Five Frugal Things | With 0 photos
I had this post halfway written yesterday but never finished it! So I'm preempting my grocery post to publish this instead.
Apologies for the photo-less post. I got nothin'!
1. I pointed out a doctor's office credit.
Some months back, we had an appointment at a doctor's office the day after we met our deductible, but it wasn't in the system yet.
So, we had to pay for that appointment out of pocket, and after the insurance was sorted out, we were left with a credit in our account at that office.
This means our copay for subsequent appointments is covered for a while, but at an appointment this week, they said we needed to pay $39.
Aand I was like, hmmm, no, I don't think that's right.
I inquired about the credit, the receptionist checked, and sure enough, we still had a credit balance.
Excellent.
(Always keep an eye on medical bills, you guys. Errors happen!)
2. I redeemed credit card reward points.
Now that Costco accepts Visa, I can cancel the American Express card that we've kept solely for Costco purposes.
I'm very happy to simplify my financial life by one card. Yay!
While I was on hold to cancel, though, it occurred to me that I should check my reward points. Sure enough, I had $100 worth of rewards, so I redeemed those before I cancelled the card.
Phew.
3. I made do for dinner last night.
My day did not go as planned yesterday and I didn't even get around to dealing with dinner until 7:45.
I knew I had some bacon in the fridge and some tortillas in the pantry, so we had bacon and cheese quesadillas.
It wasn't fancy, but it was quick and easy and it did the job.
4. I haven't really gone grocery shopping.
I don't give myself much credit for this, as it's largely due to a bunch of busy days. But I don't think I've spent much at all on groceries...just some small trips here and there to fill in.
5. Hmmm....I made yogurt.
I know that's not very exciting. But it is frugal.
_____________
Want to share your own? The comments are yours!
I am so happy that Costco is finally taking Visa credit cards! This is a total game-changer for our rewards credit card.
This week:
1. I cooked a spaghetti squash and froze it. Now I can have pasta-free pasta whenever I want!
2. I'm making yogurt today as well! I'm going to experiment and try to make yogurt cheese out of it (you strain it for 12 hours at room temperature to get a loose cheese. I'm gonna use it like cream cheese!)
3. Instead of buying more perfume when mine ran out, I made perfume at home. I probably won't stick with this recipe since it's pretty heavy on jasmine, but it was crazy to see how easy it is to make homemade perfume. We'll see if I can make one that's better than Burberry Brit.
4. We are slated to be $200 under budget on food this month, which I am SO SO SO excited about. Even if we go over this amount, we've never been this under budget on food before. Such a win!
5. I'm going to try my hand at making butter this weekend. I'll flavor it with garlic and rosemary as a tasty dipping butter. I love butter on everything. 🙂
My kids love when I make yogurt cheese. I hang it over night, and it's ready in the morning. I hope you like it too. 🙂
1. I picked lettuce from our garden today.
2. I cut and froze cilantro from our garden for future guacamole.
3. I dragged my husband, who is over 60, to the grocery store last night because they had a great sale on wine and he gets a senior 5% discount on top of that. Company is coming, so I wanted to stock up. I call him "my coupon" on Thursdays.
4. Took some summer clothes to a local consignment shop that I just discovered. She accepted all but one item.
5. Hubs wanted a beach umbrella, shopped around until I found a store that gives local discounts.
Yes, those doctor bills bear strict watching. I speak from experience as well.
1. I continue to make homemade things -- laundry soap, shampoo, salad dressing, yogurt, etc. It takes a little time, but not as much time as it would take me to earn the money to buy them at stores, and I can control the ingredients, which is important to me.
2. I found out how to make braided headbands out of old tee-shirts. Holey tee-shirts, your day has come.
3. Sewed yet another seam back on a pillow case. My husband has endured nightly sweats since his cancer treatment last fall, and it seems to be taking a toll on our bed linens, which were somewhat older to start with. I'm looking for some heavier sheets, like oxford or heavy muslin. The soft, thin, supple, high-count cotton ones I own now are giving out on me; the fabric just shreds.
