Five Frugal Things | with one almost-fail
1. I got a bike pump for $10 (almost a fail)
I have been wanting to ride my bike, but my tires were pretty flat after a winter of sitting in the shed.
So, I looked on Facebook Marketplace and found a bike pump for $10, which is better than the $25-$30 price range that seems typical for most decent bike pumps.
And the guy who was selling it happened to be driving near my house, so I just met him at a nearby parking lot. I am appreciative of the gas savings!
But then I got the bike pump home, tried to use it to pump my tires, and instead, the pump just let all the air out. Ugh.
I do know how to use a bike pump, so I knew it wasn't user error (I also popped into a local bike shop to have the owner look at the pump, just to be totally sure it was actually broken!).
I contacted the seller, politely let him know (I said something like, "I think you may have accidentally sold me a pump that doesn't work." so as not to be accusatory), and he said he had another one he could give me instead.
Whew!
So, now I have a working bike pump and I did not actually end up wasting $10.
2. I soaked a limp cucumber in cold water
When I got back from my trip, I found a not-that-crisp cucumber in my fridge. So, I sliced it and covered the slices with cold water for an afternoon.
After their soak, the slices were so much crispier.
This works so, so well with lettuce too, by the way.
3. I got some free drill bits and screwdriver bits
I had a drill already, but no bits. Lisey has a set of bits I can borrow anytime while she's here, but obviously, she (and her tools) are only a temporary presence.
And even she doesn't have any screwdriver bits.
I almost stopped in at Home Depot to buy some for myself, but then someone on the Buy Nothing group had a few bits and screwdriver heads they no longer needed. Yay!
4. I made some plant starts from an old Aldi plant
I picked up a plant (maybe a succulent? I don't know!) from Aldi quite a few years ago, and I have to tell you: it was a seriously good purchase!
It's basically impossible to kill, and it is extremely easy to root the cuttings and make new plant babies. Basically, I just cut a section off of the plant, stick it in the dirt, and it grows roots.
5. I sold an old pair of Sonia's glasses
I think it was my friend Katy who alerted me to the fact that you can actually sell old eyeglasses on eBay. I've done this successfully with several pairs of Sonia's glasses, so when she got a new pair about six months ago, I listed her old ones on eBay.
It usually takes a while for these to sell, but that's ok. I'm not in a rush!
Happily, someone bought 'em this week, so they're on their way to a new wearer, and I'm $50 richer. 😉
I have a pair of mine listed as well, so we shall see if anyone buys those. This is my first time trying to sell my own glasses, which are not as fun and colorful as Sonia's usually are.
So, they might sit even longer before I get a sale. I'll let you know!
I had never thought about trying to sell old glasses!
my FFT this week:
1. I sewed the hem back in place on a towel thanks to Kristen sharing how easy it is to fix a frayed hem
2. I purchased gas at Sam's which is close to my office
3. I brought my lunch to work every day
4. I canceled a trial subscription before it renewed at full price
5. I planned this week's dinner menu based on the contents of our CSA delivery
FFT, Amazon Points and Other "Side Hustles" Edition:
(1) Yesterday, I received the first part of the order I placed this month with Amazon Prime Visa card points. As I've mentioned earlier, I run all of DH's nursing home bills through our Amazon Prime account, and this gives me a LOT of points each month. I use most of these orders for household necessities such as Betty's senior cat food, but I do try to work in at least one indulgence per month. This month, it's a Droll Yankee bird feeder. (The Audubon feeder I picked out of a neighbor's trash a few years ago doesn't owe me a thing, but it's hard to open and hard to clean.)
(2) I also placed the order last week to arrive on the following Tuesday (yesterday), which earned me a $2 credit toward Amazon Prime Video or other services. (Part of the order was delayed another day, but them's the breaks.)
(3) In other news, I took another two boxes of collectibles to the consignment shop I've started doing business with, and collected a check for $49 on items from the first load that have already sold. This may not impress you seasoned eBay traders, but for various reasons, I can't work up any enthusiasm for eBay--and so I'm pleased with the modest cha-ching I'm getting from this source.
(4) The human parents of Bailey dog (the darling Australian Shepherd I walk during the school year on days when neither parent can be home at noon) have been visiting family in Canada this week, and I've been spelling their daughter on both noon and evening duties for Bailey. A small but welcome amount of additional change.
(5) And I've trashpicked a flowerpot and a Sterilite storage bin with lid, both in perfectly usable condition, this past week. Intercepted on the way to the dump!
@A. Marie,
I've watched videos of Droll Yankees, and they are wild. Have you seen the roller bird feeders? I bought one and it has kept the squirrels out. For sure, they tried it a lot at first, but after being rolled off 40-11 times in a row, they finally all gave up on it. I haven't seen one even try in a long time. Bonus: it's fun to watch it roll the squirrels off. They are unharmed and my birdseed is unmolested. They have gone up in price since I bought one, but it's lasted for years now.
https://www.rollerfeeder.com
@A. Marie, I love my Amazon credit card. I have another cash back card on which I annually collect around $500. However, I have to wait an entire year for that. I'm person who loves more instant gratification and the Amazon card gives your reward every month.
@JD, we used to have one of the Droll Yankee flipper feeders, and it worked great for the squirrels--but the danged deer finally figured it out: They'd just keep bumping it till the battery died, and then clean out the feeder. The DY I just ordered is a plain one. I now rely on crushed red pepper (bought as cheaply as possible, usually at Ollie's, and mixed in with the birdseed) to keep the mammals out of the birdseed.
But I wasn't aware of the Roller Feeder, and will take a look at the videos.
@A. Marie, So smart to use the Amazon card like that--we use it to pay most all of our bills, as well as any purchases that are not at the grocery store (for those we use the grocery store reward card). My husband has very generously said the rewards points are mine to use as I see fit, and I usually go for books, either for my own use or for the kids' school!
@A. Marie, Ooh! I have a pesky squirrel that goes after the birdseed that lands on the ground. Do you find the crushed red pepper helps with that?
@Karen, I find that it doesn't prevent squirrels from ground-feeding altogether, but it does cut down on it.
@A. Marie, Wow that is great use of the Amazon card -- I had no idea!
@A. Marie,
Great way to use the Amazon card, thanks for that tip!
1. I met up with a couple of friends and brought stuff to share, excess tomatoes and a sweatshirt for a local university. One of the friends shared with us cucumbers, granola, and sparkling water. It just happened organically and everything found new homes. I have been slicing the cucumbers and putting them in a jar with leftover pickle juice.
2. I reprogrammed our thermostat to be one degree higher at night. We found we were comfortable with it set there in a few nights of trial runs. I am also keeping shades closed on the south and west side of the house on these hot days.
