Five Frugal Things | basil, peaches, shampoo & more
1. I got two Maui Moisture products for $4
You know how I get that $10 CVS credit every month, but only pay $4 for it?
(It's the ExtraCare Plus program, and it costs $48/year if you pay annually.)
I used my $10 credit, plus a sale, plus an ExtraBucks offer to get two bottles for a little over $4 out of pocket, and I got $4 of ExtraBucks after my purchase.
So, my only cost was the $4 that I pay for my $10 credit every month. Sweet!
2. I shipped two eBay packages
My scrub watch shipped (here's why I sold it) and also an old piano theory book that I'd had listed on eBay for years.
This is why I have a list-it-and-forget-it approach to eBay; you never know when someone will come along and buy it!
(I'd listed that book and then stuck it in my piano book files for safekeeping, so having it sit around all this time wasn't bothering me in the slightest.)
Of course, I shipped them in saved padded envelopes.
Related: Here's how I sell books on eBay.
3. I sliced and froze my bruised peaches
Sonia alerted me that the produce stand has bruised peach boxes now, so I popped by and got a basket of bruised peaches for $15.
I paid with some of my cash from doing jury duty. 😉
I sliced them up on trays, froze them, and then put them in freezer bags once they were frozen solid.
Mainly I use them for smoothies and I gotta tell you, they taste way better than commercial frozen peaches. One time I bought a bag of them from the store and was like....uhhh, where is the flavor?? They weren't very sweet at all.
And of course, it also makes my heart happy to use peaches that might have otherwise gone to waste from being bruised.
4. I got some freebies at Noodles and Company
You know my study buddies and I frequented Noodles and Company this past semester for our pre-exam study sessions, so as a slightly silly grad gift to them, I wanted to buy Noodles gift cards.
Noodles was running a promo where you could get a free $10 gift card if you bought $50 of gift cards, but as an accidental bonus for me, they had none of the $10 gift cards available.
So they gave me two coupons, each worth a free meal, and that's actually way better than a $10 gift card.
Also: when I opened my Noodles app to scan it at the register, I noticed I had a free dessert in the app. So I picked up a Rice Krispy treat because the ones at Noodles are actually really good.
And that's in stark contrast to the packaged ones from the store, which taste nothing like regular Rice Krispy treats to me.
Noodles and Company uses real butter in their treats, and I'm positive that's the difference!
5. I planted some old basil seeds
I figured it was worth a try to see if they would germinate and...they did!
Sweet.
This is more of a collective frugal musing. 🙂
Saturday was so nice that my husband grilled meat for the week on our patio. We actually had a moment of mutual laughter, realizing that:
--The grill was free from a friend who was downsizing.
--The fire pit was thrifted for $30.
--The patio was built with Habitat Restore stones.
--Our antique wooden folding chairs were also from Habitat.
--The landscape rock surrounding the patio was all free from Facebook marketplace.
--Most of our flowers were gifts from gardening friends.
--Our folding picnic table and stools were a gift from my Dad (who should have been a professional carpenter) when we had our first apartment together.
--Our 1890s house is as second hand as it gets, and we adore it.
--And many, many more.
It was just a really lovely "This is ours, and it's good" moment to share.
@N, It is truly amazing what you can with secondhand items and a bit of creativity. It sounds like you have frugally built a beautiful home and backyard .
@N, I love that you shared this lovely moment with us
@N, I join in the praise for your and your DH's lovely frugal moment. DH and I used to have, and I still have, similar moments in glancing around our living room. And I'm sure many others of us here can say the same.
@A. Marie, The life you and your DH built together is definitely a goal to aspire to. HUGS
@Beverly, Aw, thank you!
@Bee, The same is true for most here, which is why I love this place. 🙂
I went away this weekend, so I didn't save a lot of money, but here are the things I did manage to do:
1. I stayed in a less fancy hotel. I would have preferred to have stayed in the more funky-looking place but it was very expensive and it made more sense to stay somewhere cheaper.
2. This didn't save money as I still had to buy a ticket, but I went to a museum first thing in the morning which was wise because at that time I had the place to myself! I was going to go the day before but could see it was very crowded so went the next day.
3. I went to a museum which WAS free.
4. I decided to go home on an earlier train and was able to refund my ticket, and the new ticket was actually cheaper.
5. When I got back there was food for dinner which I bought before I left, which was good because all the supermarkets were closed yesterday!
1. My partner cooked from the freezer/pantry yesterday. The only thing he added was broccoli we’d bought on sale when we went grocery shopping on Sunday. He usually cooks to recipes and I’m the one who cooks from our stash, so this was really nice!
2. I had a themed conference (Rock and Roll) and don’t buy merch when I go to concerts, so I borrowed a few band tshirts from my neighbors. They’ve been wash and are hang drying.
3. So far this week, I haven’t spent money on food or drinks. I knowwww, it’s only Tuesday. My goal is to go a whole week until Saturday - I have plans I made months ago.
4. I refinanced my car loan! I’m going through my credit union now. I shaved off 3 months from the term of the loan, and went from a 7.99% rate to 4.5%. So the monthly payment is still a bit less. But I’m going to keep paying the same that I was to get rid of the loan even faster.
5. Went to a fitness class last night that I’d already paid for even though I had a headache. It made my headache go away!
@Katie from Buffalo,
Wow! Lots of great wins this week.
@K D, thank you!!
Re: the jury duty $$$: Looks as if Chiquita is planning to take the money and run, thereby adding larceny to her cat crimes!
Now, FFT, Free Stuff and Good Neighbors/Friends Edition (revised/updated from several comments at the NCA):
(1) A neighbor down at the cul-de-sac put a bunch of plants and pottery on her curb with a “Free” sign early Sunday morning. My final haul from this pile is as follows: one pepper plant; two philodendrons that I carved out of a hugely overcrowded pot of them; and five pottery mugs, two small and three large vases, and a bowl. I may use some of the big vases as garden bed ornaments, and I’ll be putting the bowl on top of a vase to make a sort of Zen birdbath.
