Five Frugal Things | a regular tree
1. I got some free ornaments from my Buy Nothing group
I don't have a lot of my original Christmas ornaments, and that was fine last year because of Lisey's Brobee Christmas tree.
If you are new here, you might not know that Lisey has a history of wanting off-the-wall Christmas trees, such as this Cookie Monster tree.
But this year, Zoe and I are doing something slightly more traditional. 😉 So, when I saw someone offering a bag of silver Christmas balls, I said, "Yes please!"
They were missing hooks, so I popped into Dollar Tree and got a package, and now I'm good to go.
2. I got my internet bill reduced
I noticed that the price had gone up, so I got on a chat with the Verizon rep. Somehow, an $18.99 Disney bundle had been added to my service (maybe it was a free trial year when I signed up? I don't know!).
I got that removed promptly. 🙂
3. I got $1.99/pound butter
I popped in at Aldi for a few things and noticed that butter was $1.99/pound, which is a very decent price for these current times. They had a limit of six, so that's what I bought, and I popped them all into my chest freezer.
I love having a chest freezer for things like this! I never have to worry that my stocked-up butter is gonna get freezer burnt.
4. I cancelled my Dinnerly boxes
Since my semester is over and I don't currently have any heel-wearing appearances on my calendar (!!), life has calmed down a bit.
Sooo, I figured I can get rid of the Dinnerly crutch for now, although I will not rule out the possiblity of re-subscribing when things get crazy at the end of second semester.
(Dinnerly is a meal kit that's like Hello Fresh, but cheaper ($5/serving). It's more expensive than grocery shopping, yes, but less expensive than takeout! So it's good during a temporary busy time of life.)
5. I did not buy a new phone
My phone was having some serious reception issues, rather out of the blue. So I got on two separate chat sessions with Mint Mobile, and the second guy helped me reset some things.
I had started to wonder if my phone was broken, so I actually had an Amazon window open with refurbished iPhones pulled up. 😉
But, the Mint Mobile guy's fix seemed to do the trick, so perhaps my phone is all right.
My phone is a 2019 model, so I'm not gonna lie: I AM a little tempted to upgrade to one with a nicer camera. Since this one is back in business, though, I'm gonna hold off.
I got a refund for an item that was ruined in shipping. (A huge bag of chocolate chips ripped and when I opened the box the chips were rolling around freely inside. I had to throw them away. Which was painful but at least I got the refund. My trash can smelled delicious though!)
I found some leggings on clearance in my child's hard- to- find size.
We ate leftovers more times than usual in an effort to make room in the refrigerator for the holiday goodies.
Bought Target gift cards for my kids' teachers when there was the 10 percent discount. I have about 10 teachers that I like to give a holiday gift to, so while gift cards are more expensive than baking, they're welcomed by the teachers. And whenever I try to do a big batch of baking for gifts, something always goes wrong. So this prevents waste.
Used a 30% off coupon from my work to buy a school hoodie for a present.
At the holidays, frugal can be hard to come by!
@mbmom11, How did you get shipping refund? Was it USPS? I recently had very damaged package from USPS (SO BAD CARRIER PUT APOLOGY NOT ON & IMMEDIATELY SCANNED DAMAGED) but online says no insurance (priority mail) & can't make claim.
@Regina, up to $100 of insurance is included with priority mail.
https://www.usps.com/ship/insurance-extra-services.htm
Make sure you photograph and document. If you are having trouble with the online form, go to the post office (I hope it’s nearby) and speak with the postmaster. During Covid, they helped me find a lot of my eBay packages that “disappeared.”
@Regina,
It was through Sam's club, so I think FedEx. But Sam's club gave me credit right away. I didn't have to go to the shipper. As much as some people are not fond of Sam's Club and Amazon, I find that the customer service dept does very well to remedy issues quickly.
Life has been pretty quiet here:
1. I attended a late afternoon holiday party at DH's work. They had chicken skewers so I ate some then just added fruits and vegetables at home and called it good for dinner.
2. Giant offered me $10 off a $50 grocery order. I bought some produce and some chicken sausage, since it was on sale and is good fr a while, and paid $40.20 total.
3. I had $20 off on a Lidl order for previously spending $100 on gift cards. I stocked up on baking supplies. I also bought a $100 gift card to take advantage of another offer of $20 off a future order.
4. I made a list of all the perishable food that needs to be eaten and have used that to guide my meals and snacks this week. I roasted a big bag of Brussels Sprouts a neighbor gave me since they were not going to use them before the suggested use by date.
5. I don't have anything festive to wear this time of year but remembered I'd bought a navy cardigan with a snowflake pattern at Goodwill in the spring. It was perfect for attending DH's work party. I paid $4 for it and it looked unworn.
Yay for no heels—may you be ever closer to being unmarried! At the very least, it will be nice to not have heel-worthy appointments during the holidays.
FFT
It's rare that Target's app offers align with both my shopping list and trips to town, but I got lucky the past few weeks!
--First came an offer for 30% off all pet food. That beat both Chewy.com and Amazon by a wide margin, so I stocked up our boys.
--That purchase then combined with two other different spending threshold promotions, which for once applied to things we genuinely needed, like trash bags. These promos resulted in $35 worth of gift cards. I've been gradually using those for groceries that are cheapest at Target (pints of heavy whipping cream, for one, which we use for coffee and cooking).
--20% off ALL pet supplies meant I could get our litter cheaper than Chewy.com, so I grabbed a bag. Dr. Elsey's lasts forever, but we still like to have one in reserve.
--That same Target trip ALSO corresponded with a "$10 off $60" coupon and several manufacturer's coupons. I bought $89 worth of needed household backstock—like the litter—for $48, just in time for my husband's reduced winter hours (see below).
--My husband's job once again provided $50 grocery gift cards as the guys' Thanksgiving bonus. Since we already had everything we needed for our two person holiday, we saved the card for our traditional winter financial lock down. After the first snowfall, his outdoor job ranges from full to 1/2 hours depending on the weather. Not surprisingly, this is also when we work our way through the depths of the pantry and freezer! The gift card will fill in our vegetable and fruit needs, which are substantial. Four servings of fruit a day is a typical snack, and it’s the rare dinner that doesn’t include vegetables.
@N,
Go you on the Target deals! I need to pay more attention to their deals, since we have 3 cars and a dog. I always try to replenish our household needs and cleaning supplies when they have gift cards for spending a certain amount.
@N, Last time I tried using coupons in addition to their "$10 off $40" Target would not do it. They said only one discount per item. Needless to say, I left my groceries there. I called the manager when I got home and she said it was a new policy at Target not to honor coupons when there is already a discount. So I guess when items are on sale I cannot use my coupons. Very disappointing! Now I'm wondering if it is just my local Target or a corporate policy.
@Teri, I genuinely don’t know! I’ve had some Target coupons not work for the reason you cite, whereas other times they go through just fine. I had an employee tell me once that the deals’ efficacy changes with every app/system update. I never go in expecting all my coupons to work so I can be happily surprised when most or all do! 😛
1- Netflix buckled down and after doing the math, my adult daughter and I decided not to share anymore ( they allow you to add another household for $8). So my bill is going down but hers is going up
2- saw a charge on the credit card and found it was for an anti-virus device protection we weren’t using. Cancelled immediately ( though they didn’t make it easy!)
3- a tin of hot cocoa which was a Christmas present came dented and the company sent a new one to replace it and I don’t need to send back the damaged one. Normally I wouldn’t have complained but didn’t want to give a dented can as a gift
4- we’ve been sharing sickness for the last 3 weeks, so we haven’t eaten much or cooked too much. Keeps the grocery bill down
5- for our big family Christmas, everyone brings food, so all I need to make this year is the punch and the beef tenderloin
@Vallie D,
Oh one more big one: went to my local dog shelter to drop off a donation, visited and said hi to all the dogs, and didn’t come home with one!! Always a struggle ( we have 3 now, down from 5!)
@Vallie D, So hard to not come home from the shelter with dog!
@Vallie D, that is very frugal!! I could definitely not resist the lure of a doggie from a shelter and only the fact that our curent rental has categorically disallowed dogs has kept this in check! Problem is, once we move to our own place - next year, first quarter - all bets are OFF!
