Five Frugal Things | a free lamp for me!
1. I got a free lamp
I was on Facebook Marketplace looking for something else entirely, and then I noticed that someone had a lamp that was originally listed for $10, but currently marked down to $0.
I said, "Ooh, that is a price I like."
Interior designer Maria Killam is always saying that every home could do with more lamps, so I decided to pick this one up.
I like how big it is! The only downside to it is that the shade is rather opaque. But for $0, I don't feel too upset about that.
And I could always buy another shade if I really wanted to.
2. I used an old jar of marshmallow fluff to make a fruit dip
I found an opened jar of marshmallow fluff in my pantry, and it had started to separate a bit. So, I used it to make that classic fruit dip which is one jar of marshmallow fluff/creme and one brick of cream cheese, mixed together.
I figured for a dip, it wouldn't matter a lot if the fluff had separated a bit, and I was right!
3. I got a free pot for my spider plant
Sonia propagated a little spider plant for me last year when I moved in here, and it had definitely outgrown its original pot at this point. It was so, so top-heavy.
I'd messaged a few sellers on Facebook about the pots they were selling, but no one got back to me. Then yesterday, someone posted a bunch of free yard sale leftovers nearby, first come first serve, and I saw some pots in the photos!
I had a minute, so I hopped in my car, drove over, and snagged a few of the plant pots that were there.
I repotted the spider plant in the new pot, and since the new pot has big drainage holes in the bottom, I needed something to protect my furniture.
Luckily, I had kept some small plates (from a Buy Nothing group offer) specifically for this purpose! So, my pot will not be leaking water onto my tables. Sweet.
4. I bought two fans on Facebook Marketplace
I don't know if it's because this house is on the older side, but sometimes I feel like the summer air circulation here is not that good, especially in the bedrooms.
This house has no ceiling fans and obviously, I am not about to purchase ceiling fans for a rental house!
So, I hopped on Facebook Marketplace and I found someone selling two Honeywell tower fans for $30 apiece. These are normally $65 new, so I figured this was a pretty decent price.
I like that this style of fan takes up so little floor space; it's pretty unobtrusive in a bedroom.
Annnnd....I can take them with me when I move out of this house one day (an important fact as a renter!)
5. I...
- strained and saved my oil when I made chicken fingers. It's in the fridge waiting for future use.
- ate lots of random-bits-from-the-fridge meals
- got eggs at Aldi for $1/dozen
- made coffee at home
1. I walked to Dollar Tree, Aldi, and Walgreens. At Dollar Tree I bought two $.50 birthday cards. At Aldi I bought on sale avocados, blackberries, and mushrooms. At Walgreens I picked up Rxs and also bought a small pill holder on clearance ($1.37) that I was able to use FSA funds on.
2. I rebooked a rental car reservation, for an upcoming trip, to save $35.
3. DH was able to "fix" our cordless electric lawnmower by removing debris that was in the "engine" housing. It was driving him crazy and he kept at it until it was functional again. It seems to be a design flaw but with a work around.
4. I cut up a cantaloupe and a watermelon. That's a lot of fruit for not a lot of money. We are also enjoying cherries and peaches this summer, which are not so frugal but healthy eating is overall.
5. I ordered an extra pair of tennis shoes since a certain color of an "old" version was almost 50% off. Not only do I like the blue color but it really doesn't matter the color of the shoes I wear for walking.
That’s a great lamp! Mercury glass is so pretty. Excellent scores on the tower fans, too! We have one that follows us around the house in summer, and it is wonderful.
—My husband bought a giant tub of Greek yogurt for use in one recipe. I was able to use most of the rest in overnight oats, but the last bit spoiled before I could get to it. 🙁
—Sale strawberries tried to spoil ahead of schedule. I went through the remainder of the flat, cutting off what I could, and served the salvaged berries over homemade chocolate whipped cream for a decadent lunch for two.
—Thanks to sales, CVS Extra Bucks, and coupons, I bought $15.77/three full grocery bag’s worth of my husband’s work snacks for 18 cents.
—Habitat Restore to the rescue again! We have a small (6 x 13”) shelf that rests on the back of the toilet for my husband’s assorted shaving gear. However, things never sat straight because the shelf bottom is wire vs. solid. At Habitat, I found the perfect 12” stone tile for 25 cents—no more tipsy shaving gear!
—I volunteered to work on July 4th for time and a half at our town’s little grocery store. I’m normally only there one day a week, but I knew the six hour shift would fly by, and we didn’t have any plans aside from hanging out in our pajamas, anyway. 😛
@N, I forgot my most fun frugal thing: I scored free pants from a coffee shop!
The shop is owned by a friend, so I try to go/show support once a month or so (moderation is key to keep my fancy coffee habit in check). By the register was a clothes rack with assorted items and a big “FREE!” sign; apparently a local second-hand store started bringing their hard-to-sell items. On the rack was a perfect pair of black jeans in my size, for free—or $4.50, if one wants to count the coffee + tip. 😛
@N, Impressive!
@N, the big key to not letting food spoil for me is to freeze things.
@Central Calif. Artist, I do that, too! I cut and froze two hands of ginger recently, they just didn't make the list since I was already running long.
I have several. I also have much gratitude for these posts because it has made me aware of all the things I could, and can do, frugally:
1. I found eggs for 94 cents/dozen and purchased 2 dozen. What a difference from when eggs were so expensive a little while ago!
2. We had a family graduation party this past weekend and I was given a large amount of raw vegetables to take home. I made a marinara sauce for dinner last night using tomatoes, red peppers, and zucchini. Tonight I will make a carrot tahini soup with leftover carrots. The recipes made enough that I will be able to have freezer meals.
3. This weekend, my husband and I biked and kayaked. We've had out bikes and kayaks for years, so the only cost we had was gas to drive to a nearby lake to kayak.
4. I am walking each day with the dog. I am also gardening (lawn mowing, weeding, walking hills). Free workouts!
5. I am borrowing books from my library and reading inspiring stories, both fiction and non-fiction. It's my end-of-night treat (and sometimes break-time treat during the day) to sit and read!
6. We have a mother robin sitting on a nest on our front porch. We have birds at the back feeder and deer walking through and in the yard. Who needs TV when you can watch wildlife?
7. We are attending local outdoor concerts and hearing all sorts of good music.
8. And finally, my mom gave me a coupon for 50% off a vacuum tune-up. Years ago, she gifted me with an expensive vacuum that, hopefully, will last me a lifetime as long as I take care of it. As part of the maintenence, every few years I have it serviced to make sure it is in tip-top shape and it maintains the warranty.
Lots of use-it-up meals around here, for which I'll buy ingredients. Last night's dinner was sausage and twice-baked potatoes. This used sausages, russets, shredded cheese, garlic (not that I have any trouble using garlic), and I bought cottage cheese.
I bought two individual cups of Ben & Jerry's. I did not buy cookies, donut holes (Giant sells a chocolate frosted donut made of donut holes that are Da Bomb), a lot of ice cream, or any of the other junk food I was contemplating. No matter how frustrating the day had been.
I learned that the Container Store will recut your Elfa for free. Very useful when one is moving.
I got 2 chef's knives sharpened for free.
Getting my good rugs cleaned for $10/foot comes out to a shockingly large number, but it's a good idea when you consider how that extends the life of the rugs and when you do it once very 20-40 years.
@WilliamB, PS: It's funny you mention Maria Killiam's dictum because I'll be selling a ton of table lamps. I'll suffer the visual clutter of table lamps only if they're task lighting.
She goes further with it than I would; she travels with lamps in tow! And she keeps a lamp in her kitchen.
I don't think I will ever put a lamp in my kitchen! I just imagine the problem of keeping it clean.
My frugal items are mundane this week. But that is how much of my life is going to be for a while:
1. Library run: found Christy the TV series for me but the kids ended up wanting to watch it with me because the stories interest them. Also found some readers for my newest reader and a couple books for me. And worked through a bad library memory as well. I didn’t even have to pay for parking because handicapped street parking is free!
