Five Frugal Things | protein pasta: DONE
1. I finally used up my protein pasta
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been on a mission to use up my stupid chickpea protein pasta from Aldi.
I did not appreciate the taste or the texture of this pasta, but since it was made of nothing but chickpeas, I figured it did have some redeeming nutritional quality, and thus deserved to be eaten.
(This is different than, say, freezer-burnt ice cream. I'd get rid of that in a heartbeat.)
I dumped the rest of the pasta in a pot with boiling water and salt, cooked it, and then went to work.
First, I tried marinating some of it overnight in Italian dressing to make a chicken pasta salad with vegetables. But somehow, after an overnight soak in dressing, it got...harder?
(How is this possible?)
I ate it, but I did not have fun.
Then I decided to make a cheese sauce, mix the pasta in, and top it with panko bread crumbs for a baked mac and cheese.
This was marginally better because the pasta was hot and also because a cheesy sauce rarely makes things worse. Same goes for buttered bread crumbs.
I ate some at dinner, then ate some in a packed lunch at work, ate the rest in an at-home lunch and now....it is finished.
I will not be buying chickpea pasta again.
Why?
- I can eat gluten, so why not eat gluten-full pasta?
- There are other ways to get protein and fiber, most of them vastly more enjoyable than this
- I don't even love pasta that much. If I had to choose between 1) no pasta and 2) chickpea pasta, then I'd just choose a pasta-free life.
I don't regret eating it, exactly, because I did avoid food waste, and I did eat some protein and fiber.
I just don't wanna do this again. Ever.
(Update: A friend gave me some pasta salad using Barilla protein pasta and it was actually good! But that's because the Barilla protein pasta actually has flour in it, along with other things like pea protein. So, I may buy the Barilla version in the future, but I will NEVER again buy pasta that is 100% chickpea flour.)
2. I got a stool from Facebook Marketplace
I recently rearranged some of my bedroom furniture, and ended up taking a chair out and putting my little trash-picked green table in its place.
After taking the chair out, I realized I did want a sitting option of some kind, but it needed to be super small.
So I poked around Facebook Marketplace and found what is basically a short bar stool.
Now I have a little spot to sit and put on my compression socks, but there's still plenty of room to walk by.
I paid $15 for mine, but honestly, the main advantage is that by buying used, I didn't need to buy two; these stools generally seem to come in sets, and I only wanted one!
3. I made an error and then corrected it
As I was buying digital books for my new bachelor's degree class, I made an error and bought the wrong one (basically, I bought the no-frills version, and I needed the deluxe one for this class.)
I was getting a little flustered trying to figure all of this class stuff out, and I almost wanted to let this error go. But I made the call to customer service and woohoo, they were able to refund me for the no-frills version.
I'm patting myself on the back for making the phone call I didn't want to make, especially since this error was worth over $100.
4. I planted my green onion ends
As I was meal prepping and using up my green onions, I saved the rooted ends and stuck them in a pot out front.
They grow crazy fast...look at them after just a few days!
5. I froze my spinach and bananas
My last Hungry Harvest box blessed me with an awful lot of spinach. So, to prevent waste, I washed and froze some of it for future use in smoothies.
I also sliced up and froze two bananas that were getting vaguely spotty. Since even a millimeter past "vaguely spotty" is a no-go for me, it's better for me to freeze them before they get any more ripe!
Then I can throw them in smoothies or make banana chocolate "ice cream".
I love the stool and Chiquita next to it!
1. I made all my meals at home. I also went to my friend's house for dinner one evening.
2. I used my gym membership.
3. I went swimming at the beach which I can walk to.
4. I used half a tin of beans for a meal and saved the second half for a meal the following night.
5. I baked blueberry muffins with ingredients I mostly already had.
We will be travelling to South Jutland DK shortly so this FFT is partly holiday inspired.
-I borrowed travel guides and a "What and How in Danish" from our local library.
-We are eating down our fridge to prevent food waste.
-Eldest will look after our cat at home (we planned our trip for a convenient shift week - kitty will not be alone all day).
-We will be bringing our own food and coffee for the first leg of the trip.
-I wrote down a short conversion list of DKK to EUR to put in my wallet. We will not be monitoring each and every expense, but it will come in useful if I get tempted in museum shops or places that sell anything artisan.
Also: All through summer I put up a table cloth in front of our back door whenever the temperatures were high, to keep out the heat (it worked splendidly). I am exceedingly pleased that a wine stain disappeared over the past months. The table cloth was made by my late mother, and the stain was created by a sibling. I am glad the table cloth can be used again in the coming winter months. If needed, I will repeat the procedure next summer.
We are relieved that our eldest can look after our cat as she is happiest around her people. She will come to us, "talk" to us and then walk towards her favourite box and shoelace to tempt us to a game of Lurk and Snatch. When the door to upstairs is closed in winter (I have a home office upstairs) she will carry toys in front of the door and meow to ask for attention and play time. She has her personal wicker chair in the garden, to sit in and sharpen her nails on. She is on her third now - we buy them at thrift shops - and she will not sharpen her nails on any other furniture. She will sleep in a chair next to my desk without interrupting work, just to be near me. All of our cats were special, but this ginger beauty is by far the most human oriented one and also very clever. We love her to bits and hope she will remain with us for many more years.
@JNL,
Your cat sounds adorable! Too bad she can't go visit Chiquita. I think they would enjoy each other's company. Or maybe not. After all, they are cats.
@JNL, I hope you have a lovely time in Denmark!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
They just might want the same box!
@Sophie in Denmark,
Thanks! It will be my first time in Denmark - many people I know love it because it is clean, green and tidy and the people are relaxed and courteous. Looking forward a lot!
@JNL, Report back! I still need to make a trip to the Netherlands!
@JNL,
I took my bucket list trip to Denmark last year and loved it. The Danish underground is the best and most organized I've ever used even though my Danish is limited to parents names, thank you, and Merry Christmas. England on the other hand ...
@Lazy Budget Chef, Oh no, I apologise on behalf of my country! I hope England wasn't all bad!
Did you know if you completely rinse the chicken pea pasta after cooking it improves the taste and texture. I still do not like it, but that little trick works to make it a little better.
It's funny that you posted this today--we've been experimenting with chickpea pasta, as DH finds regular pasta doesn't agree with him lately. He bought Kroger's Simple Truth brand, and you are right, the 100% chickpea pasta is a little...crunchy. Even after I boil it longer than the directions say to! I do not enjoy crunchy spaghetti. So last time I went to the store, I saw that Banza was on sale, cheaper than the Kroger brand. It has mostly chickpea flour but also some tapioca flour and xanthan gum. And they had rotini, which I prefer to spaghetti. So I got some, boiled it a tad longer than the directions, and it was very good with sauce! DH liked it better than the other brand. I find it more filling than regular pasta, so I eat less.
1. Gave three home haircuts, saving at least $60 before tips and gas spent…and that’s at Great Clips.
2. My best friend had sent me a beautiful 5×7 print for my birthday, and I was hoping to find a thrifted frame for it. Today I was decluttering my bureau and found…a lovely picture frame I’d forgotten about, exactly the size I needed. It pays to clean out your stuff!
3. Found a lonely banana that had gotten shoved in the fridge, by now well past its prime for eating fresh. Cut it up and froze it for future smoothies.
