Five Frugal Things | another $250 bonus
1. I signed up for a $250 banking bonus
You know how I signed up for a Wells Fargo $300 offer when I got my new job?
Well, I've more than met the $1000 minimum direct deposit offer for that one, so I moved on and opened one at M&T Bank, which offers a $250 bonus once I deposit at least $500 via direct deposit.
Once I start school, I'm not going to be working very many hours at the hospital, so I figured I should squeeze this offer in during my last month of working multiple shifts per week.
It took about 10 minutes to open the account and to change my direct deposit information in my employee portal, so I feel like $250 is a pretty good return for my time.
My patient care tech checks will have earned me $550 in bonus money, which is not too shabby!
2. I borrowed a book from a neighbor
My friend Carrie recommended a book to me, and unfortunately, my library only had the audio and Kindle versions.
I considered looking on eBay, but the annoying thing about buying a book on eBay is that then I gotta do something with it after I finish reading it (sell it, donate it). I almost never reread books, so borrowing is preferable.
So I put out a request on my Buy Nothing group and my neighbor Kate (who obviously is in the same group as me!) messaged to tell me she had a copy. Yay!
Also, she included a bag of fresh basil.
I highly recommend having Kate as a neighbor. 😉
3. I painted some frames for Sonia
She had a couple of frames that she wanted to be purple, and I knew I had some purple spray paint from my original Buy Nothing Group spray paint haul, back in 2022.
I used it on a little pot for her back then, actually!
The frames had some thick white paint on them that got rather sticky when I tried to sand them. But then I discovered that I could soak the paint with a wet washcloth and peel it off (which was rather satisfying!)
I used some spray primer on the frames, and then the purple spray paint, and I used a deconstructed Hungry Harvest box under the project.
So, for $0 out of pocket, Sonia's got some frames that are exactly what she wants.
4. I got a pack of pens for $0.41
I got an email from Michael's letting me know I had a $5 voucher to redeem, and when I logged in, I realized I actually had two!
So, I stopped in and browsed their pen selection, since those are obviously helpful for taking notes in school!
I decided on a $13 pack of pens, used a 20% off coupon and my two $5 vouchers, and my total was $0.41. Sweet.
5. I continued my perfect streak
The streak? Never buying food/drink at the hospital. So far, it's unbroken, including the weeks I spent there at clinical last semester.
Can I keep this up like my no Chick-fil-A at college streak??? Time will tell. 😉
In all seriousness, I recognize that it would not be the end of the world to buy food at work occasionally. The cafeteria at my hospital is quite reasonably priced.
But as a rule, even when cafeteria food is cheap, it's still cheaper to bring food from home. A regular cafeteria habit would slowly eat away at my little PCT paychecks.
Plus, when I bring food, I eat things like cottage cheese, vegetables, fruit, bean salad, and chicken. Most cafeteria options would be hard-pressed to match up nutritionally.
And my lunch is always packed in reusable containers, so it produces less trash than a cafeteria meal.
(Not gonna lie, this feels like a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of stuff I have to throw away every day at the hospital, but a win is a win, even if it's small.)
One other great thing about a packed lunch; it allows you to spend your entire 30-minute break eating and resting, vs. spending part of it trekking to the cafeteria.
I’ve really been frugal lately- no grocery shopping but my farm share delivery, stayed home several days and everything cooked at home- black bean soup 4 days! I was wondering how Sonia was. Is she close to graduating from college or working at a job she loves? My oldest GS graduated a semester early from college and started grad school last January. He’s been unsuccessful in finding an internship though. Just think- you’ll be starting your nursing career in less than a year. How exciting!
Good morning, long time reader, (since August 2008 I think), but i rarely comment. Here are my frugal wins this week:
I sold my brothers apartment sized stove this weekend. I kept half the money, which paid for my paddle board lesson.
I cooked a stir fry using slightly wilted veggies last night, and have enough of 2 lunches at work this week.
I sold my dining room table and chairs on Market place, we are going to be renovating the kitchen and dining room, and the old table was going to be too big for the area. I gave the young couple a small charcoal BBQ, 2 framed oil paintings, a swiffer vacuum cleaner ( covid impulse buy), and a bag of books.
I'm also doing another purge of the house, so I've donated an abundance of items of our local buy nothing site, our local hospice thrift store and our local habitat for humanity store. I have some more items to donate. It's not necessarily thrifty for me, but it will be for someone else.
I cleaned out the upright freezer, and it's still unplugged. I'm using up what's left in the fridge/freezer very slowly.
I used 20.00 in points at the grocery store, paying 24.00 out of pocket.
@it's me, Sam, I'm glad you decided to comment today. I love that you gave the young couple items they could use.
--Our garden has been deciding dinner for us. Cucumbers never make it as far as pickles because we just slice and eat them! Tonight will include caprese salad, as our cherry tomatoes are going gangbusters.
--Chewy.com had another "Spend 100, get a $30 gift card offer," but we just didn't need that much. I put in a regular order for our boys' soft food and only bought enough for the $49 free shipping threshold.
--I walked into Victoria's Secret to redeem a free pair of undies (boy shorts for the win), and walked out with only my free pair of undies.
--The Target app had an offer for "$15 off a $90 purchase," and it was coincidentally time for a household restock. I only bought items we use consistently, like cat litter (the unscented store brand is shockingly good), tuna for my husband's work lunches, freezer bags, kitchen sponges, etc.
--Part of that purchase was $18 worth of heavily discounted chicken and beef.* Boneless, skinless chicken breasts had been marked down to $3 per 2lb package, ditto for hamburger. Our deep freezer is that much richer!
*There are two Targets in the neighboring city, and they discount grocery items very differently. One might take $2 off a $10 package of meat, at most, whereas the other will discount the same $10 package down to $2 or $3 to get it out the door. If you've multiple stores in your area, it's worth investigating their habits.
@N, we have two Targets in my area but one is a longer drive in much crazier traffic. Rarely are we on that side of town. Given its location, I suspect the one closer to my house would be a better discounter. We purchase most of our meats from a local butcher shop (which is closer than either Target). Their prices are very reasonable and their product is good. Often have sales like 5 lb bag of thick slab bacon for $24.90 - their bacon does not shrink up to 1/2 less than 1/2 the size when frying. A brand of thick cut bacon at a local store is on sale at $4.69 per lb package, regular $6.39. We don't go through that much bacon so better half will buy 2 lbs, cut in half, freeze one half. The half strips fry up larger than a whole strip of Oscar Meyer.
1. I've been working from home so have eaten lunch at home every day and saved money on transit.
2. I saved some beans from a tin to use in another meal this week.
3. I managed to get a reasonably priced blender. I have to have a liquid diet after my wisdom teeth removal.
4. I am going to rent a bike before committing to buying one. I want to look around for a good one but still cycle.
5. I'm going away for a weekend as a birthday treat and found somewhere comparatively cheap to stay.
@Sophie in Denmark, I hope you heal quickly and are back eating solids soon.
@Bee, thank you! The dentist thinks it should be a quick recovery.
@Sophie in Denmark, I remember two things about mine. One, I insisted on stopping at the bookstore on the way home and took my time choosing a book. My ex said, "We need to go home now. Your mouth is full of blood and you're freaking the other customers out." Two, a while later I begged him for another painkiller. He gave me a tic tac instead because it wasn't time yet for another one and I thanked him and went back to sleep.
@Rose, my dentist would not pull all four at once. The one he thought would be an issue he left for the 2nd removal of two. Well, the first one out was the pain in the posterior, not the one with one root growing curved to the point it almost touched the other root. Main thing is to not overdo it during the period where the Novocaine hasn't worn off. I cleaned my house and *almost* overdid it. It has been over 40 years since I had mine pulled. Kiddos had theirs "cut" out so a bit more of an ordeal for them.
@Rose, I love this story!
@Rose, A tic tac! Awesome idea.
I think packing a lunch is a win on all the fronts you mentioned.
1. I cut a very large cantaloupe. A $3 cantaloupe resulted in a gallon of fruit. A neighbor will take some today and I have a friend I will ask if he'd like some. The rind and seeds went in the compost bin.
2. A friend asked me to stop by today to check out the community garden at the back of his apartment building (and old house divided into apartments). The landlord plants it for the benefit of the residents. I will stop by late morning when I am near there.
3. I used Hilton Honors points to book a hotel room. It was going to $444 for one night at a Hampton Inn and I just couldn't swallow that
4. A friend that moved to a very large retirement community volunteered at their quarterly Treasure Sale. She told me about her experience (I had attended once many years ago) and mentioned about weekly sales they also hold. I was not aware of those and may check it out today, out of curiosity.
