Five Frugal Things | all food, all day
I have an entirely food-themed Five Frugal Things today. Ready?
1. I used a stretched-out coffee filter to make Greek yogurt
You know how sometimes toward the end of a coffee filter package, you get one that's so stretched out, you know it's not going to work very well in your coffee maker?
That happened to me.
Sooo, I used it to drain some homemade yogurt to make Greek yogurt.
2. I rescued my celery
I had a bunch of celery from Hungry Harvest that I inadvertently put in the wrong part of the fridge.
And then I completely forgot about it!
It was a little wilty when I took it out yesterday morning, but no worries.
I chopped the end off, stuck the whole bunch into a mug of water:
And I let it crisp up.
3. I made some use-it-up pasta
Zoe was out with some friends one night, so I poked around in the fridge to see what needed to be used up.
I cooked the last few slices of bacon, and then browned leftover tortellini in the same pan, along with some rotisserie chicken and some halved small tomatoes.
Then I reduced some half and half in the pan and poured it as a sauce over top, with some shredded Parmesan and crumbed bacon.
4. I made a use-it-up serving of asparagus soup
I got some thick asparagus spears from Hungry Harvest, and honestly, those are not my favorite. I like skinnier asparagus.
Sooo, I thought, hmmm, a soup would be good for these.
I made a little batch for myself one night while Zoe was at work, using:
- the asaparagus
- a Parmesan rind
- homemade chicken broth
- a leek from Hungry Harvest
- the last of the half and half
- the last few pieces of bacon (left from when I'd made the above pasta)
5. I made a use-it-up pot of chicken noodle soup
Yesterday morning before my clinicals, I made a pot of soup using:
- some of the rescued celery
- the last few Hungry Harvest carrots
- the last Hungry Harvest leek
- the last of the rotisserie chicken
- the last of a bag of noodles
- homemade chicken broth from the freezer
And because I like mine creamy, I put a glug of cream into the bowl that I packed for my clinical dinner.
Honorable mentions: I roasted the last three sweet potatoes (Hungry Harvest of course), and I will probably eat them as mashed sweet potatoes with fried eggs the next two mornings.
I also roasted the beets from my last Hungry Harvest box, and I might have those on a salad.
Anyway, after all of this, the produce drawer in my fridge is looking respectably empty!
This post is a remind of why I keep getting boxes from Hungry Harvest; they really help me to eat more produce. 🙂
A new box arrives on Wednesday, so it's good that I used up almost everything from the last one.
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?
P.S. If you want to try Hungry Harvest, this referral link will get you $10 off your first box.
Managed a date night after dealing with so much sickness in the house. Used a gift card to a fancy schmancy local winery with multiple areas on the property. We had gone one morning and were very unimpressed with the breakfast/coffee and wrote a review. They sent us a $50 card to try again. We ate at the *casual* part for supper. Out of pocket $5.00 to round up the tip! Good supper but would not regularly go spend that for us.
Cashed in a good amount of Fetch points. Put the amounts on my Target, Chipotle and Sonic apps!
Stocked up on some supplements and cold meds on clearance at Sams.
Sent home 1 whole box of meds with the girl-child's boyfriend. He lives in the dorms and is a *kid* so I mommed him and told him if HE doesn't get better and passes the crud back this way I will call his mom! lol ( this is why I went back to stock up on the meds!)
Watched the eclipse from our backyard-99%+ totality, no costs, no traffic!
@jes, We also opted to stay here (in SE Michigan) for the 99%+ totality. We watched from the playground at school with friends. I had been out and about earlier in the day and the southbound traffic heading to Ohio was SOLID.
@jes,
Same here....hubby, son and I watched the 99+% totality eclipse from our back deck yesterday (SW Ohio). Son is terrified of bees, and of course they were out in abundance, so he only stayed for the beginning and came back out for the 99+% totality. Glad we didn't have to drive anywhere.
For all those who got to see (part of) the eclipse: I am happy for you! I think it must be an amazing experience to feel temperature drop and then see and feel the sun coming out again, like a full winter experience in 4 minutes?
No particular frugal actions here this week, other than doing solar powered laundry (plus line drying), reviving wilted spring onions, making our own coffee, reading library books, and bringing some sourdough buns to work.
Intentional spending: having two locks replaced, ordering a scarf in My Best Colours.
@JNL, I didn't think about the temperature drop until it was happening. I went from being delightfully warm to really wishing I had a jacket! I was amazed.
@JNL, It didn't feel that cold to me, but possibly that's because we were mostly inside, watching on my husband's telescope feed (no eclipse glasses here, but I did glance up during totality and it was amazing). But the birds were singing like they do at dawn/dusk, and the cat was mightily confused because nobody was getting ready for bed!
@JNL, sitting on my deck we felt the temperature drop . In our case went from hot to pleasant.
@JNL, what is "My Best Colours"?? Very intriguing sounding. . .
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
I went to a stylist some years ago, and was advised on my best colours and shapes. When I ran into a scarf with several of my most flattering colours, plus with a pattern that suits my body type, I knew I wanted to buy it!
@JNL, aha! I "had my colors done" in the 1980s and still follow the suggestions and use the color samples. It certainly simplifies clothes shopping and makes it easy to always have things to mix and match.
My husband needed work boots and we found some waterproof hiking boots that works on clearance for $11. Also found the same ones in my oldest's size.
Found a new rug for the living room on clearance for $25, down from $90.
Easter clearance for 75% off included boxes of cake mix for .47 and toys put up for next year.
Stayed home for spring break. We were going to make a couple of day trips while the husband was off work but the weather was nasty so we just had lazy days.
Used up all produce before it went bad.
FYI regarding eclipse glasses - there are programs you can donate them to and they send them to underserved communities in other countries to use
@Jess, Does anyone have a specific address for recycling? I have only started looking online and found only names of two organizations that recycle, but not how to do it, (other than do not send damaged glasses).
@Heidi Louise,
Astronomers without borders has a list of partners to drop off to if you are anywhere near them.
Alternatively, Eclipse Glasses gives a mailing address:
Eclipse Glasses USA, LLC
P.O. Box 50571
Provo, UT 84605
@Jess, Thank you much!
Eclipse frugality:
We got free eclipse glasses from the library last fall for the annular eclipse, and then a few extras in January from them for this one. So no expense for those.
Eclipse Fail:
I brought my extra glasses to work to share with someone, and left them all on my desk. No glasses for me!
Eclipse Frugality part deux:
I used a colander to cast the eclipsing shadow in my driveway. Then I ran up to kids' school where they were celebrating and sciencing outside, and the teacher gave me a spare pair. I brought my colander along to share that effect with groups of kids. Eclipse save! We were about 94% which was drama enough for me.
