Five Frugal Things | shorts, poster supplies, a speeding ticket...
1. I bought some under-dress shorts on sale
The dress I bought for pinning and graduation is fitted and also is white, obviously, which makes undergarments a challenge.
So, when Knix had a sale last week, I bought a pair of the thigh savers in a color that matches my skin tone, because that is the only color that is invisible under white clothes.
(White undergarments with a white piece of clothing = always visible! A color that matches your skin tone is always better for invisibility.)
2. I mailed in my speeding ticket payment
It is only $40 (yay!) and no points (yay!), and I started the process of paying it online.
But then I saw there was a $4 fee for paying online, and I thought, "Hmm, well, a stamp sure is cheaper than that."
Soo, I wrote a check.
(Obviously, getting a speeding ticket is not frugal. But hey, minimizing the damage is at least helpful. And now I know the school speed limit starts at 6 am there (a fact that still befuddles me).)
3. I went to Dollar Tree for my poster supplies
A classmate of mine suggested I get my posterboard at Dollar Tree, and I was so grateful because that would not have occurred to me!
I also bought a big sheet of thick red poster paper there and used it to make some paper kidneys, and the CKD letters (for Chronic Kidney Disease).
4. I bought skinny double-stick tape for my project
I'm not sure if this qualifies as a frugal win or not, but I was about to buy a roll of normal-width tape when I realized you could get two rolls of the skinnier kind for the same price.
Unfortunately, the skinnier kind didn't come in a single pack, but hey, now I have two rolls instead of one, and the skinnier width was actually better for making my smaller project pieces stick to the board.
5. I got a free eyeliner and eyebrow pencil
CVS sent me a $3 birthday reward, plus I had another $5 of ExtraBucks in my account.
So, I got an eyeliner and a brow pencil for free.
I needed a small purchase to bump up my total so I didn't waste any of my ExtraBucks, so I picked up two Mounds bars because they were on sale, and also I got a dollar in Extra Bucks after my purchase.
I didn't know that 2 sided tape was made in a skinny version. I always just cut mine into strips when need skinnier amount. I will have to check that out.
Frugal things---
● cashed in more Fetch points to get Meijer gift cards that I used when I got groceries
● bought new lawnmower (Toro is made in USA--MI, WI, MN) & earned $5 Lowe's rewards
● got Free Lowe's Member Reward of groundcover flower plant
● used Menards rebate $$ to get small tool bags on sale & lawn mower oil & earned additional 11% mail in rebate
● saved $0.10/gallon on gas ($3.29) (not before price went up) & earned $1.00 rewards & earned $0.20/gallon off next fuel purchase (up to 20 gallons)
● paid $225 for 1 year garbage service, (which was same price as last year) instead of $45-$50/month(?)
@Regina, woah! What a huge difference on garbage prices monthly vs annual!
@Marissa, most people do not know that you can pay yearly & save. The garbage services only give you monthly & quarterly options. I learned years ago (well before Covid) when I started calling around asking about new service & overheard another customers say yearly amount. Now I ask yearly amount before garbage service even tells me prices, which usually requires a place on hold while they ask since not in normal pricing.
@Regina, our service is a fixed rate per month, not annual discount though I pay annually each year. Local small business whose rates are less than half than the corporate "refuse services" who a) tack on a fuel surcharge at whim and b) charge you a fee for paying by check. I think the fee for paying by check is elder abuse. So many elders just do *not* do online bill pay (or even have internet).
1. Through all of last week's hustle and bustle (extra work hours, helping my in-laws move, and a kid performing in four 3-hour theater performances) I didn't buy takeout! I planned and used freezer meals.
2. Rather than buy prepackaged snacks that either a) are unhealthy or b) are healthy but cost a ton, I got bananas and mandarin oranges for backstage snacks for the kids. When you're buying for 52 kids, it adds up! But bananas and mandarins were an inexpensive way to buy healthy snacks in bulk.
3. I stopped by the pediatrician's office to get our billing straightened out... again. The first time they were using incorrectly-entered insurance info. The second time they billed our old insurance. I *think* they got it straightened out. Savings = over $600.
4. Our church is doing a drama camp this summer and this is the one year that all three of my kids fit in the age range. I signed up to be a volunteer for all five days, which means that it'll be completely free for all of my kids.
5. I needed to take bread as a side dish for a potluck Sunday night, so I stopped by Jimmy John's on the way home from church and got 4 loaves for a total of $2. Sweet.
@Ruth T, you can't beat that deal on JJ loaves! I cut them into four pieces and put in the freezer!
@Ruth T,
Wow, I didn't know you could buy loaves of bread at Jimmy John's. Is that all the time or just at the end of the day?
--I refreshed a flannel sheet set with dye before tucking it away for the season.
--My husband and I needed to reorder coffee, so I dug around online until I found coupon codes to knock $20 off the order.
--I grow everything from seed, with the exception of basil--Trader Joe's basil starts have always been good to me. After planting my two basil plants, I recycled their plastic containers by putting them in the center of my widest raised bed, buried up to their rims. This will make watering easier; I can just aim for the pot, which will deliver the water at root level.*
*I love my rain barrels, but the best place for them is nowhere near the garden, so drip irrigation isn't an option.
--The temperature dipped waaay down for a few nights. I used my army of old towels, torn up sheets, and stained shirts to protect my seedlings from the cold.
--A nearby gas station was selling pots of blooming Easter bulbs for the holiday. I'm helping the local library refresh its outdoor space, so I asked if the pots were just going to be thrown out after Easter and, if so, could I claim them for the library? The manager was happy to pass them on.
--Related: Hardly any of the above sold, so there are A LOT of flowers! As in 20+ pots, with 3-4 bulbs crammed into each. There are so many, in fact, that the librarians told me to take any I wanted before bringing the rest over. I wasn't angling for free tulips and hyacinth, but yay!
@N,
Yay for free tulips and hyacinth! The past 2 years, I've managed to score leftover Easter tulip bulbs from our local Rural King, marked down to 25 cents a plant. Each plant bucket contained at least 5-6 bulbs, as well as some potting soil, so now I have a lovely tulip patch in our back yard for next to nothing!
@N, I'm going to Yosemite in a little bit and it has posted on it's website that is cash free. So I'm guessing credit and debit cards.
@auntiali, will you also make it to Sequoia?
@auntiali, not accepting cash is anti-American in my book. Tis the rare occasion I patronize these type of businesses.