5. I am walking early every morning, even if it is hot and humid. Future me always thanks me.
@K D, I love the community garden idea!
@K D, Awesome landlord.
1. Today is mending day. I try to keep up on things as I see them in the laundry, but these are more involved projects.
2. I got a quart of free blueberries just by going to my cousins and picking them.
3. Stood in cousins yard and talked for an hour. Got some important information and free therapy.
4. Grouped all of last weeks errands. No extra trips.
5. Balanced my budget and all my accounts at the end of July and "found" an extra $300. It was entered twice.
Have a fun day everybody!
@Amy cheapohmom,
Love your #3. ❤️
@Bee, I like @Amy's #3 too. Almost all of my cousins have drifted away, but I plan to use "Stood in my front yard and talked to the neighbors" as a recurring Frugal Thing from now on.
@A. Marie, I love where we live. MY brother is 2 miles away, sister is 5, Girl cousin referenced in #3 is a mile, her oldest brother is 2 and my nephew is across the street from GC. None of us lived in this community we just sort of started moving here. We exchange resourses all of the time.
@A. Marie, standing in your yard talking to neighbors is nice and could be frugal too. Tips about neighborhood issues can be super helpful to a homeowner or renter.
Yay for you Kristen on those checking account bonuses!
* I have knee surgery scheduled in a couple weeks, so am cooking ahead to put things in the freezer to help cut down on using convenience foods during my recovery. Both frugal and healthier. (There’s a meal train scheduled through our church, so I am concentrating mostly on breakfast items.)
*After commenting yesterday about things getting lost in the freezer, I went digging in mine and found two packages of beef cubes which are going into the slow cooker today.
*Went to Dollar Tree yesterday to get some greeting cards and noticed their packs of thank-you notes and blank cards now have 4 instead of 6 cards. I dug around and found several packs with 6 cards, so I bought those.
*I have been losing weight (on purpose) and have pretty much had to replenish my whole wardrobe. I was in a store in another city and noticed they had tons of winter clothes (last year’s leftovers) for 75-80% off. So I bought a nice sweater and a top at bargain prices.
@Addy, I guess Dollar Tree will be changing its name to Dollar and Fifty Cents Tree, right? Truth in advertising, people!
@JDinNM, They have had a base price of $1.25 for quite a few months already.
And quite a few items are more than that.
Found my backup pair of glasses. The puppies had eaten the plastic off the ear piece. So I looked up the frame style on eBay and bought an identical frame for $67. When it arrives I'll pop the old lenses into the new frame.
I'm going to bathe the cat myself instead of paying $425 for "long haired cat grooming." Sheesh. A friend of mine in Indiana offered to fly out and bathe him herself, figuring it's probably cheaper than $425. Honestly I'd love to see her.
A goldsmith/enameler is going to recreate a pendant I adore, a unique museum piece, in exchange for a chunky gold bracelet of my mom's. Not entirely sure how this is going to work but I'm excited--first I have to weigh the gold I have.
Dropping off my oldest dog for teeth scaling today. Expensive because they need anesthesia but worth it to prevent trouble later on.
Won an enormous lot of glass at auction. In England. I only want three little pieces out of the 30+ pieces, so I asked the auction house to give the rest to a charity shop. This emeans I don't have to pay a few hundred bucks packing and shipping garage-sale level glass. The whole lot was about $50--the pieces I want are worth about $400.
@Rose, $425 to bathe the cat, that's outrageous! I think you friend could fly there to bathe him cheaper!
@Rose, I heard that celery is a good for dogs & cleaning their teeth.
@Regina, I very much doubt this beagle is gonna be fooled, heh. He's always been a chewer (often of real bones) so not sure why his teeth were so tartary. Anyway, he's waking up now and doing well, according to the vet just now.
@Rose, My dog has a cut, shampoo and set and mani/pedi every four weeks (I only go every 6 and skip the set and mani/pedi)), but I refuse to pay more for her salon appointments than I do for mine. Gotta have at least some rules...
@JDinNM, Ha! Gus the kitty doesn't need any cutting and he does let us cut his nails, so we'll try Benadryl and/or Feliway and see how a bath works. We do brush him often except for the danger butt and belly zones.
Until your last paragraph, I didn't even consider how hard it would be to be a re-usable kind of person working in health care, with all that disposable stuff. I would find that difficult, too.
Anyway. Frugals:
--I didn't buy anything at the county fair concession this year. My kids brought their own money if they wanted something, but otherwise, I put a cooler in the back of the car and stocked it with cans of seltzer, sandwiches, and snacks.
--I had to bring a kid to the doctor in the city yesterday. He really wanted Sonic, but given that we were there because he hasn't been able to eat without getting nauseated for almost two weeks now, I did not feel Sonic would be a great idea. It was dinnertime when we started our long drive home, though, so I got a container of prepared chicken drumsticks--like the rotisserie chickens, but just the drumsticks--and we shared those on the drive home. Three bucks for those was a lot better than the eleven dollars it costs for my son's preferred Sonic meal.
--School is starting! My children have been using the same backpacks for years and years. They are washed and ready to go again.
--I found P.E. shoes in the old-shoe bin for the two that are still in elementary school and need separate shoes for P.E. This will in no way make up for the money I will spend on basketball and track shoes later this year, but anytime I can avoid buying yet another pair of shoes is a win.
--Last year, school breakfast and lunch became free for every child in New Mexico--no income limits anymore--and given the amount my children eat, having them eat for free at school four days a week is a significant savings. It's a bonus that our cafeteria is really good, so I know they're not just eating junk every day, either.
@kristin@going country, I wish free breakfast/lunch were available year round for every kid in the US. Child hunger is one issue that makes my stomach hurt.
@kristin@going country, @Rose,
In my neck of the woods, the libraries have free lunch for kids, picking up the baton from the schools in the summer. Another win for libraries.
@kristin@going country, we just found out that our local school will be having free breakfast & lunch for next 4 years (Federal program) because majority of students low income.
Have not heard if state (Michigan) will be paying for free lunch during school year like did last 2 years. That really helps.
@Erika JS, Oh, that's good. In my old town, the schools offered free lunch in the summer for kids 3-18.
Rather terribly, our local school has no cafeteria and no lunch is offered. I asked my org lady, "What about kids who need free lunch? Just out of luck?" She said yes and also, her daughter would qualify, if it existed. A local deli offers daily lunch delivery to the school. I wonder how much it is and if I could anonymously arrange to pay for her daughter's. Hm.
@Rose, I totally agree with you. A number of schools in my area do free lunch (and some free breakfast). The community has stepped up in the large city to ensure the kids eat in the summer too. I find depriving children of food as pure evil.
@Rose me too!
Having once, out of sheer curiosity, tried to find the hospital cafeteria during DS's many days there, I can say the energy expended trekking there from the wing where his room was far exceeded any I would have gotten from the very few items of food I could eat there. And yes, the nutrition of most of the items was dubious. I think I found a couple of hardboiled eggs and a very lame cup of decaf coffee. After that I never bothered, just ate when I was at home.
--Kroger has been very nice to change their policy about the coupons you can use "up to 5 times". It used to be you had to use them up to 5 times in one visit; now you can split it up. I realized this when I went to use one I had for Celestial Seasonings tea; I only got two boxes and later I saw the e-coupon I'd clipped said "can use again." So I went back and stocked up, getting some very nice teas for 1.99 each, which is a good price for my favorite brand of tea. I did the same thing for the Santa Cruz grape juice which is a weekend treat around here; it's pretty sweet to stock up for $2 bucks off.
-- DH fixed up a permanent clothesline in the backyard; the old one used the ladder, which he sometimes needs, so he'd have to take it down. This one will stay up and is well hidden from critical neighbors.
--There is a half-dead tree in our backyard, which had two large dead limbs right over the power line heading to our house. Every time we have a big storm we've been holding our breath, and so far we've been lucky. We've talked to the landlords about getting the tree cut down, and nine months later they've done nothing. DH got out his saw and a rope and the ladder and with sheer determination and help from the youngest, he managed to pull down those two dangerous limbs (without hitting the power line or getting electrocuted himself, I might add!)
--We used the dead wood to cook burgers and hot dogs for dinner yesterday outside, as well as the meat I needed for tonight's dinner. Free cooking fuel! And we didn't heat up the house on a 91 degree day.
@Karen A., Thank goodness for removal of dead tree limbs. Utility companies are now saying homeowners responsibility for tree line maintenance & removal where we live. They do trim regularly in some areas but can not do it all.
