Five teeny tiny frugal things
In the grand scheme of things, the big financial decisions we make are what affect our bottom line the most.
But...if you collect enough tiny frugalities, they can have a bit of an impact too. And besides, a diehard frugal heart can always appreciate a teensy money-saving win.
Soo, that's what I present to you today.
1. I baked sweet potatoes in the toaster oven, on a reused piece of foil
A toaster oven requires less energy than a regular oven, so that's a tiny savings.
And the piece of foil has been used before for sweet potatoes and also for broiling a tuna melt. No sense in using a new piece each time if it's not actually dirty.
Bonus point for me: my toaster oven was free from my Buy Nothing group. 🙂 So was the table it's sitting on.
2. I used some very brown apricots in my kale salad
I discovered some long-neglected, very brown, extra-dry apricots in my pantry. So when I made my last batch of kale salad, I cut them up and added them in place of some of the craisins.
I also did my usual and subbed raisins for half of the craisins, since raisins are definitely cheaper!
3. I used sterile gloves while applying furniture stripper
When I cleaned out my practice medical supplies at the end of the semester, I hung onto all my practice pairs of sterile gloves, figuring they would come in handy.
And when I needed to use stripper on my trash-picked table, they did! I donned and doffed them for each application and they held up great.
4. I smushed my soap ends onto my current bar
Usually I do this with every new bar, but somehow a few ends had piled up on the shower shelf.
So, I squished them onto my current bar, and while this makes for a slightly wonky shape, it's quite workable and it will only get flatter as I use it. 😉
5. I bought a half-price cantaloupe
I stopped in to see if they had non-cling peaches yet (so much easier to eat than cling peaches!) and the answer was no. But I did spy half-price cantaloupes, so I bought one.
It is delicious. And stinky. You know you have a good cantaloupe when, on the drive home, it makes your car smell like something died.
Flavorless cantaloupes, on the other hand, have almost no aroma.
Mine are almost all tiny. I'm staying with my parents for a few weeks so they're covering most expenses! I also made a payment on a loan and cancelled a subscription.
@Kristen, I forgot to mention that I saw someone wearing your Miffy on top of the world shirt earlier!
- Made cucumber salad using cucumbers from our garden
- Watched the last season of a tv show using free streaming service
- Selected delayed shipping option during Amazon prime days to get digital credits
- DS drove DH to the airport so he did not have to pay to park
- Made a batch of no-stir granola to go with my yogurt for breakfast
All baby related. Such is life already!
1. I stocked up on several maternity clothing items on eBay, realizing I'll definitely need them this winter and it'd be better to have them on hand than desperately need them when my clothes no longer fit! eBay is more expensive than thrift stores, but my local thrift stores have seriously lacking maternity departments. But, eBay is less expensive than Target, Old Navy, etc!
2. When visiting family this weekend we popped into Once Upon a Child and thrifted some adorable baby clothes and a $6 diaper genie that is slightly broken but my husband can fix!
3. The kind cashier there signed us up for a "first baby" 20% off coupon I wasn't aware of.
4. We also got another Wyze camera on eBay to use as a baby monitor. It complements ours existing security system, and a used camera is only $26!
5. You might think these would be a lot of things we could get at a baby shower. We're having a baby shower, but it will be more of a sprinkle-- diapers only 🙂 I'm a weirdo and figured I could buy everything we needed used or thrifted still in package (or as a hand me down) as a personal challenge. I also didn't want to wait until the baby shower to make sure we had everything we needed, I wanted it marked off my to-do list early (Type A much?). The only things we bought new were a mattress and snot sucker bulb! And the grandparents are generously handling a new car seat and corresponding stroller, so we won't get one that was unknowingly in an accident.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea,
You will be prepared! In my area, members of our Buy Nothing Group often gift items for baby and toddlers.?
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, Ha, we called it a snot sucker, too. We always got at least one, sometimes more, at the hospital when my babies were born, and the unused ones are excellent bath toys for bigger kids. 🙂
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, I did mostly secondhand for first & last child.
First I was not expecting a baby shower (work had a huge shower for me) so I put diaper bag & diaper bag essentials & case of diapers in layaway while picking up basic onesie, blanket, bottles only unless new secondhand.
Last child (surprise 🙂 ) we bought vintage dresser (at auction), table top changing pad, burp clothes, few clothes secondhand. Used first child crib (after stripping old paint & repainting) & first child wooden rocker & toilet training potty. There was NO baby shower (15 years from youngest to next oldest) but a few family gifts.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, when older son (& wife) expecting first child they hosted Men baby shower where you brought diapers & they grilled food while putting together the (women) baby shower gifts.
DIL also requested diapers at Gender Reveal party invitations which I had never heard of.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, those snot suckers literally saved our oldest kid when they aspirated as a baby, so we got several of the bulbs (with one always nearby). He's an adult now, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I like your approach to thrifting infant supplies & saving the baby shower for diapers!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea,
If buying or being given used/thrifted baby items makes someone a weirdo, well, count me in! When DH and I were on the adoption waiting list, we were given tons of baby things from family and friends, including a very nice wooden crib (that my sister never used for her two daughters, much to our mom's chagrin - mom bought the crib, sister decided to co-sleep with her babies), a stroller, one of those "jumpy seats", clothes, etc. We were also given a baby shower, so lots of the little things one needs for a baby (nail clipper kit, snot sucker, etc.) were gifted to us new as well. As our son grew, I thrifted most of his clothes, until he started caring about what he wears (pre-teen years, lol).
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, Good for you! I'm currently weeks away from welcoming our third child, and continue to encourage moms (especially first time moms) to get as much used stuff as possible! Most of it gets used so little, or not at all, that it can easily last through several babies. My sister and I have babies 9 months apart, and then 9 months apart again, which turns out to be the perfect timing to share basically all the baby gear, including a carseat (since we both have confidence that the other has cared for it appropriately, hasn't gotten in an accident etc.)
I've found some excellent maternity pants on ebay as well, and have had hit or miss success with various thrift stores. It seems like people unload a ton of maternity clothes at one time, then there are months of nothing. I don't know if you use poshmark, but I've had a lot of luck with maternity clothes and baby clothes there as well.
Congratulations on your baby, and I hope you have a healthy and easy pregnancy and birth!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea,
It doesn't seem crazy. Used baby stuff is everywhere and unless you are clothe diapering, you cannot buy used diapers.
Also, save the empty plastic cartridges that Diaper Genies use and you can get away with buying these cheaper refills. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C74F6QLH?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Facebook marketplace is a great place to look for used baby/toddler clothes. People are almost giving baby stuff away.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea,
It is a special time, preparing for your baby! In our country, when I was pregnant, people did not throw baby showers. After the baby was born, people came round for a brief visit and would bring a gift - or they would send it and come visit later. We used furniture from the family and bought pram, bath, second hand from an acquaintance. We cloth diapered at first and I nursed - not much needed there. A lot of clothes were passed to us from just older babies in the family. However after the birth I did splurge on expensive baby clothes a few times, this was probably hormonal.
This was three decades ago, I 've noticed that people nowadays spend a lot more on baby stuff and related parties just as they do on elaborate (pre)wedding parties. I am glad I predate this trend, it sounds like more trouble than fun. What I was most in need of when pregnant was a good night's sleep, and putting my feet up!
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, Oh my gosh you are so smart!! I love the diapers only shower. Way to not have people waste their money.
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, oh it is all so much fun. before our daughter was born we were in a pharmacy debating what stuff to get. a pediatrician heard us talking and helped us pick up some stuff, we asked where she practiced and she said she was visiting from boston. we were so disappointed. this is such a special time i hope you enjoy every moment.
@kristin @ going country,
Booger Snatched.
@kristin @ going country,
We called it a Booger Snatcher.
I can't wait for cantaloupes up here. Got one last week and it was slightly crunchy 🙁
1) Been bulk buying/pick-your-own seasonal produce to preserve for the winter. Dropping quite a bit on it now but its hopefully less stuff I'll have to buy in the fall/winter. Fava beans, peas, peaches, cherries, raspberries, garlic scapes so far.
