Five Frugal Things | $5 coats, two mending jobs + more!
1. I got 2000 bonus points with Fetch.
I got a promo email about Fetch, which is an app kind of like Ibotta, where you scan your receipts and earn points.
I downloaded the app and used a code to get 2000 bonus points.
(note: at the time of writing, 1,000 points = $1, so that's $2)
After scanning the two receipts I had on my desk, I had $3 total in rewards, which are redeemable for Amazon and a bunch of other merchants.
It looks like it'll be mostly useful for name brand purchases, which I don't do tons of due to my Aldi shopping.
But if you buy brand names, this could be worth looking into.
2. I mended a kitchen towel.
This mending-a-kitchen-towel-thing has been in my five frugal things posts about 74 million times because the manufacturer's stitching on my towels is forever coming apart.
(And also, I do have about a million kitchen towels because I feel they are quite indispensable.)
Anyway, sometimes I think manufacturers sew towels together with the same stuff doctors use for dissolving stitches.
While I had the sewing machine out, I stitched up the towel end that had come undone.
3. Sonia and I got pea coats for $5.
Zoe needed a few things for her fall wardrobe, so we headed to the mall.
I saw a $5 clearance rack (which is usually populated by things like tank tops!), and noticed that even some coats were on the rack.
I have no idea why they were clearing out coats in October, but Sonia and I both got a coat for $5 apiece.
4. We are borrowing the Anne movies from my mom.
Sonia recommended that Mr. FG listen to the Anne of Green Gables books on his commute, and so he did.
He really liked the books, and he'd never seen the movies. So of course, Sonia and I thought that needed to be rectified.
Unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to locate the 1985 Anne movies to stream anywhere, and the one spot we found charged $7.99 apiece.
But I remembered that my mom owns the set, so we are borrowing the DVDs from her.
5. I mended a camp chair bag.
When we packed for camping last weekend, we discovered that one of our camp chair bags had a big hole in the side.
So, when we unpacked, I set it aside for mending (if I put it back in the shed, I knew I would NOT get around to mending it.)
It took just a minute to sew up the side, and I reinforced a few other fraying spots while I had the machine out.
My frugal things are part of normal life.
1. Today we popped into the supermarket and found a number of packages of beef reduced and most were 50 % off. Because today is Wednesday this supermarket gives pensioners an extra 5% off. It all helps.
2. I managed to fill the car before petrol rose 30 cents a litre (just over a US quart).
3. I have a long list and plan to chop at Costco tomorrow. I don't know if the savings are huge but the quality is great.
4. Today when I was buying medicine for my granddaughter I made sure to buy the cheapest version possible.
5. I have a friend who counsels that it is not always necessary to buy in bulk, I shopped around a bit and found my "snob" or flaked salt was just as cheap when buy the smallest pack.
4.
Let's see if I can get to five before my daughter wakes up . . .
1) 2 of my 4 children are wearing Halloween costumes we already had.
2) I bring my lunch to work every day. Not that the lunch in the cafeteria is too expensive (I work at a school), and for cafeteria food it's not bad, but my food is better and still doesn't cost me two dollars because it's always leftovers from the night before.
3) We've been eating the elk my son got on his hunt last week, and will be for a long time. Elk are big animals, and we ended up with about two hundred pounds of meat. So I guess that's actually my son's Frugal Thing, because he saved us about a thousand dollars.
4) I canned fourteen quarts of applesauce from a five-gallon bucket of apples given to me by a neighbor.
5) I used homemade yogurt sweetened with a little maple syrup to top baked apples for our Sunday dessert, instead of buying heavy cream or ice cream. Learning how to make yogurt from this site--which I believe is even how I found you, lo these many years ago--has probably saved me hundreds of dollars now in the decade I've been doing it. So thanks to you, Kristen, for that one!
Yay! Toddler's still not awake! Now for a second cup of coffee . . .
Whoo hoo! Congrats on the elk!!
1. Put my garden to bed till spring. It’s fertilized and mulched with compost and covered in cardboard to keep the weeds down. I harvested seeds for next year and shared with my neighbors.