2. Finished on boarding for a job in the schools. Not great pay given my credentials, but it allows me to be fully present when I’m home and has benefits.
3. Still eating through the freezer. My kids don’t love the meals in there (that Ms why they’re there), so I’m interspersing them with more enticing offerings that do t involve cooking.
4. I’ve been having honest conversations with my kids about finances when they ask to buy stuff. Before being thrown into Single Mom Life, I explained not buying extra/unneeded stuff as a choice to be able to be generous to others. Now it’s a necessity. It has helped all of us: they ask me to play with them in the backyard rather than go somewhere, and they really don’t seem bothered by lack of income, which is really encouraging.
5. Made coffee at home, bartered with the neighbor, bunched errands, asked for referrals to reduce cost of care.
Ohhh, yay for benefits!! Good for you.
So sorry to hear about the bad library memory, but I stand in solidarity with you. I've done that so many times with so many different places. I hope you can pave over the bad memory with some good ones now that you processed the bad one.
@Kaitlin, I'm so sorry you were thrown into Single Mom Life. I know some of how excruciating that is, and will pray for your heart, because I have been thrown into Single Woman Life. Plus, he took the last kid we still had at home and turned him against me.
But it sounds like you're doing a great job of handling things, including and especially teaching your kids some really important values---that will help them throughout their lives!
Well done!!
@Kimberly, I’m sorry that happened to you. I hope you’re able to have a relationship with your child some day.
Oh, I really like those fans. We have a small house and smaller footprint appliances are clutch.
Five Frugal Things, semi-birthday edition:
1. Our youngest turned twelve last week and after mulling over adventure ideas (he likes to go on outdoor adventures), we decided a local canoeing trip down our river would do rather than renting a cabin somewhere, as we've done in other years. DH has has this canoe since before we married, and one of the kids recently repaired one of the seats with some rope, and it's still going strong. Birthday kid wanted his oldest brother to take him out on the boat.
2. I packed a small cooler of homemade snacks and water, even though they were only supposed to be on the river about an hour, because having provisions makes it more fun. And good thing I did, too, because a torrential downpour and a blocked fork in the river meant they had to take shelter under the canoe on land for an extra hour!
3. The other present for his birthday was a new computer; rather than buy one off the shelf, DH opted to build him one, with the help of our oldest, who built his own computer not too long ago. Even with buying parts, it's cheaper to do this than buy an already-made one. And as our oldest says, when you build it yourself, you know more about how to fix it.
4. Birthday kid wanted strawberry keto cheesecake cups for dessert, which are easy and require no baking. Used up the leftover cream in chicken and rice casserole last night, which made me happy.
5. We did splurge on renting Guardians of the Galaxy 3 from Prime, but $20 for six of us to see a new release movie is a bargain compared to going to the movie theaters!
1. I went to an estate sale down the street and they were selling a big tub of fake flowers for $2. I'm not interested in the fake flowers (they have a bit of a smell!) but I was very interested in the nice storage tub for only $2 and got it. I think it will be used to store off-season gear.
2. I went to a baby shower on Sunday and re-used a gift bag from one of my baby showers.
3. I organized, cleaned, and took inventory of my pantry. One pantry win was finding a packet of french onion soup mix that I put with a half-used carton of sour cream to make chip dip for the half bag of chips that was open. Another win was finding all the ingredients for trail mix, which is my favorite snack to keep in the van.
4. I returned some items to Hobby Lobby that we didn't use for my daughter's birthday party.
5. Also from Hobby Lobby - my son's birthday is coming up and we always do piñatas for their birthday parties, but the ones online that matched his party theme were close to $30. However, Hobby Lobby now sells a piñata that says "Happy Birthday" on it and my son was happy with that one. Piñatas at Hobby Lobby are only $10.99, so that's a huge saving.
@Ruth T, your #1 reminds me of giving a gift to a child who only wants to play with the box it came in! Maybe you can sell those fake flowers in your own garage sale some day. . .
I have five lamps in my (not large) living room, because I loathe overhead lights. And yet, I am always battling with my children about turning on the glaring four-bulb overhead fan fixture in the middle of the living room. They claim it's the only way to get enough light in the living room. I disagree, and always turn it off when I'm in there. All this to say, I always approve of more lamps. 🙂
I'm going to have only one frugal thing today, because it's looong . . .
I took my younger children to a going-away party for our neighbors at a pool. The pool is 100 miles away in a small city, so of course I went to the grocery store while I was there. I had never been to the store in this city, so I looked up grocery stores there and one of the places listed was actually a honey store.
My husband had been wanting to get local honey, but nothing like that is easy in New Mexico. No one has web pages or advertising, so unless you know a beekeeper personally, it's hard to find the honey. But! This place had five different kinds of bulk honey, and if you brought your own jar it was cheaper.
The store was so cute, too. It was just the front room of this older lady's house fitted out as a tiny store, with all kinds of beeswax things and bee-related stuff, as well as a Plexiglass display of an actual bee colony. The kids stood on a stool to find the queen while I looked at the honey. The owner has been there thirty years and is just one of those quirky people who does this because she loves it.
Anyway! I got half a gallon of honey for $6 a pound, which is only one dollar per pound more than the bulk honey I had bought online that was definitely not local. So I was very pleased with that, as well as with finding this lovely little store on main street of a city we can get to without too much trouble.
@kristin @ going country - that's cool for so many reasons! Great score on local honey; I'm always keeping my eyes open for it at roadside farm stands around here..
@kristin @ going country,
Wow! I would love to visit that lady's honey store and see the bees working behind the Plexiglas. Not to mention buy the honey and maybe other bee-sy things. What a fun outing that must've been!
I love that you think a city that's 100 miles away is "not too much trouble". lol
@Kristen, We live smack in the middle of an empty area in which all the small cities are within 90-100 miles in different directions. So anything within that radius is reasonable for us. Emphasis on "for us." 🙂
@kristin @ going country, growing up n the So Cal suburbs, my brother had hives on our roof and an observation hive in the upstairs bathroom. It was so cool. We always had a weird variety of “pets,” including bullfrog tadpoles in the bathroom my brother named Exlax. Interesting family;)
FFT, Filthy Lucre Edition. (The first item is a retread from yesterday's FFT at the NCA.)
(1) On my most recent trip to Wegmans, I spotted a large wad of change in the Coinstar machine’s return slot. Although I found when I reached in that it was coated with some kind of oil, I grabbed the filthy lucre nevertheless and wrapped it in several cart-cleaning wipes to get it home. At home, I dumped it into a scratched Pyrex pan I keep for cleaning up ooky messes, and soaked it in dish liquid with some paint thinner thrown in. I ended up with $3.75 in mixed US and Canadian change (recall that local merchants accept Canadian coins up to a quarter at face value, since we’re only about 90 miles from the border), plus a UK 10-p coin.
(2) I continue to eat weeds, most recently in a stir-fry I made last night with the last of the Cornish hen white meat (see Friday's WIS, WIA), some mushrooms, some snow peas, and some No Yolks stir-fry noodles I found at Ollie's last week.
(3) Also, I picked another pint of wild black raspberries from local bushes (the season for these is winding down), and a neighbor who’s gone on vacation has invited me to harvest lettuce from her garden.
(4) I should have mentioned in yesterday's What I'm Into that I found four Celtic and New Age CDs in perfect condition on my most recent visit to a Thrifty Shopper store. (Someone who donates CDs to that store has my exact tastes in music.) I'm particularly enjoying Seamus McGuire's The Wishing Tree (no relation to any of the books with that title, as far as I can tell) from 1995. Music doesn't have to be new to be good.
