Five Frugal Things | from slim pickings
Since I was gone for four days, the frugal pickings in my life are probably a little slim.
But let's see what I can come up with!
1. I made lunch from what I found in the fridge
After four days away, I didn't really know what was in the fridge.
In the process of organizing it, I found some mashed potatoes, so I mixed them with an egg, salt, pepper, and some bread crumbs (I toasted a heel of bread and cut it up into small pieces).
Then I shaped them into patties and fried them in bacon grease, along with an egg.
I found a pepper in the veggie drawer so I ate that too, along with some hummus.
2. I used a lemon half in my water
I found a lemon half in a Food Hugger, and I squeezed the juice into my water before throwing it into the compost.
3. I did not pay $218 to fly home early
On Monday, my sister and I got dropped off at the airport about four hours before our flight took off.
There was one other flight leaving two hours before our flight, so I checked to see if we could get on.
There were two seats available, but we'd have had to pay $218 apiece!
So, we unanimously decided to sit in the airport because that was basically like getting paid $100/hour to sit and wait.
Definitely worth it.
4. I ordered a new case for my phone
I have an iPhone 7+, and I've had it in a clear Otterbox for the 2.5 years that I've owned the phone.
Somehow, though, the case got a crack in the corner. So, I spent the $14.95 to get a brand new case replacement.
$15 is way less than the value of my phone, even though a 7+ is getting to be on the old side of things. So, it is a frugal thing to invest in a protective case for it.
(I just looked on eBay and my phone is still going for about $200.)
Of course, I picked the case color option that was the cheapest. It's crazy how much some prices on Amazon vary depending on the color.
And I also picked no-rush shipping so that I could get $1 in Amazon movie credit.
By the way, I have to give props to Otterboxes; I've had them on all my phones, with Zagg screen protectors, and I have never, ever cracked a phone screen!
5. I...
- brought library books with me for the flight (Critical Care and The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly)
- brought Kind bars and Rx bars with me, which meant I did not buy any airport food, despite spending a total of 7 hours there
- did not rent a car (thus the airport waiting! Car rentals are very expensive right now.)
1. Saw some great deals at Walgreens online and went to place an order through the app.. but for some reason I was logged out and it was not accepting what I believed to be the password.. and being too lazy to get up I deleted the order.. which is perfect anyway b/c I should use up all the previous great deals on hair products and laundry detergent before I buy more.. another great deal will come around soon enough! lol
2. Killing a few minutes with my girl at Bed Bath & Beyond b/c we were too early for Old Navy.. Laughed at the insanely overpriced pillows and blankets.. I did see they were re-vamping the store and noticed a bunch of red labels so I perused the health care aisle and found high quality men's antiperspirants marked down to $1.18! Grabbed a handful b/c the 3 guys in my house never tell me they are out.. until they are on empty!
3. Grabbed a few needed basic items for the girl child! She needed some basic shorts for her part time job and a polo and solid khaki pant for job shadowing for school hour requirement. Hit Old Navy for the sale items and used my Navyist points to knock the cost down by 2/3!
4. Have been using my Old Navy CC for all purchases since they are offering a bonus 5points per dollar spent through the end of June! I can buy a good amount of basics there for the kids thus it is worth the card/program!
5. 2 kids having a part time job at a local ice cream stand means we really don't need to buy this treat any longer! lol When there are OOPS orders the original gets tossed into the freezer and at the end of the shift the workers take home what they want to avoid overall waste! One kid hardly eats it due to it bothering her belly so more for dad! He loves the variety! lol
This reminds me that I often find high quality deodorants/antiperspirants in Marshalls of all places! Thanks for the reminder!
And TJMaxx! I always stop there before I hit Sprouts. Toothpaste, bamboo toothbrushes, body wash. I was amazed at the variety of brands they carry.
1. I ordered groceries online from Aldi for the first time. I hurt my back last week and unable to drive to the grocery store (due to pain/meds). I could have ordered carryout for several days, but took advantage of a free delivery option. I don't know what it normally costs, but it still would have been cheaper than eating out every day. My family was impressed with my ingenuity (not sure why the bar was set so low).
2. After multiple attempts to hire a professional to replace our garage doors over the last FIVE years, we were unable to find anyone willing to do the work (it was tricky). So, my husband ended up doing the entire job himself which included replacing wood doors, framing and leveling our concrete, etc... He did a great job and I'm sure it saved us several hundred $.
3. We bought bulk mulch last weekend by the truckload. A truckload cost us $16 compared to the $75+ we typically spend for bags.
