Five Frugal Things | preserving jalapenos
Happy Tuesday! Time for some frugal goodness.
1. I brined some jalapeños
My last Hungry Harvest box included a bag of big jalapeños.
I love hot peppers, and I've been eating them pretty regularly, but I was worried that they might go bad before I got to all of them.
I read in a Cook's Country issue that storing them, raw, in a salt water solution, can help them last for several weeks.
So, I'm giving it a try!
2. I got some grocery markdowns at Sprouts
I haven't been to Sprouts much, but when we stopped in for a chia drink Lisey wanted, I spied the markdown shelves in the back.
(I always light up when I see markdown shelves!)
I found a box of $0.99 raisins, a couple of $0.50 canned goods, and some granola bars, and I will definitely check their markdown rack next time I'm there.
3. I sold my old Cook's Country magazines
I went through all my old back issues and printed all the recipes I wanted, which meant I did not need the magazines anymore.
I listed them as a lot of 15 on eBay, and they sold within 24 hours!
Clutter out of my house, and $13 in my bank account. Win-win.
(Here's why I love Cook's Country magazines.)
4. I helped Lisey file her taxes for free
Since her return is extremely simple, she gets to use the free version of TurboTax.
It took us less than 30 minutes, and she gets to keep her whole refund instead of using part it to pay for tax prep.
(Paying for tax prep makes sense for some people, obviously. But Lisey, a dependent with a single W-2, is not one of those people!)
5. I'm using old time tests to print school papers
When I cleaned out a bookshelf during the recent power outage, I found a stack of unused math time tests.
The paper is still in good shape, so I'm just using the clean backside to print papers for my college biology class.
(The class is online, but we do still have to print some things, like worksheets.)
Printer paper is not very expensive, but I figure it's better to put this paper to good use before I recycle it.
1. I went camping with my son. At nearly 60 it is a bit tough on the body but it is certainly a cheap way to have a break. I truly enjoyed the stars on Friday night. The sparkled and looked like diamonds flung across the sky. That was worth the discomfort.
2. Mum wanted to go to the shop for one thing. She can never walk out of a shop with just the one thing. I convinced her to wait until shopping day which is Thursday. That is a huge win.
3. I bought a huge amount of ground beef or mince as we called it at Costco. It was sorted into eight packs so should give us at least sixteen meals for $30 worth of meat. Prices are AUS $.
4. I have managed two no spend days this last week.
5. I have made a meal plan and I really do not have to buy a lot on shopping day.
* Using Flash Food regularly to get discounted groceries. Today I'm picking up milk, yogourt, a pasta dish, cranberry salad and chicken butter sauce, all at 50% off
* Grocery had an item priced wrong, so I got it for free. 7$ back? Yes please!
* Using Eventbrite free classes to keep in shape (zumba, yoga, dance classes) and entertain the kids (art classes)
* Public library is open again!!! Kids came back with a ton of books, which makes my heart smile. I am an avid reader, can you tell?!?
* Going for a walk with friends I haven't seen in ages (8 years?) this morning. Free exercise, free entertainment, yay!
1. Continued to eat all meals at home.
2. Resisted the urge to add valentine extras to my produce order.
3. Ate leftovers and lots of meatless meals.
4. Got multiple wears out of clothes before washing.
AND THE BIG ONE:
5. I fixed the clogged pipe myself!!! Finally!!! It ended up costing about 40.00 for the first snake, 60.00 for the second snake and 80.00 for the third snake, so total 180.00 out of pocket, which is less than what a plumber would have charged but possibly more than renting a snake from a Lowes. It also took me SO long to do this because of needing to wait for the shipments and also it was very hard work. Under normal circumstances, I would definitely recommend just calling a plumber, but I'm glad I perservered because I didn't have to expose our household to covid-either through having a plumber come or through renting used equipment. I mean, I reasoned that plumbing deals with fecal matter, and is therefore pretty high risk. Also, I was able to use one snake to get another sink in our house working that has been clogged for ages, but flagged as a low priority so these snakes are already proving their worth! I also bought for about ten dollars several strainers to keep hair out of our drains and used an old pair of panty hose tied on the end of the washer hose to catch excess washer lint from going down the drain-man is it funny to see the hose fill up like a swollen foot in the sink! I guess quarantine makes it so you are easily entertained, or maybe it's just me...
Congratulations to you, Becca, for tackling the clogged pipe yourself! I would be really happy too!
I may or may not have gone around the house singing "I fixed the pipe! I fixed the pipe! Oh, yeah! Who fixed the pipe? It was me!" 😉
I'm glad I'm not the only one who sings victory odes after conquering a new-to-me-task. 😉 In all seriousness, GO YOU!!! Snaking is tricky, especially if you have old pipes. You should be proud of yourself!
This is TOTALLY something I would do. You should be so proud of yourself! And you definitely should sing a victory song.
You should get a prize for this one! I think I would have given up after the first snake failed.
Funny thing was I was about to give up and call a plumber because I didn't think I had cleared it, but then I decided to try running hot water one more time, and hallelujah! No more clog! I was so relieved that my stubbornness paid off for once!!! The whole saga had an added twist to it in that I originally did call my plumber who I have used exclusively for about 7 years now and none of his numbers or email addresses worked...I'm hoping he is just traveling but I couldn't help but immediately assume he got sick or worse, so I was really motivated to NOT get a new plumber until I at least hear what happened to him, and with all the social isolation, I feel like I will just never know. That's probably crazy, but I felt very like I was trapped in the Little House book about the never-ending winter where Laura can't even see her neighbor's houses through the blizzard. I had this overwhelming sense that there was no one but me to fix this pipe. But, anyway, now it's fixed! Hurray!
1) Mended two pairs of my daughter's leggings. I'm not sure the cheapo leggings are worth the effort, but I had fun mending them by hand. My sewing machine scares me, buy I like hand stitching. 🙂
2) Made what felt like 10,000 meals at home, though we did get pizza one night.
3) I've been enjoying an occasional Starbucks Via (their instant coffee) decaf coffee at home. I found a slightly out-of-date box of 50 on eBay for less than half what it normally costs.
4) I've been meatless since August, but my family is not. I've been able to find some vegan meals we can all enjoy together (still trying to increase those). Frugal with money and frugal with my time, since I'm not making separate dinners quite as often.
5) Been making meat-based meals out of the stash of meat we've got in the freezer before it gets too old.
