Five Frugal Things | a secret gift
1. I used Citicard points to buy a gift
I wanted to buy a small gift for my preceptor (the main nurse who has been supervising me during my orientation), and I found what I wanted on Barnes and Noble's website.
Then I remembered I could probably redeem some of my Citicard points for a Barnes and Noble gift card!
Sooo, I opted for an emailed gift card, applied it to my order, and I was good to go.
I'd show you what I got, but I still have another three weeks of being precepted so I'm being secretive just in case. 😉
2. I bought a non-scrub-brand jacket for cold night shifts
During the day, I am almost never cold at the hospital. But at night, I doooo sometimes get chilly.
Figs makes scrub jackets, of course, but they are pretty expensive.
And since we are not required to have scrub-specific jackets, I decided to branch out and order this nurse-recommended fleece jacket.
It's not expensive, so I don't care if it gets messed up at work.
It's warm, which is the whole point.
It's a full-zip, which means I can easily take it on and off without having to go over my head.
And importantly, it has very stretchy wrist cuffs, which means I can shove the sleeves up nice and high for hand washing and also just for having the sleeves out of my way if I go into a patient room to do something.
3. I renewed my Safeway student discount
My previous student discount from my RN school expired at the end of September. Sooo, I uploaded proof of enrollment at my BSN school, and now my random pop-ins at Safeway will be slightly less expensive.
I will be delighted when I get my BSN and I'm finally not a student anymore...but in the meantime, I do appreciate the small perks of student life. 😉
(I am slated to graduate with my BSN in December of 2026.)
4. I sold my "vintage" nightgown!
Remember when I cleaned up and listed a 1990s Victoria's Secret flannel nightgown recently?
Well, I listed it as "vintage" because apparently that is how long ago the 90s were. (!!!)
And someone bought it.
Less clutter for me, and hopefully the new owner is going to enjoy wearing a flannel nightgown that is not even warm (the neckline is way too big to offer warmth, and we expect nothing less from Victoria's Secret! Fashion over function.)
5. I cut up my bread ends and froze them
The last few slices of bread were getting a little too dry for sandwiches, so I cubed and froze them.
This way, I can make croutons when I have the need. Or I might wait and accumulate some more so I can make overnight French toast casserole.
Quite a lot of Refuse Reuse (Repair) Recycle recently:
Refuse:
I cancelled newsletters (less use of CO2, less temptation too)
I did not buy books, but borrowed them from our library
I did not run the drier but line dried our laundry - outdoors when possible
Reuse:
I made chutney from figs I had frozen
I ate leftovers
I cut up old t-shirts to use as rags for dirty jobs
Repair:
I repaired the arm of a pair of glasses
Recycle:
We freecycled quite some furniture (yay for space) and gave away cat toys as we had too many.
Also: meal planning, making yoghurt and making vegetable bouillon from scraps, doing laundry on solar power, bringing coffee and snacks for a long train trip, rather than buying on the station.
Lots of small satisfactory actions.
@JNL, Whoa! "making vegetable boullion from scraps" . . . how, please????
@JNL, I like the addition of "refuse" to the three Rs!
@L, I looked into making vegetable stock at one point and essentially the math came out to "Great for restaurants or people who use a lot more vegetables than I do" but not cost effective for me.
Awesome that JNL can do it, though!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, I know I need to add that to my everyday. 🙂 It amazes me how I get newsletters, email & mailers for things I never heard of.
@L, Generally it's the same as making other stock: put scraps in pot, add water, simmer, strain out scraps.
The issue I have is to make decent veg stock, you have to curate your veg scraps and use a ton of them. You don’t want, for example, too much cruciferous because it’s so strong (unless you want cabbage or broccoli stock, I guess). I’ve done it once or twice by freezing scraps but it takes me so long to accumulate enough of them that, like Battra92, I no longer bother.
@Battra92, Just save your vegetable scraps in the freezer, such as: celery tops, carrot tops and tips, onions tops and tips. I often use a garlic press and I take the spent garlic clove and toss that in my veggie bag, too. I usually store them in a 2 cup zip lock bag and when that is full I start another one if I am not ready to make stock.
@L,
Whenever I peel an onion , keep the peel, rinse, freeze. Likewise garlic, leek, red bell pepper, carrot, parsley stalks, fennel, the ends of celery. When I have a decent amount of balanced tastes, I put the scraps in the slowcooker with about 1,5 litre of water, some kodher saly, ground black pepper thyme and laurel from the garden, and leave for 8 hours on low. Spoon ouy the big bits (compost!) And put the remainder through a fine sieve. Yields a litre and some of nice bouillon for soup, gravy, or pasta or rice. I hardly ever freeze, mak a batch most weeks.
@JNL,
O wow, so many spelling mistakes. I responded while cooking - in my defense. Should not multitask!
@L, I put scraps from veggies, carrot peels, onion skins, celery or any soggy veggie past it's prime,into a zip lock and freeze it until I get enough scraps to put in my crock pot on low for the day or overnight is better. The same with any bones that you have and make chicken, beef, pork or shell/fish bouillon. I strain it, place in freezer bags or take out containers and have that in my freezer to use in soups, gravy, rice, grains, beans, ect. Its way better that store bought.
Frugal things:
Set up my new laptop by myself, no need to hire anyone. (I messed up the first time, waited a few days, factory reset it, and tried again)
Loaded a bunch of Starbucks GCs (gifts) onto an app. Apparently this saves me money, we will see. I use these for when the grandkids are in town for a special treat.
Returned some items, no matter how little they cost in the first place.
Found some really nice long flannel shirts for me in the men's section at GW. I think men's clothes are better quality and they have nicer pockets.
Needed prizes for my staff, so I looked at some gifts I never use (nice notepads, bookmarks) and put them in the prize bin.
