Five Frugal Things | nearly free bagels, a bob for Sonia, and more
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1. I used a $5 bagel coupon.
A new-ish bagel shop near us sent out a $5/any purchase coupon, so I went and bought six bagels for a little over a dollar total.
2. I gave Sonia a haircut.
She's been wanting a shorter bob, but was unsure about how short she wanted to go. So I suggested that I could cut off a little here at home, and since my services are free and readily available, I could always cut off more a few days later if she so chose.
(Apologies for the dark picture; I forgot to take a photo of her hair until late last night!)
She thought that sounded good. And as it happens, my first try did end up being short enough for her. Excellent.
3. We used a coupon for a free Redbox rental.
We'd been wanting to watch the new Christopher Robin, and it came out on Redbox recently, so we rented it yesterday.
SO CUTE. We loved it.
(I'm on the hold list for the library copy, but I'm really far down the list. And we weren't quite patient enough to wait!)
4. Mr. FG updated the Blu-ray player.
I deserve no credit for this one!
At first, our Redbox rental wouldn't play (it just froze), so we googled and discovered that you have to update the software on Blu-ray players; otherwise they're not able to play the newer discs, which have more stringent copyright measures.
So, he updated it and we were able to watch our rental (instead of giving up and paying to stream it!)
5. We ate a bunch of leftovers for lunch yesterday.
We had 1-2 servings left of several main dishes, so we ate up ramen bowls, polenta with tomato sauce, and pulled pork.
This makes me very happy. 😉 So many leftovers cleared all at once!
Hi Kristen, Sonia's hair looks really good; go the both of you
1. I laughed when I saw your bagels - I have actually never bought a bagel in my life but a friend scored a bag of bagels from a famous bakery here in Melbourne gave them to me! This may seem weird to you but now I just have to google what to do with them 🙂 I put them in the freezer
2. I will be visiting family soon interstate & bought airline tickets based on the cheapest days
3. I got back in the swing of meal planning & bought very thoughtfully this week
4. I do love gift giving but I have stuck to a smaller budget than normal & resisted a no. of impulse buys
5. My sis came over to help me garden & brought her mulcher so we could turn a ton of prunings into nearly free mulch -it does run on electricity but also saves petrol going to buy mulch as well as the mulch itself & it looks really good on the garden
Bagels are the same as any breads, so you slice in half lengthwise and can toast them or not and put any toppings on them. A good one is Cream cheese. Or you can use it to make a sandwich, again any toppings go (lettuce+mayo+mustard+ham and cheese. Tuna and mayo. Eggs and mayo+lettuce. Etc). Enjoy!
Ps: a big bagel can equal 3 or 4 regular slices of bread, if you are paying attention to this.
Thank you Isa! That is very helpful - I love the ideal of toasting them and the cream cheese, - I love bread 🙂
I had to travel this last week. I bought all the food for my breakfasts at the supermarket. I tried to minimise my expenses and showed great restraint.
I have used vouchers to reduce the price of my second haircut the year.
I had bought a new bag and it broke so I will be returning it.
I recycled many items and there is a new scheme in my state. So I received vouchers worth $11so that has been set aside for Christmas.
I had some garbanzo beans in tins and they were horrible. The company sent me a $5 gift card. That too has been set aside for Christmas.
This week was more about NotFrugal than Frugal, but there were a few helps:
- Baked 3 batches of cookies for various office parties. I used flour, sugar, brown sugar, and chocolate chips that were on sale last year. I also used imitation vanilla, since multiple studies have shown that even baking experts (such as at CI) can't tell the difference in baked goods.
- I did not buy a soft serve maker for my friend for Xmas. He loves soft serve but 25% of the reveiws were negative. Since the complaints were remarkably consistent - product goopy rather than soft, too many fiddly little parts - I took a pass.
- Yet again, I tried making pizza instead of buying. Still not satisfied (even CI's 1 Hr Thin Crust is too thick and chewy for me) but will likely make a few more to use up the semolina flour I bought just for this recipe. I can get a 14" pizza for $4 so making isn't all that cheaper than buying.
- I continue use the good quality pre-lit artificial tree I bought 10 years ago. The cost, amortized over the 20+ years I expect to use it, is less than a live tree, and a live tree isn't compatible with my travel schedule. The ornaments are a combination of travel souveniers and ones with personal significance. This year's new ornament will be a pawprint from my recently-departed pooch.
William, try this- all I know is recipe says Sue's thin crust pizza and I've had it since 2014 and made pizza with the recipe several times.
