Five Frugal Things | a $0 calculator
1. I got a TI-84 from Sonia
She's done with her pre-calc class, and I need a non-iPhone calculator to use for my chemistry exam today.
So, she brought it over for me. It's got more functions than I need for this exam (I don't need to graph things) but I'm glad I didn't have to go buy a scientific calculator.
(I mean, obviously I bought this one for her previously, but that money is already spent! So, it's currently costing me $0 to borrow this one from her.)
2. I got 8 free Covid tests
We'd used the last of the free mail-order ones we'd gotten (happily no positives!), so I checked to see if our insurance would cover some at-home tests.
It took some doing (because insurance is never simple), but I got eight free tests, and I managed to avoid doing the whole reimbursement process; I got them covered at the time of purchase instead.
Yay for one less paperwork process to go through.
And now if one of us gets sick, we can make sure it's not Covid.
3. I used my leftover coffee to make chocolate oatmeal
You can make chocolate microwave oats with just water, or milk. But a combo of leftover coffee + milk for the liquid makes for an especially good bowl of oatmeal.
I make my chocolate oatmeal using this basic microwave method, but I add a tablespoon of dark cocoa powder, leave out the cinnamon, and add in some vanilla.
Also of note: dark cocoa powder is on my list of power ingredients. 😉
4. I got three Maui Moisture products for $3.79
These are normally at least $7-$8, even at Target, but I saw they were on sale at CVS for $6.99.
Plus, I had a $5/$20 purchase coupon from getting my vaccines, plus a few other Extra Bucks coupons in my app, including some prescription rewards.
So, I got three bottles of Maui Moisture shampoo and conditioner for a total of $3.79, which means each bottle was $1.26!
That's a really, really good deal.
5. I..
- made coffee at home
- sold a book on eBay (The Shift, which is from my list of medical memoirs!)
- made several meals that used up odds and ends in my fridge and freezer
The elastic in my Halloween and renfair costume chemise went bad and instead of either buying elastic or a new undershirt I cut a hole in the neck and sleeves, sewed around the hole, then threaded some ribbons through to tie.
Made homemade lemon pound cake as a dish to pass for a potluck breakfast instead of buying something.
Made chicken stock with the carcass from a Costco rotisserie chicken.
Hubby got a bunch of loaves of bread leftover from work so put those in the freezer for future garlic bread and French toast.
Foraged elm caps and shrimp of the woods while camping, brought them home and fries them up for dinner the next day.
1) I was given 3 frozen trout from a friend who was cleaning out his freezer and knows that I like them. Next to salmon, it's my favorite fish. Yumm.
2) I picked up an extra shift at work, even though I reeeeaaalllllyyyy didn't want to. But it went well and in the end I was happy to help out.
3) We volunteered at our local fire department Hunter's Supper fundraiser and ended up taking home some extra food. Isn't that how it is? We seem to always benefit more than we give in the end.
4) My cousin offered to let me to pick apples from his orchard for free, so I will stop today to do that. I plan to can apple pie filling.
5) My husband had a teacher work day last week and the school provided breakfast and lunch for free. Yeah for perks!
And all the normal stuff: dyed my hair at home, made a meal plan for the month, combined errands, got reimbursed for a covid test....
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
I've been sick, so nothing too earth shattering.
1. I used my sick leave and stayed home on Friday when I felt my worst. I had a lot of leave piled up and you lose most of it when you retire, so it's definitely frugal to use it.
2. I also scheduled two more days of leave for this week so I can do my physical and get my COVID and flu shots and then take a day to recover.
3. I went grocery shopping and used the bag trick again. I bought no meat except for some pork sausage that was on clearance for .99/lb. I bought 4 lbs, sliced the rolls into thirds and froze them for future breakfasts.
4. I put some powdered milk into a sealed clear container in the kitchen and wrote some of the conversion amounts on a stickie that I taped to the side. Hopefully this way I will use it more since it's inconvenient to deal with the big bag in my food storage.
5. I made overnight oats (and added some powdered milk!) for breakfast and also made coffee at home.
Good luck on your chem exam!
Oh, I see we have two Beccas here. On my end I can see that you guys are two different people, but if you want to add something to your name when you comment to differentiate yourself, feel free!
@Becca, you might not see this and I might not see your answer, but what is the bag trick in #3?
I went away for the weekend with my sister. We were seeing her daughter and grandkids and she just needed a buddy to ride with. She paid for the hotel room and Saturday's dinner. I brought snacks and grilled cheese supplies and my small Forman grill. We used the pool at the hotel. Ate included continental breakfast. We also went a fall festival and listened to music, did a free craft, and for lunch I had bottled water I brought with me and a cup of chili (5.00 but very filling and warmed me up.) We also shared a bag of cookies from the festival. My niece took us all on a train ride she paid for. It was a good weekend.