Trying to use up what's in the fridge, but I wound up at the store almost every day last week to fill the gaps. Oh well, work in progress.
I bought half priced Easter candy for snacks as track season begins and we'll be out at meets frequently. The occasional concession stand treat is fine, but it's easy to spend a fortune if ones not careful.
@mbmom11,
Bonus eclipse note:
Anyone who geeked out over the eclipse should watch the video of the eclipse from the Starlink satellite. Truly amazing.
Also, there's a video from the international space station. Also cool.
You can now return to your regularly scheduled frugality.
@mbmom11, we also did the colander trick. Those shadows were so weird.
@mbmom11,
Certifiable eclipse geek here. 🙂 Thank you for those suggestions, will look for those videos tonight after work!
I want you to come to my house and cook for me. Those all look so good.
*I fixed my daughter's dress; it needed to have the collar facing tacked down. Why do some always want to stay flat and others want to flip to the outside?
*I sent the same daughter outside with 6 green onions roots to plant.
*Ate at home. Made coffee at home. Used up leftovers. Looked for older things in the freezer to plan meals.
*We bought flour in bulk. I made bread.
*I helped my high school senior figure out some financial things for college. ALSO, our state is giving our free Chromebooks to qualifying folks. We originally thought, "Nah. We have computers." Then I remembered that this child will need something to tote to campus each day. So on Saturday, we went to our library and marched out with a free computer.
*I called to make sure our dentist was giving us a hefty refund.
*I plan to take the kids to see the bluebells in bloom along the canal today. This is free, and I've been wanting to see them in bloom for years but somehow always missed them.
@Jody S., Whoa! A free Chromebook is fun!
@Jody S., our schools do chromebook for free for all k-12 students (in Michigan) while in school only. End of school & must return to school.
How great you found resources to give away for you to keep.
@Jody S., the bluebells sound heavenly. Wildflowers are such a treat!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, You should have seen them! At first I contemplated climbing down a steeeeeep embankment, but I thought better of it. We walked in the opposite direction, and I was rewarded for my patience. Both sides of the canal towpath were covered in them as far as the eye could see!
Firstly, a big THANK YOU to everyone who gave advice re: the dental insurance appeal I mentioned yesterday. Using your suggestions, I drafted a second appeal to send later today, after I've asked my husband's periodontist to send a quick letter of his own. Here's hoping!
FFT
--I mailed out my brother-in-law's birthday gifts using recycled shipping supplies.
--I bought a "used, like new" stair stepper off Amazon for $42 instead of $99 (it was so cheap owing to no original packaging). Despite being active with a healthy diet, early menopause has kicked my metabolism in the face so hard that I deemed this necessary. I've been good about using it every weekday morning since its arrival and hop on right after my husband leaves for work. (For the record, he tells me I'm beautiful, unprompted, all the time and doesn't see the extra weight--thank goodness, because I definitely do!)
--I've been going through old mix CDs for my workouts. It's fun rediscovering/remembering "Mystery Mix from [old friend]," and wanting to know what the next song is often keeps me exercising that little bit longer
--I caramelized three pounds of onion skin the crockpot and froze them for future soups, etc.
--I found a brand new butcher block cutting board at Habitat for $15 (retail starts at $50). My husband is thrilled!
Four Expensive Things and One Frugal:
The new brownstone slab for my front stoop could be considered frugal, as it means I can use the front door without having to completely redo the steps, but it is also costing me $800 to place. ~sigh~ Three Taskrabbit guys to move a 600-pound slab.
New puppy! Adorable but there's nothing cheap about driving halfway across the country. Still, Son got a really good experience and pics with the eclipse in Indianapolis. Daughter went to the Brooklyn Bridge to get a good view (and then literally ran into Willem Dafoe).
I bought a second vacuum on an impulse on Sunday. Well, we needed another one. Terminator the robo vac is great, but we also need a regular vac and this one purportedly has a dedicated head for long hair and pet hair. We shall see.
I bought a bottle of Veuve for my birthday since the store didn't have my favorite, and then suddenly was too tired to drink more than a sip. Daughter drank the rest.
We have been pretty good about only eating from home lately and reading/watching "free" (via subscription) stuff.
"All food, all day," pretty much describes my life. 🙂
Five things . . .
--My small bulb garden is providing flowers for my table. Daffodils for a couple of weeks, and now tulips.
--We have green garlic (the new garlic plant before the bulb forms) in the pasture that comes up every year, from missed bulbs planted years ago. I use that in the spring and have started digging some.
--I made an insane, entirely homemade lasagna this past weekend, using the entirely free ground bull meat we have, canned tomatoes from last year's garden, and pasta I made with our own chickens' eggs. I am not a foodie in the modern sense, but making food with things I have raised/grown/processed is one of my favorite things to do, and I will make some crazy recipes with it. (And then post all about it, which I did today. 🙂
--Last time we butchered sheep, my husband used a reciprocating saw to cut lots of chops. These are so much easier for me to use than stew meat or big roasts, so we've been eating a lot more of the mostly-free lamb in the freezer.
--My children that still have snack boxes at school have this week been eating the crackers I made last week, and the fruit snacks my sister brought for Easter.
Well, only four out of five were about food. Pretty good, for me.
@kristin @ going country,
I'm nowhere close to being on the same level as you regarding homegrown/raised/produced food, but I get a tiny thrill when my hubby makes shakshuka with the tomatoes I froze from last year's garden. 🙂
Mine will be food related as well.
1. I made a big pot of pulled chicken in the Crock Pot using cheap BL SL chicken breasts from The Grocery Outlet. We ate some, I froze some, and shared some with a neighbor.
2. I made a triple batch of GF pancakes for dinner. I used a partial bag of mini chocolate chips and some canned pumpkin. Most of them were frozen for future meals.
3. I made a big pot of soup with vegetables and lentils. I included spinach I'd frozen and chopped cauliflower stem leaves (since they reminded me of celery). It is stored in jars for quick meals.
4. I stopped at Aldi to buy on sale produce like mandarins and avocados.
5. I did not buy eclipse glasses.
Ooh! I'm so impressed with the state of your produce drawer!! Mine needs some attention this week. Also - I love the before and after pictures of your celery.
My FFT:
1. The solar eclipse glasses we used yesterday were free from the library. I took some elastic from a previous craft project and stapled it onto the glasses for my two youngest kids to make them fit well (the glasses were adult-size).