4. I had to order supplies for my nurse aide training course through the college bookstore, but happily they have an option that allows me to pick the items up at storage lockers located at the satellite campus I attend. No cost for shipping! Yay. And they fulfilled it so fast--I ordered on Sunday, and on Monday I was notified that the stuff is already there.
Forgot my #5--with the cool weather we've been able to avoid having the A/C or the heat on the past couple of days, which has been glorious. I love having the windows open all day and fresh air moving through. Also we've been mostly line-drying our laundry.
@Karen A., Great Clips haircut is $20?? Wow! My neighbor owns barbershop in next town & does mens/kids haircuts $12. We talked about maybe neighbor raising to $15 & ear/nose to $5 (from $3) since it's been 10 years (I think) since raised prices.
The last time teen got haircut (not from me) was 5 years ago when broken wrist & could not shower (until I order sleeve). Haircut & wash $15. I was just happy to have teen hair washed. 🙂
@Regina,
Washed teen hair - right? My son swears he washes his (beautiful, thick but soft) hair, but it always looks....unwashed. It doesn't smell, but I wonder if he rinses it thoroughly enough. Ha.
@Liz B., It may very well be he's not rinsing thoroughly; shampoo left in the hair will always attract dirt! I had to gently counsel a couple of my boys on that in the past...
@Regina, Yep, from what I can tell---which, as one of my sons pointed out, is at least more equitable; women's haircuts tend to be more expensive than men's (at least they used to be). I should maybe go to a barber and see if they'd trim my hair---I seriously just get a blunt trim, no layers.
@Karen A., haircuts can be very expensive depending upon where you live. I have a friend who lives in NYC and she pays $150. Around me a haircut for a woman is about $80. For men, haircuts are about $30. I guess bigger cities are more expensive. My husband lets me cut his hair and trim his beard. I do it about every 5 weeks. When I notice his hair is getting over his ears, I tell him I need to cut his hair. I have him trim my long hair about every three months. He does a great job every time. He washes my hair for me in the shower and he will blow dry it for me as well. He braids my hair for my every day, he does French, Dutch, fishtail and variations of the different braids for me. I am definitely pampered as well as saving money. The last time he was blow drying my hair, I saw how long it had gotten. It’s past my elbows, but I am fine with that. I get compliments from both friends and strangers on my hair. So I feel good about my home hair care. I had two close friends ask my permission to let my husband trim their long hair. So I know that my hair looks great.
I have to eat gluten free, and I too think that the chickpea pastas are of the devil. GF pasta as a rule is hard when cold, for anyone curious.
I also think Snoopy needs to find another seat, because Chiquita belongs up on that stool. Or at least it looks as if she thinks she belongs there 🙂
@Denise, I think the jovial brand does pretty well for pasta salad, but only the brown rice variety. Cassava flour variety isn't good cold. Also the Ancient Harvest brown rice/quinoa works for me.
@Susan, I also like the jovial brand. Asian ramen-style all rice noodles are excellent in soup. Trader Joe's also has an excellent GF ravioli in the fresh pasta section. And of course, this time of year there is plenty of zucchini around to make zoodles which are excellent with most red pasta sauces.
Coffee pot kitten version.
My coffee pot died while I had a house full of guests. I normally use a pour over but doing that for multiple people is time consuming. Hubs found a coffee pot/french press/cold brew maker for $27, was $60. It will work for guests.
My sister & her friends found a 5 week old kitten at a building site. She cannot afford a cat. Her friends paid for shots & 2 sick visits. My co-worker hooked us up with a rescue who will provide shots, flea, neuter, and adoption location for free. Borrowed a collar for the neuter, she already had a cat carrier. Rescue also provided cat litter with a deep discount so she has only had to provide food. Hopefully it gets adopted quickly. Other than miles on her car, her car is on a limited mileage lease this should not be super costly.
We had to have 3 trees cut down. He gave us a great price and was going to just take the small limbs for disposal but ended up trimming a couple other tree branches and took all 3 trees with him so we had 0 cleanup. I could not have thanked him enough.
@Mar, How wonderful of your sister's friends to help out with the kitten! All but one of our cats have been rescues, and in my experience working at shelters, kittens get adopted fairly quickly.
I admire your determination not to waste the pasta, no matter how horrible it tasted. But with your nurse's salary, you're no longer living in poverty, so it would've been OK to not have to choke it down. Just sayin'....
1. Got up early to go on the website for reserving substitute teaching jobs. This seems to be working well: I just booked two more gigs for the upcoming weeks.
2. Yesterday evening, I got on the computer to shop for a retail electric provider contract when my current contract expires in October. (My state allows you to choose a retail electric utility provider, and you can shop around for one whose rates are lower. And find one whose plan is more suited to your household's situation. It is a fantastically frugal thing!) I've been doing this for several weeks now, and it is extremely frustrating. A lot of these deals are come-ons, and a lot are designed for people who use tons of electricity. Although I have a large house, my usage rarely equals 1,000 kwh (kilowatt hours) during the cooler months when we don't need air conditioning. Last year, in fact, we chalked up seven such low-usage months. Most of the special deals are for people who use 1,000 or more kwh; the companies typically give you a $100 or $150 credit on your bill. But I don't get any kind of bonus for conserving electricity in the first place! That doesn't seem right! Also, these companies that advertise "free nights," "free weekends," or "free electricity on your X highest use days" don't tell you that their cost per kwh is about twice as high as the ones that don't do this. (A lot of these companies constantly run TV commercials; guess who pays for all that advertising?) I found a really low rate with the company I currently use (and don't like), but it turns out it's only for new customers. There's another company advertising it has a 9.2 kwh, a low rate nowadays, but the fine print says otherwise....it is almost double that when you add on the charges it leaves out. Bottom line: no good deal so far. Not even over the phone...sometimes you can call and get cheaper deals. But no! I even hung up on two customer service people who were trying to con me into signing up for an expensive plan, including one "senior citizen special" plan (which was higher than most regular plans!), and I will need to do even more comparison shopping before this is all over. I cannot afford a big rate hike!
3. Did the laundry late at night, thus using electricity during an off-peak hour. As per my habit, I only put the wrinkled clothes in the dryer for 20 min., to get the wrinkles out, and hung them up to dry the rest of the way. (Underwear and things that aren't wrinkled are hung up immediately to air dry.)
4. As always, I packed my lunch and am "brown bagging" it when I go substitute teach.
5. My central AC is set at 78 F. Supplemented by electric fans to move the air, this keeps me comfortable.
@Fru-gal Lisa, I agree with your pasta philosophy! Sometimes we have to toss what doesn't work.
@Fru-gal Lisa,
I'm curious what state you live in that allows you to choose your electricity provider. Here in Arkansas we are stuck with a single area provider.
@Joyce from Arkansas, In Michigan we have Consumers Energy, DTE, or city electric (if you live in city).
Non city electric went up 20% rate increase already this year over 2 separate increases & are asking for another (third) rate increase allowance from state. The only opportunity for discount is when you sign up for their automated thermostat that allows them to control your heat/AC.
I snagged a few great meat deals on Flashfood recently! I took 2 packs of bone in chicken breast=6lbs in 6 breasts! I seasoned and oven roasted until cooked through.. Cooled and then deboned the meat. Took all the bones/skin and tossed into my instantpot with water and aromatics! 3 quarts and a pint of broth went into the freezer.
Some meat went into a chicken noodle casserole that is in the freezer for a busy night in the next month... the rest was made into pulled bbq chicken for the weekend.
