Five Frugal Things | A bright dress for $9.97
1. I got a dress for $9.97
Old Navy sent me an email about a one-day sale they had on a few dresses, so I clicked on over.
As you know, I tend to buy things in very neutral colors, but the $9.97 dresses were not available in anything neutral.
So...I bought one in a bright color.
Are you shocked??
In case you didn't notice...it has pockets!
I think this might be useful into the early months of cold weather if I throw a denim jacket on over top of it. So, hopefully I can get some wear out of it this year, even though it's late summer right now.
2. I went to a free symphony concert
I got a local mailing that mentioned a free outdoor symphony concert and I thought, "Hmm, why not? I haven't been to see an orchestra in forever!"
The ticket was free, and so was admission to the park.
And happily, they played several pieces that I was quite familiar with, like some Copeland. I always think orchestral concerts are more fun when you've heard the pieces before!
3. I got some marked-down sausages at Giant
I was there for a watermelon, but I noticed they had quite a few packages of chicken sausages (both raw and pre-cooked) marked down for quick sale.
So, I bought several packages and put them in my freezer for future use.
4. I bought a textbook for Zoe on Amazon
She ended up switching health classes (it turns out that we'd registered her for a non-entry-level one by mistake!) and I almost pressed the easy button and bought her book at the college bookstore ($97).
But I found a used, like-new version on Amazon for $27. OH YES.
It's not a book Zoe is going to need after this semester, so I will sell it on eBay as soon as she's done with it in December.
I never let textbooks sit around here for long! 😉
5. I...
- boiled my kitchen dishcloths to get rid of the stink (more on that here)
- used a discount code to buy a new measuring cup (the printing on my old one was faded)
- made a batch of homemade yogurt
- got a lab notebook for $1.50 at Staples
You look great in that shade of red! Old Navy is an excellent store.
I have continued admiration for you, Kristen. Keep up the good work.
Aww, thank you, Gail!
I love dresses that have pockets!
1. I made my first purchase on FlashFood app. I got 1.78 lbs of flank steak for $4 (used referral code). Here is my referral code if anyone else wants to try it: $8 off your first purchase if over $10: BETH3WPYM
2. I made a quick batch of roasted tomato soup to use up some tomatoes from the garden. I roasted them while I had other bits in the oven.
3. I'm about to leave to work the polls for my town. It is raining, but I'm going to suit up and walk the half mile rather than drive. I'm also bringing my lunch and coffee from home.
4. I did a mystery shop where I had to purchase something online. Rather than get something fun, I was practical and bought a case of toilet paper.
5. Made a meal plan to eat or freeze as much as possible from the fridge before we leave for a month-long trip next year.
@BettafrmdaVille, I love mystery shops where you purchase something online. So easy! Good for you for working the polls. I've done that in the past. It's an important job.
The dress is lovely on you!
My FFT:
I repurposed an outdoor bench cushion into two single seat cushions (and a pillow for the cat)
We hung an additional line to dry our laundry outdoors - the items are taking longer to dry now we are getting into autumn
We decluttered a cupboard and the wardrobe. Some clothes fit me again, others will move on to other homes
I made my own laundry detergent, from soap that I inherited from my mother. The laundry smells of her! (I know some people hate home made detergent - I do not. I also use washing powder by the way, as that was recommended by the people who installed the machine)
We glued/clamped a wooden chair that was coming loose
—Target had another $10 off $50 coupon in the app, so I restocked pantry and household staples, like oatmeal, my husband’s contact solution, and cat litter.
—I used CVS extra bucks to get a canister of instant Starbucks coffee (on sale for $6.99 instead of $12.99) for free. I like cold coffee with almond milk in the morning (just enough hot water to melt the powder, then fill the cup with milk). The instant Starbucks is an experiment, as I had been using Trader Joe’s instant coffee packets, but they are $2 for 10 packets vs. the 40 cups the canister advertises. Considering I was a daily Starbucks takeout fiend just a few years ago, this is quite the progress!
—I used my $5 Michael’s rewards voucher on clearance plastic bins ($10 for the pair originally). I wanted another set for organizing the kitchen cupboards, so this was a fortuitous find.
—As we get to know our house more, we’ve been rearranging what we already have to make it work better for us. A shelf that was awkward in the living room is perfect for holding cookbooks and small appliances in the kitchen, which snowballed into rearranging books on the (different) shelf previously occupied by said cookbooks. Meanwhile, a rug that was just “okay” in the living room made such a huge difference in our entry way that I no longer feel the need to repaint it. Mauve would never be my chosen wall color, but with the rug it actually works now! 😛
—We explored the little thrift store in the next town over and came away with three DVDS,* five books, and one spool of thread for under $10. I’ll have to go back when they’re open again this coming weekend, as they had a drying rack that I should have snagged last time!
*Truly random finds, like the Indian classic “Asoka,” David Tenant’s version of “Hamlet,” and “A Young Doctor’s Notebook” with Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm (wonderful black comedy). One of the books is actually a Sotheby’s auction catalogue for antique watercolors, with the winning bids handwritten in British pounds—so delightfully random!
@N,
Oh my, what great finds!!!! I love auction catalogs and DVDs. I often pick up DVDs for a dollar and pass them along when I’m finished watching them. It’s old technology, but still a great way to enjoy television. It’s usually much cheaper than online rentals too.
@Bee, I still love DVD's, too. A used bookstore in my area has a huge selection of them and I swap the old ones for new ones.
1. My husband had purchased new glasses two weeks ago, picking them up one week ago. He wears glasses sixteen hours a day and has very expensive lenses and likes to have a well made and attractive frame. I had an email advertising a holiday weekend sale that was a better deal than he received. I called to ask it they'd refund the difference. After a bit of persuasion on my part they said they would if we stopped into the store. We did so and it was worth it.
2. On Saturday we ventured out to both Sprouts and Giant to buy items on sale/clearance and use store coupons for $10 off an order (when spending a certain amount). There was some stocking up (buying ahead).
3. I needed to make a baked good to take someplace so I used a recipe for muffins that called for sour cream and blueberries. I had received free sour cream from a grocery store promo and blueberries have been reasonably priced lately.
4. We were able to pick up a couple of great presents at Ollie's for my grandniece's second birthday. At this age she doesn't know what she wants. We will also give her parents some funds towards her savings/college account.
5. I requested a credit card rewards check. I like to redeem them every few months, instead of having the funds sitting there.
@K D,
Good going on the glasses!
Ooh, lala! Lady in red! I love it!
My FFT:
1. I got the cheap Giant watermelon too! And I found some excellent sale items at Giant: granola bars for 2.00/box after coupon and BOGO deal. The register spit out another 2.00 off 2 Catalina, so I turned my cart around and got two more in a second transaction. Alas, it did not give up more coupons the second time. In the first transaction I also bought 6 packages of sausage for 2.99 each (Manager's special-are we grocery twins this week?), 7 packages of our pepperoni on sale (we're pretty set for a while now), ten ears of corn for 2.00, 16 cans of organic pink beans marked down to .57 each, and a box of cookies for 1.24. I was pretty happy with my haul and I always amuse myself by imaging how annoyed a contestant on Supermarket Stakeout would be if they bought one of my Giant carts. "How much did you spend?" "Um, 65..." "Can I give you a hundred?" "Well, it's worth at least 150, but..." "Ok, 150!!!" "Well, ok, but..." "What is this??? Eight packs of bacon, ten lbs of brown rice, two cans of whipped cream, a box of Kix and a taped up package of boullion cubes??? I think I'm gonna need another cart..."
