Five Frugal Things | a tidy-the-fridge edition
On Sunday afternoon, I put my earbuds in, set my phone to play the audio version of a chapter in my book (Caring for the Older Patient, if you are curious!) and set about organizing/cleaning my fridge and prepping the contents for use.
I always appreciate the efficiency of combining a head task (listening to the textbook chapter) with a body task (the fridge work, which is largely mindless).
I have a terrible time paying attention to audio versions of learning unless my body is busy, so this is a perfect combo for me. And I always listen to things at 2x speed, which is fast enough to tickle my brain appropriately. 🙂
This was a very lonnnnnnnng textbook chapter, so I got a lot of food tasks done.
1. Kale two ways
I used part of my Hungry Harvest kale to make this kale salad from Gimme Some Oven.
I did not have enough craisins, so I used a combo of craisins and raisins.
Also, I had no lemons, but I did have some limes that were going a bit soft, so I juiced those and used them in place of the called-for lemon juice.
And as always, I used onion instead of shallots because onions are always what I have around. 🙂
I used the rest of the kale in a small batch of Zuppa Toscana-ish soup, which also handily used up some marked-down Italian sausage, some homemade chicken broth, and some potatoes from my Hungry Harvest box.
Yay me!
I did not have any bacon handy, so mine is a no-bacon version this time.
2. I cut up some mangoes
I had two huge mangoes that had gotten ripe at a time when I didn't have a sec to cut them up.
Sooo, I did both of them at once and now I am rich in ready-to-eat mango.
3. I roasted sweet potatoes
While I was cooking, I threw the three Hungry Harvest sweet potatoes into the toaster oven.
Now they're in my fridge ready for me to grab; I like to make a quick mashed sweet potato eat with my eggs some mornings, or sometimes I slice and brown them to go with my eggs.
4. I froze some bananas
The last bunch of bananas I bought turned spotty brown seemingly overnight.
Or maybe I just was so busy that I accidentally ignored my bananas for a few days. I don't know!
I'd thrown them in the fridge as soon as I saw they were going spotty, and on Sunday I sliced and froze them to use in smoothies or to make this strawberry vanilla banana "ice cream".
5. I made a batch of granola and a batch of yogurt
I may not make everything from scratch these days, but granola and yogurt are two of my stand-bys. Ok, and also chicken broth; I'm pretty consistent with that.
This is the granola I make; it is so quick to throw together and it requires no stirring during baking. PERFECT.
And here is how I make yogurt without a yogurt machine.
Since I spent this time prepping food, now I have quick and easy options to grab, and that makes it easier to avoid waste, and also to avoid buying food outside of the house.
Plus, several of these efforts help support my goal of always eating more fruits and veggies. Anything that helps me eat more kale is a win in my book. 😉
Great job Kristen. I am impressed that you can listen to an audio book at 2x speed and do kitchen prep.
1. All our bananas became soft and bruised quickly so last night we walked to Giant to buy more. They had a bag of single bananas for $.29/pound and from I could see they looked fine. I bought them and there was nothing wrong with them when we got home. Today I'll use the past their prime bananas to make muffins. I don't have quite enough for a double batch so I'll use pumpkin lingering in the refrigerator to fill in.
2. We had a few fruit flies that I think are now vanquished thanks to apple cider vinegar, dish detergent and sticky tape. It took a while but I did not want to buy anything to deal with them.
3. I have an email from our eye doctor's office saying they will not accept a certain insurance beginning in November. Our vision coverage has been that insurance, through a subset of our medical insurance, in the past. I will call today to check if that is still the case.
4. I was notified that my Social Security Number was detected on the Dark Web. I froze my credit with the three major credit bureaus and filed a fraud alert. The things we have to keep on top of these days 🙁
5. On Saturday I encountered two yard sales on my walk. The first had lots of stuff that seemed a lot clutter. The second had lots of stuff, I suspect overly ambitious plans, and a lot of it was appealing but I bought just a box of Hallmark holiday cards.
@K D,
Hope your #4 will not lead to any trouble. It's the kind of thing that would scare me!
@K D, We also received notification from Change healthcare yesterday that our information has been compromised, so I will be doing your #4 today.
@K D, I put a security freeze on my credit report back in 2017 when there was that massive breach of the Equifax credit bureau that compromised about 143 million accounts. The FTC sued and Equifax settled and affected users got free credit monitoring. I cut to the chase and put a security freeze on my Experian credit report then and have left it in place ever since. You can put or life a freeze on your credit reports for free by contacting one or all three of the major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Just this past summer, a couple of retailers I bought something from have reported security breaches of their customer data and each is paying Identity Works to monitor those customers' accounts, and every month I get 2 reports saying "nothing going on with your stuff".
@JDinNM, Just to clarify, the purpose of a security freeze on a credit report is to keep anyone from accessing your account so no new credit, fraudulent or legitimate, can be approved in your name.
@JDinNM, So if you want to apply for a new credit card or loan, you can lift the freeze, and then if you wish, place it back on again.
@K D,
I was notified first by Discover and then Kroll that my SSN was found on the dark web. IdentityForce notified me of the Fraud Alert I placed. All you can do is do what you can cross your fingers.
@K D, I keep my credit in frozen status - its very easy to "unfreeze" for a period of time if needed. (Like if buying a car or something)
@JDinNM,
The hospital where I work had a data breach several years ago, and all employees were given identity monitoring (it may have been Identity Works, I don't remember), and I also got monthly reports that "nothing going on" during that time.
@JNL, After the last breach in August, I think we all need to assume our SS numbers have been breached. There are free tools available to check online and take the necessary steps like freezing your credit.
@Bobi,
That sounds like a good idea. Thank you for reminding me to discuss this further with my DH.
I like your homemade foods and think a recipe for the creamy soft serve would be great!
My fab five are:
1) Our youngest got his driver's license. His grandparents are gifting him their car. Savings- $20,000
2) Our fruit trees produced alot this year, despite one tree being broken in half, due to the weight of the fruit. We ended up with 40 lbs of peaches and 15 lbs of apples.
Savings- $165
3) Our neighbors have gotten letters to paint their homes, courtesy of the HOA. I'm trying to avoid a letter, so I purchased a gallon of paint and utensils. We got the garage and some trim done, although I hired someone to get on a really tall ladder to paint some areas. We haven't received a letter yet......Savings- $4500
4) I decided to cancel a previously planned trip. Luckily, there's a free cancellation clause. Savings- $3000
5) I don't use my insurance to buy most of my meds. Instead, I go through the manufacturer's programs. I found the info online. My insurance doesn't cover these meds as they were taken off the formulary. Savings- $5100/yr
@lisa, Good on you for avoiding a letter--crikey, am I glad we don't have an HOA! Our garage and shed need repainted, but that's a next spring/fall project when money and free time coincide.
I've been bugging hubby about painting for years and I understand the HOA position in keeping home values up. I mean, they have increased quite a bit lately. I had to just buy the paint and move forward on my day off. It looks so nice and honestly, we will need to do more repairs/sprucing as we have neglected many things. Plus, we plan on having a graduation party in 2 years, so we really need to get things done when family arrives.
I am so proud of you! Woohoo!!!
https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/you-dont-need-whiskers-to-do-that/
The link is up there in the post (where the coral colored letters say "strawberry banana ice cream, it's clickable), but also here's the link! https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/strawberry-banana-ice-cream/
@lisa, So glad No HOA! I would recommend that you get high pressured hose/pressure washer & clean first, maybe just dirty & need cleaning & some touch up spots. 🙂
@lisa, Wow! Big ones this week!
@lisa,
My friend Ed Plaisted used to say "Homeowners' Associations go where the Nazis feared to tread!" So true!
Speaking of Ed, he wrote several murder mysteries in his lifetime. The first, "Disaster Plan," is about a football team plane crashing due to sabotage and a sports reporter investigating if it was the Mafia, disgruntled players, drug dealers, the airline union, the owner's gold-digging wife or another person who caused the fatal crash. I think it's still available via Amazon, and it will keep you on the edge of your seats-- a rollercoaster ride with many plot twists. Just don't read it onboard an airliner -- that would cause you great anxiety, LOL!
@lisa, you had a great list of savings!
@Kristen, I immediately thought of cat whiskers, lol. Glad you included the link.
Yes, I thought maybe dirt was the issue and wiped it all down. After 23 years, I discovered that the paint really was chipping off and getting rubbed from something when the door goes up and down. Bummer, but it lasted quite a while and I really can't get upset too much. 🙂
Thank You, Marlena. Some weeks are better than others and I appreciate your comment!
I do the same thing on Sundays. I make a dinner that requires me staying in the kitchen for half an hour and prep lunches and ingredients for the week in between stirring whatever is on the stove.
