Five Frugal Things
Yesterday was Sonia's birthday, so I didn't think ahead about the Five Frugal Things as much as I usually would.
So, let's see if I can even come up with five! I'm pretty sure they're not going to be very earth-shaking....
One
I made a smoothie for breakfast, using kale from my produce box, homemade yogurt, and various frozen fruit.
Cheap and nutritious.
(Still, kale is not my favorite smoothie green. Give me spinach or Swiss chard any day!)
Two
Since yesterday was Sonia's birthday, I asked her what she'd like for lunch.
Egg bread was her request.
And I only now just remembered that several of you had asked for the recipe, and I promised I'd take pictures the next time I made it.
Whoops.
I guess we will just have to suffer through some more egg bread for the sake of you dear blog readers. 😉
Three
Mr. FG got to work from home yesterday, so on his lunch break, we went for a walk together, and then after his work day was done (early! because, no commute) we dropped Sonia and Zoe off at dance and then ran errands together.
We are both cheap dates, apparently. 😉
Before we got married, my brother used to teasingly call us "the fun couple" because we spent time together doing Very Exciting Things like grocery shopping, and going to the bank. 19 years later, things haven't changed much, I guess!
Four
I went to Costco and bought only frozen fruit (for smoothies) and pistachios (for Mr. FG's lunches).
Oh! I just remembered that I bought one thing not on the list, but it was a birthday present for Lisey, so, I feel like it was kind of justified. 😉
Related: The top ten things I buy at Costco
Five
I played more phone tag with the car insurance adjuster back about the wire damage to my van (squirrels chewed through some of our wiring). Going through insurance is a bit of a headache, but it will save us $500 vs. paying for it all ourselves.
So, it's worth some phone tag, aggravating as it is.
__________________
I sewed a button back onto a pair of my son's favorite pants so he could wear them again.
I stocked up on boneless chicken that was on sale at the grocery store.
I used the ship-to-store option at our local hardware store to save on shipping for the organic seed starter and potting soil I will need to start tomatoes and peppers later this month. (Not sure how widespread Aubuchon Hardware is, but their ship to store feature saves me lots of money. I get better prices oftentimes than I can get at Amazon or Walmart.)
Ordered vegetable seeds from Fedco. Our garden saves us on our grocery bill, and we enjoy doing it.
One more.....ummmm....okay! got it. We returned a snow shovel to Lowe's that we had purchased last year. We spent more money to get one with a lifetime warranty, but when we had a problem with it, that extra money actually made it a more frugal purchase.
Time to think and think hard.
1. I managed to make the last fortnight's shop last until last night.
2. Today I shopped to the list and the only extra I bought was a leek.
3. Went to see a $4.50 movie and thoroughly enjoyed it.
4. I didn't buy any commercial biscuits (cookies) or cakes and home cooked instead.
5. Refused to buy magazines etc.
1. I shopped at Aldi. Enough said
2. I've packed lunches for my kids and my husband.
3. Not a frugal on purpose thing but my kid is sick so had to cancel a coffee date with a friend at a cool coffee shop. Drinking coffee at home...
4. Last Friday I had a coffee date with another friend but it was in my kitchen. Maybe I'll suggest that to the friend I had to cancel on for next time.
5. So this is really reaching but I didn't use the snow blower to clear the snow (and use gas). We're having yo yo weather so the snow will melt with in a day or two so why clear it. Lazy or Frugal? Both perhaps.
Did anyone notice that Aldi now accepts credit cards? I was there yesterday and was told to use debit/credit card.
Yes! This is very new news. I forgot to mention it.
Yeah! No trying to get cash at the bank before they close!
My best frugal was flying from Chicago to Atlanta to see my granddaughter for $78 round trip!!!
Wow! How'd you manage that???
Nice price!!
I did! I can now forget my pin number 🙂
Dayna - we need to exchange email addresses! Life has happened so my prep blog has gotten away from my, but I'd love to stay in touch!
Savannah,
Yes! I've been thinking about you too! I don't see an email address on your blog. Can you see my email address from when I commented? I've always wondered if the blogger can see my email even though it isn't published.
I'm so jealous of this "Aldi" you all talk about so much. We don't have that where I live. Love to read about the good deals you all get though!
