Five Frugal Things | A flat tire happened
1. I got Zoe's tire fixed for free
My newest driver got her first flat tire.
Lisey taught her how to take her tire off and put on the spare, and I took the flat tire over to Midas for their free flat tire repair service.
(Not every Midas participates in this offer, but if you call around to the ones in your area, you might be able to find one that does!)
I was so thankful that the tire could be repaired because the tires on this car were all brand new as of this past summer.
2. I did the self-service emissions test
Gonna be honest: when I rolled up to the emissions testing center, I was feeling lazy, and I had decided to pay the extra $4 for the full-service option.
But then I saw that the lines for the full-service test were about 5 times as long as the self-service line.
So, since I hate waiting in lines, I opted to do the self-service test.
And in the end, I was glad I did because it really is a super easy thing to do with the self-serve machine.
Plus, I saved time on top of saving money.
3. I got some free bamboo chopsticks
The other day, one of the girls said something about wishing we had some chopsticks here (maybe for some ramen?)
We had a couple of reusable pairs at the other house, but I had left them there because Sonia uses chopsticks a lot.
Anyway, a few days later, someone on my Buy Nothing group happened to be offering a little set of kitchen odds and ends, and it included multiple pairs of bamboo chopsticks. Yay!
Happily, a spatula (the kind you flip things with) was also included; I do have two of those, but sometimes by dinnertime, both of them are in the dishwasher.
So it will be nice to have three.
4. I found a watering can in my yard
Remember how I was doing yard cleanup last week?
Well, in the process, I discovered a plastic watering can in the wooded part of my yard.
I'd been wanting to buy a watering can to make it easier to water the plants in my big front window, and now I don't even have to buy one!
This one is obviously dirty, but that's ok; I can just clean it up.
5. I got a free mac and cheese at Panera
I have not figured out a pattern yet, but every now and then there is an offer for a free item in my Panera app, and this time it was for a full-size mac and cheese.
And surprisingly enough, it was free even after I chose to do bacon as an extra add-on.
SWEET.
—I shortened an existing curtain to fit the window of our back door. This has the added benefit of making it too short for our goblin cat to pull on when he’s mischievous. My finally getting to this chore is “thanks” to him. 😛
—I went around the house and touched up some of our paint using the original cans, also thanks to goblin cat and his two brothers. Sometimes, they literally bounce off the walls when playing!
—Goblin cat had a cold, complete with bad congestion and sneezing fits. We live a bit from our vet* now, and she’s very reasonable about sparing our boys a long car ride if it isn’t strictly necessary. She’s treated goblin cat for colds before, so she had an antibiotic shot ready for my husband (who commutes) to pick up; we administered the shot, ourselves. We still had to pay for the shot, of course, but no appointment fee and no perturbed cat in a carrier!
*She cried with me when I said goodbye to my fourteen-year-old soul cat. We’re never letting her go!
—My husband is getting additional certifications at work, which will result in several raises. His employer will reimburse us for the certification costs.
—We filed our taxes this weekend to have them done and dusted! Our refund will be put into the house emergency/ “Oh, *#&!” account.
@N, FYI, goblin cat is completely over his cold now. Antibiotic shots are magic and so much easier for all concerned vs. pills. All of our adopted cats are FIV+ (think kitty HIV), so a even a cold can escalate quickly.
@N, I’ve gone to the same vet for 28 years. We have been through a lot together! In the early days of covid, I lost my dog to cancer. It happened very quickly. My vet was so worried about me not having my dog during the quarantine that he called me once a week to make sure I was alright. I know he is not the cheapest vet in town, but his kindness and compassion makes him the best.
@Bee, That’s an amazing vet, indeed. HUGS on the loss of your dog.
"Lisey taught her how to take her tire off and put on the spare" ... I love that so much. 🙂
My FFT:
1. While having some one-on-one time with Dad, my daughter wanted to go to a local ice cream place and bring ice cream back for everyone. Very thoughtful, but expensive. So instead he took her to the local grocery store that we have a gift card for and she got to pick out a tub of ice cream and two toppings. Still lots of fun, but zero out-of-pocket cost.
2. My son has a summer birthday, so for those kids at school they celebrate their half-birthdays. While lots of kids bring in donuts and a number of kids in his class have brought in goodie bags (???) we made no-bake cookies at home.
3. Created and printed invitations for my daughter's upcoming birthday party.
4. Mended my daughter's blanket that she loves so much (it has cats all over it). It wasn't an easy seam rip, it was a big gaping tear in the middle section, but now it's fixed and it turned out pretty good.
5. My youngest child got a gift for Christmas (a play castle-shaped tent) that had a hole in it when we opened it, but I figured it wasn't a big deal and we could work around it. Then a second hole sprouted and one of the poles broke. Yikes! I remembered that it came with a paper mentioning a 6-month satisfaction guarantee, so I emailed the company to ask if they could help me. Apparently I was supposed to send something in to register it within 30 days to qualify, but the lady helped me get all of the information necessary to get registered. Then I sent in pictures and everything they asked for and they are expediting shipping of a new tent! Yay!
@Ruth, I loved that Lisey taught her to swap out the tire too. You go girl!!
We went to the Midwest for a family wedding so it was a spendy time but there are a few things we did:
1. We used Hilton Honors points to pay only $60 (taxes included) for the Thursday night stay at the Hampton Inn.
2. We packed snacks for the airport so didn't buy anything there.
3. I bought a dress for $10 on ThredUp, with free shipping, for the wedding. It needed a slip and the only one I had was a too long half slip (probably 30 years old) so I stitched the slip to a bra and it worked. No need to try to figure out how to buy a new one that would not get much wearing. I wore my ten year old dress up leather flats.
4. We packed breakfasts. The first morning we supplemented with the free breakfast but the next two mornings we ate our breakfasts in our room (nothing free at the Hilton).
5. We didn't break arms, legs, hips, heads, etc. It snowed quite a bit before our arrival in MSP so things were not well cleared. We walked at The Mall of America on Friday morning (taking in the sights before the stores opened) and walked the Skyways in Rochester the rest of Friday and all day Saturday. We walked inside MSP on Sunday after our flight was delayed. We'd forgotten how slick snow and slush can be.
@K D,
The Hilton Honor Rewards Program is a good one for travelers to use
FFT, Making the Best of Things Edition:
(1) I too had car trouble this weekend: A warning light on the dashboard of the Honda Element went on, just as I was leaving on Saturday morning for our JASNA region's annual luncheon in the next city over. Since the possibility of car trouble on the NY State Thruway in January was not an appealing one, I decided to scrub the trip. No chance of a refund on the luncheon, of course (the region will barely cover expenses for this event as it is). But at least I'm half a tank of gas to the good. Cold comfort, but I'll take what I can get.