1 cup bread or AP flour
1 1/8/tsp instant yeast (1/2 package)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 Tbls olive oil
Mix flour, yeast, and garlic in bowl. Add warm water and olive oil. On lightly floured counter or board, knead 4-5 minutes. Cover with inverted bowl and rest 10 minutes while you preheat oven to 450. Punch dough down and roll into 12-13" circle on floured surface. Brush pizza pan lightly with oil and lay dough on pan. Sometimes I pat the dough onto the pan. Prick with fork and bake 5-10 minutes. Add what you want to crust- pizza sauce, meat, veggies and mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until done. You can also let dough rise in refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature 1-2 hours before using. ENJOY!
Ooh Nan, I love the idea of putting garlic in the dough; what a great idea
Question for all you bakers out there: my office holiday party has been moved from this week to next week. I already made iced Decorator Cookies and uniced Orange Blossom cookies (from the King Arthur Flour cookbook, match). How can I preserve them for 10 days?
Are they freezable? Most cookies freeze really well!
That's part of what I'm asking. I know the raw choc chip cookie dough will freeze fine; I have little experience freezing baked cookies and none in freezing cookies that are already decorated.
The uniced cookies should freeze well. If you used royal icing for your iced cookies, you might want to forego freezing. Moisture is an enemy of royal icing (and sometimes buttercream as well. Unless you can package them in an airtight container, I would just use plastic wrap and Ziploc bags and possibly a metal tin with a tight lid and store them in a cool, dry place.
If you plan to ice the orange blossom cookies, be sure they are completely thawed first. Also if you stack your cookies in the container before freezing, use waxed paper or parchment between the layers; crisp cookies usually don't stick together but soft cookies sometimes do.
Oh, I freeze frosted/decorated sugar cookies every year, and they do great. You're talking about the rolled, cut-out kind?
The Decorator Cookies are rolled, cutout cookies that have been decorated with commercial icing such as Betty Crocker.
Thanks, guys.
I'm talking mostly about *royal icing* made from egg whites or meringue powder. The icing dries hard but humidity or moisture can ruin it.
I can see that being a problem! The frosting I use is always just a buttercream, and that thaws just fine.
We've always frozen all of our cookies (there is nothing like a frozen cookie, in our family's humble opinion.) with great success. I would most definitely use wax or parchment between each layer of decorated cookies.
I can attest that freezing already decorated cookies and any drop cookie works very well. My mother always had a bag/box of cookies in the freezer. Note - frozen cookies are mighty tasty if you cannot wait for them to thaw:)
Hi William, you could always freeze one tonight and if it's no good tomorrow give the rest away
Sonya's hair looks lovely! She's looking very grown up lately.
1. I started wrapping gifts last night. I lamented to my sister that I will never use up the wrapping paper I have. I also reuse gift bags for years and years.
2. I used Kohls cash last week to buy new athletic shoes for me. The bottom is coming off mine and they're no longer safe to wear. I'm having knee surgery in January and will need them for therapy. I had to buy another item to use up the cash so I bought two pair of gel infused socks. I'll keep a pair and give a pair to my oldest daughter with a gift card inside.
3. Kohls sent me extra rewards also so I have another 25.00 to spend. Wracking my brain for something we need since Christmas shopping is complete, I finally realized I could really use a pair of Cuddleduds bottoms. I had been pricing flannel lined jeans but this will be much cheaper. Free in fact!
4. I did a huge baking stock up at Meijers last week. It will be enough to take care of all snacks for our small group and other events where I need to bring sweets. Cookie, muffin and brownie mixes at .89 is much cheaper than anything I could make from scratch.
5. My niece is turning 30 so her mother is throwing her a surprise party. Usually I just send a card but I wanted to take a gift for this birthday. At the thrift shop last week, I found a brand new 31 backpack for 4.99. She loves their products and will be thrilled. Our family has no problem with receiving my 'bargains' as gifts.
Love Sonia's hair! You did a great job, Kristen .... boy, is she growing up!
Sonia looks like a movie star.
I was frugal in using a restaurant meal --sort of had to go-- for leftovers two days thereafter. Also reused birthday candles last night from another birthday and wrapped up take-home leftovers from birthday dinner in recycled (clean) wrap. Used library as usual for many books this month and bought lovely black dress coat for up North funeral visit 2nd hand for under $20.
But mainly--Sonia looks sensational. Regal, even.
Thank you for your blog as always.
I thought exactly the same when I saw Sonia's pboto. She looks like one of those lovely photo stills of actresses from the 40's. Just lovely.
I am in love w puff pastry. Bought pkg on sale. Mixed cream cheese w egg and sugar and vanilla and pat of butter. Placed it on pastry. Drained a dollar can of BlackBerry pie filling from dollar tree on top. Sealed edges of dough. Oven 400 degrees for about half hour. Make sure oven is preheated and watch your"pie" carefully to make sure it is all puffed...cooking time varies. Will burn easily. 2. Nice pretty note cards in pkg. At dollar tree. 3. Thai peanut sauce from healthfood store makes boil in bag rice taste like fancy carryout. I have with mustard sardines for cheap nutritious meal. 4. Save seeds from flowers from garden. Dry, place in notecard and envelope and label for a stocking stuffer for gardeners. 5. Look for sale cheeses...especially blue cheeses (for me ) from deli section Kroger for your Christmas platter. Serve with pears or other fruit and crackers.