@MommaJo, one of my favorite flannel shirts is an over-sized man's shirt that I found at GW. Its my go-to favorite cozy shirt! The colors on the men's shirts aren't as bright, too.
--I used $5 in Michael's rewards to get discounted Halloween paper plates and napkins for just over $2. We have a tradition of serving Friendsgiving on Halloween-themed disposables--it's the one time of year I spare myself dishes.
--I used another $5 Michael's rewards voucher for a free t-shirt. I'm an adult that pays all my bills, so I can rock a $5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt if I want to. ;P It's an excellent color of green for me, too!
--More green beans and okra--so much okra!--for the freezer and for dinner. I've been enjoying learning to cook okra in different ways; oven roasted is definitely my favorite so far! Pickled green beans are also delicious.
--Related, we're up to six pie pumpkins from the garden. Many baby pumpkins were knocked off the vine by August storms, so I'm delighted to have so many survivors. Next week, I'll start roasting them in the crockpot for puree.
--We've bern doing a freezer challenge to make more room for my garden hoard. Both the freezer and garden have knocked at least $100 from the monthly grocery budget, which ain't too shabby for a household of two!
@N, I have to ask who is your favorite of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? My sons loved them when they first came out 35 years ago. My oldest wore his Michelangelo costume all the time. Fortunately, he wasn't allowed to wear it to school, so I was able to wash it.
@Bee, I was always torn between Michelangelo (lovable goof) and Donatello (champion of thinking and *valued* for it). I'm guessing about your sons' age, as that's when I discovered them, too.
@N, TMNT became popular when I was 10. My favorite is Donatello. Purple is my favorite color and he's a science geek. He loves to learn new things and figure out how stuff works. (I worked at McDonald's around 10 years ago, when they had turtle toys. Somebody was asking my highschool age order taker for a specific toy, and she wasn't sure which one. The order taker was like how do you tell them apart.??♀️ I said besides toy number -color, personality, name, or weapon... Still remember after all these years.?)
@Bee, I have my older kiddos child size Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt stored away. As well as a lot of other clothing/slipper items. Kiddo loved the show.
How do u make croutons?
@Meg, she has a recipe!
https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/the-crouton-recipe/
1. I counted found change for 3Q and had $2.61. It is much less than it once was, people just don't use coins much any more.
2. I returned a carbon steel skillet to Amazon. It was poorly made and the bottom did not remain flat when heated. I marked it as Defective/Does Not Work and Amazon offered me $12.62 back to keep it. I did not want it and that was a far cry from the $74.19 I paid. I will dig out my old and trusty cast iron skillet and use that going forward since I already gave away the two non-stick skillets this lousy product was meant to replace.
3. Our neighborhood held their semi-annual yard sale. We put out stuff with a Free sign then walked around the neighborhood. We met some newish neighbors and chatted with other neighbors. We came home with a free jigsaw puzzle.
4. I bought chicken breasts that were marked down and will make pulled chicken in the Crock Pot today.
5. A friend gave me a bunch of tomatoes and I gave him some cookies.
@K D, you can't destroy good cast iron skillets. We only have/use cast iron skillets (Lodge, vintage Wagner & vintage Griswold). Lodge makes a new lighter cast iron skillet that weighs less but same durability.
@Regina,
I think my old cast iron skillet is as easy to clean as the carbon steel was but so much better. Mine is at least forty years old. They are great for adding a bit of iron to your diet as well.
I did not know about the lighter weight Lodge skillets. Thank you for sharing.
@Regina, oh, I need to check the lighter weight one out! My wrists just cannot manage the traditional ones!
I wear a full-zip fleece all winter in the house. It's the sole exception to my refusal to buy and wear polyester. As you noted, it's easy to take on and off, and being able to push the sleeves up is important to me, too, with all the work I do in the kitchen. I HATE getting wet sleeves. Also, easy to wash. I must admit that I am too lazy to put an apron on much of the time, so that's an important consideration. 🙂
Frugal things:
--First woodstove fire of the season is today. I get very tired of building a fire every morning right around the end of January, but it does save us a lot of propane not running the furnace. And it actually heats our house to a comfortable temperature. When we just use the furnace, I never set it any higher than 65. The woodstove gets it to 70 or sometimes even higher if I'm cooking a lot.
--A family my husband did some masonry for asked if we could use some work boots for one of our boys. They bought them for their son when he was in high school and he grew out of them so fast they were almost new. Since I have three boys with varying sizes of feet, I figured whatever size they were would work for one of them. They're really nice steel-toed work boots, which is very useful when the boys help my husband with his stonework, to protect their toes. The boots fit my middle son now and will no doubt be passed on to his younger brother in a couple of years.
--I got another bag of cucumbers from the same lady who gave me some awhile ago, with which I made more pickles. I had sent her a jar of pickles and a loaf of bread as a thank you, but her daughter, who is a teacher at our school and who was the courier, apparently ate them before her mom got any. So this time, I sent two jars of pickles and two loaves of bread, to make sure her mom would get some. 🙂 A slightly higher "cost" to me, but this teacher is my sons' FFA teacher and she spends a lot of time outside of school driving them around to various FFA events, so I figured she could use some extra food.
--My friend with similarly aged children to mine brought my daughter home from cheer practice yesterday. This saves me 20 miles of driving as well as being gone from the house right before dinner, so we can eat as soon as my daughter gets home.
--I have to buy a few things for my son who is going to the National FFA livestock judging competition at the end of the month. I just realized that prime days starts today/ It doesn't look like the pants, shirts, etc. he needs are really discounted, but they are a little, and I was going to have to buy them anyway.
--Not frugal: I put several books in my cart yesterday, thanks to the comments in your post yesterday. 🙂 But they're all used, so each is about six dollars. Could be worse.
