Five Frugal Things | $20 survey, gas savings, $0.88 flowers, and more
1. I filled out a survey for $20.
Remember that TV show I watched so I could complete a paid survey for $200? They sent me a follow-up survey for $20, and it took only about ten minutes to complete.
Totally worth it!
And the Amazon gift card is in my account. I probably will use it toward an umbrella for our deck.
On a related note, since our deck is small, I'm thinking of getting a deck railing mount for the umbrella, which will save us a lot of floor space.
Either way, I'll use the gift card toward something umbrella related.
2. I got gas with my Royal Farms card.
It's a branded debit card that gives me $0.10 off per gallon, plus I earn points toward free things from the Royal Farms store.
(Kate Spade wallet courtesy of Lisey, who is a master at consignment store shopping!)
3. I shopped some sales at a non-Aldi store.
I try to buy as many of my groceries at Aldi as I can, but I do have to buy a few things elsewhere. I needed bananas (I hate Aldi's bananas) and water chestnuts.
While I was there, I also picked up
- shrimp ($5.99/lb)
- organic chicken (buy one, get one free)
- Starbucks coffee ($4.99 for a bag)
- Friendly's ice cream ($1.88/half gallon)
4. I ordered some more Aldi gift cards.
I got my Gift of Choice card through Sixth Continent and then I redeemed that for Aldi gift cards, which will be coming in the mail shortly.
It's not going to make me rich, but 5% back is more than nothing back.
And it's definitely worth more than the miles I get on my Southwest card.
5. I planted my $0.88 flowers.
Zoe and I had hit up a Memorial Day sale but I didn't get around to putting all the flowers in the ground and in pots until yesterday.
Hopefully they will thrive, but hey, even if the voles end up eating them, at least I only spend $0.88 each.
And the ones in the pots will survive for sure.
1. I had gotten my husband a pair of Keen sandals last August at Sam's Club. They have not held up at all which is inconsistent with Keen. So I emailed them and sent them pictures. They sent me a credit to their store (which was $40 more than I had paid at Sam's Club), allowing me to buy another pair, brand new, with free shipping. They arrived in 2 days and look perfect. GREAT customer service.
2. I have been doing the $1 credit for slower shipping on Amazon and this week was able to get a free e-book for our small group with the credits. And 90% of the time, the products get here the same time they would with the regular Prime shipping.
3. Used my Planet Fitness membership all but three days in May. For $10.70 a month, that works out to be pretty cheap per use.
4. Got a Papa John's gift card for half off with Sixth Continent.
5. Got something free from Chick Fil A almost every week in May just for having their app. (usually a breakfast item, but this week is their new tea).
Keen does, generally, have exceptionally durable shoes. My husband has been wearing the same sandals for at least 5 years. We also bought work boots for each of us and they are fantastic. Waterproof, sturdy, super comfortable and look brand-new after over a year of hard use. It is great to know they also have great customer service. I wish they made pretty shoes!
1. Garden is doing well with all the rain. My total cost to plant was really low as my neighbor gives me tomato starts from seeds. All I bought was a pack of beans for 1.89 and a pack of cukes and roma tomatoes at the flea market for 1.75 each. They were out of zucchini but I seemed to have a volunteer and that's about as free as you can get! Also, picked a small bowl of cherries from our two year old cherry tree last night.
2. VBS at church this week and we reused palm trees, relish tray flowers and cardboard bushes we made a few years ago. My talented sister had painted huge jungle animals on cardboard for her grandson's birthday which we borrowed. She'll pick those up, vines we made from donated materials and anything else we can't reuse next week for their church's VBS.
3. Vacation at the beach next week with my sister-in-law and nephew. We take food and eat out only a few times. I already had almost everything I will take and will only pick up salad items at Food Lion. Last year our total for all food including eating out was less than 100.00. Definitely a cheap week at the beach!
4. My swiffer wet jet bit the dust. Thankfully, I had a shark mop that I had picked up from the thrift shop for 4.99. I like it because I can make my own solution. I had swiffer cleaner left and struggled to figure out how to transfer it to the shark. Inserting a straw into the container made a nice spout.
