Five Frugal Things
Howdy guys! It's Tuesday and you know what that means: a fresh Five Frugal Things list.
1. I got some Safeway app deals
I installed the Safeway app for the first time, and they gave me some first-time user offers.
Normally I consider Safeway's prices to be uncomfortably high, but these were good deals!
So, I got:
- a box of Wheat Chex for $0.99
- a loaf of bakery bread for $0.99
- a container of Oui yogurt for $0.39
- a tube of Colgate toothpaste for $0.99
- a pineapple for $0.99
- a pint of organic tomatoes for $1.50
Of course, these are one-time deals, so I'm not going to make a habit of shopping at Safeway instead of Aldi.
2. I bought some secondhand books on eBay
You all gave me lots of good medical memoir titles in the comments on this post! I put as many of them on hold at my library as I could, of course.
But my library did not have all of them.
Or in some cases, it had the titles, but only in ebook form. And we KNOW what will happen if I get an ebook.
(spoiler alert: I will completely forget that I have the book and thus, will not read it. I need to see a physical copy of the book if I'm going to remember to read it!)
I hopped over to eBay, visited the ThriftBooks store, found all of my titles there, and purchased them in one fell swoop in order to get the multi-item discount.
So now I have five books on their way to me for a total of $22, and after I finish reading them, back onto eBay they will go.
3. I cashed out from Rakuten and Top Cashback
Rakuten (formerly Ebates) and TopCashback are both online cashback shopping portals. Since I don't do tons of shopping, it takes me a bit to stack up enough cashback to cash out, but hey, every little bit helps!
If you are doing online shopping this holiday season and you don't have these accounts, click the links above to open one up. They usually offer a $10 bonus for first-time account openers.
TopCashback offers a bonus percentage when you redeem your earnings, depending on whether you choose actual cash (no bonus) or credit to a particular store (such as Amazon). Of course, I always opt to redeem for a bonus. 😉
4. I made a big pot of chicken broth
I had several rotisserie chicken carcasses in my freezer, so yesterday I used them to make this chicken broth.
Carcasses take up a lot of room in the freezer, so I'm very happy that they have now been used to make some broth. The broth is much more space-efficient, not to mention more usable than bones!
I was completely out of chicken broth, so I'm glad to have some containers in my freezer now.
Here's how I make my chicken broth.
5. I bought zero Black Friday deals
As I've said before, I'm not morally opposed to Black Friday shopping, especially if you use the sales to buy things you'd planned to buy (and that you budgeted for!)
But there were no such scenarios for me this year, and buying nothing is quite frugal. 😉
Good morning, afternoon or evening. We rarely get the pineapple tops but some manage to grow new pineapples for the leaves. Now on to my frugal things.
1. Like you I stayed well away from the sales.
2. I have only eaten out once this week. Mum had surgery on her hand and it took seven hours instead of the four I was told. I had to eat but I worked on making my money stretch.
3. I have stayed away from the grocery store and spent far less than usual. I even asked my daughter to bring me a loaf of bread on her way home from work. If I didn't go to the store the temptation was not there.
4. Our fuel price has gone up to around $2 a litre. That is around $1.45 (US) for a quart of petrol/gas.
5. I have made the most I can out of our food. There are Christmas specials on ham at present. In our Aussie heat ham and salad makes a good option. We opened a half leg a fortnight ago. The shank has gone into the freezer for soup when the weather cools again.
6. Bonus: I have been encouraging my granddaughter to save some money each week. She has just over $40. I think she will have a grand old time buying gifts. How I wish we had the dollar tree here.
@Suzan, Gas is quite expensive Down Under! Do you have public transportation alternatives? Sidewalks and bike lanes?
@Bee,
I realise that rising gas prices might be tough on many people - I do see an upside to this though. Your comment/suggestion shows that it might lead to finding alternatives which are friendly to your budget and great for our planet!
@Suzan, we plant our pineapple tops in our back yard and probably have close to 10 growing now. Here in this part of Wet Africa they bgrow well, but they're slow, so we haven't had any fruit yet.
@Bee, there is a new light rail system being constructed and the depot is a few kilometres from here. Our bus system is pretty poor if I want to start a journey from home. If I drive five kilometres I can use the busway and it is pretty good during the day.
We keep our mileage low. A fuel tank can last up to three weeks. We have a new car that is not electric and it would have been fantastic to be able to afford one of those. My point is that we have had the car 17 months and the car has yet to reach 14000 km. This is under 8 700 miles. Since we sometimes have to travel a distance for certain amount for medical appointments. I also have to sometimes push my mother is a wheel chair so I prefer the car on those days.
@Katy in Africa, I have heard it can take around two years. I have yet to succeed.
I am very proud to announce I did not have any food waste for the last ten days or so!
During the whole month of November I did not spend any money other than the usual bills and grocery. Black Friday and such I have been ignoring for the last 20 years or so. If I have a need - than I will do my research and try do get the best value for my money.
Thanks to sky rocketing Covidnumbers in Germany I told my best friend that we will not meet for dinner at a restaurant as we usual do. Instead she came over to my place and I prepared dinner for us.
There were two books which were recommended to me. My nearest by library did not have them and I was too impatient to have them put on hold for me. So I went to another library in a different part of my city where I could get them right away. When finished I can drop them at the library near my house as they all belong to the same system.
That's it. I don't remember any more things
@Lea, So awesome that you were able to achieve no food waste for over 10 days!
@Beverly,
Oh yes! And quite unlike me. I was thinking what caused it and came to the conckusion it is because my fridge was literally almost completely empty and I was forced to turn every bit and piece into a nutritious meal. Last year at the first lockdown I stocked up my walk-in-pantry and the three freezer drawers beneath my fridge. For the last 2 months I have been working on emptying all this out.
* I don't usually care about Black Friday - especially not in stores because I don't enjoy shopping at all - but I did buy a laptop this year. Necessary for university. 250$ off. And hoping it will last me at least 6 years (course duration).
* Signed-up for 4 extra work shifts in december.
*Still eating mostly from the freezers and pantry, and buying only the necessary extras (fruits, veggies, dairy, bread). Our stock is (finally!) going down slowly but surely. I tend to hoard food and then become overwhelmed by it, so...
* Daughter is being evaluated for ADHD/TSA. We were able to have this done this year for 1800$ instead of the initial 2500$, and covered at 80% by private insurance. Ouff! Next year will be all about treatments following the findings, so we will see then how much out of pocket, but at least we will have 1600$ (out of 2000$) assured that will be reimbursed by our insurances. Thank God for them!
* Hubby and I are really low key people and our entertainment is on the low side too. We are having a ''date day'' this week, which will consist of a yoga class (10$ each), and then chilling at home playing games or watching a movie.
Oh, that's so great you could find a good deal on something you needed anyway. Excellent.
What degree are you pursuing?
Given your interest in labor and delivery, I would definitely recommend adding A Great Time to be Born by Perri Klass to your list.
I'm partnering on the No Black Friday purchases.
