Five Frugal Things | I did actually need some mugs
1. I got a few mugs from a Buy Nothing offer
On Sunday afternoon I went for a hike on some trails near my house. I randomly checked Facebook before I drove home, and I saw a driveway pile offer that was exactly on my way home.
(A driveway pile is not an official term, but it's when someone does a cleanout and puts everything out on the driveway, in a first-come, first-served style.)
I know almost everyone has too many mugs, but an odd thing about starting over later in life is that you can be in your mid-40s and actually find yourself in need of mugs!
Soo, I picked up three citrus Starbucks mugs from the pile.
2. I got some junk towels from the same pile
Lisey is in a colorful-hair stage of life (this stage has been going on for some time now). Colorful hair is pretty messy, so she is always needing some towels we don't care about both for dying and for showering.
Under normal circumstances, junk towels are a thing you naturally acquire as your regular towels wear out. But we needed some, so I grabbed a few old towels from the free pile.
3. Aaaand I got a rug from the same pile
There's an unfinished room in the basement that Zoe has dubbed "the boiler room", and the concrete floor there is unfinished.
I have my weights in there, and whenever I finish using them and want to walk out, my feet are dusty (because you know how unfinished concrete floors are ALWAYS producing dust!)
So, I thought that a rug would be helpful, but I don't care one tiny bit what the rug looks like. So I grabbed a flowered one from the free pile.
And now I do not have to have dusty feet when I leave the boiler room. Yay!
4. I made some bread for a classmate
One of my classmates lost a father figure last week, and she was barely holding it together during last week's class. So yesterday I made some cinnamon bread before class and brought her a loaf.
Yeast bread costs very, very little to make, but it makes a lovely little gift for people. And since a lot of people have no idea how to make it, a homemade bread gift ends up making the recipient really happy.
5. I...
- made sure to find a lab that was in-network for some routine bloodwork
- got a 300-point Fetch rewards bonus
- walked to school multiple times
- made coffee at home
- used a $2.50 coupon that was left at the grocery store register
First of all, belated thanks for the intereview with your aunt! I loved reading it, and the comments.
FFT
We managed a week of meals without takeout;
I repurposed some old and thin flannels (face cloths 🙂 ) as all purpose rags. I cut the hems with my pinky scissors to easily tell the difference;
I thought better of some purchases I was reaaaaaly tempted to make (home decoration fabrics);
We "renovated" our dining room by switching the table around and placing a house plant in a strategic corner;
I bought one day old sourdough bread at the artisan bakers. At half price, it is still delicious a few days after; I freeze what I do no eat in the next day.
My husband and I have an agreement that no surprise changes will be made to living/dining/bedroom because he also needs to feel at home. I can put as many pink frills in my study as I like though (not that I like pink frills) and his study is very much his own den.
1. I stopped going to CVS when the pandemic started and just never went back. Last week I received $4 Extra Bucks so stopped in when I was going by and paid $2 for two bags of Halloween candy. Then I received $5 and $4 in Extra Bucks. Yesterday I stopped while going by and got two bottles of store brand Pedialyte for free and also picked up some Halloween candy. It was $2.99 for two bags. I bought m&ms since I use them in monster cookies. The Pedialyte was for a neighbor that has been battling the flu. It's their drink of choice when not feeling well.
2. We have eaten at home. I made a pot of Chicken Tortilla soup Sunday night and leftovers will be dinner a couple of nights this week. We top it with crushed tortilla chips so it is a good way to use up the ends of the bag. I did not have jalapenos so I used a bit of cayenne pepper instead.
3. We discovered a new hiking trail. An acquaintance had told me about a trail at the community college that leads to a state park. We found it and it was fun to hike on a new trail. It's also closer to home than the state park and also does not have limited hours (the state park does not open until 9:00 am).
4. A friend invited me to go with her to a free Pilates class in a neighboring suburb next week. That's something I would not know about or do on my own.
5. I asked our daughter to order something for me using her Amazon Prime. It was a $9 item and I didn't want to pay for shipping. She was happy to oblige.
Some day we’ll reach the point where our new-to-us house doesn’t need something else, but I am doing my best to keep those needs frugal! We’re solidly in the “We’ve lived with this for a while now and know what needs tweaked” stage.
—Our shared closet is narrow but tall, with only one clothes bar at 60” high. A two-tiered clothes rack would better use the space, so I ordered one off Amazon. The very next day, I spotted a two-tiered clothes rack hiding in our basement during my monthly water heater check!* I cleaned the found rack, rearranged the closet, and returned the ordered rack without opening it for a refund.
*I find our unfinished basement creepy and usually just dash in and out for maintenance checks—hence missing the clothes rack until now!
—For the same closet revamp, I swapped my husband’s small work hamper with our previous full-sized one. (Having our very own washer at our disposal vs. in the basement and shared with other tenants makes a huge difference in how much piles up!) I also swapped in a pretty $10 wood Goodwill shelf that we’ve had for years. There’s so much more room and better storage in our little closet now!
—I recarpeted the closet floor with 2.5 ft/sq carpet tiles from the hardware store for a grand total of $12. Since I returned the clothes rack I didn’t need, this was the only expense for the overhaul.
—Time and budget finally coincided to get some yard work done before it snows. The drainage rock around the house needed replaced, and the local hardware store only charges $30 per bulldozer bucket! They also thankfully deliver—the rest fell to me, a shovel, and our wheelbarrow. I’m knackered, but it’s done, plus the house looks so much better!
—A neighbor sweetly gave me a weather window sealing kit (cellophane, etc.) that was too small for his windows but perfect for ours. A “thank you” apple crisp is on my kitchen agenda for later this week. 🙂
I cannot think of anything overtly frugal...
I started an online order at Walgreens with all the low priced deals I was seeing, but canceled it out when they were out of stock at the closest store to me.. did not feel like looking to see if those deals were available at the Walgreens 3 miles further away...
Saw I had Old Navy Bucks but was not impressed with what styes I was seeing on the website so I never ordered anything.
