Five Frugal Things | Snoopy supports blood donation
Please note: there are no pictures of blood in this post! It's safe to keep scrolling.
1. I worked the CVS deals for some conditioner
I was out of the Maui Moisture conditioner that I use, so, I combined my Carepass with some other discounts. I paid $3.20 for two bottles, and got a $4 Extrabucks reward in my app.
Soo, that was a pretty sweet deal!
2. I got blood donation freebies
My hospital sent out an email yesterday saying they were desperately low on all blood types, so I popped in to try to donate blood.
I say "try" because sometimes when I have tried in the past, my iron has been too low.
But this time I was good to go. Yay!!
I would donate blood if there were no freebies involved, of course. But I was not about to turn down what they were offering. 😉
In return for donating, I got a coupon for a free cheese pizza and also a free lunch at my hospital cafeteria. Sweet.
I feel a little bit tired after donating blood, but I remind myself that I do not feel nearly as bad as the people who need my blood!
3. I went into greens-eating mode
I realized I had quite a backlog of greens in my fridge. So, I made sure to add a bowl of salad to my breakfast as well as dinner.
And here I will put a vote in for greens at breakfast; I'm not ready for ranch dressing at that hour, but some greens with a light vinaigrette (especially a sweet type of vinaigrette) are easy to eat with some eggs and toast.
Another advantage: you will feel obnoxiously virtuous if you eat a salad first thing in the morning.
You ate greens before 9 am? YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE.
4. I used my canned cherry juice
I finished up a jar of sour cherries from Aldi, and I mixed the leftover juice/syrup in with some sparkling water. Tasty!
5. I got paid for attending the phlebotomy class
Not only did I not have to pay for the class, I got paid for attending! We just clocked in like we would for a shift and got paid for learning how to do our jobs better.
FYI: This is fake blood. It is just red fluid; I promise I'm not gonna post pics of blood. I can look at blood all day and not feel the least bit queasy, but I recognize that is not true for everyone.
As a college student, I am used to having to pay for all of my education. So to get paid for learning feels rather miraculous indeed.
2025 is the year that I am going to donate blood! I've wanted to ever since my dad had bypass surgery almost 20 years ago, but it took lots of years to get over my giant fear of needles. I stopped by a drive a few weeks ago to get information about it and my goal for January is to sign up for a drive.
My FFT:
1. I worked the sales and Kohl's cash and got a final price on 5 Christmas gifts that felt good.
2. I had a print some pictures, so I searched for a promo code first and got 40% off.
3. Lots of library movies and books are in our house right now! There are some Christmas movies we watch every year that I don't own, but just check out from the library.
4. My daughter had a friend over on Friday that's dairy-free and gluten-free, so I wanted to stock up on lots of fruit and veggie choices. I went to Meijer and they had a number of things that were around 75% off. Would I normally buy a container of little packs of sliced apples? No. But during the busy Christmas season when marked down to just over $1? Yes!
5. My husband is in the middle of changing careers and we've been doing lots of work ahead of time to make sure that we all have health insurance coverage on January 1 and that our current doctors are covered (they are - yay!)
Merry Christmas Eve to all!
Woohoo, I support your efforts to give blood!
Drink lots of water so that your veins are easy to find, and don't look at the needle. Distraction is the name of the game. I'm cheering you on!
@Ruth T, The first few times I donated blood, it helped me to think of the people who would be receiving the blood. It may be little children or grandparents or heart patients who had bypass surgery or young mothers who just gave birth, or teens involved in a wreck, or.....
When you think of the lives you are going to save, IMHO it will distract you from being scared. And thank you!!!!
@Ruth T,
Thanks for considering being a blood donor. I am a regular blood donor. I take an iron supplement as my iron has been low a few times and that did the trick, plus I don’t drink coffee that day as it lowers the iron in your blood. I don’t watch when they insert the needle. I physically feel good after donating blood (as if I’ve cleansed my body). I also like that I’m helping to save lives. I have one of the rarest blood types but am a universal donor. Unfortunately, if I ever need blood, I can only get my type.
You must be O-!
They told me to drink an extra 60oz of water a day for 3 days ahead of time, so that's my goal! Oddly enough, the only way I'm comfortable with needles now is if I actually do watch. Otherwise, I have a stranger coming at me with a needle and I don't like being caught off guard. Maybe it's a control thing? I don't know.
Thanks for the encouragement, all! I will try to think of those that it will help. Great idea!
Whatever works for you! You know yourself best. 🙂
@Ruth T, Thank you in advance for donating. One of my heart surgeries ran into problems and took over 10 hours, with lots and lots of donated blood needed. People like you are literally lifesavers.
@Kristen,
Bingo!
Thank you for not including pictures of blood!
This week has been fairly frugal because I came home for Christmas 🙂 So far I haven't bought any coffee while out! Before I got back I managed to use up most of my food, freeze some leftovers and buy food which will keep ahead of time so I don't have to do a stressful shopping trip when I return.
@Sophie in Denmark, Look at you! Being all organized and planning ahead. ;-}
@JDinNM, thanks! Not my natural skill but I can do it. It ties into another superpower I have which is not expecting to be perfect at everything!
