Five Frugal Things | My costumes are selling now!
1. I sold four costumes!
You guys were 100% right when you said that eBay was a better place to offload costumes.
I had them listed for a couple of weeks on Facebook with almost no bites, but since I listed them on eBay last week, I've sold four.
I've got four left to go, with a month until Halloween. I'm optimistic about selling all of them by then!
2. I sent my shoes through the wash.
This one was inspired by Lisey, as she is always out here keeping her shoes looking like new (which is way cheaper than buying new shoes all the time!)
These white sneakers from Target are really cute, but they show dirt pretty quickly.
(As do most white things.)
So, I put them in a zippered lingerie bag, dropped them in the washer, and then let them air dry on my drying rack.
Another tip I learned from Lisey: a magic eraser does an amazing job of cleaning up the white rubber sides of shoes (and the white toe tips on Converse).
3. I listed some jeans for sale.
Mr. FG switched the style he wears, and his former jeans still are in very decent shape.
Hopefully I can get some money for them and also give someone else a super good deal.
4. I cut up and froze a bulk pack of chicken breasts.
I always use the cut-into-three pieces method I shared in this post so that the pieces are all manageable sizes.
Then I freeze them on a greased baking sheet until they are frozen solid, and then I transfer them to a plastic bag for storage in the freezer.
5. I...
brewed coffee at home, ate leftovers, made a menu plan that mostly uses stuff in my house, used saved packing materials to send eBay items, and sent off out-of-network medical insurance bills for reimbursement.
1. I called Sirius XM to say we were not interested in renewing at the current renewal price. They offered a year at 49% off, a price I can stomach. I do this every year, as my husband loves having it and it is a no clutter birthday gift.
2. I too washed a pair of shoes. They are Timberlands that are marked as washable but I'd never washed them before. They turned out great.
3. We are going to a wedding soon. I will be wearing a dress that was $10 on ThredUp. My daughter had free shipping so she ordered it for me. She has been getting quite a few clothes from there, but this was my first experience.
4. We had family over for lunch rather than going out. It was a simple meal but delicious and relaxing.
5. Someone in our neighborhood left potted black eyed Susan plants at the curb for others to take. A neighbor loves plants so we left a "gift" on their porch while on an early morning walk. He was pleased to receive them.
Sonia is a Thredup queen these days too. She's got more time and patience to sift through the thousands of items there, so it's perfect for her!
And yes, you can often get awesome deals on services when you call to cancel.
i have a question. what kind of taxes if any do you pay on your ebay sales? or do you even have to pay taxes on the money you make from those types of sales?
would love to sell some my items but am worried about adding to my income/ taxes.
I'm not a tax expert but I found this by googling: Hobby or Business Income
"If you conduct eBay or Craigslist USA endeavors to generate a steady profit, then the IRS categorizes this activity as a business. If you occasionally sell items to get rid of things you no longer use, then eBay is a hobby, according to IRS guidelines. Nevertheless, any income you make needs to be reported to the IRS. If you do create a business from your eBay ventures, you may be able to deduct more of your expenses as legitimate business expenses."
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/claim-ebay-sales-taxes-59661.html
So, I don't think this is something you really need to worry about. I only make eBay sales to get rid of things we no longer use, so I don't think that qualifies as a business.
Frugal fail: I have been stopping by the convenience store almost every day when I go out on errands and picking up a soda refill for a dollar. I need to stop with the soda it makes me feel ill, it s costly, other things but I have been succumbing to temptation too often.
1. My alternator went out on my car. Used my AAA membership for the tow, remembered I had just had the alternator replaced this year. It was still under warranty so the car was fixed, no cost to me.
2. Received a rebate from our insurance for several hundred dollars
3. Was given a box of surplus veggies. Froze some, gifted some, roasted and steamed and have been eating veggies at both lunch and dinner.
4. Purged several garbage bags of clothes from my closet. Makes it so much easier to get dressed when I can see everything I own and my choices are limited. Donated the clothes to a local charity .
5. Went on a free community fossil dig as a family. Packed a picnic lunch. We had a wonderful time!
A no-cost car repair is a HUGE frugal win. Yay!
Not super frugal but...