4. 2 years ago, I bought 5 strawberry plants. This has expanded to over 20 plants. In the last two weeks, We've already pulled approximately 20lbs of strawberries from the garden and froze them. Best $35 I've ever spend in plants.
5. The herb garden is exploding with mint, basil, dill, rosemary-none of which I planted this year (they reseed themselves). Free herbs!
Slim pickings for me too but for different reasons.
1.) Decided to hire someone to mow my lawn instead of replacing my lawn tractor. In the long run it may cost me more but I don't have to drop $2-3,000 on a new tractor, store gasoline etc. I really hate lawn work so not having to do it myself is worth it.
2.) Early Prime Day deal where if you buy a $40 gift card you get a $10 credit. Since I have a couple Amazon purchases planned it's kind of a no-brainer.
3.) Putting in for expense reports for work. It's a pain to do so but whenever I have to drive somewhere for work
4.) Harbor Freight had a good sale over the weekend and I didn't go hog wild, although I wanted to.
5.) Getting back into line drying my clothes again. I know this doesn't save all that much but I enjoy doing it and I think it's better for the clothes.
Our 13+ year old mower finally hit rock bottom and completely died on us at the beginning of the spring. We have been "needing a new mower" for a while and on the lookout.. but kept putting it off since we could piece and part ours. Sold our old one for $200 on FB marketplace for parts and the husband bought a much fancier one than I would have. He has spent an obnoxious amount of time on his new toy grooming the property... When I weigh the options the small amount of finance charges I am paying on this is much less than a mental health deductible so if this is making him happy.. I am fine with it!
with that.. tip your yard crew nicely and be happy you are not the one out there! lol
I have a yard service/ gardener. I have looked at the numbers, and I believe that using this service does not cost me much more than it would to buy, run and maintain the equipment. A mower, an edger, a weed eater, blower, and hedge clippers can be quite costly.
It also frees up so much time for us. Since I live in Florida, the grass needs to be cut every 5-7 days 10 months out of the year. My husband travels for business about 50% of the time, but he did not feel that I should do the heavy yard work. (I really didn’t mind except in July and August.) I think that he felt a little guilty. So the yard service is our compromise.
It's so funny how we all vary in what frugal things we enjoy and which we don't. I hated line drying my clothes, but I know lots of people love it!
We've managed so far to avoid any expensive summer entertainment options for our kids.
Okay, that's a joke, because there aren't any unless we want to drive three hours. But I didn't buy anything to entertain them at home, either, except some used books. We do now have a homemade blow gun that I have to be careful of, though, so maybe I should have spent some money and bought them something less lethal. Their imaginations are apparently dangerous places. 🙂
Walmart messed up my online order and delivered a box of 400 herb tea sachets in plastic cups to me. They didn't charge me for the tea and told me to keep it, plus they re-ordered the items I was supposed to get at no charge. I left about half of the tea--which is a Starbucks brand called "Teavana" with incredibly wasteful packaging, what the heck Satrbucks?--down at the post office for free and it was all taken. The rest of it I'm slowly and annoyingly transferring from the plastic mesh "sachets" into jars by cutting the sachets open and dumping the now-loose tea out. Because I do not want to be steeping plastic with my tea.
The plastic cups the tea is in have lids, so I washed them out and will use them for handing back snacks in the car when we're on our weekend roadtrip to Arizona next week.
Garden food, yay! Lettuce, snow peas, sprouting broccoli, beets, garlic scapes . . . It's the most wonderful time of the year.
And speaking of blowguns, my grandkids have all kind of outgrown this, but one of our family games was using a piece of PVC pipe and putting tiny marshmallows in, one at a time, and blowing them at each other. We had tons of fun chasing each other around and no one got hurt. It was dirt cheap. I live in the city so I always walked around afterwards and picked up the spent "ammo" to throw away so I wasn't littering.
My son has also used his imagination to make many “weapons.” I like the marshmallow shooters the best. But we have had scurages and trebuchets as well. Lol
Hope your trip was great!!
1. We rented a cottage on a near by lake this weekend. We brought food and coffee with us, so only ordered out 1 night. We took a free tour of a dam and went hiking in a state park (using a free admission pass from the library). We only spent about $40 on entertainment (admission to a reptile petting zoo and mini golf).
2. My husband picked up 2 brand new pairs of shorts off Buy Nothing. I picked up a curling iron off Buy Nothing.
3. I paid our garbage removal bill for the whole year, rather than monthly, which saves us around $50.
4. I paid my cell phone bill for the whole year also (we use Mint Mobile). Paying yearly is $15/month and paying monthly is $25/month. Mint Mobile has been great for us btw. We have been using it for 3 years now without a problem.
