Five Frugal Things | I sold the Cookie Monster tree
1. I sold our blue Christmas tree
I initially thought about keeping it and then selling it next November, at prime time.
But then I realized that I am really not interested in storing a tree for a year for the sake of getting a few more dollars for it.
So, I listed it and sold it for $40, half price since it's on clearance at Wayfair for $80 right now.
It's out of my house and another household will have a fun Cookie Monster tree next Christmas.
That makes me happy!
Another benefit: so many people on the Facebook group got a chuckle out of just seeing the tree in the listing. Lisey's crazy tree idea has made lots of people smile.
(Here's the post where I explained the story of how we came to have a Cookie Monster tree.)
2. I submitted an eBay appeal and I won
I helped Zoe buy a Christmas present for Sonia (a DVD set) on eBay, and it was supposed to have arrived a few days before Christmas.
But, it never did, despite tracking showing it as having been delivered.
After chatting with UPS, it became clear that this seller is a scammer. I think they're shipping fake (probably very lightweight) packages to places in the buyer's city so that the UPS tracking shows it as delivered.
(UPS tracking just shows the city.)
But when I talked to UPS, they told me that the package was sent to another address in my city.
The seller had good reviews before Christmas, but now their profile is filled with negative feedback with the same story as mine.
Anyway, eBay initially refused my claim, but once I appealed with the info from UPS, they issued a refund.
We made a purchase from a different eBay seller and now we have the DVDs in hand. Whew.
3. I bought Sonia's English books on eBay
One of her spring 2021 college classes is a literature class, and it requires several novels. I found all of them on eBay for a few dollars each.
And of course, at the end of her semester I'll promptly list them all for sale on eBay.
4. I made banana muffins with two old bananas
I'd stuck them in the fridge once they got brown spots, and by this week, they were looking much worse. But I mashed them up and they made a perfectly good batch of muffins.
5. I made my bag of bread cubes into French toast casserole
When I notice that there are some heels or a dry roll or something like that, I cut the bread up into cubes and put them in a Ziploc back, which I keep in the freezer for this purpose.
Once it's full, I use them for Pioneer Woman's French toast casserole.
Which means that this casserole is always made up of a variety of bread types (this time there were some orange squash roll cubes) but it works out fine.
Now, if you tried to put everything bagel cubes in there, that would be a different story!
(By the way, I use coconut milk in place of the dairy milk so that Sonia can eat this. I do still use the heavy cream it calls for, since Sonia tolerates that just fine.)
Your turn! Share your frugal five in the comments.
P.S. Remember my recent efforts to get Cigna to cover a bill for a service that happened way back in July? I got the check this week! Very happy about that.
Frugal Things – the Use It Up! versions
My response to this week’s attempted insurrection was to organize my overstuffed freezers by cooking with things I’ve had for a long time, things that take up an awkwardly large amount of space, and bits to use up. Except for having to buy more onions and celery, everything used ingredients I had on hand.
First, I portioned out 3 hams, making 15 bags of 1.5 lbs. of ham and a lot of rather salty stock.
1. Fried rice, using up: 3 quarts of leftover rice from take-out Asian food, sauteed veggies ditto, wilty old celery, carrots precut into chips, and leftover cooked broccoli. It also used onions, eggs, canned baby corn, canned water chestnuts, and sauces.
2. Yet Another Bean Stew, using up: Scarlet Runner beans bought from Rancho Gordo when my usual options were sold out, ham stock, the ham shreds from portioning out, fancy carrots, half a bag of frozen spinach, and half a jar of Cuban sofrito; all cooked in ham fat.
3. Smoothie (never same way twice, etc.), using up: blueberries and raspberries frozen so they didn’t go bad, grapes and pears and fresh apricots that weren’t getting eaten, and fruit yogurt that isn’t quite to my taste. It also used frozen strawberries and frozen “old” bananas bought for $.10/lb.
4. Turkey Stew, using up: turkey from Thanksgiving, turkey stock from Thanksgiving, Flageolet beans bought from Rancho Gordo when my usual options were sold out, and the rest of the bag of spinach. Also used canned corn, tomato paste, and brown rice.
5. Morning Glory Muffins, to use up a mushy apple and another packet of pre-shredded carrots, the really cheap, really large ones from the Chinese market. Also used the usual baking ingredients, wheat germ, and raisins.
6. Bought 6 cans of tiny shrimp for $.30 each, for mock paella.
… and drum roll please …
7. Bought 21.5 lbs. of ham for $4.50.
The grocery had Xmas hams for half off. One brand had a $6 off coupon on each ham. So I bought the three *smallest* hams to minimize the price.
