Five Frugal Things | My shoes are off the ground!
1. I got a free shoe rack
I don't have any specific shoe storage in my closet, so my shoes have just been sitting in a somewhat disorganized fashion on the floor.
So when I saw someone was offering a shoe rack for free (before taking it to the dump), I said, "Oh, yes please!"
The rack was pretty wobbly, so I tightened up all the screws with my screwdriver, and that improved things considerably.
It could theoretically use a refinishing job, but I have a LOT of other things on my refinishing list already, and besides, this is going in the closet. It's not like I am really going to be seeing it.
So, I loaded it up with my shoes.
And I pushed it into my closet.
Now it's way easier to see all my shoes, and none of them will end up stacked on top of each other anymore. Yay!
2. I re-potted my grandma's chrysanthemum
You may remember that a South Dakota aunt of mine dug up part of a mum that my beloved grandma had owned, and this aunt packed it in the back of her car and brought it with her when she came to visit in 2020.
I planted it in front of my other house, but obviously I do not live there anymore.
And while I'm sad about leaving many plants (like the hydrangea I grew from a stick!), I really really couldn't bear the thought of leaving my grandma's mum there.
So, I dug up part of it and put it into a disposable plastic plant pot to bring it over here.
Someone on my Buy Nothing group put out an, "I'm moving and you can come take anything from this pile of stuff in my front yard." announcement, and I saw a large-ish plant pot in the picture. So, I popped in and picked it up, and now my mum is in a better pot.
It looks a little wonky right now, but I am sure that it will fill out with time now that it's properly potted.
Obviously, once I am living in a home that I own, I'll plant it in the ground.
But for now, a pot is good.
3. I picked and ate some chanterelles
Since I have been having fun picking edible berries on my hikes, I joined a Facebook foraging group for my area.
Sooo, now I am getting very educated about all the edible mushrooms that grow here too. I have seen lots of people gathering chanterelles, and I found some on a recent walk!
Chanterelles are quite easy to identify, given their unique shape and color, so I felt confident enough to pick and eat them, especially after checking with my group.
4. I got a free Mod Pizza
Zoe and I got dinner out together the other night, and I had enough points in my app for one free pizza. Woohoo!
5. I dealt with a half gallon of iffy milk
Sooo, I have decided that Zoe and I are in a stage of life where I need to buy half gallons of milk. The two of us just do not go through a whole gallon quickly enough!
As a result, I had a half gallon that was slightly off, and I didn't really want to dump it down the drain.
I used a little bit to make a yogurt/milk mixture to sub for buttermilk in my whole wheat pancakes.
In the process, I accidentally dumped my whole box of recipe cards out, and the pancake one fell into my oil/milk mixture. Sooo, I made a new card.
And in the process of organizing the recipe cards, I decided that my other buttermilk pancake recipe card really needed a reboot as well.
ANYWAY!
I also used two cups of the milk to make some chocolate pudding.
And then I froze the rest of the milk in two containers. I know, I know...I'm trying to clean out my freezer.
But look! I labeled these! And I have specific plans in mind. One container will make another batch of pudding, and the other will go into a batch of cinnamon bread.
So, I feel optimistic that I will actually use these containers of milk.
Normally our FFT are about the same topics: meal planning mainly. While we did buy and eat marked down chicken (1) and biked a lot in spite of the rain, using less gas (2) and listed and sold an unused toolset (3) we also had two out of the ordinary frugal things. We unblocked a rain pipe (the leaves had pretty much become peat) (4) which saved us the cost of someone coming in, and we had an unexpected and considerable discount for our cat's anti-flea treatment (5). So this week we felt both Frugal and Capable.
We also listed some items for free, which will be blessing the homes of others.
@JNL, Frugal and Capable, when combined with Minimalism (getting rid of stuff) makes me feel so righteous. Awesome!
I’m so glad you saved your mum! Do you have plans to dig up more of it to take with you?
—Surplus produce season is upon us! Thus far, co-workers and neighbors have shared zucchini, corn (10 ears from one person!), cucumbers, and eggplant. I return the favor with our omnipresent basil, which weirdly no one else seems to have planted but is always happy to receive.
—My husband had a scheduled dental cleaning. Like usual, I told him to ask for an extra free toothbrush, and also like usual, our mutual dentist happily stacked his grab bag with double freebies: double toothbrushes, toothpastes, and floss picks galore. Our dentist always has surplus freebies to give away and is always glad for the chance.
—The fly button on my husband’s work pants broke. Since he wears BDUs in the summer—all the pockets have buttons!—I just asked him which pocket(s) he uses the least and stole a replacement button accordingly.
— I found new-with-tags gutter guards at Habitat Restore for 75 cents apiece--28 cents apiece after my $10 credit! (One gets $10 for every $100 spent at Habitat. It takes a while, but it's worth it.) I bought the entire stack of 5" x 3' pieces and should have enough for both the house and the garage for just $5.60! This victory is doubly sweet because ORKIN tried to upsell us on gutter guards for $2500(!!!) this past winter--hard pass, and that's not why you're even here, guys, seriously.
—I unintentionally granted myself a much-needed day off by tuning into PlutoTV’s Godzilla channel. PlutoTV is a free service (albeit with commercials) with a channel for truly EVERYTHING. Re: Godzilla & Co., Pluto often plays the original Japanese versions with subtitles vs. the dubbed ones I grew up with on VHS. (80s child raised with anachronisms: Godzilla, Adam West’s Batman, Get Smart, green stamps in my grandparents’ house, etc.) Seeing movies I’ve memorized in a new way, always with 15-30 minutes of additional footage that was cut from the dubbed release, is engrossing. It’s also instant happiness. I’ve told my husband that if I go first, I want Mothra’s Song played at my funeral, and I wasn’t joking. 🙂
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9lmZRRqF6wA&pp=ygUNbW90aHJhJ3Mgc29uZw%3D%3D
@N, 70s child here, and Monster Week was a big thing to look forward to on TV, the 4:30 movie.
And I can hum Mothra's song without even going to Youtube. From wikipedia:
"The 4:30 Movie is a television program that aired weekday afternoons on WABC-TV (Channel 7) in New York from 1968 to 1981. The program was mainly known for individual theme weeks devoted to theatrical feature films or made-for-TV movies starring a certain actor or actress, or to a particular genre, or to films that spawned sequels. The more popular episodes were "Monster Week," "Planet of the Apes Week" and "Vincent Price Week.""
Needless to say, I loved Planet of the Apes week too.
@N, You know, it's funny. As a child I never knew a single person who liked Godzilla movies except for me. Now all these years later I am convinced we were out there but just in hiding.
Also, I'm more of a Sacred Springs man myself although Mothra's Song is really quite classic as well.
You're probably the only person here who understands what my ancient (from the days of AOL Instant Messenger, no less) screen name means 😛
And yeah, I was raised anachronistically as well. My parents would dump my brother and I at my grandmother's house while they would take my sisters to dance or gymnastics meets or other events and my elderly grandmother watched a lot of old TV.
Also, the Adam West Batman is the best version and I will defend that to the last!
@N, Fantastic deal on the gutter guards. I share your glee.
@N, what an amazing find on the gutter guards!!!
My mum....well, oddly enough, something has been eating it to death over at the other house. Last time I stopped by to drop something off for Sonia, I noticed it was eaten almost entirely to the ground. So I am double grateful I removed part of it and brought it here!
