Four Frugal Things (and one fail)
1. I got free food on Christmas
I packed my lunch (as usual!) for my Christmas Day shift. But when I got to work, my co-workers let me know that employees could get $10 worth of free food in the cafeteria (a kindness to those of us who had to work!)
I was not about to turn down free food, so I got some prime rib and mashed potatoes, kept my packed lunch in the fridge, and ate it for dinner when I got home. 😉
2. I reused cookie foil
My mom dropped off some Christmas cookies in a pan covered in foil. The foil wasn't faintly dirty, of course, so I folded it and put it in the drawer.
And then I used it to bake my sweet potatoes for my work lunches. 🙂
This is obviously not a large frugal thing, but it made me happy to give the foil a second use.
3. I used my leave for my called-off hours
I was called off for the first four hours of my shift recently, and we get paid $2/hour for being on call (which is honestly just so silly. Why even bother??)
But it occurred to me that I could ask to use my personal leave hours for those four hours, and the answer was yes!
That means I'll get $140 for those four hours instead of $8; a very easy choice.
4. I got a discounted Starbucks drink
On my most recent night shift, I was out of coffee at home. So I stopped in at Starbucks and took advantage of a $3 off after 3:00 pm offer.
I never drink caffeine in the afternoon or evening, but this is perfect for night shifts!
I also had a Starbucks gift card in my app from my Erie Your Turn rewards, so my coffee was free. But the discount helped stretch my gift card a little farther, so that made me happy.
5. A fail: I lost my work scissors
I don't know how I lost them, but I must have put 'em down somewhere at work and left them. Sigh.
Sooo, I ordered a new pair, and I think maybe I'll attach them to one of my badges so I can't possibly lose the new pair.
I will be so glad when they arrive because I keep having to borrow pairs from my coworkers, or I try to make do with the not-sharp ones that come in our suture-removal kits.
Luckily, the scissors are only about $9, so this is a small frugal fail. And hopefully I will keep better track of my new pair.
You know what they say...forget the mistake, remember the lesson. And here the lesson is: Don't put your scissors down in a patient room.
Can you please re explain the call off hours?
If our unit has more nurses than necessary for the patient load that morning, they will put some nurses on call. This means you don't go to work, but you stay prepared for the possibility that you might get called in later that day as the patient load increases.
@Kristen, Ah, okay, I remember that I'm my early days as a nurse in the hospital. Unfortunately, my days off got used up this way, which is one of many reasons as to why I left floor nursing.
@Michelle, this happened to me when I took a job at a small rural hospital. I had to go back to the large urban hospital I’d left because I couldn’t constantly be short hours.
@Kristen, Is there a guarantee of hours? Or can it vary from week to week? Would you be interested in writing a post about it for those interested in nursing? I find it fascinating, the not set in stone days, and now this!
@Jackie, I became a school nurse. I love it & never regretted specializing in it.
@Kristen, et al,
As a hospital dietitian, we have someone on call on Sundays (one of us works every Saturday, on a rotating schedule - the person on duty on Saturday is the Sunday on call person), and I think the pay is slightly more than $2/hour. It's very rare that you have to actually go in to take care of something, because most things can be handled remotely or over the phone....but it does happen. We are not allowed to use PTO or anything for that Sunday on call day, but we can trade on call days with someone else. I think it might be a legal thing to pay for on call hours? Don't quote me on that. Ha.
Even if it's not a big frugal win, it's nice that the foil gets used more than once instead of going straight in the landfill!
1. I got a Garmin watch for a combined birthday/Christmas present. I want to increase my running this year but the watch is very expensive, so I asked if it could be a gift, and found a mid-range one which is slightly cheaper. I also got smaller things which I couldn't justify spending money on (such as a book I would probably only read once and isn't in the library).
2. I went for lots of walks with family members; some just from the house and another in the countryside which only cost the petrol in the car. We brought lunch and coffee with us.
3. I got a flight back which isn't hideously expensive, and chose a seat which was included in the price.
4. I made payments into my emergency fund.
5. In general I saved a lot of money this week simply by being home!
@Sophie in Denmark, People often forget that just “staying home” is so frgual! I have 3 good friends/neighbors on my block and we schedule activities from one house to the other..no driving, no restaurants, so easy and frugal. More fun!
Sometimes we do go to lunch here and there but we all love to cook,so it’s fun to treat each other to lunch in our own homes!!
@Madeline, Yes, exactly! I went to a fun murder mystery party once at a friend's house and she made dinner. We did buy costumes (I got mine from a charity shop, and it was 'normal' clothes so I wore them again) and my friend actually had to get a tape player, as the murder mystery game was from the 90s (and also from a charity shop) but overall it was pretty cheap!
--Ace Hardware had a "$10 0ff $10" coupon in the app. I bought clearance allium bulbs and clearance LED Edison light bulbs, both of which I wanted, anyway. The light bulbs rang up for even less than their clearance price, so I ended up grabbing a soda for my husband to hit $10 and activate the coupon. Yay free flowers, light, and mostly free soda!
--Christmas from my parents included 40lbs of venison! My little brother had two hunting tags this year and filled them both, so my step-mom sent our share with Dad when he was in town. I had to play deep freezer Tetris (and thaw a whole chicken, which we roasted Christmas day), but it all fit.
--My husband and I did just stocking stuffers for each other, as is our tradition. We both have a birthday on either side of the holiday, so we save the important presents for those. Our small gifts to each other were likewise consumable and/or practical.
--The cats have a stocking, too, of course. I took advantage of PetSmart's buy three, get two free toy deal to replace playthings that had been lost to attrition. They also received squeeze tube soft treats--a rarity, indeed--which were free with a coupon. (They get soft food daily and crunchy treats, so it's not like they're oppressed, contrary to their opinions. 😉 )
--Our gifts to others were all thrifted, on sale, and always thoughtful. They included tea, clothing, spices, or books on the recipients' interests. I love that my sister and her husband are the kind of people that I can give a book explaining how to make your own earthen oven--and that they'll do it!
@N, The oven book (which I bought gently used for $10):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/096798467X
@N, I'm envious of your venison. The bait/trap/euthanize projects on our street have been renewed this winter, and the trap behind the Bestest Neighbors' has gotten three deer already--but there were three deer eyeing my bird feeders on Sunday at 5:30 am. (Clearly, I'm going to have to resume mixing crushed red pepper into my bird seed.) And, once again, I'm dreaming of Bambiburgers!
Frugal wins this week..so far….
Repairing/hemming college daughters clothes, eating leftovers and frozen meals
1. DD had a $5 Safeway birthday reward she said she would not use. I was in a shopping center with a Safeway so I used the reward to get half price holiday candy, including some sea salt caramels. I spent $.50 out of pocket.
2. Our kitchen scale died. Target had the one I wanted in stock. I used a gift card I bought when they were 10% off to pay for it. I felt no temptation to buy other things.
