Five Frugal Things
1. I paid a bill using a travel rewards card.
The medical bill for Lisey's sleep study (mentioned in this post) is indeed going toward meeting our medical deductible for the year, so we had to pay the full amount.
The sleep study is turning out to be quite an expensive night of sleep! But the good news is that we have now fully met our family deductible, and every medical expense from here to the end of the year is going to be far less expensive.
Anyway, I paid the bill using our Barclay travel rewards card, so at least we'll get some dollars to use toward travel fun out of the deal.
(We pay the credit card off in full every month, so the rewards aren't tempered by interest payments. And we only use it for budgeted expenses, so we're not spending more than we would otherwise.)
2. I paid a utility bill via mail.
I pay everything online these days except for this bill. Why? Well, they charge a fee for the privilege of paying online, and the fee is more than the cost of a stamp.
I think this is kind of ridiculous, because wouldn't online payments would save them money, especially when you choose a direct debit from a checking account?
(Yup, you still pay a fee even when you don't use a credit card.)
I feel a little (unreasonably?) stubborn about paying this fee, so I faithfully mail this payment in via check.
I don't die on a lot of hills, but I guess this is one where I'm making myself comfy. 😉
3. I used up the last bits of honey in my oatmeal bread.
I made oatmeal bread yesterday and the recipe calls for honey. Somehow over the years, I'd ended up with a lot of random jars of honey in my cupboards. I've been trying to remember to use them up, and I got through the last one yesterday.
Yay me!
4. I prepped dinner early.
I knew I wasn't going to be home long before dinner needed to be on the table, so I mixed up sauce, chopped veggies, and peeled shrimp for hibachi earlier in the day. That way when I got home, I just had to cook rice and fry up the veggies and protein.
5. Miscellany
I made yogurt, put books for my kids on hold at the library (I love, love, love online holds. Best thing EVER.), shopped at Target and only bought what was on my list, drank tea brewed from a bag (this flavor, which is quite indulgent), and packed a lunch for Mr. FG.
Another not so frugal week. I brought mum home from hospital and 48 hours later my son was hurt at work. More canteen sandwiches. However, when we are home I am making sure things are used up etc.
I look forward to seeing everyone else's attempts and learn more.
I've been with ING direct, now Capital One 360 for years.
They let you mail checks for free, postage and all; to pay bills. Not that the .49 cents is a huge amount. But it saves your account number and address, all you have to do is put in the amount and hit send. Cheaper AND easier. It is a win. I'm sure other banks do that as well, should poke around.
This was the same comment I was going to make -- our bank provides a free bill pay service, so I set it up online and then, ta-da! they take care of the rest.
I'm sorry to hear about your family members! Life happens and, because we're frugal, we're better able to handle those unexpected but necessary expenses. Blessings to you all.
Does your bank not offer free online bill pay? With ours we enter in the information online and they mail the check. I prefer to pay everything with our credit card, but some places require checks, so that's my way to deal with it. We do this with our water bill which also charges fees for anything but a paper check. You should see if your bank or credit union offers this service.
Also, my husband recently had a sleep study done, after insurance the bill was around $3000. I called to see if they would discount if I paid all at once. The woman was like "Of course, 10% off." I saved $300 in 10 minutes. You better believe I am calling in to pay every medical bill and asking for my discount from here on out! 😉
I've had mixed success with that. If it's a big bill, I do always ask, but sometimes they say nope, no discount.
It seems like they're more prone to say yes if it's over $1000, but it IS always worth at least asking!
I have the same situation with my utility company, and I also stubbornly pay by mailing a check each month!
Are you trying to pay Online through the Company's Web site ?
Or through Your Bank ( Online Bill pay ) ?
W- Online Bill pay, Your Bank can Mail a Ck for you & it Should be Free.
Then you buy No Stamp & No Ck & No Envelope & No worries
I pay all my Utilities w- my Credit card & then I transfer the $ right from checking acct to my credit card to pay it off. My credit card doesn't make $ on me I use my credit card for The Disney Reward $ to use on VAC trips.