--I undertook a major overhaul of the bathroom cupboard. Our bathroom has amazing built-in storage, but because it's so deep--you could fit a small person on each shelf, not kidding--things often get lost at the back. Indeed, we've quite the trove of "Oh, we already had that / had way more than I thought!" to work through now that everything has been sorted in a more logical way. I used shelf risers and a small plastic tote that we already had to arrange things more efficiently.
--After our last doozy of a storm (12”+) and helping multiple people who were stuck on our street, I wanted a dedicated snow shovel to keep in *our* car trunk just in case. I used a $5 off $20 coupon to acquire said shovel and a new window scraper/brush combo, our last one having broken after many years of use. Fun fact: A regular snow shovel was $5 cheaper than a collapsible mini (i.e. kid-sized) "car shovel.” Thank goodness for having a big trunk! If ever we're stuck, I want the luxury of a full-sized shovel.
--Free phone! The battery on my Pixel 2 suddenly wouldn’t hold a charge anymore. Thankfully, a friend had already given me her old Pixel 2 as a back up last summer. She was glad to re-home it, and I made sure to repay her with other friendship favors. Once my husband was able to coax my phone into staying on *just* long enough, we were able to swap everything over to the new-to-me device and wipe the old one.
--Despite the wonky battery, Google will still credit us $30 for my dud phone. Since my husband’s will also need replaced in the next few months, we’ll take it! The replacement he wants is already discounted through GoogleFi. We always buy at least one generation back, so we should only pay $40 for his new phone after the credits for both of our old phones are taken into account.
--Our temperatures took a nosedive below zero, but my husband still has to work outdoors (cemetery groundskeeper). Since we've been unable to find a pair of insulated overalls in his size locally and were skeptical of an online order shipping in a timely fashion, we improvised. He already had thermal underwear, and I had a pair of $1 clearance Halloween leggings that were ginormous on me (XL vs. the “one size fits most” that my small self assumed when I grabbed them). The leggings fit my *much* taller husband perfectly and, since they are both thick and 100% polyester, they are TOASTY! Thus, underneath his work pants, he’s been layering his thermal underwear and “mummy bandage” leggings. It works a treat! 😛
My husband and I are the same height and weight. There have been many times where he wore my tights and once my pantyhose under his pants for more insulation. Also a p[air of flannel pjs once!
Flannel is fair game at all times, and pantyhose is definitely a great insulator. 😛 In all seriousness, how fortunate that you and your husband can trade so easily! There's an 8" difference in our heights, so we were both surprised when the mummy leggings proved to be just the right length! I've managed to shorten and take in his unwanted jeans to fit me before, but this is our first luck the other way around.
We are both over 6' tall so I, especially, have had trouble getting shirts and pants long enough. I wear his jeans and shirts a lot but until it hit 50 below one time and he had to shovel our driveway, years ago, he did not wear my clothes. I was on the phone with a friend once and she was startled to hear him yell to me, "Do you have any clean tights I can borrow?"
Hahaha! Yo which I'm sure any rational man would reply "You can laugh, but I'm warm!"
1. I made a nice batch of chicken broth from some bones in the freezer.
2. My taxes this year are...really complicated (graduated, moved, lots of deductible professional fees, tuition credits, plus I got married), and I was offered a deal by a local accountant who'll help. Their hope is, of course, that I'll use all their other services too, but I'll gladly accept the deal and forego the expensive insurance that they want me to buy!
3. I've been (ahem) very nauseated lately and am mostly eating whatever I can stomach. While I'm getting takeout lunches more than I used to, we're also keeping the house stocked with nice snacky things that I can eat.
4. I'll be buying more tea this week--my favourite tea (which I drink twice a day) is a strong black tea that comes in a cardboard box of about 200 loose tea bags for around $6-8. It's a great deal, and tastier than most coffee-shop teas.
5. I don't deserve credit for it, but I am deeply grateful for the Canadian healthcare system and the insurance offered by my job. Between the two, all of my doctor's appointments, tests, and medications have been free. I unfortunately had a whole lot of all of those in the last two months (everything's fine though!) but I'm glad I didn't have to worry about paying. It's not a perfect system, but it gives me real peace of mind.
Well, I caught onto your "ahem" and I would like to suggest keeping some ginger candies with you at all times. They helped keep my nausea at bay.
Oooh. Is this (ahem) nausea for a happy reason?
Happy indeed! Well, emotionally happy. Other parts of my body are in rebellion.
I know that feeling!
Congratulations!
Ahem is time for Congratulations!!! How exciting.
Although our car is still under warranty it had 2 things wrong at once so we only had to take it in once.
We were having problems with tire pressure in above car we think due to it being so cold, we took it to heated garage (work) walked the dogs inside and let the car warm up and re-inflated the tires.
I have a head strong schnauzer, so I contacted our trainer who reminded us we have 1 free lesson left so I took advantage of that and we are welcome to come back to free group classes so 0 dollars spent. She wanted to see what his behavior was but of course when he is around her he turns into an angel.
I need a couple of foot stools for above dog training and our local consignment shop had some for $1. Worth every cent. They owed me $5 from some things I sold there so no out of pocket.
1. Was gifted this week by co-workers, some new masks, a new tri-fold board (for future school projects) and a bag of clothes for me to go through for my kids and Ebay. People are catching on that I take stuff!
2. I am also continuing to print on the backside of cast off paper from work. I make sure to remove any identifying information.
3. I had purchased plastic inserts for in my masks to keep the material off of my chin (acne) but was really disappointed when they arrived. I realized that I can return them on Amazon. I'm not sure why it didn't hit me earlier, but at least I can get my money back.
4. Our are FINALLY got a buy nothing group on Facebook. It is wonderful to have this type of a community. I've been the recipient and the giver so far. It feels good.
5. My kids daycare was closed for two days because of a huge winter storm. Saved me $40!
I call these things "little wins" because really, we haven't been all that frugal lately :
*I made a pillow out of a really cool t-shirt that was sent to me. Too small = sewing project.
*Instead of take-out or cooking a meal for two on Sunday, I heated up a couple of freezer leftovers that were homemade and delicious! Most lunches are leftovers, too.
*Set us up for auto delivery of coffee from the Keurig site which means we pay less than we would at the grocery store for the same coffee and it comes to my front door.
*We recycled some bits and bobs of insulation material to protect the pipes out at our property from the coming polar vortex this week! We had everything we needed, including tape.
Sometimes its great that my Hubby saves this stuff rather than tossing it.