Sonia looks very grown up with her bob - love the soft curl to it! Let's see if I can come up with 5 frugal things...
1 - cut Hubby and Firstborn's hair last night on the patio (easier clean up) before it got too dark and cold
2 - Made eggs, biscuits, and sausage gravy for dinner which means ALL of it got eaten
3 - Not so frugal: having to buy a new washer (on sale, of course) but super frugal that we used the previous one for 21 years and 4 kids! Picked it up and installed it ourselves, too.
4 - Doing a mini-freezer clean-out this week to make room for Christmas foods in my small freezer
and
5 - I totally forgot that I stitched a busted seam on one of The Girl's dress skirts when she was here for Thanksgiving. I've done that before and need to teach her how to do it herself...
The curl is 100% natural...lucky her! And the shorter length helps it to be even more wavy, with less weight to hold it down.
Sonia's hair looks really nice. I'm thinking it's reminiscent of Dorothy Mackaill in Safe in Hell (1931) or a young Bette Davis circa 1932 (like her appearance in Three on a Match.) I don't know that anyone will know of those movies besides me but I'm still throwing it out there. 🙂
Let's see about me.
1.) Took advantage of a couple "Cyber whatever" sales and bought three pairs of Converse. So effectively I can now recycle all of my worn out, busted shoes except for maybe one pair.
2.) Target had better clothing sales before Thanksgiving than after so now I have two new pairs of jeans thanks to a sale, percentage off and some gift cards I had left. They are heavier denim and are definitely the older more durable style (even have a button fly of all things) than the spandex blue things most places try to sell as jeans these days.
3.) Just finished making a bottle of vanilla extract to give my mother for Christmas. With the price of extract being so high and the fact that I had some beans left in my cupboard unused it made sense to use them up. She does a lot of baking so I hope it's appreciated. I spent $2 on the fancy bottle at Ikea, $13 for 750ml of vodka (my wife told me not to buy the stuff in the plastic jug - I don't drink so how would I know?) and the beans were bought before the beans skyrocketed in price.
4.) Successfully avoided buying a ton of stuff because "it was on sale." I used to be bad at this but now it's getting easier. I still have my moments of weakness but only bought what I needed during the sales.
5.) Not *really* frugal but my family insists upon buying my daughter a big present so we're going to Ikea to get her the play kitchen that she seemed to really enjoy. They are all going in on it so I hope that it will be a present she enjoys for several years and when it's done will have some life left in it that can be passed down to someone else or at the very least sold. I'm trying to discourage and prevent the "disposable presents" like she's received in the past.
I agree. Even when Sonia was just 2 years old, I could already see that she had a very vintage look. There's just something about her that makes her seem like she belongs in the 1930s. And when her hair is wavy and she wears red lipstick, that's even more true!
She can certainly carry the dark lipstick, stunning!
Funny thing is, she doesn't even have any lipstick on in this photo! But she does wear dark lipstick sometimes and it works for her. 🙂
Glad you liked the movie! We saw it in the theater, and my husband and daughter loved it but I pretty much hated it! It was far too melancholy for me, and there were things that happened that never really got explained, they just happened. (The tree portal?)
I think most of the original Winnie-the-Pooh (my all-time favorite animated movie) is unexplained phenomena. Lol! It is truly a world of imagination and random happenings. It was the first movie my children watched and also their favorite. That might explain something about us. Ha!
Yep, exactly. You have to kind of suspend disbelief in order to watch a movie with talking stuffed animals anyway!
Sonia's hair looks great!
My five, holiday version:
1. Brought our *pre-decorated* tree up from the basement (we throw a bag over it and store it in a closet.) The only hard part is wrestling it up the steps. 😉
2. Listened to my free Spotify Christmas playlist while decorating.
3. Used our new $5 Bluetooth speaker to listen to said playlist.
4. Streamed free Christmas movies through library's Hoopla app.
5. Visited the free local festival of trees to see the one I decorated for my volunteer organization.
Took a trip to NYC that I had been a bit anxious about due to cost, but minimized everything where I could:
1. Traveled by Bolt Bus, cheap and easy!
2. In NYC, only took the subway and mostly walked everywhere, sightseeing and exercise at once.
3. Took advantage of the Friday free night at MoMA.
4. Slept at my cousin's rather than in a hotel.
5. Skipped any expensive activities and favored people time with my cousin's family instead (baby shower!) Had to buy a ticket to my son's concert at Carnegie Hall, but opted for one of balcony seats as I figured I would be totally enthralled anyway, without spending $150 alone on a ticket 🙂
The whole weekend trip ended up costing less than $250, including all travel, food, a concert ticket, gifts for my cousin and her daughter, shopping at a Christmas market, and a bunch of bagels to bring home. I had to spend $250 alone for my son's concert trip (plus meals!), which only included the bus and one night in a hotel, so I was happy to extend my trip to the whole weekend and combine seeing family for about the same.