A shelter two hours away (by my sister's, in fact) has a dog I desperately want but I simply don't have the energy to drive there and meet him. They require a meeting before you can apply to adopt. I'm sorry, little guy, someone else will love you. 🙁
@Caro, don't you really mean "All bets are ARF"? (Sorry, couldn't resist! And I do hope you get your own doggo(s) once you're in your own home.)
ARF is one of our local rescues. (Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons.) My daughter is in love with a kitten there.
@Rose, if I lived close, I would drive you.
@A. Marie, good one girl.
@Anne, Thanks, sweetie. I really am conflicted about a third dog but he is so darling and looks like my Bertie of beloved memory.
@Rose, I think I could easily become an animal hoarder, especially if they are older and missing an eye or a leg or some other malady that makes them sort of unadoptable.
I'm sorry you don't have your original ornaments. I have many with sentimental value, I can guess it may be the same for you. I'm glad you got some pretty ones to make your tree beautiful.
I like Lisey's Christmas trees as they're fun. And so cute.
My frugal five:
1) Oldest child getting married but it will be a small ceremony. We will be saving a ton of $ on this. They are not fancy and not into crowds. My guess is possibly dinner afterwards.
2) We have airline credit due to some crazy events while travelling. About $400 in travel bucks and we will use them next year.
3) I've been searching for 8 years for a cabinet maker to fix a door. Found one. He said he can repair my door for $100. Bargain.
4) DS2 will be going back to school for his Master's. He'll speak to his current boss about sponsoring his schooling and maybe work for the company afterwards. He will try to negotiate something with his current employer. Worth a shot, right?
5) Hoping hubby learned this valuable lesson that deals with money and the IRS. Keep a emergency fund.. I got him a free consult with a lawyer but he shouldn't have ignored the IRS penalties. They kept tacking more on with time. And when he decided to pay them, he had to ask family members for loans.
Question - how much prep are the Dinnerly meals? I tried a meal service this fall and the meals were all way more "fiddley" than things I would make on my own.
@Amelia, Not bad. You can look up sample menus and instructions online.
So while I read FFT every week, this will be my first time contributing. ..
1) our family took a free overnight vacation. My husband had a meeting 3 hours away and was given a budget for a hotel. We were able to get a room on a "kids paradise " hotel for no cost to us. The kids enjoyed the pool, climbing structures, playroom etc. of course o brought most food and snacks!
2) made a menu for the next month to using mostly food from the freezer. Need to pick up fruits and veggies as well as milk, but that's all.
3) made a schedule of activities for my kids break. So many free things to do! A local store is having 2 free Lego "make and take " events, another is having cookie decorating, the library is showing movies and the arena has free skating every afternoon!
4) wrapped all holiday gifts in last years clearance paper. Said gifts were all bought in major clearance too.
5)working on our monthly budget for 2024. This will keep me on track and frugal
@Lindsay, Hello! Sounds like some good family activities going on around your home!
@Heidi Louise, thank you! We try to keep busy! But some of the activities are so pricey lately ( well over $100 for a few hours at play places. Yeesh. And we live in an area with "not so great " winter weather. So it's tough )
@Lindsay, Yes! on the free things to do with the kids. I always did that when my kids were little. I belonged to a church and there was a play place that would give admission discounts for groups so about twice a year I organized a group from church to go. Everyone loved it.
All about the food this week . . .
--My youngest son's birthday was yesterday. His favorite food is sandwiches, and originally I thought it would be really fun for him if my husband could go pick up one of those giant Subway party sandwiches for dinner. However. The nearest Subway to us--60 miles away--doesn't make the really long subs, and it would be $50 for five 12-inch subs. And you don't choose the fillings. So instead I bought three long loaves of French bread, three kinds of deli meat, and three kinds of pre-sliced cheese, plus lettuce and tomatoes, and we made our own. I haven't done a cost comparison, but I have a bunch of everything left, and I'm pretty sure I would not have any Subway sandwiches left, so I bet it came out to way less money.
--Saturday was my day for using everything languishing in my refrigerator. Between a Spanish tortilla and a stew, I used the liquid from cooking a pork roast, leftover lamb, leftover yogurt sauce from the lamb dinner, some bacon that was on the verge, the last of the tomatoes from the garden that have been slowly ripening in the kitchen, the last of the garden parsley that's been hanging out in a jar of water in the refrigerator for two months, and two egg whites left from making a dessert.
--The stew fed the home crew that night, and the Spanish tortilla fed me and the basketball player in the car on the way home from a far away game (100 miles, one way). I also brought some homemade hot cocoa in my Thermos for my son to drink. Way better than concession food. And way cheaper, of course.
--I've been baking so much. SO MUCH. For silent auctions (tips for Mexican Wedding Cookies is on my site today, because 'tis the season), for birthdays, for teacher/co-worker/neighbor gifts, for holiday events and parties. I don't really love to bake, but I know it saves a ton of money.
--I actually went in the bread aisle in the store last week. My son wanted bread pudding for his birthday breakfast, and I've been gifting so much bread I don't have a lot on hand. I was appalled at the prices, though. When did not-very-fancy bread get to over five dollars? So now I know how much money baking my own sourdough at like 50 cents a loaf for years has saved us. I ended up using some of the french bread I bought for the sandwiches for the bread pudding. It was in the baked goods display at the front of the store, and was only about three dollars, which seemed much more reasonable.
@kristin @ going country,
Bread prices are very high now. Even the white sponge at Aldi is over a dollar. Making your own bread is very worth the effort, frugally speaking. And it tastes better, too.
@kristin @ going country, that's if you can find good/healthy bread. We have always ate whole grain wheat & can't find burger buns anywhere for last 6+ months & bread is hard to find also.
We can't do sourdough bread as it is made with milk cultures which we are allergic to anything milk/dairy. And I really don't care for unhealthy white, which has become the only thing available at stores.
@kristin @ going country, I've done the cost comparisons on Subway before (though not the giant sandwiches) and I can tell you unless you're paying $15/lb for the meat & cheese, you definitely saved money!
Six foot heroes are a big thing in New York. In fact, that was one of my cousin's wedding receptions, something which made my father's eyes roll heavily.
@Regina, I don't use milk in my sourdough. It's literally just flour, salt, and water. Method on my blog, if you want to see. I used to make it with some whole wheat flour.
https://going-country.blogspot.com/search/label/sane%20sourdough
@Rose, That was I was thinking would be fun for the birthday dinner. The sheer size would have been thrilling for the boy who is definitely my biggest eater. He would have loved that wedding. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, They're totally fun! We used to get them sometimes for the office from Hero-Boy in Manhattan. Yum!
http://www.manganarosheroboynewyork.com/
@Rose, Reminds me of the gag in the sitcom "Wings" about The Big Sandwich.
@Bobi, and @kristin@going country,
I've never done a cost comparison, but just mentally guesstimating (agreeing with @Bobi) that you saved $$ making your own Big Sammies.
@Rose,
I think that'd be awesome to have at a wedding reception! One of my nephews had pizza delivered to his wedding reception. He and his (now ex-) wife had a teeny tiny budget, so this is what they wanted. Nothing wrong with that, though hubby and I left to go to a nearby restaurant we love instead (the restaurant is on a lake, and far from home, so a rare opportunity to go there).
Hosted my paternal family Christmas party this weekend. We all bring dishes our Gram loved to make. I always make her Sausage and Peppers. - Sausage links I buy when marked down in the fall, tomato juice was made by me with tons of garden tomatoes a friend abandoned on me, peppers bought at a discount grocery store super low priced- sliced and frozen for this meal!
Also made her spinach souffle- it calls for cutting the crusts off the cheap white bread. I tossed those into a mixing bowl with a loaf of stale brioche and made a lovely french toast casserole!
Did a MAJOR grocery haul last Thursday when the store( where 2 kids work) had 5x the perks for employees- this was a planned event- using lots of store coupons I had been hoarding, took advantage of a pile of ibotta offers, paid for 1 order with points previously received. I don't remember how much I spent in total but I saved a LOT in the end-lol
Husband and I had to make a return at walmart and decided to try to find some stuff for the kids.. When I realized we actually found a good amount I cashed out most of my Ibotta money into a W gift card and that paid for 75% of the bill.
