1. I have been eating some extremely dry prunes
In my pantry clean-out, I found a container of forgotten-about prunes.
At this point, their texture is reminiscent of shoe-leather. But I have discovered that they soften up quite nicely if you cut them up and mix them in before you cook a bowl of oatmeal.
I’m the sole household occupant willing to take this on (!), so I figure it’ll take me a month or so to empty the container.
(Here’s the one-bowl, one serving microwave oatmeal method I use.)
2. I asked for a med switch
In addition to the low FODMAP diet, Sonia’s doctor wants her to try a medication for a short period of time.
But the first one the doctor called in was not covered by our insurance.
I sent a message to the doctor, and she sent over an alternate prescription.
It is always worth asking about this, because a non-covered prescription can be crazy expensive.
3. I got some Valentine markdowns
I had to go to CVS to get the prescription, so of course I checked the holiday markdowns. 
I got a few bags of discounted treats, and I even found an option that Sonia can eat.
(It feels like a miracle to find things you can eat on a low-FODMAP diet. Ha.)
4. Mr. FG and I had a seriously cheap Valentine’s Day date
We postponed to the day after Valentine’s Day, and we got Bertucci’s pizza, since that’s a thing we did early on in our relationship.
Total? $14.83.
And we ate in the extremely private dining room that is Mr. FG’s car. Ha.
5. I’ve been using an old notebook for Bio notes
At the start of the semester, I found an old notebook that Sonia used to use for drawing when she was much younger.
It still had a lot of empty pages in it, but some of the pages have a drawing and I just work my notes around the drawings.
I like the throwback to Sonia’s younger self! And this way the notebook will be fully used before I recycle it.
Rosemary says
Well, my frugal 5 for the week are:
1. Got a deal on chicken legs. Made dinner for 5 people for 17 cents a leg!!
2. Cleaned out under sink n found cleaning supplies to last a whole year!! Window spray, oven cleaner, floor cleaner, extra brushes, soap pads, n a big jug of floor cleaner!!
3. For our viewing pleasure we r watching the movies we all ready have.
4. I cleaned out our frig I made BBQ sauce using the left of the bottom of honey, 2 BBQ sauces n some catsup!!
5, We have had 7 no spend days in the last week due to the cold weather, and our van braking down!!
Tricia says
1)My employer had 2 ProD days last week and fed us breakfast and lunch both days. Nice.
2)They also had left over fresh squeezed liter juice bottles, and gave them out at the end of the last day.
3)A coworker gave me a can of sloppy joe sauce she didn’t want.
4)I got $10 invested into my Acorns account by going through them to Turbo Tax.
5)The library finally got a book in that I requested back in the fall!
Tracey says
I do the same things with half-used notebooks. Three kids and many school years later, I’ve got quite the stack. I love it when I come across a picture or doodle. Here’s our five frugal things for the week:
1. Traded replacing a broken zipper in a winter coat for driveway snowplowing.
2. My car’s check engine light went on. I took it to our local repair shop to find out what was wrong. A frozen exhaust fan. In less than five minutes he thawed and reset it. He didn’t charge me a penny. Homemade cookies are in his future when I bake this weekend!
3. Freezer, pantry and fridge eating continues. I swear it multiplies when I close the doors. I’m kind ok with that though.
4. When I did hit the grocery store for fresh items, I found an apple pie on the markdown rack that was way cheaper than I could make it for. Yummy, too.
5. My Dad dropped off a paper bag full of books he’d read. Love free reads!
Profesora H-B says
Just piping up to say that I am seriously jealous every time you talk about getting Bertucci’s pizza. It’s one of the things I miss the very most about my brief stint in Boston. YUM.
My frugal things (late because Texas):
1) Went grocery shopping on Saturday for a frugal-adjacent Valentine’s date night and picked up supplies in anticipation of the pending storm.
2) Baked bread and pizza while Houston was snowed in, providing heat AND food for my family.
3) Bought store brand hot cocoa mix (honestly, I like HEB-brand cocoa mix better than Swiss Miss).
4) Opened the blinds on the south- and west-facing sides of our house to boost the temperature (never a thing I thought I’d want in Texas…)
5) Didn’t even think about driving on snow/ice in my Houston suburb, so saved money on fuel and the inevitable accident claim to our auto insurance provider
AEW says
1. I made creme brûlée from scratch for a valentines dessert and was left with a lot of egg whites since the recipe only uses the yolks. I used the whites with some veggies that needed to be used up to make lunch for my husband and I the following day.
2. In making my menu plan for next week I added enchiladas since I found a half bag of corn tortillas that need to be used up.
3. I bought a few pre-made frozen meals to replenish my stock so that on those nights when something comes up I can grab something to make quick. Frozen is more expensive than homemade yes, but much cheaper than takeout.
4. We had a repair man come look at our washing machine to give it a tune up because it was sounding rough, $65 in maintenance is much cheaper than a new machine and it’s running better now!
5. Still working my way through a stack of library books, our branch closed for renovations for several weeks so I stocked up before they closed.
Kaitlin says
1. Cold weather here has required us to conserve power and gas, so we’ve set the temp a bit a lower and turned off lights and gone to bed early to reduce energy use. I think we’re almost out of the woods now. Woohoo!
2. Ate through our fridge to reduce need to go to the grocery store while having icy roads and then snowy roads.
3. Cancelled a trip to a remote cabin due to weather, and asked if we could rebook it for another night and not pay any extra fees. They said we had 60 days to use the money we had put towards the canceled trip, so we rebooked before forgetting about our deal.
4. Baked and decorated my son’s birthday cake (not exactly the cheapest thing ing the world, but cheaper than buying one, and it was gluten, soy, egg yolk, nut and milk free, to accomadate the need of those eating it).
5. This is one is a bit random, but a big one over a long time. We have saved so much money by living in our *very* affordable home that feels small and cramped. We could have easily spent twice what we did for a much larger, grander space, and I’m so thankful we didn’t. We expected to be in this house for 3-5 years, and we are finishing year 6 with no plans to move yet.
Rachel B says
1) I had a bag of sad, slightly mealy apples, so I turned them into applesauce. They needed a flavor boost, so I used some apple juice that needed to be used up to sweeten and flavor it.
2) I learned that my kids prefer their applesauce in pouches, so I’ve been making sure that delicious homemade stuff doesn’t go to waste!
3) Baked some bread.
4) Made pizza instead of carry-out. My oldest daughter is more likely to eat veggie toppings if she puts them on herself.
5) Made some very meh spaghetti sauce. I repurposed it to top my pizza and it was great for that!
Jenelle says
1. Our local buy nothing group has been amazing lately. Everyone is so nice & friendly (probably similar personalities to you all!). I’ve been able to give & receive this past week. Now if the snow would stop falling so we could get out and people could pick up the items they want.
2. I’m not a fan of these work from home days due to the snow, but they do keep me from running around and wasting gas. (I need human interaction)
3. I have a friend who gives me clothing to sell on Ebay…well low and behold her mother, who lives in Kansas, said she wanted to send me clothing. I live in PA! Isn’t that just the most wonderful person to spend money on sending something used clothing for resell? Keeping items out of the landfill.