2. I finally fixed our broken toilet seat using the toilet seat my husband bought (gulp) three and a half years ago...ok, moving on...
3. I u-picked another 119.40 dollars worth of organic produce when I picked up my farm shares.
4. Other than groceries and the farm, I drove no where this weekend and spent no other money.
5. I did walk to my handyman's house to deliver a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread as a thank you for his help fixing our backup sump pump. We discovered there is a shut off valve, so I don't need to bother replacing the part that was leaking anytime soon. This is the "emergency" sump pump that causes nothing but emergencies with it's constant problems. We decided it's best to just shut it off for now, but he refused to accept any money for the house call. He's also going to help me write up the claim for my insurance from when this sump pump triggered our basement flood two years ago. I have only one more year to process the claim, so must get on that. Is it me, or do insurance companies purposely make it a bit overwhelming to actually use your policy? My husband insists it's on purpose so people get lazy and don't bother.
Ooh, nice work at Giant!
I definitely have wondered if health insurance companies make things hard on purpose so that you won't submit claims. 😉
@Becca, maybe we can have a friendly Supermarket Stakeout competition as one of the events if we ever get around to having the Frugal Girl meetup of our dreams!
@Becca, My super power is arguing with insurance companies on behalf of people who are ill, often in our local hospice. After years of doing this, I am convinced they drag things out hoping that elderly and the very ill will die before using more benefits and that their heirs will be too ignorant or exhausted to do anything more than use part of the estate to pay off medical bills tht the insurance company should have covered. I have actualy written that in letters of appeal, that they are trying to drag things out until someone dies. One family wrote in the obit that they hoped the insurance company (and they named it) was proud of itself for making the last months of their mom's life a living hell by making her fight for every single medication she needed. I figure home insurance companies are probably no better.
@A. Marie,
Hahaha! Yes! We all have to make dinner using each other's clearance groceries! A fun competition for sure, because sometimes my clearance cart is like the cart of a crazy person. Like I will totally buy twenty lbs of butter and nothing else if there's a good price on butter.
@Lindsey,
That is shameful and I am 100 percent convinced that you are spitting truth right now.
@Lindsey, that’s pretty cool about the obituary, but extremely sad about what she and her family and caregivers had to go through. In my experience, health and dental, homeowners’, auto insurance always seem to be working as if their goal is NOT to provide the money or services you thought you were paying for! I understand that many people and businesses try to cheat and steal from insurance companies, though. It helps some to know your local agent and office staff, and to stay with them for a long time, I think. Do I want to save some money now by switching every year and going to the cheapest ones, only to find since they don’t really know or care about me, that no one’s willing to help me navigate the system or push the right people when needed? No, I don’t. Insurance seems so complicated that the average person struggles to understand it. I admire those like Kristen and Lindsey who are good at this! And I’m so sad to think of the ill, the elderly, the non-English speakers. If you ever want to be shocked and dismayed (or see reality and have your eyes opened), spend a while observing small claims and bankruptcy court.
Like the red dress!
Jen
I need to set up an Ebay account as a seller! I have quite a lot of things I could actually liquidate and FB marketplace doesn't seem like my thing. Frugal things for me:
*bought a bag of black beans for $1.32, cooked them in my crockpot, then froze them in 5 baggies and froze them. Portions which are just enough beans for one.
*continuing to do all of my own yardwork, due to stubborness and thrifty-ness, including breaking down a large limb that fell off one of my trees and hauling it to the curb. Hubby left me many tools - may as well learn to use them.
*bought a new succulent from one of my favorite gift shops (to fill an empty planter), then compared the price of the same plant at Home Depot and it was $10 cheaper.
*used my free trial of Amazon Prime to order water filters for my fridge and under-sink water filter for the next year. Cheaper to buy these in sets of two.
*Ate leftovers from the freezer yesterday instead of eating out for my normal Sunday treat.
*Resisted buying a new scrub top I wanted/needed, then a co-worker offered me a brand new one she didn't want to hassle to return - out of the blue and for free.
*P.S. - I always go for neutrals, too, but an occasional bright thing to wear does in fact, lift your mood!
That dress is going to turn some heads, Kristen! And pockets too!
Now, FFT, Mostly Small Stuff Edition:
(1) On Wednesday, I found a half-full 1-quart spray bottle of LA's Awesome in a recycling bin. I don't know what's in Awesome and probably don't want to know, but it's my #1 choice for getting sticky labels off bottles, spice jars, etc.--and I hadn't seen any at Ollie's in a long time. So I helped myself.
(2) On Thursday, after visiting the bakery and grocery outlets on the north side of town, I stopped at the Rescue Mission outlet--and discovered to my dismay that the store will be closing in mid-September. However, I made the most of the "store closing" sale: I got two shirts (including a Duluth Trading Co. pullover that retails for $29.50), an old Good Seasons salad dressing cruet, seven books, and five CDs for $4!
(3) On Saturday, my search for a barn sale in a nearby suburb turned out to be a snipe hunt. But I stumbled into a garage sale on the way home, where I probably got much better deals: a small metal rolling cart with three wire baskets for $1 (I plan to use this in the basement to store root vegetables), two boxes of 50 N95 masks each for another $1, and some stuff off the free table (an opened package of steel wool, a partly used can of Bar Keeper's Friend, and some Jiffy-7 peat seedling pots). The family is moving to Chicago and **really** wanted to clean out the house!
(4) On Saturday afternoon, I donned elbow-length disposable gloves and ripped out as much of the poison ivy invading one of my garden beds as I could find. Getting that chore done without getting poison ivy rash (to which I am horribly susceptible) = priceless.
(5) And I spent our rainy Labor Day doing a few FTs for myself (making stock from accumulated poultry bones, sorting clothes and books for donation, etc.) and one FT for others: I acted as go-between for Bailey dog's mom and my widowed next-door neighbor, whose elderly poodle crossed the Rainbow Bridge last week. The widow wanted to give her dog food/treats stash to Bailey, but doesn't know Bailey's mom that well. So the three of us plus Bailey got together yesterday afternoon and worked out the transfer to everyone's satisfaction (especially Bailey's!). The things Bailey can't use because of allergies will go to another dog-owning neighbor, and I'll take anything that neighbor can't use to the Humane Association.
There is a lot of poison ivy here at my rental; I got some spray earlier this year and went around trying to get rid of some of it. I've never actually had a poison ivy rash, but I don't know if that's because I'm really careful, or because I'm not sensitive to it.
But I don't want to try it and see!
@Kristen,
Poison ivy is one of those things that you can become sensitive to the more you are exposed to it. I didn't get rashes from it as a child, but definitely do now. My best tip for poison ivy (besides wearing long sleeves, gloves, using a plastic bag over your hands to bag it, etc) is to wash all exposed skin right away (within 20 minutes) with COLD water and dish soap. The dish soap cuts through the oil and the cold water keeps your skin pores closed so you don't absorb the oil. If you do end up with a rash, use something to dry it out like white toothpaste. Secret deodorant works overnight to dry it out, but I can't use it because I'm sensitive to the aluminum.
Yes! I've heard that, so I figure it makes sense to carefully avoid it.