2. I got to take a fun outing with my 10yo daughter on Saturday which included Starbucks that I paid for with a gift card and a shopping trip to Goodwill where we found clothes for her and her brother as well as a game and a puzzle.
3. I planted snap pea and lettuce seeds yesterday. I know it's a little early for the lettuce, but I figure that if we get snow in a couple of weeks and I end up having to replant, it's not a big loss. Hopefully it'll pay off. I plan to plant more lettuce tonight.
4. Another Goodwill win - A few days before our Saturday outing I needed a white collared shirt with 3/4 sleeves and looked at Goodwill and they had a nice one in my size!
5. Last week was the last week I should be starting seeds, so I finished up by planting a bunch of flowers in an empty salad container full of empty TP tubes.
I am so proud of that empty produce drawer. lol I did a lot of responsible cooking and eating to get it there. 🙂
That's some impressive use-it-up skills!
1. I sold a pair of shoes on Facebook Marketplace. I'd bought them on Marketplace and they were too small; I still lost some money on them but better than nothing!
2. We filed our taxes early.
3. I am once again picking up extra work. There's a special savings account for first-time homebuyers in Canada; my tax-efficient plan is to earn pretty-much-exactly enough to fill that account and no more.
4. I kind-of-impulse-bought a pair of stylish and expensive running shoes (Veja), came home, tried them on again and realized that their weird toe box isn't very comfortable. Back they go for full refund! I'll buy something more basic.
5. Like Kristen, I only have two pairs of scrubs. After years of rectangular hospital scrubs, I splurged on Figs; Mr. B and I each ordered one pair, to get the first-time-buyer discount. Since I work from home on Wednesdays, I find that it's usually enough, as long as I stay on top of the laundry. Not having to maintain an expansive work wardrobe saves money!
1. Had a ground squirrel chew through the wiring on our new HVAC system not once but twice, in the span of two days. All three service calls were covered under warranty, including the one at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night to put a temporary fix in place so we could have heat over the weekend.
2. Went thrifting with a friend for an entire day. A few blocks from my house, we came across an estate sale and found several treasures 25% off. We split a hummus platter for lunch at a local restaurant. I went back to the sale the next day when everything was 50% off and found a couple CDs and a pencil sharpener, which I asked if I could have as a “gift with purchase” and they said yes.
3. Went to a discount food store and used their $1 off coupon that I received via email. Best bargain: box of Triscuits for $1 each. They’re our favorite cracker and have no mystery ingredients.
4. Received vintage handkerchiefs, a set of poetry books and milk from my Buy Nothing group.
5. Used a $5 coupon for dog food and used another $5 coupon for pet meds. These coupons were on the back of a grocery store receipt.
@MB in MN, "gift with purchase" —nice idea! Reminds me of the book I am currently reading called "Ask For It" (recommended by @AF in Virginia). Most women don't get raises (and probably discounts) because we just don't ask.
- got a trial subscription to Directv stream so I could watch college basketball championship games. Canceling it today.
- didn't travel for the eclipse or buy glasses. We were only at 95% of totality but we watched from parking lot at work, sharing my coworkers glasses
- had a bunch of limes leftover so I made margaritas for Friday happy hour
- we did not get takeout this weekend. We made homemade pizza instead
- brought lunch to work every day
Frugal wins-
Picked rest of rotisserie chicken off bones and used most, froze some. Husband and I just don’t go thru much food.
Had thawed 2 huge BLSL breasts and made Boursin chicken before breasts went bad.
Eating at home at least till daughters birthday this weekend (will take her and her family out to celebrate.
Tried to pick most reasonable flooring/tile for shouse. There is nothing frugal about faucets and bathroom fixtures.
Just not going in stores which keeps me from any impulse buying.
Frugal not-
Tooth is having a problem so having to go to dentist to have diagnosed.
Those soups looks yummy.
Frugal things---
● made it to Sam's club night before sale ended & picked up few more bags chicken strips for teen that were on sale.
● picked up jumbo ceramic planter pots (not on sale but good price) that are not available online anymore to transplant mint plants into.
● picked up large & medium ceramic planter pot combo on sale (not available online anymore) to transplant (freebie) aloe vera plants (inside) into. The $20 ( giant) aloe vera plant I bought at FFA plant sale (which teen botany class grows for FFA) has produced 5-6 freebies that have grown pretty quickly.
● picked up blueberry bushes to plant in planter pots to grow this year.
● finally called garbage company to get another garbage can & was only $50 instead of $100---but only deliver once a month.
● used gas coupon from T Mobile Tuesdays app for additional gas savings at Shell, which is cheapest few towns over compared to everyone else, including Sam's club.
Run of the mill frugal things here:
1. We did not purchase a lot of themed candy/foods to celebrate the eclipse (yes, I knew people who did this!) I made popcorn, though, and we had some snacks in the pantry I let the boys polish off.
2. Library books--thoroughly enjoying the new Tana French novel.
3. Tea at home. I have finally accepted that even decaf coffee gives me headaches over time, so it's only decaf/herbal tea from now on. Which is usually cheaper anyway than coffee, IMO.
4. One of our sons snapped the plastic handle on the bathtub--happily the metal parts were not broken, so it was just $15 at the hardware store and an easy fix. Props to him for figuring out how to turn the water off even though the handle wasn't on anymore, so we didn't incur a lot of water use/damage!
Frugal:
Switched my car insurance to yearly rate and got a check rebate for 285 dollars.
Purchased three clearance almond milks for 1.29 each. Date were in May.
Continue to make weekly homemade granola for Pennies on the dollar. Granola is yummy with the almond milk.
Found mulch for 2 dollars a bag at Lowe’s. Bought 20 bags. 1.33 savings in each bag. Flower gardens already mulched for the year.
Cooking and eating at home. Walking dog and listening to free podcasts for exercise. Still driving my 2006 Honda Accord. Keeping her well maintained.
I had 97 percent totality and clear skies for the eclipse. It was fun!!
@Stephanie, it would never be frugal for me to have homemade granola because I'd finish it off in a pair of minutes.
Your 2006 Accord is a baby. My '96 has 250,000 miles. Congratulations on keeping it so far. . . most people panic and sell too early, and then they end up with car payments and broken fancy extras.
@Stephanie, we also got the mulch that was on sale at Lowe's. Hubby ordered it online and did curbside pickup. We got 30 bags. I made sure to tell my oldest daughter and she got some too.
FFT, Another Frugal Eclipse Party Edition (since several folks have already reported on theirs):
As noted earlier, JASNA BFF has been here for a long weekend. See my Monday FFT at the NCA for a report of our activities up to yesterday.
