Five Frugal Things | scratch and dent eggs
1. I bought marked-down eggs
I was going to make waffles on Sunday night and then I remembered: Oh no! I have no eggs!
So I stopped at a nearby grocery store and was about to grab a dozen eggs for $3.29.
Buttttt then I saw that there were a bunch of damaged egg cartons that were marked down.
I wanted to buy them all (!!), but I picked up three 18-count packages. Two were $1.84 and, inexplicably, the other was $2.24.
Regardless, I was pleased to buy them. I got 4.5 dozen eggs for $5.92, and that is a very happy thing given how egg prices have been lately.
Also, I love that this grocery store is helping the damaged goods to not go to waste.
I will always cheerfully support those kinds of efforts!
2. I got a free 10-piece fried chicken bag
I have a bunch of reward points from buying gas at Royal Farms, so I redeemed them for a free bag of fried chicken.
I have the Royal Farms debit card, which gives me reward points AND $0.10 off per gallon.
Mostly I use it for the discount on the gas, so I frequently forget that I even have reward points, and they just pile up in my app.
So on the occasions when I want to have fried chicken for dinner, I usually can get it for free.
3. I cobbled together a package
I sold a pair of boots on eBay, and the boot box was way too large for any of the envelopes I had.
So, I deconstructed two big padded envelopes from Amazon, taped them together, and that made a very sufficient box covering.
If I had a brown paper bag, that also would have worked, but this was a slightly better solution because now the box is a little more protected.
4. I used up avocados and tomatoes with my breakfast
When I make my breakfast, I generally survey my kitchen to see what needs to be used up and then I make a breakfast meal around that information.
Yesterday I saw that some tomatoes and an avocado needed to be used, so I combined those with some chopped onion and a little salt, and that made a lovely side for my fried eggs*.
*made with my discounted eggs, of course!
Making breakfast this way (after surveying the kitchen) means I rarely eat the same thing twice in a row. It's always an adventure to see how I can use up what I have!
5. I...
- sold a necklace on eBay
- continued to eat homemade yogurt (so cheap!)
- made a peanut butter and honey sandwich with the heels of a loaf of bread
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?
P.S. If you have questions about selling on eBay, this post will probably be helpful. It's specifically about selling books, but the concepts here apply to a lot of things you could sell on eBay.
1. My parents are going camping this week and they invite my four kids and I to come. The state park allows two camping units per site. Usually we use two smaller tents, but my parents also have a pop up. So instead of getting a second site I borrowed a large tent from a friend that will fit all of us.
2. Someone at my husbands work gave us gift cards to a BBQ restaurant that is an hour away from us and so I never use them. But it is only five minutes from where we are camping. So I won’t have to cook dinner one night and we’ll eat really amazing pulled pork! (I am packing the sides because baked beans and Cole slaw are incredibly easy to make and cheap).
3. A friend gave me hand me down clothes for my daughter! They will fit next winter and summer. I packed up some of her smaller clothes for another friend.
4. I planted my seeds that I saved from my garden last year. I also went to a local garden center to get plants for my parents and they were half price from what Lowes wanted.
5. I made sausage and gravy from some sausage that Aldi had marked down a few weeks ago. I bought all three rolls that they had and froze them for quick meals.
@Faith,
Enjoy your camping trip. I love your second frugal win. How great that the camping trip just happens to be 5 minutes away from the restaurant.
@Rebekah in SoCal, it was a happy realization!
A quiet week here.
1. I used six very ripe bananas to make a double batch of GF muffins. Most went in the freezer for DH for future breakfasts.
2. I made a pot of GF Chicken noodle soup since I had chicken breasts that were to be used by today. I usually use broken up GF spaghetti for "noodles" but I didn't have any so used GF macaroni instead. It was good and easier to eat. There will be leftovers tonight.
3. Our community held their annual spring yard sale. We walked around and it was a good time to chat with a lot of neighbors. DH picked up six puzzles for $2. On Sunday we saw a giveaway pile in an adjacent neighborhood and picked up a glass bowl that I put on the counter for keeping fruit in. I had been using a bowl DH brought to the marriage almost 35 years ago.
4. My long time pedometer bit the dust before Christmas. I asked for a new one for Christmas and the numbers stopped displaying completely the other day. It had an 18 month warranty so I contacted the company. A replacement is on the way.
5. I walked with a friend yesterday. She was wearing cute pants that she got at a clothing exchange. We popped into the local bread store to check out the half price bread but there was nothing exciting. She is my most frugal friend and I get good ideas from her.
Kristen, my husband is an extremely picky eater, and did NOT want the heels of the bread loaf for his packed lunches. I was too cheap to throw them away and got tired of eating them all myself, so I started turning the heel to the inside on his sandwiches so it was not immediately obvious. I never heard another peep.
I'm sure that savings on bread is why we're sitting on millions today. 😀 😀 😀
@Anne, too funny! "sitting on millions". . . thanks for the grin. And I just told Kristen the same thing about flipping the heels over. My husband LOVES the heels when I pull bread out of the oven, but that's different from storebought bread on a sandwich, for sure.
@Anne, My husband, who is just as frugal as me, likes to shave the outside of the heel off. He has truly amazing knife skills!
@Anne, my mother did not like the heels of the bread, either. So when we were kids she would say, excitedly, "Who wants the heal of the bread?!?" as if it were a prize, or a treat and the kids would enthusiastically beg for heels. At some point I realized I don't love them either. I usually freeze mine and turn them into breadcrumbs now.
@Lorraine, yes ladies, one has to be tricky in dealing with kids and husbands.
Good score on the eggs! I purposefully frequent stores with scratch and dent sections, not just to save money, but to save food! It wasn’t until I worked at grocery store that I realized just **how much** food gets wasted for a multitude of reasons—and that was at a little co-op that let employees take home write-off for free and donated to the local food bank to reduce how much was thrown out.
—I *needed* new shoes, and multiple weeks of searching Goodwill came up with nada. Amazon had a pair of tried and true sneakers in my preferred brand and color for half price (their “new but used/return” option), so I snapped them up. $45 was more than I wanted to spend, but it’s still almost half normal retail, and my picky princess feet and knees (too many years standing in customer service) will again be happy. FYI, Skechers D-lites are great sneakers, especially if you have wide feet! I own at most four pairs of footwear at any given time—winter boots, dress boots, sneakers that I live in, junk shoes for yard work—and take care of them.
—Related, I just mink-oiled my winter boots and polished up my dress boots!
--I combined CVS Extra Bucks with sales to get two bags of food for just over $2. One can shop healthfully if sticking to the dried fruit and nuts (for my husband's work lunches), and they also had spaghetti noodles on clearance for 75 cents a package.
—Our garage trim is on my repainting list for this fall. To that end, I bought two brand new quarts of white Sherwin-Williams Resilience Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint With Exceptional Moisture Resistance (what a mouthful!) for $2 each from Habitat Restore. Come to find out this paint normally retails for $34+ a quart!!!
—Chewy.com had another “Spend $100, get a $30 gift card” promotion. I ordered our boys’ hard food and litter, which were eligible items for earning the promotion, then used the resulting $30 gift card for their soft food, which was not eligible.
—I noticed our internet service was going to go up by $15 a month. I chatted online with a representative, saying that $15/month was a big increase for us, and asked if we were eligible for any promotions. Our account was promptly knocked back to the introductory rate, which was all I wanted. The whole interaction took maybe five minutes, most of which was navigating to a live person on the other end.
I think if I worked at a grocery store, I might have a heart attack over all the food that's thrown away. I think it's not the right career for me!
@N, I love "picky princess feet,"
@N, Our small co-op leaves produce about to go bad out front for people to use for chickens and compost, with a wink since much of the stuff is still good enough for humans to eat. I go there about once a week for the chickens and try to take the stuff that no one can really eat but the chickens will, and items that are so numerous that likely they will not all get taken before spoiling (sometimes there have been literally crates of avocados). I periodically tell the manager how much I appreciate them not throwing stuff in the dumpster.
