Five Frugal Things | scraping the barrel
Mannnn, these are always hard when it gets down to finals week! I feel like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel.
1. I used a $10/$50 coupon at Safeway
I filled out an offer in the app to get this coupon, and then I carefully picked out items that were on sale, so as to maximize my savings.
Because if you go to Safeway without being careful, you can easily spend a whole lot on a bag of groceries. In that case, it would be better to go to Aldi, even without a coupon!
I bought some frozen pizzas for $4 each (for Zoe), some Starbucks coffee grounds on sale, some frozen shrimp on sale (good for me when Zoe's not home for dinner!), and so on.
2. I kept up my inadvertent streak of packing food
I didn't really start out my school phase purposely shooting to maintain a long streak of not buying food at school or at the clinical sites, but so far... my streak is unbroken.
(I did get a free chicken sandwich once at the Chick Fil A at college, but that doesn't really count!)
All that's left this semester is a final exam on Wednesday, so we can pretty much already assume I'm gonna keep my streak up through the end of this semester. 😉
One packed lunch at a time, one packed dinner at a time, I have probably saved myself quite a lot of money.
3. I fixed my clogged printer
I was trying to print some brochures for my presentation this week, and suddenly the blue ink stopped printing altogether.
I remembered that this had happened before, so I went into the printer settings, ran some cleaning cycles, and ta-da, the blue is printing again. Yay!
I also ordered some refill bottles for the colored ink in the printer; this is the first time I've ever ordered refills and I've had the printer for multiple years.
I love the big tanks in this printer! You buy a bottle of ink and pour it into the tank to refill it and it is so so so much cheaper than the stupid little cartridges.
(This is the printer model that is closest to what I own, although Canon makes several different models with the big ink tanks.)
4. I made another French toast casserole
I was doing a little perusal of the contents of my kitchen freezer and I noticed a fair number of bread odds and ends; a few whole wheat heels, some baguette slices, and a partial loaf of cinnamon raisin bread.
So I cubed all of that and made another 8x8 pan of French toast casserole for Zoe and me.
5. I shipped two eBay packages
Both sales were items that had been sitting in my eBay shop for quite some time; patience is the name of the game when it comes to eBay!
Of course, I packaged both items in padded envelopes I had saved in my stash.
Wow, I am impressed that you keep packing your meals with your busy schedule!
Our frugals are minor, as they often are. But here patience too is the name of the game. It all adds up.
-found a can, found a coin
-found and took home some pruned holly twigs during a walk in our council park (kind of a Leave the Leaves plus- the pruned twigs and branches are left to the side)
-won a prize at a December raffle - I get to choose a top at a shop. I had a look at their website and they have some nice ones. I entered the December raffle with a ticket I was given at an ordinary grocery run, you had to spend a minimum amount to get the ticket.
-made vegetable bouillon from odds and ends
-made a stew with produce that was gifted to us
We also made an extra payment on our mortgage to start of in the new year with a round figure. And we made an additional deposit in one of the pension accounts. Our future selves will be happy for these additional payments.
@JNL, When you make extra mortgage payments, please remember to make a separate payment from your regular monthly payment, and to specify that the extra money is towards principal only. This is especially important if your loan is front loaded (meaning your interest is all paid in the early stages of the loan).
@Beth @JNL, and even if you do put a note on the memo line "principle only" and enclose a note, make sure you verify every six months. How do I know this - I requested an amortization report and saw a few payments were not posted as such. The mortgage person had to reverse off all payments back until the first not-posted-right, then reapply. AND ensure our credit report did not get dinged due to it. I started sending the additional principle payment to her attention and we had no more issues after that (though I still did verify).
@JNL @Beth - writing "to principle" on the memo line was the proof I needed to get the payments reversed off and re-posted properly.
I can think of very, very little this week!
1. I went to a party at work which included dinner.
2. I reserved some books at the library rather than buying them.
3. I had a personal training session at the gym which is a good investment in health!
4. I saved a lot of drinks cans and bottles for recycling vouchers.
5. I got a great deal on reduced butter yesterday.
@Sophie in Denmark,
I love the library, put some new titles on hold this week!
Nothing big here either.
1. I pulled out a pair of gloves I grabbed during the Frugal Girl Jamboree giveaway (thank you PD). They look like magic gloves but are much warmer than your typical magic gloves. They have been perfect the past several days.
2. I made a triple batch of GF pancakes for dinner. The leftovers went into the freezer for future breakfasts.
3. I stopped at Dollar Tree and grabbed a congratulations card for my niece-in-law that is expecting her first baby. They still some some cards for $.50.
4. I ordered Target gift cards on Saturday, while they were 10% off. I used my Discover card to pay for them since it is 5% cash back on Target purchases this quarter.
5. I'm reading and listening to library books.
@K D, that's great!! So glad you are using the gloves.
I've been thinking we need to plan another gathering for next summer- to include a celebration of Kristen finishing nursing school! A free swap may be in order as well 🙂
I'm up for that! 🙂
@PD,
I'd love to attend another gathering and Kristen's graduation should be celebrated. I'm sure we all have items we could bring for a swap.
@PD, Sounds like a great idea!
@PD, envious over here on the left coast. . .
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, and I'm envious here in the wilds of Central NY!
@A. Marie, Also envious here in the wilds of Alaska.
@PD,
With enough notice, maybe I could make the trip from Ohio! (Fingers crossed!)
How much notice would you need? Eyeing early next summer, perhaps. Location tbd.
@A. Marie, location tbd! NY is not *too far* from the mid Atlantic region... 🙂
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, SFO /BWI roundtrip currently at $154 on Southwest, and I'm sure one of us will put you up overnight. Come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price is Right!
@PD, Great idea! A get together and we get to celebrate Kristen's graduation 🙂
Yay!!
@Beth,
Wouldn't it be fun if all the members of the Commentariat (or almost all) could go to Kristen's graduation and be her cheering section? OK, I know we can't do it, and I know the school probably has limited seating reserved for relatives, but I think it'd be a gas, as they used to say in the '60's, for them to find out that Nurse Kristen is a blogosphere celebrity with a HUGE following!
Awww, you guys are so sweet!
Some of my fellow students do know that I blog. But I think everyone, myself included, would have a visual shock if the whole commentariat (and readership) gathered in one place. 🙂
@Beth, gas to SFO (250 miles) and parking there will probably triple that price! Southwest does fly out of Fresno, only 85 miles away.
@PD,
I'll keep watching for more details as they develop! The main thing would be me being able to get the time off work. If I drive, that would require a few extra days.
FFT, Road Trip Edition
I was sick Thanksgiving week, so I had a belated holiday celebration with family this past weekend.
--I packed my own driving food: apples, grapes, cheese, water, and the like. The only "food" I purchased was bottled Starbucks to keep me alert during the looooong drive. One Starbucks was free via rewards points in the gas station app, the other two were "2 for $7," which saved $1 apiece.
--I already had everyone's Christmas presents, so I was able to bring those with me and save the cost of shipping.
--My family likewise gave me my birthday presents (several months early) for the same reasons!
--I helped a prepare their house and yard for an upcoming hip surgery. No monies, just effort!
--I was sent home with 30 lbs of venison! My brother still has one deer tag left for the season (he usually has three--he feeds our parents, aunt and uncle, and himself), and there was no room in the freezer for the future deer! I had been forewarned and brought my own cooler and freezer bag; my step-mom saw them, said "Those aren't enough," and brought out an extra, bigger cooler, which I was told to keep. This cooler will go in my husband's car for when he's commuting and has the occasional random grocery run.
@N, Wow for that venison. I miss my former coworker who often ran out of freezer space for this year's venison. He was part of his state's managed cull program so he hunted whether he needed it or not, and he knew I could manage something tasty with last year's venison.
@WilliamB, I wish our state had a managed cull program. Sigh.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I was surprised when a game officer told me 160,000 had been harvested this year where I live. Last year it was 190,000 and there are still deer roadkill. They sure manage and prosper in the wild.
Your meal packing streak is impressive!
1. I managed to find almost all the supplies I need for a workshop I'm taking in January. As much as I love school/office supplies I like saving money even more.