I think that's a great price for a weekend in the city!
It was awesome! Next year, hopefully we can manage the whole family with some more advance notice.
1. I went to a thrift store looking for a winter jacket. Did not find a winter jacket but did put BACK xmas décor and spent zero dollars.
2. Saved 30 percent at the grocery store. ( 30 percent or over is my goal....not a big coupon shopper).
3. Bought two packs of chicken legs on mark down. Roasted them for lunch on Sat. Saved all juices to make soup for tomorrow night.
4. Made my own stir fry sauce from scratch with things I had on hand.
5. Put air in my tires now that it is cold!
I love seeing all the frugal lists in the comments.
1. Converted a broken trash can into a compost bin.
2. Instead of buying additional snacks for a gathering at my house, I made scones and served with a variety of jams/curds I already had on hand.
3. Ordered a Target gift card while they were 10% off to finish up Christmas shopping.
4. Started using glass containers for leftovers and found that I am more likely to eat leftovers since I can heat them up and eat them directly from the storage containers.
5. Picked up 4 free tubes of toothpaste and a free bottle of laundry detergent from Kroger that is going into my donations box to our local food pantry.
Yesterday someone at my work brought soup in a glass jar to heat in the microwave; says it's non-spill & fits well in her bag; I would never have thought of this. Do you think it matters what kind of glass?
I can't think of a shelf-stable product sold in a jar that wouldn't have been put into a hot jar and then further processed with heat. If you're worried about glass quality, though, maybe use home canning jars.
Thank you Karen that makes a lot of sense I hadn't thought of that, very helpful
I heat up water and leftovers in reused pickle jars every day. The lids fit tightly and if you put hot liquids in them they will reseal! I make broth or soup (without noodles, they get soggy) and seal them up in pickle jars. Reused commercial glass jars are probably ky favorite frugal thing. The original contents aren't frugal, though. They are these delicious Bubbie's dill pickles with live cultures...super expensive for pickles but a good way to get probiotics into my dairy intolerant family. Lol.
Thank you Chris this was very helpful too - the pickles sound yum & are actually quite nutritious for a treat & you have to live a little eh!
1. Made quiche crust with bag of refrigerated potatoes we had on hand rather than buy a pie crust (I gave up on making crusts long ago.)
2. Used a Chipotle gift card I had on hand, plus handmade holiday card, as a Christmas present.
3. My husband and I decided not to give each other Hanukkah gifts (we don’t need anything!) but instead set aside money to be used for a special night out.
4. Had gift card to Cracker Barrel so used it for dinner out.
5. Reorganized coat closet and found short down coat I have never worn - seriously!
Kathy...that quiche crust sounds like a good idea that I'll have to try. I always make crustless quiche. That's the good part anyway; at least if I made the crust it would be.
My family makes what I call 'Squiche" - oven pan lined with puff pastry, scatter over any leftover veg, some cherry tomatoes if have any, bacon and crack 6 eggs spaced out, bake in oven; it's delicious. I love potato - how do you make the crust?
Aww, I keep meaning to see the Winnie the Pooh movie. I absolutely loved him when I was a kid.
Let's see, this week:
1. Hubs and I used a coupon to save money on Saturday morning breakfast. We always grab breakfast on Saturdays before grabbing groceries. 🙂
2. I wrapped Christmas presents using wrapping that was thrifted or bought on sale.
3. We put up our plastic Christmas tree, which we've been using for years. And hopefully for many more to come!
4. We caught a fraudulent charge on our credit card! Some loser treated themselves to $500 of shoes at Footlocker. Fortunately we caught it before it posted. We buy everything with credit for this very reason; USAA always takes care of it, and we're never on the hook for fraudulent purchases.
5. Instead of grabbing lunch today, Mr. Picky Pincher scrounged in the freezer.
I've been looking forward to one of these posts since Thanksgiving! Before Thanksgiving, I was discouraged by how un-frugal I felt compared to what everyone on here is able to do. Then Thanksgiving happened, and it was our first time hosting house guests in our 8 years of marriage. I realized just how much little mundane habits have helped us be frugal, and it was such an encouragement to me. So, this list is mundane, but 8 years of consistently applying these choices has helped us be frugal:
1. We use towels and containers instead of paper towels or ziploc bags. I love that we don't spend money on one-time use products, and I love that I don't have to remember to buy them over and over again. I haven't bought papertowels or ziplocs in over a year, and now that we used them up during Thanksgiving, I'm not planning on refilling my stock becuase we hardly every use them.