My dog food which is never on sale...was so I saved $15, even Chewy does not discount it ever. I hurt my back and the cashier carried it to my car for me.
Bought 2 items for our puppy on Amazon and did not work so return shipping was free when using Kohls dropoff plus I got 2 25% off coupons. I needed work shoes and work slacks so it worked out well. First time I have shopped for clothing for me since 2018.
I took all my I can't use veggies to work, they appreciate it. Had way too many cucs and tomatoes. I froze all tomatoes that my back could stand.
I did find some clearance baby clothes for Bebe Violet due in Nov. At Meijer for Carters brand most were $2.50.
I have way too many gardens so I pulled some plants out and planted them at my son's house who has no plants in his front flower garden. They have a new house (to them) so not on his priority list.
1. I made an appointment for a check-up at my doctor. It's free of charge here and additionally, I will get a bonus for a certain number of check-up and other activities from health insurance. I already uploaded the certificate for participating in a run last week.
2. We are visiting family over the weekend. I made a list of leftover to be eaten before we leave, so that we don't waste food. We will also take snacks and drinks for the train ride. No need to buy something on the way. Furthermore, we planned our dinner that we can eat at home to avoid going out for dinner.
3. I do not eat chocolaty snacks often. However, I know that I like to eat them when the weather gets very rainy. So I bought my favorite sweets on sale some weeks ago and ate them this week during the first fall rain.
4. I'm interested in growing more of my food. This week I put the roots of some green onions in a glas of water and they are already growing.
5. We went to see a movie for 3 € at the student's cinema. The films are often some month out of the normal cinemas but we always find one that we want to see.
We love the second run theater here! As long as we're patient, we can see movies for just a fraction of the cost of a regular theater.
Yay for selling your costumes!
1. I didn't actually make this frugal thing happen, but it happened to me. I was grocery shopping and the red onions rang up at the normal price, whereas the onion bin had a sale tag on it. I mentioned it and the customer behind me, who turned out to be a store employee shopping before she left to go home, ran and checked it for the cashier. I was right, of course, so they gave me the onions for free because of the price mistake.
2. Then this. The employee/customer behind me got called to another lane to check out, and soon after my cashier picked up the pricier whole chicken I had chosen because they were on sale, but there was no price sticker. The cashier looked at it for a moment, clearly debating on whether to call the meat department to come up or not, then she said, "Hey, it's our fault it's not priced. I'm giving this to you, too." I swear I had no idea it wasn't priced. I had just picked out a small one. I'm not sure, but I actually don't recall seeing stickers on any of them. I thanked her profusely.
3. Our hot, rainless weather continues, so I continue to hang out most of my laundry.
4. Being frugal to someone else, I gave about five pounds of quality grain-free dry cat food to my daughter, since our old cat was beginning to have too much trouble chewing it. I've switched him to canned food.
5. I've taken the time to enter more companies into my bank's bill-pay feature. I use less checks and stamps this way and I can avoid those hated "convenience fees" levied when using some vendors' websites to pay online.
If I got groceries for free if the prices were wrong, most of my groceries would be free! It’s a huge struggle with the stores around here. I remember when grocery employees were well-paid, knowledgeable, and cared- I was one of them. Now it’s mostly minimum-wage workers, with poor training, who got fired from McDonald’s, so there’s lots of turnover, and it’s pretty difficult on them and us customers! I carry the sales ad, take photos of the sales signs or shelves, and still there’s almost always a problem. I feel bad for the older folks!
I wash sneakers ALL the time--Nike, Brooks, Adidas, any brand and material. I don't even bother with the lingerie bag--just toss them in with a towel or two and they turn out great! If possible, I put them in the sun to dry, which brightens white shoes even more.
1. My insurance decided that it knew more than my kid's ENT and refused to pay for a moderately costly medicine. It would've been $120 with insurance. We tried another pharmacy and that was $50 but then found it on GoodRx for around $16.
2. It's my birthday month so I'll be looking forward to getting a bunch of free birthday items (Red Robin, IKEA etc.) The trick is to not then overspend while getting something for free.
3. Baked six loaves of bread to stock up the freezer. Unfortunately that means I'm just about out of flour too. Guess I need to take a trip to King Arthur to get some more (or Costco if I don't want to make as long of a drive.)
