Five Frugal Things | Even though it's Cyber Monday!
I know it's Cyber Monday today, but I felt like writing a frugal post instead of a deals post. 😉
1. Mr. FG and I made a fresh new budget.
As with all fresh new budgets, this one will need a month or two of test-driving to see if it's right for us or if we need to tweak a few things.
But at least we have a baseline for tweaking.
2. We picked out a new healthcare plan.
Missing open enrollment at work is the opposite of a frugal move!
So we dove in, sorted through the various plans, did some calculations, and chose the plan that seems the most realistically frugal for our family.
(Realistically frugal as in: not the rock bottom plan with a gianormous deductible. Because that only ends up being frugal if you almost never go to a doctor/therapist/specialist other than for preventative appointments. And with six people on a plan, the odds of that are low.)
It's always a bit of a gamble, picking a plan, because you can never know what will crop up healthwise over the course of a year.
3. I helped Sonia make a pair of pajama pants.
The first pair was a little pricier because we had to buy the pack of elastic, the thread, the pattern, and the fabric (using a coupon, of course.)
But each subsequent pair should only cost $11, and we plan to have a pajama-making party with one of the girls' cousins.
(This was the test pair so we could figure out sizing for the pajama party.)
4. I made a PT appointment for myself.
My left shoulder has been bothering me, and normally maybe I'd wait to get it looked at just to see if it works itself out because December is not a time I look for extra things to do!
BUT we met our deductible this year, and it resets on December 31st.
So I figured that if I'm going to have some PT appointments, I might as well make time for them in December.
5. I did not buy all the Ikea Christmas decorations.
We made a trip yesterday to pick up a desk for Zoe, and they have such lovely Christmas things there right now.
But I did not buy any, since I already have plenty!
Your turn! Share your Five Frugal Things in the comments.
P.S. If you take advantage of Cyber Monday deals today, don't forget to sign up for Rakuten (double cash back today), and also enter in the $100 Rakuten giveaway I am running.
You get a gold star for avoiding the Christmas decor at Ikea....its soooo pretty!!
Those hanging stars?? So beautiful!
I'll be honest, I might have caved and bought some of those if I could have thought of a place for them in my house.
Trying so hard to be frugal right now by keeping my head buried in the sand to all these "deals" out there right now.
1. Traveled to my parents house for Thanksgiving and wasn't asked to contribute any food. (They know I can't cook and they really don't want to eat anything I can make) I did bring an amish made pie!
2. Wow is it hard right now to not fall for all these "deals" I've told myself over and over that I DON'T need any of these deals. The majority of my holiday shopping is done. I did visit a locally owned "seconds/returns" store on black Friday and buy some socks, hats and gloves for the kids and a coffee pot for my mom (I broke hers on Thanksgiving...oops!)
3. I hate passing up on all of the holiday events that are going on right now, but I need to keep myself and kids away from vendors and stores that have "pretty" things. I've planned a few good things (roller skating, live nativity, etc.) to keep us active but NOT buying things.
4. I'm attempting to stay positive about the amount in my checkbook. Payday isn't until Friday and we have very little until then...BUT I keep telling myself that we have food, we have gas to get to work/school and we have electricity and heat....we are FINE! We might be more "broke" right now rather than "frugal" but this is only a phase.
5. Doing all the normal things, packing lunch for work, drinking coffee at the office or home, wearing thrift clothes
1 frugal thing here...I'm glad I waited to do my online Christmas shopping until today! Have you seen the Rakuten cash back %'s for Cyber Monday?!? 11% for Kohls and 10% for Walmart, I got some smokin' deals on items I was planning to purchase anyhow.
Ohh, thanks for the reminder! I added a link to that at the end of the post.
1. I mended some seams of my wallet that were loosening up and more socks.
2. The metal ring of the handle of my leather bag broke and I fixed it provisionally with duct tape. I will order a new ring which is cheaper than buying a new bag.
3. I made muffins with a banana my SO brought from work. No need to buy something sweet for the afternoons at work and less food waste.
4. I baked the muffins when the oven was already warm after roasting sweet potatoes.
5. I started a new job last week and they have complimentary tea and coffee. I also brought lunch and snacks everyday
1. No need for grocery shopping this holiday weekend due to all the holiday leftovers
2. Stocking up the freezer with leftovers and homemade turkey broth
3. Ignoring Black Friday, small business Saturday and Cyber Monday
4. Increased my FSA deduction at work
5. Staying cozy on the couch, no eating out or movie theater trips for us this week.
I should have added something like your #4...we increased our contributions to Mr. FG's 401k at work and also increased our HSA contributions.