--My husband had his quarterly fasting lab, after which he stopped at a locally-owned coffee shop for breakfast. He was one of the first 75 customers and so won a surprise $10 gift card. He gave it to me for when I'm running errands. <3
--A dear friend is on holiday break (teacher), so I invited her over for lunch. We had homemade Chicken Tikka Masala over rice, drank tea, and exchanged presents: A gardening book from Thriftbooks for her,* and homemade green tomato salsa from her garden for me. She makes excellent salsa and pickles, so I'm quite excited to try this one!
*"From Seed to Skillet" by Jimmy Williams is an INCREDIBLE gardening book no matter one's skill level. I think this is the third copy I've bought--one for me and two as gifts.
--The aforementioned GIANT batch of chicken tikka was the above lunch, dinner for my husband and me, and lunch the next day. The chicken in question had been ridiculously discounted.
--Another friend sent cookies from Germany, which were divine. We enjoyed one a piece per night for as long as they lasted!
--Last weekend, my husband and I drove around to admire Christmas lights, followed by stargazing. Our village puts on quite the show!
--My husband and I have our birthdays on either side of Christmas, so we have a strict $50 Christmas gift limit for each other. This year, my budget for him went to: one new dvd (and a four movie set, at that), two used books from ThriftBooks, fancy white chocolate (he LOVES white chocolate), and a "used, like new" mini-fridge from Amazon's returns department for his new garage study. (This was also a present--I cleaned and rearranged things while he was at work. That much was free! :P) I usually come in well under $50, so it's weird to have actually spent that much!
I just want to say that I love these peeks into your life; I know it is probably not a perfect life, but you fill it with lots of good things.
@Kristen, You just made me tear up a little, Kristen! What an incredibly sweet thing to say. HUGS
@N, I admire your restraint on the cookies!
* I used a few Target offers on the app- save $15 on $80, get $10 gift card on $40 HBA, and 5% off total order - to save a bunch on routine household stuff.
*My bread machine made some awful noises and stopping working. Instead of throwing it away, my husband figured out how to take it apart ( they hid the screws well!) , and a belt had fallen off. He did a little rearranging and cleaning out, and voila! It's working great.
*I stopped at Sam's club on the way home with college daughter to pick up meats and cheeses. Also saves 50 cents per gallon on gas.
* I returned one Christmas present already. It was an impulse purchase that I regretted, so once it arrived, I packed it up right away.
* My husband joined the YMCA as part of his Christmas present. (Trying to get back into shape after a rough year). The family plan wasn't much more, so we signed everyone up. I am going with him and walking the track while he swims. (19 laps for a mile- I am not fast. The older ladies pass me repeatedly on my stroll.) The kids are getting free training on the equipment so they can use it unsupervised by me. College daughter is looking forward to using it on break.
I wish I could give blood. I used to donate when I was younger regularly, but after my 4th child, I was permanently deferred. I do encourage my kids to donate, and all but one does it regularly. (He donated once and got freaked out by the needles, I think.) I do love the Snoopy sigh!
Have a joyful Christmas!
@mbmom11,
We joined the YMCA as a family 20 years ago and still belong. It was/is a great deal for a large family and taught my kiddos about the importance of a strong and healthy body. We would often go to the gym together. Since Covid I have struggled to get back into a workout routine, but I’m trying. I hope you all will enjoy your membership!
@mbmom11, the YMCA membership is a great Christmas present! Someday you may be the one passing someone on the walking track. Or not... it doesn't matter! Moving for the physical and mental benefits is enough.
FFT, Christmas Eve Edition:
(1) I finished the 2025 Martha Stewart calendar for the Bestest Neighbors, and returned the 2024 edition (which I needed to write in all their birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates on the 2025 edition) yesterday afternoon. I was then invited to stay for tea and leftover birthday cake. As noted earlier, Dr. BN turned 88 on Sunday.
(2) It's been so cold here that I haven't been driving out for anything except necessary errands. One of these was picking up the Christmas Eve lamb shoulder from the butcher shop where I special-ordered it (the one in back of the unassuming little bodega). Not cheap, but worth it. All other ingredients for the Two Fat Ladies' "A.N.'s Slow Shoulder of Lamb" are already in house.
(3) And since Christmas isn't Christmas without a viewing of the two TFL Christmas specials, I've already watched the first one (dinner for the Winchester Cathedral choirboys), and will watch the second (dinner for a Jamaican polo team) in any slack time I may have this afternoon.
(4) Much to my delight, the Christmas edibles are starting to roll in. One of my Sunday morning walking buddies brought a mini-loaf of banana/walnut bread and some of her homemade granola; Grad School BFF sent, among other things, some of *her* homemade granola; and a friend who's an ace cookie baker stopped by last night with a plate of her Christmas specials. I'll have to ration out all this largesse carefully!
(5) I close by wishing all of us the happy holidays of our choice! Good wishes are always frugal.
@A. Marie,
I must confess that I have never watched the TFL. After the holidays, I will have to track down their programs. Have a merry holiday and enjoy those exceptional edibles.
@A. Marie, I confess, I'm used to hearing "edibles" in a far different context! (I don't partake but have friends and family that do for pain management.) I now have a mental image of you pleasantly rolling while eating granola, drinking tea and watching your preferred "Pride and Prejudice."
All joking aside, Happy Holidays & Merry Everything!
@N, ohhh, **those** edibles! I must be showing my age here. 😀
But I confess that nothing remotely related to marijuana offers any temptations for me. The one time I got seriously stoned in college, I ended up with what turned out to be precisely the wrong guy. (Cue Maurice Chevalier singing "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Any More.")