4. Taking advantage of some grocery sales and planning dinner accordingly. Also eating up all leftovers.
5. Frugal with my mental health in that I'm actually using my time off now. I was getting pretty burnt out and I do have days so I figured I had better start taking them!
I have thrown tennies into the wash for years - for all four of my kids. They had clean shoes and my washer lived for 20 plus years. Plus, I wash my Okibashi flip flops whenever I do a load of towels.
This week I avoided Hubby and I eating out by making a meal for four each night and splitting it in half for dinner one night, lunch the next day. I scanned and emailed a couple of documents instead of printing and mailing them, saving me $ on postage and a big envelope that I would have had to buy. I am cutting up a hole-y towel to make me more cleaning rags as some of mine are too threadbare to use anymore. I bought a $75 curtain rod on sale at Kohl's for $46, got $20 off in Kohl's cash, and had it shipped to me for free. And lastly, I have managed to keep our grocery bill to just about $100 a week, and that also includes soap and other items, and we are eating fairly well!
I have a very old wool dress coat that I always dry cleaned in the spring. Last April, I decided to throw it in the washer. Cold water, gentle cycle, Tide pod. I hung it on a large hanger, and it turned out great! Saved $15, but I WAS prepared to toss if it was ruined in the wash. Major win!
I love situations like that...it's so low risk to experiment when the item is not in great shape to begin with.
After searching the internet for "can you throw a leather jacket in the washing machine," I decided to give it a go. I machine washed a $10 thrifted jacket with a leather collar -- turned out beautiful, and I saved about $30 in dry-cleaning costs (whoa, when did dry-cleaning become so expensive??). I might just try it on my wool coat too!
1. I bought a warranty with my used car. A major part failed and the warranty covered the multi hundred dollar cost.
2. I continue to declutter my home section by section and am frugally regaining square footage. I like the Clutter Fairy Houston method by Gail Goddard. She is real and no dumping everything on the floor or bed and making more work for me.
3. Used a garden tomato as part of a meal that used ingredients already in the house.
4. Used two lipsticks (gift with purchase) one was too dark and one was too bright. When they were combined together, by applying the dark one first and then the bright one over it, they make a great color.
5. Sent a bag to ThredUp. Its a twofer: free up space and get some ThredUp credit.
1) I pack my lunch every single day, but was sick last night with something one of my kids brought home from daycare. I've never used Doordash, but they are running a special on big macs for 1 cent. My lunch was still more expensive than bringing my own and a lot less healthy, but considering the circumstances it could have been way worse.
2) I am making our halloween costumes, but I do have to buy a few things for them. Luckily I found a bunch of coupon codes the orders I am placing.
3) I've got an air mattress listed on fb marketplace. Everyone keeps trying to negotiate me down, but it is in excellent condition and is getting lots of interest, so I'm not coming down on the price.
4) I finished another dissertation chapter yesterday. There is nothing more frugal than actually graduating and getting a job.
5) I menu planned and shopped at Aldi yesterday, I plan to put a few recently received checks directly into savings, and I wrote down a nice, neat little list of things I'd like to buy for the house and then promptly filed it out of sight and out of mind.
1. I sold a door on facebook marketplace. It was just sitting in the garage and came with the house when we moved in, but we decided to switch it out at the get go for a newer look. Got a pretty penny for the door at least.
2. Found 5lb of apples on sale for $2.99 at Ingles. It was reduced. I also found 5lb. bag of bananas at Ingles that were reduced for $1.49. Bought these and made banana muffins.
3. Trying to make a decision whether to stop using paper towels altogether. I spend about $5 a week on paper towels because there's 5 folks and 2 inside dogs that can make messes. That's $20 a month and then if you keep going with that it ends up being about $2,400 over ten years. Makes you think.
4. I have to stick with a grocery bill of just $45 this week. I bought up a lot of food/household items last week that will last for a whole month. Just need mostly perishables like fresh fruit, veggies, and eggs and milk. We will see how that goes.