My moms kitchen freezer died and I helped her salvage stuff.. one item that needed to be used or tossed was a defrosting ham bone and knuckle.. I brought it home and pressure cooked that down.. when cooled I saved all the meat and broth and froze it for her to use in the future for ham and beans.
The kitchen freezer is getting full of bags of frozen fruits! Prices of stone fruit and berries have been super low so stocking up and if not getting eaten fast enough they are frozen for oatmeal, yogurts or smoothies!
Saved our aquarium! Over the last year and a half we have been fighting algae. Its so odd that after all these years these 2 carnival fish continue to exist the MOST EXPENSIVE elementary school prizes ever! We ended up getting 2 snails which helped greatly for a good long while.. then the buildup started again.. changed filters etc... algea liquid treatment was working a little but husband read that charcoal would be a good clarifier. He was trying to avoid having to buy yet another piece of equipment when we have a container of loose charcoal. He was looking through my teapot cabinet trying to see if I had a tiny diffuser when I found the perfect item! A reusable Kcup filter! Filled that with the charcoal and snapped it shut.. Kidults were SO CONFUSED why we had a k cup in the fish tank floating around.. Worked like a charm! the water is back to crystal clear! lolol
I'm new to your site. You are so down-to-earth, and your columns are easy to read, fun, and educational. Thank you for this!
I imagine chickpea pasta isn't that great without extra ingredients, which is why I eat Banza. It is chickpeas, pea starch, and tapioca. I imagine the extra ingredients make it better.
My frugal thing this week was using every last bit of food. At one point, I would've thrown the last 1/4 cup of refried beans away from our taco dinner, but instead I used it in a soup the next night. I used the last of veggies as a stir-fry for breakfast. And bits of meat that also were added to the soup.
Not being wasteful is actually fun. It's like a game.
Aww, welcome! I’m so glad you are here! And yes, I think the problem is when the pasta is nothing BUT chickpeas. The extra ingredients in the Barilla version, for example, made it way better!
1) Jumped through a ton of hoops to get DS18's health insurance approved, so he doesn't need the college version. This saves $2800.
2) Canceled a return flight home for family weekend (just for me, DS19 & DH will carry on home). That was a bit of a project, as I first had to separate the reservation, so I could adjust my own. Then I had to cancel the return flight, and United tried to say that I would be getting no credit, because the outbound flight was magically the same price as the entire trip from before. I did a quick scan of United's pricing and that wasn't correct. Called & they credited me back $200+ for the difference. It was a "system glitch".
3) DH is working in the city, and it's a long drive. He's been driving our electric car, to avoid paying or gas.
4) Promptly submitted my expense report, so I can get reimbursed for my out of pocket spending on my last trip. Have another one coming up this weekend, so good to get one out of the way before the next. Letting them stack up sounds like no fun.
5) A package addressed to our home address but not our name was delivered. I reached out to our neighborhood group, and no one claimed it. Didn't recognize the name, so eventually I opened the package. It was 100 Solo cups. I gave them away this week to a woman hosting a community event.
@Hawaii Planner,
Wow, nice work on the insurance for your son! Do you mean you had to jump through a ton of hoops to keep him on *your* health insurance? Just curious, because I will be retiring in 16 months - I will be on Medicare, but we will need to buy health insurance for my DH and DS. Once DS is headed to college (in 3ish years), we'll need to weigh whatever his school offers vs Obamacare. If anyone else has advice about any if this, please chime in! Thanks!
We had a horrible windstorm a few weeks ago (80+ mph!), so this FFT will be brief but big. I'm grateful that there was no damage to the house (free!) and that our neighbors helped us remove two badly damaged trees (also free) before the remainder fell. (Our trees broke in half VERTICALLY, with the fallen halves just a foot short of hitting the roof.) Needless to say, we helped our neighbors clean up their properties, too!
I'm about to have a non-frugal Fall since I want to set up a home library in my under-used den. However, I will thrift some things, re-use some other things from around my house, se a $50 off coupon on a new seating arrangement, get a basic rug to layer under a smaller nice one that I already own, refresh the walls with leftover paint, and basically do all of the grunt work myself. I feel like its an investment in making my home cozy and useable. Like you, I'm going to reappropriate some furniture around the house!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, it's going to be wonderful!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, This is wonderful! Just tell all your friends what you're doing and I bet you'll come up with everything you need! People always have extra things they'll part with for a good reason.
@Gina from The Cannary Family,
That sounds amazing! If you have one near you, check out Habitat ReStore for a rug. I always see some nice ones there!
Love your stool!
1. Made all our meals at home. Always
2. The cilantro we bought had roots so I put them in water and they sprouted.
3. The only driving we did was to appointments and grocery shopping…all in one trip.
4. We made use of our amnesty load to the dump (free)
5. In the spring I planted some potatoes that had sprouted and harvested them this week. We got four meals out potatoes that would have gone in the compost.
Have a great week.
First, Kristen, I'm another member of the "two thumbs down on chickpea pasta" club. Like you, I tried it once, and like you, I won't be trying it again.
Now, FFT, A Lunchtime Story Edition. For something completely different, I thought I’d break the lunch I ate yesterday into its frugal components.
(1) I began with the last of the turkey breast sandwich meat I bought for BFF while she was here (Wegmans house brand, probably the best in its class for the money; unfortunately, I’ve already tossed the receipt, so I can't give the price).
(2) I put this on two slices of Pepperidge Farm 15 Grain bread (the loaf was 99 cents at my local grocery outlet and still within its best-by date), which were spread with almost the last of an 8-oz jar of Grey Poupon (purchased at Ollie’s for $1.49).
(2a) After lunch, I did my trick of putting olive oil, red vinegar (with my own basil in the vinegar), salt, and pepper into the Grey Poupon jar, putting the lid on, and shaking vigorously to make a Dijon vinaigrette.
(3) The first of my fall lettuce is coming in (well protected in my old Easy Washer tub by my trashpicked fire pit lid), so I garnished the sandwich with some of the fresh, tender lettuce.
(4) I accompanied the sandwich with some of my equally well protected cherry tomatoes. Little flavor bombs!
(5) And I also accompanied the sandwich with some of the Xochitl “American Style” (pale yellow, blue, and red) tortilla chips I bought at the grocery outlet (a 12-oz bag for $2.49).
There are times when I have a food waste fail, but I redeem it slightly by telling myself, "Well, compost is useful, too!" It is possible your cooked chickpea pasta would have been a win for our compost bin. Then again, our chickens daily raid the compost bin. Then again, chicken manure is useful, too!
My frugals--
*We used a gas app to find the less expensive gas app when we were traveling to drop off the college boys.
*I'm planning on letting down the hem in some pants for my son. I even took the previous stitches out. That counts, right?
And now I'm drawing a blank. Traveling plus having lots of appointments to mess up home time plus multiple kids needing some clothing things does not equal inspiring frugality.
1) I purchased microchip service for my new rescue dog and got a $25 coupon for a pet store not near me. But, I was not letting that go by! Plus it was only good for one month. The pet store was several shops down from a favorite indoor flea market so I paid $1.05 for a bag of dog food and a bag of dog treats, and then browsed through a second-hand shop. One trip for both!
2) I was fortunate to read the small print that after one free month of a service connected to my dog’s microchip, I would be charged $19.95/mo. thereafter. What? I didn’t even use nor need the one free month of service. I cancelled as quickly as I could!
@Mary,
That is expensive for microchip service. I purchased such a service for Rescue Pup. It is $20 a year. Although at this point in time, I don't think she would ever leave us. However, one never knows what may happen in the future.
