Five Frugal Things | $10 wedding shoes
1. I kept a cheaper pair of shoes
This was inadvertently frugal!
I had ordered a larger pair of my original DSW shoes, but then I also found a similar pair at Target marked down to $10.
Lisey actually gave an upvote to the Target shoes style-wise.
AND they were more comfortable.
So I'm returning the $45 pair to DSW and keeping the $10 pair.
A nice thing about these shoes is that they have a very low, wide heel (good for an outdoor wedding), but the ankle straps make them look sort of like I'm wearing actual heels.
(I hate wearing high heels. Hate, hate, hate it.)
2. I sold a book that I listed two years ago
I did a big batch of book listings two summers ago, and this particular book had been just hanging out in my eBay listings since then.
But then yesterday I got an email saying that it had sold.
eBay is a long game...I list books, put them back on my shelf, and forget about them until they sell.
Of course, most things sell more quickly than this book did, but still, this is a good reminder that most things will eventually find a buyer.
I put very little effort into eBay, just listing things here and there. But still, I've sold $200 worth of stuff in the last 90 days.
As my friend Katy says, "Clutter out, money in!"
Related: 9 eBay selling tips for newbies
3. I used a long-held pedicure gift certificate
Mr. FG had given me a pedicure gift certificate long before the events of 2020, and I'd been hanging onto it because, well, last summer I didn't really go much of anywhere (events were....few and far between!) and it felt like a waste to use the certificate.
So, I dug it out and got my feet all prettied up for the upcoming wedding.
My dress is floor-length, so my feet don't really matter much, but I figured this was as good a time as any to have fancy feet.
4. I figured out an easy dinner for last night
I did not sleep well at all the night before; I normally wake up around 6:00 am, and I woke up to use the bathroom at 4:30 am.
Sometimes I can go back to sleep at a time like that, but this time my mind was awake.
So, I was super tired last night and did not at all feel like cooking. Mr. FG hopped over to BJ's and picked up a rotisserie chicken, and I threw some frozen sweet potato fries into the oven and also cut up some produce.
Easy, quick, and much less expensive than getting takeout for all of us!
5. I've saved up $95 in my Erie YourTurn app
We have our car insurance through Erie and they have an app that rewards you for safe driving.
It's only $5 every two weeks, but hey, it's more than the $0 I was getting for my safe driving before!
There are all kinds of good redemption options, like Target, Starbucks, Panera Bread, and more. So now I just have to decide what I want.
We returned yesterday from our odyssey to Tucson with our two dogs, four kids, and partridge in a pear tree. So, Frugal Things: Roadtrip Edition.
1) Zero money spent buying food while traveling. Besides saving money, nothing we buy is going to taste better than the meatloaf and dill potato salad I packed for our camping dinner the first night we were on the road.
2) We did the drive in two days, and camped the two nights we were driving in free camp sites.
3) We didn't buy any food while we were in the city, either, which is kind of ridiculous, but I guess does save money. The absurdity of driving through many metro areas, and then actually staying in one, yet still returning home to a refrigerator almost barren of produce and dairy is not lost on me. Grocery shopping is not easy with that entourage along, however.
4) My mom sent me home with the leftovers from a family gathering on Friday, which was basically six pounds of pre-cooked and shredded meat from Costco. Some of that was dinner last night, along with the tortillas she also sent me, and produce from my garden. Who needs a grocery store when you can choose between snow peas, beets, cabbage, and lettuce at home? (Me. I need a grocery store. I'm almost out of cream for my coffee.)
5) And the last, not really frugal thing but kind of: I used Airbnb for the very first time ever to rent a house for our family while we were in Tucson. With our two ranch dogs and four country-mouse children, I though we would be a little overwhelming for my parents' house, where everyone else was staying. The house I rented was on the outskirts of the city on 15 acres, with a path to walk down to the wash and a fenced-in yard. It was more than I have ever spent on lodging ($300 a night), but not that much more than two hotel rooms, and it was the PERFECT place for our family. I am so glad I rented it. It made the trip much more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.