(5) And Dr. Bestest Neighbor just brought over my signed receipt for donations I made to the antiques/collecctibles auction that benefits the library in the town near the BNs' lake house. The donations were mostly culls from the British royal commemoratives collection, plus some odds and ends of DH's (some toy lead figures, an old radio, etc.). To paraphrase NCA Katy, stuff out of the house, a whomping big tax deduction in!
@A. Marie,
Talking about the filthy lucre reminds me of my cousin Lew. His retirement business was running Laundromats. Interesting trivial fact: when coins get gunky/sticky with detergent or fabric softener residue, they'll mess up the coin box's machinery. My cousin and his wife would have to soak the coins in ammonia before putting them in the change machine, and sometimes he'd have to take apart the coin boxes and change machine and clean up the gears and stuff.
@A. Marie, I love finding good CDs secondhand too and stockpile them in my 10 year old car which has a CD player. Sadly, my mechanic informs me that CD players are not an option anymore, so hopefully this car lasts a long time. Anyway, it's so easy to simply pop a CD into the slot. Effortless joy!
@A. Marie, Got tickled at the "eating the weeds." A locally well known vendor at our city Farmer's Market sells all sorts of greens, purslane, lambsquarter, dandelion and more. I went up to his display and said, "Ohhh, Weeds!!" His indignant reply remains with me to this day. "Those are not weeds but nutritious greens!" Alrighty then. (I still refer to them as weeds.)
@Elaine N, Yes, to finding used cds AND dvds. So much cheaper in my neck of the woods. We always check our local thrift store for these things. And records-- so in vogue now-- are very cheap there, too.
@A. Marie, I also picked up the no yolks for 1.69 each. I couldn't pass them up.
@A. Marie,
My mowers came last week, and there went most of my weeds....
@JD, I'm fortunate that my edible weeds all come up in my garden beds (which are no-go zones for my yard guy), not in the lawn.
@Chrissy, we have such a vendor at our Regional Market. Fine, well-grown specimens he has, too.
Also, your guy is right about the nutritional value. Back in his heyday, Euell Gibbons had some tests done on weeds vs. common garden greens at a university extension office, and the weeds knocked the veggies out of the ballpark.
@Elaine N, I like driving my husband's pickup for that reason. My 27-year-old car has a CD changer in the trunk, and I rarely remember what is back there.
1. Smoked a turkey on July 4th that was in our freezer.
2. Deboned all of the turkey and made some turkey tetrazzini-type meal for dinner one night.
3. Made turkey salad and took sandwiches on a road trip this past weekend. Also took coffee and creamer this weekend and some snacks.
4. Froze the leftover turkey and bones for later use.
5. My husband reduced the amount of coffee that is made each day because there is "too much leftover." I wish I would want a cup in the afternoon for some ice coffee, but I don't always want one. And if I put it in the refrig, it gets wasted there too.
6. Eating all meals at home this week including coffee.
I'm taking my sister to France for her 50th birthday, and a friend is joining us. We're into travel planning at the moment, so some of these are travel related.
1) It's really hard to find hotel rooms that fit 3 people in many places. I spent hours researching options, & finally found one that would fit three (a "family room"), which is two connected smaller rooms. That will work fine. I also discovered that my work had a personal travel discount, so I used that to save $75 more.
2) For our last night in France, I booked us a mini suite that was very inexpensive, near the airport, and sleeps three. It also comes with a free 5 minute tram to the airport. This is perfect, as our return flight is very early.
3) I discovered a fancy place in Nice (where we will be staying for the second half of the trip) that offers a luxe prix fixe lunch meal for a very reasonable amount. It will be our splurge meal.
4) We are also paying for a trip to Las Vegas for my nephew's 21st birthday, with my dad, husband, etc. My dad wanted to treat his brother to his flight (we are a family of experience givers, apparently), & had miles through an airline. Unfortunately, the prices were 2x the cost of another airline. I was able to book him through the cheaper airline, paying with gift cards I'd purchased for grocery store rewards, and because we travel a lot. And then use his miles to book a flight I needed. Win/win.
5) We've been eating freezer leftovers, bringing water on errands to avoid purchases, meal planning, & shopping sales. Travel & sharing that with others is a big part of what we enjoy, so we cut in other places to afford it.
1.I am dog sitting my sister's dog while she is away. When she dropped him off she also dropped off guacamole and tomatoes that would be bad by the time she got home. She also dropped off chocolate ice cream and sprinkles as a thank you.
2.My friend gave me a huge zucchini and I gave her a bag of swiss chard. We share all summer long.
3. We had 2 friend couples over for a BBQ. With shopping sales, I spent less then it would cost for one of us to go out to eat. We had a great time. One friend brought cake and one brought fruit so I didn't have to think about dessert.
4. Eating leftovers from the BBQ. It is hot so who wants to cook.
5. The garden is doing great. My daughter came over and picked another quart of raspberries. I told her to take them home. Swiss chard is out of control. I may have planted too much but I enjoy sharing it. My lettuce is still hanging on. I planted new seeds 2 weeks ago so I have lots of baby lettuces coming up. Trying for no gaps. I picked the first few jalapeno and banana peppers. I am still picking lots of basil. I need to make and freeze another batch of pesto. I picked more parsley and dried it.
You got some bargains this week! I like the lamp, although I'm with you on the shade.
This week includes last week:
1. My makeup brand had a 30% off everything sale over the holiday. I bought a new base, new blush, and two new eyeshadows. This is mineral powder makeup and it's sealed, so it will be fine when I am ready for it. Shipping was free, too.
2. My fountain pump clogged and I couldn't get it unclogged, so I called on the business that installed it. A guy came out and unclogged the water line, which was packed solid with debris, then refused payment.
3. My lunch bag was old and I carried it five days a week. The waterproof lining finally started to tear, so I had to replace it. I (rather nervously) combined sewing tutorials to sew a washable, lined, insulated zip-top bag that will hold all of my stuff and it's a success! I already had the interfacing and insulation from previous projects.
4. For a family member, I printed a cute, free birthday card template with my own message on card stock and used another sheet of stock to cut an envelope. I also used some of those unsolicited return address labels and seals on it.
5. For the price of a little tube of graphite, I freed up the locks on my exterior doors. Those tubes of graphite last a long time, so I will get more use out of this one.
Plus - I just received another Christmas gift I'd ordered on sale. One more down!
I love a good free deal on Facebook!
1. I made baked French toast for my kids' breakfast using frozen bread odds-and-ends. Topped the French toast with local maple syrup I picked up off Buy Nothing recently. I used leftovers to make my lunches for the week (frozen berries, bananas, and yogurt).
2. My husband fixed the cement on our front step for the price of the cement. He also installed outdoor lights, which included installing an outdoor outlet.
3. We have been using our YMCA membership quite a bit lately. We went to a great free event they had this weekend outside (bounce pillow, zip line, etc). I made sure to pack snacks, water, and lunches for the kids.
4. I got my kid's school supply lists already. I saved lots of school supplies from last year, so it looks like I won't have to spend much this year.
5. My son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and he wanted to start medication. The medication is very expensive ($110/month), but I found a manufacturer coupon that will make it free for the first year.
@Corrine, I'm in the Midwest, and we have access to a discount prescription card called GoodRx. It cuts a substantial amount off of med prices. Don't know whether it's a regional thing or what, but wanted you to know about it for next year.
And the pharmacy tech at the window told me about it without my even asking!
@Corrine, re: your son's ADHD diagnosis, I recommend reading anything you can get hold of by Russell A. Barkley. Back in my working days, I was Barkley's copyeditor on several books, and he talks good sense about both medication and cognitive-behavioral approaches to ADHD.
@Kimberly, goodrx is all over the country 🙂
@A. Marie,
How interesting that you were his copywriter! There are many YouTube videos of him speaking that I've found quite helpful (my son has ADHD).
Nice lamp and pots!
The following are repeats from what I posted at The Non-Consumer Advocate - I guess I'm not that frugal to come up with 10 things per week!