@A. Marie, A friend sent me a YouTube video about How to Never Get Poison Ivy. Basically, think of the oil as something with the strength of motor oil, (which he uses in his example), and scrub at least three times, as though you are washing off black motor oil stains. Don't just rinse, but scrub!
I put yellow tape around the top of some stakes and put them in my garden in the places where I had destroyed it, to avoid those spots until I was sure it was gone.
@A. Marie, I love those old Good Seasons salad dressing cruets!
@Becca,
Hi, I keep Tecnu on hand. If you think you’ve gotten into poison ivy or find that you did, you wash with it and rinse off with hot water. I’ve had it All over, but no more! At drugstores
I spent my entire childhood with poison ivy rashes, it seems. And since I'm an inveterate eye rubber, to this day, I often would wake up with eyelids too swollen to open. Good times! Ha!
Buuuuuuut since in my town the hoofed rats have eaten all our highbush blueberries, lowbush cranberries, and blackberries--most years though there are wild grapes to pick and beach plums, but not this year because it's been too dry--I got so many beach plums last year--I don't spend much time berrying and getting into poison ivy any more. Grrrr. We need some predators out here.
and I too love Good Seasons for whatever reason. Probably the same reason I sometimes make Mom's 1970s Tacos with ground beef and corn shells, which my children will note aren't authentic. TOO BAD. Good Seasons is my favorite for pasta salad.
@Lynda, so do I. I now have several, since I use them for vases as well as for cruets.
@Rose,
Ugh, Rose, I got it every summer as a kid, and it was worse every time. I finally had to take injections for it as a preventative. I don't know how they are now, but the injections I had to take as a kid - a shot per day over 7 days, including meeting a nurse on weekend days to get my daily dose - hurt like the dickens and made it hard to sit or use my arm the rest of the day, depending on which part the nurse stuck the needle in. But I didn't get poison ivy for about 10 years after taking the shots for a few years in a row. I can get the rash nowadays, but I've learned to be much more careful and watch for it.
@JD, Ouch! Awful. But yes, as adults (hopefully?) we are a little more aware and careful. Back in the day if I saw a nice big bush loaded with ripe blackberries, OUTTA MY WAY THOSE ARE MINE.
(I meant above that I still rub my eyes all the time. I even gave up wearing eye makeup, not that I ever wear much anyway, over it. I got lash extensions once for a special party and those were gone pretty soon.)
@A. Marie, I am immune to poison ivy. When I discovered this, as a preteen, I took it as a sign from God that I should put that immunity to good use by rubbing the leaves on my brother. When I am around him for long periods of time, I still get that urge.
@Kristen, Something we do frugally is note where poison ivy is growing (we have a lot of space around here), and the next time we empty a jar of pickles, we dump the salty, vinegary juices on the poison ivy. I doubt much could grow with that dumped on it. It saves on buying something.
How about using the pickle jar brine in making potato salad dressing? Add some mayonnaise, a tsp of Dijon mustard, salt & pepper, throw in the freshly boiled potatoes (diced, unpeeled), stir and - voilà: very good potato salad.
I use a sieve for the last bit in the jar.
@A. Marie, you DO generate the most marvelous threads to your posts. As for MY addendum, I am curious about your long-sleeved disposable gloves - are you talking dish gloves, or something else? Not that I need them for poison ivy, I live on Vancouver Island and we don't have that. I do have something, however, that I have yet to identify and suspect MIGHT be morning glory/bind weed, that causes my arms to blister sometimes.
i didn't realize you you could RENT text books on amazon! i was super surprised when i went to order my daughters drawing 1 book the other day. we paid $13.00 until december!
Ooh, that's an amazing rental price!
@Amanda, My first two used Chegg for their books and it was usually less than 50% of the cost vs. the bookstore. Two things I did that helped was make them wait until after the second class to order them and to ask the professor personally if the book was a requirement. Can't tell you how many times a professor changer their mind or said it was recommended. If you save the box they come in, you can use it to ship back for free.
I have no idea how they compare to Amazon, but another resource always helps.
1. I bought a bushel of tomatoes and a half bushel of okra from a local farmer. I canned 5 quarts of tomato sauce for
Chili and 13 quarts for Spaghetti/lasagna. I added 4 gallons of okra to our freezer as well.
2. We have had consistent rain here which reduced our need to water anything and has cut my water bill in half.
3. We needed more mulch for the yard and waited for Labor Day sales to purchase saving $200!
4. I froze a quart of homemade chicken stock and a quart of beef stock from a batch of beef stew.
The chicken stock will be easy to use up but the beef stew liquid more
Of a challenge. I’m thinking it
Might find it’s way into some soup over the next few months.
Love the dress on you!
1. Bought a few back-to-school items over the long weekend at a local thrift store.
2. Made a batch of chili to eat for lunch through the week. Recipe is Melissa Clark’s Instant Pot Chili, and it's the best one I’ve tried for IP.
3. Used trench composting to get rid of old fruits and vegetables.
4. Placed a manga book lot for sale on FB Marketplace. We have a buyer who will pick up later this week.
5. Cut husband's hair. I have been the resident men’s hair cutter in our household since the start of the pandemic. Not so frugal? I still get my hair professionally cut and colored, but it’s in someone’s home salon for much cheaper than in a commercial space.
That dress looks really good, great score!
My FFT:
* wanting to spend some time at our marvellous lakes and forests next summer, and determining that renting a cabin is just too expensive we decided that camping (I say glamping 🙂 is where it is at. Having the luxury of time, we are thrifting what we can and waiting for sales on the rest. Now, at end of season, we got the tent of our choice at 30% off and a new air mattress at 25% off. Our total cost to outfit for camping will be about the same as 3 nights in a rental cabin.
* diy home maintenance, filling in hairline cracks in parging to prevent expensive damage
* using cloth belly bands (male diapers) for my old dog - was intended to be environmentally friendly but we also save $20/week with these
* sticking to my grocery list when shopping
You look fabulous in that red dress. Red livens up so many neutrals very nicely.
So many of my FFTs this week involve sewing or using sharp objects:
1. Hand sewed the sole of my husband's suede house slipper back on. It was a somewhat easy fix with a blunt needle and waxed thread because the holes were already in the rubber of the sole from where the factory stitching came out.
2. Patched a rip in a pair of my son's sleep shorts with a scrap of fabric from a shirt bought years ago at the Salvation Army specifically to graft its long sleeves onto a short-sleeved shirt. The donor shirt has been providing patching fabric ever since.
3. Also hemmed two pairs of jeans I bought super cheap on eBay, gave my husband a haircut and trimmed his eyebrows, and bathed and trimmed our three long-haired dogs. The dogs are all half dachshund, with the signature short legs, and their tummy and tail fur will brush the ground and tangle with leaves and bits of grass if not kept trimmed up a bit.
4. There were two side by side long, skinny pockets inside my handbag, maybe for a pen and lipstick, that were useless to me. But with the stitching between them picked out, they became one pocket just the right size for the key fob for my husband's car that used to get lost in the bottom of the bag.
5. And the only FFT not involving scissors: Made two pizzas for our Labor Day supper, using ingredients from the pantry and freezer. They were delicious and made leftovers.
I like Copeland, particularly Application Spring. Rodeo (pronounced Ro-day-O because that's how Agnes DeMille pronounced it) always makes me think of Robert Mitchum touting the benefits of beef.
1.) I sold another little item on eBay. I made very little off of it but the items were free, the packaging material was free (recycled Amazon box and bubble mailers) and well another item is gone from my house.