5. I made baked french toast, for my son's breakfast before school, using bread odds-and-ends that I had frozen.
Other than all the usual frugalities, I have only two this week.
1. Redeemed two digital coupons for free products at Sprouts: Quantum Energy Squares Bar ($2.29) which I gave to my son-in-law and Fage sour cream ($4.69) that I gave to my sister. Sprouts prices are ridiculous, but if I can get something free, I'll stop in.
2. Redeemed credit card points for a statement credit of $8.43.
My phone has an ottorbox too.
1. Cooked a double batch of beans and froze the half we didn't eat right away.
2. Saving the delicious beef broth from cooking beef to use.
3. Keeping our eye on plane tickets. In about 7 months we'll fly as a family. We're keeping our eyes on the tickets to see if prices go down, if so we can snag them up. This has the potential of saving hundreds of dollars.
4. It was a little girl's birthday, but I didn't have much warning, so I went around my house and found some cookies and lollipops that I put in a reused gift bag with reused tissue paper.
5. Starting this month I am keeping exact track of our food money.
1. Spent time with my family camping over the Memorial Day weekend and found that aside from my dad, I might be the most frugal in our family. I was amazed at the costly foods that my sister purchases and deems them necessities. Our family had plenty of snacks that we brought from home and were satisfied with. All of the fancy waters made my mind spin!
2. My niece gave me a free haircut while at camp. I keep my hair style pretty simple and always pulled back, so a quick trim was all I needed.
3. My neighbor gave us three bags of boys clothing. Oh did this help with my growing 8 year old. Hand me downs for boys are so hard to find, so this was a blessing. My boss also said she has some boys clothing to give!
4. I break up each of my bills and upcoming payments (like our annual pool pass) into "installments." I save a little out of each pay and then am not stressed about the overall cost of it when the time comes. Last week I was able to buy our annual pool pass and ALL of it was saved, I just had to write the check. Next up is my kids birthday party (in Aug.) that I've been putting money aside for all year.
5. I had two Amazon returns that they were not providing a USPS pre-paid label for, so I found that our Whole Foods is a free drop off point. I DO NOT shop at Whole Foods and only looked at what was right around me as I was dropping the packages off. Insane prices. I tried to look at what type of people shopped there, and realized I didn't want to be one of them!
Hi Jenelle, if you want fancy water at home, try putting small pieces of fruit/herb combined in a little boiling water, leave to steep for an hour or so, then top with cold water and cool in refrigerator. My faves are strawberry/tangerine, lemon/ginger, verveine, and apple/chili pepper (just a tiny tip, no seeds, and not the strongest ones obviously!). I love how it adds a little flavour in summer, when you've had your fill of "bland" water.
1. I'm stocking up our freezer! So far I've made chicken broth and chicken wontons. I have plans to make granola as well, and meat sauce.
2. I sold a chair! We had a fancy-looking leather and wood office chair, but it was too big to be comfortable for either of us. I listed it on Facebook marketplace for $100, thinking we'd be lucky to get $80 or even $60, but within hours, someone wanted it for $100!
3. Not frugal so much as avoiding waste, but I listed some things that I didn't think we could sell (mismatched dishes, our old bed) on a buy-nothing group. The kitchen stuff was claimed right away, which is great.
4. I've gotten back into meal planning. Last month, a very busy period in my work overlapped with a very busy period in my husband's work, and we got a lot of takeout. Next month will be lighter, but I think getting into the habit of having things prepped and organized during the week will be good.
5. I'm on vacation this week and continued restrictions mean that there are very few opportunities to spend money! It's not happily frugal, but it still counts lol.
Slim pickings seems like the theme of the week for us all. Let's see what I can come up with...
1. We purchased three small Lego sets for my son as a gift for his graduation. The store that we went to is one that only sells Legos and we were able to get two of the sets used which were less than half the cost if we had bought brand new.
2. I hosted a party for my niece's graduation and she requested a Mexican Fiesta. All of the leftovers were split between two households and we have been enjoying all the yumminess plus the joy of not having to cook for a couple of days now. Think El Pastor tacos, quesadillas, rice with black beans and fresh pico de gallo, avocados, and lime on everything.
3. I purchased about 80 ears of corn from the Farmers Market and two cases of strawberries spending well under $30. I used a fair amount of corn for a corn salad for the party but took the rest off the cobs and froze for later use. I also used most of the strawberries for strawberry shortcake but froze three gallon bags of leftovers to go in cobblers, smoothies, or quick breads/muffins at some other time.