1. I read about a newly published book and instead of instantly ordering for my tablet, I figured out how to order it online from the area library.
2. When I was at Sam's Club yesterday, I bought only what I planned to buy. I was about to purchase another, irresistible book and I removed it from my cart! (Yessiree, books are my weakness.)
3. In the depths of my freezer, I found a portion of homemade beef barley soup and put it in my husband's lunch.
4. When our dog ate a box of homemade chocolate chip M&M cookies at 10 p.m., instead of rushing to the animal hospital I called and got instructions from the vet tech on how to look for worrisome symptoms. (We are a six minute drive to the hospital so could have gotten Raffi help immediately; the vet tech said it was fine to carefully watch him at home.) He never developed symptoms.
5. My teenage son, who is on his high school debate team, needed a suit bag and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and got him a high quality one. At $34 with a 20 percent off coupon, it was still relatively pricey, but it should last a long time so it's definitely a frugal purchase in the long run.
When our daughters were young, and we did things like Easter baskets, trick or treating and Christmas stockings, our cocker would raid their rooms on a regular basis and eat all of their holiday chocolate, wrappers and all. Though it made for some interesting, ahem, after effects, it never seemmed to make her sick.
Dark chocolate is what you have to really worry about. My dog got into a box of Ester Price and never got sick. Smaller dogs and certain breeds are more prone to issues. I was told they would more than likely get sick. But just keep an eye on them.
Very true, and baking chocolate is the worst offender. Our golden retriever once ate my daughter's entire Easter basket of chocolate , including parts of the basket itself, and never had one ill second. It was all milk chocolate, and while I wouldn't recommend intentionally feeding it to a dog, it's the least likely to cause problems. (along with white chocolate, the safest of all, as most is not chocolate at all). The dog's size was also in his favor.
1. made yogurt
2. used cloth diapers (x2 bottoms)
3. sorted through 3 bags of hand-me-down clothes
4. happily wore hand-me-down clothes (I like her style!)
5. cooked all meals at home
Bonus: rendered saved beef fat to make soap (today or tomorrow)
2. Gosh! Two bottoms? Surprised you have time to post anything, lol. Great job!
Well, I don't get out much, but I do need some time (albeit in tiny chunks) to do something to "connect" with other adults.
I'm not usually a participants in your Five Frugal Things posts, but last week I thought of you!
Roasted a chicken for Friday night dinner. Used half the chicken for dinner, the other half to make two batches (there only 2.5 of us) of your chicken enchiladas to keep in the freezer for those nights when take-out is the otherwise inevitable option, and then used the bones to make stock.
I also shifted around our meal-planning schedule. Rather than giving ourselves a take-out night on the weekend, which is how most other people seem to do it, I shifted ours to a weekday. Weekends are generally when I have more time to grocery shop and actually think through dinner, and weekdays are usually when I am scrambling. A quick shift and my week was significantly easier this week.
Woohoo for you! Great job.
I am a cheap date too, though if I had the money, I would love to go out for Indian food on a regular basis :).
1. I made homemade yogurt.
2. We had beans and rice for dinner one night this week.
3. I found out that our utility usage dropped again this month - some due to weather, but we have been intentional about turning off lights.
4. I made a top for my daughter out of an old curtain, which was once made out of an old sheet.
5. I didn't really buy anything I didn't need this week, aside from some new cookbooks from America's Test Kitchen, but of course I needed those :).
I love #4
Me too!
New cookbooks can legitimately save you money, if they make you more likely to eat at home.
I say they're an investment. 😉
Big fan of No. 4
1. Made two mini bundt cakes out of extra cake batter that my daughter used for cake pops, instead of throwing it away. ( this was a catering order for her, and I was watching her kids while she did a test run on the pops.)
2. Bought no meat at the grocery store, instead, actually remembered to check both freezers before I left for the store. Found flank steaks and several packages of chicken.
3. Improvised on a recipe calling for a certain pasta shape, which I didn't have. Instead of stopping at the store on my way home from work, I just used what I had.
4. Had a painter come and give an estimate for painting my vaulted-ceiling entryway, living and dining room. Was shocked at the price,( I think my face showed it, embarrassingly)so we will be doing it ourselves, despite the lure of it being done in two days. It most likely will take us two WEEKS, but what the heck, there's no deadline looming.
