Five Frugal Things | I'm a professional cobbler too
You know how I recently did some Very Professional jewelry repair?
Well, I brought that same energy to a shoe repair this week.
1. I glued my work shoes
Every shift, I wear my eBay-obtained Altras to work. Unfortunately, a little piece of the tread on my current pair came loose.
The overall tread still has lots of life, though.
So I took my container of black Shoe Goo (which I bought several years ago!) and I glued the piece down.
The bottoms of these shoes have SEEN some things, so don't worry, I was very careful to wash my hands after doing this repair. We don't want to be touching the bottoms of hospital shoes more than necessary.
Anyway, now the shoes are ready to go see some more things. 😉
2. I placed a Safeway driveup order and saved $40
I opened my Safeway app and noticed they had a coupon for $40 off a $75 driveup order.
I never do online grocery shopping, but a discount of over 50% was enough to lure me in!
I carefully picked out mostly things that were on sale, in order to maximize my savings.
Overall, I didn't love the whole experience; I can see the appeal if you have mobility challenges or you have kids in tow, but for me at my stage of life, I'd rather just go in the store!
Still, it was very worth it for the deal. 🙂
3. I spent nothing on Black Friday
I got up early and left my house in the dark to....earn money. Ha.
I worked a 12-hour shift that turned into a 13-hour shift, so I seriously had zero opportunity to spend any money.
And that was fine with me, because most current-day Black Friday deals are seriously unremarkable.
4. I ordered a $100 gift card on sale
On Sunday night, I did not feel like cooking. So I ordered a gift card with my Citicard reward points* and used it to get a free dinner from Panera for Zoe and me.
I know people hate on Panera for being like hospital food, but I don't care; Zoe and I like their food.
Also, they have quite a few options with a decent amount of protein, like the Green Goddess salad (37 grams!)
(I use my Citicard exclusively for groceries, because they give 5% back in points for that. So I earn my reward points by merely buying necessities. Perfect. Also, since I have my card set to autopay the full amount every month, my credit card use costs me nothing.)
5. I...
- filled up my tires for free with my portable tire pump (no need to pay a gas station or deal with the ever-broken air machines there)
- packed lunch after lunch
- packed coffee after coffee
1. Several apples had brown on part of the peel but looked fine inside. I cut away the brown peel part, cored and chopped them then zapped them. After they were cooked I added some ground cinnamon. They are delicious warm or cold.
2. I used the plastic containers salad comes in to give away cookies and bars. A friend inspired me years ago to use everything at least twice if possible.
3. I used plastic restaurant containers to give a friend leftover pie slices. I had run the containers through the dishwasher.
4. I didn't shop on Black Friday nor Cyber Monday. I will not make charitable donations today, Giving Tuesday. We give regularly throughout the year but I don't like being told what to do and when to do it.
5. I continue to list items on Freecycle. The other day someone picked up eight matching jars.
@K D, Same here with regard to Items 1-3, and so, so same with regard to Item 4!!
I don't like online shopping or delivery either but recently found a l good reason to use it: to avoid schlepping from store to store, looking for an erratically-stocked item. In my households case, a certain drinkable yogurt.
This week I spent less on unnecessary items.
1. I stacked several deals to get Popeyes at discount, using a T-Mobile deal of free wings if spend $5, then the receipt/feedback deal to get 2 pieces by buying a drink.
2. Small Business Saturday at a yarn shop: 30% off yarn for a friend's sweater plus a magnetic pattern board (didn't need but it's an improvement on my existing one).
The rest of my FFT is what I didn't buy: no Black Friday shopping, no gold toilets, no second car, no over-priced crypto.
I did go Black Friday shopping, but it was for 1 thing specific - a coat from Columbia. It was normally $140.00 (I would never pay that) marked down 50% to $70.00 plus a senior discount of 10%. So I got the coat for $63.00 in Pennsylvania, which also does not have sales tax on clothing. And it has the features I want in a coat, so I am very happy. And it is warm.
I know I should thrift, but I never seem to find anything when I thrift and this coat will last me for years as long as I take good care of it.
We had family for the weekend and most of the meals were eaten at home.
Still making coffee at home as well.
And I prefer picking up my groceries because I won't throw extras into my cart as I'm shopping. I am more apt to stick to the list by ordering on line and picking up.
@Maureen,
What a great on your coat! I used to buy most of my wardrobe at thrift stores. However, I am finding this much harder to do than I used to. Quality clothing is difficult to find and thrift store prices can be ridiculous. I am not sure if the reselling trend has taken most of the supply or if fast fashion has taken over. Now, if I really need something, I buy retail.
@Bee, that would be a great DEAL! I need to drink my coffee now and wake up.
@Maureen, Investing in clothing you'll wear forever is frugal, especially when you work to find exactly what you want at such a great deal!
@Bee, I think it's a mix of reselling clothing (especially quality/vintage) & high prices. I think I've only bought 1 winter coat second hand (I got lucky) otherwise I buy winter coats on sale & donate to local FREE Store/winter gear collection drives when don't need anymore.
My dad gave teen his Winter Carhartt coat last year when came to visit, said don't need it down in Florida. 😉
@Maureen,
Just want to say - I stumbled onto a screaming-good deal on an LL Bean down-filled coat on final clearance at least 15 years ago - I remember it was around $35 at the time. It's still going strong, after many winters and many washes in the washing machine. You got a screaming-good deal on that Columbia coat! Quality clothes and outwear last!
@Liz B., My North Face down coat is going strong at about 45 years old!!
Oh man…this week was a frugal fail…kinda
1. Win: no shopping on Black Friday! And instead of spending lots of money on expensive gifts I plotted how to make awesome gifts for not much (it’s a fort making kit for my kids. They are going to LOVE it!)
2. fail: procrastinated buying winter boots for my daughter whose feet are as big as mine. Then a snow storm came, so I had to buy boots that were available without having time to shop for a discount. But if she outgrows them, I’ll have two pairs to wear next winter!
3. Win: we feasted on Thanksgiving, but my kids asked for some of the cheapest foods: potatoes! Beans and rice! So we had a cheap ish feast (the blueberries they also requested were not cheap).
4. Fail: I picked up quilting again.
5. Fail: several nights in a row I fell asleep at 7pm and left lights on across the house. Boo.
@Kaitlin,
Quilting is not a fail! It is one of the best forms of creative therapy that I know. Plus, your results might comfort someone.
There are ways to be frugal, join a quilt group or guild. My guild has so much fabric donated to them from members who age out or pass away.
I quilt when the first freeze hits and I hope it brings you sew much joy!
@Kaitlin, Future reference, Shoe Carnival has BOGO FREE Boots usually November & December with Free Shipping. I got 2 pair winter (Barbie/fuzzy) boots $50.
1. No Black Friday shopping here either. I think I spent the day studying and eating Thanksgiving leftovers.
2. DS#2 and I continue our streak of bringing lunches to nurse aide training, this time to clinicals (we get a nice hour long lunch, and unlike the other students, we didn't spend half of it going out to get food or coffee!). I think we may be rubbing off on our fellow students; one brought her own lunch, and another asked what our sandwiches were--homemade salmon burgers--and said they looked really good and sounded really good.