Although my laptop is no longer reliable and due to its age no longer worth the investment of a repair, I decided against buying a new one. I have a work laptop for work and can do finance, and read emails and blogs on my phone. The occasional word document or spreadsheet, and the rare game, can be done on my husband's rarely used laptop. I do not like watching Netflix.
How much equipment does a household need after all? We can buy a new one once his laptop gives out as well.
@J NL,
Same with me! My laptop is very old and sloooow.....
Really complicated things I do on my fantastic computer at work - including printing out important documents. All of course with the permission of my boss.
And the rest is done with my smartphone.
And so much nicer without all the cables and printer (I gave it to my son)....the less stuff in the house the better! A friend of mine let's me use her Netflix account - I hardly ever watch though.
@J NL, "How much equipment does a household need after all?"
I'm in something of a glass house but I will toss a few stones.
I have a few acquaintances and family members that seem to have more television sets than they have fingers and I really just wonder why. Do you need to be entertained in every single room of your house?
@Battra92, I know! I went to a home where they had large screen TVs in both of their bathrooms. Boggles the mind.
@Battra92, we were horrified when we toured our house before buying it: every room except the two bathrooms and laundry room had a TV in it. Since the center of the house is largely open, with four rooms flowing together, that was four television sets in a relatively compact area. It reminded me of that scene in the movie "Raising Arizona" where the pack of dogs chase the protagonist through an empty house with televisions playing in every room.
We have one television set in the den. Most nights it isn't even turned on.
@Ruby,
It reminds me of a novel I read at secondary school (70s!), Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury. In it, books are banned (burned) and people are encouraged to save money so they can buy wall to wall television and in that way become part of their favourite soap.
I read several dystopian novels but this one I really liked. I read 65 novels in all, for 4 languages. I had the time, because we only had one TV set and two channels and my father would get grumpy if we "watched rubbish". Fond memories!
@Battra92, when I was raising my family we had one TV, period. We usually watched our favorite shows together. Why would you want to to have your family spread over the house? I remember our favorite family shows were "Home Improvement" with Tim Allen and "Wonder Years."
@Ruby, When we move to the mountains in our first year of retirement, the home we purchased had 8 TV;s.There was one in EVERY ROOM and a small one up on the wall IN THE SHOWER!! They were all kinda old TV’s too..we had to haul off most of them to the thrift store.IN THE SHOWER!! REALLY!!!???
1. I did buy some things over the weekend, but they were things I normally get but with a bigger discount than I can usually find or things from artists that unique and wonderful.
2. Picked up two gift cards at our local independent health food store. Every year they have a buy a $50 gift card, get a $10 gift card free offer, so I got two and will use them for things we'd buy anyway.
3. Darned a hole in one of my husband's socks and sewed up a hole in a tee shirt and a loose hem in a camisole.
4. Continually listing my kids'(19 & 22) toys on eBay as I find boxes to suit them. My son gave me a few huge lots to list and two sold within a day. Now my only problem is finding boxes big enough for a couple of them - some Playmobil pieces are really big! I'm very new to selling on eBay, so it's a bit stressful, but getting big piles of stuff out of my house and making a little money for my kids is awesome!
5. Meal planning, using all the food before it goes bad, wearing lots of layers so we can keep the thermostat low, etc., etc....
@Kate, I’m at the other end of those eBay sales, I’ve been buying used toys for my little ones on eBay! It’s so great the toys can get reused (and it makes you money and saves me money!)
@LB, thank you for sharing that. I always hope these toys are going to kids who will enjoy them as much as my kids did. 🙂
I patched a pair of my daughter’s leggings.
I checked my library for books before buying and they had some physical ones as well as ebooks (I prefer these due to the ease of reading one-handed while I nurse a baby).
I got new shoes for my 2 oldest with a Black Friday deal (kids growing can always be counted on and this company does not run regular sales).
I went to a local thrift store where they were having a $5 bag sale for clothes. Picked up some socks for my littlest as well as some things for my husband and me.
I picked up new to me curtain rods. Our house came with really thin cafe rods and they are starting to bow in the middle.
Lately I feel like I'm not doing anything particularly noteworthy, but I think that's because it's all so automatic now. So here are my automatic things:
FOOD
Another excess commodities delivery in the village resulted in a LOT of food ending up at my house. Among the usual split peas and canned beans, there were figs, hazelnuts, butter, organic cinnamon toast cereal, and a bunch of boxes of Annie's macaroni and cheese. The latter was waaaay too salty for us, though, so I used the leftovers in another dish with extra plain pasta and leftover spaghetti sauce with ground beef from the school cafeteria lunch leftovers. Kids loved this.
Starting to bake the sourdough bread I give to everyone as Christmas gifts. I only do four loaves at a time, so it takes awhile to make enough for all the teachers, co-workers, neighbors, etc.
Working my way through the leftovers from the 25-pound turkey. Today I'll make a giant pot of turkey soup with the last of the meat and the broth I made from the carcass, and freeze most of it in smaller batches without the starch (so it doesn't get mushy in the freezer--I'll add rice or potatoes or whatever when I take it out of the freezer).
CHRISTMAS
I've put up our decorations, except the tree. We cut a real tree from a neighbor's ranch and it stays up until Epiphany, so I wait to do that. The rest of my decorations fit into a pretty small box, and I don't remember the last time I bought anything new. I don't have a lot of surface area, anyway, or storage space, so the decorations I've had for years are the ones I always use.
MISCELLANEOUS
Middle son outgrew his shoes. I found some Converse for him in the Bin o' Hand-me-downs.
I've had some jeans for awhile that were way too long, but fit otherwise. My sewing skills not being up to hemming, I just cut them off at the bottom to a reasonable length. And now I see that jeans with raw hems (is that the right word) are actually being sold that way. Inadvertant fashion is the only kind I will ever manage.
I was going to buy some new storage bins for my kids' overwhelming toy sets (they love to build, but sets of hundreds of pieces are my bane). I was very loathe to buy giant plastic anything, though. After I sorted through everything and scavenged a container or two from my husband's shop, I found I didn't need new storage. And now I'm not so anxious about the Christmas influx of relatives gifts. At least one of which I know is a set of Lincoln Logs that includes over 300 pieces. Sigh.
@kristin @ going country, I am so happy to hear that people are giving you what they do not want from their commodity boxes, rather than just tossing it! I was horrified years ago when I heard a woman in an aquasize class talking about throwing out a bunch of the food she'd received. Even though it was awkward, I told her I would take her excess next time. I did not use a lot of the stuff (beans, ugh!) but I managed to give away what we did not use. She died a few years lated and I never knew anyone else who got the boxes, but for a brief time I felt like I was helping reduce waste. Bravo to you!
@kristin @ going country,
"Inadvertant fashion is the only kind I will ever manage" -- Hah! Me, too!
1. I also found no major sales to partake in. I did get myself a few Blu-rays including the complete collection of the Flintstones so I've been watching and enjoying the heck out of that.