5. Bought a new back door on Craigslist for $70, as compared to the basic model at Home Depot, which was $213. Would have preferred to just repair/paint our existing door, but there is wood rot involved.
Have you gotten one or two more estimates? We got 3, and there was a $400 price variance between top and bottom.
I would second this. We had a very old house and had tons of work done over the years, and even though it is a lot of work, several estimates is always a good thing. They will vary widely, and you will get a sense of their skill level, also.
No we haven't, we are still in recovery mode from the first shock, lol. I did have a recommendation for another painter though, so that is the plan.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, LISEY!!
Oops, please forgive me, SONIA!!
I feel like we are being frugal in some ways, extravagant in others lately...
For frugal I am re-painting the boys' bathroom. I'm not buying all new towels or shower curtain, tho. Just paint. We took the door off leading into the potty area, so the whole things looks bigger. I just need to get the job finished in my two days off...
I made a cake for my mother's birthday using only what I had in the pantry.
I made breakfast for dinner using eggs she gave me.
I am re-hemming a couple of pairs of pants for Hubby, and repairing a towel like you did.
I am not eating lunch out this week, even once!
However, we did go to the wine club party this last Sunday at the winery we love. And Hubby came home last night with more wine. So...we've spent quite a lot on wine lately...
And I need to get shopping today for Hubby some new clothes for work. But fear not - I will use coupons and special deals I have gotten from Kohl's!
1) Had a fun 'freebie' date night with my husband using a swarm of coupons I'd accumulated - free wine tasting, a free, shared Chipotle burrito (did anyone else get these last week in the mail??), free mini bundt cake, and a free Redbox movie.
2) Attended a large travel show for free by signing up to receive promo offers from one of the vendors attending. The show was terrific, with multiple venues displaying folk dancing and local cuisine. Plus free giveaway swag galore!
3) Woolite washed, air dried and ironed several items of clothing I used to send out for dry cleaning. Though I will admit ironing is not something I enjoy, the results were terrific, and I easily saved $25.
4) Have been consistently turning off our sprinklers each time it rains, and this month's water bill was our lowest yet, about $15 less than normal for this time of year.
5) Attended a free symphony, one of several offered each year by this group.
Bonus item: Continued to cook the majority of our at-home meals from scratch, generating a good volume of leftovers as a result, which I then freeze for later meals. This creates amazing momentum over time.
Wow that's impressive! I'm inspired 🙂
1. Cheap date yesterday: 2 $3.99 movie admissions + chili fries and beer with a Groupon ( got at 20% off) at a Cinema Cafe.
2. Found an Aldi on the way down to Williamsburg for our condo basics: milk, eggs, cheese, bread, apples.
3. Got some good specials at Farm Fresh: chicken breast, small steak, sausage, so we spending less than $2 for our meat protein per meal (lasting us into next week).
4. Our cooler that can plug into our car`s 12V outlet allows us to take some refrigerated items from home to here and here to the next stop without danger of spoilage.
5. Another Groupon (another one at 20% off) for lunch out today.
I don't usually do the "Five Frugal Things" because I can't usually think of five, but I know I do frugal stuff all the time. So I am stretching myself to think of some things:
1) I DID THE MENDING! Well, a good portion of it. My nephew's pajama pants had more issues than the one hole I knew about, so they took longer than I thought. But I did those, and four other pieces. I have two others to do, and I left the sewing machine out on the dining room table so that I will take care of them tonight.
2) On sunny, but cold days, like today, I have been parking on the roof of the parking garage by my office to take advantage of the sun to warm up my car for me, and melt some of the ice on it.
3) No food waste this week.
4) Forgot to tell my husband to pick up a pizza for dinner last night, so we had tomato soup and grilled cheese. (Frugal forgetfulness??)
5) Joined BookMooch online to swap books I no longer want for books that I do want. Members post their "inventory" that they are willing to give and their "wishlist" of books they want. Everyone is responsible for the postage to send books to others, so it all works out in the end. It's about $3 to send one.
4. Can totally relate to this
I've been using BookMooch for awhile now and it's worked out great for us.
This has been a spendy week for us unfortunately, but let's see if I can come up with some frugal actions...