3. I can't bike to school anymore, or to clinicals (we'd be leaving while it's still dark, plus it's cold!), but we did combine commuting home with a stop at the grocery store, meaning today, when all the schools are closed and the roads are snowy, we have all the food we need for the next couple of days.
4. Continuing to read library books, or books I have on hand, or Kindle Unlimited "free" books. I'm in a book drought, though, as nothing new sounds interesting to read. A sad state of affairs indeed. It may be time to dive back into the Miss Read books.
@Karen A.,
I don't know if this is the type of book you would enjoy, and this is not a new book, but I'm reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Fascinating!
@Liz B., That is right up my alley--I like true crime, and history, so I will try to check that out. Thanks!
@Liz B., That was one of my book club's selections. We have a psychologist in our group, and it was her pick. Everyone loved it but me. It was just too dark and too real. I didn't finish it. However, Erik Larson is a great storyteller and it generated the most fascinating conversation.
@Karen A., If you have not read the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you might give that a try. Also the young adult book The War that Saved My Life is terrific. It is meant for older teens but it really has a lot to teach adults. I like it so much I wish I had written it!
@Lindsey, I LOVED both of those books!
Although we had an excellent time on our vacation to New Orleans, I am very glad to be back home where I don't have to open my wallet every time I leave the house. And where I don't leave the house much. 🙂
--I was very pleased when I took our Advent wreath out of storage that I had bought new candles for it last year when I was in an actual store and saw some for a good price, rather than buying them this year probably in a rush and for more. Of course, I did not remember that I had done this, so good thing I didn't buy more thinking I didn't have any.
--We burn candles on our dining table all winter for every meal we have when it's dark (breakfast and dinner, this time of year) and those came from a really big box of candles someone donated to our church that we can't use there because they're not majority beeswax. Candles on the altars at Catholic churches have to be more than half beeswax, for interesting liturgical reasons. But the candles on my table can be anything, so we've been using those candles for at least two years now.
--I will not be buying anymore Christmas decorations. I never do. I don't have a lot of space for them, anyway, and I don't like packing and unpacking them, so it's fairly minimal. Unless I need more lights for our tree, which I often do because lights don't seem to last more than a year or two without ceasing to work.
--A friend of ours loaned us a book by an author he liked when he was a kid (G.A. Henty, for those who are curious) thinking my boys might like it. They do, and he has lots more by that author, hooray! It's hard to keep up with my kids' voracious reading and I buy a LOT of books, so loaned books are always welcome both to save money and to reduce the crowding on my bookshelves.
--With the newest round of growth spurts in my three boys they've gone from men's large to extra-large, men's medium to large, and men's extra-small to small. I have accordingly sorted all their clothing and passed shirts, etc., on down the line. I did have to buy some new things for them, of course, but it does help to be able to do hand-me-downs within my own house.
@kristin @ going country, Here I am recommending this book for teens again---The War That Saved My Life. Set in England in WWII, the way it represents how emotionally damaged kids have to overcome thinking that they will be soft and defenseless if they learn to trust someone is right on.
@kristin @ going country, I doubt that you were going to do this, but don't read G. A. Henty books out loud. I did once, and it was not a favorite. My kids prefer reading them alone. (My grandfather-in-law had lots (all?) of the Henty books, and each great-grandchild got to pick one out. We ended up with several extras.)
@Lindsey, I loved this book, as did my 11yo daughter. Just wanted to let you know if you didn't, there is a second book, The War I Finally Won.
I have never used Shoe Goo, but I have heard it is amazing.
1. We ate most of the Thanksgiving leftovers on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, I chopped up the remaining ham and made a pot of 15 bean soup. When it was all cooked, I added the leftover collard greens. We had that for dinner and froze the remainder for later in the month. I made turkey stock which I also froze. I see a lot of soup in my future.
2. I decorated for the holidays. I primarily used items that I already had. The only exception was the Christopher Radko ornament that I bought a the food pantry thrift store's Christmas extravaganza. Over the years, I have carefully put together a collection of old tree ornaments from secondhand sources. My DIL told me that my tree was trending this year. Who knew?
3. I picked up a large bundle of Christmas tree branches from the a home store tree lot. They are given out every year for free. I have made garland and use the greenery to deck the halls.
4 -5. Of course, I have done all the usual things brewing my own coffee, drinking primarily filtered water, cooking from scratch, using my library, and staying too busy to spend much money.
Wishing you all peace, good health, prosperity, and the hope of the season.
1. I've been buying medium ground beef (instead of lean) for years, as it's less expensive. It also comes in a vacuum-sealed package, so it lasts longer than Styrofoam trays. This week, it was a double-savings, because the meat hadn't gone bad by the time I was ready to batch-cook some Bolognese sauce. Phew!
2. Got a pair of shoes online on Cyber Monday that I'd had my eye on for a while--saved 20%, and I read the fine print of their return policy. The store is close to where I work, so I can return if needed.
3. Agreed with my brother that we're doing Chanukah presents for the children only. It just makes it easier, and there are only two kids!
4. I was off on vacation for a few days and didn't spend much money--just the shoes I bought, some underwear on sale, plus some gifts for work gift-exchanges.
5. Not cheap, but frugal: we bought a piece of original art from an art fair. It was in a small town and the painting came framed, so all in all it was a good deal (but not exactly cheap.)
@Meira Bear,
The beauty of an art work! Enjoy -
We drove to my dad’s house for Thanksgiving …
1) We used up most perishable food in our fridge before we left.
2) Food that was left was put in the plug-in cooler to be eaten on the trip.
3) I looked up the ingredients and tools needed for everything I planned to cook for Thanksgiving, so I wouldn’t have to buy olive oil, spices, a potato masher, etc. when I already owned all that stuff. I also checked with my dad about what he already had so I didn’t have to haul it there if not necessary. I’ve had many occasions where I found my dad didn’t have what I needed at his house, so all this was necessary step for me this visit.
4) We brought our dog with us instead of boarding him. He was such a good boy and my dad loved having him there! It was our dog’s first road trip and he traveled like a pro.
I also didn’t buy anything on Black Friday, but I do need to do all my Christmas shopping, so I’m not sure that’s exactly a win.
FFT, Beginning Holiday Prep Edition:
(1) I made Portuguese kale soup on Saturday, using some of my "habeas corpus" turkey stock (see my WIS/WIA comment on Friday), as well as the rest of the bagged kale I bought for my Thanksgiving salad. I shared it with my hard-working snowplow guy (who was running on empty by the time he got to our street Saturday afternoon), as well as the Bestest Neighbors and NDN1.
(3) I've started on holiday cards (December sorta snuck up on me this year, since Thanksgiving was so late). I was pleased to find that I have more than enough cards in my stash to get me through this year.