2) Got a few Chayote squash and a box of spinach for volunteering at the school summer market.
Preserving season has started so we aren't really doing much else. That's about all I got this week I think.
@Jaime,
I have a Peach Truck pick up in about two weeks....can't wait! Not necessarily frugal, but the peaches are amazing! I always freeze a bunch.
1. Have been scouting the discounted produce at the grocery store lately, and have gotten potatoes, lemons, and bananas, all good, at a cheap cheap price. Today was a bust, everything was really brown and gross, but sometimes I win! It's like checking a lottery ticket, you never know.
2. On the way out of my exam yesterday I treated myself to a cup of the free coffee the school offers to students.
3. Clark continues to prove himself a Frugal Feline by playing with the boys' outgrown Nerf bullets (always supervised or he'd chew them up and swallow bits of them), so for his 'birthday' this year I treated him to a feather toy bought with a coupon and rewards points.
4. We have a half-dead tree in our backyard threatening the power line to our house, and DH called around and found a pretty good quote. The tree guy said he wants to work with the power company to have the power briefly turned off, rather than bring out lots of equipment to do it the other way, which would be more expensive. It should cost us around $250, which a) we can afford through being frugal in other ways and b) is worth it for the peace of mind during storms!
5. Biked to a garage sale and picked up a copy of Pride and Prejudice for 50 cents, and scored an organizing basket from the free pile. I'd been needing a larger basket for some toiletries in the bathroom. This basket was pink, not my favorite color, but it goes in a closet so won't be noticed on a trotting horse, as my grandpa used to say.
6. It was my birthday yesterday and I got to choose our evening entertainment. I was happy to find that Mystery Science Theatre 3000 now is offered free with our streaming service, so I found a classic Mike Nelson episode and thoroughly enjoyed subjecting my family to it. 😀 For anyone curious, it was "Space Mutiny" and was hilariously bad and funny.
@Karen A., Happy Birthday to you!!!!! May all your dreams come true.
@Karen A.,
One of my birthday presents one year was a set of MS3 DVD's. Happy birthday, fellow Misty!
@Karen A., I send birthday wishes to both you and Clark!
And I think Jane Austen would approve of the 50-cent P&P. She spent her life in genteel near-poverty, and depended largely on circulating libraries and her local "book society" (a Regency variation on a book club) for reading matter after her family left Steventon Rectory and her father's book collection was broken up/auctioned off. Of course, she wanted as many people as possible to buy her books after she began publishing. But since she's been gone 208 years (as of July 18) and can't collect royalties on the millions of dollars/pounds/etc. now spent on her books and related merch, I think she'd say the Regency equivalent of "You go, girl!"
@Karen A., Happy birthday yesterday!
@Karen A.,
Happy Birthday!!!
@JD, Always fun to meet another Misty! I used to have quite a few VHS tapes, but decluttered them somewhere along the way. DH and DS#1 can take watching one of them once in a while, but says they lose "sanity points" if he watches too many in a row. Ha.
@A. Marie, Imagine what Jane would have thought of our larger library systems now! And I was very amused that a good friend of mine sent me a package of book-related gifts, two of them Pride and Prejudice themed (a pencil case and a puzzle). I guess this is my kick in the pants to read more Austen this year!
Thank you, everyone! 52 doesn't feel so bad, all things considered. 😉
@Karen A., Happy birthday! I'm glad 52 doesn't feel so bad because I'll be there in a couple of years 🙂
@Karen A.,
Happy belated birthday, and I am thoroughly impressed by the $250 tree quote. Most tree trimmers around here charge in the thousands! But if you don't take care of your trees, they can topple in storms, which would cost even more. Not to mention how dangerous that is!
@Karen A., When you hit 72, you'll remember 52 as being in the flush of youth! Happy birthday.
@Karen A., Happy Birthday!!!
@Fru-gal Lisa, yep, this tree is half dead--we already took down two dead limbs that were dangling right above the line--and we saw a big part of it fall off during another high wind. Amazingly, because the wind was coming from the west, the part that broke off fell away from the line...but that was a close call! DH is just asking the tree guys to cut off the top part of the tree that is dead and leave the rest that is still alive. So not the entire tree is getting taken down, which no doubt is why it's just $250!
@Lindsey, Yep, I figure I have at least twenty more good years to go (if not more if I take care of myself and God willing), so I've got to do as much as I can while I'm this young. 😉
I bought local corn for 5 ears for $1. I bought a bunch to process for the freezer. I think I have enough for the year now.
I bought 2 quilts at a thrift store for $4 each. They are 100% cotton, and I'm using them for sewing projects. I am trying to learn some new techniques, and this is the cheapest way I have found to do that (cheaper than buying fabric for that cost).
I used up everything in the fridge for big salads (olives, turkey, sourdough bread for croutons, cheeses, eggs, etc). Threw no food away this week.
We have done a lot of projects in the yard, but used things we already have so that was no cost.
ate at home, library movies and books for hot days inside, and all the usual stuff.
@Marlena,
Wow! What a great deal on quilts.
We just had local quilt show & quilts were easily $100+. Even vendors selling used quilts were not cheap.
I don't think I've even seen quilts at Goodwill for under $40.
@Regina, these aren't handmade, they were mass produced, but they are 100% cotton and that is all I cared about for sewing. I am trying to make large totes with them and having them already quilted saves a lot of steps.
@Regina,
When we were on vacation several weeks ago, I stopped in at a local consignment shop to browse. The lady on duty (I assume it's her shop) mentioned that upstairs, everything is 50% off. I thought her prices were kind of high, but of course I took a look upstairs....one of the items was an antique quilt that she was asking $250 for! Yikes! it was in poor condition (needed lots of repair, plus had stains, etc.) Even for $125, it was not exactly flying out the door. I did not buy the quilt, or anything else.
1. We went camping this weekend. We brought our own food and drinks. We took advantage of the included free activities at the State Park like a bird watching hike, hiking, fishing, and swimming at the beach.
2. While camping, we decided we needed to get out of the heat for a bit, so we went to the science museum in the closest city. The entrance was free because we are members of the science museum in our city. This saved us about $60.
3. I attended an outdoor exercise class our city was offering for free.
4. My daughter and I attended an outdoor performance by our city's orchestra.
5. My kids, husband, and I did an escape room at our local library, which was free. My kids are also participating in the library's summer reading program, so they were able to collect their prizes this week.
I not have teeny frugalities too this week.
Rode my bike to the post office twice instead of driving.
Got free garden lettuce from a friend. I stupidly don’t love garden lettuce but free is free.
Really limited my AC this week.
Hung clothes out to dry.
Entertainment. Kanopy. Libby. Roku channel. Free Podcasts.
Cooked and ate at home. Mostly grilled items or cold salads.
Got five large clumps of free perennials from a friend.
Huh, I don't think cantaloupe smells stinky. Am I alone in that?
Most of my frugalities are small, too.
FFT:
1. I made an order for work through Swagbucks and got bucks back. I used those plus a Prime Day sale to get netting to cover some garden plants at night. I had already checked prices - the Prime Day price was a little less, which is not always the case. Instead of $35 + tax, I paid $6.58 including tax. I also earned a digital dollar for taking slower shipping, but it's looking to arrive sooner than predicted.
2. It was so hot this weekend, and I really needed to clean the front and east porches thanks to yard dust and rain frogs. I use a well, so I hooked up the hose and washed those porches and the porch furniture using only strong streams of water, with just a little wiping up at the end with my years-old microfiber cleaning cloths. I enjoyed getting wet in that heat. I used no cleaners and don't count the electricity, since the well pump would have run anyway for the washer and dishwasher that were working at the same time.
(Rain frogs are cute, but they leave their poop everywhere!)
3. I made hard boiled eggs by bringing them to a boil then turning off the heat but keeping the pan on the burner, covered, and letting residual heat finish cooking the eggs. They were perfect after 20 minutes.