1. Husband bought three pairs of like-new shoes at Goodwill – total of $35. First time he’s ever bought anything himself at a thrift store.
2. Made a crustless quiche with all manner of leftover veggies, cheeses, herbs, and milk that I had frozen before it went south.
3. Made a lot of veggie stock and used it for cooking both rice and barley. So flavorful!
4. Since I already had the oven on to bake bread, I piggybacked on that and baked/roasted three additional items.
5. Added water to shampoo bottle to use up every last bit.
The lamp is pretty Kristen! And eggs for $1 at your Aldi made me wonder why my Aldi (California) had them at $1.99!
This week my frugal five are primarily from think ahead grocery shopping as we entertained guests a number of times -
- 1) Used up three bananas that had ripened way to fast in a banana cake, that I then froze to serve two days later- the bananas weren't going to make it until then, so this was my solution. I then defrosted and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting day of event. It was moist and delicious!
- 2) Thought ahead and made homemade ice cream. It takes 30 hours to freeze the ice cream maker, and another 12 hours for the ice cream to firm up (ripen) in freezer afterward, so never something I can do last minute. But always worth the remembering, because homemade ice cream is so delicious!
- 3. Made my various menus and started shopping for ingredients three weeks ahead to get most if not all of my items on sale. Thus managed not to over my grocery budget even as very delicious food was served from my kitchen multiple times. On the list of yummy homemade items I served was bacon-infused cheeseburgers, vanilla ice cream with balsamic infused strawberries, double tomato bruschetta, sweet chicken curry, Thai chicken with lime yogurt & coconut rice, and banana cake with cream cheese frosting.
- 4) Returned a bag.of badly broken pita chips instead of tossing them, and got a different brand as a replacement. Also exchanged a small bag of ,oops, whole allspice, when I intended to purchase whole peppercorns.
- 5) Checked my receipts before leaving each store, and caught errors on several items that were supposed to be on sale. I do not enjoy doing this, but beyond the obvious savings, it really grates on my business major nerves that businesses, primarily supermarkets, think they can get away with this.
Tamara R.
@Tamara R, I know exactly what you mean, my local grocery store which is a chain, has a mistake EVERY time I go there.
The woman at the uscan now just takes my word for the discrepancy. I told her it is not correct but she just shrugges her shoulders.
1. I made applesauce out of all the half eaten apples and pears that my toddler produces.
2. I used my employee discount program to book a hotel and flights to go to Montreal for Mr. B and I.
3. I nabbed some hand-me-downs from my mom, including a matching shirt and top in blue paisley cotton. The outfit is a bit dated, but by wearing the components separately I now have two new work outfits.
4. I asked my supervisor for a work-related book recommendation, and he lent me a book. No need to buy!
5. Speaking of not buying books, I read a LOT of cookbooks through the Libby app. It's a great way to survey the new darling cookbook of the culinary internet without the cost and storage commitment of buying.
@Meira @ meirathebear,
Update: A teenager at work told me she loved my top, so maybe the things I think are out-of-date are actually stylish. Who knows? Anyway, I find that not being too trendy is more frugal, anyway, because while "timeless" style isn't really a thing (I don't wear hoop-skirts, after all,) a person can wear basic styles for a lot longer than something that's really trendy and unusual.
I always feel very good if a teenager compliments me. Heh. So, yay you!
@Meira@meirathebear,
I once went to a seminar where a Washington DC image/fashion expert spoke. She said fads last about 3 years. Year 1, they are very expensive and not real common. Year 2, the price comes down and you start seeing them everywhere. Year 3, they are cheap but are starting to be "old news," and in another year they will be passe. She recommended you only buy faddish accessories that aren't so expensive, realizing they aren't going to be in style forever. I'm thinking "cold shoulder" blouses, that fad has come and gone yet a lot of women still wear theirs due to having paid so much for same.
If your handy dad happens to have an air compressor...bring the fans over and blow them out really well! I did that to our tower fans this spring and WOW was it shocking just how much dust and stuff is inside of them! Yours are not the same as mine, but just an idea! I also blew out our infared heater and dehumidifier, and yowza it looked like it snowed in our backyard, but at least they are all cleaned out now and it was a 5 minute project!
Haha, yes, he definitely does have an air compressor! I need to pay him a visit.
Love the stem of the lamp when it's lit up!
1. My biggest frugal win this week was to notice a scam that was about to happen on my bank account, which was my fault to begin with. I had tried to log in to a parking website while very hungry, sick and tired after being at a doctor's office for hours with a sinus infection. Mistakenly I opened a scam link by the search results and gave my card information to it. Once I had eaten and my brain was working again, I checked my bank account. Sure enough, an unknown website (which I could not navigate to) had charged me a dollar, which is how they check that the card is working before charging more. I immediately called my bank and got the card closed. I downloaded the parking app so now it's all set too.
2. My son was mixing up ingredients in the kitchen for a very messy treat while I was still working. At first I was unhappy and frustrated at the mess and wasting ingredients, but decided instead to make it a teachable moment and scrounged around for baking ingredients in the pantry. I found what I needed for very yummy raisin oatmeal cookies that we baked together.
3. We have also enjoyed free activities of biking and kayaking locally, no fuel needed for either.
4. Made a call out that I'm rejuvenating a flower bed, and received some plants from a neighbor to add to my flower garden, which she needed to divide.
5. Made sure I made some clothing returns before the deadline, and used up some coupons I've been meaning to use before they expire.
One more! We spent two nights at the beach, and enjoyed half of our meals from the local supermarket deli. We always love to visit our favorite restaurants at the beach, but were not prepared when a couple of them were closed. Deli sandwiches and salads came in handy instead.
@Kristina M., well done on number one.
@Anne, made me realize how scams really pray on people who are in vulnerable circumstances, for whatever reason.
You have such good luck with Facebook marketplace. I check our local one and some other locally based free giveaway sites. But I have never managed to get anything because there is so much competition for things. (I live in the top US Market city.) It's discouraging.
I can sometimes get less expensive items on craigslist but still people resell for a lot more than you'd sometimes want to pay and we are not talking about designer goods either.
My favorite site is one where they take pix of items they put out on street. People literally cruise around the city checking the app on the days that you're allowed to put furniture on the street.
Some amazing stuff but you gotta be able to either carry it or transport it. Getting transport in a city where most of us don't have cars (nor could afford to given parking prices), you need somebody in a car to come on demand. So...
Lots of good stuff but hard to get.
Love the lamp you got and what a deal on those fans!
I love the look of a lamp on in the darkness of evening. I will (hopefully) soon be looking for just the right lamp for next to my bed.
*I used up a lot of leftovers/freezer tidbits in creative and not-at-all creative ways.
*We went to a free concert! It was a good one, too--- my daughter's 2nd favorite living musician before the concert (tied for favorite musician after the concert). Not frugal: The concert was between 2 and 3 hours away, and we drove on a toll road to it because we were in a hurry to get there.
*On the way home from the concert, we took a free road.
*I planned ahead and made hummus, cut up veggies and cheese, and slapped together some pb&j's for our supper/snacks. Plus there were some pantry items like crackers to add to the mix. Way cheaper than food truck food.
*We are still working on our garden. So much weeding needs to happen, but when we get to it, we repurpose the weeds by feeding them to the chickens.
*I bought Gatorade on sale at Sav-a-lot, anticipating sitting in hot sun at the concert. We don't normally buy this for many reasons, but the kids thought it was a BIG TREAT.
Had a very large tree branch come down in our last wind storm. It was one the three corner property mark, and had fallen mostly on the back neighbor's property. However, no one is living in the home next door, and the back neighbor is a single Mom and may not have the helpful church connections that I have, so I posted the need. A couple came to help me and with the guy using my new reciprocal saw with pruning blade and his wife and I moving the limbs to street side, we had it done in an hour. Cost me no money, but I gave them a plum cake and he said using the new saw "was fun." The added benefit was spending the time together and showing them my garden and talking pollinator needs.
