Five Frugal Things: $1499???
1. I contested a $1499 PT bill
As you know, I was in physical therapy for a while for my torn rotator cuff. I had to pay a $60 copay for each visit, and I don't even want to think about how much that totaled for several months of therapy. I am 100% sticking my head in the sand on that topic.
But whatever. I am healed, and I can do basically anything at the gym again, so it was worth it.
However, the other day, I got a $1499 bill from the physical therapy office!
I have different insurance now, but luckily I still had the old card, so I logged in and read the EOBs, which said this was not correct.
Sooo, I called, and now the account is being reviewed to fix the issue. Thank goodness I didn't just pay it!
(I have saved many thousands of dollars over the years by observing this rule: Approach every medical bill with skepticism.)
2. I fixed a shirt strap
I got this black cami at Goodwill many, many years ago, which means it has actually held up pretty well!
One of the straps came apart recently, though.
So, I did a quick little hand-mending job; doing stuff like this on a machine is actually almost impossible because the tiny little bit of fabric doesn't have enough stiffness to feed through the machine.
3. I renewed my Safeway student discount
It's super easy; you just have to put in your school and your school email address.
You do have to go into the Deals section each month to add the discount, though, like a coupon.
4. I fixed a washcloth
I think I bought a 10-pack of these plain white cotton washcloths at Costco eons ago, and they have held up surprisingly well, even though I use them every day for showers and for washing my face at night.
During a recent round of laundry, though, I noticed one was starting to fray. So, I sewed it up, and I did both sides, just for good measure.
This was a sewing machine job for sure, unlike the shirt strap.
5. I got an eyeliner pencil for $2.39
I hit the bottom of my brown eyeliner pencil, and I did not have a replacement on hand.
So, I popped into CVS and used some coupons and ExtraBucks to get an eyeliner pencil for just over $2.
Usually, I try to keep frugally sourced toiletry backups in the closet so I don't have to run out and pay full price for an item. But this time, my lack of preparedness worked out ok!
I tried to look at an EOB from insurance that I just cancelled. They won't let me in my account anymore. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything is fine.
1. I am making a tote bag using fabrics that I bought for really cheap at a church yard sale. Do I need another tote bag? No, but making it is a creative outlet for me.
2. I bought a body lotion at TJ Maxx. When I took the seal off of it, the perfume smell was gross. Returned it for a refund.
3. My city had a "green" gardening event and was giving away native trees. I expected a small twig but these were actual 3-4 ft trees. A vendor was giving away 1-ft trees. I won't say "no" to two free trees. Already planted them in my yard.
4. My neighbor gave me bags of his pine needles. I don't understand paying for bags of mulch when the trees give it to us for free.
5. Bought apples at Aldi for 99 cents a pound. I don't see that often anymore.
1 Frugal fail - I was having a very grumpy day yesterday and my partner kindly ran to the supermarket for me to buy me dinner (I could not face leftovers). My favourite frugal and delicious option, jollof rice, was out of stock as it has been all month. So he picked up my back-up request, macaroni cheese. It wasn't until he gave me the receipt that I saw it was £4.10! For one tiny meal! It was £3.50 last time I looked a few months ago - an awful increase.
2 It slightly balanced out by him picking up the frozen garlic bread rather than fresh, which is about £1 cheaper. Happy to wait 5 minutes more for it to cook in the air fryer, if it saves me money!
3 Plugged in my secondhand heating pad for my office chair for the first time this morning. Happy to report that I am no longer shivering at my desk, and it means the heating can stay off - a big success!
4 I am facing the leftovers for lunch, sigh. Normally I don't have any issue with leftovers but I am struggling with stress and change of seasons this week and that translates to me wanting all the carbs and cheese. Not chickpeas, haha.
5 I've run out of porridge oats and don't want to replace them before we move, so I'm now working my way through the frozen bread and assorted jars at breakfast time. The brown bread and peanut butter were finished up this morning, which was satisfying. I have white bread plus jam, marmalade, chocolate spread and marmite to go...
I always try to download information or save screenshots to my OneNote. One of our kids had a lot of problems with the tax department when a job ended and the employee portal was inaccessible (and HR would not respond). Such a headache!
This week's Frugals:
-we filled up our car at the cheapest gas station;
-a loyalty program offered a choice of gifts. I choose a coupon for a supermarket and was able to "shop or free" to the amount of 25 Euros;
- I extended a library book online, so no fine;
- I borrowed a DVD from the library and also a new book;
- I brought the last outdoor planters in when it started to freeze;
- our not-cheapest-but-mostly-local produce supermarket had a number of interesting offers, especially the B1G1 on butter. Butter is sold in packages of 250 gram and I bought 8 packages (so paid for only 4). I put some in the fridge and some in the freezer and this makes for an excellent start of holiday preparations when there will be more baking than usual.