4. Replaced the battery in my watch. Our local stores and Walmart here won't do it, although they'll sell the battery, because of fear of damaging the watch. Our local jeweler will do it, but he charges $2 over the cost of the battery and it's a special trip to go there. I took a magnifying glass and finally found the secret niche to open the back of my watch with a tiny screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit, and I've been doing my own since. Small potatoes, yes, but $2 is $2.
5. Tended to my herb bed. Herbs from the produce section are crazy expensive, and while not all of them enjoy living in Florida, the ones that do are so easy to grow. We were given basil for free, in fact, and it's super easy to grow here.
I hope your husband is doing better. Have you tried Sheex? They're supposed to be cooling.
We just bought a new house (well, new to us--it was really built in 1965) and got moved in. Unpacking is ongoing but I've got a new determination to pay this place off and fix it up and be frugal while doing it. I'd like to get it paid off in 10 years-- that might be really hard but I've set that goal in mind and am thrilled to pinch pennies to do so!
1. At the previous rental house, we had all our own appliances. This house also came with appliances. We are taking what was here and selling it and/or trading it.
2. Our old sleeping arrangement was a Japanese style pad (5 inches thick) on the floor. This was out of choice but was pretty comfy on carpet. Much less so on the hardwood floors here. Our mattress was made by Tuft and Needle and was about 2 1/2 years old. My wife contacted them to ask if we could get a discount since the bed wasn't as comfy here as it had been at the previous house. Since we'd been one of their very first customers and they no longer made the 5inch mattress, they sent us a 10inch mattress-- FOR FREE! I'm just stunned at this company and so happy to support them! When we furnish the guest room, guess what's going on THAT bed? But seriously, it just goes to show-- always ask if discounts are available! It can't hurt, the worse they can say is no.
3. Went to get a trash can (old one is too nasty and too big for new smaller and more functional kitchen) at Lowe's and found a gorgeous one for $100. I just can't! But my wife looked on Amazon and they have the same can for $75. I have $50 in Amazon giftcards and enough credits on Swagbucks to get the other $25 so that the can will be free!
4. Signed up yesterday for online work in late July and that should be a nice chunk of change. (Will go toward the house or the emergency fund.)
5. Once my kitchen was finally unpacked, I've been cooking! I like this kitchen, it's smaller but WAY more functional! The other kitchen was big but so poorly laid out as cooking was a super chore. I'd pretty much given up cooking! Something I used to love!
Five frugal things? Hmm
1. I was invited to pick strawberries yesterday. 20 quarts of free strawberries? Yes please!
2. Will be picking more free strawberries tomorrow!
3. I've made a menu and list for all meals since the kiddos are on summer vacation a and have pretty much stuck to it. The dinner meal I planned for yesterday will be made today.
4. We had our car worked on. While not cheap, our car is no longer in danger of overheating.
5. We cancelled our Netflix account. We mainly watch Hulu and YouTube.
I too skipped grocery shopping except for my bountiful basket and that saved me a trip to the grocery store in itself. The saving were awesome to begin with! Isn't it amazing what a few small things can save in the big scope of things?! I love it!! Thanks for sharing again:)
1.) Got my washing machine repaired. I felt bad that I couldn't fix it myself (and felt even dumber that I missed that it was just a clogged hose) but it's repaired now and the machine is back to 100% and diapers are currently being washed in it again.
2.) Washed cloth diapers. Still haven't bought a diaper in months!
3.) Repaired my parents' toilet on Wednesday when I was there to set up their printer (hey, I'm handy in non-HE washing machine ways at least.) The flapper had deteriorated to the point where water was constantly running out of it. Finding the flapper in the hardware store took longer than the fix.
4.) Frugal but not the main point of it: Haven't bought soda for my house in a while. I'm trying to not drink as much of it since I know it's not the best for me.
5.) Just been very good about not buying stuff I don't need. I've been doing that by going back and enjoying things I already own.
