Five Frugal Things | I'm amazed about the first one!
1. I sold Sonia's old drawer pulls. (I can't believe it!)
So, my friend Katy (The Non-Consumer Advocate) saw that I was switching out Sonia's dresser drawer pulls, and she suggested I list them on eBay.
This had not occurred to me, and I was skeptical, but I did it anyway. Katy IS an eBay expert, after all.
And six weeks later, someone paid me $27 for these Basset drawer pulls.
What makes this funny is that I only paid $25 for the dresser in the first place.*
Thanks for the idea, Katy!
*Of course, I bought new pulls and I also paid for paint, so the dresser wasn't totally free in the end. But still, this is pretty satisfying.
2. I've sold $130 worth of books on eBay.
While decluttering the office, Mr. FG and I found a bunch of books that we no longer needed.
So, I went on an eBay listing spree, and as a result, I've sold $130 worth of books.
There are still more active listings, and I still have a pile I need to list, so this total should definitely go up in the near future.
(More photos of Sonia's dresser and my painting process are right here.)
3. I bought another box of peaches for $10.
The bruised peach life has been pretty good for me lately!
We used these for a peach caprese salad and grilled peaches.
And I made a pan of Smitten Kitchen's peach shortbread bars for a family gathering.
(The bars were good but I will use more peach next time.)
The rest of the peaches we've just been eating, and I'll probably freeze the last few today.
4. I won a set of teacher's guides on eBay.
I mentioned this in a previous post, but I was watching a set of 7 teacher's guides that go for $20 apiece new.
I ended up getting the whole set for $26! That's a sight better than $140, even once you add in the $14 for shipping.
And of course, I will sell these when the girls and I are done with them, so I imagine I will end up breaking even in the end.
5. I'm splitting a hotel room for FinCon.
I'm heading to my first ever blogging conference today, and I'm splitting a hotel room with another attendee to help keep costs down.
The good thing about attending a conference for budget-minded people is that it's not hard to find a roommate anxious to split costs. Ha.
I am working on a no spend September. I acknowledge that food and fuel will need to be purchased but I hope to keep costs low.
1.Today is the fourth and I have had two no spend days. Our food bill has been kept lower too. I am strictly sticking to the lists I make.
2. My granddaughter is two on Saturday and I have bought her some kitchen toys and stuck to my budget. My son said I bought too much. He was recently working at Uluru or Ayer's Rock and he brought home four stuffed toys, some books and clothing for the little girl! I love that Kmart has wooden toys at present.
3. I am now on free basic prescription drugs until the end of the year. I have to be careful to be sure to keep my choices within the free range. This is a government program and once you reach a limit your drug fees reduce.
5. I have told my daughter that the grandchild's Christmas gift will be a cradle with bedding etc. I may need to buy some paint but I have the cradle and ample fabric and yarns to play with.
I need to remind myself need not greed over the next few weeks.
I made a cute walking stick, I did great on vacation with my brothers but I didn’t want to pay alit for it. So we had a limb in the yard from a tree I whacked it down, cut off to my size partook bark off actually quite fun, then painted it . The stump part I painted to look like Scooby-Doo
How do you get free prescription drugs? Can you explain? What government program is this? Thanks so much!
1) I painted a dresser that was in the abandoned house we bought next door. I used paint the owner of this house left behind, and gold spray paint I already had for the pulls, so it was all free. Well, free with the cost of a house. 🙂
2) The house next door also came with an apple tree, which has a ton of apples ready now. They're green apples, and they don't cook down well (or actually at all), so I've been drying them. I don't have an actual dehydrator, but that New Mexican sun is sure a good dehydrator. I just put the slices on baking trays and put them trays on the hood of our van.
3) I also painted our bedroom with paint left behind by the former owner of this house. I actually mixed together three different colors until I landed on something I could live with. It took a couple of tries, but I like the color I ended up with.
