Five Frugal Things | a gem of pate
1. I got some free cat food for Chiquita
Safeway had an offer for a free pack of fancy pate, and since Chiquita is not picky about her pate, I knew she would happily accept this.
In the future, I will not be buying these overpriced "gems" of pate, but I was not above taking a freebie. 😉
2. I canceled my New Mexico trip
I had originally planned to visit Albuquerque for a few days later this week (to work on my plan to visit all fifty states), but with the news of flights getting canceled, plus the concerns about air traffic control staffing, I decided to preemptively cancel.
My flight was purchased through Southwest, so it was a very easy process to cancel, and I just accepted travel vouchers to use for a future flight.
Also: when June Kristen booked these flights, she had no idea November Kristen would be dealing with the horrors of the Worst BSN Class Ever.
November Kristen is actually quite relieved to have some days at home to catch up on homework!
Because I've been so busy, I hadn't even booked lodging or a car rental. And the upside of that is: I didn't have to cancel either of those. All that had been purchased was my flight.
I dunno if this is quite a frugal thing, since I do still plan to take a New Mexico trip at some point in the future. But for the moment, I will not be spending the money on the trip.
I will stay home, eat food from my kitchen, and do my homework!
3. I bought only two things at Aldi
After my dentist appointment yesterday, I stopped in at Aldi because I needed chicken and rice. I almost picked up some fresh produce, but then I reminded myself that I have produce at home that needs to be eaten.
So, I stuck to my tiny list, and then came home and cut up/prepped my already-purchased produce for our dinner and for my work lunch.
This saved me money at the store, but also pushed me to use up what is already in my fridge, so it's a double win.
Throwing produce away is equivalent to throwing dollar bills in the trash can; we just don't always see it that way!
4. I transferred more money to my CIT account
I've mentioned before that I opened a bank account with Chase to get an account-opening bonus. One of the requirements was direct deposit for several months, so I set up my nurse paychecks to go there.
But of course, that account doesn't pay nearly what my CIT account does! So, every month, I let the money direct deposit in the new account and then I move it to my savings account, where it can earn me some decent interest.
I'm making my nurse paychecks work for me. 😉
(The CIT links above are affiliate links because I wholeheartedly love my CIT account and I feel good promoting them. So...required stuff from CIT: For a complete list of account details and fees, see our Personal Account disclosures.)
5. I did not buy a Starbucks bear cup (ha!)
Have you seen the $30 Starbucks bear cup that is the hottest thing right now??
It's just a glass bear beverage container with a straw, and for some odd reason, it has gone viral.
So people are now selling them for $300 online, and apparently buyers are paying that price. The screenshot below is of completed listings:
This is so nuts to me! It is just a bear-shaped glass cup. I'm sure you can buy any number of other cute bear-shaped beverage holders anywhere else for far less than $300.
(Oh, haha, I just googled and yes, there are copycat versions available for under $20.)
I'm gonna just keep using the beverage containers I already own.
I will say...if I happened to have one of those cups right now, I would 100% sell it online and pocket the $300. 😉
Our cats would deliberately not eat free 'gems' of catfood. They would also suddenly stop liking a brand as soon as my parents bought it on sale...!
That's crazy about the bear glass! It's cute but not as cute as that much money!
My frugals:
1. I did the parkrun this weekend which is free
2. I made hamburger buns and sauce with ingredients I had on hand.
3. I cancelled some subscriptions.
4. I finally finished reading Vanity Fair which I borrowed from the library and remembered to renew!
5. I baked some cookies.
@Sophie in Denmark,
Vanity Fair is a great novel! I read four or five of his novels. He may not be consistently great, but there are sufficient gems sprinkled on his (many) pages to enjoy his books. Becky is indomitable!
@Sophie in Denmark, my cat has absolutely loved those fancy gems, which I got with a coupon and a sale combined. She is not a picky eater and will happily go back to eating the ordinary canned food.
@JNL, Love Becky Sharp! She was the best part of the book!
1. Gave away a floor protector, watering can and two curtain rods on Buy Nothing.
2. Received protein bars, shortbread cookies, canned pumpkin, peanut butter powder, peanut butter pretzels and two loaves of whole wheat bread from Buy Nothing. Waited until no one else wanted these groceries before indicating my interest; I think the PB powder (opened), the unusual matcha and black sesame shortbread cookies and past expiration dates may have turned some people off.
3. Bought a paintbrush at Habitat Restore and used my 10% off donation coupon.
4. Used the paintbrush to repaint the downstairs bathroom using free high-quality paint from our county's Reuse Room. The previous paint had a high sheen that showed every flaw in the drywall; the new paint is a matte finish and looks so much better.
5. Had the opportunity to listen to several terrific library-sponsored presentations via Zoom. Expanded my brain cells for free.
I was late to yesterday's post, but what a,wonderfully supportive comment section to read through. You've made such a lovely virtual space, Kristen.
FFT
--Our mountainous marigolds finally quit blooming enough that I felt okay pulling them vs. bothering the bees. I companion planted marigolds in all the garden beds last year, and dear me, did they go crazy! I saved jar upon jar worth of seedheads before I pulled the plants, and I fear I still ended up accidentally seeding our half of town in the process. The saved seedheads will be shared with gardening friends; I'm quite sure my beds already seeded themselves. 😛
--Our carved Halloween pumpkin finally wilted past the point of no return. I confiscated the LED lights and chopped it up with the shovel for our compost bin. Waste not!
--Before adding the pumpkin, I emptied the compost bin's contents into the empty garden beds. Our maple tree is losing leaves at last, so these will also be added to the compost and the garden beds. Free compost is the best compost.
--While swapping summer shirts for fall and winter, I set aside pieces that I had no memory of wearing the past several years and brought them to a local coffee shop's free clothing rack. I came away with a surprise pair of new-with-tags H&M jeans that fit perfectly. I'm in the midst of dropping weight, but my current jeans are going to wear out before I fit the next size down. Thank you, jean fairy! May my donations bring someone else the same serendipitous joy. If the H&M jeans are still in good shape when they become too big for me, I'll donate them back.
--When checking out at PetSmart, I noticed the person behind me had a bag of Hills Science Diet cat food. I had a $5 off HSD coupon in my wallet that I wasn't going to use (clipped just in case of a discounted bag), so I passed it on to him. He happily accepted.
So true; a bunch of lovely, resourceful people here!
@N, good job passing on $5 off coupon...
FFT, Making Things Out of Other Things (with Help from My Friends) Edition (updated from yesterday's FFT at the NCA).
But, first, Kristen, good call on postponing (rather than canceling, since you still plan to go sometime) the New Mexico trip, for all the reasons you mention.
(1) I took my next-door neighbor with the cognitive issues (NDN1) to her favorite Tops grocery last Thursday, since her home care aide couldn't make it that day. I used her Tops card to buy myself a nice whole chicken for 50% off (as I noted in Friday's WIS/WIA). I've since gone through the whole "chicken cycle": roasting, enjoying the dark meat as is, taking the white meat off and using the carcass and skin for stock, plopping some of the white meat into other things, and (yesterday) making a chicken and orzo soup with the last of my garden dill. (We're under a winter weather advisory until tonight, so it's curtains for the dill.) NDN1 and the Bestest Neighbors have gotten some of the soup.
(2) I steered NDN1 and myself yesterday through our joint annual furnace inspections from my trusted HVAC company (the owner was an old friend of DH's). Both furnaces were OK--but the tech discovered that NDN1's water heater was leaking like crazy. (None of us had been down in her basement for a while.) I authorized the tech to take some photos and ask headquarters for a bid to replace it, and the owner called me back within 5 minutes. It ain't gonna be cheap--but it's a lot better that we discovered this now rather than later in the winter.
(3) And there's lemonade to make out of lemons in another way here: All the junk in NDN1's basement in the vicinity of the leaking heater is so soaked that even NDN1 agrees it has to go. (As those who have been following this saga may recall, NDN1 has a clinical-level hoarding problem.) I hauled out a first load while the tech was at work on the furnace, and this should keep both me and the home care aide occupied for a few weeks to come.