(4) I'm using a few of these cards for the BNs and a few other special friends, creating a check-off list of herbs and spices that I will share with them in the new year, according to wants. The herbs are all my homegrowns; the spices are the ones I buy in bulk from our local Indian grocery.
(5) And I'm using some completely blank cards I found at a garage sale last year to create a special "Austenmas" card for JASNA BFF, JASNA Panera, and a few other special Janeite friends. (Inside me, there lurks a frustrated cartoonist.) It depicts a slightly-the-worse-for-wear JA approaching the end of her 250th birthday celebrations!
(5) Finally, I'll be keeping an eye out as usual for bottom-branch trimmings from people's Christmas trees on the curb, which I will use for my annual bough on the front of the house. (If it ever stops snowing, that is! We got 10" from Friday am to Saturday am, and it's started up again today.)
@A. Marie, The Frustrated Cartoonist is a comic strip I would definitely read!
@A. Marie, this is off topic, but I found a great t-shirt on Etsy and thought of you. It reads: Society of Obstinate Headstrong Girls. Seriously displeasing since 1813. There is a profile of Jane on the front.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1740775305/society-of-obstinate-headstrong-girls?ls=a&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=jane+austen+t-shirt+pride+and+prejudice&ref=sc_gallery-1-8&pro=1&sts=1&nob=1&plkey=LTa9987a944dadfd64d0467cc71c8247a4d9b1620a%3A1740775305
@Bee, love it! I may have to get one of those.
Meanwhile, I do own two of the t-shirts produced by my good friends at Jane Austen Books for P&P's 200th anniversary in 2013. One says "Obstinate Headstrong Girl," and the other says "Pay Me the Compliment of Believing What I Say" (which is one of the things Elizabeth says in her vain attempt to discourage Mr. Collins).
I also did not buy anything for Black Friday, in spite if exposing myself to tempting offers.
- The cuff of my 10 yr old and second hand winter coat started fraying. I had a close look at several coats online but there were no models that I would give a straight A - so I did not buy a new coat.
- Instead I mended the cuff. In all honesty, it was an expensive coat even second hand. But that did pay off and the coat is still in excellent shape otherwise.
- we ate as per meal plan, with one exception as I could not bring myself to cook. But we had a plan B for that - frozen pizza topped with a can of tuna, and clementines for after. Quick and not too bad for once.
- Our supermarket still had butter on offer so I bought some more. We have enough to last us through January.
- I had my trusty sewing machine serviced and the lamp mended and can now start some projects that were delayed. Note of interest: the sewing machine repair service has a rolling backlog of three months, year round. Excellent reputation, I hope the skill will be passed on to the next generation.
Plus 1: And I made my own yoghurt again.
- I did quite a bit of Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping. I stuck to my Christmas gift list and got good discounts on everything I purchased. Now I'm almost done with Christmas shopping.
- Agreed with my sister-in-law that we would only buy Christmas gifts for the children.
- Our son had friendsgiving on Saturday and he used ingredients I had leftovers from Thanksgiving dishes to make his contribution to the meal.
- We ate Thanksgiving leftovers and the last of the turkey was used in a Tuscan bean stew.
- Continued reading library books or Kindle Unlimited “free” books.
Nice cobbler work!
1. I managed to book a relatively cheap flight home for Christmas.
2. I went running and swimming outside.
3. My friend treated me to a halfprice cinema ticket.
4. I worked some overtime.
5. I added to my savings account.
We also like Panera for a quick bite. The one near us is always very clean and cozy with the fireplace on! Use the APP!
@Stephanie M,
I second that. I stop at Panera when I travel or need a quick lunch Basic, healthy, fast food. I have never had hospital food that was that good.
@Stephanie M, I'm another one who isn't going to diss Panera. It would be ungrateful of me, considering how many freebies I get from my JASNA Panera friend--and I do enjoy the brioche and sourdough breads. I can take or leave the tomato basil bread straight up, but it does work in meatloaf and as croutons. And NDN1 enjoys the souffles (and definitely needs the calories).
@Stephanie M, our Panera built a totally new store and it is completely soulless. One big room and no fireplace anymore. So disappointing.
Oh, I love the cozy fireplace at mine!
@Stephanie M,
Same here! I especially love the creamy chicken and wild rice soup. And Bee, I agree - the hospital where I work does NOT serve food as good as Panera!
@Stephanie M,
I am a huge Panera fan! I've never had a bad meal there. I'm a rewards member so I'm always earning some type of freebie. Once I was lucky enough to get a free daily bagel for 30 days! What a deal! I love their iced teas, pastries, soups, salads, and tuna sandwich.
--Thanksgiving was our traditional stay-home affair. My husband roasted a glorious duck with clearance Brussels sprouts and homemade mashed potatoes; I made pumpkin pie from scratch (with garden pumpkin!); and we made gravy and orange sauce from pantry ingredients. Duck is our traditional holiday splurge.
--My husband's birthday was also this weekend. Our birthday tradition for each other has always been a special, surprise homemade meal. I made gumbo for the first time, without having ever had it before; my husband (who spent part of his childhood in Texas) assured me it was spectacular and devoured the leftovers. The gumbo used okra from our garden and, after much hunting, I was able to find a healthy gumbo recipe/substitutions that wouldn't kill my husband with salt (he has to avoid it for medical reasons). I also nailed the homemade pumpkin bread pudding, with homemade whipped cream, for dessert. Definitely decadent, but permissible once a year. 😉
--Since I cut the aforementioned recipes in half (and both still made a ridiculous amount!) the remaining birthday dinner components will contribute to all of this week's dinners.
--Christmas presents are starting to arrive! My little sister and her husband are enjoying their first jobs with substantial paychecks, so they really wanted to get us something special; conversely, we wanted them to save their hard-earned financial wiggle room for themselves. My husband and I compromised by asking for ONE thing for both of us: A $50 enameled dutch oven. https://smithclarkcastiron.com/products/3-quart-enameled-cast-iron-pumpkin-dutch-oven-snake
We had actually been on the look-out for a medium dutch oven (I have a large, pizza-sized one) for bread baking and stews, and the awesome snake design makes it both fabulous and just frivolous enough. The pot arrived post-Black Friday sales (which started Nov. 1st, I swear), meaning it was $35ish with free shipping. We taught them well. ;P
--I did hit up Chewy's Cyber Monday sale, as they had 40% off Tiki Cat and 20% off Dr. Elsey's litter. These brands are rarely, if ever, on any sale of note, so of course they're our feline trio's preference. 😉 I spent $50 after all discounts, which included free treats to go in their stocking.
@N, gumbo is our traditional Christmas eve dinner. I guess its the Southern version fish stew.
@N,
that pan would scare me every time I saw it! That's good deal though.
The only purchases I made on Black Friday were at the grocery store, but I did get a $43 lamb roast for $20 on discount, and tucked it in the freezer for Christmas.
The local grocery store gave me a loyal customer 10% off coupon, which I used along with some other store coupons and a manufacturer's coupon to knock $14 and some odd cents off yesterday's shopping trip.