3. We loaded up the car and headed to Hershey PA. We pre-purchased admission to the Sweet Light drive through light show. You pay by the car load for up to eight passengers. On the way we stopped at Chocolate World for the free "tour ride".
4. DH switched his cell coverage to Visible (a Verizon product). He paid $225 for one year for the best service. It allowed us to save $20/month on our Fios.
5. I can't think of anything though I'm sure there are more things.
@K D, I know what you mean about #5. Frugality is so automatic that it often slips by unnoticed.
@K D,
I just saw a commercial for Visible for $19/month for 26 months.
Glad to see cheaper plans through big companies.
@Regina, We switched to Visible about a year ago and saved a TON of money.Plus I get to include my apple watch (which I use mostly for safety, fall protection, family can locate me (like a dog with a chip in it,whenerever I am, lol..) I got the watch for FREE when Medicare Advantage plan had a deal to cover fitness devices!!!!
I use those scissors and attach them to my badge for that reason! I use metal keychain loops because I have multiple badges and multiple pairs. They really do make life easier.
Good job packing your lunch on Christmas! I try and organize a potluck or at least snacks when I work Christmas because for some reason it really depresses me to bring my lunch on Christmas (but not any other holiday). It’s probably bc I became a nurse when my babies were small and I struggled those days. Now they’re older and it’s a little easier. I did pay a young, single nurse to work Christmas Eve for me though. My dad worked shift work his whole life and when we got older he would work holidays for the guys with young kids. I’ll absolutely be doing that when I’m out of the little kid stage of life.
@Jackie, I did the same thing. When my kids were older, I would work Christmas Day so the younger secretary could be home. Now that my coworker has grandchildren, I do the same so she can see them on Christmas Morning.
1. I figured out how to trim my own hair--I have a stacked bob, and the back seems to grow faster than I'd like. After contemplating the logistics of scheduling a trim during the holidays, I put on my big girl pants and got out the trimmer, which has guides that I rarely use (none of my kids ever want me to clip their hair, I just cut it). But! I figured out how to use the adjustable guard and now the back of my hair is neat and tidy. This will significantly stretch out time between haircuts for me. Woot.
2. DH was reinforcing a very long curtain rod on our front picture window, and found a horrible draft along the top of it. Some weather stripping he had in the garage fixed that up nicely.
3. Two investments in our rental place have paid off well: servicing the furnace ourselves, and paying for a new heat exchanger, means our furnace is working better than ever, and was even turning OFF during a recent cold snap at times--that never used to happen.
I posted a while back about the half-dead tree right by our power line--our landlord had hedged around about finding a tree guy, but we just went ahead and had it trimmed down to where it was not a threat to the line. Yesterday, we had high winds and a lineman knocked on our door, asking to access the pole in our backyard--apparently the tree in our neighbor's yard, the very tall one that Clark once climbed up, had bowed down and snapped their line! Luckily we didn't need to have our power off, but it was a good reminder that trees + power lines = trouble and that money was well spent.
4. I found a delightful new mystery series (William Monk novels, by Anne Perry) and happily my library has practically all of them. Lots of good reading during this quietish lull before I start nursing classes in 2027.
5. DS#2 and DS#3 did well in their college courses, so no need to retake them--very frugal!
@Karen A.,
What a great list! I am always in awe of people that can cut their own hair. In Florida, our city's electricity provider trims all trees near power lines prior to hurricane season. It has reduced outages.
@Bee, That would be nice if they did that! They only take care of trees that are on city or township properties here. Probably because they think we don't get high winds as often as other areas...or they're just cheap. 😉
@Karen A., I cut my bangs. Do they turn out wonky sometimes? Do I care? No. I am in the We Do Not Care Club.
@Karen A. and @Bee, I've been thanking myself ever since Black Friday that I had the dying maple tree in my backyard (indisputably on my property, alas, so no hope of getting National Greed or any other company/service involved) taken down in early November. We've had multiple snowstorms and a lot of high wind this entire past month, and it's been a blessing not to have to worry about Big Maple coming down on the house or the outbuildings (a garage and three sheds).
@Joyce, It's a good club to be in. 😉
@Joyce, that We Do Not Care Club lady is very humorous- definitely dry humor and sometimes a little over the top. Recently she did a very heartfelt serious episode that I thought was well done (it was meant to be different than usual).
@A. Marie, I am really hoping that our neighbors take the hint from Nature and have (what we have dubbed) "Clark's Tree" trimmed or taken down. It's so tall and bendy, not a sturdy tree at all. I remember watching him climb higher and realize that the tree was not, in fact, going to support his decision to climb to the end of the tallest limb...ever since then we have trash-talked that tree! Ha.
@Karen A., For a short while I had a gig writing articles for a newsletter dedicated to reviewing mystery novels. When the editor learned I was going to Scotland for 6 months, she asked if I would do a profile on Anne Perry. She had finally hit it big with her first Victorian era series, the one featuring Pitt and his family. She had purchased a huge gorgeous stone dwelling and was having different parts of the garden feature different colors--so one section was all reds and another yellows and so on. This was after the movie Heavenly Creatures came out but before it was discovered that the movie was the story of how teenager Anne and her friend killed the friend's mother because of something related to an upcoming move. It was Kate Winslet's first film I think (she of Titanic fame).
@Joyce, I also trim my bangs,using my tiny craft scissors,crooked sometimes, yes! I pretend it’s fashionable!
@Karen A., Anne Perry was a prolific writer, and everything she wrote was great fun to read. Sadly, she died a couple of years ago. Her other well-known series was about Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. She also wrote a series of Christmas novelettes. I'm glad you found her -- happy reading!
--I've sitting in our mostly dark living room with just the light of the Christmas tree, and the pillar candle my daughter and I made from melting down the church candle stubs. I bought the molds and kit to make the candles, which was about thirty dollars total. Given that the wax is free, and one batch made six pillar candles, I think I already made that money back. And I really love having a candle burning this time of year.
--Husband took two younger boys hunting for three nights/four days. They were in such a rush to get up the mountain, they didn't stop to buy food on the way, instead just eating what I packed for them for the first two days until they went to town Sunday. They also camped for two of the three nights, so it was a pretty low-cost trip. They had a couple of face-offs with bull elk, but my son's tag was for a cow, so no elk came home with them. Oh well. Many memories were made, anyway.
--Husband and two boys went to Mass in the nearest town to their hunting site on Sunday. My husband said an older lady came up to him after Mass and said she had been watching the boys. I guess she liked what she saw, because she gave my husband a hundred dollars and told him to buy them whatever they wanted. Maybe they looked kind of rough from hunting and she thought they needed the money? I don't know. My husband didn't really want to keep it, but he also couldn't really refuse politely, so he took it and then the boys really did get to have treats for the next couple of days. Ice cream and so on. Virtue really is its own reward, I guess. 🙂
--Husband and eldest replaced the clutch cylinder--or something, I'm no mechanic--on one of our old Ford Ranger. Probably saved several hundred dollars doing it themselves.