@Selena,
Sometimes, it's unavoidable. My son had a marching band competition last fall at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and we were told well in advance that it is cash-free. We made sure our son had a Visa gift card, so he could buy food while there. (The cost of their meal on the way home was covered for them).
It’s bizarre that paying online is more expensive. Most places it’s the other way round.
@Victoria, when you pay your yearly federal taxes, if you use a credit card, they calculate 2% of the total payment as their cost of paying with a credit card. Cheaper just to have it taken out of your checking account.
@Maureen, we don’t generally get charged for using credit cards in the UK, and not many places accept cheques anymore. It’s got to be nearly 15yrs since I’ve used a cheque!
Direct bank transfers happens a lot more for tradespeople.
@Victoria,
The recipient is now charged approximately 3.5% for in-person credit card purchases. If card number has to be keyed in by hand, some credit card processing companies charge an additional fee of nearly 10%. Retailers, service companies, and municipalities are just trying to stay even and pass these charges on to the consumer. Banks are the big winners in a cashless system. I wish that it was possible to return to a cash only. Imagine saving 3.5% on your groceries, your medicine, medical bills and so forth.
@Maureen, there may not be pay by credit cards option moving forward, as only option (might) be withdrawal from your bank account. This year the IRS started automatic withdrawal if you owe (& are getting refund from state). Tax preparers have already been told this will be the option & it will happen by tax deadline date, unless you make payment arrangements before tax deadline. So basically, the government will be able to withdraw or deposit money if they have you bank information.
@Victoria, the fee is for what the cc companies charge the vendor. It used to be a contract violation for vendors to pass the charge thru but that changes maybe 25 years ago.
@Victoria, Last time we were in the UK, we needed cash from an account that we opened in 1983 and still had some of the checks left in the first and only checkbook we got from the bank. We lived in and still travel a lot to Scotland, but rarely wrote checks over the last 40 years. When we went to the bank (good luck finding one in towns outside large cities!) and pulled out the check, the young cashier yelled out that here is someone with a real check, and other young employees came over to look. It was like we were presenting something from ancient Egypt; most of them said they had not seen a real check.
@Victoria, we don't get charged for using a credit or debit card in Ireland either.
@Lindsey, that’s so funny!
I had completely blank looks when I was trying to find someone to deal with microfiche a few years ago.
But I still consider the 80s to be 20 years ago!
@Bee, AND don't forget the cost of storing all these transactions, some are piddly arse (pack of gum, cup of regular coffee). Storage costs (like two years of said piddly arse purchases) will not be free for much longer. Then add in the labor cost of dealing with disputed charges. It is a frickin' IT nightmare (where is Rose when I need her?). I've paid college costs via on-line check. I pay property taxes for four parcels via on-line check. I do like ACH which I deem auto-debit. But some CC companies won't ACH the total amount due, only the minimum payment. Perhaps that has changed since the mid 1990s but somehow I doubt it. Interest and fee income are too much of a lure for companies.
@Lindsey, lol.. dinosaurs still exist and I am proud to be one.
@Regina,
A few years ago when our son graduated from college we decided the best gift to him would be to pay off his student loans. I tried every way in the world to pay them off with a credit card and there was no way to do it. The federal government did not accept credit cards for paying student loans which I think is kind of insane even if they charge a small fee.
I wanted to pay it off with a credit card to get points, etc. I even looked into getting a cash advance and then writing a check to pay it off, but cash advanced don't earn points. So I just wound up writing a check for it but it made me crazy. But thank heavens he has no student loans to worry about.
School zones start that early because before care usually starts at 6am. That is a cheap ticket for speeding in a school zone! And no points! It’s so interesting how much the traffic policy varies in different jurisdictions.
Your project is beautiful!
@Tarynkay,
That's what I was thinking. I think my town has the elementary school before care starts at 5:30am, to accommodate parents who start work at 6 am.
Ohhhh, that makes sense. I was really scratching my head trying to figure out a 6 am start time, but this explains it.
@Kristen, which means you live in an area that has adjusted for the reality of these days. AND has decent before school (and likely after school) are. $40 is a nit so consider it your contribution to safe kids and assisting working parent(s).
Store the tape on a plastic bag. It helps to keep it from picking up dust, cat hair etc….
Ohh, good tip, thank you!
I had a few days off but we still ate at home and we travelled with a bottle of water and fruits in our backpack. Then I got a bug and spent two days in bed feeling very miserable and could not keep in food. Which was inadvertently frugal, I suppose 😉 However, we are now a new week with new energy and new possibilities!
I made my first batch of homemade plain yoghurt, in my slowcooker, and it was a remarkably easy process. Although it will not save us much money (plain yoghurt is very affordable where I live) it will certainly reduce the amount of plastic I bring into the house.
I found a summer dress in a thrift store. It is my size, my style and my colour, and I hope to get good wear out of it in summer. As always with summer dresses, the straps are ridiculously thin which is no good for ladies in need of proper support. But I plan to wear a matching thin cardigan (which I already have) on top of the dress and will still be presentable.
I sowed annuals, from last year's flowers and planted the few geraniums cutlings that survived the winter
I bought a number of annuals for my planters, they were smallish but cheap and with a little patience I will still have beautiful flowers - I know this from previous years.
For dinner we will eat white asparagus today - a rare treat. I had intented to prepare them yesterday on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII (but could not eat yet). There were a few veterans over for the celebrations, two centenarians from Canada. Remembrance, gratitude, celebration, and a prayer for peace in our days.
Aww, I hope you are feeling 100% soon.
I dislike when summer dresses have such thin straps too because I really want to wear a regular bra vs a strapless one.
@JNL,
I wish there were more summer dresses available in my size that are *not* sleeveless. I "get" you can wear a cardigan, shrug, etc., over it, but that generally doesn't work for me, and I'd rather not show off my inevitable "farmers tan". 🙂
@JNL, all hail to the 80th anniversary of VE Day, and to your country's commemoration of it. Peace in our time, O Lord.
@Liz B., totally agree! And my farmer tan upper arms aren't all that pretty, so summer dresses are out for me!
@Melissa, wear it proud. Better half used to have what I called a paint strip of tan lines on his calves, depending on where his socks "landed". Absolutely nothing wrong with hard work tan lines. A pox on those who put his/her/their noses in the air.
It is not so much the farmer tan I try to avoid showing, but the early stages of my bingoflappers. Plus, as Kristen pointed out, avoiding use of strapless bras. They make your boobs sag to your waist, which is a shame if your waist is your saving grace, framewise.
