Five Frugal Things | gimme my half hour!
1. I put in for a half hour of paid time
Brittany and I met up outside of work to finish up our evidence-based practice presentation, and the coordinator of our residency program had told us we were allowed to put in a clocking for a half hour of outside-of-class time.
So, that's what I did. I will never say no to getting paid. 😉
We met up at Starbucks, and of course, I used a gift card for my drink.
The two of us are not 100% efficient when we meet up because we have to chat too (OBVIOUSLY). So we were definitely there for more than half an hour, but at least 30 minutes of it was paid. 🙂
2. I did not buy a new coffee maker yet
My very old, very inexpensive coffee maker is doing a weird thing where it stays on and running, even if you press the "off" button.
At first, I was thinking I should just go buy another one, but honestly, it's working just fine to unplug it after use.
I do recognize this is a sign that the machine is probably on its last legs, but you know, I'm gonna just let it keep walking until the legs give out entirely. 😉
(Unless you can tell me that there is some terribly dangerous reason to use it as is; if so, I will reconsider!)
When this one gives out, I'll probably buy the current model, which is less than $30. I'm not a picky person about my coffee!
Although, hmm, I think this one is more similar to mine, since it has the timer feature. But since I never use the timer feature, I don't think I need the fancier model!
3. I'm trying to make my fleece jacket work
I bought an inexpensive cropped fleece zip-up to wear to work because sometimes, it gets a little chilly at the hospital.
I like it in every way except that it hangs onto hair like CRAZY. And this is mainly a Chiquita problem; I think the cat hair must have gotten onto it during the wash cycle, from the other laundry.
Anyway, while I was watching some school video lectures the other day, I painstakingly used packing tape to remove all the hairs from the jacket.
(A lint brush is not strong enough; I tried that!)
Then I folded it up and put it in the back seat of my car; my plan is to only put it on when I leave the house and to take it off before I come back in the house.
And I'll probably just launder it by itself; I don't wear it a whole lot, so it's not like I wash it every day.
If this doesn't work out well, I'll shop for a knit zip-up on eBay, but I'm going to at least give this a shot first.
4. I used the minimum-allowable level of TurboTax
I finally did my personal tax return (!) and although TurboTax kept offering me upgrades, I steadfastly said no.
I can't use the free version, of course, because I have a Schedule K from my S-Corp, but I used the most minimal version that I could.
I owed for federal, and I used a bank account to pay that (no fee). I got a refund from state, and I didn't choose the early refund (a fee!) or the gift cards. A straight direct deposit works for me.
5. I planted some questionable basil seeds
This may be a fail; time will tell!
I had a package of pretty old basil seeds in my kitchen drawer:
Please see the sell-by date. Ha.
But, I sprinkled them in a pot of soil, watered them, and now I'm hoping for the best.
Germination time is 14-18 days, so in my Five Frugal Things two weeks from now, I should have some news for you either way.
Regardless, this is very low risk. If they don't germinate, I'm no worse off than I was before.
Frugal Five, post company:
After our family visit was over I used what they left in my fridge:
All of their yummy fancy creamers! I'll have fancy coffee for a few weeks.
A bag of carrots: I roasted them with some potatoes
Leftover shrimp boil: ate up the shrimp, potatoes and kielbasa, and then put the cooked onions, garlic cloves and corn (cut off of the cob) to put into my freezer "soup bag".
Fancy ranch dressing: used for dips, salads, etc.
Fancy balsamic vinegarette dressing: marinated some chicken in it.
one more: used the bunch of grapes in a yummy chicken salad. 🙂
Check fb marketplace for coffeemakers. Sometimes you can grab one for free
We unplug our (very basic) coffee maker after each use too; we've noticed that it seems to make them last longer (I don't know how many years we've been using this current little Black & Decker which I bought already used from a thrift shop - still going strong). We also unplug countertop appliances like microwave and convection oven for the same reason - we started after noticing little wonky things starting to happen in the display screens. We thought they were on their last legs but it's been years and they're working fine too! It seems like it gives the circuitry a chance to rest or reset or something.
I have a black jacket made of the exact material (I could see in your closeup) and I agree it is the biggest pet hair magnet! I’ve contemplated donating it for a long time, then last was the zipper broke, so I can finally justify saying goodbye to it! Keeping it in your car is a good strategy
i use the bounce pet hair laundry sheets and notice a HUGE difference in pet hair on my clothes.
I was at a work convention Friday through Sunday, so my FFT are all related!
--I packed all of my food for the weekend.
--I took advantage of the event's parking passes, which dropped the daily rate from $12 to $6.
--I stayed with friends vs. the hotel.
--Said friends treated me to a wonderful homemade dinner Saturday and homemade scones for breakfast Sunday.
--I gave them coffee bought from one of the convention attendees (small business and GOOD coffee-- https://dragonroast.coffee/ ) as an additional thank you. I had already brought treats for their seventeen-year-old feline overlord and a new insulated lunchbox to celebrate one of said friends starting his own business.
It won’t surprise me if those basil seeds germinate! You may only have a few do so, but if you’d thrown them out, you’d have nothing. The “sell by” date is required to be on there but if you’ve kept them in a dry, cool environment, seeds are very resilient. Good luck for pesto in your future!