1.) I sold 2 things on eBay that were just lying around. (+$35)
2.) My mom lent me her clippers so that I could cut my husband's hair. I'm still learning, but he wears a hat everyday and how difficult is it to cut one length with a guide? 🙂 Saved us about $15.
3.) We purchased gift cards for a purchase we knew we were going to make in order to get the fuel perks. My husband filled his truck up with gas plus 2 gas cans for free! Saved around $40.
4.) Spent $60 at Aldi and that haul will last us 2 weeks (besides milk)
5.) Packed our lunches for work all week!
Kristen - have you ever made smoothies ahead of time? I'd love to start having them for breakfast on my drive into work, but I'm up much earlier than my husband and the baby and I don't want to wake either of them up with the blender. I was thinking about making one the night before and sticking it in the fridge...but I'm no smoothie connoisseur and don't know if this will work,
It does work surprisingly well to make them ahead of time. You could always try it with a small serving and then see how you like it.
You can definitely make smoothies ahead of time. Sometimes they separate - maybe you can manually shake it up in the travel cup?
I would leave it overnight in the freezer and then pull it out as soon as you wake up to make it drinking consistency when you left. I freeze smoothies in ice cube trays all the time to use up fresh fruit. I do combine in the blender again with milk (don't freeze in the tray with milk added only the fruit/veggies) but I would think the same would apply without blending.
Hubby drinks a smoothie every morning and I always prepare it for him the afternoon (of the day before) and refrigerate.
1. Used credit from my sales on ThredUp to get a new business dress for Spring.
2. Traded magazines with a friend.
3. I'm just waiting this cold out instead of going to the doctor.
4. Started planning summer vacation and looking for deals on places to stay and the things we want to do.
5. Business travel = all meals paid for.
Re #5: You can take home the soap from the hotel. I take home any soap I've opened because most hotels throw those out, keeping a ziplock in my toiletries in which to put the damp soap bar.
I keep all those little soaps, shampoos, lotions,etc. even if I have used some of them. I keep them in a ziploc in my RV year round so it's always stocked and ready to go. Perfect sizes for camping or to send with kids for summer camps.
1. Bought a CAFO chicken because there was a $2 off coupon. I admit it - despite trying to move away from CAFO meat, really cheap meat is hard for me to resist.
2. Tried yet another recipe for homemade Chinese Roast Pork, using a happy pork roast of an awkward shape. It tastes OK but not great. Am experimenting using the same recipe above, but on beef (CAFO beef at discount because it was at sell-by date), using the leftover marinade from the pork. We'll see how that works out.
3. The really good Chinese supermarket is 40 min away. Last week I found myself in that vicinity so I went shopping: inexpensive produce, frozen dumplings (much cheaper than eating out, and good for a quick meal), only one dish from the lunch counter.
4. Rather than just going to the body shop for scheduled car maintenance, I checked the book to see what was required. Since it was only oil change and tire rotation, I went to Jiffy Lube, carefully calculating which of the available coupons saved the most money.
5. To do: call the body shop to get them to re-fix a part that broke again. I don't know what it's called but its on the front underbody. To keep it from dragging on the ground till then, I tied it up with a zip tie - quick and cheap.
1. Stocked up on monthly groceries at Aldi on my way home yesterday. Spent $55 and will likely only need to supplement at the end of the month with perishables.
2. Workout DVD at home this morning.
3. My quarterly water bill came in the mail and it was $8 under my budgeted amount (I set aside money monthly to pay for it).
4. Resisted buying a piece of artwork that I didn't need. I couldn't figure out where I would hang it and decided that even though it was 60% off, it wasn't worth it.
5. Dinner tonight will be spaghetti sauce from the freezer over pasta purchased at Aldi.
1. Pulled several pairs of jeans out of my son's dresser that are getting too short and have holey knees. I saved them in my sewing box to hem into shorts for my daughter for summer. She is two sizes behind him, and I regularly save his worn out pants for this purpose. I hem them short for her as she grows into them and then add ribbon or other trim to the legs to make them fun and girly. I get double duty out of otherwise unwearable pants, and keep them out of a landfill!