I laughed about your non i phone calculator. My students have debated this issue for years. Basically my answer is, I would rather have your wrong answer then your cell phone's right answer.
Slightly off-topic here, but I am amused that every time I go through a Swagbucks search for "The Frugal Girl" the first thing that always pops up is "Vinyl Gloves by the Case."
Anyway:
1. I once again had a chef salad bought for me, big enough to make another meal out of it. This time, my other daughter bought it for me.
2. My church held an anniversary party on the lawn and we had music, bounce houses, freshly grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, drinks, cake, and chips, all free.
3. My husband's weekend was brightened by the visit of a therapy dog, which was free. He is not a "joiner" in planned activities and never was, but when the activities director asked me what he would like instead, I said animals, and she made it happen.
4. I priced an interfacing at Jo-Ann's at $11.99 a yard. I found it elsewhere for $4.97 a yard. Obviously, I paid the lower price.
5. I used a gift card earned through the Capital One shopping program to purchase home supplies and snack foods for my DH. $0.00 out of pocket.
And this is not my frugal, but I had to mention this: in a parking lot this weekend I saw one of those big old Lincoln sedans, the boxy kind from the 80's. The trunk lid was closed and securely held shut by two slide bolt latches, such as is used on some doors. They were nicely aligned, one on either side of the trunk lid and neatly attached. I don't know the owner, but I admire his or her creativity and resourcefulness.
@JD, thanks for the idea in your #3. My DH is past participating in most activities, but I too think that he might respond to a therapy dog. (He'd be even happier with a therapy llama, but I don't think that's feasible!) There's a Family Council Meeting at his nursing home on Thursday, and I'll make this suggestion.
@A. Marie,
I hope they can provide therapy animals for your husband. My husband told me all about this dog, so I can tell he enjoyed it very much.
@JD, I had a 1984 Lincoln Town car for several years, bought used at a great price. Quite possibly my favorite car, ever. Felt like a queen when I drove it.
@A. Marie, if you happen to be near Portland Oregon, there actually *are* some therapy llamas (and alpacas). They're amazing!
@A. Marie, and @JD,
There are volunteers at the hospital where I work who bring therapy dogs every so often...they brighten up everyone's day, patients and staff alike. There used to be a man who brought a black Newfoundland with him - a gentle giant, much like you describe your DH, A. Marie. (The man retired his Newfie, due to age and arthritis).
@A. Marie, Suggest llamas, you never know. We have therapy reindeer that make an appearance at various venues.
@Lindsey, I wonder if anyone has ever trained pygmy goats to be therapy animals? They are the cutest little things.
@A. Marie, in Finland we have therapy alpacas that visit old people homes!
I'm surprised by the therapy alpacas! My friend's herd is really standoffish and unfriendly. And animals generally LOVE me. Like, I can pet wild deer. Though my friend did say, "Well, they didn't spit on you, and they generally do spit on people, so...." Maybe if you start training them when young.
@Ruby, I love the fainting goats! Wouldn't that be a great skill to have as an adult, passing out every time something surprised or annoyed you?
@Lindsey, I recall from Gone With the Wind (the novel, not the movie) that Aunt Pittypat had that exact skill--although it might also just have been an excuse for keeping a bottle of brandy on hand. Scarlett eventually discovered the brandy bottle and made liberal use of it herself.
@Lindsey, My husband's grandmother was an accomplished amateur thespian, and she was famous for her ability to faint flat on the floor at will. She did it one time right in the waiting room of the dentist's office when presented with a large bill, which was subsequently reduced. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, omg, I love this woman.
@A. Marie, you could try contacting your county 4-H Extension Office. I bet one if the 4-H kids would be happy to bring a lama in to see your husband!
@Lindsey, yes! I’d love to have that trait. Women of old had fainting couches so we could bring that back!
@Julia, Though part of the ease of fainting was because they couldn't breathe with their corsets so tight, (an upper-class woman problem-- status was indicated by being dependent on servants and unable to dress themselves). Chairs were designed so women could sit on them gracefully and support themselves with their arms.
@kristin @ going country, I wish I knew how your grnadma-in-law did that. I really could use that skill at my own dentist!
Good luck on your exam today!
1. I had not seen/heard/read that the local library was selling their discarded books, before they advertised that the remains was free the last week. So while I probably missed some great vintage craftbooks (by earlier years experience), I found quite a few books to read this winter. Now I don’t have to think of late fees and I’ll have something to put in the Little, Free Library I wish that my partner will make for my birthday present.
2. My BFF and the kids was travelling to visit her parents and had a stopover here. I got both a trip to the swimmingpool and free breakfast while hanging with them at the hotel.