Made a pot of beef-veggie soup yesterday for DH, who was feeling a bit under the weather, using part of a bag of frozen peas and carrots that were marked down as a discontinued item. I am hoping this just means the store's chain is re-doing packaging and not that their store-brand veggies are going away.
Sewed some homemade Swiffer dusters. Refilled a bunch of reusable K-cup pods with coffee from Aldi.
Okay, I just learned Shoe Goo comes in black.
1. I got to the big Christmas shop at a large nursery in time to catch a 50% off sale on the items I wanted. That particular item’s sale ran from 2-3pm, which I didn’t even know, because I had not noticed the sale circular at the front of the store. A customer who saw me looking at my item told me it was on sale and I had 10 minutes before the sale ended. I thanked her gratefully and high-tailed it to the checkout, making it just in time.
2. We had a cooperative Thanksgiving dinner, with a turkey provided for free from my daughter’s employer, so no one had to spend a lot of money or make all the dishes.
3. I made two pumpkin pies and put them in the thrift store-purchased Revereware stainless steel pie pans I picked up for something like $3 total at the hospice thrift store. The crust was as flaky as I think I’ve ever made it, which makes me wonder if it was the pans that helped. I formerly only had glass pans.
4. A grandchild wants a certain color of Converse Chuck Taylor All Star high tops I found them online, at half the price of stores. If they don't turn out to be the wrong thing or size when I get them, which they shouldn't, but one never knows, I will be happy and so will she.
I have so far not succumbed to the temptation to buy adult All Star high tops in pink for the oldest, dinosaur print for the youngest, because that's what they wore, a LOT, as youngsters.
5. I transferred money from my higher interest savings account to my lower interest checking account to pay my annual home insurance premium this month. I deposit an estimated 1/12th of the annual amount each month all year into this account so the insurance payment isn't painful - well, quite so painful- at year end.
1. My mom gave us a ton of food (a whole cooked turkey breast, leftover Thanksgiving sides, vegetables, snacks, breads, pitas, bananas, pizza crusts, yogurt, etc.). I used the bread and home made vegetable broth to make stuffing. I sundried the cherry tomatoes. I used the pizza crusts, sundried tomatoes, homemade pizza sauce, left over chicken breast, and left over artichokes to make my lunches for the week. I used the bananas and left over milk to make banana waffles for my kid's breakfast this week. I also used the bananas and yogurt to make banana chia seed pudding and banana bread.
2. I used up stale cereal, left over almonds, peanuts, and cashews, and home made dried plums to make Kristen's no-stir granola.
3. I sold a chair, found on the curb, on Marketplace for $90. I listed a leaf blower also found on the curb for $75.
4. I picked up 4 sports bras off Buy Nothing.
5. I was sent a Nielson radio survey. For completing it I will made $23.
I've said it before, but, I so appreciate this weekly incentive to continue to focus on making wise spending and no-spending decisions, even if I'm in a stage of life where I know longer have to do so. As you've said here often, Kristen, it's my money and no one cares about it as much as me!
1. November is what we all call Sunset Season here along the West Coast, and each and every one is FREE. My spouse and I are making it a priority to stop whatever we're doing and go out to take in the exquisitely changing colors that move through the sky for a good 30 minutes each evening once the sun drops beyond the horizon. It creates serenity, peace, calm, thankfulness, and a whole load of good chemicals to take into the evening. I highly recommend. 🙂
2. Have a whole slate of free tree lighting events to partake in and enjoy, which I add to my calendar the moment I see announcements in my mailbox or on each city's social media page. Putting it on our electronic calendar ensures they happen.
3. Made all the unpleasant returns, even when I didn't want to, ensuring no 'lost' money. We ordered multiple sizes of a holiday coat for my husband to find one that fit right, vinyl record protective covers that don't fit (???), and poorly designed makeup. All now returned and reimbursed, yeah me.
4. Continue to home cook with an eye toward leftovers, my best defense against ordering takeout on days when I'm busy and/or tired. As much as for the calorie as the cost savings. Inevitably, takeout food is far higher in calories then what comes out of my kitchen.
5. Prioritizing my physical activities each day. Aside from being an extremely healthy priority, it generates serenity and ensures I'm stay out of stores, in that all I generally care to do afterwards is to sit and read, hopefully in a bit of sunshine. Read from the many free books I find everywhere- free Little Library boxes, the senior center, our ongoing local library giveaway pile, and often at coffee spots.
1. Serious meat deals the Monday after Thanksgiving: boneless, skinless chicken thighs for $2.00 a pound; ground turkey; and ham. I cooked the turkey in the Instapot before I portioned it. I am set for the month. I passed on fresh turkey .50 cent a pound. There are just two of us and I just couldn't pysch myself up to cook it. I am grateful I can chose time over deals.
2. I used my Citibank points to buy Fandango gift cards 20% off. Hubby and I like a date night.
3 I sold 3 Dale Tiffany lamp shades on EBAY. They weren't going to work for the River House.
4. I bought a Murphy cabinet bed which will work in the guest room. Shipping and taxes were free plus $200 off. It is solid wood so pricey and I have to assemble it myself which will be a learning curve. An hour spent, however, is worth saving the $500 someone wanted to assemble it.
5. I have a plan for Christmas gifting that is within my budget. I was going to sell my old Husqvarna Rose with Embroidery attachment for $250 in order to buy a new machine. Boy, I yearn for automatic threadcutter. Then Hubby said keep the Rose for the price since it is a workhorse. So now I am making monogramed towels for several people. I will save up for the new one.
@Mary Ann, call N to assemble that Murphy bed! She can do anything (remember she painted her own car!)
How in the world did you package your Tiffany lamps to ship? The fear of them arriving broken would have prevented me from listing them.
I made chicken broth with a rotisserie chicken carcass.
I accepted a bag of dog food from a neighbor whose dog had died. (So sad for her.)
My husband repaired a broken bird feeder and now it's back in use.
I had some yellowing broccoli in the refrigerator -- not the most appetizing. So I used it to make broccoli beef. It was delicious.
I did have to toss a slimy bell pepper that had got pushed to the back of the refrigerator.
I had a pair of shoes with that kind of tread do the exact same thing recently. They are my yard shoes and DH glued them for me also, but I may not buy shoes with that kind of tread anymore.
I canceled my Hulu that quit the sales price this month and signed back up on black Friday for the new sale price.
My 1 year intro price on my internet ran out so I called them and had it reset.
We got a bill for DH's PT visits, but our insurance is supposed to have no copay for PT for anything within 90 days of surgery. Called them and got that straight (worth the call when they want to charge you $37/visit and 10 visits!)
Not frugal: bought a new induction stove Frugal: sold my old stove immediately
(new stove is SOOO much better)
We only used about 25% of our dining out budget in November so I used the leftover for Black Friday sales and bought my parents' Christmas gift and my dad's birthday gift. Also bought my brother/SIL's gift on a one day sale (I buy their family a state park pass every year and it only goes on sale for Black Friday and it gives a free month so it takes them into January of the following year).