(2) I did other frugal things to cheer myself up: (a) I built a fire in the woodburner, and (b) I used ingredients from the freezer and pantry to make a sort of boeuf bourguignon. (I say "sort of" because I didn't have any pearl onions. But it was good anyway.)
(3) The next morning, I got out the Element's owner's manual and read the fine print. Turns out that this particular warning light (the emissions system malfunction light) can go on if the cap on the fuel tank isn't tightly screwed on--which it wasn't. (The car's too old to have a locking fuel cap!) So I tightened the cap, drove around for a bit as recommended, and presto--the light went off and stayed off. I thus saved myself a service trip to my garage through RTFM.
(4) In other frugal news, I'm continuing to declutter our various collections, with an eye to making major charitable donations (see last week's FFT). Having finished with the stamps and the royal commemoratives, I've now started on DH's seemingly endless array of lead toy figures. I'm holding off on the Britains brand figures till I can consult with a friend who may be interested in those, but I'm working on the so-called "German flats" (Heinrichsen) and "American dimestore" (Barclay and Manoil) figures.
(5) And I took five boxes of books to our secondhand-book dealer, who accepted four of them and gave me $125 in store credit. (He knows by now that I don't bring in junk, and I know pretty well what he will and won't take.) I promptly spent the credit on a lovely Folio Society boxed set of the Brontes' novels. This news may not sit well with some of my JASNA friends, but I personally don't consider it disloyalty to Austen to enjoy the Brontes as well!
@A. Marie, You must have very nice books because we never seem to be able to get more than $5 store credit on entire boxes of books. (And some of them have been pretty rare and in excellent condition.)
And I think it would be disloyal to Austen NOT to enjoy other good books, don't you? (I'm pretty certain, had she lived longer, she would have written a ridiculous character who would only read books by a certain author.)
@Jody S., I don't know whether my books are any nicer than yours. But I do know that I have a very nice book dealer. He's become a friend by now, and as I said, we have a pretty good sense of each other's book needs and wants.
The whole Austen vs. Bronte thing in JASNA is a joke for the most part. (It stems from the fact that Charlotte Bronte once threw shade on Austen in a letter to her editor.) But my JASNA BFF and my other good JASNA friend really are Bronte-haters, so they're probably going to throw some humorous shade on me at the next Triple Birthday celebration!
And JA actually did write one character who would only read a certain type of book: Catherine Morland, the young lady in Northanger Abbey whose head is turned by Mrs. Radcliffe's and other Gothic romances!
@A. Marie, I bet DH's collection is fascinating. Our family has a large number of the Barclay/Manoil figures which go with our putz houses. At my grandmother's the village was surrounded by my grandfather's toy train. I don't know what happened to that, so one year I bought my mom a whatever-gauge it is Long Island Rail Road train set from the 50s. MY favorite figures are the bride and groom who are about as tall as the putz church, and the skaters on a hand mirror lake,
Also I love the Brontes. #TeamBertha though.
@A. Marie, I took a seminar on the Brontes, and I remember reading that Charlotte threw that shade after a very respected critic (Lewes), whose opinion she sought about her own writing, said that it was good, but Austen was better: "...he wanted to underline a fault in the novel, the moments of melodrama in it that he called “suited to the circulating library” (not a compliment), and he held out Austen as a model of calm and balanced wisdom achieved through a more naturalistic style. When Lewes praised Austen, whom Brontë had neglected to read, she went to some trouble to obtain Austen’s masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice.
"In Brontë’s own words to Lewes, 'I got the book and studied it. And what did I find? An accurate daguerreotyped portrait of a common-place face; a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers—but no glance of a bright vivid physiognomy—no open country—no fresh air—no blue hill—no bonny beck. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen in their elegant but confined houses. These observations will probably irritate you, but I shall run the risk.'"
Basically he said, "your book will appeal to the popular reader (again, not a compliment back then), but Austen is more refined." And she was all, That's FINE because I wouldn't want to be in an Austen book! Ha.
@Karen A., thanks for the correction re: G. H. Lewes. I had misremembered Charlotte's remark as being made to her editor at Smith, Elder & Co. (And Lewes was also George Eliot's living-in-sin significant other, so we can triangulate Eliot into this discussion as well!)
@Rose, DH has the skaters, although sadly they became detached from their mirror. And I confess I had to look up "putz houses."
@A. Marie, That's true. I'd forgotten about her because I've only read that one once.
@Rose, Poor Bertha. She never asked for any of that, did she?
@A. Marie, for help on the collectibles, you might take a look at the website AdirondackGirlatHeart. Diana lives in upstate New York and is so knowledgeable and responsive. Her website is extensive, very impressive.
@Karen A. and @Rose, I'm assuming that you've read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, which is a reworking of the events leading up to Jane Eyre from Bertha's POV?
@Central Calif. Artist, thanks for the reference to Diana's website. I'm headed there now.
@Jody S., same here. Instead of donating books I lugged 40 of them to a bookstore and trust me, they were not of the bodice ripper genre. I got ten cents per book, which MAYBE payed for the gas there. From now on, I just donate locally.
--I planned our meals.
--We used the library.
--My husband (and children) did a minor house repair themselves.
--In choosing some leggings at Walmart for my youngest, I picked a pair of the ones on clearance for $2 off.
--I drank some tea we have that I don't really love. Is that frugal? I guess so since I didn't go buy more that I do like.....not that I would have to buy more since we have a pretty decent stash in the basement that we bought at a bent-and-dent place super-cheaply.
That's all I have.
@Jody S., Katy at the Nonconsumer Advocate calls using up something that isn't as good as you want it to be as "Taking One For The Team". Like your tea, the tea I finished up last week was uninspirational and each morning I questioned whether it was really worth it to save a few cents. Interestingly, this week, drinking good tea each morning is REALLY GOOD. So maybe taking one for the team helps us become more grateful.
Yes! I use that phrase too! Great minds think alike.
@Elaine N, Well, then. I think I must bee the best team player there is 🙂
I found child Nike and Champion shirts for the grands at GW for 1.99 each. They appear new. They raised their puzzle prices to 3.99 each?!? You don't even know if all the pieces are there. End of rant... Last year I was buying one and I knew it wasn't a puzzle in it, the cashier was skeptical. I opened the box and it was a box of pictures of a wedding and a birth.
Cleaning out the hoarding mess of my sister & parent's house. I did get a new bread machine, 4 new pair of men's gloves. Unopened bags of socks. We gave to Goodwill 4 extra-large garbage bags of new unopened t-shirts and shirts. We did not even make a dent in the stuff in the house and my sister keeps shopping for more stuff.