(4) Not that I'm in any real need of things to keep me occupied: Papers for JASNA's journals have been coming in for copyediting/proofreading/fact checking thick and fast (the next issue of Persuasions On-Line, the electronic journal, goes live on JA's 250th birthday, Dec. 16). And I'm also constructing a "Jane Austen's Family" poster for our local JASNA region's upcoming "Jane Austen 250th Birthday Open House" at the Barnes & Noble where we meet. I already had all the materials I needed for the poster in the house.
(5) Finally, I had the great pleasure Saturday afternoon of a visit from my eventual executor (DH's last and best employee), his lovely wife, and their two youngest children, who all came over to give me a hand with a major cutback of the hedge between my yard and NDN1's. I reciprocated with a generous selection of the beef from my 1/4 steer. (And even the two youngest kids are now 18 and 14. Lordy, how time flies.
I love how your life is filled with meaningful things to do. 🙂
@A. Marie,
You are such a good neighbor!
@A. Marie, Your generosity is an example to follow. I look forward to your stories.
@Kristen, I was forming these exact words in my mind! A. Marie, I want to be more like you
@CrunchyCake et al., thanks to you all for the kind remarks. But since I'm a childless widow with no family nearby (as is NDN1), I've been making a conscious effort to create my own "village"--here on the street, and among my JASNA friends. None of us can do everything alone. And, of course, Kristen has created a wonderful "village" here in cyberspace.
@A. Marie,
I do the same! My daughter lives a long plane ride away. The village approach is beneficial to all parties. The youngsters get a trained eye to help those older folks who need a hand. My youngsters that I trained up are now training their kids a beautiful snow ball effect.
It starts with mutual respect and the rewards are boundless.
@A. Marie,
I just checked - I didn't get yesterday's NCA post in my email? Thanks for the heads up....I'll check it out online.
@Liz B.,
...and I love your "create a village" approach. 🙂
We've been staying close to home.
1. I bought two rotisserie chickens. I cut most of the breast meat off and froze it for future meals. We ate the dark meat. I boiled the carcasses for broth and chicken (picked from the bones) for future soups.
2. Last week I walked with three different friends. Cheap, social, and healthy.
3. I finished listening to Food Intelligence, borrowed from the library. One takeaway was that we, in the US, throw away 1,400 calories of food per person per day. I know that is not the case for most frugal people but what an appalling statistic.
4. I subscribed to Peacock which should be free (beyond paying 6% sales tax) with an AMEX offer. It includes ads which we couldn't bear to watch so I will cancel it now instead of keeping it for two months for "free'. I'm sure we will have access through the end of the first month.
5. I continue to drink from the mugs we already have. Like Kristen, if I had the Starbucks bear mug I would resell it.
@K D, in regards to your #3, I was at a friend’s house for her granddaughter’s birthday party. While cleaning up I watched, appealed, as she shoved all the leftovers, chips, pasta salad, coleslaw.., down the garbage disposal! I was too shocked to comment. lol.
Well, I have been in a bit of a funk which has been partially good for frugality. I think hmm, I should treat myself, then nothing sounds good or I don't feel like doing extra steps, so...I save money. Which is not a long term strategy for well being but has saved me some money this week.
I actually spent a lot of money this week/end online but those are on purchases I have been delaying and need. I got the best deals on everything possible.
Happily landed on a nice gift idea for coworkers that I could stack 2 coupon codes for and pay an even more acceptable price! (Fair trade hot cocoa).
My "vacations" this year are limited, and to visit friends or family, so I pay for transportation and maybe a little food and then the visit is mostly free. Oh except a one night overnight trip for a concert which was fun and still pretty frugal!
I’m just starting to try to be more frugal and I think I have only three. I’m a bit stymied that for any frugal move I make, I can think of several not frugal things I’ve done.
1) I used the leftover scoop of butternut squash to make one serving of soup for myself while my partner was out for dinner, instead of getting takeout or using something from our “emergency- absolutely-do-not-feel-like-cooking” frozen pre-packaged meals stash.
2) I donated four boxes of our clutter.
3) I canceled my eye drops subscription after finding a less expensive option that works just as well.
@JaeFi, those are great! Well done!
@JaeFi, We all have not frugal things (or at least most of us do). It's kind of like the thankfuls because it helps the attitude.
The Bearista cup thing is insane, but if I had one, I would 100% sell it, too. The most frugal thing I am doing right now is eating down my freezer. I don't know how it got so full to begin with, there's only me here after all. Frugal things:
*I hit my medical deductible for the year so I am meeting with my therapist once a week which is not only very helpful, but the co-pay is less than $20 and is paid directly from an HSA
*free lunch today at the hospital for a "Tranquility Luncheon" which focuses on employee well-being
*bought my next book club book and will get started on it today. $6 plus free shipping, then I can pass it along to a friend or our lending library at work.
*free oil change and tire rotation last week for my 1 year old Subaru, with a complimentary fancy coffee in their "lounge".
*free CEU webinar last week for Tech Week. Only one point, but I will take it!
*finally sold the chairs I had listed on FB Marketplace, now I can park in my garage (:
*cancelled my Kohl's account and finished up my Christmas shopping for the kids with a calendar deal at Shutterfly.
I need to plan a vacation, too!
And in a few months we'll be seeing those cups in thrift stores for a couple of bucks!!
I guess the bear cup is the new Tickle Me Elmo, but for adults? I'm just looking at that thing and thinking what a pain it would be to clean it.
Anyway. Frugal things:
--I made a collard salad for my dinner last night. I don't like collards as much as lettuce, but I have a truly absurd stand of giant collard plants in my garden, and the lettuce is 100 miles away at a store, which makes it easier to choose the free option.
--In anticipation of buying a cull cow from our neighbor very soon and having it filling our freezers, I have not been buying store meat and am working through the things on the bottom that I've been avoiding or that just got lost. This week we had a marinated lamb roast labeled 2022--it was good--and tongue. Cow tongues are big, so I actually used that when we had two guests here for dinner. If you tell people you're cooking tongue and invite them over for dinner and they come, I think that means they're pretty good friends, right? 🙂 Actually, tacos de lengua are not uncommon here, so it's not as weird as it might have been.
--I also made the corn tortillas for that meal, and refried beans from cans of black beans I got from excess commodities. Oh, I also used garlic and tomatoes (pickled before the freeze, of course) from our garden. So overall, a very frugal, but also delicious, meal.
--I realized yesterday that every pair of jeans I have is at least three years old or older. And they're all just Lee jeans anyway. That's some good cost per wear, given that I wear jeans literally every day. I hope when I eventually have to replace them in a couple of years, the sizing and styles won't have changed too much, but I wouldn't bet on it.
--My friend lent me a very good book to read: "Ella Minnow Pea," by Mark Dunn--one of the more unusual and clever books I've ever read. I buy a lot of books (almost always used, but it's still a lot), so it's always nice when I can read one without paying for it. In turn, I gave her a couple to borrow that I thought she might like.
@kristin @ going country,
And another favourite shows up here. This book was lent to me by our youngest. It was a fun read, so inventive-
@kristin @ going country,
Ella Minnow Pea is an absolutely incredible story. I hope you enjoy it!
@Julia, I did enjoy it! It took a bit to get into it, but it was a very fast read and the way the author played with words was very fun. It's surprisingly layered too, with the social commentary.
@kristin @ going country, your use of tongue and all other parts of cattle/other animals takes me back (of course) to cooking in Jane Austen's day, when all the parts got used out of necessity. JA's friend and housemate Martha Lloyd's Household Book (a facsimile edition of this was published a few years ago) gives several recipes for these. And in an early letter, JA herself mentions "devouring some cold souse" with a cousin-in-law and a little niece. I had souse once in the U.S. Virgin Islands and don't intend to have it again, but I admire the concept.
@kristin @ going country, I have a beef tongue in the freezer waiting to be used. I am not fond of cooking it, but it's usually tacos or something like that. Every time I open its freezer, it's there, next to the heart, looking at me. Liver is the step-child thrown out into the street because even the smell literally gags me, but I usually manage to rest of the parts.
@kristin @ going country,
We love tongue and my beef customers give me theirs, plus the marrow bones, livers and fat.