@A. Marie, consuming mass quantities per the Coneheads. Edibles these days are regulated far more than in the day. Pop a 10mg and yeah, you'll catch quite a buzz. But options are relax, sleep, couple of mg strengths before 10 mg. A much safer option than in the day.
--My eldest son brought home a big chunk of cream cheese left over from the FFA making their sopapilla cheesecake dessert for their dinner/fundraiser. I used it to make cheesecake bars to bring to our parish potluck/posadas celebration on Sunday. If you're curious what posadas is, I have a post about it today. https://going-country.blogspot.com/
--We were invited to a birthday party for my daughter's friend that is three days after Christmas. Because I'm the lunch monitor at school and serve all the elementary students at our salad bar, I know that the birthday girl loves granola. So I made some for her, and will also give her a jump rope from the set of three I bought for my daughter's birthday. I figured the extra two jump ropes would come in handy sometime. The last one is going in my youngest son's stocking. Heaven knows, he could use something to release all his excess energy. 🙂
--For more-casual Christmas gatherings, I've been wearing a red sweater/coat thing that I've had since high school, given to me by my grandmother. I am not young. High school was a long time ago. This sweater has seen a lot of use.
--I finally started using the dried lamb's quarters that I dried, um, two years ago. It crumbles right into stews and soups and adds a nice bit of green and presumably nutrition.
--I cut my husband's and all of my sons' hair--buzzcuts for all, but they can choose between three guards--and my daughter's and my own hair. I've been cutting the boys' hair for a decade; my daughter's since she was old enough to need it, although she gets very minor trims; and my own for about four years now. Luckily, curly hair is very forgiving of amateur haircuts. It's not inexperience--it's layers. 🙂 And it does look much better after it's cut, so being able to do it myself every month or so without driving 100 miles is a good deal.
I wish everyone peace and joy this Christmas Eve, in whatever form that takes for you.
It is a cold, gray Christmas Eve morning, and I am drinking my first cup of home-brewed coffee as I ponder the day that lays ahead. Although I am sure that I have done quite a bit to stretch those dollars, I cannot think of a single frugal thing. However before I started cooking our Feast of the Seven Fishes, I wanted to wish all of you a joyous holiday season. I hope the New Year brings all of you peace, good health, and prosperity.
@Bee, Happy Holidays to you also! It's a gray cool Christmas Eve here (in Michigan) also (consistantly 30*-32* & cloudy today & tomorrow with white snow that is still on ground). Enjoy your fishes. 😉
That was one of my favorite pizza places in college! I was an engineering major and barely ever stopped studying, but I had a good business school friend who would every once in a while convince me to watch a movie and eat pizza with her. That was always our go-to place.
I don't typically go to Ledo's (no particular reason), but for a free pizza, you know I will!
I channeled you yesterday!! A friend gifted me a Chick Fil A super greens salad. So yesterday morning I cut up 2 boiled eggs and an avocado into it for brunch. Honestly I want hungry until last night plus I felt like I'd done something healthy!! Thanks for the inspiration. Merry Christmas!
YAYYY!! A meal like that is quite filling, isn't it?
Okay, does anyone else here know of the tradition to try to be the first one to wish his or her family members “Christmas Eve gift” on Christmas Eve morning? My mother’s family did this and my sibs and I carry it on. I am finally getting my daughters to play along. We’ve never met anyone else who has heard of this.
Frugal:
1. I submitted my $75 contact lenses rebate online, got it in about a week, downloaded it to Amazon and spent all but a few cents of it on Christmas gifts.
2. I read a post by the people at Liberty silverware which linked to MadeinUSA. I followed the link and earned a legit $25 gift card which I used promptly for a pet item from one of their vendors. Liberty makes stainless eating utensils in the US, and MadeinUSA and Public Square both feature vendors who provide products made in the US. (I have no ties to any of them. )
3. I found an unopened box of “indoor snowballs” made out of white fleece at Goodwill, about $3. I gave them to my grandkids ages 10, 8, 6 and 4 and they had a blast playing with them.
4. The weather is typical to-yo North Florida, down to the low 30’s F some nights and up to the 60’s at night some days later. I turn off the heat whenever the warm days are here and run it at 68 downstairs the days that it’s cold. The upstairs is set to be cool most of the day anyway.
4. My entire outfit for church tonight is thrifted; dress and cardigan from Thredup and shoes are lovely, quality pumps from Goodwill.
5. I keep the holiday baking minimal. I made divinity as I do every year and will make the Lane cake and that’s about it. I sent out only a handful of Christmas cards because the older generation in my family is gone except for one, and most of the younger family and friends don’t do cards. Decorations get reused every year. Gifts are in homemade totes and bags that I reuse. Gift tags were sewn and are reused. No bows are needed. I don’t have a problem with going all out at Christmas if you can afford it but this suits me (and my budget) best.
@JD, I have no idea what that tradition is that you reference first, but I did want to wish you particularly a good Christmas with your family. You are typically reticent and make no mention that this is your first holiday without your husband, but I will be praying for you and your family as you navigate this holiday without him for the first time.
Adding my encouragement and empathy as well. We love you, JD, and we know this holiday might be a little extra hard.