(2) And on my way home from errands Monday morning, I encountered the generous neighbor out for a stroll. (She's a master potter and perfectionistic about her work; hence all her "thirds and fourths," as she called them, on the curb.) I thanked her profusely, and a flourish of compliments ensued on both sides. I'll make sure she gets some of my dill and fennel, which she enjoys, when they're ready.
(3) On Sunday afternoon, I attended a “meet and greet” session for one of our city's mayoral candidates, at the home of a friend two blocks away. I was able to persuade several other folks from our street to attend; the candidate herself is one impressive lady, both personally and politically; and I was happy to donate to her campaign fund. (Also, the refreshments were awesome; our hostess and her assistant are both fabulous cooks.) I’ll have just enough time to vote for this candidate in the June 24 primary before I catch the train to NYC for my visit to JASNA BFF.
(4) Speaking of the train trip, I took advantage of Amtrak’s senior discount, of course.
(5) And, as usual, I will be packing with an eye to whatever I can donate to BFF’s local Housing Works charity shop, in order to make room for purchases. I don’t plan to stint myself at the Morgan Library gift shop or anywhere else. (Frugal sorry/not sorry!)
@A. Marie,
Gardeners are like magicians to me. I am currently trying to transplant some succulents. That last lived but the deer ate them.
@A. Marie,
That sounds like my kind of free pile! The pottery finds sound exceptional. I have taken many plants off the curb over the years on yard trash day. I have a beautiful topiary that I simply trimmed up, a fiddle fig tree which is now 6.5 feet tall, African irises, and many orchids that were no longer in bloom.
@Mary Ann,
Deer, bunnies, and birds are a problem many gardeners have but, it has nothing to do with your skill level. Last year, I had a beautiful donkey tail which is a cascading succulent, but it was picked cleaned by the cardinals. The bunnies are nibbling on my white caladiums. I just embrace it. I consider my yard a sanctuary for these animals. There really isn't much else that I can do.
@A. Marie,
Your #2 - I would LOVE to have access to seconds (thirds, fourths) from a great potter. No wonder you grabbed it.
@Mary Ann,
It's that time of year where we do a lot of our home maintenance stuff. Doing a lot of it ourselves saves a ton of $$! This week, we:
1. Power washed our own home. After two uses, the equipment paid for itself compared to hiring out. Plus, we do a better job (IMO).
2. I repaired and refinished two pieces of deck furniture. The pieces would have cost well over $500 each purchased new. Total coast to repair, refinish was less than $75.00 + a days worth of work.
3. We continue to tend our veggie garden. We should start harvesting the lettuce in the next few weeks.
4. We took a staycation. Between many unexpected expenses (our senior puppy isn't cheap!), we decided to stay home, do some chores (see #1, 2 & 3), some hiking (free) and a day trip to a museum and small coastal town. This was way cheaper than our usual vacations.
5. We used gift cards for many of our dinners during our staycation.
@Sarah, I prefer to do my own pressure washing too. The pressure washing companies in our area use strong chemicals and occasionally have damaged my plants. We recently split the purchase price of a pressure washer with our son who lives nearby. It will quickly pay for itself!
We're getting low on meat, which means I'm cooking things I normally avoid, like the stew meat pieces from the ram. I also had the idea to use the heart still left from the last cow we got like two years ago with the elk meat we ground Sunday. Heart on its own has a softer texture I don't really care for, but it's not noticeable mixed with the other meat.
Also, lots of things from the garden right now. Mostly lettuce, but also green onions, dill, parsley, asparagus, rhubarb, thinned carrots, cabbages, collard greens, and today I'm very excited to cook some beets. 🙂
1. Redeemed my Fetch points for $35 Amazon credit. Waiting to use them in a timely manner.
2. Staying put on Saturday and Sunday saved on gas! I'm glad we did, because DS had a mild fever from his wisdom tooth extraction (he got them out at a younger age than his brothers did, and opted to NOT be sedated! Which actually made caring for him easier, since he wasn't groggy when he got home.)
3. Monday it was back to school; by the end of lecture and then a lab exam I was dragging, so I helped myself to the free coffee my school offers in the lobby. I don't normally drink caffeinated coffee but it was needed.
4. Clark upheld his reputation as a Frugal Frisky Feline by begging to play with a Nerf bullet we found while cleaning. He likes to chase it and carry it around and look for doorways to stuff it under. Slowly he's learning if he stuffs them under the fridge they will not be quickly retrieved for him! We have so many Nerf bullets from years of four boys doing Nerf battles...
5. Library books forever--also rereading my favorite Miss Marple mysteries (in order, naturally). It's a nice balance from my current library read, The Quiet Damage, which is interesting and terrifying at the same time.
Nearly forgot--mulberry season has started here, and I've been getting at least 5-6 ounces each day out of our tree in the yard. There are more trees around the area, but obviously with a kiddo recovering from oral surgery I wasn't going far afield, so I just popped out each day to shake down the tree. The easiest way i've found to harvest mulberries is to spread a sheet or tarp on the ground below the tree and shake the bejeebers out of the tree--if you have a very tall person that's helpful--and all the ripe berries will drop and the non-ripe ones will stay on the tree.
@Karen A., we'll be having abundant local mulberries here in a couple of weeks--but I tend not to gather and eat them because I find them rather sickly-sweet. Would mixing lemon juice in them or something help with this?
@Karen A., I have tried to find a mulberry tree to purchase. I am in the midlands area of SC, and although they grow here, the local stores don't seem to sell them. Enjoy your berries!