4. I took one of two routes that would get me to my destination in the same amount of time, the route which had the place with the cheapest gas price, to fuel up on my way.
5. My bookworm granddaughter has discovered an old series of books that she enjoys, and yesterday I found one that has been out of print since the 60's, for much more reasonable prices than I'd seen last year. The seller I chose was five-stars and clearly showed all the marks and dog-ears, so I would expect this to be exactly what I get. The granddaughter understands and doesn't mind that some of these books will be old and used. Another gift is purchased ahead.
Now I'm starting to think I'm alone in thinking it's stinky. lol
One time one of my kids neglected to carry a cantaloupe into the house after getting groceries and it sat in the car for a good 24 hours in the summertime. Now THAT was a level of cantaloupe stink I hope never to experience again.
@JD, your #3 re: hard-boiled eggs is genius. I'll keep that in mind from now on.
@A. Marie, it's the way Julia Child did her eggs. Been doing it that way since high school (more than 50 years lol). Perfect everytime!
@JD,
I make my hard boiled eggs the same way>>>>have for years. 😉 My dad calls me every time he makes hard boiled eggs to ask me how I do it because they come out perfect & his don't. When I tell people how I do it they fuss stating various reasons but I have never had any problems.
@Kristen, you're not alone. I also think cantaloupe smells terrible which is why I only buy it if I'm walking home from the store, not driving!
@Kristen, I dislike the smell so much I never buy them myself, although my husband will sometimes bring one home. And then I try to get it eaten--to everyone else--as quickly as possible so I'm not smelling it every time I open my refrigerator.
@kristin @ going country, Same. Cantaloupe is probably one of the very few fruits I dislike (muskmelon and honeydew are the others). My boys love it, so thankfully once I cut one up it is eaten at one dinner by all four of them!
@Kathleen,
Isn't it great? I can't remember when or where I first heard that idea. I use it for pasta, too, the residual heat time depending on the type of pasta.
@Kristen,
Nope, not alone in thinking cantaloupe are stinky. I have to take the trash out after peeling and cutting up a cantaloupe. 🙂
@Kristen, I think you are right. The more fragrant a cantaloupe is the better it tastes. I never cut one open until I smell it. My kids used to call cantaloupe candy-lope.
@JD, What series did your granddaughter discover? My daughter was also a voracious reader (still is) - luckily I curated the children's section of a used book warehouse for her entire childhood. It was our own bookish Room of Requirement since it seemed like every single book shows up there sooner or later.
@Suz,
The Lois Lenski "Girl" series. Texas Tomboy, Shoo-fly Girl, Houseboat Girl, Strawberry Girl, Coal Camp Girl, Blueberry Corners, Bayou Suzette.... and so on.
I read them in the library as a kid. Some are still in print, some are not.
@JD, Cool! Oddly enough, Strawberry Girl is a book I've been periodically peering at my warehouse shelves for, for a few years now, and have yet to come across. So I see your point & congratulate your find..
@JD, I always hardboil eggs the way you described in your #3. Perfect every time.
@Regina,
I make corn on the cob that way, too. I drop it on boiling water with a little bit of sugar and salt, let it boil for about a minute, then remove from heat, put a lid on the pot and let it set for about 10 minutes. It makes perfect corn.
I’m on the road again so, like before, unless you count staying with family and someone else buying my meals, there’s not much here. OTOH I’m not buying anything either.
1. I pointed out to my father that many museums give discounts not onlyfor disabled people (he uses a scooter for anything over half a block) but their “caregivers” as well. Suddenly our museum ticket prices dropped even more.
2. I used my Met ticket (for John Singer Sargent in Paris) to return for the Superfine/Black Dandyism exhibit. Run, don’t walk, to see Superfine! I spent 2.5 hours there and it wasn’t quite enough. Bonus effect: the museum closed before could visit the museum shop.
3. I had leftovers for my 3.5 hr trip home rather than buying while in transit.
Priceless: spending time with some of my foreign cousins, which is why I made the trip in the first place.
@WilliamB,
FYI - if you're ever near Boston, the Boston Public Library (guessing it's the "main" branch) is both a beautiful building itself, but also has wall paintings by John Singer Sargent inside. (Maybe you've already been there, I don't know, but it's well worth a visit if you're in the area and have time.)
There are many more opportunities to save on smaller things than larger ones.
* I reviewed our household budget and short-term financial plan. DH and I made some adjustments and made a list of action items. I have made a decision to replace my 15-year old car. It is simply time.
* I brought about 20 items of clothing to consignment. I picked up a $45 check for the items that sold last month.
* I did an inventory of my pantry and made my monthly trip to Costco. There are a handful of things that I buy there on a regular basis that save me a good deal of money and make my membership worth it. For example, if I bought coffee at the local grocery store, it would cost me approximately $575 a year. At Costco the cost is $240.
* One weekend a year, Florida fisherman can fish for Red Snapper in the Atlantic. I took care of all the kiddos in the family, so everyone could go fishing offshore. There was no need for anyone to pay a babysitter. I'd much rather play with children than fish. Our family reached their maximum allotment of Red Snapper and also caught some Sea Bass. Oh and just to keep things interesting, they also caught an 8-foot shark. The shark was caught on an especially nice fishing rodthat I purchased for my son secondhand at an estate sale. 🙂
* I did all the usual things, drank primarily water, brewed my own coffee, read library book, used my gym membership, uploaded my receipts to Fetch and Ibotta, and ate my meals at home.
Wishing everyone, good health, peace, and prosperity.
@Bee, I'm with you on being childcare rather than the fishing crew. Did they keep the shark? Can you?
@Bee, the fishing weekend sounds like a great time for all concerned. But curiosity strikes: Was the shark also edible? Was it released after the catch? Or is your son on the lookout for a taxidermist?
@kristin @ going country, @ A. Marie
Smaller sharks are edible as long as they are cleaned properly. However, they did not keep this shark. The shark was exhausted by the fight and was docile. My son reach over the boat, anchored by his friend, and removed the hook from the shark's cheek area. The shark swam away after splashing him with his tail. We can't decide if the shark was mad or thankful. I also can't decide if my son is a brave hero or a crazy fisherman.
However, this son spends a good deal of time on, in, and by the water. He considers it bad karma to unnecessarily kill a shark. I see his point. But in all honesty, it is also can be dangerous to bring a shark of that size on a boat the size of our family's. He made a good decision.
My son's wife was able capture this shark encounter on video. Although I was not out with them, I was able to enjoy this adventure.
Made a mocktail of leftover tonic water and olive juice. An abomination. Do not recommend.
2. Found a poop bag and a garbage bag (both empty!) on a walk.
3. Used the sun to zap out stains on a shirt and bedspread, even though the stains were already set in by the dryer. Thanks to The Frugal Girl for inspiring me to try this! It’s a miracle, really.
4. Started adding a small plate of salad greens with a bit of dressing to whatever I’m having for breakfast. Some odd combos for sure but I’m glad to get another veggie serving in my day. I’m pretty sure I have The Frugal Girl to thank for this, too!
5. Cooked up a batch of wild rice to add to scrambled eggs, pancakes and salads.
@MB in MN,
I guess this frugal experiment did not taste like a martini. It was worth a try!
@Bee, it was a good try but a waste of perfectly good tonic water!
Nothing very special here this week-
Drank water and home brewn coffee
Ate at home, partly home cooked and partly from the freezer
Bought ingredients for homemade relish (cans of tomato, and cheap seasonal produce)
Cut the dead heads of my perennials, some of them will blossom again 😉
Found a dime in the street
Will be knitting baby socks for an aquaintance who is expecting their first baby. I have some very soft leftover yarn that will be perfect for a newborn.
Frugal experiment: I found a home canned bottle of elderberry syrup from 2012. It is probably safe to try it, the seal is clean and and in one peace. 2011/2012 is the time when I started my frugal journey and I was very interested in canning at the time. This bottle goes to show you should only keep what you would want to use later. Every time I cleaned that shelf I put it back -
Piece - doh!
Let's see . . .