@Karen A., I had to put a retractable line between two post on the edge of my back patio for a laundry line. We also have some critical neighbors...
@Regina, Yep, the utility company here will trim trees that are right by the main transformer/poles, and there is one in the corner of our yard, so the crews have come out here and trimmed that stuff, but walked right by the dead tree with limbs hanging precariously over the line leading to the house. Not their problem!
1. Used Old English scratch cover wood polish to freshen up the front door at the house that is about to be listed. The door looks so much better, and it only cost me $5.
2. Continued to put out mulch and clean the flower beds myself instead of hiring it out.
3. Stopped by Costco after my aunt's funeral to pick up a chicken taco kit for dinner. It will feed us for two meals so it was much cheaper than us picking up takeout.
4. Made homemade pizza using Kristen's pizza dough recipe. We froze the remaining pizza sauce in an ice cube tray so we can just pull what we need next time, and the rest won't go bad.
5. As usual, brought my breakfast and lunch to work every day.
FFT, Moving into August Edition (revised/updated from yesterday's FFT at the NCA):
(1) My July bottle/can deposit total was $60.50 (a new personal 1-month best). But my found change total was only 79 cents. Win a few, lose a few.
(2) My National Grid bill for the month (electricity and gas) was $41 and change, most of which was again for delivery charges. Gas supply came to precisely $1.20, and electricity supply to $0 due to the solar panels and an unusually sunny July. Once again, thank you, DH, for having those solar panels installed.
(3) I made an unusual find on the Depression-era brick steps that lead from the end of our cul-de-sac down to the main drag below: a full container of Goya Adobo seasoning, next to a wrapper for an individual dill pickle. (Huh???) But I brought home the seasoning, tested it on an ear of sweet corn, and didn’t die--so I used it on the sheet pan of chicken thighs (Reduced for Quick Sale at Tops a while ago) I made yesterday. And I'm still alive.
(4) After a lengthy drought, we finally had a glorious downpour Friday evening, and I got gloriously soaked shoving 5-gallon buckets under the mini-Niagara Falls coming off the roof of my next-door neighbor to the north. (DH and I had real rain barrels for a few years–but having to set them up in the spring and take them down in the fall, thanks to Central NY winters, got to be a PITA after a while.) And we had another generous deluge Monday night, so I'm off watering duty for the next several days.
(4a) I know that our Commentariat members in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas have gotten or will get a much more generous deluge from Storm Debby than they would have preferred. I hope that everyone's safe and has escaped major property damage.
(5) And I’m now picking cherry tomatoes every day off my other next-door neighbor’s (NDN’s) and my two plants in pots behind her chain-link fence. Unfortunately, a few days ago, I discovered that a woodchuck had managed to squeeze under NDN’s gate and seemed to be considering a jump shot into one of the pots. I chased him/her off with what Jane Austen would probably have described as Pride and Extreme Prejudice.
@A. Marie, Impressive can/bottle total!
1. Sticthed the strings back onto a favorite wrap skirt (I had previoulsy cut them off, when they were so knotted I couldn't get it off). Wearing said skirt today, it has prett fabric, is functional and was given to me by a friend, so I'm glad its fixed.
2. Used leaves from the garden in the leaf sauce yesterday.
3. We're decluttering a lot as we get ready to move. This isn't directly frugal, but can have frugal ripple affects (ie: using up what we have, less likely to have to purchase extra luggage on flights, etc...).
Your comment about how much waste your hospital work generates has made me think of something wonderful that I HOPE lots more places do. Somehow, it has been possible to take ''non gross'' hospital waste (such as saline drip packets and similar) and make them into waterproof school shoes via a moulding technique of some incredibly amazing kind. Where I'm from, school uniforms are standard and poverty is horrendous, to the extent that school shoes / any shoes are in fact a luxury item, which is incredibly upsetting, but it is what it is. Anyway, this scheme uses plastic trash, medical specifically and makes amazing shoes that are great quality and last ages.
It's in South Africa, by the way, in case you want to have a Google.
My new HVAC system was installed last Friday. Now my house sits at a comfortable 72 degrees instead of a rather uncomfortable 89 degrees. I know the super frugal among you will notice that I keep my temperature rather low, but Rescue Pup is a pyrenees mix. She is uncomfortable when the temperature gets very high. Most of this week’s FFT revolve around this major purchase.
1. Putting in a new system is not a fun way to spend your money, but it was a necessity. I was given the choice of paying with cash or credit. I chose cash and received a rather substantial discount. It was more than I would have received in credit card points.
2. When I was waiting for my new HVAC to be installed, I purchased a small window AC unit to put in my bedroom to keep it cool enough to sleep in the evenings. It also made it much more comfortable for Rescue Pup. I photographed the unit and carefully packed it back in the box. Now that Tropical Storm Debby has passed, I will list it on Marketplace and hopefully recoup part of this expenditure.
3. I purchased a large box of HVAC filters for my old system a few months ago. I had 6 left which did not fit the new unit. I listed them on Buy Nothing and was able to pass them on to a neighbor. I also picked 4 books up from the same neighbor who had listed them on BN the day before.
4. My local energy supplier offers a $100 rebate for customers who put in new energy efficient HVAC systems. I have applied. I am also hoping that this purchase may qualify for an Income Tax Credit.
5. I used $25 in Target promotional gift cards to buy DH a new scale for $0.88 out of pocket. The doctor put him on diet. Something I have been gently trying to suggest for years. I’m not certain he is actually complying, but I have lost 2 pounds this week while on his diet.
Wishing everyone peace, good health, and prosperity.
@Bee, Glad you got a new HVAC system, 89 degrees in the house sounds terribly uncomfortable! We too keep our thermostat at 72 degrees. Being hot makes DH's MS symptoms much worse, so we're frugal in other areas to make up for it.
@Beverly,
It was uncomfortable and I was really grumpy. One of my dearest friend has MS and she also says that her symptoms are much worse with the heat. She keeps her AC on 72. We do not spend much time outdoors together during the summer months. She prefers to go to the movies or someplace else cool.
@Bee, just keep your receipt (including installation)from HVAC & pamplet/booklet that has HVAC info (model #) for your taxes & put into tax paperwork.
@Regina,
Thank you!!! I knew another reader would know.
@Bee,
Three cheers for AC in Florida!
@Bee, if you replace your windows replaced or any insulation work done that qualifies for home energy credit(s). I do income taxes (also).
@Bee, given the likely humidity level in your area (and yes, the Midwest gets extremely humid too, especially if you live in the country surrounded by corn fields), 72 is likely a good setting. You remove the humidity from the house OR keep it from building which is the ultimate goal. We set ours at 74 and at times, end up lowering the temp when the A/C hasn't kicked in for 10 hours - the house gets stale.
1. We have been participating in a study since my son was 3. This year the payment was $300 for the 2 hour study. They also give us food, drinks, and prizes for the kids.
2. We went to a family event at our local YMCA that was offering activities and also free lunch. My husband and I both worked out while we were there too.
3. I made fruit sauce for my kids using up some over-ripe apples, peaches, and nectarines. I dehydrated mushy grapes to make raisins and tomatoes from our garden to make sundried tomatoes. I juiced some over-ripe lemons. I made zucchini bread from a large zucchini we got from the YMCA's community garden. And I made Kristen's granola recipe using up some dried fruit and stale cheerios (I pound the cheerios a bit and then use them in place of some of the oatmeal in the recipe).
4. Our dentist over charged my husband for an extra cavity ($107 co-pay). It is frugal to pay attention to your medical bills.
5. I scheduled my annual physical with my PCP. Prevention is the best medicine and physicals under my insurance are free.
5 frugal things going on vacation edition
1. My garden is mass producing at this time of year, I picked 2 small buckets of veggies and some herbs to take with us to the Airbnb.
2. Vacation was a long drive away, we visited family on the way and stayed overnight at their house.
3. I packed a beautiful veggie basket and a jar of homemade jam to give as a hostess gift. Side note: I often pick up cute little canning jars at the thrift store.
4. Got a cheap hotel on the drive back home vs a fancier airbnb.
5. Did not do any paid activities while on vacation. Walking, swimming, watching the sunsets, building sandcastles, talking and sleeping in were all free 🙂
I've been keeping my eye out for a unicorn - a used treadmill in good shape for a reasonable price - for a number of years. No luck. But a friend who is moving gifted me hers! It cost me $35 to rent a van to move it (I made sure I got it back within the 90 min limit to avoid an increased fee), and a batch of cookies for the neighbours who helped me get it into the basement (they wouldn't take $). I thought it would be best during our Canadian winters, but the Canadian summer has been so hot that I'm using it every day!