We also ate all the leftovers for days after Thanksgiving, gave DH a haircut for the holidays, have been using the fireplace a lot rather than running the heat, and I trimmed both of the cats' nails.
1) Made chicken noodle soup out of a large rotisserie chicken, first making broth & then turning the chicken + broth into soup. Served that for dinner yesterday, including to DS19 who isn't feeling well. Dug out a naan from the freezer, and toasted that for him to go with it.
2) Roasted a huge pan of veggies + chicken sausage to turn into lunches for the week.
3) DH made rice & we defrosted Korean beef from the freezer, and served that with the rice to make dinner (x2 for him, because he's not a soup fan). Bonus, we cut green onions from the yard (replanted from previous green onions, of course) to top the beef.
4) DS18 & DS19 both worked a ton over Thanksgiving break. DS19 worked a double on Sunday, and brought his own lunch + some studying, so he could study in the gap between shifts.
5) Discovered DS18 had an expiring United credit, so I jumped through some hoops to use that to offset part of his ticket home for spring break.
1. The downside of cooking from scratch is that we tend to have a lot of leftovers. Lunch is always a repeat of dinner the night before, but eating leftovers for more than one day becomes a bit of a chore. We've done a good job of eating leftovers for a bit longer and making a bit less food also. (Our turkey was smaller this year, and I don't deny having applied a little pressure to finish the last of it instead of ordering takeout one day.)
2. Pumpkin pie was made from pantry items picked up during sales, and another dessert was made from berries I picked and froze this summer.
3. During the Thanksgiving long weekend, spent some time doing an inventory of our winter clothes. Washed and brushed jackets and sorted and paired up gloves so that they are easy to find. I have bags ready to go for donations as well.
4. I did take advantage of some Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, but for things I needed to get anyway, no impulse purchases. Otherwise, Black Friday was spent taking a long walk in the woods.
5. One Christmas gift I bought was from Dick's Sporting Goods. I signed up to get emails from them and received an instant 20 dollars off coupon. I applied this to get free wool socks for my kids. I will unsubscribe from the email after a while.
Bonus: During open enrollment at work for health insurance, my husband and I always do a comparison of what our companies offer for a better package for our family. For now, my health insurance has been a much better deal for our family.
My SIL recently sang my praises about my ability to give the perfect gift and that it is so much better than my husband’s. My secret is to gift shop for ideas from conversations or observations (I keep an Ideas List on my phone) or things (since I perform at outdoor festivals it is easy to shop small businesses if the gift is a fit) year round. At first it was to spread my gift budget along several small bits instead of a whollap in December, now it’s a habit that means I don’t have to step foot in a store of extra temptations except to buy basic groceries in December.
1. I finished my gift shopping Cyber Monday ironically, in store. Everything was planned down to the stocking stuffers. Most of it was done on line to take advantage of sale pricing.
2. Replaced our ergonomic office chairs with a 50% deal so it was like getting two for one. We’ve been holding off the purchase hoping for a Black Friday sale. The old chair still have life in them (just not for WFH people) and will be donated.
3. Took advantage of an unexpected restaurant discount courtesy of The Side Hustle for Date Night.
4. Used the Hey Take Some Thanksgiving Turkey Home With You to make broth.
5. Made turkey tetrazzini using turkey from #4
, leftover homemade cream of mushroom soup, and the last bit of French fried onions - my husband’s favorite part of my green bean casserole
Oh yes, the art of gift giving is at least 75% paying attention to others!
Brava! I have been putting effort into repair and refresh skills :). In fact my most satisfying frugal this week was finding a perfect button in the stash of buttons I've picked up from the floor at the thrift store here and there LOL [usually in the dressing room] to repair a thrifted sweater that was missing one, it's like it was meant to be :). In other frugal news I'm done with holiday shopping [without black friday sales] mostly from said thrift stores. I hosted overnight guests over the holidays but cooked all the things but for one night when we brought them to a restaurant where we barter services for dining. And all the usuals. I'm also learning to edit down my cooking now that my bottomless son has moved out - it's a process to adjust volume!
1. I bought special allergy-friendly chocolates on Small Business Saturday, to support one of the few companies that make "milk" chocolate I can safely eat. I chose two kinds that were on sale because they were labeled as Halloween candy. One kind has purple wrappers, which are perfect for Advent (the weeks leading up to Christmas, when priests wear purple vestments and the church is decorated in purple). The other has regular wrappers with no Halloween specific decorations. I only bought one type of candy with actual Christmas wrapping. They also gave me a free Christmas themed candy as a bonus. I used a 10 percent off coupon on the whole order. It was still expensive, but not as much as it might have been.
2. I have eaten or frozen all my Thanksgiving leftovers.
3. I am wearing layers of warm clothes instead of turning the heat up, although I would like to. I use a small space heater pointed at my feet when I sit at my desk, and blankets on the couch or bed.
4. I didn't buy anything on Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. I haven't seen any good deals on anything I need, so I'll wait until I can find something used or at a genuinely good price.
5. I redeemed points from two credit cards as statement credits.
1. I turned Turkey carcasses into stock for my pantry shelves
2. All the holiday meal preparation was scratch cooking
3. I turned thrift store draperies into tablecloth and napkins
4. I stayed home on Black Friday too.
5. I thrifted for the jars I used to can the turkey stock
1. My husband discovered that we get a free NYT family subscription through our credit card so I cancelled the one in my name and we signed up for one under his name. We both enjoy playing the games and I use the recipes.
2. I put up my Christmas tree and decorated my house with decorations we have used for years. They bring back happy memories for me each year. The only new thing this year was a new ornament from a trip my husband and I took.
3. My Thanksgiving centerpiece was a combination of two floral arrangements. I tossed the droopy flowers and made a lovely arrangement with the flowers that were still hanging on.
4. I kept my eye on a few Christmas gifts that I thought may go on sale on Black Friday. When they did I promptly added them to my cart and crossed them off my list. I was going to buy them either way but I was thrilled to see them on sale.
5. We started making food for our dogs. One of our dogs has some dietary restrictions and the food we had been buying is quite expensive. After loads of research and input from our vet we are now making our dogs’ food from scratch. It takes about an hour each week and the boys absolutely love it! The amount of money we are saving is staggering!
Enter the jewelry repair photo in a contemporary art exhibit!
@David,
Titled "How do you mend a broken heart..."
@Chrissy, oh, that's good!!
**I made pumpkin pie with a free pumpkin given to me for my compost pile. Oops It was too good to not use.
**We used my failed attempt to cook a loaf of bread in the bread machine (it's been a long time. I usually have the machine knead it and then put it in a loaf pan) for stuffing for the turkey. It worked.
**I have my holiday lights on timers - outside and inside. I pretty much figure people are heading to bed around 2200 and not looking at Christmas lights so I have them turn off at that time.
** hubby froze the leftover lemon mix (for Whiskey Sours) in ice cube trays for our next celebration
**I cut up the cardboard center from a toilet paper roll for my kitty to use as a toy. The cute little mice she loves so much are equally loved by our dog, who chews them up and spits them out. I did this when we had my other toy-chewing dog. The kitties love them.