I remembered to use the discount card I bought from the football team, saved $5 on the date night meal with hubby.
Froze the sausage and peppers I brought home from serving teachers conference supper. My friend and I host this so we split leftovers. Put the main course away for a future quick meal. Also brought home like 4 bags of sausage rolls.
Used 2 free bags of sausage bread rolls this weekend for homemade Arbys night, homemade *french bread pizza*, garlic bread and sandwiches.
Bought a bag of store brand *rice crispy* cereal to make dessert using the opened bags of marshmallows I keep finding in my kitchen- large, mini and micro! They all melt! lol
I also need to express belated thanks for the aunt interview! (Some days are just to busy to comment.)
This week we--
*had a major haul at our local thrift store. My daughter had outgrown her last winter's clothes, so she needed quite a lot. We also found a few other things. For $23 we found approximately 5 pairs of jeans and 6 tops for her, a top for my son, 3 for me, several books, a few records, a couple of cds, and a movie. It would have been cheaper if we'd waited for this week's bag sale, but I didn't want to interrupt school this week.
*celebrated my husband's birthday by going to a long walk on our local rail trail and canal towpath-- both free.
*used the library.
*cooked at home.
*made a meal plan for several days of this week.
Only one "exciting" thing this week.
I would tear up in a positive way if a handmade cinnamon bread would be handed to me by such a kind and caring person like you Kristen! So, so kind of you!
@Lea, me too! What a lovely gesture.
I always feel a little bit shy about doing things like this...I wish I could drop the bread and run. I don't even know why I feel shy about it, but I do. I almost chickened out and didn't give her the bread, actually.
But she was really happy about it, so I was glad I brought it for her. 🙂
@Kristen, this is absolutely something I would do! And have done!(hangs head) I’ve made goodies for neighbors and friends and just have been to shy to deliver them! I need to be more brave.
I don't know why it's so hard to do this! But I completely understand you. 🙂
@Kristen,
I know how you feel! But you pushed past your discomfort. I feel certain that classmate was touched by your gesture, and will not forget your kindness.
@Liz B., I also feel shy about doing things like that. I'm most comfortable when I can drop it off on a doorstep and sneak away. I'm not fond of drawing attention to myself so maybe that's the reason?
1. I found boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale at Giant, so I stocked up and then froze them in ziplocks.
2. Then I went to Aldi and found so much on clearance: marinated turkey tenderloins, ground chicken, frozen pizzas, Halloween shaped pasta (at .69/lb, I will happily eat bats year round), coffee beans, donut-shaped ice cream bars, frozen french fries, pumpkin decorating kits (we were too sick on Halloween to decorate so we will do it later), Halloween sticker books, and probably some more things I am forgetting. It was a lot of stuff. Even my husband was impressed.
3. More of a fail: I bought cranberries in a bag at Giant for 2.99 so I can make my own sauce without high fructose corn syrup. I was thinking that it was a decent amount to spend because I will probably be able to get about two cans worth out of a little sugar and some time. Then, I saw the same bag of cranberries at Aldi for .99 a few days later! Also, turkeys were marked down, so I would've saved a bit if I had just waited. Oh, well. I bought one more .99 bag of cranberries and I will watch those turkeys to see if they go even lower.
4. I made granola instead of buying cereal and made pancakes from scratch instead of buying a mix.
5. Still haven't turned the heat on which was easy in our recent batch of balmy weather.
Then, the usual: cooked at home, brewed my own coffee, stayed on top of preventative medical care, etc.
@Becca, fresh cranberries freeze very well. I often stock up when they go on sale.
1. Continued to eat down my pantry, in advance of moving next year.
2. Spent $ to save $$$: my father is downsizing & moving after my mother's death, so I
visited him & rented a storage locker ($) in order to get a lot of their old things for my new place ($$$). I now have elegant chairs, a couple of couches, a desk, assorted side tables, a Syrian inlaid game table, a lot of art, and many other things. Much of the art is from world-wide travel and, literally, could not be bought now.
3. I sold a few things that I'm decluttering. (To be efficient with my time and save my sanity, I'm giving away most of it.)
4. Does this count? I gave some things to my colleague who lost literally everything but her family and their cars in a house fire; and some other things to another colleague who has 5 kids, one of whom he adopted recently because her birth family is unable to care for her.
5. In process to resubmit TWO YEARS of medical expenses to insurance because they buried the info that they changed their address. What possible excuse they have for not forwarding the mail or at least it being returned as undeliverable, I have no bloody idea. Y'all know how I feel about managing insurance - it's the bane of my existence.
6. My tax accounts really screwed up this year (long story deleted). They are going to reimburse my penalties and interest (of course) and I don't plan to pay their bill. This may be some money I don't spend but the aggravation far outweighs the dollars.
@WilliamB, I loved that you saved your parents belongings for your new home. These things will make your home feel special and personal. I have many things that have been handed down from my parents, grandparents, and great- grandparents. Not only does it connect me to my family, it is wonderful for the environment. My dining room table is nearly 200 years old!!!
@WilliamB, I agree with Bee about your saving the beautiful things from your parents' home. I also commend your #4, which is not only frugal but compassionate. And my sympathies on your #5; that's awful that you have to resubmit all that paperwork. It's like getting hanged twice for the same offense.
@WilliamB,
I think helping your colleague in such a situation should count double!
@WilliamB, re number 5. This is such a scam. I once submitted two claims in the SAME envelope, and they claimed they got one and not the other. Those employees must endure a boatload of verbal abuse from dissatisfied customers.
I am so glad we are now on Medicare and don't ever have to submit a thing.
Back when I was submitting receipts for marriage counseling reimbursement, I purposely sent ones for each time in separate envelopes because I did not want to give them an excuse to miss one. I am very distrustful of these processes! Ha.
@WilliamB, From a purely selfish standpoint, I would consider #4 frugal because "what goes around, comes around." But I don't think that was your motivation. Even expensive compassion is worthwhile.