--'Tis the season for free landscaping rock! I've been responding to free rock listings on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, taking five 5 gallon buckets' worth at a time (the most I'm willing to do to my car). Even buying the border pavers (thankfully cheap-ish at the locally-owned hardware store) and the landscaping fabric, we're still saving hundreds of dollars with the free rock. I'm careful to take the same color so it all looks like it goes together in the end.
--I found a $20 set of nice fine-tipped markers on clearance for $2 at Barnes & Noble. They're ostensibly for making notes in cookbooks, but like the markers will know the difference. 😛
--A "$10 off $60" offer in the Target app happened to coincide with a regular stock-up trip. I've no specific allegiance to Target and only work the app deals when they're for things we need, anyway.
--That said, boneless, skinless chicken breast was marked down to 80 cents a pound! I took three big packages--the most that would fit in my Goodwill "town day" cooler--and there was plenty left on the shelf for everyone else.
--More free garden goodness! One of the librarians was giving away extra eggplant, and anonymous vegetable fairies have been leaving tomatoes and peppers at the post office for anyone to take. I'm still doing my part by hawking surplus basil and jalapenos.
I'm impressed you've been able to find so many free rock listings!
@N,
WOW! on the free landscaping rocks. And lucky you for clearance/sale on other landscaping materials. Our stores would rather keep than mark down landscaping materials.y best/favorite free rock story is that I found bigger landscaping rocks in front of house with sign that said " Free Organic Rocks". I knocked on door if house to verify & proceeded to load all of pile & organic rocks sign into my SUV & took home. I painted over Free to make design & put sign in my yard. I was funny joke for quite some time.
@Kristen, It surprised me, too! Like the Non Consumer Advocate says (paraphrasing), everything turns up second-hand with a little luck and patience.
@N,
Nice job on the free landscaping rocks! They go QUICK when offered on my local Buy Nothing group. Same with pavers, bricks, stepping stones, and pretty much anything garden/yard-related. I have been lucky enough to be the recipient of some of these gifts. 🙂
@Regina, I love your organic rocks! I would have added "Cage free" to the sign because the years working in an organic grocery store were equal parts wonderful (still friends with many former co-workers and regular customers) and WTF:
"Do you have organic salt?"
"Organic salt? Salt... is salt."
I love that phrase! So true!
@Regina, rocks are classified as either organic or chemical (sometimes referred to as inorganic), so “organic rocks” are a real thing. Not the same as “organic” food certification rules, but organic rocks are rocks made of carbon bonds (so formed from previously living things). It’s not really relevant for gardens though, so maybe they meant not-engineered/manufactured to signal they were natural rocks?
It seems to me that frugality is often a question of timing well -
-making sure food is not wasted
-preventing wear and tear on house, clothes and household objects by maintenance
-ignoring impulse, researching options and waiting for good bargains
-preparing for next seasons by planning garden work, gift purchases, preserving crops
My FFT are along these lines:
-Cooked and froze arabiata sauce with lots of bell peppers and tomatoes I had on hand.
-Threw together all odds and ends from my fridge drawer that I had no immediate plans for, plus additional onion and herbs from our planters, to make (and freeze) vegetable stock.
-Planted strawberry shoots for next year and took out the strawberry plants that yielded little berries.
-Froze the juice of my limes and lemons which were starting to dry out.
-Painted the garage door (that catches all wind and all rain) in this week's last of summer weather.
+Sewed a button on a shirt and mended gloves.
+Spoke to a repairman on repairs for my bicycle. The shop where I bought the bike nearly 14 years ago has been urging me to buy a new one for several years now and I wanted a second opinion. Will take my bike to the repairman later in the week, as the problems seem entirely fixable and my bike still in good condition for its age.
I am the same with audio and tasks. I can't get chores done if I don't have a podcast to listen to (music doesn't work because the sound gets interrupted).
I tried making hummus and that was a total fail. I put too much liquid in it and even after being in the fridge overnight which thickened it, it didn't taste great, which was quite discouraging! I threw all of it out. It wasn't expensive but it was an annoying waste of time.
This week was a lot more frugal otherwise - thanks everyone for the encouragement!
1. I didn't buy any takeout.
2. I was able to eat lunch at home every day.
3. I don't want to cancel my gym membership so I made an effort to go more.
4. I got a free chair which someone left outside my building.
5. I cancelled a subscription.
@Sophie in Denmark,
My efforts on hummus have also been in vain, so I generally buy it. Same with mayonaise. It is supposed to be so easy to do but I've never mastered the skill in spite of tips from a cook I know.
I need hummus/mayonnaise lessons!
@JNL, I successfully made mayonnaise once but only because someone was showing me how to do it. I probably need to do more practice runs with the hummus but honestly, I'll probably just buy it next time.
@Sophie in Denmark, I need to start making hummus again. I finally remembered the go to recipe I used to use: https://altonbrown.com/recipes/easy-homemade-hummus/
There are those who claim you should take all the skins off the beans, and the easiest way to do that is to rub the drained chickpeas lightly in a towel, I've heard. Anyway, I'll try this recipe next shawarma night.
@Karen A.,
Thanks, will give it a try!
@Sophie in Denmark, funnily enough, the topic of my danish class this week was how to budget!
@Karen A., I’ve used that same hummus recipe for years (with success)!
Kristen, your kitchen tidying--and your tidy fridge--put mine to shame!
Now, FFT, Online Ordering Edition (revised/updated from yesterday's FFT at the NCA). As I have said in the past, I’ve parted ways with Amazon (having a beef with Chase Visa after they canceled DH’s Amazon Prime card without even offering me the chance to get a new one, and having a general beef with buying Jeff Bezos another big-ass yacht anyway). But I’ve managed to score a few online bargains without Jeff’s help:
(1) On a site called Shoe Deals Outlet, I found a pair of my beloved Muck Boots Arctic Weekend boots for $70. I last bought a pair on Amazon for $85, and they’re currently $120 on the Muck Boots website. I like to keep a pair or two of these in stock, since they are the ONLY wellies I can wear in any comfort these days, and I’m terrified that Muck may discontinue the style altogether.
(2) The charging cable for my ancient MacBook Air laptop is almost at the point of no return (I’ve patched it with so much red and black electrical tape that it looks like a coral snake). I just ordered myself a gently used one off eBay for $6 and change.
(3) For this year’s Martha Stewart parody calendar (a traditional Christmas gift for the Bestest Neighbors), I picked a “This Day in History” calendar off the Barnes & Noble website that wasn’t in stock at my local store. So I ordered it online, along with Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead (which I’ve been meaning to get around to for a while; I’m a BK fan). I got 10% off with my B&N membership, free shipping, and a $5 discount for accumulated points.
(4) And on now to non-online economies. I got out a small stepladder yesterday morning and washed the outsides of my living room windows, in the spirit of “belts will be worn tighter this winter.” I don’t feel I can do without fall visits from my chimney sweep or my HVAC folks for safety reasons, but I’m going to try to postpone a visit from my window washers if I can get a few key windows clean (or at least cleaner than they were). Onward today to the kitchen windows and the sliding glass door to the deck.
(5) Finally, I went down to my local Aldi yesterday morning in search of some specials–and also copped a package of herb-seasoned salmon at 50% off. It was such a big piece of salmon that I had it for both lunch and dinner. I also extended the salmony goodness by making scrambled eggs in the salmon pan for this morning's breakfast. Nom nom nom!
@A. Marie, my Aunt does her own outside windows (& storm windows in Florida) with bucket of hot water & vinegar wash. She (also) gets out little ladder & does one window at time & works way around (single story) house. She is only person on her block that doesn't have window washing service. I didn't realize how expensive window cleaners were until talking about it with her.
@A. Marie,
I really think we need to see at least some of this calendar. 🙂
@Regina, my hat's off to your aunt. All I'm trying to do this fall is to clean the first-floor windows I look out of most often. I'm shaky enough doing the tops of these on a stepladder; I'm not even going to try getting out a big ladder and doing the second and third floors.
But you and your aunt will be glad to hear that I too use a vinegar and water solution, and use newspapers instead of paper towels for the wiping.
@JD, the 2025 calendar will of course become "This Day in Martha History," with Martha's head pasted onto the major historical figure for each month's page. I'm looking forward to "Martha Crossing the Delaware" in particular. But I'll probably never surpass the year I used an "I Love Lucy" calendar and pasted Martha's head onto all the Lucys. (I have a considerable archive of Martha cutouts from old issues of Martha Stewart Living and other publications, as you can imagine.)
And the calendar also serves a serious purpose: It's become the Bestest Neighbors' birthday and anniversary calendar, since I write in all the memorable dates for their wide and far-flung circle of family and friends.