FFT, Coronation (and Other Things) Edition:
(1) I had the pleasure of attending a small Coronation party on Saturday morning with two of my elders and betters: a 90-year-old Englishwoman who, as a teenage schoolgirl, went in together with two classmates on a wedding gift for the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947; and an 83-year-old Indian lady by way of Trinidad whose parents traveled to England for King George VI and the Queen Mum's Coronation in 1937. The latter lady's daughter also attended. It was good to watch the proceedings with a knowledgeable group of friends, and on a large-screen TV with direct BBC feed. (Remember that I don't have a TV, let alone cable service, and I don't think that watching a streaming on my desktop by myself would have been nearly as much fun.)
(2) I contributed some Walker's shortbread and a couple of Life magazines from QEII's Coronation for the group to look at, and the Trinidadian lady made a Coronation quiche. (I suspect she gave herself a free hand with the ingredients; it tasted a lot better than I imagine the original recipe would have!)
(3) I'm impressed with Kristen's score on the scratch-and-dent eggs. I had an unusual scratch-and-dent score last week myself: three bottles of Smithwick's Red Ale that looked as if they'd come from a damaged 6- or 12-pack. These were on Price Chopper's clearance shelf for a total of 93 cents. I'll drink to that!
(4) I continue not to spend any money on the garden; I've got more than enough volunteer flower seedlings to fill in all my gaps. As noted earlier, I'll be buying two heirloom tomato plants to benefit Dr. Bestest Neighbor's Master Gardeners' group (the next-door neighbor and I will be growing these in pots behind her chain-link fence), but I hope that these will be all I'll be buying.
(5) And I gave myself a mini-vacation on Sunday by driving down to a Thrifty Shopper store by way of three Little Free Libraries (I dropped in four books and took one), and taking the scenic route home. A lovely drive on a lovely day.
@A. Marie, the coronation party with people who have related stories sounds simply delightful. Thank you for sharing that and bringing a smile to my face this morning.
@A. Marie, Any idea why Louis was dressed as Hamlet?
(Though I guess it was really blue-black, rather than inky black).
@A. Marie, Loved no. 1.
Also, I have seen no little free libraries in my town which saddens me and I don't know how to find one. Although I do donate my excess books to a thrift store that supports an animal shelter, I would still love a LFL.
@Heidi Louise, re: Louis's outfit, no clue. But I like the Hamlet suggestion.
Louis was wearing a miniature, simplified military uniform. And the children were in red, white and blue.
@A. Marie,
The coronation party sounds fun!
@Anne, https://littlefreelibrary.org/
@Anne, Could you make a LFL yourself? If you can't put it in your front yard, could you find another place for it? In my area, some LFLs are by churches, Mom and Pop grocery stores and elementary schools - in addition to the ones in people's front yards. I think if I lived in an apartment complex, I'd ask the manager to set one up for all the tenants. The LFL website has suggestions; I've even seen a very sturdy one made out of a dead 1980s microwave oven (they were massively large and very heavy back then.)
@Fru-gal Lisa, an office complex near me (my eye doctor and my financial advisor are there) has a nifty LFL made out of an old newspaper vending box.
@Anne, Here's a link to a searchable map for Little Free Libraries! And the site also has advice on how to start one. I am hoping to get off my duff eventually and work on getting a little free library at our nearby park.
https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/
@A. Marie, I could be incorrect, but it seems to me that LFL's are more common in the States, I very rarely see any on my travels around my vicinity. The street just south of me has a LFL; the property that it is on has just been sold, so I'm wondering what will happen to the LFL, whether the new owners of the house will keep it going. I really hope so, as there are not many LFL's around here; the one above, and 2 more about 2 kilometers away from me, that's it for my area.
@Anne,
Take a look at littlefreelibrary.org and use their "Little Free Library World Map" to see if there are any in your area. I live in a smallish town, and I can think of at least 4 LFLs near me (I consider myself lucky in that regard).
@Anne, You can start your own LFL! In my small town there are many and they’re made out of lots of things like converted kitchen cupboards or newspaper vending machines. Or, lots are constructed from simple designs on the LFL website.
I get hundreds of books every few months. I make sure to remove any that have hung around a bit, taking them to other LFLs or donating to the Public Library for their annual book sale when they really mount up. I also take ones out to read then return.
People come to depend on stopping by on their walks and put fresh ones in as they take others out. It’s soo much fun!
@Anne, you should build one! First find a convenient place that won't disturb a business or drive-through or anything, and get permission to install an LFL. In my case it was the local huge supermarket -- they had several parking areas, so mine is sort of off to the side, but still within sight of entering people. Than (and this was the hard part) find someone to build one for you. I happened to know a woodworking guy who was happy to donate time and help with the installation; I just paid for the wood and the paint. Luckily we have a local church whose mission is reading, they run a free lending library twice a month, and operate in a church basement -- THREE WHOLE ROOMS FULL OF BOOKS! I chose a mix of adult and young adult books and loaded her up! I "advertised" that it was up and running on Craigslist. I go once a month, other people drop off books all the time, and it's going great guns! (We also have a lady in Muskegon who put one in her front yard!)
@Heidi Louise, this made me giggle. I think his suit was modeled after the suits the pageboys wore.
@Fru-gal Lisa, great idea, but my HMO would not let us have one in front of our houses. My husband would love to build one but don't know where I could put it. I'll think on it.
@Linda in Canada, I am on Vancouver Island and Victoria, in Particular, has (literally) hundreds of LFL's. My daughter lives down there and I pass at least 6 when I am visiting her.... - I live in a more rural area up-island, and even so there is one about a kilometre from me, on a fairly quiet street (although near a school). Vancouver seems to have them all over the place, as well. Mind you, Victoria just had what they figure is one of the biggest used book sales of the year, raised 1/4 million dollars in two days with volunteer labour and donated books (selling for $2 or $3 each, mostly) , all money raised goes to support school libraries all over Vancouver Island (and the librarians get to scrounge from the massive loads of leftovers on the Monday after the sale)... We are mad readers, on the West Coast...
Five Frugal Thing, travel edition:
1) We've been creatively eating down our fridge in preparation for an extended trip, so this weeks grocery spend for two adults was just $39. Lots of eggs, cheese, tomatoes, avocados and fruit being eaten - Bless my husband's heart for being so flexible!
2) Remembered to pause our streaming services, plus our local wine membership, both easy $$ wins.
3) Downloaded several library books onto my Kindle, and will continue to do same as needed during our travels. I prefer paper books at home, but eBooks for the win when we travel.
4) Made a reminder to set hot water heater to Vacation setting, particular with the crazy increase in natural gas pricing we experienced earlier this year(!).
5) Purchased several Rick Steves travel books for the areas we'll be visiting, which while not free upfront, will save us untold amounts on the backend in that we can explore on our own and bypass taking any $$$ tours. Plus it's just more fun!
And while not frugal per se, I will say that by thinking thru every aspect of our trip before we leave, the budget I set should be more than adequate, and not be blown apart by any surprises. I don't mind spending money for travel, but I loathe when poor planning catches us flatfooted!
@Tamara R, We just returned from a wonderful trip to Italy. Rick Steves' guides are excellent but not substitutes for good local guides! Also, we were glad we had extra funds available to us when my passport was stolen and we had unplanned expenses to stay a few more days. There is no such thing as emergency instant passport replacements, hotel days, or extra food expenses. People were kind and helpful and we were glad we had no injuries or hospital bills, but we had to buy extra medications and were glad we could afford to cover them. I will probably not use a backpack again, and stick to crossbody bags and money belts, keeping valuables inside my shirt.
I have literally never seen marked down milk or eggs etc in a supermarket here. We have some strange milk laws in New York State which is why, I assume.
I did not make coronation quiche but I did make coronation chicken, which is one of our favorites anyway. In any case not a big fan of King Charles--just had an idea for coronation chicken!
Let's see, what was frugal? I planted moss in bare spots in our garden. It's quite shady and I prefer not to have the gardeners mow inside the dog yard, so moss is good. There's already hostas and ferns there from previous years.
We read books from hathitrust and gutenberg online--I am trying to get my son into Trollope but it's heavy going, as he's not into novels. He prefers Kierkegaard to anyone else, the weirdo. Buuuut he's interested in Episcopal/Anglican church history, so I said, "Have I got a set of novels for you...." I used to have all the Barchester/Palliser novels in hardcover but they went in a tag sale.