2. Scheduled some free field trips for our son who is homeschooled.
3. Got some bottled salad dressing and sauces on clearance 75% off! I use them in cooking.
4. Had a lovely weekend away with a friend, all expenses paid in exchange for working at a weakened pet show.
5. Moved my clothes line so it catches the fall sun and I can keep hanging my laundry out when it’s warm enough.
I really need to get better at fall gardening. Any tips to best prepare for winter?
Frugal things this week....
1. Got some nice Xmas gifts on clearance and thirty percent off.
2. Shopped at ALDI last week.
3. Planned and served two meatless suppers. ( trying to incorporate more meatless meals now that I am empty nester).
4. Launder my work clothes carefully and well. Today I wore a cardi that was eleven years old. Looks good I swear!
5. Went on a road trip and packed a cooler and did not eat fast food.
LOVE YOUR PEA COATS
Thank you!
What a steal on those coats!
I second that....
I'm jealous!
Don't forget the library for movies; Anne would have to be there!
That is true! But we were feeling impatient about waiting for a hold to come in. My mom had it in stock quicker!
i’m going to see if my library has Anne and all creatures great and small. i always forget to check the library with the streaming services available.
I love the library for movies, except that the disks are usually in poor condition. Even after cleaning them I often need to finangle to get it past the "disk to dirty" spots.
I started shopping at Aldi again after years of not going there. They have some really cool gourmet type items that work really well for the 2 1/2 (adult 22 yr old engineer son living with us while he pays off loans) of us to try. Strudel...Pizzas...mussels...scallops...gelato and much more in addition to all the other more normal reasonable priced items,
Has Aldi changed a lot in 5 or so years? When all 4 kids were still in the house I did chips and a few other things to save money but then quit going.
An Aldi was built in our town a couple of years ago & I have been shopping there about 1.5 years. I am always on the lookout for vegetarian options for my DD who is in college. I have been impressed by the variety of unique offerings that continually change & the feedback from DD has been overwhelmingly positive.
Congrats to your son on prioritizing the paying down of his loans over getting an apartment or buying a house immediately. That decision (and your support of it) will do much good for his financial situation. Good for him!
1. I snagged a jean jacket from a giveaway box at a school where I volunteer. I often place items in the box and occasionally grab something.
2. I had bought too many pineapples when they were $1.39 at Aldi. I dropped some fresh cut pineapple off to a friend that doesn't do much in the kitchen.
3. I am using up small-ish amounts of yarn to knit fingerless gloves. They will be put up for sale at an event that raises money for charity. If they don't sell they will be donated.
4. Meals at home for the most part. We did pick up take-out for ourselves, our adult child and her fiance on Sunday. It was an easy and fun time.
5. Continuing to walk, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, get enough sleep, and practice yoga and Pilates to be as healthy as possible, both short and long term.
If you have excess pineapple or watermelon in the future, dehydrating it will give you flavorful bits of goodness. They need to be refrigerated after dehydrating but they are wonderful!
1. Called our cell phone provider and switched to their 55+ plan, which will save us about $40 per month for the exact same service.
2. Mended the zipper on a skirt so I can use it as part of the dressy outfit I need for a business trip. Since I am retiring, this will be the final trip to this event and I didn't want to have to buy something new.
3. Hung photos from my office at my new home. I had initially thought to give them away, but my husband said he liked them, we had paid for printing them (I had taken the photos) and for the frames, so we should use them. He and my son hung them and they look beautiful.
4. Cooked a meal for my son and grandkids when they came to help instead of picking up takeout or going out to eat. More fun and less expensive, plus it gave us more time together.
In my last year before retirement I have really put the brakes on any clothes for work. Looking forward to reducing my wardrobe by almost half next year!
We're travelling the US from Canada, so most of our grocery shopping is Aldi and Trader Joe's. Taking into account the exchange rate, we find gas much cheaper here -- but groceries at the "usual" stores are 150% or more of our cost in southern Ontario -- so Aldi is definitely a budget saver for us as we can get staples for the same or slightly less cost than at home! Then we also use Groupon when we can..,
1. My husband got a $10 off code earlier this summer with Groupon and we used it to purchase $50 of seafood fare for $29 (rather the regular $39) -- our Virginia Beach date night!