@JD, my family has the tradition of being the first one to say “Christmas gift!” on Christmas morning. This has sometimes led to 12:01 am phone calls in my crazy family! Lol! I have no idea where or how this started, but has been tradition as long as I can remember.
@JD, Thinking of you today, especially your bravery and calm can-do attitude, which is inspiring.
@JD,
Kristen, Kristin@goingcountry and EricaJS, thank you all so much and to all of you who have encouraged those of us with losses along the way, thank you! I guess one of my superpowers is being able to compartmentalize painful things for a time then pull them out when I’m more prepared to deal with them. It doesn’t always work but it sure helps me.
Addy that is super close! Don’t think we weren’t texting at 12:01 last night to try to be the first!
My mother’s mother was a mix of Native American and Irish immigrant, while her dad was German immigrant and Irish American. My mother didn’t know which of her parents’ families practiced it. It sure wasn’t a local tradition.
@Addy, I have not seen it myself but have read about the game of being the first to say Christmas Gift. You can read all about it on a great blog called Blind Pig and Acorn, about all things Appalachian.
@JD, I add my warmest wishes to everyone else's for this first Christmas without your DH. You're the strong silent type and I'm the "let it all hang out" type, but I think we feel each other's pain.
And as I recall, saying "Christmas gift!" to the first person you see on Christmas Day is a long-standing Southern tradition. I don't have a clue about the "Christmas Eve gift!" tradition you mention, except that it may have been common among folks who mainly celebrated on the Eve instead of the Day. (My Eastern European in-laws always did the main celebration on the Eve, and regarded the Day as more or less an afterthought.)
@JD, YES! My mother and I still do Christmas Eve Gift (a tradition for all 44 years of my life so far). She got me this morning via text when I wasn't expecting it. LOL! I'm so glad someone else does this as well!
1. Used the Kristen-approved method of reviving greens to crisp up some very old romaine and enjoyed lovely salads this week.
2. DH and I agreed to look at sales to decide what to have for Christmas dinner (ham is too salty and rich for us nowadays), and it turned out frozen salmon was a good deal, so I snapped that up last week.
3. DS#4 had requested rolls for Christmas dinner--he likes the frozen ones that are fluffy, he says--and I realized this morning I forgot to get them. Rather than venture out to the grocery store on Christmas Eve for one item, I think I'll make popovers. I have everything I need for those, and everyone likes them.
4. Our landlords kindly send us a box of fruit--last year they sent us a box of fruit and candy, and when they asked if it had arrived (the husband is a longtime friend of DH's), DH said we really enjoyed the fruit, but don't eat candy. This year they sent us all fruit which I thought was very thoughtful of them. So many people get offended if you let them know you don't/can't consume something.
5. The fruit box came with a green ribbon, which Clark has claimed for his latest Frugal Feline Toy. He particularly likes it because the grain of the fabric easily snags on his claws, so he can catch it.
Wishing everyone a lovely Christmas Eve, and a Happy Christmas Day! This year I'm so thankful for the Commentariat and the kindness Kristen has cultivated here for us!
And I forgot my biggest score at the grocery store. I wanted some pomegranates to have seeds for a big salad bar spread, but there were no pomegranates to be had. In the prepared fruit section I found a large container of POM seeds, marked down to $4.50 from $8.75, and good through the 27th. Score! Plus no hassle of getting the seeds out of the fruit. Naturally at the register I accidentally scanned the original bar code and not the sale sticker, but the lady working the self-checkouts was quite patient and said, "I don't blame you at all for calling me over for that!"
@Karen A., who wouldn't rather have homemade popovers than store-bought rolls? Go for it!
Unfortunately the strict guidelines in NL do not allow me to donate my all purpose type blood, as I received blood myself after the birth of our eldest. Decades ago. Sigh. I console myself that I donated for nearly 10 years before that - I started donating as a student.
Those greens in the morning will help you build up your iron again!
My frugals -
Did not buy new Christmas decor
Will cook Christmas dinner myself
Husband was given box of Christmas snacks (work)
Mended hole in woolen slipper
Shopped at several shops for best buys (best price/quality balance).
But my goodness, the price of the meat I bought at the butchers! My husband's eyes popped. I told him this was a twice a year splurge (Christmas and Easter).
Oh wow, that's so interesting. Here I think you just have to wait three months after receiving blood to be cleared to donate again.
(Although honestly, if you've been in such straits that you need to receive blood, I'd think you might want to wait a little more than three months, just to be sure you are fully recovered and wel!)
@Kristen,
I gave our national blood transfusion institute a call after the topic of blood donation came up in one of your blogs a few years ago. After all, my 0 neg wasnalways rather in demand, and it was a few decades after I was given blood (in the early 90s). The answer was: "No, you have increased odds of BSE, this can emerge even until you are 65. And incidentally your youngest also has an increased chance of that".
I have to admit I felt disappointed and also worried about the BSE risk for my youngest. But now I just joke that whenever we act a bit oddly, it is the BSE.
Aside from that, I forgot to wish everyone a wonderful holiday period.
Best wishes, everyone!
My sister almost died after childbirth 18 months ago, and I'm so thankful for the blood she received that saved her life.
I haven't attempted to give blood. I'm sure I'm fine now, but I battled anemia before getting a hysterectomy, so obviously I couldn't donate during that time. I am very squeamish with even looking at blood. I just don't know how I could handle it. If they would take, I don't know...half the normal amount? Then maybe?
