1. I got a free Pyrex container
Someone on my Buy Nothing group listed a Pyrex container so I said, yes please! I love the rectangular ones, especially this size. They’re perfect for meal prepping, and now I will have three.
That’s ideal because the max number of days I work in a row is three.
The lid has a crack in it, but I don’t care.
I’m slowly replacing all my lids with the silicone variety anyway; I use them until the crack is too big, and then I buy a silicone one to use.
2. I paid my spring 2025 tuition by echeck
If I pay by credit card, there’s an associated fee.
And we know I DO NOT LIKE FEES. 😉
Sooo, I paid my bill with my checking account. There’s no sense in making my tuition more than it needs to be!
3. I submitted my tuition for reimbursement through my hospital
They reimburse at the start of the semester, and then you just have to submit your grades to seal the deal.
Hmm…I actually don’t know what happens if you fail a class. Maybe they deduct the previously-disbursed funds from your next paycheck?
I do not ever plan to find out because I dearly hope to get all the way to my bachelor’s without ever having to repeat a class.
Anyway, I submitted my current grades to seal the deal for the Fall 2025 semester. And then I submitted my bills for the Spring 2026 semester.
4. I got my $900 bank bonus
Several months ago, I did Chase’s checking + savings bonus offer.
(Not an affiliate link of mine; just a link to the page where I found the offer.)
It was a pretty big headache and I almost didn’t make the deposit deadline because of some issues with my married name and maiden name.
But I persevered and got it taken care of, and as of last week, I have my extra $900!
This bank does not offer $900 bonuses. But it is cute.
In case you want to do this offer, you should know that it requires you to have $15,000 in the savings account. But, this worked out nicely because I have money saved up for my future Civic purchase, and it was just sitting in my bank account.
Sooo, I made it work extra hard for me and it grew by $900. Yay!
I realize I will have to pay taxes on it, of course, but still, that’s a pretty nice payoff for opening an account. And now my Civic fund is a little fatter. 😉
5. I emptied my lotion into a container
My pump bottle of Cerave lotion was getting to the very bottom, so I turned it upside down and let it empty into a little container.
This way, I can use every last bit.
Also frugal: my dermatologist recommended this for dry spots on my face, and as skincare products go, this one is very inexpensive. And it works great!
Gina from The Cannary Family
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
Lately my frugality has more to do with not eating out. But also: *doing jigsaw puzzles that I find for cheap at thrift stores - same for books *watching my free Netflix as a bonus of being a T-Mobile customer *getting new PJ pants on sale at Old Navy, knowing I will wear them for years *not buying new decor for Christmas, using all the wrap and gift totes I already have *making a Christmas lunch for a friend at my house instead of us going out to eat *and instead of ordering photo cards I bought a $5 box of cards from Hob Lob and included a 39 cent photo. I haven't sent photo cards in years! I also listed a few things on Ebay, and I haven't yet decided how I will spend those proceeds, but I have a few ideas!
Mary
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
I cut through the middle of sturdy plastic lotion containers and scrape out the last of the lotion with a rubber spatula and put in small mason jar like yours. A serrated knife works for the thick plastic bottle. I have been doing this for years. ☺️
A. Marie
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
FFT, Happy Austenmas!! Edition:
(1) First, a very happy Austenmas (as some of us Janeites call JA's birthday) to all. Yes, folks, today is her actual 250th birthday! Toast her in your favorite tipple; JA herself probably would have thriftily drunk some of the mead or orange wine that her sister Cassandra and her friend and housemate Martha Lloyd made. It was only when visiting rich brother Edward that she would "eat Ice [i.e., ice cream] and drink French wine, and be above Vulgar Economy."
(2) I'm glad to have lent a hand in the production of issue 46.1 of JASNA's electronic journal, Persuasions On-Line, which "went live" at midnight GMT and is free to all. (If Googling the journal title doesn't work for you, I'll supply a URL.) There's an entire special section on all the 250th birthday exhibitions around the world, including the one at the Morgan Library & Museum that I was privileged to see.