*Took advantage of getting my tires rotated for free and they balanced them and checked the tire pressure, too. Little perk of having to buy new tires for my work car.
Thanks for the reminder about insulating pipes! We are about to experience an "arctic blast" and just realized we never put bibs on our spigots. Probably should do that...
You probably already know this, but if you are worried about indoor pipes freezing, open the kitchen and bathroom cabinets before you go to bed. When it starts hitting 30 below, even with well insulated pipes, we have had freeze ups so now when it is getting that cold, we routinely open those cabinets at bedtime.
Opening cabinet doors also keeps mice from making themselves at home.
A neighbor gave us some elderly carrots, celery, and potatoes that needed to be used right away. So with those, some of the rooster stock I froze, some of the frozen roasted green chiles the same neighbor is constantly giving me, a bag of squash that's been the freezer for, um, almost two years, and a package of ground beef, I made a very large pot of soup. I like having something like that on hand for my work lunches. Makes it easy to pack. One jar and done.
This is a Week of Baking for me. I always make crisped rice treats (I make them with Malt-o-Meal cereal, so I they're not quiiiite RKTs 🙂 for my sons to give their classmates. The boys make tags to put on them, but I don't buy cards. They kind of hate the Valentine's Day hype, ("It's so SMOOCHY.") so I don't force the issue by getting real cards or trying to make them make some. The treats are a good compromise. I don't have to purchase them; they're easy to make; and everyone loves them.
In addition, this week's birthday boy requested chocolate cheesecake, shrimp, meatballs, and biscuits, all of which will be made by me. Buying cakes or prepared foods isn't an option here, but I wouldn't have bought any of it even if it was.
Had to replenish the jeans supply for the eldest son. ThredUp to the rescue. I prefer to use Swap. com, as it's cheaper, but I couldn't find what I wanted for him there. And ThredUp is still way cheaper than buying new.
My eldest son had a succulent in a pot that got completely destroyed by some critter when it was outside this summer. He wanted something in that pot for his room, though, so I stuck a piece of aloe plant in there that I took off my big kitchen plant. Aloe is pretty much impossible to kill, and it's growing nicely, which makes him happy. Bonus with aloe: It's a very good "placebo" medicine for kids when they say "something hurts" on their skin and you can't see what it is. Smearing a bit of aloe on it is fun for them and distracts them. It also actually helps with burns, but I use it all the time for the mystery skin things.
I think you can call those "Crisp Rice Treats". 😉
Also: I have killed aloe. What does that say about me?
That you should stick to fake plants. 🙂
FFT
1. Had a pet fence in my Chewy cart for a while. They sent me a $15 off of $49 coupon, and I had won a $25 GC for some virtual volunteer work. My fence only cost me $11 and I got free shipping! The fence will solve some problems in my small chicken yard:)
2. Cooked food at home for Super Bowl. Ribs and Mac n Cheese (used up all bits and bobs of cheese in fridge) yum! No take out food!
3. Got our rental unit relisted after old tenants moved out. Sitting vacant costs us money!
4. Picked up some extra virtual teaching hours at local Community College
5. Sold free pile Starbucks mugs for $80! Also listed other items from free pile and hoping for more sales. Obtained kitchen staples from free pile (people moving out) for us. A returnable glass milk bottle that I will return for $4, a pair of snow boots that fit me perfect and look brand new, two lamps, a footstool, wooden boxes I gave to a craft friend, wine glasses, 2 over sized “canning jars” canisters, and some nice fabric. Also picked up a box of produce that had been dumped in a free pile after another person moved. We live in the city and I keep my eyes open at the end and beginning of each month for these free move out piles.
It is extraordinary what people throw out!!
You're sure these are free piles and not eviction piles, right? I always feel a little clench in my chest when I see those piles in my area.
I don't feel like I've been particularly frugal this last week, since I'm just now getting over an asthma flare that required two steroids. I do not function well on steroids.
1. Reorganized a few areas of the house using containers/drawers/furniture we had on hand.
2. While I was not breathing well, we used freezer meals that I had been stockpiling. Unfortunately there were not enough to stop us from getting take out a few times.
3. Sorted through children's clothes from this past season and for the next. Gave away smaller sizes to friends who will wear them, and have next season's clothes ready to be put in the closet, so I don't feel tempted to buy new clothes to avoid doing the sorting and trying-on work
4. Set up 529s for the kids. Late is better than never.
5. Made my own bread and muffins; menu-planned; bought beef on sale; started restocking the freezer with dinners for the next illness which is hopefully very far away(So thankful that we've not had a hospitalization for our son in 364 days!)
It sounds to me like you're doing a great job! Yay for having some freezer meals! Yay that you started a 529! Yay for planning ahead! And mostly, YAY for your son's health!
Hope today makes 365!
And that soon you can stop counting!
Ah, that is SUCH a blessing to stay out of the hospital. Fantastic!
This always leaves me stumped. But I'll try it anyway ... found a pack of hotdogs in the freezer so I researched and made chili sauce for chili dogs last night--fun meal which was definitely cheaper than take-out .... baked these cookies yesterday--tried cutting them into heart shapes which was only somewhat successful as they are a really soft cookie, but they are tasty (and that's coming from someone who doesn't love sugar cookies), and provided not only treats for us, but entertainment for my kids as well, who got to decorate them, using little eyeball decorations and nonpariels ..... trimmed my husband's hair (hate that job) .... that's all I can think of.
Kristen—Good use of those old math time test papers, but was it something that could have been sold, or of use to someone, or were they too random?
Well, the funny thing is that they were handed down to me by my aunt, who homeschooled her nine kids.
By the time I got through them with my four kids, they were QUITE a random selection of tests; nothing super useful anymore, since the idea is to do them in an incrementally harder order.
So, printer paper is the best use for them now.
1. I found 3 pennies at Aldi.
2. I redeemed points for an $11.85 statement credit on my credit card.
3. I bought 2 cans of Libby's pumpkin on clearance for 50 cents each.
Nothing else out of the ordinary
Every time I go to Aldi I get a cart that someone left in the parking lot. I made a lot of cash that way over the years.
I've found a few carts, but they're pretty rare at the store I visit. I'd love to find more!
1. I reuse the brine from my empty pickled jalapeños jar. I slice fresh jalapeños and put them in that brine. Works great.