2. We only use the amount of soap necessary. Little hands (we have 8 of those in our house) don't need very much soap, certainly not as much as comes out in one pump on our dispensers. Likewise our sink doesn't require that much soap because we don't have to wash many dishes.
3. We use up all of our leftovers, even if there isn't a full serving left. My theroy is that 1/2 a serving of vegetables is healthier than 0 servings of vegetables. Suprisingly our budget wasn't blown that much by Thanksgiving mostly because we kept all of our leftovers and ate them promptly so as not to waste anything.
4. We wrap presents with paper bags that we get from the grocery store.
5. I cut my sons' hair. One kid looks good because a buzz works really well on him. My two year old monkey doesn't look as great because he didn't sit still, but he's two, and his hair will grow.
To be clear. We've hosted house guests, but this was the first time during a major holiday.
I would bet you are doing better than you think. Your attitude of using what you have, making do and being practical is exactly what frugality comes from. As you go more opportunities to save will become apparent. It's a process.
A wiggly kid makes the haircutting job way harder! Luckily Sonia is solidly in the old-enough-to-sit-still camp.
I love using up leftovers! Not only do you prevent food waste, the meals are usually pretty fast and easy to put together. And it helps I don't mind an eclectic plate of food.
Five Frugal things:
1. We used up the last Swiss chard from the garden. I can't believe it's still been growing!
2. I made some bone broth.
3. We bought some reduced bags of bananas and peppers from our local grocery store.
4. Made a science fair project using things we already had.
5. Cut my son's hair.
I love bagels! Super jealous!
I made a quesadilla out of leftover veggies! I wanted Mexican and no one was hungry.. the 2 year old “The Dubs” is back in his PB&J 5x a day kick. And I made pear cobbler! I canned pears last year and opened a few, pour cake mix over them and drizzled a stick of melted butter and baked for what seemed forever (golden brown) - over an hour.. stinking delicious!
I love the haircut and it looks fantastic on her. As the owner of frizzy/wavy/curly hair, I always find it surprising that people find it a good thing to have curl in the hair-- my hair has fought every style and length I've worn for my entire life, which is why I started putting it in a bun so much of the time. Since I have a daughter with stick-straight hair (she really stumbled onto a recessive gene there!), we commiserate with each other. She assures me that I wouldn't like to have her hair because it just hangs there, and she knows how much I fight with mine. We have no idea what the ideal hair would be. We just know we don't have it.
My five frugals:
1. The post office delivered a package and it was soaking wet and shoved/crushed into my mailbox, ruining the packaging of the gift inside the carton. It was a gift for a little granddaughter. I contacted the company and asked them what we could do, and they are sending me a new one. I made it clear I didn't blame them for the problem, and had not asked for a replacement; this was just their good customer service. I certainly will be contacting the post office about that delivery.
2. I bought a lovely signed print from an artist friend and had it framed as a gift. The artists' prints are sized differently from photos, so I needed a custom fit. I just had the store cut a mat to fit the print but so that the outside dimension would fit an off-the-shelf frame, instead of paying to have the whole thing custom framed. The mat, the cutting, and pretty frame, all for $33. The nice woman at Hobby Lobby offered to go ahead and put it in the frame I chose off the shelf, for free.
3. I spent a wonderful afternoon showing a granddaughter how to make divinity, with ingredients I had on hand, so it was free. She had asked me to show her how, and we had fun, plus some good conversation.
4. My office is cool, so I found two nice light blazer type jackets, one in taupe and one in dark gray, on ThredUp and bought them with my credit for selling some clothes. I can throw one of these over almost any outfit I have. Free!
5. I was looking at two identical Christmas gifts that would run about $30-35 each. I found almost the exact same thing at another store for $17 each. That was an easy choice to make.
1. I am making vegetable soup today to use up some tomato sauce, chicken broth and veggies in my fridge. Plus I added a can of veggies I don't really like... it will taste fine in the soup.
2. For a church dinner yesterday I made some scalloped potatoes. I got a bag of potatoes very cheap, but most of my family won't eat them.
3. I used hotel points to score a free night. I took my son to visit a college.
4. I used Ibotta and digital coupons to score some grocery store savings and freebies.
5. I am saving some of my grocery store freebies/deals for stocking stuffers.
Susan I love potatoes & will eat them any way they come but scalloped potatoes are my absolute favourite
No 5 frugal things...maybe anti frugal (had to buy a new iphone for 17 year old who tripped & smashed his phone while running and got glass shards in his hand.) My husband got the glass out of son's hand using tweezers (so no emergency room...is that frugal?)