4) We have been getting a LOT of green beans from the garden. I've frozen quite a lot, and also given some away. In return I've received a bag of apples that I made into applesauce and a dozen eggs from home hens. Yay!
5) I agreed to help out at the short-staffed elementary school this year two days a week. The superintendent asked me to be an Educational Assistant (I guess that's the term for a teacher's aide now) because there just isn't anyone else (drawback to tiny community) and they desperately need help. It requires me to get a license, which is mostly a matter of paperwork and fees, but they are going to pay me. I would have helped them anyway, but it's nice to get a paycheck. My husband thinks he can watch the not-in-school daughter for those two days and do his own work on the remaining three days of the workweek, so whatever I get paid will be a total profit. And my husband agreed to drive the school bus too--also because they didn't have anyone else and the driver needs to retire--so now we'll have two part-time jobs in addition to his regular income. I hope this works.
Wow, you have a lot of goodies from that abandoned house!
1. Closed the pool for the season- the power bill will go down a lot! (I would rather not have a pool, but my husband and kids love it and use it a lot.)
2. Put things in the shopping cart twice at online stores but decided I didn’t need any of it.
3. Bought a textbook online, saving $40 off the school bookstore price.
4. Wanted to buy ice cream but realized there was a lot of tapioca left from when my son had his wisdom teeth out, so I made that instead.
5. Called the insurance company because my daughter is studying abroad and we’ll be getting a refund since she won’t be driving for four months.
I have never heard of peach caprese but I'm totally putting it on my list of things to try. I also got an idea from Katy an sold some feet off an old couch. I only got $10 but I was going to haul the couch to the dump!
Both #1 & #2 are exciting. Any time you're selling at volume on eBay, it feels like a big win.
A few for us:
1) Picked up the Friday Freebie at a local grocery store - coffee.
2) Found ground turkey marked down to $.99/lb. Everyone in my family prefers ground beef over turkey, but I mix them for recipes, & no one complains. 🙂
3) Carpooled to a meeting yesterday.
4) Agreed to go back to work a few days earlier than planned. In addition to just getting paid, I was also paid for Labor Day (didn't work, company holiday) & the days I'm working this week will count towards my bonus calculation. It will end up being quite a bit for a four day week.
5) Brought hostess gifts from what we had on hand for two parties this week.
I wish I was more comfortable listing and selling things online. We have a lot of unopened duplicates of baby stuff that I would like to sell.
1. We went to a festival with friends - I was able to buy the tickets half priced online and the toddler got in free.
2. I was able to rent both of my textbooks for $35 instead of spending $300 for brand new books.
That's all I can think of for this past week.
1. Because of the prospect of Hurricane Dorian, cancelled our yearly Labor Day trip to the west coast of Florida with my brother and sister-in-law. As it turned out, we could have gone, but we absolutely did the right thing by cancelling. And, of course, saved the hotel/food/travel expenses that we would have incurred.
2. Took a look at my pantry/frig etc. and decided I didn't need to go to the store to purchase any special hurricane supplies. Fortunately, we didn't get hit by Hurricane Dorian.
3. Because of the possibility of the hurricane, we tried to eat up as much fresh stuff as possible. Found out I had a lot of small amounts of produce that was still good but needed to be used up right away. Roasted it all and it was delicious. No food waste.
4. I was looking for a small kitchen table. Had ordered one, but it didn't arrive, which was fortuitous because my next-door neighbor gave me a beautiful table and four chairs that looks wonderful, is way nicer than what I had ordered, and I love it. She was happy to get it out of her garage and I have a great table and chairs for no cost.