It is wonderful that Lisey and Zoe can change a tire. Woot! Woot!
Last week was quiet so I have spent my time doing the same old frugal things.
I made broth in the instant pot from a chicken carcass. I used a fennel bulb that was on its last legs in the place of celery. I used the broth to make (GF) ramen.
I utilized my library which is the norm. Listening to a book on my library app and am now reading John Grisham latest.
I dropped some magazines in the library share bin and picked up two for myself.
I had coffee with a friend instead of an expensive lunch out. We also took a turn around the thrift store. I did not buy anything. Sometimes this particular thrift store is silly expensive.
Went to Costco where I mostly stuck to my list and purchased gas for fifteen cents a gallon less than I pay for it near my house.
Wishing everyone peace and good health.
Hmm, I'm having to think about this one. I've been doing more online ordering than usual, trying to put together an acceptable dressing-up outfit (am I the only one who feels like they're masquerading as an adult when they try to wear a skirt or dress?), so I'm not pleased about that.
--used flax egg in baking to make some pumpkin bread, which made people happy.
--got free exercise by shoveling the driveway, and then recruited free helpers (the kids) to finish the second half of it.
--staying home, cooking at home, so except for the odd purchase on Amazon, not spending like crazy.
--rented, rather than bought, the newest Kenneth Branagh Death on the Nile movie (so glad we didn't buy it-NOT good). Also we had Amazon credits for digital purchases, so it was about two bucks, I think. Cheap entertainment, even if it was pretty bad.
@Karen A., I'm in a group chat with some women with whom I went to a retreat — yesterday's conversation turned to shapewear recommendations and I realized for a second time in just a few weeks that I don't even own a dress anymore. Masquerading would be pretty accurate at this point. 🙂
@Karen A., a dress? What's that? 🙂
@A. Marie, Ha! I have one that I had to buy to take part in a debate society my son belonged to; all the moms there dressed nicely, not in jeans like me. It was horrible. I am going to be attending a traditional Latin Mass, at a church where the women wear long skirts and they prefer you wear a chapel veil, so that has been a journey.
@Karen A., I sympathize with your wardrobe dilemma. But jeans can be quite dressy too--wear some that fit well, paired with a tunic and/or vest, and a little jewelry. In much of the West, jeans go everywhere. It's the grooming and accessories that make them dressier or not. I saw beautiful women in jeans at the Santa Fe Opera (an outdoor theater), wearing amazing silver jewelry and beautiful boots. Comfy, very dressy, and much more contemporary than the dresses. I suppose this is regional, but an alternative is a tunic over yoga pants; almost any dress can be shortened to make a tunic.
@Karen A., if we lived close, I'd invite you to my closet. I wear skirts and dresses more than pants, and I have enough to outfit a small island nation.
@Central Calif. Artist, I have always loved dresses. My mom tried to get me in pants as a kid but I climbed trees and played baseball in a dress. I ran into a guy in Walmart wearing a dress, we gave each other a thumbs up which I have been told by gen z is a passive aggressive gesture but I liked his dress.
@Tiana, thumbs up is passive-agressive now? OMG, where does it stop.....
@Karen A., I looooove wearing dresses. If I could, I would live in them, but I can't wear that at work (hospital), bummer
@Isa, I wear dresses all the time, but they aren’t dressy dresses. In the heat of the Florida summer few things are as comfortable as a cotton t-shirt dress or a linen shift. Sometimes it’s so hot and humid here … the sun is so intense that you barely want to wear clothes at all.
@Karen A., I've really fallen in love with leggings and tunic/shorter dress. 1)Warm legs. 2) Socks with comfy shoes. 3)Versatile. 4)I don't want to shave my legs.
@Isa, amen, sister, amen.
@Karen., I still love the look of dresses, but I am so short that nothing fits me right and I despise wearing hose. Heels are completely out with my bum knees. People can just get used to me showing up in a clasdy pair of black slacks and a gorgeous blouse.
@Karen., (et al). I bought in to the Wool& wear a dress for 100 day challenge. And although I haven't done the challenge, OMG the dress(es) that I bought have been worn constantly. with Leggings and boots in the winter, with sandals in spring/fall. I have just purchased a lighter weight dress to try for summer, as the two I have are heavier weight (sleeveless, and I run hot, so they are perfect). I have come to realize that I prefer dresses BY FAR, all 4 seasons. If I am in the garden it is shorts or jeans and tees or tanks, most of the rest of the time it is dresses.
If anyone has been considering the Wool& dresses, they are pricy yet I am on my third winter with the first one and second winter with the second, so have worn one dress for well over 300 days, the other for at least 200 days. ...
But don't get me started on undergarments... EEEEK
Love that Lisey taught Zoe how to change a tire. You don't need whiskers for that!
My FFT:
- Got gas while I was at Costco
- Returned jeans that didn't fit
- Accepted money from BFF for item I purchased at Costco for her. She told me the one item she missed most from Costco, and I got it when I was there but didn't intend to get her to pay for it since she is always so generous to me and my kids
- Shopped manager's specials at Sprouts. Scored really nice Swiss cheese for $1.99 that we will have at happy hour this week
- When checking out at the dentist, I questioned the over $700 fee they wanted to collect. I checked last month and was told that the remaining cost of my dental implant was covered so I was shocked when they asked me for payment. Turns out the lady was new and didn't know how to interpret the insurance payments
I know! It was such a "don't need whiskers" moment. And the girls borrowed a tool from my female neighbor (the one who fixes up small engines). 🙂
And whoa, nice save on the dental bill!
@Kristen, it sounds as if Lisey and the neighbor may have a lot in common. And, along with all the other commenters, I'm impressed by Lisey teaching Zoe how to change the tire, and by you getting the free repair!
Yes, yes, they do! She's retired from the Navy and she has helped Lisey out several times when she's been working on her car!
I typically only get Panera offers after I visit 3x (there's a little tracker in my app), so I'm envious of your sporadic offers!
1) I took my 15 y.o to lunch this weekend (I'm trying to do some 1:1 "dates" with the teens) & used two $10 gift cards, plus an in app offer ($1 off a pastry). I spent a bit out of pocket for the tip & overage, but all in all, it was a great deal & nice to have some time together. This teen, in particular, is crazy busy, so getting a weekend lunch is a rarity.
2) We are planning a college tour trip, and had a bunch of savings there:
-Used a free hotel night, that I was convinced I'd never use, due to the limitations. But, it was a perfect match to one of the options for our college tour.
-Used travel credits & gift cards to offset most of the tickets for three people.
-Booked a rental car via Costco travel, which was cheapest.
