Five Frugal Things | bow-toe kitten heels
1. I helped Sonia find a pair of clearance shoes
We had a small funeral to go to, and she needed a pair of black shoes.
Sonia does have a massive collection of shoes, but exactly zero of them were black.
At first, all the shoes we could find were in the $45 price range, but then I spied a pair of kitten heel black shoes with a bow on the toe.
Quintessential Sonia.
And they fit her better than the more expensive shoes anyway.
She's responsible for her own clothing spending at this point (we give her a clothing budget), so she was pleased to see the price was only $14.
2. I brought soap/detergent to the beach.
We went to the beach last week, and in order to minimize extra grocery spending, I brought some of my own household things.
(There's no Aldi at the beach, so groceries/household items are more expensive there. Harris Teeter = always pricier than Aldi!)
I poured some laundry detergent into a Mason jar and packed that, I brought dishwasher detergent pacs from Aldi, I brought hand soap from Aldi, and so on.
3. I brought food from home
I went shopping at Aldi before the trip and packed what I could because Aldi food is guaranteed to be cheaper than what we buy at the beach.
I try to always bring a salt shaker and a pepper grinder and any spices I will need.
And this year I also remembered to pack a little Mason jar of sugar, because it is very annoying to have to buy a bag of sugar for just a few days at the beach!
4. I cooked every night except one
Our condo had a kitchen, so I planned a menu before we left, we went grocery shopping for perishables and such when we got there, and we cooked (easy stuff) every night but the last one, which is when we got carryout.
5. We used up almost all of our food
I have never once managed to leave a vacation with zero food thrown away, but we did get really close.
I used up what I could, packed as much as I could in our cooler, and then threw the rest out (one cannot transport ice cream in a cooler on a multi-hour car trip. And sadly, no one wanted it for breakfast. Ha.)
What frugal things have you been up to lately? Share your frugal five in the comments!
P.S. In terms of COVID and our beach trip: we went to an un-crowded beach, stayed apart from other people (easy at the beach off-season!), wore masks at rest stops on our way down and at the grocery store, stayed at a condo with an outdoor entrance, and didn't go anywhere besides our condo, the grocery store, and the beach.
And from what we've read, we gathered that an uncrowded beach, off-season, is a pretty low-risk place to be.
Living in a beach town, it's always funny to me to hear people say "go to the beach," when they mean "go to a beach town and stay." When I say "go to the beach," I mean literally the dunes and water.
I can see how that hits you funny.
We stayed at a beach town and also went to the dunes and the water every day. 😉
We say "go to the shore" instead of "go to the beach"
We live near Lake Michigan, we say "going to the beach" when we are going to the beach to swim, and say "going to the Lake" when we are going to any part of the lake not to swim. haha
Lisa, yup! My husband and I went to the lake today on a hike but I have no desire to go to the beach, even though it's a reasonably warm day here in Michigan!
Kristen, we do the same thing when we travel--we stay in a VRBO rental, bring as much food as we reasonably can, and choose activities that allow us to distance naturally. However, we are going on a college campus visit this weekend (to one of the few colleges still doing that in our state) so we will stay in a motel for the night instead of a VRBO .... but I still picked up food items from Aldi to help us both save money and avoid unnecessary interaction. I hope you had a marvelous time.
My family and I rented a condo at Ocean City NJ in the middle of August. At first I thought the beach less crowded, but I realized that while people usually crowd up along the water-line, they were sitting way back, up to the dunes. Everyone spread themselves out.
It was a great week. The first time I had seen my kids and grandchildren since the holidays. For one week life felt normal. I got to hug everyone!
Working very hard this week to make my paycheck last until Friday!
1. We had $40 disappear from our kitchen last week. After many attempts at asking the kids if they took it, my 8 year old up and confessed. We are happy to have that $40 back, but now we have to have a "stealing" conversation. Sigh (any useful hints are appreciated)
2. Eating whatever we have in the fridge/pantry. It got "real" in our house this weekend. I made SOS with rice and some other pantry meals to make it through the weekend. Since we found the $40 on Sunday, I was able to go to the grocery store and buy some items for this week. I was prepared to go without!
3. Reviewed my Amazon subscribe and save and ONLY allowed the needed items to be shipped this month. These items are cheaper on amazon and were needed so I felt OK with it.
4. My boss passed on a few coats that my 8 year old can wear this winter. The coats are men's size small, but he just grew out of his xl coat, so these were much needed. I had been wondering where I would find a coat for him for this winter.
5. My anxiety was through the roof yesterday about debt and money. Hubby and I are refinancing our house to avoid the adjustable rate APR that is coming up soon. Our original mortgage on our house only had a fixed APR for 6 years, that deadline is right around the corner. That coupled with only having a tiny amount to make it to Friday had me stressed. I made myself go outside and get some fresh air and prayed about it. By mid afternoon my stress was gone. If you pray, please pray for us. Thanks.
I will be praying for your family.
As for your little one, and understanding taking something that isn't theirs is wrong, this is what we did for our child. We explained that money is something you work for. We divided the money taken by $10 dollars per hour, and had our child do (age appropriate) chores for that amount of time to "pay us back". We explained that even though we had our money back, they needed to know how long it takes to earn that much, so for this work they wouldn't be paid. If they did need extra money going forward, they could ask for extra chores to earn the money. Our child was a few years older than yours, but some of the chores they did were yard work, deep cleaning (baseboards, closets, bathrooms, etc.), The work we had them do was above normal chores. Our child thankfully got it that when you take what someone else has worked for (we did explain that stealing ANYTHING is taking the time/money someone worked hard for) is wrong.
My advice for talking with your little one: Ask why they took it. What are they potentially afraid of that the taking of the $40 seemed to be a good idea? It's hard to imagine how children process things like, perhaps, fear, and there may be a much bigger issue in your little one's mind than they have let on. They may need reassurance more than anything right now, but don't have the words yet to articulate their thoughts. That they overcame their fear of punishment and confessed to taking the money speaks volumes about their innate character. How many adults could do same? Regardless, hugs to you, and to your little one!