2. I found enough left over yarn to knit my daughter a pair of boot socks.
3. I fixed the strap on my backpack. all it took was five minutes with a needles and thread. Why did I put this off so long?
4. I received two bottles of liquid soap from someone who disliked the scent and gifted her a bottle of red nail polish.
5. And I solved the problem of the itchy neckband in the new nightgown I bought on final sale. I just wear it inside out.
@Darlene, Your solution to wear the nightgown inside out reminds me of Mom. She would often put her nightgown on inside out and I always thought it was funny. Thanks for reminding me of a good memory of Mom.
@Darlene,
Simply Kudos ...
Just wear it inside out.
@Darlene,
An old superstition says that if you wear something inside out, it brings good luck!
But that's a good frugal solution to your problem.
@Darlene, Ha, I do this for itchy neckbands too. I tell my DH that if I’m ever rushed to the emergency room, to explain that I don’t have dementia, I’m doing this on purpose!
@Darlene, I would have put off the backpack repair because of the difficulty of shoving a needle through layers of thick material.
Five Frugal Gift Things:
1) I just got the class list for the gift exchange for my middle son, and the boy he drew to give to only asked for mechanical pencils. Ha. This boy also always wants to eat the cookies I make for my son's snacks at school, so he'll get his own jar of homemade chocolate chip cookies. His parents do not cook or bake, so homemade things are a really big treat for him.
2) The older boy drew the name of a teacher's son. I talked to her at the staff party last night about what he might like, and she was of the opinion that he would really like to have a flashlight and some root beer. Okay. I can do that.
3) My 1st grade daughter was supposed to bring a general gift that was under fifteen dollars for her class exchange. I found a nice magnetic drawing board on sale awhile ago that I think was eight dollars that will be perfect for that.
4) In the past few years, I've gifted every one of the staff at school a loaf of homemade sourdough bread. That's 24 loaves of bread. It takes me two days to make batch of five loaves. I decided I just can't do that this year in the insanity of December, so instead, I gave them all crispy rice treats at Thanksgiving. Not a notable savings of money (each loaf of bread is less than fifty cents, I think), but a huge savings in my stress level this time of year.
5) I will still make bread for my children's actual teachers, as well as our neighbors. And my dad is bringing one of his stunning turned bowls for our priest, so all my gifts for outside-the-family giving are taken care of now. Yay.
@kristin @ going country, I think their are few things as beautiful as a turned wood bowl. They just get better with age.
You have done a wonderful job of giving thoughtful and frugal gifts.
@kristin @ going country,
You are so thoughtful!
@Bee, Yes, turned wood pieces are special. We have a turned wood artist in this area and his work is prized.
@kristin @ going country,
#2 - Maybe a head-lamp flashlight instead of a hand-held one?
@Heidi Louise, That's what I got him, on the advice of my middle son. If there's one thing I know about boys, it's that they love a good headlamp. 🙂
Not a hugely frugal week but...
Filled up the tank with 2.78 gallon gas.
A Men's Club invited our staff to their lunch -I got enough for lunch and dinner so YAY no cooking yesterday.
I have been turning the furnace down when I go to bed rather than waiting for the schedule kick in.
I cleaned my vacuum filters rather than throwing them away. I can get a couple of washes out of them before they fall apart,
Only bought the short list of items on my grocery list, and used up a lot of leftovers for lunch.
1. We worked pretty hard getting snow off our roof. It's a stretch but still a win.
2. Our roof rake broke, but my DH drilled a new hole in it to reattach the blade. I think we should get a better one but this is holding out.
3. We wanted delivery pizza on Friday but I made frozen fish and fries. Asked DH to stop at KFC on the way home for cole slaw. We spent about $5 instead of $25.
4. Made homemade pizza on Saturday and topped with mostly leftover chopped onions and peppers, pepperoni from the freezer and olive left from Thanksgiving.
5. All of my family thrifty gifts are homemade from the reuse bin. Kitchen wipes from old fannel sheets and towels that are now rags, Chex Mix, and handwarmers made from jean pieces.
Great job on packing food every time. I also pack my lunch/food & drink(s) every time unless lunch free at work.
Frugal things---
● FREE 8×10 photo (TMOBILE reward)
● free lunch this week at election recount
● used Christmas cards already had (purchased 2 years ago in BOGO FREE multi pack) for most cards sent/given
● picked up teen Christmas ornament (had $7 Hallmark coupons)
● FREE Hallmark card
● bought Christmas pop up cards/decoration & used $13 Hallmark coupons
● bought (3) pop up cards (Meijer) & got FREE holiday plush & $5 off coupon
● bought soda pop on sale (Dollar General) (4/$13 6pack bottles & $1 2 liter bottle) & used save $10 off $40 coupon
FFT, Drip Drip Drip Edition (revised/updated from yesterday's FFT at the NCA):
(1) My kitchen tap started doing a fast drip right after breakfast on Sunday. My priceless friend Mr. Fix-It came over Sunday afternoon and did his best to stop the drip. He did at least slow it down--but we finally concluded that the entire faucet assembly needs to be replaced. (It dates back to DH’s kitchen renovation in 1988.) He’s checking his extensive stock of parts to see whether he has one that will work for me, and if not, we’ll take a trip to Lowe’s and get one.
(2) Meanwhile, I'm keeping various containers under the drip, and I’m using the collected water to bucket-flush the downstairs toilet, water houseplants, etc. Zero waste here!
(3) And speaking of dripping, the weather here has gone from snow to rain, so I’m leaving the Element outside for the moment to get a free rinse. I didn’t go out too much last week during the snow, so there’s not too much road salt on it to begin with.
(4) I did a round of errands Monday morning that included a PO stop (I mailed off JASNA BFF’s Xmas box and all the hard-copy cards I’m not hand-delivering) and Price Chopper. At PC, I bought the smallest shank-end half-ham I could find at 99 cents a pound, which will take care of my ham needs for the foreseeable future. The meat I don’t use immediately, and the bone, will be frozen for future soups.
(5) I wound up the errands run with two thrift store stops, where I found bargains ranging from Ball canning jar lids to two books to eight votive candles to a very snazzy set of herb jars. In particular, I was running out of votives–but, as usual, the thrifts came through.
@A. Marie,
Only 1988, and it gave up already, eh? 🙂
Your number five had me mentally adding, "And a partridge in a pear tree..."
@JD, OK, now you've done it: I may have just been inspired to do a parody carol, "The Twelve Days of Thrifting."
@A. Marie, please do!
Wow, I think not many would have the discipline to pack all their food from home during a busy season like you! Well done.
DH got sick this weekend and then so did I, so staying home=saving money on gas. Thankfully I had bought enough at the grocery store so we had plenty of leftovers and food for tonight's dinner.
My Amazon cart has stuff in it but I'm holding off until the card officially rolls over. Still going strong on my no buying books streak! I found two Jenny Colgan Kindle Unlimited books to comfort-read this weekend and have some books waiting at the library.
Comfort watching this weekend was Columbo, free with our Prime membership. Classic TV is (often) the best.
@Karen A., I listened to Jenny Colgan’s book, The Christmas Bookshop, as I puttered around the house and did my chores last week. Her stories are very cozy. BTW, I used my library’s Hoopla App. It was frugal of me. I am now listening to Old Girls Behaving Badly by Kate Galley which is a bit of fun. It stars two older women, a manor house in Norwich, and a stolen painting. Not great literature but entertaining none the less.
@Karen A., I watch classic TV shows ALL the time.....Andy Griffith, Brady Bunch...Little House....just makes me happy.
@Bee, sounds as if you would enjoy the Glock Grannies cozy mysteries by Shannon Van Bergen!
@Bee, The Christmas Bookshop was the exact book I read this weekend! It was a re-read, but who among us has never re-read a book?
@Cheryl, We are making our way through classic MacGyver (with Richard Dean Anderson), Highlander, and Brisco County, Jr. with the boys as well. Ah, back when TV shows didn't have to be "gritty" and "real" but could just be fun...
Frugal.
Everything lined up in the Kroger app. This seldom happens. I spent 86 dollars but saved 47. This included meat. Veggies. Fruit. Kleenex. And shaving cream to name a few.