5. A scare with our bottom freezer made me clean it out so we could repair it. It was still quite full with items I stocked before surgery. The last few weeks, my grocery bill was been in the $20-30 range. By the time we've eaten it down a bit, the garden should be producing so my grocery bill should still be low for several weeks. Woo hoo!
1. Took a survey and will get $6
2. We have had to repair all three cars this month. Yuck. But the garage worked with us to get the most expensive car repair down below $2,000 then my husband had a 20% off coupon so we ended up saving $800 on the repairs.
3. Took advantage of a free 3 hour training that also gave me 3 free continuing Ed credits
4. Found a renter for our rental property!
5. Returned a pair of son’s cleats that didn’t fit correctly.
1. At a recent large family gathering, I brought three food items. I made all three from scratch, and the ingredients weren’t all that expensive. It would’ve been more convenient to buy them pre-made, but I resisted that urge.
2. I’ve been having more dental appointments lately than my usual two per year. The appointments have been to replace old fillings. For some reason, I’m getting more nervous about seeing the dentist as I get older, rather than less. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Anyway, I’m telling myself as I drive to the dentist’s office each time that “this is frugal in the long run,” and that calms me down a little!
3. Was able to use a gift card to a store I don’t shop in, to buy a birthday gift for someone who does go there. It’s a nice store, but a little upscale for me. I thought a gift card couldn’t be used to buy another gift card but I asked the cashier and she kindly said it was no problem. Like WilliamB says, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
4. Having a little get-together at my house this weekend for my high schooler’s friends, to celebrate the end of the school year. I’ll buy a stack of $5 pizzas, and a few balloons at the dollar store. The kids who are coming will bring lemonade, sodas, and chips.
5. Trying to keep a better eye out for gas prices. It seems the gas stations I thought were the least expensive are creeping up in price, and some that I thought were always higher have had lower prices lately.
1. I did a Swagbucks survey that earned me 3,000 points (worth $30 or more). It was a group participation survey that I did while watching a show with my husband.
2. I just made a pot of Red Lentils & Vegetable Soup. It will be lunch for about four days, so I don't scrounge or eat less nutritious stuff.
3. I redeemed Happy Guy gift cards, purchased at the grocery store for which I received dollars off and gas rewards points, for a Home Depot gift card. I also dropped off batteries for recycling. I then stopped at Staples and bought tissues, using a store coupon and a gift card (earned using eBates) to pay for most of the purchase.
4. A friend invited another friend and me over for an informal lunch. I brought watermelon. It was fun to get together, the food really is secondary.
5. I'm wearing clothes from previous years. It's easier than shopping and good for the environment. We've had beautiful spring weather in Maryland. I have barely worn my hot weather clothing (shorts and sleeveless shirts).
K D, Can you tell more about batteries recycling? What kind of place do you take them to, and what do they do with them, if you know? Thanks!
Our garden has really started to kick into gear with lettuce, peas and other goodies, but our cooking has been a bit more haphazard in summer mode, and we have done take out a couple of times. Have to find the new balance this season when school is out.
But some frugal things:
1. Selling & donating. Took some clothes to a consignment store, and donated the castoffs to a flea market. Also gave some clothes to a clothing swap my eldest was going to. Consolidated these trips with other appointments so they were easy stops on the way.
2. Secondhand. Found 3 pairs of shorts, pants, and a new-with-tag shirt for my kids at the consignment place and flea market. Used up a small credit at the consignment place and found things that were marked half off, so an outfit that is almost brand new was had for $6. The flea market purchases were only a dollar or two each, and I resisted buying anything else that was beckoning me.
3. Made the call. My insurance company denied a claim twice, and finally made an adjustment but not quite right. I took the time to call them twice, and it seems sorted out. We found out there was a number error on the claim code.
4. Baking. Made some cookies for a potluck instead of purchasing them which has been my go-to recently. We’ve also baked brownies and bread several times in the last week.
5. Coupons. Purchased some toiletries at CVS with over $30 in savings in coupons alone. The purchase was $22 for something that would have cost $70 without sales and coupons. I don’t chase coupons, but when I need something I try to look for what’s arrived in mailers/inbox.