2. Planned ahead to eat at home on a busy night when we might have otherwise fallen back on takeout
3. Baked two loaves of sandwich bread and some banana muffins from scratch
4. Ate leftovers for lunch, so NO FOOD WASTE THIS WEEK! And yes, I was shouting that.
5. My nonstick omelet pan started peeling, so I invested in a better quality non-non-stick pan that I won't have to replace in a year.
#1 -- great idea!!
That is a great idea about reusing the jeans as shorts for your daughter.
When I was in high school, I turned a pair of too-short jeans into a jeans skirt by opening up the inside leg seam, thus creating an A-line skirt with a piece missing back and front. From the lower legs, I cut two long, skinny triangles of denim from the lower legs to fill in the openings. This was the 1970s, back when such rustic wear was considered okay, but I've noticed the style coming back.
1. Made vanilla yogurt according to your recipe! Came out great! Mr. FP wants it thicker, so I might strain it.
2. Mended more preschooler pants and reinforced intact pair with interior patches.
3. Went shopping by bike--no gas! Unfortunately, I blew out a tire in the bike trailer (must have overinflated). Sounded like a gunshot, but Little Brother (age 3 3/4) slept through the whole thing. I had a spare tube and was on my way again in minutes.
4. Ordered new oven heating element from eBay for almost 50% savings ($28 vs. $53). Now let's see if I can install it myself!
5. Learned to like Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast Tea just as well as Earl Grey. It's much cheaper and equally delicious!
Five frugal things:
1) Ate up the canned Amy's Tomato Bisque soup AND had some left over so I can use it as pasta sauce for spinach tortellini.
2) Eating up my stash of Irish soda bread so that I can make more for St. Patrick's Day
3) Getting my breakfasts and coffee at work since these are provided for us. (I would rather have higher pay and less food options, but I can't complain too much.)
4) Used up all the corn tortillas and ate up my enchiladas that were sitting around in my fridge
5) Made pancakes and eggs with my boyfriend instead of going out to a very expensive brunch. 😛 Plus chatting over coffee is fantastic on a weekend.
I really need to participate this week in this list......I went WAY over on my budget for groceries, so I need to make a conscious effort to list what I did right!
1. Took advantage of the gas card deal at my local grocery store ( buy 50.00 in groceries and get 10.00 off a 50.00 gas card......makes it just 40.00!)
2. Cooked breakfast at home before a family outing (nothing new since we don't eat breakfast out anyways!)
3. Stocked up on protein shakes when they were at a low sale price (this is a catch 22 I suppose; its a bit of the reason I went over budget for the week. Hopefully the monthly average will balance out!)
4. Packed my husbands and daughters lunch for work. (Actually, I do this every day!)
5.Sent an email to a company about free products I was supposed to get weeks ago. (The total cost of these if I was to buy them would be 5.00!) They answered back, so the free products are on the way!
Ok, I guess I feel a bit better about going over budget! Sometimes you just need to "talk it through"!
1. Learned how to and patched/sanded drywall (first time) and painted. I feel proud every time I look at the wall 🙂
2.Managed to pay huge dental bill with out tapping into Emergency funds. Achieved this by spending less than budgeted amount for past 3 months. Preparing all meals at home.
3. Sold a high chair on Offer up. Daughter is old enough to use big people dining chair.
4. Froze the lime peels to freshen up sink garbage disposal for future.
5. Did'nt do grocery shopping until I used up all produce purchased
Doing a task like #1 always makes me feel like superwoman.
*flexes muscle*
I renovated my kitchen last year and did all the painting (including the floor) myself as a first-time painter. I also sanded and oiled my wooden bench top (total novice but it seemed to turn out ok). Apologies for what may seem like self promotion but if you're feeling intimidated by DIY you can check out what I did at http://homemadeandhumble.com/2016/01/03/a-new-space-for-old-things/#more-187
1) Unplugged cords from the outlet. Even though this can be a pain, it saves on the electric bill.
2) Ate leftovers.
3) Altered a skirt.
4) Ate less -- saving money and losing pounds!
5) can't think of a fifth!
Your smoothie looks really good Kristen. And you said that you put kale in it? I would love to put kale in it but every smoothie with kale that I've seen looks green. How did you make yours not to look green?
Ah! Key additions are blueberries and raspberries. Strawberries do very little to cover up the green color, but blueberries and raspberries are quite magical.
Blackberries work great too, but man, the seeds drive me nuts. So I stick with blueberries and raspberries.