I keep most of my garden seeds in the freezer, with silica gel packets in among them to keep them dry, and I rarely have trouble germinating ones that are past their "packed for" date. (My all-time record is 15 years for one packet of lettuce seeds.) The only types of seeds this doesn't work so well for are members of the carrot family (including parsley, etc.) and onion family.
1. I dehydrated some over-ripe grapes. I froze some over-ripe bananas to use in smoothies. I juiced over-ripe lemons and oranges. I used leftover pizza dough to make pepperoni bread for my kids. I used the ham bone from Easter to make a soup for my lunch this week.
2. My mom gave us pretzels, graham crackers, bread, and fruit.
3. I bought 2 packages of chicken breast at Aldi for 50% off.
4. I picked up a shirt for myself off Buy Nothing
5. I finished the last visit of a study I enrolled in at our local university. They paid me $300 for the 1 hour visit. Total paid was $600 for about 4 hours of visits.
Frugal things:
- We parked in the parking garage when we met with the estate attorney and had them validate our pass, so parking was free.
- Cleaned out and organized the freezers. It's now much easier to tell what we have and what we need.
- Used sourdough starter discard to make blueberry muffins using blueberries that were past their prime.
- Baked three loaves of bread, one for us and one for each of our kids.
- Filed our federal tax return using TurboTax and it was rejected, again. We've had this issue for the past few years. Researched the issue and found it was the IRS identify protection PIN number. Added correct IP PIN and return was accepted and refund has been deposited into our account.
Every half-hour counts!
I feel like the theme of my 2-5 is "well, we were actually TRYING to do something not-frugal, but we wound up doing something frugal anyway."
FFT:
1. Project clear the freezer/pantry a bit: bought the wrong kind of frozen green beans (French-cut instead of French-style ARGH) but I cooked them up anyway. Made a carrot salad with some unfortunate-looking but very sweet carrots and limp herbs (but it turned out great.)
2. I accidentally ordered an extra mezuzah scroll and case, because I mis-counted the number of doors on our new rental. Jews mount mezuzahs on most doors and the little slip of parchment inside the case is handwritten by a scribe; they are expensive. Luckily the store was low on stock and only had the number I actually needed, and I got a refund on the extra.
3. Mr. B and I went to a fundraising art auction. It was really, really fun! We stuck to our budget and came away with nothing. Kind of a bummer, but definitely a more frugal option.
4. Weirdly, all of the kosher stores were out of chicken. Like, one store had a single packet of freezer-burned legs and the other had four vacuum-sealed breasts that were 40% more expensive than usual. We didn't buy any, and instead will eat the schnitzel I prepared for Passover that we wound up not using. It's not our favourite (dark meat instead of white due to misreading a label, breaded with matzah meal instead of panko) but better not to waste it.
5. Turns out with the spike in cost of fish means that buying a box of frozen breaded fish is actually cheaper than buying two fillets and breading them myself. I bought them as an easy dinner, and it turns out they were also cheaper. They were tasty, but I'll still make my version most of the time, because I use less oil and salt.
I'm interested in how you make your carrot salad. Do you have a recipe, please? Thanks!
Yes! It's pretty easy. The original recipe was from "French Kids Eat Everything." I tend to make the dressing in a larger quantity; it keeps forever in the fridge, and I switched out the shallot for green onion. This makes 4 modest portions. It's easy to make ahead and keeps well in the fridge; I love taking it in my lunches.
2 cups grated carrots
1 green onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp chopped parsley
Dressing: 1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard, pinch of salt and pepper. Optionally, 1-2 tsp honey, maple syrup, or sugar.
I like white wine vinegar the best, but red will work, as will apple cider vinegar. I think balsamic or malt vinegar would be weird. Any neutral oil can be subbed for the olive, and whatever mustard you have should work, too.
1. I had two Marketplace sales. One was for me and one was for a friend.
2. Because of a special event at work, we have had plenty of snacks around for the past week. I’ve enjoyed fruit, nuts, some cheese and the occasional baked good. I didn’t have to pack my own snacks for the past week.
3. Friends gave me a basket of Easter treats and a Sumo orange. I enjoyed the orange with dinner last night. Thinking of you Lindsey in Alaska.
4. Friends own an Airbnb property. Someone left a jacket behind and didn’t want it returned. They gave it to me. It got a good wash and now I have a nice Jean jacket.
5. I purchased a new thermostat with a gift card I was given for my birthday. Not exciting to most people but to me it is. I’d rather use it on a need than on something that will sit around and create more clutter.
FFT, Recuperating from the Latest Fall Edition:
I continue to recover from the fall I described in my TT last Thursday, though not as fast as I would like. At age 70.5, I don't bounce the way I used to. Thanks to all who offered good wishes, and I'm considering various suggestions for PT, exercises, and "I've fallen and I can't get up" devices.
But here's what I've been up to in the meantime:
(1) I started zinnia seeds (my good old "Cut and Come Again" variety) on Saturday, and will be starting the mini basils I grow for drying and two types of kale later today. I used to do a lot more seed starting, but in my old age, I stick to things that I know I can't find at the Regional Market.