5. Found a super sale on toothpaste, so stocked up. We probably have enough now for at least six months.
1. Joined a community choir of about 40 folks. Went to first rehearsal. Was fawned over. 90.00 year membership. Meets every Monday. Will definitely get me out of the house. 2. Paying neighbor lady to help me cull put furniture & transport it to ReStore for me. She also supervises me cleaning up crowded kitchen and organizing. Goal is to invite folks for coffee and be able to cook wings and cut up fresh salads without effort. 3. Finding cute little items ...dishes...to wrap for nieces and nephews for Christmas...family items. 4. Bought nice sheets and two blue polished cotton pillow cases for pennies at Goodwill. 5. Recycling old picture frames ..sending them to a friend who saves them in case an artist needs frame and glass
Those peaches look so flavorful. I've been meaning to try grilling some myself. Any tips?
A few frugal things:
1. I had frozen an almost full gallon of milk before our summer trip instead of letting it go bad and tossing it. My family thought I was a little crazy whenever they opened the freezer and saw it there. This week I thawed it and used in cooking. Also thawed some bread from the freezer so were set for a couple of meals.
2. Washed out empty food jars and repurposed these for storage.
3. Going through my kids fall/winter clothes in preparation for the next season, seeing what we have/need/can give away or sell.
4. Low-spend Labor Day-weekend apart from food. Looked at some sales but decided that not spending anything was better.
5. Returned books on time to the library. The last couple of times I've always accrued a small fine, which I'm actually happy to pay to support the libraries.
I didn't know you could freeze milk. How does it taste when you thaw it out?
It tastes fine if you: 1)don't keep it too long and 2) don't freeze skim/fat-free. I have frozen skim but for some reason it goes bad quicker than milk with fat. Be sure to shake well after it thaws and if you don't like the taste for drinking, use it for cooking.
Yes! The one I froze was whole milk (organic). The fat had lumped up a little, but not too much. I used it in a creamy soup and pancakes without complaint 🙂
We don't really drink milk in our house (2 adults) so when I need some for a recipe, I end up freezing the rest of it. I thaw it out to make either quiche or mac n' cheese and it works great! (I've had good luck with cream, too.)
I'm amazed at your sales. You recouped the purchase cost of that piece of furniture!
1. Northwest Florida reader, here. Last week I bought very little food and no water for Dorian, which is now obviously going to miss our area, because I didn't need much at all. I did buy a camp stove, but we have power outages enough that I have wanted one of those anyway. I can't tell you how many times the power has gone out right as I'm cooking dinner. Living in a heavily forested area means lines go down a lot in any kind of wind. A camp stove can prevent that run to Taco Bell.
2. Made two quarts of yogurt in my dehydrator, since my husband has started eating yogurt these days. I made frozen yogurt out of some of it for the first time, and it was good.
3. As I put on my clothes this morning, I thought about how frugal it is to not worry about being first in fashion or wearing brand new. I stick with classics, shop used, and I'm good to go. I used to work with a young woman who changed out her wardrobe every three months. It's people like her who make it possible for me to find used clothing in good condition. My outfit today is Goodwill and ThredUp.
4. I'm reading a new library book and just returned a library audiobook, which I used for my work commute. I also picked up free seeds from their seed library.
5. Checking with the VA and Medicare to see if I can get a lift chair of some kind for my husband. He has a lot of trouble getting out of a chair. The VA offers a lift seat that can be placed in a chair, so I'll see what Medicare might or might not offer. Buying a lift chair privately is expensive.
Do check out secondhand shops for lift chairs. One store, here in Portland Oregon, has a lot of medical equipment and if you look at the "easy chairs" many of them are lift. Not cheap but $75-$100.
(Check for stains and smells, though)
Also look at Craigslist.
JD, I hope you see this. Lift chairs are readily available on the secondary market. Sadly, they are frequently purchased for elderly people they don't get used for that long. I have sourced two of them for a friend who needed help getting out of a chair. One was $250 on Next Door, and the other was free by putting the word out. Seek and you shall find.
1. Darling Daughter's wedding was last Saturday and we ended up with a lot of food leftover from the reception. We ate some it, froze the leftover fruit for smoothies and made our own frozen dinners with the rest of the leftovers.
2. Started inventorying the decorations from the wedding reception that I am going to try to sell. I've never sold anything online before but I'm hoping wedding stuff will sell fairly well.