Lots of bills keep rolling it from an ER visit. This has been a bummer. Paying right on time to avoid fees. Also did not pay with credit card but with old school check to avoid fees.
Drove two blocks further away to save an extra 25 cents a gallon. This brings hubby great joy and cracks me up.
Wearing wool socks and hoodies at home. Making tea and coffee drinks at home. Using library App for audio books. Using YouTube free balance workouts ( ER VISIT FROM A BAD FALL!).
Congrats Kristen on another successful semester. WOOT WOOT
@Stephanie, I’m about to start PT for a pulled hip flexor. What was your injury and would you mind sharing which balance piece on YouTube? Good luck with your recovery!
Good for you for avoiding take-out during school days. It's better for your health and your wallet.
I sewed a new zipper into my old fluffy robe. The spool of thread I used was one given to me by a long-ago neighbor who did not sew and was passing along two giant tins of thread and notions from her mother and grandmother. Replacing the zipper cost $8, while replacing the robe would have been at least $40. Mended a dog toy and the quilted cover of my older dog's bed after Demon Puppy chewed a hole in both.
Ate a lot of homemade chicken soup that used up the last piece of roasted chicken. Made a homemade gluten-free pizza for my husband from scratch with some clearanced cup-for-cup GF flour.
@Ruby, Having someone else replace the zipper might have been more than a new robe. Which says more about cheap clothing and underpaid workers than it does about having someone do the sewing for us.
@Ruby, I'm not sure that even Ms. Bestest Neighbor (my "alterations lady") would be up to replacing a zipper. I am, as usual, in awe of your sewing and mending talents.
@A. Marie, a separating zipper like for a robe or sweater is super easy to do -- does not even need a zipper foot on the machine. The only fiddly thing is an old garment might stretch a bit while the zipper won't. My robe came out slightly longer on one side than the other at the bottom because of the stretch factor, but I just adjusted the hem to compensate and it looks fine.
Now a jeans zipper gives me pause. Just getting the old one out of the garment is a major undertaking.
@WilliamB,
Years ago (pre-Covid), I asked around to cost out getting a zipper replaced in my son's Minecraft hoodie. The lowest price quoted was $35, which was more than the hoodie cost. Cowabunga!
FFT, surgery recover edition
- It's still painful to be weight-bearing on foot that has surgery, so DH and I are both working from home this week. staying home=saving money on gas
- Wrapping gifts using paper and name tags purchased after the holidays last year.
- Used Walmart + to have an OTC medication delivered instead of DH getting out to pick it up for me.
- DH continues to prepare meals at home while I am recovering.
- We rescued a shower chair from Mom's hoarding house when we cleaned it out. It came in handy after my surgery and it was nice to not have to purchase one.
@Beverly, wishing you a speedy recovery.
@Beverly, feel better soon!
@Beverly, Keep up the good work.
I read your last as saving a shower from the house, which gave me a double take then a chuckle.
@Beverly, about 20 years ago when I couldn't stand in the shower (broken pelvis—don't ever let this happen to you), we didn't have a shower chair so I sat on an ice chest.
@Beverly, I join the others in wishing you a good and fast recovery. And I agree that it's good to have basic medical equipment on hand for when it's needed. DH and I saved a shower chair, a walker, a potty chair, a small wheelchair, and other things from his parents, and we became the go-to equipment loaners for the neighbors.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, after my quintuple bypass surgery I sat on a five gallon bucket for every shower. I was so proud when I could finally stand alone!
@Kathleen in Kansas, 5 gallon bucket, ice chest—frugal solutions to shower chairs.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
After my neck surgery i used a folding plastic step stool to do my shower while my husband washed my hair. It was the perfect height for that. And ill probably do that again after my back surgery next month
But frugality is a mindset, often each win is really quite small, and of course one should not feel like one has failed if, for example, one forgets one's packed lunch at home one busy morning. It's what you do most of the time that counts!
I was alllllll ready to buy some really nice shoe storage for our quite-narrow entrance area and was fretting about where to put coats and so on. Then I stopped and remembered that we have several coat hook racks and big baskets... and crucially, that we are busy getting planning / saving for a utility room on the back of our kitchen... and a small covered walled in porch by the front and that these HUGE ISSUES will soon be a thing of the past, so...
Definitely true that living a while in a space before buying much beyond essential stuff for basic comfort saves money. It's not to say that building work will be cheap (ha!) but we will get it right, keep it modest and only do what we really, really need for our lives, not for silly transient reasons.
@Caro, very prudent. It takes discipline to look at the bigger picture and wait through the temporary inconveniences, way more discipline than in the olden days before Amazon had everything at our fingertips. One of the things that keeps me from buying stuff to fix a temporary problem is figuring out what to do with the stuff when it is no longer needed.
Kristen, I saw a video of the "We listen and we don't judge" trend where healthcare workers shared how much they spent in the hospital cafeteria that year. Answers ranged from $0 to $1500!! I thought of your $0 streak 😉
Pretty fruitful frugal week for us:
1. We signed up for the local YMCA for free (for both of us!) through an initiative at husband's new job.
2. Since we plan to stay in this house/town/job for years (God willing), and the YMCA is so close and well-equipped, we listed our weight lifting equipment for sale on Facebook Marketplace. We didn't really have the space at the new house for it anyways, so extra space too!
3. My in-laws are redoing their kitchen, which involved switching out their pots and pans due to a new oven, so we are the proud owners of stainless steel pots and pans now! We have been wanting to switch out our Teflon set, so this was extra awesome.
4. I posted our old set of pots and pans on Facebook Marketplace as well.
5. I had some extra heavy cream and made whipped cream for me (for coffee and pancakes) and the pets (a round of pup cups on the house!)
6. I removed the cat hair from a cat tower my girls largely ignore in favor of the window bays at the new house, and posted it on Facebook Marketplace (for a small sum, but will keep it out of the dumpster! if it doesn't move at a small price, I'll list it for free.)
7. Used a giftcard to see Moana 2, we only had to pay $0.76 out of pocket for our 2 tickets. We preferred the original, though.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, it costs money to post on Facebook Marketplace??
Oh, no, it is free!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, no I listed the tree for a small amount. Then I will change it to free if no takers.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, oh, duh, Andrea G/Midwest Andrea, you meant that you asked for some money for the cat thing on FB Marketplace. I get it.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea,
I see employees buying breakfast, lunch, coffee and/or bottled drinks (like Starbucks iced coffee), all in the same day, in the cafeteria of the hospital where I work....every. day. It would be far too easy to spend $20/day doing that. Yikes!
Just another day to go, Kristen, woohoo!!!!
1) Saving coupons I've spotted and cut out from some local mailers, for some fun 'treats' when our granddaughters visit in a couple of weeks. So far I have a BOGO for waffle cones at a fancy new ice cream shop, same for some mini bundt cakes, and $10 off $40 at a fun 1950's themed diner. Our daytime activities should all be free - kayaking, SUP'ing, tidepooling, bicycling, boogie boarding, so it will be fun to have some evening mini-splurges for them to look forward to.
2) Made turkey pot pie with the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers, including turkey bits from freezer and a couple of small baking potatoes. So yummy, and will serve us for several meals. I 'dry chill' the leftovers by leaving them uncovered in the fridge until morning. That ensures the excess moisture from baking the pie dissipates before I cover, resulting in no soggy pastry. I do the same with leftover pizza- it works great.
3) Made a point to pick up instant pudding mix from Aldi's to use a carton of milk fully up before it soured. Side benefit, topping it will also use up the last of the canned whip cream I had purchased for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I don't really do post-dinner desserts, but my husband does, and so he's thrilled, lol.
4) Followed up on a free coffee offer I'd received from a pricey new coffee place, after sending an email to the store manager about a really poor customer service experience on my first visit. Met him while there, and thanked him for his follow up. The coffee is great, truly, even though just silly-expensive enough it's unlikely I'll go back.
5) Picked up more free books from some Little Library boxes I walk past - a Kristin Hannah and an Anne Tyler, two authors I much enjoy. My daughter saw them when she visited, and asked if she could read them next, before returning them to a Little Library box near where she lives. 🙂
When you come up for air after the semester ends- would you kindly repost the make and model of your printer? I have been looking at the refillable ones and they are so expensive!
Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to put the link in the post. I'll add it, but here is the model that is most similar to mine (I've had mine for several years): https://amzn.to/4gaA13Y
Congratulations on another stellar semester! Well done as always.
• I had my women’s group Christmas party. We gave money to a local organization that feeds the hungry in lieu of a Christmas gift exchange.
• I purchased my dessert for the evening from an organizational fundraiser. 100% of the proceeds from my purchase were given to Wreaths Across America. This is was a win-win .
https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org
• Because we decided not to do a gift exchange, I made up some party games including a Christmas Trivia game. Similar games sold for $15 on Amazon. I simply spent a few minutes on the computer typing and printing my own. I had some nice little prizes in my gift stash.
• I used primarily fresh foraged greenery and natural elements along with items that I had on hand to decorate. My ornaments and decorations have been collected over time. Some were given to me. Some were inherited. Each is a special treasure to me. I do not spend money redoing everything each year. I did, however, redo my wreath for my front door this year. It had been damaged. I became a bit carried away when I went shopping at the craft store and bought much more than I needed. I returned the unused items for a refund.
• My last frugal thing is not fun. I have been paid for my recent medical bills from my Health Savings Account. I have cash on hand for these expenses and am paying for them in pre-tax dollars. When facing a potential health crisis, I am truly thankful not to concern myself with covering co-pays. If you are able to partake in one of these specialized accounts - HSA, HRA, FSA - I encourage you to look into them. And please make sure you faithfully have your mammograms.
Wishing you all peace, good health, and prosperity.
@Bee, please excuse the typos. AI seems to correct me from time to time, but isn’t always correct in its correction. I am distracted and haven’t caught these every time.
@Bee, I hope this doesn't mean bad outcome from your additional scan last week; praying for good health for you.
Also sending love your way, Bee!
@Bee,
I get my mammogram every year. My mom, who will be 91 in April 2025, is a long-time breat cancer survivor.
@Liz B.,
Breast, not breat (sigh)
@Liz B.,
And Bee - hoping you're okay. Sending hugs your way.
I'm busy trying to catch up with my Christmas shopping, so I don't feel frugal. I normally am done with it at this time of year, but I'm giving myself some grace this year.
1. I've consistently shopped sales, used free shipping, used earned gift cards, swagbucks (which I don't get much anymore, because our new security program blocks the surveys), whatever, to keep the gift costs down.
2. I filed for my $75 rebate for my yearly order of contact lenses, just as soon as my order arrived at the house.
3. I've covered my greens, carrots and lettuces through the several frosts and freezes, and they have survived. My citrus trees survived with the use of sprinklers through the hard freeze nights.
4. My sister is visiting again for a few days, so we will go see the Allison Family Christmas Spectacular, a private home that does amazing Christmas lights. Donations are accepted, but not required. We will donate, of course, but it's a lot cheaper and closer than, say, Callaway Gardens in Georgia. If any of you watched the ABC show about the best private home Christmas light displays, they've been featured on it before, and they've added a lot more since then.
5. I'm pulling out the old familiar Christmas ornaments and décor. Sometimes things need to be replaced, but as a rule, Christmas decorating costs me nothing, and the Christmas dinner is always on my wedding china using the same tablecloth and napkins as always. I know some people get real enjoyment out of choosing new themes, décor, tableware, and color schemes, and I get it, that's absolutely fine, but I actually prefer to use what I have every year. It comforts me.
Those daily things, like packing lunches is where a lot of savings really happen, isn't it?
1. We decorated for Christmas using almost all decorations we had. We did buy some used outdoor lights. My husband made a stocking hanger using things he had on hand.
2. Our free cat is doing well. We re-named him Nacho. Even though he was free, we've ended up spending money on cat brush,food, litter, air purifiers, etc...
3. We got our new windows in! Let the energy savings begin!!
4. Enjoying some library books.
5. Made an offer on a gift off ebay, and they accepted.
@Katy @ Practical Walk, no such thing as a "free" pet. . .
@Katy @ Practical Walk, tell Nacho that he's now a member of the FG Cat Club!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Ha ha, my DH and I joke about our "free cat"....he was a stray when we took him in....$$$ in vet bills, he requires vet prescribed food, and daily medication for hyperthyroidism. Worth it, sometimes....:-)
@Liz B., we have two "freebies". One was not so bad cost wise (spay, shots, chip, worms, earmites, pregnant), the other is a retirement budget line item. While both are really good cats, he's the best da*n cat we've ever had. Better half was not much of a cat person before this cat. Better half spurred getting him into the garage and hence into the house.
1. I claimed my free Starbucks birthday drink despite being unable to get signed onto the app. When I mentioned this to the associate she was very aware so maybe this is a corporate issue that they have been dealing with for a while.
2. I stopped at Kroger for a head of iceberg lettuce and a few other items I needed for tacos and forgot to add to my original list. This was a happy circumstance though as I was able to pick up the free box of Pop Tarts that they had given me as a best customer bonus.
3. I had a mad craving for the absolutely unhealthy Cheetos Puffs and while I was at CVS to get a prescription for my hubby I used my rewards points to get a bag for free.
4. I used accumulate fuel points to save $0.30/gallon on gas at Kroger.
5. I have cooked every single meal at home and we have eaten ALL of the leftovers. I am making a very concerted effort with this and let me just tell you, not all are on board. The lady with cognitive decline only remembers when she could afford steak at a restaurant for every meal so that has been a challenge. I regret that we are not at the point where I can tell her the taco in front of her is made out of steak and end the battle.
Yay for a free coffee!!
@Angie, Cheetos are my favorite junk food. I wonder how they will survive the upcoming ban of those food dyes.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Especially since Cheetos are a color not found in nature.:-)
I turned all my leftover Thanksgiving turkey into tamales -- 4 dozen tamales. I've been doing this for the past few years and it is a big hit with the friends and neighbors I share with.
I made 8 pints of broth with the turkey frame.
I made two loaves of sandwich bread.
A friend invited me to his business's Customer Appreciation luncheon and I came home with a really nice insulated shopping bag -- something I have been wanting.
I'm trying to get back into the practice of doing yoga every weekday, and have been using free YouTube classes to keep me going.
@Cindi, "turkey frame" is a new term to me. I'm guessing this means the carcass. Interesting!
@Cindi,
I loooooove tamales, but have never tried to make them. What a great way to use up leftover turkey!
*Got a $12 bottle of my Aveeno body wash for $4.50 after all my CVS coupons and rewards. It came with the usual 36-inch receipt with yet more coupons. Sing along with me: “And around and around and around and around we go….”
*I always check the meat counters for mark downs and scored about $12 in savings last week on ground beef and a nice London Broil that went into the freezer for future me.
*Frugal Fail turned Frugal Win?: Two car collision (no one was hurt) left my car unrepairable (boo!) but insurance company paid me just about the same amount I paid for it two years ago (yay!), and I found a replacement for $8,000 less than that (double yay!). So I … made $8,000 on a car crash? Yes. But I don’t recommend this. Really. Don’t do this.
@JDinNM,
Oh my goodness, car crashes are no fun, even if you managed to make a profit. Glad you're okay!
@JDinNM, Spectacular win on the accident aftermath, but I'll pass on considering that a frugal tip. 😉
@Bobi, More like an accidental windfall, if you'll pardon the not very funny pun.
@mbmom11, Thanks!
I stopped by Goodwill to look for a few items I needed before checking out another store. I found what I was looking for (a pleasant surprise) and a book for my son for Christmas in new condition!
We hosted friends for dinner again. It does increase our grocery budget but it’s so much cheaper than going out. We can also linger and catch up longer than if we were sitting in a restaurant.
While I was in Target I noticed a $15 off $60 grocery purchase coupon in my app. I had a few food items in my cart already and I had just finished grocery shopping for the week, but I decided to pick up pantry staples that I knew we would use in the coming weeks.