I brew a strong tea concentrate and take it and a large container of ice to work so I can mix them and have yummy iced tea all day( between regular water).
Finished all the random freezer waffles and pancakes for kids breakfasts this week.
Taking last nights leftovers for my work lunch today.
* We are getting there in the climbing out of debt situation. Got a really great deal on a balance transfer and going to do that tonight. The fee of transfer is super tiny compared to the amount of interest we will save over the next 18 months!
Up to two months ago, I was able to pay one of my utility bills on line with no charge. Then two months ago, I went in to pay and they wanted 2.95 to pay it like that. They will now get a check in the mail. I still want to call that and see what the heck!!!
It is the oddest thing. Totally cannot figure out why it costs more to pay online!
I know the answer to this. On average they have to do more cross-checking with online than with paper. I don't see why this is the case, but I know it's true.
Let's see...Found a smoked turkey leg quarter in the freezer, along with some green beans and leftover creamy corn so last night was a good dinner. (The night before we ate out!) Grated up some near dead bars of soap to toss in the wash with quilts that needed a bath. (the soap is sandalwood and smells divine) Today I am headed to Walgreen's with coupons and my rewards card to buy some cereal, body wash, and tp that's on sale. And will use my Kohl's card plus a coup to buy Hubby another sport coat for work (and that should do it on his new job wardrobe) Some weeks I do better than others...
Did you know that honey has an indefinite shelf life? I just learned that recently and unfortunately after I threw out some old honey I thought might be questionable. The bread looks yummy!
I think I've always kind of assumed that. I mean, it does get crystallized over time, but that's never stopped me from using it.
Mostly, I'm just happy that the honey containers aren't clogging up my cupboard anymore. Yay for more space!
I don't have 5 things to share but just wanted to say I really enjoy your blog! You and your family just seem like such a grounded, caring group. Have a great weekend!
Aww, thank you! I'm so encouraged to hear that my blog is a blessing to you.
-I combined a sale at Target with Cartwheel and a coupon to get an 11 lb ham for less than $8. It went into the chest freezer and will be the base for several meals
-I made homemade French bread (using your recipe!) instead of buying it. I doubled it to made two loaves and put the extra in the freezer. We've got some brie and bacon to use up, so I'm thinking bacon, brie, and cranberry panini (so good!)
-Instead of buying a craft kit for my daughter at Target, we went home and made homemade glitter bouncy balls using supplies we already had
-I made coffee at home instead of buying it at work (and brought lunch from home, too)
-I rented an ebook from the library and didn't finish it before the loan ended. Instead of buying the Kindle version, I placed a new hold at the library (this was a tough one because I really want to finish the book, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay $10 for something I could get for free)
Ugh - I went thru the same thing last month - I really really REALLY wanted to buy the book just to finish it but couldn't justify it! Thankfully, the library has multiple copies so I only had to wait 8 days, but still...it was hard to be left hanging!
1) I had really good planned leftovers this week: Sunday's roasted cauliflower and a baked sweet potato became Monday's cheddar cheese soup, which then became part of Wednesday's Mexican-inspired rice casserole using up even more random bits and bobs (frozen corn, half a jar of salsa, half a block of cheese, breadcrumbs that had an accident with a jar of dried oregano...).
2) I brewed up a batch of iced tea from a box of loose Lipton, which encourages my husband not to buy single bottles of Pepsi, coffee, or tea while he's working.
3) I rotated my wardrobe and replaced the basic t-shirts (tank, short sleeve, long sleeve) with a great sale at the Gap, paying less than $10 per shirt. Basics are not something I find a lot of or in good condition at the consignment or thrift stores.
4) Tomato and pepper seeds are starting to sprout, and I remembered to take them in before the late frosts happened this week. They're struggling a little more for sunlight than they were on the covered back porch, but are still alive!
