Five Frugal Things | I finally painted again
It's Tuesday! Five Frugal Things Day!
1. I painted a chair
I'll show you guys the finished product in another post, but for now...I'd gotten two free chairs from my Buy Nothing group and I painted one back in August.
Now that school has started, though, I have had no time to work on stuff like this. Homework and studying are taking up all my free time!
However, I am currently in the midst of a brief lull between exams, so on Saturday, I sanded, primed, and painted the other chair while I listened to microbiology lectures.
So, now we have two chairs that match the table I re-did from the treasure house.
And probably when the semester ends, I will get around to two more chairs. 😉
2. I made yogurt
Again with the lull between exams...on Saturday I made a gallon of yogurt. Yay me!
Here's how I make yogurt (no yogurt-maker required).
3. I used some wonky carrots in my soup
I needed a few carrots for a soup I was making, so I grabbed the ones from the bottom of the veggie drawer. They were a rather random assortment, and some of them were pretty hairy*, but I peeled and sliced them and they worked fine in the soup.
*Ok, not actually hairy. Just covered in root sprouts.
This carrot looks like she's sporting her stuff. 😉
4. I got a $0.75/gallon discount on my heating oil
It was a PROCESS to get ahold of a company...all the ones I called had such long hold times. It seems obvious in retrospect, but of course October is not a good time to order heating oil. Whoops.
After spending multiple hours on hold (in total), I did finally get a delivery scheduled with a company that gives a $0.75/gallon discount for new customers. That brought the price down to the best I could find anywhere.
It's still going to be something like an $800 bill, but that's better than what it would have been otherwise!
And I am thankful I do not have to keep calling oil companies now. Whew.
5. I...
- took advantage of a 600-point Fetch Rewards offer (Fetch is best for me when I use it inconsistently because then they send me awesome offers!)
- used the GetUpside app to save on gas (always checking GasBuddy to make sure I'm getting a good deal)
- made BLTs to use up some dry bread and some soft tomatoes
- made some butternut squash soup to use up the squash from my Hungry Harvest box
A frugal fail sadly. Our plumbing sprung a leak beneath the foundation of our house
and a lot of beautiful clear drinking water got wasted. We have now closed the mains until a plumber can fix the pipes. Cost of the repair and the spilled water as yet unknown and we are not sure if (part of) this is covered by insurance. Also it is not know how we could have prevented this. We are now making do with bottles kettles and buckets for the time being, and put on the mains to quickly quickly shower and refill said bottles etc twice a day. Our appreciation of running hot and cold water is boundless and we cannot wait to have it fixed!
@J NL, Ugh, water problems are the worst! And it's so hard to keep house when you don't have ready water. I hope it gets fixed quickly and without too much expense!
Oh my goodness, that sounds so rough to deal with! How long until it's repaired?
@J NL, Oh, ouch! That's a really hard one.
It's an expensive and inconvenient problem, but it's not a frugal fail. The only things that are fails are ones we have control over.
100% agreed here.
@WilliamB, I'm with you and Kristen on this one: J NL's family's plumbing problem is not a "fail" on their part. It's just a demonstration of the eternal truth that "@#$% happens."
Thanks all, I feel slightly better now! 🙂 Plus we did put money aside for necessary maintenance, and misadventures.
I hope it can be fixed before the week is out. As soon as we put on the mains to do the most urgent personal and household stuff, the water below us starts gurgling. Our home climate monitor is starting to send messages to lower the humidity so I'll put on the dehumidifyer, if that is an English word.
@J NL, That is exactly the English word (although spelled dehumidifier).
1. DH has been under the weather. It seems he has an infection and an NP at his doctor's office prescribed an antibiotic after a tele-health consultation yesterday. We stayed close to home over the weekend and ate from the freezer.
2. I stopped at Aldi when I was nearby and bought a couple bags of on sale apples. I used them, with a couple bruised pears, to make applesauce in the slow cooker yesterday.
3. I had some marinara and other jars with dregs of sauce in them in the back of the refrigerator. I soaked some beans, sauteed an onion, added carrots, and made bean soup. The main seasoning was the dregs from the almost empty jars. Now the refrigerator is full of jars of soup instead of almost empty jars.
4. I walked to yoga and Pilates classes. Unless the weather is extreme I try to walk, it is better for me, the environment, and the wallet.
5. I finally transferred our emergency fund to Ally. They are paying 2.35% interest on savings accounts. That is w-a-y more than the credit union pays. It was much simpler than I thought it would be to open a new account. If only I'd done it before but it is done now.
@K D, we just opened an Ally account too. It pays the same as Marcus (Goldman Sachs) but Ally would let us put the account in our trust's name and Marcus would not.
--I found one of my “Would be nice but not necessary” wish list items on clearance: A pretty glass soap pump bottle for $10 instead of $20. It now dispenses dish soap, which we were already buying in giant refill containers. It’s certainly an upgrade from the smaller dish soap squeeze bottle we’d been refilling! 😛
—Dry winter air is already here, which means it’s time to moisturize everything! My long hair had gets particularly tangly when dry, but an hours’ long oil soak (Garnier Fructis from my “free after sales and CVS Extra bucks” stash) brought it back to its brush-and-done self. My facial moisturizer is from a Badger Balm gift set that I nabbed on clearance for $10 vs. $40.
—I repaired, sanded, and painted our back porch using materials leftover from when we bought our house this past spring. I did have to purchase outdoor-rated polyurethane for the top coat ($25), but that's because I've no intention of putting myself through that many bug bites again any time soon! Long sleeves, vinyl gloves, two thick layers of SPF50, two layers of OFF!, and I've still over 30 bites that I know about.
—I hung a gorgeous antique $10 Goodwill-find mirror in our bathroom. Two mirrors helps bounce the light around in the small space.