This week will be another Not Frugal, as it's Mother's Day and I am hosting at a restaurant and I even invited Mom's BFF as a surprise. And sent her roses from Grace Rose Farm.
@Rose, Their roses are beautiful!
@Rose,
As a fellow weirdo, I was reading Kierkegaard's Either/Or at the ripe young age of 14. 🙂
@Rose, I've never seen marked-down eggs in a supermarket in Central NY either. But my Price Chopper does sometimes have RFQS milk and half-and-half, which I grab whenever I see.
@Steph, My son majored in economics (fine) and philosophy (ugh!) in college. I always thought I would like philosophy until I took a course (in college) and then I loathed it. Still do. My son, however, started taking philosophy courses in gifted-child nerd camp starting at age 11. Yeesh.
@Rose,
Probably easier to get a job in economics than in philosophy but I love that he majored in both. Sounds like a well rounded young man!
@Steph, He also talked his way into an invitation to the Cannes Film Festival* for the second year. I could go on and on about how amazing he is, but suffice it to say he's tall, dark and gorgeous; erudite; funny as anything; and well rounded, who can't wait to meet Martin Scorsese at the film festival. His day job is being a master of the universe on Wall Street.
*You have to be invited. I didn't know that either.
@Rose,
Clearly, all his finest traits come from you.
Sounds like the type of young man I'm hoping to raise, although mine is a bit younger than yours.
@Rose, My college boy is still undecided in majors. I'm trying to convince him that he can so something practical AND something "fun." We'll see what he lands on. Right now, if he could, I think he would declare a major in music-literature-business-theater. But that's only because he hasn't had a class in history, philosophy, art, etc. (Did I mention he's in the juggling club but doesn't know how to juggle?!)
1. I'm meeting my daughter's fiance this evening at Lowe's where he will pick up mulch for me in his pick up truck. In return I will pay for their mulch. It's less expensive than having it delivered and helps them out also.
2. I called and had my EZPass account credited. My transponder was mislabeled in the factory and I've been paying someone else's tolls.
3. I clipped my dog's nails myself. I made dog ice cream with home made yogurt, freezer bananas and a spoonful of peanut butter. I also made homemade dog cookies.
4. I took advantage of a great deal on wine, canned cocktails and hard cider at a wonderful locally owned grocery store that has relocated and expanded. It has some great local offerings and beautiful produce. I consider a visit to this store more of an entertainment experience rather than a chore.
5. I did my laundry and hung it on drying racks. I'm cooking from scratch. I'm reading library books on my kindle...
@Jill A, I wish I could clip my dog's nails myself. I've had my own dogs since I was 20, which was ᵐᵘᵐᵇˡᵉ years ago. Betsy the coonhound is the first dog I've ever had that I couldn't clip the nails. She is a big, strong dog and she absolutely freaks out. (Many of my dogs were upset, but that's what a muzzle and a helper to hold them down is for!) She had a very rough start in life, so who knows. So it's the vet for her. On her last spa day there, the vet said, "She's a lively one!" My son translated: "We've got a biter!"
I used up avocados too!
1. I used up some beauty/hair products I don’t love. I’ve been slowly working through the stash that has grown from years of moving and being picky and having extra cash. I won’t have extra money soon, so I’m being cautious about stuff.
2. Having good friends: I’m sure without my awesome tribe, I’d need so many more counseling appointments.
3. Started labeling leftovers with stickers to remind me which day I made the food. This has helped reduce so much food waste.
4. Made all my coffee at home, used entertainment options that are free, bunched errands, didn’t buy anything unnecessary.
That’s it. Not exciting or unique. But I had no fails or disasters this week, which is a win.
Just sending love your way as you navigate this path.
I have found some comfort in being able to live frugally...like, so much of life feels out of control, but hey, I can make coffee at home. 🙂 I bet you feel the same way too.
@Kaitlin, your #2 is fantastic: wise, and it shows you are retaining a sense of humor through this terrible time.
@Kaitlin, I couldn't get by without my friends either. I'm glad that you too have good ones.
@Kaitlin, re your number 3 - labelling leftovers. I use the green painter's tape, write the date and rip off the piece; the tape is on a roll and it takes me a long time to get through the roll.I do the same for leftovers that go into the freezer, I date it and write what the item is, this is also transcribed onto a "freezer list" that I keep on the side of the fridge. Agree wholeheartedly about it helping to reduce food waste.
@Linda in Canada, I always say I am going to do this...and then I open another package of frozen tomato soup that turns out to be pumpkin pulp.
1 90% of my weekly shopping list consists of recurring items. As always I went through them to see if I could buy them at a discount to stock up (within reason)
2 I mended a tear in my sportswear
3 I used a gift voucher to buy a pedometer after my old one broke down
4 We glued and clamped a wobbly wooden chair
5 We bought one second hand book and borrowed several in the library
Plus I did a lot of free Wordle games over the weekend. It is very addictive, so I am on a just one a day regime until next weekend.
@J NL, Your first point-- Much of grocery shopping is recurring items-- is very important! If I will use the items before they spoil, I will stock up on sales.
1. This is mostly my husband - I just helped retrieve tools and clean them when we were done - but he finished the repairs on our van. A friend who works with vehicles a lot guesses that we saved at least $2,500 in labor by my husband doing the work himself. It's also been nice to see him get really good use out of some of the specific tools he's gotten in the last year or so.
2. My husband and I are going to a show this weekend at his work and I was putting off buying tickets until I had a babysitter confirmed, but the delay worked out great because he got comp tickets through work and we saved $70. I guess this is more luck on timing than anything else, but it's a significant saving so I'm counting it.
3. A couple of meals I made last week had lots of leftovers, but we were able to use them all up before they went bad!
4. I replanted green onions.
5. We're finishing up our financial aid requirements for our kids' school (almost done!) Our financial aid package is unbelievably good and well worth the time to fulfill all of the requirements.
Frugal Fail: I normally snack on some nuts right before grocery shopping, but since I had to drive my husband's vehicle yesterday instead of mine I was snackless and therefore ended up grocery shopping while hungry. My grocery list was short, but grocery shopping while hungry went as bad as you would expect it to go. Yikes. Good thing it's early in the month and I can make up the difference later.
Everything looks SO delicious when you are hungry. 😉
@Ruth T, could you elaborate (or give a website) to explain about replanting green onions? Thanks!
Just stick them in the dirt! And they grow! https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/five-frugal-things-you-guys-i-gardened-a-little-bit/
Also here you can see them growing a bit: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/five-frugal-things-well-hello/
You don't even have to put them in the dirt. Just some water is fine.
@Central Calif. Artist, They grow super fast. After using the green tops, I usually stick them in a small jar of water like Rose suggests and you'll see growth within the first 24-36 hours. Then I take them out to the yard and stick them in the ground when I can get around to it.
@Central Calif. Artist, One of Kristen's recent posts was my inspiration to do it!
@ Everyone, thank you!!
I must have hit my hand and it knocked the stone in my wedding ring sideways but it did not fall out of the setting so very frugal.
There are at least 25 new raspberry shoots in our garden out of the 2 plants that my son got me as a gift last season.
My brother gave me the handmade blanket he bought for mom while he was in Mexico.
While cleaning out the house we found that dad had kept the children's table we had when we were kids. I already have the chairs so now it is complete.
I received a free car wash when I get my oil changed. It's something.
@Mar, the raspberry comment made me laugh. We got three tiny starts last July and I think we've seen six new starts so far. Prolific little plants!
1. Continued cleaning out flower beds and putting out mulch instead of paying someone to do it. It will take a lot longer for me to do it but at least it's cheaper and I get some vitamin D.
2. Bought two salad kits for $0.99 each to take to work for lunch.
3. This week's menu was planned around what we had in the house and what was on sale at the grocery store.
4. Got only a few gallons of gas at the station close to the house to hold me over until I can get to Sam's club. Sam's gas is about $0.30/gallon cheaper so I will stop by there after work since it's close to my office.
5. Continue to work out at home using streaming exercise program. Also, talked our son out of paying for a gym membership since he can go for free once his college classes start in a few weeks.
Instead of buying cards, my kids made cards for teacher appreciation week. We did buy flowers. The thermostat has been on eco for the past week. Using up groceries we have to reduce food waste. Enjoy your week!