Yes, those doctor visits had us paying out of pocket when we didn't have to! We even argued with the doctor and called insurance about it. At one point, we paid the visit but when we got home, called the credit card company to reverse it!
Nothing frugal this week, really.If anything, just the opposite. DS2 was signed up for basketball camp and a trainer as a coach during summer work-outs said he was "the worst player out there." Yeah. a real self-esteem booster. DS2 has been playing since he was little and the camp coach said he does real well. He has the trainer tonight so we'll get some more feedback. Hoping that when the try-outs come along, the high school coach will eat his words.
1. Ate at home all week and used up all fruit in smoothies that was getting past it's sell by date.. Drank tap water & tea at home instead of going out for them
2. Expecting twins so have been watching out and picking up as much as I can second hand saving us a fortune. As I already have a little boy will use as much of his stuff as we can
3. Reading books borrowed from the library.
4. Got a free family pass to go to local pool as we were over charged going there last wkend & I pointed it out to the attendant who gave us the free family pass.
5. Have been wearing all my old maternity clothes and friend have me a few things she is no longer using, saving money on buying new stuff..wardrobe v limited but actually works fine..
Congratulations on the twins! My B/G twins are 11 and the best of friends- most days! I highly suggest you look around and see if you have a local Mothers of Twins group! Many of them have clothing and equipment sales a few times a year.. In my group being a member allows you to sell your own items when you no longer need them and we open our group sales to members only the night before we open to the public- great way to get items you need at minimal cost and then make money for your pocket while decluttering! Best of luck!
Good for you with the medical bill! I'm still trying to get an ITEMIZED bill from the hospital where my surgery was done.
1. Vacation!!! The hubs had a speaking engagement at a nice beach resort, and they paid for us to be there for 2 nights. Hubs got free breakfast at the meeting, too. We stayed a few extra days on the island, at a friend's house.
2. Birthday! We spent my birthday on a different island that's part of the National Park System. All we paid for was the ferry (only way to get there) and the water & fruit we purchased on the main to bring with us.
3. We've never paid someone to deal with our mail, plants, etc when out f town but it feels frugal to say our neighbor did it. She just went on vacay so we'll take care of hers.
4. We powered through, driving home last night instead of staying another day. We were hot and tired and desperately wanted showers and sleep, but we drove 6 hours to get home and not spring for a hotel.
5. I didn't buy a single physical, non-food item all week. No souvenirs, nothing. Honestly, all I wanted was the experiences, the relaxation, and the time with my husband.
So happy you have a fun getaway!
1. I took a road trip to visit my husband who is away for work training for three months. By being careful, we came in under budget.
2. I also disputed a hospital bill. It turns out I do need to pay it, but I was given 10% off for paying quickly.
3. I signed up for a new credit card that will give us great cash back on our moving expenses this summer. Of course we'll pay it in full every month.
4. I used a free code to make my daughter a book for her birthday next month.
5. I'm doing a good job of cooking at home for every meal despite low motivation due to summer heat.
So funny, Kristen, because I JUST called AMEX regarding my bonus points!! We have been using the AMEX the past chunk of time as opposed to my cash rewards MasterCard. I've never used it much, so I thought I'd call and ask. So now a $75 AMEX gift card is on its way to me!
I'll use it for groceries, most likely.
Yay for $75!
1. A kid hit my car at school and his parents paid me for the bumper (Meineke did an estimate, and they decided not to go through insurance). There was an almost unnoticeable crack in the bumper, and I wouldn't have even gotten it fixed, but my husband likes having a pristine car. I also knew it would be cheaper to get it fixed back home in the country. So we waited until we were home here for a week to get it done and I saved $500. It was also helpful to have my mama right next door to help haul the kids because we don't all fit in our truck now.
2. My husband and I resisted getting takeout Friday night and ate out of the fridge.
3. My advisor gave me his kids' old swingset. I hauled it home and set it up. Then I bought several landscaping timbers, which my dad latched together to ring the set. Then the boys and I got a half ton of sand and filled it up. For less than $100 we got a play set and giant sand box for the kids.