1. My daughters wanted to rent movies from Redbox, so i used a code for $1.25 off my rental
2. picked up some coins I found lying on the ground.....free money!
3. Donated items to the thrift store & got my tax write-off. Plus went shopping there & found daughter #2 a early new dress for Easter for $8.
4. My dad stopped by my work today as he was in the area & he brought me a can of pop as a treat as well as a pound of meat sticks from one of our favorite meat markets! Yay!
5. Ate leftovers all week for lunch so as not to waste them.
1. Bought peat pots and seeds to start vegetables for garden. Used potting mix from a opened bag from last year. Parsley and kale we plant directly in the beds.
2. Ate leftovers from a crockpot meal the night before.
3. Took coffee with me from home in my Klean Kanteen thermos. Filled it with water from fountain rather than buy drinks from machine. Cheaper and healthier.
4. Husband gave both children their haircuts last night. More convenient as it saves me the trip to the barbershop as well a haircuts & tip. Saves me $50 every month.
5. Shopped at Aldi, brought my own bags and a cooler for frozen / refrigerated foods. Used my cash back credit card there as well. Pay it in full each month, so never any interest.
1.Ate & cooked at home all week using up all leftovers for lunch
2. Got books from library
3. Used up some spinach I had over in smoothies
4. Shopped in Aldi for groceries
5.Havnt been to the shops all week which is a really good way for me to avoid temptation
1. Didn't go out to eat on Wednesday before church due to my daughter being sick. (We didn't go to church either, so I wasn't able to get a bag of hand me downs from a friend =( I guess there is always next week)
2. Saw a really great deal on tissues (on a FB page) and scored 15 boxes of tissues for $10. We go through tissues very quickly in our house. Plus my employer does not provide them, so I have to bring them to work.
3. Used a free pretzel coupon (at Philly Pretzel Factory) for a snack after work yesterday.
4. Both of my kids had to stay home from daycare this week due to illness. My MIL assisted us by watching the sick child, so I could go to work and not use my sick days.
5. My not-so-frugal moment of the week was purchasing a bag of chips from the vending machine at work. I had a real craving for cheddar fries, but satisfied my need for salt with chips.
5.
Q. Made yogurt w milk I purchased on sale at $1.99 gal. Made 4qts and 1pt of yogurt.
2. Went to thriftshops and dollar stores to put costume together for my daughter. It's for a school project.
3. Started purchasing clearance items for her Easter basket and found a couple gifts for Christmas/Birthday.
4. Purchased apples on clearance 33c lb... getting ready to make sauce.
5. Used the library, and purchased some DVDs ($1-$2 each ) and VHS (49c each). I don't have cable or internet at home.
6. Made banana muffins w clearance bananas.
This weeks five frugal things on a Friday are
Rode to work every day
Packed my lunch every day
Saved the warm up water from the shower to water the potted figs out front
Made a loaf of Rye and Grain bread and 2 loaves of fruit bread
Hung out the washing to dry in the sun
Nothing new, just part of my everyday life.
Have a great weekend.
Let's see . . .
1. I hit the clearance rack while clothes shopping and got some winter pajamas for $10, some workout pants for $10 and some slacks for work for $15 - all of which I actually NEEDED and didn't just want.
2. I went to Michaels and even though I printed coupons and counted my spending money before going, I didn't buy a thing, but genuinely enjoyed just looking at all the stuff. (Which is a minor miracle for me! LOL)
3. I accessed and worked on my free classes from EDX.
4. I registered for the Women's Money Conference in May (for free!)
5. I happily accepted some pulled pork from a co-worker who brought me some of her leftovers. It worked out especially well since I wasn't feeling well and wasn't up to cooking early in the week. Her gift provided me with two dinners and two lunches.
1. Stayed home this week until today so saved on gas and what I didn't buy!
2. Pulled out some free sympathy cards to send to friends who lost family this week.
3. It's birthday week for me so I have gotten some lovely birthday freebies this week. The largest is the equivalent of 25.00 free dollars to spend at Kohls.
4. Made a huge ticket booth and zoo signs for Children's church using large pieces of cardboard that the church had gotten as packaging. And painted it using old blue paint that was a freebie quart from Walmart a few years ago.