2. I found a pair of roll-up pants (from full length to capri) that are light and packable on a $12.95 rack at an Eddie Bauer outlet.
3. I also found a handy, easily-stored in the door pocket, ice and moisture scraper for half-price at Eddie Bauer.
4. We use Gas Buddy to check gas prices on our travel routes and have been successful in finding spots where gas up to $.30/gallon cheaper than spots twenty miles distant.
5. We're staying in places with kitchen facilities so breakfast and dinners are usually "in" and we'll pick up a small lunch when we're out and about.
Anne
I see you are in Virginia Beach. I am in near by Williamsburg. If you would like I get a free ticket to Hallowscream at Busch Gardens. If you are interested. I will meet you there and hand you the ticket.
In return I get good karma and maybe you can suggest something in Ontario if I can convince the wife to ever head that way!
I will check responses the end of the day here!
1. Received my ThredUp box of five sweaters and two short-sleeved tees (to go under sweaters with V-neck openings). Everything was in perfect shape and it all fit. I figure I saved about $70-$100 over what I would have paid in store, because I only buy new items when they are on a good sale. If I paid full price in the store for these items, I would have paid about $300-$400 more, at least.
2. Today I'm wearing a nice blouse that was given to me. My sister found it for $1 at a thrift store and bought it for me.
3. I bought another gift ahead, this one for a birthday coming up. When I shop ahead and have time to look around, I don't have to "throw money" at the problem of finding a gift at the last minute.
4. Took another non-Swagbucks survey online and got $1.00. Every little bit helps.
5. I found a "clean" dishwasher gel that works well for me, but I had trouble finding it in stores on a regular basis, so I signed up for a subscription for it which means I also -- at least currently -- am paying less for it. It's Better Life brand, if anyone is interested, but it seems like dishwasher soap effectiveness has so much to do with the brand of dishwasher, water hardness, and type of food soil, that I can't promise it will do well for everyone.
I'm loving those jackets and I love the price even more! And what's with towels, that the hems never stay in? I think you may be right about them -- the hems just dissolve.
1. Found a whole fall outfit for myself at the consignment store: jeans, shirt and cardigan. High-end brands totaling $30. I also cashed in on a credit at the store for selling some old things.
2. Eating leftovers for lunch per usual, and using up some other leftovers in a new meal. My husband and I did have one lunch out together, but it's like a cheaper date night.
3. Purchased a bathrobe on sale at Kohl's for one of my twins Christmas gifts, to match the other good-as-new robe I had found at a consignment sale for my other twin. The twins sweaters are in a woeful condition so I also bought two hoodies on sale. I'm trying the whole Kohl's cash thing, so I made note of some other things I'll return to purchase with the coupons. My twins are 9 but I've had to buy so few new clothes for them I'm bad at it 🙂 Now that they are outgrowing consignment sizes, I have to get better at it.
4. We are done paying off a loan. I moved the same amount to our savings this month and made it a recurring payment.
5. We have met our insurance deductible, and are making sure to schedule any medical procedures now before the end of the year. Fingers crossed it won't lead to more procedures down the road.
I love your #4!
Such a relief, and won't even notice the difference!
1. I added a small shelf 13X9 into a storage bookshelf that had extra space in one of the cubbies. I used push pins, cardboard cut to size and washed and cleaned cut to size plastic gridwork from a furnace filter (disassembled). It does the job, does not look bad and now I have a bit more storage.
2. Used hamburger buns already in the house for hot dogs instead of buying hot dog buns.
3. Repaired 2 socks with small rips and sewed buttons on a shirt.
4. Made low sugar apple pie instead of buying apple pie at the store.
5. Bought 50 cent gently used kids books from the library for niece and nephew
I haven't done one of these in awhile, but it's been a good week so far!
1.) Just downloaded Fetch and used Kristin's code! 🙂
2.) I bought canned soup at the grocery store to keep in my desk drawer for days when I forget to bring lunch (or don't have an event that provides lunch...)
3.) I give away all of my information to Google to earn Google Play credit. Google Rewards asks you to upload receipts (like iBotta, Fetch, etc...) and pays anywhere from $0.10-$0.75-ish for each receipt. I've used the money to upgrade a couple of apps to premium.