(2) I made a pizza on Sunday for the first time in ages, mainly to use up various ancient ingredients (the last of a bottle of pizza sauce bought on sale, plus some mushrooms, a small onion, and some kalamata olives that weren't getting any younger). I'm calling this one the Geriatric Special in honor of my own and the ingredients' age. 😛
(3) Since it was raining just enough yesterday to keep me out of the yard and gardens even if I were entirely sound of body, I took myself to Second Time Around (the Monday morning pop-up shop in a disused bowling alley that's run in aid of a local food pantry). I added stops at a gas station that accepts my Price Chopper store points (gas for $4.09/gal. is pretty good here at the moment) and the ATM at a branch of my local bank (so no ATM fee).
(4) At STA, I found two summer tops, two pairs of pants (one NWT), two Vera Bradley bags in excellent condition (JASNA BFF and JASNA Panera will be delighted), and an LL Bean men's belt (which I'm ashamed to admit I need), for $20 total.
(5) And the usual day-old bread giveaway was happening at STA (one free bread product to a customer). I found a lovely loaf of Wegmans challah, which I have shared with the Bestest Neighbors.
Im sorry about your fall. I just turned 66, and am concerned more about a fall myself. But need to find weight training, after not being able to lift a 2cu bag of potting soil. Embarrassing toddling around the garden center looking for help. Sigh
A. Marie,
Ever since I had my right knee replaced, I've been extra vigilant about avoiding falls. I did fall off my new garden seat last summer - twice - and ended up with bursitis in my hip. My orthopedic suggested I get rid of the garden seat. Sigh. Aging is not for sissies! Lol.
I don't remember if you've had success with basil in the past, but just as tip: Basil likes very warm soil to germinate. I'll put the seed container on a heating pad or on the forced air vent somewhere to get them to germinate. This dries the soil out faster, too, of course, so putting plastic over the pot helps until they germinate.
Frugal Things:
--A very satisfying full pot of stew made with three bony pieces of the wether we butchered and various other things that mostly came from the garden via the freezers.
--My eldest son needed new shoes for track. He's had some tendonitis in his calf and had an idea of which shoes might help with that. The ones he thought would be best are around two hundred dollars, and he admitted himself that was too much. I asked him to go online and find a runner-up choice for me to buy for him. The ones he found were fifty dollars, which is even less than the ones I typically buy him.
--My husband and I spent about two hours cleaning up the back pasture right behind our house. He pulled his truck right into it and we loaded it with random scrap metal--there is always random scrap metal around--that he'll bring to the scrap yard next time he goes to town. It's only worth it to do this when he has to go for something else, because it's so far, but if he's going to buy hay and can get a hundred dollars for junk I wanted gone anyway, that works well.
--I got back all my jars back from our priest. He ends up with a lot of them because I give him food every week, mostly in canning jars. He had some other jars from elsewhere that he asked me to take, so now I have some interesting jelly jars in different shapes. I love to see all the different kinds of canning jars.
--The asparagus is up, yay! Every couple of days there's enough for my husband and I to have as a side dish. My children, oddly, don't like it much. Oh well. More for me!
Oooh, good to know about the warmth.
I'm glad that your priest brought back all your jars with some extras. I always let my pickle and herb "customers" know that the return of the empties is appreciated, but some are better about this than others. And from your comments over the years, it sounds as if your priest is a gem in general.
My frugal things:
1. I came home from a work trip to Chicago on Friday afternoon and made enchiladas using up ingredients from home. I only needed to buy enchilada sauce (froze the leftovers) and sour cream.
2. We cancelled Hulu/Disney, Apple games, and HBO Max subscriptions totaling $76/month. Before signing up for MLB All Access, I texted my brother who gave me his login.
3. Instead of going out for ice cream, I made a cocoa yogurt cake with all ingredients from home (and some of that sour cream).
4. I finished one library book and started another.
5. I spent Saturday at a baseball tournament and packed breakfast, lunch, snacks for me and the boy. We did stop at a gas station afterwards for cold drinks (it was 85+) and Skittles. He played back to back games and earned it.
Meeghan, if you’re ever inclined to make your own, Budget Bytes has a good & easy enchilada sauce recipe.
I closed my Florida ren faire. My plan was to stick my toes in the sand for a week of frugal fun. The weather had other plans...
1. Found a hotel that was cheaper than a campsite. I took full advantage of the free breakfast, 24 hr coffee and tea station, dusting off my dorm room cook skills to make meals with my room's microwave and mini fridge, hotel points, and steady wifi signal and electricity to get some work done.
2. Poked around Universal Citiwalk and Disney Springs. I didn't buy anything other than smashed pennies and dinner at a restaurant I treated myself to at Universal.
3. On a Browsing the Shops Day, I bought a Christmas, a birthday present, and a pair of new running shoes for me at 50% off at an outlet mall. I had fun browsing a few Japanese stores and did a tourism/shop for groceries at H Mart - the Asian grocery store of my dreams.
4. I logged my tickets to Colin Mochi's improv comedy show as a business expense because that's why I went. As I drove to the theater, the area started to look weirdly familiar, and then I realized why. I performed in the same theater in 2016!