These last two are fine examples of why my cabinets and freezers are in constant need of digging out.
Absolutely right on about being busy with physical work to allay a worried mind.
Over the course of a lifetime I have found that just straightening up and further housework often relieves stress.
We can only control so much in our world, so sorting out the sock drawer can feel really good.
For sure. Can I fix the world's problems? Nope. I can do what's in my control to do, and then I can use up the food in my fridge.
Or organize a sock drawer.
(Except, my sock drawer is never exactly organized. It's a small drawer devoted just to socks, so I pair them up and then throw them in there haphazardly.)
I don't even do that much. ;-} I have white athletic socks and black work nylon socks, so I just throw socks in drawer. I can literally tell the difference in the dark, half awake, with my eyes closed.
But there's always something that needs to be organized.
Good-bye, Cookie Monster!!!
1. We picked up a lettuce mix from a hydroponic grower and there were four heads instead of three in the bag. It has given us large salads nightly for a week.
2. In the same errand, we stopped at a grocery outlet on the way back. Some of the buys there are pretty amazing. This time, it was Tribe hummus for 1.00. Yes, I can make it for a little less but these were flavors like Mediterranean Olive and Salted Carmel. Yummy!
3. I did sort as I was putting away Christmas and getting out winter decor. I hate the process of selling but did list one item that didn't work any longer. And promptly got a "Hey, that was a gift!" as a comment on the post from the person who gave it to me years and years ago. Yep, hate the selling process!
4. My husband, bless him, went and picked up a box of free vintage cameras that were listed on facebook marketplace. I decorate with old cameras, typewriters, etc. Free is my favorite price.
5. Eating out of the freezer, putting items in a donate/garage sale box, watching some great free entertainment online and staying home to stay healthy has made for a pretty frugal month,
Stay healthy, everyone!
Ah, the rule is, once you give a gift, then it is the recipient's, to keep, sell, or give away. And you had kept it for years, you say? There really is no room for complaint, then, that you got rid of it.
Ohh, no! So frustrating that they saw that post.
Was this on Facebook? If so, I think there is a feature where you can hide your Marketplace posts from your Facebook main page. But if you are in a selling group together, you're probably out of luck.
Salted caramel hummus sounds interesting. Do you eat that with sweet crackers? Or pretzels?
It was a selling group that I didn't even know she was part of. And she is someone who is always telling me I have too much stuff!! And, yes, I had used it for several years but it doesn't work well in this house. Time for someone else to enjoy it!
We're eating the salted caramel hummus with sliced Granny Smith apples. It's so good!!!!
Congrats on getting the check and on successfully appealing to Ebay! That's one reason I always hesitate to buy off of Ebay; I always figure I'll be the one to get the scammers.
My five frugals are:
1. Our meal tonight will include Christmas ham from the freezer.
2. My husband had some seed-starting items he wanted me to go buy, but I dug around in our shed and found we had everything he wanted.
3. I pulled the last radish from our container garden and gave it to my husband. I don't like raw radishes, but he loves them, so I had planted a batch for him. They are organic and as fresh as they can get, for the price of a few seeds.
4. My 2021 office wall calendar is a freebie I got in the mail.
5. I aired up our truck tires with our little air gun instead of paying for air at a gas station.
I don't think I've ever eaten a radish that wasn't raw ...
Roasted radishes are delicious 🙂 https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-roasted-radishes-215614
Yes, I like them roasted! Raw, I can't stand.
Made fried rice with a bunch of random leftovers for dinner.
Used leftover bread bits and milk and cream that was about to go bad to make baked French toast for breakfast.
Bought some wrapping paper and bows on clearance after Christmas for next year since we used up the last of ours this year.
Made rice pudding with leftover rice.
Had my dad and mom over for brunch with homemade cinnamon rolls instead of buying a gift for his birthday (which he wouldn’t want anyway, he hates “stuff”)
1.) Funded our Roth IRA for the year. Future me should enjoy that when I am no longer willing and able to work (IOW retired)
2.) Set up my expiring CDs to go to a bank account instead of renewing them. Sorry but I'd rather use them for paying down my mortgage than lose money in the bank at 0.2% APR!
3.) Found a Walmart gift card I got from a return which I had forgotten about so I used that to get a couple grocery items (bananas, cottage cheese)
4.) Did a fridge clean out in the form of a stir fry / fried rice. I also found some potatoes we had grown that were getting just about to the end of their life so I made a bunch of roasted potatoes.
5.) Worked my first bit of overtime of the year. I've said it before but while I do work to minimize costs on things but sometimes just volunteering for a little overtime (and in this case it was off-site so there was an expense report for driving) overshadows all the other little things.