--I noticed the grasshoppers had started eating my second planting of lettuce (BOOOOO), so I harvested it before they could eat it all.
--I harvested a dozen or so smaller beets yesterday, too, along with a few carrots that had no green left (grasshoppers again) and so they would not be growing anymore.
--The jelly I made from the wild currants my children gathered for me did not set well, so now I have a few pints of currant syrup with with to make juice for said children.
--My husband figured out a way to pump up my daughter's bike tire even though the air nozzle thing looked like it was leaking, so we won't have to buy her a new tire.
--My son killed a rattlesnake right by the door yesterday, and my husband killed a big one right in my garden last night that my children found while playing hide and seek (YIIIIIKES). Had anyone been bitten--not unlikely, given their locations--that would have been a long drive to the ER. So we can call that a savings on gas mileage, if nothing else. Also, we haven't been getting very many eggs lately, which I would guess is because of those two snakes, plus the bull snake my husband killed on the patio a few days ago. I expect we should return to getting five eggs a day now.
@kristin @ going country,
You are WAY MORE CALM than I would have been! Snakes>>>NO FLIPPING WAY! And 2 of them Rattle Snakes>>> ME SCREAMING.
I got a kick out of Andrea's "snot sucker bulb". Very aptly named!
I filled up w gas (now $2.89) for $2.84 using some of the many reward points I have. Oddly enough, gas is $2.85 (10 mi south) in the town where I work. I did not know that until I went to work after being off three days.
I am not ordering this week from Misfits as good produce is available from various stands and actually costs about the same or less. Plus, I have friends in the business I like to support. And I will purchase at an as needed basis instead of "ahead." so there will be less money spent outright.
Speaking of produce, my garden tubs are providing tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs. Plus I picked a half gallon of blackberries at the neighbor's. I can see he has no interest in them. There are a ton more. I am not picking them and selling them but they are going for $16.00 per gallon in town! I did make a galette for him and was afraid it was not good, so I ate some for breakfast and gave the rest away to my Mower Guy and his Dad. I made another one and the second one was not very good at all. I'm resigned to freeze them for now and make jelly or a cobbler which I know will be good.
I got a half dozen old fashioned donuts at Hy-Vee. I learned that they are not only cheaper by the half dozen at $1.50 each (normally $1.76 apiece for less than six) but after 4p they are $.83. I eat one a day for breakfast.
Flowering plants are important to me. The ones I got in the late spring are rather fried. My favorite nursery had a half price sale this past week, so I got some to freshen my color pots. I also have two entry way pots at my work place that I will also replace. I will say that my front porch pots have been exceptionally pretty this year with purple petunias, purple scaevola and ipomea with a shock of white impatiens that have two inch flowers.
@Chrissy, your front porch pots sound beautiful! I'm always looking around enjoying my neighbor's flowers when I walk; I bet your neighbors appreciate yours too
1. going through school supply lists and shopping from what we currently have from last year before buying anything we don't have
2. finished a EOS lip balm my kids didn't like and scraped the leftovers into a half-used tube to use it all up!
3. cutting up sad fruit to freeze to make ice cream/smoothies with
4. stocked up on sale items at the store to replenish the pantry/freezer
5. using up a stash of slightly lower power contact lenses before I make an appointment for a new Rx, and will shop around for the best deal when buying new ones.
@Jen,
School supplies have gone up a lot! I remember buying school supplies few years ago when spiral notebooks $0.15 each, wooden pencials $0.25/package, $1 Crayola colored pencils/markers, $0.25 big erasers (multi pack), $0.10-$0.25 folders with designs.
I purchased some 5 subject spiral notebooks with built in folders $5 last year which was 50% off and I could not believe the prices.
@Regina, The notebooks drive me crazy! They use a few pages out of each one, so we have a stack to keep using up. When we were sent to work from home in 2020, we cleaned out our work desks and brought any office supplies in them home to use, so we are still working through highlighters, pens, and dry erase markers, thankfully! I think this year will just need to buy glue sticks and a few dry erase markers. With all the pencils teachers give the kids as gifts...we don't need to buy any of those this year for sure, do they match, no, but will they work? YES, also the price is right!
@Jen, About 20 years ago, when the company I worked for shut down, one of my jobs involved dealing with our physical items, such as printers and office supplies. Even then I was a little crazy about not wasting things so I gathered and organized ALL the supplies: half-pads of paper, binder clips, pens, EVERYTHING. The remaining employees took what they wanted (I decided I'd earned going first) and I gave the rest to my neighbor's kid's small private school. Oh, yeah, I kept all the cash I found as well.
I haven't bought a binder clip, paper clip, or pad of paper since.
@Jen, Such a good idea to shop what you have as school supplies have gone up a lot. Many supplies can be used for years if students take care of them. I also find it profitable to look for school supplies at thrift stores. I have had especially good savings on binders, notebooks and paper, and pencil crayons. The pencil crayons are usually random sets and colours, but sometimes you get the odds and ends of the really big sets and get awesome unusual colours or extra high-quality pencils.
@Lisa K, My work used to be paper everything, and when most things went paperless, there were stacks and stacks of 3 ring binders they were getting rid of, so I took a few boxes of them, and we are very slowly working through those! I use binders and the repurposed sheet protectors from work as well to store home manuals/appliance receipts/paint colors, etc. I also have another binder that I use for lawnmower/small appliance manuals/receipts/maintenance records. Super handy to know that what I need is in a binder on a shelf instead of digging through a box of papers!
I decided if the kids were going to need folders every year to just buy the plastic ones, so they keep reusing those over and over, notebooks and colored pencils get reused for school or for list making or art projects or whatever. Trying not to waste!
FTTFT, The Umpteenth Annual “Eat Your Weeds” Edition:
(1) In my gardens, it’s that happy time of year between when the spinach quits and when I plant fall greens that the healthful weeds are available. (Believe it, folks: The late Euell Gibbons had tests run on all of mine, and they outrank all conventional garden greens in nutritional value.) I get copious quantities of wild amaranth (aka redroot pigweed), lambs’ quarters, and purslane, and put a salad spinner’s worth of all three into the shrimp stir-fry I made last night. Here’s the recipe I used as a jump-off point (https://www.thelittlepine.com/shrimp-stir-fry/). I substituted the greens and some carrots for the broccoli I despise.
(2) The cilantro I thought wasn’t coming up in the spring has come up, so I threw a generous fistful of it on top of the shrimp stir-fry. And I’ll probably make a curry later in the week to use more of the cilantro before it bolts. (Cilantro LIVES to go to seed as quickly as possible.)
(3) I also pulled some green onions from the bunching green onions in my back 40 that just won’t quit for the stir-fry.
(4) Because it rained just enough on Sunday afternoon to get me and my aching back and knees off watering duty Monday, I had a leisurely shop Monday morning at the Salvation Army superstore. I found a shirt and a pair of pants for myself, and a pair of pants for my JASNA Panera friend, for 99 cents each (green tags for 99 cents), plus a few other goodies with white and blue tags for 50% off.
(5) And I heartily endorse Kristen's reuse of her sterile gloves for furniture stripping and other messy household chores. I pick up similar (non-sterile) gloves pretty cheaply at either Ollie's or Harbor Freight, for similar uses.
Too many financial people stress about the teeny tiny things and too many others dismiss them entirely. In the end, it's about budgeting your money, time, space etc. Unless you're an elf, you don't have too many trips around the sun to get things done in but that doesn't mean we should waste either.
But buying a non perishable food item on sale can save you $1 and be zero extra time or effort. Changing your car's air filter yourself saves you $10-$20 and takes maybe five minutes. So little things can have a big impact.
That all said, here's mine.
1. I was happy to read that Prime Day was largely a bust for Amazon. The deals were generally mediocre or non-existent. What I did get was a couple cases of various snacks for my daughter's lunches.
2. Target had a couple of deals and by stacking them and a coupon, I was able to buy a year's supply of toilet paper. In my house we have a septic tank and a bidet so Scott 1000 is our paper of choice. It's been hit with the Inflation Monster in recent years so getting it for under $0.50 a roll has been difficult. But now I am stocked up for over a year so I don't need to think about it again for a long time.