4.We have a bag of apples that needs to be used and I’ve employed hubby to make something out of them today on our snow day. I do not cook…so he can come up with something better. (I’m the brains of this operation!)
5. Frugal Fail: My daughter was gifted a 60+ year old flute from a family friend. Its beautiful and made in the USA. Well I got a bit too rough with the shining cloth and pulled one of the pads off. After taking it in the shop for repair, we found out it would be $250 for it to be fixed! Yikes! I guess I value that it came from a family friend and its a good flute. The guy said they don’t make them like this anymore.
Anne says
Perhaps you could get another estimate on the flute, that seems like a lot to replace a pad.
Jenny says
Definitely get a second opinion on the flute! Pads are changed fairly frequently. How could it be that much? The band or orchestra teacher at a local school could give you advice or a referral, probably.
Suzan says
My daughter sent me a message that the NICU near here required a certain item. I can make these entirely with stock to hand. So today I washed material and will make a start this weekend.
I have had an extremely busy day and the same daughter gave me some leftover pizza for my dinner. I was so thankful a quick nuke and dinner was done.
My son buys extra fuel when the price is low so we have saved over 40 cents a litre on gas for the car. Jerry cans are not cheap but having an extra 20 litres of fuel on hands darn useful.
I bought some things at Kmart today and a discrepancy was found on the docket. So back to the shop to get the refund.
Have bought a dehydrator and have been buying cheap produce to try it out. Our fridge is always too full so I like having this option. We seem to buy so much extra. I am always saying to mum there is not more room for meat etc. The joys of being her carer.
Isa says
* Sister in law is getting married saturday: got shoes for my flowergirl daughter on sale for 9$ at Walmart. As for myself, I’m re-wearing the same (one) fancy dress I own, with the (one) pair of high heels I own. No fancy hairdo for me, and I’m not really a make-up wearer so not an issue (well, I do wear lipstick, but since I’ll be wearing a mask the whole time…). Hubby digged out is (one) suit from our wedding 10 years ago. Hopefully it’s not too out of style, but if it is oh well…!
* Keep resisting buying new clothes, since I’m on a shopping ban. My wardrobe is pretty minimalist now that I got rid of everything that does not fit right, is never worn or just not to my taste anymore, but I have more than enough to get dressed for a week (then it’s rince and repeat!)
* Things are opening up again in my region (for how long?), Restaurants, gyms, stores, etc. But I’m still weary of it (Covid), so apart from going to work and groceries shopping I’m pretty much staying at home. This sure is cheap on the entertainment front! Main sources of entertainment are reading free books from public library, taking walks with friends/co-workers, watching YouTube videos and taking mostly free online classes. This also saves a ton on gasoline.
*We are looking at “vacations” for the summer and the only real possibility is camping, which should be open (?). So we will be booking a couple days at the camping site, for like 35$/night. That will be a very cheap family vacation! (1st time camping as a family, so that will be… interesting?)
* Been using my Petro Points and my PC Optimum points to get free groceries, trying my best to keep it at 700$/month (family of 4, Canadians, this is pretty low!). This includes eating out (which we barely do at the moment, since we don’t go to restaurants. There’s the odd take-out or ice cream run)
Kara says
I’m making a big effort to start more veggie plants from seed. They are doing well so far.
Trying to do more maintenance on things that will last a long time. I had accidentally left my trowel out in the rain. I brought it in, sanded the wooden handle, sanded the blade, and oiled both of them. Oiling my garden tools is a job on my calendar for each fall. But this was an extra.
I sorted my office/school supply closet. My husband took the excess binder paper to his classroom at school. I passed a few things on to my Buy Nothing group. Frugal for me because I needed some space in that closet. Our kids are grown and we don’t go through binder paper like we used to! My husband always has students that need paper.
I did my usual volunteer time at the community garden and came home with some amaranth seeds and some strawberry plants. I heard another volunteer mention that she always had extra lemons, so I asked her to send some my way next time she had some. The community seed bank sent out an email with an order form for the seeds they have available. All for FREE! I replied to that the moment I saw it. Looking forward to those.
Lindsey says
1. Waited to mail something to my sister until I had a post office mystery shop so I could send it for free.
2. Sold off some gold jewelry that I acquired in the heady days of my first professional paychecks, when I would not blink about putting down $1000 for a ring I wanted. This was PFH (pre frugal husband). The price of gold has gone up considerably so I came out of the assaying office with $1850 in my pocket, possibly more than I spent for the stuff years ago.
3. Under the bed in our spare room I found a full case of rice crackers. I could not stand the thought of eating them, so they are being used up as chicken treats.
4. Someone who does not know us very well left two bottles of Bailey’s Irish Cream on our porch as a gift this past Christmas. Neither one of us drinks, not out of opposition to liquor but because both my husband and I would rather put the calories toward chocolate. I put it on the local free page and someone picked it up, leaving two giant Hershey bars behind. I was not asking for a trade, I was just explaining why we would have booze to give away, but sure appreciated the gesture!
5. Used some of last summer’s basil and tomatoes to make a vat of spaghetti and we have been eating that for three days. Forced freezer clearing…
Frugal fail and major aggravation: I was caramelizing onions to make onion soup. After they had cooled I went to put them in containers and somehow managed to snag the frying pan handle on my shirt, yanking the pan off the stove and onto the floor where I then had to scream for my husband to help me wrestle the dog away from the pile of onions scattered on the floor (onions can cause major problems for dogs). This dog was brutalized before we got him at the shelter so as I am screaming in a panic, not in anger, the poor guy started peeing himself in fear. It was an hour process to calm him, clean up onions, and then for the dog and the husband to take a shower together (the dog is 70 pounds and won’t get in the tub). And then we all went to McDonalds for an uncharacteristic Wednesday filet ‘o fish for me and burgers for the husband and dog.
Bee says
I’m sorry about the chaos, but your frugal fail is truly a funny story. Bless you and your sweet rescue pup. My adopted pup has come with challenges too, but so worth it.
N says
You are EXCELLENT pet parents. Having had a rescue who wet herself if anyone raised their voice, I get it—you always feel so bad, even if you only yelled because you stubbed your toe! Sandwiches for everyone, including your dog, was the right answer.
Corrine says
1. Picked up some dried goods off Buy Nothing
2. We signed up for a credit card that will give us $200 when we spend $500 within 3 months. We pay in full each month and we will cancel after the 3 months. Easy $200!
3. I sold an item on Facebook Marketplace making me $75. I listed 2 other items on Marketplace for sale.
4. For Valentine’s Day we had steaks with brussel sprouts at home. My husband and I took 2 days off of work to be together during the week. We went hiking both days and had lunch using a gift card. A very frugal Valentine’s Day!
5. I dehydrated some grapes that were going bad and some extra rosemary used for our Valentine’s Day dinner.
Jenny says
Do you do anything to the grapes before drying? Don’t they get moldy?