Thank you for reminding me about Roth contributions - we always mean to get contributions in earlier in the year than we do, since that adds up over the years!
Your number five is my number . . . only (I never manage a nicely organized list of 5, somehow.) I found a chunk of bread in the basket I keep bread in that had gotten under a newer loaf and was juuuuust about to get a little moldy. (I can smell the mold before I can see it.) So I trimmed off all the outer part of that bread--and threw it to the chickens, who do not mind moldy bread at all--with plans to make a french toast casserole for my kids tomorrow, also using all the ends of bread I stick in the freezer over time.
We're almost out of milk, but I do have a couple of quarts of milk I put in my freezer because it was right at the sell by date and I had lots of other milk at the time. Are you seeing a theme of sticking things in my freezer for later? Yup. But thanks to that habit, my children will have french toast casserole tomorrow, which will make them very happy. No cream in mine, though, because, again, almost out. And I can't freeze the ersatz "cream" we have to buy that has stabilizers and thickeners in it that do something weird in the freezer.
Kristin, I never got around to commenting on your reader profile on Monday, but I enjoyed it very much. And Kristen with an e, I'm ooking forward to more of these profiles!
Looking, not ooking, of course. Ugh. Blame it on sleep deprivation (DH is having a rough time at night these days).
It's all about our beloved old ride this time!
--Stopped by the nearest gas station that has free air to check and refill the tires as needed. There are a few free air stops in town, thankfully!
--I'll be deep-cleaning the car this week and asked around my friends for a cordless upholstery cleaner I could borrow. No dice there, but a friend did have an extra unused bottle of spray foam cleaner that she was happy to part with. Bonus: It comes with an attached scrub brush! I also have a handheld brush in my own cleaning stuff that I can sacrifice to the cause if need be.
--Since the spray directions specified wearing gloves, I popped by the dollar store to get a pair. I also picked up some inexpensive rugs to try to limit the mess on the passenger-side floor from my husband's work boots. Our snow having thawed = ALL the mud!
--I was able to use a $5 off $20 coupon at the hardware store for items I needed to buy anyway: washer fluid, car wax, weather stripping, and a $1.39 soda to hit $20. (The soda was for my husband. 😉 Everything but the soda was already on sale before the coupon.
--As part of the deep-cleaning project, I'll be cleaning the headlights with baking soda and vinegar. It works just as well as the commercial headlight cleaner but at a fraction of the cost! It is on the messy side, so I try to do it before washing the car at the self-service car wash ($2.25 for a wash, $1 to vacuum).
1. I sold a textbook last night for 80 dollars. It sat for months on Facebook marketplace but sold eventually.
2. Two weeks ago, I made loads and loads of cards using Kristen's dip-dyed tutorial, from watercolour paper and dye that I already had. They turned out beautifully!
3. I bought us new cutlery from Costco, which I found was less than half the price of the department store (which explains The Bay's financial woes).
5. I bought a mini lemon tree! This was not a particularly frugal venture, but we coupled the trip with an outdoor walk and an outdoor distanced visit (brrrrr) which was lovely. And we already have the dirt for repotting. And I took time to do research, which generally helps with saving money.
This is so often my experience with selling things; you gotta be willing to put them up for sale and then basically forget about them until someone decides to buy them!
I am so happy to hear that the dip-dyed stationery worked out well. You should do a blog post with pictures of it so we can all see. 🙂
1. Our young adult son, who still lives with us, and I both came down with Covid-19 last week. Thank heavens we are both only very mildly sick, but we are quarantined in our bedrooms. My husband, who is negative, does not know how to cook at all but we have not resorted to takeout food. We're getting by on sandwiches, frozen waffles, cereal, fruit, sliced veggies, juice and hot beverages. The grocery bill is higher, but that's a minor thing.
2. Last week I looked at my 401K at work and increased my contribution by a modest amount. I don't make a lot of money, so it had to be modest.
3. Cut my own hair again.
4. Been using the Libby app to read library e-books while quarantined. Our library does not have a great selection, but I got lucky and found two books right off the bat that I'd been longing to read and could not afford to buy.
5. Frugal fail: Discovered I accidentally threw away the box containing the micro SD card for my tablet last month while cleaning out the bookshelf in the bedroom. Discovered while cutting my hair that someone had cut something hard with the haircutting scissors and damaged the blades. So both of those items have to be replaced. The scissors were Goody scissors and not expensive (about $7) but they do a good job. The next ones will be hidden away!
A quarantine is definitely a good time to get reading done!
I hope you and your son are all better soon.
get well soon!