(1) I started inviting neighbors over to my large front yard (I have a double lot) to watch the eclipse as I ran into them over the weekend. When I talked to one husband and wife across the street, they said they'd been planning to celebrate their younger son's 27th birthday at a nearby state park--but decided it'd be more fun and less effort to do it here instead. So they offered to provide a Costco birthday cake, and invited a few more folks.
(2) The most conspicuous feature of my large front yard is a 10-ton rock (long story). I used a large piece of cardboard (part of the carton for the new water heater I had to get last year) to create a sign for the rock: "Third Rock from the Sun." This made a great conversation piece and a focal point for photos and selfies. (Our two youngest attendees--little girls aged 1 and 2--wore princess costumes and were proclaimed the Princesses of the Rock!)
(3) JASNA BFF and I carried out all my lawn chairs and a small table at about 1:45 pm, and neighbors began joining us then. The birthday cake providers brought over some more chairs. And, fortunately, it was warm enough that we needed only light jackets (no small consideration in early April in Central NY).
(4) Alas, the clouds here meant that we got only intermittent glimpses of the eclipse itself, although we all did get at least a peek during totality at 3:23 pm. And we certainly did experience a sharp drop in temperature, the birds going silent, and the street lights coming on! So we had that bit of free drama courtesy of Mother Nature.
(5) Sorry, Rose, we didn't have any black-and-white cookies (or "half moons" as we call them in these parts). But we sang "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake just after totality, and my generous neighbors provided ice cream, paper plates, and utensils as well. We all agreed that we'd had a fine time, despite the clouds.
@A. Marie, We didn't have totality, and our birds did the opposite. The birds started singing as if it were morning/evening. The carpenter bees were a little crazy, too. Of course, our roosters were crowing, but that's an all day, every day sort of thing for us.
@A. Marie,
Such a fun party! Plus that rock - will you tell us the story in due time?
@A. Marie, you have a truly remarkable neighborhood!
@A. Marie,
Sounds like an almost perfect event, if only the clouds had kept to themselves that day. Costco makes the best sheet cakes, so I love that you combined celebration gatherings with your neighbor. Bestest?
@A. Marie, Your eclipse watching/birthday party sounds grand!
Here in Central Texas, the day started with clouds but by the time the eclipse started eclipsing, they had parted so everyone got a good view. The clouds made a very dramatic looking sky view when the sunlight started fading; we are in the 100 percent area. I was working at the drugstore, but we had very, very few customers so all of us took turns going out to the parking lot and watching; our boss gave us eclipse glasses. We're in a shopping center and apparently, all the stores lacked shoppers because you could see the other stores' employees out there, too. After the sun came back out, we started getting customers again and we asked them if they were able to see the eclipse. Farmers told us the cows went to the barn when it started getting dark and then the rooster crowed again when the sun came back out. One saw the flock of wild ducks fly back to the pond where they roost in the evenings when it started getting dark.
I wasn't too frugal this week but I wore an old Moody Blues concert T-shirt, that showed an outer space scene, instead of buying a special T-shirt for the eclipse. I also put on a Christmas light necklace, a battery-operated one that lights up, to wear in the dark. Already owned them so I didn't have to shell out any money for my eclipse attire.
@Katy, no, the Bestests went to their Lake Erie cottage for the occasion. They only got back late on Tuesday, so I haven't yet had a chance to hear how the eclipse went for them.
@A. Marie,
Lake Erie - the Ohio side - is one of my favorite places! Lucky Bestests to have a cottage there. My BFF inherited a cottage on Catawba Island that she co-owns with her brother. Port Clinton was in the 100% totality area.
I'll do a foodcentric frugal update too. My goal this week was to use up condiments on the doors of the fridge. My husband loves conditments but sometimes they get forgotten.
- Made Marry Me Chicken to use up leftover heavy cream from Easter and a 1/2 jar of sundried tomatoes
- Grilled burgers and made them "Big Macs" to use up Thousand Island dressing we had left from Ruebens on St. Pattys day
- Made a pork shoulder so we could use up some languishing BBQ sauce and make some horsey sauce (horseradish)
I wish I was as good with Misfit produce as you are with Hungry Harvest!
1) I did clean out the fridge and salvaged bok choy (I like to use it in egg roll in a bowl), broccoli, and asparagus the same way you did the celery. I had hurriedly unpacked my MF box and just laid them in the fridge. I prefer the medium thick asparagus and like to roast it and also add to breakfast skillets. I had ordered the broccoli with intentions of making broccoli cheese soup and still may.
2) I ordered Jimmy Johns yesterday to pickup for supper at work. It was the last day to use my birthday coupon so the sandwich was free. I ate half for supper at work and will eat the other half for lunch today or tomorrow. It's the sandwich with olive oil and herbs, no lettuce or tomato so it will keep.
3) Our church has shared carry-in dinner after the meeting every Sunday. My dear friends made a very large pot of fried rice (jasmine!) with all kinds of good stuff. There was some left over and they gave me enough to eat for two meals. I never tire of fried rice and this batch was exceptionally delicious.
4) I got gas when it was $3.08/gal. last week. I had not been past a gas station this weekend so imagine my shock when it was $3.40!
5) Chai latte at home, avoided shopping except to pick up meds and got milk at the same time.
@Chrissy, $3.40 would shock me too, since it is now $5.49 in my town. Sigh.
I made a use-it-up meal last night as well. A salad of Polish bacon, oyster mushrooms, and local spinach wilted in bacon fat. The Polish bacon was so lean that I needed to use some of my bacon grease stash (from the bacon I make myself).
I used ID.me and an online coupon code[2] to save 35% on some clothes from Jockey website.
I nabbed a couple of books from local Little Free Libraries. At this rate not only will I never clear out my “to be read” bookcase[1], I’ll never even reduce it.
Fail: Ikea Billy bookcase fell apart when I moved it (long story).
Success: I realize I could use the pieces to raise a couch up a few inches so my now-gimpy roommate can sit in it comfortably.
“Tipped” a helpful friend with a TV. He gets the TV he’s been wanting, I get to give it to him, and I don’t have to list it anywhere.
[1] Not shelf, you’ll notice; bookcase.
[2] All I had to do was search “Jockey coupon” and try a few at checkout. Maybe 3 min. work.
@WilliamB,
1. Do you mean you cure or smoke your own bacon? Which sounds amazing.
2. I have TBR books scattered all over the place....I should maybe put them all in one bookcase, and STOP getting ebooks on my Libby app.