Corrine says
I don’t do anything to the grapes before dehydrating. They do take about 24 hours in the dehydrator. Same idea as raisins you get from the store; if you get all the moisture out if tge grapes, they are shelf stable. They are also the best raisins you will ever eat!
Katie K. says
Not sure I have 5, but here goes:
1. Finished selling the last of the items I should have sold before we moved. It was sad to see some of them items go, but I had no use for them in my new home, I made a little money, and they are going to someone who wants them.
2. Used random odds and ends in tonight’s dinner – frozen beef broth and a partial bag of egg noodles instead of rice with our swedish meatballs.
3. Used all repurposed packaging materials for all my recent ebay sales.
4. Doing an extra good job at meal planning and making fewer trips to the store due to the pandemic.
5. Using the library (but I almost always do that)
JEG says
1. I needed to use up some broccoli and I had gouda cheese so I made a broccoli & cheese soup Valentine’s night. And it was my meatless lunch today.
2. I reorganized my freezer. I found I probably food for meals for a minimum of 2 weeks. And plenty for meatless meals.
3. I saw the supermarket had valentine’s cookie decorating “kits” and heart & gingerbread cookies. I divided up the cookies between the grandchildren and a decorating kit in lieu of a card.
4. When I reorganized my baking cabinet I found some dried lavender buds. I made lavender cupcakes with lavender frosting.
5. And, today I donated blood.
Becca says
1. Turned the refill bottle of soap upside down to get the last bit of hand soap out of it.
2. Made trash oatmeal again using pumpkin placenta and baby food oatmeal leftover from when my now six year old was a baby-he didn’t like oatmeal as a baby, but loves it now! Guess he just prefers his oatmeal to be of a certain vintage…ha!
3. Used the leftover pan drippings from a roasted chicken to pan fry some arugula. It was yummy!
4. Saved the bones from the aforementioned chicken in the freezer for future stock making.
5. Gave the kids chocolate from my secret stash for valentines day, and just made them cards using pink post-it notes. They were happy and I didn’t need to buy anything new.
priskill says
Love the decorations in the notebook! And good luck with FODMAP
1. Sent my mom flowers for V-Day and used a coupon code, which saved some money. Not frugal but she is far away in the northeast and said the flowers really cheered up her room
Eating in most meals and taking lunches , enjoying “new” old clothes found in my bureau and closet, and best of all, book club will likely choose East of Eden by Steinbeck, a book that every library has in multiple copies so no need to purchase.
2. Sent my mom and daughter each an adorable 2/$1.00 V-day card.
3. Car was seriously filthy so I cleaned out the insides with rags repurposed from old T-shirts, towels, socks, etc. I spent $1.25 to use the heavy duty vacuum at the self- washing place and got a lot of junk up — now need to fine clean.
4. Filled up my car at a gas station using my grocery points for 10 cents off per gallon and bought a discounted exterior carwash for $6.oo. Not sure if using my hose in the yard is more or less, but this seemed pretty reasonable.
5. And the usual — eating up all the old stuff — made chicken soup using frozen thighs, vintage potatoes and carrots and celery. Took it to my daughter who just got back into town and is still quarantining. Picked up change whilst cleaning the house
Athena says
Love the “vintage” vegetable reference LOL
Rachel R says
So fun on the spiral drawings! A good reminder to enjoy these little years.
1. I’ve been listing homeschool things on eBay and Facebook. Sold 4 books/sets this week! Have more listed, so a waiting game for others to sell:)
2. Thankful for every bubble mailer/small box I’ve been saving in good faith that things would eventually sell.
3. Made a wish list of next year’s items on rainbow resource, so that I won’t overbuy and can mentally have a start of next year’s plans/be looking for deals.
4. Taking an eco-friendly, free art class online. It’s been neat to see how cereal boxes, yogurt lids, and old magazines can be repurposed in everyday art.
5. Eating all meals at home, most from scratch. Including soups & hot cocoa after playing in all the snow:)
Linda says
Trust me, don’t eat more than six prunes at a time. Don’t ask. Just trust me.
Kristen says
Oh, I believe you! One time when I was canoe-camping with my family as a teenager, I ate a bunch of prunes. It was a disastrous mistake, particularly because this was the type of camping where there were no accommodations. You just dug a hole in the ground with a shovel!
Sarah G says
Kristen, I can’t get over how much your handwriting looks like my sister’s. Almost identical! She’s a lefty too of course.
1. Was wanting to find a train table for my daughter’s third birthday so I checked fb marketplace. Found one in great condition in my town for $30! With all the trains and tracks and town pieces!! Could not believe my good fortune.
2. Checked the discontinued item carts at the grocery store. Scored a can of white albacore tuna for 90 cents and a jar of organic strawberry jam for 99 cents.
3. Added water to my conditioner to finally get the last of it out of the bottle. I got like five additional washes.
4. I got two items from relatives who recently passed away which I listed on eBay. These things weren’t sentimental in any way so I’m not heartless! I kept the items which hold sentimental value. <3
5. My coffee today was the reheated leftover coffee from yesterday. Not the best but it was too much to waste. With a little milk and sugar it was still comforting.
Midwest Beth says
Kristen I can relate – I’m using up a container of raisins slowly in my oatmeal – my daughter won’t eat them so making oatmeal raisin cookies is out of the picture as I would eat them all, lol.
1. Valentines weekend we shared the love and each day my daughter and I put food in a different free food little pantry around town. We have fortunately been receiving once a week contactless free food delivered to our house through a food pantry. It’s super generous but we just can’t use it all.
2. Putting requests in 6 months ahead of time through the library for my book club upcoming reads so I don’t have to purchase them. I like that our library has a delay feature so you can delay and re-delay holds allowing me to read the books closure to each meeting so it’s fresh in my mind.
3. Did a daily cat vacation sit over Valentines weekend bringing in $48. Did a dog walk yesterday even Though we had a blizzard the night before and had to remove 7 inches of snow from our double driveway and sidewalks before we could leave. We made $20 for a 45 minute visit allowing me to splurge on patczki for my daughter and I for Fat Tuesday (a Polish version of a jelly filled doughnut – one was prune, love me some prunes ) as well as a cheap bottle of wine for my book club meeting last night, a much needed shovel and bag of rock salt. Shovels are at a premium around here so not available on the free sites.
4. I signed up for an online free 6 week program on how to deal with chronic illnesses through our local hospital. Received the free book in the mail yesterday and completed chapter one.
5. Batched errands; doing Swagbucks to earn gift cards to Lowe’s which I use on home and garden needs; checked out a personal hotspot through the library to help out with internet for our phones; took advantage of a buy two get one free Amazon deal on three puzzles for birthday gifts for my daughter and niece; cooking more in the countertop oven which has saved on our electricity bill.
Karen says
1. I was not paying attention at the store and bought red grapes WITH seeds, which my kids are baffled by (and I don’t want them to choke). Instead of tossing them or eating them all myself, I cut them up, de-seeded them, and am freezing the chunks to use in smoothies. We’ll see how it works.