Get well soon!!!
This sounds like the week of using up leftovers and thereby cleaning out the fridge and/or freezer at the same time! I ... made peanut butter banana muffins yesterday (using frozen bananas--which opened up fridge space AND gave me back the use of 2 containers, hooray!) ... made pizza yesterday (using up frozen pizza sauce and odds and ends of pepperoni--more freezer space) ... hubby ate leftovers for lunch today (fridge space) .... I used hair coloring this morning--the shade of color is one that I no longer care for on my hair, but I didn't waste it and since I'm not interacting with a lot of people right now, no biggie .... made coffee this morning instead of going through the drive-through ... and that's all I can think of.
1. Husband took the week off last week and accomplished a few items on the "honey-do" list that saves us some money.
2. Cut husband's hair with the electric shaver. He likes it that way and it saves a few bucks.
3. Took a road trip over the weekend to Key West. There was a lot of social distancing by us. We used hotel points for our free night's stay at a decent hotel, which was nice. We also ate outside too. We had cash for mostly everything else. All the bars have tables now so they don't cram everyone into them. However, we only went to the bars were people were NOT waiting outside to get in. And those smaller bars were not crowded at all!
4. Meal-planned this week for dinner. And of course, I will be eating breakfast and lunch at home, too, since that is where work is now.
5. Working on re-financing our new-to-us car from 5% interest to 2.67%.
Thank you for the french toast casserole idea. I have leftover cream puffs (without cream) in the freezer. I think they will go in nicely.
I moved seeds from their germination tray to the grow light tray. New seedlings are so hopeful looking!
I'm making cheese and potato pie for dinner tonight. It's an English staple, and is like nursery food-warm and comforting. Though my daughter laughs that it is typical English food because it's potatoes in a pie crust-carbs on carbs! It's a family favorite, and it's cheap and easy to make.
I am the happy recipient of a dryer from my Buy Nothing group. I have not owned a dryer for several years, and I usually need one about 4 times a year. Not enough to make it worth buying one, buy a free one is a whole different story! This will make it easier to dry fabric for my sewing business. I line dry unless it's wet outside, and then we have fabric draped everywhere in the house. Line drying is still my first choice as it cheap, and good for the environment.
We are researching 529 plans for our new grandson. My parents put aside money to help each of their 14 grandchildren with college, and we would like to do the same. Our son (the dad-to-be) got a full ride scholarship to college, and now has money through the GI bill if he would like to get a masters. So the money left in our 529 for him will be reassigned to his son that is coming.
1. We had family photos done (first ones we've had done in 3.5 years!) and I used a Groupon for the photographer, so we saved 50%. Plus I didn't buy any new outfits for us to wear. We managed a cute, coordinated look with clothes we already owned.
2. This is a little late but my husband got his every-five-year colonoscopy right before the new year, so we managed to not have to pay anything out of pocket for it, since our deductible was already maxed out from having a baby in September (I had the baby, not him ;-)).
3. Our 3.5 month old is growing like a weed. Since he isn't getting any hand me downs unfortunately (he has three older sisters), I'm having to buy all his clothes with a few exceptions. I've been disciplined enough thus far to have bought all his things at the local kids' secondhand shop. I consider this a victory because going to the secondhand shop is an extra stop, and it would be temptingly easy to just get his stuff at Target because I shop there so much for other necessities.
4. I needed a new pack of white socks and I managed to get it for $2 by using my Kohl's cash.
5. Our neighbors gave us a huge box stuffed full of old dot matrix printer paper in perfect condition. Since my kids go through construction paper so fast, this will actually save me quite a bit. Construction paper isn't super cheap.
I was busy making medical appointments before the end of the year too! Gotta take advantage of the maxed out deductible.
1.I picked up a vintage latch hook rug on Craigslist for free that I promptly listed for $50 on ebay
2. Picked up a box of food off Buy Nothing
3. My son accidentally dropped our old tablet resulting in a cracked screen. My husband fixed it for $8 and we bought a heavier case for $13, to hopefully prevent future damage.
4. It was my son's 7th birthday. He wanted Red Robin for dinner and a 4 layer chocolate cake. We used a 20% off coupon and a coupon for a free birthday hamburger for the dinner. We made the chocolate cake at home. We bought him a new bike for his present, which cost $78. But, this summer I will sell the bike he outgrew on Marketplace. Altogether, a pretty frugal birthday party for him and it was fun!
5. My daughter was exposed to COVID at her daycare, therefore she is quarantined for 10 days. So far she has no symptoms. She can't go to daycare, so I am trying to work from home with her here, which saves us $250 in daycare costs. Gotta look at the positive!
