Five Frugal Things | some dull tasks
I personally find my Five Frugal Things posts more fun when I do something visual like a repair, or a rehab. Same goes for when I cook something, or get an interesting item for free.
But sometimes, frugality does involve doing the unaesthetic personal finance stuff, that kind that produces zero fun pictures.
Ready for some dull, responsible behavior??? Let's go!
1. I put my raise in my investment account
You know how I got the regular raise and then the market adjustment raise recently?
That seemed like a good reason to adjust my investment account contributions at work; between my blog income and nursing income, I had enough to live on before the increases. And that means I'm in a perfect position to invest my raises.
2. I submitted my $100 book for reimbursement
We were required to spend a little over $100 on electronic access to a book for our current 8-week course. Unfortunately, you can't just buy access for eight weeks; it only comes in one-year increments.
BOO.
So, I submitted the receipt to my hospital for reimbursement, because class supplies qualify as well as actual tuition.
Every time I do something like this, it feels like kind of a headache, and I understand why people don't bother. But also, $100 isn't chump change, so it's worth the time it takes to dig up the receipt and send it in for submission.
Sometimes frugality is about being willing to do the annoying, tedious things. 😉
3. I moved money to my CIT savings account
In another boring move: my nursing paychecks were still set to go into the Chase savings account (which I had only opened for the bonus!).
That savings account has an embarrassingly low interest rate (I got a measly $0.03 in January with a $5,000 balance!), so I shifted money into my CIT savings account, which pays a much higher interest rate.
I also changed my direct deposit settings so that my checks aren't going to the Chase Savings account anymore.
In this, the era of high-yield savings accounts, there is no reason to use an account that pays you an insultingly low rate. 😉
(You can click here to open the savings account that I have; the interest rate changes all the time, so I won't quote it here, but it's always a very competitive rate!)
4. I froze some burgers
I had a pack of ground beef in the fridge, so the other night I mixed up a batch of this burger recipe, placed them on a baking sheet, froze them, and put the burgers into a ziploc bag.
This way, I can just grab a few in the morning, put them in the fridge before work, and then they'll be thawed and ready to cook when I get home at night.
Homemade convenience food: a favor to my future self.
5. (an old standby) I used my dishcloths and towels instead of paper towels
I thought it might be fun to occasionally throw in an old standby, so here is one: I almost never use paper towels.
Instead, I use cloth towels and dishcloths.
(Exceptions: when the mess is straight grease or raw meat.)
Cloth kitchen towels are fairly commonplace, but I have been in a lot of kitchens that have no dishcloths, which always surprises me.
There is seriously nothing better for wiping off counters, and if you are like me, you do NOT feel like the kitchen is clean until the counters are wiped off, and that includes the sink edges and around the back of the faucet.
I use my kitchen towels for the obvious stuff like drying dishes or hands, but I also use them for covering rising bread dough (just dampen first) and for drying off things like freshly-washed asparagus (so it doesn't spit at me when I put it in a hot pan).
Anyway, I almost never have to buy paper towels, and I suppose that has saved me a tidy sum over the years.
(On a related note: here's how to keep your kitchen linens stink-free.)
Small frugalities here - food prepping and (flexible) meal planning mainly. It is still pretty cold, so I am not yet repotting house plants or doing painting/upcycling projects.
I did mend a piece of embroidery made by my late mother in law. And borrowed and read library books. And we found an entire box of kitchen cloths and towels that were my late mum's. They will find a new home when eldest is moving out, in April.
This week, I had an all day meeting/workshop. I packed my own lunch instead of going out, and brought my own water. It was nice to not have to go to the few restaurants that are open this time of the year.
2. A friend's cancer came back, so I made lunch for them and visited for a while. I divided the leftovers (their choice) and that was my work lunch the next day.
3. I got an email from Phobio that $80 Costco credit was on the way for trading in my old laptop! I'll keep you posted on the progress. So excited to get $ for something that I didn't want anymore.
4. Listed a couple of vintage items that I once cherished, no longer want.
5. Found some long turtlenecks on sale at Land's End. They sell tall items and the cotton is so nice, it lasts for years. They are affordable when on sale, and I'd rather buy quality, plain layers than fast fashion.
Fluffernut dingbat cat's ear infection (which went away quickly with antibiotics) became a nasty cold as it drained. He is finally on the mend, $400 later lol. Our feline trio is worth every cent (as are antibiotic shots--I will gladly pay to not pill a cat!) but that means I've not felt overly frugal lately. Here it goes!
--We made rice using the drippings from a venison roast. I'm thisclose to finishing the container of immortal brown rice that moved with us!
--I lucked into the motherload of handy bits and bobs at Habitat Restore. For just over a dollar, I came away with unopened packages of the following: a chain lock, tiny eyelets for wire (I do A LOT of framing), command hooks x 2 packages, and tiny adhesive felt circles (again re: framing).
--Pears that were on the brink went into a pear/apple crisp.
--The Target app had an offer for $10 off $40 in pet supplies. Our boys' food and litter needed restocked, so that was handy!
--Our storage pouf's cover wore out beyond repair, but we were able to find a new, even bigger one for $15. Rather than a storage ottoman, we prefer to stuff a washable pouf cover with ALL of our off-season spare bedding and coats.* The cats are most pleased with the larger upgrade.
*Those seasons being winter, DEEP winter, cooler spring/fall, and armpit of July.
My frugalities have been super small this week as I'm in Florence and am basically being somewhat extravagant. Here's my small list:
1. I was given free bottles of water on the plane and at the hotel.
2. My breakfast is included at the hotel.
3. I've been exploring the city on foot.
4. I got the cheaper version of the ticket for the Academia Museum; I wanted to see the David statue and didn't want to pay more money to see Michelangelo's secret room (despite it sounding cool).
5. I stocked up on food at home for when I get back and I didn't get any takeout in the week before going away.
I have that same CIT account on your recommendation, and just did something similar in that I moved money from our physical, local bank account to that one so it can earn interest until I need to use it to buy plane tickets for two trips we're taking this year. Our local bank is terrible, but it is literally the only one within 60 miles, so we have an account there so we can easily withdraw cash, etc.
--Youngest son informed me his gym shoes--kept at school specifically for P.E.--were too small. To the old-shoe bins I went. I found his eldest brothers old shoes, washed them, and sent them to school with him. Amazingly, youngest is 11 years old. Those shoes were his brother's when he was 13. And that former-13-year-old wears a size 12.5 now. I really hope youngest boy's feet are just growing earlier and he's not going to end up in custom-shoe-size territory . . .
--This First Communion dresses sent by my online friend (who reads and comments here, hi!) are not only providing the First Communion dress for my daughter, but her friend who is going to be receiving her First Communion at the same time is going to look at the remaining four dresses to see if any will fit her.
--AND, we have homecoming spirit week next week, during which one of the dress-up days is fancy dress. Another of the dresses will be used for that.
--ANDAND, we're going to my niece's fancy wedding in October, for which my daughter will need a dress. It occurred to me I could dye one of these white dresses for that. I was talking to a friend last night at the basketball game about that, and she said she went through a phase of dyeing thrifted clothing and would love to help me. So those five formal dresses will get used in multiple ways. Yay!
--I was given many, many plastic food-storage containers during someone's cabinet clean-out. There were a lot with no lids, which I put in our shop to be used for storage of random things in there, or for mixing JB Weld/soaking metal things in vinegar to get rid of rust/whatever gross thing needs a disposable container. The rest with lids I will use to give people food, which I do a lot. I have been buying containers for this with no expectation of getting them back, so it's nice to have some free ones for that.