I wonder what percentage of us onsie-twosie eBay sellers ship in recycled Amazon (or other e-tailer) packaging. It's why they all put their names so prominently on the box, I imagine. Secondary advertisement.
2.) Cashed in some Microsoft Rewards credit to buy myself a something (a video game.)
3.) Returned some shoes and bought some new ones. This one's a long one:
After several years (yes, years) of wearing my current Converse, they were starting to feel pretty worse for the wear. I've not been able to get a deal on any more Converse for ages (at least not in anything I would wear) but I did find a good deal on some Vans. I carefully measured out my feet online and ... they didn't fit at all. It turns out their online size chart was way off for my feet.
So I could return them by mail but I found out there was a Vans store not horrendously far so we packed it up, went the hour drive to the mall and returned them and I had the full intention of just getting fitted and then leaving BUT there were several ones on sale with an extra 25% off so I paid a little more than my Converse usually cost but I now have a couple new pairs of shoes.
On a side note, while hunting for shoe deals I ran across some Snoopy and Woodstock Converse that seemed to have Kristin written all over them. 😉
4.) Ordered a compatible filter for my bedroom air purifier. I used slow shipping and got some digital credit which I immediately used on a cookbook I wanted to read (plus said cookbook was on sale for all of $2!)
5.) Working a little overtime here and there but also being sure to take a little time off.
Yes! They played Rodeo and I DID think of the beef commercial. 😉
And now I have googled the Snoopy Converse...might put those on my Christmas list.
@Battra92, "Appalachian" Spring. I had to look up how to spell it.
I mention it for those in the Southern Hemisphere who are just entering springtime, whereas we in the North are starting fall. It is such a wonderful, delicate, strong, melodic, growing in intensity, work of art.
@Heidi Louise, I was kind of having some fun with the Application Spring idea. Definition: "April in a college admissions office."
@Heidi Louise, AutoCorrect is a wonderful thing until it isn't.
What makes it worse is I LIVE in the Appalachian mountains. >_<
@Battra92, Indeed! My last name is not an English word, and I often check that it hasn't been corrected to something else in word processing programs and the like.
I was not at my frugal best the past few days, as I'm very jet lagged from an international work trip. But, here goes!
1) We hosted two large pool parties (one for each teen) over the weekend. One is a semi replacement for my son's birthday, that happened quite a ways back. We ended up not doing anything, and he asked for a much belated pool party. So, he had a large gathering, and I couldn't bring myself to sort the food out, immediately after my trip. Instead, I ordered pizza, and found a very inexpensive coupon ($5.99/pizza). It was about 1/3 of the price of our normal delivery place. They didn't deliver, so my husband picked it up.
2) Sold an outgrown ski fleece on eBay. Used recycled packaging materials (minus the tape) to mail it.
3) Filled out a class action suit I qualify for.
4) Picked up a bag of chips for the above pool parties. The chips were buy 2 bags, get 3 free. Which is quite an odd offer. I figured each party would eat a bag of chips, and we'd have three extra.
5) The first party ate through all of the planned food, plus our dinner. Luckily, we'd planned ahead, and picked up Costco sized hot dogs & buns. The party went on for 7+ hours, and teen boys can get through quite a bit of food. We did run out of buns & hot dogs, which says quite a lot, given they were Costco sized! Glad there was enough food for everyone & that the hot dogs were on sale for the long weekend.
@Hawaii Planner, I can totally imagine a gaggle of teen boys being driven into a frenzy of hunger by seven hours of swimming. I'm actually picturing your fridge and pantry being stripped bare with one tiny moth fluttering about.
@Hawaii Planner,
Some time back our grocery store sold washing tablets for the dishwasher at buy 2 get 3 free. and a few weeks later - the same offer! I was just wondering if the producing company was trying to increase their close of quarter turnaround number to please stockholders - otherwise it does not make much sense does it?
@Anne, it was wild! They actually took a break, played tennis, then came back & got in the pool again. We thought the party was over! We also attracted other random neighbors (teens), who heard about the party & decided to stop by. They were having such a great time, and as all the moms commented, no one was on their phones! Except when they were making videos of each other doing foolish raft wars, etc.
@J NL, maybe something to do with retiring the packaging & getting rid of that inventory? There's no real explanation. The chips, though, are a staple, so I'd be surprised if it was inventory related. Who knows, but I loved the deal! My kids love it even more, as I've never bought chips to have at the house. I'm no fool, and know that's not exactly a filling teen snack. 😉
The red is super flattering on you! Looks great!
That dress looks so comfortable and I love the color. I love wearing a soft, cool, easy-fitting dress in hot weather.
1. Three cheers! I successfully made mead from frozen elderberries from my planted bushes and frozen wild beauty berries picked last year. I had to pay for the honey, but the berries were all free. Beauty berries are ripening right now, so I'm picking them as they ripen and freezing them for either jelly or more wine.
2. I bought three Christmas gifts using Swagbucks - total cost out of pocket was $2.12. I finished sewing another gift during this long weekend.
3. My sewing table is vintage and was missing one hinge in the fold-out table top. I replaced the missing hinge with an inexpensive one bought at a discount.
4. Lately GE has been designing bulbs that fit my needs. In addition to LED bulbs fitted with their own built in dusk-to-dawn feature, which I have in my outside lamps, they also have an LED bulb with a built-in timer using a simple sliding switch on the bulb, so that it comes on daily at the same time as when I first turned it on and shuts off after 2, 4 or 8 hours, repeating every 24 hours. I can even install one in a ceiling fixture. Now I can come home to a lit house this winter without buying and fussing with timers or buying new outdoor lamps that have light sensors, and LED means the electrical use is minimal. I'm not affiliated with GE, and maybe other companies are making the same, but GE has the ones I've seen so far. Since Lowe's sells GE, I can use the military discount when buying, too.
5. I used the oven once this weekend, but I cooked three items in it at once and used the convection option so they would cook evenly. I also dehydrated meat trimmings for my dog and dried some herbs I picked.
@JD, congratulations on your mead! You can now join Jane Austen's sister Cassandra and friend/housemate Martha Lloyd as an official mead-maker. Judging by Jane's letters and Martha's household book, the Austens and Martha were running quite the brewery/distillery at Chawton Cottage.
I like the red. I would have been shocked if you had bought something with tropical flowers printed all over it, but solid red? Nah. Reminds me, amusingly, of my current pajama shorts. I bought them at Walmart when I was in Taos for the weekend because I forgot my current pair, and they really needed to be replaced anyway. My only requirement was that they be 100% cotton. Literally the only ones that were, and that were my size, were bright yellow with a pattern of tropical plants and TIGERS on them. My family WAS shocked. But it turns out I love them. They're fun. And no one else sees them. 🙂
Anyway. Frugality . . .
--Holy heaven, the fruit. It's coming from all sides at the moment. Our neighbors know I won't let it go to waste. I processed over 100 pounds of peaches in two days. As well as about 50 pounds of tomatoes, and 10 pounds of grapes (actually my husband took care of those by making wine). There's still a big box of pears, but those ripen more slowly.
--I continue to resist packaged snacks for the one son who still has snacktime at school. So far, he's taken blueberry muffins, zucchini (or, in my case, calabacita) bread, a peach jam turnover, and the long-lasting oatmeal/peanut butter/raisin snack cookies that stay in a jar at school for when I don't have anything perishable to send in with him that day.