2. I learned I need to keep to a soft diet for an indefinite amount of time. I made a big batch of lentil soup, which is one of the cheapest soups I know how to make, on a weekend when the kids were having pizza. During dinner I saw my college kid keep going back to the crockpot instead of having more pizza! It’s always a win when your kids enjoy a frugal food. The other kids agreed they liked it fine, so we’re having a pot of that tonight for dinner, along with homemade bread.
3. With the two days off school this week I got a lot of baking done. Tried out a recipe for low sugar oatmeal muffins (no fake sugar, just low sugar) and they weren’t bad! Two loaves of white bread for tonight, and a double batch of sweet Irish soda bread the kids had with beef stew yesterday. I always feel rather frugal when I’m baking. I tweaked two recipes to be less expensive, and still just as tasty. (Left out an egg in the Irish soda bread, made a casserole dairy-free.)
4. We are very close to paying off both the cars that still have payments! Very excited to not have car payments. When our next-to-drive kid is ready for a car, we will have saved up enough to buy it outright.
5. I discovered, to my dismay, that Toms of Maine has started putting sodium lauryl sulfate in their toothpaste–the fact that they were SLS free was the ONE reason I was willing to shell out nearly 5 bucks a tube. SLS gives my husband and myself mouth sores. Luckily our Trader Joe’s has great Covid protocols in place, so I feel safe going there now, and their peppermint toothpaste is cheaper and it’s SLS free. Bonus: I think it works better anyway; my mouth feels cleaner all day! So I’m saving on toothpaste and keeping our mouths healthier.
SandyH says
I honestly do not know why seeded grapes even exist anymore. How unpleasant to eat!
Karen says
I’ll be honest, they taste pretty good! Sweet and overall firmer than seedless grapes can be. I guess it’s the same thing with watermelon, there are those who claim that seedless watermelons are tasteless compared to those with seeds.
But still my poor kids were so BAFFLED as to why they had to “be careful” about seeds in grapes, that I just ended up getting more seedless grapes at the store the next time I went, and freezing the baffling grapes for smoothies (or frozen grape snacks).
Stephanie says
1. Ran in to ALDI for my first grocery trip in 12 days ( yay!) and got 12 pounds of 80/20 ground beef marked down to 13.00 dollars.
2. Came home and immediately processed all ground beef. Lasagna. Meatloaf. Taco mix. Sloppy joe. Plain browned. Just plain unbrowned all in freezer for future meals.
3. Walking dog for exercise.
4. Listening to free podcasts while grading student work.
5. Continue to cook and eat at home.
Connie says
Prunes were often soaked in water back in the day tonal steed prunes. You could soak them into softer texture.
Karen says
My mom did this all the time. She’d leave a little dish out with her morning prunes soaking in water.
Battra92 says
1.) A couple of the chairs in my kitchen have become wobbly and a couple have straight up broken. This is thanks to them being 50 years old or so (they were hand me downs.) So I went to Homeless Despot, bought a package of dowel pins and drilled out the old, broken ones and replaced them with new ones with a nice dab of Titebond 2 for some extra strength.
2.) Used a 30% off coupon for Harbor Freight to get a couple of tools to use for work. My work has been very stingy with providing tools so it was worth the hassle to spend $10 on a couple of tools myself and just ask for reimbursement.
3.) Bought my wife a used sewing pattern off of eBay. She uses tracing paper to transfer the pattern over so when she’s done with it, it will probably go back up on eBay.
4.) Worked some overtime. Probably going to be working some more this week too.
5.) Working on more of a freezer cleanout instead of shopping.
JD says
I’m impressed with the chairs!
Ruth T says
I love that you have Sonia’s drawings in amongst your notes! How sweet.
1. I went to Meijer the other night after the kids were in bed to take advantage of their baby week deals. I had to buy a large quantity, but from my bundle of diapers, wipes, and Pull-Ups I got $29 in instant savings from coupons, a $20 coupon to use on a future visit, and $1 back on Ibotta. I only buy Pull-Ups when they go on sale, so this worked out great. I also split my purchases into 2 orders – I bought all the baby stuff, then used the $20 coupon on my second order to pay for the other stuff I was getting. This way I don’t forget about the coupon!
2. Our library not only had craft kits for kids this month, but they had a card craft kit for adults, too. I made my husband’s Valentine’s card for free.
3. I froze some milk that was past its date but didn’t smell yet. We’ll use it next time we make pancakes.
4. I had to take all 3 kids with me to get groceries Monday morning and I often end up getting extra things when the oldest is with me since she doesn’t come along very often, but we stuck to our list.
5. I’m taking inventory of what seeds I have. I often get to the store this time of year and think, “Oh! Seeds are here! I need to get the inexpensive ones before they’re gone” and end up buying stuff I already have at home. I’ve not had problems in the past of seeds from the previous year not coming up, but plan to plant early enough that I can do a second round if that ends up happening.
Michele says
It always makes me happy to see my kid’s little kid drawings. That would make Biology so much more fun!
1. Trying the envelope system again. This is the month of realizing that I spend WAY more on household, farm, eating out, etc. than I think I do- a good exercise to do every once in a while!
2. Bringing my breakfast, lunch, drinks to work.
3. Made a menu plan and shopped- so nice to pick which meal I want to make and know I have the ingredients.
4. Switched from direct to Dish- we have NO other options in our area. This time I got satellite internet, too, as maybe down the road our internet will be good enough to stream and we can dump satellite TV?
5. Fail- increased our deductible to 2000- then hit deer. Lots of damage to both!
Jen says
1. I ate tomato soup for breakfast one morning, so the leftovers wouldn’t go to waste.
2. My house had a free test for radon and the levels came back high. I’m getting five quotes for radon mitigation, so I can get the best price. Radon can cause cancer. I figure radon mitigation is cheaper than cancer treatment.
3. I’m working from home every day, but one this week. Not commuting, saves gas.
4. I don’t love hotel shampoo, but I have a bunch of them from pre pandemic travels. I find I don’t mind it mixed with normal shampoo, so I squeezed a bunch into my normal shampoo bottle and shook it up.
5. I used some tomatoes to make a tomato soup and a chili. These specific tomatoes were tomatoes I grew in my garden, picked green the night before the first hard frost last fall, ripened indoors, peeled, and froze in old sour cream containers. It felt very satisfying to realize I grew and froze them myself!
Maria Vidakis says
Hi there, I too have radon in my basement, what are your levels? While waiting for the company to do the radon mitigation, I have read that a ceiling fan running 24/7 will get rid of most of the radon. We also open our windows for 10 minutes to change the air. Good luck
Jen says
Mine came back at 4.7. What were your levels? It’s cold where I live (Utah), so I’d rather not lose all my heat. I guess I’m just hoping it isn’t crazy high and will be fine until I get the mitigation done next month.
Janice says
My full shampoo samples are donated. The partially used ones linger unloved and taking up space. Like the idea of combining them into one container of my shampoo.
Elissa says
My grandmother would boil prunes. She added sugar and they were delicious. They would be good boiled without the sugar too I believe. It softened them and I loved them.