3. I bought some items on clearance at Giant, in addition to some other items, and reached a $50 spend which allowed me to use a rival store's $10 off coupon.
4. I brought home a six pound zucchini from a friend's communal garden. I will shred it and use it to make muffins.
5. It has not been the most frugal week: lunch with a friend on Monday, ice cream with a friend yesterday, and I'm getting takeout for lunch with a friend today. Friendships are "priceless".
@K D, friendships are priceless indeed, enjoy!!
1. After unpacking the last of the boxes in our dining room, I broke them down and loaded them into the car. After running an errand yesterday I took them to a county recycling spot that was on the way home and unloaded them to be recycled for free. Hooray that we were able to get rid of those!
2. We had to put our sweet dog down last week 🙁 I contacted the insurance company to cancel her policy and sent all the remaining claims in for reimbursement so that I can payoff my credit card.
3. I harvested another batch of tomatoes and peppers from our garden and used them to cook up a batch of tomato sauce to be used in chili. I canned the sauce and added it to my pantry.
4. I shredded and froze zucchini from our garden to use in zucchini bread over the fall and winter.
5. I purchased 4 whole chickens discounted to $1.24/lb from Sam's and added them directly to our freezer for future meals. Leftover beans and rice made a batch of burritos for the freezer as well. Hooray for stocking the freezer and pantry and the lowest possible prices.
Enjoy the week friends!
@Angie, my condolences on the loss of your dog. HUGS
@Angie, So sorry for your loss.
@Angie, like others, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your pet/family member.
@Angie, so sorry about your dear dog. But it's good that you had the pet insurance.
@Angie,
I’m sorry about the loss of your dog. May sweet memories comfort you.
Kathy
@Angie,
I’m so sorry for the loss of your family friend. May your many happy memories bring you comfort.
@Angie, so sorry for your loss.
@Angie, That is the worst part of owning a beloved pet, having to put them down. I'm sorry.
@Angie, Saddened to hear about your dog. So hard to lose them.
@Angie,
So sorry for the loss of your beloved dog. They are family and I know how hard it is.
@Angie, so sorry about the dog <3
Btw, I've shredded a lot of zucchinis over the last 2 weeks. I always wait for them so eagerly but then hey always come all at once.
My five will feel like deja vu to those who also read The Non-Consumer Advocate.
1. Mapped out errands like a FedEx delivery pro by minimizing the number of left turns in order to save time and gas.
2. Received a call from our tax preparer that we'll be getting a $900 property tax refund. I'm gobsmacked over this unexpected windfall.
3. Needed to bring something to a potluck so I made a big batch of fresh basil hummus that called for several cups of packed basil leaves. That made good and frugal use of our bountiful basil and other things we had on hand.
4. Saved several tablespoons of jam from a restaurant brunch. It pays to bring a variety of containers to the restaurant for any and all leftovers! I have a kit that I keep in my car that contains several small glass jars and a set of nested stainless steel bowls with lids, inside a small tote bag. For places that use single-use dishes and flatware, we bring our own stainless ones (like for camping) in a separate small tote.
5. Successfully placed netting over the lettuce to discourage bunnies from eating it. Later we learned the threat was from within - some critter came up through the bottom of the raised bed and chewed through the lettuce roots. #$%&!
@MB in MN, re: your #5: I'm guessing woodchuck if the hole was a large one, or vole if it was small. Either way, you have my sympathy (I've got both).
@MB in MN, your #1, I laughed, that's so me. I thought I was the only one. And your #3, I need to look up fresh basil hummus, I have so much basil & that sounds right up my alley. Thanks.
@A. Marie, My most loved Irish wolfhound used to catch voles and then release them into the house, usually around bedtime (one time in the bed!) I think it amused him to see me and the husband chasing them around to get rid of them.
@Linda in Canada, here's a link to the recipe I used. Enjoy!
https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/fresh-basil-hummus/#recipe
Responded to a Nielson survey and received $1.00 in cash in the envelope and a $5.00 gift card to Dunkin Donuts which my husband and I used on our way home from visiting our daughter. It was nice to have an iced coffee halfway home.
Responded to a survey for Michael's and I received a $5.00 gift card from them. Plan on using it soon before it runs out.
Picked up my 2 free 5x7 pictures from Walgreen's. I receive their emails and every once in a while they have freebees for pictures, including 8x10's.
Husband installed a roof antennae for the TV so we can watch local channels now. I was missing local TV, or any kind of TV besides YouTube that he watches all the time.
Husband got a part time job and his social security was approved because of hitting his retirement age. So now he will have spending money from working a few hours a week and we will have money to put into savings from SS. I guess it does pay off working all those hours years ago.
My neighbor gave me blackberries just as I was leaving for my daughter's. I took the blackberries with me and my daughter wanted to make jam. We had just enough for 6 jars of which I left 3 at her house and took 3 home. I'm liking this getting into canning again. Unfortunately, I had to buy a lot of supplies to re-start.
FFT
On our local market, the green grocer went on holiday and sold bags of fruit n veg for 1 euro. I bought three bags, a reasonable amount of produce to use. These included lots of mushrooms that I dried "Girl called Jack" style (thanks to the reader who recommended this book, cannot recall who it was)
I happened upon marked down eat by dated meat - and froze it
I swapped cutlings with a friend
I borrowed books - I'm reading a lot and do not watch TV. It saves a lot of electricity and I read lots of interesting stuff!
In the thrift store I found a thin summer dress that does cover you up, perfect for heatwaves
I am having difficulty eating now that it is so hot, so I may have to revive wilted veg in cold water as well
@J NL, I have been looking for “A Girl Called Jack.” I understand that is filled with many frugal recipes and her personal story and perseverance is amazing.
@Bee, I too was looking for the book when I read about it here in the comments. While I didn’t find the book here, there is many tips and recipies on her website.
@Gunn from northern Norway and @Bee, I managed to find the book second hand. There are lots of recipes on her blog though. An encouraging combination of nutrition, common sense and pleasure in cooking.
@Gunn from northern Norway, I was lucky enough to find it in my Libby app from my library.
—As luck would have it, I did a big grocery shop right before both my husband and I came down with COVID. Our version was a doozy (fever, chills, nausea), so neither of us ate much. Once I was well enough, I froze as many fruits and vegetables as I could and made salads with the rest. I’m relieved that we only wasted a handful of blueberries.
—I found my husband’s over-the-counter heartburn medication for a fraction of the price (as in 80% less!) on Amazon. If anyone else out there takes Famotidine 20 mg, you can get 200 pills for $9, which blows away CVS even when working sales and Extra Bucks.