Kristen, the price of the B&B may seem high, but I was just having a discussion with family members on Sunday about hotel prices. They are all sky high right now because the entire country is desperate to get out of the house and just go SOMEWHERE. My kids are spending five days in Palm Springs and I was told the cost for the trip was higher than for his last trip to Europe.
Not much frugal in my world this past week. We hosted a family wedding.
1. I did buy a dress that I will wear again. Ditto for the sandals. I opted out of having my hair and make-up done.
2. We curbside picked up a swing for my niece's baby to use. Now that she has returned home, 350 miles away, I put it out to the curb yesterday and it was taken.
3. I baked desserts to go with our meals and had plenty of store bought beverages on hand.
4. I have a few friend walk and talks scheduled for this week. Yesterday a friend and I met for lunch, each of us bringing leftovers. Easier and cheaper than takeout or going out.
5. I'm still using greeting cards from my stash. I just put one in the mail to my BIL. I have only bought one card since Covid started.
1) I re-made leftovers-- some successes (chicken fried rice).
2) We ate leftovers. And leftovers. And leftovers. Plain leftovers.
3.) I harvested greens from my raised beds.
4.) I discovered a mulberry tree on the edge of our backyard. What a shock! We've lived here almost 17 years and never noticed it. I really think this must be the first year it has had berries because we would have noticed it before. They are white instead of dark purple.
5.) I renewed library books instead of getting a fee.
6.) I went to the local thrift store for the $5/bag sale. I was looking for shorts for my daughter, and I found one pair. I also found a large dress that I plan to repurpose to make shorts for my daughter. I made sure to buy enough other clothing (some larger sizes for daughter and some clothes for my sons) to make the most of the $5.
I think mulberry trees take up to ten years to produce fruit, so it's very possible that this is the first year you've had fruit to pick!
We planned, cooked and ate home-cooked meals.
It is hot and we drink tap water or tap water with a (lemon, ginger, or ice cube) twist.
That is about all this week.
1. Canceled two more subscriptions we aren't really using
2. Talked myself out of an impulse shoe purchase. I was at a local discount store last night and I saw a little pair of dressy sandals that my 6 year old could wear. But the more I thought about it, the less practical they seemed (wouldn't go with many colors), so I left them there. My daughter DOES need a pair of sandals she can wear with a dress (our usual summertime church-wear) but this pair would have been a bad idea.
3. Using stuff we already have for my kids' crafts rather than doing crafts I would need to buy supplies for
4. Limiting my use of target drive-up. The convenience of this service was causing me to make too many orders, leading to too much money spent! I'm saving all my shopping for Monday nights now and it helps.
5. I found a very inexpensive easy eyebrow wax kit that I can use at home which means I don't have to have my hairstylist wax my brows whenever I get a haircut! (Before anyone tells me tweezing is the cheapest option, I have very unruly brows and tweezing just doesn't keep them neat unless I do it every couple days which isn't happening! 🙂 !
Sandals are cute! I want a pedicure.
My 3FT (I can't come up with 2 more today!):
1. Hosted a bday bbq for my mom. Food was all homemade except gluten free cupcakes and my sister brought a cake. Mom turns 86 today, and she enjoyed the family party.
2. Returned some birks that weren't as comfortable as my old ones.
3. Realized my son will like the panini press my daughter can no longer use before we donated it.
1. All meals cooked at home and the ensuing madness of leftovers. We are wasting less than we ever have before which is awesome but takes a lot of meal planning and careful watching of the fridge.
2. We harvested lots of produce from the garden last week including new zealand spinach, half a dozen cucumbers, several zucchini, half a dozen squash, green peppers, banana peppers, and lots of herbs.
3. This week I will pay of our furniture bill to avoid the ridiculous interest charges. If we were to let the interest accumulate even 30 days it would increase the balance almost back to what it was when we began paying 6 months ago. This will save us about $1500.
4. We played several rounds of Uno, Parcheesi and put together jigsaw puzzles for entertainment last week as it rained, rained, and then rained some more.