Congrats on the new job, Jenny!
And woohoo for mending things. I love it when I can extend the life of something by fixing it.
We are remodeling our kitchen (going on six months!) and the costs just keep piling up, even though we are being careful with purchases and are doing everything ourselves. Here are 5 frugal-ish things in the last week:
* Went to Ikea to buy a $400 shelf system for our kitchen pantry; left with a $100 shelf system
* Brought leftovers for lunch today.
* Returned some remodeling purchases that we ended up having too much of--got $300 back!
* Did not go shopping on Black Friday and will not shop on Cyber Monday
* Will have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow also.
Oh my word, kitchen remodels are SO HARD. All the love to you. I hope that the project wraps up soon!
We signed a contract for a home and it wont be ready until April. We are using this time to go through our 16 yrs worth of stuff we have acquired since moving into this house plus our home will be half the size. I am having GREAT success with selling our Christmas decorations/items on Facebook market and our community private group. Even just giving away the massive quantities of stuff we have accumulated has been so freeing.
We had Christmas stuff we just haven't used and we would drag it down from the attic and take it back up. It's also nice knowing someone else will use it.
Additionally my kids dont want any of our stuff so keeping it is senseless.
I think this is so smart. I was just talking to Mr. FG yesterday about how I hope to consistently declutter as we age so that we will not end up with a huge accumulation of stuff to go through when we retire.
Way to go for getting the PT appointments in before the end of the year!! I should schedule my doctor's appointment soon since my year resets March 1 and we already had some major medical bills this year.
1. I got to go Black Friday shopping with my mom this year! (We start at 6am, which is when we wish all stores still started.) I stuck to my list, paid way less for items for my kids than I anticpated having to pay, and my mom and I worked together to get the most out of our coupons (ex: We had $108 worth of stuff from Lowe's - $13 from me and the rest from her - but we split our orders into two $54 orders so we could both use our $10 off $50 coupons.)
2. Every year I get a small something for the families in our life group. When I saw that Lowe's was having poinsettias for 50 cents on Black Friday, I decided that would be the gift of the year. $2.50 total!
3. I make photo calendars for my in-laws that live overseas and this year my sister-in-law said she'd like one for their family gift, too. While I managed to get my order in during the promo of $5 for one 12x12 calendar and 50% off the second, I apparently clicked the wrong thing when I made my order. So 2 blank calendars showed up at my door on Saturday instead of the ones I had spent hours putting photos into. Yes, there were a few tears involved. But I called customer service, was kind, did not attack or assume that it was their fault, and asked if there was anything they could do to help me. They offered to ship 2 of the correct calendars for only the cost of shipping. Yes! So what could have been a $50-$90 mistake was only an $11 mistake. I'm so thankful.
4. I gave my son a haircut at home this morning.
5. Leftovers are the theme of the day! Breakfast included leftover french toast, lunch for everyone (except my 3yo who just wanted a banana) was leftovers, and we're doing leftovers for dinner before heading to an event tonight that will have lots of desserts.
I'm impressed at your Black Friday shopping! Good for you.
1) I didn't go see Hamilton. I have been dying to see it for years, and it is finally in my city. We could swing the tickets, but the double babysitters to watch our four small kids put us just over my frugal limit. It was looking like a $500 night. I just couldn't do it.
2) The black Friday deals we took advantage of were things we have been planning to buy for our office for almost a year. We were just waiting for them to go on sale.
3) My husband and I had a really great budget meeting on Sunday to finalize our December budget and our Christmas budget. We are usually on the same page about things, but Christmas is special. My husband absolutely loves Christmas and giving gifts and filling stockings and all the things. While I am normally a well-adjusted, mentally healthy person Christmas does things to my brain. Happily for us both we have been able to negotiate a middle ground.
4) As part of our Christmas Negotiation I am on board with our Stocking Plan. We picked out stockings for the kids, and I ordered them this morning. Of course I got my 15% off welcome coupon AFTER I placed the order even though I waited and waited for that thing. So I called and the company generously agreed to refund me back 15% of the purchase.