--The family went fishing without me yesterday (alleluia--fishing in New Mexico quite literally makes me sick because with the off-the-charts UV and relentless sun glare off the water I get a migraine every time) and I managed to pack enough food for them that my husband wasn't tempted to buy anything at the gas station they went to for bait.
--Our special end-of-summer Labor Day meal yesterday included the one trout they caught, which was sauced with melted butter and parsley from the garden, and a proper American potato salad. I make a mayonnaise-based potato salad only about once a year, when I have refrigerator dill pickles from my cucumbers. A frugal meal, but special because of the fish and potato salad. And leftover peach pie.
--I cooked about ten bone-in beef ribs, purposely doing it in the pressure canner with no spices other than salt. I do that because it results in rendered tallow and stock. The stock I pressure-canned, and the two cups of tallow is now ready for frying hamburgers, etc.
Oh yeah, imagine me in a tropical flower dress! That would be sort of a shocking sight. 😉
The idea of you in shorts with a tiger print is funny; that is not how I typically envision you.
@Kristen, Definitely not typical. My entire wardrobe is black, gray, and khaki. Although not necessarily by choice. I just don't think the colors that have been fashionable in the last couple of years are flattering for me.
@kristin @ going country, I just found out this weekend that my in-laws made macaroni salad in a Hefty trash bag for my wedding buffet. The wedding buffet was sort of pot luck with hubby's elderly aunts bringing a turkey and a ham. We had other stuff too.
@Auntiali, I cannot tell you how much I love this. Your in-laws are resourceful people. 🙂
-I cut my husband's hair.
-I traded some pattypan squash for some garden tomatoes & okra with my neighbor.
-I found a sweet mustard colored cardigan for $1...I'm excited to wear it this fal.l
-I used my sweater shavers to clean up my decorative pillows...such an improvement.
- I got .10 off a gallon for gas with my Walmart plus discount
Oh..I forgot ....I made a choose-a-flavor quiche to use up some meat & veggies about to go bad.
1 - I returned a dress I didn't love. It fit. It was a decent color. But, I don't wear dresses often and I didn't love it, meaning I was unlikely to ever wear it.
2 - The pharmacy I usually use was out of a specific medication. It was available one town over so I drove vs waiting for it to come in later in the week. Since Shaw's is basically next door, I took the opportunity to stop in for two pantry items I can only find there and grabbed a few sale items. Made it to $52 so I could use the $5 off $50 coupon.
3 - Did the seasonal clothing swap. Traded girls clothes in larger sizes for boys items that are too small for mine.
4 - It was cool and rainy yesterday (and today). I'm not sure when it rained last, but we've recently been declared a disaster area for drought. Last summer it would not stop raining. I'd settle for a happy medium! Anyway, I took the opportunity to turn on the oven. I roasted, baked biscuits, and made a package of boxed brownie mix I'd accumulated for free I forget how long ago.
5 - Most kids ate free lunches at school. Those that did not brought from home, and those at home ate at home.
I usually don’t comment on the frugal posts because I feel like we spend wayyyy to much for just the two of us, but I’m trying.
1. I made a batch of chicken broth from the bones of a grocery store pre-cooked chicken. Normally I just toss this, so a win in the right direction.
2. I’m recovering dining room chair seats with fabric I bought on sale. I guess the ultra frugal thing would to leave the fabric as is, but I wanted a different color scheme.
3. I bought a really nice stainless kitchen sink online for a great price vs. the name brand one I saw initially. Saved several hundred. That is a welcome save since we are redoing our kitchen and the price shock of new appliances hasn’t worn off yet!
4. I didn’t go to Whole Foods this weekend like I planned. That trip was really only for one item and I decided I can do without. Whole Foods trips usually cost me at least $100. It’s so tempting there.
5. A frugal fail…big time! The scouts were selling popcorn outside the grocery store and I stopped to buy some. I had the 2 bags in hand (9oz cheddar and 6 oz sweet/salty pre-popped)when she said that’ll be $45.00. I was completely stunned. The prices were listed, but I didn’t look first. I was too embarrassed to change my mind. She said the troop doesn’t set the prices and a certain percent goes to the troop, I don’t recall how much. The only way in my mind I can now justify that purchase, is to think I just made a donation to the scouts. Otherwise, I feel sick.
@Kathy E, Woah - that's some pricy popcorn. I like supporting the scouts and the popcorn IS good quality but woah.
@Kathy E, that is an insane amount for popcorn. They should almost give you a receipt for tax purposes at that price
@Kathy E, wow on the price for Scout popcorn! It was expensive when my son was in Scouts. Scouts are not allowed to accept donations without giving something in return.
@Kathy E, that's insane. I think girl scout cookies are only $5 a box. How the heck does BSA get away with that and, more importantly, how do they sell any?
I am still holding strong in my quest to buy NO books this year...I think, since I started this plan several months ago, I've purchased one used $5 paperback of a self-help book I first borrowed from the library and then liked so much I wanted my own copy. But other than that, this is month 4 of zero book buying.
Speaking of not buying...our herb garden has done so well producing basil, parsley and chives this year that we've not had to buy any herbs at the store. We're making our own pesto and we've got enough tomatoes from our plants to keep us from buying those at the store too. The garden has been plentiful!
I..paid the quarterly taxes. That's never fun, but it's WAY better to pay them now than to get a huge bill in 2023 when I file my taxes.
I did a "subscribe and save" purchase through Amazon for the facewash I can't get at the store. One bottle lasts 5 months and is $30, which breaks down to $6 a month for facewash which is pretty darn good!
I used some REI rewards that I had to buy new underwear 🙂
I rescued the wax bag from my husband's cereal and washed it for future use. It's wax paper that I'll throw away anyway - might as well use it one more time.
I've successfully turned up our AC during our power company's peak time to take advantage of rebates offered. (They ask you to reduce power consumption during 3 hour periods about once a week or every two weeks, and give a rebate if you do.) I've earned about $10 this month.
I unfortunately wasted some of the beans from our garden by not processing them quickly enough, but was able to get more off the vines so we didn't have to purchase anything for Saturday's dinner (everything was scrounged from stuff we had at home).
Ordered a present for my nephew, but remembered to search for a discount code and found one. Saved $10 from a quick search!
Started sewing my first dress. It's not exactly frugal yet, as there are lots of startup costs, but it may pay off in the end, and it's a fun hobby.
PS: the red dress looks great - I love Old Navy dresses. But I've never been luck enough to find one that has pockets!
Went to Big City to visit my mother (last time, maybe) so no frugal here. Instead I'm drawing on half a lifetime of frugal to make my life easier now.
@WilliamB, my heart goes out to you.
Same here. So much love to you and your family.
@WilliamB,
I'm so sorry to hear that. May you find peace in the midst of this.
@WilliamB, Wishing peace for both you and your mother.
@WilliamB,
Sending you love during this difficult season.
@WilliamB, I'm so sorry. Exactly 3 years ago, I was in the same situation. It was a hard, hard time of life (and also an extremely not frugal one).
@WilliamB, wishing you love, peace and strength as you make this difficult journey
@WilliamB,
Thoughts are with you. It is hard but you are stronger than you think.
Yay! Congrats on the dress! You go girl!
The deal on the used book was a good one!
Let's see what I can tell you about some frugalness this week.