1. I rehung the new curtains for the front bedroom window because I noticed I had skipped a grommet -- it was not on the curtain rod. Of course, it'd be one that was toward the middle. So I had to take the whole thing down and start again. What a mess!
2. Frugal fail: Unable to light the pilot light on my natural gas fireplace, I gave up and called the plumber. I figure that's better than going without heat in the den, or causing a fire or gas leak, or singeing my eyebrows.
3. Found the extra package of coffee filters in the cabinet I'd misplaced. I finally had to buy another package. That was a long time ago. I was down to the last filter of the 2nd package, and lo and behold! I found the first one. Just in the nick of time!
4. In this winter weather, the tile floor in the den is uncomfortably cold. So I got out Miss Lucy Dog's old pillow and put it down for Mr. Snuggly Wuggly dog to sit on. He's snuggling on it, right here by my desk, as I write this. Snuggles doesn't mind a bit that his doggy bed is "inherited" from his predecessor in office, may she rest in peace.
5. I'm with the rest of you about giving when I want to -- and not when someone says I should. I am happily ignoring the radio station's begging for money today! Turned it off right away. Of course, they've been begging for money for months now. Should their sad, sad story be true, I will happily change stations when they go off the air.
@Fru-gal Lisa,
Oh, and I forgot to mention, no Black Friday shopping for me. (Except for groceries, but I guess that doesn't count.)
@Fru-gal Lisa,
I hear you on the frustration & worry about not getting the pilot light done right. I sometimes have to Google search how to relight the pilot light on the gas wood stove. Luckily I've Googled enough times that it automatically brings up the one I always use first.
Frugal wins:
1. I did not go Black Friday Shopping
2. I decorated our house for Christmas for $0. I used the same decorations we always use every year. Since I have an allergy to pine trees, all our staff is of the fake variety and lasts for decades.
3. I made turkey stock + turkey pot pie to use up all (or most) of our Thanksgiving leftovers.
I used goop last week to repair a 3" rip in my work boots. They are now summer only work boots, but still useable.
I worked black Friday, but shopped via proxy... Thanks to my special farm worker. He also shopped small business Saturday for me as well.
We had 4 co-workers call in sick, so we worked 18 HR shifts to cover all of the patients. Glad I'm retiring if this is how our new hires treat the team. I'm afraid I'd be a wicked nurse manager.
I bought my home security bits and bobs for a 44% savings on cyber Monday. Now we are set.
Picked up a Christmas tree along the side of a county road, I donated it to the vfw hall to give to a veteran. We have hundreds of acres of Christmas trees grown in our area. Sometimes the helicopters drop one or a truck loses them on the sharp corners of the road.
This week is going to be awesome!
As a Former part time shoe repairer (my BF owned a show store that also did repairs so guess who had to learn how to do that as I also helped out part time) you nor only got the correct shoe glue but you also used the correct professional tool (clamp) to keep in place. Though if happens again, use 2 clamps as precaution. Good job. 😉
Frugal things---
● used turkey for Thanksgiving dinner that already had in freezer left from last year at $0.33/pound
● had leftovers for few days & froze remaining turkey for future use
● No Black Friday shopping, but teen got up & went to Lowe's for a sale item & Micheals (didn't tell mom so missed out on coupon)
● earned monthly $9 bonus for using debit card 12+ times
● converted Fetch points to Meijer gift card for groceries (milk) & Meijer Reward points for $ off total bill
● (purposely) dripping water (so water pipes don't freeze on one sink) into container to use to water house plants
Frugal fail--
● turkey bones left out overnight, did not even get wishbone off 🙁
● turkey juices/drippings left out overnight, thrown out into yard for squirrel to feed 🙁
I’ve never had hospital food that was anywhere close to Panera’s food. Maybe people are ordering the wrong things. Hospital food is more like Bob Evans…
This week,
1. I made hamburger buns and a couple loaves of bread instead of buying them.
2. I made dinner when my SIL and her family came over,even though I was feeling stressed and wanted to just order in. Have been diligently eating down the left overs.
3. I used coupons and bought clearance items at the grocery store this week. I mostly bought produce. I had a coupon for a free bag of chips that we probably wouldn’t use so I gave it to family with two kids who seemed to be looking to stretch their grocery dollars.
4. Gave my daughter a budget for her request to decorate her room with holiday decor. After her initial dismay, with the number I gave her, she made it work and found some great stuff.
5. Probably 10+years ago I bought some craft mesh on clearance that’s been lurking in my holiday decorations bin since. This year, I took it and used a dollar store wreath (that also has been sitting around for years) and made a wreath. I added ornaments we already had. It cost maybe $3 (with no dollars spent this year on it) and both my daughters noticed and complimented it.
Nice repair! It's hard to get ahead financially when all your money is tied up in "shoe."
I heard shoe goo dries out quickly in the tube. How do you keep it going like store it after a couple years?
Honestly, I don't know! I just screwed the lid on tightly, and mine has been fine for years now.
On Saturday, I scooped only the necessary paths to get to the car and cleared the car off by myself. However, in years past this job was done freely by some members of the church I attended. I have changed churches and while some young members are tuned in to yard care and helping with house cleaning, the snow is not yet on the list. And we have had a lot. Saturday by the time it ended we had at least 10 inches. We had a few inches more yesterday.
I was able to get plastic over three of my windows yesterday afternoon and evening (two kitchen/dining room, one bedroom) and hung the drapes in the bedroom. They'd been down and washed. They are very lovely drapes that I had purchased at the Salvation Army Thrift store for a song several years ago. They show no wear and are heavy. The room thermometer in the kitchen went up three degrees by the time I finished so I was able to turn the thermostat down accordingly. I leave it set on 68'.
I have been off work (holiday scheduling) since last Wednesday morning. I don't recollect being out to anywhere so no purchases, no Black Friday or any of the other sales. I did have a frugal fail (?) on Saturday. since it was snowing and roads were treacherous, only one local vet remained open. After many physical issues, and sensing discomfort, I had made the tough decision to have Molly put to sleep. I know our regular vet would have simplified the task and would not have charged quite so much as the "fancy" vet, but she and her tech were very kind. I had had (the above friends) her grave dug on Friday afternoon so Saturday, I was able to complete the task of laying her body to rest. And then, I succumbed to an upper respiratory cold/illness and missed Church on Sunday and work Monday night and am still not physically able to work tonight. After having Molly for fourteen years, it is no surprise to recognize that physical illness and grief go hand in hand. It's hard to explain that to your boss. Anyway, I have the sick days accrued to cover the time off even though it is without the night differential. With the exception of the cyber temptation and ease, not going anywhere is frugal.
@Chrissy, I'm so sorry about Molly dog. I know from your comments that this has been coming on for a long time, but I also know that this doesn't make it a bit easier. Take all the sick days you have and need.
@Chrissy, take your time grieving. Be it four or fourteen years, it is the right decision for a responsible pet owner yet it still sucks.