@WilliamB,
Number 4 is wonderful and number 5 is crazy-making! Insurance companies make it as hard as they can!
@Anne, I've had that happen and that's not remotely the most egregious. I've had a rep say they never got the submission even though I was holding their response to it in my hand.
First, Kristen, you had some great scores from that free pile! And I agree with what Lea said about the cinnamon bread; that was a sweet gesture.
Now, FFT, Further Adventures Edition (continued from yesterday's FFT, Loving My Neighbors Edition, over at the NCA):
(6) Although I hadn't been going to roast any pumpkin seeds this year because of my gum grafting, the seeds from my neighbor's Queensland Blue (see #5 at the NCA) seem to have softer hulls than ordinary jack-o-lantern seeds--so I've saved the seeds and will be roasting them after all. And the QB flesh is so sweet and delicious that I had quite a bit of it (no sweetening, no seasoning, no nothin') with my .99/lb. chicken drumsticks last night.
(7) I found two good-quality polo shirts for DH at the Salvation Army superstore yesterday for .99 each. I've noticed that polos seem to stand up better than T-shirts to the clips the staffers attach to DH's shirts for his wheelchair alarm.
(8) Free entertainment from nature: The cat and I continue to be delighted with the birds at this year's configuration of bird feeders outside the living room windows. I'm going to try to sit down long enough today to get my first count of the season for Cornell's Project FeederWatch.
(9) More free entertainment from nature: I was up in time this morning (thanks to the change back to Standard Time on Sunday) to watch most of the lunar eclipse, including totality. I've never seen that much of an eclipse before; either it's at the wrong time of day, or we have cloud cover.
(10) And since I was up early anyway, I walked to our precinct's polling place and voted as soon as the polls opened at 6 am, thus both getting some exercise and avoiding a line.
Do you lift without shoes?
Frugal stuff:
--I did a lot of extra driving to and from the village last week, but I diligently took our old Honda rather than the van. I like driving the van better because it's quieter, doesn't shake above 60 miles an hour, and has a functioning radio, but the Honda uses a LOT less gas, so for multiple short trips that add up, the Honda is a better choice.
--Today, however, I will not be taking any of our vehicles to get to the voting place, because I'll just go in to the village with my husband on the school bus in the afternoon and then come home with him and all the hyped-up children. 🙂 My polling place is about a block from the school.
--Making chili today, which is one of the few ways I can use just two pounds of ground beef and feed my entire family, with leftovers. (I add beans and winter squash to bulk it up.)
--Still harvesting lettuce, although that will freeze this weekend for sure. Also got some beets, cabbages, carrots, and kohlrabi from the fall garden. Our fall stuff never grows as well as the spring planting, but it's better than nothing and cost me nothing but time.
--In the course of trying to get eldest outfitted properly for his shop class--hoodies are apparently the preferred welding apparel--I ended up with an extra hoodie a size too small for him that I didn't want to bother returning (the hassles of only online shopping are many). So I just passed it along to his younger brother, who was very pleased to get something brand new rather than already worn by his older brother.
Yeah, generally I am barefoot. It's somewhat common to lift barefoot or in very minimal shoes.
I am very mindful of my toes, though...I do not let the weights come near them. 😉
@Kristen, weight lifting is one place that I can use my Converses. Happy to still have a use for them since I don’t manage to walk with them any longer.
Yep, exactly. Minimally soled shoes are common for this!
I love your mugs! I am on frugal autopilot and really don’t have anything interesting to report. I’m doing all the usual things - cooking at home, drinking primarily filtered water, brewing my own coffee, being careful with leftovers, reading library books, listing a few items on eBay and sharing items on Buy Nothing.
Thank you for encouraging me to use Buy Nothing with more frequency. I have given some items away that may not have found a good home if I donated them. I really feel like I’m sharing a blessing and someone will directly benefit from the items.
Wishing everyone peace and good health!!!
Kristen, I really enjoy this weekly look back- it's a great reminder to keep at it!
1. Did my usual four-stores grocery shopping routine to leverage low prices and sales, even though I was tired from a volunteer shift at the library. We'll eat well on budget this coming week, though, as a result- salmon with fresh mango salsa, butternut squash-mushroom risotto, and apricot turkey meatloaf. Plus leftovers for days!
2. Went thru the giveaway pile during my volunteer library shift, which is where we place donated books we receive that are in less than good or excellent condition. Brought home Cutting For Stone, and Clan Of The Cave Bear, both free, and both which I'm looking forward to reading.
3. Read my free download of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet via an Amazon kindle search, since all his books are now considered public domain, and studied along, also for free, via SparkNotes(.com), in preparation for attending the play at a local college this upcoming weekend. And while the tickets to the play weren't free, as a college production, they were just $10 each.
4. Visited an art museum for $0 via Bank of America's Art & Culture program, which affords free entry at a variety of museums on the first weekend of each month for account holders. This is a nationwide program which we've taken advantage of while traveling as well. There are some surprisingly terrific museums on their list!
5. Attended a free symphony at our county's beautiful performing art center. The symphony is made up of high school students, which is why the tickets were free, but they are lead by one of the performing center's professional conductors, the acoustics in the building are amazing, and they students were outstanding. Always an uplifting and inspiring show.
I steadily gave away mugs until one day I realized I had none for DH's coffee, so I had to restock, too. They don't multiply in my cabinets the way they used to, it seems.
The cinnamon bread is lovely. I don't care that I'm supposed to avoid gluten, I would have eaten it!
1. This isn't my frugal, but - our county exceeds the percentage threshold for low-income families so that 100% of the kids are declared eligible for free breakfast and lunch at school. Since Covid had interrupted that, the school has given out EBT cards to every parent who has a child or children in public school, including my daughter. She didn't need it and it can't be returned or transferred, but she found she can convert it to Amazon credit as long as she purchases EBT eligible foods there. Amazon has a much better selection than our little town's three small grocery stores. She ordered a few things she can't find locally for her, a few for me, and she will stock the local food pantry with the rest. A win for all of us.