1) Our dryer has been having issues. The tech is here now, repairing it. It's a baby at 21 years old but we're able to repair it and get a couple more years out of it. The cost to fix is 30% of what a new dryer would cost.
2) I picked 3 gallons of choke cherries from our tree and will make juice that will be canned.
3) Our peach tree has produced and the peaches are baseball size. So good.......
4) I've been able to pick up more hours at work due to someone not showing up...
5) Our vision benefits allowed a family member to get an eye exam, frame and lenses without any cash coming out of pocket!
LOVE Copeland and his orchestrations. Played some of them in drum corps in the 70's so I do know some of them as well!
The dress looks great. Definitely a keeper! And with a denim jacket - perfect!
Been riding the bike trails on our already paid-for bicycles and getting some exercise. I did fall on Friday, but thankfully I wear a helmet and no serious injuries: just some cuts and scratches.
Been eating at home even though we don't want to cook. Thankfully for batch cooking and eating out of the freezer! And have been maintaining our intake so we can loose some weight.
Been making invitations with paper I already have. I have a ton of paper and need to use it up. I got rid of some of the small pieces that I will not be using, so I have more room for the full pieces. And I organized my crafting desk so I can continue crafting and getting ready to sell some of my product.
Went to a craft festival over the weekend and did not spend more than we had. Very enjoyable weekend seeing the new-to-us festivals in WV. Can't wait to see more!!!!
Tried on an outfit that I wore to a wedding a few years ago. It doesn't look perfect, but it looks OK to wear to a wedding in a few weeks. I hope!!!! Fingers crossed.
This week we:
-didn't travel
-didn't heat the pool (it was so hot we didn't even need to)
-met up with friends for entertainment
-read books and watched shows/movies on streaming subscriptions we have already
-have been eating through our leftovers in the refrigerator
-bought a much needed rug at 50% off.
Your red dress looks like it'll be perfect for pairing with a jean jacket. Excellent idea!
My FFT:
1. We went to the zoo on our day off on Friday. The only cost is gas to get there since we get a membership every year as a Christmas gift from my brother. On the way back we stopped by the discount produce store where I got a case of blueberries for $6 and about 40 ears of corn for $4. I'm freezing most of both items.
2. I used to attend spin classes twice a week and right now I can only go occasionally. I've never been able to justify the cost of spin shoes (they ran around $100 last I checked), but a friend gave me a pair she was done with about 4 years ago. I think they were 11 years old when she gave them to me. They finally tried to die - the shoe part separated from the bottom. But we have some Shoe Goo and I glued them back together. Planning to use them in class tomorrow!
3. Canned salsa over the weekend and planning to do another batch today.
4. We've eaten quite a few meals of leftovers lately.
5. I put up the same fall decorations I've had for years. Most of them were purchased at Hobby Lobby 90% off 8 years ago. They're my favorite of all of the decorations I own and there have been a year or two where I've been too overwhelmed to put them up, but we did it this year and I love it.
Great deal on the dress, Kristen. You look great in red! It will go perfectly with a jean jacket. Makes me want to get my jean jacket out, but it's still over 100 degrees here in AZ.
I’m SO glad you bought the red dress! You look beautiful in it!
I love that you found a free orchestral concert. I come from a family of six kids. Through our growing -up years, my parents frequently took us to free concerts at the Naval Academy… not sure if concerts are free there anymore.
I’ve been sorting, downsizing, re-organizing some areas of our house. In doing so, I’ve come across some items I can sell on eBay. As well, I’ve discovered some things I had stored but forgotten about. I found two large blank canvases and some acrylic paint. I had wanted to put some fresh artwork in our living room, so my daughter and I each painted a floral design ( different styles but same color scheme) at no cost.
The fun time we had together was really an investment in our relationship. And the paintings bring us joy.
I used up some leftover applesauce that was just the right amount for a batch of applesauce muffins.
I crushed the last of some crackers to make a crunchy coating for a small batch of chicken.
Readers ( and Kristen of course), do any of you have a recommendation for a good wood floor cleaner? I don’t want to spend money trying various brands that may or may not work.
@Martha, Murphy's Oil Soap has been my wood floor cleaner for decades.
@A. Marie, Seconded.
@kristin @ going country, @A. Marie
Good to know for the wood floors. On a sorta related note, all you good at cleaning all the things people, if I were to um, suddenly decide to try and clean hard water stains off of white porcelain (you know, like probably three years from now), what would be the best product for that? Asking for a friend...um...no...no, I am not...the lazy person with the disgusting looking toilets is totally me, and I'm probably only going to try once to clean them, so whatever I use has to give me immediately rewarding results, dig?
@Becca, Bar Keeper's Friend is the only thing that gets my ancient kitchen sink clean (and I think other commenters would say the same).
@Becca,
You could try barkeepers friend
or CLR. If you prefer a more natural alternative, soaking with vinegar might help.
Good luck! I have really hard water in my home, and it's a constant battle against mineral deposits.
@Becca, I haven't used it myself, but my friend loves Sparkle brand toilet bowl cleaner for really tough jobs. She even used it to clean a very dirty, discoloured old-fashioned porcelain bathtub.
There are some heavy-duty chemical cleaners that you should only use with good ventilation and not inhale while using, or you can try using a pumice stone (the thing you use to rub off your calloused heels). When wet, it doesn't scratch, it's not toxic, but requires elbow grease (and that's when you discover your toilet bowl isn't perfectly shaped, but has grooves... sigh).
I've also used pumice stone to clean the oven. Get several, they're useful.
And, apparently, "pumice" rhymes with hummus - English being a strange language, still.
@Becca, you can use drywall screen (equivalent to very fine sandpaper) to get out really stubborn stains without scratching the porcelain. Google it. I had to resort to that method after trying various cleaning products/chemicals that just didn’t really do the job on hard water stains after a couple toilets set idke for a few months.
@Becca, Bar Keeper's Friend scouring powder.
@Martha, yep pumice stone! I’ve bought them at the 99¢ store.
@Sandra,
Thanks everyone for all the ideas. Ima be real and admit that the whole scrubbing my toilet with a rock scenario is just never going to happen. I bow down to those of you who are so committed to cleanliness. I think I'll buy some bar keeper's friend and then leave it in the bag for a year and a half. 😉
@Martha, I have unexpectedly hardish water and have blue (!!) stains from when the now-gone housekeeper used to use toilet duck and just leave it then flush. Explains why she is now gone! Anyway, I have used one of those softish flat green scrubbing mats? from Canadian Tire - or the Dollar store - plus Vim and a lot of elbow grease to tackle the stains. first, though, I pour about 2 gallons of water into the toilet, which means all the water flushes out and leaves the bowl much more empty. painful job, good to have a goal and playlist going on the phone, I don't plan to do it all, but do it for a period of time. I need to 'finish' upstairs, which is the one that got the blue line worse, but have to say that I am glad the non-cleaning house cleaner is gone, and it is up to me to meet whatever standards I set.
We went to a low A baseball game with friends and ate dollar dogs for dinner at the stadium.
It was super hot over the weekend so all of our cooking was done in the Crockpot.
We signed up for a program with our utility that gives financial rewards if you lower your energy usage during high demand times. (Which we are in for 10 days straight.) I always am conservative with energy use so I'm not sure if I will get much of a reward but we are trying.
We bought gas at Costco! (In my area Costco gas saves you $.50 per gallon which really adds up. However our Costco has been doing construction which lead to 30-45 minute waits in the gas line so we have not been buying gas at Costco. BUT the construction is at an end and the line is back to a more manageable 5 minutes.)