3. We had such a cold summer the last year we renovated the house, so I wore my ski jacket while painting. I bought it used and thought that I would just find myself another one again. I think I’ve bought and selled three jackets since then because the newer ones are poorer quality. But finally found the right one this week. A real bargain at $25 incl. shipping. Now I don’t have to go cross-country skiing only in the dark because I’m ashamed of my paintsplattered ski outfit 😉
4. I wasn’t aware that the DNT (Norwegian Trekking Association) had rental cabins where I live, but I promptly reserved it for the weekend when I found out. Had a lovely time in the woods with no cell reseption or wi-fi. $120 seemed like a lot, but then I did the math and we can rent a cabin once a month for 20 years for the same price as the cheapest one at the market (a real fixer-upper). Will work to get it in our budget so we can do it again come winter.
5. Keep decluttering so my partner can renovated the last room upstairs during the winter. It’s slow going since I try to sell most things to replenish my buffer account but on the bright side I’m not shopping or spending money.
FFT, Lose a Few, Win a Few Edition (with apologies for repeating most of these from yesterday's FFT at the NCA):
(1) I ended up not participating in the “Junk in the Trunk” event I mentioned last week after all. It rained all night Friday and into Saturday morning, and although I was never notified that the event was canceled, I bailed out of my own accord. Bummer/frugal fail. But I decided that I was OK with donating about 40% of the junk I had in the Element’s hatch, so I took that over to Goodwill. The rest, I’m either repurposing here or saving for a future sale. Partial frugal win.
(2) I then shopped at the Goodwill and at one of our Thrifty Shopper stores for Dr. Bestest Neighbor's seriously ill relative, who is back with the BNs after spending most of the summer elsewhere, and who needs winter-weight clothing suitable for an invalid. I got two flannel shirts, a pair of flannel PJs and another flannel PJ bottom, a sweatshirt, and a pair of sweatpants (practically brand new from Cuffy’s of Cape Cod; Dr. BN and the relative have family in Cape Cod, so this gave them both a smile) for a total of about $30.
(3) I continue gradually expanding my boring but thrifty post-gum-grafting diet. My follow-up appointment with the periodontist is this afternoon, and I'm eagerly looking forward to finding out what else I can start eating and when.
(4) I had our longtime HVAC company (DH and the owner did a lot of business together back in the day) here for the annual furnace check. The price for the inspection was up from last year, of course–but the tech did find a few things that I’m glad to have had fixed. Having a surprise furnace conk-out in January would be a definite frugal fail.
(5) And the tech happened to notice the pile in the furnace room of DH’s HVAC testing equipment from his home energy performance rater days. Both the tech and the owner, when notified, have expressed interest in buying this equipment from me–and I’d be delighted if they did. Stay tuned!
--I used half a can of condensed milk to make arroz con leche, so when my son wanted to bake something Saturday, I found a recipe online for cookies to use the other half of the condensed milk. Bonus that they were a thumbprint-type cookie that he filled with the very last bits of condensed milk, and peach and apricot jam. Also, the recipe does not use an egg. Given the price of eggs now, that's a good recipe to have. It was this one: https://spicesnflavors.com/condensed-milk-cookies/
--That arroz con leche used the last four cups of milk from the gallon that had gotten too old. My kids told me it was going off. They didn't notice in the rice pudding, though. 🙂
-- I found a use for the bull meat that actually has good texture: enchiladas. Of course, enchiladas only use like a tablespoon of meat each and are a pain to make, but they were good.
--The three younger ones are all re-using old Halloween costumes this year. The oldest is still deciding if he wants to do Halloween this year, but if he does, he only needs one thing that is less than twenty dollars.
--The cucumbers and green beans have staged a comeback, which means a couple more jars of refrigerator dills and a few more fresh cucumbers before the first frost. That will probably happen before the end of the month, so I'm enjoying the fresh things while I can.
@kristin @ going country, I agree that enchiladas are a pain to make. My solution is to go the layered route in a 9x13 pan- layer of tortillas, layer of meat and cheese (and sometimes sauce), then another layer of tortillas topped with cheese and enchilada sauce. Repeat if you want to. So much quicker and the flavor is the same!
1. Walking with friends each eve.
2. I am guilty of using the dryer as an iron, so have made a point of setting timer and folding immediately when dry. Last month's electric bill was high.
3. The laundry pods I like (Tide knock-off) at Sam's are out of stock/?gone forever, so researching what I can use instead.
4. Got my 2 previously owned Brooks Adrenaline sneakers from EBAY for work and they are close to new- no visible wear. Got 2 pairs for less than one pair new. I guess they are last year's model?
5. Planned meals, made breakfasts and lunches, made fajitas at home with friends on Saturday night, bought a pair of 1.00 jeans from thrift, and found some fall decor at same thrift just when I was feeling I wanted to buy ALL THE fall things.
@Michele, I just picked some up this week at Sams. First time I have used them and I do love them. Walgreens often will have their Arm and Hammer pods buy 1 get 2 free which is a great deal. Just a thought. I am not picky about my pods.
Chocolate oatmeal ... hmm, somehow I've never considered making that before.
