made a giant batch of lentil soup for the week
* And, probably the biggest one: we sold one of our vehicles as my husband started a new job and he can now bike to work. So, we only need one vehicle now.
I live in an area that has a new Lidl store. I really don't even care about the new store, BUT Aldi and another grocery store sent out a bunch of coupons. So on Saturday I used a $5 off $30 coupon at Aldi, and a $10 off $50 coupon at the other store. The other store is a little pricier on some items, but I was able to shop sales and to buy a few things that I needed that aren't available at Aldi (rice vinegar and sesame oil, for instance...).
Last week I turned part of a quilt into a table runner. I started this quilt 20 years ago and there wasn't that much done on it - it just was never going to be made into a quilt! I didn't have to buy anything to make it, as I had the batting, backing, and binding in my sewing supplies. So now I have something to adorn my table instead of live in a bin under my bed. And it didn't cost me anything! (go here to see: https://www.instagram.com/p/BWgmTq9DX_8/?taken-by=mrstammys )
My sister is out of town and I've been taking care of her chickens. That's "free" eggs for us! Of course, not truly free because of gas to go over every day. 😉 But she's only a mile away so it isn't that much! So far I've gotten 27 eggs. She has 5 chickens and we've been getting 4 or 5 eggs every day.
We've been utilizing the library this summer for books and movies (which actually isn't different than the rest of the year...but my daughter completed the library reading program and got a coupon for a free pizza).
I've been cooking a lot from scratch. Again, not totally different than the rest of the year, but I've been trying to cook AHEAD so we have stuff in the fridge to pull out for snacks and parts of meals. It makes it easier and makes it less likely that we'll go out when we've been out of the house for a while. Knowing we have food in the fridge that needs to be eaten helps motivate me to not spend more money on take out!
Ooh! I do want to visit a Lidl once, just to see what it's like!
I did go once! With it just having opened last month, it is so busy! I don't like grocery shopping all that well anyhow, so to have to fight my way through a crowded grocery store just doesn't appeal to me.
It is larger than Aldi but not as large as a standard grocery store. Very similar in feel and product, though they have more options because it is a little larger. Pricewise, I have read from people who comparison shopped, it is about the same or higher than Aldi.
What do you use to store the individual servings of one tbsp tomato paste in the freezer? Thanks
I just freeze them in lumps and then put the frozen lumps into a plastic bag or container.
1. Made baked scrambled eggs with leftover random bits for easy lunches and snacks.
2. Received some hand me down shoes...nice spendy brands, too.
3. Kids wearing new free t shirts that the library gave us from previous years summer reading programs. They also gave us books that have been withdrawn. Obviously, they are cleaning house!
3. Been enjoying all kinds of free programs at the library: performances, music lessons, art, STEM stuff. Go there and enjoy their AC!
4. Attending the summer meals programs at the school. Free lunch for the kids and they let them play in the gym for about a half hour after.
5. Been phasing out prepackaged foods for a while. Each trip to the store I get less. I have seen my grocery tab shrink and my trash too, so I know it makes a difference. Still have a ways to go, and sometimes I get some but I have been making progress....
Oh, those towel seams are terrible these days! The stitch setting is too long so the seams break easily. Seriously, the factory stitches are longer than the "baste" setting on my machine. My solution is to reinforce all four edges on every towel that enters our home. It's much easier to to when they're brand new, before they've even been washed. I'm sure this at least doubles the life of every washcloth, dish towel, and bath towel. Such a good payback for the minimal time and effort.
Uh, we're on vacation in the spendiest place in CO, so I have nothing further frugal to report, alas. But granddaughter's first birthday was a hoot!
I'm sorry u are having plumbing issue. That is Not Fun at All I Totally feel for u.
My Grandmother had an issue w- her Toilet. The house Builders made the Couter top 2" higher than the toile tank lid. So The Plumber had to go through that Outside wall .... Then we had to pay a Drywall guy to fix the wall. I told my Dad the Counter top is Going Bcuz We are NOT doing that again.
$1800- total Ridiculous .... ( We Got TOOK Lesson Learned)
anyways
1) Friday I baked a Homemade Spinach Lasagna I had in freezer. I baked in the AM to Save on Heating the House up later.104* here )so then in the Evening I could just reheat in Microwave then added a simple Salad & Garlic Bread. Pasta to me always tastes better next day.
2) bought $50 (2x25$ ) in Red Robin Gift Cards & got 2- $10- Movie Tickets to See Planet of the Apes.
3) Took Water bottles & Gum to the Movie.
4) Ate Dinner Before Movie.
5) sent Hub to work w- Leftovers
*Our 24 year old A/C is about to die...I can feel it. It doesn't cool as well as it used to, is loud, and our electric bill is way up there. So we are getting a new ($$$) system, but since we have saved money for it, we are getting the cash discount, which in addition to the utility company rebate, is nice.