3. Brought leftover flowers from the reception to my office to brighten it up. The rest displayed all over our house right now!
4. Went to the grocery store for just a few items to go with what's in the pantry and frig to reduce food costs this week.
5. Returned two dresses and two pairs of shoes that I bought for the wedding (I had a hard time deciding what to wear). Sometimes those returns can linger at our house so I'm happy they are already taken care of.
1) This is a crazy week of first for our family, so we took the time during the long weekend to stock up on groceries, prepare some meals, and prep some more. This should keep us eating well and miles away from take out.
2) I took the time to research options for getting reimbursed for the conference I am attending in November. I'm glad I checked because the due date for one grant application is Friday.
3) We are debating purchasing several electronics for our household. We just discovered the two youngest kids sleep much better with white noise (currently played off our phones at night), the two older boys could use an alarm clock, and smart watches I think would be great for keeping track of the same guys. We could drop $1K easily to procure all this stuff. But instead we are going to sit on these "needs" a bit and figure out how to accomplish them with less financial pain. (And in the meantime enjoy the fact that I can't get to my phone to veg out, ie waste time, at night.)
4) I was out of the country last week, so my husband and I haven't had a moment to sit down together and write the September budget. When we don't have a budget our default is to not spend anything beyond the basics--I'll get gas when the car is low, and there are things that automatically hit our account each month. So not having a budget might be cheaper than actually having one! 🙂
5) I only shop at Kroger when I can't get something from Aldi or delivered free from Target. However their algorithm will every once in a while send me a handful of coupons for stuff I have bought there in the past. This packet includes some free things, discounts on other things I buy, and a few coupons for something I guess they are trying to entice me to buy. I went Monday and only bought the stuff we would use anyway and was better quality or cheaper than the Aldi or Target alternatives. It was a nice little haul.
A thought on the noise machine... You could always ask your friends on Facebook. We got one for my oldest when she was a baby, but don't use it anymore. I'd pass it on if one of my friends needed one. I asked my Facebook world if anyone was selling a certain kind of stroller once and a friend gave me hers for free "from one tired momma to another."
I see alarm clocks all the time at our generally-understocked thrift stores. I guess most people - like me - use their phones as alarms now.
I got my daughters white noise machine off Amazon as a baby shower gift- it was $15
Speaking of selling items online.... have you (or anyone here) had any luck selling clothes online? I've been trying to sell some clothes on Poshmark and while I've sold a few items, it hasn't been much. I was thinking of trying eBay before dropping some off at a local consignment shop. Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Amanda: Re #3, white noise: My son sleeps best with a fan running near his bed. It isn't so much for the air as for the noise.
I love your frugal things for this week!! Way to go!!
1. We have some cucumbers that need eaten, so I sliced them up so they're ready to go at snack time.
2. Our suitcase is nearing the end of its life and I happened to find one at a yard sale over the weekend that they sold me for $5. They outside needs a good scrub, not the inside is beautiful and the whole thing looks like it should last a while.
3. As temps have started to lower (sooner than normal) I've started pulling out cold-weather clothes for my kids that I've gotten at yard sales over the last couple of summers.
4. My daughter lost a shoe yesterday and I wasn't exactly sure where, so I checked the lost and found at a couple of places and it was at the second place! Yay! She's just growing into this shoe size, so I'm glad we didn't lose it right off the bat.
5. My library recently got these small tablet things that read books to you (they're pretty neat) but my kids weren't being as careful as they should have been and weren't following the rules about when they could get it out. Yesterday my 5yo lost it in her room for the second time, so I put it away as soon as we found it and returned it this morning. It's $100 to replace. Nope. Not worth the risk.
Good stuff everyone! 1.I am saving ton of money working as a part time personal shopper in the online grocery department at Walmart because i am so tired by the end of the day i havent been to even a thrift store for weeks haha! AND i have a paycheck so win-win!