—More Christmas gifts are off the list thanks to my last Goodwill trip. I found a $100 new-with-tags sushi plate set for $5 (my sister is a sushi fiend) and a $25 stainless steel folding camping pot for $6 (I’ve many outdoorsy relatives to choose from for this). Woohoo!
--I bought a $120 upright rug shampooer for only $60 thanks to Amazon’s seconds department—like I care about “cosmetic imperfections!” We’ve only two carpeted rooms, but high traffic + three cats meant I knew that this frugal score would come in handy. Cue one of our cats having a UTI. *sigh* Sometimes, I hate being right! At least Past Me thought ahead and saved Present Me shampooer rental fees on top of the vet visit and medication for our poor guy.
—Our local post office has become the hotspot for excess garden produce. Yesterday I scored four ears of corn from a giant box, and this past weekend I claimed a cat-sized zucchini—and by cat-sized, I mean my 16 lb Rubenesque cat! Since we’ve no garden goods of our own to offer this year (moved too late to plant), I’m careful to leave empty egg cartons for the many local chicken owners
1.) Ordered a new pair of glasses from Zenni. The old ones are not flashy and the frames are beat up a bit because they are 4 years old now, never super stylish to begin with so they will be going to the Lions Club as hopefully they can use them.
2.) Was browsing Goodwill and found a sealed DVD set I thought about watching. I got it home and for giggles I scanned it, found out it was worth some cash on eBay so I sold it instead of opening it and watching it. I was $20 richer by the end of things, which can pay for something else I'd really enjoy.
3.) Amazon had a deal on an induction burner. I've been looking to dip my toes in that as I could cook with it outdoors on super hot days such as we've had lately and it would be faster at things like boiling water.
4.) My daughter has been chewing on the little silicone straws for her Thermos "Funtainers." These are around $12-15 or so replacing them would be expensive. Luckily for her Thermos sells replacement parts quite reasonably. There are third party but I'm not as sold on those.
5.) Back to school "shopped" at home. My daughter really didn't need much of anything and as fun as back to school shopping is for me, it was nice that she was happy with what she had. I did let her get some Hello Kitty pencils from Dollar Tree, though.
@Battra92, I'm curious what you think about the induction burner! I've been looking at them too. I've also thought about buying a propane camp stove for outdoor cooking. I do a lot of canning in the summer and it heats up the house. If I'm going to get hot and sweaty anyway, might as well do it outside and keep our AC bill down.
I’ll just pop in here mentioning that if one thinks about getting an induction burner it’s wise to check if your casserolles can be used on it. I bought one for plant dying outside and didn’t think to check. Now I got another expencive hobby as I need to buy new casseroles..
I belive that the trick is if a magnet sticks to your cassarole it will work on induction burner. The zero waste chef has a brilliant post about induction burner.
@Gunn from northern Norway, I have a couple of induction ready pans such as my carbon steel and cast iron pans. A lot of my pots will not work.
Fun side fact: in the US when people hear the word casserole they are more likely to think of a round or square baking dish which one makes a casserole (a kind of stew or side dish that is cooked slowly in an oven) in.
@Battra92, IKEA also sells induction burners.
@Florence, I have a side burner on my propane grill and I never, ever use it because I can never get the propane to burn cleanly and I get a lot of soot on my pans.
@Battra92, thanks! I know about that (from True Blood on HBO, lol) but didn’t know that it’s the most common usage. Google translate said saucepans, but that sounded wrong to me as I thought about the frase «pans and pots» so I imagined that was only small frying pans.
The comment section here is exellent training for my English. Just wish some would stick but I got a Teflon brain, heh.
@Gunn from northern Norway,
You do very well! You should hear my Spanish - it's terrible.
1) Brought snacks on the flight home, after our vacation with family.
2) Planned (most) meals at the house we'd rented, vs eating out. My mom is a big eating out on vacation person, so we did have a few lunches out, but generally kept things under control.
3) We pre-booked parking at the airport for our trip, but the code didn't work & we had to pull a ticket when we were there. I tracked down the airport parking people, and they reimbursed us for the pre-paid parking, so at least we weren't out the money x2.
4) I was at my sister's house when she received a meat delivery from a farmer friend. Helped her inventory & organize her freezer, and helped her cancel a meal delivery service (two!) that she was still using, despite all of the available meat. She was worried she wouldn't be able to figure out how to use all of the meat in recipes, so I found her two weeks worth of recipe recommendations, tied to her available inventory.
5) Used flight credits for our return flights home, and got upgraded to 1st class, thanks to a bit of lingering work travel status (pre COVID). It was a short flight, but I did get a free snack (that I shared with the kids, back in economy), as well as a free drink.
@Hawaii Planner, I just love all the pieces of your #4 - helping your sister with the meat, discovering she needed help with the overwhelm of that bounty and sitting down to make a meal plan that uses what she has. go sister love!
I've bought old glasses on ebay! My daughter is extremely hard on her frames, so it's cheaper to buy a used frame and pop her lenses in than to get a new pair.
Hm.....frugal. I put a pair of shoes that didn't fit my daughter (birthday present, came from England) on eBay, also our old art deco chandelier. My kids want me to save the chandelier but I can't keep everything for them and I could use the $750 or so the light will fetch.
Once I'm out of Facebook jail, will sell a piece of the embroidery I collect; I have two identical ones, so will sell one for about $500.
Been using up our garden produce for dinner every night; realized we had too much meat for pepper steak so saved half for fajitas last night. Haven't gotten any take out this week, but as I told my mom, the week is still young.
Actually not at all frugal but worth it: Son is going by Mom's nursing home this weekend so will send a container of fantastic lobster salad Mom's way. She doesn't get enough to eat in the home because she finds the food disgusting.
1. Did a mystery shop (dinner and wine for 2!) in the pricey part of town. Parked 4 blocks away for free parking. Friend who I took brought me a piece of cod as a thank you, which partner and I ate the next night.
2. Have neighbors over for dinner and served them cheese & nuts (leftover from previous dinner party) olives (free from Christmas food basket gift), chicken (free from mystery shop), squash & goat cheese tart (squash from the garden), tomato, radish & cucumber salad with fresh herbs (all but cukes from garden). They brought wine & dessert.
3. Driving to visit parents today: picked my a mystery shop at a gas station, which is on the way to their house & another at a burger joint. I'll make $40, get $5 free gas & free lunch for making the trip.
4. I'll be home late in the day on Saturday & figured that I wouldn't want to cook. Yesterday, I made Korean meatballs and froze them as preparation for that reality.