@A. Marie, What I do is freeze them (on a single layer on a sheet) and then store them in a bag, and use them pretty much just for pies or crumbles, and yes, lemon juice and zest go a long way in helping, as well as not putting much sugar in the recipe! I also sometimes pick a few less ripe berries to mix in with my ripe ones, that helps as well.
@Marlena, They seem to grow wild here--there's a few in our yard, but also along the city's land by the wall near the highway (those are not as healthy), and a huge few trees in a park near us. I rarely see people gathering them, either--I think most people think only birds can eat them!
The other thing you could do is combine them with fruit that is more tart, like rhubarb (I know it's botanically a vegetable!) in a crumble, or, again, use it with other fruits and reduce the sugar. Frozen they are not as sweet, so I like to put frozen ones in yogurt.
@Karen A., I have Quiet Damage checked out from the library but haven’t gotten to it yet. My only sibling has become a conspiracy theorist and I’m seeking more understanding.
@Karen A., we have a mulberry tree thatsgave fruit once since I moved here. Dh has lived here since 93 and says thats the only time hes ever saw it give fruit too. Any ideas why or what i can do?
1. We went camping for a week! Anytime we camp, I feel frugal from comparing the cost of a camp site to the cost of a hotel room.
2. We tent camp - and we didn't even have to buy a new tent this year. We had some neighbors in *very* expensive motorhomes next to us and across from us, so our tent felt extra frugal.
3. I packed all of our food, then we stopped at a grocery store to pick up the few things we ended up being short on. All in all, we ate almost all of our food! While we did get ice cream twice, the only meals we ate out were on the drive there and back.
4. We got back Sunday night, then my oldest kiddo left for summer camp on Monday morning. We paid our balance with cash to avoid the processing fee.
5. My middle kid is really into Garfield right now. For the last couple of months I've been ordering lots of Garfield books through interlibrary loan and even some DVD's of the Garfield TV show (that I believe was on when I was a kid - I didn't realize I had watched it until the theme song started and I knew every word!) For our trip I took advantage of interlibrary loan, stuff from our own library, and an audiobook and some music downloaded from Hoopla that gave us plenty of free entertainment from our library system.
We're still on our campping vacation so not a lot of my usual frigals.
It was free fishing weekend in Michigan (no fishing license required). My husband caught a three pound bass, which made a nice dinner for us.
We're taking advantage of lots of free fun -- hiking, and we spent an afternoon at Soo Locks, watching freighters pass through the locks. Tomorrow we're visiting the free Spam museum.
We only ate out once this week. I cooked some very nice meals.
I needed a few more pairs of underwear and socks to make it until we're home again, so I washed them out in the sink and hung them to dry.
We're reading lots of free library books.
@Cindi, nice free catch on the bass! And I'll come visit your SPAM museum if you'll come to Upstate NY to visit our JELL-O museum (https://jellogallery.org/).
@Cindi, there's a city park/campground at Soo Locks straight east towards the bend of the river that is CHEAP (nothing fancy, literally just parking spots with few trees) next to park/public boat launch/ferry. We camped there many times & the freighters turn the bend (feet from the shore) & you have front row seats to it all.
@Cindi, Is the Spam Museum in Michigan? We'll be up near the Soo Locks in August, so we might have to add this to our agenda if it is!
@Ruth T, A Spam museum is in Austin, Minnesota, (home of Hormel), as well.
Free, friendly, interactive, and I think perhaps free samples....
@Heidi Louise, Would that be "Spamples?"
@Chrissy, Oh, dear-- I have not been there, but expect the place is full of such puns.
@Regina, wow. I wish we'd known about that.
@Ruth T, it's in Austin , Minnesota.
1. Received two Stella del Oro daylilies from Buy Nothing. Also, a CD player and metal scoops.
2. Gave away two rugs and two new dish towels on Buy Nothing.
3. Did not purchase ice and water refrigerator filters from Amazon. Spent $10 more elsewhere, and I’m OK with that.
4. In the ongoing saga of removing paint from places it shouldn’t be, I tackled the paint-splotched stair handrail brackets. Got free advice from Ms. Google and learned that the brackets are solid brass. According to Bob Vila from This Old House: “Before you start cleaning brass, make sure that the item you are cleaning is, in fact, brass. … Place a small magnet on the metal. Magnets will not stick to solid brass.” I did not know this. So we removed the railing and brackets from the wall and got to work on removing the gunked on paint with Goof Off and then cleaned the brackets using ketchup and elbow grease.
5. Picked up a bag of groceries from Buy Nothing that no one else wanted. Included were two boxes of a very low-end mac ‘n’ cheese; I kept the noodles and tossed the packets. I donated the non-vegetarian items to the food shelf.
FFT
1 - For only a small price increase, I upgraded my internet to a much faster speed, as I work from home 90% of the time and have a lot of video conferencing meetings which sometimes freeze. I moved my cell phone from this same provider to a different one at a savings of $30/month.
2 - I used a free night award from one of my credit cards to stay in a hotel in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It is so beautiful there. I really dislike travelling by car so rarely go even though the Rockies are just a few hours away.
3 - I did a mystery shop at a local eatery and will be reimbursed for my meal, so one dinner on the weekend was free.
4 - I used a grocery store gift card promo to receive 7 $10 gas gift cards for free.
5 - I sold a few items on ebay that had been listed for quite some time which brought in a couple of hundred dollars. Patience is key on ebay.
After no rain, now we are having rain every day, which brings its own problems, but - I don't have to water my plants every day!
My FFT:
1. After making chicken stock in the crock pot, I canned the stock in the pressure canner, getting five and a half pints. It saves room in my freezer and I don't have to wait for it to thaw when I want to use it.