--Our new driver is mostly driving that tiny old Ford Ranger around. It is for sure not the vehicle any teenage boy longs for, but it does get really good gas mileage, and saves the miles on our "newer" vehicles. Plus, it can't go more than 65 miles per hour, which is just fine with me for a teenage driver. 🙂 And he's learning a lot about fixing old trucks . . .
@kristin @ going country, my stance is that a new driver should be grateful for whatever they get.
@kristin @ going country, and if the Ranger is a stick-shift, there is no way for the young driver to text. As a friend who only allowed her teenagers to drive manual transmission cars told me, “It requires two eyes, two feet, and two hands!"
@kristin @ going country, I like your candle recycling. I too like to burn candles this time of year, though mine are all thrifted votives and tea lights.
At one time, however, we had not one but two factories here in the Salt City making ecclesiastical candles. I once thrifted a Christ candle from one of those factories that was new in the box and over a foot tall. I gave it to my friends in Baltimore who are still practicing Episcopalians, for their church.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Brilliant! Kudos to your friend. I would never have thought of that!
Not to mention, few people these days know how to drive standard-shift (aka manual-shift) vehicles, and that's a good skill to learn.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, It is indeed a stick. I never considered that about texting (we got this truck specifically so our kids would learn on a standard), but it's a nice side benefit.
@A. Marie, Our church candles come from Cathedral Candle Company. I smile inwardly whenever I see the address on the boxes.
@WilliamB, I agree, but those days seem to be gone forever. Our kids, who are all in their early 30's got older/used/hand-me-down vehicles. They had friends with brand new mustangs, SUVs and one kid with a corvette!
Unfortunately I can’t think of a frugal win this week, only frugal fails, one of which involves excess food from Christmas. I cut back my baking this year, but we still had much too much food at our family celebration. I brought some home, but don’t want to continue eating treats, while also not wanting to waste food. This happens every year. The food is not freeze-able or donate-able. I think I need to resign myself to throwing it out and cutting back more next year.
We also ordered food for Christmas Eve that we didn’t end up eating much of. It was from a new vegetarian restaurant I’d been wanting to try, but it was bland and not enjoyable. I actually feel less unhappy about wasting it than about the food family made, I’m not sure why.
@JaeFi,
Is there someone you could pass the food along to? Our church once had a poorly-attended reception and we took the leftover sheet cake (only about half of it left) and cookies to the local police station, along with our thanks. They loved it! Other possible places: fire stations, nursing homes, hospitals, office break rooms/teacher lounges, soup kitchens, Meals on Wheels, after-school program put on by a daycare center or church, homeless shelter, USO, large family struggling with finances, etc. Do you have a Buy Nothing or Next Door app?
@Fru-gal Lisa, Those are all very good ideas! We actually have a much-used 24/7 food pantry at a church up the street from us, but I’m hesitant to leave home cooked food there, I don’t know whether that’s appropriate…
@JaeFi, There are several Little Free Pantries around us, and lately the organization that puts them up has had to put signs saying "Please no perishables--we have to throw them away". Even though it is very cold out right now, often times it is not cold enough to keep food from spoiling! Please don't risk somebody getting food poisoning. The other day I saw somebody had put a half-eaten pizza in one (ick).
However, I second the idea of calling around maybe to a fire station or a police station. Perhaps not a nursing home unless it's just for the workers; residents in nursing homes are often on restricted diets.
@Karen A., Ha! At 40 below, we are seeing signs on tiny food pantries saying, "No canned foods for now, please. They are freezing and exploding and making a mess. Bread type foods only please."
@JaeFi, If you have a Buy Nothing group, free food is always a winner there
You losing your scissors is like me losing a lead marker. They aren't cheap and you have to special order them with your initials on them. So when I get one back that I thought I lost, I am ever so grateful to the person handing it to me - usually a nurse! Frugal things for me:
*eating mostly things I already have at home this week, with the exception of a nice New Year's Eve dinner. I will buy a package of pork steaks and freeze two of them. Will make corn casserole and freeze several portions. Will stay at home and enjoy some sparkling wine from a friend.
*sold a JA pendant on Ebay and bought myself a new purse on sale. I needed the purse, the pendant got a new home. Win, win.
*earned time and a half for working Christmas which will pay for most of what I spent in gifts. My on-call hours are in addition to what I get paid - we almost never get sent home low census - but yes, use that PTO!
*I will be avoiding all the Christmas sale markdown items when I go grocery shopping today and stick to my list. My $50/week budget is working out fairly well, so far.
I did not travel to Long Island to visit family for Christmas. They were supposed to get up to 8 inches of snow the day I wanted to travel home, and the route home was going to have a lot of ice. My other sister arrived with the flu and promptly gave it to another sister. So even tho I missed my family on Christmas, I enjoyed the quiet one at home with my husband.
We bought a small-ish ham for Christmas and I promptly chopped up the chunks left over and froze them. Before freezing the ham, I also made my favorite pea soup and my husband's favorite bean soup with some of the ham. And now that it's cold out, it's delicious! Have to go food shopping for some potatoes to make scalloped potatoes too. But I have 4 servings of ham in the freezer. And yes, the ham was on the small size.
Budgeting has started for the new year already. I have a deadline to retire in April in my head and heart, so I have to meet that goal. Looks good on paper, but I think I will have to put the credit cards away, remove them from my phone, and stop reading all the on-line ads. Maybe put the phone down and pick up a book!
@Maureen, congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I went into stringency mode when I retired and then a funny thing happened, I found that working costs a lot of money! So after a year I relaxed a bit. There are so many things you won’t have to buy, like work clothes and shoes. Commute costs go away. And with time on your hands, creativity increases.
@Book Club Elaine, I work from home so I save a lot of money on clothes and wear and tear on the car. I'm sure my electric bill will go down, too, when I retire as I won't be sitting here all day with the computer, lights and TV/music going.
I also have been losing weight and exercising, so I am finding a ton of clothes in my closet that fit me now so I don't need any clothes this winter season. I will be looking for a women's shelter to donate all my oversized clothes as most of those women need resources. I'd rather a women's shelter have them than letting them be thrifted at a store.
I am, however, so looking forward to time to craft leisurely. But the crafting is for myself since several people have told me they don't need more "stuff." I also plan on doing a lot of gardening/outside work come spring which will be right after I retire! Approx 70 work days left, but who's counting!!!!! LOL
I really wanted to do a complete closet overhaul this weekend, but after getting some ideas from ChatGPT I was able to re-organize, re-structure, and makeover my closet without having to buy anything! It was a simple matter of swapping out some storage bins, using space more efficiently, etc.
We've been eating out of the freezer a lot lately; food waste has been at a minimum.
We are going to have to buy a new oven, which isn't frugal in itself, but at least right now there are sales and rebate offers AND we aren't in a rush. We can shop around and find a good deal on a reliable oven. We did try to have it fixed, but the cost of repairs for an oven that is almost 10 years old, isn't worth it.