Maybe I'll find some time to fill in surveys poolside 🙂
Ah...the bananas at Aldi. It's like they stand 10 feet back and throw them toward the display and hope they land on the pile. I have found that their organic bananas are good and usually they are treated with a little more respect (at least at my store). If I don't want to go anywhere else, I will buy their organic bananas instead of running to another store.
My issue is that they always go from green to spotty, it seems. No perfect in between!
I guess I'm not a banana connoisseur! My Aldis store has very good bananas. I buy them slightly green and they get eaten up within 3 or 4 days. If I do have any that don't get eaten that quickly I peel them, put them into a freezer bag, squeeze them into mush and then freeze for banana bread or muffins later.
I am, admittedly, a very pick banana eater. I like them to be just barely past green, and most definitely NOT with any spots. 🙂
I DID see an employee throwing bananas in the big bin at Aldi! And she's a manager! We stopped buying "nanners" there ages ago because they ripen too fast, taste bad, and are slimy/mushy. Yuck!
Same low quality at both Aldi stores in our former city.
We used to have terrible bananas (how green can you get?!) from Aldi but the last year-ish had been good! They're pretty reliable for me now!
I haven't gotten big money for surveys in a good while. My biggest was $50, but I've made $10 and $12 a few times, just not recently. Kristen I hope the new plants do well.
1. Maybe frugal-ish, we'll see. My car was repaired a week and a half ago, only it wasn't actually repaired, because I continue to have problems. I've persisted with the shop, which isn't my usual shop, but was the only place open on Sunday when the car acted up, reminding them of their guaranty each time. They told me yesterday that they can't figure it out, unless it's because they used non-OEM parts in the engine repair, so they are going to order and install OEM parts and see if that fixes it, at no charge to me. As I said, we'll see if my persistence pays off. I could give up and go to my regular mechanic, but I want that guaranty to be utilized.
2. My neighbor offered to dig up stumps in our yard while he is using his little backhoe in his yard. He dug up three that needed to be gone, and he pulled up a cypress tree that died from a disease while he was at it. He saved me several hundred dollars, bless him. I have thanked him effusively. They don't eat a lot of sweets, so baking something is probably out, but I want to do something for him and his wife.
3. I wrote a letter online to our Compassion child in Peru yesterday. That means I can download pictures to include in the letter, he gets the letter faster, and I save on postage, so win-win.
4. I purchased another $25 Swagbucks Amazon gift card for $22 worth of Swagbucks.
5. I donated a big box full of good canning jars that I no longer use -- I still probably have 40 left, but I use those -- to a farmer, who uses them to hold the goat milk, yogurt and kombucha that she sells. She gave me a dozen eggs from her hens, for free, in thanks.
We are on our third new-to-us PT Cruiser and have found that aftermarket parts do not resolve problems, at least if it is for something electronic. Stick making them meet their guarantee!
Aside from the usual meals at/from home ect ect…
1. Went to the coast with husband, daughter, and a friend of hers for a overnight stay (as part of her 16th birthday gift she wanted a weekend getaway...that's my girl...). Anyway...when I mentioned that our daughter was turning 16 and that it was our first time staying at their motel they took 60.00 off the cost of the family unit room (huge with 3 king size beds, kitchen...right on the beach) and gave us a big handful of coupons for free coffee, discount meals, free dessert at the local bakery, bike rentals, they even gave us free passes for the aquarium ect, ect...we actually came home with money in our pockets..sweet! We will definitely be back...it pays to be friendly, patient and easy going...people ahead of us at check in were beyond rude and making life for the workers difficult Ugh...… When it was my turn to check in I took my time to let them know I wasn't uptight about waiting and I made the effort to get them smiling and laughing...Niceness really does matter.