4.) I placed a hold for the new Jo Nesbø book. I almost bought it since the wait for a digital copy was quite long. The wait for a physical copy was 1-person long. Me. Yay!
5.) I've been investigating skin treatments that contain salicylic acid to minimize some acne scarring. I use acne treatment pads and an acne treatment lotion, which both contain salicylic acid. They help, but I wanted to try something a little more intense like a 2% acid serum. I've been looking at the brand The Ordinary because it's quite frugal (<$10 for most items). And then it hit me... that spot treatment gel I always forget to use is 2% salicylic acid. So I've been applying it each night as a serum instead of a treatment gel. It works! So I get to use up the spot treatment's I'd normally have to toss when they expire AND test whether the an acid serum would work form. Win-win!
Salicylic acid is magic!
I just downloaded the App also but can't find where to add in the code? Help? (lol)
There was a spot for it when I made my account in the app. 🙂
Oh Anne, I love her and can't wait to share the books/movies with my kids. How old were your kids when you first watched the movie and read the books?
We live next to PEI and when I was a kid going over to visit Anne of Green Gables park was always a highlight of the summer!
OH! Well, I need to pick your brain, then. Sonia and I are planning to make a trip to PEI next spring/summer, and I'd love to get your input about what's important to see and what's not.
I think my girls were pretty little when we first watched Anne of Green Gables. Zoe was maybe 6 and Sonia was 8? I'm not sure about Lisey. And I don't think Joshua has ever watched them!
That is super exciting about your upcoming trip! Yes, feel free to send me an email (I think you have it from my comment?) - I'm happy to give some suggestions.
My Zoe is just turning 4 so probably a few years still before she'll be ready for Anne. My son is almost 7 and more into ninjas and robots :).
Ooh, fun trip. My best friend and I did it about 20 years ago. PEI is a very pretty locale--I'm sure Marcelle has great suggestions for you--I would just recommend to schedule time to see more of the island than just the "Anne" stuff. And consider touring other parts of Canada as well! We particularly enjoyed Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
We own the first DVD but I have to borrow the second one from my niece. As you have mentioned, the movies are very hard to find in any format. I didn't care for the updated version that PBS did a couple of years ago--it was ok, but the Kevin Sullivan version seemed to nail the character's personalities better.
In related news, in case you haven't heard, there is a remake of Little Women coming out in December.
Yes, we plan to spend a week there, so we should have time to see quite a bit.
And yes! I'm excited about the new Little Women. Hopefully it won't disappoint.
Cool on the Anne movies. Now you'll just have to get sucked into the whole Avonlea series (which itself is a bit difficult to find as well.) My grandmother used to watch that show endlessly.
As for me, well I've been busy as well, I guess.
1.) My wife and I mended and washed all of my jeans. Some were darned in places and some had patches added to them. One pair (a particularly sentimental pair with that's been with me for almost a decade now) got a rather large patch of scrap fleece sewn to the inside of a knee. So it's reinforced now and more comfy to boot. I also washed them all on cold (to prevent too much indigo loss) and hung them out to dry even though it was a cold Autumn day.
2.) Also mended a pair of my daughter's pants. The hem was coming undone so we stitched it up.
3.) Got a damaged box microwave from Amazon Warehouse and saved about $30. My old one failed rather spectacularly and we needed a new one.
4.) Used our Groupon Costco coupons for some free stuff. Basically we got free laundry detergent and paper towels. The detergent (Kirkland's version of Tide) actually got out some stains that a previous wash didn't out before. So I call that a win!
5.) Umm, working overtime to earn more money. I don't like it but it's what I have to do.
I used to LOVE the Avonlea series!
Let me see here
1) I've been able to go home for lunch most days of the week. I either eat something we already have in the pantry or leftovers and I get to relax for about 45 minutes in the middle of the day!
2) We switched hot tub chemicals a while back and now we don't have to add nearly as much so we're definitely saving there!
3) Hubby continues to take his lunch to work every day.
4) Hubby replaced the door seal round our front door with some we'd bought last year that seemed too tight. It's still a little tight but we adjusted a few screws on the door and now we can actually open it! I came home from work the day he did it before we adjusted the screws and I couldn't get in the door! We have less air loss around the door now and he used something we'd already paid for.
