1. I gave my student loans back
Somehow, in the midst of filling out paperwork with my new school, I got set up for student loans, even though I don’t need them.
So, my school sent a $4000 refund to me (!!!) and I was like “OH NO!!”
I reached out to the financial aid office to cancel the loan, and I will just pay all the money right on back.
This is a questionable frugal win because it was my own error that got me into this loan situation in the first place. Ha.
But at least I got it taken care of.
It’s me. I’m the problem.
I know student loans are good and necessary for some situations, but I most certainly do not need one when my hospital is paying for my classes.
2. I made a random lunch salad
After my many shifts + the day in Philly, I worked on getting my regular life back in order. Part of that was cleaning out my fridge, so I made a lunch salad for myself, using:
- the last of the washed and chopped lettuce
- the last of the cilantro-lime salad dressing I’d made
- the last of the cheese tortellini (un-sauced, obviously!)
- a pepper from my Hungry Harvest box
3. I did a return at an Amazon Fresh store for grocery coupons
I bought a pair of pink scrub pants (to try to build up my Wednesday pink wardrobe 😉 ), but I did not like the way they fit me at all.
I started the online return process, and saw that if I visited the Amazon Fresh store near me to do the return, I could get some grocery coupons (like $10/$40 purchase).
I decided to do it just for the fun of exploring a new store. My verdict: the prices are overall not as good as at Aldi, but the store has way more products and many more name brands than Aldi does.
The store was super duper clean and neat, and the shopping experience was good; it just took me a while to find things because I’d never been there before.
I got a $12 discount on my groceries (yay!), but I’ll likely stick with Aldi both because I like the small size better and also because it’s closer.
Still, it was a fun field trip. 🙂
4. I swapped some old scrubs out for a $50 Figs credit
If you visit a Figs store, as my friends and I did, you can bring a pair of old scrubs, put them in their fabric recycling bin, and get a $50 credit toward some new scrubs.
I brought an old set that I never wear because the sizing is off, and the $50 credit made my new black pants only $8.
5. I got a 15% discount on an eBay purchase
I can’t tell you what it is because it’s a gift for one of my kids (I’m thinking ahead to Christmas) and I don’t want her to accidentally see it. 🙂
But I can tell you I employed my usual habit of adding a bunch of the listings to my eBay wishlist. This usually triggers some automatic emails from the sellers with discount offers, and indeed that is what happened.
I sifted through to find the best offer, paid, and now a Christmas gift is on the way. 😉
Lindsay B
Thursday 2nd of October 2025
Late but I still wanted to post!
1. I found a dime in a parking lot.
2. I sold one of our 4 old phones for $13 through EcoATM which was in the lobby of Walmart. The other three just need to be charged enough for the system to recognize them, which I can do the next time I’m headed that way. It wasn’t much money, but this was a really old phone, and at least this way it can be recycled versus causing pollution in a landfill.
3. Our water softener stopped working suddenly. DH and our DS aged 3.5 tore everything apart and found there was one part that had broken. After ordering it online for $30, it is now fixed. I’m proud of him! I would have called a repair person.
4. I received my flu shot for free as I am a PRN (as needed) employee of a local health system. I’ll get an additional $25 in health rewards money, too.
5. I swished the last bit of honey out of a jar with warm water that needed to go in a recipe. I also managed to finish the last of the frozen coconut in my morning steel cut oats. I’m working on using up odds and ends and avoiding food waste when possible.
6. I had a free coffee from the local convenience store, which I picked up before I worked an extra shift.
7. DH is a government employee who is furloughed without pay. He will either receive back pay when the government starts back up, or he will be fired as part of the threatened mass firings. Either way we will try to be more frugal in the meanwhile, which includes keeping the kids home from daycare as he can do some of the childcare.
Colleen
Wednesday 1st of October 2025
I signed up for local food bank, and have a weekly day I’ll be getting items.