@JD and @A.Marie,
I could not agree more! It sounds like such fun, however, I understand about intellectual property and all that jazz. I still remember the delightful tea bag wreath demo. A very creative lady.
@A. Marie, Glad you mentioned Barnes and Noble. It prompted me to look at their rebate programs just now. Although we don't buy enough for the yearly pay-for premium membership, we might join the rewards points program, which is free.
I agree! We need to see this calendar!
I bought a new dishwasher and range, which was not especially frugal. Though they're certainly not the most expensive versions of either. I actually buy pretty much the cheapest range available because I haaaate digital displays and buttons on appliances, and only the cheap ones still have knobs. 🙂
The dishwasher is not strictly necessary, as I can do and have been doing dishes by hand for months now, but I bought it anyway. It wasn't the cheapest, but not the most expensive, either.
I didn't buy a dryer, though! I haven't had one of those for . . . I think four years now? That gets a bit tricky in the winter sometimes, but line drying is doable here in New Mexico all year, with some effort.
I went to a locally owned furniture/appliance store to buy my appliances, and they actually delivered them for free to me here in the middle of nowhere. Hooray for local places.
I was reminded when I was standing in the furniture showroom that my living room furniture consists of the couch my MiL bought us for our wedding 21 years ago (Stickley longevity is real), my armchair that belonged to my husband's grandfather and is at least 80 years old, and an even older chair my husband uses that came from his great-aunt's house and I'm guessing is well over a hundred years old. Our bookcases--which are a significant part of our furniture--were either made by my dad or purchased twenty years ago at Target. I bought one of our "end tables" (a wooden folding table) at Bed, Bath, and Beyond over twenty years ago with a gift card given to me by co-workers when I moved to live with my husband.
We hold onto things, I guess. 🙂
@kristin@going country, When my current Crockpot finally dies I am going to get an analog one without the fancy press buttons. The plastic panel over the buttons has started to "melt off" (I guess it was held on with glue, that melted over time), and it is held on right now by first-aid tape. Classy! It works, but the panel will eventually distintegrate. It also makes big BEEP noises when you set it, which has gotten old over the past three years.
I just want an old-fashioned slow cooker with a dial!
@Karen A., one of my biggest pet peeves is appliances being made digital for the sake of being digital. I enjoy technology as much as anyone but I don't need (or want) my slow cooker to have a digital component to it!
I have a fear of slow cookers thanks to This Is Us but that's another story 😉
@kristin@going country,
We also hold on to furniture for a looong time. We replaced our dining room chairs only very recently after 20+ years, as the upholstery was worn - having them reupholstered would be more expensive than buying new. I was so relieved that we could pass on the otherwise sturdy chairs to two young people starting their first home. We had bought some covers for the chairs but my husband did not find them comfortable - the young ones were very happy to have both chairs and covers however.
The new chairs are lighter to move so are also a first step towards a senior-proof home I suppose. Not that we are likely to retire at short notice but we expect to still have the new chairs by the time that we do.
@Karen A., I really like this one:
https://hamiltonbeach.com/stay-or-go-6-quart-slow-cooker-33262g
My old Rival crockpot was a wreck: the feet fell off, and when the crock cracked and they wouldn't sell me a replacement crock, I made the switch to Hamilton Beach and haven't looked back! This one the "feet" are a molded part of the crockpot so they won't be falling off. 🙂
@kristin@going country, I have lots of old and family-used furniture as well. I think the newest furniture in my house is about 10 years old.
My grandmother’s secretary is art and display, I’m not sure it counts as furniture. It’s 97 years old. They bought it when they first got married so it’s easy to date.
My couches are almost all from my parents. Some are only 10-15 years old, one is at least 52, possibly 62. Occasional tables ditto, plus ones I bought on vacations over the decades.
The wood rocking chair has a convoluted history: friend’s mother’s, who got it from the next door neighbor, who may have had it from her grandmother,… Friend’s mother had it at least 55 years. I paid non-frugal amounts for a new sprung seat and decorative cushion (sprung seats are more expensive than foam and the decorate cushion was 100% unnecessary) but I love old, used wood with the patina from those who went before me, and I wanted to honor that with the right cushion. Then the pandemic hit and I used that very-comfortable rocking chair with the very-comfortable cushions all the time.
I agree with y’all about needless digital. It just seems like another thing that’s going to break sooner than it needs to.
@kristin@going country, your mention of your Stickley couch reminds me that I'd like to wish a public happy 40th birthday to mine. DH and I bought it the day Prince Harry was born (15 Sept. 1984), and I've enjoyed telling people it's the same age as Prince Harry and much better behaved.
@kristin@going country, This spring the digital oven that came with the house died, so we treated ourselves to a 1955 gas range--one house, one owner it's entire life until us. It's gorgeous, fires right up, and has zero electronics to crap out. While our old oven could have picked a better time to kick it (2024 has been a wallet fire ride), we LOVE, love, love our vintage range's efficiency and simplicity.
@kristin@going country,
The bedside tables my granddaughter is using were made by my dad in his high school shop class. So, the tables were made circa '33 or '34.
I plan to hold onto the bookshelf my DH made, now that it is in my house. I totally understand holding onto things.
@kristin@going country,
When I bought my house in Florida, I "inherited" a digital range/oven from the previous owner. It kept going out on me. Long story short: digital=computerized, and the heat from the stove kept messing up the computer parts inside the appliance's controls. I got the thing fixed twice for free due to the homeowner's warranty, and I was advised to take out an extended warranty for another few years. "What happens when that warranty runs out?" I asked the salesman. His face turned beet red as he tried to stammer an answer. I junked the digital appliance, went to the rental place and BOUGHT what I needed -- a new, bottom-of-the-line "landlord's special" of a kitchen stove, complete with manual dials. It was still cooking up a storm when I moved out 5 years later, and probably still is.
@Jan G, The one I have now is a Hamilton Beach! I just shouldn't have fallen for the fancy digital garbage.
@A. Marie,
Is it a ginger coloured one?
Oh, and almost all the furniture in my house is vintage. When my folks died, I got rid of my furniture and used theirs; my grandmother also gave me some of her antique suites: I have her complete dining room set and a birdseye maple bedroom suite. Also have Mom's mahogany dining room suite and the 1950s bedroom furniture she and dad used for years. I have a much larger house, and was able to find a large birdseye maple Empire chest and a maple rocking chair for the bedroom; I got an identical break-front china cabinet that matches Mom's, and both are side by side in our gigantic living room/dining room....along with Grandma's. My grandmother's buffet and dining table are in the eat-in kitchen. Grandmother moved into her home in 1919 or 1920 so her furniture is now over 100 years old. My mother called her stuff "early matrimony" and it dates to the late 1940s.
@Karen A., I see nice crock pots with the removable crock (a must for me - easier cleanup!) dial all the time at thrift stores!
@JNL, well, we didn't know at the time Harry was born that he was going to be a ginger, so the sofa is dark brown. But it's endured two dogs and six cats--as well as my jumping up and down on it yelling at various Jane Austen films/TV series, "No, no, it's not RIGHT!" (I did break a spring or two in it while watching the absolutely dreadful 2007 versions of Mansfield Park and Persuasion.) 😉
@Cheryl, I actually bought a few crock (ceramic insert(s)) at Goodwill for extras of the 2 most used sizes because I don't always get the dishes washed before using crock pot again. I paid like $4-$5 each & store the extras in same cabinet with crock pots. All knobs no digital. 🙂
@kristin@going country,
I feel you pain. Last year. I had to buy a dishwasher, washing machine, and refrigerator in a period of less than 6 months.
I also keep my furniture for a long time. Many are vintage pieces and antiques which is a nice way of saying old, used furniture. However, many are beautifully made and handed down from one generation to the next. The workmanship and materials are often beyond most things that could be purchased today.
My dining room table has been in my family for nearly 200 years. It not perfect, but I don’t think it could ever be replaced.
@WilliamB, it warms my heart that you respect not only the beauty but the history of your furniture. Nothing amazes me more than a 200-year old piece of furniture which has been put together without even a nail.
@Cheryl, Hmmm...I will have to see when I have time to stop at one! I'm usually biking near one, but carrying a crockpot home in my backpack might do me in! 😉
@kristin@going country,
It's looking like we will need to buy a new dishwasher soon....may I ask which one you bought? My DH is looking at the Consumer Reports ratings, and an IKEA model is top rated....but not rated so well in terms of noise (our kitchen is right next to our living room, and everything is "open plan", so you can hear the dishwasher in the living room). Our current dishwasher is at least 15 years old.