Have picked some lovely cucumbers and shishito peppers from my garden.
The neighbors to the south are mostly not home, but they have lovely raised beds with produce that I can have. Hope to get some zucchini and whatever else may be available. I can see a picked pile of yellow squash from my kitchen window. Last week, I picked a pint of blackberries there, before the birds did. I drop off baked goods occasionally when they ARE home.
Painted my own toenails since it is sandal season.
Used up past due bananas for banana nut tea loaves for a baby shower.
Continue to fix my own chai latte from concentrate rather than buy it from the coffee shop. Drove thru for a meal only once this week. Being single and not wanting to cook most of the time makes meal/hungry times rather interesting.
I have a lamp with that faux-mercury finish...I love that it matches the decor in several rooms, so I can keep moving it around and re-using it.
1. My son and I ran to Kroger to pick up some produce but scored a few boxes of cereal for $0.50 and $1.28 each. Plus they were giving away chocolate milk from a loss-leader sale last week, so we picked up a few half-gallons. He was beyond thrilled!
2. Ate through the leftovers from two family picnics. It made quite a few lunches and even a thrown together dinner.
3. My son’s allergy meds were on clearance at CVS. When combined with the $4 rebate from Ibotta it was $2 for the box…normally $22.
4. Bought some buns on clearance after the 4th of July and used our bounty of chicken eggs to make french toast casserole…an altered version of the recipe from Pioneer Woman. Less sugar, more cinnamon and eggs.
5. Sold a Starbucks cup my husband got for free on eBay, sold two new Razor scooters on FB we received as duplicated gifts, ate A LOT of salad from the garden, continued enjoying Harry Potter with the kids on Hoopla (makes driving around enjoyable!) and cut the sunflowers the birds “planted” under my birdf eeder to enjoy inside.
@Carrie, Perhaps not seasonally, I note that chocolate milk makes excellent hot chocolate. I just heat it in the microwave. Good with ice cream in it, or whipped cream, or marshmallows, or sprinkles....
Frugal Five
1. I am doing a money diet this month and 11 days in, I'm doing OK. Haven't gone into a thrift store since the beginning of the month and have 6 days of no spending so far.
2. Traded in some books at two different Little Free Libraries. One was by my dentist in a town I don't get to very often, so I thought I would look. Found some interesting looking books.
3. Brought our own food to the dirt bike track. This was the first time after knee surgery for the boyfriend to be on the bike. He took it easy, but still had fun. We packed food and drinks and weren't tempted to stop at the gas station for munchies.
4. Stuck to my grocery list in the store. Did not buy munchies, but did buy lettuce and celery that weren't on the list, but I'm not upset by that "splurge."
5. Made a list of what food we have in the house to meal plan with. Some things really need to be used up - but I also bought the supplies to try Kristen's Hibatchi stir fry. It sounds so yummy!
1. My husband scored beautiful reclaimed wood for free from Facebook Marketplace. This will be used to cover the front of our large kitchen island and I could not be more excited about it. We will have some leftover for another project but are still brainstorming as to exactly what that will be.
2. I used a ton of fresh garden produce to make a large pot of homemade minestrone. The soup was absolutely delicious, satisfying and low in calories. At this time of year, I am all about using all of the produce that our gardens are giving us.
3. I cut flowers from my yard to have in the house instead of buying them.
4. I took advantage of some sales on meat at Publix to stock my freezer with chicken thighs, ground chicken, & chuck roast.
5. I planned meals and cooked at home. I prepped fruit and veggies for the week ahead. I used some zucchini from our garden plus whole wheat flour that needed to be used to make a double batch of bread. I shared two loaves with a neighbor and kept two at home. I took all my veggie scraps to a neighbors hens. He gives me eggs sometimes so I figure I better bring the girls some treats 🙂
Made homemade tortillas with a leftover sweet potato.
Made tea with mint from the yard
Line dried our clothes on some warm sunny days.
Stopped at the further away cheaper grocery store after work while on that side of town and picked up a bunch of clearance chicken and produce.
Made sourdough bread and then discard waffles. Froze a bunch of leftovers for future breakfasts.
@Becca C, how does one make tortillas using sweet potatoes? Do tell!
1. I am not buying prime day deals. It is hard this year because I have a baby coming in 3 months (which is exciting and terrifying) and I noticed that some of the things on my registry are marked down . . . but we have baby showers coming up and there will likely be another Prime Day between now and when the baby needs a new car seat/toddler clothes etc.
2. I turned leftovers into lunch.
3. We left the house at 5 am with home brewed coffee for our road trip. (Home brew is always better than Starbucks anyway.)
4. We rented a movie from the library for free.
5. I found a bunch of Trollope novels for free on audible and decided to finally give one a try. Turns out I love Anthony Trollope and now have a bunch of free audio books to look forward to this summer.
@Rebekah in SoCal, Definitely wait for the baby showers. Babies need so very little when they are so very little. No matter how cute the outfit, they grow out of it right away.
1. I took cuttings of coleus to continue to fill out areas of my shade garden. With daily water, they will catch up!
2. Packed lunches and made coffee at home.
3. Shopped sale meat and stocked the freezer. Future me will be happy.
4. Put books on hold at library.
5. Made arugula pesto for sandwich spread and dip. It goes to seed easily, so this was a time sensitive one. While harvesting, I found two more garlic scapes. Yummm
6. Enjoyed my garden views. Always.
****bring back tuxedo cat Shelly pics, please!******
@JDS, I do believe that's a framed picture of Shelly The Tuxedo Cat on the side table with the "new" free lamp. I have a lot of pictures of my current and former pets but, I have to admit, I've never framed one.
This year I am making all of my greeting cards at home using free graphic software @ https://www.greetingsisland.com/ along with a $2 ream of card stock. So far I've made 25 cards. Sometimes I use bamboo skewers to attach to a gift or plant instead of making an envelope.
We have made all of our meals at home, plus invited neighbors everyday for treats and drinks under the apple tree (our outdoor living room).
I mowed one field so far using my little kubota w/a 54" mower vs hiring it done for a savings of $700. I am currently trying to sell a wheelchair van and my dad's ancient tractor for a tractor with quick attachments. The brush hog mower deck is damaged and costs more to fix than scrap. I offered it to the high school ag shop to use as a learning tool and they will pick it up in a month or so.
I picked our sour cherry trees to pit and freeze enough for pies and desserts and I will dehydrate a 5 gallon bucket for cookies and granola.
I picked up a homemade wooden frame system for one of my raised beds. This will enable a longer growing season. The cover cost $15. This gives me 128 sq ft of late season growing (cabbage, broccoli, kale, chard, romaine and zucchini). Also in the garden I harvested the garlic and it is now curing in the greenhouse.
I harvested the lavender blooms, I will sell half and keep half.
I picked up a free outdoor rug that had rust spots on it, I scrubbed it with oxyclean and barkeepers friend and gently power washed it and it came clean. It is now on the back patio with my dining table and chairs.
I had a very frugal week!
I keep several reusable shopping bags in our deep freezer to help organize different types of meats. One of the handles on one of the bags broke so I brought out my sewing kit and sewed the handle back on. The bag is at least 12 years old and other than the handle it is still going strong!
The latch on the sunglasses holder in my car broke back in April while we were on a road trip. I taped it in place with some painter’s tape that we happened to have on hand and promptly forgot about it. I received a letter from the car company that our warranty was coming to an end and my husband reminded me to take the car in to get the repair done while we could still get it done for free. I made an appointment and was in and out of the dealership within an hour.
Our neighborhood rarely has free piles since we don’t get much traffic but one of my neighbors put out a few items this week. She put out some beautiful blue flowerpots which I promptly scooped up when I saw them on my way home from a daily walk.
