Five Frugal Things
As always, hat tip to The NonConsumer Advocate for the Five Frugal Things idea.
One
I cooked dinner every night last week (I made homemade pizza on Friday instead of ordering out too!*) and I also packed Mr. FG's lunch every single day.
*Sometimes if my Friday is crazy, we order pizza instead of making it from scratch.
Two
I sold an out-of-print book on half.com for $35.
Three
I installed a new kitchen faucet myself.
Which mainly consisted of two hours working on taking the old one out, and 20 minutes putting the new one in.
The good news is that I adore my new faucet!
(More on that soon.)
But I'm never gonna pursue plumbing as a career because...yuck.
Four
I kinda sorta skipped grocery shopping last week (just picked up a few things), which forced us to eat up more of the food in the fridge.
Less food wasted, less money spent!
Five
Mr. FG let me know about an AdoramaPix photo book Groupon, so I bought one. Yay! I just ADORE the print quality of Adorama's photo books, and I'm pleased to have one for a discount.
I ordered the 12x12 size, which I've never used before. But I'm always up for a new photo book experiment. 😉
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Alrighty...your turn. List five frugal things of your own in the comments, and inspire us!
I'm surprised that you order pizza--I just assumed that you always made pizza when that was on your menu. More, please, on menus, food, and grocery shopping. We've definitely creeped up in this department--and a huge part of that is the fruit/veggie consumption in my house. I feel like I'm at the store every few days to buy produce. The three of us are averaging nearly $1,000 in groceries each month, which is insane!
Also, does anyone have thoughts/suggestions on organic produce? With the volume of produce we eat in our house, I'm afraid of the pesticides we're getting. But buying organic would increase the insanely high food budget even more.
I'd recommend you follow the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" lists to decide which produce you want to buy organic, and which you can satisfice with regular commercial. Although if you can find local farmers (and learn their practices), it might be cheaper in season to buy local, too. I am personally eager for local blueberries, peaches, and apples, among other things.
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02985/Foods-You-Should-Always-Buy-Organic.html
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02984/Foods-You-Dont-Have-to-Buy-Organic.html
I do make pizza a lot of the time. But in my recent splurge post, I mentioned that sometimes if I'm fried, we order a pizza on Fridays instead of making one from scratch.
So, I was pleased that I managed to not be too fried to make a pizzas this week!
Kristen, if I remember correctly, you live in Maryland-on the eastern shore perhaps. Not sure if you know but, if the Baltimore Orioles win a game and score at least five runs, Papa John's pizza (all menu items actually) is half off the day after the victory! The only catch is you have to order online (not via phone) and use the code ORIOLES5. We try to limit all eating out but, if we're in a pinch, we do order pizza occasionally. And we are big Os fans so we are happy to celebrate their wins with pizza! Have a great week!
They do this in a lot of parts of the country, I guess. Here in Denver, I think we get 30% off if the Rockies win (no margin necessary) and 50% off for the Broncos. Maybe also something for the Nuggets and Avalanche, but I don't know. Only time we ever get Papa John's.
I'm sure your family really appreciated it. That pizza looks just delicious, much better than delivery. I have tried your crust recipe with much success! Thanks for making yeast less scary 🙂
I am with you on the making/buying pizza--sometimes I feel too tired to do any cooking! But I have discovered making my own frozen pizzas is the solution!! One day when you have some energy/extra time, make a double or triple batch of pizza dough and pizza sauce. I roll out my crust to fit my pizza pans (I have three). I put the sauce, cheese and toppings on the pizza and FREEZE right on the pie pan. When frozen, I remove from the pan and wrap the unbaked but frozen pizza in aluminum foil. When ready to bake, it only takes about 10 minutes more than usual, but I find no need to defrost. And the pizza is being baked just once, so it tastes great! Hope this helps someone--it was an aha moment for me!
Worked outside in the yard and increased my planting space for my garden!
Cleaned my gutters on my own!
Hung dried all the laundry!
Brought lunch everyday to work!
(1) Sprinkled baking soda all over the carpet and let it do its thing while I did my thing at the laundromat. Fresh, clean carpets now!