@Bee, I got free microchips for my dogs. One month later they wanted me to do 2499 for a month payments. I think there's some kind of scam going on. What is your service? Private message me I never get to look back at this stuff.
Love the stool, it fits perfectly in your bedroom. And it gives Snoopy a good spot to rest. 🙂
FFT:
- I've been encouraged by this commentariat to reduce our paper towel usage. I still have tons of fabric I inherited from Mom, so I sewed up double sided napkins for us to use instead of using paper towels as napkins.
- Made my last batch of peach habanero jam for the year. I used habanero peppers from the garden and found canning jars BOGO at Publix, which made them the cheapest price around. I also stocked up on jars for next year while they were on sale. The jam will be Christmas presents for friends and family.
- I opted to buy only digital version of grandbaby's pre-school pictures. I can get prints made for much less than the packages that were available.
- We got gas while we were at Costco for other items.
- I continue to maximize my use of Kindle Unlimited.
I purchased the pea protein pasta from Aldi and saw your post about it before I even opened it. I am avoiding wheat flour and this seemed to be a frugal alternative. Unlike you, however, I enjoyed it. I made "spaghetti" with it. I tried to avoid overcooking it and it ended up a little hard, but I love pasta, and covered with ground beef and spaghetti sauce, I really enjoyed it!
i canceled a credit card that would have cost $150 a year. in a weak moment i applied for a hilton card that would have made me a gold member. silly i know. so i cancelled the next day. when i told hubby he did not get upset. whew. he said i know how important being a gold member means to you. gold is good but if you spent 45k in a year you would be a diamond member. don't think that would have happened.
@Anita Isaac,
The free Hilton Honors awards program is worth signing up for. Every 5 - 6 night is free,
1. I redeemed a Chase credit card offer for 50% off a Crunchyroll subscription (it's like Netflix for anime) for my husband.
2. Picked up some more maternity (well, just a size larger) shorts and sweatpants from GoodWill.
3. Packed a picnic for a day trip to a small water park instead of getting a meal there (did give into the temptation of "cheesecake on a stick", which is exactly as it sounds at very much worth $5 to this pregnant lady).
4. Husband expertly repaired the dryer vent issue we had instead of hiring a professional!
5. I started a Scottish Country Dancing Hobby, and it's usually $3 to dance each week. But we are preparing for a performance at a local historical festival, so the next few weeks are free, and we get into the festival for free!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea,
We did Scottish Country Dancing at my wedding reception. My friends surprised me with a Mari's Wedding performance - one of my favorite dances!
@Lazy Budget Chef, "Step we gaily, on we go/Heel for heel and toe for toe/Arm in arm and row in row/All for Mairi's wedding..." It's one of my favorites too.
And because I'm a Chieftains fangirl from way back, my favorite version is the one by Van Morrison and the Chieftains (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLA7SjheONk). For me, it didn't hurt that they spelled it "Marie's Wedding"!
@Lazy Budget Chef, I love that! We practiced that one a few weeks ago. Our festival dances are St Andrew's of Brampton, Moment of Truth and J. B. Milne.
@A. Marie, We love this song!
I am not able to eat wheat. Good gluten -free pasta alternatives are difficult to find. I dislike chickpea pasta. I also have made pasta salad using chickpea pasta, and it does have a strange texture. The other thing that I'll take a pass on is cauliflower crust. It tastes like cauliflower.
1. During my very unfrugal month, I manage to ruin my Instapot and my waffle iron. I only use my waffle iron a few times a year, but I use my Instapot often. Target has Instapots on sale for 35% off. I had a $10 giftcard from another promo, and they were offering $5 off any purchase through their app. I was able to stack these offers and buy a new IP for 1/2 price.
2. I purchased a new-to-me kitchen table at an estate sale for $50. It is just perfect in my space. Not a necessity, but a bargain none-the-less. I donated my old table to my favorite thrift store that supports our local food pantry.
3. I made a clean out the veggie drawer smoothie that was delicious.
4. I scanned my receipts to Fetch and iBotta. I had enough points to get a $20 giftcard.
5. I have done as many of the usual things that I can -- eating at home, drinking primarily filtered water, brewing my own coffee, using my library, and trying to tread lightly up the earth.
Wishing all of you peace, good health, and prosperity.
I made a huge mistake with a recipe for Chinese shrimp balls: I used cooked shrimp instead of raw. I bought a carton of egg whites to help rescue it (better value than having a dozen yolks to use up), made a loaf instead of balls, and froze it in slices. I'll eat it was grab-and-go protein over the next few months. Probably with a lot of sauce - it's still closer to choke it down than tasty.
I made Cooks Illustrated's meringues with the rest of the egg whites. A dietary luxury to be sure.
Still eating down the freezer and taking a stab at the pantry as well. I made sloppy joes and pizza to use up some puréed tomatoes; and took long-ago frozen potato/carrot/onion bake to a friend's potluck, reviving it with generous amounts of cheddar.
A financial review over the weekend revealed that I am not overspending in retirement.
@WilliamB, my good-quality tweezers broke - just fell apart into two arms. A quick call to Revlon and a replacement should be in the mail by Friday.
Good find on your little chair! I love it when you can find exactly what you want for a great price.
Here are my fft:
After I couldn't find a Command-type hanger I needed, I used my glue gun and a bent paperclip to add a hanger to a little art piece a friend gave me so I could display it. It worked perfectly. Cost = 0. I have several other things to hang on which I can use this idea.
I used some marked down small pizza crusts that I had frozen to make pizzas and salad for an easy dinner. There were 4 crusts for $2.25. I used 3 of them and added some leftover pizza sauce with sausage I had frozen along with cheese, onions, jalapenos, peppers and pepperoni.
I bought 3 pints of blueberries with a digital coupon for $1.25 each and froze them to use later.
I planted my green onion ends, too! And I put a few more ends in a glass with a tiny bit of water so they'll sprout. I figured out if I turn a small glass on its side and lean it on the edge of a plastic tray I have with a tiny bit of water, I can get just the roots in the water. But I'm having trouble keeping them going once they are planted. They seem to rot. Am I over watering or what? I've tried putting them in pots both inside and outside.
I passed along extra salad blend and leftover small piece of pork tenderloin I had frozen to my sister. Kroger had a 1 pound container of salad mix for $5 with a long expiration date that I couldn't pass up. A pound of lettuce is a lot! We still had enough for a big salad for a family gathering and several salads for us.
I'm not very good at this but let's see what comes out of it
1. I think I'm in a.. 3 maybe 4 day streak of bringing food from home for lunch. (of course as I type this my tummy is grumbling)
2. I'm on track to use ALL of my included gym classes for this month! That makes it ~ $12.50 a class.
3. I convinced my 4 year old to go to a new park instead of an expensive indoor play area on Saturday!
4. We went backyard camping instead of paying for the real thing.
I have to avoid gluten, so I typically get cassava pasta, which is not cheap, but when hot, is to me (and to others who have eaten it with me) very, very similar to wheat pasta. Also, I can reheat the leftovers and still eat them. I had tried brown rice pasta, but... no.
My FFT:
1. Instead of expensive gifts, I took my eldest out for her birthday this weekend (her birthday is tomorrow) so we had a day together. I bought her lunch at a nice place and bought her a pretty coffee mug she picked out at a kitchen store. Most of our day was spent exploring thrift and antique stores. It was more fun and less expense than just buying a nice gift.