I don't have much beyond the usual of no food waste, no food shopping except for milk since we have a freezer full, and so on. But I did have one really neat and frugal thing happen. I have been listing things on FB with good results. Yesterday morning I listed a beaver skeleton that I have dragged all over the country since college, when I took a wildlife management course where the semester project was to study an animal in depth. I am not good at visualizing flat drawings as three dimensional, so I found a taxidermist who sold me a beaver skeleton he had hanging around, so I could really study a beaver's structure. I had forgotten about it until last week, when we were putting Christmas decorations away and I experienced one of those, "Hmmmm...what is in this box?" moments. I was going to throw the skeleton away, but my husband encouraged me to list it for $25. About 30 seconds after listing, a woman contacted me and said she'd be right over. Turned out her son has autism and is obsessed with beavers and his birthday is today. She was over the moon to have found a real skeleton for one of his gifts. It made my day to pass it on to a kid. You just never know who will want a beaver skeleton...or a blue Christmas tree.
Best post today!!
I love the beaver skeleton story! Such random joy! <3
Beaver skeleton for the win! What an awesome story.
Aww, that is such a lovely story!
It feels so great when you know your unwanted possessions are going to bring joy to someone else, especially a kid.
Love that the beaver went to a new home and made someone really happy!
The next time my husband insists I should just throw something out instead of donating it because "no one wants that trash," I am going to crack out your beaver skeleton story!
Awesome story!
Lindsey wins the Internet!!
Let's see...
1. Purchased King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour at $0.99/5 lb bag. We bought six and replenished our stock for just under $5. This is the lowest price I have ever seen on King Arthur flour. I also purchased chocolate chips marked down to $1.50/bag & powdered sugar for $0.49/2 lb. Love those holiday markdown sales/
2. I caved and ordered take out pizza Sunday night but when I want to pick it up I asked for a coupon and saved $10 off the estimated total. Plus we ordered one pie instead of two which was just the right amount for dinner that night, no leftovers and no waste - hurrah!
3. We are in the process of eating down the freezer and to that end I am baking a broccoli casserole, cornbread dressing, and sweet potato soufflé that was prepared and put away at Thanksgiving. This will make room in the freezer and provide dinner enough to feed two families plus leftovers.
4. I used a holiday gift card to purchase a wonderful new pair of tennis shoes for myself. I did a bit of research and was set o order from Zappos but discovered that I could purchase them from a local family owned shop that we love. I called and had them put on hold and went to pick them up yesterday. A bit out of pocket for gas but we supported a local business - big win!
5. Apples used to make an apple crumble, avocados used in a lovely quinoa salad, heat kept mostly to 65 save for a few super cold days when we had to turn it up a few degrees.
Wow! That's an awesome flour sale! May I ask what store?
Kroger
Was it the old style packaging with the knight logo? I have seen that lately for super cheap as well!
1. I found 3 cents at the grocery store.
2. I redeemed my Ibotta cash for $70 in gift cards. I haven't been getting any rebates there for quite awhile since I mostly shop at Aldi so I decided to cash out. I used the Amazon gift cards to buy baby gifts for my niece who is expecting in April and a little Valentine's treat for my daughter. No out of pocket cost.
3. I picked up 3 Sauve body wash for 24 cents each at Kroger.
4. I plan to use some leftover eggnog to make french toast for dinner tonight.
5. I helped my sister list on Marketplace yesterday and had free lunch at her house.
It's been a week, so like others, endeavoring to control things that I can do on my side.
-Returned a few gifts, chased refunds. I think all are now appropriately sorted
-Continue to chase Rite Aid for a one month delayed package that eventually arrived damaged 🙁
-Filed a reimbursement for my son's prescription (out of my HSA)
-Used grocery store rewards to offset some grocery shopping
-Made baked oatmeal out of mushy bananas (and cocoa powder) for a delicious & easy breakfast. It makes a big pan, and I can get a week's worth of breakfasts for myself, plus a few bonus snacks for the hungry teen
-We've tried & loved your French Bread recipe! My 13 year old has made it twice, and I made it today. All in a week. Cheap, delicious & easy! It was my son's first venture into bread baking & he's getting more confident, after the success of this recipe.
-Chased another reimbursement for our car lease return, and finally received it after a month of effort. ($275, so worth it, but a big hassle)
1. Made crock pot applesauce with several apples that were getting past their prime
2. Contributed to Roth IRA and son's college account
3. Made envelopes to start setting aside money for vacation and a new couch
4. Conscious effort to spend less since I started tracking everything
5. Using the library to read up on my new greenhouse
1. Made vegetable soup to use up the various vegetables hanging out in the frig
2. DH and I both had leftovers for lunch each work day
3. Submitted for FSA reimbursement for DH's glasses
4. Reminded our daughter that we got her a longer winter coat that she's forgotten about so I could quit shopping sales looking for her a new coat. She was happy to have it since we got a little snow yesterday (not our norm in Alabama).