5. Making homemade ice tea to drink after our first pot of coffee. For us, the tea is much cheaper than the coffee and it gives us our extra boost of caffeine when the coffee isn't quite enough.
@bettafrmdaVille, Your shops sure are more exotic than mine! Not too many pricey restaurant venues in Alaska, I guess!! Groceries from box stores is about as good as it gets here.
People buy old glasses? But how do they know they fit their faces? Anyway, good for you! I'm glad they buy them, since it means you can sell them.
1. After looking in vain for some "new" second-hand towels since my current second-hand ones are starting to get worn, I saw a clearance sale on Lands End, and bought four. Downside of using an unpopular color in your bathroom - the towels are not often produced in that color. Upside - when they are produced, they often go on clearance because they aren't popular.
2. I took my dog to the vet promptly for her yearly checkup and vaccinations. It wasn't cheap, but I didn't want to take chances by putting it off, especially with her heartworm prevention that she takes once a year. Heartworm treatment once a dog is infected is expensive and may not work; the poor dog could still die. And in Florida, living out in the country, the dog will almost certainly get heartworms if not prevented.
3. I had emptied the tiny tub of that well-known patch and hole compound and found a big gallon tub of some other brand of joint compound at the big box store, on clearance for $2.77 because it was past its date to be used. I gambled on it and won - it was soft and fresh when I opened it. It was also much, much easier both to work with and sand, and my patch job went much more easily and is now invisible. I snapped the lid back on tightly and have used it two more times, with no drying out in the tub so far. It's funny how using the right stuff and the right tools helps, ha.
4. I bought a native honeysuckle a few months ago that was doing great, but recently, it suddenly wilted and died. I pulled it up after seeing that it wasn't going to come back from the roots. I saw nothing odd going on with the roots, so that's a mystery. I didn't have the receipt anymore, but I took it to the nursery where I bought it and they were able to pull up my purchase since I'm a (no-cost) rewards member. They gave me a replacement, free of charge. I have another one that's been growing just fine for two years, so I hope this one will make it, too, but at least I'm not out any more money.
5. Although I avoid using my oven in the hot months, I had a few things I prefer oven-cooked, so I prepped a lot and cooked six different pans of food at once in the oven on convection. I just pulled each one out as it got done. Total cook time was 1.5 hours at 350F and I did it at a cooler time of day.
@JD, glasses have the size printed on the inside of the side pieces of the frames.
@Ruby,
Mine don't, that's weird. I'll have to look at my husband's now, to see if his has the size. He and I both always have problems with the earpieces. Too short (him) or too long (me).
Gosh, that's so weird! Your prescription lenses don't have tiny numbers printed inside the frames?
I'm still not going full steam, so my FFT are a family effort. We:
1. picked a ton of produce from our garden (anybody need some cucumbers?).
2. made pickles from our cucumbers.
3. asked a friend if we could cut some of her dill for our pickles (my dill didn't grow much this year).
4. made all of our meals at home-- except for some of us who ate at the Regency Ball.
5. made chicken broth from frozen bones.
@Jody S., Also, my son who is soon going away to college needed another pair of jeans. But then he noticed that he's lost some weight and needed one size smaller, so. . . I sent him shopping in our basement/shed totes. He found everything he needed and doesn't have to buy anything! I will also send him downstairs to the school supply tote.
I feel like we have been bleeding money the past few months, but there have been small frugal things in the mix....
1. We got 2 new puppies (from the same litter) and were gifted 2 dog kennels for them from friends.
2. We were still looking for some bed frames for our camp and our family and friends are always on the lookout for us. We just received 2 bed frames and one mattress for one of our camp bedrooms.
3. Froze leftover pulled pork and some beef from our daughter's graduation party for 6 meals later.
4. Work provided us with a free lunch last week, just because 🙂
5. I reused a charcoal bag as a garbage bag for the bin in our garage, returned some unused party decorations for food items my family will eat, repurposed a few lone items in fridge to make dinner for 6 with leftovers for 5-6 lunches, received 3 yellow squash from a co-worker.
I haven’t got any big saves this week, but I’m happy that there is little money spending for now.
1. So happy to have gotten back home from my in-laws just in time for picking cloudberrys. My favorite and now I’ve got eight kilos in my freezer to enjoy till next season.
2. Got two good TGTG bags at our local grocer. Haven’t eaten fish pudding since I was a kid, but there was two big ones in the bags so it was three dinners and lots of bread, buns and such for $8.
3. Have sold a couple of things on reselling apps. Things I should not have bought in the first place, so very happy to have the money back in my pocket.
4. Have gotten an invitation to local fair to sell my handmade things. It’s in two weeks so there is time to sew something new, in addition to hopefully sell some of my old things. Will take the bus there the day before and camp by the river to get there bright and early.
5. My partner is fishing trout to salt and smoke. He enjoys fishing them and I enjoy eating them 🙂
@Gunn from northern Norway, the cloudberries and the smoked trout sound wonderful!
@A. Marie, yes the fall here is truly a bounty and a blessing if one is interested in foraging and hunting.
Katy, that was really nice about the guy replacing the bicycle pump.
Bought some gently used clothing on eBay on a buy three, get two free sale. Did a rare splurge and bought myself 10 music CDs and a little metal basket to hold them at Goodwill for $22 after tax. Continuing to do our grocery shopping at Aldi, which has cut the weekly expense by as much as 50%. Cut my husband's hair the other weekend. Took some abandoned clothing at work to Goodwill after laundering it, thus keeping it out of the trash. Also had some free snacks from work.
I'm trying to comment more on here (hello all!). So here we go:
1. I had a "salvage the fridge" clean-out. I do these when I feel like bits and bobs are about to be lost in the fridge. This time it included making fried rice using broccoli stems, cooking bacon that was about to expire, freezing half a watermelon, and making a basil-garlic compound butter with the last 1/2 cup of heavy cream and some of the basil I'm growing. This last one was more out of spite. I didn't look at the price when I bought a quart of cream and was dismayed when it rang up at $5.29 (around here prices used to be about $3.50). I vowed to use every single bit of that cream, so the last bit became butter.
2. Other cooking endeavors included making basil salt, drying lemon verbena and mint leaves for tea, making my own Everything But the Bagel seasoning (I love it on avocado toast and eggs), and cooking homemade pizza when I went rummaging in the freezer and found 5 (!!) bags of frozen mozzarella in various quantities). The basil salt was super easy, I think I'm going to use the same technique and make rosemary-thyme salt and a lemon-basil salt to flavor our food come winter.
2. I braided up 25 garlic bulbs given to me by my neighbor. I'm going to plant some of the cloves later this year and return the favor back to her next year!