FFT, “Better Than a Poke in the Eye with a Sharp Stick” Edition (revised/updated from yesterday's FFT at the NCA):
“Better than a poke…” was what DH used to say when he’d encounter modest pieces of good luck (a sort of “ward off the evil eye” thing, I suppose). Anyway, I had several modest–well, OK, some not so modest–pieces of good luck Monday morning:
(1) I started the day with a bang by finding a $20 bill and a $10 bill in the middle of a street on my Monday morning walk route (as well as a penny and $1 in NY State deposit containers on the rest of the walk). So, as Katy at the NCA would say, I’ve come into some money–and I may have taken the early lead in the 2025 Found Change Challenge.
(2) My first stop during a morning out was my local bank branch, where I was able to roll over a 6-month CD at 4.00% (which was better than I did last time). I still may put much of my regular savings account there into a higher-earning online account, but I left the CD where it is, since it’s also important to me to maintain local customer relations. (The branch manager went to high school with DH’s nephews.)
(3) Next stop was Second Time Around (the pop-up thrift shop that operates out of a vacant bowling alley on Mondays in aid of a local food pantry). I scored a like-new Vera Bradley bag for my JASNA Panera friend (who has only two requirements for purses: they must be VB and they must be big enough to accommodate the ton of stuff she schleps around), and a new pair of Vermont Country Store adjustable-wrap bedroom slippers, for $8.
(4) Second Time Around also had the usual freebies at the end of the checkout counter. Today’s were a pair of LED light bulbs suitable for enclosed fixtures, and a 4-pack of day-old Wegmans Portuguese rolls ($4.25 if bought fresh from Wegmans).
(5) And for lunch, I luxuriously dunked one of the rolls into the sort of clam chowder I made Sunday, with more homemade stock, a couple of potatoes that needed to be used, and a couple of cans of minced clams. As DH also would have said, “Could be worse!”
(6) Bonus bird news:
(6a) I witnessed turkey vultures mating on Monday afternoon! I saw a pair alight on a neighbor’s rooftop, and, thank goodness, had binoculars handy to grab. The male sidled up to the female for all the world like Arte Johnson as Tyrone F. Horneigh sidling up to Ruth Buzzi as Gladys Ormphby on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (I've been thinking of this routine ever since Ruth's recent death)–and then, unlike Tyrone and Gladys, they actually **did** go at it. I almost fell out of my recliner laughing! (And as someone said on the NCA, there's now more of "nature's cleanup crew" on the way.)
(6b) And I've just come in from my Tuesday a.m. walk with another discovery: a Cooper's hawk nest at the end of our cul-de-sac! It's pretty easy to confuse Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks--but the female was vocalizing loudly, and there's no question that she's a Coop. (Thanks as always to the Cornell Lab's All About Birds website. And Cornell's Merlin app is the one and only reason I might ever get a smartphone.
@A. Marie, pop up thrift stores are my idea of excitement. I have stumbled onto several great deals this way.
@A. Marie, The Cornell Ornithology Lab has made two battery-powered books about birds--one with eastern species and one with and western species--that have pictures, information, and, most important, audio of the calls. My kids LOVE these books, and they were frequent reading when all my children were small. They're great, if you ever find them anywhere.
@A. Marie,
Wow on your number 1! My sister just bought a pair of thrifted slacks, and found a $20 bill in the pocket when she got home. I'm envious of you both!
I'm trying to sleep with the sounds of lovelorn barred owls at night, these days. I warned my granddaughters and played the Merlin app sounds so they would know that what they heard at night was not something hideous about to attack the house, just a few owls.
@JD, your comment about the barred owls reminds me of the one and only time I've ever seen/heard an Eastern screech owl. The Bestest Neighbors had this one hooting bloody murder (that's what it sounded like, at least) in one of their trees when they returned from a December holiday party many years ago, and they promptly alerted me.
@A. Marie, WOW! Your #1 is a great find!!!!! And I LOVE the Merlin app!!
@A. Marie,
Yay for your money finds! And I've never seen a Cooper's hawk in real life. lucky you! I, too, love the Merlin app....I used it the other morning (the Sound ID function) to identify the birds singing the other morning. Most were the usual suspects (American Robins, Carolina chickadees, Northern Cardinals...but also a goldfinch!). I see turkey vultures all the time - they fascinate me - but I've never seen them, um, going at it. I would've been laughing, too.
@Amy cheapohmom,
I wish my area would get some now and then!
@A. Marie, I absolutely swear by the Cornell app. Sometimes I just can’t see the bird, but I can hear it, and once you’ve recorded it, you have that recording saved in the app. So you can listen to it again to remind you. You can also delete if you don’t care to save it.
@A. Marie,
Are you a Niffler, that you can find money like that?
Bird life is wonderful to watch, better than television. I just have to keep our sweet cat in at dawn and dusk (we never let her go out at night), because she enjoys young birds in a different way. We try to wear her out by prolonged periods of play, because she yearns to go out. In a month or so, it will be safe again. She is 13, but in spring she is as nimble as she was at 3.
I'm kind of amazed you are having to arts and crafts posters for nursing school! We make conference posters all the time but these are created digitally and printed out in poster size - of course that would be too expensive for a school project but it is so nice not to be cutting things out and hoping everything fits/lines up properly.
1. We went to Costco and while that was not immediately frugal, hopefully the savings will be apparent in the next couple of months from the bulk buy
2. I cooked all our meals and packed all my lunches for work
3. I tracked my spending
4. Paid water bill by echeck instead of credit card to save on fees
I told Zoe I did feel like I was in grade school!
1. Retrieved and planted 35 more perennials from Buy Nothing which brings the total this year to an amazing 75 (35 hosta, 20 sedum and 20 ferns). Then I attacked the weeds in all of our landscape beds. My whole body is sore.
2. Scheduled my pup’s ophthalmology and vet appointments back to back so she only needs to take her sedation meds once.
3. Menu planned around what we needed to use up: Southern Creole sauce went into a concoction of brown rice, sauteed peppers, onions, corn and kidney beans. Vegetarian Reuben sandwiches with mushrooms, cabbage and sauerkraut. Quesadillas with avocadoes, salsa, corn, black beans and sour cream. Noodles with peanut oil, tofu, peas and carrots. Broccoli mushroom casserole (the only dish with a recipe to follow).
4. Made iced tea using tea bags received from Buy Nothing.
5. Made muffins for a friend in need with supplies on hand – one batch of lemon blueberry and one batch of almond poppyseed.