5. Returned all unwanted/unneeded Christmas gifts
1. Bought a used printer.
2. Designated a basket as the "Needs to Be Mended" basket...although I probably shouldn't be listing this until I actually have mended something in it... I'm good at putting that off.
3. Bought fish today and cooked it up. Trying to cook more with fish as it's cheap here. I bought about $1 worth and we ate it for lunch and supper.
4. When my son made no bakes today I had him use an old cereal bag as wax paper. It wasn't enough for all the cookies, he still had to use some wax paper, but it works great! Learned this from my mom.
5. Cooked at home, ate leftovers, fed leftovers to animals, same ol'
1. We are in the midst of our annual "no spend" January-Mid February. Not buying anything other than groceries so saving tons of money that way!
2. Made another trip to the library and got reading books there instead of amazon
3. Tried a cookbook from the library to see if I liked it before I bought it. (I didn't)
4. Sold several things on our local FB site and made about $30
5. Donated an entire trunk full of items we no longer needed!
1. Got through the coldest part of the year without purchasing an electric heater (we don't have heating). 7 years in HK and I have so far resisted buying one! Part of it is being frugal, part of it is not having enough space to store it out of sight the 11.5 months a year we don't need it. Wearing more clothes and using a hot water bottle instead!
2. Using the hot water bottle I took from my parents house when I moved out. I think it was purchased when my eldest sister was born. 37 years and still going strong! Plus, it reminds me of my family when I use it.
3. I finalised my financial goals for this year and set up quarterly reminders to review them. Regular check ins motivate me to act wisely with my money.
4. Inadvertently using up a lot of small bits we have around the house, i.e. a small amount of orzo, the last couple of hash browns, ... it's getting surprisingly far!
5. I have barely spent any money the last 10 days - only groceries and replacement of a couple of medium-range skincare products I use daily.
1. Re-organized my pantry and inventoried all the food that had been stocked up over the past few months so that we can better meal plan....no more pasta, pasta sauce or snack foods needed for a while! Just buying basic perishables for the next 2 months.
2. Even though I'm trying not spend in January, saw that Target had 15% off eye care products last week and bought 3 bottles of contact lens cleaner. I use a specific brand for gas permeable lenses and they rarely go on sale. Paid with my Target gift card which I bought in December for 10% off. I will buy a large gift card when they have their 10% promo once a year and use it for my Target purchases throughout the following year.
3. Had to buy a specific book requested by my M-I-L for her birthday and easiest is to use Amazon so that they can ship directly to her (and she wants it new for personal reasons). At first we didn't have enough for free shipping, so I was going to have her mail the item my husband needed (to make up $25) back to us as it was small and light. When I went to check out, Amazon offered me a free month of Prime, so we could split up the order and she can get her book and we can get our other items without a lot of hassle. Plus a free month of Amazon Prime TV so the rest of the family is pleased and I will cancel before I get charged! I paid using gift cards earned from Top Cash Back and Swagbucks.
4. Ordered a restaurant gift card using credit card rewards to gift a friend whose husband is currently hospitalized with a serious case of COVID. Will mail to her to help her family with meals while they deal with his hospitalization, as they live in another city.
5. Continued to borrow books from the library's curbside pickup, packed lunch for the kids at school and for me at work, and hung laundry to dry overnight.
Debbie, your #4 is very thoughtful. It's so stressful having a loved one in the hospital - not having to worry about meals is a blessing.
1. Peeled the outer layers off some starting to go Brussels sprouts for dinner.
2. Turned heat down one degree.
3. Organized freezer/pantry to make sure we eat what we have.
4. Wore my clothes multiple times before washing.
5. Possible frugal fail: bought a 100' manual snake online to snake out our kitchen/washer pipe in hopes of getting it clear without having a plumber in. The pipe is going to need replacing because I think it's cracked and definitely too small for our current needs, but I'm hoping to wait until summer at least, both to save money and to avoid covid exposure. Hoping I can get through the clog, but it's really hard work and so gross! Would appreciate any good manual snaking tips!
It seems as though my frugal things are all the same recently....the mundane of quarantine/Covid life. But on the other hand, I am warm, safe, healthy and have all I need. I recognize that is not the case for so many, so I will take my frugal, if boring, life, and be thankful for it.