5) Our second child turn six on Thursday. I wrapped his gifts (we got him a present, and I gave our other kids a budget to get him gifts too) in paper that was given to us years ago. I will make the cake and dinner he requested at home. I do need to pick up cookies to take to his class.
Hope you see this, Amanda. Hamilton always has a lottery for $10 tickets. The odds are long, but it's worth a shot (inside joke). Two different friends have actually won, so I know it's possible. It's an experience you won't forget.
Funny (and NOT frugal) story - when we saw Hamilton, there were two kids a few rows in front of us, all dressed up in Hamilton dud$. Their enthusiasm was palpable. Mom came from somewhere else in the theater to take their picture. On a hunch, I chatted with her. Yup. When the kids entered and won the lottery during a school break, mom and dad went on Stub Hub to buy tickets for the same show. They had decided to make it a family outing, since the kids were not old enough to drive themselves to the show. Well, that and the fact that they live over a hundred miles from the theater... I can't imagine what their total outlay was. Moral - If you go to the theater, always plan to arrive early. You never know what happens before the curtain rises. It cost us nothing to enjoy their spendiness vicariously, lol.
Also, ushering is a great way to enjoy free shows, especially if you have a local theater. Probably not so much when you have little kids, but it's something frugal to look forward to.
Made homemade hummus with a can of dented chickpeas from the store for 25 cents. Made homemade pitas to go with since I forgot to buy them at the store.
Picked up a bunch of kids Halloween craft kits for 90% off after the holiday. Will save them a year to keep the kiddos busy next fall.
Went to the bigger cheaper further away grocery store and got meat for the week all from the reduced rack.
Made a homemade card for my Grandma’s birthday instead of buying one.
I worked Thanksgiving day so we celebrated at my parents’ the day after. Consequently the fresh flowers I always buy my mom for hosting were 50% off! We got a big beautiful arrangement in a glass vase for $18.
1. I upped my 403(b) by my 3% raise coming up in January.
2. I upped my HSA to the total allowed since I learned about keeping HSA funds through to retirement; and, my employer makes a nice annual contribution.
3. Movies at home all weekend.
4. Meal planned and did a $45 shop.
5. My local shop still has a nice $2.50 chardonnay!!
1. Won a gift box of SweeTango apples in a raffle on Facebook
2. Submitted mileage reimbursement through work, which was approved ($38 for 2 months or mileage)
3. My mom is going to Asia for 6 weeks for vacation. So she gave us the food from her freezer along with Thanksgiving leftovers. We only spent $16 on groceries this week
4. Still breastfeeding my 1 year old
5. My son has a bunch of birthday parties coming up. I have managed to keep each gift at under $10.
Oh, we did the reimbursement thing on Saturday for Mr. FG's work trip. Such a big pain, but it's a lot of money to get back!
Sure is!!
Good job with the bfeeding!!
I have one amazing frugal thing... My husband and I paid off our house! 10 years ago we were drowning in debt and now we are 100% debt free. Frugal living works!
Oh my word, that is AMAZING. Congratulations!!!
Thank you! You and your frugal blog co-horts are a huge reason why we were able to get to this point. I know a lot of these frugal tips and tricks are second nature to so many people but they weren't to us. I learned so much by reading blogs and book recommended by blogs etc. Was like a whole new world opened up to me. So thank you Kristen 🙂
Aww, I'm so glad to have been a small part of your journey. But YOU deserve most of the credit for doing the hard work. Yay you!
#LifeGoals
Congratulations
Wow! You deserve a big cheer! Too many people 'drowning in debt' choose bankruptcy so huge congrats for doing it the hard way!
Congratulations!!
Congrats, wow!
I admire your restraint with the IKEA Christmas decorations, I’m terrible when it comes to seasonal frippery.
1. I waited to fill the petrol tank of my car until the price had dropped by more than 30 cents a litre.
2. I opted for buying soda water instead of the kombucha I really wanted (but honestly, four dollars for a little tiny 300ml bottle???)
3. I started buying the ingredients for my breakfast smoothies and preparing them myself instead of buying the pre-prepared frozen packages.
4. I started the process to change one of my contract plans to a cheaper one
5. I managed to resist buying the artisanal bread and get the normal stuff this week.
Kellie do you make your own kombucha? It is so, so, so cheap!