Signed up for reduced fare transit locally, which I’ll only qualify for for about a month, but every bit helps.
Got a job!! Have meal planned for snacks and lunches for first 2 weeks.
Using fabric scraps from church to make a few Christmas gifts this year
Kristen
Wednesday 1st of October 2025
Congrats on the job!!
Jen
Wednesday 1st of October 2025
Kristin-that is CRAZY that you accidentally got a loan that showed up as a credit. It would be great if Financial Aid used different words for LOANS and scholarships/actual aid. I am glad you noticed it and can pay it back before interest accrued. Yikes-I have 2 kids currently in college and just finished a Certificate program myself. I need to go check our BARC accounts!!
Kristen
Wednesday 1st of October 2025
It originally appeared as a refund to me, but then I called and got the loan cancelled, which created a debt on my student account. I used the refund to pay that amount back and now we are all cleared up!
Joyce from Arkansas
Tuesday 30th of September 2025
My Ffts:
I froze 4 very ripe bananas for smoothies and or banana bread.
I saved foil that was clean after I used it to cover a casserole so I can ball it up to clean off the grill. It's much safer than using one of those grill brushes.
While looking in my closet for clothes for an upcoming trip, I ran across a long duster I'd bought a while back. I was never comfortable wearing it because it was slit way up the sides and seemed hard to style. I used my sewing machine and sewed up the sides. Now I might be more apt to wear it. If not, I'll give it away. And I found a few shirts I no longer wear that I'm going to give to a friend.
I had planned to have baked chicken legs and thighs one night for dinner but realized I only had a bag of legs. I was going to buy a pkg. of thighs at Kroger for full price, ($1.89 lb) and then saw another local store was going to have leg quarters on sale for $0.79 a lb. (sold in a 10 lb bag,) starting the next day. So I waited and purchased the leg quarters on sale and delayed our legs and thighs meal for a day. This saved at least $11. And I'll make chicken broth from the back pieces I cut off when I cut the quarter pieces apart.
I used some frozen, cooked navy beans instead of opening a can for a pork chop skillet dinner. I just thawed them and added a little water.
I used my glue gun to make two bead-like spacers on a craft project where I was unable to use a bead or other option.
Book Club Elaine
Tuesday 30th of September 2025
I went to the Amazon Fresh nearest my hometown today with the purpose of getting $10 off of $40 in purchases because of returning an item bought online. Like you, Kristen, I was disappointed. I expected better variety because, hey you can get anything through Amazon, right?! Prices weren't that great; several things I was looking for were out of stock (but alternatives available at a higher price). I didn't look at the produce, which may have been the best deal... maybe. The carts were weird - there were 3 different kinds. An employee pointed us to the orange smaller cart as opposed to the green one, but she was too rushed for me to ask why. There was also a huge green cart with what looked like a computer screen on it. I ended up saving $2 but the aggravation was much more than that. However, my church's food pantry now gets most of its staples from amazon and we feed a lot of people. It seems, there are special sales prices for certain items and if you know what they are, you can clean up. I'll go back to Aldi and leave Amazon Fresh for the pro's.
Selena
Tuesday 30th of September 2025
@Kristen, how do you find the quality of strawberries that are not in season for your area? I got so disappointed with out of season (full disclosure, I grow my own), even Driscoll's that I just won't buy them in the produce section. Driscoll's are the only brand available in my area that rarely have hollow berries (ick, ick, ick).
WilliamB
Tuesday 30th of September 2025
@Book Club Elaine, I *think* the computer/cart lets you skip the checkout line. You log in/enter your credit card/something; then put your food in the cart or scan the food or something.
I didn't pay too much attention the one time I went to an Amazon Fresh because I'm convinced there will be some kind of mistake and I'll have 3x the hassle getting it undone than I saved by skipping the line.
Kristen
Tuesday 30th of September 2025
I did find some of their produce prices to be good! I got a big container of grape tomatoes, a 2 pound container of strawberries, and a big container of blackberries.