@Rose,
YES! 70s child here, too. My sisters and I used to watch the 4;30 movie all the time. 🙂
@N, Saturday and Sunday afternoons when everyone was busy I could sometimes find “Jason and the Argonauts” on tv. Skeletons’ sword fighting? Years before Skyrim.
@Tiana, AMC was my gateway drug to so many awesome old movies, Ray Harryhausen included!
@Battra92, Sacred Springs is also an excellent choice! I was Mothra for kindergarten Halloween (Mom made my wings) and so mad that everyone thought I was just a butterfly. Needless to say, I’m used to being the odd one out! 😛 I knew my husband was a keeper when I lamented my Godzilla figurine being donated before one of my late childhood moves, and he/Santa gave me a replacement for Christmas.
@Kristen, oh my gosh! I’m also glad you saved what you did, when you did!
@Rose, There was a channel out of Chicago hosted by Grandpa Munster that did late night themed movies, too. A good many of our Toho monster movie library was recorded from/owed to that show!
Also, yay for Vincent Price in anything, forever and always. An excellent copy of “Dragonwyck” is on YouTube. 1946 Vincent Price in Victorian clothing? Yes, please!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MQxAk9gU_Ws&t=6s&pp=ygUaZHJhZ29ud3ljayAxOTQ2IGZ1bGwgbW92aWU%3D
@N, Also, Chicago WGN had Family Classics on Sunday afternoons. Errol Flynn in "Robin Hood" with the merry men laughing heartily and loudly on cue seemed to be a staple. Anyone familiar with it will now have the theme song in their heads.
I saw it a few times back when WGN and TBS were "super stations".
@N, Lol my whole family loved Godzilla and we would watch it on a tiny tv that was on the kitchen table! Another fav was The Avengers.
@Heidi Louise, Great film and a great Korngold soundtrack. John Williams stands on the shoulders of Korngold.
@N, re: Mithras music: just instrumental, I presume!
@Jenny, of course, that was supposed to say Mothra, not Mithras!
@Jenny, Nope, vocals, too! It’s not Mothra’s Song otherwise.
@Rose, I remember those movies well. I remember especially "who's afraid of Baby Jane"? I don't think us kids watched them as we were busy playing outside.
@Auntiali, Did they show West Side Story? Or the China Drum Song. Dang that can't be right but it was adapted from a show on Broadway.
My HUGE score this week was paying attn to my car insurance policy renewal. Its that time of the year and August is the last payment so I opened the mailer and found all the new insurance cards.. I was scanning the policy and thought the numbers looked high.. Pulled up last years policy on the computer and realized our bill went up almost by 1/3! I grabbed my highlighter and started to note where there might have been changes.. These changes brought about a $90 a month increase!! I sat down and wrote a quick email to my guy asking for more explanation... Was this just economy and out of our control? Was this from when husband and I were in hit and run? Oldest is now 21 so no longer youthful driver discount- but WHY??? So although super annoyed I spoke to a friend and our pricing was still pretty low... Got a call yesterday from our agent and he said it was an INSANE increase... made no sense... he did some research, asked me a few questions about driving useage... chatted about the kids.. ( apologized that they had not gotten an annual review of our plan before it auto renewed-end of alphabet prob lol).. in the end our plan was wrong.. we qualified for a rate freeze due to history and loyalty.. and our bill not only was NOT hiked.. but it will be about $45 less a month than previous!! Woot Woot!
Hit the motherload of stock up at the local salvage grocery.. its always hit or miss naturally but the last 2 times I have scored great deals. There is a Local-ish Amish community and they have the BEST chicken.. and you pay for it too.. Well I saw it at this store in the fridge well before sell by date and still more than I would pay.. But they must have had a LOT cause they froze it.. the next time I came in it was frozen and had 30% off sticker..better price for a great product.. I only bought a few packs in case quality had been affected and it was perfect.. So I have stocked up the last few times I have been there since we eat a LOT of chicken... Also hit a great day and lots of produce and snack items at great prices.. and I have little time/desire to bake so this is great! lol
went to Meijer with a friend- I never go there and large watermelon was 5.99. Personal watermelons were Buy 1@3.99 get another for $1. They were very big.. So I got 2 for 4.99 and probably same size as a single.. But it was still a gamble... I was So happy they were perfectly red and sweet! lol (buying an uncut watermelon is the same as a scratch off ticket to me)
got 2 full sized bottles of Bath and Body works shower gel with the coupons I get in the mail at home. One set mailed to the people who owned the house 25 years ago and another set in my moms name.. No idea why but I always use them! lol
@jes, good for you on paying attention to the car insurance. My various insurances all auto-renew in January, and I need to go over the personal liability policy in particular. I don't think that one's been reviewed since DH's landlord days, so I might well see savings there.
I love your recipe cards. Several of mine need rewritten, too. But not my pancake recipe; that's from a cookbook, but the page is torn out because of how frequently it's used.
*I am ridiculously excited that I now know how to make cultured buttermilk from scratch. In case you missed it in my comment yesterday: It's 1 tablespoon of store-bought cultured buttermilk mixed with 1 cup regular milk. Set it on your counter (lightly covered....I used a coffee filter and rubber band and a quart jar because I made a whole quart) and wait until it's thick. You can do this in the morning, and it's done by evening. No heating anything up....so easy!
*I'm meeting a friend and kids at the park (free) today. She's bringing me a cheap bushel of peaches (seconds), and I'm taking her some clothes I no longer need.
*We've been eating produce from the garden.
*I canned more green beans.
*We ate bits and bobs on Sunday evening. This meal showcased some pretty "creative" finger foods. I spread the rest of the open cream cheese on the last pancake and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar-- cut it in about 20 pieces-- et voila! Gourmet eating! 🙂 I also re-created other odds and ends.
@Jody S., I never redo handwritten recipes. It's more fun that way. Look, my mom's recipe for chicken Kiev written on the back of my Greek homework from 1986! heh.
@Rose, I keep the original for sentimental reasons,but I do make a more legible copy
If it was a card written by, say, my grandma, I'd definitely have kept the original. But the first copy was just one made by me, so I didn't feel very sentimental about my own writing. 😉
@Rose, I have a couple that are nearly illegible. If I originally wrote it, I won't keep it, but it's a different story if it's my mom or grandma's. I also have a few recipes that have morphed drastically, and I think it would be most kind to my children to re-write so they can read them.
I could never get through a full gallon of milk when I was single. So, I switched to almond milk which lasts longer and comes in smaller containers. We enjoy the taste and I found that it works fine in almost all of my recipes. Now that I am no longer single, I we still only buy almond milk.
Our frugal wins this week are very food-focused:
1. Eating the fresh produce from my garden AND my friends' gardens.
2. Cooking all but one of our meals at home this week
3. We purchased discount gift cards from Sam's club and treated family/friends to a brunch. We saved about 20%!
I love the shoe rack. It fits so perfectly in your space. And somehow I don't think I've really ever frozen milk. I get scared when it starts to have any iffy smell and dump it. Maybe I need to be creative. It's rare to have any star to turn though, because my son drinks 2-3 gallons a week just himself!
My frugal things are less interesting.