2. I picked more grapes from my vines. I will make juice out of these most likely. I used a thrifted, handled berry basket my sister gave to me while I picked.
3. The cool front actually made it here, and our nights are supposed to cool into the upper 60's, although highs of 90 and 91 are still predicted for the days. But with dryer air and cooler nights, I hope to turn off the a/c for a few nights and open some windows.
4. I've done a lot of toaster oven, pressure cooker, slow cooker and stovetop cooking to avoid the stove's oven. As much as I can, I set the toaster oven and slow cooker on the porch. I've also done some thermal cooker cooking. It all keeps the house cooler. I set my thermostats on 78 downstairs and running a range from 78 to 83 on the programmable thermostat upstairs.
5. I used my yard sale-purchased old style telephone wire (to hook a phone to a jack) to make a loop around the large brass crushed-rock-sifting sieve I use as one of my bird feeders. I was having trouble keeping the clips that are on the chain hangers clipped to the rim of the sieve. I ran the wire though the four clips, tightened it around the sieve and tied it off. It works. It won't win awards for beauty, but the birds use the feeder all the time, and the sieve is from DH's old rock mining days, so it has sentimental value to me.
p.s. I'm in the market for a decent laptop for home use. I don't need one for gaming or streaming TV and movies, just for dealing with various websites, some subscription news sites and email, mostly. I'm taking suggestions.
@JD, I've had good luck with refurbished phones from backmarket.com. I know they have computers too so it could be worth a look?
@JD, I got an iPad instead of a laptop and it’s worked very well!
I always buy bananas on the reduced rack. I always slice them and freeze them. It is so much cheaper....nice idea to freeze your spinach. That one I am going to do too now. It can go in a smoothy so easily.
Way to go on avoiding food waste. We eat gf pasta and definitely some are better than others. I like the lentil-based Barilla option, Ancient Harvest and Jovial brands.
I feel like all I'm doing is spending right now, but I'll see what I can come up with.
1. Libby app and my local library are my best savings. I think I've checked out 93 books YTD and read 95% of them!
2.using my insurance mail order pharmacy to fill my meds. I generally pay in co pays for 3 mos what I'd pay for 1 at the retail pharmacy.
3 and 4. Ive been reading the glucose goddess book. I don't have diabetes but 2 of my brothers do, so I'm trying to actively avoid it. This week I'm switching to a savory breakfast to see how my sugar cravings are impacted. Using up the dozen eggs that are about to expire and maintaining my health simultaneously for 2 wins!
5. I take quick showers. The rest of my family are long soakers, but I am efficient!
1. Took advantage of some cooler days to move some plants around to fill in some bald spots in the gardens.
2. Received 80 lbs. of red potatoes from an acquaintance who is a potato farmer. Will be giving much of it to the food shelf.
3. Checked out The Polar Express book and DVD from the library. It is the theme of our great-nephew’s 5th birthday party (in September… in California) and I wanted a memory refresher of what it’s all about. He loves to talk about it, and I think it's great that it doesn't matter if it's not Christmastime.
4. At a large picnic, I gathered the empty plastic bags from the hamburger and hot dog buns to repurpose as dog poop bags.
5. Fulfilled the wish of someone on Buy Nothing who was looking for decorative file folders. I had six left from a set I purchased a couple years ago.
@MB in MN,
The magic of Buy Nothing!
Planned our retirement trip for next year. The actual tour is a little pricey, but should be fun. My husband has been looking at airfares too, and on Saturday, Delta was discounted a couple of hundred dollars from when he first checked. And we were able to use some mileage points and get it down even more. And American Express is offering travel insurance way cheaper than the travel agent.
I cut up some bananas last week too. Today I will do the 2 red peppers I got from the garden today.
Will roast the larger tomatoes for sauce and can today. I will just use it as tomato puree and it comes out pretty good. But the tomatoes are small and will take a long time to prep for the roasting. All the teeny tiny tomatoes will be used for dinner tonight.
Went to my sisters for the weekend and brought some overnight oats with me, but didn't eat them both days. So I did eat it on the way home on Sunday. Brought corn and cucumbers for dinner Saturday night. We got 2 cooked chickens from Costco and only used 1 for dinner. Our nephew took the full one home and my husband pulled all the chicken off the other one. Had chicken salad sandwiches on the ride home.
Went to Kohl's looking for smaller shorts since I lost some weight. They had them discounted and when I went to cash out, I didn't have a coupon. But the cashier was able to use a 20% off friends and family coupon for an additional discount.
And the fans and A/C are off, so open the windows. It was 54 degrees in WV this morning. Delightful!
Talked the book club into next reading a book I already own, so no expense for that in September. I rarely have any luck getting a library copy of what we're reading and wind up buying used from an eBay book store with free shipping.
Last week I portioned up the last of the meat loaf into three containers for the freezer. Yesterday I added the last of a bag of frozen peas to the containers and 3/4 of an enormous baked potato chunked up. So there's three nice lunches -- homemade Lean Cuisines -- for me built out of serial leftovers.
Still getting a few small tomatoes from the container garden. DH and I got sandwiches at a local restaurant Sunday and we forgot to ask that there not be extra onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles piled on the plate. I brought all that home and made it into a side salad.
Mended the carrying loop on an iPad pillow after the pup chewed on it, using some of the eternal stash of hand-me-down thread.
I too only like the barilla protein pasta and always plant my green onion ends if not the dead of winter!
After 63 days and 12 phone calls ( no joke I keep a log) I finally received a 500 check from a medical office billing error. I truly was nice the first four calls but in this case NICE was getting me nowhere.
Very intentional grocery shopping continues. Only 49 dollars spent this week.
Continue to say yes to any free produce offered from gardening friends.
Continue to make coffee/ tea/ iced drinks at home.
August was the opposite of Frugal. I guess my moderate habits had a vacation. I had buddies up at our little cabin. They are interior design magicians. They re-hung pictures and we went shopping for three days. Many of the purchases were thrifted; a few were new. Place looks great. I also spent an astounding amount on food - traveling and a new food program for DH ( medical reasons). Finally I bought what google called a bespoke suit for hubby. He hasn't bought a new suit since 1988!
OK. I know I am into my emergency reserve. I can stay under budget this month. I have the tools. School's in on frugality lessons.
1. I’ve been cooking out of the freezer, in particular using venison from two years ago. We’re hoping DH will be able to shoot one this year (he didn’t last year). I made Pakistani kima with sweet potatoes, a fantastically delicious recipe that is good for game meats as the spices take center stage.
2. I forgot to mention this last week but in making rhubarb and banana cake, I’ve been using flax eggs. DH developed an allergy to eggs in the last year or two but used to be able to tolerate eggs in baked goods, but not any more. Now he can enjoy the treats and it is probably a little cheaper than eggs.
3. I went to Once Upon a Child and bought a massive amount of clothes and shoes my oldest kiddo needed for a reasonable price. I don’t have the time or desire to go garage sale-ing, and I’ve unfortunately run out of hand me downs. (The younger kiddo gets to wear mostly hand me downs from his brother so we get a lot of use out of clothes, and of course I mend what I can.)
4. I finally made pesto out of the basil that I was given last week. I ended up having to compost some but still had enough to make a batch.
5. It is time to get our oldest a twin bed and I found a nice real wood one on FB marketplace for a reasonable price.
Representative of what I was talking about with food yesterday . . .