Another year of not needing to buy wrapping supplies! Over the years we have amassed a large collection of Amazon gift bags from gifts sent to my son from distant relatives. These bags are amazing because they are sturdy cloth and have ribbons on the top to tie closed and no need for tissue paper.
It’s the office norm for my work friends to bring lunch/leftovers from home! Keeping the frugal norms going: library books, leftovers for lunch, shopping from my pantry and freezer, putting on an extra layer before turning on the heat, coffee at home (unless it’s my one day in the office then it’s a Starbucks run where I use the app and use my own cup for stars), batch errands, Upside for gas.
* I bought $500 of target gift cards for 10% off. I get them in mixed amounts, so I can use $10 for teacher/holiday gifts, and the larger amounts for family gifts.
* Gaming my other Target purchases to take advantage of $10 off certain categories of purchases. Candy for gift bags for the holidays, small presents, etc.
*Having my son make ornaments with our 3D printer for the gift bags- we have the filament, and he enjoys using the printer; it saves me the hassle of buying some.
*Husband checked soft tire and found a nail in it. We had to buy a new tire, but he installed it himself, so saved sone money.
* Husband installed the garage heater just in time- another car is leaking fluid, and he'll save us money by pulling it in our garage and diagnosing it himself.
Good luck in your finals!
As empty nesters of an only early twentysomething, Hubby and I have negotiated a "little Christmas" on the years we are not hosting. (He wanted to do nothing.) Newly retired, I had the luxury of time to spend the day "curating" 25 years of Christmas stuff into a "Designer type" Christmas with the challenge of keeping it frugal.
1. We bought a pre lit tree for the first time.
2. I watched lots of you tube videos on incorporating homemade ornaments into a theme tree. ( I love this stuff and have never had the chance tree trimming with my son is about family - not design.)
2. I put all the ornaments we have on a wide kitchen counter. I sorted by style. Rustic browns, golds and deep reds dominated. I packaged up the others for "Big" Christmas box along with light strings and larger independent items. Back in the closet with two boxes.
3. Off to Goodwill in search of UNIFYING elements: Bingo: 20 yards of 3 inch muslin wire ribbon for $2.99 and a 24 box of matching, deep gold ornaments for $1.99. I learned how to secure the ribbon on the tree for a "waterfall" effect. I hade some matching red burlap ribbon that I made three bows with and placed strategically ( top, middle and bottom) I positioned the "new" gold balls to reflect light.
4. Nearly all our "memory" decorations made it in the tree. I had a rustic, table top wooden tree to showcase the rest of DS pre k ornaments. which went on the mantle
5. The only newly purchased items was a 70% off brass tree collar to replace a deteriorating skirt I made 23 years ago. The collar will look great in the renovation. I also discover pre lit garlands. What!!!! I guess I haven't bought decorations for 20 years. They are on the mantle. The final touch was a basket we have had forever on the coffee table with an ancient Christmas tee towel. I filled the basket with our evergreens and the rest of the gold ornaments. Ta - da.
Voila: Little Christmas in two boxes.
@Mary Ann, sounds like a huge project, but I'll bet you enjoyed every minute of it. I have been retired a few years now, and after lugging 15+ bins in from the shed, I think I may take a leaf from your book and sort out all our ornaments and decor. Time to get rid of 52 dozen little ribbons that I never use.
You are almost there!! Good luck! My son has 2 finals this morning, two on Thursday & his last final on Friday. It's his first quarter of college, so he's a little nervous, I think, but definitely ready to be done! 😉
1) Slowly filling out surveys, earning a bit here & there.
2) Used a 20% off coupon to order a Christmas gift.
3) I did something similar to you. Combined a bunch of store credits with a $10 off a $50 purchase at the local grocery store, and stocked up on things we needed. Combined with a few Fetch/iBotta offers. Even still, that particular store was expensive, but I had grocery store $20 rewards (earned from buying gift cards) that made it work.
4) Really wanted to buy lunch out yesterday, but convinced myself to dig through the freezer, where I found chicken & dumpling soup. I also used up a ton of leftovers for dinner, and that always feels good & frugal.
5) Frugal for others: giving away a bunch of expiring soon Hyatt awards via Buy Nothing. I feel like Santa, and it's so fun to help people get some perks during their travel! (These awards are intended to be gifted, so no rule violations.)
Not a lot since I've been away but there were a few:
- Did a thorough job of eating, packing, or freezing perishables before I left. Today I find out what I think about frozen milk.
- Since I was doing a lot of local driving, I kept an eye out for locally-cheap gas.
- Went food shopping before staying at the nibling's at a cheaper store along the drive.
- Packed food for the trip there and back, rather than buying at the appallingly-overpriced station store. Just to give you an idea: $7.50 for a Lunchable?!?
- Did my my exercise walks more than every other day. Good health is long-term frugal, right?
- Today Me is setting up Future Me for success by planning dishes based on all the food I've stuffed in the freezer, and by inventorying the deep freezer.
@WilliamB, I give up trying to figure out "niblings". The first time I saw it on your comment, I thought it was a typo. Now I can tell it is intentional, and my curiosity is piqued.
Clean out the refrigerator crockpot soup. Soak any kind of beans overnight. Add not molded vegetables throw in with beans. Some ham, chicken or hamburger. What ever works. Season.
Cook on crockpot setting high 1 hour switch to low 4 to 6 hour or until done.
Enjoy
1. I forgot to add items to the grocery list for my lunches this week. Instead of running back to the store I dug around in my kitchen. I made pasta with homemade pesto I had frozen. I added homemade sundried tomatoes, the last of some shrimp, and a jar of artichokes I had in the cupboard.
2. I made homemade corn bread to go with a Tennessee pork loin this week for dinner. I also made vegetable stock using some vegetable scraps.
3. I picked up a fan for our camper and an Eddie Bauer sweatshirt off Buy Nothing.
4. My kids and I wanted to see Moana 2. I took them to a matinee at a discount movie theater. For the tickets, popcorn, drinks, and snacks it was only $40.
5. I patched my son's pants and sewed holes in sweatpants.
Wow, I'm in awe of -- and totally applaud -- OP's commitment to brown bagging, especially at such a busy time!
I love that idea of frugality being a mindset. Lots of other people think of being frugal as something "poor" or "broke" or "cheap" folks have to be, rather than making deliberate consumerism choices. And it can be fun to challenge yourself.
We do what we can to make the most of our spending.
• Aldi for most groceries
• Safeway $5 Friday deals (sushi!)
• Costco roaster chicken, whole pizza
• bulk buys (portioning & storage)
• coupons for oil changes
• free Costco tire care
• Univ of YouTube for DIY fixes/repairs
• Mint Mobile $180 12-mos plan
• year-round gift buying at sales
THANK YOU ALL for onspo & sharing.
Oh, I have not noticed Safeway's Friday $5 deals. I will check into that.
And yes yes yes to Mint Mobile. Huge fan here!
@Kay Teval, Mint Mobile for the win!! My husband, me and our daughter use it.
@Kay Teval,
IMO, those spendthrifts who put down us frugalistas are themselves going to end up poor and broke. While we have nice retirements. Because we were, in their words, cheap. We can laugh at them all the way to the bank!
Haha my sister and I had seven children between the two of us. We often added three neighbor kids to that when we went out shopping. We fed them all by buying large drinks, fries and chicken nuggets and dividing them up among each one. Clothes were passed down from one kid to another. I would buy the large pack of hamburger and divide it up into smaller portions. Also used coupons all the time. Some times I could get over a $100 worth of groceries for $20 by using coupons on sale items.
@Melinda, My mother-in-law had 5 children and that great once in a while when there was soda in the house she would measure it out with a measuring cup so no one could claim to get more than another sibling. She was a genius.
1. Using the same Christmas decorations year to year, only adding some that I bought on sale after last year's Christmas. (And always a fresh tree!).
2. Made a hostess gift from items in our yard, we have giant pine cones that I decorate and hang up on Christmas.
3. Returned shoes that didn't fit me quite right. I know that they would have sat unused although I liked them.
4. Bought a Christmas present book with a voucher I get from work to spend every month. Bought another present on eBay and one present will be a hand-me-down. This works because my kids love to thrift and find unique things not found in chain stores.
