Five Frugal Things: Snoopy needs his nose
1. I fixed a Snoopy nose
Between the two of us, Zoe and I have a lot of stuffed Snoopies! And recently, one of hers lost his nose.
I sewed it back on, and it was actually a harder task than I anticipated! I'm still wondering if I should have made it a little more flush with his face than I did.
Now that I'm looking at these photos, I'm noticing the stitching on his one foot needs some help too. But that is another problem for another day. At least he has a nose again!
2. I returned a calculator
For my unproctored chemistry tests, I'd just been using my iPhone calculator, which is perfectly sufficient.
But the chemistry final was proctored, and the instructions said I was going to be allowed to use a scientific calculator. I certainly didn't want to get disqualified for using my iPhone calculator, so I ran out to Office Depot and bought a $24 scientific calculator.
However, when I logged into my final, it said I was not allowed to use a physical calculator; instead, they included a built-in calculator on the test website.
Which is decidedly not what the directions said.
(Once again I say: APPARENTLY NO ONE PROOFREADS ANYTHING. Sigh.)
Anyway. I have zero use for a scientific calculator, and it was still brand new. So, I brought it right back to the store for a refund, and hopefully they will resell it to someone who actually needs it.
3. I sold a pair of Goodwill shorts
Remember how I bought those two pairs, discovered they didn't fit, and then missed the return window?
Well, I listed the Adidas pair on eBay, and this week, I sold them. I think I paid $6.99 for them initially, and sold them for $6. Plus, eBay takes a cut, so this is still a loss.
But hey, it's not a total loss, and now the shorts are going to someone who can use them.
The other pair is a no-name brand, so I'm not sure they are worth listing. I may just donate those!
4. I listed a hoodie for Zoe on eBay
She cleaned out her closet and made a donation pile, and I spied a hoodie that I thought might sell for a decent amount. The completed listings look good, so I made a quick listing, and hopefully it'll sell for her.
(Obviously, I will give the money to her!)
5. I got my CPR approved!!!
If you're just joining us: my BSN school wanted me to get the American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification (BLS) instead of the Red Cross BLS that I have through my hospital, even though my BSN clinicals are at my hospital.
This would have required another $120 and a day of class, all for an active certification that I already hold.
I have sent so many emails about this with barely a response. So I finally took matters into my own hands, emailed the director of the wound clinic, and asked if she could prepare a letter saying the wound clinic was cool with my current BLS certification.
I sent that to my school this week, and now, finally, my CPR certification is approved!
I am very happy about this, although I still think there was no reason for this to require eleventy-million emails on my part.
But I saved myself $120, and I also feel satisfied about this outcome on principle. No one should need to get recertified if they are currently certified.
We went on a mini-vacation last weekend, so spending extra money was definitely involved. But we still did some frugal things!
1. Most of our meals were from food we packed for the trip and ate at the cabin. Exceptions were just meals on the road and one meal out during our big excursion.
2. We bought tickets for our excursion ahead of time online, which saved us $4 per ticket. The excursion was an example of saving money other places so we can spend it on things that matter. It was more expensive than things we normally do, but we had a blast and made a lot of memories. Totally worth it!
3. We split two pizzas and drank water for our lunch while on the excursion instead of all five of us ordering individual things. This was the first time I've had a significant amount of gluten since August, but I knew that everyone buying individual meals instead of sharing pizza would make lunch cost an extra $25-$30, so I chose to go with it. It was yummy, I felt kind of crappy for an hour or so (thankfully no eczema breakouts!), and have now resumed my GF eating.
4. I attended a fancy brunch with my husband last week at the place where I work catering. It was different to be on the attendee end of things! But my entire outfit for the fancy brunch was from Goodwill (yay!) and once the event was over, I clocked in to help with the clean up and get paid.
5. I also picked up a second part-time job filling in at my kids' school as a long-term sub for someone in the cafeteria. I only work twice a week at most, but it helps them not be so short-staffed, I enjoy working with kids, and it helps me reach my earning goal for the year.
I think it is so funny you clocked in after the fancy brunch! I like the hustle. Did you bring a change of clothes? Or did you clean up in your dressy outfit?
Snoopy looks so cute with his nose! How annoying about the calculator.
Frugals:
1. I paid money into my emergency fund and towards my student loan.
2. I went to a theme park with some friends but only bought a small snack and drink aside from the entrance ticket, and had my main meal when I got home (this was partly due to thinking it wouldn't be wise to eat and then go on a rollercoaster).
3. I wanted to see a horror film at the cinema but no one else could go/wanted to, and I was too chicken to go by myself, so I stayed in and watched Suspiria (which was more frightening than I expected!). I paid money to rent it but that's cheaper than an evening out. I also watched the Halloween episode of My So-Called Life which I own on DVD.
4. I went to a yoga class included in my gym membership.
5. When I went to Venice with my sister I gave her my mother's birthday card and a small present so that I wouldn't have to spend money on posting them.
Otherwise, all the usual things, such as mostly cooking at home, using the library and swimming outside (which reminds me that it's time for a new month's swim).
I forgot to mention this yesterday, but in regards to the 'drill sergeant', I often think 'done is better than perfect'. I am not much of a perfectionist anyway, but it helps me when I get too in my head about finishing something or hitting a goal.
Theme park food is SO crazy expensive. And haha, yes, a big meal plus a roller coaster is probably not the greatest idea.
--My parents are visiting this week (yay!), so I'll be handing off holiday gifts while they're here. That saves the cost of mailing presents later since I know we won't be traveling this winter.
--Our kitchen door's previous curtain was past it--regular washing can't compete with daily cooking/kitchen goo! I replaced the grubby white curtain for a black one made from satin pillowcases we didn't like (too warm/sweaty!), stitched together on a horrible endometriosis day when I needed a distraction. It actually looks pretty spiffy!
--I'm renewing the registration for my vehicle today so there's no chance of forgetting it as November ramps up. This will be well under $40 thanks to our rural area, plus my beloved older car ('89). Since the county seat is a fifteen minute drive, I'll also stop at that town's grocery store and thrift shop.
--On the way home, I'll stop at another little town's car wash to vacuum my loyal steed for 75 cents. Our local car wash doesn't have a vacuum, and the other town's is literally by the side of the road one takes, anyway.
--Another library board member and I worked on a state-specific community involvement grant to help cover activities, guest speakers, etc. for the coming year. We both did the brainstorming and outlining; I did the formal writing. This one is for $5k, so here's hoping!