5) I used Amazon rewards points to purchase a gift for my mom's birthday. My sister is going halfsies with me, and it was also cheaper for me to buy it because she doesn't have Prime.
#2 made me laugh because I would totally be doing the same thing. It's just the principle! It's so unreasonable you can't bring yourself to comply.
I find most of my frugal things seem to involve food or just not buying stuff I want.
1. I made a meal plan for the week and we've managed to eat up leftovers most days.
2. Ran out of time to brew coffee at home to take to work / drank the free coffee at work instead of buying Tim Horton's on the way to work.
3. Signed up for a library card - checked out 1 book and 2 blu-ray movies (who knew that libraries actual stock current movies?!)
4. Took home leftovers from a church event which will provide several days worth of meals for husband and I
5. Had my annual physical and submitted the appropriate paperwork to work to receive additional health incentives for 2016.
Filed under 'Frugal Entertaining'-
1. Entertained company for two days, and took them hiking each day rather than visiting pricey tourist attractions. They enjoyed spectacular views en route, including lots of wildlife sightings (seals, dolphins, and even some migrating whales).
2. Hunted down free parking for each of the above, thereby avoiding the hefty State Park parking fees so common in my state.
3. Took them out for lunch at an iconic coastal burger stand after one of the hikes, rather than for a pricier dinner. Although we didn't expect it, they followed our lead and ordered free water as their beverage. I was impressed, as overpaying for beverages is one of my pet peeves.
4. Spent the afternoons enjoying our 'free' HOA pool and jacuzzi.
5. Cooked all dinners at home, and intended to play games afterward, but everyone was too tired from the day's hiking and swimming (yeah!).
I hate paying for beverages too. The food, I don't mind so much, but the beverages are such a rip-off most of the time.
Just a note about the fees for online pay - in many cases, the utility company itself will 'contract out' the online pay service. Its a lot of privacy and money-handling technology overhead for the utility company to manage and just easier (and safer for them and for us) to outsource it to companies who's business it is to process (and protect) online transactions.
Whether or not that $2.95 is the true cost per transaction that the utility company pays the processor - I cannot say (and probably not, I'm sure there's a bit of change going back to the utility company), but chances are good that the excess goes into technology services. For me, I'm OK with that versus the need to keep stamps, envelopes, checks handy and available. But I can totally understand why it'd be off-putting.
Ah, that's interesting to know.
I guess I am just really used to companies covering the cost of paying online, or building it into their pricing, so it's surprising to see a transactional fee.
Oatmeal bread sounds great! Bet it would make good toast with a drizzle of honey and butter.
1. I just picked up 3 half gallons of milk reduced to $1.29. I only got 3 because it's all I could carry. I will put those in the freezer to go with the over abundance of junky cereal we have right now. I love that I always have frozen milk in the freezer so I never truly run out and I never have to pay full price for it.
2.I also picked up some oranges,lemons, and bananas in Kroger's reduced bin. My husband will probably eat all those bananas in one day.
3. I am trying to eat healthier. I am adding lemon to my water so I was glad to get those cheap. I have read so many things recently about lemon water helping clean out the liver. I'm sure my liver could use a good scrubbing since it's been running constantly for 38 years!
4.My husband and I went over our taxes last night so we can turn them in to the accountant today. We both noticed that we were paying more than we thought each month for a few things. It's really good to review your spending every few months because there is money going out that we didn't notice.
5.My family loves honey and we use it almost daily to help with my children's seasonal allergies. I have been trying not to cook with it too much. I just drizzle over the top of food since cooking at high temps will reduce the good properties in it. Plus local honey is expensive.
Re: #1 on your list - I was explaining this to my hubs yesterday, when our weekly grocery spend came in under $60 (two adults), even including some loss leader stock up items. The momentum achieved from consistently buying on sale ahead of needed usage, is pretty amazing over time!
Exactly!