(For non-US readers, EBT is the federal food assistance program normally supplied to any low-income families and individuals who qualify; the EBT card may be used to purchase foods deemed eligible by the government at no cost to the card recipient. The cards issued by the school were not income-based; they were based solely upon having a child in public school during the pandemic, but could only be used on EBT eligible foods.)
2. I had a few apples and a pear starting to get a bit soft, so I made cinnamon apple/pear sauce out of them. I used my thrifted food mill to strain out the skins.
3. I cut back the lanky parsley for fall and made Green Goddess dressing with the cuttings. I left a few stems for any swallowtail butterflies that might still be laying eggs.
4. I had a noticeable spot from who knows where on a white work shirt that three soaks and washings didn't get out. I used a spot treatment and let it sit for two days and washed the shirt with booster and detergent, and it finally came out. I was determined to save this shirt.
5. The catch on a hook fastener on a pair of work slacks came off, so I sewed it back on. I hemmed a washcloth's frayed edge, and hemmed a pair of lightweight thrifted jeans.
@JD, thanks for explaining for us non-US readers!
I learn so much from reading the comments here.
One bit of wordy imagery stuffed in my pocket:
raspberry brambled hedgerows.
Other than that just abandoning habits and self control.
keep an airy step down the foresaken trail
Tiana, have you ever read The Wind in the Willows? This is the kind of phrase you'd frequently find in that book!
@Kristen,
Ah that is such a wonderful book - should re-read this fall..
Those mugs are so cute! It's very nice of the free pile to send you some Kristen-style mugs. 🙂
My FFT for the weekend and week so far:
1. Cleaned out and organized the cupboard that holds all the spices, dried herbs and baking supplies, using little free-standing wire shelves, baskets and bins we already had. To keep it tidy I made labels from cereal box cardboard covered in cute adhesive vinyl paper from the craft stash. Everything is alphabetized and I can find things! And I no longer have to use the top shelf that I can't reach without a step stool.
2. Altered another pair of now too big slacks to fit better.
3. Skipped grocery shopping this week. This limits our fruit choices to apples, raisins, prunes, and grapes, but we'll be fine.
4. Mixed up some powdered milk to cook with and used up the last little bit of it on cereal. My husband and I are lactose-intolerant, but powdered milk in small amounts is okay. Some recipes won't work well without dairy milk, so I keep powdered on hand for that.
5. Did a big wash load of cleaning rags and flannel dusting cloths in the evening after the electric rate went down, and hung it all up to dry on the drying rack in the laundry room.
Those are some great wins! And, yay for a driveway pile.
1) Used an iBotta offer (which, frankly I feel are almost always things I don't buy these days) to get $2 off of oat milk. It brings the price down to a really reasonable $1.50. I use oat milk in my coffee every day, but also sub it in a lot of recipes that call for milk. It also lasts a lot longer than milk.
2) Picked up a few Christmas gifts, with a reward, coupon code & used Rakuten to earn a little bit more back. Also on the holiday side, earned a Costco cash card from a previous trip, and set it aside to cover holiday food & drinks.
3) Picked up a rotisserie chicken for a recipe, and turned the bones into broth. I also made pesto for the recipe. I had basil in the garden, walnuts in the pantry, and some parmesan leftover from a bagged salad. I added that, plus 1/2 a lime I found in the fridge. Other than the olive oil, it was most definitely a frugal win.
4) Took home leftovers from an anniversary party (at the request of the host), & had that for lunch one day. Ate my son's leftovers for another lunch. And, continuing on that train, ate dinner leftovers from a work dinner for yet another meal. It was a strange week, with lots of unplanned meals out, and we came home with a lot of leftovers. We've been working our way through them in the fridge.
5) Picked up free pumpkins at the grocery store, after Thanksgiving. Roasted & pureed them, and stuck most of the puree in the freezer. Used some to make a triple batch of pumpkin muffins.
FFT
- I continue to sell on ebay and declutter my house
- I had been wanting a different chequing account as my current account requires a $2500 balance to have the monthly fee waived, which is fine and I've kept that balance in that account for many, many years, but moving to a no fee account is of interest to me. So, I just opened a no fee account that has a $350 bonus for new customers
- I've been using the FlashFood App fairly regularly lately and getting some grocery items at large discounts
- I sold 3 Xbox gift cards that I received for free from a brand promo
- I did my large grocery shop on customer appreciation day, which offers a 15% discount on the total
All of that is great; however, I just spent a little over $13,000 as I'm having my kitchen renovated. It will certainly be worth it and I have the cash on hand to pay for it but it still is a little hard to part with that much money.
@Tammy, I love the Flashfood app!!! The other day it gave me a tally of how many pounds of food I've "saved" from the landfill by buying them through Flashfood. That was a fun notification to receive!
1. I was so excited about (temporarily) having very own office that I was planning on buying a mini kettle, a cute mug, and little tins for tea and sugar...and then I came to my senses and carried in an old mug and zipper-lock bags with sugar and tea. I bought a small carton of milk and store it in the mini-fridge in the kitchenette. When I have a permanent office, I'll get cute stuff!
2. I packed my lunch today even though I really didn't feel like it 🙂 It's not exciting, but it's food.
3. I'm plugging away at knitting a sweater for my daughter. Making clothes is not generally a frugal way of clothing oneself, but if I've already bought the yarn, you can bet I don't want to waste it!
4. Frugal social activities this week: listening to my cousins' band play outside, my husband meeting a friend for coffee, and visiting my parents.
5. Not cheap but good value for money: we are going on our monthly fancy date this weekend. Out to dinner and to the symphony to hear Holst's The Planets. The tickets were very affordable because we bought them early, and I plan to wear the fancy-schmancy red silk dress I made for NYE last year.
Love your new mugs! What a fun find.
Let's see....
1. I made a pot of chicken and rice last week using a whole chicken from my freezer and rice from my pantry plus some salt and pepper. I cooked this on Friday and we are still eating away at the leftovers. I think tonight will be the last night. A bonus is that the stock that the chicken made was used to the cook the rice so we literally used the whole bird and nothing was wasted.