1. Freebies - We were treated to free snow cones at scout event and free popcorn at a library program. We got free brownies from Chick-fil-A thanks to some reading program rewards.
2. We are reusing some of our school supplies and binders that are still in good shape. Two of four kids had backpacks in great shape. One kid just never really used his, the other backpack was from Sam's Club two years ago and still looks good.
3. Trying out Walmart Plus for grocery delivery. I kind of like it, but I think it's silly that they ask you to tip when you are paying a subscription service?? I don't think I will pay the subscription when the trial ends. I did receive part of someone else's delivery order for groceries. I contacted Walmart and they told me to keep them. So, I'm using up some free items that I didn't order.
Not that frugal - but maybe frugality enables the fun sometimes 🙂
- Fancy ice cream at an ice cream shop (husband's idea)
- going to the theater to see a movie (also my husband's idea)
-State Fair tickets and a "free" concert there (fun family time though!)
I feel like I've been buying non-stop for school and other reasons lately, so I guess it's a good thing I'm starting back to work myself and will shortly have income again. 🙂
I'm sure I can come up with five things, though . . .
--I did have some school supplies stashed away from last year. Not buying five glue sticks and and a box of crayons didn't make too much of a dent in the amount I had to shell out for school supplies, but I suppose every little bit helps.
--I never buy new backpacks. All four of my kids have been using the same backpack for years. I really don't understand buying a new one every year. It's not like they outgrow backpacks. Although, my 8-year-old is using the one I bought for my eldest son when he started kindergarten seven years ago, so I might have to get him a slightly bigger one when he starts high school. Ours are from L.L. Bean, they seem indestructible, and I just wash them before school starts.
--By some miracle, none of my three elementary kids need new shoes for P.E. They have to have a separate pair kept at school to change into before they go into the gym, and buying an extra pair of shoes for every kid is a financial hit. But they can all still use their shoes from last year, as long as I wash them so they're clean. This is why I always buy a size up, but this is the first time this has happened.
--My eldest son can now fit into the girdle (a type of athletic shorts with pads around the hips for football) I bought last year that was too big. So I didn't have to buy anything for him but his cleats.
--I've been making the football player switchel--also known as haymaker's punch--to fill his half-gallon water bottle (jug?) for the extra-long and hot practices they have before school starts. I asked him if he wanted Gatorade, but he said the switchel is better. All the other boys were just drinking water, but the coach sent a text yesterday strongly recommending Gatorade to replace the salts lost from sweating for three hours. Maybe I should share my switchel recipe on the group chat and cement my status as County Hippie. 🙂 It's here, by the way, if anyone needs it:
https://going-country.blogspot.com/2022/08/tt-modern-switchel-recipe.html
@kristin @ going country,
I still have the LL Bean backpack I got for 6th grade 20 ish years ago and it’s still serving me well! Only a few years ago I parted with the one I received for kindergarten many years before that. They truly last forever.
@kristin @ going country, Thanks, that was perfect timing! - I was just asking my husband yesterday if he wanted switchel, so i just made your recipe so it'll be cold when he wants it. (And actually I drank some warm just now, and it tasted really good in my present congested state : )
@kristin @ going country,
We haven't had to buy my son a new backpack for the past two years, and it's still going strong for the coming school year (Adidas brand). He's pretty hard on his backpacks (usually the bottom wears out first), so I'm happy this one is lasting so well. (I have tried to convert him to LL Bean....nope.....this is one hill I refuse to die on).
@kristin @ going country, I bought my kids LLBean backpacks when they were in kindergarten & they carried them all through high school. My 28 yr old son’s is still hanging in his closet!!
@kristin @ going country, I just ordered my son a backpack from L L Bean. This will hopefully last until middle school when he may need to switch to the bigger size like his older sister did.
@kristin @ going country, great- thanks! In some very old cookbooks, they mash some berries or apples in there and strain it. More variety and more electrolytes!
My list is going to look awfully familiar to those who also read The Non-Consumer Advocate blog.
1. Enjoyed a free meal at our apartment’s National Night Out event.
2. Concocted a side dish to use up things that needed using up: avocado, tomato, black beans, and lemon juice, to which I added olive oil, seasoning salt and pepper.
3. Husband negotiated a better renewal price for Sirius radio. Renewal offer was $25/month and when my husband said he would have to cancel at that price, they immediately offered $8/month, just $2 more than last year. He loves to negotiate but this one was too easy.
4. Snagged a few items and offered up things on Buy Nothing. Latest acquisitions were a weird-themed pasta shape (who cares, pasta is pasta) and hot dog buns. I take one bun a day out of the freezer, open it up, put it in the toaster oven and enjoy it as toast topped with peanut butter. My Buy Nothing group is fabulous, a true community.
5. Friend gave my dog a barely used harness.
@MB in MN, I forgot about National Night Out. We got lots of freebies there!
Let's see....
1. Our roof is being replaced due to wind damage which saves us from having to replace it totally out of pocket. I am so grateful for this. The savings part comes in due to the roofer replacing the 3 tab shingles we currently have with architectural shingles. This will double the life span of our roof and typically costs about $8K for the upgrade. Our roofer is doing this upgrade at no cost to us. Yay!
2. I am working on eating down the freezer as well as the produce bins. To that end I made a wonderful salad containing romaine, Cucumbers & tomatoes from our gardens, a can of chick peas, Kalamata olives that needed to be used, Feta, a bit of italian dressing, and an onion. I have found that I can make a double batch and the salad remains crunchy! Hooray for a salad I can make in a big batch.
3. My hubby cleared out the first of the gardens that we planted in the Spring and I am planting fall crops this weekend. I hope to get another round of green beans, peas, and a variety of field peas. I will also sow seeds for a variety or greens, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, carrots, green onions, herbs, and many more Zinnias.
4. The cost of gas lately...ooph. I filled up when I made my trip to Costco to save 30 cents a gallon. I am also combining trips to stretch it as far as it can go.
5. Lots of free entertainment - last Saturday at my sister's pool, Parcheesi and Rummy 5000 tournaments, sidewalk chalk, coloring books & posters, and walks in our neighborhood.
Happy Tuesday!
5 Frugal Things:
-A neighbor brought by a number is zucchini he wasn’t going to use, so we’ve been enjoying those (and sharing them with others as they are way too many for us to eat.)
-I bought my husband’s preferred running shoes on zulily at half their normal price. They’re still expensive, but cheaper than foot injuries.
-I continue to potty train my son, which has increased my laundry but definitely decreased diaper consumption.
-I discovered that I can get new sodastream cartridges delivered by mail, instead of having to go to the store and the price ends up being comparable.
-I switched to mint mobile, and we are somehow not just saving money, but have better cell reception in our house.
@Hannah, Where do you get the SodaStream cartridges? Is it a service where you exchange, or just get new ones every time? I live too far from stores to do the exchange thing, but I really, really wish I could still use my SodaStream.
@kristin @ going country, we use a larger CO2 canister from a gas supply store. We copied the hack from Frugalwoods : https://www.frugalwoods.com/2014/08/11/how-to-cheap-homemade-seltzer-with-a-modified-sodastream/
We are still on our original canister ( I think it is around 30# of CO2?)
It saves us SO much!