I slow cook it in the smoker and the slice it for lunch meat. So yummy!
@kristin @ going country,
Lol, your mention of the cow tongue reminded me of my youth.....when I was a kid, my mom would take two of us kids to help her (she only grocery shopped twice a month, and with a family of 6 people, she would fill 2 grocery carts). One of my sisters and I would always grab the plastic-wrapped cow tongue out of the meat case, and pretend to "lick" my mom's arm with it. We thought it was hilarious; my mom was a good sport. 🙂
@Jody S., With you on the liver. I've tried it several ways, from several different kinds of animals, and it's always a no. I don't even like cutting it into chunks for the dogs, though I do because at least that way it's being enjoyed.
@Liz B., Ha. When I took this out of the freezer, my daughter noted it looked like a foot the way the end bent up. She was sitting on the kitchen floor when she said this, so of course I "walked" the frozen tongue across the floor and (gently) kicked her with it. She, like your mom, was a good sport. 🙂
@A. Marie, My son wanted to look up recipes for tongue in my cookbooks, and the only ones that had any at all were Darina Allen's "Forgotten Skills of Cooking," which had one for a brined tongue, and Janet Mandel's "Cooking in Spain." I got the Spanish cookbook when we visited that country many years ago. It had three recipes for tongue--well, the tongue is cooked pretty much the same, but three different sauces--so it won. I didn't use any of them, but they were interesting.
@A. Marie, I admire the concept, too, but it led to a childhood traumatized by head cheese quivering away on the top shelf of the fridge every time I opened it. When I had the youth and strength to hunt, we got an annual moose and I was spared trying to convince myself to eat the tongue and brains by the Alaska Native older lady neighbor who made the traditional moose head soup. I would drop the entire head off at her house; she was thrilled and so was I, but for different reasons!
@Lindsey, head cheese?? Gahhhh! My MIL loved it--but the first time she sent me to the Wegmans deli to get it, I didn't know what I was getting, and I almost lost my lunch when I saw the package!
@kristin @ going country, I have added the book to my TBR list, thanks for the recommendation!
@Jody S., liver has a 50/50 chance of being 'condemned'. And most people chose to have the tongue (lengua) as well as the liver ground into hamburger.
I used to splurge and get the Sheba soft food for Clark, for a Christmas treat...and then realized he didn't eat but half of one and it seemed to not agree with his system. Keep to the kibble, that's our motto! (And the daily Churu treat.)
That bear glass is bonkers. I can't imagine cleaning that and feeling it was really clean, with all those nooks and crannies. I have a classmate who works at Starbucks and she dreads the holiday cup season. I'll have to ask her about the Bearista cup.
Frugal things here:
--DH's mom asked him to drive over to drive her to her eye surgery (with one day notice, thanks.) We are down a car, so he decided to rent a car so that nobody was without transportation while he was gone. We rode our bikes to the car rental place, a couple of miles away, and put the folding bikes in the car and used the car to do some needed grocery shopping before heading home. No, renting the car was not frugal, but not using another car to get to the rental place was pretty frugal, plus we got exercise and had a fun time.
--I've had three nurse aide training days so far, and have packed lunch for each. Most everyone else heads off campus to go get some food, or they DoorDash it, but DS#2 and I are there with our packed lunches. I explained to him that we're here to train to earn money, not spend it.
--I went through my supplement routine and ruthlessly eliminated things that I'm sure are either doing nothing or potentially not helping. I recommend reading "Vitamania" if you want to get on one of these rabbit holes. So I was able to discontinue several subscriptions on Amazon, which always feels so good!
--Though I had to invest in a straightening iron, my shorter haircut is saving me time and angst and probably even shampoo and conditioner, as I use less of both.
--Clark decided to make himself a new cat toy. I had one of those automatic blood pressure cuffs stored safely (I thought) in the end hall closet. There are lots of big shelves there, and for a while he was agitating to go in there quite a bit. I didn't think anything of it. While practicing taking a manual blood pressure reading on DH, he suggested we use the automatic one to check for accuracy, so i fetched it, only to find that at some point Clark had chewed right through the rubber tubing on it. He was absolutely unabashed when we confronted him. LUCKILY, DH took off part of the tubing and reattached the remainder and it works okay. The piece Clark bit off, we decided to let him keep it as a toy. We have to keep it in his toy box, but when we get it out, he chases it and fetches and pounces on it like it's a snake. So...thanks, Clark, I guess, for telling us what kind of toys you really like.
@Karen A., naughty Clark! But cats are incapable of being abashed even when caught in the act, let alone some time afterward. I'm glad that your DH was able to repair the BP tester.
@A. Marie, It did help us learn that while he'll chase a catnip mouse (and eviscerate one), he really prefers snake-shaped toys. Maybe he'll get a fake snake for Christmas. 😉
@Karen A., my Dizzy (the third of our six cats, the last of our outdoor ones, and the one who carried off a piece of my heart when he died at age 7 from something he caught from the half-feral colony we had next door then) was also a snake hunter. His favorite toy as a kitten was a tear strip off a frozen juice container, and I'll never forget his expression the first time he brought home a snake from the garter snake colony living under the giant rock in our front yard: "Ooooh, Mommy, look! This tear strip WIGGLES!"
@A. Marie, Clark loves tear strips from packages! I guess some cats are mouse hunters and some are snake hunters. I can just picture Dizzy's face!
I wish I had something especially wonderfully frugal to report, but alas I do not.
1. After someone entered our home and stole some of my jewelry back in October, DH has slowly been turning our home into Fort Knox. The specialized lock system he ordered through s local store did not engage properly. When I returned it to reorder, the store manager gave me 20% off for my trouble. Maybe customer service is still alive!
2. I met my friend at the non-profit coffee shop for a visit. It is a fun and busy place run by a local church collective. Its profits support 5 worthwhile charities.
3. I purchased an unneeded, but beautiful blown glass Christmas ornament at the food pantry's holiday extravaganza. Is that frugal? I'm not sure.
4. The remainder of a Costco rotisserie chicken is ready to put in the IP this morning to make soup. It's cold here in North Florida this morning. Temperatures were in the 30s F (0 degrees celsius) for several hours last night. The wind chill was much colder. Great soup weather!
5. I have been doing all my usual things.
Wishing everyone peace, good health, and prosperity.
@Bee,
If the Christmas ornament sale proceeds supported the food pantry, you helped feed the hungry when you bought it. And it couldn't have been at a better time. So it was frugal for someone else, and very generous of you. I hope the ornament brings you joy for many years to come!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
Thank you, Lisa. I have been trying to do as much as I can. Last week, one of my neighbors collected 300 jars of peanut butter for her church's Blessing a Backpack program which sends food home with children on the school lunch program. One of the clubs I belong to collected Walmart gift cards to distribute to low- ranking enlisted personal at a local military base. But most heartbreaking of all, I saw a post completely by chance on a local information site from the woman who cared for my MIL when she had dementia. She was asking where to go for food assistance. I know she has custody of her grandchildren. With a little effort, I have found her phone number. I'll take care of that today. I am hopeful that those in need will soon receive SNAP benefits, but food insecurity will remain a problem.
@Bee, I echo what Fru-gal Lisa said about the Christmas ornament--and I applaud all your other efforts, especially your help for your MIL's former caregiver.
@Bee, I am so sorry to hear about your break in. I always recommend to people to replace your front door screws on the stricker plate to longer screws so it's not as easy to kick in. Of course I always lock both outside screen/storm door & inside door also, even when we ate home. Plus the usual put a pole in between your slider doors so won't open.
@Regina,
Thank you for the advice. I will have my husband change out those screws. Unfortunately, the police believe that this was done by a cleaning, landscaping or construction crew that were all working in our small secured neighborhood on the day it happened. The culprits were watching the house and simply walked in the unlocked backdoor as I walked out the front of the house with the dog. 20 minutes later, I found the backdoor wide open, but I did not notice my jewelry, which was on my vanity, was gone until the next day. A quick in and out -- a crime of opportunity. It is quick easy, and profitable to sell gold at the moment. Unfortunately, they took my wedding ring my mother's rings and my grandmother's band which are all irreplaceable.