2. I combined coupons to get 18 eggs for $0.19/each. I bought the limit of 5 packages and we are now well stocked on eggs for upcoming holiday recipes.
3. Many days of turning off the HVAC resulted in an electric bill less than half of last month's bill. Hurrah!
4. I am planting perennial flower bulbs this weekend - a small investment now will yield many flowers for our yard year after year.
5. Meals at home. Lunches packed from home. Lights turned off. Laundry loads combined. Limited trips. Fires in our firepit for entertainment & cooking.
Well, we just got back from a road trip, and those can be very unfrugal, but we saved by packing our own drinks, instead of buying sodas and overpriced waters at the travel plazas. We did get hot food there, though, that is a morale booster for kids stuck in the car for long trips! And Roy Rogers had surprisingly reasonably priced breakfasts. 17 bucks to feed myself and three hungry boys was not bad.
The place we stayed at had fresh eggs from the chickens that lived on site. That was really nice, as I didn't have to break out the cereal for breakfast. We didn't buy any souvenirs. The trip made everyone really appreciate home after driving 9 hours away from said home. I enjoyed the challenge of driving there and back again solo, the longest drive I've ever done on my own since grad school! As with so many things, the thought of it is more daunting than the actual doing.
Last week was not very frugal since my husband and I went on vacation but we had some small frugal wins:
1. One of our credit cards gives us access to lounges in airports so we had breakfast for free on both of our travel days. I also grabbed a few pieces of fruit to snack on while on the plane.
2. Airport parking is very expensive so we opted to park at my husband’s office (close to the airport) and Uber to the airport. The cost of two Uber rides was cheaper than parking.
3. We picked a hotel that was within walking distance of all the things we wanted to see and do. Sightseeing and exercise for the win!
4. Our hotel had free snacks and water bottles in the room – I made sure to pack up what we didn’t consume to add to my son’s school lunches.
5. Instead of boarding the dogs while we were away, my parents came and stayed at our house. I’m lucky that my parents are so helpful with dog sitting, running around my son when my schedule gets tight, and are close enough that we can just enjoy time with them.
Love the mugs!
FFT:
1) Returned a few items to Amazon at Kohls and did not buy anything while I was there
2) Stopped next door at Aldi and bought cheese and crackers for weekly happy hour. Unfrugal part of the shopping, I bought multiple Advent calendars for DH and me 😉
3) Happy hour was canceled because I tested positive for Covid, again, so DH and I had the cheese and crackers for game day dinner instead
4) Used multiple Covid self-test I ordered for free from government. First test was faintly positive so kept testing and the next 3 were all negative. Was nice to have a bunch in house
5) Staying home with Covid meant no eating out or grocery shopping. Thankful for a stocked pantry, frig, and freezer
FFT- When spending $ can save you $ later-
1. We had maintenance done on our gas fireplace. It cost $199, but last year in the middle of winter, we had to pay the service call fee plus the maintenance fee when the fireplace flames decided to flick on and off on a whim. Most places will waive the service call fee if you’ve done the yearly maintenance & move you to the front of their repair list.
This is also true for HVAC companies in our area.
2. I decided to do an Aldi shopping trip last Friday in addition to my regular grocery shopping last week. I was able to get what was on my list, plus a few of their specialty items unavailable anywhere else. I was also doing price checking reconnaissance since I hadn’t been to Aldi in over a month. Will be shopping there on a more frequent basis from now on. I spent $77 but got lots of good food!
3. I exercise regularly exercise at the YMCA so good footwear is a must. I had already replaced my worn out 5+ year old athletic shoes, but I was really feeling discomfort during water exercise wearing my water sock shoes. I googled “best water SHOES” & found a pair from Land’s End that ended up costing only $21 after sale & discount code. Normal price was $62. Cheers to pain free feet!
4. I dropped off a bag of clothing at Goodwill on my way to my haircut appointment. Saved some gas combining trips.
5. Although my haircut was $55 including tip, I only go 2-3 times per year now, compared with every 8 weeks before I retired. I use styling appliances way less in retirement, so my hair ends are less damaged, resulting in fewer trims.
We skipped watering the this weekend because we had a big rain storm coming today.
I convinced my friends to celebrate with a taco party at home rather than going to a restaurant.
I scheduled a large item trash pick up instead of paying to go to the dump. (I am still getting rid of junk left at my house when the previous owners moved out.)
I used a $7 off a purchase of $35 or more coupon at ACE Hardware.
I sold a file cabinet on Offer Up.
Just love my Buy Nothing group! We have a gal who works the flea market route, buying and selling vintage items. Every so often she has a yard sale, and when the sale is over, she opens it up to our BN group to just come get what we want. I have found many treasures in her after-sale curb alerts!
1. Hubby's appetite was not great for a while after surgery, and with the vertigo he was experiencing, so I've been catering to his wants a bit. We had bought take-out pizza one night when our granddaughter came for a sleepover, and as a reward (bribe), got a code for 50% off a regular price carry-out pizza. So this week, before the coupon ran out, I followed all the conditions to a T and bought him a medium pizza, which always lasts him about 4 meals. Not the healthiest, but $7.00 for 4 meals is a pretty good deal.
2, 3, and 4. Also bought groceries using their online coupons, sales, and rewards, saving $46. It was a large order, but lots of staples that needed replacing, so I was glad to have it all come together. And I pay $2 for grocery pickup, but it's worth it to me. While they were pulling my groceries, I filled up with gas at a new station 8 miles away that was 30 cents lower than the ones in my small town, and my membership card gives me an additional 3 cents off--so saved 33 cents/gal off my 20-gallon purchase. And then, while out, I dropped off 2 packages at UPS for a free Amazon return and got the credit on a gift card.
