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Five Frugal Things | homeschool books, taco truck sauce, and more

1. I sold Zoe’s school books.

She finished school last week and I listed, sold, and shipped her non-consumable textbooks.

Yay!

sold homeschool books

(The nice thing about your youngest kid finishing books is that you can get rid of them! No more schoolbook storage once she’s done with them.)

I’m not super motivated re-seller, but books don’t feel super overwhelming to list and sell. And that’s why this was so prompt.

I used eBay for both of these sales; I tried Facebook but got no bites.

2. I used up condiments from the taco truck.

Mr. FG and I had gone to the taco truck for a date night (food trucks can make for a nice cheap date!), and we had been given more salsa and hot sauce than we needed.

So, I used the extra on some some eggs and squash that I cooked for my lunch.

eggs with hot sauce

3. I got a boogie board at Costco.

We’re planning a beach vacation and discovered we needed a new boogie board.  I remembered Costco carries decent boards in the summer, so I picked one up for $29.99.

Costco boogie board

When I got home, I googled the board and discovered that it sells for around double that elsewhere.

Yay, Costco!

4. I used $20 of Old Navy credits.

Sonia needed some shorts, so when I saw that Old Navy was having a 50% off shorts sale, we headed over.

I had two $10 Old Navy reward certificates, so I used those toward the shorts too.

5. I…

packed a lunch for Mr. FG (leftovers in reusable containers), cooked dinner at home, and batched errands in conjunction with Sonia’s allergy shot.

Share your own Five Frugal Things in the comments!

 

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Lorraine

Wednesday 29th of May 2019

I have been in Super-Budget mode since finding out last week that the plumbing in my 70-year old home needs to be replaced sooner rather than later. Sigh. The joys of home ownership. (Or, home moaner-ship as my friend says!) My goal is to save one-third of my income for plumbing over the next 3-4 months.

1. I used credit card points and a credit from a return on Amazon to purchase a birthday present for my brother. I am also obligated to host a party for him so if anyone has ideas for food that will feed a lot of people for not a lot of money, I am all ears. (But not too carb heavy as there are several diabetics in the mix.)

2. I am packing lunches every day. I was pretty good at this even before Super-Budget, but I am better at remembering it EVERY day when I know the alternative is to go hungry until dinner.

3. I compiled a list of gift cards and shopping rewards I have available so that if I am just dying for a treat, I can easily get something with no money out of pocket.

4. I found some alternative limited ingredient, grain-free cat foods that are a bit less expensive for my allergy-prone cat. Because spending over $100 a month on food for 2 cats is a little ridiculous.

5. I re-evaluated my budget and expenses to trim the fat, so to speak. Goodbye Netflix. We had a good thing going. I will miss you.

WilliamB

Thursday 30th of May 2019

I was going to suggest Tex-Mex as well. Most of the ingredients are relatively inexpensive - dried beans, rice, torillas, cheese, jarred salsa, hot sauce, chopped onion, chopped lettuce, sour cream usually don't cost much.

The meat and the guac can add up. For the meat, I suggest buying inexpensive cuts (beef round, chicken thighs) and making pulled meat by simmering the meat in salsa or BBQ sauce. Using smaller serving bowls and utensils for these will subtly discourage people from taking a lot.

Watermelon is also inexpensive, especially if your store sells the full size, with-seeds ones.

Shannon

Thursday 30th of May 2019

For parties, we usually do either a taco bar or a baked potato bar. Taco bar (with shredded lettuce for taco salads) would probably be lower in carbs. If you have a GFS (Gordon food services), they sell trays of pulled pork that are good for feeding a crowd pretty easily and not too expensively.

Katy

Wednesday 29th of May 2019

Oh I love these posts! 1. Many of the items I bought at the grocery store were sale items. 2. We got 50 cent frosties from Wendys. 3. Baking some granola during our nightly free electricity rates. 4. Planning an end of the school year homeschool party with food I already have. 5. Turned the thermostat warmer so the ac wouldn't kick on as much.

Jessica

Wednesday 29th of May 2019

1- cleaned out the fridge at work on the last day of school( work in a preschool) and took home all the randomness the teachers left! Used the bananas, pudding cups and potato chips in the kids lunches the next 2 days! lol

2-Out of town travel for the girls LAST volleyball tournament this year( yes, a very unfrugal activity)- bought our admission tickets in advance saving $15+ on wristbands for husband and son...packed all our beverages, refillable bottles and snacks to pack in cooler and backpack to NOT buy overpriced stuff at tournament( 3 days).. Ate complimentary hotel breakfast and only paid for 1 meal per day... Used hotel transport van to take us to convention center and pick up instead of driving crazy PA highways and paying to park.. my tips came to the cost of 1 discount parking lot stay.

3-found a discount freezer shelf and bought some organic vegs that are perfect for adding to smoothies! .99 per bag

4- Took the coupons from the Sunday paper at the hotel breakfast room! lol

5- Meal prep and cooking even when things are crazy and I don't wanna!

Becca

Wednesday 29th of May 2019

1. Made homemade wedding cards for two weddings we are going to instead of buying them. Bought $100 worth of gift cards to a local restaurant for $70 for one of the weddings. 2. Made muffins with Raisin Bran cereal no one was eating and made two more batches of baby food (peach mango and roasted red pepper). 3. Planted a bunch of seeds from last year in our garden. Hopefully soon we will have a bunch of yummy veggies to show for it. 4. Used a coupon to buy baby wipes ahead of time instead of running out and having to go to the store. 5. Had a friend over for homemade cocktails instead of going out and spending money on drinks.

Corrine Wilson

Wednesday 29th of May 2019

1. Our new home does not include trash pick up in the taxes So, I have been shopping around for trash pick up. Surprisingly, there is a big difference in price between all of the companies that service our area. 2. Got free moving boxes from neighbors by posting on Next Door 3. Submitted my expense report at work for mileage driving to off- site meetings. Its averages $12 per month, so why not? 4. Planted our vegetable garden this weekend! We rent a space at a community garden. The rent ($25) includes water, our space, gardening tools and supplies, and shared herbs, fruit treea, and berries. So worth it! 5. Used pantry/freezer items to make breakfasts and lunches for the week. Fruit compote, made from leftover pieces of fruit I freeze and then cook down, over oatmeal for breakfast. With eggs, local asparagus, spinach, and sundried tomatoes for lunch. Spent $3 on all for the week. Cheap and healthy!

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