--I currently have split peas simmering in a pot. These were free from the commodities program in our county. (It's like a food bank, but they deliver the food because we're so remote/rural that most of the elderly people who use it can't get to a central pick-up location.)
--Next in that pot, I will cook two shanks from the ram we butchered.
--These two things will make a curry. Also in that curry will be carrots and tomatoes from the garden. And we can top it with the chutney I made last year with green tomatoes and apples.
--The curry powder was purchased in bulk online. But the cream I'll add at the end came from my most-recent grocery store visit.
--Curry can take all kinds of random things, so I can add the juices I poured off the pan I cooked pork chops on the other day to add some more flavor.
So in this one pot of very inexpensive curry, there are four different food sources--commodities, our sheep flock and my garden, online ordering, and the grocery store.
I would've cut my losses on the pasta. I don't like pasta or chickpeas so that is probably why.
1.) Did a massive purge of kids' books, toys etc. I count this as frugal because we gained a lot of space without spending any money. We plan to donate to the Goodwill but also to some Little Free Libraries in our area. I hope kids enjoy the books.
2.) Wanted to get something that was pretty basic that I didn't need right away. Found it on Amazon but it was half the price on Aliexpress. In the end I skipped it as I didn't need it but if I do, I know where to get it.
3.) Got a good deal on some video games I wanted to buy. One of the few things I like about digital only games is that sometimes they can get really, really cheap.
4.) Dutifully packing lunches and hanging out laundry and other stuff like that.
5.) Not frugal in the money sense but my wife and I had a week with just us and we went on several dates together. It was really nice to just reconnect and not be talking about family tasks and such. It's nice to have the freedom to do this now.
This week I was given a massive bag (the big blue IKEA sack!) full of wind fall apples, so I’m canning applesauce for the pantry and making vinegar from the scraps. I’d freeze some but the freezer is almost full because it’s full of berries.
We went berry picking on the weekend as I cannot resist free food. There was a bumper crop out at the edges of a park so I spent an hour filling buckets.
I painted my living room with paint from a half price bucket of paint. $30 for 3.78 litres is pretty good and the room looks so fresh and bright.
I’m making yogurt as I write this, and will throw together some granola later today.
I hemmed some curtains and made new pillow covers from the extra bits, they are so cute and cheery in the newly spruced up living room.
Chiquita is the best! What a pleasing shape she has!
I see those cute stools lots of second hand places. I actually almost purchased a pair to put at my kitchen counter that surrounds my stove (semi island) but glad I didn't because the new cupboards took space where one of the stools would have been. They are a good choice though.
Frugal things---
● DID NOT TURN ON THE FURNACE LAST NIGHT! It got down to 48* this morning but I knew ahead of time & closed up the house before sunset to help retain the heat. It has not been that cold since June 2nd (according to weather man). Not looking forward to 45* tonight.
● have not had AC on for almost a week or fans on for few days since temps been in 60s-70*.
● shared my produce box with neighbor & my dad because so much food & did not want to go to waste (but some picked green beans did get moldy outside so composted)
● bought more marked down meat at Sam's club & froze for later.
● sent my dad home with frozen pork butt ($0.99/lb) to slow cook. They also got fresh walleye (froze from another family member), Mooville & Meijer ice cream, burgers & the produce (cut up & frozen) that filled the freezer to go back. They really miss the quality of food from Michigan compared to Florida.
● Halloween is out in full display in some stores (others shortly) & I can honestly say that (what I have seen) there is nothing (except 1 skeleton brought back from last year maybe) I am interested in purchasing. 🙂 I will get few potted mums (most likely free with rewards), otherwise I will reuse previous decorations.
● my cousin daughter (2nd cousin) just got engaged while in Hawaii (last week) celebrating her boyfriend (now fiance) passing RN classes (he is a year behind her in nursing education/training) so I was going through gift stash looking for specific item & found bag full of new winter mittems/gloves/hats that I will donate to upcoming winter wear clothing drive. All are children sizes so no use for us to keep.
Frugal fail---
● spent $2 for Powerball last Saturday to try to win $700,000,000. No one won but there were few smaller winnings on that drawing for few matched numbers.
A friend brought me lettuce from her garden and I ate it with a homemade vinaigrette I made up. (We didn't have salad dressing.)
I picked up free groceries at a moving sale. Free vanilla beans still sealed in the can.
I paid a dollar for a quart of primer and paint at that same sale.
I did not buy the fancy fridge at the moving sale. Our fridge is old and I was tempted by the $500 appliance, but I really would prefer to save that money for a new oven.
I cut my husbands hair.
Washing dishes and clothes in non-peak electric hours.
Only one more day of these hot August days.
The smoke rolled in yesterday from our huge wildfire I Central Oregon. Set up the air purifiers.
Won tickets for four passes to the State Fair. Gave them to farm helper and he and his friends had a full day of fun.
several of my family members are Celiac, we enjoy the Ancient Grains, Barilla brand and Trader Joe's quinoa brown rice pastas. I agree with all of the comments on chickpea pasta, nope.
I never think to freeze bananas. I should do that!
I made a spin on Bolognese that used up several items in my fridge. Used up a carrot, celery, a bit of tomato paste, some leftover tomato sauce, a couple meatballs leftover from days before, and some onion. Also, cleaned out the pantry and have been using up anything close to use by dates.
I used a $10 off $50 coupon at the grocery and still only bought items I needed.
I bought Lands Ends snow boots that were new at the thrift store for $8. I had been eyeing buying some for months from online for this winter but finally came across some. I was excited to find these.
I also bought a shoebox full of random office supplies at the same thrift store for $3. It stocked me up on envelopes, post-it notes, binder clips (which I use for chips and stuff), some pens and pencils, etc). I'm always glad to find a box of random stuff like that because the post-it notes alone are $3 or more at the store.
We had planned to buy some large bins from Home Depot for the garage. I bought them online where I could use the military discount and also get 8% back on the purchase. My credit card does 2% also. And they delivered same day for free. Saved the gas and time also!
@Marlena, Freezing bananas is so easy. We've bought a ton a really cheap prices because we knew they would freeze well. They are wonderful in smoothies, muffins, etc.
Just gonna throw this out there: maybe the version of the chickpea pasta just wasn't a good brand? We do a ton of chickpea pasta in our home (one Gluten intolerant person, and a very Pasta-loving home!) and have tried so many brands. We always go back to Banza. And they have lots of different shapes, too.
And I've found a quick douse of non-boiling water when draining it helps to stop the cooking process, some GF pastas need that.
1. I’m continuing to freeze the produce from our CSA box that I can’t get through each week. This week I froze extra corn, zucchini, and green peppers. I plan my weekly menu around the CSA box to enjoy the veggies at their best, but I can only convince my family to eat so many peppers in one week.
2. My husband’s aunt came over for pizza (we’re really working the pizza oven) and I made fresh squeezed lemonade and a radish dip to use the lemons and radishes that had been hanging out for a little too long.
3. I powered through my to-do list and batched some errands to save gas.
4. The air has been so nice and cool that I was able to turn off the AC and open the windows.
5. We are avoiding the state fair this year. I really only enjoying going every few years, so it isn’t a big sacrifice, but after talking with friends who have gone it is a very expensive year to go.
Teeny tiny fail – I lost my tapestry needle in my couch while weaving in the ends of a crochet project. I know it is between the springs and bottom fabric of the couch but I cannot get to it without destroying the couch so I had to buy a new one. It wasn’t expensive, but it is frustrating when I know where the original needle is.
