Skip to Content

Five Frugal Things | with a $25 mirror

1. I bought a mirror on Facebook Marketplace

I got it for $25, and it matches the bed frame, dresser, and nightstand that people have kindly given me!

floor mirror.

 

I found what I think is this model on Amazon, and it sells for $86. So, I’m happy with my $25 price!

Eventually, I’d prefer to have one that hangs on the wall, but this is perfect for me while I’m renting.

The nice thing about buying a used item is that if I ever want to get rid of it, I can always just resell it, probably for the same price I paid!

 

A floor mirror in a room with khaki walls.

A funny thing: this mirror is the only piece of furniture in my bedroom that I actually bought…the bed frame, dresser, nightstand, and Philco table were all given to me.

2. I saved the last bit of honey

When I moved out of my house, I took some food odds and ends that I thought would not be used in my absence, and this honey container was one of those items.

It had some seriously crystallized honey in the bottom, so I put the container into a big measuring cup full of hot water, weighted it with a dish, and waited for the honey to liquefy.

honey softening in hot water.

After a few minutes, it was soft, so I turned the container upside down in a glass custard cup and let the honey drain out.

I put a silicone lid over the bowl to keep the honey safe from bugs, and I’ll use it up in my morning oatmeal.

bowl topped with green food hugger silicone lid.

This is not at all an enormous savings, but I am happy that I didn’t have to throw away the usable honey.

I might have mentioned this before, but some years ago, I saw someone throw away a half-full container of warehouse-club honey because it was crystallized and I was like, “OH NO.”

Luckily, I minded my own business and said nothing, but there was a big part of me that wanted to rescue that honey!

3. I bought a kettle on eBay

I did not take the electric kettle from my house (Sonia uses that on the regular), but I knew I was going to want one of my own. I initially thought about buying a brand new one and then it occurred to me to look on eBay.

Electric kettle on countertop next to a toaster.

Sure enough, I found the exact model I used to own, but it was $32 instead of $60. Sweet!

Relatedly, remember when I did something dumb and ruined my electric kettle??

4. I got Cerave lotion at CVS for $7

 

I was there to pick up a prescription and I noticed I had some Extra Bucks to use up. So, I got a bottle of Cerave lotion for myself for $7 after my discounts, and that’s cheaper even than I can get it from Amazon.

I’m not a very dry-skinned person, but my face does need lotion in a few spots. Happily, since I’m mostly self-moisturizing*, this bottle should last me a nice long time.

*Yes, this is a euphemism for “super greasy.”

5. I bought marked-down chicken at Target

I needed chicken anyway, and the organic chicken had $5 off stickers because the sell-by date was so near. So I bought two packages and put them into my freezer as soon as I got home.

marked-down chicken.

I used one pack to make burrito bowls, and the other one will turn into chicken katsu later this week.

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Katy in Africa

Friday 17th of June 2022

1. Like you, I made a purchase on ebay. I don't know how much it'd cost elsewhere, but probably more. 2. I'm baking Graham cracker crumb cookies to mail my dad for Father's day. The discount store had super cheap Graham crackers. 3. Last month I got off track keeping track of our spending, but this month I've been staying on top of it. 4. Tonight is family movie night. It's a cheap way to have fun. We watch a movie or show at home. I'll probably pop popcorn and serve some cookies. 5. I plan to start filling a large cooler with ice water so we're not opening the fridge and freezer so often.

Auntiali

Friday 17th of June 2022

Combination of busy and slow week. Went to Walgreens and got 2 tubes of Colgate toothpaste for free. Went to my weight loss surgeon's appointment and then got on the interstate to travel to Costco and get in line for gas. It wasn't bad, about 15 minutes from start to finish and I listened to my music while waiting. After that I went to Walmart to purchase another pack of panties that fit as well as 10 pairs of socks. The old, worn out socks went into the trash.

I went down to the basement (yea!) to do 2 loads of laundry. I sat down and took an inventory of our extensive pantry. We will be ok with laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues (case and half from Costco), lots of Ivory soap, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, pasta, soup oh so many cans of Campbell's tomato soup and some raisin bran which may both go to the food closet .

Went to Walmart to get hubby a pair of water shoes. Didn't find any water shoes for me. I bought an 18 pack of eggs that were $1 cheaper than the grocery store, socks and undies for me, big case of protein shakes, granola bars and not much more. I'm still not in good enough shape to walk the store.

Keeping an eye on electricity and air conditioning. I don't seem to need it so cold in the house anymore. Less weigh to cool, lol.

I'm just keeping on trucking. My gastric sleeve doctor he could do a minimally invasive lift to my neck for $5K instead of $15K for a facelift. The before and afters he showed me were fabulous. Lots of skin hanging around my neck from my 94 lb weight loss.

Jenelle

Thursday 16th of June 2022

I know I'm few days late for this week, but I wanted to challenge myself to come up with five as it has been a spendy few weeks in our house. 1. We needed to purchase four new tires and a new washer/dryer in the past two weeks (yikes) and are VERY VERY thankful that we were gifted the majority of the money for both sets of items. So very grateful. 2. Due to the rising cost of gas, I started driving our truck to work. I drive 8 miles a day versus the 56 that my husband drives. Though our van is not the best at gas mileage its a heck of a lot better than our truck. 3. Our garden is beginning to produce yummy strawberries. I'm not the gardener of the family, but love them when they come in warm from just being picked. 4. We leave for a week long camping trip on Sunday to my favorite campground. Lots of shade for momma and a pool for the kiddos! Hubby does all the food planning for us and we've only planned to go out one or two times to eat. Cooking at camp is part of the entertainment. 5. Our first summer childcare bill for the summer came and boy was that a shock to the system. I had to remind myself that there are many things to be thankful for. So much so that I put up a thankful board at my work and encouraged my colleagues to add their thankful items when times are tough.

Corrine

Wednesday 15th of June 2022

1. It was my birthday yesterday. Panera Bread sent me a free pastry coupon, so I got a scone for my kids to share for breakfast. The car wash near my house sent me a free car wash, which I also took advantage of. 2. I went to grab an iced coffee, for my birthday, from a coffee shop near my work yesterday. The employee gave it to me for free and I didn't even mention my birthday. Made my day! 3. I made another batch of homemade toothpaste. 4. I used up artichokes and olives from the refrigerator for my lunches this week. 5. I received a mushroom growing kit as a birthday present, which I started already. Hoping it gives me a few batches!

Kristen

Thursday 16th of June 2022

Happy birthday!!

Heather

Wednesday 15th of June 2022

Love this! 1. Joined a community Orchard, and I have ripening free avacadoes, oranges and cumquats! 2. Talked gardening with a neighbour, he now gives us vegies and we solve the odd mobile problem. 3 buy our vegies at the farmers market, it is such good value! 4. Always shop in op shops, why new? 5. Support local and small, our mechanic did a quick fix on the car today, no charge, he serviced it last week ( $250) and invited us to show him the new issue. We are returning customers of course.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.