AGREED on the wet sleeves. Seriously a horrible feeling!
@Kristen, kristen @ going country
I will agree with both of you. Wet sleeves are horrible. I have to change my shirt because of it.
@kristin @ going country, Discount books sounds pretty frugal to me.
@Maureen, Same here. I'm tolerant of a lot of things but it turns out wet sleeves isn't one of them!
@kristin @ going country, I'm totally with you on polyester (and most other synthetic fabrics). My granddaughter gave me really cute cat polyester pajamas but I can't wear them because they give me hot flashes. Grr!
@kristin @ going country, I’m with you on the synthetic fibers. A fleece zip-up sweater is my only exception.
The book post yesterday was so full of recommendations! I added a pile of books to my GoodReads Want To Read list, and later, I’ll go looking on the library’s semi-functional website.
I think vintage nightgowns are becoming popular again. I personally prefer long-sleeve, all cotton gowns. I bought a white one not too long ago at an estate sale. I washed it in hot water with a little bleach, and I was good to go for the startling price of just $1!
We attended a wedding out of town last weekend in a rather expensive resort town. DH & I shared a very comfortable and big AirBnB on the beach with 15 other people. We had use of a golf cart and beach bikes. Everyone helped with groceries, morning breakfast, and clean-up. It was more economical and fun than staying in a nearby hotel room.
Since the wedding was beachy and casual, I wore something that I already had.
We ran into rain and gridlock traffic on the way home which turned a 5 hour trip into a 7 hour trip. This meant we would be 15 minutes late picking up Rescue Pup from the doggie resort where she stays. I called from the road to explain the situation and they waived the $35 late pick-up fee.
We listened to a mystery while we drove that I had downloaded for free from the library's Libby App.
Doing all the usual things whenever I can - eating home cooked meals, brewing my own coffee, drinking primarily filtered water, and reading library books.
Wishing you all peace, good health, and prosperity.
I reject the nineties being vintage!
1. I baked some blueberry muffins. I bought blueberries and already had the rest of the ingredients.
2. A neighbour left a basket of apples outside their house anyone to take. I took some and used them in an apple crumble.
3. I made lunch for work every day apart from Friday, when I went out for a meal with some colleagues.
4. I went swimming in the sea for free exercise.
5. I am going to the optician this week which is an investment in health!
I know, so rude of the 90s to be...at least a quarter of a century ago. 😉
(says she who graduated high school in 1996. Ha.)
@Kristen, I was a nineties kid. That would make me an adult in her thirties.. that surely doesn't make sense as the nineties were ten years ago 😉
@Sophie in Denmark, since two of the yarn stores I worked at went out of biz in the 1990s, I have a lot of yarn from then. When I Ravelry’d my stash recently, I was taken aback at how much was described as “vintage.” Isn't it enough that most of it is discontinued?
@WilliamB,
I'm going to say no because people will pay you a higher price for Vintage than Discontinued Yarn I Held Onto For Way Too Long and Am Selling to Reclaim Space 🙂
@Kristen, lol...me too ?
* I had cpns for a free Hallmark card, a free dozen eggs from Kroger, & a free item from Bath & Body Works (I got a bar of soap)
* I covered my porch furniture early because my puppies decimated 2 cushions (not frugal & decidedly annoying). One cover was ripped stem to stern & I sewed it back together with embroidery floss while watching tv- tres satisfying!
*Made a delicious unstuffed cabbage roll casserole with gifted cabbage & peppers, marked down sausage, & rice from the freezer
* Was charged $25 for 4 mos for NYT after introductory rate expired. While trying to cancel, they gave me a $1.50/mos. Yes, please!
*In that most wonderful time of the year when it’s been weeks with neither a/c nor heat- just windows opened to the glorious outside!!
1. Had a conversation with my oldest child about a la carte purchases made at school. We had different recollections of what we had said was ok and what was not, so now we're on the same page. This should make future months more affordable since we're no longer purchasing $3 ice creams at lunch every week. 😉 (This is her first year of having these options, so we're going through the learning curve. At least we're only a month into school!)
2. I got a half-price beef roast through Flashfood last week.
3. I worked on Friday and didn't have time to make it to the grocery store, but was able to bring home some catering leftovers to make up the bulk of our dinner.
4. I had a potluck-y brunch yesterday and signed up to bring trail mix because I always have things at home to make my own trail mix. Easy-peasy and I didn't have to go buy anything special.
5. We've done pretty well at using up food in the last week. I don't feel like I have many frugal things because life has been mostly working, volunteering, and taking kids places. But life is good.
@Ruth T, My daughter is doing the same thing at school. Her new school has a "cafe" that, in addition to lunch and breakfast, offers snacks and ice cream and boba after school. The first few weeks she was so excited and would stop in and grab something on her way out of school so we had to discuss her budget. I think it's a good time for her to learn how to manage her assets!
OK, I am digging deep here:
*I have a bag of albums and books to take to Half Price for store credit
*Selling 4 pr of shoes, a purse, and some jewelry items on Ebay. One of the pair of earrings sold this last weekend, so yay for that. (Ebay is a good "set it and forget it" way to sell items!)
*I am determined not to eat out this week - I have loads of things in my pantry and freezer. Made rice last night with stock I found in the freezer - turned out great.
*cancelled Netflix, then discovered I get it free from T-Mobile (yay to a co-worker who pointed that out)
*Getting my new couch this week! And instead of paying someone to come haul off the old one, I am listing it on FB Marketplace, along with some arm chairs I can no longer use.
*Thrifted plenty of fabric, thread, and trims for sewing hearts for I Found A Quilted Heart (#IFAQH on Instagram). Cut up an old stained towel and made cleaning rags with a zig zag stitch to keep them from fraying.