Our local library frequently has free covid tests--I'm sure you've checked at your library, but wanted to add that in as a possibility for obtaining more.
Frugal stuff? Went on a "date hike" with my husband yesterday (SO beautiful outside), cooked at home, had a bonfire for my young adult church group (cost was only in refreshments--less expensive than going out for an outing), found a potential teen Sunday School curriculum which has free lesson plans and is actually pertinent to where teens are in their faith right now (finding good curriculum is a challenge), video called my son at college, did a free-to-me virtual symposium last week which helps me obtain free continuing ed credits and bonus, I didn't have to spend gas money to get to a location.
@Kris, I ask for one every time I go to the library and we have a nice little stockpile for this winter. With six people in the house we really go through them when we use them.
1. Been sick, so haven't eaten anything in several days. Only drank water and one ginger ale.
2. Sold a few more things on ebay, which I have to mail when I get less sick.
3. Re-read old books instead of buying new.
4. Got my son to do a yard cleanup instead of having the landscapers do it.
5. It's only going to cost me $5,700 to level out the floor in my rental cottage trashed by the awful tenants. Oh wait, that's not good, that's utterly terrible.
6. Sorry. I need to do a mental Thankful Thursday.
@Rose, No. 3, I can get a little crazy buying books even if they are always used. Like you, I realized that I had enough to start rereading, both fiction and nonfiction. A great frugal hack, for those of us who must always have a book in our hands.
@Anne, I was trying to find something new in Mystery, Crime & Thriller on Amazon, and everything looked terrible. Sigh. I wish Amazon had a "Not self published" button to push.
Oh man, I have read a number of self-published books that REALLY REALLY needed an editor. I know there are probably some great ones out there, but there are also a lot that could use some help.
@Rose, I just finished Richard Osman’s first two and they are incredibly good. Suspenseful and funny.
Kristen, an acquaintance of mine runs a local restaurant and has a self-published book which is prominently displayed inside. IT HAS A TYPO ON THE COVER.
Sometimes people ask me if I've read it and I say, "I've spent 35 years as an editor and writer. I am not reading a book with a typo on the cover."
I know. It is very hard to take a book seriously when it starts out like that.
Editors are necessary!
@Elaine, Thanks, I have heard that from someone else. Will try!
You might check with your local health department about free tests. The one in our nearest large city just gives them away by the bag, which I only found out thanks to word of mouth.
--Back in March, one of the cashiers at my favorite Ace gave me a stack of their free 2022 calendars that were about to be thrown away. Each month has a $5 off $25 coupon at the bottom, and I’ve multiples of each month (yes, I’ve shared)! I cashed in another coupon this past week. Even though I only made it to $20 thanks to bad math on my part (I didn’t realize one of my items was on sale), the cashier gave me the $5 off, anyway!
—I used $10 in Michael’s coupons which, combined with a 40% off sale, meant that our traditional Halloween throw pillow was only $8 instead of $30. We’ve been loving the “elegant spookiness” style of the last several seasons and use the pillows year round.
—I used leftover thick and creamy homemade tomato soup as pasta sauce on some gnocchi. The gnocchi expired in April but are shelf stable and perfectly fine, though the remaining 1/2 package has moved to the front of the menu plan for this week!
—I made a deep-dive into the pantry to make sure only the gnocchi had expired. While there, I moved several not-quite-gone items into smaller containers to free up space.
—A neighboring town’s large gas station has a surprisingly well-stocked market tucked in the back, including inexpensive produce and a 1/2 price section for day-of items. I walked out with two full bags of produce—two pounds of salads, a GIANT head of cauliflower, and four pounds of grapes—for just $12, which made it worth the 10 minute round-trip. Since my husband commutes in my car thanks to the superior mileage, it was also a treat to have my beloved ride to myself for a bit! 😛
1) I was treated to a few meals this weekend, when I was unexpectedly in Portland. My husband bought me a flight, for an impromptu trip to see my family & friend. It was a great weekend. He also covered all of the kid activities at home, which is no small feat!
2) I was upgraded on the flight home & ended up with a free meal service, so I saved the sandwich I'd bought for dinner, and took it home. They served some sort of a protein pack on the flight, so I had that for dinner instead, along with a freebie glass of wine.
3) Sold another of my husband's old jackets on eBay, plus a hair product. Used recycled mailing supplies to send off both.
4) I've had creative meal leftovers, used the Bubly drops in my water bottle (no one seems to use the Soda Stream lately), & menu planned to avoid over buying & waste.
5) Used a free meditation app (comes with my health insurance).
@Hawaii Planner, I initially read your post thinking your husband had treated you to an unexpected trip to Poland! Who would take a quick trip to Poland on her own? It was not until your comment about bringing home a sandwich that I thought, "Oh, she went to Poland, Ohio." It took another minute for my brain to say, "Something is wrong here. Read again from the start." Portland, not Poland! I need to drink some caffeine.