5. I made a stop in Georgia to visit their renaissance festival to do some networking (again tax-deductible expense), see friends shows I never get to see when we're working together, and a saw a few others I've heard of but hadn't seen. This show allows refillable water bottles and has water stations. I had a small allergy friendly snack with me (allowed) and did research to find an allergy friendly meal options (it helps to have friends working there who can help a gal out) which was my only expense despite a couple of temptations of wants vs needs
1. I'm trying to stay within a 1000 kroner budget for food this month (approximately $100). So far I've spent $80, including toiletries.
2. I haven't ordered any takeout.
3. I used my gym membership and went running outside for free exercise.
4. I cancelled some subscriptions.
5. I stayed home this weekend and saved money by not going anywhere. Not my favourite way to be frugal!
In light of the recent conversation on financial management post-divorce, and in general, I thought this old article from The Billfold was worth sharing (with a content warning for swearing and mentions of abuse). If it isn't appropriate, Kristen, please go ahead and delete!
https://www.thebillfold.com/2016/01/a-story-of-a-fuck-off-fund/
Sophie, that's a powerful and empowering article. Thank you for sharing.
Excellent story at that link.
YES to having money so that you don't have to stick around for abuse. Love that.
My blessed mother always advised my two sisters and me to carry "mad money" (enough money to call a cab and get home in case some guy we were dating turned out to be a total creep). The "f**k off fund" sounds like the same concept carried to a higher level. Either way, it's wise.
That article should be required reading for every college senior woman! Ditto, all young women about to launch.
However, it fails to note that if the gal was not "shacking up" with a man who is not her husband, a lot of her problems would have not occurred, either.
Can confirm that being married to the man in question does not necessarily provide a whole lotta protection either.
I think that's a little judgemental and, as Kristen said, being married doesn't necessarily protect you from abuse. Numerous people live together before marriage these days - or perhaps not getting married at all - without abuse occurring. Getting married is not a failsafe.
I have just come to acceptance on having hair all over my fleece....
Everyone using Turbotax should check out Free Tax USA. I was skeptical at first because my husband is self employed, but it very smoothly transitioned all of the things over and was truly free for federal, even with a more complex return. I did pay for the state, but it was under $20. I used it for the 3rd year in a row and would highly recommend.
Give freetaxusa.com a try next year if you want to be really frugal...15 bucks to file state, federal is free, and it's a better interface than turbotax. I've used it the past several years after decades of TT, and I'm a convert.
We have used free tax usa for years. Very user-friendly.
Thank you all for sharing about this tax site! My younger teammate, a single mom, was quite unhappy with cost changes she came across with Turbo Tax this year. I don’t think she has filed yet, so I passed along this recommendation.
Frugals:
Bags of 2 pound shredded cheese were marked down to .45 cents. Yes .45 cents. They were past expiration. I bought 3 bags ( leaving some for others) and divided them into 2 cups portions with my Foodsaver. Into the freezer. The foodsaver mushes the shreds into a glob but it is easy to break apart for melting and cooking. Martha Stewart is not watching.
I bought a 3.98 dripper tube and fixture for a spurting irrigation end. Boring but a water saver.
I cleaned 1/2 of my 3 car garage. Call me the killer of 1,000 spiders. I donated heavily since we are hopefully moving soon. Tossed two huge garbage bag. I laid a carpet out with Hubby's stuff whatever is not gone by today is gooooooonne!
I am doing detail work almost everyday in the house - hoping that we will get a better price for it. It is hours a day of humbling work but if we could raise the price but 1000s? I cleaned the micro blinds in the garage. 7 microfibers and 45 minutes but they look like new. I took a putty knife and got some small weeds that were in the cracks in the front. I vacuumed all the webs in the stone veneer. I cleaned the fronts of door with a magic eraser. Next is to spruce up outdoor fixtures. Don't know how yet but I will google. I have a lot more time than money these days and it is kind of meditative.
Martha Stewart probably spills more $$ than any of us earn.
Wow, you are doing a bang-up great job of prepping your house. I didn’t realize you were planning to move to the River House. I keep hoping I’ll run into some green, red, clear, or amber (did I get the colors right?) little bottles and vases, so that when I pass through your area we can meet at a Starbucks (or someplace cheaper) and I can hand them over.
Yes, I am a dork, but in this very wide-spread geographical Commentariat, it feels as if we are neighbors.
That would be really fun!!!! I just picked up three red buds that are taller ( with a cork for olive oil? ( they have a cork) and one green bud vase. I am drinking Diet Buderbergs and cleaning up for the amber colors. I thin I have 12 so far total. I wont need 120 until a year or so for the reception
I am going to experiment with glass spray becuase clear bud vases are a lot cheaper.
I've seen some really pretty DIY plain glass jars tinted with food coloring and ModPodge - that might not work if you need water in your vases, but it proves your point that experimenting is worth a try. I can't remember if you have a River House blog - I hope you'll share pictures at some point!
Do you know if we can share pictures on this site? I would be happy to share.
Very, very little frugal stuff going on here. We did have pasta last night for dinner because we had everything we needed on hand, and on my way back from the hospital I stopped and got chicken for tonight's dinner.
While at the store I saw the chips everyone likes were massively on sale, so I stocked up on those. When there's a medical crisis we eat chips and no regrets about it.