3. Got some discounted gift cards via the Prime Day sale for casual restaurants that we like to go to. Not a huge savings but it helps us to plan for and budget our entertainment out like that.
4. Line dried all my laundry this weekend. After all the loads I may have saved $1 or so but I prefer to line dry clothes for many reasons. It's relaxing to me and I get outside.
5. Paid my car insurance and homeowner's insurance in full getting a bigger discount on both.
@Battra92,
I seem to remember that Amy Dacyczyn said that a dryer load can cost 50 cents to dry, way back then. If that was correct, you probably saved more than a dollar or two. I prefer to hang mine out, too, though, regardless of cost.
I take a great deal of pleasure in adding up all the "small" bits that I save on, especially my cash back services (2). Sometimes you are only getting one or two percent but if you use that on your weekly grocery run, it adds up. And I watch for when they have double and triple cash back and sometimes even more.
2. During Amazon Prime, I signed up for two streaming services at $1.99 a month for two months, so a total of a bit less than $8, or half of what a movie ticket would be around here and the cost of one month of one of these services. I have a list of what I want to watch including some big hits/streamers.
3. Supermarket prices around here are very high, and even the sales are way too much. So I've been shopping using Amazon Fresh. They have some serious reduced prices on things we eat (fresh, pantry). I saved something like $50 on a recent order (you can see prior pricing so you can add it up). Plus, cash back from my bank credit card.
4. I maintain a running list of items I'd like to purchase, need to purchase. I monitor prices on them using a service. I get notifications when items are on sale or there is a promo. I saved a substantial amount during the recent Prime Days with some careful shopping. (I also got some birthday and holiday gift items, again with big discounts.)
5. Some ongoing health problems having me eating a great deal less than the norm. So I took time to reevaluate what I purchase each week and when. I'm not a fan of food waste and it's a struggle in a one-person household with only so much freezer space. I narrowed down the shopping list and easily saved $30 and up.
6. The Fresh Food for Seniors program just started. It's $10 a bag with about $20 worth of veggies (you don't get to pick or even see till you pick up and you pay in advance). It's every two weeks through October. The first week, last week, was a bust as the farmers did not show up with all the items. So, FREE bag: Tons of zucchini, yellow squash, peaches, and beets. FREEE. Did I say that? So still a good deal.
7. Speaking of cutting back and avoiding food waste. It became clear that I could not finish a whole 8 ounces of coffee so I prepared half as much for each day (I do in advance for five days to make it quicker in the mornings, especially as I switch to cold coffee in the summer.)
Con Ed raised our rates substantially and this will be the first service period with the new rates...and the ongoing AC because you just can't even breathe without it, but have to because you cannot cook anything in the kitchen when it's on in the bedroom (only room and my office is in the living room so it has been really tough to work.)
Anything I can save anywhere or not spend, I'm focusing on because even with a low BTU and energy efficient AC unit...it's gonna be in three figures and not starting with a "1"
Quite often, I use my accumulated "small" savings to fund something I would not ordinarily spend on (a treat if you will). It feels way less like I'm spending foolishly this way. And it encourages me to ALWAYS look for a promo, lower price, extra perk, etc.
CVS buys have been great. I recently got three bottles of isopropyl alcohol (we use a lot of it for cleaning purposes), and four shampoos and conditioners. Total cost to me (after my monthly $10 credit, earned bucks, etc.: $5. Total retail value $60. So, WIN.
Thanks for the reminder about using sterile gloves for other things. We have 2 boxes of different sizes left from early pandemic purchases and my rubber gardening gloves recently wore out.
@Juhli, I started buying gloves when DS#1 needed at-home wound care, and I like to use them now when flossing my youngest's teeth (he has braces so needs a little help), or de-skinning chicken, or mixing anything with my hands in the kitchen!
@Karen A., Good ideas. My use plans so far were for mixing up weed killer concentrate, spray painting and things like that.
• I took everything out of the pantry, gave it a good cleaning, and reorganized everything. I suddenly have more space in the pantry and it looks pleasing to me when I go in. Just a couple of hours of free entertainment!
• I found a couple Amazon deals for my son’s upcoming school year and selected delayed shipping for the digital credit. He won’t need what I purchased until September so no rush needed.
• I used stars for my Tuesday Starbucks.
• I loaded up some garage shelving that has been sitting unused since we moved into the house and brought it to my grandparent’s house for their estate sale. It was all hand-me-down shelving collected over the years and it was still in good shape, but it wasn’t needed anymore.
• I prepped all the veggies from our CSA box that we would be using this week then promptly prepped and froze the rest. My future self will thank me and no food waste!
I have been traveling so much I had neglected a five pound bag of sweet potatoes from Sam's Club. These ones were huge. I cleaned, halved and put them in the Instapot for 12 mins. I had to do two batches. I let them cool completely on a cookie rack. Then I individually froze them in aluminum foil. Each one will be a meal with cottage cheese - my favorite . I put it in the airfryer to crisp up the skin or just icrowave. Unbelievably healthy, quick and cheap.
I cleaned my garage out (blick to mouse droppings, dead flies and a black widow.) I clean the plastic bins and such with water on my lawn to give it extra water this hot month.
Spending to save category: I am chaperoning my 90 year old mother across country to a family reunion on a cruise. I am very nervous about the 10 day event and her exhaustion level. The last day we get off the boat at 8:30 but don't fly out until 4:30. I bought a "day pass" to the hotel in the airport so she can rest. The $200 willsave her from exhaustion I hope.
Why did you say cantaloupe was stinky? Was it because you actually could smell something? Every cantaloupe I've purchased you can smell so I assumed that this was normal.
Frugal things---
● Received 3 free small thick bars soap (Almond & Cocoa butter, Cucumber & Olive Oil, Gardeners (flowers) with Shea butter) for by birthday coupon from Hallmark that I put in my gift stash. (Doing teen girl upcoming holiday gift drive)
● free (birthday) card (Hallmark monthly reward) to send out for friends upcoming birthday
● Hallmark discount barn open>>>>bought black (wrought iron design) 36" metal sign holder $4 & sign insert (Life is Good Camping) $2 for my dad
● got free (this years design) reusable Hallmark plastic holiday gift bag when picked up teen Christmas ornament (on my wish list that turned in which was only ones I need for gifts) & used $8 in coupons towards ornaments
● had coupon for purchase $50 in Hallmark ornaments get free $5 giftcard (for future use)>>>teen & Aunt holiday ornaments & tiny ornament hit the $50+ so received gift card
● used Ace $5 Rewards towards clearance (50% off) flowers I needed for cemetery which made them $3 each AND all (6) the plants I purchased were still really healthy (late bloomers)
Frugal fail---
● I had 10 free 4×6 photos discount & didn't use it because I had NO new photos that I needed printed----????
Man, maybe it's just me that thinks a cantaloupe scent is a little funky. lol
I agree,small frugal wins are part of the frugal lifestyle.. where we just don’t like waste, we like to feel “efficient” and we save money, over time. Thinking of ways to save or economize or preserve the environment begins to become second nature!!
I reuse plastic baggies..I don’t use a LOT of them, I use mostly glass containers,but if I do they get washed,turned inside out to dry, and re-used.I always reuse foil in my air fryer/toaster oven,also!
I cut up some old beach towels that had seen better days and made some good kitchen rags.
I make some extra coffee in my morning pot..so later in day if I need a pick me up I have a container of cold coffee in refrig.I add half almond milk,half coffee and a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of cinnamon for a yummy almost no cal treat!
Even in summer, I always have a container of soup in refrig for fast easy lunches at home.Lentil soup,chili, corn chowder, split pea, Garbanzo sesame, so may good soup recipes in my folders!!
I am STILL enjoying all the meal gifts that come from loyalty programs,for my late June birthday! free breakfast, free coffee, a free lunch compliments of my best friend today at Firebirds!! I have a free MOVIE Ticket to use! And had a free dinner at RUBIOS coastal grill.So many nice things!!!!
ooh yes to birthday freebies. Live it up!