1. Speaking of which, I brewed the tea for another batch yesterday. Four tablespoons of loose tea, a cup of sugar, and the SCOBY and bottles I already own.
2. My husband and I love real Christmas trees, but he is unable to help me anymore, and frankly, wrangling even a six foot tree into my small car then trimming the lower limbs and bottom, dragging it into the house and setting it up by myself, decorating it, keeping it watered and taking it down after Christmas was getting a bit much. So was paying $50 to $80 a year for a tree. So this year I took the plunge and went to Lowe's for an artificial tree. I got one with LED lights (so no real extra added to our electric bill). It looks nice, they had them on sale, and I got my husband's veteran discount on top of that. It cost me less than what I would pay in three years for real trees. I plan to use fresh cut pine, cedar and cypress cuttings from my yard to decorate in the house and give us the real scents. It's the end of an era (40 years!) of real trees, but it was time.
3. I bought some gifts on early Black Friday sales, saving some real cash. I haven't seen anything I wanted for gifts so far for Cyber Monday, but I'll look. I only buy gifts on those days as a rule, nothing for me. It's always stuff I planned to get anyway. Most of my shopping is done for this year.
4. I traveled this weekend, taking snacks and drinks with me. I bought nothing but gas going there and back.
5. I just redeemed $25 of Swagbucks by paying $22 worth of Bucks again. I'll use that for a couple of remaining small gifts.
A real tree just does not make economic sense, that is for sure! And if you have no one to help carry it, then it makes even less sense.
Fifteen years ago I made my decision about live tree vs artificial. I considered convenience, lifetime price, environmental burden, frequency of use, and likelihood of use in any given year.
I decided to get a high-quality pre-lit artificial tree, which cost me about $400 new. I am more likely to use an artificial tree than a live one, the lifetime cost is much cheaper, I love the convenience of a pre-lit tree, and I can have a tree *and* travel.
Years ago I noticed every time we had the live tree in our house for a week or so I got sinus infection. Finally I said enough! I think this tree is bothering me. My young (at the time) son was so disappointed but while I still get sinus infections it is not at Christmas time.
And by the way on the news last night they had a story saying it is probably not a cold but allergies because of your live tree.
1. My number one frugal hack was cutting way back on gift giving. We cut out all adults years ago. Now it's just the five grandkids, a cash bonus for a very part time employee, and several charitable donations we give to every year.
2. I got a birthday fifteen dollar certificate from Penney's and needed fuzzy sleep socks. I looked online and would have had to order a ton of stuff to get free shipping or pay 8.95 to get them delivered. Penney's is 25 minutes away, but we had to go to that area for other errands, so I shopped in person and got a ton of socks.
3. We went out for Thanksgiving with our daughter in law and grandchild. It was very expensive but we got an enormous amount of food. We all brought food home and I got four full meals from mine. Made me feel better about the price.
4. We live in the desert but got a big rainstorm last week so I remembered to turn off the automatic sprinklers for several days.
5. We no longer buy cat toys for our furry prince who rules the house. We found out he loves chewing on stiff brown paper and cardboard boxes. Doesn't eat it, just rips and spits. We assume he imagines he's bringing down big game.
I’ll always admire your sewing skills! Looking forward to the pajama sewing party post.
Couple of frugal things from Belgium/France :
- I am living in Belgium, but as it’s a tiny county, it’s easy to go to France for the weekend and that’s what we usually do. Next weekend we will not go though, so I bought enough wine for the next two weeks- it’s so much cheaper in France than in Belgium!
- Got a 20% coupon from The local DYI store which I used to buy some paint : resulted in 7€ savings
- Black Friday is getting more and more popular in Belgium, but I resisted to all temptations!
- I bought some offers at Lidl (I don’t know if Lidl exists in the US, it’s similar to Aldi)
- I did use the short washing program for clothes which just had to be refreshed
We do have Lidl here. One just opened this year. Great store! Love all the fancy imported items for tiny prices.