2. I also made stock. Before Thanksgiving I cleaned out all the stock parts in the freezer and made a batch. Then a few days after Thanksgiving I took the turkey carcass and fired up the Instant Pot once again and made another batch. The first batch was used in the dressing (stuffing) and some other Thanksgiving dishes and later into soup. The second batch is in the freezer for soup or other uses.
3. Made bread. I actually ran out because I thought I had another loaf in the freezer. It turns out it was a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, which is wonderful for breakfasts but not so wonderful for sandwiches. So I made a couple loaves yesterday and realized I was almost out of flour (I am really losing in the bread department, I tell ya!) so I had to pick up a couple bags of flour at Aldi. I'll be going to Costco this week so I'll have to check the price there. Luckily there is no run on flour at the moment. That was sure an annoying time.
4. An endless parade of leftovers this week!
5. Put up the same Christmas tree my wife and I bought our first Christmas together way back in our first apartment oh 11 years ago. She wants a new one but with the way things are *gestures all around* here ... I figured it can wait until next year. After all, this one is still functional, it's just not super posh or anything like that.
Oh, Mr. FG loves the Flintstones. He's had them all on DVD since our kids were little, and they enjoyed watching them as well. Does your daughter like to watch these with you?
I am super glad that flour is more available now than it was in the past. Do you like the Aldi flour? I've had bad experiences with store-brand flour so I have been hesitant to even try it.
@Battra92, the flour situation last year caused me so much stress! We couldn’t find it anywhere and somehow my husband eventually found two 10 lb bags (it looked like a commercial bakery maybe split their flour into smaller bags to sell) and I told him it was the best gift he ever gave me.
@Kristen, Aldi flour is ... fine. It's not something I would use for a delicate cake or anything but I was in a hurry and it seemed to work just fine for my bread. That said, I found it to be a bit less sifted than what I normally get but that could just be the batch or the humidity or what have you. For $1.15 a bag, it got me out of a tight spot. I wouldn't want to rely on it as my daily flour, though.
Personally I usually use what my local restaurant supply shop stocks (which is usually General Mills/Gold Medal, or Ardent Mills.)
My daughter is picky on television. Some things she likes to watch with me but others not so much. The Flintstones kind of goes over her head it seems. She really can surprise me though such as really loving "The Last Unicorn" when it scared me at her age.
@LB, On the one hand it was nice having people reach out to me asking about bread and being the expert but watching so many people dumping all that sourdough discard made me cringe. I actually had a decent supply of flour before it happened (and had tons of yeast) but boy howdy was it frustrating to see flour sold out everywhere.
@Battra92 and @Kristen: Yabba dabba doo!!! (Unlike you both, I'm old enough to have watched Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, Bam Bam, and Dino the first time around!)
@Battra92,
I've also found the Aldi flour to be less sifted than others lately, so I don't think it's just the batch you got.
@A. Marie, I remember the Flintstones when they were originally on also. What I always found funny was when I was told that the Flintstones were actually based off the old TV show "The Honeymooners."
@A. Marie, hah, me too -- and it was also the very first TV show I ever saw in color -- it was a revelation! - while visiting folks with a COLOR TV -- the excitement!
@Battra92, Ahh the Flintstones! Fred (and Jackie Gleason) always reminded of my dad, so I have a real fondness for the whole gang.
@Battra92, Cinnamon raisin bread is terrific for peanut butter or cream cheese sandwiches.
We decorated for Christmas last week and re-used decorations from last year. As a side note, I enjoy a few blogs whose main focus is interior decorating, and I know that their focus is on presenting something different every year for Christmas decorating, but I'm always a bit taken aback at how much NEW stuff they buy yearly. Maybe they donate their used decorations and so avoid filling landfills .... I dunno, it just feels like fast fashion to me. And now I will step down from my soapbox! 😛
My daughter patched a Christmas pillow for me. This pillow has had the stuffing falling out of it for many years now and I've just turned the holey part so you can't see it. Hooray for daughters who like to sew.
Just the usual in terms of other frugal savings. I'm pretty boring that way!
@Kris, I, too, don't understand where all the having to have new Christmas decorating stuff every year comes from. I have had the same decorations forever -- many family things and handmade items that have been passed down. I like things that have memories or meaning attached to them, not shiny new baubles that fall out of style in a year.
@Tracey Curry, we also like the memories! My 18-year-old son said that he is glad we don't have a "boring" Christmas tree, by which he means a themed tree. I told him that if we had room for 2 trees, I might be tempted to have one with a theme and another with our long-loved ornaments, but since our house is small, that isn't really an option. Regardless, I don't see myself coming up with an entirely new theme every year. It just seems wasteful.
@Tracey Curry,
My grown kids have laughingly promised a fight after I die, over our nativity set that I bought before they were born and have used every year. My husband and I were poor newlyweds when I got it for $14 at Sears. It's the memories that make it so valuable to them. They say it wouldn't be Christmas without seeing it set up. I'm in the "memories over fashion trends" camp, any day.
@Kris, the theme of our tree is, and always has been, “ decorated by kids”. Lol they’re all grown now, and I could do one of those “perfect” trees; but it’s just not my style. Good thing.
@Kris, I also read several design blogs, but my tree is nearly the same every year.
I have collected my ornaments over the years, and each one has a special memory attached to it. Last year, I dropped and broke an ornament my mom had given me in 1999. I sat down and cried over the loss.
My mother died in 2002; but every year when I put this beautiful ornament on the tree, I thought about my wonderful mom. It still makes me sad.
@Bee, my mom died in March of this year. I added a few of her ornaments to our tree this year. It was a good way to remember happy past Christmases and to honor her memory. I understand how your broken ornament would bring you to tears.
Sandy, I love your decorated by kids design style. I have the same thing going on in my house!
I think it's funny that tall and narrow trees are trending this season. I bought one for my single woman apartment years ago and we still use it lo these many years later. I'm trendy in 2021!
@JD, my nativity is from my days as an occupational therapy student. I did an internship at a state mental hospital and the residents made pottery to help teach life skills such as showing up for work on time, following directions, and so on. The nativity I bought was a"reject" and I got it cheap, which was all I could afford at the time. My kids love it so I guess it's sort of an heirloom!
@Bee, I use the same ornaments and decorations every year, but I will mix up where I put them. I don’t have many glass ornaments but when we got out the ornaments this year, the glass baby’s first Christmas one a friend gave me when my son was born 40 years ago had broken. I was so upset. I understand how you feel.
@Mary, We always had a huge cut tree with a ridiculous amount of collected family ornaments. My husband died 3.5 yrs ago & I couldn’t manage the enormous tree (only 52, but an empty nest. My son could help me get it up, but lives too far to help dismantle). I bought what I laughingly refer to as my Kim Kardashian tree- it’s glittery & frosted & sparkly with fiber optic lights. I can put it up myself. I don’t use any of my ornaments. I thought I would this year, but it is just still too emotionally fraught. Maybe next year
@SandyH, this will be the first year that we have our grand kids decorate the tree. I am looking forward to seeing them, ages 7, 5, and 2 put up decorations their dad made in school and Sunday school when he was their ages. I think a tree decorated to kid height with paper and plastic ornaments will be just perfect. I like your style.