—My husband received a free grill from one of his coworkers, who decided that four grills was a bit much. 😛 The grill is in like-new shape and made for a great excuse to invite friends over. All the meat came from our deep freezer, as did the buns and corn on the cob. We only needed to buy meatless burgers for a vegetarian friend, who (along with our other guest) voluntarily brought a side. Veggie burgers were cooked in a pan with a separate spatula to avoid cross-contamination. We’ve leftovers enough to make for a lazy few days in the kitchen!
PS—Love your sassy carrot photo. Indeed, “The Sassy Carrot” sounds like a wonderful cooking blog name, should you branch out! 😛
@N, well, Kristen's "sassy carrot" is still at least acceptable on a family-friendly blog. In my time, I've grown some carrots and tomatoes that were, um, even more suggestive.
@A. Marie, LOL! Would love to have seen pics!
I love the carrot photo!
The last week is a blur. My son’s wedding was this weekend. Now it’s time to tighten my belt and recover. Wishing everyone peace and good health!
@Bee, So happy for him and his new wife, and also for you that you can relax now. I hope it was everything the married couple hoped it would be. Definitely wishing you peace in your turn now. 🙂
Yay!! So glad you made it through the wedding...you must be feeling rather relieved now.
@Bee, I rejoice along with everyone else that the wedding went well--and that you can now put your feet up and relax!
@Bee,
Congratulations! And - it's finally done!
Thank you!!!! It was a beautiful day. Now for the happily ever after…
That jar is just beautiful! I love blue glass.
Some frugal things, some fails. Our grocery store is having some nice "buy X number of various items, get a dollar off" of things we use/like and those items were already discounted, so I was able to stock up on dish soap (I prefer Dawn), cereal, which the boys like for a quick breakfast sometimes, and my youngest's favorite treat, Simply Doritos.
In planning a trip, we decided on a route that will save money over our original plan.
One of my kids needed new shoes, but said the size was still fine, so I was able to get on Amazon and order him a new pair that was on sale, without driving to the store.
Our youngest decided on his Halloween costume (a Ranger from Middle-Earth) and my husband, who has cleverly saved a lot of costume pieces from the other boys over the years, was able to go "shopping in the garage" and found him an acceptable costume! Yay for free Halloween costumes. The only other kid dressing up is also using his costume from last year.
We had a brief, unexpected water shut off the other day but luckily had a huge barrel of water in the backyard (from a watergun fight the previous day) and because we hadn't dumped it, were able to use that to flush toilets and wash hands. Now contemplating having a rain barrel so we can have emergency water like that available.
Still patiently and carefully getting quotes for tree trimming on my backyard tree. This is a process. but since we are talking about money in the hundreds, I am taking my time and trying to go with the best choice. (patience = money saved, and not usually my strong point)
Eating at home - tonight is a chili crockpot with a small amount of beef and loads of peppers, onions, corn.
Waiting to order new scrubs until after the New Year to take advantage of sales and clearances.
Bought a $1.25 cross stitch kit at Dollar Tree that is so cute I may get several more and stitch them up to tie on Christmas gifts. Cheap fun!
I've got two more free subs from Jersey Mike's and YES I am adding them into my menus.
Pedicure at home - but someday I would love to splurge on one...
On the Beyonce carrot: I used to get all manner of crazy looking produce from Imperfect Produce - still edible, of course. I can't imagine how much food is wasted just over esthetics!
@gina, Walmart has some amazing scrubs. Very comfortable and feels like you are in your comfy clothes at home. Tops are $17 and pants $20. All my pants are black and I wear fun scrub tops. Just a thought.
@laurie, yes, I have purchased them there before! I will hold off until my new hospital opens - fresh starts and all! But definitely looking for a good deal.
FFT Berlin edition:
1. Used airline points and took my mum for a holiday. File this under frugal since I paid only taxes for the tickets, we ate for free at airport lounges travelling there and home and my brother paid for the hotel since he can afford the money but not the time travelling.
2. Found some real nice bargains at the thrift store we visited. A gorgeous vintage jacket from Harris Tweed, a wool/angora vest from Massimo Dutti and an enormous wool shawl from a local Berlin designer brand. It’s just what I was looking for since my winter jacket has mysteriously shrinked during the year and the vest and shawl will help camouflage my muffin-top while I work at getting rid of it.
3. Bought otherwise only spices I can’t find at home and a reusable bag from a museum store at half price.
4. We ate at a “real” restaurant only one night, delicious meze. Since we live far from fast food chains it was a treat to eat McDonald’s at the hotel room after a long day and the last night we ate at the food court in the nearest shoppingmall.
5. We got so delayed back home that I anticipate a compensation from the airline company.
Frugal fail: We could drink the tap water but I found the taste very bad. Fresh in memory when I got sick on Iceland because of the sulfur smell from the tap water I bought bottled water from Norway. Crazy I know. Even more crazy perhaps is that I took the three glassbottles with me back home 🙂 I broke our refrigerator carafe before going and these fit nicely in the refrigerator door.
@Gunn from Northern Norway, I'm picky about drinking water, as well. I typically only drink bottled. We have terrible tasting drinking water where I live (Arizona).
@Gunn from Northern Norway, your #2 makes me nostalgic for all the good charity shops and street markets I've visited in England. I've never been to Germany, but if the thrift shopping there is that good, I may have to drop in.
And I love the "camouflage my muffin-top" description. I've got a muffin-top I'm trying to camouflage, too.
@Beth B., have you ever tried water filters that shall remove bad taste? I was thinking of buying active coal, but it cost about $30 here so if it doesn’t work I could get quite a lot of Voss water bottles on our next trip for that price 😉
@A. Marie, unfortunately we wasn’t there during the weekend so we didn’t catch any street markets.
If you ever go I would recommend the shop where I found all the clothes, Humana. Right by a subway stop and huge. Start at the top. I nearly didn’t go to the top floor since it said retro, but there they had also collected all nice outerwear, wool sweaters, and high end brands. It’s only clothing and accessories though.