3. Went thrifting and was really selective about what I brought home. It kind of helps that the thrift stores raised their prices, I'm less tempted by "oh its so cheap". I found an antique solid bronze candle holder for $3, two sweaters for myself, and a couple of sweaters I'll unravel for yarn. I'm especially excited about the $5 100% cashmere one.
4. I worked on existing craft projects and found yarn in my stash for a new project. I have a goal not to buy new yarn this year - either has to come from my stash or an unraveled thrift store sweater.
5. Eating all the tomatoes coming out of our garden. We have 6 tomato plants that are producing, and 8 tomato plants that I bought later that are about a month behind (not yet producing). So far I'm able to eat everything fresh, we're not drowning in tomatoes yet.
@Florence, I had never heard of basil salt before so thanks for sharing that
@Florence, hah -- "spite churning" -- good for you -- I feel the same way with all these ridiculous prices 😉
* Got a flat tire and was able to have it plugged for 20$ instead of having to buy a new one
* Skipped a family&friends outing that we were not keen on. Saved 45$.
*Wedding anniversary in 4 days. We exchange cards, no gifts.
* I had lost my cellphone and found it after 3 days, outside, in the rain. Still working, so far
* Got road assistance for 6 months for 20$ though my garage (Napa), instead of over 100$/year for CAA
Just spent a week at the beach in Daytona. Drove there. We took all our food and ate all our meals at the house Grandma rented for the family.
Bought gas at BJs ($3.38 per gallon)
Got 20% off at McDonalds (with the app) for my nephew who was carsick on the way home from Daytona.
Got a $5 month of car washes ($39.95) regular price, just have to remember to cancel it three days before it expires, but it was nice to get all the salt and sand off the car for cheap!
Got my hair cut, so saving time on a chore I hate, fixing my hair! 😉
Was at the cheaper further away grocery store and found a whole bunch of bacon at a really good price. So stocked up on a ton for the freezer.
Had my mom, dad, and brother over for a nice dinner for my mom’s birthday instead of buying a gift or paying for a restaurant. She is at the age where she is trying to get rid of things instead of collecting more so spending time together and eating yummy food seemed like a better choice (and a more frugal one).
Picked and pickled asparagus and radishes from the garden.
Mended a tear in a pair of shorts and a rip in my son’s blankie.
Trimmed my own bangs instead of going to the salon.
Thanks for the tip on the cucumbers, just found one in my crisper will do this for dinner.
Never knew that you could sell eyeglasses. I always give them to the Lions club.
1. We continued our commitment to No Movie Theater Excursions (2+ years and counting!) by either renting (Jurassic Park Dominion) or purchasing (Minions the Rise of Gru, because our youngest WILL want to watch it over and over) off Amazon, or waiting until Disney+ puts their newest offerings on their streaming service. And often we can find older but new-to-us movies free with our Prime account. With homemade pizza and our own comfy living room, it's way nicer than the multiplex. And cheaper. Especially when you have four kids, and they always want snacks at the movies!
2. Using Amazon credit card rewards points to order some books for school.
3. Utilizing the library (both print and e-books) to keep down my book buying habit.
4. Scored coupons from Kroger for items I needed for this week's dinners, which is always nice. I hate it when the coupons on offer are for snack foods we never buy, or other things we don't need. But when it's for beef and cheese? Sign me up.
5. Aside from one birthday meal from Chik Fil A, we've continued a streak of no restaurant meals since well before the pandemic. I'm proud to say our kids declare our homemade, make-it-yourself personal pizzas taste better than Domino's or frozen pizzas, which makes the bit of work that goes into them well worth it! I also tested my theory that I can freeze any leftover personal pizza crusts and they're just as good thawed--I had quite a stash after squirreling away the two or three that always are leftover after all the toppings are used up, and nobody suspected they were frozen and thawed.
Over the stove microwave died and didn't want to buy a new one and wrestle installing it. Built and painted a shelf in the space and put a small quiet microwave in.
Cows have had a hard time this year, pastures dry & no water, now hay harvests are dismal. Beef and dairy prices are going to be awful.
Froze some beef and butter. The water is so low in the two lakes around me you have to watch not to run over tree tops when out in the boat. Made some cut offs from an old pair of jeans.
Why yes, it was your friend Katy. 😉
We packed a bag lunch when we went with friends to an outdoor concert. The concert was also free as a part of the Redlands Summer Music festival.
We bought ribs for $2.99/lb at ALDI (I finally figured out what to buy at ALDI) when they had a sale.
We borrowed a chimney from friends for our bbq attempt.
We found a good ATK recipe for ribs. (Side note: I feel like buying cookbooks with tried and true recipes is frugal because it results in fewer food failures and less wasted food.)
I figured out how much more I can water the lawn without getting bumped up into the next usage tier.
1. AT&T laid fiber optic cables in our neighborhood. It was not a pleasant experience. They broke the main line of my sprinkler system and left two huge holes in our yard. (Others had it worse. At least it wasn’t my sewer line) Yesterday, I spent 3 hours calling one number after another and spoke to 9 different people. No one would help. The company’s representatives even tried to sell me the service. (Grrrrr… ) I called my county utilities department and explained that this behemoth had destroyed my property when making “improvements.” They knew who call and someone came out first thing this morning from AT&T. Hopefully, it will be taken care of shortly The estimated cost of the repair was $500. So it was worth my time and aggravation.
2. Not frugal for me, but frugal for my son. (Fun for me). My husband and I took care of our new grand baby on Saturday, so my son and DIL could go to a luncheon. He is just adorable. What a fantastic way to spend our afternoon!
3. Since I spent the entire afternoon on the phone yesterday (see FFT #1) , I didn’t have time to go to the grocery store. I dug through the freezer and pantry in order to feed us. I made black-eyed peas and rice in the IP saving dinner!
4. They built a Costco in our county. Yippee! I joined and took advantage of the $10 membership fee.
5. I’m spending this afternoon shopping my homeowner’s insurance that is renewing next month. In 2020, it was $1800. In 2021, it was $2600. This year the renewal came in just a hair under $4500. So it has increased from $150 monthly to $375. I’m not confident that I’ll be able to get this down, but it’s worth a try.
Wishing every blessings of peace and good health.
@Bee,
Now I'm wondering about mine. It went from $1500 to $2100 last year. Oh dear. It renews in December, but maybe I can find out now. Please let us know if you have luck getting a lower number.
@Bee, wishing you luck on getting compensation from AT&T. Dealing with any utilities is a major pain in the patoot. I'm still considering framing the final letter from Verizon when I finally succeeded in shutting down our old home line.