*A couple of dinners this week involve leftovers, re-fashioned. And easy.
*I bought red.white, and blue themed party goods at 66% off at Hob Lob for my Eagle scout's Court of Honor.
*I went back to using the clothesline instead of the dryer to save a little energy and keep the house cooler. We aren't using the oven for the same reasons.
*I am packing my work lunch every day as the hospital cafeteria food is ridiculously expensive. So I take whatever leftovers are unclaimed in the fridge. I end up eating things we are close to tossing, making me feel a little more virtuous...
Oh my gosh, I totally agree with you on the tomato paste. I started buying the tubes of tomato paste recently and have loooooved it. It's double-strength so there's more than it looks like and I never have to deal with the remains of a can.
Great job saving some moolah! Ugh, plumbing issues are the worst. And they're so expensive. :/ I hope y'all can get it cleaned up quickly! It's no fun for sure.
This week.
1. I cooked a batch of homemade yogurt as well as butter pecan granola.
2. I got a glass cake stand at the thrift store for $12. In an effort to show it off, I made homemade coconut cream pie cupcakes. Mmmmm.
3. I put together a video for my blog this weekend, which was about frugal DIYs. So it's like, spreading the frugal love, y'know?
4. I based this week's menu mostly on staples in our pantry, so our grocery bill wasn't *as* disastrous.
5. I brought in some extra freelance work, which hopefully means I can clear $150+ a month in guaranteed side hustle money. Woop woop!
1.went to Goodwill 2.00 Tuesday and got a pair of Lucky Brand jeans for 2.00
2.made eggs and spinach omelette for lunch using free eggs that I got with a coupon.
3.Had a No Spend days in a row(this is huge for me)
4.called about a medical bill that should have been paid by my insurance
5.took a picnic dinner to a free outdoor concert.
1) A tube on my Dyson ripped last week. Luckily it was still within the five year warranty promised when I bought it at Costco four and a half years ago. All I had to do was drop the vacuum at the UPS store. Dyson is paying to have it packaged, shipped, repaired, and returned.
2) Life has been crazy lately, which has resulted in takeout a few more times than we would like. So today instead of going out for lunch I made grits that a neighbor gave us topped with asparagus, tomatoes, and fried eggs. Delish.
3) My mom gave me a used Ninja blender that her friend gave her. I stopped this game of pass the Ninja by selling it on Craigslist for $100. Unless, of course, that person decides to give it to a friend. 🙂
4) My husband found the library book that I had torn apart the house to find! Sometimes it takes a second pair of eyes. We were out of renewals, so it was time to find it.
5) I riffled through my closet last week to put together an outfit I like for an interview on Tuesday. Whenever an event is coming up I have to fight the urge to go out and buy the "perfect" outfit for this specific event. I was glad to reign this one in. I almost always have something in the closet that is fine. But I gave myself lead time so that if I really couldn't find something I liked, I could hit a few thrift stores and get what I needed.
Yay for #4! The same thing happened here. We were looking for the lost book for a month, were ready to declare it lost, and finally found it yesterday!
If the Dyson should break again, even out of warranty, Costco's return policy is absolutely awesome! Just bring it back and they will give you the original purchase price. They even look up the purchase on your card if you don't have the receipt. Our Vitamix broke and was past the 3 year warranty Vitamix gives. We took it to Costco just to see if they would do anything since we've heard such great things about their return policy and they refunded it no problem. We got a new one that day.
* Bumped into another car. My bumper got broken. Went to the garage to have it fixed. The guy bolted it back. Then he noticed that my headlights were really "yellow-ish", so he buffed them back to brand new looking! It took about 15 minutes all-and-all. When I asked how much I owed he said "nothing!". Whoa, nice surprise! Very grateful.
* Used 2 coupons at Michaels for my girls to attend the Creativity Camp for free this morning. Was expecting to have to stay there with them but when we arrived the person in charge said that the parents could leave. So it's basically 2 hours of free babysitting this morning, thanks Michaels!! I used that time to run errands and do some cleaning.
* We are leaving for BC tommorow. Packed both a breakfast and lunch for the plane.
* Went to a free outdoor movie presentation with hubby and the kids (Beauty and the Beast. Loved it!) . Also there was bouncy castles, rock climbing, free cotton candy, etc. And I brought popcorn from home.
* Went to a free power plant tour. Doesn't sound too exciting, I know, but it was actually pretty interesting!
I have visited Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State multiple times - even taken guests. The history behind the planning and building of the dam, as well as the tour of the actual power plant is almost overwhelming.
We took a fascinating tour of our local water treatment facility. They had a community open house with tours, educational stations and food and games. It was very interesting and free!
I am sorry that you had a plumbing issue. The fix sounded interesting. I love human ingenuity.