5. Combined errands to save gas, ran full loads of laundry & dishes and stayed home.
Perhaps on this blog, perhaps somewhere else, I read a discussion of "What would you need to feel rich?" We finally hired a lawn mowing service, to save our aging knees from lurching across the bumpy yard and around all the trees with a push mower. The service is very inexpensive, and fast. We also don't have to even consider spending some thousands of dollars to buy, maintain, and store a riding mower.
Many frugal habits make it possible for me to feel rich by never mowing the grass again.
This sounds like a perfect money expenditure!
@Heidi Louise,
I love that you saved money in other ways to pay for the lawn service that makes your life easier and better. I think that is a very smart approach.
@Heidi Louise,
Never mowing the grass again is an affordable luxury I allow myself as well
Love the sandals AND the pedicure.
Used slightly freezer-burned cranberries in a French toast breakfast casserole instead of composting them.
Purchased snacks/easy lunch food for our upcoming trip next week to minimize the need to eat out.
Rented the second Croods movie from the library for weekend entertainment.
That's all that comes to mind right now!
1. I stopped in the Meijer clearance section yesterday and found a bunch of glass containers with snap-on lids for 90% off the clearance price plus an additional 25% off that. I had been looking for glass containers for the last few weeks so this was perfect. I got 8 containers with lids for a total of $2.07!
2. We purchased a couch off of Facebook Marketplace. In this stage of life (3 young kids plus 3 pets) we didn't want something brand-new and expensive. While we learned from this that my husband (who buys commercial furniture as part of his job) is better qualified than I am to make a good decision and know good price points on couches, this couch is bigger and will hold up a lot better than the ones Big Lots had on sale at the same price.
3. We got the new couch right before large trash day. Our old couch wasn't worth listing to sell and had used up all of its life. Our city only has large trash day every 2-3 years and if you want to get rid of something another time you have to pay for it. I'm so glad this timing worked out!
4. Taking advantage of all the free fun we can: playdates at the park, swimming at the pool where we get a membership through my husband's work, storytime at the library, and tomorrow we're headed to the zoo where we have a gifted membership.
5. I got a $1 bargain box at the produce store last week and am using up the odds and ends by doing things like making apple slices with the good parts from the bruised apples. Oh, and they had cherries for $1/lb so we've been eating a ton of cherries!!
1. I made a menu plan based on CSA contents and grocery store sale ad and cooked our meals, which also provides leftovers for lunch each day
2. Packed snacks and drinks for the 4 hour drive to the hospital when Mom had to have a partial hip replacement after a fall.
3. All the food at the hospital cafeteria looked gross so I bought a pear and bag of baked chips for a couple of dollars instead of getting my niece to pick up fast food for me
4. Got a 2nd real estate agent to give us an home assessment for our college aged son's house. He just graduated so we're ready to sell. The 2nd assessment was over $50,000 more than the 1st one. I guess time will tell if it will sell at that higher price.
5. After doing a quick google search, I found my husband's father's day gift for over $40 less than it was on Amazon and still got free shipping.
Sometimes it's the Little things FFT edition:
1. We wanted pizza for dinner one night. I made sure to use a coupon on the deal.
2. My brother gifted us an older loveseat (they were getting new furniture) for us to use at our camp.
3. A co-worker offered to get me something from McDonalds. I wanted a hi-c orange drink (my favorite) and he wouldn't take any $ for it even though I offered.
4. Hubby had to buy some gutters for our camp & I remembered we had a 10% off coupon to use off our whole purchase.
5. Our old fridge at camp was freezing everything, so we couldn't really find anything on Craigslist for our area so I put a post on Facebook that I was looking for one for cheap and a friend of ours was looking to get rid of an older one for free. We went and picked it up. Will bring the old one back home & have our utility company come pick it up. They pay $50 for a working fridge.
6. I purchased something from McDonald's the other day and noticed at the top of the receipt that if you did a short survey, then it was good for a free ice cream cone (to be used within 30 days). The survey took a few seconds and now someone in my family can enjoy a free cone!