We borrowed a movie from friends instead of paying to rent it on Amazon.
Glad you went for the red dress! Looks nice on you!!
1. I attended free concerts at a cultural festival this weekend. So fun!
2. I made four loaves of bread on my wfh day when I had some cancellations. Two of Stella Parks' yeasted pumpkin bread, two King Arthur whole wheat loaves. I froze one of each.
3. We had friends over, and instead of buying all takeout, we did a combination of takeout pizza, homemade lentil soup, and homemade salad. It cut the cost significantly.
4. I made blueberry cobbler for my friends out of frozen blueberries that we'd bought for the baby (but this particular brand wasn't sweet enough for her.) It was a great way to use them and create space in the freezer, which is currently mostly blueberries lol.
5. I continue my daily commute by foot, which is a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes a day. It's exhausting but it's not forever, the weather is cooler now, and it's very healthy for me. It allows us to manage with one car, which saves SO much money.
Regarding high school and college textbooks: Why don't you buy or rent the digital version instead of paper? This semester, I've only paid $45 for digital books for my son who is a senior in college. On the high side, I have paid $100/semester for a full time student. So much cheaper than paper books and it makes the back pack so much lighter. My son only carries an ipad to take notes in his classes (but has a laptop in his apartment for homework, papers and online tests).
@Susan, the world was just getting into digital books when my kids graduated college 6 years ago.
1. We were hanging around waiting for a friend to finish dressing before we all went to a meeting together. On the way out, the guy says he needs to take the trash out. He gathered together a few things and then opened his fridge and took out one of those Costco chickens and is about to put it in his garbage bag. "Wait!" I nearly yelled. "Are you throwing that away?" He said he only ever eats the breasts on the rotisserie chickens and then throws the rest away!! I asked him if I could have it (after I made sure he'd bought it only two days ago) and in front of my appalled husband I put it in the cooler we always have in the van and as I write this, it and another chicken carcass I had in the freezer are simmering away for stock. Really, how could I let that chicken go to waste right in front of me?! I think my husband is still recovering from my asking to have someone's leftovers. It is not like the guy is a stranger to us, we've hung around together for a decade, so he knows what I am like.
2. I like really, really flat pillows. I finally found a pillow that had a filling I like but it was too big. Seamster husband made a pillow case from some material we had hanging around and I put the excess from my new pillow into the new case. He sewed it shut and now I have two perfect pillows for the price of one!
3. Accepted more quail eggs from the neighbor. They started with 100 quails and I have no understanding of why that many, but I have been the happy recipient of dozens and dozens of the eggs now, week after week. Good thing, since my three hens seem to be slacking off.
4. Chopped off three basil stems, put them in water and they now have roots. I am potting them up so I can get another month or two of fresh basil, this time grown on the living room window sill instead of the garden. By late October there is not enough sunlight and it gets too cold to keep them by the window, so I kill them off then. But meanwhile, now that frosts are a constant threat so outdoor basil has given up, I will eek out a bit more productivity out of those seeds planted months ago.
5. I repaired several items. Husband sews anything that needs a machine, but I do the mending. I spent one evening of watching a movie repairing five socks and a pair of his jeans. I also cut up a holey towel and the husband hemmed the pieces into wash cloths. It was a towel I inherited from my grandmother and I could not bear to throw this last reminder of her away, so I am happy to extend their usefulness for a little longer. I was lucky enough to have her around until she was 99 and 11 months old (and still living on her own!) and I miss her still.
@Lindsey, I love your #5. Of my two grandmothers, one died long before I was born, and I don't remember the other at all affectionately. (She was an absolute master of the double bind, as evidenced by something she said to me when I was a teenager: "You're too fat. Have a cookie.") So I'm glad for you that you recall yours so lovingly.
Oh my word! Really? He buys a whole chicken and eats only the breasts? I can't imagine, but I would want to be friends with him so I could have all his leftover chicken. Ha.
@A. Marie,
For real, for real? Was that cookie like one of those Olean ones or something??? At least you get to tell hilarious stories about her.
I had a hard-to-like grandmother too. She used to tell my sister and I that we were "just disgraceful" and that we didn't appreciate my mother who worked so hard. Now that I have my own houseful of disgraceful kids, I look back and think that maybe she had a point. She was still kind of a b-word about it though. 😉
@Lindsey,
I would also rescue that chicken.
My husband would also be mortified.
@A. Marie, I am so sorry about your grandmother! Mine was convinced that I was the smartest, prettiest, and most talented human on the planet. She also thought I had good child bearing hips and would tell that to every date I brought home to meet her. In fact, she lived in the top of a three story walk up in a sort of Lithuanian ghetto in Connecticut and she and all the other old women would sit on their porches and yell down their opinions, including debating the hips of various girls. I was very glad my eventual husband was American so he could not understand all the comments and I had to do all the translating when my grandparents spoke to him. Marrying an American, one witha beard no less, was quite scandelous. You would have thought it was 1883, not 1983. That scandelous husband spent every vacation day every year going back from Alaska with me to stay with my grandmother, until she died. By the end she was almost blind and he would leave me to talk to her while he cleaned all the cobwebs she could no longer see and scoured her toilet and fixed everything that was breaking down in that ancient rat trap of a building.
@Lindsey, what a save with the chicken! Wear your frugal freak flag proudly!
@A. Marie, we must be sisters separated at birth. One of my grandmother's died long before I was born, the other was pretty mean, but I only saw her about three times in my life. I never met either grandfather.
@Lindsey, What a precious husband you have.
That dress looks fantastic on you! Love it❤
Your dress is super cute!
1. I shopped at Goodwill and another kid's thrift store. I got my son all of his jeans and long -sleeve shirts for this year and a pair of winter boots for my daughter. Total cost was $60. My aunt has a brand new winter coat for my daughter for this year.
2. I made another batch of homemade toothpaste. It doesn't save a ton of money, but it has no chemicals which I like.
3. I sundried more cherry tomatoes from our garden, made and froze more pesto using basil from our garden, and used some kale from our garden to make breakfast.
4. I picked up some sparkling water off Buy Nothing that we will use at a BBQ this weekend.
5. I got my free flu shot
1. Opted to make lunch of out "nothing" instead of getting takeout.
The bread bag was empty save one small sad sandwich bread heel. I fried up an egg and the bread heel in butter and topped it with leftover baked beans. Together with a salad it was a very yummy English breakfast kind of lunch. Felt like a small Kristen-moment 🙂
2. When my husband went to CVS for some allergy medicines, tucked a 30% off coupon with him.
3. Joined a local Buy Nothing group after getting back into the area (and already gave away something).
4. Made homemade potato salad for Labor Day (sans mayo) and stretched it over a few days.
5. Reheated some stale pita bread to make them last, made for good grilled cheese tucked inside the pocket.
That is TOTALLY a kind of lunch I would make!
@Kristen, yes, thanks for the inspiration!
LOVE the dress, Kristen! Also, needed to know about boiling dish rags. Thanks so much.
1. we found a one-bedroom rent stabilized apt in NYC! feels like I won the lottery. The apartment is okay - pretty blah, but we can make it nice. It gets lots of light, and my spouse is a horticulturist - so lots of plants find their way to our home. I am so relieved to find a rent-stabilized apartment because now there is no fear of rent increases (our rent was raised by $800/month this year).