3. Yay you for searching for an online coupon....I do that, too, and am thrilled when I find a coupon that works.
@Liz B., I cure and smoke it (not always). The curing is easy - it’s a dry rub that you leave in the fridge for a week, turning it every few days. I leave mine for 2 weeks because I like the extra-strong flavor.
I find that I do a better job focusing on reading new books with them all in one place. When they were scattered I did more rereading than I am now. Even so, I don’t expect to ever have no TBRs.
@WilliamB,
Interesting about the bacon....thank you. Same here, I suspect I will always have a TBR pile. 🙂
1. My new love is making yogurt with my instant pot. I started by using coffee filters but the mess was killing me. At this stage in my near retirement life, bought the Hatrigo one gallon fine mesh strainer. Awesome. It fits obviously a gallon of milk with a snug top and it stores the yogurt for two weeks. It totally has paid for itself with time and mess now.
2. I bought fresh mozarella for 1.25 a pound at Grocery Outlet. The first pound went to Caprese salad. Now I am going to bake ziti. my recipe calls for ricotta. I am going to use up 2 cups of 2% ( Hubby prefers non-fat) and scald it in the insta pot with some picked lemons. The casserole will last the two of us several meals.
3. I had dried some wilting kale in my dehydrator. I put it in a pesto, orzo, beef concoction. Yeah - didn't work out. The stems were like bones. I am not making hubby eat it. I packed it for lunches and spend most of the time picking out the stems. Oh well.
4. I used part of my grocery budget to buy parchment paper and BBQ sauce at Sam's. It kills me to spend $15 for a double parchment package but I know it will last me years. Same with the supersized double pack of BBQ. It is a good reminder that I always need to save a little bit of budget money to buy the basics.
5. This month I am trying to stick to a $200 grocery budget. I am at $159 after I splurged on 9 pounds of green grapes which are hubby's fav. I need to get baking and cooking because the rest of the budget will go to milk. Still I love a challenge and I have plenty of fixings including already frozen cooked tri tip, potatoes, a spiral ham I bought on big reduction and 5 dozen eggs for 10. I should be just fine if I put the time in.
@mary ann, never heard of a yogurt strainer. I just do it the messy way, occasionally with coffee filters in a colander, most often just pouring off the whey as it accumulates. Now I am sorely tempter, held back by one No One-Function Stuff policy. Those strainers look fabulous.
@mary ann, I have a confession to make: On my first glance at "My new love is making yogurt with my instant pot," I read it as "My new yogurt is making love with my instant pot." Pardon my filthy mind...
@A. Marie,
I like your interpretation, ha. I read it as Mary Ann has a new fellow in her life and he's been busy making yogurt in the instant pot. I think I need to work on my reading comprehension.
Sorry, Mary Ann, it isn't you, it's me!
@JD, Maybe it is Mary Ann (sorry, Mary Ann) I read it the same way as you did, JD. Either way it was good for a giggle!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I just looked it up and am sorely tempted to get that filter. I use cheesecloth and it is a pain, but is it enough of a pain to make $35 worth buying it? I did not buy it and hope that in a week or two I will forget I ever wanted it.
@JD, I thought exactly the same thing, that a new man in her life was making himself useful.
@Lindsey, there is one for $15 and three different ones for $20. . . still, One Function Stuff is a no for me.
@A. Marie, I don't know if it's age or what, but I find myself constantly mixing up letters and words to come up with sentences that don't make a great deal of sense. If I don't have time to reread (flying down the freeway) then I'm left puzzling what the world is coming to.
Your use-it-up pasta sounds delicious!
I made some gluten free foccacia the other day, my most successful attempt yet at making gluten free breads. The cost of ingredients was $2.80, so a definite savings over the $6-8 loaves of bread I've been buying.
I cooked black beans and had some on tortillas for a simple dinner. I plan to use the rest of them to make black bean burgers.
I found Claritin on Amazon at half the price of any other store. I was a little concerned it might be counterfeit or opened or something, but it seems legitimate.
I wanted a new book to read, so I looked through my Kindle and found one I had gotten for free a while ago and hadn't read yet.
I forgot to mention, I watched the eclipse from my backyard, enjoying the free show without any cost except for the eclipse glasses.
Mine are largely travel related, as we were on a college tour in Corvallis this weekend.
1) Made a late lunch for DS17 before we headed to the airport. DS18 & I hit up the (free) lounge & he had a couple of mini sandwiches & a cookie before our flight.
2) DS18 & I were upgraded to premium economy, thanks to my status. I'd paid to upgrade DS17, so we could all be together. The flight attendant gave us all free mini chocolate bars on the flight, and I had a complimentary glass of wine.
3) For the college tour, we made it work to borrow my sister's car & stay at her house, which was significantly cheaper than a few other tours, where we had to rent a car & a hotel room.
4) My parents hosted a dinner party at my sister's house on Saturday night, and fed us all extremely well. Bonus that my mom also made a little goodie bag for each of the boys, that they used for snacks at the airport on the flight home.
5) On Sunday, I went to a fitness class with my sister, and it was a partner studio of the one I belong to at home, so it was free for both of us. And, we went to a local bar/bowling alley/arcade & they had the women's basketball finals & pool tables. The pool tables rent for $8/hour, so it was super cheap entertainment.
Oh, and at the actual college tour, they gave out a $5 off of lunch in the dining hall coupon, which we used. And, the food was really reasonable. Lunch for three for $12, which included dessert for the teens.
Kirsten, I like how you creatively use up your food.
My 5 Frugal Win
1) Took my kids to 2 free eclipse events at the library. One was led by the kids science museum and another by a local author. They had lots of fun so I‘d call them a success!
2) Got free eclipse glasses from the library too but unfortunately didn’t get to use them since it was cloudy where we were at. So jealous of those that did!
3) Ate meals at home. I cook really simple meals that didn’t take much effort. My husband is usually the adventurous one in the kitchen though and so he’s made a few homemade dishes for us.
4) Got my daughter’s birthday cake and cupcakes on sale. Slowly prepping for the big day.
5) Watched DVDs we borrowed from the library. My girls get to decide which movies they’d like to watch during their birthday day/week. It’s been a tradition for us. My youngest loves dogs so that’s been our theme.
1. I meal planned as usual but we ended up with more leftovers than I had anticipated so I had to pivot. The insane amount of leftover loaded mashed potatoes from the steakhouse became baked potato soup. Leftover chicken breasts with no sides became buffalo chicken sandwiches. Most of the ingredients from the originally planned meals will hold or can be repurposed in meals later this week.