Great job on the class & blood drive.
Quick question about blood drive. In your picture it looks like you are covered with a blanket, if so is that provided by blood drive or your own? I often used to get cold while donating blood & have never seen blankets offered, except if at hospital & you're a patient in the hospital.
Frugal things---
● picked up a 5 bottles out of 6 pack (missing a bottle) soda pop discount for half off ($3 total including deposit)
● no accidents yesterday when the freezing rain came through leaving roads icy because stayed home
● eating all meals from home using food from pantry & freezer
● using spiral ham got marked down half off out of freezer for Christmas dinner tommorow
● making giant sugar cookies for Santa (teen says for mom 😉 ) using jumbo cookie cutters & stuff from pantry while streaming/singing Christmas songs (lifetime SiriusXM)
Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!
Hope you all have a nice Christmas tomorrow. <3
Oh, no, that's just my jacket and sweatshirt, which I'd taken off for easier access to my vein!
I'm guessing they would not mind if you brought your own blanket, but you are right, it's odd they don't have them there.
@Regina,
When I give, they always ask if I'd like a blanket. I guess it depends on the blood center. But you can ask them for one, and I'm sure they'd provide it.
@Fru-gal Lisa, that's been my experience, too. And when I give platelets (a longer process), they give me as many heated blankets as I want. Such a treat!
@MB in MN,
Whoever invented the blanket heater (that hospitals and other places use) is a genius. 🙂
Yes! I always offer my chilly patients a warm blanket or two; it's a little further trek down the hall to get to the warmer, but they are just SO happy when they get a warm one. It's worth it!
I have not been especially frugal lately. It happens. I try to roll with it in December and know January will be a freezer and pantry challenge.
Lots of holiday baking and cooking. Not frugal. Eggs and butter. Wowsers. Holiday travel involved a hotel this year but time with family is priceless.
Frugal: Using Libby app for books. Walking dog and using free YouTube videos for exercise. Eating up leftovers. Making coffee and tea drinks at home!
Merry Christmas!
Thank you for donating blodd. It is so important. Two stories here. In 2019 my husband was diagnosed with MDS. That's where the blood cells die off before maturing. he had over 60 blood transfusions in the ensuing months until his Allo transplant. Fast forward, second story, this past June he was again diagnosed another cancer, with peritoneal mesothelioma. Again needing blood transusions after his monthly chemo. he's done with the chemo now so, his counts are all coming up. Next is waiting for Stanford to set up the next phase of treatment.
So cheers to everyone who can donate blood! Thank you!
We've been driving so much to appts, the only frugal thing I can think of is getting gas at Costco.
Nothing frugal to post and thanks for the laugh about feeling obnoxiously virtuous. That's how I used to feel when, before work, I made my bed, ran, and had oatmeal for breakfast.
1. I found a use for a soy yogurt I got by mistake instead of throwing it out. My stomach can’t tolerate soy in large amounts, but a little is okay, so I used the yogurt, slightly thinned with water, as a substitute for buttermilk in a spice cake I made.
2. I frosted said spice cake with lemon frosting I already had (which I had bought on sale) instead of buying or making the cream cheese frosting the recipe called for.
3. I sold a pair of jeans that didn’t fit. I packaged them in a large envelope I had saved from something that was sent to me.
4. I sold my cat’s outgrown carrier, after cleaning it well. The box I meant to ship it in was too big and would have cost too much, so I found another large envelope to reuse, and with a bit of creativity, I made it fit.
5. I listed my old computer on eBay, used an Instacart gift card to buy groceries, and used a Walmart gift card to buy gifts for my nieces and nephews.
I am permanently deferred from donating blood due to an elevated liver enzyme in the past.:( 2)Half price Christmas ornament at Michaels 3) found out that my daily inhaler is 'only' 127 not 250+
PS not frugal at all but I had negatives from EIGHTY YEARS ago developed through Walmart (still think a ghost dropped said negatives into my hands in the first place). My mother would have been 95 this year, and she is 13-15 years old in these pictures. Also pictures of maternal grandparents and even my maternal GREAT GRANDPARENTS!!
@Suellen Roley, incredible!! That's so amazing!
@Suellen Roley, Wow, a Christmas miracle story. We look for those and always seem to hear of one.
@Suellen Roley, That's wonderful!!
I can't give blood after 1. Living in England during mad cow disease and 2. Having had a blood transfusion in another country. My sweet son donates blood as often as he's allowed.
1. I walked to Lucky and picked up the freebie-a box of tea- and then found free Meyer lemons on the way home.
2. I ordered a 100% wool rug for our living room from home Depot. It was about 1/4 of the price of many I've looked at. And I can return for free if I don't like it. We have needed this since we moved into this house 5 years ago
3. I have a lovely stack of library books for entertainment.
4. Some of my list of things to bring for Christmas food got rolled over onto my parents, saving me a good bit.
5. I've pulled out photo albums ready to scan them after Christmas. I'm making photo books and ditching the albums, which frees up space which is needed.
1. My family was not interested in the green apples I had purchased. I turned them into applesauce, which was quickly eaten by my kids.
2. I used up some cheerios (substituted for some of the oats in the recipe) to make Kristen's granola recipe.
3. I cooked down 2 chicken carcasses and added some leftover carrots and corn to make a soup for my lunches this week. The onion and carrot peels went into my stock bag in the freezer for another day.