@MB in MN, that's a great score on all the free plants. And I hear you about the aging body in the garden: My usual refrain is "I sprained my body!" (Selena recently suggested a massage, and I do have a gift certificate for one, so I'm probably going to use this now that my broken rib is completely healed.)
@A. Marie, that's a good line! I'm going to have to remember that one.
@MB in MN,
Your flower beds must look lush. Amazing to have gotten so many free plants on BN. Are they all from the same source?
@Bee, they were from three sources, although one gave me the majority of the bounty. And this was after other people had taken what they wanted!
Next time you need under-dress undies, check out bike shorts for a frugal win. I recently bought a pack of 6 pairs for $22 in various colors that are cotton and spandex. Comfy, good fit. I wear them more as boxers under clothing than for riding my electric tricycle!
Whenever I tried to wear the thigh length shorts-thingys under clothing to hide panty lines, I could see where they stopped on my thigh, and I don't have big thighs. It's as though I just moved the panty line down. These don't show where they stop on your thighs?
I had a less than frugal weekend, because I indulged the two granddaughters who stayed with me, but I don't care.
1. I hung all my laundry on the clothes line or on the rack inside this weekend. I still need a dryer at times, but I use it very infrequently.
2. The girls and I had pizza and pasta at the pizzeria where my oldest granddaughter works, but we had the leftovers for another meal. The 3 grandgirls traded funny "insults" the whole time we were there, so free entertainment, and my daughter, the oldest granddaughter's mom, joined us for lunch, too.
3. At the house the girls drank lemonade made from frozen juice from my tree. That is their preferred drink at my house, and water is second.
4. I had to get a new pump for our (given to us) three-tiered fountain in the brick pool. The electrician who recently put in a transfer switch for a generator told me he would install the new pump for free when I got it, and he did. He even changed out the electrical box at the pool from hard wire to plug in, because cutting off the end of the cord to hard wire the pump would void the warranty on the pump. All for free.
5. I'm still using windows and fans to cool my house as much as possible. That won't last much longer, but I enjoyed seeing on my latest bill the downturn in my electric usage compared to last year at this time.
Bonus, the two girls were content to pick berries, play games, help me in the garden and watch free streaming movies even though I offered to take them somewhere, so other than food, we had a low-cost visit.
@JD, I like everything about your FFT, especially the bonus. Clearly, you raised good kids, and your kids raised good kids.
So, these are very very smooth at the edges of the legs and at the waistband; there's no seam like you'd find on shorts that are meant to be worn on their own.
That makes them nigh onto invisible!
@JD,
Oh, you're not indulging your granddaughters; you're just giving them everything they could possibly ever want before they know they want it. But isn't that what grandmas are for? ROTFL!
@Kristen,
Mine didn't have seamed hems or any hems, they just sort of ended. I must have bought the wrong brand.
@JD, are you wearing them for additional coverage (say, under a white dress), or to prevent chafing? If it's the latter, I highly recommend Body Glide (or, there are likely alternatives, but this is the one I use) to avoid "chub rub". It's in like a deodorant stick, leaves no marks, and is an absolute gift for many things: when running to avoid blisters (think on your feet, where your sports bra can chafe, etc, men can use them over their n*pples to prevent rashes/bleeding while running, etc). It's also fantastic to avoid chub rub chafing.
I'm in no way affiliated with the makers of the product, but tell everyone about it, because it's fabulous.
1. I made a biannual trip to the Scatch and Dent stores in Middlefield OH. I spent a total of $243. My budget was 275. I was able to restock and I had kept our average grocery budget down to $413.25 for a family of 4 adults.
2. I seeded radishes and spinach a 2nd time. Hoping to have no interuption in my garden harvest this spring.
3. Collected a small box of food stuffs to take on vacation.
4. I bought discount tickets for a show we want to see.
5. My goal for no drive days this month is 20 and my daughter drove to Middlefield. 5/20
@Amy cheapohmom, I forgot. I am taking a free tax class for CPE credit today.
@Amy cheapohmom, My grandpa and his brother used to run a grocery store in Middlefield over 50 years ago! We kids were always intrigued by the horse and buggy tie ups for the Amish customers--
1. I used some expired, but still edible, coconut yogurt as a buttermilk substitute to make pancakes.
2. I stacked credit card cash back offers, Ibotta cash back, and store loyalty rewards to save on an order of vitamins from iHerb.com.
3. I used an Ebay gift card I had been given to buy replacement filters for my air cleaner. Since it was a birthday gift, I also used some of it to buy a few used books.
4. I baked cornbread and biscuits instead of buying bread.
5. I had a small family party at home for my birthday, with home cooked food and limited gifts. Apparently this is unusual these days? But it’s how I was raised and is still my preference over going out to eat or having a big party somewhere. I'm still eating leftovers from the party.
And bonus 6. I used a free YouTube video for exercise. No gym equipment required.
@Elizabeth M, that's (mostly) always how we celebrated birthdays. I made whatever food birthday person wanted & immediate family members came. Sometimes few gifts, sometimes only cards. We did do occasional party for kids growing up (1st birthday, one in elementary & middle school & 16th or 18th birthday). I find it crazy that so many people have birthday parties (non family) every year.
@Elizabeth M,
Re: your #5, that's how my birth family celebrated most birthdays, and that's how my own family has usually celebrated birthdays. My birthday was, depending on the year, six or seven days after my grandmother's, so we often celebrated ours together with a family dinner at home. We all adored our grandmother, so I was proud, not put out, to share a birthday celebration with her. Home birthdays are my preference, too.
@Elizabeth M, that’s how we do birthdays too!
1. I the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans (aquafaba) to make egg less mayo for a turmeric and garbanzo bean sandwich spread that I made to help us use up a crazy amount of leftover pita bread.
2. I used the rest of the "mayo" to make potato salad from pantry ingredients.
3. I stored the leftover aquafaba in a glass Yoplait yogurt jar with a lid I bought for it. the following day I used it to make egg less waffles which had a slightly different taste than regular waffles and very good.
4. I went to a free improv comedy jam (basically a gathering where you play improv games with folks you normally don't work with on the regular) to unstick my brain from writer's block. I drank water (I attempted to order a drink at the bar but it was too busy,) sang Karaoke with some of the folks after the jam, and had a great time for free.
5. I couldn't find the straw to a reusable latte tumbler. I sized some of our generic reusable straws to the tumbler, have several that work, and made an iced coffee latte to used up a cold brew concentrate that I didn't care for with water but learned I like OKish with milk. In the future I'll keep making my own cold brew concentrate when on the road.