2. While the girls were running around on the beach on our last day, husband and I were invited to another motel that was doing its best to get people to invest in their company's timeshare deal...well, even though we were up front and said we weren't interested they offered us a free 2 night stay at any of their resorts (we get to choose) if we would only take their tour (and wow....the place was amazing) and listen to their sales pitch....an hour later we walked out with our free room, a sack full of some really nice full sized toiletries, pamphlets of the resorts we were interested in and a 25 dollar gift card just because... and they even fed us...they were hosting a bbq for their guests...so...dang! not bad for a hours time spent mostly checking out a fancy motel...we actually had fun...the guy giving us the tour was very funny and was completely fine with the fact we weren't going to buy a time share..
3. Daughter will be starting collage courses during her jr year of high school….its called running start and the courses she takes can be applied to her associates degree and then transferred over to the university….15 credits per quarter and all I have to do is pay for her books...1000's of dollars saved right there
Pretty good week I think
I took community college classes my senior year of high school and I was able to start college as a sophomore. Finished a bachelor degree in 3 years and it seemed to really impress interviewers when I started looking for jobs after graduation that I was able to finish in 3 years. I hope your daughter has a similarly positive experience with taking college classes in high school.
I did the same! I graduated in 3 years with my Bachelor's degree, so before age 23 I had my Master's degree. Not only is it something that can be listed on a resume, but think about the money your daughter will be saving! Nice job!
I did the same, too, and it was well worth it! Good for her!
1) I took a bunch of clothes my kids had grown out of to the consignment store and bought a few things for them from the sales rack.
2) I made sure Sheridan Health Services had our correct insurance information. I think this is the last unpaid bill from our son's birth in April, and it should be completely covered by insurance.
3) I'm going to the dermatologist today. Trying to get those things in before our deductible reups in July.
4) Last night I really wasn't feeling pulling together supper. But I did it anyway. Everyone got fed. And it was fine.
5) I renewed our library books to avoid a fine, put cloth diapers in the washer, pumped a little breast milk off last night after baby was asleep to add to my stock for when he goes to daycare, ate up leftovers for lunch, updated my Upromise account, checked in with my fellowship provider to see what they offer me for travel so I can plan upcoming trips, and did the exercises prescribed by my physical therapist to take full advantage of the service. Now I am going to drink a cup of tea and eat a cookie (both from Aldi) before it is on to the next thing.
Hang in there, mama. I remember when I was in your position--baby, toddler, chores, house. Oh, yeah, and pump milk. From. Your. Breasts. Because you don't have enough to do, right?
You're awesome.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
xoxoxo
1. We have not had a fast food dinner since May - which has been a relief after so many "I'm too sick to grocery shop and cook" days in May. I did have a spendy Costco trip to add a few premade meals to our chest freezer, because those are still cheaper than eating fast food repeatedly.
2. My mom's car stopped working and I was able to lend her mine while hers was in the shop for a few days, which saved the cost of a rental car.
3. We are going over the costs of continuing daycare while I am going back to school to change careers. One option would be to wait until the toddler is preschool age and able to go to the preschool in our school district, which is half the cost of private daycare/preschool. We are in the process of weighing all our options, but we hope to find a thrifty solution.
4. I've been diligent about scanning receipts into Ibotta and Fetch and was able to get $20 in Ibotta pretty quickly and have close to a $10 reward in Fetch.
5. I signed up to do grocery delivery a few nights a week, which I actually enjoy doing. I've always loved grocery shopping and it reminds me of Supermarket Sweep.
I always think of a few more thrifty things after reading others comments.
1. We will be starting to remodel our new home next week. We needed a Bagster to take away the construction debris, as our garbage service charges a huge fee for this. Found a Bagster on Facebook Marketplace for 1/2 the price.
2. My sister was having a garage sale this weekend. She only buys brand name clothing (and lots of them). She was getting rid of a ton of clothing. She let me take whatever I wanted, so I practically have a new work wardrobe now. I have maybe spent $50 in the past 2 years for clothing and shoes for myself.
3. Spent only $45 on groceries this week
4. We were really hoping that we would no longer have to pay childcare costs for my son, being he starts kindergarten in September. Unfortunately, the bus doesn't come early enough to pick him up in the morning. Fortunately, my husband is out of work before my son will get dropped off in the afternoon. Therefore, I only needed to sign him up for "before care". I signed him up through the YMCA, at his new school, for $44 per week. And they let us put this on our credit card, which gives us 2% back. It's not free, but not too bad. We are paying $117 weekly now for "before" and "after care" while he attends pre-k.