@Kristen, We don't have to tell them our actual birthdays. One could stagger them to get freebies spread over the year, if one wanted to.
@WilliamB,
I remember someone here saying the same thing & am considering that for future use. I have a hard time using the birthday discounts I already have & don't use some so other date later in year may be beneficial.
Sometimes the tiny frugal wins are the most satisfying in the day to day of life!
I was making strawberry jam and came up a little bit short on berries. So I went out to the garden, cut a few pieces of rhubarb, and cut into tiny pieces, equaling the amount of berries needed.
Harvested our first cucumber of the season, yummy!
Used up some “whitish” carrots by putting in a stew, which was so good, I wish we had more.
Found a jar of all red buttons for 50 cents at the thrift store, which I can use for a little craft I am doing.
Filled my car with half price plants and used up the rest of my gift card from Mother’s Day. I planted and hung up everything and I am ever so pleased!
@Brenda Duguay, strawberry/rhubarb pie is one of Ms. Bestest Neighbor's summer classics. So it's a great combination.
@Brenda Duguay,
does the Rhubarb add a tart taste?
My mother used to make pineapple rhubarb jam when we were kids. It's the only way I am willing to wat Rhubarb because it was not tart.
Ir was a travel week, so not much frugality.
* I planned and purchased snacks for the car ahead of time and got most of it on sale. I portioned it out roughly for 3 long days of driving. ( there and Bach again). My husband thought it was way too much, but took back those words after he saw what we went through on day 1.
*We only stopped once to buy food on the road- just some nuggets and burgers for a protein fix. ( Can't let the driver get tired and crabby, and I had forgotten to pack the string cheese). Also used the bathrooms, so efficient use of stop. Thanks, Mickey D's!
* Family fed us for several meals.
*Went on a scenic walk next to a shady canal instead of paying for a tourist attraction. #1 son bought everyone ice cream afterwards. ( My favorite ice cream ever, which I ate a lot of during grad school, so a touch of nostalgia as well!). If you're in NJ, try Thomas Sweet!
*We decided to leave Sunday afternoon rather than early Monday to avoid thunderstorms in the mountains in the early morning. ( we usually just do a 15 hr say of driving). So we did have to pay for a hotel room on the road. But we found one close to the highway , and checking in very late, the desk clerk let me make a quick reservation online to save 10%.
Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to buy food on the road. But when we do travel, I find that the hassle of planning pays off. Maybe if I wasn't feeding so many snack-y teens and kids it would make sense!
Enjoy the week!
PS - a ripe cantaloupe should have a soft, melony smell when you sniff the outside. Maybe you're just sensitive to this type of scent?
@mbmom11, Thomas Sweet's blend-ins are my favorite, hand's down. I'm so sorry that there are only a couple of stores left, they used to be up and down the East Coast. My fave is chocolate oreo ice cream with mint oreos and M&Ms blended in. What's yours?
@WilliamB,
I just love the chocolate chip cookie. I don't do blend- ins; I'm happy with just ice cream. The one in New Brunswick was my refuge in grad school. I even ordered little boxes of chocolate from them as favors for my sisters wedding.
Finally at least one semi-frugal thing even if it was accidental. My 'newest' laptop (which still isn't that new) had developed a real problem, a popup from an extension which refused to close. I got mad, shut down the laptop, and banished it to the living room for 2 months.....today for sh--ts and giggles I decided to see if it was rid of the popup. It was. I saved time and irritation and money by letting it fix itself.
My little things:
*We weeded the garden and picked blackberries.
*We ate leftovers. We did not eat much of the slightly rotten watermelon we opened up yesterday. That could have turned ugly.
*We fed the slightly rotten watermelon to the chickens, so not a total loss.
*We moved a broody hen to the tiny coop all by herself. It's less expensive to let a momma hatch her own chicks--especially when you consider all the time and effort saved.
*I pulled a few odds and ends from the freezer to put in soup and muffins. I also froze some onion scraps for broth.
1. I had a big win this week- my application for aid with some medical bills was approved. It was not an enormous amount, but soooo appreciated and they even reimbursed some of the bills I had already paid!
2. I am batch baking today- quadrupled bagel recipe. Plain, everything, cinnamon raisin, and blueberry. Many of these will go into the freezer, some will be taken on our vacation next week.
3. I’ve been line drying laundry after a super high electric bill. I also readjusted the timer on our pool pump so it is a few hours less each day. Hopefully this makes a difference…
4. We’ve cut down eating out to about once a month.
5. Trying to have 2-3 days a week where I don’t drive anywhere. I love being at home anyway and have lots to do!!
1. I bought nothing during Amazon Prime Days.
2. I took advantage of a 4th of July sale to save 40% on my daughter's crib. I noticed that to have the company deliver the crib to my home, unassembled in a box mind you, was an extra $297! I skipped that charge and opted to pick up from a local warehouse. Even though it is not near my home it will not cost me that amount in gas to go an pick it up myself.
3. Leftovers. we are eating them regularly. Maybe this is because cooking while 11 weeks pregnant along with working a full time job is an Olympic feat. Regardless meals are far less aesthetic around here lately and I am giving myself grace.
4. Staying home. Me in particular. Naps are the best entertainment for me so I am home enjoying them. Saves gas too!
5. It is July in GA and that means heat that weighs you down. Our AC is powering through but I have my shades drawn, garage door closed, and the thermostat stays at one temperature. Plus I am not using the oven right now to avoid heating the house up. Saving money on the power bill. In case anyone is wondering yes I am already ready for Fall.
@Angie,
Me too, Angie. Me too!
@Angie, $297 for delivery still in the box??? That's legal robbery. Glad you found an option to pick up.
1. The roofing guy came over and I gave him the down payment, which came from an IRA I have. I get a metal roof next week! Like any roof, it will cost a lot -- but the financing terms are extremely favorable (2%) and my Social Security check will cover the payments. Plus, it'll all be paid off in a year! I'm very happy I could pay for this without resorting to a reverse mortgage or HELOC or home loan. I chose a light color, which will reflect the summer heat, match the color of my bricks, and hopefully help lower the AC/electric bill. This thing has a 40-year warranty, so I shouldn't have to pay for another roof on this house ever again.
2. When the roofing guy was here, he'd offered to help me move some furniture into my new computer room (formerly the roommate's bedroom). I got him to carry a bookshelf in there for me. No charge. Also no charge: I asked him if he had a drill. He did, out in his work van. I asked him if it'd be too much trouble to swap out the 6 bifold closet doorknobs with the ones I got at Habitat ReStore for $3 each. He was happy to. So I didn't have to hire a handyman for this.
3. I found out my neighbor lost several family members in that terrible, tragic Guadalupe River flash flood. I learned about it on a Saturday night, and all the florists had closed by then. So I ended up going to H-E-B and getting a potted begonia plant (in full bloom!) from their "Blooms" (floral) dept. With a $2 in-store coupon, it only cost $12. I brought it home and put it in a wicker plant basket and used a (rather somber colored) giftwrap bow to dress it up. Added a sympathy card from my greeting card cache, and left it on her porch Sunday morning. (The other neighbor who'd told me said the bereaved neighbor had plenty of food.)
4. Grocery shopping at Walmart: got a loaf of Italian bread from their bakery dept., marked down to 27 cents.
5. Took back the ceiling fans that didn't work and got a refund.
I love all kinds of melon but do think some muskmelons are definitely musky and will stink up the car.
Yesterday I went to Dollar Tree and stocked up on refill bottles of hand soap and packages of unsweetened applesauce, as both are made in Canada and may never be seen again. DH and I have spent a week sanding and putting deck stain on the underside of the eaves of our house, saving ourselves probably a couple thousand dollars with this hot, tedious, labor- intensive chore. In most homes, those boards are painted but ours is finished wood, just like the porch interior.
Took advantage of the scorching heat and rack dried a lot of laundry on the porch. Still getting a nice number of slicing tomatoes from my container garden. Have gone two weeks without buying "real" groceries. It's been too hot to eat much.