I came home after my short day of work yesterday and ate leftovers from the fridge instead of grabbing takeout.. which sounded so good.. Oh well
Yay for no heel wearing events on your calendar! And for break—i think we all appreciate it this time of year.
1. Snagged a few things from discard piles when me and a colleague had to rearrange and consolidate on very short notice. I had been looking for some of the items but didn’t want to purchase them.
2. Meal planned and started getting food for Christmas early so I could spread out extra cost. I am doing one of our favorite meals and it is mostly with inexpensive ingredients which help defray costs.
3. Used the library to read a book I had wanted to read last year. I was on the hold list so long I had forgotten about the book. So it was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, given some of what I’m going through, one thread of the story makes me panicky so I may have to give it up until later.
4. I’m using resources I have accessible to me through my (not yet legally) ex’s work at no cost to me.
5. I packed lunches, didn’t buy the sparkling water that tempted me, ate at home for all the meals, helped kids organize stuff which led to the finding of a $5000 hearing aid (phew).
@Kaitlin, glad you found the hearing aid. Those things are crazy expensive!
Kristen, I am sorry about your ornaments. I'm very attached to ours. So many memories. So many given and/or made by my loved ones who I miss.
So much excitement around here! Between college boy coming home, our dear friend coming home from the hospital with hospice, another friend in the hospital, and sickness among us, the end of Advent has not been un-stressful for our household. (Did I mention my husband-pastor is sick and that Christmas is this weekend?) But, I was able to do a few thrifty things.
*I am continuing to make some Christmas gifts.
*I stopped at the local thrift store yesterday to look for stocking stuffers. No luck. But I did find several new-to-me tops and pants in my new-to-me size. (Two items were too small, but I am saving them for the (hopefully near) future.
*I made my coffee at home.
*I made homemade bread for gifts for my physical therapists.
*I made homemade bread for my family.
*When my adult-sized son told me he needed a new winter coat because the old one had a tear that was spewing down (and because said down coat is 30 years old anyway), I hopped online and ordered an online gift card with credit card points. Then I ordered a new coat for him and new socks for my girls. No out-of-pocket money. This is why I like using a credit card.
*I encouraged my husband as he dealt with some money issues related to what seems like dishonest people trying to get our money.
*I need to use some celery in cooking, but the bag of celery had been sitting too long. It looked icky. But I toughed it out and stripped off the offending ribs to find some good stuff in the middle.
*Instead of buying baby food for my father (his dentures split in half), I used my trusty blender and food processor to grind up his food.
*Instead of buying kitty treats for our outside cat, I saved the juices from cans of tuna to give her as a treat. I made buttermilk.
That's more than five, but I needed to feel a little more like I have some control. . . and it makes me feel good to list them and see that I'm still doing something productive.
@Jody S., Our priest is sick right now, too. He canceled First Communion class yesterday, no doubt hoping to recover in time for the five Masses he's saying in one day for Christmas Eve services, with a total of nine(!) Masses in three days, spread out among six different churches, a total of 100 miles between the farthest ones. Christmas is a marathon for him, and your husband too, I would imagine. I hope he's recovered in time for Christmas services.
@kristin @ going country, My husband "only" has 3 in two days. I'm pretty sure he'll not do Advent services (2) tomorrow. We'll see. But, wow! A 6-point parish!!!
@Jody S., @A.Marie, FRUGAL FAIL: Remember that apple peel vinegar I had fermenting in a jar? Well, I forgot about it. When I checked, it smelled like vinegar, but it had nasty stuff growing on top. It was tossed.
@Jody S., my regrets about the vinegar. This may only have been the "mother of vinegar" you sometimes read about, but I don't find that appealing, so I too usually toss vinegars that have it.
@Jody S., He only (only, ha) has three to go to every Sunday, spread across a 50-mile trip. The other ones are what are called mission churches. They're beautiful historic churches in quite remote places that no longer have regular congregations of their own. He celebrates Mass at those once a month and on certain holidays. Christmas is one. Also, this year Christmas Eve being on a Sunday means he has to do our regular Sunday services, and then the Christmas Eve services. It's a really crazy schedule this year. I feel for all priests and ministers.
@kristin @ going country,
Then, the next week we have the regular Sunday Masses AND the holy day of obligation Masses the next day for New Years! I am glad every year is not like this.
@st, Oh man. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet, but you're right.
@A. Marie, Nope. Not the mother. Too furry.
I'm glad to hear that you don't have any heel-wearing occasions pending this month. I'm hoping your next fft includes a trip to Hawaii using Lisey's flight perks!
My fft are the same old this week: food from the freezer or Aldi, coffee at home, etc. I did buy some Christmas gifts, but I didn't go crazy, which is good because little cat has another UTI vet trip scheduled for tomorrow and those are never cheap.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Hopefully this means getting unmarried is on the horizon!
Nothing special here this week. The usual home cooking, an occasional thrift shop find (a porcelain plant pot), plus an unexpected extra in my company treating the workers to a lovely dinner.
Very gradually my husband and I are losing a bit of weight. I will need to have some trousers taken in next year and have some older pants that feel delightfully comfortable now. Husband has gone done an entire size and then some and his trousers.are fitting him very loosely now. He'll have a look in a drawer with smaller sizes clothes if there are any pants. Some of his bigger clothes can be worn off at home, others have been gifted to thrift shops
Especially the too big coats. It will be good if they can get new homes with the cold months ahead.
-we took advantage of the mild and dry weather on Saturday to work on fencing in a second pasture area for the cows. We borrowed a post digger attachment for my husband's skid loader, used fence posts and boards that we already had on hand, and some good old manual labor.
-I was tempted to get takeout Saturday night after all that work, but decided to make homemade pizza.
- yesterday morning we woke up to 17" of water in our basement from the heavy rains Sunday night. Flooding is expensive, but I think we managed to minimize the costs. My husband was able to borrow a pump from his work, and we bought a new sump pump and an alarm which he can install himself to hopefully prevent this in the future. After many hours of cleanup (most of the kids Christmas presents were saturated and I went through each and every one to see what could be saved), I think the actual damage is minimal although our large upright freezer is not quite acting normally... TBD
@JP,
Oh no! What a difficult thing to deal with right before Christmas!! Hope some of the presents were salvageable. ♥
@st, I join you in the hope that JP was able to save some of the presents. Flooded basements are always a bummer, but this one was major.
@A. Marie, and st, thank you. Most of the presents were salvageable, although the packaging was not, and the things that will probably not make it (a Bluetooth speaker for my husband, and photo calendars for my mom and MIL, some candy for stockings) are pretty easily reordered. The freezer seems to be suffering however, so we are in the midst of emptying it and seeing if a good defrost and drying out will fix the problem.
@JP,
Yikes! We suffered a flooded basement last year....what a mess, AND we had to pay for a new sump pump with alarm & installation. Glad most of the gifts are salvageable, and fingers crossed your freezer is okay.
@JP, My basement got lots of water that wasn't standing but soaked up in the carpet. Dh did remove about 20 gallons with the shop vac.
Personally I think I would be a little scared to plug in a freezer that was sitting in water even after it dried out. But I have a huge fear of fire so that's where that comes from.
1. Mr. B was giving away an old sweater, which I poached and now it's mine!
2. I submitted receipts to insurance, but they didn't pay it, and now I shall do battle. Sigh. Needs must.
3. I am not paying for a $1300 review course for my exam. It's a virtual course, but we have free access to the videos from the last two years. I've slowly been going through them on my own, which works better for me, and saves us the money.
4. We are in a no-time-or-energy-to-cook mode more than I would like, but we rely on frozen pizzas and easy meals, plus the occasional sandwich bought at work. I remind myself that it's all still cheaper than takeout.
5. In the run up to my licensing exam, I'm sleeping at my aunt's house sometimes--she's out of town, and it's a quiet place to sleep through the night and study in the early morning. It's cheaper than a hotel (though still a total bummer to be away from my family.) Such is life for people who have children in residency! Gosh, I'll be glad to hit March. Life is going to feel so much easier.
My aunt and uncle had a tree with a ton of silver ornaments on it every year. And then there was the lone ornament that had writing on it from when they got married. My cousin still has the one lone ornament. I bet the tree looks pretty with the ornaments.