My neighbors - most of whom have lived here for 15 years or more -- are all in an uproar. None of us ever thought about this happening before. We now have auto-lock doors with combination key and coded entry. We put multiple hidden outdoor cameras which tie into multiple devices and increased security patrols. Fortunately, we don't allow fences in the neighborhood or my husband probably would have electrified it.
I suppose that we had all gotten too comfortable.,
@Bee, my in-laws had their house robbed by a neighbor's son who waited until they went on the evening walk with their dog.
We recently had a lot of work done on our house and I put the jewelry box, my laptop and purse away out of sight while there were strangers around.
Repainting the dining room and kitchen. I've already stated that the paint we bought was mistinted and cost us only $10. a gallon. And both cans were slightly different, so we poured them into a big bucket and mixed them up.
Went to Menards to get some wood for a coat rack and a back splash. Also had some rebates from Menards, so $99. worth of supplies cost $40. And of course, I will be sending in this receipt for a rebate. And they will give the rebate on the entire purchase price before the discount.
Had to buy more trim paint for above coat rack and when we got to my husband's work, the gallon was reduced for old labeling. But with his discount, it was an even better price - more than half off.
Had a coupon for a free 8x10 photo print from Walgreen's last week. And the print actually came out nice. Usually, their prints come out way too dark so I have stopped using them. But I'll try a free print! One Christmas gift done. And I am sure I have a frame somewhere.
And of course, drinking coffee and eating at home.
I do not understand why people would want a drinking cup that cannot be kept clean easily.
This week's frugals:
- I listed an unused item for sale.
- I bought second hand plates to match my china. The original 9 plates had dwindled to 4 in the past 15 years.
- We bought a foldable ladder, and our cat is having a lot of fun with the oddly shaped box.
- The bird feeder outside the kitchen window had come down in pieces as it had started to rot. I took it down and replaced it with a bird feeder that was rarely frequented, on the balcony. No cost, no whiskers needed.
- I will sew on a button on a dress shirt later today.
Plus, sunshine today so laundry on free electricity.
@JNL, I think repurposing items you already have in your home is the MOST frugal things ever and I love the idea.
my frugal five:
1. On the marked down produce rack: bag of russet potatoes for $1.50, 2 bags of chopped broccoli carrot mix for $1 each. Made a batch of baked potatoes and kept them in the fridge to grab for dinners. I love oven baked potatoes!
2. Made oven roasted broccoli at the same time. Between baking the potatoes and broccoli, it heated up our main living area nicely.
3. Gifted our electric blanket. It is so soft, it slid all over our bed last year. Maybe not frugal, because I bought it brand new last year, but I hope the receiver is happy with it. I replaced it with a heated mattress cover. On sale, using Rakuten of course.
4. Made a triple batch of chili: used our summer tomatoes, jalapenos and peppers in the chili. Freezing a third of it for later when I'm too tired to make dinner.
5. Went through old vhs tapes of family videos. Cut the tape and threw out all that I had already transferred to DVD and saved a few that I'd like to transfer. Also cut up and threw out all of those DVDs with photos on them that come with prints. Felt good, that was a couple of boxes full of them. Also threw out photos where I didn't know anybody in the pictures. Very therapeutic on a sad day. Sometimes anger and sadness helps me clear out old stuff I don't need anymore.
Frugal Fail! Our heat pump went out. Not frugal at all, because the new green laws require a different refrigerant, which means I also need a new air handler. What is frugal is we are getting several local quotes. So right now I am very thankful for my new heated mattress pad!
@MommaJo,
Check with your electricity provider. Some are offering rebates for heat pumps. Also check to see if you qualify for a tax rebate.
Bee and I are sharing the Frozen Florida edition of FFT.
1. I made sure to cover tender plants last night.
2. I’m off today for Veterans Day so I am dressed for warmth, not public appearance and I have my heat set lower than I used to set it.
3. I’m painting on some items that will be Christmas gifts, using a free sample from Lowe’s as the main paint. I already have the other paints I need.
4. I put my new pressure washer together myself instead of paying someone. I was quoted $600 to pressure wash my walks and siding a few years ago. The washer was much less than that. My daughter and I are going to share this washer.
5. The cold means birds are really going after the feeders. I’m glad I got the seed on sale. I keep an eye out for sales on seed and buy ahead.
@JD,
We purchased a new pressure washer this summer. It is several hundred dollars to pressure wash driveways, decks, etc for just a few dollars more we bought a new one. We too split the purchase with our son. My plan was actually to pressure wash the driveway this week, but I'll wait for it to warm up a bit. Bundle up!!!
@Bee, @JD - you can also use the pressure washer to clean your gutters, wash your vehicles (careful not to remove paint), cement bird baths, vinyl siding (again using care). We do our garages around June (aka warm) - amazing how much dirt/road salt is flushed out. We do have a drain in our garage but you can also squeege out the water.
@JD, I also keep an eye open for the suet blocks when they are $.99 or less. I keep that in my porch refrigerator.
@JD, it's been snowing all day here in Central NY, and my birds are likewise going bananas at my feeders. I'm going to have to mush out there and top them up before the day is out. I even had a pair of Carolina wrens, who are probably wishing they were back in one of the Carolinas!
1) Sold a couple of things on eBay. I don't really think of selling books on eBay, but Kristen motivated me with her posts, and most of DS19's class lit books have sold. I've also been slowly selling things DS18 left behind when he went to college & no longer wants.
2) Made an enormous batch of roasted veggies this weekend, and remembered to add in the chicken sausage & zucchini that needed to be used up. That's the basis of all of my lunches, as well as what DH uses in his eggs. It's easy, delicious & super healthy.
3) Made an orzo dish out of rotisserie chicken & broth from the freezer. It honestly didn't turn out that well, so needed quite a bit of additional seasoning to be passable, but hey, stuff is out of the freezer. Will not make this recipe again.
4) I won a free 3 night stay + $1500 resort credit when I was in Las Vegas a few weekends ago. I was on the fence about how to use it & considered a variety of options. In the end, by getting creative, I realized I could add it to the back half of a planned trip & invite my parents to join us. We also bought their flights as a Christmas gift. They are super thrilled, love traveling with us, and are 73 & 75, so it always makes me feel great when we get an opportunity, because..who knows what the future holds.
5) I got a stock grant from my employer that I wasn't expecting, based on performance. It grants over 3 years (with a one year vest to start - e.g. first wave of money available in a year). I was previously on a monthly vest at my former employer, so I was a little sad by the long initial vest, but given I wasn't expecting, way better than nothing.
Those bear cups make look like people are drinking out of giant honey bottles, the ones shaped like a bear. So utterly silly!
DH and I have DIY'd some long-needed refurbishment in the master bedroom: various bits of painting, replacing a sagging shelf, repaired picture frames, and did a good cleaning with the furniture moved. Used up a partial tin of wood stain from another project.
Spent nearly two hours on the phone getting a medical billing error ($755!) resolved. Cooked and ate all our meals at home. Read a library book through Libby and a thrifted paperback for book club. Bought gas for my car when the price went down another few cents.
@Ruby, $755 for 2 hours work! You "made" $377.50 an hour!
@JDinNM, even better, I managed not to lose my temper while doing it. Incompetent customer service really ticks me off, but I kept a grip and powered through it.
1. I finally used my rain check from when ground beef was on sale for $3.49/lb. It was good for five packs, so I had been waiting until Meijer had five family packs available and last week was the winner! The full price would have been $6.99/lb. No thanks.
2. While at Meijer, they had some cored pineapples marked 75% off. I took them home and made dried pineapple with them. My daughter and I are really enjoying dried pineapple right now!
3. We switched to a new library and this one actually charges late fees, so I've been working hard to make sure that we don't have late stuff. Our last library got rid of late fees and items would aut0-renew twice, which made it a much less stressful situation. Our new library emails keep going to our junk folder and it's an effort to keep track of everything!
4. I worked 37 hours Thursday-Saturday last week, which only happens twice a year. It'll make a nice paycheck! But I also prepped meals ahead of time to make it easier for my family to eat at home in the midst of their rehearsals, practices, games, and construction.