Yes, I wouldn't go crazy about the stealing. This is something that is very, very common with children. I don't think they really understand the ramifications. So, of course, a talk is in order, but also I would keep temptation out of their way in future.
Unfortunately my old cleaning lady, who worked for me for at least 12 years, apparently robbed me blind of jewelry, etc, she think I wouldn't notice. I'm slightly heartbroken about some family heirlooms. And my mother, who had aides in the house (she's a stroke patient), was similarly robbed. Horrible. Now she's in a nursing home and I basically don't dare give her anything nice--even the cashmere cardigan I gave her was stolen. It's just maddening.
Rose, make sure you mark your mother's name in her clothing, either with a permanent marker or a sewn in label. I have found it quite common for clothing items to get placed in somebody else's room and sometimes the only way to get them back is to have the name on the item. Also anything that cannot be laundered on a normal washer setting and dried in a dryer should probably not be part of her wardrobe, if the staff is doing the laundry. At one point I thought a nice coat was gone and it showed back up about a year later. Apparently somebody cleaning out another room read the name label and returned it. I've returned several items to their rightful owner after finding a name label and this is in places that claim they never mix residents clothing in the laundry! Of course, items can be stolen but being misplaced is much more common followed by being ruined by their lack of care of delicate items or soiled items.
My child stole money from our wallets - in her case, she was trying to win a prize for depositing to her savings account that was opened as part of a school project, but we were giving her money to deposit now and then, while she wanted to deposit weekly. Every time she deposited, her name was put in a hat for a drawing. She won the drawing several times until we figured out what was going on. We can all laugh, now, but we weren't laughing then.
It really is common for a child to do this, and the talk is not something anyone wants to have, but it has to be done. The reason could be something as simple as what my child was trying to do, to possible anxiety about family finances, to being extorted at school, to trying to save up secretly to buy a present for a family member.
We've been very anxious about finances too many times in our past, so I feel for your family. I've already said a prayer and will continue to do so.
I think the most effective thing might be to gently reinforce the point you made in your comment---that you were prepared to go without food that the $40 enabled you to purchase. I can remember having my own stealing incident as a kid and my father, who was working as a bricklayer until he learned enough English to be hired as an engineer, brought home some bricks and had me move them from one spot to another for as long as he had to do it to earn the amount of money I'd stolen from his pants' pocket. I was so ashamed that he had to work so hard for money I just wanted to have to buy candy. And, it was one of my clearest memories of "I am going to college so I don't have to do this for a living" moments. I don't know what you guys do to earn your living but maybe something like that might help your kid realize what it takes for you to bring home $40 after taxes.
I have a 8 yo too. I would be very matter of fact with her : "When you take stuff that is not yours, there's consequences. What will you do to repair this?" (a.k.a SHE has to figure out a way to fix her mistake and suggest it to me for approval. It's a good exercice for them to figure out by themselves what they should be doing next to correct their mistake. It can be a letter of excuse, giving some of her own money to charity, etc.). As long as the kid is showing some remorse, all is not lost! 🙂
There can be underlying psychological reasons for stealing, like someone else mentioned, of maybe inhaling some of the fear you have about finances.
I stole things as a child because of a horrible family situation and looking back I would have healed better if the issue had been dealt with and I'd received the recommended therapy.
We do the same thing when we go on our beach vacation; bring what you can from home. And if it's for a week or so, on the last day, my sister and I always do our whole laundry so that when we get home all we have to do is unpack clean laundry. Makes coming home so easy. Unfortunately we didn't get to go this year, because the people from NY could not travel to NC as NC was a quarantine state and some of the people we were going to meet, could not quarantine for 14 days when they got home. Very sad!!!!
We usually also have a leftover night before we leave to clean out the fridge and freezer. It's a mish/mash of food, but nothing goes to waste! We also eat a lot of the leftovers for lunches too (we usually travel with a crowd!)
I've been working on my cash envelope system and it really seems to be working. I end up having money leftover from every category that is carrying over to the next week and month.
1. I got a free roll of Kleenex toilet paper with a CVS digital coupon. I didn't buy anything else, but there was a $1 Extra Buck on the bottom of the receipt!
2. I stopped there another day and used the $1 to get a small bottle of Dawn.
3. Kroger sent me a coupon for a free bag of frozen vegetables. I will pick it up next time I go.
4. I haven't purchased any new clothes in over two years. I paired a Kohl's sale with a 20% coupon and got a long-sleeved tee and a flannel shirt without breaking the bank.
5. I did a large Aldi shop ($81.64) that will last for almost two months when combined with my pantry, fridge and freezer.
I adore those shoes with the bows. Even though I'm of a great age, all of my flats HAVE to have something across the toe, no plain shoes for me.
I suspect that Sonia is really MY daughter as we have many of the same tastes. Although my last trip to the maternity ward was around 45 years ago, I'm still sure you, somehow, got the daughter that was meant for me. 😀
Well, maybe I was supposed to be your daughter so that Sonia could be your granddaughter. 😉
Honestly, I just love reading these comments! So sweet.
1. Picked the last of the tomatoes from the garden. The green ones are in the basement in a cardboard box lid lined with paper towels. This will ripen them within a week or so.
2. Successfully resisted the urge to buy some unnecessary "want" things online that I thought were really good bargains, but didn't really NEED.
3. Purchased a gift card for my daughter-in-law's birthday using Chase Sapphire points I had accumulated.
4. Focusing my meal planning on what I have on hand and making sure to use up leftovers. Have been successful in keeping my grocery shopping to every other week.
5. My husband picked up free compost from our County and is using it in buttoning up the garden beds that are now finished producing. After spreading the compost we lay cardboard over the garden beds to prevent weeds. In this way the beds are ready to go in the spring.