We did not buy a tree this year, which saves us a lot. I am traveling to visit my sister and my husband will be working a lot. A new kitten without supervision and a Christmas tree do not mix, so there will be no tree up this year. And since I was sick right after Thanksgiving, there is not a lot of Christmas around here. Our kitty is too inquisitive.
I will be making the last few gifts. I have all the supplies, just need to do it. The majority of our gifts have been shipped and received. I even sent a box to my sister's so they could be wrapped as we know how TSA likes to unwrap gifts! Saves room in the carry on too!
I purchased some Christmas pajamas for my sister and I and then found better ones, so I promptly returned the original ones so they do not appear on my CC statement.
We have enough credits at Sam's club so my husband can get his seafood that he wants to cook for his Christmas feast for free. I am NOT a seafood lover, so he can cook all he wants while I am gone.
Went to our favorite restaurant over the weekend when football was on. It was amazingly not crowded because everyone was still shopping. When football is on, they have $10. pitchers of beer rather than $6.00 glasses. My husband got one and I had a $10. off $25. coupon. So our meal and tip was less than $40. Of course we tipped based on the total before the coupon.
I sold some furniture and the cash went promptly into paying off some credit card debt.
Phone connection thing must be widespread because having similar issues here & others also---but not with same carrier. I'm to same point of checking out new phones, guess I better ask for help also. 🙂
Frugal things----
● getting gas today & saving $0.30/gallon making it $2.69/gallon
●Meijer having daily deals & was able to get 50% off holiday hand towels. Since newspaper carrier won't take gift bag out of paper box I need to change homemade apple crisp (frozen) to nice (bath & body works) hand soap & towel to drop off at newspaper office for carrier.
●eating out of freezer & pantry & only buying sale items from store(s)
●returned $20 pair of socks (was 50% off next day, not day purchased & didn't make it back)
●hand delivered/dropped off Christmas cards that were local --- saving stamps (price increase January 1st again)
@Regina, You have a little leeway on postage: Increase is January 21, in the U.S.
Ahh! I'm so excited that you made it to this point! No heel wearing appointments and a school break!! Enjoy some well-deserved rest, dear!
My FFT this week:
1. I was super late with making and ordering my photo calendars, so the discounts weren't as great as they could have been (no guilt - life has kept me busy!), but I signed up for text alerts to get a better promo code and searched the app and found an additional free shipping code.
2. I met someone at McDonald's yesterday to do some training for some volunteer stuff we're doing (hooray for a playplace for the kids to utilize!) and I ordered through the app so I could use the 25% off deal of the day.
3. My dad offered to take us to see The Polar Express at the theaters on Friday afternoon and I got a large popcorn and large drink that the kids and I all shared.
4. Part of our teacher gifts this year were jars of apple butter that I canned this fall.
5. While my butter price isn't as good as Kristen's, I did stock up on butter my last couple of trips to Aldi. I know about how much I need for the year, so I try to only buy it at Christmas and Easter when it's on sale. My Aldi has the holiday price of $2.49. Still better than normal prices!
1. One of the flannel shirts I recently thrifted turned out to have stinky armpits. It is an otherwise very nice shirt, so I did some research and successfully removed the stink by thoroughly wetting the armpit areas with sudsy ammonia and scrubbing well with laundry detergent. For good measure, the shirt got a nice soak in ammonia and warm water before it was rinsed well and washed as usual. It came out fresh and clean. Interestingly, the soaking water seemed to strip detergent residue from the shirt, as the water was discolored and the shirt is now brighter looking.
2. Took an old storebought quilt and cut part of it into a big pillowcase for one of the dog’s beds. Stitched up the main seam on the sewing machine and mended a few small holes by hand.
3. Combined a coupon with a sale and rewards cash in buying toilet paper at the drugstore. With that trifecta, it becomes rather inexpensive.
3. Replenished spray bottles of glass cleaner, pump bottles of hand soap and the squirt bottle of dish detergent from large refill bottles.
4. My son’s cat clawed two holes in the armchair in his room, which I rewove using some yarn and a big tapestry needle.
5. Present Me is glad Past Me had the foresight to buy two sets of laundry room window valances at my favorite clearance store because curtains in that room get dusty fast. Having a matching spare pair gives the fabric a rest from the beating sun, washing, and dirt dishes out.
@Ruby, good for you on your #1. As we and other commenters have agreed here in the past, good-quality flannel shirts are getting hard to find (even LL Bean's aren't what they used to be), so I think it's worth going the extra mile to save one.
@Ruby,
Funny coincidence: I just Googled last night how to use ammonia. I have a bottle from my mother in law's house, but had no idea it could be used to get out odors and stains in clothing.
@Liz B., ammonia is the original laundry detergent from the days of the Roman empire, but is not used much any more. It's a fantastic degreaser, and works on armpit funk in clothes because it removes the body oils that hold the smell in the fabric.
We keep a big bottle of it in the garage for cleaning our trash cans because the soapy water won't hurt the grass. That was what I used to defunkify my shirt.
FFT, Pre-Holiday Miscellany Edition:
I posted about a few of my pre-holiday doings on yesterday's FFT at the Non-Consumer Advocate, but here are a few more.
(1) Forgot to mention at the NCA that on Sunday, I attended the annual reading of holiday mini-plays put on by a group of local amateur dramatists to which Dr. Bestest Neighbor belongs. Admission was a donation to a local charity that he and the group have consistently supported. I noted on my check that the donation was in honor of Dr. BN, and this will be one of his holiday presents from me, as he's asked for tangibles (books, clothes, etc.) to be kept to a minimum this year.
(2) Mild holiday frugal fail/bummer: My old flip phone started rapidly losing charge and otherwise malfunctioning, so I ended up having to get a new one yesterday at my local Target (which houses the closest Consumer Cellular service desk in the area). Not only was the CC representative not overly courteous (although she did do what needed to be done to get me back up and running), but I was reminded why else I don't go to Target or similar stores during the holiday season if I can help it: a double dose of cranky fellow customers and "nemesis carols" (see below). I'm glad Kristen had better luck with her phone issue.
(3) After describing at the NCA how much I'd enjoyed the carols at a party I attended Friday night--especially a lovely one I never hear anywhere else in the real world, "Thou Who Wast Rich" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhEr6asRRBg)--I mentioned my concept of a "nemesis carol." This is a carol that (a) you hate and (b) you can't seem to get away from during a given holiday season. My nominee this year is "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"; my past ones have included "Simply Have a Wonderful Christmas Time" and "Do You See What I See?"; and other folks mentioned "The Little Drummer Boy," "Santa Baby," and "Last Christmas," among others (although Lindsey did put in a good word for "Drummer Boy"). Further nominations are welcome. Not particularly frugal, but fun.
(4) I'm planning to spend this snowy day in. After a ride on my exercise bike (where I'm tackling a book from my towering to-be-read pile), I'll finish writing holiday cards for local delivery. And I'll deliver as many of these as possible by hand once it stops snowing.
(5) Finally, holiday plans have shaped up here. I'll be hosting the BNs and my next-door neighbor (NDN) for Christmas Eve dinner as usual (the lamb, bought Reduced for Quick Sale at Wegmans after Easter, is already in the freezer); I'll be meeting the BNs for modest prezzies and brunch on Christmas Day morning; and I'll be taking NDN to an open house at her other close friend's (CF's) on Christmas Day afternoon. One of the unexpected blessings of this year, in fact, has been getting to know CF better.
@A. Marie,
"The Christmas Shoes" I already mentioned I dislike it greatly. Most of yours are also on my list of "Please, no!" songs.
One I never hear out and about, but love to sing in church: Venite Adoremus.
@JD, my family has a funny "Venite Adoremus" story: The first year he was in our church's junior choir (he was 9 at the time), my brother misread and mis-sang the line "The angels hovered round" as "The angels hoovered round." In the privacy of our home, we never sang it any other way after that--and it conjures up, for me, an irresistible image of angels with vacuum cleaners.
@A. Marie,
Love your term "Nemesis Carol". One of our local radio stations began playing such music on Veteran's Day -- I promptly took it off my car radio's preset buttons so I wouldn't accidently come upon that "Christmas Station." But, alas, the store where I work started piping in that very station on Dec. 1. I'm sick of all the sound effects, like hoof beats and horses' neighing on the various editions of "Sleigh Ride." I am also tired of "Rocking Around the Xmas Tree" and "Jingle Bell Rock," to name a few. Nemesis Carols are right-- Bah Humbug!