5. Sold 2 items on Facebook Marketplace and Ebay. Made $25. I was hoping for more, but oh well.
Being thrifty isn't something that comes naturally to me, but I love reading all the comments and seeing what I can work on.
1. I called and cancelled my internet service and SlingTV today. That saves me $135/month. Now that the weather is nice, I'm outside constantly and haven't watched TV in almost 3 weeks.
2. I have taken lunch to work every day for a week. This is something I struggle with. I'm not really good at planning and end up getting fast food a lot.
3. I took a TV survey and they sent me $7. Not much, but I bought a latte with it this morning. (I stopped buying coffees out 2 weeks ago!)
4. I redeemed $10 Wiki Dollars for a gift card.
It's a start. Each week I'm hoping to be able to add to my list.
Wow!! Way to go!!
Thank you! 🙂
Ugh! Yes! Aldi never has good bananas for some reason.
Some frugal stuff for me:
1. Bought a nice shirt at an outlet. It's hard to say it's truly frugal but it's a good shirt and I needed it.
2. Used two Target gift cards to get some polos for work that we're on sale.
3. Bought a warehouse deal on Amazon and it came missing parts! I contacted Amazon and they shipped me a new one.
4. Got an oil filter for my tractor much cheaper online than local store.
5. Glad that I'm only paying a co-pays and not out of pocket for all the medical bills I've had to pay lately.
1. Ate leftovers for lunch.
2. Checked the Aldi app today before I went to the store... This turned out to be frugal because I've been saving my spending money this month to buy a beach bag and they have an awesome one out this week for $15, but a much more basic one next week for $7! I don't need all of the features that the $15 one offers, so I'm going for the cheaper one next week.
3. This week we're watching a Daniel Tiger movie I ordered from the interlibrary loan system. I like it enough that I thought about buying it (oh how we need to learn strategies for how to handle "big feelings") but realized that it wouldn't take long before it wasn't special anymore, so I'll just order it periodically to keep it "exciting".
4. I froze some ham and green peppers to use in recipes on our camping trip next week.
5. I'm using meat from my freezer all week. I really need to do this all month if at all possible since our grocery budget is struggling these days! But I'm very pleased with what we've done this week and have menu planned for the days ahead.
I realized around 1:30 this morning that I took out $60 less than I was supposed to for groceries this month! No wonder I'm feeling broke!
1. I went by Sonic yesterday and got a free classic strawberry shake for my birthday by using the app. I don't drink milkshakes but my youngest daughter loves them so it was a nice treat.
2. I made my brother a birthday cake to resemble a giant Reese cup. We are celebrating birthdays and Father's Day this afternoon for free at the park since the weather is good here and the kids can play at the splash pad. This was the only day that worked out for everyones schedule and since it's through the week, it will be less crowded. Hope the Reese doesn't melt!
3. I tried the new grocery pickup at Walmart since the first three are free. It has its pros/cons. Sometimes we have a hard time planning when we will be available to pick up the groceries and it would have been quicker to just go in myself. My husband had to wait a long time to pick up groceries yesterday because many others picked the 5:00 pm time slot and there was only one girl loading groceries. My husband helped her load because she was visibly exhausted. Also, sometimes they pick produce that I wouldn't have picked myself. There was a customer that had several kids and the girl just kept loading tons of bags into her car all the way to the top. Having had several small kids in tow before, I can see how this would be great for her or someone that is disabled. Overall, this feature will be great for some times and not for others. I'm probably just going to stick to getting my own groceries.
4. I repainted my front door. The paint cost was $13 for a quart..has paint went up?! Still less money than getting a nice new front door. It does look a lot better. I also recently removed all my screens doors, scrubbed the well, spray painted them, then reattached them. This made a dramatic difference. They look brand new and was only $1 per can per door.
5. My kids signed up for the summer reading program at the library. They gave them free reusable bags, a coupon for a free breakfast at the huddle house, and a list of events for the summer. Good free fun.