5) I used the gas rewards from our cell phone company to fill up ahead of our drive to see my parents an hour away. The rewards expire on Friday so I filled up ahead of our weekend trip even though I had a half tank of gas. That way I didn't potentially pay more to fill up near their house before heading home.
I so miss going home for lunch. That 45 minutes of peace and quiet was always heavenly.
Thank you for the reminder! I have never read/watched "Anne of Green Gables" and was recently searching online for the movies. I found, like you did, that it was expensive. But I just checked, and our library has the whole 1985 DVD set so I put them on hold. Can't wait to see them!
Woohoo! Some fun viewing is in store for you.
1) I said no to solar panels. I really wanted it to make financial sense for us, but it just didn't. Maybe next time.
2) I feel like I spend a million hours a day preparing food at home, washing cloth diapers, and breastfeeding/pumping. But I will keep on keeping on.
3) I applied for a job. My current fellowship lasts until July 2021, but I saw a job that aligns with my interests beautifully and is in my current city. If by some strange occurrence I actually get it, I can always defer it to start when my fellowship expires.
4) I started working on extended family to sell me an old family home that is just sitting vacant. As much ink has been spilled on the state of small towns of late, no one is talking about how the phenomena has resulted in piles of old, vacant houses. "I can't sell Mama's house," is the refrain I hear, and yet those folks don't want to live in the house. So the houses go down. And the people who actually want to fix up an old farmhouse instead build new homes. I'm enough of a minimalist to feel sad when people hold on to things they don't need and aren't really caring for just because of emotion. Release those things back into the wild so someone can love them! Anyway, I'm off my soapbox. I consider this frugal because I am planning to buy one of these houses cheaply through family instead of waiting for it to fall into the hands of someone who barely remembers grandma and thinks he is going to cash in for a mint on a historic property.
5) I have kept up our budget, returned a couple of things to Target that didn't fit my oldest, printed long journal articles on the work printer, closed credit accounts by calling instead of using a stamp, drank water, reviewed my credit report for errors, and worked on homemade halloween costumes.
1. I did some mending, too! A loop on my daughter's boot came undone (the loop goes around a button, but since it was broken it was just hanging down) so I sewed it back onto the boot. Thankfully it's all black and turned out fine.
2. I've been giving my kids a lot of squeezie pouches for snacks. We have reusable ones and I fill them with applesauce that I made, so they're way cheaper than if I bought them from the store for 50 cents a piece.
3. Got more cheap apples today. Planning to do one final round of applesauce canning on Friday. Then we should have enough to last until next fall.
4. I saw that a John Crist comedy special is coming to Netflix soon and I don't have Netflix. But I decided to see if there were any John Crist DVDs available through interlibrary loan (there aren't - the only ones were listed as unrequestable) so I checked Hoopla and found one on there! Yay!
5. My 5yo wants to be a princess for Halloween, so we're going to borrow a Rapunzel dress-up dress from a friend for her costume. So thankful!
Frugal attempt: We have a large medical bill. I called to see if they would give us a discount if we paid in full versus doing a payment plan. The answer was no, but it didn't hurt to ask. And we paid it in full from our HSA. No late fees.
Making a spot for a sewing area in a spare bedroom has meant I actually mend things instead of putting them “on the pile”.
1. I mended 2 pair of gloves.
2. I made stock from several poultry carcasses and got a quart of meat in addition to the rich stock.
3. I continue to minimize food waste by cooking and eating what I buy, or freezing it for later. My husband suggested we buy a small freezer the first year we were married, and I cannot begin to calculate the food savings by owning and using a freezer for 35 years (not the same one lol).
4. My husband is driving out of state for our business, so I made chicken salad and packed fruit, chips, muffins, and nut bars to minimize the time and money drain of fast food stops.
5. My husband upgraded his business computer and we were able to install Windows 10 at no cost on the old one and use it for another aspect of the business instead of buying another computer. We saved several hundred dollars plus the shopping and deciding time.
*Guess I should to give credit for some of these to my husband 🙂
What great deals on those coats. They look great too.
