Five Frugal Things | Free soap pump, Goodwill silverware, and more
1. I called Method about their soap dispensers.
I like foaming soap because it seems to be a lot less wasteful than regular liquid soap. But the last two dispensers I got from Method became nearly unusable after just one refill.
(The top just stayed down when you pressed it.)
So, I called them and it turns out that they had a manufacturing defect recently, so they sent me two new pumps to go on my existing bottles.
Yay!
2. I bought Mr. FG some Goodwill silverware.
I have been known, on occasion, to forget to put silverware in his lunchbag. And frugal leftovers are really no good if you haven't got utensils to eat them with!
So, I picked up some $0.25 silverware at Goodwill to put in his glove compartment for situations such as these.
(I know he could keep some disposable utensils in his car instead, but man, that stuff is generally terrible to eat with, especially the forks. Metal utensils are so much better!)
3. I used up a bunch of veggies this weekend.
I made roasted carrots twice, I made roasted butternut squash twice, and we had roasted broccoli with our polenta and eggs last night.
I never struggle to use up the fruit from my Hungry Harvest boxes, but I do get behind on the veggies sometimes.
This is why my Hungry Harvest box is good for me...the veggies are here, and it kinda forces me to cook and eat them.
4. I hung up a watercolor using a frame I already had.
My friend Beth (you might remember her from my birthday) sent me some watercolor paintings that she did herself, and this weekend, I hung one up in the office, using a frame that was in the Goodwill pile.
Sometimes it works out nicely that I forget to take things to Goodwill.
5. I...
...planned a menu for the upcoming week, made two meatless meals this weekend, brewed coffee at home, organized my fridge so as to avoid food waste, and sent some bills to Cigna for reimbursement.
1. Yesterday was my son's pinewood derby race. I knew my kids would be hungry, so instead of stopping somewhere I packed snacks. I"m pretty sure my kids were the only ones who needed snacks...but oh well.
2. One of the local, smaller malls has a Payless that is going out of business. I have been searching for summer shoes to wear to work. I found three pair for the same price I was going to pay at another store!
3. Went to the bins last week with my niece. We had a great time and I found a ot that I can sell on Ebay, but I also found myself some work appropriate shirts as well as some clothing for my kids. It's very hard to go to regular retail store and pay $$$ when you pay less than a dollar for most items there.
4. During our adventure to the bins, we went through the pockets of the clothing we were looking at and found 70 cents! (plus a random pill and a mint....which we did not keep)
5. Not really frugal financially, but I am in need of changing my mindset when it comes to our situation. Lately I have been feeling down about us needing to watch every penny and dime that goes out the door. I've become "jealous of the Jones" and need to be happy for what we have. I want to teach myself contentment and know that I have so much to be thankfully for. There are many others out there that don't have what we do.
I can so relate! Although things aren't as tight as I imagine them to be, I can lose my sense of gratitude so easily. Would encourage you to perhaps right 3 things you are grateful for each day for a few weeks... doing this definitely helps me:)
I've been making myself (when I get down) to self talk about things I can be thankful for.
It might also help to write about the goals you're working toward with your current frugality, and the pitfalls that you are avoiding.
Do you read the Nonconsumer Advocate? She's a good role model for pragmatically accepting her situation, focusing on her goals, and being down to earth about the whole thing.
Oh yes, I read her blog daily.
I don't know if you're on Facebook, but there's a "no spend 2019" group that might be a good fit for you. The goal is to only spend on necessities (and to be really honest with yourself about actual needs vs. wants). Some people are there by choice and some are there out of necessity, but overall, it might be a great community for you to feel less "alone" in your situation. You can easily keep up with Jones' who aren't spending 😉
Jenelle,
One of the things that helps me when I'm struggling with this is to help out someone who I know has it worse than me. It might be something as simple as taking them a meal here and there or helping them with some yard work. I have an elderly neighbor who doesn't even have electricity or running water. (Long story there.) Every day I take him coffee, or check on him, etc. For someone so down on his luck, he tells me every single day that he is blessed!!! And he will list reasons as to why he is. It just reminds me that if someone so bad off, can remember why he is blessed, then surely those of us who have more can find a few more reasons that we are blessed. He never fails to put a smile on my face!