Berlin was lovely. And with a fantastic public transportation system so it was so easy getting around. I’m already planning a second trip to see all the museums I didn’t manage to see now (trying to use up the points in case SAS don’t make it).
I would love to go to England thrift store hunting! Would think there is an abundance of knickknacks and whatnots there 😀
1. Given the rising interest rates, we've been paying down my student debt a bit faster than planned. Thank goodness for the new national childcare program! It means that our daycare bill is cut in half, and that money can be put elsewhere.
2. I bought some tea and milk to leave at work, which has kept me from buying Tim Hortons for two weeks so far. A win!
3. Grocery costs are wild right now, so I did our weekly shop at the discount store and only bought a few things at the more expensive one.
4. I'm taking transit to work, because my site is farther away this month. More expensive than walking, but cheaper than owning a second car!
5. I've signed up for some extra call shifts, as part of a bargain to get a longer vacation in the winter. It's not a lot of money for the amount of work, but it'll cover groceries that week. Trying to see a bright side to more call 😛
1) I made ricotta cheese with milk that was waaaay past its best by date. Like, over a week. This does mean, however, that it separates very readily for ricotta. 🙂
2) With the whey leftover from making the ricotta, I experimented with it in my bread. I made two loaves of sourdough cinnamon-raisin that came out fairly well, and that a few of my children really loved.
3) I very diligently harvested every last small green bean, tiny basil leaf, and green tomato before our freeze last night. This meant I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend dealing with all the produce I brought in, but I can't bear to waste all the work and hours that went into that produce. A much better motivator than money, in my experience.
4) Finally found a brand and style of jeans for both me and my husband that are readily available used at $10 or under. I can't really shop in stores (too far away), and buying unknown brands is always a crapshoot when it comes to sizing. This way, I know I can just search for my size in the Old Navy styles I found works for me, and Lee for him, and I won't get anything crazy baggy or tight or whatever. Good thing, since the money I save on that can go to clothes for my rapidly growing athlete son. ALLL the money for shoes. Sigh.
5) A neighbor gave us permission to put our horses on an empty lot she owns just a few hundred yards from our house, which is overgrown with grass and weeds. The remains of an electric fence still encircled it, so my husband and sons rescued all the posts and wire from the weeds and put them back up. Husband also found an old electric fence charger at the empty house next door we own, and hooked that up. So all he had to buy was a bag of plastic insulators and now we can bring the horses there every day to graze, saving us a LOT on hay and making them much happier.
@kristin @ going country, My great grandfather always said that if you put just a drop of bleach in water and wash off your green tomatoes with it when you bring them inside at the end of the season, they would ripen and not rot. It works! My green tomatoes that I picked two weeks ago are all beautiful and ripe with none going bad.
1. I did some cooking for the first time in a month. The freezer is now stuffed - beef stew (KAF mix I bought with a gift certificate), prepped taco meat, fried rice (leftover rice, limp veggies, canned veggies), timbale (so I have non-junk food to snack on), and more marinated chix (dip I didn't like).
2. Cleaned & organized the fridge freezer (I left a can of soda in too long) and did a quick inventory of the deep freezer; now I'm on top of my inventory again.
3. Found an insert w $5 coupon on dog food, now on the hunt for more.
4. Gave away random bulky things (folding door used as table top, old marble, drafting table).
5. Relisted some things on Craigslist. Sixth time's a charm?
Bulk things are so smart to offload before moving!
And yay for some cooking and freezer cleaning too.
@WilliamB, Had to think through the marble, I was wondering "how bulky can a marble be?"
@Chrissy, Good point. It was as inconvenient as a bulky item because it was heavy and awkward but you are right that it didn't take up a lot of space. So happy to get it to someone that could use it.
O joy! I'll always remember when a babysitter left two cans of Coke in my fridge freezer for too long. The expression on my face must 've been something, as I tried to wrap my mind around what my eyes were seeing...
1.) Got our birthday burgers from Red Robin. We did still buy an appetizer and our daughter got food as well of course.
2.) Used some promo credit to order a Kindle book for free.
3.) Working on eating from the freezer.
4.) Shopping around for a new battery for my wife's car. First she busts a tire and then the battery starts to show its age. Not happy with how things are going with it.
5.) Worked more overtime but we're also budgeting more in savings for some potential changes.
@Battra92,
My husband who is very thrifty and an avid DYI -er tried leaning out and recharging his old truck battery using Epsom salts and a few other things. (YouTube has everything). Nothing blew up, and it seemed ok,but the charge would not hold. You could always try it!
He found a new battery at an acceptable price at Menards. I didn't even know they sold batteries.
Yay for downtime between exams!
My FFT:
1. Made pumpkin soup with two of last year's pumpkins after my husband baked a couple of them to warm up the house. (Still haven't put heat on yet.)
2. Used a container of saved vegetable can juice in the soup from when I made chicken pot pie.
3. Used the guts to make overnight oatmeal and have plans to roast the seeds today to warm up kitchen.
4. Used the last cup or so of soup to make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and delighted my kids by using chocolate chips and broken up pecans to make jack-o'-lantern faces on them.
5. Worked from home on a professional day to save on gas.
@Becca, I make pumpkin guts quick bread but your overnight oatmeal is something I will try. Thanks for the idea! My husband says the only thing I don't use from a pumpkin is the stem (the rind goes to the chickens).
@Lindsey, I've seen cloth pumpkins-- velvet and fancy materials-- made with real pumpkin stems. You might find someone who wants them.
@Heidi Louise,
Too funny! Last year all that the squirrels left of our jack-o'-lanterns was the stems and I thought they were so cool-looking that I arranged them in a pot on my steps. So I guess you could say I've even used the stems too! I think the guts are the best part because they fed the seeds of the pumpkin so I bet they have a lot of nutrition in them, kind of like eating a pumpkin placenta...though that does make them sound even grosser than calling them guts...