5. Found a newspaper in my house that I forgot to read and clipped about $2.00 in coupons. So glad I doubled checked it.
With 2 small kids and plenty of worn out clothes, I cut up the kids clothes that is beyond the point of hand-me-downs or resaling. I then use these in place of paper towels. If they get too yucky I just throw them away. With so many it is not always worthwhile to wash them.
We cut out buying paper towels last month. We were gifted a ton of men’s clothes for my DH. There were many T-shirt’s that were too old or not to his liking so I cut up a huge basket for rags. We have lots if pets so we were going through paper towels pretty quickly. The rags are working well and if they get particularly gross we just toss them. Most of them get super clean in the wash with a bit of bleach, and I line dry them.
Thanks for the tip about magic eraser on shoes! I sent a pair through the wash the other day and wasn't excited about the cleanliness of the bottom/side part of the shoe... I hadn't thought of using a magic eraser! Those things are amazing.
1. I've been wanting a second set of sheets (that weren't flannel) for a few months and I patiently waited for Aldi to have them. My waiting paid off and I got sheets for $15 this week.
2. Yesterday while my kids were napping I spent a lot of time prepping veggies. People had given us peppers, onions, and carrots. They're all washed, sliced, peeled if needed, and some are frozen.
3. My moms ministry group is starting a new book soon. I've ordered it through the interlibrary loan system and I think it will get here in time.
4. My husband has a candy dish on his desk at work and I try to keep the candy to 10 cents a piece when I shop. I just loaded up on Halloween candy from Aldi that's less than that price! And it's the "good candy" (chocolate).
5. I'm a newbie to Ibotta but I'm getting the hang of it! I'm making sure to put all of my receipts (and my husband's) in and make sure I space them out to maximize the 'any receipt' cash back offers.
If you move quickly after a candy holiday, you can get it heavily discounted. I say move quickly because there's a trend in the bigger stores to get the candy out of the store within a day or two of the holiday. It's a mystery to me what they do with it - I really hope it doesn't go in the trash!
This month begins the 5 month season to stock up on candy: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, followed by Easter to fill in the gaps you couldn't fill during the winter. I keep a good-sized box in the laundry room for the stash.
I have tried this but realized that the temptation was too much. I even tried buying candy I don't like but found that when I wanted a sugar rush in desperation I would eat anything. I hate myself for being so weak, but I hated myself more for being weak after stuffing my face. So, I buy candy the day before and take the remains someplace else the next day, like the morning swim at the pool. They have a table for sharing, and at holidays it is candy and baked goods while in the summer it is excess vegetables.
I admire that you can stockpile and not eat your thrifty purchases.
Wow! Everyone's posts inspire me every week. Its hard to be a frugal minded person who was born with in their DNA and be married to a person who has a "I sees it, I wants it, I buys it" attitude...Its an ongoing battle but i do what i can on my end hoping that it evens out. My 5 frugals for the week are: I sold 3 items on Ebay this week 2. Finally got enough points on my Fetch app for another $10 Amazon Card 3. Also had enough points on Swagbucks for a $10 Amazon card ( you gotta do a few surveys a day or it takes forever) using said cards for Christmas gifts! 4. Harvesting pumpkins out of the garden so i don't have to buy any for porch decor. 5. Freezer is overflowing so only preparing meals i can plan around things we need to use up! My 1 ,"Frugal Fail" was our hot water tank is giving ip the ghost and its gas and we dont feel comfortable doing any DIY so its going to cost $1400 to replace.Ugghhhh! I didnt go with the cheapest company i went with the company with the best reputation but a piece of mind sometimes trumps saving a little extra money.
Spending money is not necessarily unfrugal!!! Unfrugal is spending it badly. Take, for example, your so-called frugal fail. Here are a lot reasons why, even though replacing your hot water heater is expensive, it's not a fail:
* You're not waiting till the last minute to replace it, thus you won't be making a rushed - and therefore likely expensive - decision.
* You're not waiting till it breaks to replace it, so you won't be spending unnecessary money to make up for the fact you don't have hot water, such as staying in a hotel, buying a lot of take out or using disposable plates, or the cost and work involved in cleaning up a mess.
* You're buying a reliable machine that will last, which brings down the lifetime cost. Low lifetime cost is frugal!