Also, my BFF has a Stickley dining table and chairs that were her older brother's before he passed away. She had no idea what it was until I mentioned I thought it was a Stickley....sure enough, it was! It's very pretty with it's clean lines.
@Liz B., Well, I didn't actually do any research, and basically just went to the local place and bought not the cheapest but the next cheapest, so I'm not sure I'm a good resource for suggestions. 🙂 It's a GE. Not sure of the model. I had a Bosch before this, for six years.
LOL
@Liz B., I recommend a Bosch. Not inexpensive but a) is quiet and b) is water/energy efficient. Yes, you need to take out the filter and rinse it weekly (for best appliance efficiency). It is the 2nd dishwasher I've ever had and compare to the Whirlpool, it is like butter to spoiled margarine.
@A. Marie, I would love you to rate each version of Jane Austen adaptations and say why.
@Regina, that is a great idea!
1. I receieved my rebate check for my FIL's gift shipment from What on Earth. I got him a gift from their site, signed up for their membership program and cancelled within 7 days to get the shipping rebate. I'm the person that always remembers to cancel those things!
2. Speaking of rebates, we narrowly remembered to send in our Menard's receipts for rebates. 3. But in order to mail those, I had to get an envelope from a friend, because we packed ours up already! I found a random giftcard to a local restaurant we won't use before we move to give to her in exchange. Fair deal, I think.
4. Not super frugal, but we decluttered our attic before we move. The biggest win was getting our Christmas decorations to ONE BOX!! And Halloween is just a candy bowl, now! (I'm not big on decorating for holidays other than Cmas, and we always get a real tree, so the Cmas box is just ornaments, tree lights/skirt/stand, stockings, a countdown statue, and 3 vintage nutcrackers from my Opa) We're moving ourselves, but still, anything to decrease the loads helps! It was super fun to post all the decorations to give on my Buy Nothing group. CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER!
5. I graduated from PT last week after 15 sessions to heal some SI joint pain!! I'm all set to keep strength training on my own, but I signed up for a virtual strength training program with a trainer to keep me focused. We do 3-4 morning workouts over zoom, I'm on workout 2/4 this week and feeling great 😀 The frugal aspect: I'm using equipment we already had, and I got my PT to cut me several resistance bands for the program for free 🙂 And no more expensive PT sessions (even with insurance they were $100 a session minimum).
Thanks for reminding me to clean the fridge(s), Kristen!
Frugal Things:
Doing my level best to use up produce, by adding it whenever I can. Cherry tomatoes can get halved and put in a bowl of rice and leftover chicken, etc. I saved two cauliflowers by trimming off the little brown bits and roasting them for dinner--I prefer roasted cauliflower to roasted broccoli these days.
Library books on repeat. Really glad I didn't buy the Annotated Little Women; it didn't have that much that I didn't already know. The book "Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: Why Little Women Still Matters" was better.
Biked to the library, then on Sunday DH and I biked to church. Stopped at the grocery store on the way back to grab a few road trip snacks; that afternoon he wanted to go check on his mom. I joined him to keep him company, so I got to pick the road snacks. 😉 We made it back in time for dinner with the boys. A flying trip (4 hours roundtrip) but he was able to determine that she's okay after a bout with Covid in July.
Clark's austerity program is serving him well; two scoops of food a day and no more than 5 crunchy treats, and no human food is a good regime. I tell him he's helping with the family finances. He still gets his Churu treat in the morning, though. DH upped the game by getting him a kitty harness and leash. Guess who now whines to go outside every day? The guys love taking him outside, though, and it certainly is entertaining for Clark.
DS#3's car was looking rough inside, so we hauled out the shopvac and he did the inside while I washed off the outside.
@Karen A., I love the Clark update.
After several months of a calorie deficit (Feb-Aug) my girls were deemed a healthy weight! They are enjoying their extra tablespoon of kibble and half tablespoon of wet food daily.
@Karen A., my cat loves to walk on his leash, but days that it is raining out or whatever...he screams and screams, does everything he knows to irritate me (like get on the fireplace mantle), anything he can possibly do to get my attention and runs me to his leash...I've created a little spoiled monster.
@Marlena, Oh, yes, Clark remembers that the first time we took him out, it was after DS#1 got back from his morning walk...now when they're out on their (human) walk, he is pacing around and mewing at me the whole time!
Sweet potatoes with your eggs? That's an interesting (& surprising) thought.
Frugal things---
● Free slushie (Meijer app coupon) (yesterday only). I was glad that Meijer switched back to cold drink instead of hot this month as it is still 80s every day. <3 🙂
● Used reward points for (another) free (Meijer) slushie
● Cashed in some ReceiptPal rewards for gift card & used at Lowe's when picked up (more) clearance flowers,
● free Rewards members (small) mum plant/flower
● & teen found weed wacker string marked down 25% (damaged package)
● saved $0.30/gallon on gas making it $2.79 & was able to fill both mine & teen vehicles
● BOGO FREE twin deodorant package ($4 for 4 containers)
● picked up marked down bottom round roast $3.80/pound & put in crock pot to make multiple meals (portioned out in freezer)
● almond yogurt buy 6 get (total) 2 free which was $0.03 each cheaper than milk based yogurt (for dogs) but now we can eat (almond) yogurt
● 10 free photos at Walgreen's (TMOBILE reward)
Frugal fail--
● birds got 2 loaves of (old) bread & partial package of (old broken) flour tortillas that didn't get eaten. We go in spurts of each bread.
We love the recipe you use to make granola, and I usually have a batch ready in the pantry.
1. Made a large batch of chickpea salad for our lunches this week.
2. DS asked us to reinstate family dinners so we planned to have dinner Friday night. Friday is usually my day off from cooking and I assumed we'd get takeout, but DS wanted Mama to cook. I went through the pantry and freezer and came up with almost all of the ingredients for white chicken chili. Sent leftovers home with DD and DS.
3. Cancel mowing service at MIL's and house we are selling next week. They were both mowed last week so they should be fine for the rest of the season.
4. I bought yogurt at Publix that was BOGO. It's not my favorite brand but I'm making my way through it.
5. In the last week, my company has provided me a free breakfast and two free lunches, which were money and time savings.
What's with bananas these days? Or is it just me (and my sister)? It seems like I can't keep bananas anytime anymore before they turn spotty. I buy bananas a little green but it doesn't help. My sister said she's having the same problem, and we shop at different chains in different towns.
Moving on to frugalities:
1. I am not the one doing this, obviously, but last night was, and the next few nights are predicted to be, in the upper 60's instead of mid-to-upper 70's. It means my a/c won't be running allll night as it has been, although the downside is that the lack of cloud cover, after a week or more of cloudy days, means we will go back up into the 90's during the day for a few days at least.
2. If a farmer I purchase from offers sweet potatoes by the box again this year, I'll get it again. I put up a box of sweet potatoes last December and I'm just using the last of them now. The potatoes were cheaper and it saved time and oven usage to do them all at once. Doing them in the winter, I don't mind using the oven to roast them.
3. I attended a movie and bought nothing to eat or drink at the theater. I ate a sandwich before going in and left a cold drink in a cooler in the car, ready for when I came out. It feels like a Pavlovian response to want to eat and drink in a theater, but a human can actually survive for two hours without food and drink. I didn't suffer at all. 🙂
4. I am brushing my dogs' teeth, which I had let slide when dealing with DH's health issues. The dogs' teeth are starting to get a little tartar, and tooth removal is expensive, plus, poor dog, ouch! My younger dog freaks out about it since he's not had this happen before, but I'm working on getting him used to it. The older dog remembers doing this and is not thrilled, but stays calm.
5. I planted some seeds for a fall garden. Fingers crossed it doesn't get flooded out again. It will take some time for my neighbor to dig swales to drain the area during heavy rains.
@JD, I myself do not have a spotty banana problem; I'm lucky if I get to eat one banana after I bring the bunch home, as I'm one of four banana-eaters in the house!
@JD, what does it mean to "put up a box of sweet potatoes"?
I've read that if you wrap the stems of bananas in plastic wrap (Saran, etc.), they last longer. (I haven't tried it.)
That was my idea Saturday to use up fridge items. I went to the Farmers market to buy overripe bananas to make apple banana bread using my leftover yogurt.
I made vegetable soup with what was in my fridge and freezer. I used stock from a smoked turkey, it makes such tasty stock.
After the wind storm 2 weeks ago we spent part of the day pulling branches out of trees. Seriously think we should have hired it out. But they are down and in a pile. Free labor.
We have not had rain in weeks so no need to mow, saves time and gas.
Our son gave us some Adam's polish to use on the car. Hubs waxed it and now it is super shiny! Plus the garage smells SO good. My son has a very non-frugal Audi R8 that Adam's sponsored so he gets some free products.