1. The folding clothes rack I use to hang costumes and such keeps folding in on itself. Luckily the extra dowels I brought from home and lashed to the legs worked to keep it continually sturdy.
2. RESCU, a health charity for Renaissance Festival workers held a health clinic with doctors and med students last weekend. I got a local referral for a thing I couldn't schedule after my annual physical and leaving for this show. They also gave me a goody bag of travel toiletries and Bombas socks which came in handy as sleep socks on the now chilly nights.
3. I visited my personal and free sound engineer - my Dad - to help me figure out an issue I'm having with my sound system. Dad's retirement fun side hustle is doing sound for jazz bands. I gave him and my sister free tickets to my Ren faire since I get a bunch as part of my contract.
4. I did laundry at my Dad's for free as we fussed with my speaker and talked about nerdy computer and music stuff. It was a great visit.
5. The guy at the tire shop said I had to replace all 4 of my tires instead of the one with a nail in it because I have all wheel drive. Fortunately that's how my sister worked her way through college and I asked her a free consult and possible patch. I can't patch it but according to the her I can just buy a replacement.
I am with you on the chickpea pasta @Kristen! I know people that swear by Banza and I cannot stand the taste or texture. I can only stomach the Barilla Plus. My effort to try the Banza pasta based on friends recommendations was to buy a huge pack at Costco thinking 'of course I will like it if everyone says it is good' WRONG. I had 3 huge boxes and sadly two of them went into the trash 🙁
Since I do not know if the severe cramping, peristalsis and salivating (twice) were caused by the Artisan whole wheat sourdough bread that I usually buy, I switched to no wheat bread and have not had any problems since. I immediately bought GF pasta which I just looked at the box the ingredient is listed as "corn flour", I have not tried it yet, but now I'm curious as to how it will taste. Has anyone tried GF "corn flour" pasta?
HB and I were at the thrift store this morning, I found an identical pair of running shoes as to what I was wearing, different colour. I don't think they had every been worn, they still had the staples in the soles which I presume held the original price. I will wash and sanitize them. ($16.49 -30% seniors discount). HB also found an almost brand new wooden cutting board, as mine has a crack running through it which I believe is very unsanitary as the crack can harbour bacteria. ($8.49-30%).
Tomatoes from the garden are coming in at great speed, I only have 2 tomato plants and this year was a good year. I also have one cherry tomato plant and the tomatoes are so sweet. Have had BLT's a couple of times for dinner, with homemade coleslaw.
@Linda in Canada, I used to buy 100% corn flour pasta when we lived in New York, and it was good.
1. I picked up some cereal for my kids and Patagonia winter boots for my son off Buy Nothing.
2. Dehydrated some tomatoes from our garden to make sundried tomatoes. Also put some over-ripe grapes on the dehydrator to make raisins.
3. Used some over-ripe apples to make yogurt parfaits.
4. Foraged cornelian cherries and made a large jar of jelly from them. Highly recommended if they grow in your area.
5. Froze left overs from dinner last week in portions, so I am now eating them for my lunches this week.
1. Washed out my son's school backpack. He was happy with the outcome so no need to buy a new backpack for start of school.
2. Have been eating pears and figs that our neighbor shared with us from their garden.
3. Our friends wanted to get together but have been tightening their budget after their summer vacation. Instead of eating out we decided to go on a bike ride and picnic, ending the afternoon by our community pool.
4. Found some birthday gifts for friends at a vintage shop, happy to support a local small business. Also painted some birthday cards with watercolor and wrapped the gifts with supplies I already had.
5. Wore a thrifted dress to the birthday party.
Little bonus, trying to batch up errands, like going to the grocery store near where I went for a medical exam.
The little stool looks cute with Snoopy and Chiquita showing it off!
I don't like chickpea pasta much either. Since I can't eat wheat pasta, I buy the kind that's made from corn and rice. It still isn't as good as regular pasta and I don't eat it all that often, but I'm unwilling to give up pasta completely.
1. I've started saving my tea bags to reuse. I had heard of people doing this but never tried it myself until last week. The second cup is a little weaker, but still tastes good.
2. Inspired by your use of the furniture markers a few weeks ago, I colored in a few scratches on my bed frame and dresser with colored pencils. Is it perfect? No, but it looks much better and only cost a few minutes of my time, using something I already had.
3. I made a frittata to use up leftover rice and veggies, and froze half of it to have heat and eat meals ready for when I don't feel like cooking.
4. I received a free vacuum cleaner from Chewy's Pawsibilities program in exchange for an honest review. It's much nicer than my old vacuum cleaner and should make it easier to clean up cat hair.
Frugal fail: my cat Butterscotch refused to let the vet give him his shots last week and will have to be sedated and go back later this week for another try.
I love pasta salad, so sometimes I will cook a whole box and make a batch for a week as a cold meal, with lots of veg added. I also tried the chickpea pasta this year and found it inedible when chilled. Since I made so much unfortunately some did get thrown out. I remember being proud I got through half the box? Lesson learned to not try a new product by making the entire box at once haha.
1) I menu-planned Sunday night using some recipes from an Instagram chef that came up in my browsing. New recipes allow me to keep it fresh so I feel less tempted to get take out. I grocery-shopped yesterday mostly at Aldi, filling in with Target. I combined both grocery stops with a visit to my dad in assisted living. I go see him once a week, and after looking at my calendar, which is surprisingly light on errands this week, I decided that yesterday was the day to go. Unless something else comes up, I should only leave the house the rest of week on my own two feet, saving gas and time!
2) My husband's truck passed inspection yesterday with flying colors! This was a major victory for us, financially and emotionally. We bought the truck used several years ago. It is a good truck, but it had some blemishes and things my husband needed to upgrade. Our mechanic even made a comment that included the words "rust bucket," which my husband took as fightin' words. He spent some time this summer working with my brother (who actually knows what he is doing) to fix one major issue, which alone saved us who knows how much taking it to a body shop. So now after a few years and lots of work, we finally have the truck in just about perfect shape, and it should serve us for years to come.
3) Now that the truck is right, we turn to the car. It is 14 years old and starting to show its age. We hope to drive it another five years, which will require maintenance to keep it going. For the last couple of years, we have had to put about $2,000 in it annually, which is still light years better than buying a new one. And don't get me started on taxes and insurance for new cars! I'm keeping it frugal by not only keeping the car, but also 1) taking the long list of recommendations from my mechanic to said brother for his advice before green-lighted the plan, 2) spacing out the work so that we pay for it as we go, and 3) putting off the tire replacement for another couple of months to get the full use of the current tires (which is fine, safety-wise).
4) In planning my travel for an upcoming conference, I exhausted reasonable options for a home exchange so I didn't have to pay for accommodations, but wasn't able to organize an exchange. I also booked my plane ticket with points. But then I got the good news that my university, by some miracle, has added $500 to my travel budget for the year. I went ahead and booked a room (the cheapest room they had) at the conference hotel.
5) We have two family birthdays this weekend, so my husband and I strategized a bit to keep things from going off the rails financially. We decided that his birthday celebration will be pizza from a takeout place he likes and a family movie online. (We had originally thought about going to a theater, but it would have just been too much.) I have also ordered him a case of his favorite soda, which will be a real treat. For our oldest, we have decided to indulge him with the "meat buffet" he requested. I will be making five separate kinds of meat, but it will all be grocery store food served at home. We are also upgrading his tablet--something we were planning to do anyway. And we will gift him one of those t-rex masks that growls and has light up eyes. We plan to take turns wearing the mask and chasing him around the house. That and a meal of chicken/steak/pork chop/salmon/ice cream cake should make him feel fully celebrated. These August birthdays are the beginning of our family's birthday season, and we like to use them to set expectations in the rest of the family.