Just wanted to tell you that Sonia's haircut is adorable. How did you learn to cut hair?
Well, trial and error, mainly. I started doing it when my kids were really young, so the stakes felt pretty low.
I quit cutting Lisey and Zoe's hair a while ago just because it is SO thick and straight. It's just not forgiving at all! Sonia's hair is not as thick (that makes it simpler to cut) and it's wavy, so even if the cut isn't 100% perfect, no one can tell.
I won't even think about because one is stick straight and the wavy one thinks if l won't cut her sister's hair then l certainly am not touching hers! I'm ok with that especially since they get inexpensive haircuts roughly twice a year.
I understand! Longer hairstyles just are not that expensive to maintain, even if you pay someone for a haircut. The real money-saving is if you can cut the short-haired people at your house. I saved lots of money by cutting Joshua's hair for years, because his required monthly haircuts.
Curly or wavy hair is definitely forgiving. I cut my own and it looks just the same as when I pay for a nice salon cut. I even put in layers! The curls cause each lock to dry a slightly different length, no matter how they are cut.
I think your "dark" photo and your hair-cutting talents = Old Hollywood glamour. Absolutely gorgeous!
I agree! I think the photo lighting goes with the vintage starlet vibe.
The bob gives a little 1950's vibe, in a good way. Super cute!!
My 5 frugals:
* Got stuff on clearance and used a coupon. For 4$ I got : organic crackers, 3 loafs of natural breads, a gluten-free duck paté, a tuna sandwich and 2 pounds organic apples. 4$!!! Score!!
* Went to yoga class and left with a muffin and 2 cups of tea on the house
* (almost) free entertainment: Brought the kids to the public pool (60$/year/family) and watched a Netflix Christmas movie (Princess Switch, it's pretty decent in the genre. Goof for the kids)
* Decorated for Christmas using the same old stuff, nothing new
* Been eating from the freezers and cupboards more instead of buying more and more
Have a great frugal day!
Cute hair is uplifting. I love that look on her!
1) last night's dinner was a classic use-it-up...slightly wrinkled potatoes made into mashed potatoes, upon which I spooned creamed chicken made from leftover roast chicken, broth made from the roast chicken bones, wilty celery, onions, butter and gf flour. It was delicious. Ha!
2) This may not be exactly frugal so much as a good use of our money budgeted and saved up for months for Christmas, but I just commissioned an art piece from a good friend for our son and his new wife. We get the "friend price" and it is fun to keep the money in our circle of favorite people.
3) I fixed our dryer by figuring out I set the settings on the washer for a small, delicate cycle and the next load of clothes were too wet to dry in one cycle. Haha! These misses happen when kids do the laundry and don't check or really understand the settings. The machines are quite old and I almost assumed the sensor had gone out!
4) ate lunch and dinner at home ALL WEEK. Might be unprecedented.
5) Mended a hole in my jeans with a scrap from the same jeans I keep pulling scraps from for ages now and some hem tape. Worked a treat. Much better than previous efforts.
1) We've been budgeting with sinking funds, but it wasn't really working. It felt more like putting money in savings one month only to be disappointed taking it out the next month. So in 2019 we're going to be more realistic about what we should expect to cash flow (ie we know we will need new tires on the truck when it gets inspected in August, so I have already plugged $1600 into our "cars" August budget.) We're hoping this at least makes us feel more in control and maybe saves money.
2) We've decided to stop airbnbing our home in June 2019. We've got a fourth baby on the way, our "real" business is growing, and we just don't have the mental space to make sure the house looks perfect every week, much less hear complaints from our guests about the nit-picky thing they have decided to harp on that week. To ease into the income drop we are putting 100% of airbnb profits in savings until then. I am treating all those savings deposits are bonus cash. Woo hoo--bonus cash!
3) I went to Costco today to pick up a few things, and used a $20 gift certificate I got for re-upping my Costco visa back in September. It was Costco so $20 was exactly one thing, but I was happy to get a giant tub of kirkland brand laundry detergent for free.
4) I also stopped by a Goodwill and picked up another pair of maternity jeans and a shirt. This is my last pregnancy, so I am buying very little (for me and the baby), but I have actually been pregnant enough times that I have worn out things, so I needed a refresh.
5) I started getting hungry in Costco, but I successfully avoided all the food purchases I could have made and made it home in time for leftovers for lunch.