2. I made sure to plug in our Volt because driving electric is the best.
3. Roasting a chicken tonight and then using the carcass to make broth.
4. Used my coffee sock instead of disposable coffee filters.
5. Keeping the heat set at 66 daytime and 60 nighttime. We all wear sweaters and slippers and at night there are extra blankets. You get used to this pretty fast.
Please explain what a coffee sock is. Thanks!
It’s a reusable cotton coffee filter.
1. We needed to install a new operating system on our very old laptop, and my husband scored a major deal on it! Huge savings.
2. When my sister came over on Sunday, she brought a full bag of pancake mix she bought by mistake and half an apple cake. Free food!
3. Since we've had a spike in natural gas prices we're keeping our thermostat a degree or two lower. Don't know how much difference it will make but I guess it helps.
4. My mom sent us home with almost a full half-gallon of lactose free milk which one of my kids has to drink. Since it's so much pricier than regular milk, this was appreciated.
5. Used a gift card from one of the curriculum publishers we use to purchase a supplemental educational item my kindergartener needed.
1. Used up a bunch of long-frozen items, lingering pantry goods, and some leftovers to create strawberry bread pudding for breakfasts, baked Florentine pasta for my work lunches, and a pumpkin spice loaf cake for snacking.
2. Dealt with a couple of weird explanations of benefits from our health insurance company. Discovered that two laboratories had filed on insurance I had not had in four years but which happened to be under the same major company as our current insurance, which of course denied the claims. Got that straightened out and saved myself a total of $429.
3. Did a deep dive into our electronic debits to determine what we spend money on and how to cut back. Learned I can get an education discount on some of my husband's subscriptions and save $40 a month.
4. Also took a close look at a year of expenditures on Chewy.com. They averaged $169 a month! That's where we buy almost all of our food and supplies for four rescue pets with special health issues, but it can definitely come down now that we know what works for each critter.
5. Until our house is paid off, we are over-insured on life insurance, which is a considerable monthly expense. This is more incentive to hold fast to our year of No Silly Spending and pay our house off six years early this November.
1. Made soup with lentils that have been sitting around for a looooong time. My son will eat soup as a snack or for any meal, so this helps fill him up with healthy stuff.
2. Husband is using up all the little bottles of shampoo in the house. I started using shampoo bars and he realized that we haven't bought a bottle of shampoo in over a year.
3. Shoveling, shoveling, & shoveling some more. We have a snow blower a neighbor gave us, but it's a pain, so we just go out and shovel, which is free. Maybe this summer we'll get around to selling the snow blower...
4. Asked about a paycheck discrepancy and will be getting the amount I'm due in my next check. I asked very nicely and it was taken care of within a few hours.
5. Using my kids' old notebooks for my elaborate daily to-do lists, eating every last bit of leftovers(I'll be staring down the last half of a baked potato for today's lunch), resisting the urge to buy cute things online, and lots of other daily little things that really do add up.
If you sell the snow blower now, I suspect you’ll get a better price, especially if you list it when a big storm is predicted.
If we could trust that a potential buyer was one of the few people around here who’s taking the virus seriously and would actually show up we might be willing to try now. Unfortunately, both those things are very unlikely, so we can wait.
Let's see.....
1. Leftover hamburger buns turned into Garlic toast to go along with leftover spaghetti.
2. We filled the prescription for my husbands glasses at Costco and the discounts given let us get both a primary and a back up pair of glasses for less than a third of what we would have spent filling the script elsewhere.
3. I have two roasting chickens defrosting. I will roast them both and serve roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing(from the freezer) and homemade cranberry sauce(cranberries from the freezer) for dinner tomorrow. The carcasses will be used to make broth and a large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. Cranberry sauce will be used to make cranberry bread.
4. Chopped a large loaf of homemade sourdough bread into chunks and chucked it into the freezer to be used for croutons at a later date.
5. I have a large bag of frozen orange and yellow bell pepper that will use with a large bag of fresh frozen tomatoes to make a large pot of soup to be frozen for quick lunches over the next days. My Mom will be having a knee replacement so quick light meals are going to be useful over the coming days.
Enjoy the week everyone!
1. I mostly use the back side of printed paper for everyday printing (puzzles, recipes, patterns). I have enough to last me a lifetime.
2. I did another big listing on Freecycle. I love that so many items have new owners and did not go to the landfill.
3. We still have funds in our FSA from 2020. There is another month to spend and get reimbursed from it. I ordered some OTC items that we will use in the future and made sure we did not contribute so much in 2021. If you don't use the money you forfeit it (I have no idea where it goes).
4. Shaggy hair because out Covid numbers are still not great. I'm hoping for improvement in the near future.
5. We needed a bed for our guest room. We rearranged some furniture and just needed a mattress. I ordered one online based on a recommendation from Mrs. Frugalwoods. The price was right and we'll set it up tonight, for when it is okay to have guests again. BTW, we have a Luxi mattress and it feels much better on a platform bed with slats than it did on top of box springs.
Check about the FSA. My understanding is the expiration date to spend unused funds had changed to December for this year only.
We have had a bed recommended by Mrs. Frugalwoods for over two years and we're very happy with it. Hope you like yours.
For FSA the rules dependent on how your employer sets it up. Our plan has a $500 carryover from year to year, some have a 90 grace period after 12.31 to send in receipts. Forfeited money goes back into the plans fund so in essence back to your employer. Your employer can then use it to reduce their payments into the plan the following year. Our plan does not cover OTC.
My frugals are completely offset by paying someone to do electrical work at my house, but I draw the line at going beyond the most basic of electrical work myself, and my husband just can't do it anymore. Electric issues aren't something I want to brush off, either. But anyway, here's what I've done to help save some money so I can pay the electrician.
1. I used to buy my cruelty-free contact solution at a store, but the store closed. I found it at another store, at a higher price, but I can get it on sale once or twice a year. However, I was about to run out and no sale in sight. Online shopping found even higher prices, but I finally found one site with a sale and a coupon for new users. Even paying shipping, I saved $6.20 a bottle from the next lowest price, and I bought four, which won't expire for 13 months.
2. My cash back card has enough cash back built up to use again. I always apply it to my statement amount.
3. I was at a thrift store and spotted a vintage but not collectible cookie jar, just like my mom had in my childhood, in perfect shape. I did what my sister taught me to do. I took it for a ride around the store in my cart. Having it in my cart erases that feeling of "someone else might get it first!" that can sometimes make one rush to the check out counter to buy first, think later. It also gives one time to think about whether this is a good purchase or not. It was not. After a few minutes, I placed it back on the shelf and left the store empty-handed but satisfied.