5. Sewed a pillow cover for my daughter's cat using a vintage tea towel. I also repaired a drying cloth I had made her from a vintage tea towel and old bath towel.
Five for the week! And next week will be easy because of birthday freebies!
Whoops, just checked my Kohls freebies, 20.00 not 25.00!
1. Referred 2 people to my dentist and received two $25 gift cards in the mail.
2. Called a magazine subscription company and got a great deal on 2 magazine subscriptions that I paid with my above gift card.
3. Free clothes from Schoola with my $30 free credit.
4. Tried curbside pickup at Target and received a credit for $20 worth of free items.
5. Sold some used stuff on Ebay.
Condolences on the wire damage . . . big problem here this spring -- and I had the same trouble two year ago. The insurance agreed to pay twice -- because first expensive time around, mechanics didn't trace the damage far enough --it when from the front to the rear~
1. Made eggs Benedict at home for our anniversary breakfast. Super yum.
2. Took away a friend's unwanted raised bed garden to use ourselves.
3. Volunteering for my sports league = a free dinner each week.
4. Bought jeans already on sale, added a coupon code.
5. Made plans to stay with a friend for an out of town conference. Get to see my friend and save on a hotel room.
* Exchanged PC Points for 20$ worth of groceries
* Daughter lost her winter mits. Was able to find a pair, on sale for 5$ (down from 10$). She also outgrew her winter boots and we are still knee deep in snow, so I found a pair, on sale for 9$ (down from 50$). Yay Walmart!
* Went to the movies on cheap night using a gift card. Also got treats using said-card.
* Hubby bikes to work everyday, which saves us a fortune.
* Last but not least : we were owners of 2 houses for the last 8 months because we had bought a new house without selling our house first. This has been a stressful and wasteful ($$) period. But we finally sold the house last week!!!!! And we did it on our own after 6 unsuccessful months with a realtor, saving close to 10 000$ in commission. With the money from the sale we were able to clear a massive amount of debts, which feels awesome!!! Tip of the day : never buy a house before selling existing house. Never believe a realtor telling you "2 months top!". Live & learn!
Here are my frugal things:
1) Needed some parts for the bathroom that corroded. Couldn't find them at the local home depot so i went online. I paid $7 with free shipping. Regular price was $24.95 + tax.
2) I ate leftovers today.
3) Highlighted my own hair. With stuff I bought in 2014. Still works great.
4) Hand washed and drip dried some clothing.
5) I'm buzzing DS#2 hair with my $20 clippers. I used to pay $15 every time I got his hair buzzed. Not anymore......
I've never done this before but enjoyed reading everyone's posts.
I live alone in an appt & always dry my clothes on racks rather than use the not so great dryers they have here. I figure it saves around $140.00 annually & I've lived here 8 years so over $1,000 in that time....
I would use the online bookmooch but instead I get books at a nearby thriftstore where books are 3 for $1.00 & the 3rd week of the month they are .10 each. I am very picky about what I get & then I trade for credit at a large used book store so I can get books I really want. Although I've had some real finds at the thrift store too!
These are just general things, not this week only. I don't have a car so use an annual bus pass & walk a lot.....
I'm vegetarian so eat pretty frugally. I wish we had an Aldi in Anchorage though. I do buy a Costco membership even though I'm just one person, used to share it but the person I shared with moved out of state but I figure it's less than $5.00 monthly & I buy their frozen fruit for smoothies, worth it for that alone almost. And this month I need to renew & just today got a coupon in the mail for a $10.00 gift card for Costco if I renew this month.
Well, nothing this week in particular, just in general but got some good ideas from everyone, so thanks!
Yay! So glad you joined in!
#1 I did some mending of unhemmed towels-- as we all you one of your favorite frugal things to do.
#2 Cooked at home--well, I nearly always do that!
#3 Took a sweater from my son's closet which he refused to wear and I trandformed--refurbished?-- into a cute cropped cardi for me.
#4 My hubby went food shopping and nearly everything he bought...actually EVERYTHING-- was on super clearance sales and our freezer is full!
#5 I made a flower patch out of scrap denim fabric and sewed in onto a pair of jeans where I wore a hole. Rather 60's flower child looking, but hey, it's all good!