Wait, have you shared this pregnancy news with us before? I feel like I haven't heard about it! Congrats, regardless. 🙂
1. Was able to increase my medical FSA, as I recently had a baby which is a life changing event, so we will save taxes on the amount of my recent copays
2. Still exclusively breastfeeding my daughter- free!!
3. Sold 2 of my son's toys this week and some extra clothing I was gifted for my daughter- extra $80!
4. Meal planned and cooking at home- grocery bill only $55 this week
5. Did all my Christmas shopping online, which saves gas and time. Used ibotta to do the shopping, so made some money back too
Came here just to say that the “dark” picture of Sonia is a perfect glamour shot. She looks like a Hollywood star. Stunning haircut and the photo itself.
1. Went to a Trader Joes, bought almond milk and got free flowers and a bag as new customers, and my kids got a sucker for finding the stuffed animal.
2. Stayed in an Airbnb for the first time. It was cheaper than a hotel and worked great for us.
3. Enjoyed a free park and free zoo with my kids and nephews, we just payed parking at the zoo.
4. Just got back from WalMart, spent $70 on food items, big bag of rice, dry pinto beans, fresh produce, 2 whole chickens, clearance bread and some eggs and milk and a few other things.
5. Cashed in another 500 swagbucks my for $5 in Amazon credit, I have $2 worth of ibotta (I've found Ibotta is slow to add up for me), and I'm up to 54 points on my reader rewards.
Her hair looks great!
Katy, is there a Reading Rewards program for adults? Or does anyone else know?
Maybe this counts as 4 frugal things (Keurig edition)!
1. Because we get a lot of overnight visitors, and I don't drink coffee, I wanted a Keurig (even though I know they're expensive, the pods are expensive and not eco-friendly, etc.). Within a week, I found a Keurig in great shape, clean and fully functional at a thrift shop for $5!
2. And Dollar Tree sells compatible pods 4 for $1 that seem to be acceptable tasting (I know from personal experience that the hot cocoa ones are good).
3. But after all the company I've had, I will definitely just be brewing a pot of coffee if we have more than one coffee drinker in the house! Actually much easier, faster and more economical.
4. However, I wanted to share a Keurig MINI hack that I haven't found anywhere else online (and believe me, I've been looking). That $5 Keurig stopped working after about a dozen uses: the pods wouldn't slip in completely, and the "brew" function quit working. I couldn't find any solutions, and when I called Keurig they couldn't figure it out either and said because it was 2 years old (although it was new to me) it was out of warranty. I was ready to get rid of the thing, but then my husband had a look at it and "fixed" it in about 30 seconds Fortunately in this case, my husband doesn't believe in following instructions. He prefers to disregard them and do things his own way, which proved helpful here! So here's my problem and solution:
Keurig MINI instructions say to: power up, fill with water, raise handle and insert pod, lower handle (let water drain) and then press brew button (then repeat for subsequent cups of coffee), in that order. My problem was that the brew light stopped coming on (and the button quit functioning) and therefore you couldn't get the water to come out and then heat up (hence, no hot beverage). Quick hack: power up, raise handle and insert pod AND LEAVE HANDLE UP AND POD EXPOSED, add water and wait while it drains down, LOWER HANDLE, now brew button lights up and functions just fine. If you're making another cup right after, turn power off for a few seconds, power it up and repeat. It sounds ridiculous, because you wouldn't think mixing up the order of the steps would have any effect, but lo and behold it did! Also, to get the pod in all the way, I just push on it with my thumbs in the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position until it pops in and the needle punctures it (which seems to be what Keurig tells you to do if you live at high altitude---although I don't). I think maybe the needle is slightly bent?
Sorry for such a long post, but maybe this will help someone else. I doubt I'm the only person having this problem with a Keurig.
Correction: it's a Keurig K15, not a MINI.
1. Must be the week for hair cutting as I cut the husband's hair. Again thanked the gods that he has very curly hair that hides all mistakes.
2. Went to a party where the attendees were asked to bring packages of toilet paper, to be given to the food bank. Turns out they seldom get supplies like that and since food stamps (can't remember the new name for the program) won't pay for T.P., people can get pretty desperate. It was a large agency and they ended up with 94 packs of T.P.! The frugal part for me was that I had a Safeway gift card given to me on my birthday and used that for, in part, the toilet paper.
3. My keyboard went out and, with coupons and a sale, and were able to buy a new one for $3!
4. Went to a breakfast potluck (why don't more people do that?) and took home 13 bagels from among many, many more leftovers.
5. Culled my towels and was able to take 34 towels to the dog shelters. Got a tax receipt.
Frugal fail: I was having an out of wheelchair day, feeling really good. Went grocery shopping and managed to make it home with no problem. Walking from the car to the house I fell on the ice, which had been hidden by last night's snow storm. Broke a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk split open, and I think there are some oranges still hiding under the vehicle. We have light only from about 10 am to 3 pm this time of year, so this humiliation happened in the dark. Only my pride was injured. God, I hate being disabled!
Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear you fell! I hope you feel better soon.