5. I accepted catering leftovers whenever they were offered. One fun win - we had a number of buckets of pineapple chunks for large fruit bowls. Instead of pouring out the juice that came with the chunks, I strained it into cups and one of the empty buckets. We all enjoyed drinking pineapple juice, then I ended up with about a gallon to take home to drink and to freeze for future smoothies. I was thrilled!
@Ruth T, try going into junk email & pushing on library email & select not spam/junk OR opening library email & scroll down to move to inbox. It might take a few times of doing this before email recognizes as not spam/junk.
@Regina, Yes! I've done that a few times and am waiting for Gmail to get the message for good... These. Are. Not. Junk! 🙂
It's been an unusual week of frugality on the Farm after I was in the ER Saturday...I declined admission & opted for OP testing/management instead. Friends have been bringing food. Staying home drinking tea means no gas use;) reading library books. Splurged on a Starbucks tea when I went to the dr & they gave me two for free! Used pine needles & leaves for the barn & chicken house, free!! Free pallets for various farm things from local Napco. Learned how to light my mom's antique gas wall heater from the service tech who waived the fee!
@Jennifer, I hope you feel better soon.
@Julia, thank you!
@Jennifer,
Be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector in the room where the antique wall heater is located, you can't be too careful. I'm sorry that you had to go to the E.R., hope you're better soon.
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, oh yes, we've got all of the detectors in place! And the company serviced it extensively earlier in the year. Learning the foibles of my parents 1921 farmhouse has been an adventure! The you for the reminder:)
managed to replace my broken toilet arm this week. It took two trips to a hardware store to get the proper item. The first time an employee told me a certain handle/arm would fit my toilet, but he was incorrect. I had to return it, then took myself to a different store where I picked out the correct item myself. The installation was super easy for me and we are happy to no longer have to reach into the toilet tank to flush the toilet!
My son and his friends take advantage of the teen space in the library. The big library in our town has a huge art and gaming space in their basement. It’s great to have a fun, safe and free space for them to hang out. The games and gaming devices there also mean the kids can use the video games and devices without us having to buy everything for our house.
@JenRR, There should be an “I” at the beginning of that first sentence! I had to copy and paste due to lag and an error that refreshed the page. Apparently, I missed the “I” in my copy.
I made my new budget for the year. This is probably the most important frugal thing I do all year. I subscribe to Everydollar because it works for me. I have 12 months of past expenditures.
1. I used the monthly average of every category except travel.
2. My travel was a once in a lifetime this past year. I will save up odds and ends in that category but it will be much smaller.
3. The River House Renovation continues to be a large chunk. It was two years on 11/9. We are about 80% finished and it looks beautiful. It has been appraised at far above what we have put into it and we have put in an unbelievable amount but we went high end to restore it historically.
4. I break my food category down into groceries and restaurants. I finally relented to the truth since I was over every month last year. I am now at $900 for two of us plus visiting our boy in Michigan. It seems an huge number given I shop bargains and cook at home.
@Mary Ann, are you going to sell the River House or move into it? Every time you mention it, I am so curious to see the place.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
The economics of the place have changed so much over the last two years. I don't know what will happen. I know that we have restored a piece of history and that feels good.
Frugal wins for the week (by purpose or mistake)
*I bought potato chips for .04 cents a bag. I bought 2 of these for what I thought was a sale of $1.77, but when I got home and checked my receipt they rang up for .04 cents. I called the store to let them know so they wouldn't continue to ring up at that price and to tell them I would pay the difference next time I was there. They said not to worry about it and thanked me for calling.
*I called my mortgage company because last year they had a very high rate for our taxes that has been going to escrow each month. SC gives us a tax break on our home for DH's VA disability rating. We finally got this year's bill showing the discount and I sent it to the mortgage company, but never saw the refund or change. Called them yesterday and they were going to wait until February to do an escrow analysis. After my call, they did it yesterday and I should get a good refund check.
*I bought beef on a good sale and ground it myself into ground beef for about $3/lb. I bought a grinding attachment (new in box) at goodwill for $5 for my kitchenaid. I wasn't expecting great things, but I've made sausage (from $1.29 boston butt) and ground beef now and it works great.
*I bought 3 pairs of nice leggings/gym pants for $3 each at a local thrift store. I needed these for winter as my others were worn out.
*using our buck stove for heat. Raised the temperature in my house by 10 degrees last night in about 15 minutes. Should cut way down on our propane bill (that was very high last year).
@Marlena, I'm seriously jealous of your NIB Kitchen Aid grinder. I had that on my holiday list for years but at $100+ (years ago) I decided that my old metal hand grinder was going to have to do. Great buy! Enjoy! 🙂
It has been in the 20's during the nights and end even though the heat is set on 68'. the gas heat has been running a lot. The Cleaning Crew of young ladies is coming tomorrow and is also helping with putting plastic on the windows and we will also take out the ac. I want us to clean the area it will be placed hence, I've not removed it yet. Besides, I have to leave space for the Asian lady bugs to enter:) It is supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow.
1) Sophie reminded me to cancel my free Amazon Prime subscription which saved money on shipping of purchases earlier this month and the free month was up today!
2) Just before the cold hit, I potted a couple of outdoor plants to overwinter in the house. They add to the corner plant area of the living room which all provide air filtration and ambiance. If they live, it will save on buying them again. I also took cuttings of plants and am rooting them for the same.
3) I did not buy the sought after Starbuck's bear nor do I have a pink Stanley cup. I did buy a case of Tazo Chai Latte concentrate from Food Service Direct which provides free shipping. A serving (four per box) averages $1.46 per serving. So much better than at SB and made with fresh cow's milk. Do we look at those who use the bears with envy or like they're a quart low? And I agree about the difficulty of cleaning them.
4) Frugal fail. I did not get gas on the last day(s) it was $2.64. I did not even get it at $2.78 in the town where I work but at the $2.79 rate in the town where I live when it was bitterly cold and windy because the needle on the gas gauge was on E. I am not used to going passed $30 to fill up. I do batch errands and have not done any frivolous driving.
5) I am adding to the quality of the earth in my yard by not raking or blowing leaves. They do break down and add vital nutrients and provide vital habitat for all of the little bugs and bees which eventually provide pollination and food for the birds and their babies.
@Chrissy, Me or a different Sophie?
@Sophie in Denmark,
You, when you said you cancelled subscriptions, that reminded me of the my free Amazon subscription. Thanks!
1. Filled Operation Christmas Child boxes with clearance items (both fun and practical) purchased throughout the year. The boxes are full of nice items that will hopefully bring delight to the recipient!
2. Purchased gift cards to our nearest movie the theatre that was offering $10 rewards for every $25 spent, so I bought $50. My kids plan to go to a movie soon, so this will cover a treat. I noticed yesterday that the theatre dropped the reward amount to $5, so I’m glad I took advantage early. I try to remember to buy gift cards for ourselves this time of year when there are so many good promos!
3. Batch baked biscuits and banana bread on a cold day.
4. Saw an item in a gift catalog that I wanted to purchase, but found the artist online. I will save about $20 purchasing directly from her.
5. Checking item prices on grocery apps before adding to my list and heading out. Discovered my local grocery store was cheaper on butter than Aldi’s advertised sale price.
@EDR, my NDN1's other close friend (CF) is an active participant in Operation Christmas Child at her church. (If there was an Olympic team for knitting, she'd be on it--and whenever she isn't knitting anything else, she's knitting caps for OCC.) I've found her three plastic shoeboxes and considerable thrift store yarn for the cause.
I was away for a week for fun, so fundamentally not frugal. I did take rival actions while away.
- bought some food for the roomat the supermarket
- walked to many of my events (frugal -and- healthy)
- took home leftovers (not frugal: didn't eat them all)
- used miles for my flight and points for my hotel
- didn't buy anything other than food
@WilliamB, just found in the mail: Pepsi coupons for 2 free 12 packs. All I did was call them to tell them a single can (from a 12 pack) wasn't carbonated.