4. We keep the kids' off-size clothes here in the country house. But my collection had outgrown the two closets. So this week I went through all of it, trashing anything stained or stretched out. I also culled anything that I just never liked that much or proved impractical. (Two year olds don't need onsies. And how many pairs of overalls does an 18 month old need?) I sent all the decent things to Threadup, so I'm hoping to make a little cash. The bonus is that now everything fits comfortably in the closets.
5. Our Amex is now linked to our Amazon account, so we can use points directly for purchases. Cleaning out the clothes I didn't find a single pair of church pants for my oldest, who has grown out of his current size. I almost exclusively shop thrift stores and consignment for the kids, but he needs pants and I found Children's Place pants at a decent price on Amazon, so I ordered him a pair for this Sunday without spending a dime.
I am looking forward to doing barbeque with family friends this weekend. I am going to bring some protein (pork and chicken) rubbed with Nando's rub-in spice that we were able to buy from Tesco in London during our recent trip. We love Nando's and buying the spice is way cheaper than actually eating out at Nando's!
Yay! Five frugal things and menus are my favorite to comment on, and I've been thinking about them for a while.
1). I have been diligently hanging my laundry out to dry, usually about one load per day. My husband hates line-dried towels and so one day, I washed 3 loads and used the dryer for the last one, with a bit from each load to treat him. Two loads air dried and a happy hubby is a success in my book!
2). This is my second summer home with my kids and we may use less electricity now than using our automatic thermostat when I worked. Every morning, I turn off the AC and open all windows to let the cool morning air in. Yesterday, my kids and I had long pants and hoodies with the unusually cool air. My house got down to 66 degrees and I closed the windows. It stayed very pleasant all day, even when we were in the 80's.
3). We hosted our monthly marriage group, and this is the first month we've transitioned to host-provided refreshments instead of a potluck. I made and purchased yummy frugal snacks and now I don't have to worry about any food for the group for 6 more months. I spent about the same time and money on the snacks for the whole group as I did on one potluck item (which I always wanted to be special), so this is a fabulous change.
4). I've been enjoying fruit infused water. I added 2 cut up strawberries from our organic CSA and two limes from Aldi (rind removed and then sliced) to 1.5 gallons of water. I served it at a pizza party with friends last night and it was a huge hit. Now that we got our strawberries again today, I might add 1-2 more to the recipe but even that little amount of fruit has made the water so refreshing.
5). I'm meal planning and will be prepping lunches and dinners for my husband while the kids and I are away next week. He can certainly do this on his own, but it makes me happy to know after a long day of work, he'll have a lovingly-made frugal meal waiting for him.
I air dry most of my clothes as well, and also don't like that stiff, crunchy feel they get. I just throw everything in the dryer for 5 or so minutes once it's dry. This softens it right back up for a fraction of the cost of drying it all the way in the dryer.
1. Made a big pot of beans with frozen garden veggies from last year's garden last weekend. It fed six of us plus a few lunches during the week. It will reappear for guests again today with the fixings for burritos. I'm racing to finish up last year's harvest as I see this year's coming in.
2. It is hot here so I'm trying to avoid having the oven on for hours and I'm trying to use up frozen garden veggies. Next up: a big pot of minestrone made with stuff from the fridge and freezer. We'll serve that to guests today too.
3. I redeemed credit card rewards too! I take either statement credit or gift cards depending upon if there is a bonus for redeeming rewards as gift cards. So this week, I got some cash back and some target gift cards.
4. Planning a couple of online purchases today of diapers. Want to take advantage of sales, use gift cards, save time not going to the store, save gas, and avoid impulse purchases. Big boxes for the toddlers to play in are added bonuses.
5. Planning to work on the drip irrigation system again this weekend. We're two months in to trying to get it to work but I don't have the physical strength to use the hole puncher by myself. We'll have extra hands today in the form of out of town guests who can help with the irrigation system and/or distract toddlers.
Today has not been frugal. I left the car in the carpark while I took mum to the doctor and came back to a huge scrape on my ex pristine car!