Anyway...if anyone is interested, my oatmeal method involves plopping the guts into a microwave-safe bowl with about a tablespoon of water, zapping them for two or three minutes, then blending with a stick blender. Then I just add all the other oatmeal ingredients (oats, water-ratio roughly 1:2 oats to water, sweetener, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, spices, etc), give it a stir and put it in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning, I usually heat it up, but you can eat it cold too. Easy and so cheap!
Pumpkin Placenta is def not a term a marketer would come up with. Ha.
1. As my husband was cleaning out the garden, he found more peppers so he made some peppers and onions with some leftover jarred sauce we had and ate it over some frozen ravioli. The rest of the peppers will be chopped and frozen for when we need peppers.
2. I took some green onion that was going soft, and removed the soft pieces and chopped the rest. I then froze that and added it to a plastic container for when we need green onion. I tend to let them go to waste far too often.
3. We worked around the yard and chopped wood from some logs that fell from before we bought the house this past weekend when the weather was amazing. Also cleaned off the siding on the front porch that I meant to do all summer as it was pretty dirty. Painted the trim around the front door too, so our house is getting ready for winter and our Thanksgiving feast. My husband even cut the lawn one last time.
4. We purchased our turkey at Aldi's already. I know it could be more expensive now ($1.59/lb), but with the way food has been going, I'd rather have it before any issues arise. Now we are on the hunt for a ham because we are having over 20 people. I'd rather spread out the purchases rather than waiting for the last minute and then not having availability.
5. Will be working on painting my bathroom this weekend while my husband works. He works at a hardware store, so we can get the paint on a discount. The previous owners painted the room maroon, so I have to prime it first. And for some reason, there are a lot of corners. Oh well, "a job once begun is half done!"
That carrot photo cracked me up. It really is strutting its stuff!
1. I baked a chicken in the oven and baked three big delicata squash at the same time. I love delicata squash.
2. I bought a really large bag of peeled and chopped organic sweet potatoes, so I took some time to separate it into smaller bags and vacuum seal them.
3. We had perfect weather for hanging out laundry this weekend, so I did so. I enjoy hanging laundry in this weather; the cool breeze, dryer air and warm sun are like a tonic to me. Frugal mental health treatment as well, perhaps?
4. I didn't have corn stalks to add to my front porch décor, but I have some kind of bamboo growing that my husband had planted. I cut it down, bundled it with brown twine and stood it up by my pumpkins at the door. It looks good, if I do say so myself. In case anyone is wondering, the bamboo will come right back in the spring.
5. I forgot to take my haircutting shears and a spare sheet with me to cut my husband's hair, since his facility still can't find a stylist willing to come cut hair for the residents in their in-house salon and I had promised him I would cut it when I came to visit him this past Sunday. I resigned myself to putting it off or buying another pair of shears and a Goodwill sheet, but happened to mention it to my daughter who lives in the same town where my husband is, before I drove to see him after church. She had shears and loaned me a sheet. Money and time saved, and DH really enjoyed the hair cut.
@JD, I sympathize with your #5, since my DH's hair and beard weren't getting trimmed regularly for the first few months he was in the nursing home (for the same reason as for your DH--lack of stylist availability). But it's been happening more often recently as things get back to something approaching "normal." I also think the staff realizes that cleaning up DH after meals is easier if his beard is kept trimmed.
@A. Marie, We have a friend in a nursing home and he started looking gruesome due to lack of hairstylist (He does not have curly hair, so I was not willing to risk becoming his barber!) My husband happened to be meeting a friend at the local vet's center a few days later and told the friend about the situation. The friend put the need out to vets who attended a Friday night BBQ and by the next week there were two retired barbers alternating weeks to give anyone who needed them haircuts--men, women, vets or not. Might be something to keep in your back pocket if the need arises again. We have had the local vets group step up a number of times for various community needs; I think they are an often overlooked resource.
It was a busy weekend here and the weather has been absolutely lovely. DD#2 has been timekeeping at a local arena and that kept her quite busy this weekend.
1. Packed lunches, snacks and even hot chocolate for DD#2 to take to her timekeeping job. Saves her spending money at the canteen and definitely healthier.
2. Skipped a weekly grocery shopping and ate what we had on hand cleaning out the fridge.
3. Reorganized and made inventory lists for the deep freezer and the fridge freezer. Then menu planned using the things that need to be used first.
4. Sold my daughter's winter jacket and vest that no longer fit on FB Marketplace.
5. Finished making tomato sauce from the garden plum tomatoes. Froze some and canned some and we're just finishing up last years sauce. All from 4 little tomato plants!
FFT -
1. I used an airline credit voucher to help pay down the cost of my ticket for my trip last week. It was still expensive as this was a last minute trip, but spending time with DS, DIL & granddaughters is priceless!
2. As mentioned in Friday’s post, I scored boneless pork loin for $.99/lb. I happily bought 3 & then cut part into pork loin chops & a couple smaller hunks for roast/pulled pork.
3. I have been diligently cleaning out the old, expired & forgotten items that occasionally get lost in the back of the fridge. I use what is still edible, but feel no guilt in tossing what can’t be used. What gets thrown out is WAY less than it used to be. I’m improving! Now for a major cleaning before grocery shopping this week.
4. Making a grocery list, checking my pantry/fridge/freezer beforehand & sticking to my list is helping to keep my food budget in check. But I do allow for the unexpected purchase at rock bottom prices.
5. I have extremely dry skin & sometimes get deep, “fissure”-like cracks on my fingertips. I was running low on hand cream but unexpectedly found some in the junk drawer that specifically address this problem. (Obviously it’s time to clean out the junk drawer.)
@LDA, I don't know which hand cream you use but the best I found (I have the same problem with deep cracks and my hands even bleed.) is O'Keeffe's working hands. It's not cheap but you don't use very much especially compared to other brands. And it works almost instantly.