I never thought about checking the pockets of clothing at the thrift stores and outlet bins. Great idea! Once I discovered a few crumpled dollar bills in the inside pocket of a thrift store coat I had just purchased--I was so excited.
Let's see if I can get back in the saddle with Five Frugal Things.
1. I'm near the end of physical therapy for my knee replacement. I'll still have exercises to do at home indefinitely. Last week the therapist wanted me to use weights on my ankle. Until I find if I need to continue using them, I'm using a bag of quinoa from Aldi's stuffed in my sock.
2. After therapy last week, I stopped at both Fresh Thyme and Aldis's for produce. For around 11.00, I got a ton of produce and milk and bread. Aldi's milk is .98 and their 100% whole wheat bread is 1.29. Blackberries were .69, cabbage was .29 a lb, bananas were .22 a lb., etc.
3. I also stopped at Goodwill and found a good friend's birthday present-a large wire egg basket for 3.99. They sell for around $10-$20 at the flea market. She'll be thrilled.
4. Then I stopped at Kohl's to use a $5 reward card. We didn't really need anything so I checked clearance and found a returned coir snowman doormat for next winter for 4.99. No tax since I didn't pay anything.
5. The women's ministry at church is doing a Festival of Tables event. We volunteered to decorate a table choosing one of the months of the year. I chose January because I had some funky napkins I had purchased at Ikea after Christmas with mushrooms and hedgehogs on them. I used them for a breakfast brunch for our middle daughter and now for this event using items I already had. And I have napkins left over for the next event. Good use of my 1.49!
Yay for almost finishing PT!
Thank you, Kristen!
1). Movies from the library for family movie night.
2). Put off and consolidated errands and outtings, bought gas at Costco while out.
3). We have contractors working at our house. Our dog goes to doggie daycare while they are there because he is very, anxious, excitable, and large. The days they finish early I scoot over to get him right away so I can pay for a 1/2 day vs a full day.
4). Sorted through hand me downs for my girls. Kept what I think they will used and passed on what they won’t.
5). My kids have a long weekend (4 days), originally we had planned some
outtings that would have cost $$. We cancelled our plans due to the work being done on our house. We’ve been reading library books, watching movies, playing board games, and decluttering some messy areas. We’ve been having a great time and not spending any money.
1. Knit more wool socks to keep my ankles warm, to supplement my sports socks. I used yarn I already had, and when I didn't have enough of one color, I found more that was the same gauge (which can be a bit of a hassle) rather than buying new. I now have four new pair of socks, most of which are multi-color.
Sidebar: I forgot how much I enjoy knitting while doing something else. I think I'm going to put aside the complicated sweater I'm working on and start a simpler one. From my stash, natch.
2. Didn't buy a discounted dog bed/pillow when I realized it wasn't machine washable. Who makes a non-machine washable dog anything?
3. Bought the needed clothes at TJMaxx and Marshall's.
4. Someone from a chat group gifted me his spare slide rule, after I mentioned I wanted to learn to use one but couldn't find one for a reasonable price. (Using a slide rule emulator on a smart phone would be just too painfully ironic.) I'm going to send him a box of Girl Scout cookies as thanks. Sending him $4 would be insulting, sending him $4 box of cookies is a nice gesture and supports the GS.
5. Gave up on the Chinese beef dish I made last week - the sauce is just too salty and intense. But I'm not going to throw it out. I'm going to wash off the sauce and see what I can do with the meat and veg. Puree for meat patties, maybe?
My goodness, yes, why would a dog pillow not be able to be washed? That's just crazy!
Was in the middle of typing this when everything went away????
1. OMG, a slide rule. Shades of 1970. Talk about a blast from the past.
2. Regarding the wool socks. My sister knitted a couple of pair for me that were quite beautiful, and I just wore them around the house and to bed. But the heels immediately gave out. She then changed to a blended yarn, that had some synthetics in it and they lasted longer. Have you found this also to be true?