@kristin @ going country, it’s an exchange directly through sodastream’s website. We have 3 canisters that we’re exchanging at a time, so with the subscription I get free shipping. This is the first time I’ve done it, so I can’t speak to it working perfectly, but I’m hopeful to skip customer service lines with people who are always perplexed about the sodastream exchange process.
@Cheryl 90, I’ve read about that before, and may have to give it a try, it seems like a great system!
@Hannah, it is a little work in the beginning to modify the soda stream, but there are many youtube videos on how to do it. our canister is about the same size as the soda stream itself, so I have it in a corner of the counter with the canister directly behind it. Hope you like it if you decide to go for it. 🙂
I thought the point was that your recipe cards were supposed to look well loved and used. It gives them character!
1.) Buying some Back to School items on the massive discounts that happen this time of year. Some are even for the girl going back to school. 🙂
2.) Speaking of, at Costco we bought some new water bottles for her to go back to school with. Some of hers have seen a few drops and are more dent than straight edged at this point. I also took advantage of the sales on laundry detergent to get another big bottle. I used to be very much about couponing for this (mostly Purex brand and such) but now I just have a giant box of Tide Powder for the really dirty stuff and Costco brand F&C for the main stuff.
3.) Been working extra hard to make my wife's lunches for work. I hate to have her spend money on lunch when I am already making lunches for our daughter as it is. I'm also trying to make her a hot breakfast she can take with her when she wants one.
4.) Found some shoes for my niece and nephew on clearance. I do admit that I love buying for these kids. My wife said I've turned into the providing dad/uncle/friend's dad as I'm always trying to do special things for the kids in my life.
5.) Still saving up cash for some inevitable life changes. Instead of getting Chinese we got this kit for making orange chicken in the air fryer. Was it processed? Yes. Was it easier than getting take out? Indeed it was. A lot cheaper too! Trader Joe's has a lot of these but from what I can tell I'm allergic to a lot of them. :-/
#5...yes, quick grocery options like that are almost always cheaper than takeout!
I worked through a small pile of mending, putting some clothing back into circulation.
I made sandwich bread and granola, two staples in our house.
We're eating cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli and the first tomatoes from the garden.
Library books and audio books from Libby for the win!
I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon making cards from old calendar photos. I like to use these for Get Well and Sympathy cards.
Most of mine revolve around food this time.....
1. DH's co-worker dropped off 2 grocery bags of lettuce, beets, onions, 5 zucchini and 4 yellow squash and a jar of zuppa soup. In return I made them red beet soup and zucchini bread. We barter food back and forth.
2. Neighbors gifted us a bag of walleye. We had given them ball caps and koozies we had made with our camp logo on them. They loved their exchange!
3. Another of DH's coworkers gifted us a dozen eggs. He got a loaf of zucchini bread too!
4. I'm trying to be mindful when I do spend money to use store coupons. Lately i used a coupon for a haircut, and used some Sam's cash towards a purchase.
5. We went to a baby shower/diaper party this past weekend and I won 2 of the 3 games. I got a huge baby bottle full of candy as one prize and a small wire basket of beauty products. I took one thing out of it & will share the rest with my two daughters.
6. I also used a dog food bag as a garbage bag when I emptied it.
Such a satisfying before/after with the shoes! A wooden shoe rack is something I'm wanting too since we minimized our shoe collection and no longer need the huge 4-level setup we currently have.
And I totally get it with the plants! I actually really regret not taking a few of our plants from our last house to our new one, especially now that we've started flower farming. At our last house, there was this rose that my mom had gotten from a specialty rose collector who had passed away. It was this gorgeous vintage brownish apricot. There was also a double daisy that I thought would be easy to find again but I've had zero luck so far, and I've looked at a lot of different double daisies! I'm seriously considering driving back to our old house at some point and asking the new owner if we can take a small division.
Here are my own frugal wins:
https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2023/08/08/weekly-frugal-wins-gleaning-apricots/
That is an excellent use of the milk! I have a frozen gallon in my freezer that I need to do something with. You just gave me inspiration:) Also, I love the shoe rack. That was a good score.
So, wanted to let you know that last week I used up a freebie and scored another by doing it. My boss was gracious in buying my coworkers and I the Dairy Queen blizzard miracle blizzard coupons. I went through the drive through on Wednesday to claim my free blizzard and the drive through worker gave me my receipt, which I scanned in Fetch. I also went online while waiting for my son to get done with tutoring and did the survey, and now I have a free dilly bar waiting.
Have a great day:)
Chiquita looks altogether too interested in the contents of your "new" shoe rack, Kristen. I think she's thinking about attacking the laces of your Converses.
Now, my FFT, Sales and Tax Breaks Edition. (As usual, and in common with a few other commenters, I'm repeating some of these from yesterday's FFT at the NCA.)
(1) A young woman who has recently opened a secondhand-housewares store in a nearby suburb, and who stopped by our street-wide garage sale back in June (at my invitation; I’d read an article about her in the local paper) and bought big from a lot of us, bought another $75 worth of stuff from me on Saturday. This included five of the eight baskets I mentioned in the latest Thankful Thursday (I’m keeping the other three), as well as some other not-so-random decluttering. We had a pleasant chat, and I took a good look around the shop to see what other kinds of things I might be able to find for her. (She has a husband, a 4-year-old, and a day job in addition to the shop, so she says she can’t hit up thrift stores and garage sales as often as she’d like. Hey, I can help with that. Even Wonder Woman needs help sometimes.)
(2) And on Sunday, two pleasant young folks from the local Cat Coalition came and collected two SUVs’ worth of other stuff that I wasn’t able to sell at our garage sale (small furniture and the like) for the CC’s upcoming yard sale. Nice tax deduction there, since the CC is a 501(3)c.
(3) Heidi Louise and a few others at the NCA remarked that the name "Cat Coalition" suggested a sort of feline do-good Roman Legion or Justice League to them. I plan to make a gazillion bucks on a Cat Coalition comic strip and related merchandise as soon as I can learn to draw a recognizable cat. 🙂
(4) In other news, I visited a garden/art event in a neighborhood just south of our local party-school university. In addition to acquiring a lot of literature about native plants and planting for beneficial insects, I was given a free swamp milkweed plant. It seems that swamp milkweed is what monarchs prefer for egg-laying and pupating, though they and many others will nectar on the common milkweed I’ve got now. Who knew?
(5) Finally, the friend who trims my hedges came by not only to trim the hedges, but to collect his share of my 1/4 steer and two of DH’s ladders that he’s buying from me. As soon as one more set of friends has had a chance to go through DH’s remaining tools, I’ll be calling the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to arrange a pickup on the rest.
@A. Marie, I'm inspired by your decluttering - you find such great matches and rehome items where they'll be used. (And for your $-maker Justice League Cat Coalition comic strip - perhaps you could use Kristen's tattoo as your starting point... so much character, so few lines..)
We are constantly letting milk go bad here - even in 1/2 gallon containers. I literally just tossed 1/4 of a gallon that was slightly off after my grandkids went home. I SHOULD HAVE FROZEN IT. You've inspired me to do better about this. I have plenty of containers and generally have freezer space. I have a half gallon that will likely be slightly off in the next day - I'm going to freeze that (AND make plans of how/when it will be used.)