I stuck to my 2 boxes of Christmas decorations again this year. I bought almost no new decorations save for some Christmas tins (given out with cookies) and a couple of cute and small gnomes from the thrift store. There is a little bit of Christmas (plus the tree) in every room.
Shopped the clearance section at the grocery store yesterday and came away with some Italian sausage for the freezer.
@Julie from GJ, good for you about your closet overhaul! It always feels good to revamp our spaces. I'm curious, what information did you tell ChatGPT to clearly outline your closet space? Based on your comment, I would like to do the same thing but I'm not sure what information to give. Thanks!
@Julie from GJ,
Our oven which I believe was 18 years old needed to be replaced a couple weeks ago.
Lowes had 50% off several models! Of course I don't regularly check oven prices, so I am not positive that the sale price was actually 50 % less than usual 😉
@Gretchen,
Lowes occasionally has scratch and dent appliances if you can wait for them . Great savings!
@Julie from GJ, could you explain what you did to get the closet ideas from Chat GPT? I have been reticent to use Chat GPT, but this sounds like a great idea!
@Price Chopper Shopper, I uploaded a picture of the current closet situation (I have a free account) and basically said, "I don't want to spend a lot of money but I hate the way this looks..." and it gave me some practical tips about using the hooks in my closet for just one type of item, using all similar colored bins (I had one glaring black one), how to make my plastic storage drawers "disappear" ... It was really helpful!
@Gretchen, thanks for the tip!
@Lori, yes! Always a great option!
@Julie from GJ,
Lowe's also does Free delivery. You can ask the delivery people to take old stove outside (we leave at curb for scrap people to take) that way you don't have to do the moving.
@Regina, I have a Lowes card but live rural, delivery isn't free and neither is haul away. I ordered my new range last night. On sale and I got the 5% off with my card.
That's a nice gesture from the hospital to give free food on Christmas day!
1. I ordered a therapeutic neck pillow with 30% discount through my health insurance. Not cheap but they relieve neck pain so efficiently, they're worth every cent. It's a Swiss brand called Witschi Kissen.
2. I bought loads of 50%-off candles yesterday in the christmas clearance sales. And a pretty candle holder also 50% off not entirely necessary but it brings me joy
3. I'm still eating leftovers from the Christmas bonanza.
4. I bought 2nd hands clothes to make a Stargate Atlantis Wraith costume for our village party mid January
5. Frugal fail: I forgot to buy in my pension plan for 2025, so no tax deduction for me. I did max out my regular contributions, but no glory, as it's an automated monthly payment.
I loved the foil win. I used so much foil covering and baking, and tried to maximize double or even triple use when possible. Anything that gives more than one use to a consumable no matter how small it might seem is a win and going to be my 2026 kitchen goal.
@Sam, and Kristen,
Things I wouldn't know if I didn't study history: The saving/reusing foil trick was a requirement during World War II. Every bit of metal they could save went toward the war effort. Scrap metal, such as unwanted pots and pans and tin cans, were donated and melted down to make aircraft, tanks, ships, guns, etc. All other metal was used and reused as many times as possible; nothing could be wasted.
@Fru-gal Lisa,
Correct about WW2 & metal. My grandparent's had stories about the metal collections.
we put all of out metal cans & metal (old grills, stove, washer/dryer, etc) to take to scrap yard (there are few in area) & aluminum (foil, pans, etc) in seperate tubs (aluminum higher cost) then we get paid (cash/check) instead of just recycling.
@Regina,
There are still many people in our area that will pick-up metal from the curb and scrap it. I wish our county did that on a regular basis.
@Regina, I wish more areas did this! We need to be recycling as much as possible. Rural communities struggle on that recycle bus. Hardly any is done around here, rural middle/central GA.
@Fru-gal Lisa, As a child I was fascinated with the few piece of tinsel my grandparents had saved from before the war. We handled them very gently!
@Regina,
We have a walk in dumpster in one of our close towns (we are almost equal distance to 3 towns) the dumpster gets full, sent to the metal recycler and the proceeds go towards a list of non-profits.
1. Received a ginormous head of cabbage from Buy Nothing. It was the size of a basketball and must have weighed 10 lbs.
2. Didn't have any maple syrup or honey for making granola so I melted some coconut oil and dissolved brown sugar in it. I think I'll be doing this from now on as I received a huge container of coconut oil from Buy Nothing.
3. Found two nickels in a gas station parking lot.
4. On our way to Arizona, one hotel gave us a welcome bag for our dog with treats and poop bags.
5. Took advantage of the complimentary breakfast at our hotels.
Prime rib! I'd have that instead of a packed lunch, too! That was nice to offer that to the staff.
Here are my most recent FFT. Mostly, this week centers on what others did:
1. I received a brand new, stainless steel food mill for Christmas. I had pointed at one when shopping with my daughter months ago, and said I would love to one day replace my old food mill, and she remembered that. I also had, by happy coincidence, some apples getting a little old, so I made delicious applesauce with my new food mill.
2. The same daughter gave me a bag of grapefruit off of their tree when I asked if they had extra, and told me to get more anytime I wanted, as long as they still had fruit on the tree. Free sweet red grapefruit? Yes! I give them lemons, lemon juice and lemonade as my fruit comes in, so it evens out.
3. I had ordered a new heavy duty (for home use) sewing machine, and it got delayed a good bit. When I finally got it, the store that had ordered it for me gave me a $100 gift certificate for being patient and not cancelling the order. Using good manners and patience can be frugal.
4. I just got my new electric bill, for 29 instead of 30 or 31 days, so I should take that into account, but still, I used 1/3 less electricity than last year at this time, and I used 20% less last month. The weather plays into it of course - we had colder than usual cold snaps, but they were thankfully brief and rare. I've been keeping the house cooler, batch cooking, watching my hot water usage and hanging out laundry faithfully. I hope the next bill will be lower as well, but January and February are our coldest months of the year, so we'll see.
5. Finally, the big one - my neighbor came over with his loader and took down my deceased loquat tree (sniff). It was so dead it was a literal pushover to get out of the ground. He drug it to his brush pile at the back of his property and then scooped up rich dirt he had earlier dredged from his pond then used it to fill the hole the loquat left. He easily saved me $500, and most likely, more.
@JD,
I love that you share citrus fruit with your family. I have never really gotten used to having to pay for oranges, grapefruits, or lemons. When I was growing up citrus fruit was grown in abundance in Florida. The fragrance of the orange blossoms in the spring wasn't intoxicating. My have things changed!
@Bee, did you mean “was” intoxicating?? I think it is the best smell that God ever created! Even better than bread baking, or cinnamon, or freshly ground coffee. . . When I park my car down the hill in a citrus town and have the windows shut all day, it STILL smells like orange blossoms the next morning at home in my garage 25 miles up the hill!
The thought of paying for inferior citrus just sets my teeth on edge.