@Lazy Budget Chef, Oh thank you for the tip on aquafaba mayonnaise!! I have 1/2 cup of aquafaba in my fridge and was wondering what to do with it, as I forgot to use it instead of eggs in cornbread the other day.
My mother went to nursing school while I was in high school, back in the late 1970s. I still have the Florence Nightingale lamp that was part of her ceremony, and her cap. Hers was a 'capping' ceremony, because back then nurses dressed all in white with white nurse's caps. Shortly after she went to work, everyone changed to wearing scrubs and I remember she was so happy. (I also have a picture of her in my hallway in her student nurse's uniform -- a blue dress and white pinafore and cap.)
As for frugals this week:
We're going on vacation in 10 days and I'm trying to eat down the refrigerator, so lots of odds and ends are being used in meals. I did have to throw out one cucumber, so that's a fail, but it went into the compost pile, so all is not lost.
I sifted out enough lovely compost to fill a couple of pots for planting.
We're eating salads and some greens form the greenhouse.
I'm doing some organizing and cleaning and finding some things I can use and things I can donate.
We helped a local group we belong to pick up trash on the highway and my husband found a chain saw file that fits one of his saws. Now he can keep a file in each chainsaw case, instead of transferring them back and forth. (We have multiple chainsaws because we cut a LOT of firewood.)
I am so very glad we don't have to wear all white anymore. I appreciate the stain-hiding utility of other colors!
1. Gave husband a haircut.
2. Didn't go out to eat on a day we both worked outside extra long, even though it was a very tempting idea.
3. Not frugal for me, but for someone else: gave away an old wooden hayloft ladder I no longer needed. Recipient was ecstatic as she had been about to purchase a shorter wooden ladder for $40 to make a blanket ladder with. She said with my free 12' ladder she'd now be able to make two; one for her home and one for her camper.
4. Harvested the first asparagus spears of the year from the garden.
5. Cut tulips, hyacinth, daffodils and muscari from the flower beds and put in a vase for the dining room. Also cut some lilacs that are in bloom and made another bouquet for the kitchen.
I always get beige bras and underwear to match my skin tone for that very reason!
BTW, that poster looks great!
1. I adopted a dog from the shelter for $12, a Rottweiler named Snuggles (of all things!) --the pound people named him that due to his cuddly nature. It was love at first sight! He just came up to me and snuggled with me, wanting to be loved. So his name fits him! I'm using a lot of my late fur-baby's gear for him since they're the same size. (Not frugal: I went to Targets and loaded up on all kinds of treats, food, bones, a collar and leash and other neat stuff I didn't have on hand. Including a pouffy bed he didn't like at first, but is now snuggling into. I put it near my bed and he slept in it all night. I spent over $90, all total. But he's worth it!)
2. Got a couple of candy bars on sale for 99 cents instead of the usual $1.32.
3. Took my discarded ceiling lights and donated them to Habitat ReStore. Not only did I get rid of a large, heavy box of unneeded things, but they also gave me a receipt for income taxes....just in case I have to itemize. Glad I got the new lights purchased before the tariffs set in; no telling how much more they're going to cost now.
4. Substitute teaching yesterday: Grabbed up some aluminum cans from the classroom trashcan, now that the school no longer collects them for recycling. They'll add to my bag I plan to take to the recycler this summer.
5. Talked to a student in the 8th period Agriculture greenhouse class about frugal landscaping. He works at a (plant) nursery on the weekends and knows all about how to get rid of the broadleaf weeds taking over my ivy patch. I will go see him Saturday.
@Fru-gal Lisa,
Oh, how wonderful about Snuggles! He's worth every penny. Have fun with your new pal!!
@Fru-gal Lisa, so glad you found another doggo to love. enjoy enjoy. could we perchance see a photo?
YAY for your new furry friend!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
I'm glad to hear you found a companion again!
@Fru-gal Lisa, welcome, Snuggles!!
@Fru-gal Lisa, Congratulations on your dear Snuggles. Just loved to hear this.
@Fru-gal Lisa, congratulations to both you and Snuggles. He's a lucky dog. I hope that you will enjoy many happy years together.
Everyone,
Snuggles is lying on the floor next to my computer desk. I told him he had a lot of messages from you all and he thumped his tail on the floor several times to say hello. He also sends puppy dog greetings to Clobber Paws and all the other Commentariat dogs and cats!
* I did several bits of Rescue Cooking:
- a casserole of onions that were getting soft, baby carrots that were languishing (slicing them, even with a mandoline, was time consuming), gifted potatoes, and chicken drippings;
- potatoes scalloped with bacon grease, to use up the last of the potatoes;
- asparagus & mushroom dish; and
- soup, this one with old carrots, more soft onions, a mushroom/tomato/onion dish I didn’t love so froze for later use, beans, ham stock, and other odds and ends.
* Got rid of ants in my office with a borax & sugar solution.
* Swapped a lot of unwanted things with friends, including a lot of food, sauces, and spices from a friend who can’t eat them any more. She also gave me manila hanging folders I was looking for. I gave away plant pots, including some of the massive ones, because if I haven’t used them in 5-10 years, I probably won’t.
* The usual:
- compost my food scraps and shredded paper;
- printing on “used” paper, if the back is blank, including from junk mail;
- saving the “is it hot yet?” water for the dog and the plants;
- using the small notebooks that somehow accumulate, one per subject such as medical or house maintenance.
My whole life I don't think I've ever seen a single person eat a Mounds bar.
(it's a Family Guy reference - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgPX9cHC06Q )
1. Got a deal on some cheap shorts and jeans that may actually fit me. Jeans go through style changes and right now the ones cut for men just don't fit my weird frame very well. I know I should lose some weight or something but it sucks that I can't find jeans that aren't trash. Also most jeans these days aren't even real denim (mix of polyester and stuff.) If I were rich I would go to Japan and get some custom tailored jeans made just for me.
2. Renewed a CD for 14 months at something like 4.1% at Capital One. It's part of a diverse collection of investments but for a CD that's pretty good.
3. Getting some sweet, sweet overtime on the semi-regular. getting more money for an hour of work yields a lot higher result than clipping coupons at this stage in my life (not that clipping coupons is even a thing any more.)
4. Getting my brakes fixed this week instead of buying a new car. That counts, right. 😛 Honestly, at this point the price of a new car is so high that even though I could do it, the sticker shock is so high I have no interest in doing it. Running this car until the wheels fall off if I can.