My first time joining in FFT!
1. Our biggest frugal win was that I painted our front door, garage door, back door and shed doors saving at least €500!
The next few things are all food-related....we are retired and living on a low income.
2. Was pleased to accept some windfall cooking apples from a friend, and made apple pies for the freezer.
3. Made and froze tomato soup from our home-grown tomatoes - our 2 freezers are full to bursting now.
4. I bought and froze yellow-stickered chicken fillets, lamb chops, 5% mince (ground beef?) - portioned it all up and froze it.
5. Lastly, I kerb-picked some ceramic plant pots for our garden.
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, Hello, Joan! It is fun and satisfying to write out what we did, isn't it?
(and I suspect your accent is cooler than mine, which automatically makes your savings sound more impressive).
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, Tomato soup from home-grown tomatoes is the best!
Don't throw away freezer burned ice cream! Throw it in your coffee instead of creamer, the coffee (mostly) overpowers the freezer taste and you've got a homemade affogato type drink, fancy!
This week:
I made protein blueberry muffins using Kodiak Cakes pancake mix I already had at home, blueberries I picked from our garden and froze, cottage cheese I already had. I discovered the Kodiak Cakes was the chocolate chip version, so I sifted out the chips (I'm not a chocolate chip in muffins fan), and put them in a zip lock for future cookies.
We have been opening windows at night (or early morning) to bring the house temp down, minimizing AC use. Our Washington weather is challenging us this week though...
My guy ordered the needed part and repaired our AC for about $25 instead of the $500 he was quoted by a repairman.
Used chicken and burgers from the freezer rather than buying fresh on grocery day.
Taking my own dinners and snacks for work (night shifter here).
Cut dahlias from my garden for a bouquet (no farmer's market trip for me!)
Purchased an annual travel insurance plan rather than a single trip plan, saving several hundred dollars. The trip cancellation reimbursement isn't stellar compared to a single trip plan, but if I use my Chase Sapphire card for hotels, those are covered with that. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking about that when I booked most of my hotels, so fingers crossed we don't need to cancel. I will get money back through my Costco visa though for all the hotels I booked using that card.
Purchased Eurail passes for a small savings over buying the tickets for each leg, but the passes give us the flexibility to change reservations instead of just losing the ticket, and, the first class option gives us lounge use (with snacks and beverages) in several stations. That would have been awesome last year on our 3 hour delay out of Florence where we hunkered down at McDonalds across the street. We both qualify for the "senior" discount (60 and over), so that savings basically covered the first class upgrade.
I'm doing my research before purchasing tickets for various museums and galleries, I've found things like a Salzburg Card gets us free admission to every attraction in the city making the card worth the purchase, and, we are there during a specific festival, so all bus transportation is free, as is the Salzburg Cathedral. I also found certain combo tickets for museums in Vienna that will save $.
I researched laundries in the various cities, and while doing laundry in Salzburg isn't the ideal time in the 16 days, it's the most convenient location (just a 9 minute walk from our hotel), and the per bag weight charge will definitely save a ton of money over doing it by the piece through a hotel. The stress of sink washing clothing, making sure I have a stopper that works, having a drying line etc. and clothes hanging around the room, just doesn't seem like value added. There are certainly a few items I can hand wash if needed (and I'll have my laundry sheets in case), but my guy wears mostly cotton T's and undies, and those just don't dry quickly. I don't plan to spend vacation time drying undies with a hair dryer lol!
We are weird in our family in that we prefer the white ends of the green onions (minus the roots) to the green tops. So I never have enough of the green onion left to plant the root end.
OTOH, my daughter cuts off the asparagus tips and eats the stalks. I much prefer the tips, and I like teasing her by calling her "Morticia". For you youngsters, the original Addams Family sit com often showed Morticia (the mom in the show) cutting off roses and displaying the thorns. So I guess we all belong in the Addams family for liking the white ends of scallions ;o)
In terms of frugality, we are exploring 101 ways to prepare zucchini to use up our CSA baseball bat-sized zuchs. And the same with bowling ball sized cabbages. But it was nearly impossible to come up with strategies to use up 1 1/2 lbs of lettuce from our CSA. I'm not a huge fan of lettuce salads, but even if I was that's a LOT of lettuce.
@Jan, that's not weird - I prefer the white ends of the green onions (scallions) too!
Let's see...this week I...
1) was lucky to score an indoor bicycle trainer on buy-nothing. We are planning an upcoming movie to a state that has longer winters and much snow. This will help me to stay active when I can't be outside.
2) bought plums in bulk and got a discount...went from $90 to $63
3) got boxes from the liquor store for packing up some of our stuff
4) picked up some reduced for quick sale meats
That's all I've got
I do that with green onions too! And celery.
1. Found a penny on my walk.
2. Fed my family clearance brussel sprouts.
3. Saved 2 boxes I can use to mail ebay items.
4. Snapped my receipt for fetch rewards.
5. Made homemade granola bars.
1. Made pumpkin muffins from frozen pumpkin puree from pumpkins bought on sale last year. Then made granola using up ingredients from the pantry while the oven was still hot/on. We'll be good for breakfast for a little while.
2. Son cleaned out his drawers and I was able to give away a bunch of his outgrown, but still in good shape socks on Buy Nothing.
3. Son planned to see a movie this weekend so I was able to use up a Cinemark gift card (won from a trivia game) for 2/3 of the price and he only had to pay $5.
4. After not buying anything from Amazon for long time, I had to concede and buy something my son needs for school. They offered me a month of free Prime, which I took, so that I didn't have to make the $35 threshold for free shipping. Now my husband is using Prime to watch/catch up on shows he likes for the next few weeks. I have it marked on my calendar to cancel by the end of the month-long trial!
5. Using my craft supplies to make a wedding card for a friend's wedding this weekend.
Frugal fail:
For the aforementioned wedding, I had planned to wear something I already had, but when I went to try it on, found that it no longer fit me. 🙁 At my age, I haven't attended a wedding for over 5 years. After trying on all my nice dresses, nothing fit well, so I had to concede that I needed to buy something new to wear. Was able to find something online with free shipping that I've been sort of eyeing but now hoping that it will arrive on time by Saturday!
* Got a very nice 400$ surprise in my bank account this morning, payment for a Yahoo Breach settlement that I applied for and forgot about!
* I *think* I want to attempt a 100$ groceries challenge for September. We have a lot of food at home already, and I keep buying more and more... This is a problem. Limiting ourselves to 100$ for the next month would force us to use what we already have on hands. (gotta get the hubby onboard)
* Needed a new sofa to replace the urine smelling one (thanks, dog!). Did not want to buy a new one in case the dog has more accidents, and I don't buy second hand upholstered items (scared of bed bugs). Then I thought about the very old and ugly, but sturdy and comfy sofa in my basement. Bought a 65$ sofa cover, moved it upstairs, sent out the smelly one (garbage) and voila!
* Took an extra shift to cover for the shift I am missing at work next week due to the long weekend (labor day)
* Still reading a lot and using my public library and free piles to do so. I meet my yearly target of 50 books this morning 🙂