5. Using up the last of my FSA at the pharmacy, so as to not be left with any credit I loose at the end of of the year.
1. Made mac and cheese from free local food pantry items (for the entire town, not just the truly needy): whole wheat macaroni, cheese, powdered milk, canned salmon.
2. Decorated church for Christmas using items all on hand (the crew I organized, not me because I taught an oil painting workshop that day)
3. Husband and I see the same doc so we made back-to-back appointments for next week
4. Neighbor offered to pick up a few items at Winco, which postponed a trip down the hill.
5. Husband and I removed the stress of Christmas shopping for one another, agreeing that we get what we want and need for one another when the want or need arises.
I was out of commission with a cold/the flu, so I learned to make sopita. Budget friendly, low effort, and delicious.
That was a productive way to convalesce!
this week, I:
1. Found a seamstress who is fast and reasonably priced. Why is this frugal? Because it's allowing us to make use of what we have. My MIL gave my daughter a (very) expensive skirt last year but because she's so thin, she hasn't been able to wear it. Seamstress took it in at the waist and along the sides in a way that I couldn't have done (I lack finesse).
2. Sold some things that were sitting in my garage and gave the buyers a great deal. I'm happy they are getting more use and not sitting in a landfill.
3. Signed up for classpass and have been trying out a bunch of fitness classes for a fraction of the price AND I'm getting back to exercising, which I know I need for my mental, physical emotional health. Found a code on the internet that gave me more credits for the initial trial period.
4. Ordered contact lenses before the year end to make sure I made the most of my vision insurance.
5. Managed my and my husband's retirement contributions to make sure that it was maximized in terms of tax benefits, matches, and monthly cash flow. I feel so fortunate that we now have the breathing room to make choices with this and that my dad taught me early about saving for retirement. When I was a teenager, I would deposit my paycheck into my parents' account and he took that money and opened up a retirement account for me. Since then, I've been dropping whatever I could into that account and now we're in good shape. Sometimes it was a direct deposit split from my paycheck, sometimes we had to stop the contribution because we needed the money for household expenses and for those years I was home with my kids, we didn't contribute. But over time, it's built up.
Even though it's late in the day for this, I want to share this with y'all.
I went to my library's book sale. I had a coupon for one free bag of books because I did the summer reading program. Love free! I went on the member night thinking I was a member. I wasn't but for $10 I'm a member through next December. They have 3 book sales each year plus other benefits for members. This was the first time I made it to one of the sales. It was in the basement and set up like a library, with aisles and categories of books. I was overwhelmed in a good way. I got a huge bag of books that night for $4.50. I did not get through all the categories, so I came back the next day. I had forgotten my certificate at my house the first night. I got my huge bag of free books and another bag for $4.50. I probably would have gone back for more on Sunday but I had no time. I picked out a variety of topics: romance, mystery, self-help, finance, etc. I probably saved hundreds of dollars over buying them retail. I love to read but hate paying retail. I do check out books from the library, but sometimes I want the book for myself.
Thank you for reading this far. I know it's only one item but this comment is long enough. Lol.
For me so far , I’ve been trying to cook more at home , pay bills for a couple of months instead of just one month that way it will shorten my stack and less money to go to waste , and signing up for discounts
All those little things add up! I have small things this week too, mostly.
1. I saw an offer to get an Instacart credit card that gives 5% cash back and get a $50 credit as a bonus. I applied and was approved.
2. I used part of my credit to order some groceries from Aldi. I tried to choose only thimgs that were needed and a good price.
3. I allowed myself one splurge - gluten free, dairy free donuts. Aldi only carries them during the holiday season, and I missed out last year. Buying the identical donuts direct from the compqny that makes them would cost $7.25 a box, but Aldi's price is only $4.99.
4. I have enjoyed free entertainment walking around my neighborhood and looking at all the Christmas lights and decorations.
5. After eating the last of my Thanksgiving leftovers, I thought I was going to have to cook beans for my protein and was really not looking forward to it, but then I remembered some ham that was in the freezer. Did not buy any meat for this week (or eat beans) because past me had saved that leftover ham.
Wow, that's a great list! Especially with all that you have going on with school, phew. Keep up the good work - you're almost to the end of your semester! Lots to celebrate. And thanks for the reminder about French toast casserole - that sounds so, so good and I have half a loaf of challah bread in my freezer I need to use up. Dinner tonight? I think maybe yes!
1. I helped my dad process a deer for my family. The second deer he gets, he gives to us. I reimbursed him for the cost of his deer tag, but otherwise the deer was completely free! And I actually really enjoyed the meat grinding and packaging and stuff we did together.
2. I didn't bring my wallet in when I went on my son's field trip. You're not tempted to buy snacks, candy, or souvenirs when you don't have any money on you!
3. I've done 3 grocery pickup orders in the last week. My time has been short, but this has let us keep eating meals at home and having snacks on hand.
4. I picked up a catering shift today. Only 4 hours, but it's 4 hours I don't normally have!
5. I took in a uniform item to make good on the "school year guarantee" that's provided. The hem on the bottom of my daughter's jumper came apart and it's not one that I could fix very well myself. I should either have a new one by the end of the day or know how I can get a new one. It's the most expensive item she owns, so I'm definitely going to take advantage of the free replacement.
1. Received a free sugar cookie kit complete with mix, icing, candy, cookie cutter, spatula and potholder from my credit card company. (I was so jealous when someone here mentioned they got one last year and was thrilled that I was a recipient this year!)
2. Spent $15 buying ornaments, tree topper and skirt at thrift stores, then used items to decorate a charity tree which netted $55 for the charity.
3. Discovered Pluto for streaming. Love it!
4. Racked up enough gas points to get 25 gallons for $10. (Yes, you read that right, sometimes we get free gas but today we had to pay a whopping ten bucks! 😉 )
5. Went to our favorite discount grocery and scored lots of great stuff for our annual "12 Days of Treats" for our mail carrier. He looks forward to getting to our mailbox everyday this time of year.
My husband is in the hospital, when I go to visit him, I take my meal from home so I don't spend money on take out, but at times I have to so I order from the children's menu.
I canned a 10# role of hamburger and a pork loin that was given to me, in Pint and 1/2 pint jars to use in future .
Aww, I'm sorry you are dealing with a hospitalization! That's hard.
1. bathed our ancient lab at home, instead of spending $70 at the groomer. Actually, the husband did it in his usual way: he gets naked, lures the dog into our 5X5 shower, grabs his collar and holds him until the shower is done. Why did we have to bathe him? Because the Dane, who used to wait until the lab peed and then peed on the same spot, has decided it is too long to wait for his turn, so he pees on top of the lab. We have a huge, huge yard so it is not like there is insufficient room for bladder emptying... Honestly, this animal shelter rescue is the hardest one we have ever had. I keep reminding myself he is 185 pounds of puppy, but I can't wait for him to age out of some of these antics. The other day I found myself thinking
2. Cut husband's hair.
3. In the Safeway parking lot, found a rotisserie chicken, frozen solid, sitting in the bottom of a cart. It was 27 below that day so not likely the person would drive all the way back for a chicken. I brought it home, thawed it and have been using it to feed the dogs. The husband's first words when I told him of my find were, "You are not going to try and feed that to me, are you?" I did think of doing that, I have to admit.
4. Mended seven of the husband's socks. I swear, I am married to Edward Scissortoes.
5. library
@Lindsey, You and the husband (& the ancient lab) are heroes - your Dane stories make me think of Hamlet/You cannot speak of reason to the Dane...
@Lindsey, Oh my goodness... I love your stories!
This is not the most frugal time of year, but here goes:
-We haven't replaced our overheating oven yet (my husband refers to it as the oven "taking initiative"), but have tried some troubleshooting including deep cleaning it (free) and recalibrating the temperature (free). Unfortunately neither of these has worked, so a new oven may be in our future.
-My favorite thrift store is moving locations, so everything was at least 50% off, so I picked up various kitchen items and some children's clothing.
-I greatly limited both extended family gifts, and gifts for our kids this year. Our 9 month old really won't know the difference between new, exciting toys, and fun wrapped (empty) boxes.
-As always, we make coffee and most meals at home.
