Five Frugal Things | Scrunchies, shorts, straws, gas, and produce
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1. I modified my niece's shorts.
So this was frugal for her, not me. 😉
She ordered a pair of shorts online, and the legs were surprisingly enormous.
They had a cuff on them, which made the process a little tricky, but after I took enough seams apart, I was able to make the legs fit her much better.
2. We used coupons to save on scrunchie supplies.
Sonia, Zoe, and my niece are on a scrunchie-making tear, and so I took them out to buy some fabric at Jo-Ann's.
I showed them how to pull up a coupon on their phone, using a competitor coupon if the deal is better, so they each got 50% off their purchase.
3. I got three straw replacements.
Strawesome offers lifetime warranty replacements on their straws, and one of ours broke this week.
I had two others that had broken over the last few years, so I snapped photos of each of them, filled out the form online, and now there are new straws on their way to my house.
We really haven't had a lot of these straws break, since they're made out of super strong glass.
But still, if you have little kids at your house, I'd definitely recommend getting some metal straws for peace of mind.
We have this set and we love 'em.
4. I filled up on gas while I was at Costco.
I had to go there to buy several things, so I filled up my tank, which was about halfway empty.
I never drive out of my way to get Costco gas, but if I'm there already or I'm in the area, I will stop by.
It's easy to chew up any gas savings by doing extra driving!
5. I took care of some Hungry Harvest produce right away.
I cut up the collard greens to make a salad (this one, which calls for kale) which is a big win because I am not a big collard green person.
I knew if I just shoved them in the fridge, there was a large chance they'd end up in the compost.
I'm quite sure they will get all eaten up as a salad, though.
I also peeled all the rambutan, because those are quite unappealing to get out if they are just sitting in the fridge all prickly looking!
I got two big heads of celery, so I cut one head up into celery sticks, which will make it much easier to snack on them.
And hopefully I'll do the same with the second once this one is eaten!
Hmmm rambutan, love those!
1) Brought lunch from home or scored a free lunch at work all of this week so far. 2) Resisted the urge to hit up Sonic for happy hour (trying to kick the soda habit). 3) Painted a pair of shoes in a color I wanted instead of buying new shoes 4) Made coffee at home or had it for free at work (no Starbucks) and 5) Bought two computer monitors off of craigslist for my office. They are “older” and don’t have HDMI ports so the owner didn’t want them anymore, but they work fine and I found adapters to use them with my laptop no problem!
I go through this a lot. People will toss out perfectly good peripherals when all that's required is a $5 adapter.
1. I made a cucumber/onion salad from the first three cucumbers from the garden. I should have green beans by next week.
2. I wanted a Christmas garland for the top of a shelf but was appalled at the prices. I took a chance on a .75 marked down bag at the thrift shop and found two really, really nice ones. It also included several extension cords including one that you step on to turn on Christmas tree lights.
3. I spent Tuesday with my daughter. She needed new work clothes so we went to a Gap outlet. They carry Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athletha, Piperlime and other brands. She found everything she needed plus three pair of shoes. I got a 4.99 olive coat and three pair of maternity pants for my niece for 1.99 each.
4. I used a ten dollar reward from Eddie Bauer and paid two dollars for two pair of quality socks.
5. Our favorite pizza shop has 1/2 prices pizzas for their yearly anniversary. My husband has a doctor's appt. today so we'll pick one up for dinner.
Thanks for the idea of using collard greens for salad, Kristen. Our Kroger always has huge bags for .99.
I do that with my Eddie Bauer rewards too!
1) We are 3 weeks into my kids summer vacation and the only money we’ve spent on weekday entertainment/activities has been on my kids swim lessons. The swim lessons are private (so not so frugal) but my kids love them and really look forward to them. Other than that we have been taking advantage of free youth group, library activities, and playing with friends. My kids are using all of the craft supplies in the house and my son is reading tons of library books. So far it’s been a very relaxing, frugal summer.
2) I’ve been taking my kids to Aldi once a week to stock up on snacks, cereal, fruits, and other breakfast items that they like. It’s much cheaper than the other stores and we always have something everyone likes.
3) We needed to redo all of the mulch beds in our backyard. My husband and I did this ourselves and opted to go with a less expensive cedar mulch from our local supply store. We were told it should last longer and provide better coverage. It was also a significant savings.
4) Bananas always seem to ripen so quickly in the summer. We’ve been freezing them and then making “nice” cream with cocoa powder and almond butter. I have a dairy intolerance and while I love non-dairy ice cream, it is not very budget friendly.
5) Continuing to meet weekly with my husband to discuss our budget, upcoming expenses, and calendars. It’s been so helpful to make sure we are on the same page.