4. Cut fresh flowers from our yard to enjoy inside. Harvested basil, cilantro, sugar snap peas, and zucchini from the garden. Weeded, fertilized and pruned everything to keep it lush and healthy.
5. Our son will start kindergarten in the fall and there is only one store that sells the uniforms they are required to wear. They have a sale this month for 10% off which is not much but hey every little bit helps, so I will purchase his uniforms now instead of waiting for the rush in July.
I know that you already ordered a new case, but I believe that Otterbox has a replacement case program. Shipping might be the same as what you paid for the new case. LOL. check it out.
1) After a week or two of food waste, I am focusing on getting things under control. I’ve done quite well this week. I added broccoli stems to my coleslaw and hid some leftover broccoli florets in taco meat. I made sure items in my refrigerator were incorporated into dinners. I made a potato salad recommended by MB in MN from the cookbook, Cooking with Scraps. It used pickle brine, but I didn’t have any. I used the brine from capers instead. It was excellent.
2) On occasion, I shop at a specialty market that is several miles from home. They have an exceptional gluten-free baking selection. I also buy my vitamins there. I made this journey on a Thursday when vitamins were 20% off adding up to a nice little savings.
3) I sold a few items on eBay - notably a single lamp finial. This was one of a pair in which one had been broken. I could not find a replacement that matched. So I bought a new pair and sold the odd one.
4) This one is not directly frugal for me, but frugal for my son. My husband and I took care of his two dogs over the long holiday weekend while he attended a wedding. This saved him a bundle in boarding costs. Best of all, he knew they were getting TLC. In turn, he will help me with Rescue Pup when we need it.
5) I did all the usual things - cooked most meals from scratch, drank primarily water, brewed my own coffee, walked on the beach, paid bills on time using my bank’s bill pay service, and reading a library book. I am currently reading Three Hours in Paris which is a great beach read with a strong female protagonist.
Wishing everyone a week of peace, good health and frugality.
Bee: Brilliant use of caper brine! That potato salad recipe is on permanent rotation in our house.
1. Used up small amounts of spinach, artichoke hearts, mayo, sour cream and seasonings to make a no-cook spinach-artichoke dip. Paired with leftover French bread for a quick and thrifty meal.
2. The grass around my parents' headstone was overgrown so I dug out two inches all around. Brought the clumps home to dump them and realized that we had a bare spot in our yard that needed grass. Apparently I'm not beneath taking from the dead.
3. Speaking of the deceased, had a frugal fail when my husband drove 5 hours round trip to attend the funeral of a friend's mother. Turns out the funeral wouldn't be until the following week. He enjoyed his solo road trip so there was an upside.
4. Bought a composter from the county. The initial financial outlay will be offset by savings in time/gas to dispose of food scraps and load up buckets of finished compost for the garden.
5. Picked up a couple things from Goodwill and was happy to learn it was 25% off day for seniors (55+).
#2 and #3 are hilarious.
1. We had a yard sale. The weather was rainy but we still made $156. I donated all the leftover items and they are out of the house. We will save the $156 to bring with us on vacation to the beach and use it to treat ourselves to take out and ice creams.
2. I needed a few annuals to fill in some empty spaces in a garden bed. Instead of going to the nice garden center where I would be tempted to spend a lot of money, I asked my husband to pick up 1 6-pack of annuals at a different place while he was doing another errand. He chose some marigolds, they look very nice.
3. I wanted to get some gifts for certain colleagues who have been very helpful to me during this school year. I was considering many options. Then, I decided to get them each a gift card to a local coffee shop. Yes, it costs money but it supports a local business and it doesn't create any clutter. I will write each one a note as well.
4. My 7th grade daughter needed some candy for an event her softball team was having. She took her coin jar and counted out $5. Her big sister drove her to Dollar Tree and she was able to get a lot of candy for her money.
5. As the school year is coming to an end, we are organizing our remaining school supplies and boxing them up for next fall. We will need to buy a few things, but we are well stocked with others.
I think I can come up with a few....
1. I got a check in the mail from our local tax department, but it was for way less than we were expecting. I called them up and had them take another look at it. My husband is a volunteer firefighter & has been for 29 years and he's eligible for a refund from local taxes thru our municipal government for being a volunteer. They took another look and issued the difference for the amount we were expecting. Got the additional $266 we were especting.
2. My mother-in-law & I share a joint membership for a wholesale shopping club in our area. The store was having a promotion for upgrading our membership which will earn us cash back on our purchases. The upgrade fee was $16 total, but she said I didn't owe her anything. We are going to see if the upgrade is worth it.