5. I belong to Amazon Prime's First Reads program, where they offer one free Kindle book each month that has not yet been released to the public. This month I couldn't decide between two books I wanted to read, and then remembered I had some credits for using auto-delivery day, so was able to buy the second book for 99 cents. Also downloaded a library book that has been on my want to read list onto my Kindle. Didn't like the book enough to finish it, but it cost me nothing, not even the gas or time to go to the library.
This is another frugal but not frugal week for me. Overall, this month has been absurdly not frugal on the macro scale, but overall frugal in the small sense. I am hosting my parent's 50th wedding anniversary this weekend, so obviously that has been a major, not entirely frugal expense on the macro scale. However, I have tried to do it as frugally as I can (while still having a great party) by thrifting decor, making a lot of things myself, buying the alcohol in bulk with a coupon and using Bark for all my vendors. Even if it is an overall large expense, it is a huge milestone for my parents. Especially since they had to cancel a huge trip they had planned last month with all their friends due to Covid. This is one of those times, as my husband reminds me, we have the money to spend. We both have good jobs and work hard; why do we do all that if not to be able to be generous with the ones we love?
I love that you are doing this for your parents. Good for you!
I had several things on my want list and started chasing them down on Amazon. First we needed a new paper towel rack in the kitchen, although we only use them occasionally. I am very picky aesthetically and picked out a few for my husband to peruse. My favorite one was $20, but his favorite was only $10. I let him win.
Secondly, I wanted some more sweatpants for winter wear and in my favorite colors. I looked through the sweatpants on offer and decided I really did have enough already.
Three, I have been admiring the look of long necklaces on one of my favorite fashion icons and I wanted one. She only buys real gold and I decided I would treat myself to real gold for my birthday. Apparently I awoke my inner Scottish ancestors and decided that I could get the look I wanted for $10-20 if I bought costume jewelry. Since I "think" about wearing jewelry far more often than I actually wear it, the cheap route seemed the way to go.
As the saying goes, "First world problems."
Excellent list! I love my local Buy Nothing Group, too.
It was so kind of you to bring a homemade gift for your classmate. Small things = big love.
1. My Pyrex pie plate broke a few months ago, and I've been putting off getting a new one...but the Holidays are coming. Someone listed 2 on Buy Nothing, and gifted me 1 of them.
2. I set up an office for myself in our spare room so I can work on nursing school homework. I repurposed an empty basic shelving unit from our garage for my textbooks and office supplies. It's not cute, but I didn't have to spend anything on it.
3. Meal planning! We meal plan on Saturday morning and then my husband goes grocery shopping. We plan our meals around our schedule for the week, and make sure that we always have a couple frozen pizzas for "emergencies." We still get takeout sometimes, but that way we can be more intentional with our dining out dollars.
4. I packed my lunch, snacks, and extra beverages for my 11 hour clinical day.
5. We are decrapifying our house one room at a time. Things get recycled, trashed if they are totally not usable, or donated. We have stocked Little Free Libraries, given away a bunch of things on Buy Nothing, and dropped off several boxes of things at Goodwill. We are working on our Joy-to-Stuff ratio.
@Pam,
Decrapifying...love that term. That totally encompasses the task...
1. I think I’ve bought feminine hygiene products for the last time. Found an amazing deal on GOTS sertified ecological cotton and now I think I’m set for life. Now if I only had room to do this with everything 😉
2. Was volunteering in august at a national gathering for the Norwegian association for mycology and foraging. Assisted at a very interesting workshop so got that knowledge for free and now free dinner - pizza for the volunteers.
3. Found another amazing sale online. I love the reusable silicon bags for using in the freezer. It’s not everything that is practical to freeze in re-used glasses and I try to minimize my use of plastic. But the price has been outside my budget, until now that I found them at a 70% off sale. Together with an old style razor that will save lot of plastic and money buying only new metal blades that has been on my wishlist for years.
4. Since I was to have a workshop on visible mending I finally got around to my mending pile. Finished a cashmere cardigan, a pair of wool leggings and a wool t-shirt to have as examples and now they are back in rotation just in time for cold weather.
5. Needed a set of duvet covers for winter. Found a larger size set on sale (and got another 10% off using a coupon and credit card) and have now cut them to the size we have on our duvets. Will sew them together next week, if I manage to finish decluttering my sewing room this weekend.
What a kind thing to do, making bread for your classmate. Isn't it amazing how food seems to be a universal response to loss/grief?
1. Every year I find things in the parking lot of our grocery store. A potato, a bag of apples...things that dropped out of someone's basket and there is no way to trace who. This week my find was an unopened but pretty frozen can of Bag Balm, which we use a lot in the winter. I am not too proud to take home these finds.
2. Got chicken feed for 15% off, which is a rare find. Coupled that manufacturer coupon with a FB coupon from the feed store. Best price I've paid in years.
3. It is tedious but I dutifully enter my receipts into Ibotta, Receipt Hog, Fetch and My Points. This week I had enough to cash out some from each company, for a total of $50. It reminds me that little things add up.
4. Last week we used a gift card for a restaurant. They had a bowl to throw in your business card for a drawing for a free pizza. Husband threw his in and yesterday we found out he had won a pizza!
5. I ran over my cell phone with my electric wheelchair. It is a 420 pound behemoth, then you add on my weight and the phone did not stand a chance. I was telling my story to my sister, who is an electronics freak, and she told me she just bought a new iPhone and I was welcome to the one she bought last year. She will wear clothes until they have more holes than Swiss cheese and drives a beater, but she always has the latest phone and computer...we have benefitted from her largesse many times. So I now have a phone better than the one I wrecked. She always refuses payment so I try to find other ways to show my gratitude.
Dear Kristen, could you please share the cinnamon bread recipe, please? Thank you!
I just made butter. Made homemade chapstick and deodorant yesterday. Cleaned out our pumpkins from Halloween so we can plant the seeds next summer.
Cinnamon bread sounds delightful. Thanks fully we are having a cold dreary week that is the perfect setting for baking.