5. Just getting stuff ready to sell. I mean, it will be better when they are sold and gone and the house is clean but baby steps.
@Battra92, I hear you on your #2 (see my comment above) and your #4. My ambition for my 2010 Honda Element is to keep it on the road until I have to be taken off the road myself. (I'm almost 70 and have dodgy eyesight and aging reflexes, so this ambition may actually be realistic.)
@A. Marie, I actually saw a Honda Element yesterday with a sticker that said something like "Honda Element Club. Driving it Until the Wheels Fall Off" and I respect that.
The Element was a nice car and sadly there's not really any good new replacements for them. It really was a great design so I admire you keeping it on the road for so long.
@Battra92, I about passed out when looking at Honda Pilots and Passports (new) and their prices! I've got the 15 year old Honda CRV that I will keep on the road til it either rusts out or wheels fall off. I just can't wrap my head around paying 40 d- 50K for a new car. If we ever get a new car it will most likely be our last. When we need to do a long road trip we rent an SUV through Costco.
@A. Marie, that is practically brand new. You have nothing to worry about. I’m now in the market to replace my ’96 Honda Accord. Sigh. (Sob)
• I picked up some used coffee ground on my Starbucks run this morning to add to my soil in my container garden.
• I picked up a new book and a puzzle, dropped off a puzzle I completed, and started a new audiobook from the library this weekend.
• My son found a pair of turf shoes on the clearance rack while we were shopping for track shoes. I was happy to pick them up for him knowing he will need them this fall.
• I used Upside to fill up my gas tank on the way to work.
• My son had a last-minute sleepover invitation on Saturday so husband and I had a date night in. He had credit for a free pizza so we had dinner and a movie at home!
Bonus - My parents stopped over to borrow a suitcase for a trip they are taking this week. I told my dad not to buy a new one when we have suitcases we aren’t using!
@Geneva, I used to bury my coffee grounds until I read an article in a farming magazine that said the grounds still contain caffeine which is a natural herbicide. WHAT?? How are we ever supposed to know what is true? I stopped burying the grounds around my ferns about a year ago, and they have been doing better. So maybe it is true. Anyway, do some poking around and see what you learn.
I’m so fair that white underpants might be the best match for me!
I expanded my garden and managed to cobble together some deer-proofing from things I found in the barn. Old, bent chicken wire works just fine! I got my plants in the ground, and the weather promptly took a turn, with frost in the forecast. Ugh. I covered the plants with more things I found in the barn! Barns are handy.
DH had a birthday, and I made the cake from scratch. Baking has saved me so much money over the years! We had family over, and I made a nice baked ziti.
I have the worst ant infestation I’ve ever experienced, and am researching how an exterminator might handle it. I don’t want to pay an exterminator! Terro usually works, but not this time!
Hahahaha, well, Knix does offer them in a variety of tones to match varying levels of melanin.
I'm of German/Norwegian descent so definitely a white person, but I don't have a pale porcelain type of skin. So a beige works for me!
@Kristen, I think a big helping of Scottish is my downfall!
Irish would do the same. Ha.
1. We had no power for over a week due to a bad storm. It finally was restored yesterday afternoon. The upside will be a lower electricity bill. Luckily, there was no damage to my home.
2. The power outage coincided with my staying with a family member to help care for them after surgery. Luckily, the power was not affected at their house. I was treated to take out one night so I could have a break.
3. I haven’t spent a dime on anything other than necessities. After paying for the home repairs and the job situation (or lack there of!), I’m in major financial lock down.
4. I was able to do laundry at my family’s house and I hung everything on the clothesline to dry.
5. Filling my time with job searching and reading - trying desperately not to stress eat!
Frugal sad: I lost all of my food in my fridge and freezer because of the power outage. Because of my caretaking duties, I wasn’t able to make the several hours trip back to my house to get the food and my friends also didn’t have power so there was no saving it.
@Pattilou,
I'm sorry you lost all your food! I've had that happen, and it is a real blow.
@Pattilou, I second JD's sympathy on the loss of all that food. There hasn't been a multi-day power outage here in Central NY since our locally legendary Labor Day 1998 derecho, thank goodness (although I keep in mind that with climate change, there may always be a next time). DH did do a "high on the hog" BBQ with various big-ticket items once it became clear that the cavalry wasn't coming immediately--but we lost a lot of food all the same.
@Pattilou, Wow. You're really dealing with a LOT. Thinking of you and hoping you're getting as much support from others as you clearly are giving to them.
@JDinNM, @JD and @ A. Marie, thank you for your kind words. It has been a lot but I need to keep reminding myself that I do have support and I will get through this really hard time. I enjoy reading Kristen’s blog and so appreciate how everyone is so supportive in the comments.
@A. Marie,
Our city had bad storms and many lost power for a few days. A few years ago my hubby bought two portable rechargeable batteries. Even though I fussed at the time because they were expensive, they have saved us a few times. On the latest time, we plugged the fridge into one when the power was out for about 2 hours and didn't know how longer power outage would be. The key is to keep them charged up so they're ready when needed.
I love that poster! What an impactful way to depict what I'm sure is an extensive medication list!
My frugals:
- Using a cream soup package that a neighbor left on the porch prior to their move. Trying a new thing for free!
- Took freezer fig newtons on my bike ride this weekend so I minimized the leg fuel/snack purchases.
- Sent the husband along with dried meals again for his latest trip.
- Double checked the hotel, which was previously booked, near a baseball field we are planning to visit soon. There was an empty room, so I used my free night to book us there (saves on train tickets having to go to the city twice).
- Made my mom a card instead of buying one.
1. Scoured the Kroger weekly sales ad and took advantage on things we use regularly in our home and stocked up. Items like Coke Zero, coffee creamer, ground turkey, grapes, navel oranges, milk, blueberries, tortilla chips, canned tomatoes & milk.
2. It was time for a new family vehicle and while this is never a frugal process we did the best we could shopping for the best price, rebates and interest rate we could get, haggled for the top price for our trade and settled on a demo vehicle with a small amount of miles that saved us thousands.
3. I signed my son up for vacation bible school with our church and enrolled him in Christian summer camp early to get the lowest price possible.
4. Scored snacks for last week's soccer game at Dollar General. They tend to have lower prices on snack food items from time to time and this was no exception.
5. Cleaning out the fridge for dinner tonight so that we eat up leftovers and stretch our grocery dollars as far as they can possibly go.