4. My husband loves bacon on his lunch sandwiches, so instead of buying the pre-cooked, expensive bacon, I bought regular bacon on sale and pre-cooked a batch for him. He's not great at cooking it himself these days so pre-cooked is best for him.
5. I saved 20 cents a gallon by fueling my car at Costco compared to fueling up where I live. Costco is on my route home.
Tell me about the cruelty free contact solution! That's not something I've even ever thought about.
It's a brand called Clear Conscience. I found it through a website called Leaping Bunny, which certifies cruelty-free products. I feel better using it, and it has worked well for me. It works for basically all lenses, hard and soft. I found the sale at Vitacost.
Leaping Bunny also has an app, where I can scan items at stores to see if they are on their list. Note, they have a long, long list, but it's not exhaustive.
I have no financial connection to Leaping Bunny or Clear Conscience, just so everyone knows, unless you count buying the product as a connection. 🙂
1. We got 2 cats and all kinds of pet accessories for FREE. While waiting for our adoption application to be approved at the Humane Society, my mom's friend reached out that they had 2 cats that needed new homes. (Her husband tried to be an animal person for the family, but isn't.) They gave us the cats, pet carrier, cat tower, litter box, food dishes, plus all of the cat food they had on hand. So, so generous. We're going to send them a gift card for a local restaurant they like since they didn't want any money, but it's still way less than if we had needed to purchase all of that stuff ourselves. Also, the cats are fantastic and my kids are so happy!
2. I used my $10 off $50 coupon plus a number of $2 off $10 or $3 off $12 type of deals at Meijer to end up getting a really good deal on what I purchased. Then I put my receipt in Ibotta to get another $2 back.
3. I hemmed curtains myself! It's not something I've done before, but doing it myself rather than hiring it out was way cheaper. It wasn't hard, just time consuming.
4. Paid my daughter's re-enrollment fee for school before the first deadline. It gets more expensive the longer you wait.
5. My banana hanger broke about 9 months ago and I bought a new one from Aldi yesterday that also comes with a fruit bowl. $10. Sweet. I've found that if I can be patient with things like that, Aldi will eventually have them for a much better price than other stores.
Congratulations on your new kitties! It sounds like a real win for everyone, including the cats. 🙂
What a happy solution for everyone!
My Sprouts markdown shelf is extremely expensive items marked down by a tiny amount. I do scan it when I go to Sprouts (not often because it isn't close to me), but I don't think I've ever purchased anything from their marked down items.
Oh, interesting! I hope mine keeps being full of good deals.
I print on the clean backs of paper also.
The usual: brownbag when I have to go to work, cook with what I have, don't drive too fast, and so on and so forth.
My parents are downsizing, opening up many opportunities. Their exercise bike doesn't fit my space, sadly, but I did get their handweights. Handweights are surprisingly expensive.
Soon thereafter, my friend shared that her Barre studio had a 2 week free special. Free classes in something new! And you know what Barre classes use? Handweights!
Something went wrong with KAF's whole wheat cookie recipe. (Might have had to do with my mixing up the amounts for baking powder and baking soda. I took out the extra but...) The batter was too loose so instead of adding the chocolate chips, I baked a test cupcake. Success! I decorated the cupcakes with store-bought frosting and the bits and bobs of sprinkles and such.
Best for last: I helped someone else be frugal. I gave away my old kitchen faucet, which was working but leaky. He dressed like a handyman so I asked if he wanted the two broken faucets as well. Win all around! He got three things, I didn't have to throw usable parts in the trash.
Hmm, I may have to do the same with my CI and Cooks Country magazines. I tend to only use recipes out of a few. Never thought they'd have much of a resale value.
1. Staples had a really good sale on trash bags so I stocked up on those. Bonus that they were cheaper and thicker than the ones at BJ's and had drawstrings!
2. Paid for a doctor co-pay out of my HSA funds. Tax free, baby!
3. Wasn't able to go home for lunch due to snow and I forgot to pack something. I went to a grocery store instead of fast food.
4. Made some more bread and pizza dough. I'm almost out so I will have to hit up my local restaurant supply for some more.
5. Kind of an unfinished one here: Two of my CDs matured and since I'm not renewing a 2.5% APR with a .5% APR, I'm debating on either paying down my mortgage or using the cash for some home repairs. Either way, better to avoid paying interest.
Battra92, regarding your number 5, you might consider investing it. It really isn't that hard and as long as you don't need the money for a while, it is much lower risk than you many think. I consider day trading and trying to pick individual stocks risky, but you can put it in a low fee diversified index fund and as long as you leave it in long enough, you are pretty much guaranteed a good return. You can also start with small amounts. I use Fidelity, but I also hear good things about Vanguard. Investing isn't as complicated as it may sound. You may have other plans with the money, but something to consider. 🙂
I have investments already but I'm thinking about low-risk diversification. The CDs were basically a holding spot for it while I figured some things out two years ago.
Hi Battra92,
Fellow longtime FG reader here. I hope you see this. Something I wish I'd known to think about early on is that your house acts kind of like big, fat bond. In a way, so does a fixed rate mortgage. I always thought I had to hold X percent of my investments in "Bonds" to have a balanced portfolio. I never realized things outside my portfolio could act as "Bonds". Also, as a retired person, I kind of wish I had put more in taxable investments than in 401k's or IRAs. I wasn't earning as much back then and now using that money has tax consequences. I'm also a huge fan of keeping the cheap. affordable, tax deductible mortgage and investing the difference. Paying ahead on the mortgage doesn't provide safety, only paying one completely off does. Even then, you will always have to pay utilities, taxes, and upkeep.
Something else to look into that pays handsome rewards (albeit taxable) for little work is Bank Account Bonuses. MMM Forum has info, as does the Doctor of Credit website. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd totally do this with extra cash.
Good luck to you!
Frugal things this week:
1) Eating a lunch from home that I brought to work. It's a frozen prepared meal (I'm in love with Eating Well and Evol brands), but I'm not eating delivery or vending machine food.
2) Drinking a store-brand can of soda. Yes, I should give it up altogether, but H-E-B brand sodas are a good step in that direction.
3) Drinking the cocoa and tea provided at work. Free is definitely frugal in this case!
4) Used a coupon for 50% off of a package of ground turkey instead of buying ground beef. The coupon made the turkey even cheaper than the sale beef. We're using it in stroganoff, so the meat doesn't matter all that much.