*Hung a very large free to me art canvas over the fireplace, courtesy of a friend who knew I was looking for one. (:
Now, is a lot of spending happening? Yes. But I am doing that intentionally and always on the lookout for a good deal!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, did you check T-Mobile for all the free-with-ads streaming? Some of the plans include lots of them.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, how do you get Netflix Free from TMOBILE?
@Gina from The Cannary Family,
Thank you for the reminder on IFAQH, it is such a fun community project for my 4-H ers. We also make the pocket prayers where you quilt in a cross pendant into a 4x4 pieced quilt.
@Regina,
You can get free streaming services with ads depending upon what T-Mobile plan you have. They also have travel discounts listed in the app you can search by state/country
@Gina from The Cannary Family, when we moved a few years ago, the Houston Furniture Bank came and picked up what we weren't taking to donate to needy families. So grateful that was an easy option
1. While sick, I took the car out twice in 8 days. Once to Walgreen’s to buy stuff for my cold and to pick up tea bags and sipping broth from Buy Nothing. The second trip was to return to where I was on my walk when I saw Good Samaritans rescue a turtle. I wanted to make sure it was still safely off the road. (After all, I had just finished reading the book titled Of Time and Turtles.)
2. Read two more library books: Walden on Wheels and Things That Matter. Enjoyed both of them.
3. Submitted a claim for a data breach settlement.
4. Despite the heat wave, we were able to keep our AC off.
5. Fixed a ceramic cup that broke in two when I dropped it in the bathroom sink. I used some heavy-duty, waterproof adhesive that we had on hand. The break is only slightly noticeable. This cup was made by an artisan friend who passed away so I really wanted to save it.
My daughter LOVES Snoopy! This past weekend, we went to the Charlie Brown exhibit at the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier. It was awesome!
Hubby and I are still on our very structure food plan. My frig is full which it hasn't been since my son left for college 6 years ago. So happy to write about some wins here because the grocery budget is a struggle to contain. Good thing I have tracked both restaurant and grocery for years on Every Dollar so I know we are spending less and eating healthier.
1. My sister is in town and we made plans to watch Sunday football with Mom. I nixed restaurant take out and brought leftovers for Hubby and me. Stayed OP, avoided food waste, and saved money.
2. I have a lunch date with a friend. We are meeting at a salad bar /grocery store. I am bringing the last of my packaged Ceasar which has one more day. I will buy a drink and a fruit from the store so I don't feel guilty using its seating area.
3. I baked high protein granola to use up odds and ends: brown rice protein, dried fruit, 50 cent a pound oats, a half a bag of pepitas, olive oil, free honey from a wedding. I put it on homemade yogurt with a few spoons of low sugar jam. Yum.
4. Hubby has been bringing home fresh melons from the packing shed. We rent out ground to Melon farmers and they are happy to give us freebies. Yum.
5. I am off to pick the ripe pomegranates from the tree outside the River House Renovation
6. I drank the whey from my homemade yogurt. I added my dried bone broth and bouillon. I could tell the difference but I am trying to use all nutrients available. We'll will see if I keep it up.
Horrified that something from the 90's is now vintage. Hold me.
@Lisa, haha!
@Lisa, Your comment made me laugh out loud. Thank you.. I needed that today...
1. I used some bread that was getting stale to make French toast for Sunday brunch.
2. I borrowed books from the library.
3. I bought a book on Kindle during a promotion when it was free.
4. I bought my favorite bar soap in bulk to get a lower price per bar.
5. I am drinking tea made from a reused tea bag with my breakfast this morning.
Let's see if I've done anything frugal lately:
1.) Got the birthday burger from Red Robin. It's not as good of a deal as it used to be as you need to buy something else (and go at least one other time in the year) but still, it was a nice deal. It's not yet my birthday but we can use it all month.
2.) Worked a tiny bit of overtime. It's not a lot but it adds a little cash to my pocket.
3.) Probably will buy nothing at this Amazon "sale."
4.) Cancelled HBO Max and they offered me a month at a discounted price.
5.) Still line drying and enjoying this extra last bits of summer.
1. I dehydrated some over-ripe grapes to make raisins. I dehydrated some tomatoes to make sundried tomatoes.
2. I used up some milk to make pancakes for my kid's breakfasts this week.
3. I purchased 8 packs of chicken wings, 2 pizza cookies, and a pack of frozen pancakes at 50% off at Aldi.
4. Our state sent everyone inflation rebate checks. Ours was $400.
5. Took my cat to the vet for her yearly physical and vaccinations. She ended up needing a dental cleaning, but this is still cheaper than multiple extractions. Preventive medicine is always frugal.
The Snoopy medical picture is cute.
Frugal things---
● continuing to eat down freezer & pantry & NO takeout
● 10 FREE (TMOBILE Reward) photos from CVS
● used Halloween/Fall decorations already have & didn't buy any new
● teen did curb find of 4 bicycles (different sizes) & will take new tires & rims off 1 bike to put on vintage bike that needs new tires.
● teen needed new battery (hole in side of it & only 4 years old) for vehicle & we took in extra dead battery (saved extra $10 off) had in addition to bad battery (saved $22 core charge) & used Rewards (save $20) for $200 battery with 3 year warranty (same battery was 5 year warranty last time I purchased 8 years ago for different vehicle)
Frugal fail--
● Most CVS employees doesn't allow me to put in my Rewards number when picking up Free photos, so no coupons
● State Farm homeowners insurance apparently increased 20% across (most of) Michigan. They claim increase in overall claims (not me personally) & inflation. SAFE HOME DISCOUNT changed (without notice or explanation) & you now need to have liscensed contractor (electric, furnace & roof) sign stating updated/installation of new & can not be older than 10 years to qualify for discount. Most counties/township do not have digital tracking for the public of permits applied for for repairs. 🙁
On the road again for a week, so the net result is not frugal.