My frugal thing:
1. Demoing or dining room. The visible paneling wasn’t adhered properly to the wall, so we started pulling it down and found another form of paneling, and multiple layers of wall paper and newspaper under that and then crumbling plaster. We didn’t plan to tear out the walls to studs but Outlets were not safely installed and we are trying to upgrade the thermostat which requires running wire through walls so this ended up being the smart thing to do. We’re fixing the walls the right way the first time around (not cheap, exactly) which should save trouble later. It will allow my husband to take care of the wiring stuff himself (so much cheaper than hiring that and drywall out).
2. Called about a medical bill that erroneously billed us as uninsured. Now we don’t have to pay that bill.
3. Filled out a “third party liability form” for an incident (not involving a third party) that required an ER visit. The missing form caused insurance not to pay the bill, which was sizable. So now they should cover it.
4. Shopped at Aldi and my limited pantry, ate home prepared meals, bunched errands, kept the heat low,)
FFT: Ongoing road trip edition
1. One of our AirBNB stays let us pick fresh blackberries, so we enjoyed a few handfuls. If we had purchased them at a store I’m guessing it would have been easily $8-10 worth!
2. We also enjoyed some food left by previous AirBNB renters, including some snack mix, a granola bar, and some lovely tea.
3. DH is at a work meeting all week, and Baby E and I tagged along. Our hotel room is covered and he has some per diem to cover meals, but it is crazy expensive around here. Fortunately we are close to a grocery store so it is easy to put together simple breakfasts and lunches, and even buying a microwaveable ready-meal is much cheaper than eating at a restaurant for dinner.
4. DH’s meeting is at an aquarium, and Baby E and I are also allowed in for free! The admission for an adult is $39, yikes! So we spent an afternoon wandering around and enjoying the fish and seals.
5. I was able to use a Starbucks GC to buy DH and I sandwiches on an airport layover. Oh, and I found a quarter going through the security screening line.
That was so kind of you to reach out to your grieving classmate. And those mugs feel cheery, like you:)
1) A family member posted a free piano offer & tomorrow we’ll be getting our very first piano! Just paying for a dolly rental. I’ve wanted to learn to play my whole life, and am so looking forward to this. Any tips for a newbie on piano life?
2) We’re using a majority of our Five in a Row (curriculum) books from the library. We haven’t loved the books so much so far this year, and I’m grateful that I didn’t buy them.
3) My girls love American Girl doll type clothing for their dolls, and I’ve found some good prices and cute pieces on Etsy for Christmas gifts.
4) We’re taking our girls to a Elf musical also as a Christmas gift, and saved money by choosing balcony seats.
5) We found my oldest a beautiful, like new Christmas dress at the local thrift store. My younger daughter has lots of good hand me down choices:)
Oh, how fun to get a piano! As you know, I always feel like a piano makes a house a home. 🙂
As far as maintaining it goes, let it sit in your house for a month or two, and then have someone out to tune it. The piano will need to adjust to the climate of your home, and then once it's adjusted, the tuner can do a good job of getting it into tune.
Most my frugal were food related...
I was sick the last couple of weeks but I managed to use up all leftovers other than a very small bowl of soup that got pushed to the back of the fridge.
Kroger enticed me with free Tostitos, I also stocked up on eggs and hamburger.
I used up a handful of freezer odds and ends making chili.
We had to go over dad's accounts and my brother made lunch, he had so much left over we all left with enough food for a couple of meals.
Amazon is discontinuing their cloud cams, boo...but they gave me 2 free Blink cameras and 1 year free cloud service for the cams. It included shipping so zero cost to me.
I hope you are feeling better now!
Ok, I already posted this morning, but I played the cvs game this afternoon after a dentist appointment (in same parking lot) and wanted to share my scores.
I did three transactions.
First, I bought one bottle of dye-free cvs benadryl and used 5 extra care bucks and received 5 more bucks for spending a certain amount on cvs allergy meds. Spent a little under 14 out of pocket.
Second, bought two bottles of eucerin cream that the podiatrist recommended for cracked heels. One was 13.50, the other 7 because if you spent at least 20 dollars on eucerin cream, you got another 10 extra care bucks. I used the second 5 extra care bucks and got another 10 extra care bucks. Spent a little under 16 out of pocket on this transaction.
Third (and final) transaction: I bought five boxes of nature valley granola bars on sale for 1.99 each. Each box has 12 bars in it. Then I added one piece of candy on sale for .35. I used the ten extra care bucks and paid only .32 for this transaction out of pocket!
I know that I actually spent about 30 dollars at cvs today and that is why they issue these coupons and extra care bucks, but it is super exciting to see that third transaction when you line everything up correctly. Also, I think I got a lot of value for thirty bucks considering I got things we need as well as some potential stocking stuffers, so I was happy with this haul and it cheered me up after the dentist.
Ah, that's so satisfying when you can work it all out like that!
1. Took my cats to the vet, which is preventative and therefore frugal.
2. I used frozen pureed pumpkin to make oatmeal for my lunches this week.
3. We have been using the library like crazy; for books and movies.
4. I used some milk that was not going to be drunk to make farmer's cheese. I used the farmer's cheese and homemade sundried tomatoes to make omelettes for breakfast this weekend.
5. My son and I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning. It's free with our insurance and preventative.
1. For some reason, a grocery store that I rarely use sent me a $10 off $10. I made the best of BOGO, sales, etc and got 2 packs bacon, OJ & broccoli for $.05
2. Came home and jumped on Swagbucks to get $.04 back from my $.05 shop.
3. Signed up to work the polls today and made some extra $$.
4. My BFF invited me to a fiber fair on Saturday. She paid for gas and entrance & I found a mystery shop for lunch and a different one for our dinner. I also made $35 after the cost of food to do the paperwork.
5. I bought a small skein of thread at the fiber fair (less than $4) to do some visible mending on my travel purse rather than throwing it out and buying a new one. (It is the PERFECT travel purse for me, so I'm glad to have this option.)
What a lovely gesture the bread was! It will be remembered always. I did something similar for a college classmate needing encouragement (but with banana bread maybe?), and several years later, when we were graduating, he mentioned how much it had meant. I'd honestly forgotten, but he hadn't. And Lisey's hair is lovely!