We had free viewing of the northern lights last night, some local peeps had awesome pictures!
I think kale is hugely overrated, so good job to you using it up. Anything that needs to be massaged before consumption gives me the icky. Yay for spinach!!!
Our expensive life season continues, but a few wins here & there:
-Sold a pair of shoes, tank top & thermal shirt on eBay
-We have a lot of travel logistics this week, so researched cheapest options to get to/from the big airport & parking was by far the cheapest (overnight only trip). Pre-booked that to save a bit more. Arranged for rides to/from airport for last week's trip, and will take DH to/from airport this weekend. This is a very unusual & busy time for us.
-Canceled our hotel for parents weekend, because DS18 prefers to come home for Thanksgiving instead. His flight was eye wateringly expensive, but I used a travel credit & a gift card to offset the cost.
-Went through my credit card bonus offers & downloaded a few. I download any I think I may have the smallest chance of using. Sometimes I'm surprised when something comes through. For example, I ended up paying for gas on my trip to Sedona last week, and I'd clicked the button for a Chevron offer. That's not where we normally get our gas, but I clicked the offer "just in case". Sure enough, saved a couple of bucks with no effort.
-For my trip to Moab, as always, set a budget, tracked my spending & made optimizations. For this particular trip, bought my flight with miles, and bought the return of my friend's trip using miles. She booked the rental car with her travel points, so both of us minimized out of pocket cost for each other.
I made a batch of vegan ground “meat” from Plant You cookbook, I flavored it 3 ways (plain, Cuban & fajita). I will use it for 3 different meals & leftovers.
I made several soups for the rest of the month & made a batch of veggie broth.
I ordered a compost bin (we rent and it has to be slightly & secure). This will help me reduce our trash & I will be able to use in the garden in a few months!
I listed a few more books on PangoBooks and set aside ones that weren’t selling to sell via ThriftBooks. One of my books did sell a week ago and every bit counts!
I still do weekly walks looking for returnables, and today is one of them! Our current state gives us 10cents a can!
I line dried kitchen laundry as the fresh air from windows is still warm enough to dry items in a couple hours.
I just got back from 3 weeks away, a combo of family-related work and vacation. There wasn’t a lot of frugal except for the parts someone else paid for, which doesn’t feel like a frugal achievement to me. Cost-free certainly, but not something I did.
There were a few frugal things:
1. Made a lunch/snack sandwich from the hotels' included breakfast. In the Orkneys that was cheese and cold cuts, in the Faroes it was gravlox and just enough local cheese to keep the bread from getting soggy.
2. I wanted a bag that was larger than a cross-body bag and smaller than a backpack. I found a good one for $48. Original price was $140. It should last me decades.
3. Carefully kept receipts for money spent when my flights home were cancelled. Having carefully read the airline’s webpage, I knew I could also be reimbursed for the lo-o-ong call to get rebooked. I also asked the airport snack bar clerk if she could print me out a receipt from several hours before. See, when I bought that snack I didn’t know the flight was cancelled so I didn’t keep the receipt. But it had been so suddenly it became reimburseable. As long as I could provide a receipt. I expect the reason she worked so hard to find it was I was pleasant, appreciative, and understanding if it didn’t work.
4. Preferentially went to free places in Edinburgh, such as St. Giles’ Cathedral and the National Library.
5. When the Edinburgh hotel made a minor mistake, I asked for breakfast to be included rather than money back. See above about sandwiches and snacks.
@WilliamB, was any part of this trip knitting-related? I recall that you are a knitter, and I've read a couple of articles about knitting-oriented trips to the Orkneys.
@A. Marie, Oh, yes, definitely. My participation in the Faroes part of the trip started because I couldn’t tell my father what yarn to get me because there were too many variables. One thing I did was a bindiklubb - a evening with an experienced knitter, modeled on their knitting clubs. Rather than knitting the slippers I chose, I ended up editing her English-language slipper pattern. (See, I had to get into the weeds in order to understand the structure, and I found a couple of errors in jargon that I had to ask about, then…) In thanks, she gave me a book of traditional Faroese color patterns and told me how this man - whose picture she had - collected them in the 1920s.
I came home with a ball of Orkney wool, a generous sweater’s worth of 50% Faroese/50% Falklands wool (Faroese tends to be scratch so blending is common), 2 balls of Faroese blend for the slippers, 5 skeins of relatively soft 100% Faroese wool that - for reasons I can’t determine - the Navia salesman gave me, and 1 ball of 100% Faroese from a particular breed to give to the owner of my local yarn shop.
Between the yarn and all the books I bought, it’s a miracle I could get my carry-on closed.
Wow, good for you! Lots of food prep. My five:
1. It's little B's birthday today!! Can't believe she's three. We had a lovely frugal party for her this weekend: I made a giant baked mac and cheese and a chocolate cake, and Mr. B cut up some fruit and veggies that we served with hummus. We had family over for a 2 hour party, no loot bags. Easy peasy, no tears, hardly saw it in the grocery bill.
2. Our gifts to her were a second-hand hockey jersey (frugal) and tickets to a pre-season game (not frugal but also VERY enjoyable for her and Mr. B. Also, I am not going.)
3. I had a hand-me-down "I am 3" t-shirt to put her in for the party.
4. I am supposed to fly out to a remote area to do medicine with one of my supervisors next week, and I have refused to book my flight until the funding body gets their documents together and promises to reimburse me. I will NOT be on the hook for several hundred dollars, no thank you.
5. The boring usual: I signed up for extra shifts to shuttle money to our downpayment savings account, we continue to pay down my school loans bit by bit, and I'm trying really hard to pack my lunch every day (not there yet but progress over perfection!)
1. I picked up a batting helmet and swimsuit wrap off Buy Nothing this week. The batting helmet will be for my son for Christmas.
2. I used some tomatoes from a neighbor and jalapenos and bell pepper from Buy Nothing to make a big batch of salsa.
3. We went to the book sale at our public library. It was the end of the sale, so the books were free. We got a few books and cookbooks.
4. My kids wanted a specific DVD. We went to Goodwill for it and I remembered I get 15% off for being a health care employee.
5. We went to a free outdoor movie through our public library this weekend. Snacks and drinks were also included.
Tackling my fridge is on my To Do List for today!
My FFT:
1. I went to Pet Supplies Plus yesterday to buy cat food with my 25% off coupon. At checkout, I couldn't find my coupon that I was certain was in my wallet. I paid full price because we needed the cat food. Then when I got out to my van, I saw the coupon laying on my seat. I went back in and they did a return and a new checkout with my coupon. Saved $8 and it took less than 5 minutes.
2. I made black beans from scratch (I need to freeze them today!)
3. I used a $5 coupon at JoAnn and combined some other sales and coupons to get a really nice birthday gift for a party my daughter went to on Saturday and still stayed in budget.
4. I've gotten two $4 off coupons to CVS in the last few days and used them both.
5. I bought ink to refill my favorite pen instead of buying new pens.
My wife has been quite ill lately (on the mend finally after an urgent care and ER visit) so sadly a lot of the normal frugal things have been out the window.
1. Stocked up on canned soup when it was on sale at a local grocery store. This worked out as my wife has pretty much lived on the stuff for a while.
2. Cleaned out my car and used my trusty Craftsman wet-dry vac to clean it out. Well since Sears is no more the task of finding OEM filters was not going to happen. Turns out a lot of good third party ones exist so I bought a package of 8 of them. This is definitely a many year supply but it was under $10.
3. Sold another item on eBay and will hopefully be able to list a few more soon. Seeing things gone and getting money for them is nice.
4. Earning interest on our CDs. I do like the idea of making money by not spending it.
5. Will be cancelling Hulu when they jack the price up to $10 a month with ads. Definitely not worth that. So we're watching what we want to see before that happens.
@Battra92, I am glad your wife is improving now -
@JNL, Thanks. She's not 100% but two rounds of Antibiotics seems to have wiped out whatever it was and now it's just recovering from the damage.
@Battra92, cancel Hulu and sign up on Black Friday. They usually have a deal that day for $1/month or $2/month. This year I'm paying $1.06 per month. Next year I will cancel and DH will sign up for whatever the new deal is. (they go by email).
@Battra92, sending wishes of healing to your wife.
@Battra92, Sending healing wishes to your wife. Take care of yourself as well, being the caregiver is not an easy job.
I hope she continues to improve!! I'm so sorry she's been ill.
Frugal.
Nothing much special. My sweet ten year old dog has been costing a lot of money lately…so we are buckling down in all other areas.