@LDA,
That's painful, they heal so badly. My mother called it housewife's thumbs. I have them too, in winter. Some things that may help, all tips I got from my mom: try to keep your hands dry, for instance by wearing household gloves. Hang clean towels in kitchen, toilet at least once a day. If they get wet, take a dry one, multiple a day if needed. Use a very thick hand salve, and if needed slather on before sleeping and wear old gloves to bed.
O Keefes was suggested, that is a very good cream. I've also used Rituals Gingko night repair mask for hands (also in the day) with good results. Burts Bees comes to mind too.
Creams with strong scents can sometimes sting in the wounds!
@J NL, The husband and I both swear by Bag Balm, although I hate the smell. Still, by November I am slathering it on. When I was a kid, my grandmother used to put Vicks on my face and hands every night during the winter. I tried that once after the husband and I were together but he gave that routine the kiss of death when he turned to me and, staring deep into my eyes said, "You smell just like your grandmother. It is creeping me out."
@Ginger Bruce, I love O'Keefe's too - I gave the hand cream to my SIL and use the foot cream for my dry, cracked feet. Just a few days of use and you see a difference.
@Lindsey, LOL! I can vividly imagine that it would be traumatising 😀 Good of you not insisting continuing the routine!
@LDA When I worked at the pharmacy I got very good feedback on the Cicaplast line from LRP. Personally I have good experience with the Cicalfate repair crème from Avene. Pricey, but a little goes a long way.
@Lindsey,
😀
Oh, how nice to have chairs that go with the table!
1. Probably our biggest frugal thing this week was we did not need to go grocery shopping. I've been diligently squirreling away bargains in the freezer and stocking up on canned goods, so we were in good shape to skip a week.
2. Used a lot of black Velcro in my stash of sewing notions to tidy up the cords on my husband's work from home desk. Also used some strap rings and a snap from the stash to make alterations to two purses.
3.Chopped up and froze a slightly wrinkled sweet red bell pepper for future use in spaghetti sauce. I keep a bag of chopped bell peppers going in the freezer just for this purpose.
4. Been keeping an eye on the price of gas at the station on the corner near the bus stop, which is routinely 20 cents a gallon higher than the Walmart station where I fill up. When the price drops at the bus stop station, I know to head to the Walmart station to gas up my car for the week. This afternoon will probably be the time to go.
5. To help combat inflation, my husband and I have been making the short trip (six miles round trip) across the state line to buy pet supplies at a farm store and to do some judicious stocking up at a clearance store. The sales tax is 3% lower there and I research the prices before we head out with our list.
I got 80 liters of heavy cream at 50 ct each . Over the date but it is long preservation type. Making butter, ghee and having loads of buttermilk. Here butter cost 4.50 dollars for 250G , and ghee is 12$ for a small can. Major saving but lots of work too.
It's the end of gardening season around here, so this past week I picked all the green tomatoes left on the vine and put them all on a tray near a sunny window to hopefully finish ripening. I also picked the last of the herbs and used those to make pesto and freeze it.
I ... shopped around to find the best deals on groceries this week, mended a hole in the pocket of a pair of bike shorts, and started another batch of compost to have for next year's garden.
@Julie from GJ, Hey there! My great grandfather always said that if you put just a drop of bleach in water and wash off your green tomatoes with it when you bring them inside at the end of the season, they would ripen and not rot. It works! My green tomatoes that I picked two weeks ago are all beautiful and ripe with none going bad.
1. We hosted a cider-making, pumpkin carving party this past weekend and I shopped at home for ingredients and supplies before making my shopping list. The party was a hit & fun was had by all. I brought in some dessert leftovers to work for my co-workers, so as not to waste.
2. The past few days have been in the 70's here, warm for this time of year. We have been able to turn the heat down for the past 5 days. Saving on the gas bill is frugal.
3. This past Friday we had a small pumpkin carving, soup luncheon at work. My co-worker gifted me 2 unopened bags of oyster crackers to use at my home party the next day. We were able to take leftover food home from the luncheon....I took a tray of salad plus a few sub pieces.
4. Husband redeemed $1.90 off/gallon on gas, saving $51.30 on his fill up in his truck.
5. I filled out the application for college senior daughter for loan forgiveness. Sitting tight to hear if she gets it.
6. Used coupon codes on haircuts for hubby and i, saving $8 and also used a $5 reward from receipt hog on an Amazon purchase.
1. I asked my husband to fire up the chainsaw and take down a few branches on the trees around our house. We will have a tree trimmer take care of the larger trees in our yard but tackling the branches we can reach on the smaller trees will help bring that cost down.
2. We pulled out the Halloween decorations and decided we didn’t need anything new this year. My son decided to wear last year’s costume as well – I’m glad we found something last year that he likes enough to wear two years in a row (his suggestion!).
3. I’m continuing to download audio books from the library. I’ve had a few books on my “want to read” list for years so I finally committed to listening to the books that have been on the list for a while since I’m clearly not picking up the physical book.
4. I have a work trip this week that includes a fancy dinner. I pulled out the LBD instead of looking for something new. The dress travels well and is work appropriate but I also feel good when I wear it.
5. I finally used the 1% back from Target’s Cartwheel app to pick up some school supplies for my son. I don’t use my Target card anymore since the credit cards rewards for another card are a better deal in the long run, but I do make sure to enter my phone number each trip to get the 1% Cartwheel rewards.
1. Cooked the last of my $0.21 whole chickens and used it for dinners and lunches for 4 people over 4 days last week.
2. Cooked dried black beans in my instant pot rather than purchasing canned ones at the grocery store.
3. Baked a half of a ham that I purchased this past April for $9. I am working to see how many meals I can stretch it to. This is like a new game! So far we have had 3 dinners for the 4 of us and 3 lunches for 2 of us.
4. Brought breakfast with me to the office today and coffee from home.
5. Keeping HVAC off to save on electric bill. The weather has been great and I love the smell of fresh air in my home!
I continued to shop Kroger pickup with in app coupons. No impulse buys. Stick to the list.