2. Not the most frugal thing ever but tired after work so while my hub was at Costco for fruit i had him pick up meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a inexpensive rotisserie chicken. The meatloaf will end up being 3 meals so ate some last night and meal prepped the rest for the freezer. Chicken will be the same!
3. Going to the Eastern Idaho fair this weekend which is out of town for us so found a good deal on a nice hotel on booking.com for 2 nights for $138. Will bring drinks and snacks from home.
4. Scanning receipts to Fetch app, almost to a $20 gift card!
5. Have been harvesting cucumbers, zuchinni and tons of tomatoes out of the garden so eating and freezing the zuchinni and tomatoes and sharing. Made refrigerator pickes with the cucumber. Have a great week all Y'all!
1. I listed some fall decor online and my buyer for the entire lot bailed so I'm sending messages and waiting for replies. On the frugal side, most of the decor I've had for a very long time and my rough calculation is that I'm actually making a profit from what I paid.
2. Put three trays of tomatoes in the dehydrator again today. I've frozen several quart bags already.
3. Kohls' coupons last week netted several gifts and two new cushions for my porch rocker. I have 5.00 Kohls' cash to spend this week. I'm going to get two more cushions marked 90% off in a different color.
4. Krogers yesterday had school supplies marked down 70%. Our girls are grown but one is a high school teacher always in need of paper and pencils for students. Filler paper was .30. I bought her sixteen packs!
5. We have been eating like kings out of the freezer and garden. I expect another insanely low grocery bill this month.
Five Frugal Things
1) we used a $300 gift card to replace a stereo that had blown up from a power surge over two years ago. The stereo company offered a new one at a "discount" of $375 plus tax and shipping and we had to box up and send them back the old one, which would have taken at least two hours s(and cost us $$), but, I found a brand new stereo online for less than the "discount" offer AND we can still use the discount if we want (at a later date).
2) I contacted our phone company and got a new plan which is $30 less than our previous one. Win!
3) I baked two delicious loaves of bread for practically nothing (since I used a free coupon for the flour)
4) I interview writers and wrote a publisher for review copies for the next person I am going to interview (yeah free books!)
5) The squirrels ate our door mat and I looked online for a replacement but the one we had was $40 (at first) but I checked around and found a better one for $14 AND we got cash back from the company formerly known as Ebates.
Hope you don't mind but I laughed out loud at "squirrels ate our door mat." We have squirrel troubles too but none have ever eaten our doormat. 🙂
I laughed too!
So did I! It's funny. You see, the door mat was made out of coconut "hair" from the husks and apparently squirrels use it for nests? They took a HUGE chunk out (1/3rd of the doormat), so much so that I could not trim it. Had to replace-- it was an ECO-friendly Coco Coir Doormat! I guess I should have taken a pic???
Ugh, those squirrels! Luckily, chewing a doormat is less of a problem than chewing car engine wires (which is what my neighborhood squirrels like to do during nesting season.)
1. Wanted to go on a sightseeing cruise but best price was on Groupon which I have never used. Called cruise company and they matched Groupon price so we got four half price tickets. And (bonus) it was a gorgeous day!
2. Portable AC quit working and it was still under warranty. Called the company and they shipped a replacement in less than a week. (Now we just have to figure out a frugal way of disposing of the old one.) 🙁
3. Got caught in a huge thunderstorm on my way home, pulled into garage and wiped car off with rag towels. Free car wash!
4. Thought wood around front door needed paint but after spraying with some mold & mildew remover I found in the garage, it looks like new.
5. Downloaded items I wanted on Hoopla and saved a trip to the library. Shout out to my library for providing this great service.
I have had to travel to many conferences and one thing I like to do is to bring my own pump soap. I am not a fan of the bar soaps in hotels - they get slimy and gross. So I went to the Dollar Tree and bought a pump soap for $1.00. I take it with me when I travel - this is a little trickier with carry on only - and I think it's absolutely worth it.
