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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.

Goodwill dresser in Sienna minivan

This had not occurred to me, and I was skeptical, but I did it anyway. Katy IS an eBay expert, after all.

Set of bassett drawer pulls

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.*

Ruler on drawer pulls.

Thanks for the idea, Katy!

Goodwill dresser painted white

*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.

eBay book packages

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.

peach caprese salad

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.

Kristen's mastermind group

Me with my mastermind group at 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.

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

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Carrie Willard

Thursday 5th of September 2019

FinCon? If you get to meet the Mr Money Mustache in the flesh I am super jealous!!

Kristen

Friday 6th of September 2019

He's not here this year! I think he went last year because he was speaking.

Ashli

Thursday 5th of September 2019

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.

Julia

Thursday 5th of September 2019

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.

Kimberly

Wednesday 4th of September 2019

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!

Corrine Wilson

Wednesday 4th of September 2019

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

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