@Shelagh,
I had to read your first sentence twice!
Good for you on your streak! My quick 5 over the Canadian long weekend:
-I made little high-fibre snack muffins for my daughter instead of buying granola bars.
-We attended a wedding and we didn't buy anything new in terms of clothes or accessories; the only cost was parking and our gift to the happy couple (which was a cheque for exactly the same amount that they gave us haha)
-My parents and brother/SIL kindly babysat! I can't take credit for their generosity but it's a frugal win nonetheless.
-I made chickpea stew for my lunch which has to be one of the cheapest meals ever (potato, squash, onion, carrot, herbs, dried chickpeas, water, salt, pepper.)
-I shoved some teabags in my pocket to replenish my work stash!
Have a good Tuesday, everyone!
I had a comedy of errors, some frugal wins and some frugal fails, the other day. Apologies to those who read this on NCA, but I just had to share it again with the Commentariat.
Frugal fail #1:My refrigerator/freezer once again stopped working. (We will now have a moment of silence for my dead appliance….) The repairman said since this is the 3rd or 4th time he’s had to come out about the same thing (freon leak), it’s time to replace it. I said it’s “only” 15 years old, and he told me I’m lucky it’s lasted this long. My parents had 2 refrigerators in their 55-year marriage, and both lasted 25 to 30 years. (I left the second one in the house when I sold it, so for all I know it may STILL be working.) So I was a bit miffed that my Maytag fridge was on the fritz this early. And that I had to pay $95 for the service charge.
Frugal win #1: I researched online and found a scratch and dent store that I didn’t know existed; it had a new fridge for only about $500. Sadly, it didn’t open until after I had to go to work and it was clear on the other side of town. So I knew I’d have to wait until my shift ended.
Frugal win #2: Upon leaving work, I got the idea to run by the Salvation Army Thrift Store. They usually don’t have appliances, but once in a blue moon, they’ve had refrigerators. Sure enough, there was a refrigerator/freezer for sale, plugged in and working. And it was a sale day — everything in the store was 25% off. Even more amazing, it was a GE — the repairman said he thinks GE and Hotpoint make the best refrigerators these days — and it had an automatic icemaker. Salvation Army will deliver for $25. So I bought the fridge and paid the delivery charge. Total cost was $188. (Frugal fail #1.5: Had I waited until Saturday, I could’ve gotten it for half price. But had I waited, someone else might have bought it.)
Frugal win #2.A. Salvation Army won’t take checks, I don’t carry around a big amount of cash, so I used the credit card that gives me 5% cash back on my purchases — and bought the refrigerator on the spot. As long as I pay the cc bill by the end of the month, I will be ahead a few more dollars. (If not, it’ll be a frugal fail, as I’ll be charged interest.)
Frugal win #3: Called my handyman. He often picks up metal for recycling; he’s hauled off items for me for free if I let him pocket the money he gets from the recycling place. He agreed to do it, just one problem: he sold his truck. But he promised to find someone with a truck and do it anyway.
Frugal fail #2: Handyman comes over to disconnect dead fridge and get it out of the way so the new one can be installed. He asks “what is this skinny copper pipe?” It was the water intake tube for the automatic ice maker. He disconnect it and water spews all over the kitchen, the tube spins around like a whirlybird. It’s not even as thick as a drinking straw. but boy can it shoot out the water. It looks like something from “I Love Lucy”!
I tell him, “Go under the sink, there’s a shutoff valve.” Of course, the cabinet under my sink, like most folks’, has tons of cleaning products jammed in there and it takes him a minute to even find the valve. Meanwhile, I’m holding the copper tube and sticking it in the trash can (full of trash) to contain the water, while grabbing a second trash can for the same purpose. As soon as the first can is full, I put the tube in the second one and rush out to the back yard for the big trash can (luckily, it’s empty). I stick the tube in there and the handman says he can’t shut off the valve, he needs some pliers. Can’t find them but I have an adjustable wrench. It doesn’t work. I tell him to go shut it off at the curb. He goes outside and comes running back. Some wild bees have made a hive inside my water meter; they fly in and out of the hole on the metal cover. Handyman has suffered five bites, and while I’m running to get him some medicine, he calls a friend. Meanwhile, the big trashcan is almost full so I run to the back pa tio and grab a disconnected water hose; we put the tube in one end and put the other end in the sink so the water goes down the drain. Although we still have some leaking here and there. The friend comes over with his tools and shuts the water off. He’s a plumber; I think “OMG, this is going to cost me!”
Frugal win #4: Handyman tells his plumber friend what all has happened; the plumber does not charge me any money. He says “you’ve had a bad enough day already.” As he’s leaving, I thank him and promise to call him next time I need a plumber.
Frugal fail #3: I have to call an exterminator for the wild bees. We’re afraid they may be part Africanized/killer bees. I’m friends with the exterminator so he agrees to come out even though it’s after work hours. He puts on a beekeeper suit and blasts those buggers into oblivion. Turns out they were there long enough to produce several plates of honey, which we can’t eat bc of the insecticide. He scrapes all the dead bees off the underside of the water meter cover; there were 100s of them, and plugs up the hole with steel wool. He comes in and presents me with a $250 bill for his services. Aacckk! (He says it’s a discounted price and agrees to let me pay it out.)
Frugal win #5: Handyman is OK except for being sore, and is not suing me for the bee stings.
I still have not gotten the dead refrigerator gone yet, but the Salvation Army folks delivered my new fridge this morning. Turns out it is a bit smaller than what I had before, but I will make do
@Fru-gal Lisa,
Hilarious account!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
Oh my! I’m glad you kept your sense of humor. Sometimes things just do not go smoothly.
I have been in my house for 25 years at the end of the month. I have been through 4 refrigerators. It’s wonderful that you found a bargain on a new one.
On another note, here in Florida and other states, honey bees are a protected species and the colony must be removed by a bee keeper. It is expensive — much more than $250. So you saved money there.
@Bee, Around here, if you know where to post online, and if the bees are indeed honeybees, many beekeepers will remove for free. August is a tough time to move bees though.
@Fru-gal Lisa, You take the prize for best post! Just when I thought OMG! you added more & then added more again. 🙂
For future reference (& others) check with your utility company to see if they recycle refrigerators/freezers. Our utility company (Consumer Energy) recycle them, pick up for free & give $ & energy saving goody bag.
@Bee,
In Texas, beekeepers are not allowed to charge for the removal of bees. However, none are listed online or in advertising and since my cousin, whose hobby was beekeeping, died, I don't know of any. I had to get those bees outta there ASAP because they all got riled up when their nest was disturbed and were flying around the front yard, looking for someone to attack. The exterminator advertised so I called him. Normally I would not think of destroying any honey bees, my cousin says we need to protect them. But the exterminator told me that beekeepers will not handle "renegade bees" bc they don't know where the bees have been or if the honey is safe for consumption. By the time the bees stung the handyman, I was madder than a hornet about it; anything up to and including nuclear war against those bees was OK with me.
@Regina, Thanks!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
I imagine by the time the bees stung the handyman you had absolutely had had enough. You had already had quite the day at that point.
My niece recently had a similar experience with bees. Her bees were in the eaves. It was a mess and cost a fortune to remove. I am personally terrified of bees.
@Bee, There are cases here where a bee attack results in someone getting stung to death. That happened to the husband of one of my coworkers; he was on his riding lawnmower and accidentally ran over a hive. He was stung 100s of times. So I knew I had to get rid of those bees ASAP before anyone else happened across their path.
And, as to your earlier post, my "new" fridge is actually a secondhand one. So I will keep my fingers crossed and hope it continues to work OK.
Packing healthy meals to work is a frugal super power. I always took the approach that I was at work to make money, not spend it. Not creating much trash was a nice side benefit.
My frugal five: Did an emergency mend of a hole in the ankle of my only pair of pantyhose Sunday while getting dressed to attend a funeral, using clear nail polish and some tiny stitches with super-fine polyester thread. It held together and just looked like maybe I had a scratch on my ankle.
Found more ground beef with yellow stickers at the grocery store and stocked up. Took advantage of the nice weather to rack dry more laundry on the back porch. Cooked from the pantry and freezer yesterday. Used a store coupon to knock $1.25 off the cost of two cartons of almond milk, which made it less expensive than buying it at Dollar Tree. That does not happen often, though, and the shelf stable milk at Dollar Tree is quite good.