One of my friends and I were just talking about the Anne series and how the 1985 version is the best (along with Avonlea). I am bummed that it's so hard to find! Both our kids enjoyed Anne of Green Gables when we read it to them. The book is even better as an adult-- there's so much humor I didn't get when I was young.
I don't think I've done anything frugal this week, but we did donate a LOT of money. So the majority of our outflows are to good (mostly education) causes even if DH finally purchased the 3D printer he's been saving up for, among other things.
I haven't ever watched another version of Anne...I heard such terrible things about the new version, I was scared.
Do you think the new one is a waste of time?
To be honest, I haven't seen it -- anything referred to as "gritty" or "dark" is not something I am going to look to for entertainment these days!
1. Everything I read comes from Toronto Public Library or Little free Libraries
2. I love merino sweaters and shirts for hiking, and a hiker from my group gave me several with small holes, and I darned them.
3. I lead three hiking groups each week ( no charge) and in return someone from the group buys my coffee and lunch on Friday.
4. I just got my hair cut at the Aveda School, paying much less than other hairdressers.
5. I walk just about everywhere in Toronto, so little cost for transportation - as I have never owned a car.
#5 must be a huge savings -- kudos!
I can confirm. I also have never owned a car and saved so much money! I know approximately what my friends pay for their cars plus insurance and so on... They always wonder how we can live in a nice and big apartment and go on long trips each year - but it‘s mostly because we do not own any car.
But I know we are lucky to live in a walkable city and a country with quite good bus and train connections.
A lot of places in America are sadly, pretty unwalkable. And there are a lot of places where public transport is pretty terrible as well.
My own neighborhood has a dismal walkability score, and the only business that we can walk to is a liquor store. (!)
I do enjoy living in the suburbs, but whenever I stay in a town or city, I do enjoy how easy it is to walk to things instead of driving.
Wow, you really cleaned up on those pea coats, well done!
I love that Anne of Green Gables series, the actress is my ideal 'Anne'!
My frugal things include selling no longer used electronics and ski gear and donating the rest, knowing that everything has or/will go to new appreciative owners and I have extra $$ in my pocket for Christmas as well as more space in our home.
Great Deal on the Pea Coats!
Kristin- That's wonderful that you're able to make and store so much from the neighbor's apples and make yogurt! That is a great skill.
1) Got another Christmas gift for DS2. I used swagbucks to get a Digimon and paid $15 for a new collectible 2002 model. Savings- $40
2) I go to reward bee to fill out surveys and then get magazine subscriptions for free. They allow 12 subscriptions a year. Savings- $200
3) Someone is willing to barter their $50 amazon card for a coffee table of mine that I put on Craigslist.
4)Our supermarket has a clearance section in each department. I got a bag of jalapenos (about 20) for 99 cents and made enchiladas. I can get bread ad ripe bananas for the same price. Savings- $5
5)I'm using rewards points for gift cards for my relatives for Christmas. Savings- $100
Love. The. Coats 🙂
1. Forced us to eat the last of the spaghetti and salad last night even though I was tired and kind of down. It was fine.
2. Continuing to read books and free magazines we have in the house to avoid overdue fees and even the occasional loss. Plan to pass on many of these to friends, library sales, Goodwill, etc., when I'm done.
3. Planning more meals and this is surely cheaper -- trying to use up freezer/pantry stuff we have and wasting very little food. Taking lunch to work and eating breakfast.
4. Used up stock of shampoo (finally!) so used EC bucks and coupons at CVS to get a giant jug of my preferred shampoo, along with some moisturizer that has mineral-based SPF rather than the chemicals that supposedly lead to skin cancer. Did use up the two tubes I already had of the chemical kind -- yeah, living dangerously 🙂
5.Must buy a little something for a student turning 5 and make a little party for her. I will maybe use a Target gift card..Will also scope out the markdowns at the only remaining Barnes and Noble in town, plus use up the class stash of party napkins, plates, etc. Also VERY cheap little favors for the non-birthday kiddoes (Bubbles are very popular). It is cheap and fun and the kids really enjoy it.
1. Purchased a new- in- box composter for $30 off Craigslist. Main reason we like composting is for the environmental benefit, but it also saves money. It saves on the number of garbage bags we have to buy and on purchasing fertilizers for our lawn/vegetable garden.