3) Ate a lot of leftovers, and kept on top of food waste. I defrosted soup for lunch yesterday, ate date night leftovers, and ate kid remnant leftovers for another lunch.
4) Finally found a few iBotta offers we could use. Matched them up with sales & rewards at Rite Aid, but also with the Friday Freebie at the grocery store.
5) Fetch has been having a little bonus game, when you upload your receipts. I've been participating in that, and earning a bit extra.
1. Had to get some necessary things (including my earplugs) that I only seem to be able to get from Amazon. So I ordered those and used slow shipping and got some digital credit, which I used to buy a Kindle book.
2. Eating out of the freezer most of the time lately and getting a bit creative. Going out is just so expensive now, especially since my daughter is eating more as she grows.
3. Found a little multi-tool (like a Leatherman) box cutter and bottle opener set left over from Christmas (you know, the "Gifts for Dad" stuff) for all of $4 on clearance. I have all these tools already but I put them in my car (well, except the bottle opener) to use in case of emergency.
4. Returned some leggings my wife ordered that did not fit. It stinks that we can't find everything locally but at least Amazon returns to the UPS store are easy.
5. An old one (sorta.) When we had our basement problems fixed around 8 years ago I opted to forgo getting a regular sump pump and instead went with a sump pump system which contained a backup pump and a backup battery. Well we lost power the other day and the battery ran the pump while the power was out.
So no flooded basement makes me very, VERY happy! Sometimes it is worth it to buy the "you never know" backup and considering the cost of this (a few hundred at the time) I think it was well worth it!
What a relief that you did not have a flooded basement!
@Battra92, Good call on getting the sump pump with backup battery. I'm sure it was more expensive, but will save you a lot over time
@Battra92, good job on the sump pump system with backup. My Bestest Neighbors got one of these systems after several major basement floods. (Their house is slightly uphill from mine and more subject to flooding after major rains and snowmelt.)
@Battra92,
We carry a bottle opener in our car. My older grandkids love things like Mexican Coca Colas and my husband always liked mineral waters and sparkling waters, some of which come in crimp capped bottles.
We also carry scissors, an ink pen and toothpicks in our car. We might be weird.
I carry a nail clippers in my car! It's come in handy so many times for various things.
@Battra92, I keep a few gardening tools in my car because one never knows when some plant clipping pilfering opportunity might arise.
@Battra92, we have found that with certain tools and supplies we actually need three of, one for each car and one for the house. Over the years we have pretty much outfitted all three places, but it can get expensive.
@A. Marie, we did a major overhaul after a couple traumatic floods which involved French drains and the sump pump system.
In the grand scheme of things what was another couple hundred bucks?
@JD, I keep a titanium stove, a hummingbird hammock, a water filtration thingy, and foil blankets, solar lights, and cutting things in case I want to camp or get stuck in the wilderness. They are all so small they fit in the tire well place.
@Tiana, I just have this picture of a relaxed little hummingbird kicked back into a tiny hammock.
Maybe a cool drink by his side?
@Central Calif. Artist, the season is here! thanks for the reminder. Also a few plastic bags, some gloves, maybe even a spare bucket or two... or a tarp... oh, I am impossible
1. I have a SodaStream that I have tried to find flavors without artificial sweeteners for a long time. And this week I realized that I actually like it without flavoring, duh. I feel silly, but at least from now I will save money and be a bit more environmentally friendly not buying cans and bottles with soda.
2. My partner have resumed renovation on the staircase. It’s been paused because we just couldn’t figure out what to do with it when the first attempt of making new wood steps didn’t work. Now he’s using a scrap of vinyl flooring for the steps and he’ll paint the whole thing. By far the most economical thing to do and we’ll use some leftover paint for the adjacent walls.
3. Continue eating out of the freezer, but as I’m making lots of soups I feel there is as much going back in. Prefer to freeze the leftovers so we don’t have to eat the same thing over several days and this way we’ll ready dinner for the days when I’m just to tired to cook.
4. I’ve wished for a specific shelving system in solid wood for a long time for my sewing room. Yesterday someone was selling loads of it on Facebook and even the timing is poor I just couldn’t make an offer. So we’re picking it up today and I’ll be filling up the garage some more with furniture I have no room for until spring. Heh.
5. Found a fantastic deal on wool slippers for Christmas presents for my partners parents. Normal price is $150 each, saved $100 a pair. Now they will get something they have good use for in their mountain cabin, but would never have spent money on themselves.
@Gunn from Northern Norway, A friend of mine makes her own fruit syrups for her SodaStream.
@Rose, thanks for the tip! I haven’t thought about that.
@Gunn from Northern Norway,
I gave my husband a Sodastream because he likes drinking plain fizzy water. I'm not really a fan of plain but find all of the official syrups too sweet. I usually add a splash of lime or lemon juice since one of my favorite drinks is a club soda and lime. Sometimes I'll add fruit juice like orange to DIY an Orangina.
@Lazy Budget Chef, Ahh yes, I’ve tried with just some lemon or lime but it’s like I can taste the gin 😀
This was a week where I definitely struggled with motivation. The weather is blah and the toddler isn't sleeping, but I'm proud to have had some frugal wins anyway. The little things add up, I guess.
1. Meal-planning, checking the flyers, and avoiding waste is working! Our food costs are going down.
2. To that end, I stayed up late the last two nights avoiding wasting meat (the most upsetting waste, in my opinion) by making a batch of meatballs to eat this week and a batch of chicken wontons to freeze. I would have rather spent the time reading and relaxing, but future-me will be grateful.
3. I used a grocery store gift card that I'd bought with credit card rewards.
4. I walk to work every day and gave myself a pat on the back for doing so. It saves us about $1500 a year (the cost of transit,) or much more if we needed a second car. It's also good for my body and my mind. (Can you tell I was feeling grumpy about it this morning?)
5. I haven't bought tea at work in months (except for when I'm on call.) I keep tea on my desk and milk in the fridge, and I use the communal kettle.
The last time I tried to remove a tire, the lugnuts were so tight from the air tool the shop used to put them on, I couldn't get them off. Neither could my husband (this was when he was still in good shape). I'm impressed that Lisey and Zoe got a tire off.
1. I used frozen persimmon puree from last year to make fruit ketchup and used frozen chopped parsley from this past summer in deviled ham, which I made from frozen leftover Christmas ham.
2. I am using a plastic container with a tight lid, one that had held dried fruit, to keep porch paint I am using with a brush from drying out between uses. I don't like pouring used paint back into the bucket of clean paint, and I feel like transferring back and forth wastes so much paint anyway.
3. I used primer I already had to prime the little wooden chair I bought second hand, and will paint it with cabinet/furniture paint I already have. I have one leftover unopened jar from painting my bathroom cabinets. I felt myself channeling Kristen while painting.