2. I’m packing for a week long work trip and I’m making sure I have a list of what I will need. I know I will have to pick up a few items but I have most things on hand even if I have to get a little creative (I have just a little bit of toothpaste left in a tube, I’ll bring that instead of buying a travel size tube since I will be checking a bag).
3. I’ve been having fun decorating our new house with our own stuff. As I unpack things I am seeing everything in a new way.
4. As we unpack I’ve been posting our moving boxes on Facebook Marketplace for free. It gets them out of our house so I feel like we are settled, and it helps someone who needs the boxes for their next move.
5. I opted not to go into the office this week. This saved me gas money and my weekly Starbucks run.
1. Went to Panera for dinner with 2 friends. Used a gift card from fetch. I drank water with it.
2.Made banana chip muffins with brown bananas.
3. Stop and shop. I got a free bunch(8)bananas with a $15 purchase. Got a free case of Matzos with a $40 purchase. Got 2 large packs of ground beef for $2.99 a pound. Had a $4 off 15 coupon for the meat department.
4. I then went to Aldi for things that are cheaper there. I found a cart in the parking lot.
5. Dropped off 2 bags of my daughter's clothes that she no longer wants/needs to a friend that is having a rough time financially.
6. My daughter and I went to a bridal shower over the weekend. I asked for boxes for our leftovers and for the MOB as she was helping her daughter open presents. Very few other people were taking home leftovers. So much wasted food. I happily ate my leftovers for lunch yesterday.
I just started a produce box again for the same reason! Even though I could buy the same at the store for less, I found that I don’t, and I eat way more produce when it comes weekly in a box. Mine also comes on Wednesday and I managed to make it through all the veggies except for some remaining celery.
Just had to comment on the produce box, I’m leaving for Legoland tomorrow with my kids so there will not be anything frugal about this week!
That is such an accomplished produce drawer! It's so nice when there's lovely meals and no waste.
I turned a multiseed keto-friendly wrap from Aldi into chips and had a nice snack with some Aldi salsa. It hit the spot for very few calories.
We had some tangerines that were getting too dry, so I juiced them and froze the juice in two small containers for use in recipes.
Made pizzas from pantry/freezer ingredients, including some chopped green onions from the re-grown grocery store onions I planted in our container garden. The meal made great leftovers for next day.
Cleaning our garage a few weeks ago turned up four half bushel baskets, which were turned into two planters by doubling them up for sturdiness and lining them with heavy plastic.
Mended another puppy-chewed dog toy and the corner of the living room rug that she chewed off.
I have some not frugal things, but I'll stick to the frugal things. It's been a hectic morning, so I'm running a bit late.
1. I get real tired of ironing big items on my tapered board, so I made a big rectangular ironing board topper from a 2' x 6' board and a stick of 1" x 2". My son-in-law trimmed down the board for me to 2' x 5'. I cut up the 1" x 2" and glued and screwed the pieces on the board for braces to hold it in place on the top of my ironing board. I found the instructions online; big ironing boards typically used by quilters and sewers can be quite pricey. A popular model was $300.
2. So I needed a board cover, and I found Joann has actual ironing board cover cloth, which I was able to get on sale and with free pickup. It was so much less hassle to make it than layering batting and fabric. I saw rectangular board covers costing around $50 online, assuming they would fit my board. I estimate board, braces and cover together cost me $69.
3. When I bought my used SUV, I discovered the factory default code for the keyless entry was missing. I'd never had a car with keyless entry before, so I didn't know to check for that before taking possession of the car. I was told at one dealership it would cost $90 to get the default code, and $50 at another to get the code. I politely asked for it again when I took my car in for an oil change last Friday, and explained again that I had not lost the code - I was never given the code. This time, the staffer listened to me, and they got it for me in five minutes, for free.
4. I went through Swagbucks to order office furniture for a new employee, but my purchase was not credited to my SB account. I sent proof of the purchase in a help ticket and got $44 and change credited to my SB account.
5. I made granola from Kristen's recipe, with bulk purchased oats, raisins and pecans, not almonds, because I live in the southeast where pecans are king and besides I love them. I have wonderful memories of riding on the wagon with family behind the tractor out to the pecan trees bordering my grandfather's pastures. Avoiding the bull protecting his cows was always a high priority and made the bags of pecans even more prized.
@JD, your #5 is making me drool. I too love pecans above all other nuts, but I grew up in the part of the South above the pecan line. What wonderful memories!
I spent/wasted a lot of money on chocolate today, but on a more frugal note I...
1. Brought lunch to work.
2. Saved some chopped vegetables and remembered to cook them before they got bad.
3. Bought reduced food at the supermarket.
4. Got free chocolate from my sister.
5. Brought things back from my trip which are cheaper than I can find here.
1. Sold a book on eBay for a good amount of money. I had two copies so I didn't need both.
2. Going to be listing some things on FB marketplace that just don't make sense to ship (e.g. some old AC units.) Hopefully they sell as I could use the space. I also have some mason jars I might just give away for free.
3. Doing the cook a big meal and eating off of it for several days concept. So far it's worthing for us.
4. Repaired a few things around the house.
5. Shopping sales and buying some clearance Easter stuff for next year.
@Battra92, if you don't sell the AC units, please consider donating to a charity. In my area, homeless shelters and churches that help low-income folks beg for these in the summer.
1. Dug and transplanted volunteer oleander from a neighbor, trying to get a hedge going between us and the peculiar neighbors.
2. Used a rolling pin on some oil paint tubes and on a toothpaste tube too.
3. Found some barefoot-type shoes on Hike Shoes. They were on sale, and after I ordered, they sent an email offer for 30% off a second pair. I bit. (The more you spend, the more you save?)
4. That $40 I spent on yarn to make new slippers hurt until I found that the now-worn-out pair has lasted since 2010.
5. Made soup with a Costco chicken carcas.
Bonus: a friend ended up with more butter than she had space for and brought us 2 lbs.
1. I picked up winter boots off Buy Nothing that will fit my son next year. I also picked up some pots for plants off Buy Nothing. I repotted some mint plants into the pots.
2. I made some granola using some leftover dried fruit, nuts, and almost-stale cheerios and rice crispies. It came out really good!
3. I pureed some over-ripe pears and made popsicles from them.
4. I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for my neighbor's 80th birthday, rather than buying cupcakes.
5. I took my kids to a bird sanctuary and nature center that is free. We packed lunch and brought water.
My mind is a blank on five frugal things - all I can think about is your lone green pepper because I have one that looks JUST like that and I am at a loss for what to do with it.
I'd love to know what you do with yours, haha.
Ok wait, I have some frugal things now...
1. I had some kiwi and some lemon that were about to be too far gone so I sliced them thin and dehydrated them in my Ninja speedi.