Haha we just bought a similar cantaloupe today for 99 cents at a farm stand. Why yes, I would be happy to enjoy this very fragrant, very affordable melon with only one small bad spot 🙂
We went out for the best local ice cream. Saved about $2 by buying a large (4 scoops) instead of 2 smalls (2 scoops each). Brought a container from home to separate the scoops at our table. Same amount of ice cream for us and requires nothing special from the establishment, so I think it's a win win!
A friend treated me to lunch yesterday!
Tried 88 gas in my car. Seems to be getting similar mpg and is 20 cents cheaper per gallon. Not available to me everywhere, but I'll grab it when I go that way and need gas.
Have a couple birthday freebies to redeem, but thankful that some places give me 30 days. Excited for my guac at Chipotle!
The tiny frugal things I do are on autopilot as I have done them for so long....they truly do add up.
- I , too, reuse foil and plastic bags (washed first, of course)
- I read this while eating my lunch of yogurt that was provided by my job, mixed with on sale blueberries and homemade granola, and drinking a Waterloo seltzer water provided by my job.
- Found a penny in parking lot at the gas station. When I went in to pay, i was owed a penny change and the cashier didn't just give it to me, but asked if I wanted my penny? YES! I WANT MY PENNY!!
- Reading a book from Little Free Library
- My job provides weekly groceries in our little office kitchen: fruits, muffins, bagels, yogurt, sodas, coffee, juice, cheese sticks, baby carrots, hummus, small bags of chips/crackers, nuts, fig bars, chocolates, etc.....it is a benefit of working here that I am super thankful for and take FULL advantage of as it helps my budget to not have to buy things to bring for breakfast, lunch, or snacks!
I cut the sweet potatoes in half, then bake them cut side down in my toaster oven. It cuts the baking time in half.
My frugal moves this week included:
--I got a package of chicken and a roast for $6 off each at the grocery store. Chicken went into individual packages and into the freezer for future meals, and I put the roast in the crockpot.
--I've lost 45# in the past year and had to buy an entirely new wardrobe--which I did via thrift and consignment stores. But this past weekend, I sorted through all my old clothing, which is in perfectly good shape, and will sell it on eBay. What doesn't sell will be donated.
--I uploaded my cat food receipts to the Purina app, where I earned points for $10 off cat food. Are cats frugal? Absolutely not. lol. But they're excellent for my mental health and worth every penny. We go through a LOT of cat food, so every bit helps.
--I had to buy a new recliner (old one was hurting my back and it's my primary chair), but I sold the old one on Facebook Marketplace for $50.
--I finally went to a running shoe store and got fitted for sneakers. They were able to take an image of my feet, watch my walk, and recommend and fit shoes that will help keep my feet from hurting and doing more damage to my arthritic knees, so I can walk every morning. The sneakers weren't inexpensive, but they mean I can stay mobile, with less pain, and do my daily morning walks. So, it's an investment in my health. Since I got the new sneakers (which were 1.5 sizes LARGER than what I was wearing), my bunion has stopped being inflamed and hurting, and I've increased my distance, so they're already paying off.
@Mary, @Mary, I agree with you 100% about shoes. I'll buy all sorts of things second-hand but for shoes I only get new and carefully fit to me. Lots of walking + no pain = happy WilliamB.
I have a few little things to share:
1. I bathed our 3 dogs myself, saving on grooming fees
2. Incorporate leftovers into new meals....trying to cut down on food waste.
3. My boss gifted me a caramel chocolate boy just because. I truly enjoyed it!
4. I needed a medium sized crockpot for a friend's gathering at my house. I asked my neighbor if she had one and she let me borrow hers. It was the perfect size. I sent it back clean & with a bag of homemade caramel corn as a thank you.
5. Hubby's coworker shared a grocery size bag of leaf lettuce with us. I'm using in salads this week.
6. Participated in neighborhood garage sale this weekend and made $154. not bad. Lots of items out. What didn't sell, I put at the roadway with a free sign for 2 days; some was taken, and what was left will be donated to the thrift store.
I've never understood why people eat cantaloupe. The smell alone is enough to put me off. But we all have different tastes and food preferences, which is a good thing.
My five frugal things range from tiny to big.
1. I suddenly started having problems with my four-year-old laptop, which I need for work as well as everything else. I looked up solutions online, but when nothing worked, I looked for good prices on a replacement. I saved several hundred dollars by choosing a used laptop that is still fairly recent and has the specs I need.
2. I compared prices on cat litter and bought the brand with the lowest price per pound.
3. I batch cooked and used up odds and ends of things from my fridge and freezer in burrito bowls and polenta. Reheating leftovers uses less energy than cooking a new meal every day.
4. I bought a set of toenail clippers at Dollar Tree to use exclusively for my cat. I am training him to let me trim his nails so I don't have to take him to a groomer.
5. I used the last bit of hand lotion that I had scooped out of the bottle when the pump stopped working. That little jar of lotion lasted about a month after the bottle was seemingly empty.
1. Picked up the series of books I wanted to read by putting them all on hold at the library.
2. Got my water bill and it was much lower than expected so all my watering with rain water only has paid off.
3. Ate at home and ate the leftovers.
4. Packed a lunch and the library books for jury duty.
5. Unintentional frugal: got to jury duty a little bit late and was worrying I may have parked in a lot where I could be towed, but by the time my part of the line was checked in, they were sending the rest of the line home, so I had the whole day free and my car was still where I parked it. Phew! Only time I can think of where getting somewhere late actually paid off.
As I know this group will appreciate this, as I was cleaning out the freezer I came upon ham and Hawaiian rolls from Easter and lunch was born! I thawed both out, mixed up the buttery mixture to top with and made ham and cheese sliders. I would never had thought to do this so on the spot without this blog and group so thanks helping me make baby frugal wins my default setting:)
@Stephanie W, sounds good to me! Ham sliders on Hawaiian rolls are so yummy. 🙂
I do the soap smush thing, too. I call it the "Vulcan soap meld" (Star Trek reference).
Oh, let's see:
1) This one is quite a big one, but redeemed all of my United miles at once to buy a business class flight to New Zealand. I flew a lot in my previous job (8 international trips/year) & you accumulate a lot of miles. I'd say this was about ~6 years worth of travel. We are going to NZ for a combo 50th birthday/20th anniversary trip. It was about $10k worth of value, but gets us straight from SFO to Christchurch.
2) Defrosted chicken fajitas for a quick dinner. We had other plans, but DS19 finished up the leftovers for lunch on the weekend, and then the second plan fell through, as I ended up having a late call with my boss, who was in Japan.
3) Cut up the last of some sliced cheese for the fajitas, to avoid buying shredded cheese at the store.
4) Continued to use our garden produce: strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, basil, etc.
5) Bought an almond milk that I don't like (it was an error - it's toasted coconut flavor?!). I thought it was coconut milk. Anyway, I've been using it 1/2 & 1/2 with oat milk in my coffee, which has made it more palatable.
@Hawaii Planner, FREE airfare is awesome use of reward points! And that's quite the savings. 🙂
@Hawaii Planner, my go- to option for plant-based milk that doesn’t really work is to make pudding. I use cornstarch and cook it on the stove. It really doesn’t take that long.
Yeah, smash dem soap bars! Frugal wins all around. Haha, it's always so nice to see other people doing some of the same frugal money-saving steps that I do. Solidarity!!
I love small frugal wins! They tend to be far more interesting than things like savings on insurance or a lower mortgage rate…anyway, my frugal round up so far:
I got a marked down carton of free range eggs as one egg was missing, broken I assume. The markdown savings was much greater than the cost of one egg, so I snapped those up.
I needed a new bike helmet as my beloved Nutcase is falling apart, and one of my neighbours was giving away a helmet that had barely been used. It’s black, the right style, and fits. So I will continue my hunt for the perfect helmet and this one will bridge the gap.
My monthly gas bill for heat and hot water has been lowered by $13.