4. I made a big folder for some downloaded sewing patterns that are pretty big once assembled. I used cardboard left over from the delivery of a corkboard at my workplace. I tied it at the top with a cute red and white twine that I saved off of a gift.
5. I ordered five pound bags of frozen cranberries and frozen diced beets from Azure Standard, which arrived Monday morning. I took a cooler to work with me to put them in at the delivery drop, then put them straight into the freezer at work and took time before going home at five to portion them out into smaller freezer containers before putting them back in the cooler for the trip home. By portioning them out while they were not yet in a solid frozen block from riding home in the cooler, I get manageable portions that I will definitely thaw and use.
6. With the weather fluctuating wildly here (48 to 77 for highs, 33 to 58 for lows, all in the same week), one of my tires lost pressure. I aired it up with our little portable tool that runs off the car battery, checked it with our tire gauge, and was good to go. No money spent.
Sent back a pair of Skullcandy earbuds for warranty. I'd gotten them on Prime Day. Apparently they were nicer than I knew. They had been discontinued, and using the warranty credit I could get two pairs — only costs were me shipping the old ones to California, plus like $3. Since my kids use them way more often than I do (this wasn't expected when I bought the first pair), that's a pretty decent solution.
My life is always pretty frugal and the rest are just generally boring. Lots of eating at home. A little comparison shopping, but all I've bought so far are a couple clearance shirts with LLBean card points and a ton of underwear and socks for the people who persist in outgrowing them (as they should) with 20 percent off. Also 15 inches of snow kept me home from a trip to town, though that's only delayed expense (rescheduling the mammogram was annoying especially since it kicked that can down the road 'til March).
--A nice older lady at church gave me some brand-new shirts for my boys that her grandson outgrew before he could even wear them.
--My cabbage and kohlrabi seeds have sprouted (yay!) and are happily growing in their cobbled-together little greenhouse, which consists entirely of material re-purposed from elsewhere. Including the lights, which are flourescent shop lights we borrow from our actual shop every year for the seedlings. (Another post up about that for anyone who is interested https://going-country.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardening-for-food-grow-lights.html
--Inadvertently frugal when this past weekend's basketball game was canceled. Saved me about five hours (my time is very precious to me) and gas money. No longer a trivial amount.
--I thought to ask the preschool teacher at school (also a friend) if her chickens were laying again yet. They are, and she is overrun with eggs and so happy for me to take some. We don't have enough hens for all the eggs we eat, but she has too many. She was going to just give them to me, but I insisted on paying her at least what I did last year. Which is $3 a dozen. That is now a crazy good deal for home eggs, I know.
--Same friend had a litter of puppies last summer that her husband is training to be cattle dogs. He asked if he could borrow some of our sheep to start their training (less likely to hurt the small dogs than cattle, and sheep just herd easier for beginner dogs), so my husband brought two of our ewes to their place, and, just this past weekend, our ram so he could breed the ewes. That's three fewer mouths gobbling up hay. A win for all of us.
@kristin @ going country, I confess to friend-with-hens envy. And what a great thing to lend some sheep! Your life sounds wonderful. (I am enjoying your posts about gardening for food, which is an eternal war where I live).
@Central Calif. Artist, I would imagine that gardening has been especially difficult this year in California. I have a hard time growing veggies here in Florida. For some reason, I can grow flowers of all types … from orchids to hydrangeas… but not tomatoes.
@Bee, it is because I live in the foothills and the deer, gophers, bugs and poor soil are all against me in a conspiracy to keep me from growing food for humans!
I love that your other daughter had the skill set to teach her how to remove the tire and put on the spare! That's a skill I know I've been taught, but since I haven't had to practice it, I'm not sure if I could replicate it myself. Guess I'd better watch some YouTube 🙂
Here are my weekly five frugal wins:
https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2023/01/24/weekly-frugal-wins-piano-lessons-at-home/
This week’s frugal wins have all been about sharing the wealth! I’ve been fortunate enough to benefit from other’s generosity, so it was fun to be on the giving end.
1. One of my friends is hosting a 50th birthday party for her husband next month. My husband has a membership where she is planning the party so he is sharing his discount with her.
2. Starbucks loaded a free sweet treat on my app. I walked over on my lunch break and picked up a treat to give to my son.
3. My husband tried a new hot tea that he ended up not enjoying. I brought the two (two!) boxes he bought to work and gave them away to a good home.
4. I’m continuing to carpool with a neighbor when we bring our sons to soccer practice. One of us drops the boys off and the other picks them up. We both benefit from only having to make the trip to the sports complex once per night.
5. I’m in the process of planning a plant swap with some coworkers. We all have plants that propagate nicely so we are bringing in plants to share with each other!
@Geneva, love the idea of a plant swap!
Mixed Frugal: So I have been doing a Whole-30 diet, which is not the cheapest, because it rules out a lot of cheap things (pasta, rice, etc.) and ups the amount of proteins and vegetables you eat ($$$$ right now). BUT it also prohibits alcohol, and while I'm not a huge drinker, I live in a place where COL is high, and having a craft beer or two can be $$. Overall, I think it ends up being a cost savings by reducing eating out + eliminating drinking, and taking care of my long-term health is always worth it!
I had a good week, moneywise.
1. I made almost every meal at home. I picked up small burgers & fries to eat with my oldest as a no-school treat. I also went out with coworkers after the funeral for our coworker who died suddenly. It wasn't frugal, but the fellowship made it worth it.
2. I mended my husband's pants.
3. We ate up odds and ends to avoid food waste.
4. I passed down some toys to my youngest that my older children had outgrown and pulled out some toys that my youngest had outgrown.
5. I've been drinking coffee from home, instead of buying it.
6. I made cupcakes for my oldest's birthday party. We had the party at home.
7. One child decided what she wants her Valentine's box to look like already so we've been searching the house for materials to avoid buying anything. Another kid has to make a diorama for school, so same thing.
8. We've enjoyed free and cheap entertainment.
Look at you women being so awesome with the automotive stuff! Way to go!
My FFT:
1. Revived some pandemic skills and gave myself a haircut. We are going through an extra-squeezed time and $25 for a haircut is not happening.
2. Been very careful with the grocery shopping this month and am averaging $85.50 a week, which is well down from last year's $102 a week. This is for 2.5 adults, as DS eats half of his meals at home.
3. Still rack drying as much laundry as possible. Our old dryer is wearing out, so this saves on electricity and extends its life.
4. Did a massive amount of cooking on Sunday that included making 32 servings of food for our dogs. The point of this cookfest was to use up some items clogging up the cupboards and freezers. The small pork loin roast that was tough as a tennis ball after cooking made excellent dog food when chunked up, pulverized in the food processor, and mixed with rice, pumpkin puree from a free pumpkin, and green beans.