Kristen, did you know you can keep milk from going sour? Mary Hunt, the Cheapskate columnist and author of "Tiptionary" and other books, had this on the internet a long time ago: just sprinkle a little bit of table salt (a few grains will do it) into your newly-opened jug (or carton) of milk. I usually do this after pouring myself the first glass. Give the jug a gentle shake, and that's it! What happens is that the salt retards the growth of bacteria, which causes the milk to go bad. You don't taste it, and it causes the milk to last longer. I've been doing this for years and I don't think any of the salted milk has gone bad on me before I used it up. I'm single and I buy milk by the gallon.
Meanwhile, I don't have a lot of frugal things this week. I had my two cataract surgeries and also a CT scan (cancer followup; it was clear. So is my distance vision in both eyes. I count that as 3 miracles. Thank you, God!) I may have mentioned this before, but I was able to use a Humana Medicare Advantage spending card like a coupon; it took $1,000 off my copay amount. I also asked friends to drive me to the surgeries so that was free. (The outpatient surgery center said no taxi cabs, Uber or Lyft.) I was able to forego home health care after the surgeries; this was against medical advice but I'd done it after the cancer surgery so I was confident I could go it alone.
I had ordered checks from the bank and they came back printed incorrectly. So I went back to the bank and negotiated. They will refund the money I paid for those checks and I will get some corrected ones, possibly free. (Depending on whether the assistant manager can get her boss to agree.)
I set my AC up to 82 F. when I left the house for work. (I'm helping save the Texas power grid! And hopefully, shave some money off my electric bill...)I put it down to 80 upon returning and 79 when I went to bed. With a ceiling fan, 79 feels OK. We're in a heat advisory and it got to 106 yesterday. No end in sight; no rain in sight.
I'm already getting substitute teacher gigs via computer; I'm checking it often, so I will have a lot of subbie jobs when school begins.
Huh, I've never heard of that! Just a pinch is enough to have an effect?
@Fru-gal Lisa, Mary Hunt has so many helpful tips on Everyday Cheapskate and in her newspaper columns. She is brilliant!
@Kristen, Yes, it does not take much. If I get one of those small square packets of salt at a fast food place -- often, they are packaged with the plastic knives, forks and spoons -- I'll just use it for this purpose. Keeps it from going to waste. Otherwise, just a sprinkle from the salt shaker. I usually shake the milk jug afterward. Just a few grains of salt saves me a ton of money!
@Kristen, I will also be trying that, but I feel skeptical. BUT, I was also skeptical when told store-bought “organic” milk lasts much longer than “regular”, and who knows why? This has been completely true! I have a carton that I bought July 1, opened July 9 (I don’t use much milk but one always needs to have it, right?). It still tastes fine, although it has a best-by July 25! Today is Aug. 9. I almost always buy milk at Aldi, so this is really frugal! Someday when I have time, I’ll try the mad scientist thing, but now I’m just happy to not have to dump out and repurchase milk every week or two.
I think it's because the organic milk is often ultra pasteurized!
1. I packed picnic food and allergy safe food for our trip to visit my sister-in-law. We actually ate out quite a bit, because it was a real treat for my celiac with food allergies to have safe food options in a big city. She even had her very first donut!
2. I adjusted the thermostat before we left so the AC wouldn't work so hard.
3. We returned library items before we left.
4. We used our local zoo membership to get into a much larger zoo for half price. Earlier in the summer, we got into a different zoo for free using the same membership.
5. We shopped sale and clearance racks for new clothes. My husband got his glasses replaced for free when they broke.
6. We ate up food from the fridge to avoid waste.
7. I bought new thread on sale to sew on the 1,001 (or so) patches that my kids need on their uniforms.
Not frugal for others but frugal for me: I don't use much milk, so it was always going bad. Not frugal! So I started buying the fat free "ultra-filtered" milk in the just-a-little-less-than-half gallon containers. It costs a little less than a gallon of conventional whole milk goes for (as of July 2023: U.S. simple average prices are: $4.31 per gallon for conventional whole milk, $4.26 per gallon for conventional reduced fat 2% milk), but much less than organic ($4.86 per half gallon organic whole milk, and $4.86 per half gallon organic reduced fat 2% milk), and has 50% less sugar and 50% more protein than "regular" milk. And I use it all because it lasts at least 3 months in the refrigerator (be sure to check the "best by" dates on the bottle caps). So ... frugal for me, if not for thee.
@JDinNM, I'm stunned by those US average prices. My Wegmans routinely sells fat-free milk, which is what I buy, for under $3/gallon (one of the few remaining bargains at Weggies these days), and my Price Chopper's gallon doesn't cost much more than that. Upstate NY is dairy country, so I suppose that plays a part in the pricing.
Moreover, both stores charge almost as much for a half-gallon as for a gallon. So I've always figured that even if I have to toss a fraction of a gallon now and then, I'm still money ahead if I buy by the gallon. And I do drink the milk till it goes completely wonky. But with Kristen's tip about freezing milk in clearly marked containers and specific quantities, I won't be tossing much in the future.
Whoa, it lasts that long even once it's opened?
We use little milk and just had the bottom of a pint carton going bad. I filled the carton with water and poured it on an outside plant as a touch of fertilizer and water. Didn't realize until later that I poured milk water on my milk weed-- hee, hee.
@Heidi Louise, think of the extra monarchs and other pollinators you'll attract to your extra milky milkweed!
@Kristen, No, like all milk, the date on the container refers to its shelf life (unopened). But these are slightly less than half-gallon containers and last at least two weeks after opening. So ... much longer (unopened) shelf life (usually 2-3 months) let's me keep it in the refrigerator knowing it will still be good when I need it, and I can surely use a half gallon over a two week period once it's opened. And I like the reduced sugar and increased protein content.
@JDinNM, "lets" not "let's" Want to clean that up before the grammar police descend. (You know who you are.)
@JDinNM,
I'm curious - so the company removes 50% of the naturally occurring lactose in the ultra-filtered milk? Is it to make this a lower-carb, higher protein milk? How does it taste?
@JDinNM, Or maybe just tell ‘autocorrect’ to knock it off!
@Liz B., I buy this locally at Walmart (better price than Wegmans). The brand name is FairLife, and it sells at Walmart here for $4.18/half-gallon-ish container. It does indeed keep unopened in the fridge for 2-3 months, and it tastes terrific. I can no longer drink “regular” milk without regretting it, and I find that most of the lactose-free milks I’ve tried are WAY too sweet for me, but not FairLife. And, bonus, it IS a higher protein milk. (If I had a jug of it here, I’d give you full details…) Most of the time I use it for making yogurt in my Instant Pot, as you don’t have to heat, then cool the milk before adding the starter to it.
I love Chiquita checking out your shoe arrangement. I'm thinking she was deciding what she might want to borrow.
Or....which shoelaces to bite. 😉
Save the Milk! (I'm envisioning a tee-shirt with that on it, like Save the Whales)
1. I shopped for groceries last time without remembering that I had a procedure scheduled for yesterday (Monday) and I had to stop eating foods with peels and seeds starting the Thursday before the procedure. Which meant I couldn't eat several of the foods I had planned, including the rest of the fresh green beans I had bought, about 3 pounds of garden cucumbers and a small pile of garden okra, for several days. I was afraid they wouldn't keep. So I canned four pints of kosher dill pickles, a pint of pickled okra, and pressure canned two pints of green beans. We're in hurricane season, so I'm trying to make more things shelf stable, just in case.
