Five Frugal Things | It’s NCLEX day!

This is not a frugal thing per se but…I’m taking my NCLEX today at 8 am EST. Most of my classmates have been getting their results by noon the next day, so I should definitely have results to share with you in Thursday’s post.

Or if you follow me on Instagram, I may post there tomorrow afternoon. 🙂

1. I got some mint plants

Something ate my mint plant almost down to bare stems. Which means some bug out there must have had very fresh breath for a while. 😉 

I brought the plant inside to (hopefully) recover, but in the meantime, I posted on my Buy Nothing group to see if someone had any extra mint.

I figured this was an easy ask because mint tends to go a little crazy all on its own; people tend to have extra without even trying.

And reader Kim (who came to the first Frugal Girl meetup) offered some of hers to me. Yay!

2. I got free limes

Someone on my Buy Nothing group had extra limes, since I’ve been on a little kick of making that agua de pepino, I swung by to pick them up.

3. I opted for unscheduled septic tank pumping

I do rent, but my lease specifies that I am responsible for yearly pumping of my septic tank. When I called the septic company to schedule, they said there was a $25 discount for not picking a day, and letting them just fit me in when they happened to be in my area. 

I hesitated for a second, but decided that would be fine.

And then lo and behold, they were able to come the very next day. 

Soooo, I was glad I’d opted for not scheduling! 

I saved a little money, and I also helped the septic company waste less gas, which is a nice little side benefit. 

4. I did a $150 health insurance reimbursement

When I first got this health insurance in January, I participated in their reward program (basically you get some free health screenings and Blue Cross rewards you monetarily.)

Well, I thought I would just get a payout from that, but you actually have to log in and do a reimbursement request for a medical bill in order to get your money.

Luckily (unluckily?) I had several appointments’ worth of bills from my shoulder issues, so I jumped through the necessary hoops to get my $150. 

I am positive that they make this process laborious because then fewer people will do it. But, unfortunately for them, I am not the type of person to give up; I drew on my many years of well-honed rebate submission skills. Heh.

I’m not about to let $150 fly away. 😉 

I’m switching to my hospital’s health insurance in August, so it was important to do this now, before I lose access to this account. 

5. I worked three consecutive 12-hour shifts and bought zero food out

For my breakfasts each day, I ate fruit, three egg bites (I use the recipe from Once Upon a Chef), and a piece of toasted Dave’s Killer Bread. 

And I made a DIY iced coffee to bring with me.

I always pack an Rx bar to eat around 11:30 because my lunch break usually doesn’t happen until later (a calm in the storm tends to happen around 2:00 pm. An Rx bar is perfect for tiding me over.) 

For my lunches this time around, I made the copycat Aldi chickpea salad* and added chicken two days and shrimp one day.

*I follow the recipe pretty closely, but I add more veggies than it calls for.

I also always pack some cottage cheese and fruit, plus a piece of chocolate. 🙂 

For dinner, I ate blueberry pancakes for two post-shift dinners, and the third night, I made a tuna melt because my desire to cook is at a serious low after hospital shifts. 

So, nothing fancy, but I kept myself fed with a respectable amount of protein, and no food/drinks purchased out. Yay me! 

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately? 

P.S. Could you share any tips for keeping my new mint plant from getting eaten alive??