I don't usually wear handknitted socks, so I'll find out. They're all made with the same pattern so maybe I'll be in practice replacing heels.
I bought silverware at a thrift shop for my lunches, but I went fancy -- engraved silverplate! Silverplate sells really cheaply, and I feel special when I eat my packed lunch with it. That's not my initial on the handle, but it happens to be my grandmother's maiden name initial, so I'm good with it.
1. Our workplace just initiated a 401K plan and will contribute to it, so I signed up to contribute the same amount.
2. The little laminated cubby-organizer in my bathroom was disintegrating, so I cleared a wire tiered shelf by de-cluttering some more my clothes closet, and moved it to the bathroom.
3. I picked up a bag of ugly/leftover produce at my food co-op: I got one rib of celery (!), a bundle of chard, a bundle of beet greens with baby beets attached, two purple carrots, two green onions, and some thyme, all organic, for $2.49.
4. I had been hunting in vain for some replacement dressy black flats at thrift stores. I finally combined a $20 off coupon with a sale to buy a new pair at a retail store.
5. I received my second refund from the two medical bills that were overpaid. It felt great to finally have that long insurance ordeal behind me. Persistence paid off to the tune of almost $600!
1) Husband and middle son went hiking for a few days a couple of hundred miles away, and I packed food for them for breakfast and lunch. That way, they only had to eat one meal out a day, and they had food to bring with them on the hiking trail.
2) The guy that lived in this house before us left behind some things, including some incredibly cheap and ugly shelves. I cut one in half, painted the resulting smaller shelves the same color as the living room walls, spray painted the supports with gold paint, and used them for two houseplants my sister gave me for a housewarming present. I was very pleased with how they came out, and particularly pleased I didn't have to buy anything to do it.
3) Sorting through the giant bins of kids' clothing--a hated task--yielded some more pants for the two younger boys. They always need pants.
4) Yesterday I stopped at the tiny store in the village after church intending to get a gallon of milk to make pudding for our Sunday dessert, and the store owner gave me two gallons of milk for free that had reached their "best by" date the day before. I froze one, and immediately used more than half the other for a double batch of pudding, some of which is in my sons' lunch today. They're very excited to have "pudding cups" like the other kids have. 🙂
5) My husband finally put up the double clothesline I've wanted for seriously years. (My dreams are modest.) This means that I can do two loads of laundry and hang them up, meaning I only have to do laundry every other day, rather than a load every day. I've never lived anywhere so suited for hanging clothes to dry--they dry so fast here--and hooray for not paying for propane for the dryer.
I would love a double clothesline.
1. I found mangos on clearance at Aldi for $.25 apiece. Three/fifths of us here love mangos, so I bought six! $1.50 of healthy goodness—less than a bag of chips!
2. My husband gave himself a haircut. He has been doing that for years, after watching a YouTube video. He cuts our two boys’ hair, too. This literally saves us hundreds of dollars a year.
3. We refinanced our house over the weekend! A much lower interest rate will save us thousands. 🙂
4. I’m about to pack a lunch to take to my part-time job. Both my husband and I always pack our lunches from our fridge and pantry.
5. I trade piano lessons with a neighbor. She teaches two of my kids, and I teach two of hers. Win win!
A refinance can be SUCH a big financial win. Things that save you money on a recurring basis are awesome, and when they're as big as a mortgage, they are really, really awesome.
1. My brother and kids were in town so we ate out three nights in a row and my dad paid! 😉 haha
2. I love hanging plants on our front porch (patio) but $10 each is my limit. Couldn't find any, then I spotted 2 Bougainvillea with no price so we asked about the price at Lowe's and she gave them to us for $3 each.
3. Just read "Maid" from the library and am on the waiting list for "Educated"....I am finding that it is just not worth the money to buy a book that I might not even enjoy and won't read again.