2. Moving by the end of the month also means we are eating down the pantry. All the condiments I saved are now finding their way to all sorts of dishes. Why was I saving one tablespoon of Chinese sesame paste?
3. moving also means I am looking at my home with fresh horrified eyes. Why do we have so much stuff under our beds?? All goes on buy nothing. This feels good to me because so much of what we have is from buy nothing.
4. Made do with pantry swaps rather than buy specific things I needed for south indian cooking.
5. I cannot think of anything else but I am very much in conserve resources mode.
Ohhh, I'm so glad that you found an apartment!
Like me, you can work on making your new rental feel like a home.
@Samosa,
Congratulations!!! That IS like winning the lottery! So happy for you!
@Kristen, YES! my home is my favourite space (I'm very much an indoor bird) and I have loved your posts and perspective on what you can do to make it a joyful place. Thank you, Kristen!
@becca, thank you!! I feel so much relief.
Hey Samosa,
You saved that one tablespoon of Chinese sesame paste because you're f r u g a l !
I think red will look GREAT on you! Please post a full-length photo (including your pretty face) so we can admire the full effect.
New life, new colors! And this color proclaims HAPPINESS---inside and outside your soul!!! Still praying for you and the kids.
All of my classes have direct digital access textbooks, but Zoe's two classes are using paper books.
LOVE the red!
1) We volunteered to work for our Volunteer Fire Department food booth at our little country fair and had our dinner there as "payment."
2) We thought about going somewhere on Labor Day, just for the sake of going. But we opted to stay home and I canned 7 quarts of tomato soup from our own garden tomatoes instead. It was a rainy day, so it felt nice to do something productive.
3) I went on a long walk today and picked up a pair of socks and a t-shirt that were in different places along the road. Ya gotta wonder...but anyhow, I'll wash them up in good hot water and probably use the socks myself and throw the t-shirt into my hubbies work shirt pile.
4) I gave my husband a haircut.
5) I am participating in "shelftember." Trying to eat from the pantry, freezer and garden and buy as little as possible. I made a menu for the whole month based on what we have, and I should only need to buy eggs, milk and maybe some fruit for hubbies work lunches. I try to do this every year and it really helps me dig things out of the pantry that I would normally ignore and pay attention to those poor things getting freezer burn in the back of the freezer.
@Tricia, "shelftember". Like that one.
@Tricia, Shelftember is the best. I love Jordan Page. I'm doing it, too. Are you in her FB group for it?
You look very good in that bright red!
Lots of garden frugality this week. We:
*picked and processed lots of quarts of tomato product. (Also we canned some green beans.)
*shelled lots of dried beans.
*ate a perfectly ripened volunteer watermelon and a couple of garden cantaloupes. (We threw the mystery volunteer melons that tasted like a (yucky) cross between a cucumber and cantaloupe to the chickens.
*bought 6 bushels of apples to make applesauce ($9/bushel).
*went shopping in the basement for school supplies.
Our local symphony offers rehearsal concerts for $14 a person (or if you have a kid in elementary school, they get a free ticket for the kid and one parent). I love these because you get to see "how the sausage is made". There are starts and stops because the conductor wants to give notes or have someone play their part differently, but that's fascinating to me, and the guest artists are always very gracious. Seating is open and it's kind of fun to sit in different areas of the concert hall to see how that affects the view and the sound. My only complaint is that because the conductor is directing his remarks to the orchestra, you can't always hear what he is saying. Since the concert hall is on a university campus, university students also get in free.
I knit my own dishcloths out of cotton and they only cost pennies to make. I have about a dozen so we can swap them out daily--they get thrown in the regular wash. When one gets worn out it can go in the compost bin. And I always have cotton yarn (Knit Picks Dishie yarn is great!) to make more. It was an adjustment from "scrunges" but so much better for the environment. Cleaning cloths are worn out T-shirts that we rip up instead of discarding.
@Jan, I love the crochet dish clothes that I got from a friend. Change them out every day and like them better than sponges.
You should wear color! It doe so much for you. Even a colorful scarf with your neutrals.
Red is my color so I love your new dress!
1. I ordered new v-neck tshirts from Land's End. I have the credit card so I saved on shipping. I need new clothes since losing 100 pounds after gastric sleeve surgery. I have vowed to hit some thrift stores in the area for more clothes like jeans.
2. Dear hubby was able to fix the sink drain in our (only) bathroom. Plumbing is not his favorite sport but he can do little jobs like this. Putting in a new water heater - no - plumber for that.
3. Dear hubby booked me a flight to go see my sister in South Carolina. Free with points and he upgraded me to first class. He's so sweet.
4. We made sure to clean the condo we rented for our shore vacation and we will get our $400 deposit back. The owners had a Hoover (?) wind tunnel vacuum that was the heaviest vacuum I ever tried to push. Dh did it and at 6'2" and more strength than me complained about it too.
5. Hubby also cut his own hair. In my opinion he doesn't do such a great job but he thinks it's great that he can do it on his own. Sometimes I have to shave his neck with the clippers afterward.
6. Because we are frugal in so many areas we were able to have a little Labor Day bbq and invited hubby's sister and my friend who was dying to get out of her daughter's house. She was there helping her daughter after surgery and taking care of her granddaughter. "Nice to have adult conversation" she said.
@Auntiali, forgot #6: got my two $25 Outback gift cards from my credit card and we will splurge sometime later in the month.
So—one of my little irritations is a measuring cup with the markings worn off. I’ve often wondered how to make them last longer. ModgePodge over the lettering??
Anyone tried anything that works??
Love this site. This is my first time posting. On Labor Day went with hubby to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy him some new golf shoes. Joking with the teenage cashier "Do you have a senior citizen discount? AARP, AAA anything?" He said no I don't think so. My husband chimed in "How about the James discount? (His name is James) no I don't think so. We laughed saying well it never hurts to ask. The cashier said yep never hurts to ask. I can give you 20% off. REALLY? $110.00 shoes came out to $87.00. including tax. Yahoo!!!
@Rebecca,
Nice. You got the "you made my day slightly less boring" discount!
Bought $0.99 per pound chicken legs at Costco. They come in 8 packages all together. Like 'em alot. I could eat chicken every day.
I like Alyce Morgan's ways of cooking, https://moretimeatthetable.com/2022/08/23/cheep-eats/#more-38688
"Oiled, seasoned, browned on top of the stove and finished in the oven."
And the $1.99 pork ribs at Safeway are a good buy too.
Great Dress!
We went away this weekend using reward points so the hotel was free!
I packed us cold cuts and we ate breakfast at the hotel every day so we only ate out once a day.
I’m at a new job where I need to pack my lunch because nothing is nearby. I’m terrible at this so it’s a big step for me!
I bought ground beef with a 50% off sticker because it was expiring soon, but we needed it for dinner that night so it didn’t matter.
I just boiled a batch of washcloths last week too. Worked like a charm to get them smelling fresh again. I learned this tip from you and have used it many times, so thanks again!
We had a family crisis and live in a rural area so I spent Labor Day prepping a bunch of easy meals ahead and that carried us through the week behind. Beyond that I couldn't tell you what I did that was frugal! I lived in the mode of 'what has to be done NOW' all the rest of the week.
Your new dress is so cute. You can extend the wearing season by putting a turtleneck underneath, wearing tights and boots as well as putting a jacket over top.