Thanksgiving vacation was relatively spendy (a group of us flew to visit a friend) but there were some economies:
- Flight credit from a previously-cancelled flight covered most of the cost;
- The group shared one checked bag, which weighed in at 48.5 lbs (limit is 50 lbs);
- Brought snacks and lunch for the flight, rather than buying at the airport (or worse, on the flight);
- Convinced the budget hotel to give the group most of our breakfasts for free;
- Bought only a magnet as a souvenir;
- Didn't get take-out for dinner when I got back;
- Some of the entertainment was free: T'day dinner on the boat (friend didn't want us to bring anything), sailing, some of the touristing, swimming and the gym at the hotel, movie night using our own DVDs; the rest of the time I checked for applicable discounts;
- The kennel cancelled my dog's stay so, in desperation, I called his fosterer. She agreed to take him for Thanksgiving and wouldn't accept payment. It wasn't intended to be a frugal measure but it ended up as one. I, of course, did buy her some foods and souvenirs from the trip;
Thanksgiving on a boat sounds so fun!
I HATE choosing medical insurance plans.. It feels like a total crapshoot... we are 5 people and have only ever hit the deductible threshold of our plan 1 time in years( of 5 people)... and that year had 1 kid get tonsils our and I had skin cancer removed... I am always more worried about having better vision and dental plans! Definitely get that PT in!
I know. It always feels like a gamble because who the heck knows what will happen in the course of a year??
I know exactly what you mean about avoiding temptation at IKEA. They really know how to get you. I admit that their wrapping paper tempted me this year but I have tons of leftover paper already.
1.) Did not buy a turkey this year with all the sales. Why? Because I still had one in my freezer from last year! Oops! It still came out delicious at Thanksgiving at least.
2.) Got an enameled cast iron Dutch oven as a gift for someone for only $25 plus tax via an online BF sale. It's not a fancy French brand but all accounts say it's a good choice (it's a Tramontina)
3.) Pulled the trigger and got a Target RedCard for 5% off.
4.) I had amassed a bunch of digital credit at Amazon thanks to using slow shipping. I bought a Kindle book about the Erie Canal and an MP3 album.
5.) Mentioning IKEA, one of our glasses broke in the dishwasher >_< I resisted the temptation to go to IKEA's website and buy a couple of them and then a couple other items and then a couple more things to make the shipping worth it.
1. 1/2 off every monday at last chance thrift store. Nice hand painted plate for sister $2. 2. Two really nice sweaters $5 total for me. 3. Crisp clean 8 napkins...cloth white cotton with white embroidery. $1 gift for neighbor. 4. Big mac on the way home...rarely eat these
5. Large salad at home with drizzle of balsamic reduction on sale
M- Congrats on the debt free home! I'm so happy for you!
Kristen- I hope your new healthcare plan works well for you. I find that most are pretty cheap- if you never use them...I'm on a payment plan right now due to surgery in August. I waited as long as possible to not have the surgery until last minute and once I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, high BP, and high cholesterol, it had to be done. I have now eliminated most of those and time will cure the rest since that tumor is gone.
My frugal five for the week.... Most are holiday related!
1) Swagbucks has been good. I was able to get DS1 his fave body wash on ebay for free and will go in his stocking. Savings- $15
2) Another ebay score with a cologne set for DS1 for Christmas.. Savings $65
3) I collected Starbucks points all year and got to choose merchandise as a free gift. I chose a set of plastic drinking cups w/ lids & straws. Savings- $20
4) Purchased 4 boxes of cereal on sale with a free gallon of milk included. Savings- $11
5) We've been getting free bagels from receipts whenever we make a purchase at the bagel store. Sometimes the ladies give us extras too. Savings- $6
We're doing a refi on the house and to my dismay, I took down the fake Christmas tree several weeks ago, after leaving it up for 2 1/2 years because the appraiser was coming. Hey, I gotta make this small home look b-i-g, otherwise it would've stayed up. After 18 years of not buying Christmas stuff, I decided to decorate the living room with what I have and get a real pine swag (to put above fireplace) and table centerpiece (for coffee table) from Amazon for that beautiful woodsy scent.. I couldn't find any cheaper for those, even at the supermarket.
1. I too did not buy ANY holiday decorations at IKEA. I was there twice last week! Whew
2. I made a huge pan of thanksgiving stuffing with odds and ends bread I saved overtime and froze.
3. I packed snacks for a road trip.
4. I continue to walk my dog for exercise. Lots of steps!
5. I bought nothing today on cyber Monday.
High five on the no decorations!