2. Someone- maybe here or someplace else?- mentioned eating radish greens, which I'd never tried at that point. I found out they are reasonably tasty, so I picked a big bag full of them from my garden, used my thrifted salad spinner on them and cooked them in my inherited-from-the-MIL huge pot, in a dab of fat left from cooking bacon I had pulled from the freezer. I got several cups of cooked greens out of it.
3. I get a cup or more of blackberries every day right now from my plants, so last night I made a crumble out of them with ingredients on hand.
4. I cooked the crumble in my toaster oven which I sat out on my screened porch, to keep the house cooler.
5. I have picked 13 nectarines off my little tree and have 3 or 4 left to ripen a bit more before I pick them. This is only its second summer in my yard, and it's still not much taller than me, so I was delighted to get so many. They are small, but delicious. Last year it only produced one nectarine and a critter got it just as it ripened.
@JD, I commend you on your cooked radish greens. (I'm a bit leery of cooked greens ever since my first-grade teacher tried to force-feed me turnip greens. But, of course, it's a well-known fact that cooking in bacon fat improves nearly everything.) And with all the rain here in Central NY, it looks as if I'm going to have a bumper crop of wild black raspberries (aka "blackcaps") this year--so please pass along your crumble recipe.
@JD, I've been putting my extra fruit into individual/small round/square aluminum containers with crumble topping (uncooked) in the freezer to use/cook later. I just write (in marker) Apple Crumble bake 45 minutes 400* on lid before putting in freezer for later. Plus they fit in the countertop toaster/pizza over.
@A. Marie,
Um, let's see... It's from Doris Janzen Longacre's book "More With Less" and I think it goes like this:
2.5 cups of fresh (or frozen and thawed) fruit such as berries or sliced peaches
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
dash salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted
Spread the fruit in a buttered baking dish. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the egg to the flour mixture and combine until crumbly and well mixed. Sprinkle the flour mixture evenly over the fruit then pour the melted butter all over the top. Bake 25 minutes at 375F.
DH, who liked to play with words, always called this a fruit scruffle, who knows why, so that's what the kids and I have always called it, too. But the official name is Fruit Crumble.
@Regina,
That is a good idea!
@JD, thanks for the crumble recipe--but I'm now sorry I had to have you type it out, since I own both of Doris Janzen Longacre's books! I've always thought that DJL's tragically early death from cancer at age 39 was a great loss to the frugality movement.
Sadly, I am the only one in my family who likes peaches so buying them unless I am guaranteed to eat them is not frugal.
1.) I too sold something on eBay. I have a pile of other things to sell as well. I don't get rich on it but it is nice to get a little extra cash.
2.) Went to the doctor which is a ways away so I took advantage of the trip and stopped at the Super Walmart to stock up on things I can't get locally. Saving on trips is great.
While there I got the copycat Raising Canes sauce and can confirm that it is pretty close. Walmart is killing it with their fast food copycat sauces (they also have a Chick-Fil-A sauce dupe and a McDonald's Big Mac sauce dupe.)
3.) Got some swell new Converse in by watching sales and buying last season's colors. I know Kristen will buy used sneakers but that is a line I won't cross. I will sell mine (or my kid's though ...) So now I have two more pair. It might be time to retire some of mine but I'll have to see.
4.) Used some coupons at Harbor Freight on some of their loss leader tools. I actually did need a pick set so now that has been added to my toolbox (literally!)
5.) Bought a watermelon in the United States and did not go to Japan to buy one. I paid under $5 vs $100 for one in Japan. So that's really thinking of ways to save money!
(okay that is a joke but it is funny how here buying watermelon is frugal and elsewhere it is a luxury.)
Real #5.) Did not buy a Nintendo Switch 2.
1. I got a very small grant from my city's art council to buy banners to advertise my stage show at festivals and carrying cases for my sound equipment. The grant was a few hundred dollars, but it is also $200 that isn't coming out of my pocket for things I planned to buy anyway.
2. I got crafty with supplies on hand to cover the logo on a free notebook. I'm using the notebook for camping recipes because on my last big trip, I was eating the same things way too often because I'd think about making something and realize I couldn't because I don't have a real kitchen. This will help with food planning, what kitchen equipment I need and don't need, and food waste.
3. I made scissor fobs (think of it as a key chain for scissors) by drilling holes into random plastic trinkets people give me during my shows and stringing them on bead wire. Hopefully the fobs will help me keep track of my scissors so I don't have to consider buying replacements (which I did and then found the lost pair after I came home from errands.)
4. I mended some clothes and found more that need mending.
5. Did the usual: Refilled my reusable water bottles and put them in the refrigerator for daily drinking, washed a load of cleaning rags and cloth mop pads, reused bread bags for dog pickup.
Sometimes I think Kristen is going to kick me out of the commentariat because it is a "splurge" season in my life. I just celebrated a year in retirement. It has been a dream of travel, restoration and rejuvenation. It has also been ridiculously pricey. I did read a Wall Street Journal research article on the curve of spending in retirement. The first few years tend to have a big jump and then things settle down. That is true for me.
Anyway, after 3 weeks straight of four/five hours in the summer sun landscaping, I treated myself to a spa day. Hits and misses:
Hits:
1. I signed up for a locals 20% discount at the fancy casino spa and went on a Monday at 9 am. The place was empty. Loved it.
2. I brought a protein drink and ate the free snackies for breakfast and lunch.
3. The deep tissue massage really helps me to maintain my high activity level with zero anti inflammatory/ pain medications.
Misses:
1. I never do mani pedis. I just can't wrap my head around nail care ( or make up for that matter.) The the tech did a below average job and the cost was 3 times what I would have paid locally.
2. I experienced "massage flu" last night. Maybe this is residual guilt for spending money on myself . Maybe it was pent up emotions that were released during a day of solitude and quiet. Don't know.