4. I picked up a waffle maker and some oatmeal granola bars off Buy Nothing. Our waffle maker had broken, so this was very helpful.
5. I submitted the last of my childcare FSA for the year
First of all, Kristen, I want to thank you, thank you, thank you for donating blood. My dad had a terminal illness but thanks to blood donors like you, we had him with us for 6 or 8 years longer than we otherwise would have. I was a regular multi-gallon donor until my cancer dx. I feel real sad I can't give blood until 5 years have passed after the surgery (assuming I'm still cancer-free, of course).
This is the thing about blood donations: if there is ever a mass casualty event, such as a mass shooting or train wreck or tornado or big traffic accident or terrorist attack or something, they need the blood to be there already. You can't predict when such things will happen. People wait until they hear news of a big disaster and THEN go donate. Too late! It takes more than 24 hours to test and process blood, so the blood has to be there waiting when someone comes in to the ER. In this world where crime and disasters are all too commonplace, we all need to step up to the plate and give. Esp. at the holidays when you have lots of folks on the highways and, sadly, many wrecks.
The really neat part is that each unit (slightly less than a pint) that you give, they can separate various blood components. That means up to four people can benefit from that one unit you gave. You can save four lives!
Also, if any of you ladies suffer from water weight prior to your period (like I used to do), donating blood at that time takes about a pint of fluid out of your body and helps ease this discomfort. You can donate blood 4x a year, so every other month, you've got your water weight woes solved.
Again, you can donate blood every 56 days (assuming you are healthy and weigh 110 pounds or more), and I hope everyone does. I'll get off my soapbox now, but I feel passionately about this bc blood transfusions saved my father's life more times than I can count. Please, everyone, go donate blood! And please do it every time you can!
My 5FT:
1. Checked my cash register receipt from Target and realized I'd been charged way more than the sign on the shelf had said. So I took those items back for a refund. One person with whom I exchange gifts won't be in town until Dec. 29, so I will buy the item on the after-Xmas sale. On a related note: Scouting out items to buy during the after-Xmas sales, to have ready for next holiday. Will wait until they're 75% off. Some may be sold out, but that's OK too.
2. Some coworkers at our store called in "sick" bc they didn't want to deal with the huge crowds of shoppers. I was scheduled to work 1-6 last night but stayed there and worked until closing. Yes, it was a madhouse! But more $$$ for me.
3. Regifting. (Need I say more?)
4. Changed out the lightbulbs in my front entry light fixture to ones with much lower wattage. Even though they were LEDs, having four 25-watt bulbs made the foyer as bright as a tennis court, and I didn't like that at all. Switched to 15-watt bulbs and it's much nicer.
5. Boxed up some funny-tasting cookies in a holiday container. That will be my contribution to the Xmas Eve potluck at work today. My oven doesn't work so I can't bake anything and working a long shift, I'm too tired to do much cooking.
WISHING EVERYONE A MERRY AND MEANINGFUL CHRISTMAS (OR CHANNUKAH) !!!
I did the local grocery shopping at our seriously expensive market yesterday, decidedly unfrugal, but maybe not when considering the price of gas and the time to go 37 miles (through 3 roadwork blocks) to get to Winco.
1. Chose 2 bell peppers at $3 each instead of an $8 bag of mini peppers. Gaaaa. . .
2. They were almost out of all milk so I had to decide the best way to get milk for Husband's coffee and for yogurt making. Ended up with 1 gallon (conveniently forgot the scary price) and froze half.
3. Didn't buy Husband's favorite overpriced dip because they were out.
4. Bought discounted lettuce because it was all they had and revived in water when I got home.
5. Looked at Lands' End sale, put 2 things in the cart, closed the window, closed the laptop, and picked up a library book instead.
As our office is closed over the holiday, we had to "clean out the fridge"-- I took home an almost full container of Oat Milk (I don't normally drink it, but hey - its free!), a few apples, some string cheese!
They bought us Chick Fil A breakfast yesterday for our last day in office.
I got a $17 rebate settlement via Venmo from Suave.
I gifted myself a much needed vacuum for Christmas - after much research, found the one I want on sale 30% off at Target, and got another $20 off via their Circle app!
I was thinking I needed to get a few new jar candles as mine were almost all burned down, and had them on my Aldi list (they have very nice 3 wick candles for less than $5) - and then a friend gave me two that she was gifted and didn't want!
My 5…
1. Stopped at a speciality dog shop/training school to get my grand dog treats per a suggestion from my son. Got $25 worth of treats and then they offered me a $25 gift card if I would leave a review. I left the review and now my grand dog will have treats for Christmas and beyond.
2. Used ingredients I had on hand to make cookies for my husband to take into work for his coworkers. They all love the chocolate chip cookies I make so they were very happy. No extra expense and ingredients out of my house so no potential food waste later.
3. Ordered some gifts from a makeup company my daughter likes and one item that came was incorrect. They told me to keep it and sent the correct one. Now my daughter will have a new item to try for free.
4. Ordered some magnesium foot soak and along with my bottles they sent a full size lotion and a four pack of their lip balms. I was quite surprised and very happy since I had been wanting to try them.
5. I’m able to work from home all this week so I get to save on gas and parking expenses. Win win!
Merry Christmas everyone!