We went on a little trip to Nashville last weekend and while the trip itself wasn’t frugal I did try to work a little frugal magic where I could: no checked bags, we ate breakfast at the Sky Club (comes free with our credit card) and I grabbed snacks from the Sky Club for later, we didn’t stay with the rest of group and found a cheaper hotel a block away, I opted for club soda with lime in place of drinks.
My parents stayed at our house while we were gone so we saved money on a pet sitter/boarding fees. Our dog loves the extra snuggle time and my parents like being a little closer to the city to be able to run errands.
I’m avoiding going to the grocery store this week. I managed to put together a menu that will use just pantry items and food in the fridge. With our CSA we aren’t running short on veggies.
I’m not driving into the office since my son has a school sponsored camp. A recent mileage reimbursement showed that it costs me $20+ a day to drive into the office!
I’ve been tearing through my ‘want to read’ pile thanks to my library’s vast collection of audiobooks. I still need to get my library card for the next county over. We live on the county line so we are able to use their system as well. The library in the other county is actually closer to my house than our closest library in our county.
It hasn't felt very frugal lately, but let me drum up a few wins:
1) We continue to eat a lot from the garden (lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, etc).
2) Changed my car rental last week to shorten it by one day (my sister was able to drive me around the day before). When I got to the airport, they asked if I would be willing to accept a smaller car than I'd reserved. I agreed & those two things saved $75 off of the original $180 total.
3) DH won an award that consisted of points to spend at an online shop. I bought a gift for Christmas that was already on my list to keep an eye out for. He bought a piece of luggage he's been similarly looking at, and we had an odd amount of points left, so I got a Le Creuset tapas set. I broke a very similar piece recently. If I'm not a fan, I'm sure I can sell it on FB marketplace. I also appreciated that the "award" covered shipping & tax, so it was truly free out of pocket.
4) A neighbor dropped off leftover Mediterranean food, and we gave her garden tomatoes while she was here. I had the Mediterranean for dinner one night (falafel wraps) & added a Greek salad, largely made from garden items.
5) DS17 needed a tennis subscription to track his player rating last year. He no longer needs it, so when I saw they charged me for the year ahead, I was able to cancel & get the charge reversed, saving $130.
We are having a 3-day revival at our church this week and in the past that has meant a lot of take out meals for us. With inflation what it is right now that is a no go for my family so I have planned meals ahead for early dinners at home and I bring dinner to the church for my husband. He meets us there directly from his workplace. Much healthier and much cheaper plus it make me feel like the bomb mom & wife 🙂
I dropped my bootcamp membership and switched to a regular gym that is in my corporate perks program. The membership itself is $28/month compared to the $150 I was paying. Plus I was able to cancel a fitness tracker that I was using for $24/month to a free app provided by the new gym. I paid a one-time $199 fee for a trainer to create a full workout plan/macro plan for me that I can track in the free app. All of this saves my budget $102/month and I am still getting a great workout and pursuing my health goals.
Car insurance OMG. I have no accidents and no tickets so why I am paying $400/month for insurance?! I shopped rates and switched companies to save $130/month.
Hubby and I still long for a second child and I discovered that my employer covers IVF at 100%. So here we go. I will start October 15th and would greatly appreciate prayers, good thoughts in this area. We have wanted and been trying for a second child since our son was 6 months old and I hope with all of my heart that we will realize that dream. My company pays for 4 cycles and since it costs about $40K/cycle we will save a bundle taking advantage of this benefit.
Considering a move to a different wireless provider but need to pay off phones and watches first. Any recommendations on good quality coverage & unlimited plans? Decent customer service and reliability is important too.
@Angie, Good luck with IVF! That sounds super exciting.
@Angie, Of course!
Wishing you all good results as you hope to expand your family.
@Angie,
I am wishing you the best as you go through the IVF process. It is wonderful that this is covered for you.
@Angie, best of luck with IVF! Wonderful that your company covers that!
@Angie, Wow! What a fantastic company you have with all those perks, esp. the IVF coverage! Praying for you to have a successful treatment the first time around.
@Angie, thoughts and prayers as you prepare to start IVF. I'm so glad to hear that you get 4 cycles covered at 100%, that's fantastic! I have two kiddos, both via IVF, so I know the ups and downs that can come with the process. Hugs to you!
Also, re: phones etc. my husband and I have had great luck with various MVNO carriers like Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile, Pure Talk, etc. (they use the same towers as the "big" providers-- check out the Frugalwoods blog here for a great explanation: https://frugalwoods.com/2021/06/02/how-to-save-money-on-your-cell-phone-bill-with-an-mvno-i-pay-12-a-month/). Reliability varies depending on where you live but you can check that online easily.
@Angie, OMG where do you live re: car insurance? I pay $1200 a year for a 5 year old car with full coverage. The truck costs a few hundred more. Ouch is all I can say.
@Selena, Georgia, more specifically in the suburbs surrounding the Atlanta area. This is happening to a lot of people I know. Even my Mom is being charge $400 a month with a perfect driving record , a Toyota Camry and she is 74. It is so ridiculous.
I love how you've been able to use your new job to take advantage of the free offers!!
We have been eating down our freezer. It was time to do so, but we have extra incentive that my husband and oldest both drew an elk tag. If they are both able to fill their tag, we are going to have a LOT of meat.
I found a large bag of our favorite whole bean coffee at a discount store.
Many of our church members bring in extra produce to share with others. I have been taking what is leftover on Mondays. So far free cucumbers, tomatoes and onions.
Did a stock up on cat litter at Costco. They put it on sale every few months, and we always get the max number they allow. It works out to about 25% off.
Found a nice shower curtain at the thrift store to use to make curtains for our daughter's camp trailer.
Busy day yesterday. I combined my errands and accomplished:
(1) Donated several bags of fabric culled from my years-long fabric buying addiction. "Not buying it" has been my fabric-buying mantra for the last few years.
(2) Put price tags on several more bags of fabric I'm planning to sell at the artisan and antique mall where I sell stuff. Pricing it cheaply so it will sell; if it doesn't move, see Item (1).
(3) I get books once a month at a ministry called Embrace Books here in Muskegon; they have a wonderful program and thousands of books. Generally fill two Trader Joe bags with books for all ages, keep a few, and use the rest to fill a free little library I've been tending. Kept three books (not too bad for me) and unloaded both bags into the almost-empty book house.
(4) Didn't buy a book at Walmart. I've been hearing about "It Ends With Us," a movie based on a book by Colleen Hoover, but I decided I didn't really need to read the book.
(5) Meal prepped for the week and for the freezer. Used slices of pork loin from the freezer cut into chunks, carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, with diced tomatoes, tapioca and broth, into a slow oven, adding frozen peas and sliced mushrooms in the last half hour. Unfortunately have to run the A/C when the oven is on, but fortunately cleared out the fridge and have meals for the future. It's like money in the bank.
@Jean, re: your #1, my mother-in-law (who was a professional seamstress/alterations lady and a recreational quilter) used to have a coffee mug with this caption: "She who dies with the most fabric wins." But I'm glad to see that you've dropped out of this competition.
Haven't done much this week which I guess is frugal itself, but let me see what I can come up with...
We ate dinner at the house with the kids for DH's birthday. We did order fish and chicken for take out, but I made all the sides and dessert. I think we spent about $30 for fish and chicken, but that is much more frugal than 5 adults going out to dinner.
I used up some chicken leftovers, some carrots and celery that were dried up, and some rice to make a creamy chicken soup for lunch.
DH was able to get a credit on his hotel room that he had prepaid. It wasn't reimbursable, but he stays there so much that they know him...due to Debby his trip was cancelled so they let him credit his next trip.
We got a random check for $21 from a doctor's office that DH saw probably 3+ years ago for urgent care. I know we paid the right copay so not sure what that's about, but they said they owed us $21....ok
Listened to books on the Libby app for free during my trip to work this past week. Also stopped by the library for a cookbook that I had been wanting to peruse. Picked my mom up a couple of nice quilting books for $1/each at the Friends of the Library sell (regularly about $20-$25 each...she's an avid quilter and loves when I find her books).
Bought some bigger pots for $1/each at the goodwill for my plants to be repotted into.
Being without power 12.5 hours yesterday and 3 hours on Sunday is at least going to save me a tiny bit on my electric bill, I guess.
The amount of water this storm has dropped is huge. I am offering my sympathy to everyone that was in its path and those still in its path. I drove past a lot of downed trees and limbs this morning and standing water in so many places. Power is still out for many, and I saw a number of lines down.