5) Grocery pickup has turned out to be an INCREDIBLE money saver for me. I live in Texas, where mask compliance is...iffy at best, so I avoid the grocery store as much as possible. H-E-B offers *free* grocery pickup. I uncheck the substitutions boxes after getting some truly weird stuff, so I occasionally have to make a quick stop when something isn't in stock. However, our grocery bill has gone down significantly over the last 11 months because I'm not in there making impulse purchases.
Nothing too exciting but here goes:
1. Joined my local "No Buy" Facebook group and have been "gifting" things I don't need to those who do.
2. A shelter for un-housed families not far from my house sent out an ISO for clothes, toiletries and games. My DH delivered two huge bags of clothing and travel sized toiletries to them.
3. While purging my collection of hotel toiletries, I set aside the few I am not allergic to and will use those up before buying anything else. They have been out of sight and out of mind.
4. Continue to make cold brew decaf in my French Press and use unsweetened almond milk instead of flavored creamer.
5. Cooking my way through the pantry, freezer and fridge. I stocked up on way too much food when the pandemic began nearly a year ago.
Used the library and our zoo pass for free entertainment.
Stopped by the cheap grocery store and picked up some clearance ground chicken for a good price to keep in the freezer.
Hubby got a bunch of free Italian bread from work which we put in the freezer
Planned dinner was a huge flop and I really wanted to call hubby and have him pick up something on the way home. But I made a frozen pizza instead and saved the money.
Trimmed my own bangs and ends at home instead of going to the salon.
1. Opened another one of those boxes that I have been dragging about forever. It was filled with bits and pieces from old Univac computers. Univac has always been a sentimental favorite because when my father came to the U.S. he began taking night classes in electrical engineering. Even before he was finished with his degree, Univac hired him for their research and development department when no one else would take on a guy with a heavy accent. The salary was beyond my father's wildest imaginings and those first paychecks moved us from abject poverty to the middle class, from a tenement to a house and a car and our first restaurant meals. So, when my father brought home pieces of computers and those old programming cards, I kept collecting them. When I opened the box I realized I am ready to get rid of the weird bits and bobs. I put them on the buy nothing group and they were gone in a heartbeat to some young kid preparing a report on computers. Frugal in that it clears out more space in my house, and in this case, in my mind.
2. Sold a bag of wool that was cleaned and colored but needed spinning.
3. The grocery store dented bin had 13 cans of water packed tuna in a brand we like so snapped them up for 50 cents a can. I had to search for the dents on most of them.
4. Did three gas mystery shops so made a total $15 worth of gas and a small payment. We are driving so little these days that the gas will likely take us until another round of shops.
5. The last box of potatoes from the garden are getting soft so I made a giant amount of mashed potatoes and froze them in serving sizes. I don't care for mashed anything because of the texture (I mean you, too, beans) but the husband will enjoy them.
Wonderful history of your father's career. thanks for sharing it!
Continuing to eat down the freezer
Got a kindle book I’d been wanting on sale for $1.99
Did a quick visit to my daughter’s so hand delivered Valentine’s presents to grandkids instead of mailing
Working out at home and snowshoeing in the woods ; I never used the gym much when I had a membership anyway
Made homemade English muffins and they were awesome!
FF: made beer bread and it said any kind of beer would do but it’s so strong and yeasty I just can’t eat it! Any advice if I try it again?
I make beer bread with Guinness normally, but have used a lager when it was what was on hand. That said, I wonder if its the rest of the recipe vs the specific beer as the because they're not crazy different.
I love the markdown racks in the grocery store!
1. I used a whole stack of coupons when I went to the grocery store on Friday, including one for a FREE 6 oz package of Kroger brand sliced cheese. We mostly buy block cheese, but hubby likes Swiss slices, so I'm always happy when one of these coupons crops up.
2. Like someone else in the comments, I was really tempted to order pizza last week...but stuck with my chicken taco meal plan and it was great!
3. Using up lots of root vegetables from the produce box, some leftover quinoa, black beans, and turkey sausage in a soup tonight. Hope it turns out good.
4. Kept the top to a squeeze bottle of conditioner so that when I accidentally buy something with a pump top, I'll have a lid to use to help get out all the last bits of conditioner.
5. Used my Amazon Prime subscription for a very inexpensive subscription to All Recipes Magazine. More recipe ideas means more cooking at home!
1. Going through our chest freezer, and found some items I'd forgotten, that will now be used for meals and hubby's work lunches.
2. Similarly, going through pantry and using up items that have been sitting unused for some time-not forgotten, just neglected.
3. Shopping at Aldi whenever I can, instead of traditional grocer.
4. Reading library books.
5. Enjoying YouTube and the videos on it for entertainment and education.
1. I took a bog freezer inventory and have seen I do not need to buy many groceries other than fruit and veggies for a few weeks! My grocery bill will be happy! I have been overspending.
2. I mended some clothes.I do not have a sewing machine and I don’t like sewing so it was a challenge but I repaired a skirt, a sweater, put buttons onto an old pajama top and fixed a hem.
3. I made a huge batch of homemade spaghetti gravy and meatballs and divided it up into 4 portions for freezer.
4. I spent time looking at bathroom remodels on Pinterest and decided a nice basic bathroom is just fine with me.I decluttered the vanity tops and it looks better!
5. I read your post on bidets and the replies taught me it is ok to use a “family trowel” to dry off so I cut up some old sheets and made a batch of dry-off towels and will now save on tp.
6. I keep a large stack of old Stampington craft magazines from the years when I had a subscription. I just re read all the old ones and get-the new ideas every time. I haven’t bought one in years!
I was notified that a submission to a magazine was going to be used and I would be paid $50! Yay!
I packaged an order and walked it to the post office.
I wrapped my daughter's birthday gifts with fabric gift bags.
The native bachelor's button bush cutting that I had taken a few weeks ago has grown some roots. So that will be planted out soon. I love free plants!
Etsy offers a 50% discount on turbo tax for sellers. I'm pretty happy about that savings.
Congratulations on the magazine submission!
Thank you!
1. I completed an online survey, that took me about 5 minutes, and will earn me $20. I also signed up for another research study that I will earn $30 from. I completed another study earlier this month that laid me $50. That's $100 in surveys this month. Not bad!
2. My husband picked up a box of food (like Blue Apron) from Buy Nothing. The person bought it, but didn't have time to cook it. It had 5 meals in it, which will feed us all week for free.