1. We have needed a new TV for about 3 years, and finally,today,took advantage of a Costco deal and got a nice TV for $200 off regular price.We keep our TV’s at least 10 years, current one is at least 12 years old... and we love to watch movies together with homemade popcorn..and YouTube’s, Ted talks.music,etc.. instead of other pricey entertainment.. so, this was a budget move I keep telling myself (I talked myself out of a new TV for the last 3 years..) Also am worried that price of electronics going to go up over next year or two due to various trade wars..so.. we just DID IT.
2. Planned out some pot luck meals I will contribute to, in December, using items in my freezer and pantry that need using up.
3. Making most of my holiday gifts: I make greeting cards and tags and decorative bags and give out bags full of home made cards to my friends for gifts..
4. We FINALLY went down to ONE CAR. (We are retired now.. no commuting..) The older second car was a sentimental thing for my husband but we saw the coming year might bring big repair bills..And we almost never need a car at the same time.Whew! Been talking my husband into this for last 3 years also!! Saved on tires,repairs,insurance, and I have more garage space!!YAY!
5. I meal plan,cook, and we eat at home all the time.Very few meals out.Cooking is a HOBBY so that is frugal and fun. We’re healthier, and I save tons of money over take out and salty unhealthful restaurant meals.I love making a nice meal,put some good music on Spotify, set a table..and there you go... a great evening!
Having only one car will save you so much money, time and energy for organising the repair and insurance.
1.Thanksgiving was very frugal for me.. My mom bought all the food and just left it for me to cook! he majority of the leftovers were left here also so my people were fed all weekend!
2. Black Friday found the husband and I driving 45 minutes to Rural King for a new truck battery for him.. That had been the place we were planning to pick it up as that is the BEST price around.. but the distance... they offered an additional 10% off all purchases so we took the road trip to get the battery.. grabbed another bag of chicken feed and a HUGE bag of mealworms for the girls.. while discounted!
3. Saw that a coveted video game was very discounted at gamestop so grabbed that on Friday.. Black Friday shopping is now done.. lol
4. Annual tradition to go see the decorated Christmas Trees Fundraiser this weekend.. Grabbed pizza near home with a BOGO coupon... they screwed up my order so I went back and picked up the corrected one. Packed pizza up for lunchboxes instead of just letting the kids keep eating through the night! lol
5. organized freezer and pantry before I grocery shopped this morning!
Assuming the girls are chickens, right? 🙂
Hah, I am happy to do this on Cyber Monday and kudos for making a budget -- something we need to do, too!
After a not exactly frugal couple of weeks, it was good to get back to basics. Here's a couple:
1. Called the alarm company I had gotten for my mom a few years ago, when she was living at home alone. ( It really worked and was used when it was most needed -- buttons pressed that brought instant EMT's when every minute counted. I do recommend!) However, she is in assisted care, so I asked them to cancel the rolling over twice-yearly payment. Since I can't be there to pack up the equipment and return it before Christmas, when the roll-over occurs, the nice lady gave me an extra 2 weeks into January to save me the next payment. FAIL: I should have done it sooner!
2. Did not buy any post-Hallowe'en or T-Day stuff except for a 49 cent squeaking baby mummy that laughs and lights up and a 29 cent sparkly water and "worm" filled super ball -- both for a particular student who loves this kind of thing and will work for access.
3. FAIL: Even though we go to friends for Thanksgiving, I always bring too much food and drink. My wonderful friend (and excellent cook) sent us home with enough food for the next day's dinner. It was all worth it :)!
Well, 3 is better than none.
1. Menu planned and did a big grocery trip. Hopefully it will cut down on random trips that invite splurge purchases.
2. Delayed buying school unifroms my daughter needed, as she had outgrown previous ones until today, and got 50% off + 20% rebate with Rakuten. Much cheaper than it would have been otherwise
3. Caught an order error for a Christmas present and corrected it before it shipped, which saved everyone time!
4. Chose to slow down the next few weeks and guard our time as a family, which I think will help us save energy (and consequently money) and fully invest in the things we think are valuable this Advent season. I have a tendancy to get wrapped up in the commercialism and sparkly stuff, and by choosing simplicty, I will much more easily be able to avoid that.
5. Found contentment in our home and dropped our search for a larger home. Our home definitely isn't ideal (or as handicap accessible as would be good for our son), but it has a roof and kitchen and keeps out the cold/heat. In the grand scheme of things we are doing well, and we don't *need* the bigger home we wanted to have.
I did the same thing with school unforms and purchased today! I also used a gift card for Lands End from our credit card rewards program.