-I missed out on commenting on yesterday's post, but we keep our heat at 65 during the day and 55 at night (63 in the kids' rooms). It makes more sense to wear more layers than to heat up a big, old house.
I was looking around our propane supplier's website for something else, but came across a $25 off coupon for military/vets and submitted that with the bill for my fill up.
I paid in cash/full for my angiogram today and received a discount for that.
I opened all my Christmas boxes and found wrapping paper, cards, gift tags, etc so I shouldn't have to buy anything like that this year (I try to stock up for next year at the after Christmas clearances).
After my angiogram today, I was told I could come off one of my medications! Woohoo. Better for my health and frugal is a double win!
My brother came and finished the construction on our kitchen and ran our electric for the light switches that had to be moved. Thankful for him and his family to sacrifice as much time as he has to help us.
Other than those things...I just keep spending! This week is a new gas line for the stove and a drywall guy to mud/tape the kitchen ceiling.
@Marlena, I hope the med was Plavix - that is necessary for a year after stents but is one of the suckiest meds IMHO. I spoke up for my dad at an appointment about it (bruising, bleeding, never could get warm). A younger doctor who keeps up with the times. Dad has two of them and I love them both (I am typically not a fan of doctors in general).
@Selena, it was Plavix! And I am sooo glad! I did it for a year and was so excited to come off of it, but then they found I had some narrowing of my artery around the device in my head (it's like a stent, but for a brain aneurysm) and hyperplasia...so I had to go back on it for another 6 months. We celebrated when they said I could finally come off of it yesterday! Hopefully, your dad is off of it now or soon. It is awful stuff...necessary, but awful.
@Marlena, he was off it the day the doctor said he didn't need it. It was sooo bad between bleeding when he had pre-cancerous lesions removed (skin cancer) and his lips were BLUE when it got cold.
because we regularly practice frugal living we were able to raid our pantry and put together a really nice variety of items for a young family who is in desparate need and another trip to the grocers with the charge card is no longer a possibility. What a nice feeling of blessings
That is SUCH a good feeling, when your frugality allows you to be generous.
Last week was INCREDIBLY busy for our family - I was very proud that I managed to pack dinner for myself and whichever kiddo I had with me on several nights of needing to be out & about.
I went to a free "paint a winter scene" class at our local library with my teen daughter, where I used a canvas I had lying around and the free supplies provided by the library to create a Christmas decoration!
My frugal five:
1. Got 4 ugly Christmas sweaters from Kohls using Kohls cash.
2. Filled up with gas at Costco for $2.79/gallon.
3. Got brand new headlights for my 2010 Honda CRV as the ones on it were so cloudy. The car has 77,000 original miles on it (I got it brand new) so I don't mind spending some money on it. The local garage did the job for me.
4. Got a new bathing suit top from Lands End for half price.
5. Getting an abdominal MRI done as well as a stress test and they will both be free as I've met my out of pocket deductible for this year. I've met my pharmacy out of pocket as well so I've stocked up on the meds I could so I don't have to get any til February.
One more:
I have enough wrapping paper and gift bags so I don't have to purchase any.
And another one more:
I've found a beautiful, clean Dollar Tree finally! Hubby and I went there to get the thin mints - a holiday tradition - and we were able to get them. In desperation I bought a bag of Peppermint Patties from Walgreens and then saw the price on the receipt. They were $15.99 on sale!!! Heck no they went back.
LOVE that you've kept up your packed meals streak. Congrats!!
I'm counting packing my lunch always as number one. It's also number one for me because it's important that I like what I'll be eating 🙂
Opened my thredup box quickly and tried everything on, then immediately returned everything I didn't want. One time I had delayed this process and missed the return window (ugh), and had to send returns in as a closet cleanout.
Went to a professional reading/presentation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol at our library (for free) with my husband and friends. The reading was the actual scripting that Dickens used in his US presentations on his tour except that our presenter shortened it a bit to fit into 80 minutes. A fun evening, and we went for food and drinks afterwards.
Meals from the pantry, not the store.
Using up the last of the brown bananas to make muffins this evening.
1. Yesterday, the Stanley Steamer guys came out to clean the tile floors in my entryway, kitchen and den. My elderly dog had several accidents during her final illness and I wanted it deep cleaned. They said they needed something else -- heavier machinery, I think it was or maybe some stronger soap -- and couldn't clean that day. They just measured and then they said we'll send you an estimate later. The estimate they e-mailed was northwards of $3,o00. Yes, thousand, not hundred. After I scraped myself off the ceiling, I decided to comparison shop. Another service quoted me a MUCH lower price, and their techs will be out here tomorrow.
2. I have central heat and a huge LR-DR that is seldom used. It has a big doorway opening (but no door) between it and the entryway. Today, my friend M. and I put up a curtain rod over the door frame and floor-to-ceiling (actually just the top of the opening) curtains (drapes? whatever...) to block the heat in, having shut off the vents in there. I think this will also be more secure because people coming to the front door won't be able to look into the LR-DR and see what's in there.
4. Oh, and the curtain rod was something I already had around the house, didn't have to buy a new one; I'd bought the curtains/drapes just for this project....from Ollie's Outlet....over a year ago.
5. Hard candy Christmas: Filled up a large, fancy (washed-out) olive jar from Aldi's with candy. It was originally one of those fancy holiday gift items, but the olives were eaten long ago. Added some of those hard candies wrapped up in a wrapper that looks like strawberries. Saved the red bow that came with the olives and voila! I have a Yuletide gift for someone in the office. Red bow, clear jar, red and green candy wrappers = very festive looking candy dish with lots of treats inside. The rest of the candies went into another nice-looking jar I had around, one that looked like an old-fashioned canning jar with a glass lid and metal latch; also has a checkered ribbon and bow to dress it up. So two good gifts from things I had around the house. Even the candy was free: Former roommate had ordered a pound or more of candy (not sugar-free) from Amazon; she wasn't allowed to take it into the nursing home because of her diabetes. It may have even been 5 pounds -- it was a huge supply. Since the hard candy is still here and has not expired, it's being used for Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, etc. (Yes, I tasted it and yes, it's still good and fresh and delicious and all that.)
Along the theme of not technically frugal but because are frugal #1 thru #4:
1 - better half installed a storm door for a friend who also helps out some of our other friends. When asked what the friend owed, better half put his hand on friend's should and said "nothing, Merry Xmas".
2 - purchaser of item from another friend (previous post) has an ugly heater to get rid of. Sent him a text with the name of a recycle place. Told him he may not get scrap $ but the item will be off his hands.
3 - while we always tip well at our usual haunts (we get good service), I find it fun to purchase scratch off lottery tickets (more than $2, less than $10). I put on my Xmas head adornment and hand them out. We also gift our mechanics (around $20 each).
4 - my employer matches 501(c)3 charitable donations $1 for $1 up to $1K per year (during Covid they doubled the amount - that is where most of our stimulus money went). So sending out checks with match to local organizations. If you serve as a board member of said organizations, the match amount is up to $3K.
5 - my "boutique" doctor as I call him always checks prices for meds (mine are elective). He's saving me $65 - $95 per 90 day supply one one med.
1. We packed lunches and brewed coffee. We made treats at home.
2. I put in an Amazon order when I thought I had enough to avoid shipping fees. I did pay for shipping so an item would come before Christmas. Boo! The order was 1 toy plus household items we can't get in town.
3. I grouped errands together to save gas.
4. We made a list of presents. I tend to forget what I bought, so the list is helpful. We also buy only 4 presents (wear, read, need, want) plus the Santa gift.
5. The kids had a combined total of 6 concerts over 2 weeks. No one needed new clothes for them. Everyone has nice clothes for Christmas, too.
My frugal win this week was saving a few hundred dollars on plumber costs. We have a bathroom sink stopper that hasn't worked in years, and it slows down the drain because it sits too deep in the pipe. I finally got frustrated and looked up how to fix it. It didn't look hard, but my husband and I are getting up there in years, and I really didn't want to have to lay under the sink on my back to fix it. I looked up rubber sink stoppers, and instead found a metal popup stopper, you just drop into the bottom of the sink. It was well worth the $10 I spent, easy to install, and works great.