Let's see ...
1.) Went to a bunch of garage sales this past weekend and got some great deals! I got a Cuisinart 11 cup food processor (missing the slicing discs but working and otherwise complete) that will be gifted to my mother. It was free because it was missing parts. Well the parts are affordable used on eBay.
At another garage sale my wife got an old iPod dock for $1 (it uses the old 30 pin connector but bluetooth adapters are available and there is an Aux In jack in the back.) She will use it for her desk at work.. She also got some vintage sewing patterns for all of ten cents each!
2.) Made some homemade bread for the first time in ages. I just haven't felt up to it for various reasons so it was nice to get back in the habit of it.
3.) Did some more mending (well, I just pinned the patch, my wife used the machine to sew it) on a pair of sleep pants and our comforter. The poor thing is on its last legs but I just hate to get rid of it because it's still warm and still has useful life in it.
4.) Harvested another pumpkin (one is still mostly green so we'll see if it can make it across the finish line) so that was another batch of puree and another batch of pumpkin seeds.
5.) Worked about 5 hours of overtime last week. I know I've said it before but sometimes you can be super frugal about this, that and the other thing and it can be viewed as pointless when I have earned more in overtime than I saved from a coupon or something else. I feel there is definitely room for both.
I'm with you on #5!
It's something I've argued with my dad about (argue in the traditional sense of debate, not a fight.) He thinks sometimes I deprive myself by buying most of my food at places like Aldi and that like 90% of my purchases are store brands. He never had the OT opportunities I have so he would view it as a windfall but I just put it in savings and pretend it's not there.
Completely agree about #5! Increasing income is an extremely effective way to increase your savings rate.
Frugality alone is a slow way to go; frugality combined with an increased income is a magical combo.
Hooray for a trip to the beach for you and your family Kristen! Off season is our favorite time to go, not just during COVid. Smaller to no crowds are always a joy!
We discovered a large chestnut tree in our yard this week and it has yielded over 60 pounds of nuts thus far. We also discovered that we don't rea;;y care for chestnuts so Facebook Marketplace to the rescue. We have sold about 25 pounds thus far and used the extra cash to purchase two new pairs of shoes for our son, some fresh meat for spaghetti bolognese tonight, our first date night since February, the rental of a chainsaw to trim some branches in our yard, & takeout pizza that same night.
A friend gave us a chainsaw but it needs a small repair. Ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue but COVid has part shipments backed up 2+ months. Instead of contacting a tree service we decided to rent a chainsaw and do the work ourselves. This saved us over $300. I was hit on the head with a large chestnut tree limb but fortunately was not seriously injured. For about $65 our yard looks much cleaner and we have plenty of limbs to burn for fall bonfires.
We have gone through all of the birthday and christmas gift stash that we have been working towards for our son and I am happy to report that we are done except for a nightlight and a bicycle or tricycle of some kind. I do have some adult gifts to purchase but those are far less stressful to order online and have shipped.
We continue to work on painting the inside of our home and are about 50% finished. The house is looking so fresh with its new coat of paint and I am excited for it all to be done. We have used less than a fourth of the paint we thought we would need up until this point by choosing a good quality paint/primer.
We continue to eat leftovers and use homegrown veggies to prepare meals. We did eat out for our date night and got takeout pizza one night but since the monies used for that came from the sale of chestnuts I wont count it out of our regular budget.
My husband found a Stickley rocker that had a broken leg for $5 on FB Marketplace. These normally retail for upwards of $1000. He listed it for sale and was able to make $90 on it as the lady that purchased knows its worth and will pay to have it repaired still spending far less that she would on a new rocker of that caliber.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Oooh, what a nice flip with that rocker!
What Kristen said about the Stickley rocker. I live in the hometown of the Stickley, Audi factory and know what folks pay for this stuff.
I have a Stickley couch that my mother-in-law gave us for our wedding over 17 years ago. It's survived several moves and four kids, and still looks good. I would probably never have bought it for myself (I think it was something like $5,000), but I have to admit it's probably worth the upfront investment.
1. Making salad and toasting nuts in oven for real deli taste. Also got marked down package of blue cheese to add. 2. Dr says I am 20 pounds over so salads and fruit and veggie snacks are only solution. 3. Walks outside and pulling weeds each day since no gym. 4. Trying to unhoard...paying neighbor to help. 5. Cool carnelian necklace 1.25 at thrifty looks fallish
My husband and I rent a rental/condo within a few hours drive from home once a year for our anniversary. We buy all the expensive foods (crab, shrimp, steaks, desserts, top shelf liquor) that we eat rarely at home to cook ourselves.
Love it! Also I don't feel great easting out too much. My body likely home cooked healthy balanced meals.
Your trip sounded great. I love staying at Airbnb's because they always have salt, pepper and sugar. Ice cream for breakfast is my kind of vacation.
1. We went apple picking with my parents and I brought lunch for everyone.
2. My sister had emergency surgery. We went over when she came home and I cooked a bunch for her so she didn't have to for a few days. She is a single mom. Most of the food was from Aldi.
3. My youngest and I decorated the house inside and out with items we already had. The only thing I bought were pumpkins from Aldi which I will eventually cook.
4. Hubby, the kids and myself did all of our own yard work and house work.
5. Went to the library and got more items. I returned a few too. They are not charging late fees right now so I went when I was going to be near bye. The books were 2 days late and I would have normally drove over there to make sure they weren't. I didn't have to do that this time.
1. I had my annual physical with my PCP, which is free and hopefully prevents costly health issues long term
2. Picked up an Empire Pass from our local library. It gives free admission to any NY state park. We will be in a town that has 3 NY State Parks this weekend and we plan to hike at each.
3. Brought my cats to the vet for their yearly visit. This cost $80, but hopefully prevents long term costly health issues.