1. While I did participate in Black Friday sales for items on the Christmas wish list, I compared prices across websites and the rebate % from Rakuten. The 20% Rakuten rebates helped offset some large purchases
2. Made turkey broth and turkey noodle soup from the turkey carcass
3. Skipped grocery shopping this week to use up leftovers and clean out the pantry
4. Cashed out Honey balance to get a gift card
5. Put up Christmas garland around the front porch that was gifted to me last year. Other porch decorations are mostly things from our yard like magnolia leaves, holly branches, and English Ivy.
1. I have a large turkey carcass in the freezer and will be making broth and soup from it at some point - probably this weekend. Super grateful for my freezer since I don't always have the time to make the thing at the exact moment and this gives me the option to do it when time allows.
2. Leftovers for days & then froze 3 gallon bags of turkey and 3 gallon bags of ham. I see lots of soups and casseroles in our future this winter.
3. My recipe for broccoli casserole made two pans so one went into the freezer for another time. I also froze a pumpkin pie that went untouched.
4. Filled our tank at Kroger using half of our accumulated fuel points to save $0.50/gallon. I will use the remainder of the savings when we fill up this weekend.
5. Renewed car tag online by the deadline to avoid late fees. Submitted docs required for flex card spending on two medical bills. Flannel sheets on all of our beds and thermostat turned down. No real Black Friday shopping here but did purchase a few Christmas gifts over the weekend that were deeply discounted - 75% off. All fall into the categories of items that the recipient needs so win win.
Happy Tuesday everyone!
This is my first Five frugal things comment, and second comment total! Exciting! Ha
1) I have two large dogs, but both have very short hair and get cold easily. I was looking for warm coats, that looked like good quality. I could not find any that were not extremely expensive. So I made my own. The thick warm fabric was pricey, even on sale, but it was half the cost and I got two large coats. So now we can go on our long winter walks.
2) I mended a favorite shirt that paid a dollar for at a garage sale.
3)I exercised at home.
4) I made most of our meals at home.
5)I shopped black Friday sales for a few things we needed.
1. Averted a medical appointment and saved a two-hour round trip, money and medical waste by researching my situation with a trusted online source (Mayo Clinic) and taking all of the suggested steps on my own. I'm as good as new, relatively speaking.
2. Husband received a $10 Caribou gift card from his volunteer organization. We will regift that to our niece as a gift from our dog.
3. Was in a restaurant restroom when the cleaner threw out a not-yet-finished roll of toilet paper. I fished it out of the trash, brought it home and got several more days' use out of it.
4. Received $20 in annual owner dividends from our co-op.
5. Refilled dishwashing liquid squeeze bottle from the co-op's bulk section.
Tell me about the co-op dividends! What type of a co-op is that?
@Kristen, as a member owner of our natural foods co-op (a one-time $80 investment 20 years ago), I receive an annual dividend that is calculated based on the percentage of my purchases and the co-op's profit for the year. Unsure of the exact math!
@MB in MN, I love that you fished out the roll of TP!!!! Good going, MB.
@Bee, thank you! That was one of my more unique frugal moves for sure. I understand why they want to have a new large roll available, but I just couldn't let the old one go to waste - no pun intended!
1. Darned a sock and mended our cotton blanket that had a lot of pulled threads in it.
2. Waited until after the holiday to buy gas for my car, which saved a little.
3. Spent Black Friday, Saturday and Sunday cleaning my house instead of shopping.
4. Our favorite local grocery store gave us a $20 coupon for spending at least $60 there for six consecutive weeks, which is sadly easy these days. We used that doing our shopping this week, which made our food total $72.
5. Still getting by with a duct-taped together passenger side mirror on my car while searching for an affordable replacement.
1. I did not buy anything on Black Friday either, except a few groceries.
2. I shopped through the American Airline shopping portal to buy cricket traps. It may not be the best "rebate" rate but by doing so once a year it adds a few miles to my frequent flyer account which keeps the points from expiring.
3. We had more Thanksgiving leftovers than anticipated. One guest did not show up because he felt lousy after receiving his Covid booster the day before. The other guests took a few leftovers but were headed to another Thanksgiving meal on Saturday. I dropped off some pie to a friend that loves desserts but does not bake. We ate leftovers through the weekend, since it's only once a year it was easy and okay.
4. I listed eight items on Freecycle yesterday and put the last one out for porch pick-up this morning. Clutter out of the house is good for mental health.
5. We have watched a few Hallmark Christmas movies through hoopla! access provided by the library. They are mindless and easy to watch (no dark subjects) but after a few it's enough.
1. I went to my sister's to help her and my brother-in-law celebrate their 50th anniversary. We set up and took down for the vow renewal and reception ourselves, and did all the decorating ourselves with the help of a church friend using stuff we had or the church loaned us. Bouquets were made of Dollar Tree silk flowers, and turned out nicely; they were also used to decorate tables for the reception. The pretty cake was made by Publix. Her husband's new slacks (he's lost weight, so, necessary) were 50% off, and she bought nothing new for herself. It was held at their church, which doesn't charge members to use it's facilities.
2. I packed fruit and drink brought from home, and drove back with the rest of it. I made no stops for food on the almost 3.5 hour each way drive, even though it was after lunch time when I arrived at my destinations, both ways.
3. I wrapped and carried all the gifts I am giving to that side of the family, saving postage and the worry of them getting lost in the holiday mail. I brought back the ones she already had bought for my family, saving her some postage.
4. I used a 50% off sale and a $15 gift card bought with Swagbucks to purchase a gift online. I ended up saving over $50.
5. And this one is only frugal to me, because most people would find these unnecessary - and they would be correct - but it counts to me. I had wandered into an antique/collectible store recently, as I had some time to kill. I have collected estate (used) Waterford crystal drinkware over the years, but it got so expensive, I had stopped buying it, while the family has continued to outgrow my number of goblets. So when I found five goblets of my crystal pattern on sale for $17 each, I bought them. Checking online at Replacements estate crystal, they are currently on sale for $49.99, regularly priced $56.99, each. I now have enough for the family at holidays, at least until the grandkids start marrying.
@JD,
I would do the exact same thing - buy when something pops-up to complete a collection I have loved and cherished for years! Well done JD! This is valuable as it gives you lots of pleasure and you get some use out of it as well!
That's not wasting money - that's money well invested in my opinion.
@Lea,
Thanks, Lea! I almost didn't include it in the five frugals, but you made me feel a lot better about including it. I love my "new" goblets.
—One step closer to crazy cat lady: The waistband on my husband’s thick fleece pajama pants wore out, so I (with permission) used the fabric to make new cat bed cushions. The covers (which were actually ancient pillow cases) on the old beds were past it even for pet bedding. Importantly, our boys approve the upgrade!
—Scraps from the pants-to-cat-bed conversion joined my “keeper” cleaning rag stash (vs. the “gross things only” trash stash). Fleece is perfect for putting on the Swiffer and dusting our textured walls and ceiling.