1. Target had pet food buy one get one 50% off last week so I bought 4 sacks of cat food. ( I have more than 1 cat)
2. I lost my wonderful rescue German Shepherd last month. I still have 1 dog and am making myself stay off the rescue websites because I can't afford another dog right now.
3. Went to Goodwill last week to look for a black fleece jacket and found a black velour jacket for $5. Its really nice.
4. Vowed to myself not to buy any clothes anywhere between Dec. 1, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2020.
5. Went to lunch with a friend today and we split an entree.
Just a question from me - Could you maybe share how you do your budget? I am most interested in knowing how you actually write up down and keep it updated. Do you use an excel / google sheet spreadsheet, pen and paper? How do you organize and structure it? How do you reconcile it with your actuals?
I'm pretty good at setting up an amount per category and actually sticking to it (maybe that's my frugal thing contribution for today :)), but it's very cumbersome, so looking for any advice!
We've done just a no-frills document before, but this time, we set up a budget in Quicken. I've never done that before, but it was fairly easy to set up, and it produces nice graphs and reports.
I know a lot of people love the YNAB app too, and it's definitely less expensive than Quicken. But I already have Quicken for tracking my blog expenses and such, so for me it made sense to give it a try.
Ah yes I didn't realize you were using a paying software. I wonder if there's a way to replicate the experience with a spreadsheet...
Thanks for letting me know Kristen 🙂
I'm sure there is, but I'd definitely recommend looking into YNAB. It's not expensive and it's quite easy to use!
We use EveryDollar. It's free and super easy to use and change as you go. We are self-employed with an unpredictable incone so I change it up all month. I wouldn't bother with anything cumbersome or not available on my phone.
1. We’ve been saving for new pillows all year and I used the deals to save 20% on them which I’ve never seen in the year I’ve been watching them.
2. We are finally able to get the whole family on one health plan and not have two deductibles anymore. Plus lower premiums! (Yay for a new job without spousal exclusion!)
3. We are eating down our pantry and deep freeze rather than shopping for December.
4. We are putting the money that was directed to DH’s 401(k) to an IRA until he can participate in his the plan at his new job.
5. We pay daycare a month ahead to save 2% rather than paying each week.
1. We went to visit friends for Thanksgiving but kept it super cheap with a no-frills hotel and home cooked meals.
2. The only place I shopped on Black Friday was CVS, where I think I ended up making money...?
3. I am focusing on more experiences, less things!!
That's all I can think of! BTW, are you doing a thankful list this year?
I love FFT; makes me so inspired - I love the photo of your cat too - cracks me up because if you had WANTED her to get in the box that would never happen, anyway, my FF:
1. Time has gone on & some of my circs have changed so I reassessed some bank accounts & bill plans & am switching, est annual saving of $330.20
2. Redeemed rewards for supermarket vouchers so I will use for essentials
3. I don't normally shop things like black Friday but got 2 Xmas presents on sale & some ready-made curtains (my bedroom ones are getting very tatty) I had already picked out but the lovely sales assistant stopped me from buying 2 weeks ago saying they will be on sale soon! saved me $100!! Bless her
4. Did a meal plan of sorts - it's a work in progress for me
5. I worked out that if I open my toilet paper packs at one end the bag fits my small bin in the bathroom
My family thinks I am a bit over the top because I, too, open the toilet paper rolls a certain way so I can reuse it as a bin liner. And our kitchen garbage is dog food bags, and my office garbage is chicken feed bags! I like saving the money, but it is also weirdly satisfying to give the bags another life before discarding.
it is oddly satisfying isn't it 🙂 there's a cultural shift where I live too; supermarkets don't give out free plastic bags anymore, there's a ban on thin plastic bags from restaurants, we can now drop off soft plastic to recycle at the supermarket etc so I'm trying to find ways to reduce my use of plastic in all areas & it saves money (every bit counts)
Very good timing for a frugal post. I could not fall asleep last night because of the anxiety of spending on Christmas. We never do anything over the top, and yet I feel the weight of expectations as we live far away from family and my culture, and I feel like it's all on my to create the magic of the season. I need to de-stress!
Frugal things achieved so far:
1. Traveled to Orlando, FL for Thanksgiving and managed to avoid all things Disney without really planning to. We skipped the amusement parks as we did not want to spend hundreds of dollars to stand in line for a couple of hours per ride, and our kids were not too disappointed as they were having a lot of fun with their cousins. Instead, we found several awesome nature parks to explore with hiking, biking and alligator and manatee sightings. Way less sensory overload, simple and natural.