**Short update: (DS#2 is at the hospital with DS#3 today. We learned, through pestering the doctors to order blood cultures FINALLY, that DS#3 has a staph infection in his blood from the previous hospital stay (different hospital). While not frugal, the hospital is where he needs to be to get the care he needs.) This infection explains why he'd been getting weaker with each passing week, and why his hemoglobin dropped to 4.7 (now at 8, as of two days ago). They switched him to a different antibiotic and now we wait.
Thanks for the update on your son - what a relief that your advocacy got answers (finally) and correct treatment. Praying for an uncomplicated recovery for him
Yes to what Suz said!
So scary a situation but your son has good advocates. Prayers for his continued healing.
Karen A., your family has had such a hard time with illness for such a long time. My heart goes out to you all--not forgetting the Commodore, who I trust is doing his duty as emotional support cat.
The Commodore was approving of today's determined efforts to sanitize the entire house (considering DS was fighting staph unbeknownst to us for two months, yikes!); he greatly enjoys the smell of bleach and mopping means his favorite dining room chair gets placed on the table, where he believes it should always be so he can survey his kingdom from on high.
I was thinking about your family and the medical issues with your son. Thanks for updating, prayers for his recovery!
We had a long-haired cat for years and had the same hair problems. I often just took a damp washcloth and wiped down articles of clothing. That seemed to work best for me. I like your idea of just keeping the jacket out of the house.
Here are my 5 FTs
– I picked up a few more pkgs. of discounted biscotti at Home Goods to keep on hand. They’re such a nice treat with a cup of tea.
– I did not bring home one plastic bag from Walmart on my last shopping trip. I fit all my groceries into my reusable bags. I've been trying to reduce the number of plastic bags I bring home. I can use some, but they seem to multiply overnight!
– I beat the sale price on sirloin steak at a local store, by checking the price at Sam's while I was there. Sam's happened to be 50 cents cheaper a pound. I like to have some sirloin on hand for stir frys and such.
– I reused an Amazon box and used a free sticky USPS Priority Mail label #228 to send a pkg. to someone. The USPS labels, available free at most post offices, are a perfect size but you have to cut off all the USPS info and colors or they charge you the Priority Rate and that may be higher. (I learned that the hard way.) I just use the white part for the address, peel it off and stick on the pkg. You can usually get 2 "homemade" address labels from one large label.
– I rescued a few over-ripe bananas and froze them for later use.
I would love to find a website that rates clothing based on how much animal fur sticks to the fabric! I've bought some items online thinking they'll be fur repellents, but they end up just attracting all the dog hair in my house. But other fabrics are great. Even denim - some jeans are wonderfully repellent; some attract all the fur!
Your coffee solution makes me think of my 2008 Corolla with 200,000 plus miles on it. The engine light is on and the sensor is out but I keep telling myself I’ll drive it till it dies.
Well, here’s my Frugal 5s+:
- Had cupcake snacks, Snoopy movie marathon and dance party as 1of 6 days for my daughter’s experience birthday gift week. All free since the cupcakes were leftover from the food pantry, Peanuts DVDs from the library, dance music from YouTube, and dance decor from my girls’ light up lanterns and neon glow signs that they got for free.
- For my girls’ birthday experience today, our family will go to the Mario Movie Galaxy on $6 movie day today and after, kids eat free with adult purchase at Pizza Ranch. They’ll also use their previous game cards to play arcade games there.
- For the remaining week:
On Wednesday, I’ll do a mommy daughter date at a free Mother’s Day event sponsored by the public school where we’ll make a floral bouquet, dance, and eat treats together.
On Thursday, we’ll make homemade mac n’ cheese and coconut cream pie per her request. Will also watch a DVD she picked out from the library and probably play family games we already have afterwards.
For Friday, I’m thinking a girls’ night in with a at home makeover like painting nails and putting on makeup. We might bake some goodies this day. Both using things we already have at home.
On Saturday, we’ll go to a free sponsored event and admission day at the kids’ science museum and get a free Nothing Bundt Cake bundtlets after turning in the reading logs from their reading program.
- My husband cooked a bag of dried beans my mother in law left behind, a bag of mixed frozen veggies we already had in the fridge, and French fries since we had no potatoes to go with our ham dinner yesterday. It turned out to be a pretty good meal!
- Will put together my girl’s science experiment materials she’ll need to bring to school with things we have at home to make crystals. Only thing I’ll need to buy is borax.
- Glued my girl’s loose soles on her sneakers using E6000. Not sure how well they’ll hold up but we’ll see. Just need them to survive till the end of this school year.
That sounds like such a fun party! I used to love the Peanuts books and had a Snoopy birthday tablecloth as a kid we used at parties. I still love all things Snoopy!
We had so much fun! Watching Snoopy was a blast :).
I love all your ideas for your daughter's experience birthday gift week. Have fun!!
Aww, thank you!!! it took a lot of planning. We hope she knows how much we love her.
Haha. I’m also waiting to see whether some old basil seeds will germinate. Last year’s basil came from some grocery store basil I bought to cook with. The parts I didn’t use, I put in water, and they sprouted roots!
Basil twins! Best wishes to both of us. Ha.