This week or so has had more frugal fails than wins. But I push on and hope to lead by example. I have refused to eat out several times. My allergies and intolerances generally make eating out difficult to say the least. So if they want seafood etc, fine, I can stay home, itch and swell less, while saving money. Even though it is winter here and we have had some wet days I have used the drier once and the lines as usual. I went to Costco to price baby stuff and restock cat food etc. It is about 130 km round trip so I am hoping they open another store near here. I am refusing to give into some wants. For example my first grandbaby is on the way and I am using my stash as much as I can.
Keep up the great efforts everyone.
Oh dear, your plumbing problem sounds terrible. But yes, thank goodness there are experts available when you need them!
I am having some plumbing problems myself - leaky bathtub faucet, and a dishwasher that is making a grinding noise and won't drain properly. I did try to youtube the dishwasher problem but I couldn't figure it out. When it comes to plumbing issues, besides lacking the knowledge, I usually A) Lack the proper tools and B) Lack the hand strength to use them properly if I do have them or can borrow them. So, frugal things -
1) I am hand washing dishes until I save up to get the dishwasher fixed. (Car repairs and weed abatement on my property pretty much wiped out my savings account last month).
2) Actually, I will probably just get a "new to me" dishwasher installed that is sitting in my garage. It is a nice Fisher Paykel drawer style washer that was given to me by someone when they sold their vacation house.
3) Using up my freebie birthday offers from various companies. So far I have had a free sub from a local sub shop, a free chocolate from a local candy shop, and a frappachino from Starbucks.
4) After going way over budget on groceries last week, this week I have several meals planned around veggies and beans (healthy and more affordable!).
5) I cleaned my garage! This is frugal because now I have the space to work on refinishing a nice, solid wood, dresser someone gave me. I am planning to use it as an entertainment stand in the living room. This also came from someone's vacation house. (Different vacation house than the dishwasher).
5)
1) The biggest thing I've done in the past few days is sign up for a paleo meal plan AND ACTUALLY START IT.
This one is through The Fresh 20 (they had a deal where I could try a meal plan for a month for $7, and figured it was cheaper than most other options online). Last night we had Apricot Grilled Tenderloin (we made an apricot sauce that was delicious!), and a rub. Grilled enough tenderloins for the rest of the week (we use another in a salad on Thursday). Then had sweet potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash. And a cantaloupe for dessert!
2) I laid out all the ingredients for my boyfriend to make tonight... but we'll be having a marinated salmon with spaghetti squash, grape tomatoes, and green beans. I'm hoping for grilled peaches for dessert!
3) So far we already had a ton of the ingredients on hand... we just needed to buy a few veggies and some tenderloin (We went to Safeway to look at meat, and a single tenderloin was $16.... so we made an extra stop at Sam's club--more time, and more gas--but we got TWO 2 packs for $13... totally worth it).
Here's a maybe 4) I bought a book from a yard sale. It's Paper Towns by John Green (I really liked one of his other ones...even though it was a tear jerker!). It was 25 cents. I figured I could justify this cost as I sometimes am late returning items... and I could keep this one for as long as necessary. As long as I read it. Starting this weekend!
5) I'm making my way through my Summer Reading Celebration goals (the library I work at offers an incentive for adults, teens and youth to read during the summer). I haven't been keeping good track, but I listen to audio books in the car (on my third one this summer!), as well as read magazines and books at home. SO... I figure by the time Summer Reading ends, I'll have my 25 hours in. Easily.
Five Frugal Things
1) Remembered to take my coupons to get groceries AND bring the empty water bottles for a total of $8 savings .
2) Called our medical insurance and got an over-ride for a prescription (costing $27 instead of $44) It is kind of a pain and I have to do it once a month but it's a lot of money to waste.
3) bought paper bags (to keep the birds away from our grapes this summer)
4) Remembered to use EBates for a camera purchase (gift for my husband from his mom)
5) Clipped kitty nails at home instead of taking her to the Vet
1. I replaced our hose that sprung a leak with a $5 hose my neighbor got at a yard sale instead of buying a new one.
2. We were invited to a cousin's house for dinner and brought dessert of brownies we made from $1 mix and ice cream from Aldi and wine someone had given us.
3. I cleaned my whole house instead of using a cleaning service.
4. I brought lunches to work and cooked dinners at home.
5. We bought an inexpensive Roku box to watch the free movies we get with Amazon prime.
1. Instead of paying for coffee out, I made my own concoction that should last me all week: a sweetened cold brew concentrate. I steep one cup of (Walmart brand "Donut Shop") coffee grounds in 4 cups of cold water for 24 hours. Before straining the cold brew, I make 3/4 cup of simple syrup by combining equal parts of sugar and boiling hot water into the bottom of a mason jar. Then I top it off with the coffee. Every morning this week I can add ice and almond milk to each individual serving of the concentrated cold brew to get my caffeine fix.