@Chrissy, I'm so sorry about Molly. Your love for her was so clear in your comments. Sending you a virtual hug as you grieve.
Our well-used, older Keurig was making very weird noises and not dispensing a full cup of coffee by a long shot! I descaled it twice and thoroughly poked and prodded as I cleaned. It’s back in service and doing great! Frugal fail: I thought I’d run enough plain water through to get the vinegar out, but alas, not! My husband add to throw out the first cup he made because the lingering vinegar curdled the cream in his coffee.
My husband with moral support from me, cleaned out the drain pump on our washing machine and it’s now back in working order and not smelling up the laundry room.
I purchased a 32 oz container of conditioner and the pump got broken. I commandeered an 8 oz empty container with a flip top cap and filled it half with conditioner and the rest water. I actually prefer a more diluted conditioner, so this is a win-win!
My Fred Meyer must have gotten in a super order of fresh turkeys. They had almost an entire meat case filled with 3 different brands of fresh turkeys…all for .99/lb. This was on Tuesday.
Took advantage of $3 off at my favorite coffee kiosk for a treat while shopping.
Hope everyone had a pleasant and thankful Thanksgiving.
1. I twice used leftover turkey as the protein in my daily lunch salad. I don’t particularly like turkey but wanted to use at least some of our leftovers. We still have a lot left which is likely to end up in the trash. It is too late, I think, to use it to make any of the delicious-sounding soups I am reading about in the comments here. Next year, we are trying capons.
2. I bought a new winter coat on sale, 50% off. I was sad to have to replace my old one, a hand-me-down from a friend, which I loved and had worn for fifteen years. Unfortunately, I hung the old coat on a low hook and the cat used it for a scratching post, tearing many long rips in the nylon.
3. I’ve been searching for a good price for the new pans I’ve decided to buy, but haven’t found anything lower than Amazon. It seems to me that often the lowest price on what I need/want is on Amazon. Couple that with my very low tolerance for shopping, and Amazon gets most of my business. I think I have to focus my frugality efforts more on not buying than on finding the best deals.
4. We have not ordered food delivery in…two months? I’ve been tempted, but have managed to convince myself that the meal I’ve planned will be easy to prepare—and they have been!
5. This is the first year we are only buying gifts for the one child in the family. I have been surprised at how less stressed this has made me. I’ve done nothing for the holiday yet (except buy a wreath to support a charitable program, and put candles I already had in the windows), and I’m so content with that.
I washed my hospital shoes every week. I always felt good having clean shoes on.
My grocery runs are going to end. I am having major back surgery in February. I am going to pay the $99 fee for Walmart to deliver to my door. I am more than happy to tip. I will just have cash in my drawer at home for tips. To me this is frugal because I will only order what I need. My local store has very good produce so I am not concerned with freshness.
I have a very expensive year coming up. $5000 deductible that will be met quickly.
I am taking 3 months off work and will not be paid. I looked into STD but this is a prexisting condition and will not be paid. I am blessed to have family that can help me out financially.
Praying for good results.
Lindsey says:
I am tired so this is a retread of what I put on Katy's blog. Like many people after Thanksgiving, frugal muscles have been used heavily on avoiding food waste.
1. Ate stuffing waffles on Saturday. Leek/sausage/mushroom/parmesan flavored bread stuffing plus two eggs, plus waffle iron gave us crispy bread waffles! (I did have some onions because I ran out of leeks, which is hard to believe in our house. We always have leeks and sour cream!!)
2. I boiled the turkey carcass for 18 hours, which made a wonderful gelatinous broth. Gave the dogs the bits of meat left. Took the broth and added the last bits of turkey, some drops of gravy, the last of the stuffing, and a half bag of cabbage waiting to go bad and we had soup enough for two days. All Thanksgiving leftovers gone and accounted for and I am glad to be done with turkey for a time.
3. Needed some lumber from Home Depot. Went to Fred Meyer first as they were having 4X gas points for certain gift cards. We bought enough to get $1 off every gallon of gas we will buy in December.
4. 4X sale lasted until December 2. On December 1 we bought the last of the Home Depot cards we will need, plus movie theater cards for my garden helper who also shovels snow. He loves movies, so I know he will be pleased. This means we have $1 off every gallon gas we will buy in January. We are pretty good at guessing how much gas we use in a month. Only once did we amass more points than we could use so gave them to another retired friend.
5. Culled books and took them to the used bookstore run by our literacy council. Remembered to get a tax receipt.
6. Gave some dead electronics to the high schooler who always takes our dead cast offs to see what he can salvage to build something else. If there is anything left, he returned the carcasses to us and we take them to the electronic recycling place. I have to keep my trap shut when he laments the fact that his parents do not believe in global warming, including how recycling can help in some tiny way.
You are right, Kristin. Pick up groceries have been a God send for us, especially when husband was having chemo and I was in my wheelchair. And when it is 30 or 40 below and you have small kids...not sure why Alaskans did not discover this before Covid spawned it but I am thankful it did.
Just a heads up if you’re near a Costco- they have free tire air!
1. Read about a local family that is having a "Regift Christmas" for the adults in the family. Only free, found, made, or regifted items allowed.
2. Dressed indoors in jeans, thick socks, thermal shirt, flannel shirt, headband and neck gaiter. We keep our heat higher than many of you here, and I'm still cold.
3. Redeemed credit card points as statement credit.
4. Remembered to use the 20 cents off per gallon of gas before it expired.
5. Received an entry rug and a Pyrex insulated casserole carrier from Buy Nothing. I have great luck being selected, which I attribute to including an enthusiastic comment about how/where I'll use the item. (Crabby side note: I never pick someone who just says "Interested." If I'm going to go through the work of taking the pic, writing the post, reading responses and coordinating pick up, the potential recipient needs to show some energy. Next time, I will use the suggestion from a reader on The Non-Consumer Advocate to include "tell me what you'll use it for/tell me why you want it!" in my post.)
1) Made gravy w/ the turkey giblets and stock from the bones, both from my mom's turkey.
2) Got my next audiobook from the libby app.
3) Did shop on Black Friday sales but only purchased items I needed such as laundry detergent and hand soaps, etc.
That's about all I can think of.
Good job on the shoe repair!
1. I used cranberry sauce in a smoothie, 10/10 recommend! https://practicalwalk.com/2025/12/03/crazy-for-cranberries/
2. My daughter's making a popcorn garland for the tree...very frugal decoration!
3. Used regrown green onions in a sauce today.
4. Made a vegetarian meal of chickpea sandwiches. I'll be making this again, as it was cheap, yummy and pretty simple.
5. Found 2 pennies and a quarter today.
We ate at Panera a few weeks ago. I had their chix salad sandwich (ate half with my chips and the other half became soup and 1/2 sandwich for lunch). Better half had a beef sandwich (can't remember which one) - he said it appeared they were running short of beef but it was still good. I will refrain from too much commenting on the three women in line in front of us. It was busier than we expected and none of the three women (in a group) had any clue.
What leftovers we didn't share became lunches and a freezer meal for me at a later date (says she who loves dark meat).