WOW we just walk into a drugstore/pharmacy and ask for tests. Free. I just pick them up as I am out.
FFT -
We had our garage door serviced this past week. (It had been a few years since the last one.) Even though this was an expense, we got a 15% discount for being a repeat customer & saved the fee for using a credit card by paying with a written check. Has everyone else noticed this practice of businesses recouping credit card processing fees by charging the customer? I’m seeing it everywhere in our area.
I am gradually doing outdoor fall cleanup myself rather than paying the yard company to do it.
Thanks to some frugal grocery shopping recently I have a full freezer. I’m looking forward to a few lower cost shopping trips in the future to just fill in the gaps.
Our niece is a wonderful woman who graciously shares her cooking with us on the weekends. This week I “traded” 1/2 of a cake for homemade soup. It’s great to give and receive.
Still doing the usual daily frugal things. Consistency pays off!
@LDA, Yes on seeing a difference between credit card fees and paying by cash/check. My chiropractor and massage therapist office has just raised their charges for the first time in perhaps decades for credit card charges.
For me, the cost of a check blank is minimal, though cash would be "free", and any credit card points wouldn't compensate for the extra price of using the card.
I was trying not to buy any new work clothes. I retire in 2024 but two of my five work pants were badly faded and fraying.
I bought two pairs on sale in addition to a 30 percent coupon. They went right into the rotation.
I keep a minimal capsule wardrobe. It is frugal and simplifies my life. I started this in 2019. Love it
Cooking and eating at home. Packing lunches. ( hate packing lunches!)
I continue to remember to click digital coupons before shopping. Stick to the list unless I see great mark downs.
Have a good week everyone.
@Stephanie,
I would love to hear more about your capsule wardrobe.
Chocolate-mocha oatmeal looks amazing! And you are rocking the CVS bucks!
My frugal things largely involve dejunking, because now I can actually find what I need in the house!
1. I cleaned out most of the drawers in our bedroom and collected a bag of stuff to go to Goodwill. Also cleaned out the bottom of the china cabinet and sent a box of stuff to Goodwill.
2. One of the bedroom items that went to Goodwill was a jewelry box gifted to me long ago that I disliked. (Why do we hang onto gifts that we don't like?) It was also too big for my small dresser top and taking up valuable space in a drawer. I took some really cute thrifted fabric and the sturdy small box my Samsung tablet was packaged in and covered the box with the fabric to make a right-size jewelry box.
3. One of my student workers is getting into meal prep to save money and asked if I had any spare food containers at home, so I sorted out our massive stash of Rubbermaid. Her roomie, who just recently was homeless, has an emotional support dog with a ragged leash, so our box of dog gear yielded up a good sturdy harness and leash from when we had a bigger dog. (We have been getting progressively smaller dogs as they pass away.)
4. Had the presence of mind to check the online flyer for the grocery store and see that the long-awaited BOGO on bagels in the store deli was happening, along with a $1.99 a pound sale on pork loin. Stocked up on bagels and pork loin for the freezer and saved a bundle.
5. Cooked this weekend from the freezer: burgers and roast chicken with all the fixings (both meat entrees were manager's mark downs bought a while back and tucked away). My back-of-the envelope math indicated that these meals were at least 75% less expensive than eating out. The chicken created lots of leftovers for my husband's lunches this week.
@Ruby, Do you find it hard to downsize to smaller dogs as you age? I always had Irish wolfhounds and now I have a lab. At 80 pounds he seems so insubstantial. I miss a dog who could sit on the couch like a human, his back paws resting on the floor, who was taller than I am (I am 6 feet tall) when he reared up on his hind legs, who could rest his head on the kitchen counter without any trouble. The husband has said if we outlive pound hound, it is time to go down one more size...I don't mind too much many of the compromises that come with aging, but this one still grieves me.
@Lindsey, not really. I absolutely adore big dogs but the constraints of age mean having only dogs I can easily pick up and carry to the car if they are hurt or sick. Our youngest dog "reads" bigger than she is: she has a long dachshund back and a super-fluffy spitz coat, but she's feather-light to pick up, so that helps.
I was trying to downsize to just beagles too. When my 75 pound foxhound was dying, it was really hard for me to carry her indoors when she collapsed outside, etc.
Then I fell in love with the sweet, darling face of a 75 pound coonhound in my local rescue, so here we are. Bonus! Her single brain cell skitters around her skull insanely when I try to bathe her or clip her nails, so for the first time in my life, I have to pay for grooming. Whatever, she's worth it.
(We're all scenthounds, all the time here)
Now I feel guilty for implying she's dumb. She isn't. She had a very bad start in life, and I'm a person who is skeptical about the way people think that any dog whose personality is a little odd was "abused," but she was found by rescue down south with gunshot wounds and looked like a skeleton, so yeah.