2. I used the Cladwell app to shop my own closet rather than buying new clothing items.
3. I'm eating chilaquiles for brunches this week to use up a huge $2 bag of tortilla chips that are on the verge of going stale. I generally don't become super hungry until lunchtime, so this meal really hits the spot.
4. Instead of paying for cookbooks, I've been hitting up my local library. My library has an easy to use online system that allows me to request books to be placed on hold so I can pick them up at my leisure. I have also checked my Bookbub emails religiously in case anything good suddenly becomes free.
5. Although this is not exactly frugal, I love Coinstar machines. Month to month I collect my spare change and cash it in for gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, etc. This week I cashed it out for Starbucks, knowing that my mother's birthday is coming up and she loves their tumblers.
1. Saved cherries and oranges by turning them into Roasted Cherry Sorbet and Orange Sherbet.
2. Saved 6 bananas by making double batch of Maple Sweetened Banana Muffins; baked half, froze half (unbaked batter in silicone cups).
3. Price matched a toy for my sons birthday - saved over $20!
4. Went to discount grocery store (this place is hit or miss. nothing like Aldi.) and scored a box of 16 Lara Bars for $5!!!
5. Same store found a pound of pepitas for less than $5. I made them into Spiced Pepitas which are a favorite snack.
You are so lucky! I love Lar Bars, I often eat them for breakfast.
I've had good results making them at home too. I use Camilla Salsbury's cook book Power Hungry.
1. Bought leeks on sale, then sliced, wash & froze them - I never use the fresh ones fast enough & they smell up my fridge, plus it's much cheaper than buying them already frozen
2. Gave some forgotten radishes & cabbage to a friend to feed her chickens (I get to eat their eggs), plus saved her the ends of my leeks for growing more leeks
3. Used a texting app to make calls on an old pre-owned phone instead of paying to add minutes to my current phone (someday I will get Ting!)
4. Found a food pantry closer to home.
5. Planted more delicata squash seeds after soaking for fast sprouting; first set of delicata got almost completely destroyed by squash vine borers (though I'm still fighting the good fight & have one squash on the vine).
6. Composted
Here are my frugal things (with homage to FG) including washing and reusing Zip Locks, military showers, clean-the-fridge pasta salad, etc.
http://coolersideofmypillow.blogspot.com/2017/07/five-frugal-things.html
DH takes military showers. Not me. Mine are short but feel so good and wake me up.
I believe that my five frugal things are in my granddaughter room. I began redecorating her room for her birthday.
1. I repainted. I used the same color on the top of the walls which used less paint. The bottom was painted a darker color which made it cover better. I had some white leftover paint to repaint the trim. I only had to purchase 2 gallons of paint.
2. At our annual family yard sale in June I got a desk and a sleigh bed frame free. I painted these to match the room's decor.
3. I bought a desk chair at Hobby Lobby using my 40% off coupon.
4. I found the material for her curtains and bedspread at a discount craft store where I shop at.
5. As we were putting the room back together, we were able to lessen the amount of toys and clothes by donating them to various charities. A win-win for me.
What great ideas!
This week:
1. The gas stove didn't light on one burner. I tried everything, was thinking of calling a repairman. I'm a little afraid of tinkering with gas stoves. DH poked a pin into the hole that makes a spark, which cleared it out. Problem solved for free.
2. Sold some plus sized items on ebay that a relative gave me after losing weight. She gave me her blessings to "do whatever you want" with the clothes.
3. Bought DH a practical gift (electric can opener, he has arthritis in his hands) and he loved it.
4. Planted dill seeds. A lot of my garden isn't doing well this year with the extreme heat and drenching rains.
5. Someone dropped off a large hanging fern at work. Nobody wanted it, and its lush and beautiful. Will gift it to my SIL as part of her bday gift. I was going to buy her a plant anyway. 🙂
NOT FRUGAL: new kitten chewed apart the wire on my postal scale. Will research tubing for my wires in my home office now! Bought a new scale, I use it to save money on shipping from home vs. going to the post office.
When I make Ina Garten's turkey sausage lasagna, i use a whole can of tomato paste.
Sorry about the pipe vent problem. We are having a similar issue here - seems like when I wash several loads of laundry, it smells downstairs (not in the laundry room). How expensive (ball park since I know each area and situation is different) is it/was it to fix? What will/did the plumbers do after the smoke thing? Cut out walls, flooring? Sometimes I hate house ownership 🙁
They fixed a few other plumbing probs we had too, so it's hard to say exactly. Ummm...I'd venture to guesstimate that the vent portion of the bill was about $1300. They did cut holes in the wall where the smell was, and then they could see the smoke. We didn't have to have flooring cut, mercifully. They were able to access quite a bit of the wall thru our unfinished attic, which was a mercy.
Home ownership is awful at a time like this!