I'm late to the party but had a couple of fun frugals today so here goes...
1. Haven't been to Ollie's in ages, but ran in this afternoon and came across chocolate chip pancake mix and canned chili beans for 25 cents each. I bought the shelf out!
2. Dollar General has their summer items for 90% off, so I go several bags of goodies to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child next week. I filled my cart for $14.
3. Happened across a store selling the 2-pack basic set of Norwex cleaning cloths for $1 (it's $35 on Amazon). I bought all I could find and now have some fabulous gifts all ready to go!
4. Hit the thrift store's "fill a bag with clothes for $3" at just the right time yesterday, and got my daughter a good winter coat for this season, a jean jacket, and several items for myself.
5. On the frugal hunt for boy birthday gifts since two of my sons have birthdays right before Christmas. So far I found some great Marvel Comic seek n find books 50 cents each, a new baby Yoda plush for $1, and 6-packs of novelty sock for $10 from Walmart. I chose the Snoopy set and soft drink set (like A&W root beer, and Crush Orange Soda) they're great quality and I'll split the sets between them. Finding guy gifts can be tricky, so I may need to snag some more for some other fellas on our Christmas list! I've found novelty socks are often well received by most ages.
1) It's hunting season here in Maine, so we enjoyed a fresh grouse for dinner last week. One of my favorites. We're going to have to step up our game to get the cost of the permit back though...ha!
2) I have a love/hate relationship with ibotta. Their Thanksgiving deals were less than stellar this year, but I did figure out a scenario to only spend $8 OOP for the needed deals to unlock the free turkey, which I will pick up this week.
3) I live in a very small town, only 97 registered voters. I worked the polls yesterday from 10-8. There were 4 of us, and the town clerk brought a pot of beef stew, which we nibbled at all day. I'll also get paid for a small stipend. I love living here.
4) We wanted a microwave and mini fridge for our cabin but didn't want to pay a lot. We found a microwave at a thrift store for $20 and yesterday at the polls, I mentioned we were looking for a fridge and my neighbor said she had one in her garage that we could have.
5) A friend of ours is helping a Ukrainian family that recently immigrated to the US. They have 4 small children. (I can't even imagine all they are going through). Their biggest need right now is food, so I ordered a bunch though my BJs account and had it delivered to them. I used coupons, and was able to send them quite a few staples for their pantry.
I couldn’t find the recipe for the cinnamon bread on the blog. Have you shared it before?
I need to do that! I've been using my egg bread recipe and just modifying it for cinnamon bread, but I should really post the actual recipe. I'll put it on my to do list!
@Kristen, can't wait! Thanks!
1. I made our meals at home again. I ate some meals provided by PAC at work.
2. I fixed my daughter's favorite bookmark (she broke the tassel and was very sad about it).
3. I sewed patches on scouting uniforms instead of paying someone else to do it.
4. I continue to wear my perfectly nice dress clothes instead of buying new. I fixed some loose buttons on my husband's shirts.
5. I got the lawnmower to start one more time. It had been acting up. Now there's a blizzard warning, so it needs to be readied for storage.
6. I combined errands.
@Nikki, wearing the same dress clothes: I feel that is very "old money" (I'm joking but only barely.) Old story about the upperclass woman from Boston asked by a nouveau riche neighbor where she bought her hats. She is supposed to have said: "Buy? We HAVE our hats."
1. Last weekend hubby and I ran to Sam's club for a few things. We picked up some ready chicken enchiladas (delicious!) to have for dinner instead of going out. Saved $
2. My husband and daughter's boyfriend directed traffic on the main road right out of our subdivision for our annual neighborhood Halloween parade. My boss lives in our subdivision and his wife organizes our neighborhood events. They had asked my husband to do traffic control (which he's done in past years). My boss brought my husband a case of his favorite beer as a thank you (he didn't have to do that). We thanked him anyway!
3. I cashed in some points from Crowd Tap survey site for an Amazon e-gift card which I applied to a recent order.
4. I started my Christmas shopping already. Our puppies need a bigger bed and we were all out of treats. I used a $15 off $80 coupon on a bed that was on sale, plus 4 bags of treats (3 will be used for their Christmas gift as well as the bed) and with sale prices, I saved over $32 on my purchase!
5. Hubby brought home 2 vouchers for admission to our local hockey team games. I'm so excited! We enjoy watching live hockey.
1. I love to send photo Christmas cards to friends and family every year as a way to stay connected with them, but the prices on the photo sites are getting costlier every year. I ordered 10 "free" cards (paid shipping) which was still a good deal, and then looked at Costco photo to order the rest. I didn't see any designs I liked and then noticed that you can make your design your own. So I hopped onto Canva and designed my own card, front and back, then uploaded to Costco photo and ordered my cards! It saved me over $30 vs the photo sites (with all their current discounts) and I got more cards.
2. I somehow got recruited to join an online sampling group which gives you free, full-size products to try in exchange for a short review. So far I've gotten a jar of jam, a bag of granola, 2 pints of plant-based ice cream, a box of Belgian waffles, a chocolate bar, and a small jar of Manuka honey.
3. I bought an planted a small lemon tree in our back yard earlier this year and it has been growing lemons! A couple of them finally ripened enough to pick and I was able to use it for tea for my husband's sore throat.
4. I've been looking for fall jackets for my son on ebay, so I put several options on my watchlist, then waited a few days and got some offers from the sellers for a better price. We decided on the one he liked the best and ordered with a 24% discount with the seller offer.
5. Hung laundry to dry, borrowed books from the library, ate from the pantry, and batched errands.
Hi Kristen! I have only recently found your blog but am really enjoying your positivity and the straightforward tone of your posts. I also downloaded Fetch with your code so I hope you got a few points out of it 🙂
Saved all of my broccoli stalks & trims over the last 2 weeks, saved a bone and some scraps from a prime rib roast and make a big pot of delicious soup in the crock pot today! Yum!