I needed a Frugal Five this week. Such an encouragement to keep on keeping on!
1. We've been enjoying free current movies from the library also. Suffragette watched earlier week and In the Heart of the Sea next up!
2. New flooring was supposed to go into the kitchen today but our installer is sick. Last night we pulled up all the old flooring which will save us around 200.00. Now we'll just have to live with sub flooring for a couple of days.
3. Our front porch is a bit boring so we keep two large urns on the corners. In the winter, there are two heavily discounted lit trees we've had for years and in the fall, we put some gorgeous local mums we get for 5.00 a pot at a local flea market. Spring/summer is usually some annuals but today while at Home Depot, my husband picked up some huge ferns which were on sale for 5.00 a pot. It will make such a difference on our porch.
4. I cleaned out the bottom pantry cupboards. It's always good to see what we actually have and what we actually use.
5. There's a Big Lots near church. They occasionally have 20% off everything and this weekend was one of those sales. I got several bags of staples as my grocery 'run' this week. Five lbs. of Riceland rice for 2.40, 3 bars of Palmolive soap for .80, etc.? Yes, please!
When I went to pay our vehicle registration online I checked what the online fee would be and it was a whopping $7! My jaw dropped! Envelope and postage, please.
This week I got eggs from my friend who has chickens.
My husband is working from home, so has been eating lunches here.
We've started paying cash for all of our little individual incidentals. It's amazing what you feel you can pass on when that cash is actually leaving your hands.
Took baby clothes to the consignment shop.
Cloth diapered and breastfed my twins.
P.S. The five frugal things are my favorite posts! Everyone has such great ideas and I find it very motivational.
Lauren, we do same with our individual 'no strings' allowances. Using cash has been amazing and eye opening. Over time I've learned I dislike parting with it for individually consumed food items (i.e., a single coffee, a single sweet treat), but do enjoy parting with for same enjoyed in the company of others. I have also learned I love spending it on handmade jewelry. 🙂
I definitely second the feeling that the 5 Frugal Things posts are motivational - I've actually started keeping a running note during the week of frugal choices.
I really like the idea of using cash just for personal spending versus trying to use it for everything. Gas and groceries are tough, because I don't want to carry $600-800 in cash all month, but I also don't want to go to the bank every week to pull out cash, because I'll end up pulling out too much with more trips... But for just the lower amount of "spend" money, that sounds like it would work really well.
That's what we are doing. Cash just for our individual and entertainment budgets. I can't do the grocery thing because I don't plan ahead our meals (it just doesn't work for me) and I can't concentrate on my total and wrangle three kids at the same time. Now that Aldis takes credit cards I can get Amazon points for my biggest expenditure during the month!
I used already-used scraps of paper for my grocery list and other lists.
Activated ebates on a purchase for cash back.
Took a short online survey and earned $10.00
Saved up my purchases on amazon and made one larger order for free shipping.
Can't find the type of tops I like (tunics) in fabric I like, so I started looking up refurbished sewing machines to eventually purchase.
Quiet week for me.
1.) Bought rice in giant bags as we were just about out. This includes Calrose (close to Japanese style) and Jasmine rice.
2.) Replaced the headlight on my car saving a ticket or a big bill from the auto mechanic. Of course, now one of my fog lights is out so I need to repeat the process. Since I bought the bulb online (eBay of all places) I paid a lot less than the giant boxed auto store.
3.) Not really frugal by my doing but a coworker of mine gave me a bunch of clothes for my daughter. I guess it's frugal in that I know that laundry detergent and hot water washing away the cooties of someone else's clothes. Seriously, though. Why are baby clothes so expensive? $10 for a little shirt? Are you kidding me? Once we are done with these, they will be passed on to a friend of ours so that their daughter can wear and enjoy them.
4.) Got some more flour sack towels prepped as diaper inserts. I may not have a grasp on fatherhood (who does?) but I think I at least have diapers figured out.