I have same coffee maker (not in the "timer" version), and I found an exact replica at Thrift for super cheap...like less than $5....so its now in my closet as a backup -- JUST IN CASE.
I have a backup coffee maker too. My husband thinks it's funny, but I never want to be unable to make my own cup of coffee!!
Me too! Nothing worse than no coffee in the morning.
I bought a new Mr. Coffee on clearance just before the tariffs .
$25? I will need it eventually
1. Updated contingent beneficiaries on a few of our financial accounts. Last updated in December before we traveled to Arizona. Good thing my husband and I didn't both die on that trip because I had made several errors that would have resulted in some people receiving much more - and some people receiving much less - than we intended.
2. Figured out ways to use up a large jar of peanut butter powder that I received from Buy Nothing last year. So far, I've made peanut butter (not a fan), peanut sauce, and mixed it in oatmeal and baked goods.
3. Friend gave me some dog jerky after her pup died. Cut it up into small pieces to use as treats for our dog.
4. Brought home leftover coffee from an event in my trusty canteen. Diluted it with water and whole milk and enjoyed it for several days.
5. Treated my sister to lunch for her birthday and gave her a bouquet of flowers (only $8 at Trader Joe's). Used a mason jar as a vase which she'll return to me.
Hello Kristen,
Love your posts, some of the most fun, interesting, and informative messages I read. In regards to your cheap, very old coffee machine…… please invest in a new one. Just imagine if it started up again when you leave for work for a 12 hour shift. You wouldn’t want to have it burn the kitchen or the hose I’m sure, and it certainly not worth it to keep it of its that old. We want you and your daughter safe, so just get a safe one so that we can all enjoy your posts for as long as you post.
Blessings, Patricia
Ohhhh, no, no, I am unplugging it in between uses! So it can't turn on when I'm not there.
But you are right; it would be risky to leave it if it were plugged in. I promise I'm not doing that!
Let's see --
1. I dug the nice Calphalon pan out of my Goodwill bag. It was there because everything stuck to it. I decided to try Kristen's method of frying eggs. It worked, in a sense. The eggs did not stick. But I let the pan get too hot, and I used butter and olive oil as the fat, which immediately turned brown. The eggs turned out with crunchy edges, but a runny yolk. (Made a nice egg sandwich.) I think I'll be all right if I don't let the pan get quite so hot. I'll keep the pan.
2. Bought a rotisserie chicken from Sam's. Ate legs and thighs the first two days, with veggies on the side. Then I stripped the carcass and used some of the meat to make chicken salad, with chopped apples, walnuts and celery. Froze the rest of the meat in two one-cup containers.
Will eat the wings with mashed potatoes today. Made broth from the carcass, and then chicken noodle soup.
3. Made a sale on eBay. Boxed it up in an old Amazon box padded with newspaper. Weather permitting, will run it to the post office today, combining trips to the bank and the library.
4. Purchased furniture risers on eBay after checking them out on Amazon. Ordered what I needed for half the price.
5. Found items on recent outings include a dime, a screw, a scarf, all now relegated to their proper areas.
On line taxes (olt.com) has worked well for us for several years. Federal is free and you only pay for state (s) when you file ~$5 each.
My opinion on the coffee maker (I've been through a few, lol) is that the ones without the clock/timer/preset electronics, just an on-off switch, are longer lasting. But, you do have to remember to manually do the things.
We have a vehicle problem that is a result of it being worn out, but we're going to try to make do with some repairs to the electrical and emissions systems, amounting to a few hundred dollars in parts and some time and effort. If the first attempt doesn't pan out, then maybe a fuel pump, which is our next guess at the culprit. I don't know if this is smart or not, because it's such a headache to guess and try. Inquiries at our trusted mechanic have been met with "Wellll, it could be ...," which is code for "Your vehicle is worn out, goofball."
House will be paid off in not a long amount of time, provided everything holds together as planned, and I'd sure like to kick this replacement down the road past that. Time will tell.
I used ZipBooks to order a book that my library doesn’t have. Do other libraries offer this fantastic service? If the book is in print, more than a year old, and the library doesn’t have it, a patron can order it. Amazon delivers, and the patron has 6 weeks to read it before handing it in to the library. The library pays Amazon. It is fantastic!
The A/C on my “free” car is having a problem. Since I had to go down the hill to the mechanic, I stopped by Winco.
The mechanic diagnosed the problem, ordered the part, and tomorrow I will have to go down the hill again, so I’ll go to Winco again. (The more I spend, the more I save?)
The electric stove/oven that we bought from the scratch/dent department of an appliance store in 1998 developed a problem. I wasted a chunk of time on the phone with GE, got sort of a clue about what might be the problem, called a friend who used to do appliance repair, and he found the part for $30 instead of the $104 at GE. I have no idea what he will charge to install it, and no, I’m not going to be like N and figure it out myself. (Thank goodness I don’t have to be that frugal, because electricity scares me.)
My youngest boy came home and had an impromptu birthday party and he brought 4 co workers/roommates. He asked for breakfast for dinner. We played cards into the night. They were up and going at 6, they even helped me with chores before heading off for a hike.
Picked up a free very nice treadmill to put in the community hall, now we have 3. They get used daily for rehab and exercise.