2. I sewed another reusable gift bag for Christmas with material I already have for this purpose.
3. I also sewed some new place mats for me with half-off material plus a 25% off coupon. My old place mats were getting really worn out. I have a painted table top, so I like to protect it with place mats or tablecloth.
4. I borrowed a movie from the library to watch this past weekend ("Green Book") I had long wanted to see.
5. I found some big, discounted individual Reese's cups that were still good, marked down to 35 cents each. They rang up as $1 each at the self-checkout and I absolutely got the clerk to come fix the price.
@JD,
That reminds me to start sewing holiday bags as well. I have fabric that I bought for that purpose, at a discount. How do you close the bags, drawstring or zipper?
@J NL,
This pattern doesn't have closures on the bags. The bag is more like a tote, with handles. I buy inexpensive spools of that narrow crinkled ribbon and tie the handles shut. I use tissue paper to disguise the present(s) inside, which I wouldn't have to do if I had a closure, but I re-use tissue paper and it's cheap to buy anyway.
https://www.applegreencottage.com/fabric-gift-bag-with-handles-pattern/
She has directions for drawstring gift bags, too, on her site. And elsewhere she has a tutorial for adding inset zippers to bags. (I have no affiliation with this site except that I joined it as a customer).
@JD, For those frugal gals and guys who don't like to sew, try reusable shopping bags from the supermarket. I once went to a Christmas party where they had a Chinese gift exchange. Ended up with a gift that was packaged in one of those reusable shopping bags you get at grocery stores. They usually go for about 99 cents or so. This bag had a holiday theme and was really pretty. I have used it for grocery shopping ever since, and it was a bonus on top of the gift inside. In fact, I've used the bag much more than the gift.
Personally, I use and reuse (and re-reuse!) those paper gift bags -- the ones that have handles like shopping bags. I almost never buy them, just reuse the ones I've already received. If they are plain, I may tape the front of a pretty Christmas or birthday card onto the bags -- I'm reusing both the bag and an old greeting card. I've also been known to reuse tissue paper and bows. Cheap and easy gift wrapping!
FFT
1. Rolled change to deposit into savings. I empty my wallet out on the days I spend money and put in a jar. A rather painless way for me to save.
2. Along with that - every paycheck, I take out my "variable" money. Once the cash is gone, I stop spending. That has helped me stay in my budget for years.
3. Now that no July is over, I've gone back into thrift stores and spent $6 on books. I tend to pick up the bigger paperback books to read and once I'm done with them, I exchange them in Little Free Libraries for more books. I am also a heavy library user, but sometimes it is nice to own a book and not worry about dropping it in the bathtub.
4. I used Upside to get gas at a cheaper price than I could have gotten almost anywhere else. The gas station with the biggest payback is right on my way to work.
5. I accepted free food when my boss took us out for breakfast. It was unexpected, but I'm not about to say no to free pancakes!
1. "Spend to save" category: after having a knife sharpener in my Amazon wish list for ages, I finally used some Amazon points to get one. $9 I should have spent earlier. You know your (15 year old) knives are getting dull when it's a bit of a struggle to cut up a bell pepper. I was worried I would ruin my knives by using the sharpener, but wow they cut so much more easily. I've been warning my sons that "the knives are actually sharp now, so watch out."
2. Cheap dates with the DH: taking morning or evening walks around the neighborhood, riding our stationary exercise bikes together while playing a video game at the same time (makes the exercise time go faster!).
3. We (meaning DH) built a fantastic rainwater collector, and we've been using rainwater for washing our hair and various cleaning tasks. We have been getting a surprising amount of rain for Ohio in August, so we have quite a stockpile.
4. My insurance partners with a company that provides free at home screening tests and I ordered the colon cancer screening test. My grandmother died of undiagnosed cancer that the doctors said was either ovarian or colon cancer (by the time she went to a doctor, it was in both systems), so I am all for early detection.
5. Library books!
As my brother got married yesterday, mine are mostly wedding-related!
1. I made a dress to wear to my brother's wedding (and of course have not one single picture of me in it.) The silk fabric was around $75 USD. I could have thrifted a party dress for less if cost was the main concern, but I would not spend hundreds of dollars to buy a silk dress. And since I like sewing, it's a way for me to have luxury in a frugal way.
2. The other elements of my outfit were not new. I wore shoes from my school formal a few years ago, a bracelet that was a gift from when I was a bridesmaid for a friend, and a silk scarf from a thrift store.
3. We dressed my daughter in a little gold hand-me-down dress from my cousin. So cute!
4. Frugality benefits are shared! We sent my brother and sister-in-law to buy their rings at the same place we got ours; they are a family of real jewellers working out of their home. Since they do the work themselves, the cost is about half of buying in a mall. The happy couple have beautiful rings!
5. I didn't make or buy anything new to wear to the other wedding events. Jewish weddings tend to have a lot of parties throughout the week, but I'm just wearing the outfits that I would typically wear to work or synagogue. No need to over-complicate things.
@Meira@meirathebear, Mazel Tov to your brother and his bride! And I'm totally impressed by your sewing yourself a silk dress for the occasion. I could no more do that than I could fly to the moon.
@A. Marie, haha thank you! It involved a number of late nights.
Iffy milk—I use it in baking. So satisfying to save stuff that would get dumped otherwise
1. Found snack bars for super duper cheap at grocery store. I typically don’t buy snack bars but I needed stuff for the kids’ camp lunches and snacks, and each bar was $0.12, so it’s fine.
2. Reshuffled some things in the house to improve organization. I always keep extra containers from other reorganizing projects so I don’t have to buy containers most of the time.
3. Made coffee at home, or got it for free at meeting locations (I drank so much coffee this week, (and slept so little) not paying for any is a real feat)
4. I asked for help. I have a lot of generous people in my life and I asked for help and received it. I have thanked them profusely for their help and am going to bake them bread when the house cools off a little, but so often I am amazed how asking for help builds community *and* is frugal. Really I think having community is a frugal endeavor.
5. I got new shoes for my job for what must have been 50% off. I saw the price for them, which was reasonable and when they were rung up it was very significantly lower.
I am so glad for you that you have a support network AND that you were brave enough to ask for help. Godo job!
@Kaitlin, I completely agree with your #4. It's taken a village to get DH and me through the whole Alzheimer's process, and to keep getting me through the aftermath. Community, no matter what form it takes, is key.
@Kaitlin, I really like your #4 point. Asking for help is not always easy, but it really does build community. I know in the past when people have asked me for help, I have been glad to do it, and it made me feel more connected to those friends/acquaintances. (My thinking at the time--"If they are willing to ask me for help in this situation, they really must feel like I am an important person in their lives.")
Chantarelles are the best! Glad you were brave enough to try some.
1) We are visiting family in two other states (IN and MI) and this involves about 34 hours of driving roundtrip. On our way out, I packed a cooler and we stopped at rest areas to enjoy our meals of fresh chicken salad, fruit and snacks.
2) On a shorter second leg of the journey, I had a gift certificate for Cheddars, and since there isn't one in our entire state, I planned a lunch stop around one. I only ended up having to pay for the tip.
3) Before we left, I picked everything that was ripe in the garden and also picked some wild blueberries to give to our daughter, which is where we stayed the first 2 nights.