1. Remembered to sign up my kids for fall soccer by the early signup date, and saved $45.
2. We went to the beach last week. Not super frugal as we stayed in a hotel and ate out, but we only spent two nights on the trip instead of a full week, and spent the rest of the week at home for a staycation. It ended up being a good thing as the kids fell sick.
3. Borrowed some beach umbrellas from our neighbor instead of rushing out to replace ours that broke last year.
4. Our neighbors also shared a friends/family discount coupon code for some online stores. Bought Columbia camping chairs using a large discount online.
5. Weeded my garden and salvaged some beets from a pile that was headed to the compost.
Frugal fail, forgot to use my Eddie Bauer $10 reward, but on the other hand it kept me from going into the mall, so I suppose it's not all that bad 🙂
I'm going to try & see if I can come up with 5. It's been a spendy year & summer at our house 🙁
1. My husband earned some Kohl's cash that he didn't plan on using. I asked if I could use it & he didn't care. I needed a pair of shorts as I don't have many. I used the Kohl's cash along with a sale & got a cute pair of shorts shipped to the store (for free) & spent less than $5 out of pocket.
2. This one was a treat for my niece & nephew. We took them both with us to a local baseball game & traded in some tickets we had so we all got in for free plus we had vouchers to use for food, so we were all fed for free too!
3. I recently had a MRI done on my foot. When I was registering they told me I had a copay of $150. They said I could either pay it or be billed. I chose to be billed since I didn't think that was correct plus I have two insurances. I called my insurance company (primary one) & they said there are no copays for a MRI (they don't know why I was told that), it's just subject to my family deductible (which my employer pays). The representative told me if I receive a bill to have the facility call my insurance company. $150 saved by making a phone call.
4. We got free moon flowers from some friends to plant in our flower beds. Interested to see them bloom.
5. Trying to be cognizant of our food waste. Been giving a few things to our chickens.
1. Since I started doing the Curly Girl method with my hair, I can sometimes wash it on the third day instead of every second day, and it still looks and feels fine. I figured my scalp would drive me crazy by not washing every other day, but it doesn't. I'm on my third day today, so that's a savings in shampoo, water, electricity and time. I used to wash it every day.
2. I made a mobile deposit of a refund check. I love being able to deposit without having to go to a bank.
3. I made pulled pork in the pressure cooker to save time and avoid heat. I like it better from the pressure cooker than I do from the crock pot, as it seems much more flavorful. I made enough to have it a couple of times and still have some to freeze for later.
4. I saw the cutest tote bag, new with tags, from Gap, made with Pendleton fabric, at Goodwill. I did my "give it a ride in the cart" test, and sure enough, hung it back up and left with nothing. That's $13.00 saved, because I really didn't need it, even for a gift.
5. I shopped at Whole Foods for stuff I needed and earned $10 to use on Prime day this month. It has to be used on that day, so I'm making a list of things I would actually buy anyway, and will choose one or some that day. You wouldn't think it, but around here, Whole Foods has some of the cheapest prices on organic produce.
1. still sharing my car with my 18 year old son. This is getting really difficult. I had to cancel three appointments yesterday because he needed the car. Only a month left until he leaves for college & hopefully, he won't need a car until he graduates.
2. making dinner tonight...for me, that doesn't happen often enough.
3. I am taking a class next week on how to use my instapot. Can't wait to use it!
4. Aldi's is finally opening stores in Los Angeles!!!! One just opened about 6 miles away. Kind of far for a grocery store but I am going on a field trip. Another one is being built around 4 miles away.
1. I keep my celery for weeks just by wrapping it in foil. It stays really crisp which makes it possible to clean and cut up all of my celery at the same time and have it available for snacking or soups, etc. This is especially helpful when it is on sale and I buy extra. =D
2. I used my grocery store Perks card and was able to fill my gas tank for $0.30 less per gal.
3. While checking out of my local pharmacy, the computer shut down and would not print my receipt. The cashier said she could print it from the office but was intercepted by a very rude and angry customer. After approximately 20 minutes or so the cashier was able to get my receipt. She was so appreciative of my patience, she comped me $7 in Extra Bucks on my rewards card! My patience paid off!
4. Had to get my allergy pills so I used my (comped) $7 Extra Rewards (see #3) plus a $6 Extra Bucks coupon that was on my receipt from a previous visit and a $2 discount that was on my rewards card. I got my (usually) $25 allergy pills for $10! Score!
5. Downloaded free books to my Kindle through my BookBub membership. I love to read so free books are always a win!
1. Roadside pickins have been good lately. In the last three weeks I've found: a bike for my daughter, some baby dolls that I will wash up and my daughter will "baby" them with the other ones she has, a new maternity pillow cover that I will sell on ebay, a "coolest" cooler and from a pile that was out for garbage, I found two bags of clothing (half of which i will wash and donate & the other half was just the correct size for my daughter for fall!), a bag of bingo chips (which I gave to my MIL, 4 rolls of wrapping paper and countless other little items that I either plan to sell on ebay or donate. I hate to see usable items go to the trash!