We also added an upright cabinet grand piano that has been tuned, we have a young high schooler who wants to give lessons.
Picked up 110 Lin ft of white picket fencing to fence off the perennial cut flower beds.
Have a wonderful Tuesday my frugal friends!
I discovered this blog YESTERDAY and so glad to see such a robust comment section! I am guessing this is a weekly column, so I will keep this in mind in the coming week to take note of frugal things I've done. I'm sure there are many, but just going to read all the comments for now. Can't wait to be a part of this community!
Welcome, welcome! We are a very chatty group here, and I'm glad you're going to join us!
I have a Mr. Coffee 5-cup pot with timer and I love it. As long as everything went well the night before, mine is set to start brewing at 5:35 in the morning. It's always a happy morning when the coffee is ready to go.
My FFT:
1. I told my kids that they weren't allowed to watch Wheel of Fortune until they found the missing magnet-tile from our library kit. We were getting charged a late fee every day this 1 piece out of 100 was missing and they weren't being all that helpful in finding it. So I found the right motivation: Wheel of Fortune. No more late fees!
2. I am putting in the work to keep my kids fed without buying café food after school (there's a café attached to the building where my daughter has theater rehearsals and she has to walk past it to get from track to theater). We're trying out different snacks and making it work!
3. I got ingredients to make Caesar salads. My middle schooler is on a Caesar salad kick and we've just been buying the kits so far. But today I bought the ingredients (romaine that I will chop, croutons, and dressing) to make it ourselves. Turns out, she doesn't even use the shredded parmesan that comes in the kits. So this should save us money and be really easy. I also chopped and cooked some chicken to add to it to make it like those ready-to-go salad bowls.
4. I went to buy napkins for a potluck and walked by a clearance table at Meijer where I found some really nice ones that were 90% off. Sweet! I try to always do a quick sweep of the clearance sections at Meijer because sometimes you find some really great things.
5. I hunted to find coupons in my email for Dunham's and Ollie's since I had items I needed to buy from those stores. I'll happily save 20% when I can!
1. We switched our internet provider! We didn’t have an option on who our provider was until this year and once another option was available we set an appointment to switch over. This will cut our bill significantly.
2. With our new internet provider we will be losing our local channel access (which I demand for local news/weather because we live where tornados happen) so my husband purchased an HDTV antenna. I’m not 100% sold as they don’t always work during bad weather but I’m willing to give it a try – the antenna itself is less than one month of cable access so if it doesn’t work we aren’t out money.
3. The bottom of a bag of pretzel chips was turned into breadcrumbs.
4. I did not have to bring lunch into work today – Visit Seattle bought lunch for our team! Knowing that I wasn’t going to need leftovers for lunch also meant that I could use up some odds and ends in the fridge for dinner last night without having to plan for leftovers.
5. We are switching phone providers this week. I’ve been using Ting because it was working well for just me but since adding a teenager to the plan Ting isn’t the frugal choice anymore. My son and I will going under my husband’s work plan which also means new phone which I desperately need – mine isn’t consistently taking calls messages from non iPhones.
Geneva, I only have an indoor HDTV antenna and it works just fine for local stations. There are a couple of broadcasters 3 counties over where the signal sometimes is weak or non-existent but most of the time, they work ok. Depends on how far you are from the broadcast tower but it should be ok. Also advise getting weather alert apps for your cell phones.
Kristen, before you spring for a brand new coffee pot, don't forget it is almost "hippie Christmas," as one NCA person calls it. First hit any trash piles around college campuses and apartment complexes to see if anyone discarded a perfectly good coffee maker. If that doesn't work, hit the thrift stores. When college lets out, many students will toss their household items such as small appliances and you can get a used one free or almost free. Also, wedding season is almost here and a lot of couples may donate their old coffee makers, toasters, microwaves or whatever, once they get a brand new fancier one via their shower and wedding gifts. Even if you don't trash pick, go to Goodwill or another charity store; I'm sure you can find something good for far less than the $30 you're budgeting for.
OK, here is my long-awaired news: Progressive Insurance is going to send me a check to cover the costs I incurred cleaning up the tree damage. It has taken long enough: the moving truck hit the overhanging live oak tree branches last March 6, more than a month ago., and this caused half of the giant tree to fall. Just yesterday I reported this to my state Dept. if Motor Vehicles ( one division regulated moving vans and commercial trucks) and the lady I talked to gave me the moving company's insurer and their policy number. Turns out the nasty owner of the moving company already filed a claim for damages to his truck but conveniently "forgot" to report the expenses I incurred or the fact he refused to clean it up or pay me for same. I've been in the phone all day yesterday and this morning but I got them to pay. Sadly, this will not cover the countless hours I've spent researching the movers and advertising the free firewood, but at least I will be reimbursed for the out of pocket expenses.
Meanwhile the DMV lady complimented me on my thorough research, and requested I also report the movers to the feds. She said she's never before encountered a member of the pubic who had gathered this many facts; I made her work a lot easier. BTW, if anyone ever has problems with movers, it's public record who insured them. So even if you encounter a jerk who refuses to give you their insurance info, you can obtain this info yourself.