@A. Marie,
That would be a bit like heaven to me, if the angels would do my vacuuming. I hope I can sing the carol now without picturing the Hoovers... too funny!
@A. Marie, I learned We Three Kings as "We three kings of Orient are, smoking on a rubber cigar. One was loaded and exploded, so now we are only two." It is very frustrating for the husband, as he had to learn it for his singing group's Christmas performances but has listened to my version for so many years that he had to work very hard not to use the wrong words while performing.
@A. Marie, my nemesis Christmas Carol is I saw Momma Kissing Santa Claus.
@Lindsey, here's my childhood regional variant (SE TN) on your version of "We Three Kings": "We three kings of Orient are/Tried to smoke a rubber cigar/It was loaded and it exploded/And now we live on Mars."
Also, at the carol party I attended on Friday, I tried to raise some enthusiasm for the Walt Kelly "Pogo" version of "Deck the Halls": "Deck us all with Boston Charlie/Walla Walla Wash in Kalamazoo..."--but, sadly, not enough folks there were old enough to remember it.
@A. Marie, "Good King Wences car backed out, on a piece of Stephen..."
From a childhood book, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians.
@karen, When I was a kid I legitimately thought the mom was having an affair, and I never caught on that it was supposed to be the dad, dressed as Santa Claus...probably because my dad never dressed as Santa Claus! Also I still believed in Santa and thought he was horrible for cheating on Mrs. Claus that way.
@JD, I love O Come Emmanuel. Such a hauntingly gorgeous advent song. I especially like one sung by Celtic Angels. But, unlike most people, I love Christmas music & listen to it sporadically all year. I don’t like Oh little Town of Bethlehem, for some reason
@Lindsey, that is so funny!
FFT:
Used coupons at BJs to pick up baking supplies for the holidays and a gift for MIL.
Got gas while I was at BJs for $2.48 a gallon.
Shipped a return back to Macy's. They made it difficult to get a return label, but I persevered and got it done. Dropped package off on my way home so no special trip needed.
Submitted receipt to almost completely drain our FSA account.
Used FSA to buy OTC cold medicine. Now I just have to figure out what to buy to spend that last $7.
Not frugal for me, but for someone else: my friend had given me a very nice Santa in a sleigh decoration. Wasn't our style so I gifted it to a newlywed on my Buy Nothing group.
1. Hubby brought home 9 brown bananas from work on Friday. I used 4 right away for muffins and the rest went into the freezer.
2. I work Saturdays. Hubby was running errands and had to go to BJ's. He grabbed a cooked chicken while there. He made sides to go with it.
3. Sunday I wasn't feeling great and took a free Covid test. I got it again. Thankfully not that bad.
4. Hubby is able to work from home.
5. The dog and I have been snuggling on the couch watching the Great British Baking show.
Still not a lot going on Chez WilliamB:
- Started cooking, a little; it's a challenge with a broken stove.
- Packed very light for a vacation so I don't have to check luggage.
- Semi-Frugal: bought a few new shirts that I didn't need but most of my clothing is over a decade old. I had a scratch-off (turned out to be 5%) and was pleasantly surprised that all clothes were 40% off. As always, I wore things around the house for a while to see if they really suited me. This time I returned one.
- Packed light so I don't have to check luggage on my trip.
- Waited to get Amadeus from the library instead of renting it online. Even though library DVD rentals commonly are unplayable I wanted to give it a chance.
- Remembered to cancel free Hulu trial before I had to pay.
NOT FRUGAL AT ALL: had to buy a new cell phone. Mine was only 2.5 years old but the power jack was deteriorating almost to inoperability. It cost too much to be worth fixing. :-<<<
@WilliamB, it seems to be the week for phone fails. See my #2 above. Sympathy from a fellow sufferer.
FORGOT THE BEST ONE:
Bought a new London Fog pea coat for about 60% off list. At the first store I went to, too! I gave away my old one last year. I bought new because I hate clothes shopping already, going through who knows how many thrift shops is more than I want to do.
@WilliamB,
And, quite frankly, finding a London Fog pea coat at a thrift shop - or something of similar quality, at least in my area - would be a needle in a haystack-type search! I think you did quite well with that purchase.
Still haven't put up my tree. Starting to get a little depressed about it. Maybe tomorrow.
Frugal:
1. My main laptop refused to boot. I ran diagnostics and found out that the DRAM had left this mortal coil. Ordered some new chips, which will be here today, then I will open the machine up and pop them in.
2. Bargained with a neighbor selling Travis Scott tickets; got them for quite a discount.
3. Went Dutch with a friend for lunch. Ate only half the utterly delicious sandwich and brought home for the rest for whichever kid wanted it.
4. Have been wearing old, too-large clothes when I run out of clean stuff that fits. I still wanna lose more to make it back to high school weight, just for the hey of it.
Not so frugal:
1. I managed to lose two contact lenses in a row this morning. It's call skill, folks. They're probably partying with the DRAM.
2. Bought a novelty handbag I don't need. We're in the IIIIIIIT'S CHRIIIIIIIISTMAAAS! let's blow money like water part of the year, eyeroll.
3. Went for a spa day at the $$$$ place yesterday. Was afraid to go in the cold plunge pool, though. I kept thinking about my BFF who had a heart attack in the bath. (But that was a hot bath and I went into the hot tub fine, I told myself. But it's the shock, I told myself. I kinda felt like a wimp after, to be honest.)
4. Ordered a heated cat shelter for my ferals. They have shelters but they're not heated.
This morning when I drove up, all five of them ran into the street to greet me, meowing. I grinned from ear to ear. I told them they have a special treat coming up on Christmas. (Instacart brought us cans of anchovies when I specifically requested anchovy paste. I can't deal with anchovies but a squirt of the paste adds a delicious umami depth to some foods. So the kitties can have the anchovies on Christmas.)
@Rose, how about asking the adult kids to put up the tree.
@Rose, Aw, that made me smile, too, and it's so kind of you to provide a cozy shelter for them as well!
@Rose,
So cute about the kitties coming to greet you! And I'm with you 100% re: anchovies. Ummm, NO. (The paste mixed into something, yes. Anchovies themselves: a hard NO).
@Rose, I don't like decorating the tree by myself so I borrow a friend. It helps.
I'm going to get started with the tree tonight. I think. Pain has been very bad lately. I might be able to nag kids into helping but they always say they don't care if we have a tree or not. I CARE, I always respond, and you could respect what I care about. But I'll save that for ornaments tomorrow and I won't put all six zillion of them on, just my favorites.
The cookie monster tree is my favorite 🙂 And I also got charged for a Disney Plus subscription with no warning...I actually forgot to put that on my own round-up! I got charged the new annual price, so canceling saved me $150.
Here are my other frugal wins for this last week:
https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2023/12/19/weekly-frugal-wins-nose-suckers-small-town-musings/
Not feeling terribly frugal this month but this is what I can think of...
1. Came home for Christmas so my parents are buying food and taking care of meals
2. I only took hand luggage on the plane
3. I went to yoga with a friend this morning and she treated me to breakfast
4. I went to a free carol service
5. I walked to some places instead of taking the bus
Kristen, I hope your new to you ornaments usher in wonderful new traditions into your life.
I have a Big Frugal Thing. My old laptop lasted five years and I hated every single day of its miserable time in my life. But we frugal people put up with small inconveniences to achieve large goals, don't we? The keypad on Hated Laptop is no longer working consistently so its life is over. (Dare I say "Yay!"?)
So, I bought a new laptop on sale from Costco on Cyber Monday which saved me $200. Then Costco sent me a letter of apology, which I must say is a first. This letter stated that a $200 credit would be made to my credit card unless I return the new laptop to Costco. The reason for this windfall is that Costco made a mistake in the description of the screen display. My technical expert (son) tells me that I would never be able to tell the difference between the described screen technology and the delivered one. So no thank you, Costco, I'll take the $$.
The rest of my frugal things are the usual boring things like brewing my own tea (which is totally delicious), cooking meals (which are sometimes delicious and sometimes just edible), borrowing from the library, re-using packaging, and to quote Katie "not buying a Lear jet."