4. Got a free $5 Starbucks gift card through Shopkick.
5. And one not so frugal, my dad is super generous and gave me enough money for my birthday for new furniture for the sunroom, so I ordered a lovely set from Sam's and a rug to go under it. I am pretty excited about this. I will be nice to be "outside" but bug free. (Florida)
BONUS, today is one of those glorious days in FL where we don't have to run the a/c, heat or even fans, it is just perfect.
Just remembered another one, we spray painted 3 HIDEOUS light fixtures with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint. They are still not gorgeous but at least not as ugly. We also used ceiling paint to paint this weird ornate disk thing that is probably covering up a bad install job on the fan in the sunroom. I was not spending $20 on something that stupid!
This is such a lovely time of year to be in Florida! I don't love Florida's long summer weather, but the winter weather is amazing.
1) I signed up for a deal through Sam's Club where you pay $45 for a new membership but get a $45 credit on your account. I picked up some items that we needed (dishwasher tabs, vitamins, etc.) but the discount didn't come off. After some time working with the manager and using my phone to prove the promotion, I was given the $45 off. Thank goodness, because that is really the only reason I purchased the club membership!
2) I went to a party on Saturday where the host was providing corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. I had previously purchased a box of corn muffin mix for $0.50 so I made them and they were all eaten by the time I left the party.
3) Walmart is currently selling a necklace with my favorite breed of dog on it. It's $17 and I am in many facebook groups for that breed where people are saying that they can't find this necklace. I purchased 4 of them - one for me to keep, and three to sell. I have sold 2 for good profit on Mercari.
4) I had a Dinnerly delivery last week. It came one day later than it was supposed to, which caused me to have to order pizza since I really didn't have anything else prepped. And I even waited until 8pm because they say the box can arrive at anytime before 8pm. I contacted customer service and they refunded me the cost of one of the meals. Then once I received the box, there was some very questionable produce in it. The russet potato was already in 2 pieces and when I sliced it it had a hole through the middle as if a critter had gotten to it. I contacted them again and they refunded me another $6. I was surprised because my first Dinnerly delivery was not like this.
5) My car got towed this week. I work for one of the automakers and have been parking for a lot that is only for that specific brand of car. I drive a different brand because its 11 years old and has had no issues. However, the parking situation is causing me a lot of stress and I have to walk over a mile (round trip) to get to a lot that I am allowed to park in with a competitor vehicle. My husband and I are doing a ton of research to figure out what will be the best deal. I have always been convinced that buying used is best, but the math is showing us that leasing actually will be since I get such a good discount. We are headed to the dealership tonight to see.
1.) Bought some items on sale and found that the store had mischarged me four dollars so I went back and got a refund of the money that they owed me.
2.) Worked a bunch of overtime so this paycheck will be nice.
3.) I've been slacking off on making bread but that's tonight's big project. I plan on making at least four loaves to freeze.
4.) Did a freezer clean out and discovered we had several hams and a couple turkeys so we're going to plan a sort of pot luck event where we make one or the other and invite some friends over.
5.) Not sure how to classify this but here goes. My wife and I had a date night yesterday and we were going out for dinner. She opted to stop into this one place where she had been years ago with her parents. Well, all the dinners were pretty expensive and to find anything I would eat would've cost me around $35 or so. I ended up having a literal panic attack scanning the one page menu over and over to try and find something, anything, that I could eat before my wife suggested we leave and go elsewhere. We did and ended up at a more modest place, had a good meal together and it was like $35 total. Still a special splurge but not a stupid amount of money.
I think your last one is classified as "Wife and I chose to splurge the way we were comfortable with, instead of getting trapped into something we'd regret." Good for you!
Thanks. It was incredibly embarrassing and I'm pretty sure we got judged by a lot of people.
Whom you will never see again.
Anyway, that's why you deserve kudos for getting up and leaving. That takes moral courage.
That happened to Mr. FG and me once too! We sat down, looked at the menu, and were like, ummmm, no.
I will happily admit I have done this even after the waiter brought water to the table. Sure, it was tap water and free, but often that can feel like you've now committed. But, they didn't have something we were ok with, so.... we left. And, had a great dinner elsewhere. Going out is about enjoying your time with others, so we focused on that 🙂
1. A big one … I made my last orthodontist payment for my last kid! I feel like I’ve been paying for kids' teeth for half a lifetime! It’s been interest-free all this time, but not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. It felt so good to take the orthodontist’s name out of the “bill payer” on my credit union website.