I saved at least $75 by buying Christmas gifts for family in England from Amazon UK. I try very hard not to shop with Amazon but overseas shipping prices are horrendous. I paid 99 pence for one free week of Amazon prime and got free shipping on 4 gifts.
1. It's my birthday month so I'm keeping a list of the freebies/coupons I've been sent and making note of how long I have to redeem them. Got my free Starbucks drink today and ordered a venti size in the largest travel cup I have. Spent my Kohl's cash and DSW coupon on items that family members needed to get anyways.
2. Finally got back to posting items to sell on FB marketplace and sold a winter jacket and new Nerf toy already. Happy to get the items to a new home for a bit of cash. Already had a buyer flake on picking up when they said they would, which irritates me to no end.
3. Went through my new toy stash and found some new items to donate to the local toy drive.
4. My kids have a white elephant exchange in the new year at their youth retreat and my son wanted to bring a Hydroflask water bottle. Since their price limit is $20, I found a new one on ebay, put it on my watchlist and got a lower offer from the seller within a couple of days. Now we have a new bottle coming for $15 and I didn't have to buy a newly manufactured one.
5. Shopped for Christmas gifts through Rakuten or Topcashback as much as possible, and paid using Paypal attached to my credit card for 5% cash back on everything I can.
I needed to come up with a game for 80 people on short notice for my Art Group. At our annual holiday meeting, we have an artistic program, then a luncheon. In between, we need to keep people engaged while the Hospitality Team sets up the buffet. Normally, the Program Committee does some kind of trivia game, but the person who does that had run out of ideas. I did it without spending any money.
Here's what I came up with:
1. I rooted through my gift wrap supplies for ten organdy drawstring bags.
2. I collect old Scrabble games, which I find at garage sales and thrift stores, because I love the wooden tiles. I keep them in a pretty jar on a bookshelf. With these tiles, I...
3. Spelled out "Merry Christmas" in multiple languages. I placed each set of letters in an organdy bag.
4. I dug out some very old holiday paper (purchased after Christmas at least a decade ago) and printed the instructions, (Solve the Merry Christmas, then make as many words as possible.) using only black ink. I folded the pages and stuffed them into the bags.
5. Instead of giving an actual prize, I called the tables to the buffet based on who found the most words.
I am the President of this group. It is my mission to help people strengthen their social ties. It thrilled me to no end to see each table working together to solve their riddles. The buzz in the room made my heart sing.
Amy Dacyczyn, you taught me well.
* Last year I asked for ice skates on my Buy Nothing group, resisting the price tag on new ones (about 100$). Yesterday a member contacted me directly, asking if I was still looking for skates. Yes please!
* I am still hosting my Facebook Girls Board Game Nights twice monthly, at home. Costs nothing except a couple bags of (discounted) chips.
* No special Christmas outfit for me. I will be wearing thrifted pants and shirt that I already wear.
* Bought 17 used puzzles for 55$. I calculated it comes to about 1$/hour spent doing them, which makes it a really cheap hobby. My other main hobby is free : reading (public library and free piles)
* Was tempted to call off today but when I don't work I don't get paid, so I got myself there
Here' s my five!
1. My husband made soup using the Thanksgiving turkey neck and gibbets our hosts offered us otherwise they would have thrown them away.
2. Put up the Christmas tree I bought last year on after clearance Christmas sale because our old tree made us sick.
3. I wrapped a bunch of Christmas presents using cloth gift bags I sewed from historical costuming scrap fabric. They look glitz under our tree - for FREE!
4. Switched over the summer clothes in my dresser to winter (small house.) I made some tough love decisions to donate some items that I like but are much too big for me now and did a little closet shopping of pairing old stuff (that fits) in new ways. I always feel like I have more stuff than less when I do this because the clutter stuff seems to hide the other good stuff I have and don't use because I grab the clutter stuff first. Charity run t shirts I'm talking to YOU.
5. It was time to change the scented wax in my warmer. I poured the melted and spent wax from my wax warmer into an old candle jar with a wick to eventually make a new candle. The candles aren't very pretty and can burn weirdly due to the different types of wax in the candle jar but are perfect for storm related blackouts.
I think what you have is still great!
My Frugal Finds
* Batch run errands and saved on gas. While batch running errands ...
- At Dollar Tree, got a few coco bombs for my girls's stocking stuffer and a set of chocolate stirring spoons to go with the mug I got my friend for Christmas.
- Got a few decorative fall items from Hobby Lobby 90% off sale that I was meaning to get like a couple sprigs of berries, a bag of pumpkins, and a bag of nuts and pinecones to finish decorating my fall wreath.
- Went grocery shopping and stock up on necessities at Walmart while my husband was already there. Also got a tin of cookies and coco bombs for my neighbor.
* Went an extra day to volunteer at church to help decorate it and while there, my friend said I could get whatever extra food was leftover that wasn't given out the day before. I filled up on so much extra baked goods like pastries, muffins, bagels, sweet breads, toast bread, etc. and placed them in my garage since it's like a built in fridge already since it's cold outside.
* Met with my dear friend and learned how to make her raisin filled cookies. Bonus was her serving me lunch and sending me home a big tin of cookies we made together.
* Husband made homemade cut out sugar cookies with the girls and used frosting and sprinkles we already had. Made great memories with the girls.
* Put up a real and fake tree this year and decorated them with things we already had. We usually only have the fake tree up and all the decorations go on it but this year, we'll be dividing the decorations between the two trees.
* Used the same Christmas decorations from last year for this year.
* Went to see the free Christmas lights display downtown at night together with my family. It was so crowded so we may plan a trip again on a not so popular night.
* Went to see the Elf interactive movie at the library. While there, also returned borrowed items, picked up reserved DVDs, turned in our ornaments we made for their Christmas tree, and looked for the hidden red truck in their trees so we can put our name in the raffle to win their 5 foot stuffed stocking.
* Went to a company sponsored event where we were given free tickets to see Moana 2 for the entire family. Afterwards, the girls each got a free bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cake for completing their reading log.
* Continue to listen to music, read books, watch movies, and play games at home. Also used up and ate the food up we had at home. Used Ibotta and Fetch. Mended clothes, toys, and decor.
Thanks for introducing me to TPW's French toast casserole. It is amazing!
I:
1. Shopped at Aldi.
2. Made a French toast casserole from three different types of bread, including hamburger buns, and eight eggs approaching their "best by" date.
3. Prepped leftover heavy cream (used in the casserole) to go in the freezer rather than letting it go bad as I normally do. I am honestly proudest of this one!
4. Remembered to freeze some hamburger meat on its "best by" date.
5. Deleted something small from my Amazon cart to stay within our per person limit on Christmas purchases.
1. Shipped presents myself rather than shipped from the store. I thought I was being really frugal, but ended up saving only $3 overall.
2. Won a $25 Amazon gift card at my virtual work party.
3. Bought ice cream at the grocery store and ate it at home to celebrate my son's choir concert rather than ice cream at the shop, which is $5 for a cone (x 4 people).
4. Bought one Advent calendar for three kids to share. It saves money and they get excited when it's their turn.
5. Rather than buy lunch or coffee, I ran errands with my BFF to catch up.
Lets see... what did i do this last week .....
1. Tried out 3 free trial pairs of contacts to decide which i wanted to get with my work vision ins before its cancled in Jan for being on medical leave since last march. I will only have to pay about 15$ for 6 months worth of lens.
2. Dh did his eye exam for new glasses and will only pay 45$ for his new pair.
3. My mom trimmed my hair for me. That saved me about 20$
4. I wanted to give my kids and grand kids goodies for christmas, but being off work i didnt feel i could justify all the expensive candy i normally get them, so insted i made 4 diff types of fudge for them and made a mix box of fudge for each of them. It ended up being about 2lbs of fudge each and what they dont eat right off they can freeze.
5. Daughter is sick so i went and picked up her boys for a while today. I got a 10 pc mcnugget and a 5$ mcdouble meal plus an extra soda and we all ate a fun meal for less than 8$ and they feel like they got a huge treat. Plus we went to moms and mom kept the boys longer so my dd can rest some more.