—We’ve been experimenting with different routes to our most-traveled places (hiking spot and work). We found one that’s still direct re: our destinations but that avoids all the main streets (which are awful at the best of times), bypasses my favorite coffee shop (a good thing!), and passes a new-to-us locally owned grocery store that marks down day-of items by 50% or more. Wins all around!
—Christmas presents for family and friends were all mailed last Tuesday, in flat rate boxes; the only ones left in the house are hidden from my husband (we have "a stocking stuffers" only rule). Christmas shopping is a year-long endeavor to keep costs down as much as possible. Coupons were used, freebies were had, and small businesses were supported when thrifted items—even new with tag ones—wouldn’t do or couldn’t be found. Most importantly, that massive chore is done! 😛
--I called our car insurance agent to discuss discounts, as adding a second vehicle increased our rate more than expected. I was able to knock 35% off our bill by dropping my car down to just liability (why did I have comprehensive on such an old car?! I don't even know), double-checking safe driving discounts (no tickets ever), raising our deductible (both cars are old enough they’d just be totaled out, anyway), and joining their "safe driver" program. This involves downloading an app that tracks your driving vs. posted speed limits, etc. Your rate can’t go up if you’re revealed to be an awful driver, but it can drop substantially if you’re not! Good thing I’m not a lead foot. 😛 Our renters’ insurance remains bundled with the rest like always.
@N, Wow, kudos on the insurance discounts -- I hadn't thought about these, especially the "safe Driver" program. Good to know and congrats!
1. I use this book trick on eBay too. In fact, I sold a book on eBay this weekend. I reused packaging to send it off safely to the buyer.
2. My daughter was in town over Thanksgiving and wanted to visit our favorite thrift store on Saturday afternoon. I bought a beautiful planter for a Fiddle Fig that I routed from a cutting that a friend gave me. I also bought my sweet daughter, a graduate student, some much needed sweaters and a pair of jeans.
3. We ate all the leftovers!
4. I scanned my receipts to Fetch and Ibotta. Since I buy few brand name items, it is slow going sometimes; yet it does add up over time. I earned $35 on Fetch this year and $193 on Ibotta since signing up 3 years ago.
5. I doing all the usual things - brewing my own coffee, eating at home, drinking primarily water, reading library books and finished watching Grantchester on the PBS app this week.
1. We sold our car for several thousand dollars more than we bought it for over 2.5 years ago. So crazy. We put in an order for its replacement and since we put in the order, the price has gone up ~$5500 but we locked in at the lower price. The price of the sold car will pay for the new car and we're saving because we're sharing a car until the new one shows up (which is still a few weeks away). The new car will also have a warranty; the old car's had expired.
2. We canceled a trip to Europe. While it's a bummer that we aren't able to go this year, we've booked some domestic travel instead. So we'll still get a pretty great vacation, but it will cost us much less. We're using whatever hotel and flight points/credits we have, which was harder to do with our trip to Europe.
3. I had received a 65% off coupon for holiday cards and it had been weighing on my mind to use it but didn't get around to it before its expiration date. I checked the day afterwards *in case* they were still honoring it but instead found that the website had a 75% off deal for that day. So I put in the order and checked it off my never ending to do list.
4. We went to Costco and asked them to honor a price match for a sink we had purchased and saved $50.
5. I had read about a food item that piqued my interest. When I saw it at the grocery store, it was $25 (!!!!!). I thought it was too much. It's apparently haunting me because I saw it at Costco and it was $30 for two bottles so much better value but the likelihood of us going through two bottles before the expiration date and what if I didn't like it all that much? I checked amazon and they had it through amazon fresh for $15 but I only had to buy one bottle. So I did. And it's delicious! But two bottles would have been too much.
I'm with you on Black Friday Shopping. I've only been twice in my life - because my daughters wanted to go several years ago, and I wanted to be with them. We had fun and I bought lunch. I usually have my shopping done by October but focus mainly on handmade gifts throughout the year.
Here's our Five Frugal Things for the week:
1. I've been on the hunt for a sewing machine to use as parts for my 30-year-old one. I use it every day and have a cottage seamstress/tailoring business, so I need a workhorse. I test-drove new machines, but they are all made so much cheaper than my old one. The technician where I have my machine serviced told me that because the interior workings in most new machines is plastic (mine is all metal), it would likely not last long with the use I give it. I finally found one on eBay and negotiated a price that was actually several hundred dollars below what I'd planned on spending.
2. My father took the family out to dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving (he was going to be out of town on that day). We went to a lovely wood-fired brick oven pizza place and had a great time.
3. We've managed to get four meals so far out of our Thanksgiving feast. I made some beautiful stock from the bones that I, in turn, made turkey noodle soup from. Tonight we'll have fajitas and then I will portion and freeze the last of the turkey. There's still a couple of slices of apple pie that we'll polish off tonight and that will be that!
4. Used my credit card points for the last of the gift cards I am giving out at Christmas.
5. My daughter came home for college for the week and we used coupons and APP discounts to purchase supplies she needs to make Christmas gifts for the family and her friends.
1. Bought spices in bulk, which is so much cheaper.
2. Redeemed hotel rewards points for a $10 GC and 200 airline miles. Hotel rewards were from recent, unexpected business travel.
3. Found 59 cents in one shopping trip.
4. My pregnant belly was suddenly too big for most of my previous clothes-- found 4 perfect items (dress, casual shirt, nicer shirt, & black pants!) at Goodwill for only $17. Two items seem new!
5. Repurposed the end of a beeswax candle into a homemade beeswax/olive oil all purpose salve. I’ve previously used it as a hand/lip balm, wood conditioning butter, and also to condition my leather boots.
6. DH sold some boots that didn’t fit on FB Marketplace.
7. DH shot a deer last week, and after aging we began to process it ourselves last night. It probably doesn’t save us any money over buying discounted meat at the store, but it is infinitely more satisfying to us for many reasons.
I always love reading everyone’s comments so I thought this week I’d add my own.
1. I *do* Black Friday shop, my family thinks it’s a recreational activity, but I have good self-control and only bought things I needed. I picked up underwear for my teenage son for $5 for 6 pairs, he desperately needed some and I saved $13 a package!
2. A new gas station opened in town and I was able to swing by on the way home from basketball practice and save $0.30 a gallon versus everywhere else. It was even cheaper than Costco!
3. I took advantage of Target’s holiday price match and got a refund of $20 on boots I had purchased a few days before that had gone on sale for 50% off. I chatted online and was refunded in a few minutes!
4. We wanted a new dimming light switch for my daughter’s room so while shopping at the home improvement store I checked Amazon. I found what we needed for $12 versus $24. We can wait for a few days to get it to save that much.
5. I rescued the ham bone from Thanksgiving at my parents’ and am going to make ham and beans with it. I’ve never done that before but I’m excited to try!
FFT, Thanksgiving Weekend Edition:
(1) Didn't leave the house on Black Friday. (A rain/snow mix and insane shoppers are a poor combination.) Stayed home and did stuff that needed to be done.