@JD and @Bee, as I've noted in the past, I made fairly free use of unattended local citrus trees (ahem) as a college student in FL. Boy, those were the days. 🙂
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Yes, it WAS intoxicating! I have a postcard from the 1950s of the San Fernando Valley. It was filled with orange trees. I guess Florida isn't the only one who has lost most of its citrus industry.
I have never heard the adage - Forget the mistake; remember the lesson. Words of wisdom.
This was not a frugal holiday. There was lots of drama and chaos, but we made it through. Here is my list of some very small frugal things.
• I have folded up the remaining gift bags and have put these away for next year. I have saved ribbons and packing too. I may have to buy a few new ones next year. My stash is dwindling.
• My husband, all my children, grandchildren and I visited Bass Pro Shop and had our picture taken together with Santa. The cost of this was $0. This retailer sets up a Winter Wonderland every year and offers free photos with Santa. (Mall Santas are a minimum of $50 in our area). It was a bit of silly fun! The little ones loved it. The photo is framed and on my desk already.
• I ordered new running shoes for my husband on sale on December 26th. Free shipping and an additional 20% off made these a bit of a bargain.
• Not frugal for us, but frugal for Son#1 and his family. Santa brought a large swing set and fort to the grands. The men in the family spent 12 hours on Christmas Eve putting it together while the littles were at my house. It was a little complicated, but it saved my son assembly costs.
• Son#2 had a 9-hour drive back home. I packed lunch, drinks, and snacks for him so he wouldn't have to stop. I sent other food home with him as well so it would not go to waste.
• Sadly, Calico Kitty died peacefully in my arms the day after Christmas. She was 17 1/2 years old. We buried her in her favorite spot in our backyard. Our statue of Saint Francis is nearby watching over her. I have unopened kitty litter, unused litter boxes, cat food, puddle pads, and kitty beds in my car which will be taken to the local Cat rescue later today.
As this year comes to an end, I wish all of you peace.
@Bee, I'm sorry to hear about your cat.
The only picture with Santa I have with any of my children is when we took my eldest to Bass Pro. He looks very skeptical, and there's a whole taxidermied elk right over Santa's shoulder. Ha.
@Bee, oh, so sorry about Calico Kitty. 17-1/2 years is a long cat life (I’ve only had one make it to that age).
Malls CHARGE $50 to visit Santa? Ugh. That’s just unthinkable!
If you send me your address, I will gladly mail my extra gift bags to you! They have multiplied in the dark, and I rarely use them. I’d rather spend $ mailing them than put them in the trash. (I think that’s what is making my wrapping supplies tote hard to shut the lid on.)
@Bee, I am so sorry about your calico kitty. I hope she is resting well and sending love from beyond.
@Bee, I add my sympathies about Calico Kitty. My Betty's immediate predecessor, Lady Mary, was a lovely calico--and the last words I whispered in her ear as she made her exit (after "You've been a good, good girl," of course) were "I always wanted a calico." Which I did. They're special.
@Bee, So sorry to hear about your kitty. She was well loved and you gave her a wonderful life.
@Bee,
Oh, I'm so sorry about your calico! Ours died at 17, after a long career as queen. I'm so glad you could be there with her to ease her way out. It's thoughtful of you to donate the cat items you have left behind.
@kristin@going country,
Your son probably thought the elk was a reindeer!
@Bee,
Bass Pro Shops is a full day outing in our family. Like a flannel filled vacation.
So sorry to hear about your sweet kitty. That USA good long life. I have a 20 yr old who is completely blind, but still loves his snuggles.
@Bee,
I think the littles must've had a wonderful, fun day with Grandma and each other! Ditto, the menfolk, putting up all that play equipment....although I'm sure theirs was a more difficult time.
But I am so sorry about the loss of your beloved kittycat. It was sweet of her to wait until after Christmas, so that your actual holiday was not sad.
@Bee, so sorry about Calico Kitty. May she rest in peace. So very hard when they leave us.
@Bee, I'm so sorry for your loss. She was a good friend to you.
@Bee, I'm so sorry for you sweet kitty. How heartbreaking. <3
12 hours of labor (multiple people) for the swing set. That must be some swing set. 🙂
@Everyone
Thank you for all your kind words. Calico Kitty was loved by her family. I am so thankful that she was able to see her children one more time this Christmas. I think that was her plan. My house is a bit empty without her.
And yes, it is a crazy swing set and fort. However, we all expected this. Son#1 never does anything small - never ever.
@Blue Gate Farmgirl,
Grrr auto correct. That is a good long life.
@Bee, I join everyone in sending my condolences to you in Calico Kitty's passing. I, too, have a St. Francis statue in my backyard that I task/ask him to watch over my beloved pets. Very kind of you to donate your supplies at this tough time, too.
Same here! I've been at work, so absent in the comments, but I'm so sorry to hear about Calico Kitty!
@Bee, I'm sorry to read about your loss. We put our almost 19 year old Leia to sleep yesterday, she was a brave cat, battling renal issues for 2.5 years and a total sweetheart for the 9 years she lived with us. May all our kitties stay in our hearts and minds furrever
@Claire in Switzerland, I am sorry that you too have suffered the loss of your kitty. I hope that you have many memories of sweet and funny moments to help ease the difficulties of this loss.
After I lost my first pair of scissors I stocked up on those nice school scissors kids use. I would buy 5 pairs for $1 each and stash some in my locker and use some at home in my kitchen.
@Laurie,
I have about 10 pairs of scissors in my house, upstairs, downstairs and everywhere. I am right with you on getting lots of scissors - then you always have a pair.
1. I bought 4 packs of ground beef, 2 packs of chicken breast, 2 packs of Italian sausage, and 8 ribeye's for 50% off at Aldi. I also bought some discounted Christmas candy, which will be for my kids for Valentine's Day and Easter.
2. My mom brought us 2 bags of oranges.
3. I made popsicles out of over-ripe fruit salad. I made croutons from leftover bagels, English muffins, and sourdough bread.
4. I renewed our play museum membership using a $10 off coupon.
5. My husband brought our kids and their friend to see the new Sponge Bob movie at a discount theater. It was a matinee movie and also $1 popcorn that day. The total cost was $30.
Frugal Fail: Our neighbor's tree fell on the power lines during a wind and snow storm, resulting in us losing power for a day. We had to purchase a generator to stay warm and save our food.
Corrie,
What a great deal on the movie! Matinee day is the best. I hope the kids enjoyed Sponge Bob on the big screen.
I had not heard that before. I like it.
Just got back from vacation so not a lot of frugality to share. Usually the best I can manage is moderated unfrugality, such as keeping restaurant leftovers for later and nabbing snacks from buffet breakfast for later.
I bought my usual souvenirs of magnet and tree ornament. I bought new books - but from an indie bookstore and a museum shop so I count that as a plus. Along the same lines I bought two skeins of hyper-local knitting yarn (everything within 100 miles: sheep raising, wool prep, spinning, dyeing) directly from the maker at a fiber co-op so another plus. As a bonus I got to talk fiber w locals.