@Daria, trust me, your kids' homemade cards and flowers will be much more appreciated than the usual teacher tschotskes (mugs, plaques, etc.). I can't tell you how many of the tschotskes I see in my thrift shop travels.
@Daria, I was a teacher and felt terrible about throwing away cards I received! A family tradition is making homemade cards for all holidays! Store bought cards can be very expensive and we have fun drawing and coloring things we know each person will like.
My girls and I made a trip an hour away on Saturday (batched a few errands along the way), and spent almost 5 hours with my grandparents at their house cleaning and organizing for them as a Mother's Day gift. My grandma is having surgery in a few weeks, and I thought this would help her feel a little better as they are both in their 80s and are still in their house, but need extra help cleaning and organizing things. My 8 year old pulled out all the kids books from the play room, dusted them, and sat near grandpa so he could go through all of them and sort them into 3 piles for their 3 kids to go through and take home with them. My 12 year old was in charge of dusting all their living room decor and knick knacks (so much dust!), and I tackled their living room windows and doors, scrubbed their shower, and tackled cleaning and organizing their big linen/toiletry cabinet in their bathroom. We helped them sort through and get rid of so many things, I took trash out immediately, Goodwill stuff went with me as well to drop off for them, and we bagged up some old towels for my uncles to use on their farms and some other things for them to drop off at their church for donations. I plan to go back and help more as I have time, but they were so happy with what we were able to do for them and that was a better gift to them than any "stuff" we could have bought them, plus we got to spend time with them!! Not super frugal as I picked up a few groceries and things for them but all in all, I felt way better about the expense vs. buying a bouquet of flowers!
@Jen, what a lovely gift! And, I'm sure your family appreciated both the time & the organization/cleaning more than flowers.
@Jen,
That was a wonderful gift!
@Jen, what a generous, helpful gift! Big kudos to you and your kids!
@Hawaii Planner, My aunt told me that it was a gift to her kids, not just her, because it's one less thing for everyone to have to deal with. As little progress as it felt like to me, I know it was huge for them!
@Jen, I add (to what everyone else has said) my compliments to you and your kids. You're a good daughter, and you've raised your kids right.
@Jen, One of the most thoughtful gifts I have read about! And what great parenting to involve your kids.
@Jen, What a wonderful thing to do. Most of us don't need more stuff but this kind of help is the best gift of all.
1) Remembered to cancel our delivery service meals, after the two week close to free options expired. Related, I didn't have time to make the last meal, so I incorporated all of the ingredients into something else, & froze the protein.
2) Made protein bars, & used a lot of odds & ends from the pantry. I was out of oatmeal, but able to use some oatmeal packs I picked up off of BN. They were flavored (and, given away because several people didn't like the flavor), so I was worried about how they would taste. So far, my teen hasn't uttered a peep. I also tossed in the end of a bag of Trader Joes mini chocolates, in place of chocolate chips, & heated up some crystallized honey from the pantry, so I could use that.
3) Canceled our yard service. They raised the price by 40%, and I'm about to quit my job. My husband & I have agreed to split the work until I leave my job, and then he'll show me the ropes to do it myself. It was a fine time saving/money tradeoff when we were both working a lot, at the original price. It's not worth the hourly rate at the new price, let alone if I'm not working.
4) Bought gift cards at our local grocery store, earning $60 in grocery store rewards. Also, played their little scratch card game, and won another $1 in store rewards.
5) Organized our pantry, gave away a ton of stuff on eBay, returned a few things I bought & didn't need, helped teens with additional paperwork for summer jobs, etc.
Your make-shift eBay packaging reminded me of my own. I had a perfectly sized box to use for a particular eBay sale, but it had another shipping company logo, plus some stubborn barcodes that wouldn't come off, so I broke down the box, flipped it blank side out, and retapped it for shipping. It always makes me happy to reuse something in a creative way!
Ooh yes, I have done that before too! Such a handy trick!
I was just thinking yesterday while my eldest son (13) was helping me move dozens of boxes of books to their storage place at school: I am so grateful to have kids who can actually do things now. They can herd the sheep, shoot snakes near the coop, feed the animals, feed themselves, dress themselves, read, split and stack wood . . . they're so capable and my life is SO much easier in many ways than it was even just a few years ago.
And they sleep! Through the night!
So if you're in the trenches with multiple small children, allow me to be your beacon of hope. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, Wait, wrong day. It's not Thursday yet. Oh man. We are SO CLOSE to the end of the school year, and it's messing with my brain. Anyway! These things are also frugal in some way, I'm sure!
@kristin @ going country, Okay, an actual frugal thing: We ran out of chicken food last night, but my husband isn't going anywhere with a feed store until tomorrow. Fortuitously, half a gallon of milk was declared unfit for consumption by my children yesterday, and it was a weird kind of sour--not the kind I can salvage with yogurt or pudding or ricotta, but a very unpleasant sour. Not food for us, but the chickens don't mind! I heated the milk and added an entire box of the Malt o Meal cream of wheat we get by the case from the excess commodities. In return, I get eggs. Good deal.
We had ANOTHER 1/3 of a gallon that was regular sour-ish (sometimes this happens with our milk, probably something to do with the distance it travels), and that is becoming pudding for the humans. In which I will use two eggs from the chickens. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, you don't have to pay anyone to do all those things, and while your children are doing them, you can be doing other frugal things. (How's that for frugal thankfulness?)
@kristin @ going country, Having teens to help with various outdoor chores can save quite a bit on lawn care, as I've found out over the years! 😉 And frees you up to do more frugal things, as well!
My kids would love to shoot snakes near the coop! We don't have any bad snakes on LI nor do we personally have a coop nor chickens, but they can dream.
My son excitedly told me a few years back that he'd gone skeet shooting with his friend and was pretty good at it, and I said, "Thank goodness. The Hamptons has a serious overpopulation of skeet."
@Rose, your comment made me laugh out loud. 😀
@Rose,
Lol! I love your sense of humor!
@kristin @ going country, Fairbanks is at the end of the road, too, and our milk seems to go sour even before the sell-by date. I wonder sometimes if the trucks that bring it up the highway are not keeping the loads as cool as they are supposed to. It is very frustrating.
I started to eat bread heels when I became an adult, but never had the opportunity to eat them growing up - the heels were my dad's favorite slice of the bread. I don't think I've personally known anyone else who requested them, besides him.
Frugal things:
1. I was pulling the top sheet up to make the bed when the wide hem at the head of the sheet separated from the sheet for about 10" along the seam. I repaired it and reinforced another spot or two I found. I've already repaired both pillow cases. These sheets are not going to hang in there much longer, but I'm keeping them as long as I can.
2. I cut stevia and marjoram from my plants and dried them.
3. I had a routine dental check up and was surprised to get a bill, since insurance covers routine checkups. I called - it turns out there was a coding error on their end, oops. It only took 5-10 minutes to get it straightened out.
4. I had a mess in the back of my SUV from hauling off rotten wood, so I used my shop-vac and vacuumed then cleaned the entire interior. I had been very, very tempted to go to a car wash and get it done, but I can do this myself.
5. I have never seen marked down eggs. But I did recently find and buy several marked down cans of organic coconut milk due to minor scratches and dents.
@JD, my favorite bread is the heels of sourdough, because it toasts so beautifully, has concentrated 'sour' taste, and the butter soaks in the crust rather than running through the other side and dripping out when it's hot. A toasted buttered sourdough heel is probably one of my favorite foods! It's a shame you only get two per loaf, ha!
@JD, your #4 may just have inspired me to get out one of DH's shop-vacs and clean out the interior of our faithful but grubby Honda Element. The Element certainly deserves it.
It’s been quite an expensive week as I’ve been traveling and the exchange rate for Norwegian currency is so bad as I’ve never experienced. But having the opportunity to travel is my main reason for living frugally and I’ll use some of the great advice in the building a buffer post to make up for the overspending.
1. Didn’t eat out for any dinners that wasn’t included in the group price already paid. Shopped at a supermarket and made simple meals at the apartment we rented.
2. Only souvenirs I bought was two posters from the national art museum for our empty walls in the renovated wardrobe/exercise room/extra sitting room.
3. Bought some Faroese wool though. But will add it to frugal since it was half price from Norwegian wool and I need a lightweight cardigan for our chilly summers.