(2) Shopped at one small business on Small Business Saturday: my local food coop. Bought the free-trade chocolate bars I like to use as stocking stuffers, plus some red lentils, green lentils, and barley for a "soup kit" I'm putting together for one of the neighbors.
(3) Spent parts of Saturday and Sunday putting some of DH's books (ones that I didn't want to keep and that wouldn't be saleable secondhand) into Little Free Libraries all over this part of town.
(4) Also donated a new-in-box model car someone gave DH a while ago to Toys for Tots.
(5) Finally, found $1.35 in Canadian coins in the Coinstar machine at Wegmans. I kept the 35 cents since merchants here in Upstate NY (my city is about 90 miles from the border) will accept coins under a dollar at US face value. Am giving the loonie to my Jane Austen BFF for next year's North American conference in Canada.
@A. Marie,
Growing up in Michigan (also bordering Canada) I never thought twice when a Canadian dime or nickel ended up in my change. When I moved to Virginia and people would find Canadian coins it was a whole different story. I always found that fascinating.
@Ruth T, Same here growing up in Northern Ohio we received Canadian pennies, nickels and dimes and used them.
I am now in the South mentioned it to my husband and he never thought about this.
Safeway prices are absurd! I always dislike going in there, I get 3 things and it costs more than an entire weeks worth of groceries at Sprouts. I don’t know how they are so popular except that they are everywhere here (my town has 3 Safeway’s)
1. We put up our Christmas decorations and didn’t buy anything new (except a couple strands of lights since some had burned out). I feel like decorations tend to accumulate even if you don’t buy any so I usually avoid buying them. Most of our decorations were passed to us from my husband’s grandparents and now that they have both passed away, my husband really appreciates having them and the good memories they bring.
2. I bought a used calico critter set for my daughter on eBay to give her for Christmas. She’s very young still so I only wanted to get her a couple sets with large pieces of furniture, not the ones that come with tons of tiny accessories. I was having trouble finding some good new options and checked eBay and there’s so many sets on there that they don’t even sell new anymore and I found a perfect one, just 4 large pieces of furniture and no accessories! Plus it was cheaper than a new set.
3. Finally selling our all terrain wagon. My husband put it on our baby shower registry for our first because we live near the beach. 3 years later, we have only used it a few times, we ended up preferring our jogging stroller for beach trips. It’s just been sitting in our garage because we felt bad getting rid of it since it was gifted to us. It’s not doing anyone any good in the garage though and someone may be able to use it if we sell it so I finally listed it on fb marketplace.
4. We have to start our daughter at our son’s preschool a couple months earlier than planned. It wasn’t what we wanted but on the frugal side, it costs less than her current childcare and once she starts, we get a sibling discount on my son’s tuition.
5. I had leftover buttermilk from the rolls I made for thanksgiving so I made a double batch of buttermilk pumpkin waffles to freeze. Putting one in the toaster is a very easy and popular breakfast for my kids and now I have two big bags worth in the freezer!
I have a few things.....
1. Everytime I find coins on the ground, I pick them up no matter how insignificant they may seem. I just found $.06 on the ground.
2. I used a coupon and got a $15 credit to the grocery store for transferring or filling a new prescription. I used that credit towards my holiday baking supplies.
3. My oldest daughter was going thru her clothing and donating what she no longer wears or fits her. She gifted me 3 pairs new with tags pj shorts from Old Navy and 2 pair of pj pants new with tags from Old Navy. I took a pair of those shorts and one pair of those pants and saved them to use as part of a birthday gift for my sister.
4. My daughter's Boyfriend's mom ordered herself a new sweater. She didn't like how it fit her and gave to my daughter to give to me. It fits me nicely and was brand new.
5. I redeemed a punch card for $10 off to use at our local Chinese joint.
6. Since I've been Christmas shopping early, I noticed a big item I bought went on sale. I returned it & had them re-ring at the better price, thus crediting me back $63!
7. While cleaning up our yard of leaves, we also cleaned our neighbors up for him (twice). He gifted us a smoked turkey. Delicious!
8. My youngest daughter works at Kohls. After her shift one evening, her and I shopped and she paid for my purchases with my card using her discount saving me an additional $18.25
I love hearing different perspectives on Black Friday shopping. It's something I really enjoy doing with my mom and since we live in a small town it's not super intense. I'll start off my FFT with a couple of Black Friday ones:
1. I bought underwear for my kids on Black Friday. They're always half price or just under, so I plan for this and take advantage each year.
2. My mom and I combined our orders at Kohl's to earn an extra $15 Kohl's cash. She was shopping with cash and I was using my credit card, so she just gave me cash for her portion of the bill and I gave her cash for her portion of the Kohl's cash. Since she lives farther from town, it's easier for me to get in to use it. I've got it on my calendar to go Thursday so I can combine it with a 25% off coupon and get a few remaining presents.
3. We had a few books we needed to replace from our church library (due to the cats getting locked out of the room that had their litter box in it - ugh!) and I used a free shipping code from christianbook.com to buy those during their Black Friday sale, as well as some gifts for my kids and nephews and something that my brother is purchasing for my mom for Christmas. Lots of things fit under that free shipping code!
4. I made pies from scratch for Thanksgiving. I will occasionally think about buying a pie, but then I'll see the price and opt to make it myself.
5. We used a coupon for free Parmesan bites from Domino's. No purchase necessary!
1. I took advantage of Black Friday and bought three things:
A) A food processor that is officially a wedding gift (a relative had given us money for it)
B) An outfit for the baby for one entire dollar (we had a "sorry-we-messed-up" gift card from a department store), plus discounts and free shipping.
C) Erm...I impulse-bought 2.5 meters of deadstock silk on sale with some Chanukah money. Now the harder budgeting, which is making time to sew a dress...
2. Today I'm restocking our freezer with a huge batch of meatballs.
3. I listed a chair and some books on FB marketplace to sell. Hopefully someone bites.
4. We're inviting people over for dinner pretty regularly. I really enjoy entertaining and I prefer it to going out to a restaurant.
5. And a fail: I bought a baby swing secondhand, but it's HUGE and I don't know if we have room. I doubt I'll be able to sell it for what I paid--which was a bit much, but the seller swore that it was "hardly used"...which was pretty obviously untrue, once I got it home. Grumble grumble.
Our temps have been in the -30 range at our house and about -22 in town, so one loses all desire to go on errands or shop. So, no money spent or gas used for days!
1. We have eaten turkey for five days, and put plenty in the freezer, since husband got a free turkey and took the largest one---a 21 pounder for two of us! It got boring, but that turkey certainly saved us food money.
2. Sold two items through FB marketplace, which was easy because the purchasers came to our house to pick them up.
3. After Halloween a friend offered me 4 pumpkins and I happily took them. This weekend I processed them and put a lot of pulp in the freezer but I did use some to make pumpkin dog biscuits.
4. Mended a few items. My husband is usually the seamster in our house, but I wanted to watch a brainless TV movie without guilt so I dug up some things that needed mending and did that during the show.