(2) Prepared a brunch of crepes (Dutch-style with bacon, cheese, and syrup) for seven friends who visited me this weekend, saving us all from dining out on top of being a cheap, easy meal.
(3) Froze the pancetta that I had bought for the crepes, which ended up not working as well for the crepes as I thought. I'm sure it will be tasty in some other dish, later. Nice not to let that splurge meat purchase go to waste.
(4) Acquired several pairs of old blue jeans from friends to make a picnic quilt back.
(5) Prepared my main meal for this week - pumpkin risotto, with pancetta-wrapped asparagus - and got to use the leftover canned pumpkin to make a treat for my dog that will last all week.
Hmm, let's see ...
1.) I sold a VHS tape of an obscure East German horror film for $20. So some extra pocket money for me.
2.) I made bread again for the first time in a while. I tried out my new Ikea loaf pan and it works well. I'm not sure how I feel about the long and skinny loaf vs the short and squat loaves from my usual loaf pans (which are $3 Big Lots specials) I think it will be one of those "Good for some breads, not for others" type of pan.
3.) I too also made pizza. My wife's aunt came over on Saturday so instead of ordering out we made our own pizza.
4.) I carry around a Moleskine type notebook everywhere. Well, last week I happened to get that notebook signed by a rather famous person so until I can get those pages removed and framed I was left without a daily notebook. Since I've been wanting to try the Field Notes type books, I opted instead to follow a guide I saw online, but really it's just 6 sheets of graph paper I cut into 12 sheets of 7" x 5.5" paper and a cover made out of an old hanging folder and three staples later I had a nice professional looking notebook that cost me virtually nothing. Actual Field notes style books cost around 3 for $10.
5.) I'm not sure if this counts but I opted to take some overtime and make some extra cash.
#5 totally counts in my book! Especially if me selling my book on half.com counts.
I LOVE my long and skinny IKEA loaf pans. I think they work particularly well for banana bread, which I always have trouble getting all the way cooked in the center! Plus, I cut the loaves in half and freeze them that way so they last longer! Not sure how I would like them for regular old yeast bread though-the pieces are probably really small for sandwiches etc.
Don't know if I will get up to 5, but-- 1.) Cooked all meals including for grandkids who wanted to go out but enjoyed being helpers anyway 2.) Used cold water and hung wash inside during rain 3.) Did not buy the cute wrapping paper for son's birthday gift: granddaughter made some 4.) Hand delivered two cards instead of stamping and mailing. (Can that be two?)
It is hard to find things when you are normally pretty frugal anyway, but it's fun.
1. We are in the middle of taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course - so I count last week's class at a Frugal item 🙂
2. I sold a few things on Craigslist and Facebook to bring in an extra $200.
3. I repurposed a $3 wooden magazine rack from Goodwill. It now holds my daughter's favorite books!
4. We packed our lunches everyday last week (first time in a long time!)
5. Rather that going out for a date night, we spent Saturday evening in watching Netflix and eating some homemade chips and salsa after the baby was asleep 🙂
It's kind of funny that although I thought of some frugal things, I didn't necessarily do them because they were frugal. For instance, I just made some enchilada sauce with my last jar of frozen tomato sauce from last summer. But I did it because I didn't have any purchased sauce and the nearest grocery store in fifteen miles away. And I wanted to make enchiladas tonight to use up some leftover chicken. So, greedy and lazy were really my motivations.
We made pizza last night, too, but we make it because my family can eat the sourdough crust without digestive repercussions and it tastes waaay better than restaurant pizza. So again, frugal, but mostly greedy.
I hung clothes out today on the line for the first time this spring. Frugal, but mostly I get a weird thrill out of seeing clothes flapping on the line. It's a sign of better weather.
See what I mean? I guess it's lucky for me that frugal things seem to make me happy in other ways, too, or I probably wouldn't bother as much.
A lot of things I do have other motivations besides frugality, and those help to keep me going when maybe the frugality alone wouldn't!
1) We didn't drive anywhere yesterday so I counted it as a NO DRIVE DAY for us. My goal is to have 24 this year, which is surprisingly harder than I thought because my teen daughter is driving and signing up for a whole bunch of volunteering shifts!