3. I listed a game on Facebook Marketplace
4. I received my 2nd COVID vaccine, which was free as I am a healthcare employee.
5. I purchased boxes of clearance Valentine's Day cards for $.25 each. This will be enough cards for both of my kids for a few years.
#2 -- wow, that is a great catch!
Right?!? Crazy thing is, this is not the first time we have gotten a Blue Apron- type box off Buy Nothing. I think this is our 3rd in the past 6 months. I think people buy them thinking they will be easier, but they really require quite a bit of work. I am happy to accept the free food though and it's a great way to try new meals.
Corrine, do you know if the covid vaccination costs if you are not a health care worker? Just curious because i dont have insurance coverage...
My understanding is the COVID shots will be free for everyone, paid for by the government.
Never heard that hot pepper tip.
1. Bought a replacement toilet, but for a reduced price as a part was broken off at the base. But my husband glued it. Not the loveliest, as you can see the crack, but much cheaper.
2. Gonna try turning the gas off to the stove every night to see if our tank lasts longer. I know pilot lights aren't supposed to use a lot of gas, but our oven pilot light seems real big.
3. Fried up loco bananas in palm oil, both of those ingredients were gifted to me.
That's all I can come up with at the moment
We love Claussen pickles, but they are so darn expensive. We finished some last week, so just to see what would happen- I sliced up a .25 cucumber and plopped it in the jar. Tested one today- a perfectly fresh pickle! A little weaker than the originals but at no extra cost. And I didn’t waste a slightly soft cucumber.
What a great idea !
My DH sometimes puts peeled hard boiled eggs in pickle juice. He likes pickled eggs. We've done garlic cloves too, for pickled garlic.
If you let it sit a little longer, it'll taste exactly like the original ones. I do this all the time, especially when my farm share puts cucumbers on u-pick. It drives my husband nuts because I have like ten jars of pickles in the fridge at all times. He and the kids call them "Mama's old pickles." 😉
1. Since I only need to be at work (in a different state from home) one day a week, I shut off internet as I can drive to/from in same [long] day. With impending storm, I needed to come down a day early, but was able to borrow a mobile hot spot/wifi from our library for free.
2. We went a bit overboard with Superbowl feast, and there are only 2 of us, so already made a future meal/new dish from leftover ingredients, and put "deconstructed" dishes in freezer as well. After 3 meals of same leftovers, we are pretty tired of it, but did not want to waste it.
3. I need to need to ship several heavy boxes of books overseas for work, and we have plans to do a quarterly shop at the local abattoir, so I got a new credit card that had a good introductory "reward" if you spend $XX within the first 3 months.
Other than those, all just the same stuff that we've all been doing consistently.
Love the pickle idea!
Well, Here is my pro tip: Use All The Gift Cards. Do Not Leave Them A Lingering In The Drawer. Use Them. All Of Them.
We completely forgot we had them in the desk. Light dawned and . . .
1. Dinner at our favorite local Italian restaurant for Friday Treat night -- free, including tip. Husband So Happy. Some money left over 🙂
2. I try to get book club books at the library but lately they keep choosing books with a long waiting list so I had to buy a paperback on line (Deacon King Kong, excellent) and it worked out perfectly -- Amazon card = free (with leftover dough) and Amazon Prime = free delivery. I will pass it along to someone. My recommendations for the next book club include books I know no one else is jonesing for at the library 😉
3. All the usual stuff -- eating in almost all meals, taking them to work, wearing all my old clothes and continuing to shop an apparently bottomless hoard of clothes I barely remember. Slowly fitting back into stuff and people keep asking where I got them. Not planning to shop for a long time (except for foundational item, ahem, and shoes)
1. Someone from your FB group offered a code for a free meal delivery box. I signed up and got three meals for $0 and then canceled. I've made those meals this week and really enjoyed them!
2. Between those meals and trying to eat what I have. The only grocery purchase I made this week was eggs, which was less than $2.
3. I was able to sell a few things I had sitting around and make $12, not much, but every bit counts.
4. I did some dejunking and donated quite a few items from my house. I feel the same satisfaction doing that as I do from buying new things for my house! A clean and organized space feels so good to me!
5. Work has been extra busy this last little while, so I have been able to bill a good amount of overtime, which will make my next paycheck a little bit bigger.
Lots of the usual stuff this week:
1. Cooked at home, creating meals from what we have vs ordering groceries for what I feel like eating. Used up a bunch of ingredients by doing some meal prep on Sunday - saved myself some effort too.
2. Washed out and reused a plastic salsa container for homemade bathroom cleaner - it works great and is less expensive than store bought.
3. Gladly making a cake for my daughter's birthday at her request - I can bake a whole cake for the amount it would have cost to get a slice if we were going out to dinner for her big day. And I can make it exactly how she wants it.
4. Used resources I have already to keep up my fitness routine - mat, weights, internet, headphones and free podcasts. The only thing I paid for is a fitness program that I purchased with a promo code.
5. Froze croissants from Costco and take out 1-2 as we need them. Costs less than half of what they cost at the grocery store. Every bit helps!
1) Found a FREE home-school open gym opportunity that meets 1x/week. So much better than paying at the YMCA. We went to our 1st session, and it was so good to be in community as well.
2) Needed another baby shower gift bag, but only had a Christmas one that would fit the gifts. Used a free printable to cover "Merry Christmas" & now it works for the woodsy theme:)
3) The kids made their own valentines. This year they made collage art from magazines.
4) I bought cups for my kiddos from a small business that we love, and tried "retail me not" for a discount, but there was no code there. Then I thought to check their facebook page--and they had posted a code just for use that day! Win-win.
5) We stayed home and had fun cooking our own nice dinner for our anniversary. Found a spinach artichoke dip recipe from Dinner at the Zoo that was amazing!
We meant to plan green peppers this year, but ended up with two huge jalapeno bushes, so we've had lots of pickled jalapenos. They are a big favorite at our house.
1) Continued to list & sell things on eBay. Junk out, money in.
2) All meals made at home, other than a planned birthday meal, which generated lots of leftovers
3) Used iBotta to save a few dollars on a shopping trip
4) Clicked through Rakuten to get $20 cash back on a purchase I had to make for work.
5) Received free lemons & oranges from neighbors. (They grow like crazy here.) I juice the lemons for salads, and use the orange juice in smoothies.
1. My husband spent about an hour on the phone, but cancelled our security alarm service, saving almost $80 (!) a month! The crazy thing was that they counter-offered with $36/month which is ridiculous at how much they were (over) charging us "normally".