1. My son GRADUATED from college last week . This is the ultimate frugal win saving ten of thousands a year. We are so proud of him. He will not have any debt and he will be on my health insurance until he finds a permanent position. So we are proud of ourselves as well for helping.
2. My son has taken to wearing my husband's old Pendleton shirt. It had a least 8 moth holes in the front right panel. Sheesh!! I looked on youtube how to fix it. Did you know the chain fabirc stores don't carry 100% wool? I went to the Goodwill, found a ladies Pendelton skirt in the same tones. I did buy pinking sheers because I don't have any. I made small rectangles then I put double sided hem tape on the backside of the hole. I put the rectangle on. I ironed it and did a quick backstitch around. From the front, the holes are nearly invisible. Crazy.
3. While at Goodwill, I found a nice cribbage board with no pegs. I then found a cheap cribbage board with pegs. I bought both for a total of $3.00. I am wrapping up as a gift to myself from Santa. The real gift is the boys have to learn to play with me.
4. I did not go crazy with stocking stuffers. What is in the stocking will contribute to breakfast. Home picked tangerines, roasted pecans from our tree, and I bought a Crumble cookie Cinnamon bun and a ginger cookie to chare. They come in their own little boxes so it should be fun.
5. After many months, I sold a Majorica Pearl necklace on Poshmark. I had the money Venmo'd into my account.
@Mary Ann, Congratulations on your families college graduate! That's a great accomplishment & great feeling. 🙂
@Mary Ann, Congrats to your son! And to you for being able to help with the cost.
1. I used my CVS rewards to snag some lip balm and a set of press on nails for a sweet little girl's gift and an Alani for myself as the birthday party was at Urban Air and I spent the evening with a group of 9 year old jumping on trampolines. I spent $0 out of pocket.
2. I used my fuel points to save $0.30/gallon when I got gas at Kroger.
3. All meals at home. Even on the nights when DOZENS of cookies were baked. Even on the nights when tuna sandwiches were consumed for dinner. I will say that tonight is Christmas Eve and we have baking and wrapping and tidying to do so we will have takeout pizza as a treat. I am scouring the internet for the best prices.
4. Taking advantage of sales and purchasing turkey and ham for the freezer. Protein sources for less than $2/pound cannot be beat. And the bones and carcasses left behind make wonderful bone broths that will nourish us through flu season.
5. I will gas up at Costco today to save the most I can as it is about $0.40/gallon cheaper there.
Merry Christmas to all!!!!
I just finished sautéing two bags of spinach in a little olive oil and garlic for breakfast eggs and omelets. If I do it ahead of time and keep it in sealed Ball jars in the refrigerator I can just reheat it when I cook the egg(s). Same thing with sauteed mushrooms. If I have to start everything from scratch first thing in the morning… I don’t.
And I’ll see your CVS bargain and raise you! I had a 40% off coupon for a full price item and also my $10 monthly reward and bought my $50 (ouch!) facial moisturizer for $23.09. And I rang that up on its own to get the yard-long receipt with … more coupons! And then rang up an OTC product (buy 1 get 1 50% off) that saved 25% and resulted in … another yard-long receipt with more coupons. Where will this end? Nobody knows…. I love this game!
@JDinNM, what is the $50
moisturizer brand? I assume you think it is a good product? Congrats on scoring a good deal on it.
I love love love this blog and the comments. Y'all inspire me and give me joy.
This is going to be frugal stuff on my trip.
1. I drove to my mom's in Oregon instead of flying. It was cheaper because I would have had to board my dogs. Where I board my dogs normally cost me $40 a day. I'm going to be gone for a total of 15 days.
2. I slept in my car on the way so no hotel fees.
3. On the same trip I was able to visit my daughter in California. She took me out to dinner at a crab boil. That was yummy. I was able to have some leftovers to take with me.
4. I always travel with a cooler so I'm able to save on meals and drinks on the road.
5. My mom set up a room for me at her house. So no hotel charges.
I'm so happy to be here on vacation and I'm ready to do my thankful Thursday stuff right now. I hope when Thursday comes I'll still be in the mood to do the thankful Thursday.
Love you all. Merry Christmas! I'm praying for those of you who are going through stress during this time of year. Just remember there are some of us that the holidays aren't always this wonderful time of the year. But as I found it gets better. Love and prayers to everyone.
@Ginger Bruce, how long of a drive is it for you? I am 12-13 hours from my sister's place in Oregon; sometimes I stop half-way to spend a night and sometimes I drive straight through.
Giving blood was/is important to me, too. Up until my 30's I had given 5 gallons. Then I was permanently deferred. The only thing different I had done health wise during that time was receive a flu shot. I had testing done at my physicians office to rule out any real issues and was all clear.
I cannot think of anything out of the ordinary that is frugal except as difficult as it is, I volunteered to work four hours this evening. We have a shortage of nurses and filling the holiday schedule has been tough. Bonus pay for today's hours is $15.00 per hour. Truthfully, it just throws the taxes off and ends up not being a very good incentive for me. I saw this coming earlier this week and began working it out in my mind that I was available and able to do at least four hours so that the Adm. and DON et al could celebrate with their families. I am single, and my niece is coming over tomorrow and we don't have "set in stone" plans. Plus she works in an "on call" situation and understands.
I "batched" errands this week.
I distilled my own water.