3. I had to get a MRI done on my foot last week at our hospital. I had to park in the ramp. When I checked in, the girl asked if I wanted to pay the $329 fee towards deductible. I told them to bill insurance since we have a high deductible plan but my employer pays our deductible. then when I went to leave the parking ramp, no one was at the booth to pay. There was a sign that said if arm was up, to just leave and not pay. Saved parking fee.
4. My physical therapist suggested a night splint for my foot. I picked one up and my foot doctor wrote a script with coding on it so insurance would pay, saving me $50 or more.
5. My daughter works at a food service store. Her employer gives them and their family 10% off every purchase, so this last time while shopping, i saved $4.70. Every little bit helps!
I'm going to be really tightening the old belt, to pay for a caregiver for my husband. It's so aggravating that the only assistance I can get that is not paid by me is for 10 hours a week - for a man who can't stand up unassisted or even cut up his own food. So, my savings and probably my retirement funds are about to take a hit. I can't care for him by myself, due to my small size and my own health issues, and he refuses, so far, to go to assisted living (which is also expensive), so my options are very limited.
1. I discovered my husband had accidentally signed up for a kids' service on his Fire tablet, and the service has a monthly fee. I made a phone call to cancel that and got the fee returned, to boot.
2. I bought some stuff for my outdoor pond and found I had $10 in loyalty rewards coming to me, so I definitely used it.
3. I avoided some food waste by using the leftover half of a baked potato that my husband had not eaten and that I had stuck in the refrigerator. I peeled it, cubed it, and sauteed it in a little butter until the cubes were golden and crispy on the edges. He ate that right up, whereas he would have never eaten the leftover baked potato half, just reheated.
4. In that same vein, I had plans to use green plantains as a starchy ingredient, but ran out of time to make the recipe. They got ripe and sweet, so I sliced them, tossed them in a little coconut oil, and baked them while using the oven for two other dishes, until the edges were crisped. Delicious.
5. I think I'm going to be able to pay for part of a birthday gift for a grandchild by using Swagbucks. I'm waiting to see if that particular item is available right now.
JD: Sending you strength for dealing with the challenges and frustration with your husband's care.
I’m sorry to hear about your deteriorating situation. Wishing you strength and love.
Did I remember correctly that your husband qualified for VA benefits?
JD - I'm sorry to hear about your struggles to find caregivers that can assist you in caring for your husband. Sending you thoughts and prayers that you can find an acceptable solution soon.
My thoughts are with you; being a care giver is so hard!
I work as a social worker in NY, so I am not sure any of this information will apply to your state, but it may be helpful to look into Medicaid with a Pooled Trust. If this is available in your state, I would recommend working with an Elder Law attorney on this. If your husband qualifies, Mediciad will then cover the needed care in the home.
In NY, we have a program called EISEP which provides aide service on a sliding scale fee. Maybe your state has something similar? I would check with your local Office of the Aging (or whatever is similar in your area).
Good luck!!
Social worker here in PA I also second consulting an elder law attorney as well as seeing if your state has county area agency on aging offices. They can also give options for care giving.
Hugs to you in your eldercare woes, JD, from me in mine. I'll have more to say about my own adventures today in a later post; I'm not quite up to it now.
Thanks all (and I'm feeling especially in kinship with you, A. Marie). I am actually using an elder care attorney -- I have an appointment today and also consulted with her two or three years ago when this started getting bad. My husband currently refuses long term care in an assisted living setting or nursing home, and as of now, is legally entitled to determine his own health care choices. As he is almost fully in possession of his faculties (he has some logic, temperament and memory issues from the strokes), I shrink from forcibly taking away his rights. I have him set up for long term care (LTC) with the state, but... he currently has to agree to go into LTC, and for now, he doesn't. That's one of the things we will discuss at this appointment. He does use the VA, but his problems are not service connected, so they will not assist with full-time care at home or long term care in a facility. They will only offer a few hours a week of care at home, which is all the state will do as well, as long as he is home. Even combined, it is less than half the time he needs care and I would have to hire someone for the other 6 - 8 hours of the day anyway.
I will be contacting our Veterans' Service Officer, to see if we can appeal for Aid and Assistance, which would allow him to get more care from the VA, based on an instance of the service doctors ignoring the clear signs of impending Type I diabetes he displayed while on active duty, but I am assured it is a very, very slim hope.
Everyone here is so kind -- it lifts my spirits. Thanks!
You are in my thoughts and prayers for a good solution.