4)I used Walgreens coupons to get $20 worth of free snacks to use for the road trip. This only ended up costing 66 cents.
5) While we are in Michigan, I will stock up on a few things at a local Mennonite store and Aldi, neither of which we have in Maine.
Whoa, that is a lot of driving!
I love packing a lunch to eat, and also snacks. Otherwise I get so so tired of eating fast food on a trip.
No frugal. Stressful week.
1900 to fix car. Car is paid off but WAH!
700 to fix three year old HVAC.
We had the money but our emergency fund is low. I will be strapping down the hatches to rebuild emergency fund!
I don't think I've done anything frugal at all. Moving is like that, especially to a larger house.
1. I have a “Christmas Ideas List” that I keep on my phone for my family members all year long. This past month I spotted a couple of items on that list for my parents on deeply discounted sale prices, so I purchased them, marked them as purchased on my list, put them in my Christmas gift pile, and transferred the money from my Christmas savings account to my credit card. I’ll save the wrapping for December.
2. I’ve been making sure to use the Upside app before filling up with gas.
3. When signing my son up for soccer I paid for the entire year up front, this will save us on the processing fees if we would have paid in installments.
4. While I am doing well at incorporating our CSA veggies into our weekly meals, there are still a few leftover at the end of each week. I am prepping and freezing the leftover veggies to make sure nothing goes to waste and we will have yummy veggies through the winter.
5. I finally found some of my son’s consumable school supplies at a decent price while grocery shopping this week. I already put aside everything we already had on hand that was on his back to school list and I’ve been keeping on eye on the best prices for the items we didn’t have. We still have a few weeks left to pick up the last items.
I recently refinished the wooden handle of a whisk, which is probably a weird thing to do. It had gotten really rough because I put it in the dishwasher. So I sanded it down, stained it, and put a clear coat on it. Then I let it sit for one month because apparently, that's how long it takes polyeurathane to become food safe.
1) Friday night I made sandwiches for the meal our family ate in the car on the way to the other house.
2) I needed to get a few non-food household things. We checked prices on Amazon and Target, and found that Target was much cheaper. And they had one of that coupons that gives you a $15 gift card when you spend $50. I filled out the rest of the $50 with other products I will definitely use. I will use the $15 toward required school supplies.
3) Our daughter's prescription renewed last week on the day I started a new job and therefore new health insurance. This new university made me wait until not only my start date, but also for me to do all the one million tedious on-boarding tasks (which they also wouldn't let me begin until my start date) before they would allow me to make my benefits elections. Then of course it took time for things to upload to systems. One week after my start date I finally have my health insurance policy number to give the pharmacy and the three other providers who have been calling since last week. I did discover that at CVS you can pay cash and pick up the meds, and then come back with your prescription card within ten days and get a refund for the difference. So that's what we did. I'll go back to CVS today now that I finally have my card and get the refund.
4) I did a quick inventory and found that the kids don't need very much in terms of clothes to start school. One kid who grew considerably over the summer needs new pants, so I just did a thredup order. I also ordered him a pair of new sneakers on sale at DSW. I will pick them up when I am out that way later to avoid shipping charges.
5) I gave a tentative "yes" to a future home exchange, I followed up on a reimbursement that had, in fact, gotten lost in the shuffle, and today I caught up on my favorite frugality blog. 🙂
Chiquita looks like she's helping push your new shoe rack into the closet. Such a helpful kitty!
1. We decided to remove the rotting decorative wood shutters from our mid-century modern house rather than replace them. Turned out the house looks much better without them and we saved $800.
2. DS and I took on the nasty chore of cleaning old paint from the shutters off the brick with a steel-bristle brush and the power washer. Lord only knows how much that would have cost to hire out. It cost us only a lot of exertion and some really thorough showers afterward to get brick grit out of our hair. The house absolutely glows, though.
3. DH and I made a quick trip through a salvage lumber company and Habitat ReStore in search of affordable shutters when we weren't certain about removing the old ones. Turned out no such thing exists, but the trips were highly informative and the harried clerk at the ReStore gave me an unopened 18 foot roll of self-adhesive grasscloth wallpaper because she was too busy to stop and ring it up. Sweet!
4. Turned a glut of homegrown tomatoes into a pot of amazinf fresh tomato sauce.
5. Talked the clerk at Goodwill into selling only the flat sheet of a partial set of sheets. I intend to turn it into quilt backing and had no use for the fitted sheet. This saved $3.
*Used a coupon for $5 off a haircut for my daughter's unruly hair. With swimming and hot sweaty days, it'd become impossible to tame her curls. So a short style with an undercut to make my life easier.
*Applied the 20% Target coupon for teachers to my recent purchases. I couldn't think of anything really big we needed, but I still save a decent amount on routine items.
*Renting videos from the library to have family nights before the start of school. My sons are really loving Mission Impossible (except #2!).
*My husband is installing the electrical work himself for the garage he built last summer. It's a lot of work, but he loves a challenge. He's paying for a lot of the current expenses with the 11% back from Menards from last summer when he bought the garage materials.
*I needed some work pants - my daughter found me two pair at Sal Army -$7 each -never as cheap as I would like - but still better than paying for new. I never seem to find great deals there, so I'm glad my teen enjoyed the hunt for me.
Racking my brain for any frugal efforts this week. As for milk, since I drink a large cup of chai latte almost every day, I've been buying it by the gallon. I used to buy half gallons. I check for the most longest use by date at the store. If I have any left by a week past the use by date, I move it to the back of the fridge to have available for baking.
I have been getting several tomatoes, several peppers from different varieties (think shishito and padron) and cucumbers from my garden. What I can't use goes out to a makeshift "FREE" stand by my street, or to work to share with coworkers. While I would love to eat tomatoes for every meal while they are in season, I have found that they are not the best thing to eat in large amounts with GERD.
Was hungry for roast beef last week, and rather than buy an expensive cut from my favorite meat vendor at Farmer's Market, I bought two meaty soup bones and cooked them in the crockpot. Added advantage was the collagen that broke down in the slow cooking. Made enough for two more meals.
Packed lunches for work, rather than ordering for pick up before going to work.
Got some free basil from my mom’s garden and made it into a yummy pesto.
Made all the snacks for our pool day picnic instead of going to the store.
Foraged a bunch of chanterelles and made them into quiche for my mom’s birthday brunch. Made a meal for my family instead of buying a birthday gift. She has everything she wants or needs and this way we can all get together and talk.
Went to the further away grocery store after work when I was over there anyway and picked up a bunch of clearances produce. Got bell peppers, bananas, apples, pears at a really good price.
Picked the radishes from our garden and made two big jars of radish pickles.
We bought gas at Costco when we were in town.
My husband mixed taco seasoning for spices we had on hand.
I bought rotisserie chicken from Costco and saved the bones for bone broth.
We brought a pack lunch to the birth class on Saturday. (Good thing because we got stuck at the hospital and had to buy fast food dinner at 9:00 pm.)
I finally got a new book from the library. It's an author I love and I've waited for six months.