1) I got a $50 bonus for signing up for and using a credit card. Was going to use it anyway, so...nice!
2) I picked up some nail polish on our "free table" at work.
3) I chopped 2 chocolate bars that came as Christmas gifts to use for chocolate chip cookies, which are expensive here.
4) I had to buy TP this week, and looked for/purchased the brand that was not only the cheapest (on sale) but also came with a free pack of tissues.
5) I....made a menu with what we had...used leftovers for lunches....walked for exercise....
Your (3) just inspired me ! We, too, got a lot of chocolate for Christmas and don't really eat it by itself, so it's been taking up space in the snack cabinet. Will make some cookies too!
I did something similar to your number 3 this week. I was getting ready to make Kristen's banana chocolate chip muffins when I realized we didn't have any chocolate chips. But we did have a half bag of chocolate candy melt wafers. I chopped them up, added them to the muffins and nobody noticed the difference.
Careful with the nail polish if it's been used before. If the person that used it had fungus, you could catch it.
Your muffin recipe is the best of any muffins I tried. I taught my 6 year old how to make them, she measures and mixes, and scoops, I handle the oven part. So far it has been a great mommy/daughter experience.
* I scored a use book needed for a university class. Original price 195$, I got it for 50$. So happy!! And it will be used for two classes.
*University class being online, I'm saving on gas and parking fees
* Eating from pantry and freezers. Groceries are for fresh produce, fruits and milk products
* Using public library like a mad woman!! Yay for free books!
* I have zero entertainment fees since everything is still closed down where I live.
I was actually sad that you sold your blue tree! =(
1. My supervisor gifted me a $7 off your next order at the grocery store we shop at! There was a $100 minimum and she doesn't spend that much as that store is not her normal grocery shop. But it sure is ours!
2. A colleague gifted me with a bag of nuts that I will hand over to my FIL as he loves to crack nuts. She also gave us a hot mushroom topping that was in a gift basket she received. Hubby will use it in something I'm sure.
3. Received a free pack of masks from my children's daycare. They are adult masks, so I have a few extras.
That's all I can think of right now.
1. Got FIVE gallons of milk free from my neighbor. She ordered 3 for online delivery and they sent her 8! Promptly put them in the freezer.
2. Didn't get takeout this weekend.
3. Purchased 13 packages of Never Any ground lamb at Aldi's for a 1.99 each and 8 packages seasoned chicken breasts that worked out to be 2.50 each.
4. Started back up at my part time job. Took a break during the holidays so I wouldn't have to quarantine if a coworker tested positive. I am able to work in the evening when no one is around. My dad is high risk and for us to be able to spend time with them we take as many precautions as possible.
5. Added our stimulus check to our emergency fund.
5.
I'm a day late, but this is always a good exercise to see what I can come up with.
1. Requests for ebooks I was in line for at the library are rolling in. I've read 2 books in the last week that I was considering buying.
2. Stretching out the need to do laundry by wearing my jeans a few times.
3. No haircut for me since the summer though I really want one. I cut my daughter's long hair at home.
4. School library's instagram alerted me to Barron's AP prep books being free on kindle store yesterday. "Bought" 3 for this year for my daughter and 1 for next year. She might not use them, but they were free so harm in getting them in case she'd like them.
5. Utilizing the online technical training academy that my company subscribed to for a year to learn a new programming language and bring some peripheral skills up to date. This is all much needed but is very hard to do for me after so many years in with my old skills. I am counting every little bit of progress as a win as it means I am not procrastinating and am trying!
Love that the tree will go on!
Not a whole lot this week . . .We had to replace our old microwave so not frugal. But we really use it a lot, so worth it.
1. Same old same old -- eating in/taking meals to work most of the time.
2. Using up food in the refrigerator and pantry. Pandemic has forced me to think about what we will eat for each meal and shop only once a week so very little waste (except for the stray container of bits and bobs that sinks out of sight and suddenly reappears when it is too late. Must clean refrigerator this weekend.
3. Using the library but can never get the book club book :(. So looking for the cheapest one i can find on Amazon. Sigh.
4. Needed my glasses updated badly (can hardly see through scratches) so used my Vision coverage through work and seemed to save money. But -- Lenscrafters is so overpriced that I think I will take the prescription to fill elsewhere. Kind of a fail 🙁
5. A happy one -- pulling out old clothes, particularly pants for work, that have hardly even been worn! lost a little weight so shopping my closet.
Just not shopping in general has been mucho fruagl 😉
If you have a Costco around, they have good prices on prescription glasses. You can bring in your prescription from outside, and you don't need a membership to use this service.
