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Five Frugal Things | I got my first Venti

Happy Tuesday! It’s time for some frugal things.

Five, to be exact.;)

1. I got a free Starbucks drink

My birthday was in April, but Starbucks extended the redemption period.

Yay!

Starbucks whipped cream

I’d never gotten a birthday drink before and I didn’t realize you could get any size.

Luckily, Sonia clued me in and naturally, I got the largest size possible.

free birthday Starbucks drink

I think this drink is my very first Venti.

2. I used my fabric shaver on some tshirts

I bought this little shaver at Aldi some months ago, and my goodness, I really love it.

It works so well to remove those annoying little pills that make clothes look old and worn.

Aldi fabric shaver on Snoopy shirt

Yep. That’s my Snoopy shirt!

And it’s pretty fun to do. It’s kind of like the same thrill you get from painting a piece of furniture, except way less work!

Highly recommend. 🙂

My shaver is an Aldi Special Purchase, so it’s not available right now. But this one looks pretty much exactly identical to mine.

(I first used the shaver on some leggings and the difference was remarkable!)

3. We used a gift certificate for our date night.

I found a $25 Panera gift certificate in my van’s glove compartment (Why was it there? No one knows!), and we used it for Saturday’s takeout date night.

Panera veggie sandwich

Panera did kind of squish my sandwich. But it still tasted good!

We both just got sandwiches, so we still have about $8 left on the certificate. 

4. I got a BOGO swim sale at Target.

Online, guys! Don’t worry; we aren’t out there swim shopping in person. 😉

Zoe and Sonia both needed new swimsuits, and Target had a great buy one, get one free sale going. I appreciate half price very much.

I used my Target Redcard debit card, of course, for the extra 5% off.

(Incidentally, I love that Target’s swim models are so much less retouched now. Stretch marks, belly buttons that aren’t perfectly smooth…I am here for this!)

5. I…

  • sold another book on eBay (one by one my stack is going down!)
  • got a free birthday cookie from Chick Fil A
  • used my regrown green onions in a soup recipe
  • helped Zoe make a scrunchie

What frugal things have you been up to? Share yours in the comments!

P.S. I did post yesterday, despite the holiday; among other things, we discussed embarrassing frugal habits. 😉

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Kaila

Tuesday 2nd of June 2020

Do you try to purchase things that are high quality, and, initially more expensive but also more frugal in the end?

Christina @ BargainBlog

Monday 1st of June 2020

Hi Kristen,

I’m so glad you discovered the joy of a free Venti! I always get a Venti when it’s a freebie. And I swear it tastes better when it’s free!

Here are my five things:

1. Did my own free haircut! I’m not sure if I’d actually recommend this method (haha) but I managed to trim my own ends.

2. Not even a morsel of takeout! I’m amazed that ever since this pandemic began I haven’t had one single bite of takeout food. Crazy!!

3. Used a cash gift from my Mom (anniversary) to purchase a vacuum cleaner. Not a super exciting gift, but we really REALLY need a new one! Therefore it IS exciting to us.

4. Paying down credit cards that we’d spent more on than usual when we were stocking up on food and supplies.

5. Reining in our food spending! I wasn’t too concerned with how much we spent when the shock of the pandemic first occurred. But now, we’ve set ourselves a challenge this month to spend more carefully. And it feels good!

Julia

Sunday 31st of May 2020

Good frugal week here at our crazy urban “farm.” 1. Spending so much time at home I wanted to add a few things to our “decor.” I wanted a thin sofa table to put in our gazebo and I found a free low bookcase outside a neighbors house that looks great in the gazebo. $0 spent 2. I wanted a potting table for the back porch for planting and storage. Found a free hutch on FB market that fit the bill perfectly. I did spend $20 for them to deliver it as it was pretty heavy. But still, super cheap. 3. We decided to add a wall of bookcases in our living room. Scored a nice tall one for $20 on FB market. Looking for more. 4. Scored a small metal dog crate from a free pile. One of the things the non profit I work for does is loan out/give away pet equipment. So I’m always on the lookout for free crates and carriers. It’s amazing how many just get thrown away. 5. Cooking from scratch, hanging up laundry, trading extra plants with neighbors, garden is growing well, froze extra milk before it went bad, enjoying a ton of free veggies given to us by a friend that couldn’t use them all, and looking for ways to share what we have.

Randi Macdonald

Saturday 30th of May 2020

FYI, Trenta is the largest size Starbucks offers.

Kristen

Saturday 30th of May 2020

Yes, another reader pointed that out earlier and now I am kicking myself.

I will rectify my error next birthday. lol

Isa

Friday 29th of May 2020

* As a health care worker I got a couple free drinks from Starbucks lately

* Spending close to zero on entertainment at the moment. I read very cheaply/free acquired books, I watch Netflix for 10$/month and I play boardgames with the family.

* Biking to work 3 days/week, so I'm saving on gas

* Seeing a therapist through my husband's work help program, up to 8 sessions, saving me more than 1000$

* Doubling the mortgage payment whenever we can afford it, to save tons of interest in the long run

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