5. Altered two too-large blouses to fit better and put two buttons on another that had a poorly placed hidden snap fastener in the placket that made the neckline look sloppy. The blouses were all thrifted, the buttons were from my collection of inherited/recycled/thrift store buttons.
Bonus fate laughs: For several months, we'd spent only about $15 a month on various maintenance things around the house, like light bulbs. January, though, is $334 so far in house stuff that broke and had to be fixed or replaced. Ouch.
My frugals for the week:
Batched errands on one day: went to the doctor, returned hubby's slippers that I bought him for Christmas. Too small. Got gas at Costco.
Got a dress (I'm not a fan of wearing them) for son's wedding. It was $56 online at Macy's. Got a pair of Steve Madden slides for $30 on Zulily. Starting to freak out over the cost of wedding travel.
Hubby was offered an early retirement package. We went through the numbers and it was good to know he could accept it but he's decided he would like to stay til his original retirement date of 12/31/23. Good to know we could do it though.
Daughter turned 29 so we got Outback take away for her birthday dinner. I used my AARP discount and two $25 gift cards that I got from my credit card points. Out of pocket cost for 3 dinners was $25.
1. Went early to an estate sale in our neighborhood that looked promising for the type of furniture I like (mid-century modern). We have been looking for a bigger dining room table and some other pieces, and I ended up buying a teak dining table and several chairs for half the price that I had researched online.
2. For Christmas I had ordered two copies of a gift when the first order was delayed. Was able to get the present on time and finally got the second copy returned for a refund. I batched up some errands and made a stop at Fedex to drop it off.
3. A couple of years ago I had set my eye on some shoes that I ended up not buying. They recently popped up on a secondhand clothes group I'm in, and of course I made sure to not hesitate this time. It paid to wait 🙂
4. When placing a large online order, I pop over to my credit card site to check if they have a merchant coupon or cashback deal. I pay off the credit card at the end of each month.
5. My sister had her birthday this week. When I last saw her in October I gave her a present to keep safe until January, plus some others for Christmas. She was thrilled when she remembered to open it as it was her only surprise gift, and I was happy as it also saved me expensive international shipping.
I’m curious: did you have to pay for the self-administered emissions test? Because if you didn’t, this would be a list of five FREE things! The ultimate in frugal.
I did have to pay! But it was $10 instead of $14.
1. My youngest daughter surprised me with a bouquet of flowers at work one day. I periodically changed the water & trimmed them up and they lasted 3 weeks!
2. Our neighbors travel often to see their sick son and while they're away we get their mail, newspaper and keep an eye on their house. When they were gone before Christmas and after they got back, they gifted us a big gift card as a thank you! We don't expect anything, so this was a nice surprise! This neighbor also just gifted me a jar of maple syrup that she had a surplus of.
3. I got 2 meal vouchers for McDonald's (not my favorite place). I used one recently while I was out running errands around lunchtime.
4. I had to have bloodwork done early one morning. I brought a cup of coffee with me from home so I could have some after my labs and then went home & had breakfast. Was tempted to stop for something, but didn't.
5. I had some rewards saved for the craft store that I redeemed on a recent purchase.
6. A co-worker gifted me 4 covid tests as they had a surplus.
1. I bought a new piano lamp and bulb online; when it turned out that my garage-sale one only needed a new bulb instead of a new switch, I was able to return the new lamp by. . .
2. . . . waiting for FedEx to bring the Chewy order and handing the box to the driver instead of driving 40 miles to a FedEx dropoff or paying UPS.
3. My neighbor was at Costco (40 miles away plus I don't belong) and asked if I wanted anything. She brought me 18 (or was it 24?) eggs for about $6.50, an incredible bargain these days.
4. She also brought one of those fabulous rotisserie chickens, which are $5 each.
5. I turned the carcass into soup.
@Central Calif. Artist, about #2 - FedEx is the shipper that Lamps.com uses, so sending it back that way was almost free as opposed to UPS.
1- my husband returned an expensive batter he bought for the vacuum....we think the vacuum is shot....he got a refund.
2-I used some Starbuck's points for two free pastries, one for my & one for my grandson.
3-I cleaned up some old toys in storage....some very old toys belonging to our son....now our grandson has some 'new' fun things to do at my house.
4 - Our old ROKU stopped streaming Pandora so we put in our ancient Firestick just for Pandora rather than buy new. We've decided to just use these until they won't stream anymore.
5- I found a 5 gallon gas can at an estate sale for $5. We wanted one to store extra gasoline.
6 - I found a very nice new metal trash can on FB for $20 (have you priced new ones!) I needed one to keep the mice out of my birdseed.
OHHH I don't miss those Maryland emissions tests! We don't have to worry about those in our new home state of South Carolina!
We’ve had record levels of snowfall in the AZ Mountains over the past week or so. As luck would have it, my little electric snowblower broke the week before all that hit. I was able to get it replaced for free under the warranty, but it didn’t arrive until AFTER the first 4 ft or so had fallen.
I exchange for parking her monster snow blower in my carport for ease of access, my neighbor let me use her rig for free. My driveway, although made of brick pavers, is VERY long. I would have spent over $100 each time I hired someone to clear it. And since I’ve cleared it myself 7 times before the replacement snowblower arrived… that’s $700 saved I reckon!
Most of my frugal five is mending:
1. Sewed a a small hole in a mitten, mended a winter glove, and machine darned a thin area on a beach bag.
2. Took a pair of boots and a pair of shoes to the shoe repair shop to be stretched. My shoe stretchers weren't doing the job.
3. Fixed the leaking lid of an insulated water bottle with a “no leak lid” by adding a silicone gasket to the lid like similar water bottle brands. My favorite water bottle is saved!
3. Food:
- My husband made dinner with fresh pumpkin I pureed and froze last fall.
- I used leftover ham and canned garden tomatoes, dried beans and rice to make Black Beans and rice.
- I keep several sports bottles with water in the refrigerator to chug all day, every day but I'm drinking even more water throughout the day now that my favorite and largest water bottle is fixed.
4. While I waiting for the part, I “made” an insulated water bottle by putting a free can cozy on a 20 oz water bottle I didn't use as much because the insulated bottle turned me into a child about wet hands from condensation on the outside of a regular water bottle. It's now back into rotation in the refrigerator.
5. All of a sudden my sewing machine would only do straight stitching no matter how I set it. After trying several things and wanting to avoid taking it to the repair shop I flipped through the troubleshooting guide in the manual. The fix was free and embarrassing: I forgot to change the needle plate to the sewing plate the last time I used my machine. Oops.