It came in almost exactly in the same place as Idalia last August. There are businesses that just managed to reopen this summer after storm surge damage last year. My heart goes out to all of them.
1. While we were in Orange Beach, we went to the grocery store and got food for all of our meals except one, and cooked them in the condo unit we were renting. We also brought some food from home, which we used as well. They were tasty, healthy meals, too - only one meal was pizza, and we had salad with that. The meal we ate out was to get everyone's personal choice of seafood.
2. We left earlier than originally planned, so we could all prep for Debby. I froze two large containers of water which I used to make an icebox out of my refrigerator, and packed my upright freezer with ice packs of the kind that come with medications that have to be chilled. Then I kept those doors shut! I also saved up water in my dedicated food-safe containers so no water was purchased, either.
3. I didn't buy a single souvenir at the beach, but I took lots of pictures.
4. I made a new batch of homemade laundry detergent before I left for the beach. It works well for me, thankfully.
5. I had enough emergency food on hand that I didn't have to worry about buying any, which was good, as stores were closed.
@JD, I'm relieved to hear that you came through Debby as well as you did; that you prepped so awesomely; and that you had a good time with the family before the storm. And I too feel for the folks in Steinhatchee and surrounding areas. Talk about a double whammy...
@JD, I filled the bathtub with water last night in case we lose water for flushing toilets and filled many 1/2 gallon mason jars with water for cooking/drinking/pets just in case. I checked our gas tanks in case we have to pull out the generator for my garage freezer.
@JD,
I am happy to hear that you are well. I hope the electricity is back on. We did well on the Northeast coast. Several small tornados, but little damage mostly debris. As of 7 tonight, it is still raining. It drizzled all day long with an occasional wind gusts. We will see what happen next when she reaches the Atlantic.
1. I used the library for a game that my daughter wanted to play. She's effectively completed it so that saved me $60 (or whatever it's down to now.)
2. Sold more things on eBay and kept up the streak of not paying for any packaging outside of tape.
Speaking of tape, one thing I never had to buy before but now I kinda need is a tape gun. Who knew they were $15? I haven't bought one yet but I am keeping my eyes out for one for free or cheap.
3. Found a couple of good movies at the local thrift store.
4. Bringing food and drink with us instead of buying from a restaurant when out. Unfortunately this only worked for one meal as we had to get dinner out and it was pricey. You win some, you lose some.
5. Did no back to school shopping this year. My daughter has more than enough pens, pencils and notebooks to last forever and I only get the nice Japanese stuff these days.
We do need to go backpack shopping, though.
I can’t get lunch from a restaurant for less than $20 near my work (downtown San Francisco) so I always bring lunch! It’s so worth it to me with the cost savings and health benefits. On the rare occasion I don’t bring lunch, I walk to the Trader Joe’s and buy one of their prepared sandwiches or salads, way cheaper than anything else in the area.
I sold some of my kids old toys on Facebook marketplace, they were on there for weeks with no interest and I was about to give them away when someone reached out and paid asking price.
My daughter has a habit of asking to sign up for an activity and then immediately deciding she doesn’t like it after 1 or 2 sessions, after I’ve already paid for it. She is only 4, so I figured she’s just too young to commit to anything and we’d wait. She’s been asking and asking to do ballet or dance though. I found a dance school that offers free trial lessons before you commit so I may let her try that since it won’t cost me anything (still a risk she’ll tell me she likes it and change her mind later though!)
Anyone have any suggestions on online cash back shopping that I currently don't have (Swagbucks, ReceiptPal, Fetch, Shopkick) because Rakuten is not working for me & the repeated having to submit copies of my online purchase through Rakuten (luckily I screen shot those) is becoming too frustrating & not worth it.
Frugal Things----
● picked up additional hours at election (tonight) & free snacks during working hours from local bakery, this last few days (in the end of this local/county/state primary)
● saved $0.35/gallon on gas & with discount cheapest paid in a month or more. Of course, now finally coming back down. 🙂
● Ace hardware coupons $10 off $20
● & $20 off $100 made it possible to get few more metal garden trellises (make fence higher extension in one area)
● FREE Wolfgang Puck brand new medium/large toaster oven & few pair of jeans from local free store
● few more clearance flowers to add to flower bed (most flowers/plants almost gone for end of season)
Frugal Fails---
● stopped by restaurant (again) had dinner with my dad to get some takeout (after bringing him some firewood--frugal for dad) & got BBQ Brisket sandwich (before changed seasonal menu options). $12 for just sandwich on small hamburger bun that was like I have at graduation parties (size & taste) was a disappointment.
@Regina, have you tried Top Cash Back? I think Kristen has talked about it before. I alternate between using it and Rakuten depending on who gives a better cash back deal.
@Regina, Mypoints is one!
To be honest, I have had quite a splurge two weeks. I don't want to give people the false impression that I have been "living lean" like I did back in my college days or early career days. I thought, though, it would be important to share my experience that learning to live lean, making mistakes, and struggling is still helpful and healthy . In short, if you are living pay check to check: It won't always be this way. It just feels like it. If you are in a more luxuriant stage: being a good steward of resources ispires gratitude and good karma.
1. I spent a fantastic weekend beating the 105 degree weather by heading to Monterey, California. I had book months ago using hotel reward points and the free points I get from my IHG credit card which is the only card I use and pay off at the end of each month. The Points guy has some good write ups on it. Do your homework. It might be good for you.
2. I tipped well. 20% at each restaurant, valet, bell service. These guys/gals are working hard. I have been there.
3. I spent at local shops at Carmel, enjoyed talking to the retail workers, and heaped praise on those that were eager, knew their stock, and were attentive. I find customer service in local shops is at an all time high.
4. After spending nearly nothing for a year, on wardrobe - editing, donating, and reselling, I have had a blast these past two weeks splurging some on key pieces ( white collared shirts, 2 white cotton shrug/ cropped bombers) beautifully embroidered crafted t shirt dress. ) So yeah - a small fortune. Judge me if you will, but I spent $700 on new bras and $600 on new shoes. Here is the reason: 20 years ago I had breast reduction surgery because of sever neck and shoulder issues. I have had cortisone shots in my heels from a teacher career inspired plantars fasciitis. Today after exercising/ stretching, losing weight, researching and quality clothing that fits, I look and feel better than ever. So grateful.
5. To balance the new purchases, I purged all broken jewelry, took a hard look a the REAL value of gifts from my husband ( that I had hinted at over the years), accepted the .25 cents on the dollar reality of my diamonds that was offered, and then turned the rest into the gold and silver guy. I did this with Hubby's blessings. No one is being served by buyer's remorse.
So that is me - real.
@mary ann, with the price of clothing & shoes that's pretty easy to do on good products. No judgment here. Though selling my jewelry (unless need $) would break my heart as I love most pieces & plan to leave to people I love later.
@mary ann,
No judgememt here, either. Bras in particular are expensive, and getting good ones that fit properly and last is important. Looking and feeling your best is so worth it.
Love your last point that by bringing your lunch, you eliminate the extra time spent walking/buying lunch. More time for resting and eating. Well done!! I love how you look for the non-financial positives in a financial post. It's not ALL about the $$.
Here's my five:
- I brought a reusable water with me to a local Irish Festival and refilled it at their water bottle stations instead of buying overpriced bottled water.
- My state's Tax Free Week is going on and they broadened the categories of items and price of the things that qualify unlike previous years when it was only back to school items. I bought pants and jeans that I disparately need since all of the current pairs are way too big and my husband's birthday present. I also bought some home office supplies we needed pairing the tax free week and early cheap back to school sales.
- I mended some clothes and other sewables to extend their life.
- I'm not much of a sports person, until the Olympics rolls around where I'm glued to the coverage for 2 weeks. As much as I wish I could see more events on TV than over the air coverage will let me, I'm trying very hard not to buy a Peacock subscription for a month because I'd only use to watch the Games. Fortunately, many athletes are on social media which is much more fun and informative than NBC's "reporting"
- I batched returning some items to different stores (I'm horrible at returning items until it's too late to do so) with exchanging a moldy loaf of bread my husband bought at Trader Joe's the day before. I double checked the new loaf for mold before I left the store and as a big pat on the back for me, left the store with ONLY the new loaf of bread
I love Paper Mate ball point pens, but I prefer "regular" ink over gel and the "Profile Elite" (cause I'm an elitist, I guess) with the bolder 1.4 point.
In other news, Chiquita is confused by empty picture frames that clearly require a picture of her to be inserted. Or, even better, a mirror so she can admire and c(h)at with herself.