@JD, I will let you know what my agent comes up with. I was comparing last year’s policy against this year’s. The replacement cost of the home has increased considerably year over year. I guess this is a function of increased construction costs. Like everything else, prices are up. I checked with a contractor I know and he said new construction stands at a little over $300 a square foot. Yikes!!!! That means that I may be underinsured. Hopefully, your rates won’t be quite as high since you aren’t coastal,
@Bee, I am just curious as to where you are located as you mentioned “coastal”…….I am also coastal on Long Island and naturally everything costs a small fortune!!!
@Bee, the least expensive homeowners insurance I found was through the alumni association of my university. The next least expensive was through the professional association my husband belonged to prior to his retirement. Others may find their professional association also offers a considerable discount on insurance, home, car, life and disability especially. ( teachers, nurses, engineers, accountants, etc.)
What? I had no idea about glasses. Did you take the lenses out?
I received $5 Kohls cash for a pick up order, then another $15 not sure why. I bought a much needed shower curtain and grand baby clothes, spent $0.
I went to Big Box store for light bulbs and I ran the price on their app $16, shelf tag 23.97, rang at register $28.97. So cashier explained price differences between app, in store and online. Ok. I had her take the bulbs off my order. I ordered in app for $16 for store pickup. The order was cancelled and another text 2 minutes later said order for free delivery and they were dropped at my house later that evening.
Freezing all the produce I can get my hands on for free. Planning all my meals based on the produce I have on hand.
Love that on the Apple family plan we can share apps and music. I love the Paprika app. I am spending some time putting my moms old recipes in the app.
Someone threw out a commercial style table umbrella and it just needed to be cleaned so we are now using it.
1. We had frost warnings last night so I covered all of my most vulnerable crops with frost cloth. It only ended up going down to 35 degrees at our house but that can damage things like my dahlias and cherry tomatoes so I saved money by taking the time to protect them.
2. Did two mystery shops, bringing in $110. They each took about an hour.
3. A severe windstorm knocked a huge tree onto our roof, managing to entangle itself in electric wires on the way down. After the electric company came and cut down the tree, we found someone who wanted the wood so he came and hauled it off for free.
4. My cauliflower has been gargantuan this year. We harvested it all and I made a vat of cauliflower cheese soup and froze many servings for this winter, and also froze some to cook plain this winter. I gave away two heads to a very elderly neighbor who can no longer garden but who pays us back by being the early warning system if something is amiss in our yard. She calls to be sure we know when a package has been put on our doorstep, or when my husband leave the garage door open (an invaluable service at 40 below zero!), or when pound hound has jumped the fence and is sitting on the front porch waiting to be let in.
5. Husband salvaged a stool sitting on the exchange platform of the dump (you drop off things that you don't want but are still of use so others can take them for free). He reglued and then screwed in the legs so it would be extra sturdy and painted it so now I have a free stool for the greenhouse.
@Lindsey, 35 degrees in August?? As I have said in the past, you are clearly made of sterner stuff than most of the rest of us.
@A. Marie, Not as stern of stuff as when I lived at the top of the state where it snowed every single month. Not a lot in June and July, but it snowed at least briefly! And I would rather have 35 in August than living in the heat that you guys do.
@Lindsey, to each her own!
1. Made several easy eBay sales, shipped off in reused shipping materials.
2. Got a replacement bag of pasta from an online order. The order came with one bag popped open and the replacement process was delightfully quick and easy.
3. Brought home a free summer squash from church. One couple has a garden that always over produces and they just bring a basket and leave it on the table with the after-service goodies so everyone can take what they like.
4. Realized my son could just take a couple of our everyday soup bowls to school with him rather than buying some for him. Hadn't had any luck at Goodwill and I was afraid I was going to have to buy new ones, so happy to save money.
5. The big save for the week was brought courtesy of my husband, who for once in his 50 years was listening in to a conversation in the next room.(He general takes the absent-professor role very much to heart.) I was helping my son order his textbooks for the semester and he was fussing about the $250 math book he had to buy that he couldn't find used anywhere. He's a music major, so this is not a book he'll need in the future. Husband - the math professor in the next room - "What book?" Son tells him. "What edition?" Son tells him. "I have two of those. I teach from that book. You can use one of mine." Hello, $250 savings!
My one amazing find:
Was at the thrift store. My husband was skimming his hand over the jackets & came to a fabric he thought felt good. Turned out to be a "Mountain Equipment Co-op, Gore-tex" jacket, colour is maroon/ burgendy, fits me very well. I paid $23 after my 20% off coupon, The jacket retails for between $379.00 to $499.00, will be fantastic for wearing while out walking in the cooler weather.
Also at the thrift store, we found a sugar container for a friend, like the kind they used to have in diners. He was having no luck finding one so this will be most appreciated I'm sure.
The usual things: always coffee and tea at home, always cooking all our meals at home. Hanging laundry on the line. And so many other things my mind has blanked on.
@Linda in Canada, I'm glad to hear that there's someone else who goes thrift shopping by touch. I rely on touch as much as sight when I go thrifting.
@A. Marie, I do that too. My fingertips practically shout with joy at certain fabrics.
If you are soaking cucumber, make an old Pennsylvania German dish by adding vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to the water. Yum!
@Carol, this is what we eat as a side dish for steamed salmon or trout. What do you eat with it?
I didn't realize you could soak cucumbers like that! Thanks for the tip. Our cucumber plant is doing well this year (probably best ever) so I'm sure that will come in handy.
My FFT:
1. I shopped ahead for shoes when they were on clearance. We're a week and a half away from 2 kiddos starting school and I was getting nervous about having to buy a bunch of shoes and being unprepared. But I looked up in my bought-ahead stash and found tennis shoes for my oldest child as well as gym shoes, chapel shoes, and closed-toe sandals for kindergartener. Those were EXACTLY what I was lacking for them!! I'm so happy that months ago I got those shoes (most of them on clearance for $4-$6 a pair).
2. We camped last week and packed all of our food except for travel days.
3. We had bunch of milk that needed used up and I made whipped coffee for a couple of days to help the milk not go to waste.
4. I jumped through all of the hoops and played all of the games that go with shopping at Kohl's to get 2 pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, and hair ties for $55 and I earned $15 of Kohl's cash. The goal was just the jeans and shorts (good timing on my favorite jeans being on sale because I'm about one wear away from having an unattractive hole in my old ones), but with combining all of the discounts I was a couple of dollars away from earning $10 in Kohl's cash. So I found some hair ties for my girls for $5 to put me over the line to get the Kohl's cash. Since my size of jeans weren't in stock, I ordered through the app, where I learned that the free shipping threshold is $35 if you're connected to Kohl's wi-fi. Then the app offered me an additional $5 of Kohl's cash if I picked up the hair ties in the store instead of having them shipped. It was weird to shop through their app while I was standing in the store, but it worked out in my favor financially.