1. I searched my shed and garage for window film to winterize my windows. Found it.
2. Using WD40, dry graphite and heat from my hair drier I was able to close a window that was stuck open. I didn't break it, so even more frugal.
3. We are finishing off the last of my garden tomatoes before buying any new produce.
4. We divided a whole beef with 3 other people in order to keep the order and not pay for the whole thing. We had a large household expense this summer and did not have the 2400 to buy the whole thing.
5 Went to my Dr appointment last week. Yes it costs me money but I got a lot done and many questions answered at the same time.
where is shelley? sorry you had to cancel your trip. wish there had been a pic of chiquita eating her gold plated food:) i never go to starbucks even though i once had the stock. i frequent dunkin for the pumpkin stuff. the bear is cute and turning $30 into $300 aint bad either.
The ridiculousness over those bear cups is pure insanity. People waiting in line at 2AM to PAY (too much) money for one? Its a freaking glass bear with a lid and a straw. And then, the other people that would actually pay hundreds of dollars on the resale market??!!!
I will never understand the people that go all in on this sort of thing.
Much like the Stanley cups, they will be on the thrift store shelves very soon.
Overconsumption at its peak.
People on threads are saying just get one of those bear shaped honey containers and drink out of that when it’s empty.
I don’t know if you know about the Purina app, but I frequently get free stuff from them just for recording my Purina purchases/grocery store receipts. I don’t normally do this, but I have received free cat food and cat food, lids, lots of free snacks, five dollars off a big bag of kibble. It’s the only one I use. I don’t do any other purchase trackers.
@Julia, I learned of the Purina App from you commenting about it here, and I thank you! My finicky girl Penny will only eat Purina One Beyond Senior Cat Food...so I am hoping to score some savings with the app!
When our pastor resigned 2 months ago and cleared out his office, he left behind 3 boxes of books. Because I can’t stand waste, I volunteered to deal with the books. A 23 lb. box went to Thriftbooks yesterday—they pay pennies on the dollar, which I am happy to accept. It took hours to enter each ISBN. . . then I started listing the ones they won’t take on eBay, which takes even longer, with photos and careful checking of the correct edition. I’m trying to follow Kristen’s instructions, but it seems that the eBay app works differently from those instructions. I can’t find the right controls each time or maybe I am mentally and technologically deficient. . . yeah, that’s it.
I’ll bumble along, listing a few every so often until I get sick of the process and haul the rest to a Friends of the Library sale down the hill. The genre of books needs a larger population base than our town of about 2000 residents. Or 1500 residents. . . who knows? With so many vacation rentals, the census took the population number off our sign.
Off-topic but how would one wash that bear cup? It seems to be full of hard to clean spots.
@Rebekah in SoCal,
I use an unscented hydrogen peroxide + small squirt of dawn. Use a bottle brush with a curve. Rinse well.
I don't hate on the bear (well maybe on the frenzy around it) but it is cute. I mean, I bought a deck of playing cards with pandas on them because I thought it was cute. Sure they were like $5 and not $250 ...
1. Stocked up on meat on sale. I went to buy chicken thighs at 99c/lb and saw some chicken breasts marked down to $1.79/lb. Sure I had a lot of prep for the freezer but now we have it. I also stocked up on some other items that were on sale that can keep.
2. Cancelled most of our streaming services in prep for Black Friday deals.
3. Got some credit card deals on things like buying gas at certain stations. I maybe saved $2 but $2 is still something.
4. Found it was cheaper to buy a two pack of MicroSD cards. My wife's Switch needed one as did our daughter's Kindle.
5. Worked a little bit of overtime. Take it while the taking's good.
I will not buy a bearista. My favorite niece listed it on her Christmas wish list, so I took my Pair of 1980's glass honey bear iced tea glasses that were "free with purchase" and put them in her Christmas basket.
I picked up the fancy feast gems,too. I will save it for my oldest cat (20+) as he eats 4 soft food meals a day.
Borrowed my friend's leaf sweeper/vacuum and swept the neighbors driveway that is lined with maple trees.
Swept my yards and orchards, all the leaves are in the compost pile, layered with horse and alpaca manure.
Friend used my fertile spreader for his large yards as it holds 3 huge bags of fertilizer.
Painted my blue gate with a fresh coat of French blue. Had enough paint leftover to paint the antique wheelbarrow adjacent to the entry of the farm. Planted pots of yellow mums in it. It is so cheerful!
I am glad that we can look forward to friendlier skies soon. My friend has been waiting at the airport for 30 hrs trying to get to NY to see his ill mom.
Today my quilting group will give 10 quilts to a younger group of veterans at the VFW hall supper event today.
Remind a vet today that we never forget their sacrifices.
A landscaper friend brought me a small dump truck full of cedar fence boards. We dry and split these into kindling bundles to give to needy people who receive wood from the county program.
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, I love it that you're using alpaca manure. For many years, while friends of ours had a llama farm, DH and I were allowed to take as much as we wanted out of the "black gold" pile (the fabulous two-year-old stuff). In fact, DH's 30th wedding anniversary photo of me shows me up to the tops of my wellies in that pile! Now DH rests in peace next to one of those llamas--and although the "black gold" days are long gone, Dr. Bestest Neighbor still claims that my garden is more fertile than his because of it.
@A. Marie,
I love your story! Yes I have a friend who has a large alpaca farm. I work one day per month for her bagging up manure for sale at the Saturday markets, but this time of year I fill my dump trailer & take it home.
I layer and fluff my compost for two years, it is wonderful and I swear it is the secret ingredient for my sweet tomatoes.
Wellll, I have a bear shaped honey bottle in my cupboard. Does that count for trendy?
New Mexico IS the Land of Enchantment but ... some places and times of year are more enchanting than others. November ... Not a good choice. The weather is cold, the cottonwood trees that were so vibrantly colorful in October are dropping their leaves, you missed the State Fair in September, the International Balloon Fiesta in October is but a memory (thank goodness - the traffic it generates is impossible), the Rio Grande has been nothing much to look at because our Colorado River water compact requires us to send all the water to Texas at the moment. Think Spring (which can be windy!), Summer (which can be hot!), Fall (if you avoid Balloon Fiesta!). And you will enjoy Santa Fe much more than Albuquerque (your cancelled flight was probably into and out of Albuquerque). It's an easy drive north from Albuquerque, or there are a number of companies that offer various tours that could get you to Santa Fe and Taos. If you're a Georgia O'Keeffe fan you can visit her house in Abiquiu. If you want a hike, the Sandia Mountains (Sandia meaning Watermelon, because that's the color the mountains turn at sunset), the Bosque trails along the Rio Grande, and lots of hikes in and around Santa Fe might appeal. Lots of Indian Pueblos to visit.
@JDinNM, And if you do nothing else, stand outside at sunrise and sunset and marvel at the New Mexico sky.
@JDinNM, And New Mexico is geographically pretty huge. It's the 5th largest state by square miles, behind only Alaska, Montana, Nevada and Texas. But population-wise, it ranks 37th out of 50.
@JDinNM,
These are great tips. I have always wanted to go to Santa Fe. Tell me about Christmas in Santa Fe.
@Bee, Christmas is delightful everywhere in New Mexico! Santa Fe has a ton of musical events: Flamenco Dancing, the Santa Fe Women's Ensemble Winter Concert Series, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Nutcracker, Santa Fe Symphony conducted by Guillermo Figueroa and on and on. On December 7 there will be Las Posadas, a Hispanic candlelight procession reenacting Mary and Joseph's search for shelter. Many of the Indian Pueblos will celebrate feast days with dances and music. There will be a Winter Spanish Market in Santa Fe on December 6-7, and a Canyon Road Farolito Walk. There are lots of informative websites that can give you all the details about dates and locations. It's chilly in the winter; Santa Fe is at an elevation of 7,000+ feet!
1. I used over-ripe bananas to make 2 batches of banana pancakes for my kids
2. I dehydrated more tomatoes from our garden
3. I made vegetable stock using vegetable scraps and peels
4. I used home made vegetable stock, leftover potatoes, and the rest of a carton of milk to make baked potato soup for my lunches this week
5. I went through winter gear for my kids I had collected off Buy Nothing and stored, now that it is snowing here! I had winter coats, snow pants for 1 kid, and winter boots for both kids. I just needed to purchase snow pants for one of my kids, which cost me about $40. Overall a big cost savings by planning ahead!