@Ruby, Well, I could not pick up my wolfhounds when I was in my 30s--160 to 180 pounds was too much even then. I remember one time where the husband and I had to roll one of our boys onto an old door we had and then together we managed to lift one end of the door onto the lip of the pickup and managed to slide the door (and the dog) into the bed that way. The issue really is that if a 180 pound dog decides to go one way and I want to go another, I will be the one who ends up on the ground. I was almost pulled out of my wheelchair by one of our guys. And we have had two all the time, and I just cannot hang onto two of them at the same time even when they are completely obedient. It seems stupid and vain but I really hate being this feeble and not having a few of those majestic beasts lying around on the floor, couch, bed...
@Lindsey, It does not seem even a little “stupid & vain.” It seems like a real loss & I am sorry for that.
Love working the CVS system for cheap/free stuff!
These are a bit older but still good.
When we moved to our new town and rental, we needed some "new" furniture. This is what we got:
1. A stylish sofa that reclines at both ends for $250 - bought at a non-profit used furniture store.
2. A solid wood bookcase with a drawer at the bottom for $50 - bought at a ReStore. We put this in our walk-in closet and my husband uses it as a dresser. It works perfect with his organizational style, unlike traditional dressers with all (closed) drawers.
3. A set of 4 mid-century dining chairs upholstered with a beautiful tropical print for $100. These babies are gorgeous. We got these at the same store as our sofa.
4. I dumpster picked a rattan bar stool. This one needs some work, but I love it. Now I just need to find one that complements it for the other end of our kitchen bar....
5. An old mid-century office chair for $5 - same store as #1 and #3. This one is solid but has a few cracks in the wood to repair. We will also probably get it reupholstered in a less office-y fabric.
We spent hundreds less than if we bought new, and we now have more furniture in our preferred (mid-century) style. Some of them will take some work, but I hope we can keep these around for the long term.
1. Husband got a card offering a $10 Amazon gift card for taking a survey. Cha ching.
2. I got a notice of a $25 Amazon gift card if I call them up for car insurance quote. Will do that later today.
3. We seldom go to the movies because there are so few pictures that appeal to people in our age group. (Add us together and we're over 150.) But when we do, like today, it feels like a huge treat and we always go on Tuesday which is much cheaper.
4. Found we could buy our favorite coffee from the manufacturer for half the price that Amazon was asking. Ordered a two month supply.
5. It's not really fall here, it never is, but at least no air conditioning is required. Isn't that a wonderful time of year for the bank account?
@Anne,
I was wondering what coffee would that be....love coffee
@mary, It's Jose's Gourmet Coffee, sold by Don Francisco. We get the Hazelnut Cream in whole bean and my husband grinds some every morning. Best coffee I have ever had and guests have loved it, too.
1. We didn't buy a subscription to MLB.tv postseason. This was in part due to the complexity of their broadcast rights and blackout rules. Basically, we realized that we could spend $90 and still maybe be blacked out of tonight's game. We also realized that watching live sports when you really care about the outcome is more stressful than fun.
2. Purchased windshield wipers on sale.
3. A friend is going on a one month road trip and I am eating up most of the produce she left for me. It was fun to get spaghetti squash into my diet again (it's not my husbands favorite so we don't buy it regularly).
4. We didn't eat out. We are saving our restaurant money to eat at a sports bar (watching baseball) if our team makes it deep into the playoffs.
No Cure For Being Human is on my list of books I want to read. I'm going to hop over after this and read your review!
I just got home from a new (to me) frugal thing and I'm so excited to share it with y'all!
1. I used the Flashfood app for the first time! Meijer is offering $5 off $7 for new users and I had been wanting to try it anyways. I got a $5 produce box that had 10 yellow/red/orange peppers, 12(!) small organic avocadoes, 2 cartons of cherry tomatoes, and 3 pears. It was a steal! I also got some pasta for 40 cents a box, a second produce box, and really inexpensive tahini. They've for sure made a new regular customer out of me!
2. I bought expensive cat food today. The goal is that specialized cat food will prevent future health problems for our cat. We've had 2 emergency vet bills in the last 4 months and that's definitely not frugal. We can buy a ton of expensive cat food for the cost of those visits.
3. We stayed at a cabin at a state park for a long weekend and I packed all of our food, including our 2 meals on the road. We only did free activities like exploring, playing at playgrounds, and visiting a history center. My kids were perfectly happy with this.
4. We had to replace the cover for our gas can and my husband bought one off eBay. He sold our old one (with no hinges) on eBay for $10.
5. I needed a greeting card for a group to sign and before I made it to the store I remembered that I have a box of mixed cards at home. I found one in there that worked perfectly for what we needed.
Oooh, chocolate oatmeal? Who knew? Great idea!
Hmmm, frugal things....