Cooking and eating at home. Trying to limit food waste. Accepting all produce from gardening friends. Watching tv for free on Roku. Listening to free audiobooks and podcasts. Walking the dog for exercise. Mowing the yard myself even tho I DETEST it.
Frugal, not frugal, frugal, not frugal, la la la.
In the last rain storm, we had 2 power outages. The first one lasted 5 minutes. The second one was a brownout blip, off and then back on, but enough to fry my old rear projection TV. Frugal: I used a smaller TV for a couple of weeks that I had curb picked. It was okay but too small as I read various blogs on the TV screen, (Computer hooked to TV). Not frugal: we landed up buying a big screen TV but (frugal) saved $1500.00 + the 13% tax on that as we bought a floor model (cheaper) which seemed to be in good shape. It comes with a one year manufacturer warranty and a 2-year store warranty. Plus we got $50 off the delivery charge. I paid with my credit card and amassed a mountain of points which I can redeem at my grocery store or the drug store. I will pay my credit card off in full.
This was perhaps the luckiest frugal that has ever happened to me. I went to the gas station, and could not understand why it was so busy. I lucked out in that I got a spot very quickly. Gas was 1.399 a litre (up the next day to 1.599 a litre). Also the employees were handing out gift cards, good to December 31st, to save 3c a litre. Plus a sheet with coupons for 50% off car washes plus some drink coupons. It turns out I had come for gas on "Circle K Fuel Day"! Who knew??!! (Dating back to Aug 29th).
Not a frugal per se, but a save the planet per se. Today is double up garbage day where people are allowed to put out 6 items for throw away. I generally generate very little garbage, and of course with today being double up day, I have no garbage to throw out. Yay, go me!
For 4 months during the summer, we have Curbside Giveaway on one Saturday in the month where people can put items to the curb for free pickup. Last curbside giveaway, I found an older cellphone, a Samsung Galaxy A8 which I gave to my (techy) HB as his cell phone was even older than that. Needless to say, he is very happy with his new-to-him cell phone, as it is now able to do things (pictures) that his old cell phone was not able to do. I may be incorrect on this, but his old cell phone was 3G and possibly the Samsung is 4G???? which is why it is now able to do things his old phone could not do??
The usual: coffee at home; all food cooked at home, drink tap water (Brita water filter jug) and so on.
Frugality has taken on a new meaning in our home recently as we got hit with an unexpected $5K bill and folks cancer is not cost effective at all. I had to make some drastic adjustments to our budget to cough up that $5K paying only what has to be paid and planning, planning, planning.
1. I meal planned. I know that this seems redundant and probably silly but an intensely focused meal plan can save you a bundle. I will admit I am not usually this strict as I make a plan but have room to deviate a bit having a well-stocked pantry. Finances have forced me to plan with no deviation room. I am batch cooking to give myself breaks but thus far this has been a pretty simple way to cut our grocery expenses down to about $600 this month instead of our normal $1200-$1500. This will deplete our pantry and freezer quite a bit but I will restock as sales permit once we get through this month.
2. I used fuel points to save $0.30/gallon on filling my gas tank. I used a $10 gift card offer from Target when I bought laundry supplies to offset the cost of some necessities.
3. We ate all the leftovers. I baked cookies & muffins. and I made stretch meals like soups and chili when I could.
4. I contacted our insurance company to ensure that all the doctors caring for my husband are in network.
5. We combined errands. I used jars and supplies we had on hand to can a huge patch of peach jam and a batch of apple butter. Making the apple butter gave the added bonus of making my house smell like fall which we all enjoyed very much. We watched free movies on You Tube. I used rewards money from CVS to cover to cost of allergy and cough syrup that we needed.
@Angie, I am so very sorry that cancer has invaded your life. During our bout with it, I made sure people knew we would take any and all food offers, and we asked family members who give holiday gifts to make them consumables (we also explained that that year we would not be giving any holiday gifts as life was too expensive right then). We were positively flooded with food, which meant we could use former food money to pay for medications. Good luck.
@Angie, I'm sorry for your giant surprise bill, and what a hassle that you have to double-check all the health care providers just to try to avoid another one, but good job getting it done. And your food plan this week sounds delicious, sign me up for soups, chili, muffins, and apple butter!
It's been a very unfrugal week here. I got botox to see if it would help with one of my eyes that waters ALL the time (had surgery on the tear duct twice...there's talk of another, and I thought I would try this first). At almost $500...not frugal, but better than surgery. I did get $75 off if that helps. It didn't feel like a savings, but I guess it was.
Bought a catio for my cat that wasn't frugal, but I added up the supplies and couldn't make it for what it cost to buy. The cat desperately wants to be out and his little baby tent that he goes out in now is just not big enough.
Bought 10 lbs of potatoes for $1.99. Cut them up, blanched and froze them for easy prep to roast or fry.
Something I've been watching on amazon for a Christmas gift went on a decent sale so I bought that.
I've been looking for a lamp and found one at goodwill for $3.99 which is much cheaper than I would have paid anywhere else.
Trimmed the sleeves off a long-sleeved blouse...I never wear it because the sleeves were too long. Cut them elbow length and added some elastic. I think I'll get some wear from it now.
Been using up odds and ends in the pantry and freezer. Made some yellow split pea dahl today for easy lunches.
I admire your food preparation efforts. I should do that with greater frequency. I think it keeps one on track financially as well as ensuring that one eats nutritiously.
It has been a busy week. I’ve been trying to get a lot of things done around the house. DH turned in some of his wellness points awarded by his employer for Home Depot Gift Cards. In turn, I used these to purchase items needed for home maintenance.
Today is the first sunny day that we have had in over two weeks. Not only had I forgotten that the sky could be blue, I was also getting stir crazy. On Friday, I made a trip to the Goodwill and stopped at an estate sale nearby. I found a few treasures, but my favorite find was a 1950’s Navajo silver cuff bracelet. It is 2 inches wide and weighs 47 grams. It was priced at just $3. I can’t decide if I am to keep it or sell it.
I attended the Orchid Society’s fall show and sale. Admission was free and there were workshops on planting, care, and propagation. I had planned to buy an orchid to add to my collection, but I was overwhelmed. There were just too many choices so I left empty handed. I took photographs of the flowers and shared them with friends. They even had a black orchid this year.
My book club’s selection this month is not available at our library. Since it was $14.95 at Target as well as Barnes & Noble, I checked out eBay. There it was available for $6.16 with free shipping. Yay!
When I did my monthly shopping at Costco last Saturday, I picked up a $4.99 rotisserie chicken for dinner. The carcass is now in the IP along with veggie scraps to make broth. It will the base for a GF ramen bowl.
Wishing everyone peace, good health and prosperity,
@Bee, Thrift Books an online used book seller is good for me.
It's been a hectic few weeks around here because we got a puppy, my mom had back surgery, and I, my husband, and both kids all got sick. Sigh. Getting this puppy has not been frugal AT ALL but I'm still doing what I can:
1. I asked the breeder if she was negotiable on the price for the dog and she was!
2. I wasn't in the mood to cook and we were low on groceries but I threw together a quiche (quick defrosted some puff pastry in the microwave for the crust) and used up a bunch of ingredients. Younger daughter doesn't like quiche so I cut off some of the excess puff pastry and rolled up some sauce and cheese into pizza croissants and cooked up some corn on cob. Everyone was happy.
3. Figured out a lunch rotation for my younger daughter's lunchbox. This saves me money because we don't ever buy lunch from school but more importantly, it saves me stress in the morning. Admittedly, some of those meals aren't the most nutritious but hey - she's fed!
4. Washed my car myself even though I didn't feel like it. I felt so much better after it was done.
5. Bought some supply staples we needed around the house at Target and stacked coupons, a gift card deal my target card to maximize the savings. The price of feminine hygiene is still shocking but at least it's a little better when you can take advantage of sales.
“Caring for the Older Patient” - sounds like you’re studying geriatrics!
It’s such an interesting field, and one that made me realize how messed-up the US is in how we treat our elderly.
Complex-even-if-you’re-cognitively-intact medical systems, an emphasis on medicalizing care vs compassionate care, a social/cultural emphasis on basing a person’s value on whether & how they can materially contribute to society (vs having value just as being a person), “hiding” our elderly away in facilities & socially isolated homes vs keeping them visible & engaged in cultural events.
Anyway. Very curious what you think of geriatrics!
Well, it's part of a unit on neurocognitive disorders, so it's sorta geriatric-adjacent.
But really, unless you're studying peds or maternal/newborn, you are usually studying geriatric-adjacent stuff because the longer people live, the more disease processes happen!
You can listen to a text book at 2x speed and retain the information??? You are remarkable!
Five Frugal Things
1. Saved $41 by signing up for texts/emails when I ordered 2025 calendars (I sell calendars each year) I will cancel when those messages become a nuisance.