Jennifer says
If you haven’t checked out the GoodRX app, I HIGHLY recommend it. When dh was in between insurance policies, this literally saved us 100s a month – he takes 9 different meds. You put in your med, dosage amount and it will give you prices based on pharmacies in your town. They say not all pharmacies participate, but I have used it at WM, Publix, CVS, WAGS, Harris Teeter and two mom and pop local places.
Even if you have insurance, the GoodRX price could be lower. One of my meds is lower with GoodRX than my BCBS policy.
Also, one of dhs meds dosage is more than his BCBS will approve, so their price is almost double GoodRX. I can’t recommend GoodRX enough. IGHLY
L astly, Publix has a list of general meds that are FREE. Three of ours – for diabetes and high blood pressure are on this free list. I don’t know of another chain that does this.
Deb says
https://scene7.samsclub.com/is/content/samsclub/Rx-Savings-List-for-Plus-Members
Sam’s does some, I’m not on any prescriptions, so I don’t know what they all are or what they are for, just know that it is a benefit with the PLUS membership.
Heather says
Yes indeed! My youngest daughter has a host of medications as we try to figure out her POTS and other stuff. I have saved over 125 dollars and I’m only in the second month of using it. I did spring for the Gold membership which is 9.99 per month after a one month free trial. I figure spending 10 bucks to save 100 is a great deal! We only run 2 prescriptions through our insurance now, the only two that are zero cost. And… I’m in the process of figuring out how to submit the scrip receipts to insurance, to aid in meeting her deductible.
Suz says
That’s a good point, and GoodRx works for pet meds too! We’d never used them for anything before but tried them for the first time last night for two medications our vet prescribed but didn’t have (and didn’t really want to order, so they told us to try a pharmacy). And that search led me to look at Sam’s Club which also carries some pet meds – big eye-opener for me, not sure how I missed this before!
JD says
I know several people who do very well with GoodRX, but be aware that some specialty meds aren’t helped much by it. I take one specialty drug that GoodRX would let me get at Costco for a couple hundred dollars less than normal, which sounds good until you realize that the GoodRX price was still over $22,000.00 for a single dose.
Jennifer says
We have Hulu Live and I swear, there is a med commercial during every commercial break. I love to look up the prices and shock dh.
Sbirley says
My mother simply simmered prunes and we’d eat several at a time, with the resulting cooking juice, and most importantly real cream. So good.
Mar says
A local bread maker left 8 small sour dough bread loaves at work & no one wanted them so I threw them in the freezer (aka the garage). They should make good french toast. I don’t eat a lot of bread so I am going to need to be creative!
We got 10″ of snow so very frugal yesterday I did not leave the house. Got a free driveway plow at the end of the day.
I continue to do weekly free Webinars with our health insurance carrier.
I picked up a couple of puzzles at Good will for .99 I put them together and all the pieces are there so I will resell on FB for a higher price. I should be able to get $5 for each of them. Most sellers are charging more than that.
Becca says
Went to the cheap grocery store and picked up a bunch of meat for the freezer 50% off, two giant bags of peppers & cucumbers & tomatoes for 99 cents and a big bag of pears & carrots for 99 cents. Also some discounted flatbread & bagels.
Got a bunch of free ham from my husband’s work that we’ve used in sandwiches, baked egg cups, crescent pinwheels and put the rest in the freezer.
Made pumpkin muffins with leftover pumpkin from the freezer to use as snacks & breakfasts.
Made homemade valentine cards for my grandmother.
Didn’t stop for fast food on a busy day when we were really tempted to, drove home and ate at home instead.
Linda says
I would have stewed the prunes.
don’t eat too many but delicious.
AnneT says
1. Got some great buys at my local Grocery Outlet: 99 cent jar of organic chicken boullion, $1 bison burgers, Giant kiss of dark chocolate Hershey Kisses for $1.99 — and I love that I can for a nice hike at the park between it and my home!
2. My regular grocery store had 2 kg white sugar, whole wheat English muffins and white vinegar gallons for $1. Also chicken legs for $1/lb.
3. I was in the first 100 to visit the above grocery store on that day and got a free large Kit Kat bar, which I shared with the hubby for Valentines Day.
4. Another store had lobster tails on special: $14 for four of them. Two went into our Valentines Day dinner and two into the freezer for a future surf’n’turf or luxury pasta.
5. I have four (4!!!) Little Libraries in easy walking distance of me. I’ve been rotating their contents through my house and back out all winter — lovely excuse for a walk!
Beverly says
Not much snow here in Alabama but it is very cold for us.
1. Filed receipt with FSA for my son’s new glasses. Trying to submit receipts in a timely fashion this year instead of letting them pile up.
2. Sold the cake stand bought for daughter’s wedding cake on Facebook Marketplace. Apparently priced it to low since it sold and picked up in less than 18 hours. LOL
3. Reviewed our insurance statements and found that the doctor who required my husband to pay the full amount before his surgery has been paid 80% of that cost by the insurance company. Today I will contact the doctor’s office to determine how to get our $380 refunded.
4. Bought whole chicken instead of parts and used it to make soup and broth.
5. Noticed a little “daylight” under our front door so we found an old draft protector and put it on the door. Hopefully that will help keep the house warmer.
Ohio Farmwife says
Pioneer Woman has a good Prune Cake recipe, found in her first cookbook. The recipe is easy to cut in half.
I know its not frugal, but after trying different name brands, we like the prunes that are individually wrapped. I keep them in a bowl for easy access. The grand kids love them, but we usually only allow them to have 1. We’d hate for their mothers to have some messy you-know-whats
Been a long while but Bertucci’s pizza is yummy!
CrunchyCake says
1. We are packing because we will be moving in April – have been using daughters’ stuffed animals and towels and sheets as box fillers to provide cushioning and hopefully less boxes.
2. Used an eBay credit on my dad’s credit card to purchase aforementioned paper packing supplies. Dad doesn’t ever buy anything on eBay so it was about to expire.
3. My husband doesn’t have the same aversion to one-time use products as I do so he does things like use a paper towel for a plate or to put out the girls’ vitamins. Then they leave the paper towel on the counter. Kinda bugs me. So instead of just throwing it away, I use it to wipe down the counter or for some other use. I hardly ever reach for paper towels on my own.
4. Used an Uber Eats credit to get Poke bowls for husband and daughter.
5. I’m continuing to intentionally use what’s in the pantry and freezer to clear out whatever I can before we move. Made cornbread, chili, and scotchies last week. Will make some granola this week and use up some pistachios, pepitas, and more oats. Am also using up the not-favorite teas instead of buying more favorites.
Nora says
One of our family’s Thanksgiving sides is prunes & apples. We believe its the remains of a Scandinavian fruit soup that has lost its other ingredients over the generations. It’s very similar to making applesauce. Equal numbers of prunes & apples. Add enough water to the pot to just cover the prunes. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add diced apples. Simmer until the apples are as soft as you want and mash to desired consistency. It will be more watery than applesauce, but can be frozen or stored similarly. Make at least a day before eating and best served at room temp.