5. I paid attention when I checked out at Meijer. Twice in the last two weeks I've had problems with their mPerks coupons and rewards - one time mPerks was down, the second time it didn't apply some coupons I had clipped half an hour before. They have great customer service, though, and each time I made a quick phone call and they credited me with what had been missed. Had I not been paying attention, I would have $10 less.
My DH’s aunt died and as we are the only local relatives, I offered to clear out her assisted facility room and ship personal items to them. They were having a company come in to get clothes and anything else. So I was able to get 2 brand new pair of LL Bean pants and tons of TP, paper towels, Kleenex, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes for just a few hours work
Our pool was running a little low on water so when we had 2 rainstorms I left the cover off and let Mother Nature fill it back up
Really trying to eat down the freezer- only produce for 2 weeks
Redeemed some credit card rewards for Amazon gift certificates and will use those for some birthdays and weddings coming up
Cancelled Weight Watchers. I’m not at my goal yet but I know enough how to stay on track from what I’ve learned
I "ate down the refrigerator" before going on a trip and gave any veggies that wouldn't last to my neighbor.
I picked (in the rain!) 2 quarts of wild blueberries to freeze for the winter months. I'm probably biased, but I think our little wild Maine berries have such better flavor than cultivated.
I have a bunch of points with a hotel brand (Radisson) that are going to expire and I was having a hard time logging in to my account to use them up. I thought about giving up, but I decided to call and figure it out. It took several attempts (and time) but I finally got it done. Too often I give up on these little things and it makes me feel good when I do take the time to do it right.
We need a new bed/mattress for our guest room but I don't want to buy a new one. We found a really nice solid wood bed frame on Marketplace for $75. So thankful I didn't pay $300 for the other.
We volunteered for our volunteer fire department in their food shack during a concert with the group Lonestar. Tickets were $50, but we were able to get in free and also had a delicious Italian hot sausage for supper. I love small towns and I love volunteering.
@Tricia, Sympathy to you! Expiring points in rewards programs are SO frustrating. As it isn't in the company's best interest to tell us when the points are expiring, they don't make much effort to tell us when the points disappear.
I have some airline ones I am unlikely to use before they expire in November and have a note on my to-do list to check them before then.
Still getting used to not going back to school tomorrow -- thinking of my friends there and wishing them all a great year 🙂 And happy summer to you all!
1. Used my new Medicare card to stop paying for my gym (pool) dues thru the "Silver Sneakers" program, paid for by my carrier, Blue Shield. (And could they find a more old person-y sounding name, LOL ? Old Grey Mares? ) But I'm very thankful for them to pick up the 40 dollars per month!
2. Using my CVC Easy care bucks + my credit card points to keep my Super Coffee prices very low and even free. Paired with my cheesy instant coffee and a bit of cream, it's almost free iced coffee. Also, making my own iced tea for 20 cents per pot.
3. Also used my Easy care bucks to pick up a couple items for my daughter's birthday -- free. Nail balm and the very nail polish used by Queen Elizabeth -- it's Essie "Ballet slippers" in pale pale pink. Not sure why I know this 😉
4. Have been saving recyclable items to cash in -- not sure we even generate enough but thought it was worth the effort.
5. Cleaning And Purging. Sending stuff to Salvation Army and Goodwill. Not selling it -- which would be better and love those glasses !-- but clearing out drawers means we found SO MUCH STUFF and will not be duplicating things, which is frugal.
6. all the usual stuff -- eating in most meals, shopping the sales, checking the mark-down sections, using up stuff in the freezer, etc., library, watching stuff on Roku and a couple streaming services. Trying to be mindful when I am shopping.
Are people buying the eyeglasses mainly for the frame? Or do they hope you have the same correction as you do? Just curious
You know I'm a fan of plants that multiply easily!
My FFT, vacation edition:
1. I cooked all meals at our vacation house using food I brought from home, and we had leftovers more often than I expected, so we still brought plenty of food back and I can probably skip grocery shopping again this week.
2. We chose relatively cheap vacation entertainment: swimming, playgrounds, nature trails, beach and putt-putt golf are all included where we stayed, but we did go to three places that had paid admission-an outdoor sculpture and fairy garden, a museum, and a nature preserve with a beach. All of them were pretty cheap though and definitely worth the money to have the experiences.
3. I filled up on gas on my way home at a price that was much, much lower than my last fill up in June. Prices have dropped, but also it's cheaper where we went, and the station even had a squeegee with plenty of clean washer fluid! I was so excited! All the stations near me have been cheaping out for at least a year now, so I was super happy to wash my windows for free!
4. The freezer in our vacation house was not working properly, which made meal plans a bit of a challenge since I was leaning heavily on frozen prepared items, frozen proteins and frozen vegetables. Luckily it kept everything cold enough to not go bad and when my mom moved into her house later, I was able to put some things into her freezer. Things like the ice cream soup that I almost threw away in frustration but had decided to keep and try to use as milk shakes instead because, of course. What does a frugal person do with ice cream soup? Throw it out? I don't think so! It actually turned out fine after refreezing in my mom's freezer, so no straws needed! We also cheerfully enjoyed "cold tubes of juice" instead of popsicles for the first week whenever we came back from a hot walk. Annoying, but also kind of sweetly memorable.
5. Not really frugal, but earth-friendly, I saved all of our compost during our trip in reused cereal bags in the freezer. I used them to keep the milk cold in the cooler on the way home and then dumped them into my compost bin when I got home. It was a bit strange to see bags of compost on the freezer door, but it meant our trash can didn't get smelly over the week and a little bit less food waste hits the garbage stream, plus my garden gets all those coffee grounds and egg shells, etc! A win all around in my opinion, and totally worth the bother. I also saved my bacon grease in a cereal bag, but I kept that in the fridge and cooked with it, because...yum.
1. I picked up 2 Boden dress tops and a casual shirt for myself off Buy Nothing. I picked up some pants for my son off Buy Nothing. I gave away my daughter's crib set on Buy Nothing this week too, as she has moved into a full bed.
2. My daughter's daycare gave us a few bunches of bananas and loaves of bread. I used the bananas to make banana bread, which will be my son's snack this week at camp. The rest of the bananas I used to make banana pancakes that we will eat for breakfast camping this weekend. I am using the bread for sandwiches for lunch while camping.
3. I used vegetables from my garden and items from my pantry to make a delicious vegetarian pasta for my lunches this week.