4. Didn’t spend a dime in the airports since I had access to SAS lounge.
5. I’m reaching here, but I’ll add that I didn’t buy anything new for this trip (did order hiking pants, but they didn’t fit so re-sold them before going). I was just a bit surprised to hear the others in the group discussing all the things they had “needed” to buy, so I’ll give my self a pat on the back for refraining to shop beforehand.
I suddenly remembered that I have an actual frugal win: I filled half my onboard suitcase with empty, tiny wine bottles, ha! None of them from myself, but I happily took them for making soy sauce from foraged mushrooms in the fall. I give lot of it away so it’s nice to not having to pay for the bottles.
@Gunn from Northern Norway,
My daughter is going to Norway for work next month. It sounds as though summers can still require jackets or cardigans, is that right? She's coming from Florida, where people nearly melt from the heat every summer, so packing for the weather has her doing some research.
@JD, it depends of course where she is going as up here I would recommend in addition a thin down jacket, but it’s safe to say that she’ll have a use for jacket and thin cardigan everywhere in Norway, even in the summer.
But most larger cities have decent secondhand stores so it’s quite possible to buy it here cheaply if she doesn’t have it already.
If she’s planning to do any hiking in her free time, please let her know that it’s very important to have warmer clothes and wind/rain jacket in her pack even though it’s shorts and t-shirts weather starting out. I’ve met so many cold and miserable tourists in jeans and sneakers hiking when I was living down south.
I've never seen eggs discounted like that!
I got some discounted meat at Walmart this morning. I've been going grocery shopping right after school drop off once a week, and I always look at the meat to see what the marked down deals are. I always find something! It saves quite a lot of money.
@Tammy, Ditto on the meat markdowns, not just at Walmart but all the grocery stores around here. They seem to do the discounts pretty far ahead of the sell by dates, so it's safe and easy to pick up nice cuts (short ribs!) or deli meats for big savings and put it all in the freezer for future use. Always get at least 50% off. Just have to remember what's in the freezer!
1. Brought a box of books to a bookstore and received $32 in cash. (I could have received $50 in trade credit but opted for cash since I'm flush with books and won't be near this bookstore in the future.)
2. Purchased three high-quality counter stools for $25 (for all three) from Craigslist for our temporary apartment that doesn't have a dining table. If our future house doesn't have a place for them, I plan to relist them for $50 or more.
3. Experienced a thrill when I went to the thrift store and found EVERYTHING on my list. Extra thrilling since they were all "they probably won't have this" items.
4. Used $14 in Target Circle Earnings toward a new vacuum. And chose free delivery rather than picking it up ourselves.
5. Continue to use the quick wash cycle for all of our laundry. Haven't noticed any difference from a longer washing time. Not only does this save energy, but it makes laundry seem less arduous.
1) Hit up Wegmans late Saturday night and yesterday afternoon (we have learned that late night is the time to go for the RFQS meats). Along with low cost meats that we will freeze for meals, we got 4 pkgs of chicken thighs for $3.84ish each and Italian and breakfast sausages that we promptly canned to put up on the pantry shelves.
2) Grabbed some dollar deals at neighborhood that included $1 avocados and 2 for $4 green beans.
3) Got a bbq takeout date night meal for 2 for $10.61 on the TGTG app.
4) Used my husbands work T pass to get into town. He is mostly WFH now so its great when I can use it and not have to pay.
5) Got an audiobook from the library.
1. I made our meals at home. We made meals to use up food.
2. We combined errands.
3. I replaced the laces on my kid's shoes; that kid destroys shoe laces.
4. We enjoyed free entertainment, including a youth orchestra concert and Star Wars day themed fun. We also enjoyed a board game from the library.
5. I rearranged furniture and decorations instead of buying new stuff. My mom is deep cleaning her kitchen and offered us some items.
6. I cut up old shirts for cleaning rags. I cleaned the washer myself and took apart the dryer to vacuum the lint out. I cut up jeans to make a quilt.
7. We picked a paint color for a bedroom and now we wait until there's a sale. I'll need at least 2 gallons of primer to cover the glow-in-the-dark orange that the oldest kid picked initially.
@Nikki, if we were neighbors, I'd hand you a pile of shoelaces (WHY do I have so many extras??) and a few gallons of weird paint colors to cover the neon walls.
About those discounted eggs: did you peek into each carton to see how many were cracked?
About using bread heels: if you flip them so the outside is next to the filling, they don't seem as dry.
About all those discounts and freebies: I have concluded that those are a benefit of town and city living. Those of us in rural areas don't have franchises with buying incentive cards and apps. The upside is not continually facing temptation. Limited options=limited spending.
FFT:
1. took clippings from a friend's yard to start in pots (because the last time I tried, we had a short heat wave and they all died in the ground)
2. listed a pair of Crocs on eBay (because they were a different style from my normal ones and don't feel right)
3. made a pot of beans (did I say that last week? still eating them. . .)
4. finished a sweater using yarn from a former neighbor's stash, finishing the edges with a different yarn when I ran out (because I tend to buy/accept the same colors over and over)
5. put a pile of books on hold at the library (because I don't seem to want to read the ones I already own)
@Central Calif. Artist, Taking this opportunity (since I was OOO last week) to compliment you on your stunning painting of the pear. As a longtime curator in a Fine Arts museum, I’ve seen my share of Still Life fruit! I would hang your pear and would love to see more of your work.
@Erika JS, Aw shucks, thank you! That means a ton to me. My website has been hacked, so it works sometimes and sometimes not. Sigh. (I paid a company to scrub it and I am waiting. . .) It might work for you if you use cabinart dot net (not putting the actual link in case it is wonky).
It's so cool that your use-it-up approach extends to breakfast, Kristen.
My FFT this week:
1. Always sewing: Mended my bathrobe and replenished a bed pillow that was getting flat.
2. My husband refinished and sealed the wooden parts of two wind chimes. These are the large, low-tone chimes and were expensive back in the day. They look beautiful and this keeps them functioning.
3. Grated up two slightly wrinkly apples to use in apple muffins. Made pancakes and scrambled eggs to use up some reconstituted powdered milk leftover from making pudding.
4. Chewy sent me a $15 gift card to lure me back into making an order and it worked. We stopped a few months ago due to delivery issues but did receive this order.
5. Tidied up the drawer of the china cabinet and discovered some missing kitchen tools. Organization is frugal!
1. Received a free Publix gift card for $20
2. Shopped for all our organic fruits and vegetables at ALDIs
3. Borrowed two library books I contemplated buying
3.Cooked all our meals at home all week
4. Joined a free 6 week Bible study on line with book purchase
5. Embroidered Mother’s Day gifts rather than paying for it
I hosted a ladies clothing swap and 9 friends showed up! It was a great way to clean out my closet, and I picked up a few "new" things too.
My neighbors brought over 6 pounds of grapes. They have someone from their church who gifts them food, and they share extra--win-win.
I went fishing and caught 2 brook trout, and also picked fiddleheads and dandelions. It was a wonderfully fresh meal.
Hung my clothes on the line. They smell fabulous.
We had 2 days of no heat and no ac. I can count the money NOT going out the door.
@Tricia, I love these days of utility-free weather. Not too hot, not too cold! SO much less on the month's electric bill. Our afternoons are starting to get a little too warm, but if I run the whole-house fan in the early morning hours, it pulls in the cool air and cools the inside of the house for the rest of the day.
@JDinNM, We do the same thing--my husband rigged up two fans, one at either end of the attic that runs along the top of the house. One fan pulls air towards the house, the other pushes it out. (We live in a one-story house). He turns them on in the morning and they pull fresh, cooler air through the attic, so we don't have warm, stagnant air above us all day. Even on a sunny day, like today, I haven't felt the need to turn on the AC!
Great deal on the eggs!
1) I found a great painting on FB marketplace of a local scene for $50. Although it doesn't sound frugal, I needed some art work for a wall and originally the painting had been sold at an art gallergy downtown for hundreds...so for $50 for not mass produced art...I'm calling it a win!
2) found eggroll wrappers in the fridge and needed to use up random leftovers from all week so I made veggie eggrolls, butter chicken and rice eggrolls, barbeque eggrolls, etc and everyone was happy and fed and no waste.