I’m watering all my tomatoes, peppers, basil and cucumbers (in pots on the deck) with recycled water from pets bowls, washing vegetables and running the tap before the water heats up. I have an old cooler (found on the side of the road) with a drain spout, and we collect water in the summer months for this purpose. A very small win, but it satisfies me!
And tomorrow I’ll return some heavy glass bottles to the grocery store, they are worth $1.50 each so I’ll net a bit of coin. They were left behind after someone moved, so into my bottle bin they went.
I reuse foil all the time! And we actually extinguish the pilot light on our oven for the summer season and use the counter top oven/airfryer/toaster thingy.
I was about to correct you about those being "sterile" gloves, but then I read ahead and put that thought to bed!
You know I know the difference by now. Hehe.
The sterile gloves are thicker so I felt a little safer using them with the stripper!
I'm making more from scratch. Bought a 13 year car and was able to get a warranty that covers everything. Using a clothes line, make my own laundry soap and fabric soften. Buy cheese in 5lb blocks and shred and slice it myself.
I packed up the uneaten snacks from my weekend trip and brought them home with me. Other folks on the trip did want to bother bringing theirs home. That is so so strange to me. It might be different if we were flying, but nope! It was a car trip with plenty of room in the car.
I am waiting until 9 pm to start the dishwasher to save a little on non-peak energy usage.
I saved the leftover supplies from a craft kit I completed for use in future projects.
I finished up some just OK leftovers I had frozen instead of avoiding them until they were fully freezer burned.
I had bought Strawberry Chex on sale and didn't like the way the strawberry flavoring was washed away from the cereal in milk. So I mixed some dry cereal with banana chips and almonds to make a snack mix. The strawberry "dust" sort of dusts the banana chips and almonds which is much better than the plain cereal with milk. But in the future I will stick to Rice Chex or Corn Chex and forget the flavored varieties.
1. Bought a new to us washer/ dryer. Negotiated 100 off the price.
2. Brought my lunch to work.
3. One dog was deemed too nervous to get her nails cut so we didn't. Inadvertently saving us money.
4. Picked up some buy nothing foodstuffs - walnuts, dried blueberries, and oatmeal.
5. I got nothing
@Jenny b,
You “got nothing” meaning you can’t think of a fifth item or meaning you bought nothing, which would indeed constitute a fifth frugal?
Kristen,
Craisins are cheap at Sam's Club and Costco. I think they are about $2.50/pound and Costco sometimes has 4# bags on sale for $6. Sam's Club sells 3# bags. This is assuming prices have not gone up recently and one can use that many Craisins.
I looked at this post and questioned if I can even find 5 tiny things- July is determined to kick our booty over here-Yikes! What a financial bottomless pit of sudden expenses-
1-I did not buy anything during Amazon Prime deals- which are never deal enough (even though our air fryer is on its way out.. Who needs to gamble when you can try to cook something and not know if it will work? lol
2- I used the disgusting water from the fishtank to water my garden instead of husband just pouring it out into the grass! (maybe I will actually get a tomato or two !)
3-I did not have to buy anymore Post MOHS medical supplies for this round of basal cell removal- I have enough from the last 2 rounds! (just paid the bill from the June procedure when another positive biopsy sent me back in July!)
4- The microwave is apparently NOT dying.. it just blew out the socket it was plugged into.. and husband can repair that!
5-I made too much spaghetti and meatballs the other evening and did not want to eat in on repeat for 2 days.. so I gathered all the cottage cheese, mozz and parm out of the fridge and made some lasagna like casseroles to stick into the freezer for the back to school stress weeks- defrost and warm with a layer of fresh cheese on top!
A big save on airfare thanks to my girlfriend. Her, myself and another girlfriend who were in the Army together nearly 50 years ago, get together every couple years. This year we are flying to her home in California in October. She texted us last week and said Southwest flights were half price for a few days. So two of us jumped on it and got great deals on tickets from Arkansas and Wisconsin to Sacramento. It saved us each almost $250.
I used our abundance of tomatoes to make a few jars of sun-dried tomatoes. Turns out you can make “sun-dried” tomatoes in the oven by roasting them for about 7 hours at 200°. Then you just put them in a jar with olive oil and they'll keep in the refrigerator for 6 months. A jar of sun-dried tomatoes here at Kroger runs about $6! I don't use them often, but I do like to have some on hand.
We ate leftover restaurant salad from lunch for dinner. Hubby went out for lunch and brought back a huge leftover salad that was enough for a second salad for both of us. We ate it with the rest of the meal I made for dinner.
I used a heavy zip lock bag I got from a clothing purchase on Amazon to store an extra set of sheets for our guest room. I decided to keep them in the room so they are easily accessible when the bed needs to be changed.
I mailed some things in a box I got from my local grocery store. I had just recycled some Amazon boxes and then found I needed a small box to mail something. I will not pay for boxes! I was checking out at my local grocery store, I asked about boxes and they happened to have the perfect sized box.
I'm a little late to the party but what I do:
1. purchased 6 boxes of cereal for $1.88 each for the food closet. I like to look out for deals to stock up on.
2. Monitoring electrical usage. AC stays high during the day with shades drawn and I turn it down lower for sleeping.
3. Stock up when there is something we use on sale at the grocery store. This week it was Perdue chicken thighs for $1.29/lb. Lowest I've seen them in a while.
4. Eat at home almost always.
5. Buy Lands End tops when they go on clearance. I just got another one so I'm set now. I also got a sundress from Kohls for $7.99.
Here are my five frugal things . . . vacationing in Nashville edition. We have had an absolutely wonderful time in Music City. To make 10 days in this great city affordable for our family of six, we . . .
1) Stayed in a home exchange. We are in a cute little bungalow in East Nashville while its usual family is hiking out west. In exchange for sharing their home, they are staying in someone else's home (and someone else is in ours right now too). We will clean their home before we leave and leave a nice note and flowers for them.
Staying in a home means that we had a full kitchen, so most of our meals were from the grocery store. We could also wash clothes whenever we wanted. It was also very comfortable to lounge around when we needed a break.
2) We did a couple of free driving/walking tours. Although they were free, they were excellent, having been developed by scholars. If anyone is interested, find these tours at nashvillesite.org.
3) We swam at least every other day in different bodies of water, which gave us a chance to try out different state parks and various rivers. Sometimes there was a $5 charge to park (especially if it was a maintained swimming area), but we also love to just find a shallow, sandy (legal) spot in a river to wade in. We find that swimming is an immediate curative for tired, cranky, hot children. They transform into calm, happy angels as soon as they are exposed to water.
4) You can't go to Nashville without experiencing live music. Something like tickets to the Grand Ol Opry was way out of our budget. Instead we found a family friendly bar with live music and no cover charge, and we ordered drinks and appetizers. We went early enough that we were not taking a table from a group who would have run up a big tab. We got to hear a great house band.
5) Our only museum stop was the Tennessee State Museum, which is absolutely free. We were very impressed. It is a well-done museum experience that gives you a good overview of Tennessee history and culture.
We did spend some money though! Our tourist dollars went to 1) a river float, which was amazing and worth every penny, 2) a tour of the Hermitage (overall I was disappointed with how this house museum hasn't fully shed its worship of Jackson, but it was still a must-see for me, a historian of the nineteenth century), 3) a cave tour at Mammoth Caves National Park (the children were delighted with this tour), and 4) a ranger-led tour of Mississippian mounds in the Harpeth River State Park (we learned so much!).
Oh I love to do this. Reuse items, eat left overs. Reuse bags. Been looking for a big dog toy. Got a pig for $1.25 resale shop. She loved it. Did splurge on the IOU yogurts, but got lids from the Amazon store in wood for gifts. Then painted some, filled with mixed nuts and foiled the top with Foil Christmas paper cut neatly scalloped n covered with rubber bands. Parchment paper used for gift wrap in a pinch. People do appreciate reusable things when they see all you can do recycling. I too have refinished furniture with surgical gloves
and pipe cleaners, big safety pins and old toothbrushes. Enjoyed this read!!!
Thanks for sharing!