I had rotisserie chicken on my shopping list this week. I spotted one with a $2 coupon on it so of course that was the one that went into my cart. As soon as I got home, I broke the chicken down, portioned out the meat and put it into the freezer for later use, and put the bones in my scrap stock bag in the freezer.
The previous owners of our home planted a small raspberry patch in the backyard. I clean out the dead stalks in the fall, but otherwise I leave the patch alone except for two to three weeks each July when I harvest the raspberries. This weekend I spent an hour in the patch slowly poking my way through and came out with four pounds of berries. I’ll be going back a couple more times over the next few days. My husband has requested jam and my coworkers have requested breakfast bars.
I booked 3 hotel nights for free using points. I made sure to find hotels that had free breakfast included.
My neighbor brought us a dozen free hen/duck eggs and some homemade juice. In exchange, my husband mowed their front yard because their mower is broken right now.
I used an app coupon and rewards points to save $20 off a $60 purchase at Hannaford, our local grocery store. I wait to get these coupons about every 6 weeks, and then stock up on sale meats.
I picked up a few items at a yard sale (that was for charity). I wanted a sewing machine and some dishes for our cabin ($35) but bought some other items to flip on ebay. My goal is to make back the cost. I spent $52 total, and as of right now, I have netted $30 on ebay. I think I'll be able to make $22 more.
I picked our first produce from the garden: lettuce. It has been soooo cold and rainy, and the garden in way behind, so I am happy to finally get something to eat!
Fluff fruit dip can also be made with sour cream or yogurt. Great for finishing off bits and pieces.
I love my local Buy Nothing group! I was able to gift some canning lids and rings to a member who is just starting canning. I've stocked up since the shortage in 2020, so I had some to spare. The group has been very good to me, so it felt wonderful to be able to help someone else.
1. We had a 4-6 hour (I wasn't keeping track) brownout and saved money on electricity even if it wasn't by choice. My husband and I made the best of it by lighting the scrap wax candles I make for this purpose and chatted on the front porch until it was too dark to stay outside. Unexpected but kinda nice actually.
2. I went to a few festivals for fun, networked, and have some new side hustle performance opportunities in future. With some luck my side hustle may become more of a side business.
3. I researched, comparison shopped, let those ideas marinate a bit before I bought some needed camping equipment during Fourth of July and Amazon Prime sales. I tried looking for a few of those items used but they were listed for the same price as new and some of sales made buying new cheaper, so new it is.
4. Put a new lining from an old sheet into an insulated tote bag I use for groceries and repaired the hem in a laundry hamper and pair of sleep shorts. I also made and saved a machine embroidery project that didn't quite work with how I intended to use it. I'll make it into a patch for my painting/messy project clothes when needed.
5. I checked out and downloaded an audio book to my phone to listen to on a road trip with my husband. The price was right because we ended up chatting all of the way there and back and didn't listen to it on the trip
Love the lamp!
1-Got a free Pepsi from the Sheetz app for my birthday.
2-Volunteered in a kitchen at a camp and got a free bag of leftover salad.
3- Got a few things my mom needs at a thrift store...a hand blender for $3!
4-Scored some cheap paper towels at CVS on clearance+coupon.
5-Got to do a summer teacher workday from home so both the commute time and gas were saved, since I live about 1/2 hour from my job.
Your spider plant saga reminds me that I have 8 little spider plants awaiting potting and the huge mama spider plant waiting for a larger pot in which to be transplanted. Gotta get moving on that!
You really did get a good deal on the fans.
My husband and I went out of state to a family memorial service. For some reason, I forgot to pack a wrap in case the hotel or service location was chilly from air conditioning. So we dashed to a Walmart and found a classic denim jacket for me for $7 on a clearance rack. I’ll get lots of wear out of it. I know free would have been a better deal but I’m happy with the $7. We haven’t traveled for a few years but this was a family event and it was such a rich time catching up with so many of my husband’s relatives. You can’t put a price on that!
Our son is easing out of skateboarding and starting into golfing. He now uses his dad’s clubs ( my husband hasn’t used them in 30 years) and found some polo shirts at Goodwill. I don’t know why he needs polo shirts for golfing but then, I don’t golf so I don’t know…
I’m just glad he’s trying to be frugal to start out with the golfing.
I found some items on my grocery list at the back of the store on a clearance shelf. I’m happy with the lower prices.
Loaded some ebooks in my Kindle for .99.
I “shopped” my closet again for a few upcoming events.
I mended some hand towels that were fraying. And believe it or not, I’m still keeping up with mending/patching 2 bath towels that we received as a wedding gift almost 30 years ago! At some point, I’ll allow them to “give up the ghost” and become rags but for now, they still have a life and a purpose and they offer beautiful memories of our marriage and of the friend who gifted them to us.
@Martha, sometimes the golf courses make the players wear a "shirt with a collar" so polos would work. They are trying to get away from the players golfing in T-shirts.
I'm a great landlord and would happily install ceiling fans via an electrician. No reason not to ask/split the cost if needed. I just got rid of a working ceiling fan because I'm not there and handyman accidentally replaced the wrong one.
Won't you stay there during nursing school? Overhead fans are amazing.
@April and Kristen,
Our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore has all kinds of ceiling fans and parts, such as fan blades and light kits and motors, for sale cheap. Guess where I got ceiling fans for all 3 of my bedrooms? And they work great! So if the landlord will install and split the cost, you might check out secondhand places such as Habitat ReStores. Another good hack: get an old "buzz fan" (tabletop electric fan) and put it on a high shelf or tall piece of furniture. My dad did this with an old buzz fan but he fastened the base to the wall of his workshop and turned it so it'd blow air around his workbench area. When it finally died, he got a box fan and just hung it from the ceiling by its handle.
1. We are getting to the very bottom of the chest freezer that we need to clear out, so this week we are eating lots of pesto based meals, lots of rhubarb/applesauce, and what I hope to be the final geoduck in my life. If nothing else, the geoduck has taught me that it is not a sin to turn down free food if you don't love the taste or what a pain they are to chop into submission.
2. The estimate for repainting the garage door and the front door was far beyond my wildest imaginings so husband is doing it. Once he decided it did not all have to be done in one day, it felt doable. It does have to be done because the bare wood is starting to show so soon the integrity of the wood will be compromised.
3. Husband transferred all the CDs we have onto the computer and his cell phone so I offered them for sale at a friend's garage sale. They all went and now I have an extra $67 for the Last Hurrah trip.
4. Someone left a box of empty glass milk bottles from our sole local dairy next to a dumpster at our transfer site. I knew that they were worth $3 each so I snatched them up and made $27 by returning them to the store.
5. I dropped a bolt of flannel cloth at the exchange table of the transfer site. It is where people drop off usable stuff and you come and take what you want. While doing that, I found a rose bush in a container. Two men scavenging there were kind enough to lift it into the back of the pickup. I took it home, repotted it, and already I see buds forming. It just needed some TLC. Come winter, I will wheel the pot indoors, cut back the bush severely, cover it with a paper bag to keep out light, and it should come back to life in the spring. Left in the ground, roses die so they have to be babied for the winter. New the bushes are $40, so I am happy to save this one.
@Lindsey, I've always wondered what geoduck would taste like. Now I know. Thanks for the warning. 🙂
That's a super cute lamp, I really like the look of mercury glass.
Thank God you have Chiquita to inspect your new tower fans for safety and function. What would we do without cats?? Haha
Right? Her credentials are stellar.
Oh, boy! I wrote out my 5FTs before going to work this morning, and then my arm hit the wrong key and I deleted it all. I can't find my post, or any portion thereof, on this thread, so I will list them again. If you found my earlier post and think I've gone batty bc I'm repeating myself, that's why.