* You're going with a reliable company so you (probably) won't be spending (as much?) time, money, or aggravation fixing mistakes that a low-quality company might make.
Absolutely. Just like you sometimes have to spend money to make money, you have to spend money to save money.
1. Packed a lunch every day
2. Wash my dress clothes on delicate and hang them after 20 mins. My clothes stay nice for a long time. ( some pieces are decades old).
3. Went to fruit/ vegetable market. It is cheaper but a little more trouble than the grocery store.
4. Bought discounted yogurts.
5. Stocked up on 1.99 laundry detergents.
I have that exact pair of shoes, thanks for the tip!
1. For a family getaway we found a cheap Airbnb. We will mostly be hanging out here and going to the beach right by us, no need to spend money on entertainment. Even though we don't have a microwave or range, we plan to eat thinks like sandwiches to save on eating out. Also, it was in a close location, so we didn't have to pay too much for transportation. So far we haven't turned the Airbnb AC on as they charge extra for that.
2. My husband called one of phone bills to cancel, but they ended up reducing our bill, so he kept it. Savings: $30 every month.
3. We found an error in a bill and it will be corrected. Savings around $100.
4. I accepted 5 boxes of classic books for FREE!! I sorted through them and passed on 2 boxes.
5. I skipped ladies night out to an expensive restaurant. I'll wait for one of the cheaper events to go to. Savings about $20.
1. Cheap bulbs to plant this fall for an amazing spring..ordered crocus bulbs,...various packs of white ones and a pack of pale blue ones to scatter and plant in this waste area of yard. Picked the subtle ones. 2. Went to thrift store called out of the closet...want to take stuff there. Google it. Has several locations nation wide 3. Ate large pad thai carry out from place down the street with lime and spring roll and duck sauce.. two meals plus for 8.00. 4. Got my free flu shot at CVS. Going back for pneumonia shot and 2nd shingles shot soon. 5. Collected purple morning glory seeds again and packed in small envelopes clearly marked for tiny xmas gifts for acquaintances and neighbors. Tea and teapots make good gifts too
1. I needed a new lunchbag for work. My friend suggested a local grocery store, which had some for 70% off. I got one for both me and my husband, and spent less than $5 on both. 🙂
2. We needed a few new things for the bathroom. So we took our stash of Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards and coupons to the store and now we have nice new shower mat, tub shroom (catches hair from going down your drain - it's great!) and fabric shower curtain liner. All for freeeee!
3. I wanted to make some beef and barley soup. Instead of getting pre-cut stew meat, I bought a larger cut of meat that was less money per pound, cut it up myself and froze half of it which will be used for soup or stew later in the winter.
4. I have been drinking a lot of sparkling water all summer. I decided to stop buying it and instead make iced tea with my neglected iced tea maker and use up some of my very large stash of tea as well. Using up stuff, reducing waste AND saving money, yay!
5. I went through the deep freezer and looked at what we have that needs to get used up and the pantry as well. I made a pasta dish for this week that used some sausage we had that needed using up. I also have a list of other ideas.
Huh, maybe we can eBay our dog costume that we don't otherwise have a use for.
I just picked up a pile of chicken breasts on sale so I can cut them up and freeze them for later use, along with many pounds of shrimp on sale for a (not cheap but healthier) not-red-meat protein. I'm also happy to have redeemed points for Amazon ($10) and Target ($25) gift cards to cover some upcoming gifts for birthdays.
Shrimp do make a great fast dinner protein. And they are almost always cheaper than takeout, so there's that in their favor!
I'm happy that half of the costumes have sold, and you still have plenty of time to sell the others.
1. I appealed our health insurance about a denied claim, and will receive a check this week as they reversed their decision. The process wasn't hard, but it took about 2 months, so it did require patience. It was your example, Kristen, of challenging insurance decisions that I questioned that prompted me to try. Thank you!
2. We refinanced our mortgage getting a cash out which paid off the student loans. It will reduce the number of years of our mortgage and the decreased the interest significantly for everything with a lower monthly payment. And the margin it creates makes for less stress.
3. I'm using up things in the freezer and pantry and I am giving food items away that I'm just not going to use.
4. I think decluttering is a frugal thing to do, as I am putting things back where they belong, thinking of how to use things and then getting rid of things I don't need.