4. I made more sun-dried tomatoes using cherry tomatoes from our garden and dehydrated all of the herbs from our garden
5. We picked Snap Dragon apples this weekend, which cost $2 per lb. They are the best apples and pretty expensive in the store. We picked 40 lbs, so this will last us quite some time!!
FFT, Stuff In and Stuff Out Edition:
(1) My latest thrifting bargainisn't nearly as cute as Sonia's new shoes--but it's a good score nonetheless. I was looking wistfully at a Carhartt zip-front hoodie for DH at Country Max, but the price gave me sticker shock. So I moseyed down the boulevard to our Salvation Army superstore, where it was "50% off four tag colors" Wednesday, and found a like-new LL Bean zip-front sweatshirt (no hood, but otherwise just as good). I spent $4 instead of the SA's original $8 (or the retail price for the Carhartt!).
(2) I was also able to drop some clothes and purses off at our branch of Clothes Mentor, where I got another $27 in store credit.
(3) I've made an appointment at our favorite secondhand-book shop to take some books there soon (the store is now only taking books by appointment).
(4) The young HVAC tech who was just here doing our annual furnace check spied a pile of DH's no-longer-used HVAC testing equipment in a corner of the basement and has expressed interest in buying some or all of it. (DH used to be in the home energy performance inspection biz, but had to retire several years ago.) If the tech would take even some of it, I'd be delighted--and even DH admits he isn't going to be able to use the stuff any more.
(5) Finally, I concluded not long ago that I've got too darn many houseplants--but it goes against my grain to throw healthy plants in the compost pile. The home care aide who is here with DH most often has just moved into a new apartment and was delighted to take three of them.
What a great find for your husband!
I never have too many houseplants because I routinely kill them. Ha.
I'm with you about the houseplants. I feel like a murderer every time I trim mine.
Kristen, pothos and philodendrons are practically unkillable - I have one that has been without natural light for 12+ years; spider plants and jade plants are very sturdy. All of these are easy to grow from cuttings (pothos & philodendron), babies (spider plants), or leaves (jade plant).
Spider plants are killable. I hang mine on the porch in the summer, for some reason the squirrels ate them this summer. When the roots started sprouting again, they ate that too!
I regularly kill ivy when I use it indoors. Ivy! Which will basically eat your house if you let it
Cute shoes!
Time away at a beach; that sounds great.
1. I have finally decorated for fall, using stuff I already have and store year to year. I never buy fresh pumpkins and squashes and put them out -- they rot in this warm humid air well before Thanksgiving, plus it saves money not to buy them. For anything fresh, I cruise my yard -- pampas grass blooms, grapevines, dried hydrangea blossoms, etc.
2. My husband's grip is not good, and he's been dropping and breaking his coffee mugs. I hunted and found an reasonably priced unbreakable, dishwasher and microwave safe, BPA-free mug for him. Mugs are cheap at thrift stores, yes, but the lack of wear and tear on our floors and my nerves was worth buying this one.
3. I shopped for some gifts at a store's website through Swagbucks and earned some SB's for my purchase.
4. I was running really low on some of my mineral makeup, but waiting was worth it, and I got refills while on sale plus an extra dollar amount off.
5. We had to take down some things, like a bird feeder hanger, when the contractor worked on our porch. I found a few good outdoor screws left behind after they were done, although they tried to get them all up every day. I used those nice new screws to rehang my items. We keep a coffee can just for odd screws, bolts, nuts and nails, and I can't tell you how many times we've found what we needed in that can.
I bought a 50-pound bag of flour from the school Sysco program a few months ago that got ripped when the delivery person was unloading it. He didn't charge for it, and the lady in the school office taped it up as best she could and said I could have it for free if I wanted it. Well, YEAH.
I don't have a container that holds 50 pounds of flour, so I just put it in a kitchen garbage bag (UNSCENTED, because who wants their flour to smell like "Spring Rain" or whatever?) and stashed it in my big chest freezer. It's been a source of minor irritation to me for the past months, as the bag continues to rip and I continue to try to patch it up. Every time I wanted to fill my big flour canister, I would haul it outside and fill it on top of the freezer, so I wouldn't have to move the delicate bag too far. I had to switch out the garbage bags at one point, when the original one got a hole in it.
But! I have had almost free bread for our family for months now (because I make sourdough, I literally use only flour, water, and salt), so I put up with the annoyance.
Have you thought about separating it into pillowcases?
Beware of too much fine flour dust in the air. Much like icing sugar it can explode if exposed to a match etc. The things I learn from books
1. Rechecked rental car prices 3 days before my trip and found a deal that saved me $60, so quickly canceled and rebooked my rental at the lower price.
2. Declined the upgrade “deal” at the rental car counter and then found that my assigned car was the upgrade class anyway. So glad I am good at declining “upgrades”!
3. Used my credit card to pay for the rental which gives me primary coverage, hopefully I won’t need it but it’s reassuring to know that there’s no deductible.
4. Helped my daughter plan our meals for the week based on pantry and fridge contents, and bought only the minimum of items at the grocery store.
5. No paid for outings on this vacation, just home projects and enjoying each other’s company.
(Before anyone questions the fact that I’m taking a trip let me just say that the risks have been carefully weighed, the appropriate precautions taken, and the psychological benefits are immeasurable. I was fairly recently bereaved and getting to spend time with my daughter is helping us heal.)
I'm so glad that the time with your daughter is helping both of you through the grieving.
Prayers and (distanced) hugs to you, Linda. It's possible to travel with minimal risk right now and it sounds like you've taken all the steps you need to.
One frugal thing but it's not small:
OXO is replacing my non-stick pan and broken scrub brush. That's $50-60 I don't have to spend, with $30 savings later. It took 30 min on hold and 20 min talking and checking, for a "salary" of $60/hr.