5. Made myself call the insurance company to argue about a bill. When I have to do that, I have to self-talk myself into patience before calling because otherwise my blood goes from normal to boiling in minutes. This time the problem was settled quickly, as it was only a coding problem. Boy, I would hate to be some poor clerk doing her job!
Unlike many others, I did shop the black Friday deals. But, these have been things I've been holding out on because I knew the sales were coming.
1 - Two pairs of jeans for myself, 50% off. Been waiting since Sept on these.
2 - Three pairs of quality child leggings, 70% off.
3 - Two shirts for presents, 25% off.
4 - Stick on clothing labels, 50% off.
I had a few more things that I had hoped would go on a good sale. But, they didn't and thus I will wait/do without.
5 - Sold our first smoker. We upgraded a few years ago. For a while we used both because they're different styles, but decided at the beginning of the summer that we didn't need the old one. It was a big ticket item so it took a while to sell, but happy to say its gone.
Here's what we were up to this week:
1) We all had colds, so I dug out our "hankies" that are really a failed sewing project from my son last year. He took 3D art over Zoom, and let's just say that the sewing unit was a challenge.
2) Sold a couple of suits that no longer fit my husband. I've had no eBay sales in almost a month, & sold both suits in two days. That was a nice win. Used recycled boxes that I'd saved for just such an occasion.
3) Bought gift cards for things we needed, on a discount for Black Friday.
4) Picked up a few freebies at the grocery store (egg bites, & cookie dough). Also used up some grocery store rewards, to lower our bill a bit this month.
5) Used gift cards from two years ago (Christmas gifts) to take the kids to a climbing gym. I'm so grateful they stayed open after COVID, as they were closed for at least a year on & off. I went to a yoga class while the kids climbed, so we all got some exercise.
1. Another old holey, bleach stained shirt got turned into a cleaning rag.
2. I accepted a free shirt from someone.
3. Still haven't gone back to dyeing my hair. In fact I posted my 3 hair dyes for sale and have a buyer.
4. My husband and son rinsed off our solar panels today, hopefully they'll be able to absorb more sun now.
5. I'm using a free app to keep track of my calories.
Five Frugal Things….
1.Thanksgiving ham is still being used for ham sandwiches and ham and bean soup.
2. Hoopla audiobooks available for checkout found 3 out of 5 .
3. Coming in under budget for Christmas gift shopping!
4. $8 discount code for groceries
5. $80 off discount code on a Black Friday deal on a Nama J2 Juicer!
1. I picked up some good weekend digital deals at Kroger: 18 count eggs (97 cents), 4 pound bag of sugar (97 cents) and peanut butter (99 cents).
2. I got my Covid booster shot today at a drive-through site.
3. Since I was out anyway, I dropped off my property tax check at city hall saving a stamp and ensuring on-time delivery. They charge a "convenience fee" of 2.5% to pay online.
4. I treated myself to a free peppermint chip milkshake at Chick-fil-A using the card from their recent promotion. The regular price with tax would have been $4.55!
5. I also bought nothing on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
I haven't shopped on eBay, but I do like BetterWorldBooks.com - they have free shipping anywhere in the world, and pretty good prices. Text books too. (I don't have a connection to BWB - am just a book junkie!)
1) I cut my husband's hair (extremely overdue).
2) I got a few Black Friday deals online...things I needed like toilet paper, laundry detergent and some plain 13 oz glasses, which ended up only being 50 cents each and shipping was free. I almost broke down and bought some at the Dollar Tree the last time I was there, and now I'm glad I waited.
3) I've been eating leftovers pretty much all week. I LOVE LEFTOVERS!
4) My husband used a $5/5 amex discount to buy a sub at subway for close to nothing.
5) I bought a sofa on FB marketplace that is super comfy and I'm happy to only spend $100.
I also signed up for a couple of apps -- CVS and VONS -- and still need to do Ralphs (Krogers). It can really make a difference as long as I know my prices and don't get carried away 😉
1. Used my new CVS app plus ECbucks plus plain old clipped coupons to get detergent and Aveeno SPF facial goop at less than half price, thereby gaining 10 more ECBucks, which I turned into 12 bottles of my Vanilla Super Coffee for 7.00. I get 3 -4 ind. servings from each bottle so the cost ranges from 15 to 19 cents per 🙂 Added to my very cheap store brand instant coffee (about 5 cents per) and about 10 cents of cream it works out to about 40 cents (conservatively) per serving of delicious elixir of life, without which I cannot drag myself out the door in the morning.
2. Cleaned out my half of the closet and my bureau and found --more clothes! Some nice black pants I picked up years ago for 7.00 clearance at Walmart and they finally fit -- will wear them to a meeting tomorrow with one of the many, many older nice shirts I forgot I owned.. I culled out the stuff that really doesn't fit for Goodwill and it is like a new wardrobe. Also shoes, including my mom's old, handmade leather sandals from the 60's which I used to wear as a teen. Am getting them resoled -- I LOVE them!
3. The Biggie: Spent the week off from school going over finances with my husband to determine if I can actually retire at the end of the year (after months of discussion and agonizing) and YES. Forced us to really pull up actual numbers and plan -- what a concept 😉 My district is also offering a little incentive to hasten us vintage employees into our golden years, so it makes sense financially. I have enjoyed my job, loved the kids and their families and felt very lucky to work with such nice people everyday. Now, I am ready to pass the baton to some young, energetic, and amazing new teacher. 🙂 🙂 🙂
4. The usual, eating in, not buying too much stuff. Am working to bring down grocery costs -- work in progress.
Sorry to go on so long -- retirement is exciting, sure, but really it's the cheap iced coffee that makes my day
1. This week I enjoyed “free” “entertainment” by getting together with a dear friend to do some arts and crafts together in her home. She has an Arizona room that was warmed by the sun, we shared laughter, stories, and we wandered into her kitchen for lunch and scrounge up some bread and cheese and made ourselves grilled cheese with some Trader Joe tomato soup for a stay at home lunch.A delightful day in every way.Cost: Zero unless you count her groceries, but we were using up old bread and cheese bits to make our lunch so that’s frugal,right!??
2. LIBRARY. Need I say more!!???
3. Date day with hubby: An hour walk at our local Riparian Park, fed the animals in the farmy neighborhood and stopped to pick up a $6 breakfast burrito that is soo huge we can share it for breakfast.
4. Ate up all the wonderful leftovers a friends sent us from their “Italian” thanksgiving..we ate meatballs,sausage and penne a couple of nights in a row! YUM!!!!
5. Used all my old Christmas decor even though every year I say I need new one.I don’t!
1. I gave my husband a haircut today. I just started cutting his hair during the pandemic.
2. On Black Friday I purchased some discounted Instacart gift cards to use. My son purchased some half price video games he had been waiting to buy.
3. We have been walking and biking for free exercise.
4. I've been enjoying some orchids that came into bloom and are spectacular. My neighbor divided some of hers and gave these to me.