2. We had to go into the big city for an event right at dinner time - and rather than splurging on a big meal as we usually would have, we stopped by a coffee shop that also has a food truck - we got cortados and split an order of jicama fries ... and then ate a side salad when we got home a few hours later.
3. Our vet clinic usually files rebates for us when we get heartworm and flea/tick meds but my rebate didn't show up - so I called to check on it and, sure enough, they had forgotten to file it. Rebate is on its way to us now.
4. I cancelled a WaPo subscription that was about to renew at full price, just in time... and grabbed a reduced subscription when I cancelled.
5. Long story related to this and it probably sounds like it isn't a frugal thing, but it is...I bought a fee-based library card for an out of our county library. The library we've been using ended its access to digital downloads for out of county patrons (we can still check out print materials though). We read many hundreds of e-books and audiobooks from the library every year, so a fee-based card at $125 is well worth it for us.
Green pepper: there's about a 99% chance I will slice and saute it (in a hot cast iron skillet) to eat with eggs and sweet potatoes tomorrow morning. 😉
@Denise,
I count myself lucky that Ohioans can join *any* public library in the state for free. I belong to 4 different nearby public libraries/library systems, all of which offer different things (some offerings are the same, such as Libby and Kanopy). Private libraries are, of course, a different story.
@Liz B., Several in Florida WERE like that but then during the pandemic they took away the access to e-books!
@Kristen, That's kind of what I was thinking I'd do - sautee with onion and eat it with an egg for lunch today!
1) My husband and the older boys used some free cinema tickets we won to go see Godzilla X Kong. He says he regrets buying food there, but they all three loved the movie.
2) I made a quesadilla for lunch yesterday with some zucchini I sautéed. I just finished enjoying another lunch quesadilla made with the second half of the zucchini.
3) I called the hospital billed department again about a refund we are owed. I will keep calling weekly until they resolve the issue.
4) My mom is turning 70 next month, so we wanted to do something to mark the occasion. My brother and I were able to research and find what looks like a really cool tram tour at a state park that we think she'll enjoy. I will pack the lunches, my brother will drive Mama and her grandsons, and I think they will all have a ball on a pretty small budget.
5) I didn't place an Amazon order. I've got a bunch of stuff in my cart. But I am just letting it sit there for a few days to decide if I really want it.
My FFT...
1. I cut open the bottle of hair product I use and got 2 more weeks use out of it.
2. We fixed our friend's invisible dog fence for them (took 10 minutes) and they served us lunch as a thank you. Same friend gifted us a loaf of homemade bread to take home.
3. My father-in-law gave us a Keurig machine they weren't using. Hubby is thinking of taking it to work to use there.
4. I pulled a rotisserie chicken carcass out of the freezer and made broth with it. Got 2 quarts of broth.
5. Went out to dinner with my husband and used a gift certificate I had won in a raffle. Only had to pay $10 out of pocket plus tip.
@Gina, You guys probably already know this, but they make re-usable K cups for Keurig and similar machines. Walmart has them, and I'm sure other grocery stores do, too. You just buy a can or bag of coffee and spoon it into the re-usable K-cup -- it's usually cheaper than buying a package of K-cups. (Although I've found that a package of K-cups is a great Xmas gift for the Keurig user who has everything!)
Used some Mecari credits to buy a pair of boots for when I work in the garden. And when I got them, they actually fit my very wide, high-arched feet. So I am happy to have some muck boots.
My sister works at a coffee shop and one of the benefits is one free pound of coffee a week. She brought 10 bags of beans with her for St. Patrick's Day. I gave away most of them; however we are running out of coffee now, so I will be grinding some to put in the container so hubs can make the coffee in the morning. And yes, I have the same flavor in regular & decaf and will be mixing the 2. Hopefully hubs won't figure it out.
Had gone to a Columbia outlet for their after Christmas sale and got a coupon worth $25. for use during April. Stopped there on my way to bring my granddaughter home and she got a free Columbia sweatshirt.
Went to 5 Below with my daughter because I wanted a plant hanger and she said that's where she got them. I know I could make one easily, but I'm sure it would have cost as much as $5.00 of supplies since I didn't have anything on hand. Now I know where to find them and my plant is hanging nicely. And it looks more expensive than $5.00. Also the plant and pot came from her!
Will be using some leftover pierogis for dinner tonight. Someone brought to St. Patrick's Day and I froze the leftovers. They brought a ton and these have chicken in them. I found a Tuscan-style sauce to serve with the pierogis that I am hoping will taste good. It has tomatoes, spinach and in a creamy parmesan sauce. I think it will be a win; we'll see what the hubs says.
And I was one of the many thousands of people stuck in traffic yesterday after the eclipse. I left my daughter's because it was cloudy where she was. I did stop at a rest stop to watch it and then got back on the road. From the NY/PA boarder around Erie, PA, it took me 7 hours to drive the normal 4 hours past Pittsburgh. I'm just glad my husband the "complainer about traffic" wasn't with me!
@Maureen,
My hubby is a "complainer about traffic", too. We once left a concert before the encore because he was worried about getting out of the parking lot in a timely fashion (insert eye ball roll here). After having a discussion about it, that hasn't happened again.
--Bought the restaurant-made Bojangles biscuit, but made the egg at home. Their biscuits are incredibly good and (for me) hard to reproduce, cost just over $1, and the egg/cheese costs $2 but is easy to add. Also got a bunch of coupons with our order.
--Saving money on gas for commuting since I'm currently on medical leave.
--Made tea/coffee at home daily.
--Wrote a letter to dispute some charges with the hospital. Wish me luck!
--Enjoyed free recreation by walking in nature.
my frugal stuff this week was also not frugal...
For example, my cat has become obsessed with the neighbor's RC car that they run up and down the road. When Finn hears it, he comes running and is mesmerized by it. Sooo, I bought a RC Car for my cat (not frugal), but I used Kohls cash to pay 50% of it (frugal). Needed batteries for the toy for my cat (not frugal), but used CVS rewards and a coupon to buy the batteries for less than 50% (frugal).
My cat loves the new rc car in the house. I'm hoping it gives him some exercise and mental stimulation and he might sleep at night sometime!
Also, ate up all the extras in the fridge. Ordered audiobooks on the app, picked up a Jamie Oliver cookbook at the library for $2 on the sale rack (I have a large collection of Jamie Oliver cookbooks and have bought them all at the library or goodwill), a friend shared some plantings for my yard, I bathed the dog and trimmed her nails and the cat's nails, and trimmed my husband's hair.