1. My daughter is in a stage production and she made chicken a la king to eat on some nights.
2. Leftovers chicken was made into chicken noodle soup. It is the right week as it is cool here now.
3. Stew was made out of freezer ingredients.
4. Today we bought cheaper fruits and so far they taste great.
5. I am using extra blankets instead of turning on the heating. Queensland homes are not built for wintery weather.
I'm so sorry about your car! That's frustrating.
1. Took advantage of an offer by TWC to increase our internet speed while lowering our monthly fee. (Actually getting TWC to honor the mailing was a royal battle in that customer service dept apparently knew nothing about it, but that's a different story . . . )
2. In the process of making the above change, the customer service manager reminded me we could save an additional $10 monthly by purchasing our own internet modem and returning theirs. We ordered one from Amazon straight away, applying that $30 Apple class action settlement many of us likely just received (and don't understand, but again that's a different story . . . ). So, once all is said and done we will go from an annual internet bill of $720 to just $480.
3. Cooked up a storm in anticipation of family visiting this next week rather than defaulting to expensive supermarket convenience/ready made foods.
4. Brought our own wine to a restaurant, paying a relatively modest corkage fee instead of the usual 3x markup for wine.
5. Indicating it was our anniversary when making the reservation netted us a free dessert, so that was a nice little frugal save too!
Hello Tamara. Can you let readers' know how the internet speed increase works out? Here in Vancouver BC, Shaw Internet has a similar offer for $4/Canadian/month.
1. Shopped at Aldi.
2. Resisted the urge to get a drive thru burger on my way home at lunchtime. Ate a hot dog at home, lol.
3. Shopped around for swim lessons for my oldest grandkids. Expensive at the franchise places! I had a thought and picked up the phone and called my daughter's best friend, a former lifeguard. She is teaching the kids in her mom's pool very near my house. The price is not a whole lot less but they're getting one-on-one lessons. And I'm happy paying her.
4. Continuing our living room painting, which we decided to do ourselves after a couple of outrageously high quotes.
5. Switched cable companies and saved $60 a month.
1. I did all my shopping at Grocery Outlet (my equivalent to ALDI since we don't have it in here in Northern California). I always save money by shopping there and find great deals on natural products.
2. Bought the boys a "new" dresser for $6.99 at the thrift store.
3. This summer I've been teaching the boys how to ride their bikes to school safely, to minimize how often I drive them. I let them bike ahead and follow behind in case of an emergency. They have since learned how to fix a bike chain, and are much more comfortable crossing the street safely without my guidance. My 'leash' is getting longer each day, and our regular practice will pay off once school begins again.
4. This week my husband and I took the boys to free sports clinics that are being offered locally. Football is twice a week, baseball is twice a week, and ice hockey is twice a week! During the regular school year we have to pay for them to be in sports, so when there are free sessions we take advantage.
5. On our hectic days I have been cooking dinner well in advance to avoid eating out. It is not as fun, but I think it is worth it. If I cook early before I have to run my afternoon errands it is easier for us to not eat out knowing there is a meal waiting at home. Definitely worth the extra effort.
Kristen: Congrat's on saying good bye to your American Express credit card. Just because.
Nice to read the son is doing well in college. I take credit courses at Langara College, here in Vancouver BC.
Congrats too on your son landing a summer job and his efforts at college.
My one thrifty idea: Recently, I used a fresh toothbrush with lather from a tube brushed against the grain on my 60 + year face to shave. Went back to using brand name razor with battery to achieve a smooth barber shoppe style shave (I had one after a brief stay in hospital over Good Friday holiday/holy day in which beard grew tougher than usual. Along with new battery operated razor a $4/Canadian off-coupon included for my next pack of razors.
As for my health after 5 day stay in hospital: My aliments were addressed and my faith, I am convinced gave me strength while in Intensive Care unit. Today, I find myself in relatively okay heath. An easy hike on one of my favorite trails is on my agenda.
Richard in Vancouver BC.