(3) And it probably won't surprise anyone to learn that my next presentation to my local JASNA region (in April) will be on "Jane Austen and Thrift."
(4) On to non-JA-related FTs. First, Kristen's mention of lotion reminds me that I've had to break out some winter-weight lotion, since parts of my epidermis seem to be turning into alligator hide. My friends who used to own llamas gave me a bottle of O'Keeffe's Working Hands lotion last Christmas, and I'm using it now.
(5) And I've begun work on my annual Martha Stewart parody calendar for the Bestest Neighbors. This year, Martha collides with the work of the cartoonist and illustrator Edward Gorey. Some of the panels may be gorier/Goreyer than my usual!
Bee
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
@A. Marie, Happy Birthday, Jane! Thank you for your work and sharing your world with us.
Karen A.
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
1. Scanning every receipt I can nab into Fetch. My oldest goes to the same grocery store we do, and sometimes I find his receipts lying around and I just scoop them up and scan them.
2. My youngest DS is taking the same class as I am this spring semester (seems like everybody needs to take Interpersonal Communication for whatever reason), so I rented the digital textbook just once and will have him read it on my computer when he needs to. I see no reason to a) purchase it or b) rent two copies.
3. On a similar note, I did purchase the online textbook for Nurse Aide training, as there was no rental option. I have a friend who went through A&P 1 and 2 with me who is taking the same course this coming term, and I sent her my log-in details for the online library so she can access it. I see no reason for her to purchase a $100 dollar textbook for a 4 week course! Fingers crossed it works for her.
4. Planning our trip down to Florida in January, and DH found out there is a military base in Georgia along the way (we break the drive up into two days) where we can stay in their lodging. This is much cheaper than an AirBnB, and significantly safer--some of the rentals we looked at were in very dodgy neighborhoods. If you're a civilian DoD employee, many military bases will allow you to bring family members in through the Trusted Travelers program, and this is one of them! We got a two-bedroom apartment for about $100 a night, which is not bad!
5. I needed to buy mozzarella cheese for lasagna tonight and was very happy to find that the large blocks of cheese were $2 off. Since I'll be making four lasagnas per the family's request, I needed quite a bit of cheese and home-shredded is best for melting.
Kristen
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
Whoa. Four 9x13 lasagnas???
Fru-gal Lisa
Tuesday 16th of December 2025
1. I (finally!) put up the Christmas tree. This has to take the cake for frugality: it is the same artificial Christmas tree our family has used for years. In fact, it was purchased in 1970 from Pier One; our family got tired of the aluminum Christmas tree we'd been using for the past decade. I saw it when I was out "shopping" (actually, finding excuses to drive around town since I'd just gotten my license). It was a Peppermint Pier tree from Pier One and, unlike most green artificial trees of the era, it looked like the real thing. It's currently tilting to one side, and there are a few bare spots, but what do you expect from a 55-year-old plastic item? Anyway, it's up in the living room, in front of the picture window. It's just like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree: all it needed was a little love. (And our old ornaments, some of which date back to WW2 or before!) (Frugal fail: we didn't keep the aluminum tree. Mom sold it at a garage sale for three bucks. Our bad! Those things are selling online for over a thousand bucks each!) 2. The star on the tree needed replacing, or so I thought. Therefore, I went to our neighborhood Target store to look for one. No luck, but I got a free sample of Downey Ultra Scent. A fairly big bottle at that. Did not make a purchase, but hey, I got a free product. Meanwhile, I just put up the old star atop the tree. 3. Used my Medicare Advantage OTC card to buy some health products. Have to do it before this fiscal quarter is up. 4. Had a Walgreen's gift card that was given to me last September when I returned some T-shirts without the store receipt. I hardly ever go there. Gave it to my handyman for his Christmas bonus because that's where he gets his diabetic Rx. 5. Waiting until Jan. 2 to replace my prescription eyeglasses so that I can take advantage of the yearly Medicare Advantage deal put them on the card. Meanwhile, I'm making do with "cheaters" (store-bought reading glasses).