2. While traveling all week, cooked mostly in-house, baked bread and packed snacks for the long car rides.
3. On our trip, we stopped to explore the Spanish fortifications at St. Augustine. We got in free (savings of $45) as we brought our 4th-graders' national park passes with us (courtesy of a friendly ranger who reminded us of this benefit at our last national park).
4. No Black Friday shopping or other shopping last week. Did buy one Lego online on Cyber Monday which was a great deal.
5. Before our trip, worked extra hours on freelance gigs, putting away all money earned for savings until I've paid the taxes on these.
P.S. I selected a high-deductible healthcare plan for myself for the first time ever, after making all the calculations. The deductible and out-of-pocket maximum limit were low enough to make the difference worth it. In my previous plan, I was paying for higher premiums plus co-payments on top of it.
Kristina it's hard being far from family & culture - I love listening to & singing Christmas carols - I especially love to do this when baking or wrapping presents it makes the whole house feel festive & Christmassy in the car - look up an unexpected Christmas (the Auckland N & utting up decorations ew Zealand version)
woops not sure how I managed that - I meant also when putting up decorations/ watch the Auckland new Zealand version - its 5.20 min of Christmas delight
on youtube
I only bought stuff we needed on black Friday/monday. The kids are outgrowing their snowpants and gloves already and had no luck looking secondhand. 50% off Lands End for the win. We recieved the better part of 16 inches in the last 48 hours so non optional. I ended needing new winter clothes (also no luck secondhand) and was able to for a reasonable amount and have a $20 coupon that l will use for pajamas. We made a list of needs and didn't deviate from it so l think we made black Friday work for us.
That's a fantastic way to use Black Friday sales!
1. My husband ran into a curb in icy weather last month and went in for a wheel alignment. When I was looking at the bill for it after he got it home, I realized that he'd paid $85 for the alignment, having forgotten that we had gotten a lifetime alignment package on the car almost 10 years ago. I called last week to ask if it could be refunded, and then went in yesterday with my card to have it processed. I'm just so impressed I remembered over the course of weeks to do it!!
2. We've kept that base model vehicle that we got used for a smoking price for 10 years. I picked it and drove it the first 4 years, but my husband has been the primary driver since then and wants an upgrade. I've been resistant since it still works well BUT we have money to pay cash, and we've gotten a great cost per use on that vehicle.
3. I called our car insurance company to find out how much insurance would be on replacement vehicles, just in case there was a wild difference that would influence a decision between them.
4. I borrowed jewelry rings from a friend to replace a zipper pull on my wristlet/wallet, and re-stitched the strap that had come unraveled.
5. We got a 5-year warranty plan when we bought our new washer and dryer ... 5 years ago. The plastic connectors on the washer knob broke this summer and I put off calling in a claim on our warranty because summer = fun time but FINALLY called it in last week before the warranty expires and I'd have to pay out of pocket. They should be coming out Friday to make the repair.
I've never commented before, but I find these Five Frugal Things lists so inspiring!
Hmm, do I have 5?
1. I resisted the urge to buy a breakfast treat when purchasing coffee before an offsite meeting. I even made sure to keep to the simple coffee (~$2 instead of the $6 monstrosities I love)
2. Brought a reusable water bottle (that I got for free from a free alumni event) to work so I would stop buying seltzer from the bodega in my office building. No single use plastic, and save $1.50 each day.
3. Bought a pillow I've had my eye on through my neighborhood pre-loved facebook group. $5 instead of $30 from amazon.
4. Counted and wrapped my and my SO's loose change jar. (over $100!!)
5. Bought a cheep used copy of the book for a book club I am joining for the first time next month. I am also using my library app to listen to the audiobook, but I may want to refer back and i like having a hard copy for that. (the e-book from the library has a 6 week wait list)
WOO! Can't wait for the next one!
Hi Kristen
Have you ever shared your budget spreadsheet? I'm trying to create one but could some tips and wonder if you might share your shell and what works for your family when setting it up each year
I don't actually have a budget spreadsheet. We tend to use targeted savings accounts to set aside money for non-monthly expenses (so we have a vacation savings account, a clothing savings account, etc.)