2. Gave a greeting card to a friend in person, rather than mailing it. I had to carry it around in my car for a week or so until I saw her, but it wasn’t time-sensitive like a birthday card … it was more like a thinking-of-you card.
3. I’m signing my daughter up for driver’s ed. It’s wonderful and scary at the same time. I looked at three local companies and compared prices. It worked out nicely that the least expensive one is also the one for which she has a $20 off coupon, from a friend who had recently taken the class. That company also has good reviews, both by word of mouth and online. (By the way, what happened to the days when driver’s ed was free, and done through the high school? :))
4. Got the paper prescriptions for my kids' glasses and contact lenses at their eye doctor appointments, rather than ordering everything right there. It’s a lot less expensive to take the prescriptions to Walmart than it is to order it all from the eye doctor’s office.
5. Volunteered for two concessions shifts for my high schooler’s play, and got two free tickets in return. I would have volunteered even if the tickets weren’t involved; it’s fun to help out and talk to other school parents. And the play was great.
Couldn't pass up the comment about driver's ed. We are fortunate that our district automatically provides each student with the class component but there is a cost for the behind-the-wheel training. Based on good recommendations, I did not comparison shop as felt it was a worthwhile investment & went with the school training. Received good news at tax time when I discovered that behind-the-wheel training is considered a tax deductible expense when provided by a public school (for our state taxes that allow tax deductions for qualified educational expenses) but not when provided by for-profit driving schools.
Wow, that's pretty awesome! We have to go to a for-profit school since we homeschool, unfortunately, but if my kids went to school, I'd definitely be interested in them taking the class there.
My kids took Drivers Ed after school through the high school but it wasn't free. Cost me $425 for my youngest to take it last year. I didn't have to drive her anywhere. She took it right after school 2 days s week and took the late bus home.
1. Found a brand new, with tags still on, pair of jeans for my long-legged husband at the thrift store and I had a 20% off coupon.
2. Received a box of spaghetti from my college girl. It was a Tuesday student deal.
3. Made clean-out-the-fridge soup and it was delicious.
4. Used my craft knife to cut the pages from a half-used notebook. I have lots of notebooks but I don't have paper for the grocery list.
5. Gave away two books that were given to me to two people eager to get them.
1) We scrounged around in the fridge last night to assemble today's lunches instead of running out to the store or planning to pick up lunch.
2) I went through all the kid's stored clothes to put together their spring/summer wardrobes. Then I shopped thredup to fill in most of the missing pieces. I always sort my thredup results by price--low to high. Because if there is a $10 cute used tshirt, there is probably a $3 cute used tshirt. My Honey app found me about $20 off the final $100 bill. And we are ready for warm weather!
3) I'm working on low cost but high quality care options for the kids this summer. I applied to a free kindergarten prep program for our preschooler that I think is new. There is not a lot of info available yet, but we have been overall very pleased with our city's educational offerings, so we'll see.
4) I checked over claims that were processed by our health insurance company when I received an email that they were available. It is easier to fix errors if you catch them up front, and then I also know if bills are coming from doctor's offices to add to our next month's budget.
5) We had an airbnb guest whose dog damaged our living room rug last weekend. She was really cool about it, and we negotiated what we both agreed was a fair reimbursement. I am tentatively planning to repurchase the same rug when it is on sale at Overstock again. But then we swapped some rugs around between our house and our office, and we might just live with the switchouts for a while and save the cash.
Five frugal things - kid's birthday edition.....
- Cooked dinner Saturday evening for my son's birthday celebration instead of going out or ordering food. (4 relatives in addition to our usual 3)
- I initially planned to serve leg of lamb for dinner. Prior to purchasing the meat, I changed the menu to chicken and lowered the meal budget significantly. I don't think anyone thought less of dinner.