@WilliamB, yarn envy here. I don’t knit nearly as much as I used to. Saving my wrist for painting and drawing, and I have more sweaters/scarves/hats than we have cold days to wear them because I am not risking getting paint on them!
But won't you use up your time off? I would be worried about not having enough for time I need off.
I bought some deeply discounted Christmas garlands. The River House we move into is a much larger space. Garlands are easy and we have the "old picture shelves" they will will look terrific on." The garlands are old fashioned felt.
I also bought a felt tree skirt for $9.00. It will be the back of the fancy quilted topper I am using to create a family memory skirt. I will have to re-learn my walking foot to do this. I have 2 other UFOs ( unfinished objects) that also need this foot. So for $9.00 I get three projects done.
I got a $15.00 Michael's coupon as a result of purchases. I bought a new trimmer/scorer that I have been eyeing for months. It was discounted and with the rewards it was $12.00. I am back into card making. The point of crafting is not "saving" on items I would/might buy. For me, creative pursuits stop snacking visits to the refrigerator; turn shopping trips into "hunting for bargains;"; upcycle cool materials; and generally make my heart hum. Lots of wins for little money.
I carry a pair of scissors and a small hemostat in my right pants pocket. Zebra steel pens, Zebra steel marker, and highlighter in my right scrub top pocket. Penlight, nail clippers and alcohol pads in my left scrub top pocket. It's quite the ritual. And I'm cautious not to put any of those things in my warm-up jacket pockets.
Gas is $2.48 in our town.
I paid my property tax in person yesterday (and so did a lot of other people) so will not have a late fee.
On the way home from there, I was hungry and had not eaten JA Ramen lately. It is not cheap, but like a lot of other fast food meals, I will get at least two more meals from the Teriyaki chicken and it really hit the spot. It was exceptionally tasty. Something about the rice and sauce is so comforting.
I got my last script refill before the new year deductible starts all over.
I ordered three OTC meds that I take daily from Amazon at a cheaper rate than WM and also got free shipping.
A mixed bag of frugality:
1. Got a check for $24 from the super niceconsignment store where I left some clothing while visiting my sister last summer.
2. Christmas dinner was a frozen turkey breast and cauliflower turned into “mashed potatoes” from the local food pantry (If the food pantry in town doesn’t give away all its food, the places that send the food up the hill will stop sending it so everyone in town is requested to partake.)
3. Bought a b’day gift for Husband, saved $36 w/ $10 off, $6 sale off, $20 beanbucks (Pay no attention to the unnecessary on-sale tee shirt I bought for myself.)
4. Left my full shopping bag and closed the Coldwater Creek website when I remembered the last time I ordered –They sent the wrong thing and never did refund my money after I paid to send it back.
5. I went back to the cart, deleted 2 items, found a promo code to save $16, got free shipping, and placed the order. So weak. . .
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Do you know one time I found a Coldwater Creek shirt at Beall's outlet? It looked like the real thing, too.
I just caved on ordering some books, so no criticism here about #5...
Your Christmas dinner looked fabulous - glad you got something special while working that day.
1) Flight home from Portland was delayed five hours due to wind. Paid extra to have the teens join us in the lounge (it's a 50/50 shot whether the person actually charges you, but they definitely can, so you want to budget as though it happens). The lounge is bright, clean, has lots of chargers & comfortable seating + free food/drinks. We left for the gate before we knew how long our delay would be, but this was certainly cheaper than paying for food & drinks at the airport. We did bring a few snacks from my parents house, which they went through ahead of the lounge, but it wasn't quite enough.
2) One trick if you do have the misfortune of a delayed flight. Take the meal vouchers, which are incredibly finicky to use & must be used that day, and add them to your Starbucks app (I've heard these work on other similar apps, but have only tried it on Starbucks). Add them as a payment method. Then, top up your primary Starbucks account by the amount of the voucher (e.g $15). Delete the voucher payment method. Continue & add more (I had four vouchers, as an example). This means I now have $60 on my Starbucks card that doesn't expire & I can use it anytime.
3) Bought a rotisserie chicken at Costco, which has served as the base of our meals this week.
4) We had two trees come down during a big storm over the holidays. DH had several people come over to give him quotes. One was $900 cheaper than the other! The one we went with also trimmed up a few other trees at no additional cost, and cleaned up, which was much appreciated. We got it done before the tree took down our fence, which was the goal. We tried to DIY this between myself, DH & the teens, but the tree was in a location that made it very challenging, and we needed professional help.
5) Both teens work in a restaurant (DS18 only while he's in town for Christmas break) & they have worked a lot of shifts, thanks to the holidays. I took some of their cash tips to the bank for them, and got it added to their savings account.
@Hawaii Planner, Thanks for your #2 tip! I'll have to try that if it comes up.
@Hawaii Planner, Great tip on Starbucks. One of my kids' favorite memories is getting vouchers for a delayed flight in Maui. We had to spend a lot of money in under an hour. We each got a personal pizza and Starbucks drinks and then bought every kind of baked good Starbucks sold which we would never have done in real life.
Just remembered (“rembered”? teeheehee) one more. Daffodil bulbs were marked way down at Holland Bulb Co. so I bought 100 to plant around the new sign at church. Can’t remember the savings but it was substantial and the shipping was free. Our climate allows for planting spring bulbs in December, and the bulb company in Michigan needs to unload the extras, so it works out beautifully.
I got a Costco membership through Groupon, which gives me $40 back on the $65 membership price, effectively making it $25 for the year.
I bought a book club book used on Ebay, choosing the least expensive one I could find. I probably won't want to keep this book, so I'll try and resell it when I'm finished.
I got an Instacart gift card for Christmas, which I have put into my account to make sure I use it.
I made simple food for Christmas and spent very little. It doesn't actually take very much to make a meal feel special, I'm learning.
I needed new socks, and since my old poly-cotton blend socks have been irritating my feet lately, I decided to buy 100% cotton this time. It's more expensive, but I compared prices and read reviews to try and get the best bargain I could. I'm happy with the ones I bought and hope they will last a long time.
I almost forgot one of my favorite frugal wins - free entertainment. I rented the movie Elf with free Google Play credit, and I found some old PBS Christmas specials on Youtube, which are always fun to revisit.
My nurses come and borrow my scissors all the time (those pain patches). Sometimes I get them right back. Sometimes it takes a while. I ordered extra so they will always be available. I am definitely a foil re-user. And since it is recyclable where I live, that is another plus.
-Gave gifts that are mostly consumable, I think enjoyable to recipients, some socially and environmentally responsible, and reused packaging (bags and tissue paper) at no cost to me.
-Bought a new TV (not frugal), but frugally we have been waiting YEARS with a smaller TV and the picture partially messed up. We combined all Christmas gift money plus some personal money to order a great new TV. For now, it even works on the previous stand we already own!
-Having a frugal husband who enjoys and understands looking at electronics specs so I don't have to run as much through my busy brain. When a purchase like this comes up, I can just say "OK sounds good"and trust that a great value decision was made!