@Elaine N, It's actually pretty easy and cheap to put a new keyboard on a laptop--I can tell you how if you haven't tossed it yet. Might work for a backup just in case? Sorry.
@Rose, I swear, there doesn't seem to be anything that you don't know about! You continue to amaze me.
1. Received a $3,500 bid from a tree company to remove a fancy treehouse (with a huge climbing pole and swing), tree, large log, and high limb at our new home. Instead, we listed the treehouse for free on Craigslist and the person who dismantled it did the rest of the tree work for us for $600.
2. Several things broke during our move. The moving company is reimbursing us for those items or providing fix-it services.
3. Created a rustic pot for our patio using items foraged from the tree farm where my husband works: leftover boughs, birch branch, grasses, red twig dogwood, and pinecones. We already had the container and the potting soil was left by the seller. Done, free, easy.
4. Sister-in-law gave us two sets of sheets that she wasn’t using. One set is flannel and I’m looking forward to using it when Minnesota gets to “normal” low winter temps – we’ve been unseasonably warm with no snow. I dislike winter but I dislike more what’s happening with our weather patterns. It’s just not right or good.
5. Visited our car dealer to have them answer some questions we had about the used car we purchased a year ago. Mentioned that we needed to buy key fob batteries, too, and they replaced them for free. They also gave us a pro tip: store fobs as far away from the car as possible so that the batteries don’t need to be replaced as often (e.g., don’t hang them next to the door to the garage). Also grabbed a granola bar from their complimentary snack area. I think I squeezed everything possible out of that visit!
1) Returned a few items we didn't need, and promptly got them mailed back for a refund.
2) We are planning to ski next week/New Years, and the weather & snow quality at Lake Tahoe is not great. Cancelled previous planned location, and found somewhere with a much better cancellation policy. This will allow us more flexibility, in the event we need to cancel & the snow isn't good.
3) Kept it a light shopping week, as we will be out of town for the holidays.
4) Used CVS & Rite Aid rewards to collectively save $23.
5) Teens were studying for finals, so ordered them a Starbucks pickup, which came with a free hot chocolate. I try to find fun finals treats, because as you know, finals are no fun for anyone!
I was working from home yesterday, and DS16 was in the kitchen with friends, between finals, making chocolate chip pancakes. While my kitchen was "cleaned up" afterward, it was fun to see him coming up with an easy meal option to feed a large group.
Remember I said my vacuum died, my water heater has to be replaced, and my TV died? Well, we had that storm from heck this weekend and I walked into my bathroom to find a puddle stretching all the way across the floor. It seems I have to replace some windows now. I had leaks on all five windows on the north side of the house, with the upstairs bathroom windows (two side-by-side) being by far the worst.
I guess I'd better get frugal for sure.
1. I dumped some recyclables in the recycling container at work and found our downstairs neighbors had put in around 20 brand new-looking legal size hanging folders, sitting neatly in a box on top of the other stuff. Did I take them out? Yes I did! We can use them.
2. I was giving grill accessories as a gift to a family member who has a December birthday, and found I had on hand all I needed to make a nice oven mitt, too, so I did. I even had the insulated lining on hand.
3. I bought 4 pounds of sale butter in the late summer or early fall. I pulled some out this week for Christmas baking.
4. I baked a breakfast casserole since the weather has cooled off, and I used the big Corning stoneware casserole dish with stoneware lid that I found at Goodwill, in perfect shape. I baked two other dishes while baking the casserole, using the convection setting on my oven.
5. I'm filing for a rebate from my contact lenses purchase. I switched lens type this time, so I'm finally eligible for a rebate again. I should get $75 back, according to my doctor.
@JD, The glass fell out of my son's window (second floor) during the windstorm. Again. Last year it was the upper glass, now it's the lower glass. We tried nailing cardboard on it but the wind kept blowing it out. Finally he took a dog bed and shoved it into the hole and it stayed. Glass people are supposed to come measure today. Boy, I hope it costs at least another $450 like last year! sigh.
@JD, re: your storm from heck and your windows: Ouch ouch ouch. I'm sure hoping you catch a break soon.
1. Actually made turkey broth from the saved turkey carcass in my freezer--there is never a lot of meat on my bird carcasses, as my husband is an expert at getting alll the meat off the bones when packing up the leftovers, but the bones make good broth! Half of the broth I froze, the other half is being used for lentil soup today.
2. Clark continues to be a wonderful cat, and though I did buy him some catnip mice so he'd have something fun, he is quite content with a cozy cardboard box as a hideout, and an old blanket on my desk for a napping spot. He is also intrigued by the batting-around-possibilities of lip balm tubes, toilet paper tubes, scrunched-up-receipts, and milk caps. But! He has not shredded our toilet paper (as I remember several of my cats doing), or really tried to destroy anything. There are a few things we're okay with him using for scratching, like a very old chair with a wicker-like back, and we gave him that chair by the window for his spot. Reusing that rather than getting a scratching post=a frugal feline.
3. DH and I went for a quick trip to GA to see our niece on her birthday, and to save money we refrained from stopping for food while on the road. We're quite used to fasting for extended periods, and DH even finds it keeps him from getting sleepy when he's driving.
4. When we did eat at our hotel, aside from the complimentary breakfast, we went to the grocery store and got some frozen dinners and yogurt and fruit for dinner and lunch the next day. We prioritize a really good hotel (quiet, etc) over eating out, and we were lucky to have a microwave and a fridge in our suite. I also picked up some mixed nuts for a snack on the way back, but again, we didn't stop for any food, just gas and bathroom stops. [Pro tip: Find Walmarts or Targets, or even a big grocery store, for a restroom break; their bathrooms tend to be nicer than the gas station bathrooms.]
5. Another pro tip: always carry pocket packs of tissues with you when you travel. The Target bathroom was so busy, there was only one stall free, and this poor older lady came out of it after two seconds saying "There's no toilet paper!" My pocket pack of tissues to the rescue! She offered to return it but I said to leave it there for the next person. And I had brought extras in the car.
Oh, I forgot--last year our artificial Christmas tree bit the dust when it broke the fall of the washer/dryer DH was bringing in. Luckily, the washer/dryer is fine! But. We decided to chuck the tree as it was beyond repair and didn't replace it, instead stringing lights around the walls. And when this year rolled around we realized we hadn't thought of replacing it, so we just strung the lights again.
My youngest pointed out that it was very smart of us to not get another tree, as Clark may well have decided to climb it--right now his goal in life is to conquer every high perch in the house--and so we saved $$ and time by not putting up a tree this year. The lights are my favorite part, anyway.
1. I used up some left over potatoes and home made vegetable stock to make a delicious baked potato soup for my lunches this week.
2. I submitted my childcare FSA for the rest of the year; use it or lose it!
3. I picked up some winter boots, that will fit my daughter next year, off Buy Nothing. My husband picked up 3 Hello Fresh meals off Buy Nothing. He cooked them all, is going to eat some for his lunches this week, and then froze the rest for next week's lunches. I also posted some toys and ballet slippers on Buy Nothing.
4. We received gifts from my in-laws for Christmas. They are very generous with gift giving, but most of the items I will never use, so I store them in a container in my basement to re-gift as needed. Some gifts will be returned for items I really do need. Some of the kid's gifts from them I also store in the basement; they are great to break out on rainy days.
5. I used some leftover pineapple juice, from making a ham, to make popsicles for my kids.
@Corrine, your #4 reminds me of what I used to do with most of my gifts from my in-laws. May they all rest in peace--but that's one part of the holidays I don't miss.
1. I got several freebies on my grocery store loyalty cards.
2. I used Canva to design our Christmas cards and printed them as a 4x6 photo with a half price code at Walgreens so they were very cheap. I used envelopes I already had to send them.
3. My daughter has worn several beautiful hand-me down Christmas dresses.
4. We are getting a new battery and cover for my daughter's phone instead of a new phone.
5. I saw a gift idea online at Walmart but in store it was twice the price. I ordered it on the app for pick up the next day to save $.
Your tree is going to be so pretty with all that silver!
I did a pick-up grocery order and ordered Brazil nuts. When we opened them, they were rancid. I went online and asked for a refund. No need to return the bad nuts. I put them out for the wildlife.