We had meatless meal weekend. This always saves money. Baked potatoes And salad with a topping bar and vegetable cabbage soup with barley.
Packed 5 lunches. WAH! I wish there was a lunch packing fairy!
Cleaning out freezer. Meal planning. Eating at home.
Shopping very minimally and carefully for the holidays.
I’ve never lived anywhere with oil heat before. When you fill the tank, does that pretty much cover your heating costs for the winter?
@JenRR,
It depends on how much oil you burn. If you like the temperature toasty, you might have to fill it again mid-winter. If you can layer on the sweaters and socks, you might be able to make it through, but it also depends on the weather and how insulated your home is.
@Becca, Thanks for answering!
@JenRR, Depends on the size of your tank, the size of your house, and how cold it gets. My current budget plan is $420 a month, sigh.
My hot water heater is oil fired too. Electric would be even more expensive where I live--we pay about 29c a kWh.
My baseboard heat is hot water too...so the boiler serves both purposes.
@JenRR, Not sure where you live. We have a 250 gallon tank and what most people would consider a small house. When it starts staying below zero all the time, we get it filled about every six weeks, until about May. From May to mid August, it does not get filled at all but by the end of August it is pretty much empty. Whoever does your delivery should be able to tell you how much the last occupants had delivered and when.
My husband and I attended a free "Life After Lawns" workshop and won a free book written by one of the presenters. (We spent Covid hiking in the foothills and nature preserves and want to plant some of those native plants in our backyard.)
I am trying to propagate my succulent plant. If it works, I'll have a nearly-free plant.
A local nursery sent us a "welcome to the neighborhood" coupon for free flowers. We went to get the flowers and buy some planting soil and unfortunately I realized several hours later that they had charged me for the flowers. So semi-frugal fail.
I discovered an amazing new pork butt recipe. Tasty cheap meals are the most satisfying.
@Rebekah in SoCal,
You should totally go back to that nursery and get your money back! They might even give you more free plants to make up for the mistake.
This morning I used my birthday discount, and my points (which in total was $8.00 off) to purchase myself a pumpkin chai, a DELICIOUS pumpkin/chocolate chip muffin, and a bag of coffee (Haitian ZOMBIE!) from out local coffee shop! I was pretty excited needless to say, even after paying $20 out of pocket for the balance. Its not an everyday thing, and more of a treat, and sometimes we need to treat ourselves to stay sane LOL!
Almost every day I have found change on the ground, including a pile of pennies someone threw from their vehicle on the ground. I am not too proud to pick up change!
I have played Circle K's online game every day and won free cookies, a free coffee, and. $0.25 off a gallon THREE times. I do appreciate money off gas, and its worth the 1 minute it takes me a day to play! Now if I would just win the weekly $250 gift card, or the $10K prize, I would be THRILLED . . . . LOOOOOOOOOL!
I had ordered a cactus off Etsy, and it was a beautiful cactus! But after posting my review, I realized I was sent the wrong cactus WHOMP WHOMP. I let the seller know what happened and she offered me a refund . . . but I asked if I could just get the cactus I had wanted resent to me. So I am now supposed to receive a replacement, and I get to keep the oopsie cactus! Not a bad deal, I guess!
And I can't think of a #5, other than I went to Goodwill and bought mugs - to use as planters for some new plants I had here. They were the right size, and the price was right! Plus I found some really cute mugs! Win-win!
Absolutely love that carrot. Looks like she's wearing six inch heels.
And she's had a BBL. 😉
@Kristen,
I had to look up BBL...I'm so sheltered...
That made me laugh!
@Becca,
Also, I can't believe no one has said it yet, but that carrot is looking very saucy...
I feel like this is the "If you give a mouse a cookie" version of frugality this week....
If you buy a "new bed" on marketplace, you have to clean out all that is under the old bed. Under the bed, I found 5 old disposable film cameras, so I searched online to find the cheapest possible place to develop, and used a Rakuten link to get it even cheaper....and mailed them off today.
I found my stash of "things to list on ebay," and am committed to listing them all today.
I found several Christmas gifts I'd already purchased....
And when I took the gifts to the gift cabinet, I realized I needed to organize it, so I did!
I put the old bed on marketplace and got 2 offers in 24 hours.
The new bed is in place and only has 4 items under it!
1) My husband cut all three boys' hair.
2) My husband also sold his old truck to a friend. He got a new truck last year, and while I am country enough to love having an old beat up truck to knock around in, it didn't really make financial sense to keep it. We had decided to sell it but hadn't done anything to make a sale happen when our friend made an offer out of the blue. It was a real gift to avoid the whole meet-random-strangers-from-FBmarketplace hustle.
3) I received a notice that the city has completed a new assessment of our house. I appealed the first one they sent. Housing prices have risen, but not THAT much. The new assessment is much more in line with what I think we could realistically get for our house. The very little work that I put into appealing the first assessment will save us $500 in taxes next year.
4) We planned our menu this week around free food we received from family last week.
5) I have completed two grant/job applications already this week, and I am working on three more. I am an academic at the point in my career where I apply to tons of grants, fellowships, and jobs. It is how you fund your research and continue to build your CV, which is essential for landing that tenure-track job.
That carrot is hilarious! And I can't wait to see your chairs with your table! I would not have thought to paint chairs to go with it but it sounds like it will be amazing!
My FFT:
1. My son wore out his everyday tennis shoes and I used a $10 off $50 coupon at Meijer to go towards his new shoes. To help me get to $50 (the timing worked out pretty perfectly on this) I also bought a LOT of apples because they were 99 cents for a 3-pound bag. I've got my first batch of applesauce in the canner right now!
2. I saved more purple green bean seeds for next year.
3. Halloween costumes! My oldest is borrowing her best friend's cat costume, my middle child is wearing one I got off Facebook for $10, and my youngest has two costumes - one that I got at a yard sale for $1 and one that's a hand-me-down.