Kristina, I recommend you take measurements of the lampshade and either put it on your phone or write 'em down and keep the measurements with you. Next time you're at a garage sale, thrift store, or other place that has cheap or free lampshades, you may find one that not only fits but is more to your liking
Here are my five:
1. Worked the 4th of July. Not only did I get a longer shift than usual, but it allowed me to keep my home AC (air conditioner) up at 82, and enjoy the nice cool AC inside the store. Some customers were saying they felt sorry for me. I told them not to, as I am getting paid, enjoying the AC, and getting to see all the nice people who shop there. Also, the store closed early, so I was off by 6 p.m. -- plenty of time for evening activities.
2. You've heard of "sunshine patriots"? Consider me an air-conditioning patriot. Which I consider a frugal win. I got off work on July 4, went home and set the AC back down. ("Down," in my case, means 78 to 80 degrees F., supplemented by a ceiling fan. Cool and cheap!) But I did not drive all the way to the river, where our city was putting on its July 4 celebration; I did not have to park a mile away and walk in the heat; I did not buy any of the (overpriced) refreshments, food truck meals or souvenirs; I did not have to fight the crowds. Instead, I sat in front of the TV, watched the fireworks show on the local station and ate ice cream in air conditioned comfort.
3. Checked for possible scams: My "new" (used) car was purchased along with the remainder of its 10-year warranty. But I started getting mail that said I needed to pay $X for warranty and repair coverage. Very confusing ! Took the mailings to the dealership and asked about it. Turns out it is not from the car manufacturer or dealership; I should not pay, as I've already bought the warranty coverage from them. That's good to know, as I was wondering whether to write another check. Also got some insurance papers that didn't look right, so I took them to the agent to ensure they weren't from scammers. This was actually legit, but I'm glad I checked -- I was about to throw it away.
4. Patronized charitable agencies. Found some Revlon makeup for $1 a bottle instead of $7 or $8 at one thrift store. Also went to a greenhouse/plant nursery that supports a local mission. I bought a heavy sack of compost for $5 and found out that if I bring a 5 gal. bucket, they'll give me a 50-cent discount next time. They said their compost is super potent, so I should only use a ratio of one measure of compost to 9 measures of soil.
5. Hired some good ol' boys to do yardwork, heavy work that I can no longer perform. When my tenant moved out and left behind a brand-new heavy extension cord (an outdoor one designed for tools and such), I bargained with the yard men .... got a $20 discount for giving them said cord...and also let 'em have the larger wood from the oak they are cutting down. They sell the latter, cut into logs, at their wood lot come wintertime. I get a discount and don't have to pay the city to haul it off; they get "merchandise" -- a win-win for sure.
That was a VERY good deal for those fans! Our first one easily lasted 7 years and I have since bought two more of that kind and my Mom bought another. I bought my first one in 2020 and it is still going strong. I have since bought a few more as the circulation in my home isn't great and this allows me to keep the AC set on about 80/81 unless the house has gotten humid. I don't mind wearing shorts and a tank top, but humidity? Dealbreaker. Since I've done a strategic fan placement, I have only had to turn the AC down once. I began using them in mid-June and my May/June bill was 69.00. Last May/June it was 105. I am interested to see what it will be next month.
That's a lot of excellent Facebook finds! I live in a rural area so finds like that are harder to find locally here, but I'll often check the classifieds by my mom's house to take advantage of the larger population up there. I'll be doing that soon to find a bookcase for our kids room!
Here are my weekly frugal wins for the last week, including us taking advantage of some state-offered services for our newborn daughter, who we found out at birth has Down syndrome:
https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2023/07/11/weekly-frugal-wins-at-home-therapy/
1. Picked up some on sale toiletries at Walgreens for the food pantry in my town. People need to shave & shower. Also got some on sale ($1.99) Walgreens brand cereal and 2 General Mills cereals for the pantry.
2. Keep on conserving electricity. Follow hubby around the house turning off lights. We purchased a new fridge as the one we have is 19 years old and I'm sure not as energy efficient as the new one will be. Plus we can turn in the old one to our electric utility and get a $50 check.
3. Necessary but I wish it wasn't. Had two stents put into my heart arteries. Overnight stay at the hospital and got a free prescription of blood thinners from their pharmacy. I will not pay anything out of pocket cause I've met my deductible. I took a pair of slipper socks, rest of the box of tissues and I received 4 band aids for my incision. The turkey sandwich they gave me was gross so hubby got me a turkey and cheddar cheese wrap from the healthy food vending machine in the lobby. It had cut up apple in it and it was delicious!
4. Got dh and myself on Mint Mobil so we each pay $15/month or $30/month. Waaay better than the $140 I was paying on Verizon for 2 lines. When I called Verizon to see if I was in a contract even the rep told me I was paying too much. She offered a couple of other options but none of them were as cheap as Mint. Hubby likes the service so that says alot.
5. Hubby retired on June 30th and spent his last week at work with a wicked cold - not covid as he tested twice - and then the next week. He had a scheduled doctor appointment and the doctor did another Covid test - negative - and gave him a script for not exactly good cough pills. He went for a chest xray today. He's feeling better but he has that horrible cough.
6. While it's great that hubby retired early and he got a good package to retire early he had to give up a couple of free things. His iPhone, phone plan and his company car and the gas credit card it came with. We are sharing my car now and it's working out so far.
I feel so bad for your black cat who seems to be MIA these days after appearing in every post. I know you’re acclimating the kitties to each other but Chiquita is getting all the limelight. Please update us on your other cutie!
You’ve had some good scores of late!
My 4 because I can’t think of 5!
1. Taking advantage of the health insurance we pay for with some needed Dr appts/medical tests. Much cheaper to catch things early!
2. Leaning in to some new recipes. I made cilantro lime chicken tacos that are topped with slaw and were so good!
3. Generally avoiding the prime days buying frenzy.
4. Library library library!
I was just in a consignment store and saw the exact same lamp for $118.
1. Packed lunch for work!
2. Rearranged schedules so I can work from home 3 out of 4 days, saving time and money commuting.
3. Testing out a different setting on our HVAC system to see if it will save on our energy costs.
4. Stopping to pick up fresh fruit on the way home from a road trip - the area I was driving through has a lot of farms so the prices are significantly less than at home.
5. Still wearing my old sneakers and waiting for a deal on new ones.
Pretty lamp
1. Stopped at Goodwill for a wardrobe refresh. Got 4 tops for $20. Got 10% off each item because I get their news letter.
2. My SIL took my hubby and I out for dinner last night. Had a delightful dinner with wine! This was a payback for an appointment we drove her too.
3. Our local jeweler had an anniversary celebration where they gave out fragrance reeds to all their customers. I fell in love with the fragrance and went back into their store to find out where they purchased it so I could refill my bottle. They told me it was custom made for them but if I brought my bottle in, they’d refill it for free! And they did!
4. Going to Carrabas for their Happy Hour. 9 Oz pours for 6oz price and $7 apps. That’s dinner on the cheap!
5. And my SIL’s generosity continues. She was going to throw out a floor lamp because it had a wobble. My hubby offered to fix it for her but she declined. We now have a new sitting area with a new to us floor lamp!
1. My daughter's fiance got my generator running for me. To thank them I took them for dinner.
2. I helped my mother stain her fence. To thank me she fed me pizza.
3. I used a $10 coupon to buy dog food.
4. I realized my daughter's and my absentee ballot applications required no postage. I was able to peel the stamp off.
5. Best Western offered me a $50 gift card if I signed up for their rewards program. I'll use it this fall for a color tour.
I have the exact same lamp! I bought it from home goods probably 11 years ago.
Chiquita is such a cutie.
Let's see if I can dig up FFT for this week.