Anyway, I am going for a long hike today which is free and healthy. Balance in everything.
1. I dislike buying greeting cards so I made birthday, Father's Day, and anniversary cards out of the, um, very abstract watercolours that my daughter and I do together.
2. I made a large batch of vegetable dumplings and froze them. It was kind of a pain (dumping-making always is!) but they taste really indulgent for something that's just vegetables, tofu, and a wrapper.
3. I made the simplest possible skirt out of a length of fabric that I've had lying around since 2018. I sewed four straight lines (including hemming both layers,) inserted an elastic, and it was done. (https://www.instagram.com/p/DKcuLLnx-Nf/?img_index=1) if anyone wants to see 🙂
4. We're caught in a limbo where we might move in the next two months if we can find something we can afford...or not. I refuse to spend money on storage furniture if we're leaving in the next two months, because we don't know what we'll need in a new place. So today, I'll be covering another old diaper box with contact paper to be a storage box for toys, and we'll see if that makes our living room more tolerable.
5. We're out of bread, so I'll be firing up the bread machine today.
@Meira (meirathebear.wordpress.com), Very cute skirt!
@Meira (meirathebear.wordpress.com), I cannot claim credit for this idea, but we moved to a Father's Day book instead of cards. I got a nice, hardcover book with thick, plain paper inside and each year my kids trace their hand on one page and either draw a picture or write him a message on another page. I didn't start it as a money-saving thing, but it's been nice to look at over the years and see the history.
@Ruth T, that's such a sweet idea!
@Sophie in Denmark, thank you! I'm trying to use up the fabric I have but the stash seems to mysteriously grow, sometimes.
@Meira (meirathebear.wordpress.com), That skirt is gorgeous! And I'm pretty sure your card recipients much prefer your and your daughter's creations than anything Hallmark can come up with.
@Meira (meirathebear.wordpress.com), Simplest skirt possible, but I've been sewing for about 60 years, and most people don't figure out the folding and making it self lining. Very well done, and quite lovely. Great fabric!
I wish our farmers markets sold bruised fruit at a discount. I've never seen it around here. Best I've seen is a local u-pick will sell frozen bags of blueberries and blackberries in the spring when making room for that year's harvest.
This week I had the kids over to grill pizza's this weekend and used BOGO dough balls. Not as frugal as making your own, but at about $1/each for good dough...it's a great time saver when needing 5 or 6 crusts.
I bought ice cream for $1/half gallon. We had that for dessert after pizza. I also stocked up the fridge with some for DH for later.
I sewed some potholders with material I already had.
I bought brand new, still sealed Christmas puzzles at goodwill for $1/each. We do puzzles from Thanksgiving til New Years and have one out on the kitchen table the entire time so these were a great find.
I bought a brand new, still in box tumbling composter for $20 at a thift store. I have wanted one of these for years so at this price, I was thrilled. It would be more frugal to not have bought it at all, but I spend money on compost so it will pay for itself within a year. Plus, I have somewhere to put all my kitchen scraps.
Thank you for all the wonderful green bean recipes that people posted last week. There were so many good ideas.
I also sold two items on eBay last week. I helped my sister-in-law, the interior designer, clean out her storage room last week. In return, she gave me some of her fabrics and trims that are available to the trade only. I sold two large pieces on eBay immediately. They were an absolute bargain for the purchaser. However, I'm happy that my good fortune was passed on to someone else.
I drink primarily filtered water. Sometimes I really would like to have something else. This week I prepared several 8-ounce mason jars of infused water and stacked them in the refrigerator. I used various combinations of lemon, ginger, and mint. These are very tasty and have the extra benefit of having anti-inflammatory properties as well as extremely frugal.
My daughter-in-law brought over her bolted lettuce which I put outside in the bunny garden.
I had a box of gluten-free pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joe's that I had bought last fall. I'm not sure why I had not used it. There were a few other items that I needed to use up, including I had a box of gluten-free pumpkin bread, chopped dates, coconut and walnuts. So I mixed it up quickky and this provided a lovely addition to breakfast on Sunday.
Of course, I did all the usual things. I ate my meals at home, brewed my own coffee, and read library books.
Wishing everyone peace, good health, and prosperity
We're having a hot spell in the PNW, so we went camping. So much fun. My neighbor's grandson house sat/farm sat and he did a great job. Priceless!
Found a retired guy who is willing to tinker with my dad's rototiller. To replace it would cost thousands and he wants the challenge.
Bought a pair of crocs w/stickers for $5. At the same garage sale I got last year's book club books for $0.25 ea. I bought 20 books and am set for this next winter's reading.
I keep a milk crate of books in the back seat to fill up little libraries along our travels.
I picked up 4 large outdoor cushions for my outdoor furniture. I bought 25 yards of fade resistant Sunbrella fabric at an estate sale for .50/yd and will hire my friend who keeps begging for piece work. She will love the extra cash, I will have a matched set of outdoor cushion covers.
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, how wonderful of you to fill up Free Little Libraries when traveling. When kids were younger & we were camping/traveling I used to hit up every secondhand store in area(s) looking for books. When youngest (teen) outgrew the books we sold as many of them as possible at sales. When we were getting ready to move we ended up taking 6 milk crates of books to 8-10 different Free Little Libraries in different areas to get rid of them. Later went back (to a few close by) & they were all gone. 🙂
@Regina,
That is fantastic that you gave to the Little Free Libraries! Thank you!!!!!
It's esp. good to do so during the summer, when school is out and the kiddoes need things to read. Yesterday, a TV news report quoted a reading specialist (professor) as saying children may lose 2+ months' worth of learning during summer vacation, and back slide. So that next fall, they'll start school at a lower reading level than what they had in May (or June or whenever school lets out). Ditto, math. (Horrors!) So if anyone has old books (or math stuff), now is the time to "seed" them out in the community! And please read and do math with your kids every day!