1. Between eating from my garden, trading garden produce for eggs with my neighbor, and mystery grocery shops, I have spent money only for milk, watermelons and strawberries for about the last three weeks.
2. The last hospitalization/surgery I had, my thermostat seems to have been destroyed. I am always, always cold. As in I sleep with an electric blanket all the time and I wear thick clothing even in the summer. I have a heater right in front of my desk and it is usually on, even in the summer. Anyway, it died and replacing this fancy/schmancy heater was several hundred dollars. Husband spent hours and managed to find the small part that burned out and fixed it. I am warm again.
3. Our tire went flat, husband took it in to be fixed. The next day it was flat again. He took it back to the same place and they found another puncture. They refused to charge him for the second fix, saying they should have discovered it the first time and filled up the gas tank for putting him to the trouble of making him come back a second time. We have patronized this same place for years and it pays off to be a loyal customer.
4. Repaired one of the dog beds---again!
5. The husband hates vegetables but loves cheese. One of the things I stockpile in the summer is soup for the winter. Basically whatever I have leftover from harvesting that day (except for cabbage as it is too strong), I boil in chicken stock, when things are soft I whirl it with an immersion blender, and add in a melty cheese. (He loves Velveeta, don't judge.) Then I freeze it in a quantity that will last for two dinners. Usually we are eating these soups until about January, saving a lot of money and cooking effort.
@Lindsey, About your "thermostat": in order NOT to practice medicine as a nurse, let me throw out there the question. Since surgery, have you been checked for anemia?
1) Got free zucchini blossoms for volunteering at the market
2) Got another free month of composting service for my volunteering also
3) Purchased on-line and picked-up in-store some mason jars. I had to do this in the store which was kind of a pain to wait for it to go through but the employees were nice and tried to lessen the wait time as much as they could. It was the only way I could get the extra discount
4) Using up the excess syrup from the plums, peaches, and cherries we are canning. I find plain water here isn't great but if flavored I'm ok w/ it
5) Pit peach pits and cherry pits into white vinegar to flavor it. We will see how that goes
1) We purchased no souvenirs on our trip to California. Instead I brought back a bag of very tiny rocks from a riverbank in Yosemite. I plan to glue them artfully on a pretty piece of paper and frame it. I got the idea from a piece of art I saw in one of our home exchanges.
2) I am buying clothes and school supplies in preparation for school to start in two weeks. Collectively the kids needed some new tshirts, and two boys needed shoes. I bought shirts and a pair of shoes at Thredup and a bunch of shirts at Old Navy on super sale. Then I found a pair of shoes that should fit my oldest on Depop for about a third of their new $150 price. I could easily spend $2,000 on clothes and shoes for all four, so I think instead spending about $300 (including supplies) is not too shabby.
3) Now back from vacation, we planned meals that use up a bunch of things we froze before we left. My lunch today was a turkey and cheese sandwich made with bread, turkey, and cheese that was leftover from the meal I made for the plane and then froze the rest. I had leftover apple pieces discarded by a child and some plantain chips my mother in law passed along to us on the side.
4) Yesterday we went to the free public pool in our neighborhood (a wonderful resource!) and then came home and made dinner.
5) I booked our amtrak train for a DC weekend home exchange we are planning in September and was able to pay for all six tickets with points. While in DC we are planning to visit several Smithsonian institutions. If I didn't have to buy food, this trip would be cheaper than staying home.
-I have ordered tons of books from the library and have been plowing through them.
-bringing lunch to work every day. Fail today- poorly secured cottage cheese which leaked all over everything else
-switched the cat to generic food. The cat seems a bit miffed about this but is not starving.
-was tentatively planning a weekend in Italy, but booked in an Eastern European city instead. Cheaper flights, hotels, and probably everything else too.
-did a lot of organizing of closets. Donated a trunk full of clothes and also made a trip to the dump. Organizing saves money for me because then I see what we have and what we need.
1. I altered a pair of jeans that never fit right and I had put in my donate pile. I figured if I was going to lose the money I had paid for them anyway, I had nothing more to lose by attempting to alter them. I haven't had great luck altering jeans, but these worked!
2. We received 20 lbs of fresh ripe peaches from a friend!
3. I filled out the paper for the library summer reading program and got 3 books for myself and 3 books for my grandson, all free.
4. Sold an item on FB marketplace for my son.
5. Making soup in a cast iron pot in the solar oven today.
Road trip version:
1. Gas is cheaper everywhere than at home
2. No coffee maker in the motel and when I walked to the gas station down the street, the woman GAVE me coffee this morning.
3. I only ate chopped veggies and sliced cheese while driving 468 miles yesterday (until I caved and spent 3.99 on a Haagen Daas bar)
4. Using my own cup, the 2nd cup of coffee at the next gas stop was .99.
5. I finished the veggies and cheese this morning on the 300 mile drive. Pretty good, because I really wanted to stop for breakfast.
@Central Calif. Artist, You totally deserved the ice cream.
@Rose, thank you, because I thought so too. It was the first ice cream I’ve had since I was in Texas in early May. I LOVE ice cream but am fighting like the dickens to stop being “pre-diabetic”. Sigh. I also thought about M&Ms much of the drive but being frugal saved me from that slippery slope. Thank goodness for the distraction of audio books!
@Central Calif. Artist, remember Big Pharma has pushed glucose level from 120 (and it used to be a 24 hour fast) to 100 and a 12 hour fast. So if you are between 100 and 120, don't let corporate greed win. Even China balked at changing from 110 to 100 and that tells me something.
@Selena, I've only learned the A1c number, not the fasting number. I didn't know that the standards had been changed, but am not surprised. (Thank you for telling me!) NO FLIPPIN" WAY will I go on any of those scary drugs. I plan to use a continuous glucose monitor to learn exactly what works for my body in terms of food consumption and exercise.
P.S. Yes, I know those drugs help some people, but it seems wrong that Big Pharma keeps pushing stuff. Aren't the doctors supposed to be making the recommendations rather than patients falling for advertisements and then persuading their doctors to prescribe these things??
@Selena, people who are diagnosed as prediabetic are not generally encouraged to get on a drug to help with their blood sugar. The first line of defense for this is lifestyle modification, with very reasonable changes that are basically healthy for anyone, prediabetic or not. See this page on diabetes.org: https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/prediabetes
Also, the ADA did change the preprandial (fasting) glycemic target ranges in 2015, but they actually RAISED the lower number, for fear that people were over-treating: https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/45/Supplement_1/S83/138927/6-Glycemic-Targets-Standards-of-Medical-Care-in
And lastly, the diagnosing numbers are ranges, not a single number. Currently, anything less than 125 mg/dl is not diagnosed as diabetes, and anything between 100-125 is diagnosed as prediabetes.
One other thing: there are medical reasons that people are supposed to fast for 8 hours but not more than 16. I totally understand that big pharma is problematic and all, so I'm with you there, but please don't assume that every medical recommendation is hogwash unless you've got solid evidence to back it up.
Jana, the A1C measures your blood sugar levels for the last three months, so it tends to be quite an accurate measure of blood sugar. It's not like we just caught a peek of your blood sugar on a wonky day that way. 🙂
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, @kristen - pre-diabetes is like pre-engaged or a little bit pregnant - a made up word/term. Big Pharma pushed for the number changes pure and simple. I have an uncle who has a Masters in Nursing so I get plenty of accurate information. While smoking is not good for you, smoking does not guarantee you'll get lung cancer, die prematurely, have a heart attack or stroke. Might increase your odds but is not a sure bet.
No two people are alike. Big Pharma has suckered the medical profession into scaring people. Genetics are big factor - my better half eats a far, far more healthy diet than I do (and gets more exercise) yet his glucose and A1C are higher than mine - my A1C is under 5 and glucose 82. He cut back on the two things he loves (staples of his youth), dropped his glucose and dropped 5 lbs (not that he is anywhere near overweight). Doctor said squat about lower glucose - after being on the lecture wagon previous annual check-up. Seemed shocked he dropped 5 lbs and said well isn't keeping your weight down important? Always looking for something wrong in order to push an Rx.
Free and Reclaimed Money Edition:
1. Bought some clothes:
- last day of the 33% off sale
- bought gift certificate to use to buy the clothes, so I get a $25 gift cert in a couple of months
- got double points, which should get me into a $10 gift cert
- I already have $60 for opening a store account for an earlier purchase.
(Unfortunately the order got canceled and getting all the benefits and the clothes in my hand has proven to be hassle. I repeatedly reminded myself of all the money I would save by persevering.)