2. Sold most of our old Halloween costumes on Facebook Marketplace- made $30
3. Listed a Mohair throw, the previous owners of our house left, on eBay. I also listed 4 action figures my husband has had since childhood. I'm expecting to make $50-$75.
4. Purchased pumpkins from Aldi for $2.60 each rather than spending a ton on pumpkins from a farm. Carved the pumpkins this week and roasted all the seeds for a snack.
5. Ordered diapers and wipes from Walmart. They ship for free over $30 and have the best prices for diapers on their store brand. Paid for the diapers with gift cards I got from Walmart's car seat buy back event last month. I found 3 car seats in the trash, which I returned for $90 in gift cards. I ordered the diapers through Ibotta, which saved me another $4.
We got our pumpkins from Aldi too!
Elk is the best!!
My five frugal things:
1. Used a $25 Visa gift card to buy $27 worth of groceries and household cleaning products.
2. Purchased aromatherapy bracelets at 45% off as Christmas gifts for my three daughters.
3. Downloaded a bunch of free e-books to read.
4. Once a month my workmate and I have a dish to pass lunch with another department. Most people buy premade stuff from the grocery store. I made a homemade rum cake because I had all the ingredients in my pantry. There were no leftovers to bring home.
5. My oldest daughter (age 29) is going to a Halloween party as the white queen from Narnia. She came to the house over the weekend and we made her icicle crown by making waves of hot glue piped onto parchment paper. After they hardened, we painted them with white iridescent nail polish and added pearls and rhinestones. We then glued the hot glue waves to a wire circle to form the crown. It looked so great!
I love the Anne movies! I always want to watch them in the fall for some reason, though I don't always manage it since they are quite long. Will have to watch them again soon!
1. Made 3 soups (chicken noodle, chicken rice, & white chicken chili) and homemade broth this week. Easy meals to heat up & serve. Froze the extra. Love fall!
2. Since I'm now employed at a library, I no longer get late fines. Making money & saving money:)
3. A friend is gifting me some curriculum. Yay free school stuff!
4. I've been trying to get us out of the cereal for breakfast rut. I've been cooking/prepping more to change our routine.
5. We'll be choosing costumes this year from what we already own.
I just put the Anne movies on hold at the library. My 9 yo enjoyed the first book and I think the movies are something they my 11 yo and 7 yo will enjoy as well!
1). I started using a Fitness Blender workout program that I had already purchased, rather than buying the new one I really wanted. I am trying to hold on purchasing new programs until their Cyber Monday sale.
2). I wanted to do something fun and special with my kids while my husband was out of town last weekend. We had a backyard dinner - hot dogs and s’mores over the fire plus veggies. They absolutely loved it! It was more fun and less stressful than taking them out to dinner!
3). Today I am planning on roasting the pumpkin seeds for the pumpkins we carved last night.
4). I went through our Halloween tub and found enough leftover prizes from years past for my daughter’s Halloween party at school. This will be the 4th year I’ve used the Halloween themed bingo set I bought at Target for a class party.
5). I’ve also been reading books from the library, eating leftovers, combining errands, trying just to stay home, and bought gas at Costco when I was nearby.
Love Anne of GG - I was looking at those dvds the other day; think I will watch them in nov..
LOVE the coats on you both; congrats on a great frugal win
1. I haven't been ultra frugal focussed but really making more of my time lately, started learning sign language which I've often thought to do & a community class flyer landed in my letterbox so I took the plunge & price is reasonable; teacher great
2. started being more disciplined going to bed earlier-getting more done & oddly less hungry so eating less - more frugal?
3. stopped chasing rewards points; trying to buy only what I need or really do want
4. Had a WONDERFUL day off having tea & breaks in the garden daydreaming about getting it under control, enjoying some sunshine & spring cleaning - so lovely to have the front & back doors open & sun & fresh air coming in
5. remembered to check my oil & top up!!
forgot to add - stop the press - I may be the last person on the planet to learn this but just discovered you can cook mixed vegies in George; did steak as well, so good, dinner in 8 min...love my George...
I downloaded Fetch - thanks for the promo code!