1. I made banana muffins with over-ripe bananas. My son is eating them for his school snack this week. I used another over-ripe banana and some over-ripe mango to make smoothies for my daughter. She did not eat all of the smoothie so I froze the rest into popsicles for her, which she has been eating for snacks. I used left over bread and croissants to make baked French toast for my kid's breakfast this week. I used left over focaccia bread to make croutons for my husband's lunch salads.
2. My employer has an app to track healthy habits, steps, etc. I earned $75 on the app and used some of that to purchase a gift card for my daughter's teacher for an end-of-year gift.
3. I picked up a middle logo school t-shirt for my son from Buy Nothing, as he will be going to middle school in September.
4. I scheduled by annual OB/GYN appointment and went to the dentist for a cleaning. Preventive medicine is always frugal!
5. I purchased 2 packs of chicken breast and 2 packs of breakfast sausage for 50% off at Aldi.
We had a decidedly unfrugal weekend – I needed to restock the kitchen after eating down our pantry and fridge/freezer and we drove to a zillion graduation parties meaning lots of gas and gifts for the grads. Anything frugal is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
1. Even though we were running around I made sure to pre-plan to have our meals at home and packed a couple of snacks for the road.
2. I received an Amazon package for something I didn’t order. I tried to find out how to get it to the correct person but I didn’t have any information so I am now enjoying a little gift.
3. For the last day of school my son is heading to a local amusement park. I opted for him to have the school provided lunch instead of the meals available at the park and he packed an empty water bottle to stay hydrated.
4. I dropped off a book at our neighborhood Free Little Library while taking the dog for a walk.
5. I picked up some clearance tomato plants. Our CSA doesn’t usually have many tomatoes included so hopefully we’ll be able to get a good crop on our own. I used pots we already and used the last of the potting soil that I picked up on sale at Aldi.
@Geneva,
Your story about getting am Amazon pkg. you did not order reminded me of something that happened to my sister a few years ago. She kept getting area rugs from a well-known on- line store that she didn't order. I mean nice, big designer rugs. She got four different rugs over a few months.
She was never charged for them and the company could never figure it out, but they finally stopped coming.
They told her to just keep them! She didn't need them, so she donated them to a local church thrift store.
Cute little basil seedlings! That's such a great herb to have on hand for cooking.
I'll see Kristen's CVS gloat and raise her $67.09! I needed to pick up a prescription and also was running low on some supplements (CoQ10, Calcium + D3) and body wash, and had some coupons expiring today, so made a quick trip to CVS and picked up $160 of same for $93, in quantities that will last well into 2026-27 (and yes, I did check the expiration dates). Between Buy 1/Get 1 Free and Buy 1/Get 1 50% off, plus 3 coupons for 30%/10% off one purchase and 10% off entire purchase, my receipt says "Today You Saved $67.09" or 42%. "ExtraCare Card Year to Date Savings $208.13." I passed on using a $1 off Ghirardelli dark chocolate bar because (a) I really don't need to eat that and (b) even with the coupon it would still have been more expensive than at other stores. And even the prescription was $10-$12 less expensive than the last time I refilled it, but I assume that's thanks to my insurance company, not CVS.
You are a true CVS queen!
@Kristen, I'd rather be ABBA's Dancing Queen but, alas, I am neither "young and sweet" nor "only seventeen."
I planted herb seeds from the dollar store. Most germinated.
Did not eat out at all last week. Actually ten days and counting.
Spray painted many yard things around my house to give a nice refresh instead of buying new.
Found pants that actually fit my short self on clearance for 2.44. Bought two pairs. This is cheaper than my usual thrift store. LINEN BLEND yay
Happy summer!
-Inadvertent frugality- spent a bunch of money on some new linens for the house as I was expecting guests. But the linens didn't arrive on time and I made do with what I already had...now I will just return them
- had a pretty boring weekend so spent little money
-changed all of my repeating subscriptions etc to my card that gives better travel points
-normally pay a cleaning lady every 2 weeks but she has not been available for several months. I am doing it myself. Saving money but house looks worse haha.
-rescued some bananas on the cusp of rotting and made baked goods
Hehe, "house looks worse" made me giggle!
I'm staying inside with a fever. Working in a drug store means I get exposed to lots of whatever-it-is that's going 'round. And sure 'nuff, I came down with it. Called in sick today, which is not frugal, but at least I won't be out where I can spend money.
1. Turned down an invitation to a friend's "party." (One of those things where they try to sell you stuff.)
2. Checked on my mutual funds, so that hopefully I don't have to borrow the total amount of money for the roof. Still checking prices. (To that end, does anyone here have a metal roof? How do you like it? Was it worth the money?)
3. Made a pitcher of instant(non-fat dry) milk, which I already have in the pantry, instead of going to the grocery store when I feel so punk.
4. Keeping the AC thermostat at 78 degrees (F.) and using fans to circulate the air. When outside temps are 90 degrees, it feels nice and cool and saves on the power bill. I'm keeping the (insulated) drapes closed on all the windows; also "foiled" (put aluminum foil on) all the back windows the keep the sunlight out.
5. Filling up all the ice cube trays! Never did get the ice maker installed on the new fridge, but I'm using its container to hold the (DIY) ice cubes so I can make more. Lots more!
I hope you feel better soon!
@Fru-gal Lisa, the few things I know about metal roofs is the flat/sheet style (like barn roofs) & contractors say that cheaper than shingle style roofs (metal or asphalt) but they are loud, especially during rain. Some did reccomend additional barrier like foam to help with extra insulation. I have not heard about what kind of heat retention or about metal roof shingles styles.
@Fru-gal Lisa, Feel better soon.