My 4 yo OXO nonstick pans are starting to stick, despite my treating them carefully, and a brush handle broke off.. A new 12" is $40, a new 8" is $30 except I can find it only as part of a $40 set. The 3 brush set is $10. Since I had the warranty paperwork and my proof of purchase, OXO will replace them for me. I was on hold for 30 min but after that, the process was very smooth. The associate took my word for both date of purchase and condition of the pans, and I don't need to send send anything back. Since the pans are in short supply, I'm getting an upgrade on the 12" pan because that is what they have. The 8" are entirely out of stock, so I had the choice of calling back in 6 months or OXO credit for something else.
Not frugal but a very nice gift: my mother gave me a new Breville countertop oven with air fryer. I'm beside myself with excitement! I've wanted one for months but didn't buy because my Breville countertop oven, bought before air fryers were available, works very well.
Not frugal: my house needs a new roof (sad trombone). So, so glad that I have the House Happens savings.
Ohh, so exciting about the oven/air fryer! I look forward to tales of your experiments with it.
And good job on the nonstick pans. I have found that no matter how expensive of a nonstick pan I buy, it always, always only lasts a few years. I think CI concluded as much in their tests.
That's why I've been using cast iron and carbon steel; they are admittedly more of a pain to use though, and sometimes I'm tempted to buy another nonstick pan.
I was surprised about the 10 year warranty, as - as you say - CI and others conclude the pans last 3-5 years. I was pleased and surprised at how easy it was to get the warranty work (modulo the pan hasn't arrived yet).
I use cast iron frequently, but nonstick for stir fry and eggs.
I thought of a few smaller things:
- Had friends over the backyard for dinner. I served meatloaf in rich mashed potatoes and farmer's market corn, over the fire. The meatloaf was leftover, the mashed potatoes made from box flakes I bought for bread experiments, made rich with butter from a previous delivery meal. The richness was necessary because the beef was ultra lean - 93% lean bought on sale for $1/lb. I heated it over a fire in a decades-old cast iron pan. The fire was made with waste paper, twigs and kindling picked up during neighborhood walks, and free wood from city tree cutting work split by my roommate using (purchased) wedges and a sledgehammer given to us by a neighbor who didn't use it any more. My friends brought oysters and wine (!).
- While de-icing the deep freezer, I found enough ideas for two more meals without shopping: waffles for dinner, using high-protein waffles I bought to try; and stir fry using the frozen veggies I bought in March in case produce became hard to come by. I also have enough frozen strawberries and bananas to make smoothies to go with.
- Semi-frugal: bought 2 monthly boxes of happy meat from my local purveyor. They're not cheap at all, but the boxes are a bit less expensive that buying by the piece.
1. We let the chickens out to free-range and find their own food (or part of it).
2. I read books from the library and returned others on time to avoid fines.
3. We're right now eating leftovers for lunch.
4. Although I'm ready to be done with the garden, I picked tomatoes, pumpkins/squash, peppers, and green beans and have eaten a good bit of those things.
5. I gathered seeds from marigolds, zinnias, and sunflowers in our garden. I'm saving them for next year, and I've gifted some to my friend.
Bonus: I entered a library contest and won a swag bag that included 2 free books, I planned meals, and my son put some clothes on the line outside (as per my "request").
* Even if our mortgage is now paid kff, we are still holding off on spending money on futile stuff (I would like a new bigger TV and new bar stools for the island in the kitchen!. We have other important things to pay first!
* Using the Flash Food application weekly to get food with a close sell-buy date for half the regular price (I believe it's only in Canada?)
*Feeling like I "have nothing to wear", I curb the impulse to shop. I have at least 3-5 good pairs of pants (+the scrubs for work) and 10+ shirts. It's enough. I'm just bored and looking for retail therapy.
* Still reading books from free piles or from library and using Netflix for entertainment. Cheap!
* I'm on my feet all day, running around (hospital), so I need good supportive shoes. I got a pair of Under Armor runnings shoes at 30% off (still 80$...), Then I got 3 pairs of very comfortable Reebok at 40$/pair at Costco. So 4 pairs of work shoes for 200$, I think it's a good deal. Should last me at least 2 years (I rotate them so they don't become all stinky!), if not more.
--Thanks to a CVS promotional coupon, I acquired a free manicure stick (the multi-sided kind, with different surfaces for different finishes). I'm somewhat particular about my hands--I like them to not look like the hard life they lead!--so it was nice to add that to my arsenal.
--I've been reusing Amazon bubble mailers to ship out--everything, really!
--50/50 frugal. I met a friend for Starbucks coffee outdoors, and the barista asked if we would each like a free pumpkin cheesecake muffin! No doubt they were about to be written off/thrown out, but hey, free muffins! We'll pretend the muffin negates the price of the coffee. 😛
--Sad and frugal. My preferred grocery store for produce is closing. The formal announcement said they would be open until mid-October, so I went in on Sept. 30th thinking it would be a normal shopping trip and I could mindfully stock up on our favorites. Ha! The store was already in full Thunderdome mode, with fixtures partially ripped out and people competing for the remaining stock, all of which was 30% off. Most of my shopping list just wasn't there anymore, so I grabbed what was (two giant jars of minced garlic--we go through A LOT of garlic) and some 30% off meat (on top of any sale prices) for the freezer before I checked out and made a run for it. Competitive/Black Friday type shopping has NEVER been my thing!
--I put our ballots in the election commission building's official drop box, saving both stamps and the middleman. Now to see if we can fulfill my dream of not leaving the house the first week of November! 😛 I'll live off my minced garlic surplus if I have to.
I hear you on your last one, N. I took DH's and my NY State absentee ballots directly to the County Board of Elections last week. I'm not taking any chances on this one.
1. I've canned more applesauce for my family. 7 quarts yesterday, 7 more today!
2. I won a restaurant gift card from my library! Yay! And we used it right away so I didn't have time to forget about it. We were due for a date night, so this was perfect. My mom watched our kids for free.