Been reading a TON of e books on my kindle...good resting activity and free!
flipped a bottle of lotion upside down into a small shallow container and easily got 1/3 of a cup more lotion out of it!
cooking from home, stuff we have on hand before I do a major stock up this weekend. ( partly being money conscious, the other just not able to shop alone! lol)
packing lunch for work...
I can't believe Sonia is already taking college classes. Where does the time go?
My FFT: Used our credit card points that I have been saving for a $50 Amazon gift card and a $25 Cabelas gift card for the husband. 2. Cancelling my Prime account was a good thing. Not mindlessly spending and practicing patience. Plus trying to shop small and local. Now if i absolutely have to buy off of Amazon i buy a gift card or use gift cards from credit card/surveys and wait until i have the $25 minimum for free shipping. 3. Continuing to look for a smaller house outside of town. The Boise area is hot right now and houses are selling in minutes and over asking price so its hard but not going to let it stop me! 4. Sold a cast iron dutch oven and skillet on FB Marketplace for $60 5. Continue to shop my pantry!
Congrats on the Cigna check! It has always boggled my mind how places can charge something immediately (hospitals, md offices, etc.) but take forever to get a refund! Hmmm
I don't have any major frugal happenings this week, only small stuff.
1) Earned a $5 GC from Swagbucks.
2) Received a gift of a Target GC...And it's not even my birthday...Very sweet.
3) I found hubby's fave butter cookies, you know the ones in the blue tin, on clearance for 75 cents. He usually says he "doesn't need it" when I ask if he wants any treats. But for these, he'll take them...
4) Our youngest needs books for college and we have found them on amazon and other online bookstores. One is very cheap at $15.
5) The college sent an email of the tuition bill for our youngest and he pays it on his own. I told him to wait until it's due...He applied for scholarships and who knows if he might win one?. Sure enough, he got another email stating the revised bill is $300 cheaper..... We will still wait until February to pay the bill, just in case....
I'm not sure I have 5, but here goes.....
1. Hubby filled out the appropriate form to have our insurance company reimburse us for the $100+ fee they charged for my pre-op COVID test. He knew it was supposed to be covered - I did not. Thank you, WilliamB, for bringing it to my attention!
2) Used a store coupon for $14 off a grocery purchase of $140. Our groceries are usually less than that each week, but stocked up on things we use all the time.
3) Received a total of $25 for two professional surveys I took online.
4) Froze some fresh blueberries and cranberries before they got wrinkly/mushy/moldy.
5) Started finding ways to use up some pantry odds and ends...shelf-stable chocolate almond milk in over night oatmeal is a good start. Will make chocolate chip cookies this weekend to use up a mix. Not sure what to do with the jar of dulce de leche yet....but I'm sure I'll find something.
Happy saving!
Use it to make a tres leches cake. Super yummy!!!
All that jar needs is a spoon...
Glad I'm not the only one who saves bread ends!!! That is a great recipe. Love Ree. I bet I have enough bread ends to do it, too. Here's our five frugal things for the week:
1. Made veggie scrap stock from the various ends and scraps I have been saving up. I had enough for nine containers to freeze. There were a lot of scraps this time around!
2. My husband started composting coffee grounds and then cleaning out and recycling the little plastic coffee pods from our keurig. Our middle daughter was taking them to use for starter plants, but told us she had enough. So now it is our job to dispose of them responsibly.
3. Our microwave blew up....literally. I'm glad I was standing near it to extinguish the flames. Luckily, the fire damage was contsined to the inside of the appliance. No, I didn't put metal in it. It was old and decided it had had enough. My coworker knew someone who got a new one to match her kitchen and was no longer using her prior one. She gave it to us and refused to take any money for it. It's a really nice one. As a thank you, I gave her a $25 gift card to Kohl's (knowing she likes to shop there). Even with the gift card, I figured I saved about $125 if I purchased a comparable model brand new.
4. Our youngest daughter goes back to school Sunday (so sad). We went through the two pantries and bathroom supply cabinet here before making a shopping list for items needed. She is a vegetarian and we purchased a lesser meal plan because the school doesn't offer many options for her. We supplement with food from home and gift cards to the local grocery store. She eats better and we save money. Anyway, we had most everything she needed here and have only a few fresh items to buy before she goes back.
5. My daughter turns 20 on Monday and it is tradition for her and I to go to a local crepe restaurant for brunch. We are doing this tomorrow (take out instead of dine in this year). I was mentioning this to my sister who said her boss gave her a $50 gift card for the place for Christmas. She doesn't eat crepes and offered it to us for her birthday. She wouldn't let me pay for it, so I am making her a sweater in her favorite color.