2. Finished paperwork for several unclaimed checks. Strangely I’m not sure how much this will get me, some of them are marked “under $50” or “$50-99”.
3. Filed for a $16 claim payout from a data breach at a medical provider.
4. Discovered that AAA will pay some of the legal bill for a lawyer for the car-crash-related court appearance. That’ll help the person who was driving my car.
5. Asked a credit card company to please not charge me late fee/interest for the bill I missed when I had covid. Another $75 or so saved, just for asking nicely (and usually not missing payments).
6. Finally got around to redeeming credit card points for money.
Still need to file for the NAR settlement.
@WilliamB,
Wow, that's a lot of paperwork, etc, but hopefully all the payouts will amount to a nice, hefty sum for you!
Frugal things are hard to come up with. And I'm not always sure whether I've shared things as thankfuls or frugals.
1) Chai latte at home.
2) After 4 times to my favorite mechanic (5 counting the initial tune-up), the right sensor arrived and the tech responsible for the work knocked $20.00 off of his labor because I was "patient." I love those people anyway and found it hilarious. Plus the shop is only about five blocks away so I'm not out of a lot of time or gas.
3) Batched errands.
4) Didn't have many errands to start with, stop at the grocery store/pharmacy resulted in purchasing milk, ice, two old fashioned donuts (my fave) and picking up scripts. I am a diehard impulse shopper, so the donuts are minimal compared to what a store visit could be.
5) Filled up with gas in the town that I work. For three weeks it was $.20 cheaper at Casey's there than Casey's I drive past going to/coming from work in the town where I live (twelve miles). Today it is $0.04 difference
6) Sliced up all of the peaches I had to make cobbler and also baked a plum galette at the same time. Took the cobbler to work to share.
1. Last weekend we attended a trivia night at our hosted by our HOA community center. There were only 3 teams and 11 people playing! Our team won 4 of 5 rounds and we came away with a $10 Starbucks gift card, $25 Cinemark gift card, 4 boxes of candy, a Starbucks coffee, glass cup and quite a few scratch off lottery tickets which won $27! The other couple on our team had similar prizes.
2. Did a taste test on chicken nuggets and received $15, got chocolate covered bananas, a falafel bowl and Harvarti cheese for free to try and review.
3. Donated 4 boxes of random art and office supplies to a place that reuses and resells for art and upcycling. Was able to buy a few wet-erase pens I needed for my calendar for 25 cents each! Frugal fail: on my way to the center, a rock unluckily hit my newly replaced windshield and left a starburst crack. I was so mad and annoyed but was able to get it repaired for less than $100 (not claiming insurance for these windshield cracks). My husband said our new windshield didn't even last one month before the crack. Sigh.
4. Going through our stash of school supplies and planning to buy only what is needed during tax-free weekend this weekend. Also planning to buy socks and other clothes for my kids using my $5 Kohls cash and other coupons during this weekend.
5. Eating through the pantry, hanging laundry up to dry outside, batching errands, reading library books and watching Olympics on network TV for free.
Frugal fail (or not): my 16 year old son just got his driver's license and we just paid for his insurance (ugh!). My husband asked if there were any discounts he could qualify for and he will be able to get a good student discount in January when we renew our insurance for the year. His grades are good enough to be over the threshold for being a "good student". We aren't buying him a car and he is ok with only driving to school on Fridays when my husband works from home and he has to stay late after school. We were hoping my MIL would be agreeable to "car share" with him because she hardly drives her car anymore but she was not. 🙁
1. We are potty training our toddler, so we are going to save money (eventually) by going through fewer diapers.
2. I bought 11 pairs of preloved shorts at Once Upon a Child for our toddler after realizing his were a little too snug, making it tricky for him to push them down to potty. I bought more pairs than I usually would so that we have extras for the inevitable potty training mishaps. While I think the prices were reasonable, it makes me so grateful that we’ve largely used hand me downs previously!
3. Maybe not frugal, but definitely satisfying: I worked on reducing the amount of “tolerations” around the house. (I first heard about tolerations from Ingrid Fetell Lee, who does research around joy and how to create a joyful home. Highly recommend her work!) I replaced a broken child proof cabinet latch, I swept out Halloween-level-scary cobwebs from some corners outside, and I *finally* put up outdoor cafe lights that have sat in a box for the last 2.5 years.
4. I’ve mended countless board and other books to help keep them readable. I’m so glad our toddler loves books and am happy to have well-loved books, even when I need to do occasional repairs.
5. I finally started wearing a pair of pants I’d had in my closet for about two years- I thought I was going to fix them in the inner thighs. I know Kristen has done this successfully, but when I looked at the poor quality of these jeans I decided that it would be a lot of work to try to repair something that will just fall apart around the fix. So, I’m happy to be wearing them around the house until they fall apart, and then I will save the better pieces for patching knees in kid clothing.
Frugal-ish: when I finally got around to making a rhubarb cake, I discovered some of our rhubarb had turned to slime in the fridge (yech). However, fortunately most was still fine and the cake turned out lovely. I picked some more rhubarb today and will either use it or freeze it so it doesn’t happen again!
Took a load of decluttered house/kitchen items to the local thrift store.
Put out a notice for snack items to donate to the teen backpack closet. Every week, teens can go to the charter school and pick up a back pack full of snacks/fruit/drinks to help fill in nutritional needs. We do about 250 backpacks per week. I have one company who allows me to put out a display of needs/poster w/backpack filled with examples. A tote for employees to deposit the donations.
3 elementary schools + HS has daily breakfast and lunch sacks w/2 sandwiches, cookies, drink and fruit. Our backpacks are for the fill in snacks that growing kids need.
Delivered tomatoes to barter for cucumbers to pickle. Roasted 4 beef bones for the neighbor dogs.
1) The kids and I went to the dentist and no one had any cavities! I then spent $12 on celebratory Frappuccinos for them. That might not sound frugal, but they somehow are extremely motivated to brush and floss well by the promise of post-dentist Starbucks and it’s a lot cheaper than fillings.
2) I convinced my 8 year old to get a lemonade at Aldi vs. a restaurant in the same plaza. He spent $0.89 vs. $4 of his allowance money. I’m counting this as an investment in his financial education.
3) I called a repair person to come fix our dryer, which prompted DH to order the parts to fix it himself. Plus he will have the kids help, a win all the way round. The appointment is 2 weeks out, so I will cancel it if he can fix it. While I completely agree with Kristen that you do not need whiskers to fix appliances, appliance repair is just not an area of strength for me.
4) I made lunch for everyone rather than going out to eat after church on Sunday.
5) Also in the category of financial education, I gave my 12 year old his back to school clothing budget and took him to Plato’s Closet. I just stood back and let him handle figuring out what he needed and paying for it. He even brought his calculator! And, unprompted, he left himself about 1/3 of his allotted money in case he needs something as the year goes on.
Hi, Long time reader here from Norway!
Somebody may have commented on this already, but I haven't checked through all the 100+ comments. I just wanted to let you know that the large planter that you painted dark pink (the one on the right hand side in the photo) looks to be a highly collectible mid century ceramic planter, designed by Richard Lindh for Arabia, Finland. There might be a stamp under, you could check (unless its painted over!). Very sought after, and sells for at least $ 100, maybe more, depending on size. This looks to be a larger size, which is rarer and pricier.
Well done on all your frugal finds! 🙂
Ohhh, I wish it was ceramic but it’s just plastic!
I needed ink for the printer and I use it a lot for the club I belong to. Often I buy the economy pack of all cartridges but I eventually get to only needing the colors. Right now, just the colors. I had a $17 credit. And free shipping.
Last night dinner was not entirely frugal but better than takeout. I stopped at the market on the way home an bought prepared food--orange chicken and fried rice and a loaf of discounted bread ($13 for two). When I got home, my husband said he had thought of ordering burgers from The 99 but it was $17 an order of which I would have to go get anyway.
My local meat market put an ad up for a 5-lb bag of chicken tenders $9.99 (make my own orange chicken). I am going there today to get a bag of chicken and some burgers and I don't know what else; but From just the first two I'll get 4+ meals. We'll go from there.
I boiled up a couple of our fresh eggs for work lunch yesterday. No bread in the house, so I took crackers.
Drying basil
Canning pickles
Home grown corn on the cob
Library books
Not all frugal but good
Librarian here: interlibrary loan (ILL) is always free for books that your local library doesn't have. They will be the same checkout length as your usual books. If it's not obvious that your library offers this or you can't tell how to do it a librarian would be more than happy to help. I've never heard of a library not offering ILL in my 15yr career.