Have to think a little harder this week also for frugal activities!
1. Taking advantage of the half day work on Friday, took some items to sell at our local consignment store. There, I found the exact pair of Athleta swimshorts I've been looking for secondhand! Used a coupon to offset the purchase, luckily I had remembered to check the flier for one.
2. Also found a pair of very gently used Under Armor sneakers for one of my twins for $11 at the consignment store. A rare find these days.
3. Celebrated my husband's birthday at home, no eating out. He's lucky to always get a long weekend for his birthday around Memorial Day, and we did a nice cookout with friends.
4. Returned a pair of pants to Eddie Bauer. With limited mall hours, it's been really hard to accomplish this, but finally managed to complete the task.
5. Took advantage of some clearance and Memorial Day weekend sales to boost the part of my wardrobe that's not secondhand, such as underwear 🙂
If you are looking for more books to read- The Shift by Theresa Brown, The Nurses by Alexandra Robbins and my very favorite book ever is The Body by Bill Bryson.
Oh! I think Critical Care was also written by Theresa Brown. I would love to read another book by her!
Also, "Stiff" by Mary Roach. Most of her books somehow manage to be pretty funny, whilst covering serious subjects.
I agree, " Stiff" is an excellent read
1. Worked yesterday on our Spending Tracking spreadsheet
2. Turned off the lights in rooms as soon as I was done
3. Walked to work
4. Brought my lunch and made coffee at home
5. Did my own waxing
Hms let's see-
Made stir fry out of odds and ends
Made my own planters instead of buying
Cycled everywhere rather than driving (but: staying close to home due to covid, plus having great weather. I could only count this as half!)
Did laundry powered by solar power due to the good weather (and line dried the same)
Made an extra payment on our mortgage
Read a library book
Checked if a repayment had been made for a purchase I had returned. It had, so it is hardly frugal. However the habit of checking is frugal!)
All rather regular stuff for me, but regular small actions make up the additional mortgage payments, so I keep telling myself. So far, we are on schedule for being mortgage free by the time we retire. J.
Slim pickings for me this week as well.
1) Hubby and I went on a scenic drive to celebrate our anniversary. We took drinks and snacks with us so no purchases required
2) Purchased gas at Costco when I was nearby following a doctor's appointment
3) We bought a smoker for our anniversary gift and used it to smoke a chicken over the holiday weekend. Cheaper than getting takeout. Hopefully we'll get a lot of use out of it this summer.
4) Our beloved kitty of 14 years got extremely ill and passed away on Monday. Due to our grief, neither of us felt like eating so the smoked chicken was saved for dinner the next night. Had to find something good from that miserable day.
5) Neither of us are in the mood for food this week (grief apparently takes away all of our appetite) so no grocery store shopping for me this week. We'll just forage from what is in the cabinet and freezer for now.
Beverly: So sorry about your beloved kitty. I will be thinking of you on the loss of your precious pet.
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your kitty. Wishing you comfort and peace.
Oh, Beverly, I'm so sorry to hear about your cat!
Thank you all for your kind words of condolences. Her passing has been especially hard for my husband and me because she was the last of our kids childhood pets.
Ah, that's hard....like an end-of-an-era feeling. Hugs to you guys.
I'm sorry about your cat.
I’m so, so sorry about your cat. It’s a huge loss when our pets leave us.
1. I checked my receipt before I left Meijer yesterday (I should add that this is a big deal to do with 2 small children along and not something I usually take the time to do) and went to customer service because a $5 discount was missing. They had a $5 bill in my hand in no time.
2. Monday evening was kind of rough and my husband offered for us to get takeout since the meal I had planned was pretty involved and I was behind schedule and sleep-deprived. Instead of takeout I went to Aldi and got 2 take and bake pizzas. Much cheaper than takeout for 5!
3. Also on Monday, I remembered that we had Kohl's cash that was going to expire that day. I stopped there before Aldi to buy some Bermuda shorts for my daughter. They're kind of hard to find, but she needs the longer length if she wants to wear shorts to school.
4. Cut some peonies from our bushes to give to a neighbor. I buy vases when I see them for 25 cents at yard sales.
5. For the next 4 months our energy bill will be significantly higher for energy used from 2pm-7pm. Yesterday I turned off all lights, the dehumidifier, and the dryer right at 2. Dishes were washed on off-peak times. I've been trying to get into a habit of mapping out my day to use less energy during the peak time and am setting an alarm on my phone to remind me each day. I know I won't go extreme everyday from 2-7, but figure that the more I can do the better.