5. I swapped some clothes with my Mom. She's gained a little and I've lost weight, so it was a win-win.
1. I picked up a pair of snow pants from Buy Nothing for my son. This pair will stay at school. I picked up a bag of potatoes and 2 boxes of pasta off Buy Nothing. I also got two huge potted mums off Buy Nothing. We promptly planted them in the front garden.
2. There is a Facebook group that hides gift cards, around our city, for local businesses during the holidays. We found one this weekend! It was a gift card to a local floral shop, cupcakes from a local bakery, and an ornament.
3. My sister dropped us off some baked ham and my mom dropped off homemade pancakes. I froze both and they will be meals in the future.
4. I made turkey soup from our Thanksgiving turkey carcass. The soup is feeding my husband and I both for lunch this week. The rest of the turkey meat will be turkey, cheese, and cranberry paninis for dinner.
5. I submitted my childcare FSA, which I hadn't done in many months. It's like finding money in your pocket!
1. I bought nothing on Black Friday.
2. I cooked all our meals at home, using up food that needed to be eaten.
3. We checked out books, movies, and a board game from the library. I love that our library lends board games!
4. I fixed my husband's Christmas stocking which had somehow been damaged since last Christmas. No idea how it happened, but it was an easy fix.
5. I am waiting to get a book from the library so I don't have to buy it. The wait is estimated at 26 weeks!
Kristen, I started reading your blog many, many years ago and then somehow got away from reading it regularly. What are you taking at school?
1) I support a program here called "Stocking Stuffers for Seniors" where seniors living in care homes make wish lists that get hung on Christmas trees at a large drugstore chain (that sells everything but the kitchen sink, including some furniture). I made several wish list purchases and was able to use an app that gives cash back for some of them. I also bought those items on sale and used a manufacturer's coupon for one of them. Stacking savings is the best!
2) A travel / merchandise points program in Canada (Airmiles) is running a major bonus campaign right now and I purchased some of the items for my Seniors that will earn a large number of Airmiles bonuses.
3) I made about $75 from selling gift cards that I was never going to use, which had been sitting in a drawer forever. Some had been there for more than five years...
4) In both of the last two years, I received a $100 prepaid Visa from my employer for Christmas and had been carrying them around all this time. I finally used part of one on the weekend to pay for my hair cut. Instead of "treating" myself to something I would likely not have needed, using it for a necessity meant keeping cash in the bank.
5) I sold two items on ebay for a little over $100.
Bonus: I redeemed my Starbucks birthday reward for a Protein Box and didn't buy anything else. I don't care for their coffee and I don't like any flavoured, sweet drinks so almost never go to Starbucks to begin with. When I buy coffee, it is McDonald's coffee.
Black Friday European edition:
-Having not lived in my home country for many years, I was really surprised to see that Black Friday has become a thing here as well. Luckily, stores "celebrate" it for a whole week or even month rather than a day (no Thanksgiving after all, but it has become a way to get people Christmas shopping earlier in November). Since we need many new things to furnish our new apartment, I got some linen and towels on Black Friday sales (here, companies also don't run year-round sales like like in the U.S., so a sale price really is one). Also got some practical Christmas gifts such as new kitchen knives, as well as woolen socks and leggings for my kids as the temperatures have dipped into the teens. All with BF discounts.
-We needed two new memory cards, and when I was at the checkout, the salesclerk offered a BF deal where we could switch to a different phone carrier and get the memory cards for free as a bonus. The new carrier deal was also cheaper than what we pay now and for unlimited data. Sweet deal, for sure. As mentioned by other European readers, phone carriers in Europe are very competitive and it is common to switch between carriers after one deal runs out. The unlimited price per phone is 17 euros per month, plus I saved 60 euros in the memory cards.
-We live near a "recycling center", which is basically like Goodwill but warehouse sized. I have taken a habit to swing by on my walks to see if I can spot anything we need for the apartment, as nice things really go fast. Last time, I found a ceramic pie dish I been looking for.
-Visited two outdoor Christmas markets last weekend. Bought some handicrafts from a charity, but from the other market opted to only buy mulled wine/hot chocolate and enjoy the atmosphere.
-Checked my tax rate and noticed that I was going to exceed the annual income limit for my percentage, after which a much higher tax percentage is deducted. I adjusted the limit and tax percentage, which makes it so that I don't pay a much higher excess tax on the overage.
-No takeout or eating out except for a lunch date with my husband, which I subsidized with a work meal allowance (working from home, I often use this at nearby restaurants rather than work cafeteria).
We went out shopping Black Friday but not for BF shopping. I did buy a pillow for the grand baby and groceries. We bought 6 Aldi large candy bars to do taste testing.
Our son smoked a ham and was throwing out the bone, I made ham stock instead.
Our local pet supply store had 30% off your order and it crashed their site so they extended it a day so I was able to get dog food. Nice savings.
I have 99% of Christmas shopping done, most all I did online and local pickup.
I did purchase some locally owned candles which were expensive but so very nice.
I watched someone throw out a big poultry carcass one time and it was not a situation where I felt I could ask to take it home. That was a little painful for me. Ha. I'm glad you were able to rescue the ham bone!
My big frugal win for the week was this: I was ordering my mom a basket of Harry and David goodies for her birthday and the shipping was like $22! I hunted around on the catalog I had at home and lo and behold...in tiny print, was a PROMO CODE! Ha! I was pretty happy to find that.
Other than that...we've eaten at home, I stuck to my list at Sam's, I didn't do any Black Friday shopping...but I did use that day to put together a calendar in Shutterfly and it was on super sale, so I guess I did do a little shopping...
And I started a list to keep track of Christmas presents for the fam.
1. Bought 6 gaming chairs for $80 as a pre-sale deal. Sold 5 for $120 on FB Marketplace. Kept one for personal use.
2. Thanksgiving meal was free with the $20 Ibotta deal.
3. Opted not to travel or go out anywhere for Thanksgiving. Rented a movie and enjoyed some time with family.
4. Kept away from malls and sales deals (except the gaming chairs to resale)
5. Made all my meals at home. Used all my leftovers.
1. Paid $4 for a National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation puzzle at Goodwill, and sold it the next day for $65 on ebay.
2. Took advantage of promotions for first time visitors at a casino 50 miles from our driveway for a free day date with the husband while the kids were in school. They had sent coupons in the mail for a $50 meal toucher and $150 in bonus play money. Gambled with just their money and came out ahead, then stuffed ourselves for lunch, and brought home enough leftovers for dinner that night. We spent 1/8 tank of gas and $10 tip, and it was fun to try something new since we've been in a date rut lately.
3. Took advantage of loadable coupons at Kroger to pick up discounted gift cards for teacher and bus driver holiday gifts.
4. Used a Walgreens code for a free 8x10 print, and printed a picture of the kids as part of my grandmother's gift.
5. My daughter and her good friend/classmate share the same exact December birthday during the holiday break. Both kids wanted a party at the trampoline park and to invite their entire class, so I asked the other kid's mom if she was interested in having a joint party since the guests lists would be identical. She was thrilled to split the cost, and we booked it between lunch and dinner so we can just have cupcakes and not supply an actual meal.