@Angie,
Vacation Bible Schools are great free activities for families! (They pass the plate, but YOU decide how much to pay. So it's whatever you can afford.) Most of them go all out to give kids a fantastic experience, as well as learn about God. Some churches schedule VBS during the evenings and also have events for Mom and Dad. I like that the kids can meet other kids from Christian homes, and in larger towns, these may be kids from other schools. Your kids may be going to different elementary schools but be zoned for the same middle schools/high schools, and they can meet each other a few years/months in advance. Also, you can go visit other churches' VBSes.
-I Didn’t go grocery shopping last week, we ate from the freezer and pantry.
-my daughter is sick but we have all the medicine we need on hand
- I’ve been better about eating salads and using the leftover protein on hand for lunches
- drinking my coffee at home
- ironing my husbands dress shirts instead of dry cleaning. I don’t love doing it but I do love him 🙂
- we live near the airport, so I’ve become to park and drive for my mom. And also my nephew. (Frugal for them:)
-
This one tickled me. I'm visiting the grandkids. I'm known as the grandma who fixes things. I also fold laundry and do dishes, just to give mama a tiny break. As I was folding, I noticed a small hole forming in someone's favorite red fireman pj's. There was no red thread in the sewing kit, but as I was tidying it, I found white thread and a red Sharpie. Voila, instant red thread.
The place we're visiting has a store called the "Motherlode Mercantile" at the town dump. I always make time to go spelunking there. On this trip, I found eight puzzles, a new-in-box backgammon game (good for counting practice with the grands), a SS All Clad frying pan, a pizza pan, a cute new dish towel from Stonewall Kitchen, and storage bin from Container Store. The real score was a partially completed wool sweater, plus enough wool to complete it. There were also 6-8 skeins of virgin wool in other colors. I stuffed all the wool into a cute, sturdy handled basket. The total: $20.
I don't knit, but I have friends who do, and they're going to be thrilled.
Bonus frugal thing: it gives me the yippee skippies to see the grands (and their parents) wearing, reading, and using thrifted items I've given them in the past.
Ooh, what a good idea with the thread!
@Kristen, "Necessity is the (grand)mother of invention."
The usuals—all meals at home or packed, no store-bought coffees, library. (Never mind about the 3 skirts I ordered—one is going back, and the other two will be altered to fit AND I am emptying my closet of many old clothes with hopes of finding a good consignment store when I visit my sister in June.)
Plus:
1. The husband wanted new flipflops. They were on sale, and we had LLBeanbucks, so they are 19.55 instead of $59.
2. Friend picked up 2 packages of mini cukes and wouldn’t let me pay her. (I took her a bag of oranges, gleaned from a friend’s grove, of course.
1. Between the use of a blurry but free online 24 week half-marathon training plan, the free cronometer app, and some willpower, I brought my A1c down .4% and have dropped almost 10 pounds. It's frugal because if the A1c hadn't dropped and had instead continued to increase, my doctor was going to prescribe me metformin. I did spend some cash on some continuous glucose monitors and protein powder but I used them judiciously and of course with a small discount. I'd rather spend some money on this side of ailments than the other.
2. I parked under a tree (that I park under all the time) at the park but for some reason, on Saturday morning, the birds went nuts and I was shocked (comically but genuinely shocked) at the condition of my car when I got back from my run. I wanted to immediately run it through the car wash but it was drizzly that morning. Instead I took it home and sprayed it down with the hose.
3. Husband wanted to grab some food for my daughter and me and we decided to just go home and eat what we had instead.
4. I bundled together delivery on a target order and they knocked off $1. It's small but it made my purchases a little less expensive.
5. Did some price comparisons before buying groceries. It really is convenient that I can check sales from 3-4 different stores quickly online and make my shopping list accordingly.
@CrunchyCake, #1 is a great example of "you can pay me now (exercise and diet) or you can pay me later (metformin)." Congratulations! Takes commitment and a lot of discipline.
@JDinNM, Aww, thanks, JD! It's been effortful but rewarding. I feel proud of myself and am working on seeing if I can push it down further in another six months.
@CrunchyCake,
Go, CrunchyCake! You can do this!! Look how far you've come already!!!! We're pulling for you!
@Fru-gal Lisa, Thank you, Lisa! I appreciate it!
Frugal things:
- A coworker gave me a water table for our grandson that is in mint condition
- Got gas at Costco but didn't go into the store
- Received a bag of dog toys and treats from our daughter since their dog passed away recently
- Menu planned around what we had on hand and what needed to use up
- Continue to use my Kindle Unlimited subscription to its fullest
Made a mixed plant decorative planter of geraniums and other plants started from seeds for my mom's birthday. Will take her for a drive and picnic lunch. Picked a huge bouquet of lilacs for her sitting room. Baked a dozen cupcakes for her to take while visiting friends on her "making the rounds" road trip.
Bought fence materials at a farm auction, still on the pallets at a 70% savings. I will pressure wash and install when my helpers are home from college.
Cleaning and organizing the freezers and cooking up and freezing dinner starters for the busy farm season.
Made a big batch of granola and skyr.
Potted up a dozen hand painted pots of violets for mothers day gifts. The pots were a gift from my art college goddaughter.
1) I completed my monthly spray out of our reusable HVAC filter. Paying more for a reusable filter is only frugal if you then do the maintenance to keep it in good condition. I have a reminder on my calendar to do it on the first of each month. Some months it turns into actually doing it on the 6th, like today, but I am still consistently keeping it clean.
2) While I was already outside futzing with the hose to clean the filter (I hate outside hose futzing), I thought about the drain tube from the dehumidifier. It got clogged from being in the dirty basement of our last office, and I had just set it aside with plans to order another one. Now it is getting humid, so I would like to use the thing, but it needs a hose to work or I am manually dumping the drain bucket once a day. I thought why not try using the hose to spray it out before trashing it. And low and behold it worked! Yay for not having to buy another hose!
3) My husband and I both made salads for lunch by combining leftovers from the fridge. I also started some chicken in the crock pot for dinner. And I made another batch of my protein powder puddings to continue eating up the protein powder passed along to us by my mother in law.
4) My husband and I are scheduled to meet with our daughter's neuropsychologist this afternoon to discuss the results of her recent evaluation. We really like the doctor, but the office is a half hour drive from our house. This morning his office called and asked if we would like to make it a Telehealth visit. Yes we would! Obviously most doctors visits require the patient to be physically available, but I love taking advantage of technology when we can. And it saves us an hour of our time and the gas to get there and back.