2. Scored two free lunches this week at work and have packed the other days.
3. One more van payment, and I will be done with that payment and can move that money towards another debt.
4. My son has been begging for a pogo stick. Low and behold we found one at a yard sale for $3.
5. Still struggling with needing to say no to so much lately. Deep down I know its the right thing to do, but its so hard to have to tell your kids they can't do some of the same things their friends are doing.
It's wonderful that you re-home items you find. I love that you are keeping items out of the landfill, and giving them good homes.
1. I plan on getting a free Slurpee for 7-11 day. I'm only going because work is sending me literally right by a location so no extra gas!
2. Used some Amazon digital credit (from having them ship items slower) to purchase an album that I wanted. I don't normally like to purchase things digitally but the CD is rare and goes for quite a bit used.
3. Going to be working on the road for a few days and my work will reimburse me for mileage and wear and tear. I always feel I come out ahead on this deal although it's probably a break even.
4. Going through some of my old video games that I bought when my daughter was really small and I had no free time. So if I haven't played them yet, they're new to me! It's nice that I'm finally at the "has a little free time" stage.
5. We bought a small cordless vacuum for cleaning up small messes. I bought it from Amazon Warehouse deals as the original box was damaged (everything inside was fine.) It was money well spent because now my three year old is cleaning up her own messes. The main vac is still too heavy for her but this works out well.
1. Did not pay at time of service when the AC broke. The unit cover had been left open when the tech did the semi-annual maintenance, which I thought might have contributed to the AC fail. The service company came though with flying colors: they didn't charge for the fix ($66) and are going to send out a senior tech to check that nothing else was damaged. What I really appreciated is how they called me with this plan rather than waiting for me to complain.
2. Just by leaving a note, I avoided having a doctor's fee charged to my credit card - my preferred method is check. The note simply said there was no one to leave the check with and I'll call them to make arrangements.
3. Semi-frugal: bought on-sale happy(ish) meat at Whole Paycheck.
4. Will use the $10 Amazon credit during Prime Days.
5. Continued the usual - brown bag to work, avoid food waste, turn lights off when I leave the room, reuse single-use containers, bring my own shopping bags, ...
How do you make scrunchies?
I can't believe scrunchies are back. I had a kit to make those when I was like 10 or 12.
Cut a long rectangle of fabric.
Fold it in half, wrong side facing out.
Sew up the long side.
Turn it right side out.
Thread elastic through it.
Sew ends of elastic together.
Sew ends of fabric "tube" together.
People keep talking about a $10 credit for Prime Days. Does this go for anyone who has Amazon Prime? I have it, but have not heard anything about a credit. ???????
It's actually for people who spend $10 at Whole Foods. All the details here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/amazon-prime-day-whole-foods-prime-deals-free-10-credit-and-savings/1643341001/
1. Used up a half jar of spaghetti sauce from the fridge instead of shoving it to the back and forgetting about it like I usually do. It was left from hubby making calzones for dinner Sunday night. I added canned tomatoes and used it for spaghetti and meatballs for last night’s dinner.
2. Made a green tea latte at home this morning before work instead of stopping at Starbucks on the way.
3. Used up milk that had a use by date of today in making the green tea latte.
4. Had leftover leftovers for lunch yesterday.
5. Said no to making plans on Saturday that would have cost more than we need to spend right now.
1. Made croutons from some bread ends from the freezer. My kids love snacking on them.
2. Bought only the necessities at my grocery shopping trip in spite of ALL the tempting items I kept seeing.
3. My husband found two bike tagalongs on Craigslist so our two oldest girls can more easily ride with us on longer rides. Much cheaper than new ones!!
4. I’ve been making all my coffee at home instead of stopping for Starbucks (huge temptation for me). My usual drink there is only $2.45, not one of the crazy expensive ones, but still it really adds up.
5. My daughter was asking for new sneakers because she thought hers were looking dingey. I cleaned the soles with a magic eraser and they look wonderful now and she is happy with them.
*Bonus: I’ve decided to get rid of Amazon prime. We NEVER actually need two-day shipping, and the only other perk we use is the prime video, which I don’t even like because for us it’s nothing but a temptation for my kids to watch too much tv. So it’s gone. We axed Netflix a long time ago, now we’re axing Prime and I feel empowered
I've never heard of rambutan before. Learn something new every day!
