Five Frugal Things | (plus a frugal fail)

1. I sold something and listed something on eBay

You know how I had those watch bands from nursing school? Someone bought them! I had a small padded envelope in my stash so I packaged them up and off they went.

The listing?

Well, I found my 1990s Victoria’s Secret flannel nightgown in one of the boxes in my closet, and apparently, these sell for a decent amount on eBay. 

(Because…they are considered vintage. Ahahahaha. I will be signing up for an AARP membership now.)

I decided to take the win, and I listed it for sale. Hopefully my, uh, vintage self will be walking away with some money shortly. 😉 

I am nowhere near as prolific as my friend Katy when it comes to eBay selling, but hey, every little bit helps. And the most satisfying thing to me is knowing that my unwanted items are going to someone who really does want them.

It’s like matchmaking but with stuff instead of people. 😉 

2. I cancelled my HBO Max subscription

I paid $9.99 for one month of access (with ads) so that I could watch The Pitt, a highly acclaimed medical drama. 

I binged almost the whole season while I was in Seattle, finished it up once I got home, and then cancelled the service.

I will renew it when season two is ready for bingeing. I hear it premieres in January 2026, but I will wait for all the episodes to come out so that I can watch them with just a month of access. 😉

I really enjoyed the show, and it almost made me want to work in the emergency department…but then I remembered that I love having my patients for a good 12 hours, and sometimes for multiple days. I don’t think I’m built for the “stabilize, then ship out” type of nursing.  

3. I used discounts on an iron supplement

At my annual physical last week, I learned that I am anemic (which is odd, because my hemoglobin levels did get screened before I donated blood the last two times! Perhaps those finger scan tests are not particularly accurate.)

Sooo, I have to take a pause from blood donating for now (BOO!), and I gotta start on iron supplements to get my levels boosted. I hate taking iron supplements because they usually make my stomach hurt.

To help with this, my doctor recommended a variety called SlowFe, which is a bit on the expensive side ($20 for 60 capsules).

But I placed an online order through CVS (for in-store pickup) and used a bunch of discounts to get the price down.

Hopefully, these pills can get my levels up without giving me unpleasant side effects. I am also hoping I can get my levels high enough to donate blood at some point in the future. 

4. I avoided a $43 credit card charge

When I went to pay my tuition bill for this fall, I initially planned to use one of my credit cards (might as well earn rewards!) 

But then I saw they were going to charge me a $43 fee to use a card.

That was a hard nope for me because the credit card rewards weren’t going to be nearly $43!

So I just paid it straight from the checking account where my hospital checks are deposited, which seems fitting anyway. 

5. I submitted for tuition reimbursement

I dug through my work emails and found the form for tuition reimbursement. I filled it all out, and now the money should go straight to my paycheck.

You have to pass the class to keep the money, of course, so I have to submit proof of my grades once the classes are done.

But at least the initial legwork is done, and in future semesters this process will be even easier because I’ll know what I’m doing. 

The first time is always the hardest! 

A small fail

The other day, I noticed that the mag slider top for one of our Yeti coffee cups was missing. And I thought that was weird because I knew I’d seen it when I was doing dishes.

I hopped online and ordered this set of 3 replacement sliders, in fun pink colors. They’re unreasonably expensive, but they were cheaper per slider in the set of three (also: THEY’RE PINK!!) so I said “What the heck?” and ordered them. 

But a few days later….I was taking a spoon out of the drawer and realized the black mag slider had stuck to the spoon! I must have not noticed it when I was putting the silverware away.

I tried to cancel the order, but it was too late. I could return them but I hate doing that because I know many returns end up in the trash. 

So, I think I will just take the loss, keep them, and enjoy the Barbie pink colors. Or perhaps a local friend will lose theirs and I can share. 🙂 

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