I read a book from our nursing home library.
Gas is $2.76 in our town this week and $2.79 in the town where I work. (For several weeks, it was the opposite in cost.)
I drink chai latte at home rather than getting it at the coffee shop.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
That is so odd! What in the world was their reasoning for the deferral? My hospital requires us to get the flu shot every year (and so does my school), and I can't imagine why that would be a problem for blood donation!
Good on you for filling a shift need. 🙂
A very Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to you all!
My frugal things:
1. My son and daughter-in-law are here from Seoul so that's a great present in itself. Daughter is home from school too.
2. Have had about 3 homecooked meals and one birthday meal out for the boy.
3. Got the prime rib on an excellent sale at the grocery store. Big coupon off $14?
4. Hubby has been a Christmas cookie making machine.
5. Snowed a bit in the last week but fortunately not the night we went to get son and dil from the airport. So it looks like a white Christmas for us with about 2 inches of snow on the ground.
Frugal fail - hubby also got a top round roast to make a pot roast in the crock pot. He put it in at 7 and we ate at about 6 and it was so tough and stringy. He used my sister's Campbell's Soup pot roast sauce but it didn't help. I think it cooked too long. But I shed a small tear at an $18 roast being a failure. We ate it, I picked and dd ate it like it might be her last meal, lol!
Obnoxiously virtuous! That cracks me up. I eat brussels sprouts and/or broccoli every work day for breakfast along with eggs on the side. I guess now I will think of myself that way. Lol
If you eat brussels sprouts at breakfast then you ARE better than everyone else. Ha.
1. Saved 15% on a pair of sneakers for my husband at DSW using a code I received for signing up for texts (I’ll stop those shortly).
2. Received a delicious clementine cake from a niece and her family. Will bring that to Christmas Eve dinner (with the other side of the family) along with a salad.
3. Will bring Christmas brunch fixings to my sister’s place to use up more of our provisions before heading out of town for five weeks.
4. As usual, kept our bread frozen so none of it went bad.
5. As usual, picked up hair binders off the ground, washed them, and repurposed them as rubber bands. I come across an amazing number of hair binders.
Merry Christmas!!!
I have donated 36 units of blood in my adult life, and I started donating double reds a few years ago. I tried donating last week, and was disappointed to be turned away because my hemoglobin was 12.3, and it needs to be 12.5. What a bummer, the need is so dire. They still gave me a free T shirt and a bottle of water.
FFT, Christmas edition:
1. Needed a few things at the store, total came to 58.18. I used a coupon, sales, and $20 in rewards to bring the total to 18.35.
2. Popped in to Tractor supply to get a new bird feeder as ours broke, and we like to feed our feathered friends. 25% off on bird feeders, yay! Also got a Christmas cactus for $1.00. It needs a little TLC, but I can provide that.
3. Stopped at a thrift store the other day, got a pretty container for party mix, 2 Christmas cards, an ornament and a Christmas CD all for under $2! All Christmas was half off the already low prices.
4. Stayed n budget for our Christmas shopping this year.
5. Cut our Christmas card list to under 10 cards due to the high price of postage, and all our friends were on board with that.
Wishing everyone in Frugal Girl land the very best of the season and peace and joy in the new year!
As in how nosy are the questions when you donate blood? Same HIPAA rules? I am front and center that I'm not watching when I get "stuck". One kiddo donates (when iron is high enough) as did one of my grandfathers. He was into his late 80s when he stopped donating.
@Selena,
They can *ask* you any questions they deem appropriate (yeah, I know, that covers a lot of ground). HIPAA is a protection against them *sharing* that information they gather from you to other people, organizations, the general.public, etc., without your consent.
I used to donate blood (or try, due to low iron) when I was younger but not allowed to for the past many years due to a medication I use long term. It's been disappointing. I don't care about needles or blood so it was easy for me. It always helped me feel good to do it so I felt really bad after I couldn't any more. At one point I was so frustrated I called up the blood bank and asked to speak with the director just to try to figure out the "why" because the techs always seemed vague about it when I tried every so often. A close family member has donated for most of her adult life in a western European country. She occasionally had low iron when younger but they won't allow taking iron supplements! I've been so curious about the reasoning for that. I could never have kept my iron even barely high enough without additional iron.
Less so on the frugal front, but thank you for your blood donation. As a cancer patient, I’ve been thankful to my donors every time I’ve received their incredibly generous gifts.
I donated blood in November. In January I will be on track to be a regular donor.
Those are some good ones!
My Frugal 5's
1) Basically only Christmas gifts for kids and no gifts for the adults.
2) Eating meals from home. Brought a bunch of groceries since we have family staying with us for a few weeks but also trying to use up what we had.
3) Staying home and not going out much. Played games, watched DVDs or digital movies we already had or borrowed from the library, and did crafts.
4) Went to a couple free library events when we learned to color or paint from an art teacher and will make a mosaic piece for the library tomorrow.
5) Got a few gift bags, boxes and bows for free at the library which we used for Christmas presents.
Over the past couple of months I’ve developed the habit of sautéing some greens and other various vegetables such as onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc. and having that as a side with a two-egg omelette for breakfast most days. I’m actually feeling kind of unstoppable, lol. Please forgive me…. Just had to brag a little.
That’s what I’m saying! You eat veggies for breakfast and you can do no wrong. Heh.