Good call on canceling your flight. Even when the air traffic controllers go back to work there are already talks of some putting in retirement because of the Govt shutdown. Then add in the crazy amount of small aircraft crashes that have been happening regularly & near misses things are crazy out there.
Frugal things---
● free Hallmark card
● used Hallmark rewards/bonus coupons to get Fall pop up pumpkin card/decoration for $2 (instead of $9)
● purchased bug Cool Whip containers $1.99 each & picked up a few (pies & hot chocolate) & used Meijer rewards $4 off total
● Best Buy sent me a free $10 coupon & I bought snacks since they no longer carry DVD'S (& employee said clearing out video games also)
● eating all food at home & teen takes lunch to college (same old lunchbox from middle school)
● teen needed new screen protectors $6/3 pack (none for teen phone at Best Buy) so I placed Amazon order (& ordered more meds). Offered 30 days free Prime membership.
Frugal fail---
●??? I did not get into TMOBILE store to redeem FREE REWARD (TMOBILE) stocking cap (which I planned to put in donations bag for winter wear collections)
Since we have our first Snow of season (2"-3"/Michigan dusting) but temps have been on teens since Sunday I need to get donations to places for people.
To All our Veterans "Happy Veterans day "& Thank You for your service.
1. My son called from college about an ink stain. I looked online and found out that rubbing alcohol or hairspray would work. He doesn't have either. He called back later to say he saw some hand sanitizer....and it worked!
2. We ate a lot of leftovers.
3. We picked up a lot of chicken at a meat sale-- chicken breast for the best price we've seen in a LOOOOOONG time. We also got drumsticks and leg quarters. We froze most of it, but some of the chicken breast was canned. This is helpful for quick and easy meals in the future.
4. We bought flour in bulk.
5. Hm. Daughter and I bought pizza for supper at Sam's Club one night. Supper for two at about $5 total. Not bad.
6. I sent kids out to cut the mustard greens my husband planted earlier this fall. They were yummy.
The bearista cups -- insane.
Good move to cancel flight. I flew home from Oregon just before it all went crazy and I felt so lucky.
My frugals:
1. Hung up a load of laundry in the bathroom instead of paying $1 to put them in the dryer. Will continue to do this.
2. Saved the liquid from canned mandarin oranges to use in baked sweet potatoes.
3. Combined some dry popcorn "butter" seasoning with the tail end of the shortening to make popcorn "butter." I know it won't be as good as the real thing, but I'm using up two items I'm not really using.
4. Returned two books to the little free library and took one, so I did reduce my reading pile.
5. Got a rebate from Menards; will use tomorrow when I'm out that direction to get my hair cut.
1. Inadvertent frugality: I was making the copycat Panera cream/chicken/wild rice soup. There is no Panera in Fairbanks, so was trying it based on rave reviews from others. I was pouring in the wild rice and dropped the entire bag in there, rather than just a cup. Well, crap...fished out the cellophane bag and increased the ingredients times three, to match the wild rice. We ate it four five days, lunch and dinner. The remainder has been frozen. Cheap meals all week. Little kitchen cleanup all week.
2. Accepted a dozen eggs from a chicken raising neighbor whose dog we will be watching over Christmas.
3. I used to knit but my creativity has moved in a different direction. In our storage room I discovered a huge suitcase of yarn, all excellent quality usually from small family farms. Some of it was brought back from Scotland years ago. I also had a bunch of yarn that came from the sheep we used to raise. I sold it all for $350 and the person got a good deal because some of the skeins of muskox yarn cost over $50 each.
4. library for books and puzzles
5. We had a sweet tooth one evening so I peeled some elderly apples. Sliced and sauteed in a bit of butter and then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, they were a tasty and somewhat healthy dessert that made use of apples we would no longer want to eat raw.
1) Sunday we menu-planned based on what was already in the fridge or freezer. I grocery shopped at Aldi and then Costco on Monday. I made not one but TWO dishes in the crockpot yesterday. (I like to cook up a bunch of stuff on Monday because I am gone from the house for 13 hours on Tuesdays/Thursdays.) I just texted my husband to put a pork loin in the crock pot now for dinner tonight and emailed our oldest to chop the broccoli in the fridge when he gets home.
2) I mended our daughter's bed quilt, which had started to rip in one corner. Last week I repaired some holes that had formed in her pants. I fixed something else I am now forgetting. I am halfway through replacing the zipper in the really nice coat I bought her at Goodwill.
3) I noticed an $80 charge had hit the "authorization" section of our credit card and realized I had forgotten to cancel a subscription associated with an organization I am no longer part of. Yesterday I was able to call the company and cancel the subscription and renewal before it even hit our card. I'm usually so good at canceling that sort of thing, but this was unusual circumstances.
4) Last night I went with a friend to a local documentary premier and talk. I tried to pay for my ticket, but she insisted. I didn't buy snacks, so it was completely free evening for me. And the documentary was fantastic!
5) Yesterday I promptly submitted all my receipts for my trip last week and any other research expenses (like software and books) that I could add on. I have a small research budget through work, and I make sure to use every penny.
1.-I was working out of town for the past two months. My car stayed parked at home so no money spent on gas. I did have use of a company car for errands while away and they kept the gas tank full for us.
2.-I joined the local library in the town where I was staying and I used it. I did buy one out of print book at one of the town’s impressive used book stores. Having to deal with extra baggage on the trip home was a good deterrent.
3.-In the two months I was gone I only got take out pizza and no other takeout food. The pizza lasted for several meals.
4. -all housing, utilities, cleaning supplies and free washer and dryer were provided during that two month time.
-once home I sold two items on Facebook Marketplace. I’m unemployed now until January so every little bit counts
5.- cleaned out my pantry and gave away some extra food on my buy nothing group.
-Possible big frugal fail. The week before I flew home, the friend who was watching my house turned my heat on. The day I arrive home I opened my door to a sauna. We aren’t sure what happened but the heat was blowing continuously and it was 92 degrees in the house. Even the furniture was hot to the touch. The thermostat had stopped registering so I turned it off and popped out the hot batteries. I replaced the batteries and that’s when I saw that it was 92 degrees in the room. I couldn’t tell what the temperature was set at because the first thing I did was play around with the setting while the screen was blank. I haven’t had a problem with it since. I now await the gas bill to see if it had been 92 in here for a whole week. Ugh!!
On a positive note, I did save money on water usage while I was gone.
Free cat food is always such a wonderful bonus. At my latest dental cleaning, as I was chatting with my dentist about the outdoor cats they feed at her office, they are really cute and hang out right outside the floor length windows. Easy to watch as your getting your teeth cleaned. Anyway, she made the remark that they had bought all of these little containers of Sheba cat food and the outdoor cats would not eat them and would I like to take them to my cat? We're talking about a Aldi handled bag full of Sheba cat food that I have been feeding outside cats for the last month. Score!
I made a black bean soup recipe last week that called for 2 cans of beans and, it's not my normal recipe, I found it to be extremely liquidy so, I added another can of beans, it didn't help. So I decided I would just put rice in it to give it texture and have been eating that this past week along with pieces from a Cuban bread loaf that I bought last week, toasted with cowboy butter. I really love black bean soup, I just prefer for it to be less brothy.
The week before that I made a Cuban pork roast in the crockpot. Froze 99% of it and have been using that for sandwiches, soft tacos, stuffed baked potatoes and, burritos. I'm determined to get my money's worth out of that pork roast.
While quite a bit of a country have been under a major arctic freeze the last couple of days we haven't had it that bad in Tampa though I did cover my pickling cucumber plants last night because of the temperature and the wind. And I set Up a Little Amazon box with blankets for the outside cat on my screen porch. He slept very toasty and comfortable last night. I slept in shorts and a tank top with the windows open and woke up with 2 fuzzy cat blankets on top of me. I was extremely warm.
At a total of 9 outside cats yesterday but, the backyard cat is the only one I set a box up for on the screen porch. He's kind of a loner.