""They’re kind of hard to find, but she needs the longer length if she wants to wear shorts to school""
I know, right?! Almost all the girls shorts are barely covering the bum....!
Lisey needs really long shorts to wear to the lumber yard, and since she's got a pretty small build, she went and shopped in the boys section. She found some that fit her perfectly and they were super affordable too!
That's a GREAT idea, Kristen! Thanks for sharing!!
Oh my stars, Isa. Yes. The length of fabric doesn't seem to increase with size as much as it feels like it should! It's so much easier to find decent-length shorts for my 2yo than my 7yo.
* I absolutely love dried pineapple, but they cost a leg and an arm to buy at the store, so I got 2 gigantic fresh ones for 5$ (score!) and will use my home dehydrator (which was a gift)
* Meeting with friends for a pic-nic today. They are picking up pizza, I'm bringing my lunch. Cheaper and healthier
* Kids are off school tomorow. Planning a visit to the public library and an outing to the city pool (free).
* First date night out since Covid for hubby and I! We do not need to find or pay for a babysitter, since the oldest (11yo) can keep an eye on the youngest (9yo) while we go out for dinner. They will be feed prior (because I'm afraid of people choking....), and our friend/ neighboor will be there if needed, and I'll keep the cellphone by my side at all times, and we are about 5 minutes from the house, and we will be gone from 5h to 7h only, and.... No, I'm not anxious about it, why?! (I'm working on giving the kids some loose. I have very responsible kids, but I'm anxious by nature, so....)
Oh, enjoy your date night! It is a little nerve-wracking to leave your kids for the first time, but that gets better with time. Have fun!
1. Cut up some old frozen bread to make croutons
2. Cut open my moisturizer tube to get the rest out
3. Made a loaf of coconut flour bread to use up the last of some coconut flour that was definitely on the verge of being too old
4. My kids eat a lot of popsicles so I bought a popsicle mold which should pay for itself very quickly
5. My mascara has become clumpy so it's time for a new tube. I got a $25 coupon for answering a survey from a new company (they must be desperate to build business) which paid completely for the mascara.
Otterbox offers a warranty on their cases, so if your case is broken, you may be able to get a replacement for just the cost of shipping. Definitely they make great cases, and their commitment to their product makes me come back again and again! https://www.otterbox.com/en-us/warranty-claim
Nice pic of the North Conway station. It's gorgeous. Love that place, especially the train, and the White Mountain Cupcakery!
1. Potty trained my toddler. No more expensive diapers, woo hoo!
2. Made muffins with frozen wild raspberries we picked in our yard last year. Good snacks & breakfasts for hungry boys.
3. Dug a big vegetable garden in the back yard which will hopefully grow lots of veggies to feed us this summer.
4. Scored a bunch of hand me downs for the boys from my sister in law for free.
5. Used the library for lots of free books for me & the boys.
Otter boxes are the BEST! Have never broken or shattered any of my phones and owe it all to the Otter. We also use them for our iPads in class, where things tend to be tossed about, ahem, and they really hold up.
Slim pickings here, too. End of school year = lots of expenses but here goes:
1. Mostly eating in except for treat night. Taking lunch, etc.
2. Husband hurriedly left on a job so I froze the quart of his milk and also some grated mozzarella that was approaching it's Do-By-Date. And the ground beef we were going to eat went into the freezer, too, while I ate up the leftover BBQ chicken.
3. Continuing to shop the closet, use up all the clothes and shoes and enjoying the "new" wardrobe.
4. Library books, and not much else. Using coupons and points whenever I shop for food and picking up all kinds of marked down stuff.
Oooo -- most important one of all -- filling out my school expenses to be reimbursed up to $125. Cold cash in my hot little hands 🙂
I feel this was an anti-Frugal Five week, with all the produce waste I've had. Comes from not sitting down for dinner, I think. Lesson learned - sit down for dinner.
Also anti-Frugal: I had to temporarily shut down the compost pile because I discovered a rat around it. I;m not too upset as this is the first time in 15 years with this pile, although it makes me sad to put all those food scraps down the garbage disposal.
On the plus side, I found a big pile of useful coupons at the supermarket, including $.50 off sliced lunch meat and $1 off frozen shrimp.
I smoked some bacon this weekend so of course I loaded up the smoker with as much meat as could fit: a chicken, pork ribs, sliced boneless pork, and some corn as an experiment. Corn was delicious but didn't taste smoked at all, the ribs weren't as popular as straight baked ribs, and I really liked having sliced smoked pork as a grab snack. Next time I'm going to do a lot of that.