Forgot the eclipse...we kept our glasses from a few years ago because we had made them into a Christmas ornament (we had a party then and a whole thing because it came right through our city so it was a nice memory to keep). The morning of the eclipse this time, I ran upstairs and got them out of the Christmas ornament storage box LOL.
@Marlena, I heard on NPR that because of his cookbooks, Jamie Oliver is "the top selling nonfiction author" in British history. (Shakespeare and Jane Austen, of course, are fiction authors, so he hasn't had to compete with them.) Online sources say he's sold nearly 50 million books worldwide, and has an estimated global TV audience of 67 million viewers. That's a lot of foodies!
1. Mended a side seam on toddler sweat pants.
2. I also mended a hole in a brand-new sock. I have emailed Carter’s about getting a refund or replacement for the pack as this happened after only a few washes/wears.
3. I happily accepted some basically new clothes for Little E from someone at church. Several items will be passed on to others we know.
4. Finally finished a toilet bowl cleaner that came with our house (we bought it in 2022). It wasn’t a kind I prefer to use as it contained a lot of bleach, but it was cheaper/easier to use than to take it to the haz-mat center for proper disposal.
5. Spent the greater part of a day doing long-needed deeper cleaning of a few areas, including the bathroom floor (yech) and vacuuming the condenser coils behind the fridge. Hopefully this improves the overall efficiency and long-term function of our home.
We finally filed our taxes and this year we do not have to pay! (I was pretty sure we would get a small refund but it was nice to have that confirmed.)
We budgeted. The role of the budget in our lives is to tell us when to stop spending in certain categories so that we can meet our savings goals. It has gotten really hard to fit this activity in to our lives with the baby but we got it done.
We did not buy a cup of coffee after our movie date. I really wanted an afternoon coffee but it was too late for caffeinated. Two cups of coffee is costs half of a bag of decaf so we decided just to go home and I'll buy decaf when I make the next Costco order.
I made cauliflower puree instead of buying jarred baby food.
We turned in the free movies before the due date. (Side note, I'm still miffed that my husband paid the late fees we accrued when the baby was born. I would have asked for forgiveness since it was our first late fee and since I had a baby.)
- I'm saving my family's eclipse glasses for future events.
- I've made several use-it-up meals. In particular, our grocery order included twice as many bananas as we intended, so I've been adding extra into my breakfast and snacks.
- I attended a free painting class at my library.
- I used the Libby app to borrow an audio book to listen to on my commute.
- I submitted an insurance reimbursement.
Five Frugal Things Birthday Edition…
1. Used a $5 off birthday coupon at a local cafe to grab a birthday breakfast so only $2.00 out of pocket. Nice relaxing me time to reflect on the year ahead.
2. Not frugal but treated myself to a massage and facial and afterwards went to Ulta to get my free birthday gift - Buxom Lip Plumping Lip Polish (which I will give to my daughter).
3. Stopped at Tropical Smoothie on my way home and got a free smoothie with the coupon they added to my app. I’ve only been there 4x now and only once have I paid for a smoothie. The other 3x have been freebies which always taste so much better.
4. Stopped at Mission BBQ on my way home from work and picked up a free sandwich.
5. Received a $10 coupon from IKEA which I gave to my son since he was planning on making a purchase there and I was not. Saved me from spending money just so as to not let the coupon go to waste which is a frugal win for me.
I always do my best to use any birthday freebie coupons and will have a few more to report next week.
Oh yes and free entertainment for my birthday - got to watch the eclipse for free from my deck.
What a menu!
Five frugal things:
-one successful week down of my one month online ordering/shopping fast. I just got in the habit of ordering too often and too much (not really clothes, but just STUFF that I could justify as needing)
-recycled my eclipse glasses from 2017
-went to a free Bluebell festival/hike on the weekend. It was gorgeous wooded area in full bloom
-used the library for my book club book (not always an option)
-got gas in the part of town where it’s cheapest while I was in the area for an appointment
The local grocery store donates overstocked bakery goods daily to the Sr. Center. Sometimes I am at the Sr. Center and will pick it up. Last week there were some individual soup bread bowls. Friday I bought clam chowder at the supermarket and an added can of clams and served it in the bread bowls.
We are having a coaster swap (knitted or crocheted) at our weekly knitting clache. I am using up some bits of yarn and a free pattern for my design.
I went to an eclipse party the other day. I created my herb garlic spread with in 'frig items--cream cheese, butter, and feta and I had a box of crackers saved up (for something like this).
Last week I met up with my quilting friends (I knitted on my scarf). I had nothing to bring. But I had stopped at the library on the way to pick up some DVDs I had placed on hold. We had two movies to watch that night while we worked on our projects and chatted.
A day of free entertainment--hiking in morning with friends; watching the eclipse in the afternoon with friends, and knitting in the evening with friends. Many are new friends.
1. I cooked sweet potatoes too. I was baking regular potatoes in the oven, so I tossed in the sweet potatoes (from discount store) in too. That way no extra electricity was used.
2. I saved at least $50 buying used Algebra 2 books off ebay (I made an offer) instead of buying them used. I have 2 offers waiting on other homeschool curriculum.
3. We went to our library's eclipse party and got free food, plus got to see the eclipse with other people.
4. Sunday I wore my newly Thrifted dress and sandals.
5. I bought clothing dye at the discount store. I want to dye a thrifted dress that's pretty light. I think I remember you dyeing clothes. I've never done it before.
The leftovers from a one pan cream-of-soup/veggies/chicken/whack-em biscuits plus left over rice from a dine out meal became the base of another cream-of-soup.
I find it interesting you like thinner asparagus stalks. We have a patch and IMHO, the thinner stalks tend to be more stringy/woody. To each her own I guess. Regardless, nothing better than cut-cook-eat in 15 minutes fresh veggies (or fruit usually minus cooking).
The beauty of use it up is a tasty meal. The downside is often there is no recreating it unless you have the exact ingredients to use up again.
Carrot chowder to use inexpensive bag of carrots.
Making beef jerky. Son works in factory. Needs protein.
Got milk chocolate Easter bunnies for 50% off. Son loves chocolate in work lunch.
Got satin pillowcases at Dollar Tree.
1. I needed some fleece. It was to make a dog toy and the color didn't matter. I found the right size in the remnant section of Hobby Lobby for just a few bucks. It sure is ugly though!
2. I used up food from the pantry, fridge, and freezer.
3. I made all our meals at home and packed lunches for people.
4. I went through summer clothes for one kid. We'll make a list and start looking at second-hand places.
5. We needed to refill school supplies. After looking at home, we found everything we needed.