-Went to visit a friend who always does a pantry/fridge/freezer clean out and gives me great leftovers she won't use (and thanks me for taking them)!
-Bought myself a peppermint mocha latte at a local cafe for a reasonable price. I always get one per year, and I'm late this year! Still have a Starbucks gift card to use, so will see if the mood strikes again before this season is really over. I guess I consider it an all-winter drink, though usually I get it in anticipation of Christmas.
1. As per Donna Freedman's recent post (she actually has put up 2 this week on her mostly dormant Surviving and Thriving blog), I hit some after-Christmas sales at the mall. (Actually, I would've done this anyway, blog or no blog.) I got 2 nice blouses at Belk's for $40. (Belk is not a store with low prices. Usually one blouse alone would cost 50 or 60 bucks, if not more.) One is a tunic that will freshen up my spring/summer wardrobe; the other is more of a lightweight dressy holiday blouse, with a cardinal (red bird)-sitting-on-a-fir tree print fabric. I ran through all my Christmas clothing that I could wear in warm weather, so I thought this will do nicely if we have another unseasonably mild December. Meanwhile, I can wear it to work or church leading up to New Year's; the weather is supposed to get warmer tomorrow. (Frugal fail: I went in there looking for slacks. Didn't find anything in a color I don't already own.)
2. I also got some holiday sachets for 75 cents apiece at Kirkland's. These smell like real fir trees; the clerk says they'll keep in an airtight box in the freezer until next December. They will become part of my gift baskets next go-round. (I haven't done gift baskets in a couple of years, so it will be time once again.)
3. I also bought several fairly good-sized bags of foil-wrapped chocolates for 63 cents each at Dollar Tree. I wasn't able to find Hershey's kisses, but these candies will do just as well: they don't have any Christmas decorations on them. They are wrapped in plain silver-, red-, and green-colored foil. Many of you know the old Tightwad Gazette trick: silver for New Year's, red for Valentine's, and Green for St. Patrick's Day. My clear candy dish will be filled. Any leftovers go in the freezer for next Christmas.
4. Frugal fail: the $1.25 battery-operated candles from Dollar Tree are not as nice as the ones I bought earlier, which were a different brand. I tried one and it did not work; I tore open the package so I can't take it back. 🙁 I will try to get a refund on the other 2, although since they were on clearance, I'm not sure if I can.
5. I discovered a used book/video game store that actually accepts books in trade for cash! (All other local stores only give you store credit.) Oh boy, do I have plenty I'd like to try and cash in! Will let you know what happens....
6. Bought some Blue Bell Ice Cream from our store before it goes off sale. Tried a new flavor for the first time. If you folks haven't tasted Blue Bell Christmas Cookie Flavored Ice Cream, OMG, it is out of this world delicious! Get some before it's gone!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Shopped at Costco and deviated only a little from my list. Also, got gas while we were there.
- Bought the wrong size sweatpants for our son for Christmas. I used Happy Returns option at a store near Costco, so I didn't have to worry about packaging up the return and refund is already being processed. Bonus was that one of my best friends was ahead of me in line, so we got to catch up while we waited.
- Bought replacement sweatpants for our son and got 4 pair instead of the 3 I returned and saved $20.
- Ate many leftovers from Christmas celebrations.
- Made a pot of pinto beans and cornbread for dinner last night. A filling, cheap meal that we both like.
Engrave your name on the scissors, then if they are miss placed you might get them returned. Last name first letter of first name. Maybe a local engraver.
From a fellow nurse scissor loss adds up on a med surge floor?
Wow on Christmas dinner if Prime Rib at the hospital. 🙂
Frugal things---
● turning off heat when not so cold & sunshine is out to try to keep utility bill from giving me a heat attack when it comes. Luckily few days where not bad. 🙂
● didn't shop any after Christmas/Year end sales
● Used giftcards received for groceries & bills (I picked items from my gift stash because some people specifically said get something for yourself, not just bills & asked for pictures)
● eating only at home eating down pantry & freezer
● returned 1 Christmas gift to store & will regift few items that not my style but someone I know will love. 😉
1. I used a Christmas gift card, sales, and my seasonal employee discount (where applicable) to upgrade our Chef, paring, bread, and vegetable knives to professional quality from the fancy kitchen store using on the job research and knowledge. The new knives are all Asian style so we’ll keep the good quality Western style knives we have since each style is better for different things. This gig has unexpectedly turned me into a huge kitchen knife nerd.
2. I sharpened our Western style knives at home. I was feeling guilty at the sad state of our knives after sharpening so many at work 🙂
3. I used Christmas leftovers to make drunken noodles for dinner. Bonus that I used some of our new Christmas toys to cook it. Christmas toys= kitchen stuff
4. The first knife upgrade inspired me to reorganize our lower kitchen cabinets. Some items will be denoted to my camping kitchen, others donated, most kept. I did find our wok that my husband said we didn’t have anymore when I wanted to cook #3. I moved from the BlackHole cabinet so I‘ll be able find it and use it.
5. I used my work perks to treat my husband to a couple of pints of ice cream from a neighboring buisness since he woke up with a nasty case of the flu.
This week I . . .
1) Picked up another round of my prescriptions (free for me!) before the new year starts and my health insurance resets. While I was at CVS, I stacked coupons to get three Burts Bees lip balms for a total of 41 cent. While I was out I also got gas at Costco and braved the crowds inside to pick up a couple of things that we are running out of. I stuck to my very short list of essentials.
2) Yesterday I hemmed the bottom of a table skirt I made to cover up the fact that we had some water damage and ruined the cabinet doors in one bathroom. While I had my machine out, I also stitched the top of a zipper that has lost the little metal thingy that keeps the zipper from coming off the top of the coat. I have ordered more metal thingies, but I wanted to keep the fabric from fraying (which is why the metal thingy came off in the first place).
3) We've been eating up leftovers from two different Christmas dinners. We are also going through the freezer to eat up anything else that needs eating up this week while we have the time to sort through it. I have a couple of frozen turkey legs in a pot of water right now to make a turkey soup.
4) I checked our financial accounts, as I do every morning. Today I noticed that we had been charged for a piece of software that my husband was supposed to cancel. He's on it now, so hopefully we will be able to get a refund and cancel it for good. That is exactly why I check the accounts!
5) I went to Target with my mom to pick up a pair of pants for our oldest. (I usually buy his clothes at Goodwill, but they haven't had any in his size the last couple times I checked, so I decided to pay the premium for him to just have another pair of pants and save me laundry emergencies.) We were hoping to shop clearance, but there was so little left. I came away with just a couple of roles of half price wrapping paper for next year.
I use a badge reel specifically for my scissors. They slip onto my pants and I can stick them in a pocket. Don’t always have to unclip them to use, and if I do, I can easily spot them. Even in the NICU, this is what many of my colleagues use as well.
I like that final message. Odd that I've lived 30+ years and never heard it.