FFT, Wearing My Belt a Lot Tighter Edition:
I've just gotten the bill for DH's first month of nursing home care. It's going to take several weeks before I can get the long-term care insurance hose pointed in the nursing home's direction; I will have to pay the bills up front even after the LTCI kicks in (the insurance company reimburses me after I've submitted the paperwork); and I already know that the LTCI, although it's an excellent policy, still won't cover everything. So here's the start of wearing my belt a lot tighter. I'm providing details for those of you who may find yourselves in the same position someday.
(1) I am running all the nursing home bills through our credit card with the most advantageous points scheme.
(2) I am realizing the benefits of having an emergency fund, and I am working closely with our financial advisor (who is also our agent for the LTCI).
(3) I am putting my black-belt frugality chops to work on grocery spending: I'm buying only the perishables that are absolutely necessary, and I've started an aggressive pantry and freezer cleanout. It also helps that I'm only cooking for one now, although I have been howling a few choruses of "One less bell to answer, one less egg to fry..."
(4) I took five boxes of DH's books to our favorite local secondhand bookstore. The proprietor, who has become a friend over the years, was visibly shaken to hear about DH's nursing home placement and has agreed to pay a house call to look over the rest of DH's books. I don't want to find myself in the same position as friends of ours who had a *lot* more books even than we do, and who had to make some hard and unpleasant decisions when the husband became disabled and they had to relocate to senior housing in a hurry.
(5) Finally, and more positively, I'm hoping to be able to tighten my belt literally before too long. I've been spending as much time since DH's placement as possible either taking the long walks I haven't been able to, or doing the gardening I also haven't been able to.
Oy, so sorry to hear of the delay in getting the insurance going. But good for you for having LTCI in place.
Self-submitting paperwork for insurance is quite a job; I've done a fair amount of that over the last few years. They have just switched to allowing online submissions, though, and I am SO happy about that.
A. Marie, thank you for sharing details of your experience; it's definitely helpful. I'm glad you're getting more time for your walks and gardening and anything else you've had to put on the back-burner. Hope the LTC kicks in as fast as possible!
@A. Marie, praying for you and your DH. I recently went through this with my father who was diagnosed with advanced ALS. Trying to get everything lined up right with finances and insurance can be exhausting.
@A. Marie,
So kind of you to think of us. Hang in there. You are an Angel. So sorry you are going through this. But you are not alone. Take good care of yourself.
1. I redeemed Shopkick points for a $10 Target card and used Target Circle offers and cash earned on a previous purchase to get what I needed. The card still has $1.28 left for my next trip.
2. I redeemed a Kroger digital coupon for a free 52 ounce bottle of Tropicana juice drink. I gifted it to my sister.
3. I used the noodles from one of the free boxes of Annie's mac and cheese I got last week to make a delicious chicken noodle casserole. The cheese packet was discarded because I don't like that part.
4. I got 10 cents off per gallon when I filled up my car.
5. I redeemed a Kroger mailer coupon for a free box of Betty Crocker cake mix.
1. Had two low grocery total weeks in a row ($88 and $90, respectively) even though this week we went to Publix, which is expensive here, for a few things we can't get closer to home.
2. My underwear was wearing out and becoming uncomfortable. Bought 12 pairs of Jockey panties, new without tags, off Poshmark, for $38 plus shipping. It worked out to less than half price of regular retail.
3. Remembered we had a 15% off coupon to the clearance store and used it before it expired to buy an orthopedic bed for our old dog with worsening arthritis. Also bought some washcloths and a few food items.
4. Took a box of crackers and a small container of peanut butter to work to keep in my desk drawer instead of packaged snacks.
5. Still doing all the usual: brown bagging lunches and drinks to work, doing magic with leftovers, rocking the cute thrifted outfits, driving my car like it's an egg, making do, mending, and wasting not. 🙂
1. Organized a big free educational materials swap at church this past weekend. It was a joy for folks to share what they didn’t need with others who could use it, and seeing families walk out with armloads of books and supplies was a joy. I even found some goodies to help with the next school year! When we took the leftovers to our favorite thrift store that supports great causes, they handed my sons 3 big Nerf guns that they'd drooled over as we brought in the boxes. So a double freebie win!