3) found a decent deal and used points for hotel room
4) we moved recently and are having some work done. New granite countertops this week and although that isn't frugal, we are removing the old granite (selling it) and saving ourselves the cost of the tear out. We've also done most all of the other work ourselves so we could splurge on the granite.
5) found butter on sale at Lidl for $1.78/lb! I stocked the fridge and freezer! Also pickling cucumbers were on sale so I stocked up on those to make pickles (way cheaper than buying pickles and my husband loves them).
Kristin,
I'm so with you on the breakfast-of-leftovers idea! Obviously, we got the same memo. 😉 I eat a different breakfast every morning, made of whatever soon-to-be-bad leftovers there are in the frig, always including a protein and at least one fruit or veg. I've eaten some pretty strange combos but I eat healthily, hopefully waste less and fuel myself until lunch very well.
I may be the only bread weirdo..The heels of the bread are my FAVORITE slices!! They make a nice piece of toast!!
I feel that way about homemade bread heels. But store-bought heels? Nope. Not so much!
1. The plant I keep at my desk at work is thriving – she really likes the sunny windows and downtown views. I’ve already propagated three happy plants from her and I will be taking more trimmings to gift as Mother’s day gifts to my mom and grandma. Propagated plants just feel better to give and receive than store bought plants.
2. My son’s afterschool practices are close enough to our house that he has decided to start riding his bike. We do carpool with another family most days but on the days we don’t this will save two short round trip drives.
3. I’ve been happily working my way through my to-read pile and listening to books from the library. I’ve been dropping the books off at the Free Little Library in the neighborhood when I finish.
4. My grandma gave me a huge stack of notepads she has received in the mail from various charities – I’m always leaving my son notes so these are very appreciated.
5. I decided to not go into the office last week. I knew that most of my team was working from home so I decided to save the gas and do the same.
What are the toppings on your yogurt? It looks like craisins, chia or flax seed. What are the nuggets with sesame seeds?
Yep, you are right! Craisins and chia seeds (both from Aldi) and the nuts are sesame-coated almonds from Trader Joe's.
I always have such a hard time with this.
1. Library books. But I did redeem my Amazon points for a couple of books I do want to own.
2. We're slowly taking care of the large number of dandelions in our (rental) yard, without herbicides or lawn treatments. Outdoor exercise and an investment in the trust our landlord has in us as well.
3. Rented a movie through Amazon (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, highly recommend it!), for way cheaper than we could have taken our whole family to the theater, plus we have much tastier/cheaper food at home! Sometimes when I'm not feeling very frugal, I try to remind myself that we, overall, make more frugal choices than we *could* have made.
4. Now that a couple of the boys have stopped growing so fast, I can order them new shorts and shirts from Amazon, rather than use gas to drive to the store and have them try things on. I can look around for the best price, and take my time. It goes without saying that all of us in this family loathe clothes shopping.
5. Took a walk to the Little Free Library with my youngest and dropped off a book and found a copy of "Cider With Rosie" which looks absolutely delightful and is in great condition. Free exercise and quality time with my kid and a new book!
I forgot some food related ones! Used an overripe banana to test out a small batch of banana granola--it was quite tasty, but I overbaked it. Instead of tossing the nearly-burnt granola I ate it up for a snack and breakfast.
Ate leftovers for lunch.
Using Easter's ham bone to make ham and bean soup today.
I needed 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree for a recipe, and froze the rest from the can in 1/4 cup sized "pucks" to use in the future.
@Karen A., I love those LFLs. Recently scored a large biography on Colin Powell! I think that one will be a keeper!
Your first frugal thing (and comment about the egg prices) reminds me of a riddle I recently heard:
Q. What did the Little Red Hen say to the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs?
A. "Amateur!"
OK, here are my frugal wins this week:
1. I substitute taught at a school that was in another city, a town that has much better tasting tap water than mine. (Theirs comes from an aquafer; ours comes from the lake.) So I took in a great big shopping bag and two empty 2.5 Liter water jugs and filled the bottles at the classroom sink. Took 'em back home and am enjoying free drinking water (The jugs originally held alkaline water and cost about $2 each at the store). The water is also great for making coffee.
2. Same school had some canned goods in the teachers lounge marked free. So I got myself a container of off-brand, sugar-free canned fruit. Also in that lounge, a retired teacher had set out a little box of handmade cards that she sells for a dollar each; was able to buy a nice, unique graduation card for a young friend. Which I will pair with a "Congratulations, Grad!" coffee cup I found at the "GW Boutique" (aka Goodwill) for $1.99 less 20% discount with my coupon. Thankfully, it didn't have a year painted on it, so I won't be busted for buying something secondhand.
3. Recent storms blew down two large tree limbs in my backyard. My city's trash collection dept. requires you to saw big limbs into three-foot bundles before they pick them up. I don't have a chainsaw, but did as much as I could: I had used my trusty Martha Stewart loppers (which I'd bought from K-mart 20 years ago) and cut off everything I could cut. I put those branches in the trashcan, but part of the big limbs were just too much for me to do. I dragged the limbs to the curb and when it wasn't picked up, I called the city and did my little-old-lady-on-a-fixed-income routine. The supervisor is going to come see about it. Hopefully, he'll get the limbs carted off so I don't have to pay someone extra to do it.
4. Cancelled a dental appointment. It was just for a follow-up to the cleaning, nice but not necesary. The dentist had said my co-pay would've been $200 but insurance billed me more than double that amount. After I'd already paid 'em $400+. So, no.
5. Asked one of the guys from church (who has a well-stocked workshop and works in construction) if he could assemble a steam mop gizmo for me. I'd bought it at a thrift store but it was still unassembled in the box. He was happy to do this, and I'm happy I won't have to.
Update: When I got home this evening, the two huge limbs were gone! So either it worked and the city hauled it off....or someone, realizing that was oak wood, swiped the limbs to chop into firewood for next winter. Either way, I got rid of them without paying a penny! Frugal win, IMO.
Hi!
Five Frugal Things.
1. Like you I scored some marked down eggs. .98 for a dozen and I snagged the last two. But..cruising the cheese section a few minutes later I overheard an elderly couple a few feet away talking about how food expenses were killing their budget...so I walked over and gave them a package of eggs. They were delighted of cource..my good deed for the day.
2. Its just me here at home this week so I only spent $28 on a week's worth of groceries...I did splurge on fresh totilinni and salad stuff but not to bad.
3. Found a summer dress with the tags still on at a second hand store for $3.00.
4. My breakfast everyday is a smoothie. The strawberries, blueberries and rasp berries were all free and picked by me and put up in the freezer ( neighbor lets me pick as long as I put up some jam for them in exchange) so though I also add Greek yogurt and oat milk it's still a cheap breakfast.
5. Made some hummus (so much better when it's homemade) which I use for veggie wraps for lunches.
@April,
You are a kind and thoughtful person for sharing your bargain eggs. I hope those good feelings stayed with you and created a chain of blessings for all three of you!
This is my favorite weekly post as I get so many good ideas from everyone to incorporate into my life, so thank you, all!!
1. I enjoyed a salad for lunch for free one day due to too many being ordered for a department luncheon meeting.
2. I craved a certain snack one evening, but I didn't feel like running to the store to get it. Instead, I found something we already had at home to satisfy my hunger, saving gas, time and $.
3. My husband signed up for Schwan's (a food delivery service where you can purchase frozen items). While their food isn't bad, it's pricey. I talked him into cancelling the service as we can get those items much cheaper at the store.
4. I made cheeseburger soup last weekend and it made a lot. We had it for dinner as well as a few lunches. I also took some to a widowed neighbor who appreciated it. I also saved some wrinkly apples and the last of a bag of walnuts and incorporated them into an apple crisp, thus saving food from being wasted., I shared this with the neighbor also.
5. We have a membership at Sam's club and we earn 2% cashback in rewards for everything we purchase there. Theis last trip we redeemed those rewards towards our purchase.
Love a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Add a banana to that for some extra yum.
1. We went to a large neighborhood garage sale this weekend. I had been looking for hiking shoes for my kids and found a pair of Keens for my daughter for $8. The kids also got a few toys for $1 each.
2. Our garbage disposal bill is an extra $150 this year, so I called around for quotes from other companies. I think I found a company that is $150 less per year and offers a larger recycling bin than our current company.