3. We're getting ready to head to a cabin for a 4-day weekend, so I washed out an empty milk jug, filled it with water, and put it in the freezer to keep our cooler food cold.
4. Ordered some Adventures in Odyssey CD's through interlibrary loan and they came in!
5. I have to pack a snack for my first grader to take to school everyday and have been trying to find things that I can make individual portions of in reusable containers rather than buying prepackaged individual snacks.
1.Here in the Boston area you need to make reservations to go to the beach due to COVID. I purchased a membership and a parking permit for $140, expecting to break even since parking by itself is $35-45 a day - week day vs. week end. Much to my surprise, when the parking permit finally arrived, I see that its good through August 2021! Free parking next Summer!
2. Since we basically can't travel anywhere outside of Massachusetts, we are doing a long weekend in the Berkshires. Hotel is paid for with points. We are bringing some food. Museums all have timed ticketing. Dining will be take-out or dining outside.
3. Making cold brew half-caff coffee in my French press overnight in the fridge.
4. DD bought new bath towels and is giving me the "old" ones. They are fine for drying the dogs after the rain or a bath.
5. Using last year's Halloween decorations. Growing my own baby boo pumpkins.
6. Continuing to use up travel-sized toiletries even though I don't like the scents.
7. Cancelled our October trip to San Francisco - waited until JetBlue moved our flight. Will apply the $1300 refund towards next quarter's Real Estate taxes. RE taxes in Massachusetts are insane.
I live in Somerville, MA and I think our RE taxes are super low! My colleagues in NY state pay much higher!
Hello Kristen, may I ask what's the clothing budget for each child? I hope you don't mind my asking it.
Thank you.
I would eat ice cream for breakfast!
1. Finally figured out how to deposit checks with my phone - money will get in the accounts faster and no wasted gas getting to the bank.
2. Sold a Lego gingerbread house set on Ebay. I found it at Goodwill last year still in its box for $6.99. It was going to go in one of my kids' stockings but then I checked first to see what they were going for and decided resale was as better idea than more Legos in my house. 🙂
3. Reclaimed an office chair I'd put in our church rummage sale storage room when my daughter mentioned that she's been uncomfortable - since August! - doing her college classes sitting in an uncomfortable chair. Somethings my kids freely whine about, but more often than not they don't mention the things I can easily fix!
4. Checked to see if it would be a good idea to refinance our mortgage. We're still mulling it over, though. The time we'd have to stay in the house to make up the costs is a little longer than we were hoping to be in this house. We'll see.
5. Took a huge trash can full of crushed aluminum cans to a metal recycling place and made a whopping $4.50! It's very near our house, so definitely still worth it.
Yes! I did our first check deposit through the bank app earlier this year. It was fast and easy.
Five frugal things. Hmm
This week I chopped and froze produce for later use.
I am currently using my clothes line again. Ahh warmer weather.
Our oldest bought dinner one day recently. While that isn't the most frugal idea because we did have food at home, we used a buy a large pizza get a medium for a dollar promo code.
Using the foods we get for the online cooking class. This class is pretty neat, and I'm glad I signed up.
We had to turn our heater on for a couple of days already, but when we turned it down each night while sleeping.
I would have made a breakfast milkshake with that ice cream!
1. Finally listed five things on FB Marketplace yesterday and sold one item within a few hours.
2. I usually make our bread but a few weeks ago I bought a dark pumpernickel loaf that turned out to be so stiff and bland that nothing made it into sandwich or toast material. I finally gave up on eating it as is, so made small croutons that were well spiced and they are perfectly tasty and edible now.
3. Ordered Chinese take out for our anniversary, from a family owned restaurant. There was so much food that we ate it for two dinners and, with a few added mushrooms and some zucchini, for a third dinner. I don't know how they make a profit with such huge orders but they've been in business for several decades so they obviously know something I don't.
4. I needed fish sauce for a recipe and did not have any. I looked up substitutions on the internet and it came out perfect.
5. Ran out of mayo so made it myself. Heaven knows we have enough eggs from our four chickens; they produce like machines with no one ever taking a day off apparently. We end up with a dozen eggs every three days.
1. We have also taken a break by renting a separate cottage up in Sedona, with its own entrance, back in the woods.. and spent time on quiet hiking trails, at a hidden swimming hole.. and just skipped the restaurants and the wine bar with live music that we USED TO enjoy. It was still a much-needed respite from all this 2020 madness! I also brought along our own food and we avoided take out. It was quite a frugal vacation!
2. We save money on “entertainment” since we are at HOME so much but we do drive to local parks, lakes, and nature preserves weekly, for hiking,sitting by the river with a good book, and just talking.It’s actually a nice change from the more hectic life we were leading a year ago.. however, I will be glad when things do get back to some sort of normal (2022???)
3. Makes large pots of soups that we have for lunches throughout the week.Uses up bits and dribbles of veggies,tomatoes,etc,. In refrig. No food waste.
4. Using CLOUD LIBRARY for free reading material. LOTS of it!
5. I am taking a lot of art/craft classes online from an art collective.. for just $30 I purchased a YEAR’S WORTH of online tutorials,classes,meditations, yoga,etc.This is a year long set of courses that had been selling for $100 but the artists put it on sale for those stuck at home from Covid precautions.
6.My neighbors and I ,most of us retired and at home a lot..are sharing a lot of small things.. coffee cakes,cookies, crafts,books, we leave little treats on each other’s doorsteps regularly.Last week I received a bag of fresh limes. I made a lot of soup so I sent some to my friend and her daughter who live together. I see so much kindness this year. <3
I love your #6. What a sweet community you live in!
Would you mind sharing the name of online tutorial/classes/meditations/yoga group?
The company that does our finance software is offering free online round table classes. Free is good.
Sold a lot of stuff on Marketplace so cleared out a lot of stuff we no longer use. Still have some wedding stuff I am hoping a consignment shop will sell.