This week I:
-Packed a light lunch for our train trip on Christmas day
- Packed soup for my hike over the weekend
- Sent mostly just pictures and greetings over the phone vs doing Christmas cards. I know this is a contentious issue for some, and I do appreciate the real Christmas cards we get. I did reciprocate with a card for the one person I know who always sends them, but otherwise I've been having to save my energy in spaces like this.
- Went to the chow hall for Christmas dinner instead of buying a bunch of expensive ingredients from the commissary. It really does work out to be cheaper even though they increase the cafeteria price somewhat for holidays. The mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pit were PHENOMENAL and a nice piece of home that I didn't have to slave for.
- Mended (again) some underwear that keeps separating in places from the elastic. I do have a limited supply of newer ones, but only one newer black pair, and black underwear comes in handy for a young(ish) lady during certain times of the month.
My retired girlfriends and I continue to have frugal fun together.Today we played 4 hours of Mexican Train at my house.I served an inexpensive chicken salad ,grapes and some potato chips for our lunch.So much fun and laughter! PRICELESS. And no fancy restaurants.I played the Soundtrack from Lord of the Rings for our background music.
Frugal NY EVE: As usual, husband and I will be staying in, we meditate, we watch movies and make popcorn, and often reminisce about the year that has passed and what we wish for our new year. I’ll make up an appetizer tray of nibbles for the evening.
Same friend group as above; One of the friends 2 doors down is hosting our ladies group for a NY day brunch at her house! More laughter and fun.No driving!
I love spending holiday time in a relaxed way, not frantic, not expensive, with friends/and/or family!! Finding the world “out there” a bit too hectic lately!!
Made a big green salad, storing in wide mouth quart jars, stays fresh and crisp for days.
Cooked up a large butternut squash from cold storage, hopefully we will have enough leftover for soup.
Picked a large cabbage out of the garden and shredded it for another batch of sauerkraut.
Picked some pears for a pear loaf with a Dutch crumb topping. Will invite the neighbor for tea and treats.
Other neighbor gave me 6 lbs of cranberries leftover from Christmas. Will make a couple of batches of cowboy Cranberry & jalapenos jam. So good.
I love being THAT neighbor!
Soaking my black eyed peas for tomorrow nights community dinner. Smoked pork butt, corn bread, pickle plate and apple slab pie for a crowd.
I feel your pain on losing scissors. My favorite ones have a Carabiner clip built into them. A favorite EMT gave them to me a couple of years ago.
A few more than usual for this posting, as I have been busy with family.
1. I won a $5 Starbucks GC and a free “lunch pocket” food item playing their holiday game. The downside of this is that I only seem to win because I am up in the middle of the night with kids. One win happened somewhere between 3-4 am, and the other at about 5:15 am.
2. I finished some shampoo from the basement/guest bathroom that was old and never being used. I also finished a few travel size toiletries and some hotel soaps. (I always bring home the soaps we use because it feels wasteful to throw them away.)
3. I redeemed a coupon for a free cinnamon wheel at Papa Murphys, and also a free cheese bread (with a purchase) at another pizza place.
4. I made waffles and used up some frozen whipping cream that had gone sour, but is fine in baked goods. Also, with my parents here, my mom has helped to keep food waste down as I have not felt well (third trimester of pregnancy). She cooked up a bunch of mushrooms recently and I don’t even remember what else.
4. I bought some plastic lidded containers on sale to better organize our one and only storage closet. My dad kindly fixed the broken clips holding the wire shelf to the wall, and I went though our previous boxes/baskets and reorganized and purged. It looks so much better!
5. DH shot a deer during the short gun season here. Our previous freezer/fridge that came with our house 4 years ago recently died, so he ordered a new chest freezer from Home Depot. But then a similar one popped up on Marketplace and he was able to cancel the order, saving us about $150. Since we have two boys (and one on the way) I think it will be a good idea to have the extra freezer space!
6. We had to buy a van for our growing family (not frugal but necessary), and listed our smaller car for sale locally. One of my coworkers will end up buying it for his 20 year old son, which makes me laugh as it has been our only family car for the last 10 years! But as an Acura it held its value well so we are getting half of what I paid for it as a certified pre-owned car 10 years ago which makes me happy.
* Having no plans for New Years eve counts as frugal, right? 😉
* took an extra shift this week
* Gorged on free-to-me chocolate at work yesterday
* One of my resolution for 2026 is to learn new things. I got 4 online courses for 40$ total on Boxing Day (Criminal psychology, End of life care, Coach in Menopause, coach in neurodiversity), one of which I'll do with my teen daughter. I don't plan on coaching anyone with those (I mean, come on, coaching after a short online certification???), it's for my own learning. I will also dig in the 2 courses I bought last year and didn't get to yet : Sophrology and DBT training.
Frugal fail:
- Bought a Dubai chocolate bar as "small" stocking gift. Thought it was 1,50$ (I should have knowned better, Dubai chocolate is expensive!). Turns out I realized after the fact that I paid 23$ for it. Oops!
Happy New Year everyone!
I did not do any of my usual, pointed, shopping before Christmas as we are in a situation that we will be moving. In my free time, I had been moving boxes and light furniture, until I needed to take some time off from lifting and twisting--at least it is while there is painting being done. In the moving, I have shared a few things I found. I have 3 little depression glass dishes that hold relish or cranberry sauce. One daughter borrows one sometimes--So I wrapped one up to leave behind for her to use--I put in the Christmas cash gift and a kleenex-hand-cream-lip gloss holder I made. (I should make more of those with my stash!) The other daughter needed a large meat platter as her had been broken. I had memorabilia one that is perfect to use and too large for me. Trying to clear out things I had that I bought thinking they were good gifts.
I did go out day after Christmas for 50% off because I saw something I wanted for one of my grandson's birthdays.
Sunday my oldest daughter came over with her family. I thought I needed to go to the grocery store--but I had plenty here. And it created leftovers for me for this week. I'll only need to get some produce later this week.
I wish you a happy and relaxed 2026. Good luck with your upcoming classes.
I got the best Happy New Year's present from the car service dept--the expensive repair that I was expecting turned out to be completely free because it was covered under the 60Kmi warranty.
Got a baker's dozen bagels from Panera on Bagel Tuesday (so still expensive but not prohibitively so, and a nice treat for the family).
Patched the window plasticwrap yet again with sealing tape because my young cat sttrrreeechhhed and put his claws through it yet again. But tape is better than cold wind sneaking into the house.
Used up the last of the pork roast I'd made last week in a pot of Brunswick stew that was given the thumbs up by the family.
Thredup refunded my purchase price on an item that had a pretty major hole that neither they nor I caught upon sending or receiving. So thank you to Thredup for helping me out after the returns window had closed.
When i passed meds...i used to keep a small set of nail scissors on a badge reel so i could open the med packets easier. I loved it because i couldnt leave them anywhere.
I used to put a small keychain on my scissors. My co-workers would know they were my scissors, in case I misplaced them somewhere.