I turned the leftovers from our Thanksgiving turkey (which have been stashed in the freezer) into tamales. Several neighbors get these as a gift each year and I have already had people ask if I am making them again this year.
I, too, purchased Target gift cards when they were 10% off. I give these to the people who pick up my trash and recycling.
In a frugal that did not turn out as expected, I read a tip to cut greenery from your yard and weave it into fake garland to make it look fuller and fresher. I did this and draped the garland across my porch railing. The deer have been coming every afternoon and stripping every bit of the natural stuff out of the garland. We have had as many as five lined up, munching away at the buffet.
@Cindi, Is it arborvitae? Deer regard that as a delicious salad.
Not having sentimental ornaments frees you from connection to things. That actually sounds desirable.
Good phone decision: your phone works and you have a great camera already.
1. Needed one for skein for a sweater (that I don't need) and I accidentally ordered more yarn than that one skein. "Accidentally"? Ahem. At least all those other yarns were on sale.
2. Before my basil plants gave up for the season, I snipped some to root in water so I can start next year's plants.
3. My husband just discovered pickleball. I thought I'd get him a racquet for his birthday, and then a friend gave him one. (Now what will I get for him??)
4. I made pomegranate jelly and all I needed to buy was the overpriced pectin.
5. Had a great haul of library books, all put on hold and delivered to our tiny library. We have the most wonderful library system in Central California!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, the only "yarn accident" is having too few skeins.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, "Not having sentimental ornaments frees you from connection to things" is an interesting take. My possessions act as security blankets for me.
@Rose, I keep working to not get too attached to things. It is a continual battle to keep my possessions from multiplying in the dark. I like a little space in my cupboards, closets, and shelves. Probably need some counseling. . .
@Elaine N, I keep trying to use up the scraps, to finish projects, and to get my stash down to fit in only one trunk. But now I have more sweaters than we have cold weather! But the thought of running out of yarn is pretty distressing too. . . as I mentioned to Rose, I probably need counseling.
Since I work only three nights a week, a fruit box I ordered from the FFA, a new jacket with our local facility logo that I had also ordered and an envelope with my name were all in a safe place at work. The envelope had no indication of the giver, but it had a hundred dollar bill inside of it. I suspect it was "payback" from a friend and co-worker who had been diagnosed with cancer and was unable to work for a period of time whom I had the joy of gifting several times. She is in remission and able to work a little and is in a much better financial state. I've repeatedly told her it is unnecessary to repay, but since there was no name, I'm not 100% sure it was her. We also had a holiday bonus on our paychecks from a generous donor.
The weather is chilly today, but for a few weeks it has been temperate. I am not unhappy about it because of the help it gives to my electric and natural gas bill. I received notice this week that since gas is at a lower price overall and because of the weather, our gas bills will be significantly reduced. Works for me!
Gasoline is currently $2.63 at the pump.
I took advantage of the low butter price at Aldi as well and bought six pounds. I still intend to have a couple of marathon baking days to make treat trays for coworkers and neighbors.
The usuals: distill my own water for drinking and to make tea, make my own chai latte from concentrate, don't shop unnecessarily, combine errands.
I love the Cookie Monster Tree. Every time I see it, I smile.
1) My husband has been inexpensively fixing things that have been piling up. He called and successfully got a replacement head for our kitchen faucet at no cost. We had just replaced it earlier in the year when it started messing up. He diagnosed a toilet that had been running and fixed it with a small, inexpensive part. For the price of an outlet cover he fixed a kitchen electric outlet that had broken and fallen out of the kitchen island.
2) I did some repair work on my husband's wool overcoat. There were tears in the shoulder and inside the pockets. I still need to replace the buttons because it is missing a button, and I don't have one that matches what is there. But I think it will last another year.
3) Saturday night for dinner we had a turkey breast I bought on sale at Thanksgiving and was keeping the freezer until we were ready for turkey again. The kids ate a ton of it, but we need to finish it up in sandwiches.
4) I've been roasting piles of veggies out of the fridge for lunches to eat them up. We are also (somehow) still working on leftovers from my mother in law's birthday party last weekend. My husband bought strawberries to finish off the fruit dip. He made sandwiches to work on the lunch meat. There is a little bit of cheese ball left that I think I will add to our dinner tonight so we can eat it up.
5) I am listening to books from the library, put the next Harry Potter book on hold at the library, scheduled our year end business dinner near the house so that we can go without a babysitter (our oldest is 13, and we are taking baby steps with leaving him watching the younger ones), am using my medical leave to get a least a little work done (like a good academic), and used a gift card when I picked up lunch with a friend.
@Amanda in VA, When my Mom was short a lost button for a blouse or shirt, she would take the bottom one off and use it to replace the missing one, as the bottom wasn't necessary needed. Or if it was something worn casually, take the top one off.
There isn't a spare sewn in on the inside by the bottom hem, is there? Men's suits sometimes have them there.
I am "grocery shopping" in my big freezer, finding items my ex-roommate could not take with her. I'm using a loaf of her bread and several sticks of butter that were in there. I tried to eat some years-old frozen veggies; they were tasteless, but ended up in my compost bin. I'm getting as many substitute teacher gigs as possible, along with working as many hours at the drugstore as I can. Hopefully this will refill my bank account ASAP. I decided not to send any Christmas cards this year, unless it is to reciprocate for someone's sending me one. So far, I've sent four, and they've all come from my stash of leftovers from previous years. Most were bought from the thrift store, anyway, for either a dime or 25 cents. My kind of prices!
Ooh I would love to see your tree. And what about cookies this year? No? Hmmm...frugal things lately. Here goes:
*instead of taking myself to lunch today I grabbed some marked down stir fry veg and sauce ($3) and a marked down package of ground chicken (2.47) and made myself a nice skillet lunch. Plus I only used half of the chicken. I also bought weekly groceries and stuck to my list!
*Bought a J. Jill dress for $5 at Goodwill. Its in good shape, fits, and will be my Christmas Eve outfit. (I might have already listed this one. Oh well!)
*Ate at home all weekend, resisting the take out snare.
*I'm cleaning my carpets today with my old faithful steam cleaner
*We are eating leftover Thanksgiving Shepherds Pie for dinner tonight
*will be making some homemade gingerbread cookies as a treat for Christmas. They are easy and somewhat frugal as I always have everything I need to make them.
That's really it for me. I may spend a little more on myself as the week wears on as I am my own Santa Claus, but January will be a no-spend month.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I grab J. Jill clothes that work for me as soon as I find them at my thrifts. I certainly can't afford them at J. Jill's retail prices. (I went into our local JJ store when I was trying to kill a few minutes before a medical appointment, and almost passed out from buckshock.)
@A. Marie and @Gina from The Cannary Family, I have had good luck finding J Jill sweaters on ebay. The stores are a bit scary.
@A. Marie, teeheehee, "buckshock". Thanks for a good word!
I don't usually participate as I don't "think" I have enough to share, so I'll see what I can come up with.....
1. the 4 free covid tests I ordered the end of November finally arrived
2. I use the Fetch app to scan receipts. One day I waited an extra 20 minutes to scan a receipt so I could do the daily free spin for extra points.
3. I donate blood at our blood bank. We don't get paid as we are volunteers, but some organizations sponsor giveaways as a thank you to the donors. Recently I received a $15 gas gift card
4. The food bank that operates out of our building had a bunch of (used) books donated to them to hand out and they let us employees pick out free books to enjoy. I was also gifted a bag of chocolate stuffed marshmallows (I'll use in baking) & a 5# bag of potatoes.
5. I sewed a button back on a pair of my work pants.
1. Spent a few days with my friend about an hour away. It was so good to get out of town, and she always makes us feel like we are doing her a favor by helping eat foods from her over-stuffed freezer. She kindly took me to Costco where I stocked up on some staples for our home at good prices, and she also gave us homemade sourdough bread.
2. I also ended up with some apples she hadn’t had time to deal with that I made into applesauce. They were super soft and some were wormy, so I’m glad I managed to deal with them quickly.
3. Found two pennies, my first found money in months.
4. Using various things up! From working on my “foods to eat” list, I’ve finished some pumpkin butter and am working on cream of wheat cereal, both added to my oatmeal. I also have finished a jar of underwhelming jam and am working on using scraps of soap bars instead of saving them for “later.” Later is now.