1 - redeemed points for mineral foundation/sunscreen
2 - took advantage of two gas offers; one was spend $10 and get $5 back in points, the other at a different station was get 1 Air Mile for every litre of gas purchased, yesterday only. I also used my standing 3 cents per litre discount there
3 - did not have any take out food at all last week
4 - after taking the car to the dealership for a recall, I left there with a long list of "suggested" work to be done. I believed that the brakes probably did need to be done so took the car to a family owned garage in the neighbourhood and had the brakes done for more than $200 less than the dealership had quoted. The vast majority of the rest of the list didn't need to be done. I changed the cabin air filter myself where the dealership had quoted $72. Insanity!!
5 - used a gift card to buy pants (undecided if I'm keeping them)
1. I waited until my local paint store had a sale before buying paint for my son's room. I also had all the other supplies on hand, so just paint.
2. I combined errands, which is extra helpful since all the streets I use frequently are under construction. It's very frustrating.
3. My husband did part one of fixing the water getting into the basement issue. We got half an inch today and the basement was totally fine.
4. My husband and oldest son put in pavers for a fire pit area.
5. We made our meals at home, made coffee at home, combined online orders to save on shipping.
6. Today a coupon came for a discounted photo book, so I can order the one I made. I have been waiting about 6 months for this.
Let's see if I can come up with five. This is the impromptu summer vacation edition.
1. Packed food with us when we visited my mother-in-law, so we were not tempted to buy food on the drive there or back.
2. Took our cats with us on the trip instead of boarding them. They traveled surprisingly well, and I was more relaxed not worrying about them.
3. Bought food at Aldi near my mother-in-law's house, but bought only the amount we would eat-used the one bag on my shoulder instead of a cart trick.
4. Chose relatively inexpensive things to do while visiting: playgrounds, walking the boardwalk, hanging out with cousins. We did do a couple of pricier experiences: an aquarium and a dinner out, but we made sure to choose activities we would definitely enjoy.
5. Came home and figured out pantry meals instead of caving to the siren song of take out before I can get to the grocery store.
Bonus: made a list for what I need to get at Aldi (where else?) tomorrow and waited a whole day to hit the grocery store so I will hopefully be fully recovered from traveling when I go.
Wow, I'm amazed you managed to skip takeout after coming home. That's a classic time for me to cave!
Lots of frugality lately....
Used clementines, sweet potatoes, and squash starting to go bad. I did throw away some food that went bad before I got to it. We had some trips and I didn't get everything used up in time.
-I earned a $22 Amazon credit from insurance rewards, for taking lots of walks. I splurged and spent it on 80 ct box of K cups
-We had some mechanical work on car but it was free under warranty
-Freebie coupons used: CFA brownie, 24 pack popcorn, McD cheeseburger, bag of SunChips
-Went to Bed Bath Beyond (which is closing!) and found some nicer hair and skincare products 50% off
-My teen boys replaced two bike inner tubes that had popped. A bit time consuming but frugal.
-We've been going to the neighborhood pool with friends instead of paying for a special local waterpark.
-Fixed an old chair that needed its furniture webbing redone. Borrowed a stapler from a friend and fixed it with some Amazon webbing.
-Went to an expense outdoor symphony for the 4th for free because my son was part of the scout fundraising team.
Super impressed with the chair fix!
1. Drove to Oregon in one day (13 hours) because I had a good (library) audio book, long daylight and good energy so didn’t waste money on a motel.
2. Made it 9 hours on the first leg on the way home and got to stay over at a dear friend’s house.
3. Scored a great find at an estate sale on the second day, when everything was half price.
4. Looked up LLBean tees on @Elaine N.’s recommendation, didn’t find a color that I need, so saved $30.
5. Sold a pair of Crocs (impulse eBay buy) on eBay–I sold them for what I paid, but it was a mixed bag with the high cost to send them. (I almost always pay the shipping because I want to get rid of stuff more than make money.)
1. I did indulge in Prime day however, I purchased only the things that had been on my "wish list" while I patiently waited for sales. This included things for my Europe trip such as power adapters and an anti-theft purse, as well as Powerstep insoles (which seem to go up $10 per year!), a pair of work shoes and a replacement scraper paddle for my Kitchenaid.
2. We ate leftovers instead of going out.
3. We open windows every night to cool the house instead of turning on the AC (except when the smoke was bad one night)
4. As always, "clipped" coupons in my Fred Meyer app before shopping.
5. "Buy" free book downloads from BookBub and reserve everything new from my local library.
6. Pack my dinner for work, and add cold brew concentrate to my Fairlife chocolate protein shake or Slimfast shake as my "breakfast" for on the way to work (#nightshift), avoiding the cafeteria or cafe at work.
7. Making timely returns of an item from Amazon (under $7 but it's $7!), as well as a pair of Tevas to Zappos that weren't as comfortable as I had hoped, rather than keeping them and hoping they'd get better.
1) We have a 7-11 across from our house, and they've been running their 7-11 day free slurpie deal for two weeks. We have gotten so many free slurpies.
2) Last week at the architectural salvage shop I found eight window sashes to replace the eight window sashes that were removed from our house to make way for replacement windows. They are almost an exact match and they were . . . drumroll please . . . $15 each.
3) I really didn't want to make dinner last night. I really wanted to get takeout. But then I found enough leftovers and other things to pull it together with food we had.
4) My husband's chuck taylors were falling apart. He looked at several different places (dpop, poshmark, Amazon) and compared prices, and finally decided he would get the best price for what he wanted from the Converse website.
5) I had to make a run to Target for soap and shampoo. (Target seems to have better prices than other places for these basics.) While I was there I scanned the clearance rack for clothes for our daughter, and found a handful of new things at Goodwill prices. And she needed a couple extra summer shorts and shirts; she tends to lose clothes and stain them even faster than the boys. I bought nothing that wasn't on my list before I went.
Post-travel edition:
1. We asked our friends to watch our dog while we were away on vacation. Their kids loved him and we had peace of mind that he was being well-cared for while we were gone. We bought them some nice, consumable/practical gifts from Canada as a thank you when we got back.
2. One of the attractions we visited had a special family rate where kids (under 15) were free during the first 2 hours of operation. We took advantage and saved over $50 in ticket fees. Plus there were shorter lines and fewer people to deal with during our visit.
3. We took advantage of having a kitchen or fridge in all the places we stayed and bought groceries for breakfast and picnic lunches for most days. I packed reuseable grocery bags with me to carry the groceries in since they charge you for using plastic bags in Canada.
4. I used points to book our return flight, one night in a hotel and to partially cover the rental car charges. This saved over $1500.
5. On 7/11, took advantage of free slurpees at 7-Eleven with my son and we also picked up 2 free 6" deli heroes subs from Subway for another promo.
1. DH was able to return a small item for me while running another errand on the other side of town.
2. Received a payment of $3.57 for an ATM surcharge class action settlement I don’t recall signing up for.
3. Continue to use up frozen sour milk when making waffles, which have hit the spot several times around here recently.
4. Picked up a free card at Hallmark when I was in the area (well, I did pay 16 cents in tax but basically free).
5. Vacationing with the in-laws is never cheap, and we are always pressured into doing expensive things because “we’re all together.” Fortunately, we held firm and did not spend $160 on an amusement park because we could make a case that it didn’t make any sense for us to go with a baby still who needs two naps. Unfortunately, we were pressured into spending $250+gas+taxes for an all-day pontoon rental. We will probably go for a couple hours (then bring the baby home to nap), even though neither of us thinks it’s a great use of money. I really dislike subsidizing everyone else’s expensive tastes– and we actually make more money than anyone else in the family! We just live frugally and they do not.
- been watching videos to learn how to make elevated coffees at home, shaken espresso, iced latte & hot lattes with special flavors.
- walked 2.5 miles to pickup a bag of 100 washi tapes & planner stickers. I have 10-15 penpals and adding decoration on envelopes & letters is fun when I’m able.
-am doing a 3 month trial period of Amazon reading
- went through my books to make swaps at the little library near us, it has cookbooks!
- have been collecting bottles & cans when I walk daily to bring to the redemption center for $ back. Each week I set a goal and try to beat the last week’s in my collection