@Fru-gal Lisa, we have had metal and shingled roofs. I prefer the shingled mostly because when there is a thaw and we have tons of snow on the roof, the shingled melts slowly and drips gently and the metal shoots the snow off the eaves with a deafening crash that startles the cats, the dog and me. Heaven help you if you happen to be standing where it crashes down. It's not a very technical reason to prefer shingled but there you go.
1. I stocked up on things that had a good sale or coupon at Kroger last week. One of those was a microwave dinner for only $1.99. I hadn't planned to buy it but at that price, I thought it was a good idea to get it and have it in the pantry for an emergency.
2. I had a day when I was feeling exhausted and generally terrible, and I really wanted to order takeout or something. Instead, I found things to eat in my pantry and freezer that I didn't have to cook, including that microwave dinner.
3. The bananas I ordered arrived very ripe and bruised, so I made banana bread with the good parts of the bunch.
4. I gave myself a haircut. I have long, straight hair, which I trim about once a year. Doing it myself saves time as well as money because it's very quick and easy to do. It would take much longer to go to a salon and wait.
5. I got a bookcase for free. My sister was moving and getting rid of all her furniture, including a bookcase that's just like mine. So now I have a matching set.
Is that shampoo good?
I have some basil growing too!
1. Bought plenty of Walmart clearance bread.
2. Made probably the biggest ebay sale I'll ever make (it was a car record player/changer my husband found at a used store).
3. My last 2 ebay sales I've packaged in reused materials.
4. My kids got their book for book club from ebay.
5. We've been working like crazy redoing my mother-in-law's floors, but I've managed to have food ready ahead for dinners so we don't spend a fortune eating out
I picked up 7 kilos of bashed up apples on a farm clearance rack and turned them into apple cider vinegar, something I usually do in the autumn with windfalls, but the apples presented themselves yesterday. So now the fermenting is happening and there was next to no waste.
I used my own compost and leaf mulch to hill up the potatoes.
I picked the first garden peas for dinner which were delicious! Also the first strawberries, and it looks as though we are in for a bumper crop this year. My efforts from last year of building new raised beds and digging in fresh compost are paying off. I also deer fenced them in with wire fencing left behind from a neighbour’s old project.
We are eating salad greens, Asian greens and herbs from the garden, so those items do not need to be purchased for the next four months.
I bought some half priced cases of wet cat food so my old man cat is set for the next little bit. He’s not picky when it comes to wet food, so I was happy to buy a food he doesn’t normally eat.
That’s a lot of food related items from me!
This past week, one of our church deacons who is a professional window cleaner was cleaning out gutters at a neighboring house. When he finished there, he came and cleared mine out as well and replaced some of the gutter covers. Also cut a tree limb that was brushing one the edge of the roof. Two slats from my back porch awning had blown free in a wind storm a couple of years ago. He was able to put those back in place. I asked him to let me pay him, but he would not take any money. His whole family is a great blessing to me even without helping me out. It is nice to be able to stand on the back porch in the rain w/o drowning.
Salvaged some tomatoes I bought at the last Farmer's Market and a Misfit eggplant by making a pot of ground beef based veggie soup with several other veggies on hand. I had very little appetite this past week and my tummy did not tolerate the thought of much of anything. By making up the soup and getting a general "lay of the land," in my fridge and pantry, the idea of cooking and eating meals has picked up. I had spent a lot of time outdoors, planting and weeding as well as the weekend working.
I planted the hostas that were leftover from our plant sale. (Free)
I placed a trellis in front of the service entrance/meter bout 8-12" out from it and am training a volunteer milkweed vine (cynachum laeve) up it rather than planting or buying a different vine.
I broke down a wooden raised bed/box that was rotting, leaving the dirt in place for my new rhubarb plants. Hoping that with dirt bermed up they will grow and prosper.
Chai latte at home, bunched errands, distilled water for drinking.
1. I was able to request three free samples of (very expensive) designer wallpaper, with free shipping as well. I don’t intend to order any, but the samples are 8.5x11 and may either frame nicely or be pretty in some other way.
2. I redeemed a $5 birthday reward at a local cafe and was able to have a (cheaper) afternoon away from the kids.
3. I thought I must not have qualified for the free Starbucks birthday drink (you have to make a purchase within the year), but I just got an email about two weeks late and happily picked up a breakfast sandwich as a treat.
4. A friend gave us two huge gallon ziplock bags of freshly picked asparagus. Yum!
5. I took home two dozen eggs from a coworker who keeps chickens. I also took home some miscellaneous cookies and almost-dry bagels that no one wanted. The bagels will reheat just fine. I love free food!
1. We made meals at home. We brewed coffee at home.
2. The carafe broke and my husband was able to buy a replacement. We didn't need a whole new coffee machine. We bought some pre-made coffee to drink while we waited for the replacement. It was cheaper than buying coffee each day. I bought McDonald's coffee one day because it is cheap, hot, and adequate in a pinch.
3. I am making a quilt out of old denim, but I am currently at a standstill. I have exhausted my old jeans supply and there's not enough to finish the quilt. However, two kids will shortly outgrow their wardrobe and I should be able to acquire more holey jeans soon. This will be the third such quilt that I have made. I am using thread that I have for most of the quilt. I will buy backing fabric, matching thread, and batting eventually to finish it.
4. One kid has a birthday this week. I bought presents, mostly, ahead of time as I found them on sale. The party will be at our house and I will make most of the food from scratch.
5. One kid finished a latch hook project. They are using a hoodie with a broken zipper for fabric and leftover fluffy filler to turn it into a pillow.
@Nikki, I had a super king size jean quilt out of all of our family jeans & fleece backed for my (now Ex) husband. I drew the design out on paper & put all different kinds of pockets (even with nail polish on a few) for a few bottom rows.