Have done an excellent job of using leftovers. Only 2 small pieces of pizza (Ya I know pizza!) but it was a frozen that wasn't that great.
I am home again after being evacuated 6 days due to the wildfires in CA. I am glad to be home and to have a home.
I am doing fall cleaning, instead of spring, since there is ash everywhere.
Picking up baby clothes from my Buy Nothing group-first grandbaby coming!
Sharing my abundant tomatoes with neighbors.
Shopped awesome sales at Safeway. They never ring up right, so it takes time to watch and sort out errors, but well worth it. I spent $34 and saved $70.
My neighbor asked me to teach a little sewing class for her 2 kids and 2 siblings from another family. I taught the first one today. We held it outside, wore masks, and sat apart. The kids had fun and the moms said the kids were so happy to have something to look forward to. They paid me to do it.
I sold one item on ebay and an item from my Etsy shop. I'm working on a Give Thanks banner for the shop. I like it because it can be used all fall. And I really need the reminder to be thankful right now. Hopefully I'll have that in the shop by Friday.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabricspeaks
1. Needed to fill in the gaps of my daughter's wardrobe, so I scoured on-line clearance items for a few things, plus used online coupons. Then I prayed about the rest. A few days later a friend brought over hand-me downs, and those that were not the right size I shared with a neighbor.
Praise God for such a quick answer to this one.
2. Bought clearance bag of potatoes and cooked them right away. Then realized I had other potatoes at the back of our pantry that were also about to go bad, so I blanched those and froze them. It was quite a potato day haha!
3. A local coffee shop moved to a new location, which is now a two-minute walk from us. I consciously resist going there almost every day:) We have popped in a handful of times.
4. I started using the back side of various school papers for scrap paper for my kid's art/writing doodles. Definitely is cutting down on paper waste.
5. I was in U.S. postcard exchange group this summer collecting postcards, since we're studying the 50 states. But postage/postcards def. came a cost, even concerning time. I decided it was time to leave the group. Time is freed up! I can save the current postage/postcards that we have for thank you notes for a state culture project that our friends/family helped us with.
Sounds like a lovely beach trip!!
I have found I look forward to these posts--it makes me think about frugal blessings during the week.
1) A friend gave me some Thai red chilli peppers he is growing. So nice, because I never need very many and I don't like to buy big packs and then have to throw them out.
2) I found a book I really wanted to read at our school library. It's not a huge library, so that was an unexpected joy moment.
3) I'm doing a month long eating healthier/less challenge, which, of course, cuts down on the grocery budget and the waistline.
4) Some work friends had a clothing exchange on Saturday. I mostly wanted to clean out my closet, and I took two bags of clothes to give away, but I also found a couple of nice tops and a like new bra. All the extra clothes that no one wants are donated to domestic helpers.
5) After being on fall break, it was hard to get in the routine of packing lunches. But I made myself get salads and sandwiches ready on Sunday afternoon, and have been patting myself on the back ever since.
6) We got our tax bill for Hong Kong. Here, they don't take money out of your check, but they expect you to pay it when it's due, so you have to set money aside each month. It was a bit more than expected, but still much less than we would pay in the US on the same amount, and I had most of it set aside.
7) A coworker brought me a homemade cold brew pumpkin spice coffee this morning. I love how a little kindness can mean so much.
Hi Tricia,
I wanted to say I always enjoy your comments as I live in Hong Kong as well. what a coincidence that two expats in Hong Kong are reading an American frugal blog!
It’s certainly difficult to be frugal in HK, and it seems you’re doing a great job at it.
Thanks, Curious! Small world. We've been here 8.5 years. How about you? It's such a great city! Any HK frugal tips? I'm always up for learning more!
In our fire evacuation last week I ended up buying some things at the Dollar Store.
I bought a small bottle of dish soap, a washtub, a sponge, a sharp knife and some paper plates and a few spoons (we brought some flatware from home but somehow forgot spoons). Next time I have these in my go bag, including some washable plastic plates and cups. The other thing I missed and will bring next time is a glass pyrex measuring cup--these are great for heating things up in the microwave including water for tea and hot chocolate.
We only bought two meals out and both were at very reasonably priced ethnic restaurants--tons of food for little money, so we had extra for lunch the next day.
I’m working on reducing food waste, so my 2 items are about that.
1. I made some seasoned mayo as part of a veggie burger recipe. It was mayo with fresh rosemary and lemon juice. I had a little left, so I took the remaining hard boiled egg from the bag my husband bought (I’m not really sure why he buys these...) and mashed them together. It made a nice sandwich for my husband’s lunch.
2. I bought a bag of grapefruit that was so so, and my husband excitedly bought a bunch of oranges at the farmers market on his way home from work one day. The abundance of citrus was getting increasingly soft, so I squeezed them all and got 4 cups of juice. I figure the vitamin C can’t hurt.
I’m glad you had a nice vacation, Kristen. 🙂
I'm struggling for ways to have fun during this pandemic. I miss fun! I'd love to see a post on that sometime.
Sounds like a fantastic trip!
Our 5 frugal things for the week:
1. We had a zero grocery bill because we freezer, pantry, garden and fridge ate.
2. My husband had a motocross race where we camped out all weekend. Like you at the beach, we brought all our food with us. We brought home the jars of peanut butter and homemade jam and two bottles of water. The rest was eaten.
3. Repaired a gym shirt that had a hole in it rather than just throwing it away. You' can't even tell where the damage was without close examination.
4. Organized a bathroom cabinet and categorized the plethora of soaps, shampoos, conditioners and lotions. Had stuff I'd forgotten about. I don't think I'll have to buy any of those products again for many months to come!
5. I proofread a couple of term papers (I am a former newspaper editor) for a friend's daughter who is taking online classes at a local college. She thanked me with fresh cider and donuts from a local cider mill (yum).