Frugal (Less Spendy?):
- Used the family high-end car rental membership, which comes with low rental prices.
- Pivoting to going straight from City A to Big Expensive City (BEC) when my plans had to change, instead of original plan of City A, home, BEC.
- Finding the least expensive way to go the few hundred miles from City A to BEC, which was driving since I’d pay the same for the car whether I drove, flew, trained, or bussed.
- Prepaying the tank of gas for the rental car, believe it or not. Prepaid gas at City A was $3; gas at BEC was $3.50 - $4; and I returned the car about 20% full. Not stopping for gas was a nice bonus.
- Staying at a friend’s house while in BEC.
- Walking in BEC rather than transit or cabs.
Not Frugal:
- Buying yarn at a fiber/sheep/wool festival, to go with some bits I already had. Frugal would have been making something that didn’t need more yarn. OTOH I do like buying from indie yarn producers and dyers.
- Ice cream twice in two days at the locally renowned dairy.
- Buying a full price new book from B&N lest I run out of reading material. (I am happy to buy full price new books from indie stores, less so from big chains.)
- Not working hard to find cheaper food in BEC, such as from kiosks or drug stores, or bring it in from City A.
1. Sunday night was girl’s craft night at a friend’s house. We all picked up a picture/painting at Goodwill and made them spooky! We also brought our stashes of paint supplies – it was all a mix and match of supplies but between us all we had what we needed.
2. We did a potluck dinner for craft night. I made an apple bread pudding for dessert. No one in my house likes bread heels so I stash them in the freezer to turn into croutons, bread crumbs, or in the case bread pudding!
3. I am working on cleaning out the odds and ends in the kitchen to make room for the upcoming holiday meal prep. It will take a little creativity but soup season is here and that will be a big help.
4. I took the gourds from our CSA box and I am using them as fall decorations. My family isn’t a huge fan of winter squash so each year I use them as decorations and then pass them on to a coworker on December 1st.
5. My son and I went to visit my grandparents just before lunch on Sunday. My son requested we stop by a specific fast casual place in my grandparent's town but I packed up sandwiches and sides to take with us. He wasn’t thrilled with me but he was fed.
@Geneva, your girls craft night sounds like so much fun!
The 90's are vintage? 1890's, maybe, but not the 1990's. No way.
Fun fact: My four grandparents (not great-grandparents) were born in 1890 (2 of them), 1893 and 1896. My husband's maternal grandparents were born in 1876 and 1882. I'm not sure about his paternal ones, but about the same time frame. Now THAT'S vintage!
How did I save some money last week?
1. I repaired a broken decorative ceramic piece by gluing the broken part back on. It took an embarrassingly long time to get around to this.
2. I bought a candy bucket with an autumn theme for the office's reception area and saved 40% on it.
3. This was totally unnecessary, but at least I did this cheaply: at a thrift store I bought a hand-built heavy wooden... thing... a box with one open side like a shelf. It's 8" tall, about 20"d x 24"w , with routed edges, nice finish, scrolled-edge sides and a small added thing on the side with a hole, almost like a wooden cupholder for a very small cup. The flat top has a raised narrow wooden frame around it. I took an old, thin, rubber door mat and trimmed it to fit the top inside the frame, set the box out on the porch and the dogs can hop on it and see over the top of the low wall around our screened porch. New worlds are out there for them now - they can see! My guess is that the box was for outdoor shoes and the hole for an umbrella, but I really don't know what it is.
4. I bought some lower gluten flour and finally, finally, made some successful sourdough bread. I had five failures over the years, so this is my first win, meaning I didn't waste my ingredients this time and actually have bread I can eat. What a lot of time, fussing and finicky details! I know this can't be the way the old-timers made sourdough.
5. I always walk right past the Halloween candy, the fall-themed paper plates and napkins, the pumpkin spice everything, and the many actual pumpkins. I don't need the candy, use real plates and napkins, have the bulk-purchased spices to make pumpkin spice at home, and I gave up on real pumpkins as decoration years ago - they rot in the heat and attract coons and possums.
@JD,
I agree about sourdough back in the old days! None of the things we're used to, like "climate control" or "consistent baking temperature", were a thing back then. I would guess they ate their mistakes. 🙂
I've been not frugal in some ways, so today I want to highlight my recent frugal activities:
1. Book borrowing from the library! I put some items on hold during the summer and all are coming in now. I just finished the Road to Tender Hearts and picked up Beautyland and My Friends. I also try cookbooks from the library before investing.
2. Meal planning based on what I have in the freezer and in my pantry. Less food waste too. The combo of high prices + teenagers is pushing my weekly bill above $300.
3. I found my daughter a new coat on Facebook marketplace instead of buying a new one from LL Bean.
4. We've been spending lots of evenings watching football which is much more frugal than being out and about.
5. Instead of signing up for a shopping service (hello Daily Fix), I followed them on social media and try to copy the outfits with what I already have.
Love the idea of giving a Snoopy gift!
My Frugal 5s+
• My girls and I had dinner at my sweet friend's house. She was such a gracious host and gave me the rest of the knoephla (potato and dumpling) soup to bring home since she knew it was my favorite. She also gifted me a craft book that she got from a library sale so I can do crafts with the girls.
• Made a Vietnamese dish Canh Bi Dao Tom (winter melon soup with shrimp) to use up the yellow squash and shrimp I had. It turned out pretty good. I've been craving my mother's cooking and this was an easy dish to make. I'm hoping to make more Vietnamese dishes at home.
• As part of my oldest daughter's birthday event, I brought the girls to a free moon event at the science museum sponsored through my library. They had so much fun modeling planets and animals with play dough, sending messages to the moon and seeing the moon through the telescopes. We were also kindly given a bag of kettle corn to munch on.