Did you hear about this, Kristen? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/09/metal-drinking-straw-fatally-impales-woman-england/1684768001/
I'm not making a judgment call on anyone's straw use--it was just a weirdly sad story that caught my attention and your glass straws reminded me of it.
I could barely read that story. It was sickening. You're right, it was a very weird, sad story.
Oh my word, what an awful freak accident.
Luckily, none of our cups hold a straw in place, so I guess we are inadvertently following the safety recommendation.
I have to think real hard about my Frugal Five, since we seem to be hemmoraging money lately!
* I'm in the middle of a 2 weeks vacation (unpaid). Decided to take a short unplanned shift (5h) today while the kids and hubby were out of town. Might as well go make some Monayyy!!
* Still using our 2004 Echo (300 000+ km!) as a second car. It's been paid for a long time ago and now we use it very sparingly, but it's nice to have it when we really need a second car
* Our garden is really blooming and it's awesome to get all those organic vegetables right outside our door!
* This next week will be a staycation with hubby while the kids are at Grandma. We are planning for lots of relaxing at home, some free activities and some low cost ones. We are balancing the last 3 days of family vacation costing us 1000$+...
* Doubling our mortgage payments until (hopefully!) the end of the year. If all is going accordingly to plan, we should be mortgage free in 5 years or less!
1. On vacation stocked up on bottled water and snacks for the hotel room.
2. Got an employer related discount on the hotel room.
3. Ordered ice water instead of sodas at vacation restaurants. I like water better anyway.
4. Brought sandwiches and snacks from home for the plane avoiding airport $$$ food.
5. Bought chocolates and an logo umbrella as souvenirs. Chocolates get eaten and umbrellas are always useful after you are home.
1. I did buy a jean jacket in the store last week, after thinking about and kind of looking for one for the past year. It seemed expensive so I looked online and found it was cheaper there. There was another one that looked the same that was even cheaper so I ordered it. I returned the store purchased jacket. I also looked around the store but convinced myself we do not need new rugs or anything else.
2. Meals have been at home the past several days. I did stock up on produce and a few other items at the grocery store yesterday.
3. I realized after wandering around the store today that both my cookware and knives are more than 30 years old. They are still working fine. They were never the highest quality but have been good enough.
4. I treated my husband to a concert near beach. We packed dinners, so we'd have time to walk on the beach. We also packed breakfasts so we could make a quick return departure. We did spend the night in a hotel. I think not driving 2-1/2 hours late at night, when you're tired is frugal.
5. A friend bought some cute hat making kits. Another friend and I are trying to figure out how to hack them, to make it much more affordable.
Vacation edition-
Bought the girl new swim pieces at Kohl’s on sale since last years stuff no longer fit.
Received Kohl’s cash and a bonus coupon so before we left I bought myself a new top since my old one was too thin!
Brought pantry basics I already had on hand for our condo, along with all personal care items and household stuff( laundry detergent, soap etc)
Used family special coupons for pizza night- places 2 orders- husband work paid one order( this is a work cation ( dats he works he can claim) I paid for s few extras on my bill! This left us enough for dinner and a lunch day!
Signed up online to get a 25% off bill coupon at local restaurant! Enjoyed dessert there!
Free slurpee day!!
Stayed at a hotel half way down and will on return for free- thanks to CCpoint! Free breakfast was not great but doable!
1. Sold a light fixture from our new house and listed a mohair throw blanket that the previous owners left
2. Took home food from a work party and froze it. It has fed me lunch for 2 weeks now and my husband lunch for 1 week
3. Bought two $2.50 watermelons that we brought to 2 separate 4th of July parties
4. Cleaned the insides and outsides of the windows at my new house even though I was tempted to pay $125 for the service
5. My sister and mom cleaned my new house before we move in next week, saving me $100
1. Free slurpie day (Score for my DD)
2. Purchased low price mini blinds from HD and will install myself.
3. Used DD's Amazon Prime to purchase $10 worth of veggies and bulk oatmeal and lentils to total exactly $10, DD will then use that purchase to receive $10 off Prime day sale item
4. Started comparison shopping for cell phone battery, not going to pay full price waiting for the battery to die.
5. Financial planning some big contribution decisions come September. Giving myself time to research all my options so I won't feel pressured in Fall.
1, Remembered to move both our cars when it was street sweeping so not having to pay $70 in parking tickets!
2. Stopped at three roadside veggie stands on a long drive yesterday. Got 4 peaches, 5 zucchini, a basket of green beans and an ear of corn fir $10 total
3. Was given three free rabbits cages for the bunnies we re home
4. Our vet looked at photos I emailed him and did a phone consult with me and told me what do at home for one of our rabbits. Savings, $120
5. A friend gifted us extra food she had leftover. Got several meals out if the home made chicken salad and mixed green.