3. My son had to see a neurologist. The office and their billing team said we owed $155 for the co-pay, which I knew was not correct. I called our insurance company and they confirmed the co-pay is only $35 and then even called the office to let them know.
4. A friend gave us a bunch of clothes for my daughter. They will fit her over the next few years.
5. I used over-ripe apples and bananas to make my breakfasts for the week. I used pumpkin I pureed and froze to make my lunches for this week.
An Aldi just opened near my house and I’m utterly BLOWN AWAY by the prices. 5 out of 5 stars.
Emboldened by my reasonably priced milk, I made my first batch of homemade yogurt. Again, blown away by how easy it was in the instant pot.
I’m a 10+ year reader and am wondering what else I should have started doing ten years ago!
Oh, good for you!!
Decided to start carrying water enhancer in my purse instead of buying a soda at a restaurant. That’s about $3.50 in savings.
1. Finally found where my daughter's school's portal houses the charges for after school care. Started to pay the invoices and caught an error where they double charged us and charged us for days we didn't have after care. Saved $150.
2. After clearing up #1, submitted a claim in my DCRA; at least it was pre-tax!
3. While doing #3, submitted some claims for doctor's fees for my physical to my HSA.
4. Sold a bike my daughter had outgrown and recouped some of the costs to put towards the replacement bike.
5. Redeemed Chipotle points for my younger daughter's favorite take out kids meal.
That’s a great find on eggs! Where we live, an 18 pack of eggs normal price is $5.09 - much cheaper than they had been but still, ouch.
My frugal moments:
1) Our lawn is my constant nemesis, but I activated our sprinklers on my own ($75 saved), got out there with my weed puller to contend with the dandelions, and bought fertilizer to be my own lawn service. I’ve been haphazard with it in years past and was debating hiring someone to deal with weeds and fertilizer, but I’m going to give it a go again.
2) I broke out the oxy clean to de-stain my 12yo son’s soccer jerseys (both for sport and clothing). Came out good as new! I need to do another batch of jersey’s and a work shirt of my husband’s that he pulled out of the closet with surprise blood stains at the cuff.
3) Had a couple of good use-what-you-have meals, burgers one night, BLTs the next - and as a bonus, I set aside some of the cooked bacon in the fridge right away so that it wouldn’t sit out and just get munched on. One kid and I both had follow up BLTs the next day, which felt like a total score.
4) I swapped out the buttons on my husband’s sport coat when one broke in half. It didn’t come with spares, and I don’t love the replacements I found but they’ll do for now and I can keep an eye out for nicer replacements. A friend suggested looking at the thrift store, buying an old sport coat just for the buttons - genius! That had never occurred to me but now I’ll have a mission in my thrifting.
5) I bought a cold brew maker. I’ve recently fallen in love with cold brew coffee but at $6/bottle I don’t love the price. I’ve heard it’s easy to make, just messy which I wasn’t excited about. Found an inexpensive basically French press to use, and it’ll pay for itself easily within the first month!
@mkmitch,
I once amassed a whole button collection by shopping a thrift store on their bag day -- everything you can put in their black garbage bags cost a buck, I think, because it was so long ago. Might have been $5, though. Anyway, I ran around finding ugly clothes with interesting buttons, including the ugliest corduroy dress ever made, IMO. Cut up the dress and the fabric became cleaning rags, while its nice metal buttons gave the tarnished buttons on my business suit's jacket a new lease on life. I similarly disposed of the other clothing, keeping the nice buttons that were on the garments. I pretty much filled up a small coffee can with those buttons, and I still use them today. If anyone has ever priced a card of buttons at the fabric store...or even Walmart, for that matter....you'll know I got a great bargain. Even if it'd been 5 bucks instead of one.
A bit late this week (but didn't even make it last week) so here we go.
1. Bought a bunch of things at Goodwill recently that I could seriously use including a 2qt Pyrex measuring cup (goes for a lot more than I paid for it!) and a bunch of books for the little ones in my life.
2. There was a deal where if you bought a $50 Amazon gift card you got five dollars back as a coupon so I earned $5 by gifting myself $50. I'll definitely use it because, sadly, Amazon is the only option for some things where I live.
3. After deciding against minisplit units for my house my wife and I opted to get some super efficient and quiet(!) AC units. They are U shaped and the window actually goes inbetween them. They are so much better than what we were using before! We should save a lot of money in energy bills versus the old ones and the reduction in noise will be a big help.
4. Submitted the claim for my new fancy schmancy air conditioner to get money back from the utility company for getting one that's more energy efficient.
Frugal fail: Going to replace an outlet for my elderly grandmother and my electrical tools are nowhere to be found (namely my non-contact voltage detector and my small multimeter.) I thought long and hard and remembered where I had put them after my last project and realized they ended up in a box ... that probably ended up tossed out. So now I have to stop at Home Depot on my way out and buy two new tools. Granted, this is cheaper than hiring an electrician but still. It was a costly mistake.
@Battra92,
Curious why you decided against the mini splits...cost? I've been thinking about them for a couple years now.
@Becca, Cost and we possibly won't be in the house long enough to make it worth our while.
@Battra92,
The air conditioners sound unique and I am having a hard time visualizing them. Is there a picture that you can post of them?
Bravo for eggs! I was proud of the enchilada dinner I made last night. Had thawed and roasted a 15-pound turkey that was hanging around the freezer too long, and it yielded a surprising amount of dark meat (and a large pot of broth). I'm working on using the older items in my pantry, which means the stuff forgotten in the back, so I pureed a can of pinto beans and heated it with a little bacon fat to make "refried" beans, and added chopped turkey. Used a big jar of generic marinade tomato sauce, with chili powder added, to make enchilada sauce. Used up Mexican cheeses from the fridge and fresh corn tortillas to fill the tortillas with turkey/beans, cover with sauce and cheese, and bake. Delicious! And close to my favorite recipe, that calls for a lot more chopping and cooking of onions and peppers. Served with cucumber salad and ice cream for dessert.
Yesterday also made ramen soup from homemade broth, adding turkey and vegetables to make a yummy lunch. Soup also improved with a splash of dry sherry and a drop or two of sesame oil. The packets that come with the ramen noodles are mostly salt so I rarely use them.
Later this week: crepes filled with turkey and smothered in cream curry sauce.
Eggs are a nutritional gold mine. I buy 3- and 5-dozen flats and they keep very well. Everyone loves deviled eggs, and also hard boiled eggs, for snacks and salads.
You SHOULD be proud of your enchilada triumph! 🙂
Foraged some pheasant back mushrooms and cooked and ate them.
Made an angelfood cake for my father in law’s birthday instead of buying one at the store.
Made homemade buns for sausages instead of making another trip to the store
Baked whole wheat sandwich bread for the week and a vegetable focaccia for dinner.
Threw together a last minute picnic for the beach instead of stopping to grab fast food.
@Becca C, major props for all your food frugality! I particularly like your foraging skills-- I am in a new area and still need to figure out local mushrooms, preferably with a local guide. Enjoy yours!
Over the weekend, went to two estate sales and purchased 2 full 2 gallon jugs of weed killer to use in the pasture. This particular estate sale christian charity sells all paints, chemicals and fertilizers for $1 ea. This particular farm had unused chemicals and fertilizers. I came back on the 1/2 price day and bought a 1920's cedar chest that was huge for $10. It will go inside my shop to store the outdoor furniture cushions over winter. I also picked up some fencing material for pennies and a very nice lazy boy recliner for my elderly neighbor. He has been helping me with odd jobs and I noticed his recliner fabric was splitting, so this was a leather and looked brand new for $30. Priceless.
I went to the scratch and dent store today and picked up bags of tiny diced cheese, mozzarella, provolone and sharp cheddar. I think it will work for pizza. 3 lbs for $6.
My friend's mother asked me to pick her asparagus patch and I got 4 buckets. I will be pickling this week!
I picked up a big spool of weed whacker nylon twine in the free box at the other estate sale. There I picked up a beautiful Stiffel brass lamp for $5 to put in the guest room.
I've been going thru all of the cupboards, purging and organizing. I bought a $10 space at a local flea market to hopefully sell some stuff.