1. Finishing up a stay at a friend's cabin he offered us for free. Hubby and I ran away for a few nights and it has been so very refreshing! We just puttered, ate mostly the food we brought (more out of convenience than money saving, but still), and hit up a couple of thrift stores. We brought some DVDs we hadn't watched yet and it was just lovely. Hubby got to tinker and fix a few things that needed a handyman as our "thanks for letting us stay!" and he loved it.
2. At said thrift stores we found many nice pairs of men's expensive dress shoes and a brand new suit for hubby and teen sons. We spent less than the cost of a new pair of shoes. Finding nice men's clothing seems to be more difficult than for women, so we were tickled.
3. Frugal win for senior son. His studying is paying off in college acceptances and a full tuition offer. I just talked to a mom who was contemplating going back to work full time to send their child to the same school, so it's definitely a gift.
4. Through some internet research and a bit of experimenting I figured out how to soften crocheted pieces made from inexpensive acrylic yarn. I'm always being given yarn that's pretty in color but not always comfortable to wear (I make hats for our local mission). Machine washing the finished piece gently with conditioner and liquid fabric softener and then drying it with a dryer sheet usually works wonders (I use as mild of a scent as I can find). The pieces hold up great, and usually come out soft and silky. I don't want to give anything that I wouldn't love to wear myself so this is important, and I get to use free supplies to make something helpful for others.
5. Again, internet to the rescue for help in how to use up odd leftovers, especially condiments. We help on the cleanup crew for our weekly church meal, and there are always some things no one wants, like foam containers of mustard, ketchup and mayo. Some winners have been using mayo for egg/oil substitutes in brownies and ketchup for sloppy joes. Anything that saves grocery $ and keep waste down is lovely, plus it's a good experience in creativity for our children as they prepare to run their own homes.
Blessings, Kristen!
@Amanda P, I have not tried it but have read that mayo works well in place of butter for grilled cheese sandwiches. Mayo (instead of butter) the outside of two pieces of bread, put the cheese in the middle, and fry until toasted on each side.
@Amanda P, Also, (because I just looked it up and have not tried it), ketchup and mustard can be frozen, such as in an ice cube tray for small mounts, but mayo is more problematic and might separate.
@Heidi Louise, ketchup freezes just fine. I bought a restaurant-sized can of it for less than $5, replenished our bottle and decanted the rest into four large clean applesauce jars and froze it. I let one thaw out in the fridge whenever our ketchup bottle needs refilling. It's more than year's supply and the can was recyclable.
@Amanda P, If you have leftover mayo, look up a a recipe for a mayonnaise chocolate cake. You can't tell it's in there and would save on oil or other shortening.
@Lisa K, Ruby, Heidi Louise,
Thank you so much for the helpful tips! What great ideas, appreciate it
Here’s my 5:
1) I’m trying to cut down on food waste, specifically from the veggie drawer:) I saved some wilting carrots & celery & thyme and put them into a ham & bean soup.
2) My cornbread needed milk, but I didn’t have any left. After a google search, I realized I could sub in sour cream, with a dash of vanilla. It worked well!
3) At a local parade this weekend we were given lots of candy & plastic jewelry. We put 1/2 of the stash into a Halloween trick or treat bowl. No chocolate of course:)
4) We will again “shop” the dress up bin for Halloween costumes. My mom gives our girls Target costumes for Christmas gifts that she finds at clearance prices in November.
5) Our weekend entertainment was full of free events from a community fall festival. We came home with 5 pumpkins, and 1 gourd. The girls were able to do pony rides, meet owls, do train barrel rides, bounce houses, a petting zoo, & cookie decorating all for free!
Nothing major this week …
1) I used the end of a loaf of bread to make myself a grilled cheese.
2) My 8yo and I are making Halloween decorations out of previously purchased construction paper.
3) Despite some cold nights, I am still harvesting garden vegetables for dinner.
4) I shopped around for my options and waited for a sale to buy my kids’ snow boots.
5) We continue our weekly runs to the library. Right now, we are making use of a couple dozen autumn and Halloween books that I am thankful I didn’t have to buy!
6) I washed and put away my salvaged seedling containers for yet another year of planting. I’ll continue to keep margarine and plastic soup containers to replenish anything that wore out this season.
I love the idea of using leftover coffee in oatmeal!
1. My sister likes to shop and has much more style than me. She dropped off a big bag of clothes she didn't want, so I kept a few things. The rest I posted on Buy Nothing. I took the opportunity to sort through my clothes too and make a donation.
2. I used some frozen bread odds-and-ends and the end of some milk to make baked french toast for the kid's breakfast this week. I used a frozen pie crust to make an apple pie, which came out great. I used frozen veggie scraps to make a lot of vegetable broth.