2. Enjoyed some free birthday treats from local restaurants (yay, ice cream!)
3. Was on a laser-focused hunt for some second-hand summer shoes when I stumbled upon a store with a cache of cute new ones in my size for 50 cents to $5 a pair! They’re more fall weight, but with used shoes going for $5-15 dollars in my area, I was tickled!
4. My sons got to enjoy an amazing art and drama day camp this week, sponsored by our local art league. Total price for all 3 was $25 – they got a big lunch every day, t-shirts, a week of instruction in the arts and a much-needed fun break after a loooong year! For 3 fellas ages 8-16 to all enjoy themselves and want to go back, I call it a smashing success.
5. Just gave all my daughter’s outgrown clothes to a friend and another has a tub of ones in my daughter’s next sizes ready to pass along – grateful for friends that think of us!
I only have one pair of dress shoes (black flats) and three different pairs (different heights--knee, mid-calf, ankle) of black leather dress boots, all with minimal heels. (All were Goodwill finds, too. The knee-highs were $11 as opposed to $110 new!) I long ago accepted that I was born without the balance or spatial awareness required by high heels, plus my feet are picky princesses after too many years in customer service. Comfort or bust!
1. "Redecorated" the house by gathering all the throw pillows and moving them to different rooms.
2. Received a beautiful box of decorated cookies as a thank you for making a donation to a college scholarship program. Will be able to reuse the gift box, crinkle paper filler, and bow.
3. Finished the jar of sun-dried tomatoes gifted to us last year from our neighbor's garden. We used them in savory scones, Greek orzo salad, soup and veggie dip.
4. Diced broccoli stems and added them to salad greens. Great crunch, negligible calories and no waste!
5. While seeing what I had on hand for making quick bread, I decided to use pineapple tidbits and coconut flakes and then swirled some strawberry jam through the batter. Reminded me of my mom's pineapple upside down cake.
1. It is 85 degrees here. We are dying. And the air conditioner in the vehicle, which we have never had cause to use before, does not appear to be functional. We called about having it looked at and it would be over $100 plus a lot more if it needed replacing. Instead, we are driving with the windows wide open, which interferes with listening to audio books but the dog loved hanging out drooling on the outside of the vehicle. This happens for about a week a year here in Fairbanks. We are weenies.
2. The mystery shops really popped up these last two weeks. Have made over $180 in pay and $33 in product that I had to buy but get reimbursed for. We do these while on other errands, so not a huge time commitment.
3. The library is open again! Books and puzzles borrowed instead of purchased. I have several friends and I do buy their books new, to support them, but most other books come from the library.
4. Eating salads that include baby dandelion leaves, baby fireweed leaves and chickweed, so only cukes and tomatoes are purchased. In about three weeks, we will be harvesting even those from the greenhouse.
5. A friend leaving on vacation gave me a Costco sized package of lox with only one slice taken out. It had already been frozen once so we had to eat it. Actually, I had to eat it, since the husband does not like them. I had lox on bagels for breakfast and lunch every day and made a vat of lox alfredo and ate that for dinner for four days. I may never eat lox again but, by heavens, we had no food waste!!
Oh my, that is so hot for Alaska!
We lived in Fairbanks for 5 yrs and i remember it getting up to 101. Go to chena lakes and cool off when it's super hot!
I hope the wedding is wonderful!
1. I picked up a makeup bag off Buy Nothing. It's a beautiful, quilted homemade makeup bag. I have been needing a new one, so this worked well.
2. I moved a button on my husband's shorts so they would fit him better.
3. We made the decision to switch my son back to public schools this year. We switched him to private school because our public schools were virtual for most of this past year. We have a great public school system though and they are now back open. This will save us $600 per month.
4. I got a hair cut at Super Cuts for $18 plus tip. The stylist did a great job! I usually only get a hair cut once or twice a year, so this was well needed.
5. Monday was my birthday. I really wanted sesame tofu for my birthday dinner. We ordered enough for two nights. My son and I made brownies and homemade whip cream for dessert. Total for dinner and dessert, for two nights,waa about $60. Much less than going out to dinner and dessert for a family of four!
I’m late today because I spent most of it taking my husband to an appointment then checking him into the hospital for a minor follow up procedure. It was a long day of waiting.