1. Sent in a small appliance to Brookstone that was a gift but it broke. Got a gift card in the mail, hope to use it when I need to buy a gift.
2. Keeping leftover veggies in a freezer container for soup.
3. Ordered seeds from Seed Guy, they are so cheap, and GMO free. I got a great harvest last year from those seeds. One day I will learn how to keep my own seeds.
4. Went through all of my pens, pencils, markers and organized them in one place, using favorite mugs. I have so many mugs, and so many pens! I'm not going to buy any more until this supply is almost gone.
5. Resisted ordering lunch at work, our office likes to order out on Fridays.
No frugal fail this week? 🙂
1. Cut my college-student son's hair this morning, saving $15 plus tip. My own home haircut of a couple of weeks ago has grown out just a bit and I'm happy with it now. No matter who cuts my hair, it acts offended for a couple of weeks and sticks out all over the place.
2. Made two loaves of homemade-from-scratch whole wheat/oatmeal bread using yeast bought on a killer sale at Save-a-Lot. I've been tinkering with this recipe for a while and have finally hit on the perfect set of ingredients.
3. Volunteered to bring seven pans of baked goods to a fundraiser at work. Everything will feature stuff we have plenty of in the pantry/fridge: raisins, dates, canned peaches, canned pumpkin, peanut butter, fresh apples, oatmeal. My only extra expense was buying another carton of eggs.
4. Made ten days worth of homemade dog food out of cooked brown rice, canned salmon, and frozen peas and carrots. (Servings are frozen in a muffin pan and warmed up in the microwave before serving.) Our dog has several food allergies and we add this homemade mixture to her special kibble to make it tasty and make a bag of it last longer. The fatty acids from the salmon also help keep her skin looking good.
5. Have our drying rack hanging full of towels and bath mats.
I have just discovered you and I loved reading about everyone's five frugal things.
This week was not the most frugal in my world, but let's see....
1. The van was nearly empty so my husband took it to the station that uses our grocery store discounts, plus the car wash was discounted.
2. Our HVAC broke down and we had a high efficiency system....it's hot where we live so we use A/C from April to November.
3. Friday was stir-fry using lots of leftover veggies .
4. I'm reorganizing my craft supplies so that I make cards instead of buy them.
5. Sent several cards from my mom's stash of cards rather then buy them...they are part of my inheritance...hahaha
Welcome, welcome! So glad you jumped right in!
So very sorry about your HVAC. We've had two go up at two different houses, and gosh, they're so expensive.
1. Work lunches 4/5 days
2. "Buy nothing" week for household goods, clothes or entertainment. I found myself discovering unfinished projects to work on and read my camera manual--now I know a few new features to use.
3. Postponed my weekly food shopping and created meals from my freezer and winter garden and made a a loaf of bread.
4. Took my kids to library...We read to both 14 m old and 3 yo nightly and truly love the children's books we have in our library system. Feel blessed.
5. Signed up for FSA at work and paid my child care with it--tax free money!
6. I am reviewing our expenditures for Jan/Feb and talking to my husband about it. I didn't 'save' any thing from it but reviewing our budget and accounting for our expenditures really heightens our awareness of how we spend and that in the long run helps us be mindful and frugal.
1. Signed up for electronic book borrowing from my library
2. Finally did a big stock up shop for my pantry so that we eat more things at home
3. Have cooked meals at home the past few months with very little waste
4. Made myself a snack basket for my desk at work
5. Have managed in a city for 8 years without owning a car
Elizabeth, exactly how do you freeze your steel wool pad? Interested, but have never read this before.
I really liked your blog post.
My wife and I have done a few frugal things lately.
1 - Saved $30 fixed a leaky sink faucet, free parts from faucet delta. Many of the faucet companies will send parts for free if you call and ask.
2 - Saved $15, Bought boneless skinless chicken from sam's club by the case and save $0.30 per pound.
3 - Saved $3, Went to an old local grocery store for the first time to get a Sunday paper last week and found that they have some really good deals. Eggs $1.49/dz, bread $1.39/loaf. Bought 2 doz eggs and a loaf of bread. Saved about $1 on each item.
Lost money on one item recently. We bought some instant brown rice with a coupon when on sale. It tasted terrible, did not eat it and threw out the other package. Only lost $1, so not too bad.
Thanks!