@Rebekah in SoCal, I LOVE it when a new book I've been waiting for becomes available. Thrilling, and minus any guilt.
am so glad you have your grandmother's plant. that is so important. remember my $18 cherries? today hubby bought our daughter a $22 Junior's cheesecake at C-Town. we did get 5% senior discount. i can't fuss at him too much cause of the cherries. but those cherries were good. it is good that we don't have a car or air conditioning. we have a ton of fans and they work well. and our rent is only going up $20 a month in October with our new lease.
and trader joe's is a block from our apt. as is target. i am so glad i won't be kicked out of the community for frugal fails.
A Facebook foraging group??? That's so cool!
My FFT:
1. I have a new hobby - saving seeds! I've saved seeds from our purple green bean plants for a couple of years now, but in the past couple of weeks I saved snap pea seeds and watermelon radish seeds. Next up: potato seeds. I am using a book I got through interlibrary loan as my guide.
2. Cherries were 49 cents/lb on Saturday (big thanks to my awesome neighbor for telling me about the sale) and I've been freezing, dehydrating, and eating cherries galore. My favorite dessert right now is pitted cherries with a little melted chocolate on top. Yum!
3. We're still cleaning up from our yard sale and I dropped off some boxes of clothes to a local thrift store on our way to the library one day.
4. Free fun: a zoo trip, a pool trip, a library program, and a community festival with fireworks, crafts, inflatables, and games.
5. Since my oldest is getting older, I feel like it's a bigger win whenever I find good second-hand clothes for her. We went to a yard sale last week and I got 2 dresses, 2 shirts, and a perfect-condition Adidas gym bag - all for $15. She'll start a sport this fall that has 2 practices a week and travels on Saturday mornings, so the bag was a big win.
I like all the free items you're able to find to furnish your home.
1. I picked blackberries from my property and froze them for this winter. My Mom and some friends also were able to pick some. My friend shared a cake she baked with them. It was delicious.
2. I've been taking advantage of the cooler mornings and opening doors to let the fresh cool air in.
3. I picked up my list of items at Meijer. I actually remembered to use my coupons. I uploaded the receipt to Ibotta and Fetch.
4. My laundry is drying on racks and hangers.
5. I fixed the broken hose on my vacuum cleaner with duck tape again.
@Jill A, One of my favorite quotes: "You can fix anything with duck tape except a broken heart." Glad you didn't have to buy a new vacuum cleaner.
You might know this and I apologize if it's already been said, but the mum should go into the ground in order to make it safely through the winter. Even if you plant it pot and all, the surrounding soil will insulate the roots and it will be MUCH more likely to survive than it would in a pot above ground. I honestly don't know whether it would like coming indoors for the winter, but that is another possibility. It might be too hot and dry for it indoors though.
1. The screen on our back door completely came out of the door. We considered getting a new door, but after looking at prices ($400!) we decided to fix it. My husband fixed it for $10. We also considered getting a new front door. The door is original to our 80 year old home. My husband is now stripping the door, with plans to stain it. Total cost is about $40.
2. I picked up a brand new self care kit off Buy Nothing, which will be part of a gift for my daughter's daycare teacher. I also picked up new peanut butter and graham crackers off Buy Nothing. They will be perfect for our camping trip this weekend.
3. We participated in a study this weekend that we have done yearly since my son was 3. They pay us $300 for a 2.5 hour visit every year.
4. I made our last daycare payment today, as my daughter starts kindergarten in a few weeks. This is a $13,500 per year savings! We will still have to pay for summer camp for both kids, but that is only $2,500 per year.
5. We opened up a savings account with Citizen Bank that has a 4.5% interest rate. We moved most of our emergency fund there, as our previous savings account had a low interest rate.
1. Completed the grocery survey to earn fuel points.
2. Been eating meals at home.
3. Using less gas as my work is closer now.
4. Redeeming my credit cards points soon for a hotel for our next vacation.
5. Planning a beach trip for spring break with close friends. We’ll split the condo cost.
So happy for your chrysanthemum save! You might give it a little help by feeding it a diluted plant food. Make it half strength and plan a date for a second feeding; usually a very good treat for potted plants. (Takes off Master Gardener hat.)
My five frugal things:
1. Instead of buying a pizza, made a pan bagnat (French dialect "bathed bread") to share with other poll workers in the Ohio election today. It was a bit of work but much appreciated and since the pot luck lunch is also dinner, better nutrition for everyone.
2. Resisted the impulse to buy beautiful fabric with 15% discount from class I took yesterday. The store puts the classroom in sight of the fabric on purpose, and I already have at least ten years worth tottering in my sewing room.
3. Ate lunch at home every day, passing up convenient fast options.
4. Packed lunches for my husband, who is back to work in the classroom preparing for fall classes to begin in two weeks.
5. Found a cheap table with legs at Ikea for my new computer setup, after my laptop imploded. It was cheaper by a factor of four than if I had bought a table the right size and height.
1. After the phone company finally was able to drive up the hill, we decided to not get a phone at the cabin this year ($54/month adds up). We can use the neighbor's unlimited long distance (he has offered for years) and he has no intention of disconnecting in the winter.
2. I bought some LLBean shorts for no $$ because they were on sale and I had "points".
3. I've been trying to switch cell providers. . . since I haven't succeeded yet, perhaps this doesn't belong here.
4. When I "medicated" by yarn shopping and ordered 4 colors to complete a sweater made (almost) entirely of scraps, the 4th color wasn’t available so I saved money there.
5. I've been reading a ton of books, ordering anything that suits my fancy from the library or using Libby. So many books, so little time.
1 - I packed a picnic for the park with my grandson.
2 - I cooked all of our meals at home.
3 - I was given 10 lbs of chicken quarters, a bag of fresh peaches, a few sweet peppers, some garden tomatoes & cucumbers.....I can't remember it all! Basically I've had 4 different friends give me a lot of goodies over the past week from food to books to things for my grandson of fun things for my house.
4 - We've been turning off the ac when it rains..in August!
Hi there! Your friendly and frugal Garden center owner. I would suggest if possible at your new place, to plant the mum. It will do better over winter in the ground than in a pot. Perennails don't love being in pots for too long. They actually don't mind being split and re-planted so give it a better shot at life in the ground if you can! 🙂
Oh, that is good to know! Thank you. I will stick it in the ground.
1. Continuing from last week’s aspirational beet greens, I sauteed them and ate some on toasted sourdough with feta cheese. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was nice to try something new. The rest of the bunch still needs to be eaten somehow.
2. Avoiding food waste, continued: I incorporated potatoes that were starting to sprout into a soup, even though the weather is really too hot for soup. Sweet husband doesn’t complain, thankfully.
3. Picked up a free ranch dressing ($5) and a bottle of free gummy prenatal vitamins ($14) courtesy of a review panel called Social Nature.
4. We are currently on a family road trip for DH to present at a conference. We were able to stay overnight with family on the way, and they generously sent us with homegrown tomatoes and breakfast in the morning.
5. We were also all able to attend the first evening social hour of the conference, which included sliders and fish tacos, saving us finding a place nearby for dinner. Plus it was fun to see old friends!
PS-- I hope you enjoyed your chanterelles. I love chanterelles and I love foraging-- it's like gardening without the upkeep.
@Lindsay B, I love to add a splash of balsamic on Beet Greens or Swiss Chard after they've been wilted and are almost ready to eat. Black pepper, too. and if I take my Feta and cut into cubes and throw them on top for the final minute of cooking, I am usually moaning with joy as I eat them. Yes, I am weird, LOL