- Baked cupcakes and whipped cream at home instead of purchasing ready-made items for the celebration.
- Assembled little party bags for classmates with free or low costs items (pencils, crayons, coloring sheets).
- I read a story to my son's class today as part of his in-school birthday celebration. School prohibits editable items (such as cupcakes or candy) for birthday celebrations, so no extra money spent on snacks. Honestly, he was so happy that with the story activity and mom's "special" visit to class, no one missed the cupcakes/snacks.
You use produce the same way I do. I don't get a box, but I do consider what I have on hand and how soon it needs to be used up before I decide what to cook. I waste almost no produce that way, it's pretty awesome. 🙂
1. Zucchini! Zucchini was on sale for like 39 cents a pound last week. We've eaten zucchini in just about everything since then. Good thing we're not a family of zucchini haters.
2. I made Chipotle-style bowls the other night (complete with a cilantro-lime rice that was AMAZING), and I had some leftover corn and tomatoes afterwards, so the next day I threw them into an omelet, along with some cheese and salsa, and it was so, so good.
3. The library! I have an enormous stack of books, my daughter has an enormous stack of books, and we watched a copy of Matilda from the library (which we just finished reading a few weeks ago, which also came from the library!).
4. My son and I watched a performance of two short plays at his high school. Three bucks a ticket and it was a fantastic evening out.
5. We picked up a bunch of seeds for our garden this year from the dollar store. Last year, we threw down a few packets of dollar store tomato seeds, tossed down a bunch of our compost, and sprayed the area with the hose most nights. When we remembered, we'd yank a weed or two out here and there. We ended up with 17 mammoth tomato plants that were still barfing out tomatoes at Halloween, it was hilarious. We figure we'll stay the course this year. 🙂
You'll probably have as many volunteer tomato plants coming up from fallen fruit this year as you did from planting last year!
Would you mind sharing your recipe for cilantro lime rice? I would love to make it at home but every recipe I've tried isn't anything like Chipotle's 🙁
1) I submitted our fitness reimbursement form to our insurance company and we should receive $150 back from my husband's gym fees. He uses the gym regularly so it is worth every penny.
2) I submitted the $200 rebate for contact lenses and the Visa gift card will be in my pocket in 6-8 weeks. We have a running list of purchases and it means we can do things like replace broken laundry baskets for $0 out of pocket if they don't turn up on Freecycle or Buy Nothing by then.
3) I went through the future shoes bin and one child has sandals and another has Keens coming from Ebay for $20. I don't want to wait until the last minute and need to take what we can get at full price.
4) l ended up purchasing my husband new dress pants for work but not until I attempted to mend them first. At least the pants we on sale and l had a coupon.
5) We ate all our leftovers.
Where did u find the rebate for contact lenses?
My DD always receives rebate offers from her eye care provider at her annual exam. She's used the same company for many years & I've competed so many rebate offers, that I can track changes in their rebate amounts from year to year. Your eye care professional should be knowledgeable about available rebate offers from various companies.
Thank you Lisa. I have been getting them at Walgreens for less $100 for 3 month supply. So about $400/yr. I do not how that compares to what others pay.
1. We are really working to balance how much we are cooking so that leftovers are either planned usage or not at all.
2. Staying out of the store saves me money so I send in one child (who strictly follows the list) to pick up the couple of needed items.
3. Eating peanut butter and jelly when I am too tired to cook but still needed to eat something.
4. Changing clothes when I get home from work so that at least the pants can be worn a second day saving on laundry.
5. Planning my driving- we live in the country so everything is a drive. The nearest three small towns are at least 8 miles one way in any direction.
1. Potty trained my 21 month old so we are done with diapers. Even though I used Cloth is eliminates the extra laundry!
2. Started my garden tomato and cucumber seeds. Seeds are so much less money than plant starts at the greenhouse.
3. My husband is out of town for work and homeschooling sometimes goes right up until dinner time. So I stayed up late and prepped 4 dinners for the next few days and the freezer so that I could pop something in the oven during the day without all the fuss.