2. Got water bill reduced from $431 to 260. I had a water accident and asked for clemency, so the previous 3 years during the same season were averaged. (Because I was on our neighborhood waterboard for 12 years, I know how this stuff works.)
3. I was going to get rid of a dress until I realized that the reason I don’t wear it because it doesn’t have a pocket, so I sewed an inseam pocket into it.
4. While the sewing machine was set up, I sewed a handle back on a grocery bag.
5. Had a 40% off coupon for printing which had to be used in 3 days. So, I interrupted other tasks to finish a drawing for this year’s Christmas card, which I send almost exclusively to my drawing students. It saved $34. (Funny how the shipping is always higher whenever the company offers a promotion.)
P.S. Kristen's post about making yogurt has 667 comments!!
I used some very brown bananas to make two nice loaves of banana bread.
Last fall I was part of a class action lawsuit concerning a defective CPAP machine. Never heard another thing about it and forgot all about it. Yesterday got a random check for $155 from the settlement. OK, just in time for an upcoming trip. I’ll add it to spending money!
Had a coupon for free English muffins, which I used right before coming down with Covid. Nice to have on hand. I’ve been confined for five days, and finally feel better, so I’m going to get a haircut today.
Went through a box of greeting cards and found two birthday cards in stock for two grandsons. You know what happens to greeting cards, so I hate to spend much money on them!
Right before the dang Covid got me I had gone around and filled the Free little libraries in town with books we took from mom’s house after she passed away. I found a couple of books that came in handy while I recuperated on the front porch. Always recycle your books!!!
I read through your yogurt making process and concluded that yogurt is one of the most forgiving things a person can make from scratch. Mine is the laziest method possible.
Pour milk (doesn't matter how much) into a saucepan and heat to 180 (you do 185-195). Cool in the saucepan. Stir in yogurt (which is at room temperature if I remembered to pull it out of the fridge) from the last batch (or from any yogurt that doesn't contain gelatin because that is fake yog status, and yes I have used flavored when it was the only thing my sorry local grocer had), about 1/4 c. per quart but closies count, and I never measure. Wrap the saucepan in a beach towel, and put it somewhere warm. . . an unair-conditioned room, the garage, the top of the fridge, near the wood stove, in an oven with a pilot light. . . Check it in 3 hours and if it isn't solid-ish, check it again in an hour or two. Or leave it for 8 hours overnight. The longer it yogs, the more tart it becomes.
The only batches I remember failing (and I've been doing this since about 1980) were a few weeks ago.
1. I used milk that was on the edge and it did a weird separation thing.
2. I used milk that was on the edge and it made the yogurt taste as if it was also on the edge.
Kristen's yogurt is most likely way more consistent in its flavor and texture, but she is a much better person in all aspects than I am. If I had to use all that stuff, I wouldn't bother making it.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I think my yogurt-making process may qualify as even lazier! I use a mesophilic culture, so the milk doesn't get heated, just poured into a jar with a couple of tablespoons of saved yogurt from my last batch, and left overnight at room temperature (although my house is generally a bit cold, so I often heat a mug of water in the microwave and then put the yogurt in there as a sort of proofing box, since I have no oven pilot light). Because your last 2 sentences apply to me too!
@Suz, you win the Laziest Yogurt Maker award! I looked up mesophilic culture because I never heard of it before. But I was too lazy to read far enough to understand it. . .
This whole month has been fairly frugal, as I have been homebound and unable to do any impulse shopping.
A) All groceries were ordered online at WalMart and delivered to door. (Delivery was "free" because we have WalMart plus, but they do add a tip of 10% for the driver) As I see the items add up, and have several hours to modify my order, I am much more aware of what I'm spending. Unfortunately Aldi's doesn't deliver or I'd be ordering there instead.
B) No impulse stops at The Cheese Shop (which has all kinds of candy, crackers, sweets, pickled okra, bulk grains and flours, etc), the local farmer's market, dollar stores, or the thrift shop.
C) Not purchase at a gas station for either car. I did drive each one of them up to the cul-de-sac and back to run the engines, and to get them off the same spots on the tires.
D) Friends have brought over an abundance of fresh tomatoes and peppers from their gardens, and fresh eggs.
E) Have spent time planning meals, (which I don't usually do) and actually cooked them (which I also don't usually do), resulting in less frozen meals consumed by hubby. Since he likes to eat supper by 4 pm, I have switched to cooking the larger meal earlier in the day, and I am eating more lightly at night. (Not sure that qualifies as frugal, but it's probably healthier for me.)
F) Cooked some of the tomatoes that were getting soft, and some frozen okra (that I thought was breaded, but wasn't), and froze them in a baggie for breaking off and adding to soups later this fall and winter. Also chopped leftover cabbage and froze to put in soups, or savory veggie patties I found a recipe for. Made potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes.
G) Making sure that all receipts, including my auto pays to utilities, car insurance, etc. are being scanned for Fetch app., and clicking Rakuten, or PayPal, or BeFrugal as needed for any online ordering.
Some of this may change, as husband's ortho appointment is tomorrow, and hopefully he will be cleared to get the immobilizer off and become more mobile, but also allows me to get out of the house now. First trip for me is a hair cut that is 4 weeks overdue!
@StephanieLD, a 10% tip seems chintzy to me. But again, it is Walmart.
It was nice to see your throwback to yogurt making, Kristen, that is what drew me to your blog in the first place.
I cleaned out the fridge this morning before trash pickup. I did do better on some foodstuffs. Opened the lock n lock container of watermelon expecting to have to throw it out, only to find it is still crispy, sweet, and delicious. So I must say the containers are a frugal buy in the long run.
I gave Molly her parvo-distemper (is it 9-way now?) shot myself rather than pay for it at the vet. I did do the office a favor and bought flea remedy from them rather than request the script and getting it mail order. I needed it NOW and am willing to pay so that I can ask other questions about her health. I had stopped her age at 12y/o a few years ago in my mind, so when I read the rabies IM document to see her age at 16y/o I was rather shocked.
When I read about all of the "not new" furniture, I looked around the living room at all of the "not new" furniture in my house. The one thing I bought when setting up house, was a Sauder entertainment center that I put together. I did not have a TV at the time but used the TV space for a 10 gal fish aquarium that I kept for several years. I still have it used like a book case and family photo holder as well as some vignettes of favorite things. I have changed out the loveseat three times and it is due to be changed now. The recliner pops out on it's own unexpected with or without me sitting in it and is quite annoying and can be hurtful to the shins.
And speaking of aged things. I was gathering trash to take out and was reminded that my blue plastic kitchen waste basket with the flippy lid was one my Dad had bought and he's been gone for twenty-four years. I also have a laundry basket that was his, too. He used it in the chest freezer (I have the freezer, too and it still works great!) to make it easier for him to have things sorted and pull from the bottom. (As it is, I have to use a step ladder or a reacher to get things from the bottom.)
So even if I'm not always frugal on some things, buying new furniture and goods has never been my forte.
We are having our back porch rebuilt, which is necessitating a lot of housecleaning as the yard around it is torn up and the dogs keep tracking in mud and sand. Been using Mr. Clean spray cleaner bought at the clearance store and an old mop to keep the puppy tracks cleaned up.
This week I watched a free movie on YouTube ("Housewife, 49," which is based on the WWII diaries of Nella Last), made a casserole based on red beans and rice for my lunches, bought four packs of organic* chicken drumsticks marked down to the $2.53 to $2.59 range for the freezer, and used cherry tomatoes and oregano from my tiny garden to fancy up a pot of marinara sauce.
*The organic fresh meats at the local supermarket are quite expensive, but I swoop in on the morning before the new sales week starts and often find them priced to move.
1. Picked up three books to read during conference periods while substitute teaching; plan to replace them when done.
2. Signed up for a sub job every day....or tried to. Some days didn't have available jobs.
3. Negotiated with yard man to reduce cost of trimming some overhanging limbs. He wanted to charge $200, and justified this by saying he had to pay a lot to take the brush to the landfill. I told him to cut it into shorter lengths so that I could handle the limbs and to pile it in my yard. This brought the cost down to $100.
4. I will put the brush and smaller limbs into curbside yard waste trashcans and/or contractor's bags and/or stack it into the proper sized curbside bundles that the city requires for free brush pickup. Which I will take full advantage of. Anything big enough to resemble a log will be offered up to those who have wood-burning fireplaces.
5. Culling my book collection and will trade some in to the used bookstore for credit.
Hungry Harvest isn't available to me in Alabama. Maybe someday.