5.) Getting a bunch of stuff together to donate or to sell on eBay. Seriously, I have way too much stuff still and I'd like to just see it gone.
At this stage, diapers are a huge part of fatherhood, so seems like you're on top of things! 😉
4. I'm impressed! Great job you are doing. For me, parenthood has been a learn as you go thing and it seems you are right on track.
Rice pro tip from Grandma FP: Cook a lot of it at once and freeze in two-cup portions. Since we eat brown rice, this saves a LOT of time.
1. Batch-cooked brown rice for easier weeknight dinners.
2. Ate previously frozen soup (which I had made to keep veggies from going bad).
3. Got chicken on sale--$1.69 for boneless skinless breasts. I will cook these in the crockpot and freeze for use in recipes like fried rice or chicken bacon ranch quesadillas. (Got the idea from you, but we like ours hot!)
4. Made double batch of yogurt using dregs of Trader Joe's carton. (Yes, you can use the dregs--it does not have to be a newly opened carton.)
5. Landed job interview for 30-hour position. I am currently working 20 hours, but 30 hours would (a) mean I would get full-time benefits and (b) keep me busy next school year with both kids will be in full-day school.
1. Bought one lightbulb on eBay! Sounds crazy but it's one of those waxy, small decorative bulbs and the last time I searched, they were $8 each at an antique/consignment shop I love to go to. I need one about once a year or even less, and I paid $3 with free shipping.
2. Am eating lunch at home, leftover takeout pizza that I froze last week. Not my first choice for lunch today, but it'll do.
3. Noticed I had an abundance of canned crushed tomatoes ( organic from Aldi) in the pantry, so I whipped up some spaghetti sauce, using basil and oregano from my porch herb garden.
4. This next one was not this week, but I keep forgetting to add it. After having our cell service with AT&T for so many years, we switched to Sprint, saving a significant amount. AT&T was not willing to work with us to lower our cell bill, so we made the move.
5. Trading work with our son and sons-in- law. Well, not me-- my husband is. The guys are trimming our trees in the backyard, and my husband and the rest will help plant sod at one of their houses, then help another with other yard and home tasks, and so on. They've done this several times with various jobs.
4. Oh wow! so funny you mentioned this. My husband and I have been with AT&T for so many years. We have business/cell/computer accounts with them. I am constantly going over my allotted data and using up my minutes because so many of my friends have switched to other cell services making it not free to talk them anymore. I really don't want to change my plan because of the cost but I hate the way it makes me feel when I have to stop using my phone toward the end of the month to keep from running over. I haven't researched all the companies out there but I really need to do something.
1. My store had coupons for boneless ham: $1.25 off a quarter, $6 off a half, $8 off a whole. I bought the smallest half hams they had. Three of them, each came out about half price. I now now have 6-7 inexpensive hams in the freezer. Not the healthiest but tasty and good for when I need a quick dinner.
2. A flange broke off my almost-3 year old food processor that's warrantied for 3 years. Good thing I have the receipt because Cusinart stopped making them more than 3 years ago so I need to supply the proof of purchase. I emailed a photo of the receipt and broken piece rather than mailing it; Cuisinart will send me the replacement based on that. With any luck they won't require the broken part in return (usually they do, don't ask me why) and I will have spent $0 on this little chore.
3. Last fall my bank misprocessed a deposit, resulting in a bounced check for my real estate taxes. They've been pretty good about refunding ALL the resulting costs - not just the bounced check fee but also my late fee, interest charges, and so on. But boy howdy do I need to watch the like a hawk to get it done! The one I thought would be hardest, the RE late fees, was refunded first but 6 months later I still don't have the bounced check fee refunded. You'd think that refunding their own fee would be the fastest.
4. It's not deliberate but I'm slowly eating down a large store of food. For example, we're not eating as much rice as we used to, so I'm not replacing the stash.