5) My husband had some loose plans for a mothers day present for me but nothing set. I suggested a simple project for the house that will take him very little time and use materials we have on hand. And it will produce a thing that is special to us all. He loved the idea and will now spend $0. Win win win.
Telehealth is a wonderful gift for people who have transportation difficulties too. My hospital has a virtual urgent care service, and there are also some virtual primary care services here; perfect for people who can't drive!
Combined CVS Extra Bucks and Sales to get 3 bottles of Contact Lens Solution for $10. (A lot of CVS locations near me are closing? Not sure what that is about..)
Returning something at WalMart, found 2 pennies on floor, and then 68 cents in the change return!
Used Upside to get cash back on my gas fill up.
Brought home over ripe bananas from work to freeze for muffins/bread/smoothies.
Cobbled together a “mystery Italian bake” from things in freezer to eat this week: serving of Baked ziti, 6 meatballs, red sauce, bag of frozen broccoli – stirred all into one dish with some cheese and baked. DELICIOUS. Belly full, freezer emptier!
Had an appointment this morning to tweak my hearing aides. I have been at least 7-8 months adapting to them. The audiologist tested my hearing using a different method than in the sound room. This is frugal because every thing is still under warranty. The adjustments we made seem more promising.
I filled up w gas at $2.72 per gallon.
I got my free health care worker's drink from Scooter's today.
I also potted plants for the entryway where I work. The plants themselves were not cheap but I reused the pots I had last year and just recharged the soil with some fertilizer and a little fresh dirt. I had enough plants leftover for a planter for here at home. I used a short box planter that I purchased w several other planters on Swap Shop.
$40 for a school zone speeding ticket is an absolute steal. I got one a few years ago (don't have kids and thought school was still on spring break) and it was $350 for going 40km in a 30km zone. OUCH.
FFT
- Sold 2 items online that put $180 back into my pocket. It's always great when something sells.
- One of my loyalty points programs had a little over 250K points in it (10K = $10) so I redeemed for $140 in groceries.
- The last step in my kitchen reno was the backsplash and I bought tile at Habitat for Humanity, which saved me at least 75% over buying tile from a hardware or tile store and it also contributes to a good cause.
- Participated in a gift card promotion where each GC purchased gave a bonus $15 Walmart GC. I purchased several.
- Used a promotion where purchasing $10 in gas gave $5 back in points.
I had to renew my California driver's license this year. I didn't need to take a test, or have a new photo this time.
They tell you that you may NOT come to the DMV to do it, you must do it online or at some sort of kiosk (I've never seen a DMV kiosk in the wild). Apparently, there is a single kiosk outside my local DMV office, I didn't fancy having to wait in line outside in the wind and rain to renew my license.
No mail-in option.
The cost of renewing your driver's license in my state has gone up a lot, so that was a shock. Then, when checking out, I was charged a "convenience fee" for renewing online AND a credit card fee. Between them, I had to pay nearly 25% more for the "convenience". UGH!
I remember someone giving me that advice about skin colored undergarments, before my nursing school graduation. Just passed the 15 year anniversary of that event! I borrowed white scrubs from a nurse friend who had to wear them at her job 😉
Congratulations on being SOOO close to done!!!
Sad to say @Kristen I deem you now officially old. Someone 18-24 years old/some "celebrities" would not give a hoot about undergarments. Said from a person who has not worn a bra since age 17 except when leaving the house as a nursing mom.
But it is exciting that you are graduating - Be In Total Control of Yourself. What every woman should aspire to be.
FYI from my community theater hobby----if you are going to be in bright light (like sunlight) black undergarments are invisible under white clothing, too. The light reflects off the white but is absorbed by the black. If you don't have access to skin tone, it works.
I will never understand why there is a fee for online/electronic transfers. They literally cost next to nothing, while accepting a paper check requires man hours. Makes no sense.
Five frugal things
I saved some greens for soup. I opened a big can of seasoned greens for dinner one night and we still had a lot left after a second dinner, so I froze them to go into a veggie soup later.
I recycled a big, heavy wooden decorative piece to a local thrift shop. This had been sitting in our garage for years. We bought it from a new shop friends had opened to kind of support their new venture and my husband loves nearly anything made of wood. We never hung it because it's big and we didn't have an obvious place for it. I got tired of scraping my leg on it. It will be fabulous – in someone else's home. I didn't tell him, but I doubt he will even miss it. He's a bit of a pack rat.
I doctored up a frozen pizza instead of buying pizza from a restaurant. We wanted pizza but couldn't decide where to get it as we've been disappointed the last few times we ordered – hubby thought the meat tasted bad. So I just bought a few frozen supreme pizzas on sale and added peppers and feta cheese to one to make it the way we like it. We're not pizza connoisseurs so it was fine for us. I made a nice salad to go with it. We saved a bundle since takeout pizza is easily 3 times more expensive.
I treated myself to an hour-long facial. It felt so good and my skin was glowing for days. It wasn't cheap and I can't afford to do it often. After googling how to do a facial step by step, I realized I had nearly everything I needed to do my own facial at home. I ordered some exfoliating pads from Amazon and I'll be doing my next facial at home. I'm think of inviting a girlfriend and we could each have one! It'll save $100.
I dropped off a tax payment to our county treasurer in their office drop box rather than paying a $4 fee to pay it on line or putting a stamp on it. I was out running errands anyway. And then I stopped and visited with a friend who works nearby.
Yes, Dollar Tree has poster boards! I found out later but I wish I knew it sooner when I brought my girl's poster at the beginning of the school year. Live and learn.
My Frugal 5's
- Packed my girl's field trip lunch with things we already had at home.
- Got a bag of bruised apples, a couple containers of muffins, and a tiramisu for free from my food pantry, that they got through Costco, which they're not able to give out .
- Husband brought each of our 3 girls a couple of Cat & Jack pants at Target since they keep getting holes on their pants at their knee area. Target has a great one year return policy on their Cat & Jack clothes.
- Batch run all my errands at the library. Attended a floral arrangement class and got a free bouquet for Mother's Day. While there, returned all checked out books, DVDs, video games, and card games to the library. Also, donated a couple books and turned in our drawings for this summer reading t-shirt contest.
- My Husband has been our most awesome handy man. He pushed the loose siding on our house back in, replaced the cracked wood on our deck steps, removed the hard drive from my dying laptop and destroyed it. He's also in the process of fixing our AC unit (Just waiting on the parts to arrive) and the brakes on our two vehicles.