Five Frugal Things | pink scrubs and a CNO meeting
1. I ate down my fridge
This was kinda-sorta accidental, but...I did a fairly minimal grocery shopping trip last week, which meant that I was forced to eat down my fridge.
You know how that is...when you don't have new and interesting produce, you end up finally eating that apple in the back of the produce drawer. Ha.
(Ok, looking back now I realize the title of this item makes it sound a little like I was munching ON my fridge. Hehe. I'm leaving it anyway.)
2. I organized my linen closet bins
I keep toiletries, cleaning supplies, and more in there, and everything had gotten kind of mixed together, which made it hard to see if we were out of floss, or if we have band-aids, or if we need to buy more cold medicine.
Soo, I took it all out, sorted it more appropriately, and put it back together neatly.
It is not beautiful enough for a tap-the-fingernails influencer post, but it is functional.
(For a tour of my functional-but-not-beautiful closets and cabinets, click here.)
3. I added my Safeway deals to my app
I needed some coffee, so I popped in and remembered to activate my monthly 5% student discount, and I also picked up a few really good sale deals, like some inexpensive fruit.
Safeway is not a frugal main grocery store, but they do have some good here-and-there bargains.
Aldi is forever and always my main squeeze. 😉
4. I ordered some discounted Fabletics scrubs
They have a super cheap introductory offer for one pair of scrubs, sooooo I took advantage.
I ordered a color that's sorta in between pink and purple, but close enough to pink to qualify for our "On Wednesdays, we wear pink" thing on my unit.
The first pair I ordered was way too tight, so I sent them back and exchanged for the size up. These are slightly on the looser side, but I'm just gonna roll with it since they were so cheap.
And I probably won't order from them again since I seem to be in between sizes in their brand!
It was a very inexpensive experiment, though, and now I know this is not the ideal brand for me.
5. I am meeting with the CNO today
I scheduled a meeting with the Chief Nursing Officer today because, as far as I have been able to tell, my hospital has a weird policy of only handing out BSN raises in January.
This means that if you graduate in May (as many people do!), you have to wait another seven months to get your raise.
This makes no sense to me, and I cannot imagine the rationale behind it because it's not even like it lines up with a fiscal year.
The CNO always ends her emails with "Click here to schedule a coffee with me!", so...I did. Ha.
I hope to be successful at advocating for a change in this policy, and if I am, that's gonna be a financial win for me and lots of other coworkers who are pursuing their BSNs.
I'll keep you posted. 😉
I like that Cleo is inspecting things!
Frugals:
1. I went to an amusement park (and rode my first rollercoaster!), and got a discount on the ticket with an app, which took off a decent amount of kroner! My friend and I went on several rides so we definite got our money's worth!
2. I used my gym membership and went running and swimming outside.
3. I line dried some clothes.
4. I made payments on loans and added to my emergency fund.
5. I got a reduction on rent, which was a pleasant surprise!
*Chiquita, not Cleo! Cleo is my sister's cat lol!
Cheering you on in your meeting and I hope it goes well! It's definitely one of those "can't hurt to try" moments in life that you're so good about.
1. I'm gonna count Walmart grocery pickup as a frugal win this week. I am still in awe that I don't have any type of premium membership and I can still just shop from home, go park, and a usually friendly young person puts all my groceries in my car. I like grocery shopping sometimes, but the time and energy savings of a pickup is definitely frugal.
2. Returned a pair of pants that didn't fit how I had hoped.
3. Sold my friend a Starbucks gift card that she will enjoy and I wouldn't use.
4. Made homemade pimiento cheese last evening which is a win for my taste buds as much as my wallet.
5. Tried to reschedule an appointment in a major hospital system and it was a disaster. They were so confused and I was transferred to SIX different people. It was still incorrect, but supposedly today's is right. Now I get to combine trips (this doc is an hour drive) and visit a friend when coming back through another town. Basically it was complicated but all worked out well in the end and saves me some time and gas.
Good on you for advocating for yourself and colleagues re: the odd raise policy. May luck be on your side!
--My husband roasted a whole chicken (bought on clearance), which fed us for three meals. He also made broth with the offal before lovingly chopping up the latter to feed the cats. There's a reason our boys are so soft and glossy! Spoiled creatures. <3
--We have a LOT of tea, and it tends to wander around the kitchen. Since our most-used teas already live on the fridge--yay magnetic shelves!--I challenged myself to get ALL of our tea in the same place using what we already had. I rearranged the magnetic shelves, rehomed a few things that didn't belong there, combined tea bag boxes, and used recycled jars for loose teas. All of our tea is now in plain sight and one spot!
--I couldn't figure out why our vacuum wasn't, well, vacuuming. Recently changed bag, clean roller and tubes, etc. A careful examination found the culprit: a sneaky tear in the plastic suction tube leading into the machine. Gorilla Tape to the rescue!
--Earlier this year, the Non Consumer Advocate mentioned spray-painting her worn toilet seat. Since our black toilet seat had worn through to white in several places, I decided to give it a go! The satin finish black spray paint I used was leftover from other projects. Now our seat again looks stately in our green and black bathroom.
--I took a mini road trip to a good friend's house to help her set up her vegetable garden. I wouldn't be the garden troll I am without friends helping me get started, so I was glad to pay it forward. I brought volunteer tomatoes and extra squash starts as well as my seed stash to share. Since we planned this a few weeks ago, my friend had time to source tomato cages from her local Buy Nothing group. Her husband, daughters, and family dog also joined in, which made for a fun and joyful morning.
1. I picked up a pair of hiking shoes for my son and a pair of baseball cleats for my daughter off Buy Nothing. Both pairs will fit them next year.
2. My mom gave us fruit, vegetables, chicken, pizza, and pretzels. I used the apples to make 4 big jars of applesauce. I used the sweet potatoes to make waffles that I am eating for my lunches this week.
3. My neighbor gave us rhubarb. I used it to make 3 jars of jelly.
4. I mended a pair of gloves and a reusable bag.
5. My husband fixed the concrete on our front step.
I love the color of your pink scrubs! Best wishes on your advocacy appointment today.
My FFT:
1. I refrained from buying some beach towels and donated blood, after which they gave me an American Red Cross beach towel for free. It was a win all-around. I was seriously contemplating buying some beach towels Memorial Day weekend, but didn't spend the money. Plus, this was my first positive blood donation experience! I told the people that I was 0-for-3 for having a smooth donation experience, and this one ended up being the best one by far! Now I have more confidence to keep donating.
2. I worked an extra couple of hours in the middle of the day on a day I don't normally work. I'm off for the summer, so I was happy to make a final bit of extra income.
3. I cancelled our Yippee subscription on time. They offered it for $2/month for 6 months back before Christmas and we have used it quite a bit these last few months. I don't feel the need to pay full price, though. In that same vein...
4. I signed up for a free trial with Minno. My kids are on a huge VeggieTales kick right now and my coupon code was supposed to give me a free month instead of just a free week. I'm not sure that it worked correctly, but instead looks like it discounted the annual rate enough that I might consider it for a year. I have a week to decide.
5. I have lots of volunteer sunflowers growing in my garden, so I am moving them around to where I want them. I think I got more volunteers than I had planted last year. Plus, I have hundreds of volunteer tomato plants coming up. I'm sorting through which ones I want to keep (I found a couple of Brandywine Pink ones in there - keeping those for sure!!) Free plants are great.