5. Handed out Christmas cards in person when possible to save a stamp.
6. Also frugal: I continue to declutter via Buy Nothing. I still need to list a spare microwave and a mirror that I’ve lugged around but not wanted on my dresser for, oh, maybe 20 years?
1. Husband cut my hair after watching me get frustrated by hair falling into my eyes while reading. I didn't want to get up for a mirror, so I just grabbed the offending hunks and chopped them off. He is always afraid he will wreck my hair so tends to put off hair cutting until I am desperate. However when he saw me hacking off things without looking, he decided to risk giving me a trim. Saves us $70 each time he does it and, really, I don't care much what my hair looks like.
2. Garbage picked a triangle shaped table from the dump's recycle area. A perfect fit for our porch. Or it will be after we varnish it. It is made of real wood!
3. I had served as an expert witness in a court case and yesterday received a $350 check from the attorney in payment; I thought I was doing it for free. At one point I was a trainer for parents who adopted children with FASD (only once had a birth parent attend a training) and still occasionally get called to talk the issue.
4. Cancelled a magazine I have gotten too old to fit the demographic the articles are geared to, so money saved there.
5. Have stayed true to my promise to myself of, "No more teas bought until you finish the ragtag collection of them in the cupboard!" Good tea is expensive these days.
Frugal fail: The husband loves petit fours, a sweet that I have tried and tried to make, only to end up in tears and once with my shirt catching fire when I leaned to close to the flame on the stove. I finally broke down and ordered some, dropped them on the floor as I ripped open the packaging. Before I could get my carcass off the chair to pick them up, Pound Hound appeared as if launched into the room by a cannon. He gobbled down about half of them before I could grab him, and slobbered over much of the rest, so now I must order more. I buy them every Christmas and if I don't the husband will be sad. I must admit that when I yelled "Drop it!" I did not expect him to deposit an entire half-chewed mouthful on my shoes. And then he stood there like he expected a treat for obeying my command.
@Lindsey, At least he dropped it. My hounds will just run away with their ill-acquired booty.
I wish I could make your husband some petit fours!
@Lindsey, I'm sorry you lost the precious petit fours, but thank you for having Pound Hound - he is a bright shining in my afternoon! I can't stop seeing him being shot into the room like a cannonball. I picture him being dead asleep 1 second before. My own dog appears out of nowhere and becomes a frantic, greedy blur of activity at my feet when I drop something (mostly follows the Simple dog pattern, if you've ever read Hyperbole and a Half - https://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html)
@Lindsey, your #1 made me chuckle. My husband would never intervene, so you are fortunate.
It took me a year to use up my stash of tea and no longer be a tea hoarder. I always feel virtuous when I find good tea for a good price and buy only what I know I will use. Today I bought loose tea at a local natural food store and discovered that good loose green tea costs only 10 cents a serving.
@Elaine N, "tea hoarder"? Cute. I don't love tea but force myself to try different ones. I go for Stash brand, flavored herbal types, always hoping I'll find something I love. And I force myself to use up what I have. Gawl, that sounds dismal and harsh. No wonder I have to soothe myself by accidentally buying yarn!
I spent some time on the sofa recovering from surgery, binge watching home decor shows, and they got me in the mood to redecorate the guest room. I need that guest room for my adult children to visit.
Here's my Frugal Five redecos:
1. Sold the large headboard and footboard in my guest room. It took up so much space. I sold it for more than I paid for it (second hand) over 10 years ago. I gave them the matching side table, since the drawers were stuck shut. They were excited to try to fix them. 🙂
2. Asked DH to make a platform bed like the others in my house he made about 15 years ago. He said no this time, he's too old. ha. So plan B: found a nice platform online for only a little more than I sold the bedframe for. So pretty much broke even. It takes up less space and gives more room to walk around in there now.
3. Gave away the boxspring on Buy Nothing, and included the bedskirt, which I don't need anymore.
4. DD has been eyeing the dresser in that room. Guests NEVER use the dresser, so I offered it to her, she is very excited about it, because it was mine since she was a child.
5. Keeping the original bedding...I was so tempted to redo the colors, etc. Then I read about the Diderot Effect. Its REAL y'all! So I decided to use some self conrol and steam the comforter cover instead and shams and it looks nice.
Sort of Frugal: looking at side tables in Wayfair. DH doesn't see any in the thrift stores that he likes. I can get them at a decent price, but I put an alert on FB marketplace for side tables. I saw one set today that look just like what DH saw on Wayfair and I sent a message. Hopefully we will get them!
@MommaJo, just to follow up. We didn't get the tables. FB M is really competitive down here. So is Buy Nothing.
I pumped breast milk for my baby. It's a pain but cheaper than formula.
I resisted buying more cute baby clothes. (I just cannot pay $10 for something she will poop in and outgrow in a couple of months.)
I ate leftovers for lunch.
We waited to eat at our favorite sandwich shop until the BOGO free coupon arrived.
I filed a reimbursement request for my FSA account.
I have to start writing my daily diary so I know if I have been frugal or not, maybe it will be more directed to frugality in some way.
Last week, my friends and I went to the Boston Pops, which is not frugal in any way. We sat on the floor where waitresses deliver your order, which you do via your telephone. One small bottle of champagne/sparkling wine was $32--you can buy it at the liquor store--a 3-bottle pack for $12.
Now for the frugal part:
Instead of going out to dinner after the matinee, we all returned to my friend's house, each having brought something. She made a beef stew, perfect for the cold evening; and dessert we had a tasty, light rum cake.
I used a "free" covid test (which was charged to my ins.) and it came back positive. I'm a cynic--How does it determine between a cold, flu, RSV, covid or sinus infection?
I wrote out my Christmas cards--using all of my collection of handmade cards. Needed to clean out that collection.
I have found an origami use to recycle some of my old Christmas cards.
Last Saturday we had a good 2-mile walk at the Bourne National Cemetery helping to lay wreaths for Wreaths Across America. It was an absolutely beautiful day for mid-December to do this project.
2024 focussing on no food waste, I'll focus on reduce/reuse/recycle--I really don't need anything.
As we are now heading to the end of the year--Enjoy. Merry Christmas.
I also have a 2019 phone that is experiencing reception issues. I never thought it could be fixed with a call to the service provider. thanks for the idea!
1. Used another birthday reward for an almost free crepe ($10 off $10.99) before it expired.
2. Gave away some items languishing in my house brought from my parents' house on Buy Nothing. I had tried to sell on FB marketplace but no takers, so I'm just happy they found new homes.
3. Took a road trip to Austin to drop off some random donations to a craft supply recycling store (stuff that is not donatable to Goodwill or too hard to give on Buy Nothing), sold some lightly used sporting equipment our family no longer is using for $50 at the secondhand sporting equipment store (they don't have one in Houston anymore) and had lunch with good friends. My friend treated for a belated birthday gift and my other friend gifted us with nice, large candles. Drove the hybrid car so less gas was used and bought a Starbucks drink with a my reusable cup and a gift card from a friend. (That was like 5 in 1)
4. My MIL's cat was sick last week and she had to take her to our vet, since she just moved here. We got a credit for referring her and she got a credit on her next visit for being a referred customer. Unfortunately, she then had to use the credit sooner than she thought because the cat was diagnosed with stomach cancer and she ended up having to put her down today. 🙁
5. Got selected for a potato chip study and earned $14 after buying the required items for the taste test (which were all on sale or had a coupon to use!). My family benefited from the large assortment of flavors I was required to test.
@DebbieR, "potato chip study"? That sounds fun! One year my husband found bags and bags of recently expired chips in the dumpster where he was plowing snow, and I had the most marvelous month-long Cheeto gorge. (Sometimes I lie to myself about free stuff and pretend that free means the calories don't count.)
$2 butter WOW. it was $2.50 here a while back but limit 2.
1. Spending Christmas Eve at my son's home.
2. Spending Christmas Day at my daughter's home.
3. We drew names for adult gifts this year.
4. Baking three favorite cookie recipe this year instead of six.
A 2019 iPhone is not that old - only reason I got a new iPhone is I was out of space to apply iOS updates (even if I had *no* photos or anything else on the phone). It's okay plug along with the 2019.
Yep, that's what I'll do now that my phone can get reception again!