Also when sharing a room with a stranger a travel can of Lysol spray and some Poo-Pourri do not go amiss. Trust me.
Have a great time!
Not a lot of frugalness this week, but there are a few to report.
1) The aftershave that I got last week using a swagbucks gift card and paid $13.50 for was the wrong item. I sent an email to the company and they said I could get a 20% refund and keep it. With the 20% coming back, I end up paying $6.30 for it. Total savings- $30
2) We're putting flooring in the attic so I can store things up there. We are using FREE plywood from a guy posting on craigslist. Savings- $120
3) The MD I had to see sent a bill and I called insurance to see if they would pay it as it was in-network. Savings- $175
4) Got a new vacuum since the old one kept overheating every 5 minutes and would shut down. It was on sale at Target. Plus, I got free shipping. Savings- $35
5) My oldest son and I are chipping in for a birthday gift for the youngest. It's a Switch console and a Luigi game. Savings- $170
1. Took last week and this Tuesday off of work. Son started kindergarten today, so I saved $217 in daycare costs for him. Kept my baby home from daycare too while I was off, which saved another $135.
2. Husband has decided to paint our house himself- I am guessing this would save us about $2000
3. Sold a bathing suit, I got for free, on Facebook Marketplace
4. Got a queen head and footboard off Facebook Marketplace for my son for free- just needs some paint
5. Groceries cost $65 this week, which now includes lunches for my son (was previously provided by daycare center), so not too bad for a family of 4
I love reading what y'all post--it's so inspiring!
#1 - More school savings for me! Decided to rent ($50) rather than buy ($150) my stats book.
#2 - Also needed a TI-83 calculator for this class. Turns out my baby brother still has his from high school, and he's lending to me gratis. Those babies were $120 when I was in school, so I'm sure they're still a pretty penny now.
#3 - We don't have cable, but do use more than one streaming service. I reviewed my viewing patterns and decided that I can cancel one, which I've done. That's $11 a month saved (after taxes).
#4 - Bought a tablecloth from Aldi, not realizing that it was vinyl and not fabric. Kept the receipt and returned it yesterday for a $3.27 credit toward my weekly shopping.
#5 - Completed a survey for Chick-fil-a and now have a coupon for a free sandwich.
#6 - I have my first A&P exam tomorrow, so now to study and get my money's worth out of my tuition!
1. Was gifted garden veggies from several friends. Haven’t had to buy produce in two weeks!
2. Got a chicken/duck sitting gig from a FB group I belong to. Met a new like minded neighbor! Got to keep all chicken and duck eggs and harvest garden veggie. Bonus was being able to sit and watch the the birds in the evenings. So much fun!
3. Worked for a friend one day on her craft business. Made a bit of $ and we had a wonderful time catching up. Also got to stop at a grocery outlet near her house that I love to shop at.
4. Helped some folks move. And by that I mean I drove my SUV full of their stuff 3 times. from point A to point B and they loaded and unloaded. They gave me gas money and bought me lunch.
5. Was gifted some canning jars, extra kitchen staples, and some other odds and ends from a friend.
1. Our dishwasher wasn't cleaning the dishes very well so I found a you tube video on how to take it apart and clean it thoroughly. Happy to say it's cleaning much better now and I saved quite a bit by not calling the repair man!
2. Found a gift for my nephew for xmas on our neighborhood resale site, full price would have been $40-50 and I got it brand new in box for $15.
3. I got a bag of apples from a friend's orchard for free, going to use them for baking some breakfast items and cakes.
4. Not necessarily a frugal thing but I'm spending the month cleaning out the house room by room to get rid of things we don't need, always good to pass things on to people who can use them!
5. Decided that September would be another "no spend" month, helps me keep things reined in overall when I take a month off now and then to reset.
FinCon? If you get to meet the Mr Money Mustache in the flesh I am super jealous!!
He's not here this year! I think he went last year because he was speaking.