Another helpful tip: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adm. has a national Consumer Complaint Data Base at 1-888-368-7238 covering all U. S. trucking companies. You can report a bad actor -- or see if a potential mover has had any complaints/violations before you hire them.
Anyway, I am celebrating my frugal victory today. Woo-hoo!
Fru-gal Lisa, congratulations on your victory over the unscrupulous driver of the moving truck. You certainly earned this one!
Thank you A Marie. I have a small update: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin lady says what happened to me is totally unacceptable. A federal investigation has been launched!
Meanwhile she recommends we contact our Congressional reps to ask why there is apparently no federal law ( or enforcement of same) prohibiting convicted felons from working in the moving industry. Where they have access to people's homes and belongings! And why a guy who served many years in one state's prison is allowed to set up shop in another state.
Everyone I worked with when I was a nurse for 24 years would do their continuing education and other work related mandatory things at home for free. My response was always "I refuse for work for free" and would only do it on the clock. Even when that meant driving to a hospital facility so I could clock in for a few hours.
I just looked it up and the hospital CEO made 23 million dollars in 2023. On the backs of nurses who work for free.
Katy, That is disgusting.
Not exactly frugal but ...
I bought several small bags to try as phone bags (cross-body bags, purses, etc). The receipt did not how the full discounts so I hiked back up to the bag dept, took photos of each discount (it can take a while to find them all), calculated what the discount should have been, talked with the department sales clerk, got sent to the long customer service line, waited even longer because I let the man with two toddlers go ahead of me, and finally got someone who knew what was going on. The discount was off original price, the register receipt rang up an intermediate price. After all that, every price was correct but one.
It was $0.16 off. I was so annoyed about my wasted time that I insisted on getting that back.
Received my state refund today and it was way more than i expected (as in 658 vs 193). I won't quibble, last year I owed a lot!!
A while back we had a hiccup with the electric service that zapped our 32-year-old Bose Wave radio. DH suffered through tech support with Bose, which told him to trash the radio. He persevered and found an independent repair shop that repaired it and sent it back to us sparkling clean -- the textured cream case has never looked so good! -- for $150. If that seems like a lot, the radio was very expensive in 1994, never gave us any trouble until this, and has amazing sound. We are so happy to have it working again.
Speaking of radio, we are a Nielsen survey family for radio this week, which will net us $10 each for filling out our radio listening diaries and we each received $2 upfront. Sweet!
Our wonderful vet gives senior citizens a 10% discount, which helped a bit with our cat's visits this week. Kitty is feeling so much better, thank goodness.
I had a bunch of baggies of small amounts of chopped frozen veggies cluttering up the freezer and today made a big stir fry for lunch that used them up. This included the last of the sweet lunchbox peppers grown in a big pot last summer.
Am really enjoying a free audiobook from the library titled "The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER." It is a 2022 memoir by Dr. Thomas Fisher, chronicling his experiences as an emergency room physician on Chicago's South Side during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. I’m heavier than I’ve ever been after having baby #3, so I needed some new-to-me clothing. I’m trying to not stress about my weight but I did want some clothing that fits well and doesn’t remind me of my larger size by pinching or fitting poorly. I found some needed clothes at Goodwill and received an extra 10% off for being one of the first 100 people in the store. I also asked for and received a discount on an item with a prominent stain that came out nicely after using dish soap as a stain treatment.
2. Unfortunately, one of the tags left a rather large hole in a shirt from my Goodwill trip above, so I hand sewed it. I also took the time to mend another piece of clothing and it’s now back in rotation.
3. I “took one for the team” (from Katy at NCA) and finished several little leftovers in the fridge. Five bites of chili and a small bowl of unloved tortellini are now gone. I also investigated two salad kits brought by my MIL and composted the slimy one (minus the crunchy toppings and dressing) but ate the other for lunch.
4. Mr. B and I enjoyed a free rare date night out. Babysitting for my two older kiddos was free courtesy of my in-laws (we took the baby with us). We enjoyed a showing of a documentary called “The Fish Thief” with free catered appetizers and a free drink. I enjoyed a glass of red wine and the appetizers were wonderful: deviled eggs with shrimp, blackened fish, “poor man’s lobster” fish, a “three sisters” veggie salad, and smoked trout dip. The documentary was interesting and well done.
5. I made banana bread from overripe bananas. I added some of the remaining frozen elderberries I picked last summer. Happily, this also used butter that my FIL turned into a crumb-covered eyesore. We don’t use butter regularly in our family, but he lives on it and is not thoughtful about leaving it clean for others. I was able to clean off the unappetizing bits and felt comfortable using it in something baked.
I detest crumbs in the butter.😑
As someone whose worst allergy is cats, followed closely by dogs, I so appreciate your efforts to remove the cat hair from your fleece especially if you would be wearing it while on duty.
I had the perfect winter-ish coat. It had a hood, went down to my knees, and was soooo warm. A fleece of a beautiful purple color that I had bought from thrift store. The hair from our mostly black dog didn't show but when we adopted a mostly white dog that was another story. I used tape on it and sent it back to the thrift store sadly. My coat now is a mixture of black, grey, and brown which works well hiding the pet hairs.
I'm still planting basil seeds from my basil plants from two houses ago. We moved from that house in 2004.