We are on holiday and travelling down to my son’s graduation. As a holiday for me means absolutely no cooking ( 25 years of child rearing and home cooked meals means I love a break from kitchen duties). However I do try to be frugal in our travels by -
1. Taking advantage of the airport lounge and having a complimentary late breakfast.
2. Enjoying brunch out and then just having coffee and cake later in the day, then dinner out.
3. Buying milk and tea bags and enjoying cuppas in our motel room. Ditto buying gin/tonic/beers for our pre dinner drink. The tonic water came with a free Crystal tumbler which our son will receive ( as well as the remainder of the gin).
4. We are walking around Christchurch and enjoying the free Art Gallery, wonderful Avon river walkway and botanic gardens.
5. We will treat our son when we spend the weekend in Dunedin - he has worked hard and we are so proud of him.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers celebrating with their families this Sunday.
Late frugal things:
1. I enjoyed a FREE tea party at church on Sunday.
2. I ordered a movie I want to watch from the library.
3. I cooked meals at home. Even when I didn't want to. Except my husband and I bought lunch while away from home for an appointment. We could call it a cheap date? Maybe? (We bought coffee and doughnuts-- don't tell the kids. It's a secret.) (Yes, I know we're allowed to buy such things for only us....but it makes it more exciting if I make it a secret.)
4. I "encouraged" my children to weed some things so other things could grow.
5. In advance-- tomorrow I plan to go to the local thrift shop for their bag sale ($5 for a bag of clothing). I have growing children still, and the oldest girl needs a few things.
I love the scratch and dent eggs! I wish my grocery store did that. It's so satisfying to prevent food waste and be frugal at the same time.
1. Husband convinced me that we should make our weekly homemade pizza last week, despite the fact that I’ve been feeling existentially tired and I wanted to order out.
2. I paid for my counseling with our HSA account. I’m so grateful for my counselor and she is worth every penny.
3. Went to the library for the first time with Baby E– he loves books. We’ve occasionally bought him new ones or found them in Little Free Libraries, but we were able to check out a huge pile for him to enjoy!
4. My birthday is coming up, and I couldn’t remember if I’d made a Starbucks order this year (you have to make at least one order to get your free birthday drink). So, I bought the cheapest thing on the menu (a ridiculously tiny scone for $1.60 ish) with a gift card earned from surveys, so that I’ll be sure to get my free drink. I wouldn’t have bothered except I had the gift card. 🙂
5. Thought I was out of hair gel, but found some more stashed away before I purchased any. We also are using up toothpaste of a brand I don’t prefer, but we ran out on a trip and had to buy some.
I think MrA had most of the frugal wins this week.
* Needed pea gravel to put down as a weed barrier around the garden, so he moved seats in the van, put down a tarp, and moved almost a ton of pea gravel from the bulk rock company to our van to our garden --one shovel full at a time. It took him about four hours of time, but saved a ton (ha!) in delivery charges.
* Picked up supplies to do the needed repairs on the vans himself.
* I found bread and tortillas and meat on clearance plus eggs for $3/18ct and corn on the cob for .25/ea.
* I had enough deep freeze space that I could house a friend's freezer contents while she got her deep freeze working again. Definitely a frugal win for her and I was thrilled to help!
* Added 2 cups of cereal crumbs to my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe. Yay for using up food tailings!
I love the repurposed packing materials. I do that too!
Five Frugal Things...
1. Culver's was giving their custard for $1 donation to FFA on May 4. I took my kids twice that day!
2. I redeemed a 60 cents off/gallon on gas from Kroger points.
3. I set up a carpool for my kid's drama camp week last week. It saved me half of the time and driving!
4. I went to cancel my expiring 3 month free trial of Kindle Unlimited. When I clicked through the cancellation, at the end, they offered me another 3 mo. trial of Kindle Unlimited for $1.99. So I took it. Considering it's $10/month, it's a $28 "savings" so it's more nearly free books.
5. I went into Goodwill and bought nothing. (Side note but some of their prices are really shocking to me.)
1- used over ripe bananas to make bread
2- used a gift card for a dinner while traveling over the weekend
3- returned a few items we did not need
4- stoped at 2 grocery stores to get the best deals at both instead of getting everything at one place
5- the regulars - coffee at home, library books, pack lunches, meal plan and cook dinners
1. Took my 8 year old on a two day trip to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for the cost of food, ubers, and gas. Credit card points paid $1500 and I wouldn’t have taken the trip without these points.
2. Tackled some mending I needed to do including fixing a strap on my favorite sports bra that the dog partially chewed through and my son’s band pants.
3. Bought some specialty candy my kids loved for $1 that sold for $7 throughout April.
4. Brought home some food given to me at work that I didn’t want to eat, but my sons loved.
5. My daughter’s new workplace has allowed her to bring home donuts at the end of her closing shifts which the kids all enjoy and which she has been able to also give away to some family friends.
Bonus: Scored a free cinnamon roll at Wanna Cinn for teacher appreciation week.
hmmmm...apparently we like free treats....
I like free treats too. No shame in that game! 🙂
1. Last month I signed up for a free month of Amazon Prime. When I went to cancel it, they offered me another free month, so I took it and wrote down the date to cancel. We've been watching Jury Duty and other movies only offered on Prime that have been on our list of "to watch" for a while now.
2. My son needed some formal wear for his orchestra banquet. After looking around online, I ordered some suits from Amazon to "try before you buy" using my trial Prime account and they should arrive tomorrow. They were also the lowest price after comparing prices at Kohl's and other stores.
3. Ordered a couple of gift cards from my credit card rewards for end of the year gifts for my kids' bus drivers. Bought the rest (between 2 of them they have 11 teachers) from Kroger on Friday when it was 4x fuel points and used my credit card currently giving 5% rewards on grocery store purchases.
4. Son came home with 2 free gallons of unsweet tea after helping with clean up at his high school which was hosting a district music event. They were bought for the judges but went unused. I'd rather drink sweet tea but this is probably healthier for me.
5. Baked using pantry and freezer items, stocked up on butter on sale, returned library books on time, hung clothes to dry, batched errands and redeemed a coupon for a free slice of pie at our local pie shop.
I am catching up on Frugal Girl posts after getting back from vacation/visiting family. 🙂 I love to travel, but spending money is not comfortable or fun for me, so I try my best to keep it as frugal as possible while still enjoying the experience. This time around we:
1) Bought flights with points and a refunded ticket I needed to use anyway. Three of us flew--myself, our daughter (she is special needs and has trouble on long car rides), and my mother-in-law (who is getting to the age where driving 12 hours in a day is too much).
2) Sent the male half of the family via car (my husband and three boys). This is the half of the family better able to do that crazy-long drive. It saved us buying four flights, gave us a car to drive when we got there so we didn't have to rent, and made it cheap to pack things I knew we would need like life jackets and spices but that aren't realistic to bring on a flight.
3) Ate a lot of meals in our Airbnb. We treat restaurant meals as an experience--something worth enjoying and paying for as entertainment. But for most meals eating simply and from the kitchen is just fine. And there was an Aldi about a mile from our Airbnb, so we just bought the crowd-pleasers we buy at home.
4) Really enjoyed ourselves. This trip was more than just a family vacation and time with my sister-in-law. It was also an anniversary trip for my husband and me, made possible because we had my mother-in-law and sister-in-law at hand to watch the kids. My husband and I spent three lovely, child-free days in New Orleans. I found a reasonably priced (for what it was), but still gorgeous, old hotel in the middle of the French Quarter. We also ate a lot of good food. But we did save money on entertainment, for which we spent a total of $12 the whole time. We did a lot of walking around and exploring. But I also researched good audio tours. We took an excellent (and factual, unlike so many of the ghost tours we overheard as we walked around) tour of the French Quarter. Then we hopped on the trolley (an experience in itself!) to the Garden District where we enjoyed another audio tour.
5) Ate a simple dinner of what we had when we all landed back home on Saturday--grilled cheeses and ramen noodles. I did hit the grocery store on Sunday for milk and fresh fruit. But I am going to do an assessment of what is in the freezer today that needs eating up before I do a real grocery run.
This vegan waffle recipe has saved me many times when we run out of eggs. My family doesn't even notice a difference https://jessicainthekitchen.com/vegan-waffles/