*got 2 glasses, 4 plates and a serving spoon for 3.50$ at a thrift store
* Went for blood work for "free". I live in Canada so our universal health insurance covers this, but I have an extreme needles phobia so I usually go to a private clinic to have the same nurse that I like, but it's 80$-100$. So I put my big girl pants today and - after delaying it for a couple months out of fear - went to the hospital instead to have it without cost. Hey, I'm still alive!
* Invested money in my CELI today
* Got 4 packs of sausages and 2 loafs of gluten-free bread from Wal-Mart discounted rack. And I passed on the cookies and chips
* Daughter lost her phone yesterday. I know a notification pops-up on her main screen when she receives a text, so I sent a text with "lost phone" and my home phone number. 2 min later I received a call about it and went to pick it up
* Got a pair of Lole workout legging for 3.50$ at the thrift store. I actually needed it.
So glad the tire could be fixed, and yay for one sister teaching the other how to change a tire! Such a great skill to have.
Let's see if I have five....
1. I whipped out my laminator that I'd been given as a gift several years ago to use for the first time.....and it didn't work. A quick Google search revealed it had been recalled in 2018. Gulp. A quick phone call was made, and I was offered a $19 refund. Yes, please. It's now in our electronic recycling pile.
2. Returned two items to Kroger (an SD card bought on clearance, and another item that I can't remember) - hubby's and my new-to-us cameras take a different type of SD card. $12 and change back.
3. Frugal fail followed by a frugal win: we left behind our leftover pizza at the restaurant we went to on Saturday night - which was supposed to be Sunday night dinner. Last minute Sunday night dinner was pulled from freezer and pantry: spaghetti (Aldi whole wheat), pasta sauce and frozen meatballs (from the freezer - hubby made a big batch of sauce a few months ago, using ingredients bought on sale, and the meatballs were given to me by my mom). Grated Romano cheese came from a big wedge bought at Costco eons ago. Hubby added a piece of Aldi wheat bread to his meal.
4. Have been gifted several useful and wonderful items from my Buy Nothing group recently: a furnace filter, pretty earrings, a bag of dried beans, to name a few - and I'm picking up one of my favorite sentimental candies today (Torrone - Italian nougat). I have made some lovely personal connections through this group as well.
5. Using my Libby app to read books and magazines....a lot less paper clutter, and I can read a wide variety of magazines.
- Still eating out of the pantries and freezers.
- Bartering with next farm neighbor, I cleaned his gutters, windows and treated his roof for 3 cords cut/split wood that he does not use. It went directly into my woodshed this week!
- Bartered with 1/2 mile away neighbor who paid me with 6 antique 1 gallon vinegar jugs (with lids!) to store my apple cider vinegar. I loaned him my cargo trailer.
- Went to 2 estate sales and bought silly things like heavy duty sheet protectors (whole box for 1.50), 3 reams of paper, 2 bedside lamps for my guest room, 2 brand new in box box fans to use in my greenhouse ($4 ea) and a telescoping painting pole (painting house and barn this spring). I also picked up a few beautiful ceramic flower pots for the front porch $15 each instead of $90+. Classy win!
- Helped a friend organize her craft/quilt room and hauled off the no longer needs to the senior center. She is going to come my way to do the same. It is more fun with a friend!
- Bartered with friend's hubby who taught me how to use my pole saw to quickly trim my orchard trees. He received 2 new to him very nice crab traps. Win, win, win! I paid a guy $400 last year to trim up the trees, I traded off one of the big logging saws ($1500 new) for the pole saw, lawn edger/trimmer package ($600 value). I still have 4 saws to trade off.
Panera mac and cheese is delicious!
1. I picked up canned seltzer water from Buy Nothing. We are having friends over for dinner soon, so this will be a nice thing to be able to offer. I also picked up a box of organic yogurts, for my daughter, off Buy Nothing.
2. My husband and I love murder mystery board games. I resold 3 that we finished, on Facebook, for a little less than what we paid for them originally.
3. I really needed new snow boots. I live in an area that receives a lot of snow and very cold weather. My husband found almost new Sorrel boots for $80 on eBay, which came in the mail yesterday. They are so warm! They are made out of leather, so should last a while too.
4. I attended a donation-based yoga class this weekend with a friend. I had coupons for free coffees and bagels at the same place. So, it cost $18 for a yoga class, coffee, and bagel for my friend and I. It was a very nice time.
5. I made vegetable stock from some frozen vegetable scraps. We will use this to make a tomato, basil orzo this week. I also made baked French toast using left over bread, rolls, waffles, and flour tortillas. This will be my kid's breakfast for the week.
@Corrine,
So glad to see your comment about freezing vegetable scraps. My outdoor compost is full, so I want to freeze some scraps that I would normally compost. What vegetable scraps do you freeze? Any that you wouldn't recommend freezing?
Thanks!!
@Gretchen, I have attempted chicken broth with chicken bones and veggies, (carrots, celery, onion peelings, garlic papers, some herb stems) but never only vegetable broth. I have read that potato peelings will make things starchy and that broccoli stems might overpower the taste, so I haven't tried those. Yet for vegetable broth, they might be the taste you want.
Anyone else?
@Heidi Louise, Cabbage family members are no longer welcome in our vegetable scrap bag because they overpower everything else. Otherwise, most anything goes into that bag, so the results are different every time.
@Lindsey, Even corn cobs. They provide a subtle sweetness.
Frugal wins!
1. Finding a poster for free ski lessons when our family was away for family retreat time in the mountains. We just happened to be there when local ski club volunteers were giving free ski lessons and covering cross-country ski rentals for everyone. That was $240 worth of free!
2. Finding eggs at $4/ dozen. (Who woulda thunk I'd ever consider that a bargain?!)
3. Cleaning out my deep freeze and finding two meals I had pre-prepped and forgotten about.
4. Inheriting two containers of almond butter from a neighbor who didn't want them.
5. Using fabric from the EN's house to make them some rice bags to help keep them warm. 🙂
1. eating from freezer or cupboard so no money spent last week, although this week we will break down and buy milk. That is a non-negotiable for the husband. I am going to get filet-o-fish, too, on Friday. Last week I sacrificed and ate waffles, but not this week.
2. Did a mystery shop I hate doing, at a big box store, but it brought in $150 for about half an hour's work plus 15 minutes to write it up.
3. I don't drink coffee so the $15 Starbucks gift card I won at a Christmas gathering was just aging in a drawer. Traded it for 3 loaves of homemade Russian rye bread. I make a lot of breads but this variety often comes out too dense. A Russian friend makes it every week so it was a good trade for both of us.