2) I used BOGO coupons on a BOGO sale to get 8 boxes of Horizon organic crackers for free. I did it over 2 days so I wouldn't empty out the shelf for other shoppers. I have to run another errand today near that store so I'm going to stop by and get more since I have more coupons.
3) I made another batch of chocolate cupcakes with the spoiled milk that I still have from last week. Also found a recipe for Buttermilk Pie and thinking that I should be able to use the spoiled milk instead of buttermilk...
4) I made my husband come with me to Lowe's on Saturday to get supplies that we needed so we could use his American Express and get the $10 back from an offer I had uploaded to his card. This doubled up as a "date" (kind of pathetic, I know, but we're both very big homebodies so we never really go anywhere together). We had a good time.
5) I watched several episodes of TLC's "Who Do You Think You Are" on YouTube via Roku. No need for cable here 🙂
1. We took all of our lunches to work. I feel like this one is cheating though since we work in the middle of nowhere and there are no options other than packing your own lunch.
2. Rented a movie from the Redbox, much cheaper than buying a movie we will probably never watch again.
3. I noticed that the ATM had improperly scanned a check I was going to deposit and wanted to give me WAY less than the check was actually written for. I cancelled the transaction and will take it to an actual bank to deposit.
4. I have used yarn that I already owned for my last two crochet projects.
5. I discovered that I can order my favorite teas in bulk (although still bagged) through Amazon. I won't have to buy tea for quite a while now, and there is less packaging. Yay.
It is hard to think things are frugal when you get used to doing frugal things on a daily basis.
1.I pulled out our springs/summer clothes before thinking of shopping for new clothes.
2. I picked up a book from our neighborhood Free Little Library.
3. My husband spent less than $10 on wood and super long nails to build a frame for our son's dig-box. We have a huge yard so we are letting him dig in the dirt (which he was doing anyway) instead of buying a sand box.
4. I checked out a newly released movie from the library instead of renting (it isn't available for free streaming anywhere yet)
5. I insisted on making dinners at home when my parents came for a visit this weekend. As you know, dinners for 5 adds up quickly.
Yes. There are six of us and geez, even fast food adds up fast.
1) As always, I shopped at Aldi, which helps a ton!
2) Cooked all lunches and dinners except one date night (and we shared an entree)...
3) Baked homemade bread- which I know I already said I cooked our meals, but this almost counts as recreation too because I got so much satisfaction out of it!
4) Took 3 nature hikes this week...totally FREE recreation and so good for you...
5) Recently did a total re-organization of my closet so I feel as if I have a new wardrobe because I actually know what I have in there now!
1. Well I wouldn't say we saved money yet but we planted 16 blueberry bushes and 2 dwarf apple trees and 2 mini dwarf apple trees now we may get some blueberries this year but in the next year or so we will be self sufficient on blueberries which we now buy at the u pick and although it saves money picking them it we still have to pay. Then we planted a lot of strawberries too...
2. Went to thrift shops and found my husband 505 and 501 pants and saved a ton of money got some for as little as 2 bucks but mostly 5 dollars..but I was able to buy him 4 pairs for under 30 dollars..
3. We found out that you can check you local home depot for some sod that may be a little yellow looking and this weekend they had a huge lot we got some for an area in our yard for the dog and after watering the sod it is now green...
4. On Sunday's I always prepare a huge batch of my husbands lunches for the week along with my snack packs (which not only saves money but keeps me on track )
5. re refinanced our home for cash out to send our child to college away in the fall. We got a much better finance rate and will have the house re-payed in 15 years.. It only increased out outgo 175.00 for 65 thousand. Plus best of all we payed down dept so not any more money comes out of pocket..
I think planting fruit-bearing bushes and trees is frugal in the long-term sense. It just takes a little while to see the payoff.
You did well!
Here are 2 of my 5:
1. Made my own nursery artwork for pretty cheap.
2. Managed to eat out less while my FIL was in town. He hates to make plans on vacation so we end up eating out a lot. I made more food this trip (but some will be featured for FWF, sadly).