And yes, I completely agree about curly hair. It hides a million imperfections!
I'm so glad you're okay! Eggs, milk, and oranges can be re-purchased 🙂
Milk and egg containers used to be much stronger! Of course, so was I!
Sonia's hair looks great! She reminds me of glamour girl from the 1920's. So elegant!
Sonia looks classic. So beautiful.
Love the haircut! My hair is getting really long but I have put off scheduling an appt... Because it also needs the highlights touched up... the "sparkles" are really starting to overtake... I do have a $50 gift card so that will help...
Last week was a blur... So to start my frugal ness... I worked as a sub at my kids school on my 2 days off my regular job.. I took my lunch in ( since my lunch hour is so stinking short) and did not buy any snacks at the vending machine.. Money made and saved!
Been continuing to sort out and utilize stuff in the freezer!
Used coupons ( that double!) to pick up deals at the store while I was getting prescriptions!
Sorted through a shelf of stuff in the basement and started to sell stuff that is just not needed! Got hubby on board with it.. Only a few dollars here and there but more space and less dust is the best!
Mended the tear on a tunic that fits me well.. its not noticeable so that is an outfit saved!
1. I found Star Wars fabric on clearance at a Walmart for $1.50/yd...so my son will be getting a quilt for Christmas
2. Found many nice children’s books at the thrift store to add to my nieces and nephews gift bags
3. Used accumulated credit card points to reduce my bill by $400, which will pay for Christmas, as well as a good chunk of my car insurance premium that I chose to pay in a lump sum to avoid installment fees
4. Picked up turkey breasts on sale and shopped at Aldi for the first time in months...which helped me to remember why I love that store:)
5. Made stained glass window clings out of construction paper and tissue paper to decorate for Christmas and bought items at the Dollar tree to make Advent candle votives for our Advent wreath
This week was some frugal some not. The not was the $1,200 emergency tree removal. With all the rain we have been having my lovely beech tree I planted 20 some years ago fell over. Good news it didn’t damage anything but it fell on our fence, which is next to a private parking lot and our private parking. So the tree had to come down ASAP before the fence gave way. Very very pleased with the tree removal service. Now I have a bunch of very expensive mulch lol! But no one and nothing got injured/damaged.
On the frugal side:
1. My second hand coffee maker gave up the ghost. Got another one, programmable, from FB market place for $5. Works great. I love it!
2. Went through my gift stash last night and realized I already have quite a few gifts bought already for Christmas.
3. Went into a thrift store and spent nothing.
4. Using thrift store baskets to make up raffle baskets for 4-H event
5. Was given several bottles of various oils and two half bottles of vanilla extract from a friend who moved.
I was watching What Not To Wear when a woman with curly hair like mine got a haircut. I rewatched it several time and cut my own and take advantage of my curls. ! I've worn it up for years and it looks more flattering now. Thank goodness for FrizzEase. My high school days would have been less "hair-centered" with that product around!
I have curly hair and have been cutting it myself for years. A hairdresser friend showed me how years ago and I’ve been cutting it myself ever since. And I also love Frizz ease! Once my hair is dry I put some Wen on it then put the frizz ease on. The combination really keeps the curls nice, controls the frizz and make my hair shiny.
It is great that you can cut your daughter’s hair, and she is so pretty. I have boys and wished I had at least one daughter to get my girl fix. As you mentioned cutting the boys’ hair is big savings. I am not good with the scissors or clippers, so hubby is the family barber/stylist giving the boys their monthly haircuts. Like your daughter, my youngest son still in elementary school lets us know when he wants his hair cut. And he is very picky about it, thankfully he likes the way hubby does his hair. He was at school and told a classmate that he had a pretty bad haircut and he ought to have his step dad give him a haircut as he does a great job. I advised him not to make comments like that about someone’s hair and don’t go volunteering your step dad to give your classmate a haircut.
About six months ago the two were arguing over whose turn it was to get their haircut first. Well hubby said he would give the first haircut and your mother will do the second one. Well they both screamed I’m first! My mother thought it was funny, but my husband threatened my children with having me cut their hair. My mother won’t trust me either. Hubby has cut her hair for her a few times, and she was at the house for me to color her hair and she mentioned she needed a trim. I offered to cut her hair for her and she gave me a very firm NO! So we save a lot of money going the DIY at home route with great results, but I am not allowed to do any cutting. My husband gets nervous when he sees me get out the scissors to trim some of my split ends. He tells me to put down the scissors and I assure him it is only to do S&D on split ends. My hair is very full and reaches past my elbows, so I would be afraid to cut my own hair, but thankfully hubby does a great job on keeping my hair trimmed and shaped every couple months, so that saves me hundreds a year and skipping the salon hassle.
Yay for a hubby who is handy with the scissors!