4. years and years ago I gave a $300 loan to a college acquaintance who was trying to escape an abusive boyfriend. We had drifted apart and I figured the money had turned into a gift instead of a loan; once I decided to reframe it into a gift, I could stop being annoyed by the non-repayment. This week I opened the door to this woman, with $300 in cash and a huge container of fried chicken. She remembered that I had always loved her fried chicken, and she wanted to give me something to thank me for the loan so she made one of my favorites.
5. I decided I needed some new bras but wanted to clean out the underwear drawer so I would have room for them. What did I find? An unopened package of three sports bras and one regular unwornbra. This means I have not cleaned out that drawer for several years...but at least I didn't spend any money on new bras!
@Lindsey, cheers for your #4 in particular! And re: your #5, I wish I could find new bras whenever I clean out my underwear drawer...
Frugal win: I received my invoice for my house insurance. I noticed that it said roof: 2006. We put a new roof on the house in 2022, so I called the Ins. co. and gave them this new information: I received an updated invoice for $43.20 less. I also get discounts for bundling house and car ins., for paying in a one-pay, good credit rating, and installing a tankless water heater.
The usual: coffee at home (which I love, I'm spoiled: I dislike take-out coffee); most meals cooked at home, though (unfrugal) we did do a chicken wing take-out which we will not do again ($15.00 each x 2 orders) and it wasn't a great meal. Drinking tap water, we have good tap water. For treats I have leftover chocolates I bought on sale in case I needed extra Christmas presents, which I did not, so enjoying those.
Unfrugal: bought myself a pair of slippers ($32). Frugal: found a similar pair at the thrift store for $1.99. Will keep both as I rotate them, while one pair is in the wash I wear the other pair. They last me for years.
Some weeks I feel like I'm coming up with nothing exciting, but then I realize that the "same old, same old" may be something new to someone else, so:
1. Packed (creative since it's an off grocery week) lunches. Examples: leftovers (always my jam), yogurt with frozen fruit and almonds mixed in, leftover overnight oats (for lunch because why not?), teen made homemade trail mix (chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, oats, raisins), two kids had cream cheese and olive sandwiches for lunch, and other weird but edible combinations...
2. Used leftover creamers I saved from a work event to put cream in my coffee. This was after cutting open the cream carton to scrape the last bits out on the weekend.
3. Added sugar packets saved from the same event to a batch of fruit compote made with frozen mixed berries to top homemade waffles.
4. Saved bacon grease in the fridge for future cooking.
5. Put water in a seemingly empty conditioner bottle and got about three more showers worth out of the bottle.
I found a plastic watering can that was quite pretty, out in the shed, however when I brought it in to fill it had split seams so went into the trash. No recycling of that baby! However I found a replacement for $2 at the dollar store which beats any other place for garden supplies, but only in their weird season..
1. not really frugal however I used the McDonald's app to get my son a Big Mac at less than half price- on Hockey Game days they often have an offer. Mind you, I bought myself a Filet o Fish, and two medium waffle fries, yet that is the first takeout for me in over two months.
2. Taught my daughter how to make coleslaw after we went on a frugal teaching-her-how-to-shop trip to the veggie store. Then I figured out how to make dressing from what we had rather than paying $6 for the 'good' stuff. Sent her home with Dressing on the side, and a big bucket of shredded cabbage and carrots. #2 son and I ate the remainder that was left here, tonight I made up more slaw. Now need to make more dressing. Cabbage is one of the cheapest greens these days, i keep forgetting how much I like it. the chewing can be tiring, but what is a good newspaper article for if not to read while one slogs through a lot of tasty salad?
3. While she was visiting, I again cut Daughter's hair - well, buzzed the back. I had cut the top a bit too short before she went to New York, it is about perfect length on top. she and #2 son like me to shave quite a bit of the sides and back, so I am becoming quite proficient. She also assisted me in eating up the last of a soup/stew that I was getting VERY Tired of - much tastier with company, and she took the last pint home - SCORE!
4. Saved all the bones and skin from some chicken thighs and drumsticks that I had baked. in the freezer along with some tips and tails of the celery from Cabbage slaw #2, waiting for a few more bones and I will make more broth
5. I am on a pre-travel get fitter and stronger and slimmer plan, with April 1 as my travel deadline --- this means I am buying a lot fewer of the tempting yet unhealthy snacks, and being mindful about what and how much I am eating. it is feeling great and so much better on my pocketbook!
6. Part of the pre-travel prep is exercise. Besides the one program I purchased for under $60 and stuck with last summer with reasonable enthusiasm and measurable results, I avoided buying all the advertised 'get strong quick with..' programs and instead have noted what those are called ,then researched on free Youtube. Pilates and Qijong are now on the playlist.
Big Frugal Fail - drove to a town over an hour away to get vaccinations for an upcoming trip to Ecuador. Got totally lost and missed the appointment. Went to Costco with my list and boy HOWDY I need to go to Costco more frequently so it doesn't sting so hard when I do get there. However, I had asked a girlfriend to ride shotgun and that was a great opportunity to spend time together which we both have been missing. and now I have found a travel vaccination appointment right in my own town so all is not lost
I love that it seems you’ve passed on your “don’t need whiskers for that” attitude to your girls! My dad has always been my sisters’ and my number one encourager about being able to do things ourselves and I’m so grateful he instilled that attitude in us.
My five frugal things:
-Friends gave us a membership to the children’s museum in our area for Christmas, so my son and I used it for the first time yesterday. It was fantastic, and perfect for a busy toddler in the winter.
-I shoveled our driveway myself after a big storm.
-I’ve made a few loaves of bread this week, including my first (successful) sourdough loaf!
-I started our taxes with discounted turbo tax software from Sam’s Club.
-We had a night of leftovers, which prevents food waste and is frugal.
-bonus: I’ve started getting better at tracking our expenses, and realized I’m spending too much on coffee, so I will be adjusting that.
Yes, Lisey in particular has bought into the whole idea. And she's encouraging Zoe to learn to work on her car herself too. 🙂
I used app coupons to get a few free products at our Hannaford grocery store, which included a free reusable grocery bag, chips, chili powder and coffee.
My husband and I spent an hour or so shoveling out after a recent storm and told our plow guy we didn't need him. $40 saved and exercise done.
We used a gift card my kids gave me for Mother's Day (we don't get out much...ha!) to have a free meal at Texas Roadhouse. It was delicious.
When I went to register my car today at the town office, I took advantage of the "free table" and picked up a few magazines to enjoy.
Amazon had some really great sales on mens' dress clothes and my husband needed a couple pairs of dress pants for work. He's an odd size, so I was happy to find them for only $12 or so. He's not hard on clothes, so these should last him for a good long while.