Here goes –
1. Finished up/worked on a number of leftovers last night with a roast I got 75% off since I shopped at dinnertime Sunday.
2. Now that my youngest is done with diapers I turned in most of my diaper points for a $50 Amazon gift card. I have a few more points to figure out how to convert, but not enough for a gift card of any denomination.
3. Used two almost gone sweet potatoes to make muffins yesterday.
4. Cooking our meals and eating at home.
5. Planned ahead and will be making quiche & a soup today that both call for half and half. We don’t normally have that and its most economical in larger containers. So, I put the two things that actually call for it in the same week and will use up the rest in scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, etc.
JD says
1. I received a “Thanks for being an owner” coupon page from the food co-op I joined years ago. There’s one free item for each week of the month of March, including things like a pound of Tillamook butter and a 12 oz. package of sugar-free bacon. The coupon is in my car, so I’ll be ready to use it when we go into March.
2. We had Mardi Gras pancakes from cassava and coconut flour for our meal last night. I put waxed paper between the leftover pancakes and froze them for later.
3. I had another Zoom appointment to discuss my lab results with my doctor, and she changed my prescription just a bit again, placing an order for a stronger dose. I was pleased to see that my new drug coverage makes this generic drug zero dollars for me.
4. I returned two small items to Walmart. It turned out I didn’t need them, and I had to go there anyway, so it was not an extra trip. They weren’t much, but they added up to about $5.
5. I thawed out a whole chicken, cut out the breast meat to use later, and roasted the rest of it in the oven. I leave the breast skin attached to the chicken and fold it over the cut out area, then roast it breast side down – the bird roasts faster without the breast meat and the skin plus back fat keep it from drying out. My husband isn’t a fan of poultry, but he loves for me to fry tenders from the breast meat. The roasted remainder gets used in things like my lunches, chicken pot pie, soup, and finally, chicken stock.
Carrie says
Ha! I had the same container of a few year old prunes in my pantry! I tried to eat them, I really did! After about 5 I gave up and threw them away! Best wishes and keep us posted!!!
Cyndi R says
My 5 are: 1.Took all my loose change i had in a jar to the bank on my way to do errands along with a $12 check from a class action lawsuit 2. Trying to watch all the good shows on the Discovery Plus
6 month subscription Verizon gave us 3. Walmart had a rollback on the Bissell 3 in 1 stick vacuum for $19.98 and i need one for my stairs. They have a free 30 day membership so took advantage of the free shipping. 4 and 5 are: i don’t have insurance this year ( scary i know!) and need to see the doc for my yearly. Negotiated 30% off office visit if i paid up front. Also have to take a monthly prescription for the first time and did a free Goodrx gold trial to get the best price. Its 5.99 after 1 month and will see if its worth it. I always put calendar reminders on my phone to cancel free trials before i get charged.
Shelia says
Lots of the snow on the ground here!
1. I’ve been cooking all meals and we’ve been eating well even when the ‘wrong’ meat gets defrosted. I made beef enchiladas Saturday instead of the pork chops I thought I was thawing! Which ended up being a good thing because we had planned on picking up Cracker Barrel for Valentine’s Day. Apparently, everyone in our county had the same idea so leftover enchiladas!
2. Because of the snow, I was unable to pick up one item I needed for dessert so we improvised. Brownies with closeout Godiva vanilla chocolate chip pudding spooned over with whipped cream! Yummy!
3. We made charming valentines for friends and family from items I had. My husband drew us as stick people on the front holding hands. I attached a piece of baker’s twine from one hand to a heart shaped balloon made of corrugated paper from a coffee sleeve. They were a hit!
4. I wanted a book held at the library and for some reason the site wouldn’t recognize my card. I checked and found a place I could read it online. Not quite as satisfying as a paper copy but free!
5. Best news of all! I turn 65 in March and I signed up for Medicare and Medicare Advantage. We were able to keep me on my husband’s Cobra plan for these three years and that has been a huge blessing but it sure wasn’t cheap. Buying the Medicare Advantage with the Medicare payment will save us $702 a month!!!!!!!! That may qualify more for Thankful Thursday! A friend in the same boat and I are planning on brunch out at a Belgian Waffle place in town because we are rich now!!
But we always have been, in blessings, family and love!
Kristen says
Oh wow, that is an amazing savings on health insurance.
Cindi says
I have a recipe that calls for prunes in brownies to replace part of the fat. Pour boiling water over your dried out prunes and allow them to sit for a while to rehydrate. Whir in the blender. Use them to replace half the fat in a brownie recipe. No one will know they are there.
Kristen says
I remember making fudge with baby food prunes back in the 90s, when low-fat was all the craze! They were surprisingly tasty.
Janet says
1. This morning I inadvertently opened a can of cranberries instead of evaporated milk. We had run out of regular milk and I guess I must have been half asleep. In my defence the cans are the exact size and shape and stored directly beside each other. So I just made some cranberry loaves. When given lemons, you make lemonade! Not to mention, I provided a lot of comic relief for the family.
2. I used a $30 voucher from UberEats for our dinner on Chinese New Year – totally worth the promotion totally and supported a local restaurant at the same time.
3. Completed a follow up survey on my Walmart pickup order and received a $10 voucher.
4. Stretched my pickup to 9 days instead of our usual 7 – hence the milk shortage
5. As usual, all meals from my freezer, pantry and fridge prepared at home, except for the very special UberEats treat.
Kristen says
That is a very tasty food save you made there!
Gina says
I have always done the same things with my kids’ notebooks – I use them to make menus and grocery lists. (: Because of the weather, we have stayed inside and used up all kinds of food we would have otherwise tossed – dibs and dabs of leftovers, old stuff, apples that were going bad..
We are keeping the thermostat to 68 to conserve energy. Not leaving the house which will save on gas. I am stitching to stay busy – using stuff I already have. Not on-line shopping out of boredom. And Hubby continues to work from home. All good here, as long as we don’t get the water or electricity cut off.
BarbG says
Nothing but the usual here again. All meals made at home. Almost no driving and zero shopping (the last time I bought gas was January 3). Reading library books. Watching free TV. Hanging laundry inside on racks.
We had an ice storm last week and 5″ of snow so far this week. Forecast says 4 to 6 more inches today. It’s been bitterly cold too. My area is not prepared for this kind of weather-no plows, etc. Everything shuts down because people don’t know how to drive on it.
Gina says
Same here! The houses aren’t built for it, and neither are the roads. So many hills and overpasses in Austin. Lots of silly little cars…
Kristen says
Yes, that is what makes snow/ice so much worse in southern states; there’s no equipment to deal with it! Here in the Mid-Atlantic, we get snow regularly enough that our counties have snowplows and trucks that spray the roads ahead of a storm. And people have snow shovels and snow gear.
I feel bad for everyone in the south right now!
Heather says
Hey, the last time I bough gas was January 3rd! Glad you are staying safe in all this winter weather. Silly Yankee carpetbagging groundhog and his six more weeks of winter. Bah!
BarbG says
Bah is right! Snowing again here. Humbug!!