I made another loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and have been toasting it for breakfast with chunky peanut butter and a cup of Earl Gray tea.
Kristen, you are an inspiration to all you touch. I will be 69 years old in February and am just finishing my Master's this month that I started back in 1994 so, walking with you through your classes that have driven you nuts, I understand perfectly. My last professor for the year sounds like Scrooge McDuck and it takes all I can do not to laugh out loud on my Zoom calls. So when you're studying for that crazy class just think about it and a really weird voice and it will make you smile.
Blessings to all.
Someday you must dish on why that class is the "worst BSN class ever". Nosy people just want to know.
Albuquerque will still be there when the time is right.
My daughter works at Starbucks. She said people were lined up at 5 a.m. before the store opened to try to get the bear cup. Only her store didn't get ANY of the bear cups and only 2 of the Hello Kitty cups--they were gone the minute the store opened. Scarcity is what motivates people to get stuff like this. Then they can turn around and sell it like those postings. It was a win-win for Starbucks, because as long as they were there, people still bought drinks. Marketing by disappointment is actually quite successful.
Starbucks is a good employer--they offer health insurance and 401K's to all employees, the pay is pretty good (California has a minimum $20 an hour for "fast food" employees--my daughter has been there about 5 years and earns more), flexible hours, good working environment. I tend to make my own coffee drinks at home because it's still really expensive to get drinks there, but I'm thankful for the people who do patronize Starbucks and tip well on my daughter's behalf ;o) We do get a pound of free coffee every month--one of her job "perks".
So I guess that's my frugal thing of the week. I have an AeroPress Coffee maker--got it on sale last year, but they cost around $40. I can make "espresso-like" milk drinks that I enjoy for a fraction of what they cost at coffee shops, and once I got my "recipe" dialed in, it's the best coffee I've ever had. It's fast and easy to use, and I buy an economical brand of coffee and off -brand paper filters--I compost the grounds and the filters, so it's not putting a bunch of plastic capsules into the environment. I got a second AeroPress coffee maker for coffee at the office for my birthday last year so I can have good coffee on demand. Highly recommend if you are a frugal coffee drinker.
I had knee replacement surgery which had kept me home for about 2 weeks. Hubby got me HBO MAX so I could update myself on "And Just Like That". We will cancel when the month is up. Daughter is paying for Hulu so we are watching "The Bear" on that.
We've been mostly eating at home. One night we got pizza and all three of us thought "it just wasn't that good".
I'm reading library books and have gone thru 3 of them so far. Working on one now and picked up 2 more yesterday. Yesterday was the first day that I went out without my walker or cane. Did pretty good but got tired. I'm literally starting from zero with my endurance. Thank God for the mall that is about 3 miles away.
Keeping an eye on the electrical usage and heat. We bought a Jackery battery generator that can use solar panels to power up..as well as regular outlets but that defeats the purpose. Hubs is happy with it and uses it each week to plug the washing machine in and do our laundry.
If the Future Kristen ever wants to add Colorado to her list, we only live about 5 hours north of Albuquerque...up in the mountains of the San Luis Valley. And you'd be very welcome.
there is honey that comes in a bear shape see thru container. that's alot cheaper to take out the honey and put in another jar - clean up the bear and enjoy!
I don't get the trends like this bear cup, the Stanley cups, the Labubus, the tiny Trader Joes bag, etc.
Whay kind of emptiness are you carrying inside of you to need such objects to fill that void? Or how attached are you to other people perception of you (you are cool if you own those things, loser if you don't?). I find it pathetic to tell you the truth.
And often those same people (the buyers) will then complain that they are broke, that the world is unfair, bla bla bla... I know someone like this, I can't stand her. Ok, off my soap box!
My 5 frugals:
- Keeping a close eye on my groceries budget (500$ this month- In canada, family of 4). Doing well so far.
- Not buying any of the viral crap
- Main hobby is still reading. Books are from public library or free piles
- Taking extra shifts at work
- Focusing on my main work (I could be doing something else on the side but I'd rather do more at my actual work and get paid what I get paid + benefits in lieu + pension)
I have been able to take leftovers home from work & eat 2-3 meals a day there (hello grocery savings!).
A couple weeks ago I ordered a bunch of annual cat supplies from chewy and earned 2 $30 gift cards, used one last week to buy cat food and present me thanked past me for the forethought!
While I live at home with my folks for a season, instead of paying $ for rent, I help with housework, chores & errands. I am able to save the would be rent in my CIT savings 🙂
I started carpooling with a friend for work days.
Since I am new at work I can choose to do my CE hours on paychecks when I am a little under which is really nice, or in time for holiday shopping & use the boost for holiday stuff.
If your kitty likes Gems and you have a CVS near you, be on the lookout as they have had $1 coupons pretty regularly the last few months. When combined with other offers/rewards, I've been getting them for anywhere from $0.50 to free.
1. I did not spend anything out of pocket on my recent business trip. I ate all my meals within my meal allowance and didn’t feel the need to give any of my money to the casinos.
2. My flight home was early enough that there was no way I was going to use my meal allowance for the day so I hit up the airport book/snack store and bought a few snacks that will be used as stocking stuffers for my son and husband.
3. Work is having a food drive so I raided the pantry and I was very happy to find some unopened spices to add to my donations. Spices and seasonings are often overlooked when donations are made to food pantries, but they are very desirable.
4. I gave the fridge and pantry a good lookover before making my menu for the week. My husband did a small grocery run while I was out of town so I wanted to use what he purchased in the meal plan.
5. Before I left our basement refrigerator stopped working. We figured it out in enough time to lug everything in the freezer upstairs (the fridge part is just for drinks). My husband discovered it was the outlet and I scheduled an electrician to come out. I asked if we could do one more thorough look of all the basement outlets to see if there was a GFCI outlet that we could have missed. Thankfully we found it and I was able to cancel the electrician.
1. I’ve been picking up lots of extra shifts. I really enjoy my work, and I’m especially thankful because DH has been furloughed for over a month now.
2. I’ve been especially enjoying wearing my thrifted clothes recently. Most things I own are things I enjoy wearing and they are also comfortable (maternity pants excepted as they keep sagging). I love knowing that I bought them second hand which is both super frugal and also much more sustainable for the planet.
3. I redeemed my punch card for a free coffee at my favorite local coffee shop. (But, unfortunately the next time I went they were out of punch cards until their new shipment arrives.)
4. Thanks to Katy at NCA, I saw the Papa Murphy’s $1 medium pizza offer. We ordered two, one from DH’s account and one from mine. We made sure to tip well but it was still a frugal dinner plan that lasted two nights! Happily, it also used up some wilting fridge ingredients including some green onions, homegrown roma tomatoes, homegrown basil, and part of a very wrinkly pepper.
5. I got together with a friend for a playdate, and she treated us to her family’s membership at the local children’s museum. My kiddo really enjoyed it and we were reminded that this might make a great Christmas or birthday gift from grandparents as opposed to more stuff.
6. I received another $4.01 from the FB Tracking class action. I received $40.67 earlier this year from the same settlement.
7. I made soup using up some wrinkly veggies. I also made cornbread to go with it and used flax eggs and some soured cream mixed with milk.
My Frugal 5s+
• Sold my youngest daughter's Colombia winter coat that she's overgrown on Marketplace for $30.
• Wrote to an eBay seller that I'm disappointed in the Wagner cast iron skillet they sent me. I was told it laid pretty flat and rock slightly. When I received it, it spin significantly and rock more than slightly. I won't be able to use it on my glass stove top. Hoping for a positive resolution.
• Submit a request for missing/ broken lego parts online.
• Switched out a toy my girl wanted for Christmas and returned the other one.
• Got a kids' bedding set for free off my Buy Nothing group.
• Ate a free lunch at church from the wonderful food pantry staff since I was volunteering.
• Got some candied apples from the food pantry for free that was left behind. My girls enjoyed it as an after school snack.
• Was able to help purchase my husband's camping spot online and saved him the trouble of doing it.
• Making food from home. For tonight, I made a batch of winter melon soup using what I already had, per my daughter's request.