My brain is too fried to think of more right now!
Those are pretty good! Let's see...
I use baking soda + lavender essential oil as shampoo and deodorant
I have gotten rid of many bags of clothes and will not buy ANY this year
I made curtains out of tablecloth, me the uncrafty woman
I regift things I receive if I don't think I will use them instead of trying to find a way to use them no matter what - someone else will appreciate them better than I will
I am learning to say no to projects that don't inspire me (I work freelance) because I cherish my time more than money
1--Made my own vanilla flavored coffee creamer, instead of buying it in the grocery store. No unhealthy trans fats, and it even tastes better!
2--Found two sewing patterns, one at Joann's for $2 and one on Etsy for $4, and found fabric for less than half-price.
3--Sewed a pair of pajama pants and a spring skirt with the items from #2!
4--Had some maintenance done on my car. That may not sound frugal, but I am driving a 15 yr old car, which is surely more frugal than making payments on a new one.
5--Made a batch of mocha cupcakes, instead of going to the ice cream parlor for mocha chip ice cream, which is what I was dreaming of...
1. I hand-typed my state taxes for Pennsylvania. Turbo Tax didn't seem to understand the part-year thing (we moved) and wanted me to pay an extra $94.
2. Tried 2 new make-ahead recipes. I often work until 6 or 8, so if I don't want Mr. FP ordering pizza all the time...
3. Bought diatomaceous earth to try for our ant problem instead of calling exterminator right away.
4. Negotiated special rate with daycare provider (for a few particularly short days).
5. Made hummus and 2 batches of yogurt (regular for the boys, Greek for me).
Oh my gosh...totally impressed that you did your taxes by hand. Oof.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901227-how-do-i-file-a-part-year-resident-state-tax-return
Kristen- glad to hear you give yourself a much needed break with takeout pizza on occasion. You certainly deserve it!!
- my husband was out of town for work for the past 8 days. My son and I kept meals simple and ate mostly out of the freezer as well as using up random Easter leftovers.
- I also skipped shopping; just picked up some fruit to get us through until my shopping tomorrow.
- we met friend's for dinner, and chose a delicious Indian buffet that's very reasonably priced ($12 for adults). It is insanely delicious.
- we got several videos from the library for a weekend treat instead of going to see a new- release kid's movie.
- I cleaned out our garage. I put several items ( mostly outgrown kids things like hula hoops, balls, a storage container) on our curb. Several people were really happy to pick these things up. Frugal in the sense I've received nice things "curbside" so I'm just returning the favor!
Great job on the new faucet! Those things are so foreign to me, so I look forward to more on that.
1. Finally finished my taxes without software. It took a long time, but I'm hoping it will get easier next year.
2. Tried making gluten-free bread in a breadmaker. Again, it took a long time, but it seems to be getting easier.
3. Started cooking less expensive items, like soup. Everyone liked it, but it's getting too warm now for soup.
4. Finally washed and sun-dried my Schoola order a few weeks ago. Had an initial allergic reaction (when I first received them) most likely to animal dander, but so far no reaction after sun-drying them.
Yay! So glad your Schoola clothes are working out for you.
Buttermilk pie is awesome! Also try biscuits,pancakes and homemafe salad dressings with spoiled milk.
Spoiled milk post got to wrong reply spot..sorry. Most of your soups could be converted to casseroles..or thicken and serve over rice/pasta.
I have read some great ideas just on this comment thread. 🙂
1. Taxes. Someone else previously mentioned it, but we do our taxes ourselves and (it's usually a free e-file unless something weird happens, which is not often).
2. Carpool. We live about 20 minutes from "town." We have some family that lives close by and I have started carpooling with them. We rotate drivers. We all save money on gas by driving in one vehicle, and we all chip in $2 per person each trip for whoever the driver is that day. Instead of three families each spending a lot on gas, we have combined efforts and saved a lot on gas money.
3. Library. We make good use of our local library.
4. Reduce A/C usage. This week we invested in some cheap box fans to put in the windows on nice days instead of constantly running central A/C. We look forward to seeing our new electric bill next month. (We are two weeks into the minimum-A/C experiment...so far, so good.)