5. I am not buying the house next door.
This is not a joke. It just went on the market. It's similar to mine, with all the things I like about my neighborhood, but with the extra space I want so badly I can almost taste it. I remind myself how much work moving would be (my roommate's ability to accumulate stuff is, er, impressive[1]) and of the extra work involved in maintaining and keeping a larger place. Not to mention I'd want to redo the kitchen. But still.
[1] I'm trying very hard not to channel George Carlin here.
#1 Changed mind about going to lunch & made lunch at home instead
#2 Used 9 bananas i had sitting in freezer into banana breads
#3 Used leftovers from 2 previous days for one dinner
#4 Turned all prescriptions & co-pays in at work towards my supplemental plan (about $100)
#5 picked up another easy cleaning job
i forgot to add.....this is the first week i made a menu meal-plan & stuck to it. I shopped at home first before i went to the grocery store & i did pretty well with the grocery budget because of it!!
1. I'm wearing a shirt, jeans, light sweater, socks and shoes. Everything but the socks (and underwear) are thrifted.
2. I also pay with my bank's online bill-pay to avoid spending my own stamp or paying a "convenience" fee. Convenient for whom? I just sent four bill payments yesterday.
3. I trimmed my bangs.
4. I mixed up more tooth powder -- baking soda and a little bentonite clay -- at a fraction of what I would pay in the health food store. I also can make it cheaper than a tube of Big Brand toothpaste. My hygienist and dentist tell me my teeth are great.
5. I bottled another batch of home-brewed kombucha. I love it and it's simple to make. It's so good for me, too.
The picture of the bread is making me hungry! I also buy local, raw honey for allergy reasons. It's sooooo good, and his price is reasonable compared to what a store charges for local raw honey. I pay $15 a quart and use a little each day.
Have you checked to see if you can pay bills through your online banking? Our small town bank has what they call BillPay. I pay nearly all of my bills through that for no charge at all. Most of the companies I deal with accept electronic payments straight from my bank, but for those that don't, my bank prints the payment check and mails it to them, and I pay no postage. There are a few once or twice a year bills that I pay directly through a company's website--like auto insurance, and homeowner's--but I could pay those through BillPay if I chose to. It keeps a record of all the bills I have paid, so I can click quickly over to the calendar and see what bills I paid on what days. You can also schedule payments in advance, which comes in handy when bills are due during vacations and such. I like that I can pay everything from one place and see all of the info for all my bills in one place as well. It means that fewer people in the online world have my personal information and I have fewer usernames and passwords to remember!
I'm not sure I had five frugal things this week, although we did use a gift card to take the family out to dinner and I had enough left to enjoy lunch with a friend during the week (I even have leftovers from lunch for my husband to take to work)! I always use my reward cards to pay bills, etc., then pay them off every month. We should have enough for a nice vacation soon! I pay all my bills via e-pay through my bank or a direct pay set up through my credit card. I just wondered if you had your bank wire your money to the biller with the fee, would they still charge? We are trying to use up our gift cards. My daughter and my youngest son is particularly good at this, but my 16 year old son still has a few to use! Shopping is not his thing...even if it's online! I bought a new computer with a bundle and saved quite a bit. Our old one is an antique! I did put this on a 12 month/no interest Best Buy Card and set up payments on my e-pay! I also referred two friends to Medi-Share, which, by the way is a great option for those in need of affordable medical coverage! It is a company with conservative Christian values, meets all the government requirements and it provides great service to it's members! I received $200 for my two referrals when they signed up. If anyone is interested in Medi-Share, please check them out and give them my name and e-mail! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
1. Made some bread this week that didn't turn out very well. Since it's just me, I've still been eating it even though it doesn't taste the best. I'd rather it didn't go to waste.
2. My brother's birthday was earlier this week, and I baked him a loaf of Italian herb and cheese bread as part of his gift. I also bought him a gift card at the place where I work, saving the gas from another trip out.