3. I listed last year's Halloween costumes on Marketplace. So far, one has sold.
4. I picked up socks for my son off Buy Nothing.
5. I used a Target gift card to purchase some household items and a gift for my son's friend's birthday party.
I'm excited to have one big one to share:
I got FREE sod, $51 worth of it, from Home Depot simply because I noticed they had a messy looking pile of it, that looked salvageable, and I asked how much. Take all the sod you want and Merry Christmas from the Home Depot! the guy said. So I backed my Forester up and loaded as much as I could, which was all of the sod that still had green in it, which was a LOT.
Its worth it to ask.
The other stuff is the usual: batching errands, eating dinner and lunch at home (except for some free subs I got from Jersey Mike's, courtesy of gift cards someone mailed me), and staying off Amazon.
(:
Oh wow, what a win from Home Depot!
@gina, In the spring I was at our local Rona (kind of like Home Despot) getting peat moss. I noticed they had a big wet pile of sad looking clear plastic bags full of broken soil bags - all kinds of different potting soil and amendments. $1 per bag!! and they were big heavy bags. I loaded them all up and then grumbled a lot while we hoop jumped with the sticky labels to get them purchased, and I came home with hundreds of dollars of soil for around $20. That cheap potting soil meant that I was just totally and completely happy to fill lots of pots with my divided garden perennials for our church plant sale: I not regret the cost of the dirt. I also had so much that most of my spring bulb and pot filling extravaganzas were just about free, save for the bulbs. I will keep an eagle eye out for those ripped bags this spring...
1. Mended a crib sheet and a nursing bra.
2. Received a class action settlement check for $15.91.
3. Trying to eat down produce, pantry, and freezer in anticipation of being on a trip for several months visiting family.
4. Like Kristen, I also received two free months of Panera’s Sip Club. The only trick is to not succumb to wanting orange scones while I am getting my free coffee.
5. On our long road trip, saving money by eating from grocery stores rather than fast food. We like to buy fruit, nuts, and bread, sliced cheese, and avocado for easy sandwiches. It’s cheaper and healthier than fast food, which we never like anyway.
Just a note that here (in South Carolina) you can get at home Covid tests from the health department for free. Might be worth a phone call to see if your health department offers take home tests free.
1) Canned up bone broth from beef bones in my freezer.
2) baked bread
3) froze tomatoes from my garden and put the rest of the green tomatoes under newspaper to ripen inside. I’ll make sauce and can it when I have enough.
4) turned some stained t-shirts into rags
5) saved marigold seeds for next year’s garden
1. I made most of our meals at home.
2. I picked up dinner at Arby's with a free meal coupon. That's the only one we didn't have at home.
3. When my washing machine fix didn't hold, I did some more research and tried again. It is working now.
4. We enjoyed free entertainment. We borrowed a game from the library. We watched a movie that we already had.
5. I had a small collection of items that needed to be glued. So I spread everything across the table one day and fixed it all. 2 Barbie chairs, 1 stone dinosaur, 1 water bottle, and 1 eyeglass holder are just fine now.
6. I remembered to mail off a rebate offer.
7. I am taking a free continuing education class (for credit).
8. I got some free advice from a former colleague about getting published.
9. I also knew the right person to get same cool swag for my daughter at an event... that I got us free tickets to.
1. Mended the hem on my dress pants
2. Was going to cut a new thread for hemming but decided to see if the remnant still threaded through the stored needle was enough. Yes. Small savings, but at least I'm not wasting things.
3. Thankfully took advantage of shopping with my friend to get a few things at Costco using her card. It was nice to try some new products, but I have again decided a Costco card is not worth it for me as a single person.
4. Did not buy the Lindt chocolates I wanted at Costco.
5. Really wanted turkey soup, but I can't eat a whole turkey, so I picked up a turkey leg at the local Co-op. Now I have turkey soup that should do lunches for the whole week.
I have a few to share:
1. My daughter's boyfriend's mom did an online grocery order and wanted 5 bananas; she got 5 bunches!!!! LOL She gave us 2 bunches as that was too many for them to eat before they went bad.
2. My youngest daughter got a new job that she'll be starting soon. The new job required her to do bloodwork and a flu shot. They scheduled her bloodwork & while there I asked if they also did flu shots. they said yes, so they gave her a flu shot while there saving me time (also no cost to me)
3. I made a trip to Sams club for a few items and it said we had $12.18 Sams cash to use; I applied it to my order.
4. I picked a few more lingering tomatoes from our plants and have them sitting on the ledge of our deck to finish ripening.
5. Trying to eat down our freezers and pantry. Using up a lot of odds and ends to prevent food waste.
1) Eating down the freezer so that I can defrost it.
2) Almost 3 months of not shopping at 7-11 every night before work (I work nights, generally 6 nights a week) has saved me both money and time (they are and have been for months now working on the road going past my 7-11 so the expense and the inconvenience were both adding up).
3) Taking lunch to work or storing stuff that won't spoil in my locker at work.
4) Not drinking Dutch Brothers cold brew every single day.
5) All of my savings/investments are mindless, set it and forget it so I don't worry so much about financial stuff.