Better half continues his streak of screaming deals on mark down meat/salmon.
We still do our own snow removal - besides saving money, quite the workout (especially when you add making trails to one's bird feeders/water sources).
While perhaps not frugal for me, returning items that do not fit (local purchase) is more time than I care to spend. Kiddo works with a group who can put the items to good use.
We have a good supply of firewood from our property as well as neighbors. Besides saving money, more exercise cutting, splitting, and hauling into the garage and house.
1. I harvested the last of our lettuce before the rains hit this week. That made 2 dinners (salad with chicken) and 2 lunches for me.
2. A parent gave me a freshly picked apple, it was huge. I julienned it and put it in my salads. That sweet vs savory taste was so good!
3. I listed Christmas decor I didn't want any more on Buy Nothing. It feels so good to make someone else happy and get rid of things at the same time.
4. I went through some things that were my mom's (she passed away last Spring) and only kept what I really love. I listed the rest on Buy Nothing. For example, I'd given mom photos in magnetized holders for her memory care room. I kept looking at them for months thinking, what will I do with these? The other day, I took out the photos and listed the magnet frames on BN. So simple.
5. Listed some broken angel ornaments of Mom's as "misfits" on Buy Nothing. They were popular! I kept the ones that aren't broken and they make me smile.
1) We are going to NYC for a long weekend, so I have been planning how to do this trip well but on the cheap. We have a home exchange, so that will save us boatloads on a hotel in Manhattan. We are also driving up from Virginia. I would have preferred to take the train, and this would have been a super cheap ticket if I had bought it back in June, but now prices are comparable to flying. And there are five of us going. I have also been sorting through recommendations of what to do while in NYC for Christmas. We will have one nice meal out, but otherwise there will be a lot of strolling well-decorated streets, exploring museums, and eating in. No Rockettes for us unfortunately. Next time maybe.
2) We have almost finished eating up all the food that was sent home with us on Saturday from the enormous feast our family cooked. When we got home we froze what we could and have been systematically eating through the rest to keep from wasting anything. Otherwise, I kept it pretty minimal for food this week with a focus on eating these leftovers and then working through food in the freezer.
3) I drive a lot because my own commute is 1.25 hours when I go, and our daughter's school is a half hour drive away. But I have been getting gas at Costco because it is in the direction of my work and our daughter's school and much cheaper than fueling up closer to the house.
4) We've been dealing with a roof leak in the commercial space we own. A roofer told us we needed a new roof, but instead we put on a couple of coats of tar. That helped, but our tenant had another leak last week. Then I remembered that our mason said there were issues with the brick parapet wall surrounding the roof. We had similar issues in our similarly-aged house, and repointing the brick is what finally fixed the leak. I'm glad I didn't spring for a $20,000 roof if the issue is the bricks around the roof! If this repointing doesn't fix it, we will move on to the next idea, but I have a feeling this will get us pretty well sealed up.
5) One of our sons has a birthday on Friday. As usual we are celebrating with a homemade cake and the dinner of his choosing (pizza and tacos--at the same time). He asked for a thing that is $220, but that is just out of our price range. Instead, we hunted around and found him another gift that we are certain he would love. And it was $30 instead of $220.
Other than twice ordering from Costco, I have yet to order groceries online. I keep receiving promo offers to do so but haven't bit the bullet yet. Maybe one of these days I'll try it.
I've been out of commission due to several weeks of travel and work in between, so I have a longer list than usual. I keep track to help me remember that the little things do add up.
1. I use my half birthday for some birthday rewards. I was able to use a $5 birthday reward for a fancy coffee on my way to work when I picked up an extra shift. However I will not be able to pick up my free Panera pastry- I didn’t realize it was in my account until the day before it expired, and it didn’t make sense to drive 30 min round trip just for that (our Panera is on the other side of town). I also picked up a free coffee from a local place (I made sure to tip), a free cookie from Noodles, and a few treats from a local pizza franchise.
2. We traveled for an interview for DH, so we are treating it like a semi-paid small vacation. So far I have found 5 pennies in the vintage shag carpet of our AirBnb, which I am keeping as they are a choking hazard for my kids. And it makes me wonder if the carpet was vacuumed prior to our stay. (I did not keep the thumb tack my 3 year old found.)
3. One old-fashioned hardware store on our trip had samples of Zum brand soap, so I picked up three samples. They had large containers that were really full of samples so I felt comfortable taking one of each kind.
4. I found a penny in the parking lot at the grocery store.
5. We ended up ordering pizza to cover two dinners after we got home from our trip because sometimes that’s life. But Toppers had a good deal and I also had a free “birthday” pizza and another freebie dessert pizza in my app, so I was able to redeem both of those. We’d already done macaroni and cheese one night, so not cooking for the other two nights was priceless.
6. I finished a facial product that I won’t be replacing. I’ve never had a very complicated routine, but it still feels nice to simplify.
7. I ordered a variety of mouse traps (yuck) after we came home from our trip to find mouse poop (extra yuck) on our kitchen table, counters, and tub. I ended up with a couple more than I ordered from a pickup order, and need to see if the store wants them back. Hopefully we can keep them. [Updated to include that we came home from our second trip to find two dead mice in traps. This is discouraging but hopefully we can figure out a longer term solution rather than just trapping them once they are already inside.]
8. We were at my in-laws for Thanksgiving. I’ve been using some of the millions of lotion/shampoo/conditioner samples that my MIL has been stockpiling since 1997. That’s the oldest BB date that I’ve found so far.
9. My MIL also stockpiles the free cards that nonprofits send her, almost none of which she donates to. She generously allowed me to pick a bunch out of her stash, some of which I will use and some of which I will pass along to others.
1. I bought a 19 lb turkey this year, and we ended up with fewer people than expected, so I was able to send leftover turkey home with 3 siblings. Made broth and have turkey and broth for 2 meals from that.
2. Made a turkey pot pie with leftovers (only my second one ever!). Had unexpected, last minute company for dinner, so only had 1 leftover piece for my dinner at work the next night. I won't wait another year to make another since we both loved it.
3. The black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping I did were for things already on my "wish" list or things I use regularly that happened to be on sale. I put requested grandkid gifts on my Amazon list to see if they went on special before pulling the trigger.
4. I kept getting warnings that my Windows 365 was expired and it would affect my email. I had been putting off renewing because it annoys me that we are forced to purchase annually to be able to have reasonable storage etc. I miss the days when we could just purchase it with our machine and forget it! I looked at groupon and almost pulled the trigger on an Office product for a reasonable price, but that would have left me with the storage issue. With some googling, I found a Windows 365 option for less than half price and it includes a VPN. Now, the timing will be perfect for next year's sales too.
5. While doing my grocery shopping this week, my Kroger had Butterball brand turkey's for $0.50/lb and there happened to be a nice small one right on top. I'll cook that later this winter. Typically I look for turkey breasts after Thanksgiving as an alternative to purchasing a whole turkey, but those were actually almost $2.00/lb that day.