• I brought a used bitzee (digital pet) on eBay for half the price of it new. It's for my youngest daughter since she has repeatedly asked for it as a birthday present so I will stash it away until her birthday in April.
• Paid my home insurance in full on my 2% cash back credit card and will pay the credit card in full when the statement comes. My home insurance went up $300 this year so I shopped around but couldn't find an inexpensive option. Using my cash back card will at least give me 2% cash back.
• Cleaned, organized and touch up the garage. Speckled the holes and painted over them. This involved moving a large ladder all over the garage and reaching places up high. Got a free workout from it!
My niece handled the yard sale Saturday morning for most of my Uncle's remaining household items and yard tools. She was not very forthcoming on how much she actually did sell, but since we had a family gathering that evening, my lil Bro's loaded trailer was there. I was able to get a new, bright pink broom, a long pruning saw that needs rethreaded, and two sturdy shelves. I cancelled out the value of the free shelves by buying sanding blocks (I saved money not buying a sander), primer, spray paint and topcoat for them at Home Depot. The boards are MDF and have a little bit of water damage. The "legs" are grey metal tubing. I suspect they were leftover from some at the school where he worked in maintenance.
I filled up the car yesterday at $2.79 here in town. It is $2.98 down the road where I work. As reported before, it's the same name gas and convenience store.
I did not buy mums for the front porch. Nor am I buying decorative gourds or squash, since the squirrels planted them for me and I harvested enough this past week.
And the usuals: chai latte at home, bunched errands, distill my own water for drinking.
Anything with Snoopy and Woodstock is sure to be a hit. Love the illustration you posted!
1. In chairing our church's Blessing of the Animals next Saturday, I bought some people treats: ten 8-count boxes of popsicles for 99 cents each, and four 24-packs of bottled water for $1.99 a pack (yes, all two dozen for under two bucks! That's the cost of the entire case, not of each bottle). The parish hall kitchen has commercial equipment so we can freeze, refrigerate and provide ice for all the above at no charge.
2. Asked the house painters next door if they'd nail up a loose board in the old wood fence between our two yards, and they did so for free. Now, Snuggles' doggy "escape hatch" is no more.
3. Repotted my two big aloe vera plants yesterday (during the full harvest moon) using large planters and potting soil and compost I already had. (They'd pretty much outgrown the pots they were in.) Filled the bottom 1/4 of the planters with raked leaves, old soil and grass from the lawnmower grass catcher.
4. Reusing cardboard packaging to make a sign for our Blessing event and some more packaging to make a Halloween "tombstone" yard decoration.
5. Still washing on "cold" and line-drying my clothes and underwear.
@Fru-gal Lisa,
One year we used animal crackers dipped half-way into melted chocolate for the kids who came to the blessing. It was popular with the little ones.
We have been finishing the den/sunroom renovation. We used new paintbrushes ($3 at goodwill) and frog tape (that I bought new for $3 at goodwill...it's usually pretty expensive) for painting. Applied a military discount for the paint. We are doing all the work ourselves which is very frugal.
I'm listening to books on the Libby app free from the library while doing the work.
And I bought a dress for $3.50 at a thrift shop that was new and is perfect for Easter next year. That's much better than $60+ for a new dress.
That's about it for this week.
1. I made a French toast casserole using two loaves of French bread that had dried out before they could be eaten. I added some apples that were a little past their prime and a delicious fall breakfast was enjoyed over several days.
2. I whipped up buttermilk pancakes on Sunday to use up some buttermilk lingering in the fridge.
3. I started my baby registry on the Target site. I am still unsure if a baby shower will happen, but even if it doesn't, I will purchase those items and the discount in the year following birth will be welcome.
4. One of my dogs needs an allergy prescription medication. I took the script to Costco to fill for a 3 month supply and saved $80 over the cost of filling at my vets office.
5. While at Costco I filled up on gas saving $0.27/gallon.
@Angie, My daughter in law is expecting and as she is Singaporean and her and ds live in Singapore they don't have baby showers. That plus everything is so expensive there. Hubby and I are going to help them out with some things for our first grandchild.
Good morning all,
Kristen, your Snoopy gear makes me smile. My mom loved Woodstock, and I get a little warm glow any time I see Snoopy and Woodstock now ?
Anyone else remember the seemingly ubiquitous long sleeveless white nightgowns of the 90s? I had one but parted with it at some point. I’ve been looking for one again - they were pretty and sweet.
Some frugality (well-sort of):
I placed an order through thriftbooks. Because I have ordered from the site in the past, one of the books I ordered was free, and one is a board book for a friend’s new baby, and it was $1.99. I thought Room on the Broom would make a cute first Halloween gift.
I returned a dress I ordered. I almost kept it because it technically ‘fit’ but I realized the price wasn’t worth something I’d likely never wear. I made a note to check the tracking because not receive a refund until the store has received it.
Not really frugal but: I ordered flowers last week for a dear friend who recently lost her mother. I never heard from her about them (she lives out of state.) I never want to bother someone who is grieving but it seemed unlike her so I reached out yesterday to check in and gently inquire about the flowers. Turns out she never got them. I reached out to the company and received an email that they are ‘looking into it.’ Well, I’m going to dispute the charge on my credit card if I don’t hear something by tomorrow. Credit cards aren’t perfect, but I appreciate this feature. I’ve had to dispute charges before and it’s worked out in my favor. I never carry a balance,
I accrue points, and my transactions feel more secure.
Kristen, buying the Barnes and Noble gift card with your credit card points is such a good idea. I’ve done that for restaurants like Panera so I can treat my kiddos but haven’t thought to use them for gifts, etc. I’m going to try to remember to be a little more strategic with them going forward.
Have a great day everyone!