My regret is not keeping the quilt as it was made specifically for my bed.
1) I continue to eat the free breakfast and lunch provided by the program where I am doing a training. We didn't have any meal vouchers for Sunday, but the church I attended (I found it by googling as I am in a different city for the duration of the training) served free lunch after the service for anyone who wanted to stay for Bible study. I enjoyed a good lunch and an intellectually rigorous Bible study. Win win. Then I used a gift card that I have had for who knows how long to get a burrito at Chipotle for dinner.
2) When I received an email from Quickbooks saying their prices were going up, I checked both of our accounts to make sure I am getting the best deal.
3) I took a long (free) walk last night instead of going out with other folks in my program. I am all for networking professionally and building new friendships. But we just spent all day together. I have no desire to spend money to be social when I don't have to be.
4) My tube of deodorant is running on fumes, but I am determined to stretch what is there instead of paying an exorbitant amount for a stick of deodorant at CVS. (Side question--why in the world are the deodorants in a locked case at CVS??)
5) I also sold a thing online Friday night. I bought a big wedge pillow when I had my surgery, but I haven't used it once since, so a few weeks ago I posted it on FB Marketplace. Friday night a woman messaged me who had just had knee surgery. She cashapped me the money, the husband picked it up off our front porch, and we both got a deal.
It seems to be a banana bread kind of week. I made banana walnut bran muffins from scratch yesterday and they are divine! Also chopped up carrot, celery and half an onion lingering in the fridge and froze them for use in future soups, stews and vegetarian cottage pie.
Did some alterations for the 4th time on a thrifted top. I would not have hung in there tinkering with the fit for so long except that the fabric is so cool in hot weather. This time I think it's right.
Been enjoying the free Waffle Game online word puzzle and reading library books.
I feel like I've been spending money like its going out of style. I did use the last $3 of my Firehouse Subs card on my lunch today. I used my HEB Partner card to get 25% off my grocery run last week (on store brands, which is pretty much how I buy anyway). I used a $35 Amazon gift card to buy a couple of things that have been sitting in my cart. (I earned it for referring someone to Everlywell) And not terribly frugal, but the World Market near me is moving and everything in their store was at 40% off so I did some Christmas stocking shopping. But really, I need to slow the shopping - I keep saying that.
I repurposed an old bag. I washed an old heavy fabric tote bag I ran across a few weeks ago. I now use it to store my weights at the senior center I attend. It's easier to leave them there rather than haul an extra 6 lbs. back and forth. I believe I hurt my neck last year by lugging this extra weight around.
I've been using up my old lipsticks by applying color with a Q-tip. While I have a lipstick maker to remake lipsticks that I bought after I saw it on Shark Tank years ago, you need quite a few to make a whole new lipstick. At one point, though, a few years ago, I used about a dozen nearly gone lipsticks to create a few “new” lipsticks. It really is a neat invention.
I created two Google documents on my phone. One is “what we ate,” the other one is “5 frugal things” so I can easily track of these all week. Also, Kristen, I always go back to your posts a few days later to read additional comments and replies.
I figured out that my Sam's Club generally has chicken legs for 98 cents a pound and chicken thighs for $1.28 a pound. So instead of waiting for a sale on these at Kroger, I'll buy them at Sam's from now on. And I prefer how they are packaged at Sam's, too. I need to also check out their price on chicken breasts.
I repaired my purse. I switch purses when summer starts. I discovered a tube of lipstick stuck in between the lining and the outside body of my summer purse. It drove me crazy but I finally found a small hole in a seam of the lining and got the lipstick out. Then I used my sewing machine to stitch up the seam.
One should never discount (but don't rely on) seeds germinating.
It is really easy to be frugal when you have no time to spend money. Still no definitive answer on best cat ever health issue. But the $5K+ CC bill was easily absorbed in the checkbook. Mass is not cancer. Nasal may or may not be a sarcoma (cancer). We'll keep him on the antibiotic with an anti-inflammatory bonus. If you saw him, you'd never know he's had health issues. I'm not knocking the vet school but the words "unusual" and "rare" tells us this is something they've not seen before.
If you lived close to me, you'd be a recipient of a quart of organic grown strawberries. Better half and I are not in agreement - a lot of blossoms on the plants but she who picks them (small feet and squats), is not seeing berries equal to blossoms. This fall I will be thinning out the patch - even with barely size 6 shoe, some berries have to die for the cause.
And violets in my berries starting last year. You are welcome any where BUT the garden area (we have 5 acres). And are only popping up in my berries (won't be for long).
Kristen- I'm glad you got a great deal with the entree gift cards! The basil plants are looking good!
Here's my fab 5:
1) The car that grandpa gave us decided to not run and leak all over the driveway. We ended up jumping it so we could drive it to get fixed. It needed a new battery and had fluid leaking and not sure what else...... The good news is that grandpa had an extended warranty and everything was covered. Savings- $800+
2) I purchased some collectible cards for my son but he didn't want them. I sold them for $20 more than I paid.
3) I signed up for a credit card and got a promo offer of a free round trip ticket. Hmmm, where will I go? Savings- $1,000
4) I needed some makeup and got good deals on Ebay. Savings= $15
5) My job gives us a free pair of shoes every 2 years. Savings- $73
My Frugal 5’s +
- Batch run errands so saved on gas.
- At the library: Picked up free lunches for the girls, dropped off returns, picked up RSVPs, got freebies from summer reading program, notarized document.
- Tighten eyeglasses at my optometrist nearby for free since they felt loose.
- Walked across the street to my bank to deposit about $11 in change into my checking account.
- Been eating down food from the fridge.
- Husband is fixing up our old camper instead of buying a new one so we can go camping.
- Had to call medical billing since they charged my girls for the full cost for their medical instead of applying the new insurance. $750 saving there!