5. Ditched our smartphones and went to talk-and-text phones. We cut our cell phone bill by 50%. That extra money goes into savings now.
Thanks for posting your tips! 🙂
Hi! Thanks for sharing everyone - I love hearing how creative y'all are! Here is my Frugal Five: 1) When traveling with my family out-of-state last week, I packed food from home to eat at the rest stops. That saved time and money. 2) I made my own dishwasher detergent. 3) I made my own laundry detergent. 4) My local thrift shop gives out a "50% off one item" coupon on its donation receipts. I used that coupon to buy an item that was only $10 to being with. It was a steal at $5, and I would have paid well over $50 if I bought the item at retail. Which I wouldn't have, so it saved me the time and trouble of making it myself. 5) I have been very patient with my ailing Washing Machine. Read below...
About a year ago my ten year old front-loading washing machine started making this terrible banging noise when I ran it. Not having much experience with washers, I called our Very Reliable appliance repair guy. He told me that the Main Rear Bearing is going, and it would cost about the price of a new machine ($900) to fix it because the whole washer would need to come apart. He also said this piece is very large, heavy, and hard to work with. He said I could get 2-3 more years out of it if I babied it. Which I have been doing. My husband is an engineer, and is able to fix/do almost everything around here - except for fix washing machines. He went to work and asked his engineer colleagues if they have any experience with this problem, and they all pretty much agreed with our repair man.
I am wondering if any of you FG readers might have any advice, insight, or repair experience to offer. I always appreciate reading what you have to say 🙂 Thanks in advance!
If you are looking for a washing machine you can find one for under 100 in craigslist if it last a couple of years it is a win on your part most should...
Oh man, that stinks! That's crazy that it costs that much to repair the bearing. My washer is very basic and comes apart pretty easily.
I'd be inclined to maybe look for a reliable model used, or if you go new, I'd do a lot of reading to find out what washer is actually worth buying (it seems like a lot of the new ones fall apart quickly and/or don't get the clothes very clean.)
If you have/decide to purchase a new machine, ask for discounted scratch and dent models. We have done this for all of our appliances and often get better quality for less than a basic model.
Good for you, installing your own faucet. I tried to do the same and after two trips to the hardware store for advice and to purchase a special wrench I ended up calling a plumber anyway. I just could not get the old corroded fittings off.
1. I used fruits I had put up last year for breakfast this week. (Canned peaches and frozen blueberries)
2. Experimented with making underwear. I know, it's kinda crazy, but at $3-5 a pair for womens undies...
3. Sold a bunch of extra stuff online and in a yard sale.
4. Used up a few barbeque chicken drumsticks into a chicken salad. The bbq addition was yummy!
5. Turned off the AC every time we left the house for more than an hour or two.
Savannah, Financial Peace University was a fabulous experience that probably saved our marriage. We took it at another church and convinced our own church to implement the program. Hope all goes well for you!
1. I started Weight Watchers about 2months ago and I've lost a pants size! I altered some of my pants instead of buying new, and bought a great Goodwill dress in my new size for $5.
2. Ate all meals at home/Brownback to office last week!
3. Contacted Replacements about some family crystal none of us want; fortunately, Replacements does. Ergo we'll have about $70 coming in AND freed up space.
4. They don't generally do this, but the dry cleaner said I've returned so many hangers over the years that she'd clean the business dress I brought gratis. Like someone else said, it wasn't' t a frugal thing, it was environmental and yielded frugal fruit.
5. Gathered everything frayed and ripped (towels, scarves, jeans, etc.), got out the sewing machine and fixed it all.
1. Did not grocery shop this week. Just bought apples, bananas and spinach to get us through the week. I am trying to use up the extra food in our house before it spoils.
2. Washed three loads of laundry and hung them on the line to dry.
3. Planted 30 tomato plants in my garden that I started from seed.
4. Husband and I packed our lunches all week.
5. Planted flower seeds that I got on clearance last year in my flower pots instead of buying flowers from the nursery (which can be very expensive $75). I hope they come up!!