3. Free snack and coffee at a work meeting today, plus a free lunch at a presentation.
4. Made homemade hummus for the cost of a can of garbanzo beans, rather than purchasing it.
5. Am unexpectedly getting paid for a house and dog sitting job I took last weekend. It was for a family member, so I didn't think she'd pay me, which I didn't mind. That was a nice surprise!
1.Brought lunch with me today that I made at home to an appointment- good I did as was waiting a long time
2. Parked at sisters house and walked into city only 20 mins as opposed to paying for parking - free exercise as well
3. Going under public system which is free here to have baby- private isn't covered even if you have private health insurance.
4. Ate at home all week using up all leftovers for lunchs
5. Bought a lot of butter and cheese this week as both are on special- won't have to buy for weeks- cheese half price
Love this post also keeps my spending in check!!
1. Pants sale at Value Village at 75% off, so I got three pairs for under $6. I have to hem them -- but I always do, so did that today.
2. Converted a pair of pants whose legs you can roll up for clam diggers (with a bulky cuff!) to a pair of clam diggers I will actually wear this summer (in the same sewing machine spree as my pants hemming).
3. Paid out 12 cents for an oil change after using a gift card and my Canadian Tire money.
4. Got bread for half price with Air Miles digital coupons (no clipping, yay!) plus used $10 of Air Mile cash for some boneless pork on sale.
5. Cut up my $13 pork roast into 4 smaller roasts, each of which is good for 2 meals for the two of us; put three in the freezer and used the other.
i just want your oatmeal bread recipe
😉
I'm a day late on this, but I need to add my 5 frugal things: it keeps me on track!
1. Yesterday, I brought a can of soup to work for lunch but forgot a can opener. Instead of going out for lunch (in the pouring ran, I might add) I went across the hall to a larger office and asked if anyone had one. Sure enough, some cubical hoarder had one! Save me some $$.
2. Our house is under contract and we have two freezers full of food that needs to be eaten. We've pledged to eat what we have and only buy the necessities (milk, bread, etc.)
3. Visited the local Goodwill and found a new Speedo swimsuit and a new pair of Old Navy swim shorts for less that $9. Swim suit for this summer is done!
4. My frugalness is rubbing off at work. A colleague wanted to order 1/2 inch binders for an upcoming event and the total came to over $100! I suggested that we buy folders with the areas for three hole punches. Much cheaper!
5. I LOVE the iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts, but I don't love the price. Our location only has a $1 special from 2-4pm. (I'm at work during those hours, so really, who is the sale benefiting?) Anyways, I found the Maxwell House iced coffee drop-ins and am now able to make my iced coffee at home. One bottle of the drop-ins cost me $3 and should make me at least 10-15 iced coffees!
6. One NOT so frugal item is that even though our house is under contract, we are now incurring many miscellaneous costs (certificates of occupancy, HOA certificates of sale, etc.) Silly big ticket items!
It's hilarious that someone had a can opener at work!
A can opener doesn't surprise me - after all, I have a paring knife in my desk drawer!
I don't think it's hilarious at all. I have both can opener and paring knife at work. Also a 2 c. bowl (for breakfast cereal), 4 c. bowl, mug, can-of-soup sized mug, can opener because not all cans of soup have pop tops, fork, table knife, teaspoon, soup spoon, paring knife with built-in cover, big water cup with lid and straw, real towel to dry dishes after washing. Also snacks, canned soup & fruit (emergency lunches), and drinks.
All of these things save me money. Frex, I buy soda at $.35/can; it's $1.25 from the vending machine. And let's not get into the surcharge for oatmeal!
I'm going to start adding my frugalities since I enjoy reading everyone else's so much! This week, I:
1) joined Costco with my Living Social deal--I think it cost $55 but came with a $20 cash card and several coupons (including an $12 package of free AA batteries, which we use a lot of with the kids) I made my first stop and stuck to my (short) list except for adding one item which I was surprised to find there at a huge savings. I was especially happy to buy my HE environmentally friendly laundry detergent there at over half off what I would normally spend.