4. I was looking for a promo code to share with one of my friends that I raved to about the Flashfood app (Flashfood has discounted produce and other food items at Meijer) and instead of finding a promo code I found that they do referral codes. So I now have a referral code to share with all of my friends that I've been telling about this app. Also Flashfood related - my kids' school is collecting candy for an event and I found some marked half off on the app (best by date isn't until 2023) which is much better than the other candy prices I've been seeing.
5. I made hummus from scratch, a batch of banana chocolate chip muffins to use up old bananas, and am currently dehydrating apple slices to make apple chips.
Well...the one chair was so chewed up, I definitely did not consider staining it to match!
Also chairs are a pain in the BUTT to sand. I would not want to try to get all those surfaces down to bare wood.
FFT, Late to the Party as Usual Edition:
(1) See yesterday's FFT over at the NCA for my weekend fun with bird feeding. Update: I've stopped putting out the unshelled peanuts, since the blue jays and woodpeckers must have cached hundreds by now, and since the squirrels just discovered them. I'm saving the last Ollie's bag of peanuts for later in the winter, when Betty the cat and I can use the entertainment.
(2) I went on Saturday to a nature center at the opposite end of the county. I found the usual peace in watching the ripples on the lake there (this was one of the few things that could calm DH in the last few months before I placed him at the nursing home),
(3) My next stop after the nature center was the nearby Thrifty Shopper store. I found a large Vera Bradley bag and two "Paris Las Vegas" wine glasses there. The VBB will be next year's birthday present for one of my VBB-loving friends, and the glasses (79 cents each) will be the perfect gag gift accompaniment for this year's Martha Stewart parody calendar for the Bestest Neighbors: "Martha Does Vegas."
(4) I'm currently preparing a side-by-side chicken stock and chicken cacciatore. As I prepped the mirepoix for the cacciatore, I tossed all the trimmings into the stock pot.
(5) And the chicken carcass for the stock was generously contributed by the Bestest Neighbors, along with some beef bones from beef they previously prepared. The beef bones went into the freezer for my next beef stock. And I think the BNs feel good that the assorted bones aren't going to waste. (Not on my watch, anyway.)
@A. Marie, I've stayed in Paris Las Vegas on a business trip. It's pretty terrible. Then again, I loathe Vegas.
This week, I:
-Returned a couple items that had been sitting (literally) for months on my counter waiting to be returned. Used the credit to buy some Diwali gifts for my nieces and mom instead.
-Found and bought a halloween costume for my daughter on OfferUp. It's a pretty great costume and would have cost 4x as much had I bought it new.
-Used ingredients I needed to use up around the house to make lentil soup and granola for my siblings.
-Went through the hassle of returning and re-purchasing an item but saved $20 when I walked out of a store and realized I had a $20 off $100 coupon. My receipt totaled $96 so I thought it was worth it to grab one more item and get it for free and get the rest of my purchase discounted.
-Put aside the uneaten rice from my girls' take out and used it for my daughters' grain bowls the next day. They were walking over to toss it in the trash when I said "Woah! Not so fast!" When I gave her the rice the next day, my daughter said "oh mama, that was so smart of you to use the rice." It seems like common sense to me but I hope they are absorbing the "waste less" perspective.
@CrunchyCake, yes! Save the rice! I was out to eat with friends and the “side of rice” was really a ginormous plate of rice. So I came home with three plates of rice no one had room for. Lol. I used a bit as a side for dinner last night and froze the rest. Rice doesn’t go to waste on my watch either.
* Will do a november/december personnal challenge of not buying food for myself outside of the family groceries. So no quick fast food meal, no corner store bag of chips, etc. It's small amounts but it adds up quickly.
* Same challenge for clothes, shoes, jewellery or nail stickers (my new obsession...). I'm not a big shopper but somehow that also adds up.
* Still working full time instead of my regular part-time
* .... that's all I have at the moment....!
This has been both a very expensive and very frugal week for me. I am coming up on the final stretch of getting my parent's surprise anniversary party ready, so I am making a lot of final payments to caterers, bartenders etc. But personally, it has been pretty frugal.
1. My husband and I used a dining deal for my birthday. I am on rotation for my birthday, so we went out to celebrate early. It is DineLA week, so a lot of great restaurants are offering a pre fixe menu for a great price.
2. I celebrated my actual birthday by just having a glass of wine with my coworker friends and eating Trader Joe's snacks (don't worry we were off duty).
3. I have been able to thrift the majority of decor for the party and found some amazing Manzanita branches for cheap on FB marketplace
4. The Libby app is letting my listen to audiobooks for free on my long drives.
5. Not so much a frugal find for me but for my coworkers...I brought up 50 lbs of avocados from my parents tree for everyone to grab.
That carrot made me smile.
1. I roasted all of the seeds from the huge pumpkins we carved. I love them on salads or just as a snack. I bought 2 sugar pumpkins from the market this weekend for $5. They are roasting in the oven now and will be pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. The seeds from those pumpkins are also roasting!
2. We used some tomatoes from our garden to make tofu cacciatore. Tofu is alot cheaper than meat in our area right now.
3. I used some pulled chicken and flour tortillas I froze to make burrito bowls for my lunches this week. I also made farmer's cheese, using 1/4 gallon of milk I had leftover so that went on top of the burrito bowls. I added some leftover corn, beans, and salsa.
4. My company will be giving raises based on performance this year. For as long as I have been with the company (16 years) the raises have just been standard cost of living raises. I plan to discuss getting a higher raise this year with my boss tomorrow, as I feel I have performed very well. It's a scary conversation to have, but I am going to do it!
5. My in-laws gave us the log in information for their cable supplier. Now we have all the regular television channels and my husband doesn't have to purchase a special package to watch sports this year. We sent my in-laws dinner as a "thank you".