My frugal five:
1. I made a quick stop into Goodwill the other day and found a box of vacuum seal bags for 99 cents.
2. Then I found a good hummingbird feeder like the ones I use. I took it to the restroom and filled it with water to check for leaks. I got it for $1.99 and the new ones are about $20.
3. And finally, a package of never opened sheets from Belk. I know they weren’t used because no one can reinsert the cardboard and refold them the way they come when new, and these were perfect. They were priced $39.99 on the sticker from the store and I paid $6.99.
4. Along with A. Marie (hello to you! I’m so glad you found a good place for your husband!) I’ll add- seeing an elder affairs attorney. She has pointed me to some possible money saving ideas that I am applying for and is getting our legal documents in the best shape for me to take over fully for my husband if needed and my kids to take over for me if needed.
5. I am wrangling still with insurance over my six doses per year medication, and I let my doctor know of my problems with the insurance. He gave me a sample to tide me over. My minimum cost for this one dose without insurance would be $22,000, so I was thrilled with the freebie.
Oh my word. $22,000. This is just so ridiculous!
Hello back atcha, JD, and I'm so glad you're seeing an elder law specialist. I can't stress enough how important it is to get appropriate financial advice plus get all the advance directives, durable power of attorney, etc., in place while a loved one with cognitive impairment can still give consent and produce a signature. DH and I had a joint meeting with our CELA (certified elder law attorney) and our financial advisor 2.5 years ago--and, as it turned out, we got this done only just in time: About a month later, DH became unable to sign his name.
The Rotisserie chicken from BJ's is a great option when you just can't cook. It's easy to work around and for my small family, provides a bunch of leftovers.
I'm actually off from work this week so my spending isn't 100% in check and I'm in the "live a little bit, phase" but I think I can think of some things.
1.) Getting new tires for the wife's car this week. My in-laws are Costco members so we've been looking at getting them there under my in-laws' membership. We've yet to buy them but it's nice to have options.
2.) Scored a deal on some wire strippers in a pre-Prime day deal. I had some of a different style but these were definitely a nice upgrade for me.
3.) Left Harbor Freight without using the coupon they emailed me. I couldn't find anything I needed and white it was tempting to pick up a few "toys" I left empty handed.
4.) Almost bought a series I wanted to watch before I found out I could stream it for free.
5.) Really working on not buying groceries for as long as I can to sort of force ourselves to eat what we have in the pantry, fridge etc.
Oh, yay for a week off. Good for you for enjoying yourself.
1) I persevered and actually got ALL my utility deposits back and in the bank, just in time! OK, so it only amounted to $252, but still, it was worth the effort.
2) I did really well cleaning out the fridge and freezer. I did leave a few items, but we are friends with the family moving in after us, so it will bless them to have the extra items.
3) I did one last mystery shop, this time it was for $80 USD worth of groceries. It seemed silly to use it, but we were having friend over last night, so I bought a bunch of froufrou items that I would normally never buy and we had a really nice meal, plus they pay $15 US just for doing the shop.
4)I've been using all the app coupons I have and ended up getting a B1G1 starbucks frap today and we ordered pizza hut in tonight and got free drinks, wings, and garlic bread with it. Here's to no more cooking!
5) My husband got a nice going away gift card from his department and the guys were thoughtful enough to ask me what would be most useful, so I told them Home Depot. This will be used to buy a tool he wanted!
$252 is not at all something to sneeze at. Good for you!
FFT
1. I love L’Oreal age perfect roses tone day facial cream. But it’s typically $25 for 1.7oz. I had scraped my jar empty and was hoping to get a deal and boy did I! I stopped to pick up prescriptions and my local drugstore had the moisturizer on sale for $20 instead of $25 PLUS I had a $3 off store coupon, PLUS I found two promo jars that had 50%more in them so I grabbed those. So I got 5.1oz for $37 instead of $75! Yeah me! PS, I use the L’Oreal as a moisturizer and a sheer “foundation.” It gives just enough color that I don’t need makeup so even cheaper as I no longer need to buy foundation
2. Organized my upstairs freezer and pulled out bits and bobs of frozen leftovers to use up this week. Less cooking, less waste
3. Picked up a few free chickens for my urban farm. Two of the hens escaped the first night so they also gave me a free cardio workout. I’m sure the sight of me in my pjs, my neighbor in her robe and my DH with the fishing net chasing chickens up and down the alley for an hour was vastly amazing to our neighbors. Lol. But now we will have more eggs!