5. I've been careful about planning errands and other things to save on gas and using coupons and asking about senior discounts on those errands.
1. Found a free head and foot board in someone's trash. My son insisted we paint it orange. We just had to buy the paint ($5) and an adaptor ($20) to make his frame fit. Even though it is orange, it actually looks pretty cool
2. My husband is currently in our garage fixing the snow blower
3. Our baby monitor would not work unless plugged in. We thought about buying another used one, but found a replacement battery on Amazon for $8
4. My very old curling iron broke this weekend. I rarely curl my hair, so I figured out how to curl it with the straightener I already own
5. Made banana muffins using ripe bananas and leftover yogurt. They fed us for breakfast this past weekend and my son took the rest for snack at school this week
An orange headboard is definitely a unique choice! You are a good mom to paint it a crazy color for him. 🙂
1. Baked a cake from scratch for our kiddos’ birthday instead of buying one.
2. Got a $5 Target gift card when I got my flu shot at the pharmacy there.
3. Scored some shorts 50% off on clearance at Target for my son for next year.
4. Started an eat the freezer challenge for October since I seriously need to defrost my deep freezer.
5. Making curry butternut squash soup in the crockpot tonight with squash from our garden for a cheap dinner.
1. Got our flu shots at Target which is just one mile away, and were rewarded with ten dollars in gift cards. Our regular physician is 15 miles away. Win-win.
2. I almost never drive at night and wear prescription sunglasses to drive during the day. I realized I now need that prescription for untinted glasses. In the last week I have been caught out twice needing to drive in the dark. I was just trying to avoid spending serious money on yet ANOTHER pair of glasses that will be rarely used. Last night the lightbulb went on. It's time to check into Zenni Optical.
3. Husband had serious surgery a week ago and have been cooking all meals. They are quite simple but, as we are retired, we had gotten in the habit of lots of lunches out. Saving money there.
All for now.
I have a few.... #1 My youngest daughter needed a Texas Instrument calculator for school. I remembered my oldest had a few, so we checked with her & found out one of them will work for my youngest, so i didn't have to purchase one. #2 My hubby wanted pizza for dinner the other night, so we used 2 coupons for two different free pizzas we had and fed all four of us. #3 My daughter was having a party in school and signed up to bring napkins and cups - we had plenty of both left from oldest daughter's graduation party this summer so youngest took those in & i didn't have to buy anything new #4 I was tempted to go shopping one night to just browse around when no one was home but me. Instead I stayed home and worked in my yard & garden & did some cleaning in the house. Save whatever amount I could have spent.... #5 I had a doctors appointment as followup from my foot surgery. Actually I had 3 since surgery & never got a bill for the co-pays. I asked the nurse and she said i won't have those co-pays since they're part of the followup after surgery & for 90 days after surgery, so I saved $105 in co-pays!! I loved hearing that news!
I have been washing shoes in the washer, even soccer cleats, for years. Stuff them with newspaper to help dry from the inside and hold shape. also, Scotchgard canvas shoes (and backpacks) for easier cleaning and longer wear. A leather repellent is also useful.
1. We found out what the Halloween theme is going to be at work this year: Crayola crayons. Most of my co-workers will buy premade shirts and hats online or at the local Halloween store. I plan on making mine cheaper (possibly free) by using a Joann's coupon and gift card.
2. Submitted mileage and tolls from a college class I took in the spring term that my company paid for. Plan on using the money for Christmas.
3. Had to drop off the car for it's annual inspection Monday. My workmate picked me up at the dealership and I used a Dunkin Donuts gift card to get us breakfast sandwiches and coffee as a way to thank her.
4. A local school district was selling used iPads (they upgraded the student equipment). Was able to pick up a gently used one for $50!!!! My husband is getting it for Christmas because his old tablet is on it's last legs.
5. At a fiber fair last weekend I picked up skeins of the softest baby alpaca yarn on sale. The alpaca farm is local, so I know the regular pricing. I saved about 25% and have enough yarn to knit warm hats for the hubby, my father and the significant others of my two eldest daughters. Thinking of making them a little large so I can line them with fleece for extra warmth. Winter is around the corner, after all.