I never, ever listen to anything that has to be piped into my ears. I would like to be more efficient, as you are with cleaning and listening (at 2X speed, no less!) but the few times I have tried it, all I did was obsess about how soon I could yank the ear buds out.
1. Sold some jewelry on eBay. It belonged to my grandmother, one piece dating back from before the Tsar was overthrown (she was 13 when that happened, so since she lived to be 99 and 11 months, I heard a lot about those times in Russia). I have never worn any of the items, because I prefer rings to other ornamentation. Still, I felt sad about getting rid of her stuff. No other relatives wanted it so I finally let it go. My hesitation faded when I realized it could possibly end up in the dump if someone thought it was costume jewelry when it is really intricate and ornate solid silver and amber. She literally saved this stuff by burying it in a park and then retrieving after the war. Then she sewed it up in the hems of her clothing to get it to the US without having it stolen. I felt like attaching a history card to each piece. She would be glad to know we made money from the sale of it.
2. Did the semi-annual inventory of our chest freezer so are eating out of that now that I can plan meals better. I also realized I do not need to buy more butter, as we have 23 pounds of it frozen. Also, more than 40 pounds of salmon. Nothing needed to be discarded due to freezer burn.
3. Free evening entertainment sitting on the porch, drinking hot chocolate and watching the northern lights. They are common but this week the display has been especially colorful. Easier to do now, when it is in the 30s than when it is in the minus 30s!
4. Accepted another breastless rotisserie chicken carcass from the bachelor who won't eat any of the rest of the bird. We had two meals from it plus it is now in the slow cooker making stock.
5. library for books and puzzles.
Frugal fail: I don't know what happened to our rescue Dane surrounding his claws, but he absolutely goes nuts if you try to clip them. We have tried every trick, including slathering peanut butter on the husband's forehead so the dog would get distracted and lick it off while husband did a quick trim. There is a nail clipping service that will come to your house, so we tried that. It worked once when he first came and was younger and had been starved so was lighter. Even then it was a struggle. We called them again but this time it was a $50 fail. Three of us could not restrain his 185 pounds and we quickly stopped before we terrorized him even more. Next stop, the vet later this week. They can lightly tranquilize him, to the tune of $100. Poor guy. He is still a puppy at 14 months so I had hopes of training him to accept clipping but no luck so far.
@Lindsey, Wow, that’s some dog you have. I love the visual of peanut butter forehead. I hope you took video.
@Lindsey, first, I'm with you about audio anything in general and audio via earbuds in particular. I can't listen to most podcasts, even in my areas of great interest--first because I'm eye-minded rather than ear-minded, and second because the podcast hosts on the few podcasts I've tried won't shut up long enough to let their guests (the ones I really want to hear) get a word in edgewise. 🙁
And second, I send my sympathy re: the continuing struggles with Clobber Paws. Poor CP, and poor you and the husband.
1. We’ve had some low humidity weather and it’s been wonderful to open up the windows at night to cool the house down rather than turn on the AC.
2. I made a use-it-up Indian stew using two mini eggplants, some of my massive haul of gifted peppers, and some of the previously chopped and frozen kale and golden oyster mushrooms. It was a nice departure from our usual meal rotation and I find it challenging to use fresh produce before it goes off. I usually prefer frozen for that reason, but won’t say no to free food!
3. Picked up a free monthly Hallmark card and used a coupon to purchase an anniversary card for a reasonable price.
4. Also in the spirit of not saying no to free food! After choir practice last night someone was giving away “half a ton” of vegetables from his car and I was the only one interested! I came away with a massive amount of fruit and vegetables– a whole flat of grapes, an entire banana box filled with swiss chard, eggplants, potatoes, turnips, lettuce, celery, bananas, bell peppers, broccoli, and I’m probably forgetting something else. And cottage cheese and english muffins. I think he’s a bit of a food activist and tries to salvage food from various distribution points that would otherwise be thrown away, so I’m guessing more free food could be in my future. But now I need to do some massive food prep a la Kristen!
5. Finally managed to cut my toddler’s hair despite many protests and much wiggling. Not specifically frugal as it’s not like we would have paid anyone else to do it, but it was at least satisfying. It is definitely a hack job!
Frugal “fail”: I accidentally had some Starbucks stars expire before I could redeem them for a pastry. I really like their ham and cheese croissants but would not ever pay OOP for one.
I'll try to come up with FFT...
1. I got a gift card from donating blood which I used at the convenience store for my purchase.
2. We haven't had to run our AC unit to sleep at night for a few weeks, saving us on our electric bill.
3. We applied for a low mileage rate on Hubby's truck since it qualified, thus saving $ on our monthly insurance bill.
4. The food pantry that operates out of my work building gifted me peaches, potatoes, green grapes, macaroni salad and 6 ears of corn which wouldn't last until the next food distribution. We also got a bag of zucchini from hubby's coworker's garden.
5. I froze over-ripe bananas for future baking.
Yup! The lids made me twitchy! Haha!
Great prepping.
I used to be good at this and you are inspiring me to get back at it.
Where’s Chiquita during all this?
Amazingly she was not bothering me during my prep. She was snoozing!
I need to do a better job with frugality especially now that my husband is working less. And I have one kid approaching driving age…need to save money where I can to spend on insurance…and a car she can drive.
Let’s see….
-I picked up some fast and easy to make things for the freezer in case plans go awry…cheaper than takeout
-I organized the freezer and pantry and have been planning meals around using up that food
- I found water bottles that my son cannot easily break and have been patiently buying some when they go on sale
- I was able to join a Bible study group While my kids are doing youth group and awanas at our church. So it’s less running around. We all go to one location to do our Sunday activities.
I really need to do the music therapy while getting things done. It helps me.
We had two weekends of back to back trips to NH for dniece's wedding and party. Frugal things:
1. The gas good were looking over us as we paid mostly $3 plus change for gasoline. Used my car (2010 Honda CRV) that gets good highway mileage.
2. Wore two used dresses for the ceremony and then the party. One I bought used off of Thread Up and have worn twice already and I wore the dress that I wore to ds's wedding 1.5 years ago. That was a very cheap, cheapo dress that I noticed was starting to fray so into the trash it went.
3. Wore my $4 "pearl" necklace that I got from the library's used jewelery sale.
4. Brought yogurt and diet soda with me. Hubs and I had sandwiches for the road. He got a sub from Quick Check while I had a pb&j. The pb&j lasted me 2 meals as well as hubby sub did.
5. My electric bill was $25 for last month. I had money left in my equal payment account. Lots of people in my area were hollering about the increase in electricity. Guess I'll keep being conservative there.
My Frugal 5’s
1) My generous friend treated me out for a meal at the newly opened Japanese restaurant for watering her garden and taking care of her place this summer.
2) She also cleared out her fridge and garden since she’ll be traveling out of state to visit a friend and gave me acorn squashes, summer squashes, tomatoes, oranges, lemon, celery, green peppers, jalapeños, basil, and a beautiful bouquet of zinnias.
2) Got leftover food from the food pantry that they weren’t able to give out. It really felt like Christmas! I got pastries, croissants, baguettes, a loaf of bread, grapes, strawberries, fruit bars and candies.
4) As part of my girl’s birthday experience gift, I took my girls out to a free lunar event at the science museum. We did fun activities, watched a movie, and looked at the sky through a telescope. We also had free coco, cookies and chips to eat. They had a blast!
5) Listed baby items from my church for free through our Buy Nothing group. In the process of cleaning out the church, I got a set of frisbee golf discs and a table tennis racket for free which I’ll use for another birthday experience gift.
Nothing earth shattering here.
1. I returned my cans for the deposit.
2. I continued rummaging through the freezer. Yes, this task could be more organized, but for now I'll be happy to remove a few things every week. This week I used a pound of ground turkey and moved some older ice cream to the kitchen fridge so it gets eaten.
3. When I put away my groceries I made sure to move the old cans/milks to the front and put the new ones behind. FIFO!
4. I scheduled next year's mammogram when I went for this year's. One less thing to think about.
5. I cleaned out one of the two closets that didn't get touched in last winter's thorough house cleaning. Many things went to the trash, but I did find some that went to the sell pile. And, I reorganized the rest so we know what we have.
Just throw your ripened unpeeled in the freezer. The freezer will turn the outside of the banana black but the banana itself is fine. No need to cut up. When you use for a smoothie I break off how much I need frozen. I use 1/2 banana per smoothie. Microwave a few seconds and it will slide right out of the skin.
For banana bread or a baked goods I throw all the banana that I need in microwave for about a minute cut off the end without the stem and again it will slide right out
I'm absolutely trying this ice cream!
Your granola is the best! I just made a batch this weekend. And as a retired
RN, I am cheering you on as you work so hard to achieve your goal!