Betta from daVille says
The cock-a-leekie soup that I made a couple of weeks ago has prunes in it and since they sit in chicken soup, will plump up again! (Although you family may not want that either….)
1. I returned an abandoned cart at Aldi for $.25 (there were 3 of them, but I decided to share the love and make someone else’d day).
2. Did my 7-hour commute bringing lunch and snacks.
3. brought home some supplies from work, since I work from home 4 days a week.
4. Did a survey through work for $10
5. My partner and I got some take out. They added giant handfuls of ketchup and hot sauce packets to the bag. I emptied both into the respective bottles at home, about 1/4 cup of each.
Ruby says
Just reading your class notes in the photo is making me aware of how hard I would find college now. Whew!
1. This week I roasted a big chicken found in the depths of the freezer. It has made many delicious servings of leftovers. I picked the meat off the bones, chopped it up and added barbecue sauce for my work lunches, along with rice, peas and carrots.
2. Because it’s been ridiculously cold and the heat in my work office is not reliable, I’ve worn my only pair of heavy jeans three days running, being careful to keep them clean and hang them up to drop out the wrinkles at night. I doubt anyone has noticed because I also wear cardigans down to my shins.
3. Took one for the team and ate all the tangerines in the bowl in the fridge, even the little sour ones no one else would touch.
4. Thought I needed to buy or make a new winter scarf (the old one is thin and not up to the job), but some digging in the coat closet turned up a wonderful warm infinity scarf I had forgotten about. It’s sure coming in handy right now.
5. Bought store-brand canned pumpkin for $1 a can and portioned it out into five tiny Rubbermaid containers to freeze. We thaw these one at a time to add a tablespoon a day to our dog’s food, as the hypoallergenic diet she is on does not have much fiber in it, and the pumpkin corrects that. This is far cheaper than buying jars of baby food pumpkin for her.
Lindsey says
HA! I thought the same thing when I read Kristen’s bio notes. So glad I took genetics back when my brain was more pliable, not sure I would pass it now!
Laure says
(1) We ended up with an abundance of dates that were lingering. Found if I chopped them, they can sub for the raisins in Kristen’s delicious granola bars. The prunes might work also, especially if you briefly rehydrate or just add a bit of extra liquid to the granola bars. We *love* these granola bars and they themselves could be their own entry as we buy way fewer energy bars now. We use old-fashioned oats and all whole wheat flour to make them more like enerrgy bars. Such a versatile recipe.
(2) Bought my husband chocolate covered almonds at Aldi for Valentine’s day ($3.99). He loved them and they were delicious. We don’t usually get them so they’re a treat wherever they come from, and Aldi tends to surprisingly good quality (European) chocolate.
(3) Made stock from our “broth bag” — a gallon ziplock we keep in the freezer with onion skins, carrot ends, limp cilantro or celery that’s past the point of rehab, etc. Then made soup. Perfect for these snowed in days.
(4) Shoveled snow ourselves.
(5) Left the faucets on a trickle and changed the heat settting to not go down at night — when it’s below 20 degrees (for a high) for weeks and well below zero for a low, it’s cheaper to avoid freezing pipes… Thankfully we should hit 22 degrees for a high today. It will feel balmy
Hawaii Planner says
We’ve been trying to celebrate my son’s birthday & make the week off enjoyable. Normally we’d go skiing, and everyone was sad about missing that this year. So, ours frugal wins are more about saving when spending, which is a bit different than our normal frugal activities.
1) Used a Panera gift card (and, my birthday reward cookie) to buy everyone lunch on the first day of break. We typically don’t eat out (this week as a rather large exception) much, so this was a fun treat.
2) My son wanted Subway on his birthday, so I bought a slightly discounted gift card on Raise, clicking through Rakuten first, saving $2 off of the purchase.
3)He also wanted Chinese food for dinner (the birthday person normally only gets one takeout meal selection, but we made an exception, since all other birthday plans fell through). I had an Uber gift card from non COVID times traveling that had been lingering, plus a $5 Uber reward. I used both to get a “free” (no out of pocket spending) birthday dinner. It was also huge, so we will have plenty of leftover
4) Made him cupcakes for his birthday, vs buying.
5) Combined a manufacturer’s coupon with an in store sale, plus an iBotta offer to get two boxes of tea for $1.80 ($.90/each). I drink a lot of tea when working from home, so this was a very inexpensive way to stock up. I’m particularly enjoying the honey chamomile at night.
Harriet Ferguson Gilman says
I do hope you tipped the driver. As a former tip-dependent server I came to believe that if people are too poor to tip, they need to be eating at home. You see,
those service jobs don’t pay enough to live— the industry transfers payroll responsibility to the users of the service. And servers and drivers do feel they’ve been “used” if a reasonable tip is omitted.
Julie says
Well I TRIED to do the leftover rice “sort of” rice pudding like you mentioned last week(?) maybe? It would have been great except I forgot that when I cooked the rice I used a chicken boullion cube in it…and let me tell you, you cannot overpower one of those, not even with maple syrup and cinnamon! I ate about half of it, but ended up having to just toss the last several bites. Oh well. I’ll plan better next time!
We made a Valentine’s Day dinner with all things we already had here: crab cakes, a dried pasta from a local Italian place that did Christmas gift baskets, and a creamy basil sauce mix from another gift bag that a friend gave me. I made a pie with an acorn squash that needed to be used up and some pumpkin from the freezer. It was REALLY good!
I bought some different things for us to have for lunches…this may not seem frugal, BUT lunches around here are mostly sandwiches, since we save leftovers for dinners…and our sandwiches were getting boring. So instead of giving in to the temptation to go out for lunch, I decided to just get some different options at the grocery store.
Last, I bought a golf pass for the course we often play with our friends. Though it’s a bigger cost up front, I’ll end up saving money each week, so I think the trade off there is worth it.
K D says
1. I have some old prunes as well and I have been thinking about adding them to oatmeal. I have been working through some old raisins by adding them to oatmeal.
2. I am still working on spending down our 2020 FSA funds by purchasing OTC items we will use eventually. I did not realize that sun block is among the many items that qualify as FSA Eligible. I have a few more weeks to complete this task.
3. I have done quite a bit of baking. I used ripe bananas to to make muffins for a neighbor. I used older m&m’s to make Monster cookies for a friend for Fat Tuesday. I used older chocolate chips to make double chocolate brownies for Valentine’s Day.
4. Since I am staying out of stores, I have been using cards from my stash for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and Valentine’s Day. A customized message makes cards personal.
5. I have managed to walk outside every day despite the weather. I have also been focused on doing more physical activity at home, using a variety of yoga and Pilates (streaming, mostly for free) videos to get me moving. When I move my body more I’m in a better mood and get more done. Somehow that feels frugal, keeping on top of things.
6. Bonus: using the library for books (physical, digital, audio) and access to Acorn TV.
Susan says
Yeah for FODMAP approved treats! I know the feeling. I feel like I scored a major win whenever I find something new is gluten free. My daughter says the Albanese gummy bears are way better than Haribo.