4. Our son has karate day camp all this week. His weekly karate instructor does a day camp every summer. Obviously there was no camp last summer. So glad we could have it this year! Very inexpensive and great exercise and time with his friends.
5. Wrapping up,homeschooling. With no live events to attend this year our homeschool costs were minimal. We took advantage of lots of free/cheap online activities. The only class we splurged on was a wonderful online Japanese class.
1. Even with libraries closed (although they are recently reopened!) I continue to make great use of them by downloading ebooks to my kindle and audio books to my phone. They are the greatest resource, can’t wait to take my 3 year old into one now, he was 1 the last time we were inside one and I think he’ll enjoy it so much now.
2. Someone was giving away some brand new with tags 3T girls pajamas in my buy nothing group. My daughter is still in size 18 months but growing fast and it’s nice to already have some items in her next sizes.
3. I used to grow a large garden but since having kids and moving to a new climate, I have not had as much time or been as successful with growing. I am now getting back into it and figuring out what grows well here though and it looks like I will have a lot of green beans and peas at least, which we eat a lot of.
Those shoes are a steal and you can wear them with everything...not just for dress up!! There are time the less expensive shoes are even more comfy than some of my more expensive ones...a true reminder that we don't always get what we pay for!!
I'm working on a nutritious and convenient yet budget friendly food post!! Who knew that Trader Joes could end up being so good for us? LOL
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
My FFT, aging sail boat edition:
Let me just put it out there, boats are big pits you pour money into....not necessarily frugal. Owning a 40+ year old boat, purchased used, and neglecting said boat for 10+ of those 40+ years = exceedingly unfrugal. But, here we are. It was hubby's dream to own a sail boat, but life intervened since buying it....this is the year we get it in the water.
1) Hubby and I are doing the vast majority of the work = frugal. There are some things we cannot do, but hubby is very handy, and will be doing a huge part of the refurbishment, including the electronics (he's the son of an electrician).
2) I painted 3 coats of spar urethane on the wood bits of the boat, as well as on a wooden bench we bought at an art fair last year. Total cost about $100 for supplies, my time = free.
2) Hubby found a deal on a depth finder that has a $100 rebate. Sending that in online before the expiration date.
3) All online purchases made with credit card to get rewards points, and through Rakuten when possible to get cash back. Credit card is paid off every month.
4) I scrubbed the boat cushions clean, and air dried them. We needed a replacement cushion that, if we bought the exact cushion online, would cost about $1000 (yes, really. I had to pick my jaw up off the ground when I heard that). Bought a smaller (long, skinny) cushion for much, much less (I think about $100) that will do the job.
5) Scored a marine radio, new in the box, at a free pile (community yard sale event - one house left items in their driveway for free). Hubby says we don't need it, so will try and sell it. Also found a dollar bill in the street in front of the "free pile" house!
Also doing all the usual things - packing my lunch for work, making sun tea, making my own coffee, etc.
Have a good week, everyone!
Root was supposed to cancel my Geico insurance policy but they didn't, and I'm not into double paying for car insurance!! So I went ahead and canceled my Geico policy myself ($190+ not going out the door).
In the middle of a kitchen/office renovation having my next door neighbor do the work for $25.00 an hour plus supplies (he's a retired contractor). Would have been $100.00 or more per hour for a non-retired contractor, and my next door neighbor is willing to work with my wonky schedule (work 6 days a week, usually 50-60 hours a week)
Been taking my phone in the store with me so I can add Just 4 U deals on the fly.
We are at Disney this week which is about as anti frugal as you can get BUT, in an effort to save money and not waste food my husband has been not ordering a meal and instead just cleaning up what the kids and I don’t finish. No food waste and we save the cost of an entree every meal!