4. Pulled together science lessons, art class and geography from what I have at the house. Interlibrary loaned a few extra supplemental books I needed instead of buying them.
5. Brewed my own coffee, get my book group book from the library - always, stayed home several days and didn't use gas in my van, using my wood stove heat to dry my laundry and wet snow gear and helping the kids write scholarship letters to go to camp this summer.
I bought extra utensils for my hubby's truck for those days I forget to pack a fork for him. (This was after he told me about eating some sort of rice dish with his hands... *facepalm*)
I just wrote a five Frugal things post on my blog the other day! It includes a picture of my free eyepatch... Arrr!
http://www.lazyfrugal.com
1. We recently purchased another house. We love our current house, but the school district is terrible. The new school district is #2 in our county. The house we bought needs lots of work, which my husband can do himself. But, we got the house for less than asking price which is very unusual in our market and our new town
2. Shopping around for mortgages- closing costs differ significantly bank to bank
3. Made my own yogurt, brewed my own coffee, lunches and dinner made at home
4. Returned some items gifted to my baby daughter from Kohls to get clearanced sneakers for my son
5. Still exclusively breastfeeding my daughter even though I am now back to work full time
1. Found a hand soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, and q-tip jar all on clearance for less than the price of just one of them originally. They were tucked away on an end cap at clearance and they are beautiful!
2. Picked up several pieces of work clothes to build my closet back up now that I am applying to re-enter the professional workforce. This weekend was really the weekend to thrift. Most shops were half off their already low prices. Got several tips and a pair of pants for $1 & $2 a piece!
3. Managed to put together enough meals to get through the week with what was in the fridge, freezer, and pantry without going to store. Made a mac and cheese with broccoli bake, had brats with French fries 2 nights, soup for lunch most days and tuna fish sandwiches with sliced kiwis.
-Had a Volley ball Tournament on Sunday and planned ahead and took a thermos of coffee( that gym is freaking cold!), extra bottled water and a plethora of fruit/snacks.. Because of my forethought they played like crap and were eliminated early... but I did not buy anything to drink or eat! lol
-used a B1G1 free pizza coupon on a killer busy kid night last week.. even with adding garlic knots dinner for 5 was under $12 and there were 3 slices left that went into kids lunches the next morning!
-stopped into the grocery store for a loaf of italian bread after work and hit a clearance cart gold mine! a cart of beauty, personal care items all marked down to 1.99!! Scored acne spot treatment, an acne trio care kit and a pile of bottle of facial cleanser.. 9 items for less than $20!
-found some items in the clearance cart another day that I paid less than the Ibotta rebate so PROFIT!
-brought home food from work that no one wanted- Cinnamon rolls!! that became breakfast the next morning with fruit for my people!
Excess food from work often makes it way into my home.....pizza and sandwiches from office lunch meeting become dinner for my people!
Hubby brought home a pizza with 2 slices missing and a loaf of Italian bread tonight that were leftovers. Guess what we are having for lunch tomorrow?
Five things 🙂
1. Had a great March break and took advantage of tonnes of free activities around town. We spent lots of time outside, did crafts and even ended the week out with a movie screening at our library complete with popcorn. Total spent on kid activities? $0
2. The grocery store had a ridiculous amount of perfectly good, non-geriatric fruit on clearance, including some that was also on sale. I have no idea why it was marked down, but I’ve been working hard to use up my delicious finds ever since!
3. I found something for my four year old’s birthday for sale on Facebook, and picked it up the day before his birthday. The condition is excellent, he’s thrilled and I’ll probably be able to sell it on for what I paid when he’s outgrown it.
4. I sold the old toilet from our reno project and applied the money directly to the gift for my son.
5. We finished up cycling the ugly ceiling fan the house came with for the boy’s room. It still needs to be installed, but it’s looking fantastic if I do say so myself!
6. One more I had to add - I spent some extra time going through our investments in detail and making sure I’m happy with where they’re at. Time well spent!
I’ve got to say, these fft posts are doing wonders for making me more aware and conscientious about frugal choices! Recognizing the little wins on a weekly basis is really encouraging.