2) am wearing my new favorite designer jeans that retail for $180 but that I found at a thrift store for $7.99 on sale for 30% off. Wow! They fit perfectly and are practically brand new.
3) ate lunch out of scraps today and it was delicious! Salami my son rejected, the broken bits of two boxes of crackers (sounds sad but not really!) some pepperjack cheese and leftover strawberries from the kids' lunches.
4) Reheated some frozen leftovers--chicken makhani made in the crockpot a couple of weeks ago--when caught in a pinch and needed a quick dinner. Added some freshly cooked basmati rice and some veggies and leftover pita bread and voila, dinner in instead of going out.
5) saved all my compostable kitchen scraps this week to add to my new compost bin that I am buying today with a gift card to Home Depot.
6) found some adorable large Beanie Boos marked down half price and bought three for birthday presents for my kids' friends' parties that are coming up this weekend and next weekend. Also bought another gift at Michael's with a 40% coupon. Wrapped them all in recycled gift bags and my kids will make homemade cards.
7) Re-sold a bunch of my kids' outgrown clothing and toys and made about $75 this week. I try to do this regularly as it keeps our closets from getting cluttered and I love having the extra cash.
I think I did pretty well this week!
I can't believe they charge convenience fee even though you're using checking account. The only time we pay a fee is when we use credit cards or through Western Union.
1. I had to go in for my pre-op and quarterly specialist checkup and blood work. I scheduled them back-to-back and got the hospital to agree to accept a faxed copy of my lab results from the doc I'd seen 90 minutes earlier instead of ordering their own labs. Not only is there only one lab fee, I only got stuck in the arm once.
2. At the pre-op they told me my estimated charge would be close to $600, and would I like to pay that now? I asked for an itemized list of where that estimate came from, it's a lot of money, I'm more comfortable having the background, etc. The admissions person and I politely debated for a few minutes, then she realized the estimate had been run incorrectly. $318? That's much better! Patience and manners pay off. 🙂
3. My niece, who turns 15 today, mentioned a sports massage sounded like the best thing ever. Her other aunt went in with us on a gift certificate. We love that we could give her something she really wanted while staying on budget.
4. Not so much frugal as less expensive... I won't be able to button anything while healing. Pull-on maxi skirts in a petite size are $50 at the Ann Taylor outlet. Target + alterations runs about $27. I bought two.
5. Know what? I'm letting my friends take care of me for a little bit. I was knocking myself out getting meals in the freezer and I'm glad I did, but the truth is we all take care of each other and I'm going to look forward to some delicious meals from our friends for the first few days.
I purchase honey in a tall plastic container and I have a difficult time getting the last portion of honey out of it. Any suggestions?
I've had that problem with Costco honey before, and I took a kitchen scissors or a knife, cut off the top of the container, and then scooped the honey with a spatula.
You can heat the container with the honey in it to liquefy the honey, but that's kind of a pain, and the plastic honey container tends to melt in the microwave...that seems not super fabulous to me, you know? So, I feel like hacking up the container so you can access the honey is just easier!
Shopped Aldi last 2 weeks for fruit and veggies and saved a ton. Last 2 weeks eggs were $1.15 a dozen only second to Costco which was $1.74 for 18 eggs. I have not had time to get eggs from the farmers market.
Husband found someone throwing away an old sideboard in really good condition with the original hardware for free dollars. We are still researching but thinking it was from 1930's or 1940's very beautiful piece.
Painted our small bedroom, used leftover paint from another bedroom so it only cost my time and no money out of pocket.
Had a outside garage light die on us again from Home Depot. Last time HD replaced it for free, this time because they no longer carry that model they could not replace (which is a good thing because this is #2 same light that died after 1 year of use and has 10 year warranty) so they offered us a HD gift card for the purchase price of $80. We already purchased a much cheaper light to replace it from Menards this was still win for us. We can use the HD gift card to purchase softener salt & other necessities.