2. Cancelled our Amazon Prime month-long trial just before they started charging me, but got really good use out of it with some shows we wanted to watch and buying some last-minute birthday and baby shower gifts with 2-day free shipping and items which my MIL requested that we had directly shipped for free to her.
3. I've gotten into puzzles since the pandemic started and really like one particular brand (Dowdle) that showcases folk art of different places in the US and around the world. I found that they sell them at Costco for much cheaper than the actual Dowdle website and stocked up on some prior to Christmas. Joined a FB Dowdle puzzle group and was able to trade a couple of puzzles I didn't like as much for some that I wanted to do but wasn't able to find anywhere. Shipped them using recycled Amazon Prime envelopes and used PirateShip, a discount postage website.
4. Using Valentine's cards bought on clearance last year for my son's class exchange. Due to covid, they are only allowed to exchange cards and not the extra candy/trinkets that now have become the norm with these kinds of things. Which I'm actually glad for, since half those items get trashed soon after anyways. I told him, when I was in school, we only exchanged cards!
5. Hanging laundry on racks to dry, packing lunches from home, borrowing library books to read, eating up food from our freezer and pantry stash, and batching errands together.
I don't think I can come up with five, but here goes...
1. When I go to the grocery, I always stop at the meat counter. Off to one side is a section where they put "manager's specials" - bray that needs to be sold TODAY. I usually find something worthwhile there. I have my standards, though. I won't buy it unless outs at least 50% off the original price. I scored some chuck roasts and pork chops this week!
2. I had three large chicken carcasses taking up space, so I made 3 gallons of bone broth. I'm in the middle of canning it as I'm writing this!
3. I found out Michael's has FREE one-hour online (via Zoom) art and craft classes, and I've already done several - watercolor painting, acrylic painting, knitting, and crochet. They also have class for beading, jewelry making, and all sorts of crafts. They have classes designed for kids, too.
4. Because I can't find the flavor of soda I like one the stores, I've been making a LOAD of iced tea, which is much less expensive.
Well, that's four, and I'm tapped out! LOL!
Sorry for all the misspellings/wrong words - I couldn't always see what I was writing (the like and share buttons kept getting in the way!).
Oh no! Is that happening on mobile? And it's not fixed by scrolling?
Scrolling didn't help, alas!
Oh! I remembered #5!
Our library offers a free, online (Zoom, again!) 45-minute Tai Chi class once a week. I've been doing that the past month. It can be a real workout, depending on what sequence of moves we're doing.
More thinking required this week.
1 - Cooked & ate all meals at home.
2 - Had the kids shovel the driveway (twice this week) vs buying a snowblower/hiring a plowing company.
3 - All the big dinner proteins came from the freezer. I did buy some eggs & produce, but I also found some desserts in there. We're continuing to eat down those contents.
4 - I used our machine washable mop to clean our floors this week.
5 - I remembered to exchange my grocery points for $ off groceries.
I miss Sprouts!! We had that in Colorado and I was introduced to so many fun fruits and vegetables and other products. I miss that. Produce was overall great too and reasonably priced! We did have Trader Joe's but no Aldi's so this was a huge part of my groceries because Kroger was our main grocery store and they are expensive and the produce can be hit or miss!
If you boil vinegar and pour over sliced jalapeños with 1/4tsp (pint jar) they will
last a really long time.
1. Not a technically a frugal thing, but PRICELESS. My SO is getting his second Covid vaccine tomorrow He qualified because of his job. It will be forever until it's my turn, but our household is a little safer and I can worry for him less.
2. Peppers and onions can be frozen for future cooking. I am still using a giant stash of jalapenos from last summer.
3. Cauliflower and broccoli have been on HUGE sale in my stores this week. So far, I have made a delish meat free pasta, two soups, and tonight used roasted as a base for stew instead of potatoes or rice. Chilled roasted are going into our lunch salads tomorrow. We have been trying to eat more vegetables, and it's been delicious. I might even pickle some cauli tomorrow.
4. No good meat deals this week, so I have been shopping my freezer. There will be more sales in the future, but I am not buying anything at full price.
5. My Favorite. I've been letting my Walgreen's points add up instead of cashing in a few dollars here and there. My local store carries high end colognes and they have regular sales. There is a free bottle of Oscal de la Renta in my near future. I may not be going anywhere lately or wearing a lot of make-up, but a lovely fragrance can really make your day.
6. I also need to give a shoutout to Walgreen's. They carry a lot of grocery and household items and have continued regular specials throughout the pandemic while other store have inflated their prices. Plus, you can trust their cleaning protocols; they are a pharmacy. And no, I do not work for
Walgreen's, they have just saved our lives this past year. I have been getting my flu shot there for years, and will certainly get my Covid shot there if I can.
Let us know how the jalapeños turn out!
Here's our five frugal things for the week:
1. I was purchasing a gift card for my father's wife at a store I never shop in (because it is too expensive) when I saw a beautiful sweater on the sales rack. Even at 40% off the price was more than I would spend. As I was admiring it, a sales woman said I could take 25% off the sale price if I wanted it. The price fell to within budget. Love my new sweater.
2. Purchased a book my daughter needed for a college class on our Nook at a third of the price of the bookstore. She said it is a great book and I should read it when she is done. More savings - once bought, twice read.
3. Fridge, pantry and freezer eating the food stockpile down while also organizing by expiration dates.
4. I love all things cheese. Aldi had a markdown sale on Brie. Yes please.
5. I used a local pizzeria coupon for a free medium pizza with the purchase of a large two topping one. We had dinner and several lunches out of that deal.
Well my 5 frugal things this week was.
1. I brought a long sleeve shirt for my Grandson for work for $3.00 at Wal Mart off the discount rack. I got the last one in his size, which was a 3 x.
2. I made home made chill from the stuff in my pantry.
3. I made home made ice tea for my Grandson to take to work saving $5.00 for 2 small bottles of tea. I made him a gallon of tea which lasted him 2 whole days of work.
4. I sanded down the rough edges on 2 of my pancake turners so I would not have to buy new ones. Saved $2.00 from going to Dollar Store.
5. We are re watching our old movies so we won't have to buy new ones. I found several I can sell on FB yard sale and make a few dollars in the process.
I am trying to be more frugal and keeping track of our money and resources better. The start to a new year!! Thanks for all the tips and advice. B safe!!