1. I washed, cleaned, and vacuumed my SUV at home instead of going to a car wash. Aldi dish detergent worked much better at getting 3 months of dirt roads off of a car than it does getting food off of dishes.
2. Also in the using up stuff I don't like for it's intended purposes category, I let dishwasher packs soak and dissolve to deep clean the toilets no one could bother cleaning while I was away on the road. They worked much better as toilet cleaning tabs than as dishwasher tabs.
3. I made dried bean soup from pantry ingredients and ended up with more than enough for 2 dinners. I froze the leftovers for a future quick meal.
4. I sold a cooler and didn't take the first low-ball offer in an attempt to just get it out of my garage. I'm glad I stuck it out to sell it at the price I wanted.
5. I decanted some fast food condiment packs that didn't use when camping into bottles in the kitchen. I don't care about mixing brands because I don't think a couple of tables spoons makes a taste difference (no one has noticed it before.) It feels more cheap than frugal but I'm sure I'd be haunted by dead relatives for throwing away food even though individually it was a few tablespoons hear and there but ended up being quite a bit when I looked at the pile of empty packets.
Washed down the house. Now the windows sparkle.
Listed a fun micro tool found in a free box and it sold the first day for $40.
Washed and line dried 4 quilts.
Picked and processed a bushel of apples for freezer applesauce using the instapot.
I varnished a beautiful wood chest That I bought for $5, with a marine grade finish and will be using it as a wood box on the back porch. It is almost wood stove season!
I used a 1/2 qt of oil stain to spiff up my front door, found in the free box at a garage sale. Set up my fall wreath, fall bench cushions and a pot of fall flowers and toy tractor and trailer full of sugar pie pumpkins to give as parting gifts to visitors.
Made a double batch of apple pie hand pies for the annual Library book sale that begins tomorrow.
1. My frugal friend and I went to a fall festival and brought our own water and snacks.
2. I am cooking lots of fresh applesauce from the gazillion apples we picked.
3. For dinner, I threw together stuff that needed to be used: leftover rotisserie chicken, almost expired egg roll wrappers, cheese, taco sauce, cilantro and onion. The result: baked southwestern chicken-cheese rolls and seasoned black beans (with a side of applesauce.)
4. I made salad dressing, again wondering why I bought overpriced, inferior bottled dressing for decades.
5. Enjoying my library book, worth the six weeks’ wait.
Quick version:
1. Sold a sleeping bag
2. Bought turkey instead chicken, cuz it was a good price
3. Got some free plant clippings
4. Packed a meal for my family
5. Found 2 pennies
Ling version: https://practicalwalk.com/2025/10/06/frugal-five-12/
Let's see, I...
1) reserved some halloween/horror movies at the library. They should come in this week.
2) cancelled an app subscription that is going up in a few days. I really only use the features that are free so don't need to pay the higher price for the year.
That's about all I can come up with.
If the 90's are vintage, then I'm antique 😉 I graduated from college in 1995!
--DH and I went to one of my favorite places for a 'date'--the recycling center, where we had fun chucking all the cardboard boxes and recyclables that had built up in the garage. Rather than pay $20 a month for curbside recycling, we do this, because we go maybe every three months and definitely do not use $20 of gas to drive there.
--We batched the above errand with our grocery shopping and stocking up the little free pantries in our area, and came home with a feeling of a job well done.
--I did manage to bike *to* class today; I honestly thought the radar was showing the rain stopping but a deluge hit me when I was 1/3 of the way there. I figured I was as wet as I was going to get, and I had all my gear to shower and clean up when I got there, so I continued on. I called DH for a ride home, though. The one good thing about this furlough is that he's been home a lot. He says it makes him wish he could retire now, rather than have to wait four more years.
--Helped myself to the free tea and coffee at school to warm up after my drenching.
--All meals made at home!
Busy week and here are my frugal things:
1. Dentist vist to fill two small cavities. Better to take care of my teeth now then need implants later.
2. Hubby and I got our free Covid shots as well as flu shots.
3. Furnace was serviced. Paid for this and the AC service last spring.
4. Found 3 pennies.
5. Got books from library inter library loan
6. Found an extra receipt to "Fetch" and "Receipt Jar".
7. Had hubby pick us some Kentucky Fried Chicken on his way home with an $18 coupon so it was about half price. Only thing is I've had KFC now about 3 times in 3 months and I'm over it.
8. Hubby is the one who cooks and has started using our cast iron skillets.
1. I picked up a free twin box spring from FB Marketplace for our oldest son’s new big boy bed.
2. I’ve been watching Rings of Power (LOTR prequel series) for free on Prime. I don’t have Prime, but for some reason these are currently free. I very rarely watch anything so this feels like a real treat.
3. I found a penny.
4. I’ve finally gotten around to using some quinoa and barley that I bought a while back.
5. I found a 6-qt slow cooker, a new-to-us breadmaker, a pair of NWT maternity pants, and some maternity leggings at Goodwill today. In particular I was thrilled about the maternity pants and they were also the 50% off tag color.
I've felt decidedly unfrugal lately but I have a few things:
1. I bought a small amount of nuts needed for a recipe from the bulk bins at the grocery store.
2. I invested in some pumpkin spice coffee add-ins so I can get a PSL fix at home.
3. Meal planned, shopped from my list and meal prepped my lunches this week.
4. Made a few doctors appointments which will utilize the insurance we're paying for!
I hope your night shifts pass swiftly!
Kinda slow this week -- here's my frugal things.
I recycled my Sunday paper to my sister. The paper is now very expensive, so I'm glad someone else gets to read it.
I froze a very ripe banana for smoothies and or banana bread.
I, too, froze some bread ends to make either croutons or bread crumbs later.
I made a batch of homemade laundry detergent.