@Corrine, Good luck on your performance review! Prepare carefully, trust what you know about the company and why you are important, and believe in yourself!
I saw a note about a physical action that builds confidence: Go somewhere private, put your hands on your hips, feet slightly apart, stick out your chest-- Pose like Wonder Woman! For two minutes.
1. We have to use garbage cans that can be lifted up by the garbage machine. I happened to be on the porch and saw the top fly off (not their fault, just wore out) and land in the street. I was about to risk life and limb on the ice encrusted driveway to go fetch the lid when this guy drove buy and deliberately swerved to run over the top and completely wreck it. I yelled so loud my husband thought I fell and came hot footing it out, only to find me having a tantrum but still upright. Anyway, the 85 year old neighbor saw the lid later in the day and called to offer us her extra can. It was sad because she said that since her husband died, she does not generate as much trash and does not need two cans. I know she loves her Starbucks and I had a $25 one someone had given me as a gift. I will never use it since coffee and bacon are the same to me---smell great, taste not so great. She was very happy to get it so I think we both made out in the deal.
2. We had not taken advantage of some bundled car/home insurance deals but I finally called and lowered our yearly bill by $233!
3. Accepted another breastless chicken carcass from the single guy who buys the Costco chickens and only eats the breasts and used to throw the rest away. Now he brings the remains to their singing group rehearsals in a little cooler and at the next rehearsal the husband brings back the cooler with a quart of chicken soup I've made.
4. Sold a book on eBay and mailed it while doing a USPS mystery shop so the postage was free for me.
5. While on eBay, saw a new pair of Allbirds for half the usual price. They fit my leg brace perfectly and even though I don't need them now I bought them. Frugal in the long run.
@Lindsey,
Your trash can story!!! I'm so mad on your behalf!!! What the actual....?!?!?! So glad you and your neighbor found a mutually beneficial solution.
Also, I love that you have a little chicken cycle going now. It sounds like the single guy is just as delighted with the cycle as you are! Shameless frugality for the win!!! 😉
@Lindsey, I can’t either believe the trash can story! Some people.. Love your #3 though!
My biggest frugal win is patience. We have a number of projects on our home we’re getting quotes for and some of them we’ve decided to do ourselves (drywall repairs, fencing, electrical, these will take longer than hiring out) and some (ADA accessibility projects) we are seeing if insurance or community programs will help with. Some projects we have an idea of what we want but we are waiting until we have a full picture so we can do it correctly the first time. I’ve never lived in a house that has needed so much updating but it’s been so fun to learn new skills and look at spaces and say, “I did that.”
Other Frugal things: eating at home, not buying much gas (perks of living so close to everything!), finding clearance items for things we need for the house, making Halloween costumes at home, using local library.
1. Mended a pair of thrifted jeans that had a tiny area coming unstitched at the side. I’m glad I saw it when it was small and easy to mend!
2. Received a Covid booster shot, covered by insurance. I have an infant and work in healthcare so hopefully this also helps protect others.
3. Haven’t cut my curly hair since January. The place I like just increased their prices by $90(!) so I found another place that will charge a more reasonable rate. I find it’s worth paying for someone who specializes in curly hair as it makes a huge difference in how my hair looks, and I only cut it every 6 months or so.
4. While staying in an AirBNB traveling, my DH went out for a walk in the morning and came home with about 5 canned goods and some dried beans from a free pile he passed. We are also enjoying a free bottle of “two-buck Chuck” organic wine (I’m sure it’s more than $2 these days!) from our AirBNB hosts, which is extra special because we only drink wine on the rare occasions when we are given some.
5. I used part of the $25 Sbux GC I mentioned last week to buy two breakfast sandwiches for DH and I before a super early-morning flight. I was glad to avoid paying airport prices for food.
6. I earned 500 Delta miles and 150 Starbucks stars for linking my accounts (an ongoing promotion). The miles never expire, and the stars will turn into either another free breakfast sandwich or three chocolate croissants.
The painting of the furniture is very nice and the wonky carrots made me laugh..Just add some heels to that carrot!
My Frugal Five:
1) I harvested some very tiny potatoes and tomatoes from the yard. The potatoes were tiny but I have more growing and will see how they look in the springtime. They seem to take more than a few months to grow...... I've posted a request to my neighbors asking for a bit of sawdust or straw (to cover the plants) and hope someone answers.
2) DS2 was at school and there was a fundraiser...Students were selling used cassette tapes! My car still uses those cassettes and well, he got me some. I love the 80's music....And he supported a good cause.
3) DS1 wants to take a trip for the holidays but doesn't want to spend much money. It's a long car ride in bad weather and hubby offered to use his airline miles for a nearly free trip by plane...Hopefully, DS1 will like the idea and fly.
4) DH got eggs for $2.50/dz.
5) DH needs tires on his car, but only 2. The back tires are fairly new.
Ok, that's hilarious that they were selling cassette tapes!
Please, what color paint did you paint your chair? Is it chalk or regular paint? Lovely color.
It's Benjamin Moore Advance paint, in Westcott Navy. It's a latex paint that behaves a little like an oil-based paint, and I just love it for furniture. It's so easy to work with.
I am late to the game this week, but...
1. I made all of our meals at home, even though I didn't want to.
2. I am in the midst of making a scarf using leftover yarn.
3. I had to buy my youngest a new costume because there was no way that he was going to squeeze into the one I bought him about a month ago. However, I was able to find one at the secondhand store. It was the same character so he's happy. I also bought him a fall jacket at the same time, because he has almost outgrown his old one.
4. I will baking a birthday cake at home today.
5. I *finally* got the loan forgiveness form filled out and mailed off. (Public service... I don't want any political comments on it.)
6. We borrowed a walker to take some Halloween pictures. I know that's kinda weird, but we have a family costume. While no one will use the walker for actual trick-or-treating, we wanted some posed pictures.
7. I fixed the vacuum myself.