I have been told that renting cars at the airport is more expensive than renting off the airport property. Haven’t looked into it, but now someone more frugal than I will do so.
It almost always is.
1) I can't remember if I shared this one, but the school where we work (and that we are leaving) is allowing us to buy our older work macbook pros because they are upgrading anyway. We are only paying $128 US for them, and they "refurbish" with a new battery/reboot. I'm excited about that, because I don't need the newest tech, I just need functional, and my personal laptop is dying. I checked on ebay, and they routinely sell for over $300. so I think we are getting a good deal.
2) I used a star reward to get a free Lychee Cream Frappucinno at the HK Starbucks, which was extremely delicious!
3) I'm in "use up all the food in the house before you move in 16 days" mode, which makes for some interesting combos, but low grocery bills.
4) My sister asked me where I got some tea that I had given her last year, and it was actually a special blend from Emirates Airlines when we flew with them. She wanted to buy some, but it is only available on the airline or through their frequent flyer rewards program. I dug around and figured out my husband had some points left with them and was able to get her 2 boxes for hardly anything on their online shop using those points. She has a birthday coming up, so big score in the great sister camp for me. Haha
5) I used a free night certificate to book a hotel stay in LA the night we fly in.
I just joined today! The other day a recipe called for breadcrumbs which I forgot to buy. I made my own from stale bread my husband was going to throw out. My mother always did that ! She was very frugal
Rosann: There really is such a sense of accomplishment in doing such things, isn't there! I don't do much with crafting or cooking or even cleaning, but when I can come up with some frugal move, I feel important for the rest of the day.
another weird and wonderful collection of wins.
1. due to the ongoing Gas furnace replacement with an electric heat pump, my old gas furnace has been in a state of turned off for two weeks. it has been unusually chilly here; we haven't REALLY needed heat, but I know I would have been tempted. Just got the gas bill and it was considerably lower! And...
2. That is my penultimate gas bill! The new hot water heater was installed, taking out the last gas appliance. I called the gas company and - after repeating about a million times that "No, I do NOT want to pay 42 cents a day to keep the meter installed JUST IN CASE I change my mind", the lovely phone person told me that she was setting my account to not bill me at all, even though she warned me that the gas company would call a number of times over the next few months to try to persuade me to keep the meter. Silly them! Natural Gas is Methane, terrible for the planet the way it is collected, lost, burnt, etc. Besides, I am getting solar panels!
3. Doing a much better job with prepping veggies for future Teri - which means we eat almost all of them in one meal or another. Having #2 son living at home again means I cook proper meals, and he hoovers up the leftovers at random times late at night.
4. Fail - I bought milk to make cheese with #2 son, without considering what the last couple of weeks were looking like. The milk is now a day past due date, tomorrow I am going to check it out and do some massive baking to try to use it up, if it is still ok... GAH.
5. WIN - planned a trip to take #2 to see my mom, left him to help her out and I visited my daughter (#2 and said daughter have had a huge fight so are remaining apart, each claiming the other is at fault). #1 son and his girlfriend came to visit my mom, too, so I got to see them for a quick visit and exchange of 'multiple things' - good use of travel time. And on the way home, #2 son was willing to let me rush into Costco for the 5 or 6 things on my list. I was forced to ONLY get those things as I arrived one minute before they closed their doors, so I didn't dawdle. And I remembered to use my $13 cash back coupon which is coming up for expiration.
6. Grocery savings - found a big bag of 6 bunches of lovely green onions for 99 cents, and a big bag of very ripe tomatoes for 1.99 - usually that store only marks down produce that should be fed to chickens! Used the onions to sub out half the green beans in a recipe I was trying out (they were delicious!) and tomorrow a tomato dish will be invented.
Hooray for all your good moves! Sounds like a very carefully planned move to redo your energy use
Milk can be frozen-- discussion of that has been elsewhere on this blog, I'm sure. Shake well after thawing.
Also, the onions can be at least doubled if you plant the little white bottoms in dirt to grow new ones. Whenever I have to buy a new plastic bag of them at the store, they continue to grow taller in the bag in the crisper, which amuses me and provides a tiny bit of savings.
Love Otterbox cases! My phone gets dropped and flung about so much (guess I'm terribly clumsy) but it has never broken and I think it's due to always using an Otterbox case.
I cooked dinner at home with leftovers as well.
I borrowed my sister's saree for a wedding that I need to attend, instead of buying one.
My neighbor is away for 6 months and so she lent me her 10 pound weights to use in the meantime for my workouts.
I babysat for my other neighbor numerous times for free and a few days back she gave me a $100 Amazon giftcard.