5 FT:
1. Received a $500 dining dollars refund from my daughter’s college since all her classes are online and she lives off campus. She’s in an apt, so we can funnel this money towards her grocery bill instead of her trying to find a rare gluten free option on campus or spending it on coffee.
2. I baked treats for all of my valentines instead of pricy gifts.
3. Last night I pivoted when I realized my original dinner plan wasn’t going to work because I misread the recipe timing. I swapped in a meal planned for later in the week. It was still 7pm by the time we ate, but we didn’t order in!
4. I need to get to the eye doctor. I turned 50 on Valentine’s Day and the last month, my eye sight has tipped over to the I-need-readers/new-prescription side of life. I increased the display percent on my laptop as a stop gap instead of ordering a bunch of cheap glasses when I’m unclear on what power I need or the best fit long term.
5. My makeshift office in my bedroom is a console table that we’d stopped using in our family room. It is a little low for the purpose, so I had the legs propped up on bricks and and old SAT practice book. It was unattractive to say the least. I have been considering buying an actual desk, but really I do all my work on my laptop so I don’t need a bunch of desk space. I remembered I had ordered furniture risers at some point and pulled them out. They are much better looking than the brick/book situation and the height is good. This will do fine.
Heidi Louise says
Hooray for fast increases in computer displays!
Hold “control” and hit “+” to increase type size.
Hold “control” and hit “-” to decrease.
Some type faces are much easier to read if made larger.
N says
–Miscellaneous soap bar nubbins were transformed into liquid hand soap by adding them to a pump bottle filled with water. The soap pieces dissolve quite well on their own given a little time.
–I rediscovered some almond oil during the bathroom’s recent reorganization. The almond oil came in a messy dispenser, so I’ll be reusing the pump bottle from my recently emptied facial moisturizer. I won’t need to replace it, either, thanks to said almond oil. Related: It feels like I’m constantly drenching myself in moisturizer to keep up with our DRY winter.
–Cheers to thoughtful friends! One of my friends gave me a magnetic key box to hide on our vehicle after I locked myself out in their presence. (Said friend also drove me to my husband’s place of work to get his keys rather than call a locksmith–I’m so fortunate in my people!!!) I haven’t locked myself out since, but my husband locked *himself* out the other day at work when it was -15. Hooray for the magic key box!
–I repaired a small hole in my husband’s winter coat and snipped some loose threads off of mine.
–Thanks to extreme cold, our Midwest city was one of many experiencing rolling black outs for 30-60 minutes at a time. Since we had a day’s notice, we made sure all three hurricane lamps (two inherited, plus one $4 Goodwill find) were full (oil on sale for a $1.50/per 18 oz bottle fall of 2019–bought the shelf out) and had our candles ready. When our turn came early yesterday, we lit everything and snuggled under the couch blanket with the cat, where we listened to old radio plays on YouTube via my husband’s phone. It made for a surprisingly fast and pleasant hour before our power came back on. I well recognize that we’re fortunate to have been able to take our first rolling blackout so lightly.
Kristina says
I actually love prunes in oatmeal! I also make a prune jam every Christmas for filling in a pastry. Chop them up and cook the prunes in a little bit of water and a cinnamon stick for the jam that holds in the fridge for weeks. It also tastes good with yogurt or on a cracker with cheese.
My frugalish activities this week:
1. Switched to a cheaper phone carrier.
2. Ended subscription service for iCloud storage as I had switched to an Android phone. It was actually really hard to downgrade the storage because I no longer have an Apple product, and took me a lot longer to figure our than I wanted. So, a frugal fail also for paying for it extra.
3. Shopped at CVS with coupons and rewards bucks.
4. Made homemade Valentine truffles that turned out to be fabulous, and shared some with an elderly neighbor.
5. Not sure if this makes a difference, but I have been trying to wash more laundry in cold water.
Kris says
We spent a night in a hotel for a mental health break during the kid’s midwinter break. I applied my AAA discount and saved $7. We went hiking and snowshoeing during our little trip–we already have the pass to get into the state park so it was free (and yes, it was chilly! But worth it!). We got the $20 Fill Up meal at KFC and ate it in our room–there is a serious amount of food with that and we had enough left over for the kids to eat for lunch the next day. And it’s an easy meal solution when you are hanging out in a hotel room.
My other savings are with food. I made venison stew yesterday out of venison that my brother shot and my husband processed, so a no-cost meat was used. I added potatoes to it that were getting a little spongy–save the taters!
Julia says
1. Sold a few things on FB Market. Being patient paid off.
2. Upended “empty” bottles of conditioner, face lotion and facial cleanser and let them drain into small jars. Amazing what was still in the bottles that the pump wouldn’t pump out!
3. I purée and freeze extra vegetables. Then I hide, I mean add, them to meals for extra nutrition. Puréed cauliflower is great in Alfredo sauce, whipped into eggs before you scramble them, or mixed into soups or casseroles. Other puréed veggies work well in pizza or spaghetti sauce. Or add to chili. Extra veggies eaten and so much less waste.
4. Walking every day with the dogs and family for exercise and fresh air.
5. Using the Teachers Pay Teachers website to get very good and inexpensive study guides and worksheets to supplement our homeschooling. We just used one that was created to go with the Pixar movie Soul. And a learning packet that went with the movie Tuskegee Airman. Tons of learning activities on all subjects.
BarbG says
Moneysaving Mom posts a huge list of free homeschool materials pretty often. You might find something there you could use.
Jody S. says
First, about the prunes, my son found a recipe for for prune ribbon cookies, and they were so good. But, they were in a library book that needed to be returned, and he didn’t write it down, so I can’t pass it along. But. . .
FFT: 1. I returned my son’s library book before the impending weather which would have prevented me returning it before the due date. So no fines for my son.
2. Instead of ordering a book online to buy (because my friend recommended it and it looks so interesting and our library system doesn’t have it), I picked an unread one off my own bookshelf instead.
3. I cooked oatmeal from oats bought in bulk.
Allison R says
We have a ton of old notebooks from my college days (20 years ago!) I ripped out the mostly used pages and let my kids color in them. Often they will do just a few scribbles per page, then I give the notebook to my mom who likes to use them for list making. She appreciates having grandchildren “artwork “ surprises on each page
Frouwke says
I take the leftover rimpled appels from my work and make delicious apple sauce;
I keep finding rotan and wicker baskets in the city, usually i give them away, i already have quite a collection;
i make my own candles from old candles
kristin @ going country says
For some reason, that notebook with drawings you’re working around struck me as very funny.
Frugal things . . . I dunno. Same old, same old, I guess. I’m currently mouthbreathing with a cold, and one of my frugal things is I don’t buy tissues. Ever. I keep a basket of small cut-up pieces of old receiving blankets in the kitchen the kids use if they need a tissue, and I use handkerchiefs.
This works better, however, when my washing machine isn’t frozen and inoperable (literally–something about the pipe that drains it doesn’t work when the ground is really saturated or frozen), so I am using some toilet paper right now. I’m going to have a LOT of laundry to do when things thaw out in a few days . . .