4. I sold a lawnmower we found on the curb for $80.
5. I made my own ice for camping by freezing ice in a plastic bowl. Better for environment too.
1. Made a necessary home purchase from Target and saved $5 by checking the Circle app. Also used Rakuten for cash back.
2. DH and I carefully managed to either eat or freeze food before leaving town for a week. We also used up some saved salad dressings from when our family was here and we had takeout (rare for us!), a few packets of parmesan cheese, and some powdered drink packets from company. Trying to avoid food waste!
3. Mended a muslin baby blanket, a baby carrier, and some of DH’s underwear.
4. Took advantage of yearly eye exam covered by our insurance, and paid the $5 copay with our HSA card.
5. Took Baby E to his 6 month appointment which was also covered by insurance, including all his shots. Preventive healthcare is super frugal!
1. I cooked all our meals at home, again.
2. I'm making a quilt out of materials that I already have. I will need to buy some batting soon, but so far the project has only cost my time.
3. We accepted some clothes for my oldest from his cousin. We were able to pass along some too big clothes that he was given by a family friend.
4. We have been using our public library to borrow books and board games.
5. I rearranged some decor and furniture to refresh my home.
This week frugal wins:
1. Aug=Lots of vegetables ripe in the garden. So, we're eating lots of stuff from the garden (zucchini, lettuce, asparagus beans, eggplant, tomatoes, herbs) for dinner/lunch.
2. Made and froze homemade marinara sauce bc I'm getting tired of eating tomatoes every single day.
3. Gave myself a pedicure!
4. Pre-booked a few activities for our vacation saving about $40.00.
Well, first thing I'll do when I get home is to rummage through my cabinet to find my old glasses, and then list them on ebay!
But here are my five frugal things for this week:
1. No takeout. Well, my husband did get a salad one day instead of the lunch I packed because I must have grabbed some spoiled veggies for his lunch because by lunchtime his whole lunch box stank! We thought it was the roasted cabbage but we still had some at home and that one didn't stink. So his lunch that day went into the garbage.
2. New recipes for using up zucchinis! I saw in one of the Facebook groups someone posted a grilled cheese zucchini sandwich so I ended up making it last night and it was great, leftovers for lunch today. I didn't use any of the "fancy" cheeses they listed, I just used what I had, some cheddar, shredded mozzarella, and a bit of parmesan but it was great!
3. I froze whatever veggies I had in the fridge that I knew we weren't going to use up this week.
4. Only $60ish in groceries this week because I am trying to work through our fridge and some older stuff in the freezer.
5. Went into Old Navy to swap out pants I got for my husband for a different size and didn't buy anything else! My family is basically a walking commercial for Old Navy. I have their credit card and use it for regular expenses so I rack up anywhere between $50 and $100 per month which we then use to buy clothes for all 4 of us, from underwear to jackets. My husband jokes that I am going to bankrupt them because I often buy $200-300 worth of clothes which, after whatever promo they have going on and the money I get from using the card ends up being $1-2, literally.
1) Yesterday I submitted receipts for my recent book purchases to my university for reimbursement.
2) I am working on a fall wardrobe refresh to get the kids ready for school. I am returning things from last week's Thredup order that didn't fit, and I placed a new order this week.
3) I had dental work done last week that my insurance won't cover, so I offered to pay with a check in full up front and got a 5% discount.
4) I have been strategically cooking up things that will go bad first for meals this week.
5) I batched errands and bought only exactly what I needed when I went to Target.
#1 I got my hair cut at work. I work at a prison. For $1/month I can get my hair cut and my boots blacked/shined. Certain inmates are able to do different jobs. Barber is one of them. I have gotten so many comments on how good my hair looks.
#2 I didn't make extra trips to the store. Waiting to make my list and get everything in one trip after I go to a reoccurring meeting in the morning.
#3 This one is something my roommate did. She haggled with the neighbor to trade some work on her lawnmowers for something she has that he wants. She is not using it so it's a win-win.
#4 I have been picking up gifts for my friends and family back home for when I go next month. I got some Coca Cola collectables at a yard sale for my friend who is letting me stay with her for a few days. I picked up a fall decor piece for my mom because she loves decorating for fall, also found at a yard sale.
#5 I eat at work for free at the Officer's Dining Hall. Sometimes for breakfast lunch and dinner. If I get it for dinner I take it home to eat. I'm single without dependents to feed, except for my fur babies. I didn't like cooking for several people, so I like it less when it is just me. I love hearing how many people on here cook in creative ways. Maybe I will try some of those ideas.
My frugal five:
1. Batched errands for after a foot doctor appointment.
2. Borrowed two New Jersey Monthly magazines from the library. One is on things to do at the shore, which we will soon be at, and the other is on museums in the state.
3. Cashed in $16 of rolled change and exchanged a torn $10 bill for a new one at the bank.
4. We had a "happy hour" with a friend of hubby's who he works with. I had enormous shrimp that I make shrimp cocktail with, we had ground beef to make burgers which we skipped, and I made a box of brownies which we didn't. It was gorgeous outside and his buddy wanted to see our deck and gazebo.
5. Making up a list of things to bring on vacation. We rented a condo "down the shore" as we call it here in NJ. I have tons of stuff that I don't have to buy like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, breakfast and lunch stuff. We will get dinner out every night specifically seafood as we haven't been out to eat in at least 2.5 years. We may just get take away and bring it back to the condo so we aren't around any Covid.
Wow! I just got new glasses and never thought to sell my old ones on eBay...
1. I made pickles from cucumbers gifted me by daughter in law. Both bread and butter and kosher dill refrigerator pickles. I got four jars total. Reused old pickle jars to store them.
2. I keep pinching back a hanging basket of coleus and rooting new bits of it to add to other planters.
3. A magazine offer for a new to me publication came in that intrigued me. I took time to look it up online. It's a so so good buy but I realized in looking at the previews that I'm not that keen on it, so saved spending that money.
4. I have had an Amazon subscription list for a while now because it's convenient and easy but at present, I'm looking online to see if I can get a better price elsewhere before approving my monthly shipments. So far, I've been pleased to find that I am getting the lowest cost. As well, I'm checking my supplies to see if I need every item that's coming up. I cancelled all but one item this month because I have more than enough to meet our needs until the next scheduled shipment of those items.
5. We had a cheap date on Friday morning. We picked up fast food breakfast and took it to a very old cemetery we love and had a picnic. The air was considerably cooler and less humid and it's always quiet in that spot surrounded by very old cedars and yews. We had a great conversation while we ate a leisurely breakfast and then came home to work our bottoms off!