I'm going on a trip tomorrow -- fingers crossed that I don't get hung up somewhere. I'm packing some extra patience. I put an empty water bottle in purse so I could fill it at the airport and wouldn't have to buy expensive bottled water. And I took a few tubes of iced tea mix to make iced tea if I wanted and I packed some snacks for my flights.
@Joyce from Arkansas, we pass along our local paper as well as some sections of the large city paper. Neither are frugal but we like to hold the paper in our hands when we read it. Also pass along AARP magazine/newsletter as well as a Reader's Digest I get "passed from" a relative. Our neighbors are elderly and definitely on a fixed income. The wife has mobility issues so this helps her pass the time.
Four years ago I bought a mini refrigerator from Home Depot. It croaked after one year. I stupidly went back to them to buy another one. Couldn’t fit it in my car, had them put it in Will Call, returned with the pickup and they couldn’t find the fridge, so I chose a replacement, and then ended up not buying one from them because I was so irritated. A year later I got a refund check, which I returned uncashed. Last year I got another check, and figured if they were dumb enough to send it, I would cash it. Last week I got a third check, and it took 7 phone calls to find a human who looked up my history, and told me they show I bought 3 fridges. Am I that dumb that I didn’t know I was charged for the two more fridges?? Maybe. But now I will cash that $129 check!
It was frugal to keep trying to reach someone to sort this out. Frustrating, puzzling, but frugal.
If I was a smoker, I’d need a cigarette.
1. I meal planned. We brewed coffee at home. We packed lunches and focused on eating down the food we had.
2. I cut up 3 pairs of holey jeans for a quilt.
3. I sewed on a patch using thread that I had. (It had a plastic pouch, so no ironing ever.)
4. I have been using up old gas gift cards to fill my car. There were 2 different brands, but one company has a station near on my house and the other near work.
5. I picked up a book from a Little Free Library. I used our local library for books. I used the Libby app and my library card for ebooks and audiobooks.
6. The weather has been beautiful, so we have barely needed to use the furnace at home or the heater in the car. Just at night and in the early morning.
7. My husband fixed the toilet.
1) Meal prepped a lot, as I had Friday off as a bonus day (day in lieu due to a lot of traveling on weekends & holidays). It's made lunches & dinners very quick to come together.
2) Was combining errands, and needed coconut milk. It was $5.99/can at the store I was at, and I needed two. Added an extra stop at Trader Joes, where I paid $1.89/can. Paying a little more for convenience is okay, but that was a huge jump in price!
3) Filled out my $480 annual fitness reimbursement. I used it for two months of gym studio membership, plus a massage. I started on 6/30, and anyone starting before 7/1 got the entire yearly amount, instead of just 1/2, so got lucky there, without knowing.
4) Maxed my 401k. My initial paychecks were very small, as I tried to make up for lost time, only working 1/2 of the year.
5) Filled out the appropriate forms from United & received $1650 back in United credits for my cancelled flight a week or so ago. Some of that is EU required, and by agreeing to accept a credit vs a check, I received quite a bit more ($400, I think). DS18 goes to college in Boulder, with the closest airport being Denver - a United hub. We will definitely use these credits getting him to & from college. Thanksgiving flights alone are $600+.
I love reading all the frugal things people do each week...I'm not feeling like I'm being incredibly frugal but here it goes....
1. Packed hubby's and my lunch each day for work. The littles get a packed lunch but a school lunch one day per week as a treat.
2. Didn't buy meat that was not on sale.
3. I have been reading books from the library instead of buying new.
4. Bought a birthday card at the Dollar Store.
5. In the process of canceling cable.
Any frugal ideas would be appreciated! Have a great week!
@Holly Scott, I like you having one school lunch a week as a treat. It keeps it a treat and you/they can pick a meal they are most likely to like.
* Been sticking to a lower grocery budget for couple weeks now
* Picking up extra work shifts here and there
* Not buying a second (used) car, even if sometimes tempted in order to make life easier for the family (4 people - 1 car). We can manage without
* Suggested we bring down the family adults Christmas gift exchange from 100$ to 50$. Everyone agreed
* Not driving 6 hours away (so, 12 hours total) for Thanksgiving this year, the in-laws are coming to us (savings: about 70$ in gas+precious time!)
I also save my bread ends. When I get enough, I dry then grind them into crumbs to use for toppings or whatever. I store the crumbs in jars in the freezer. Being plain, I can season them however needed, plus I always have a supply on hand.
I save coffee grounds to spread in my garden to get rid of slugs and snails, and probably a few other pests, without using dangerous, expensive chemicals.
I buy large packs of meat, separate into small packs for spouse and myself. I cook all meals at home . I had to retire early to come home and take care of my husband. I do small simple alternations at home for a little income. Main thing is I trust God with everything. He has always took care of me even when I didn't realize it.
Thanks Kristin ,just love how you keep us updated on your blog ,how to safe money, which means, being frugal, not cheap ,like a cheapskate ,ha..ha.. you are awesome ?
I gave my friend a heavy duty stapler for Christmas so she could do those little repair chores in a snap and she liked it!
I read years ago that baby shampoo cleans just as well as specially made for woolen, and delicate, and hand wash clothes. For the past forty years, I use a generic baby shampoo to wash those items
I use vinegar to descale my Keurig. It saves money ? because we just have one cup at a time, don't need to go to a coffee place and it's always delicious ?
I’m in my 50th year of nursing. Here is hoping you enjoy the life of a nurse as much as I have. Everything from nursing on the Blackfoot Indian reservation (my first job) to nursing in Alaska. Go for it !
Wow. Really?
I'm unsure what this is in response to! Feel free to elaborate.
I used my speedway pts and got $10.00 free gas.
I scanned receipts I found, on fetch and got 100 extra points.
Used all old coffee grounds for the yard.
Found .13¢
Also still drying clothes outside as weather permits