Isn't it sad that you have to make a Covid disclaimer on your beach trip? We're free citizens! I'm assuming you're living your life in a way that feels right to you! I say this as encouragement for people to break from the "new norm" of walking on eggshells and explaining themselves constantly. 🙂
On the other hand, I really appreciated that you included that info. I’m an RN, I understand COVID-19 transmission as well as anyone, but it helps to hear how others are safely managing things. I don’t think you are “not free”, “walking on eggshells”, or anything like that. I’m also trying to plan a tentative frugal, safe beach trip. I’m NOT here to argue by any means- just wanted to thank you, Kristen.
I appreciate the feedback! I mainly shared it because as a semi-public figure, I know that what I do influences people, at least to a degree. So, I want to set a good example, and I want to be clear that we are following guidelines while also trying not to be unnecessarily cautious.
Sarah C.,
It does feel that way, doesn’t it?
There is a new “judgey” attitude out there.
Sad.
M
I have been looking for a pair of shoes just like that! Would you mind sharing where you found them? Thanks!
Sure! Rack Room Shoes. 🙂 I think Lauren Blakwell is the brand.
Thank you!!!!
1.) I had some spots in my cottage that needed knickknacks. I "shopped" around my cottage to decorate with what I already have.
2.) I drink Propel flavored water. We buy the Wal-Mart brand of packets (10 in a box) less than $2 instead of buying bottles of Propel. I mix the Propel up myself.
3.) We have an elderly small dog who doesn't have teeth. We buy soft food. We were buying Cesar but Aldi has the same type of food for much cheaper.
4.) A rung on one of our dining chairs broke. My husband has a friend that works with wood and he is fixing the chair for free.
5.) I saw how to grow my own green onions by starting the root end of some I bought in a small cup of water and then planted them in a pot. I haven't had to buy green onions in months.
1. I picked up my Walmart order and 2 of the 3 packages of eggs had multiple broken and cracked eggs. I got a refund, pulled out the unbroken ones, threw out a few, and used the rest that were cracked for an unscheduled scrambled egg breakfast.
2. Still eating from the freezer so our grocery bill was about half this week from what it usually is. Should be able to get at least one more week or two out of freezer meat, possibly even 3.
3. Saving up my target circle points to use on Christmas gifts for the kids.
4. My daughter had to give a birthday gift to a friend and we were out of wrapping paper so I grabbed one of the newspaper comic pages my mom saves for my kids and used it as wrapping paper. Free and gave the newspaper a new use!
5. Made yet another library trip for free reading material!
1. We drove h ok me from a work trip. I made empanadas for the drive, my new favorite trip food. It's not messy and yummy. I did buy some sodas in the drive, but other than that it was food I packed for the drive.
2. I'm working on a 30 day decluttering. I'm mostly focusing on organizing, we have spent extra money and time before because something was lost and we couldn't find it, so I truly count this as frugal.
3. We are starting school tomorrow. Most of the books are new, but both the kids' math text books are used, or a hand me down.
4. I'm wearing a shirt a friend gave to me.
5. My kids are using old jelly jars to keep their pencils in. My daughter wrapped hers in paper she decorated.
The shoes are adorable! What a find! The beach trip sounds very relaxing and peaceful. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it!
A pretty frugal week, I think...
1) I found Tyson breaded chicken for $2.10/bag on clearance and got some. Easy dinner as chicken parm, sandwiches or with fries.
2) Earned ebay bucks and swagbucks. With those, I got face cream and mascara for free on ebay...I luv ebay....
3) I earned a Best Buy GC and used it to get online video games for DS2 for his stocking....
4) We have a bakery outlet that sells day old bread for $1 a loaf as well as buns, boxed cakes, etc. I never knew it existed. And here I was paying full price! I buy several loaves of soft italian bread and freeze them.....
5) I've been doing my Christmas shopping and there have been requests, so at least I'm not guessing as to what they want. Paying for it was another matter. So, I decided to cash out all of my stocks and not have a credit card bill. Some stocks did very well, while others didn't. In the end, I paid cash for all of my gifts and the amount that I'll be taxed on after the sale of my stocks? Ok, wait for it.....$3.42. I can live with that....
1. Finally got enough points on ny Neilsen Mobile App for a $25 gift card. ( i use Inboxdollars, Swagbucks,Fetch and Neilsen and do pretty well but you have to be patient and diligent!) 2. Talked to my dad who doesnt have internet about what he wants for Christmas and he named 2 cds, and a book which i used my Amazon gift card for and spent $2.58! 3. Found a signed Dineh Southwest pot at the thrift store for $2 and should be able to sell for $30-40. 4. Continue to stay close to home and not driving far so fas lasting a long time! 5. Is frugal fail... Didnt feel well yesterday and caved and ordered teriyaki through Doordash since the hub wont eat cereal for dinner like me.... on the other hand havent been out to a restaurant in forever so i am still ahead.
Frugal Five Things is my favorite part of your blog! I struggle with being frugal, but love reading everyone's comments.
I recently lost my job, so I definitely need all the tips I can get.
1. My neighbor had brought me dinner twice and it has been enough for 2 meals each time! Yay for not having to cook. (She even brought me a dozen eggs tonight.)
2. I download all of my books from the library and have for months now.
3. Starting to make Christmas crafts/gifts from things I've had saved.
4. I'm helping a friend declutter and organize and she is giving me lots of "goodies" that she no longer wants. Some of these my grand baby is getting use of and the others she has told me to sell them if it's not something I don't really want/need. She did give me a brand new air fryer! How have I lived without one of those???
5. ?????
I just found your website, it's wonderful. I found in my local grocery store in the meat department bags of frozen chicken. They are the pieces where the legs and thighs are attached, they are 10 lb. bags, they were 99 cents per pound. They are easy to separate and put in smaller bags for the freezer. You can find many, many uses for chicken.
Welcome, welcome!