Five Frugal Things

by Katy on July 16, 2016 · 66 comments

  1. My mother, younger son and I went thrifting yesterday, which was a success as I scored this enormous $14 bag of American Girl brand clothing and accessories that were in perfect condition. I also bought a $7 “Molly” doll, and I’ll sell the lot through an eBay listing that starts tomorrow. My son scored a new looking Levi’s jean jacket, which is what he was looking for.

Bag o clothes

Now, the clothes are all photographed and ready to be sold!

American Girl collage2. I dropped a couple of things at the consignment shop near my house and came away with $3.60.

3. I wrote up and submitted another Clark Howard article. I have two more assigned pieces, and will try to get at least one of them written before the end of the weekend.

4. My son and I walked to the grocery store and I found two pennies and a dime on the ground. Also, a Pidgie, because . . . #PokemonGo.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }

Mand01 July 17, 2016 at 1:33 am

It must be early in the morning in the US because it is 6:45 pm over here.

We have had a frugal/not frugal day. There is apparently nothing frugal about buying a 35 year old two storey house, seriously. The flue of our combustion fireplace burnt out and the whole unit will cost us $5000 to replace. We have 14 ft ceilings, hence the additional cost, partly.
On the plus side, we have the cash to pay for it because we are frugal- otherwise we might have to do what the store was suggesting, and use their finance facility.

FFT:
1. My daughter and I spent an hour in the garden clearing out the spent vegetables and planting new seeds and plants for the mid season. I love our front garden – it’s almost all edible or useful. We just planted a strawberry patch that I’m hoping will spread and take over a bare patch. My daughter was excited to choose strawberries called ‘pineapple strawberries’ that are white with red seeds. Gardening allows us to choose interesting varieties that we can’t find at the shops.
2. After that, I came in and made a chicken curry, two different soups, an eggplant curry, and two pots of dried beans. We have soup in the freezer for lunches, and bags of cooked beans in the freezer.
3. My daughter and I walked to the vegetable shop today instead of driving. I’m trying to increase my step count, plus I saved petrol.
4. I’ve stuck to my no sugar diet for a week. I’m not missing it so far – so long as I have coffee in my life I will be ok.
5. A $5000 bill is making me excited to go to work tomorrow! Bring on a regular and reliable income source! Working is frugal…

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Carrie July 17, 2016 at 3:43 am

“4. I’ve stuck to my no sugar diet for a week. I’m not missing it so far – so long as I have coffee in my life I will be ok.”

Good on ya! I gave up sugar 8 months ago and I will NEVER go back.

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Mand01 July 17, 2016 at 4:34 am

I have done it before- about 11 years ago, and it was great. I had much more trouble the first time because I ate a lot more of it then. Since then it has crept back into my diet until recently I assessed how much I was eating and I realised that I was telling myself that I ‘needed’ chocolate every day, and was adding it as a ‘necessity’ on our grocery list!!

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tonya parham July 17, 2016 at 8:47 am

If you just bought the home, did the seller include a home warranty? If so, i would think that would cover the expense of replacing that. I know one came with our house and in our home buying class the instructor said he kept his home warranty current for just such occasions. I don’t know that we will keep ours but it was included in our closing costs on recommendation of the realtor for buying a 50 year old home.

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Mand01 July 17, 2016 at 2:11 pm

We bought it a year ago.
I’ve never heard of a home warranty – I’m not sure that it’s something we have in Australia.

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tonya parham July 18, 2016 at 8:43 am

Didn’t consider that. Worth looking into.

Here in the states, I think it’s pretty common for it to be included in the closing costs and covers repairs of things like HVAC, plumbing, etc. We had to take a home buying class and the instructor said that he always kept his up to date because it was $500 a year for coverage of things that were when they broke down, very expensive.

But, I really don’t know– it could just be an American thing.

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Mand01 July 18, 2016 at 2:10 pm

I think so. Here, after you make an offer you have a building inspector look at the house during the two day cooling off period. You can withdraw your offer or lower it based on the results of the inspectors report. After that, it’s caveat emptor.

Bee July 17, 2016 at 5:25 am

1) I went to an estate/moving sale. The home had a closet the size of a large bedroom filled with clothes. I was able to find a few things that I could wear now as well as a few things for next fall — a black wool cardigan, a polar fleece, and a denim jacket. 10 pieces of good quality clothing for $20 was a good deal!

2) I needed 4 concrete blocks for a garden project. My son salvaged some for me from a house that was being demolished along with some beautiful drawer pulls.

3) Yesterday was my “business day.” I paid bills using my bank’s online bill-pay service. I love this service. It saves the cost of postage and payments arrive when due. I also posted my receipts to my tracking spreadsheet to make sure that my spending is on budget. I balanced my bank account and made a financial to do list for next week. I deposited money earned a my side job into savings.

4) There are always frugal kitchen things. I planned dinner on Thursday and Friday to use up some odds and ends – half a onion, a small bunch of cilantro, a green pepper, two green onions, a garden tomato, and two bunches of baby bok choy. Last night’s dinner was made from spaghetti sauce from the freezer. I froze the remainder of a chicken to make broth later.

5) I cleared out some clothes from my closet and pulled together some odds and ends from around my house to donate. I also have pulled out some summer dresses that I may consign. I also gather a box of books to go to the library for their summer sale.

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Bettypants July 17, 2016 at 6:09 am

Wow, GREAT find on the American Girl stuff.
1. Vinted (online consignment) had a free shipping day this week. I bought a cardigan for work, and two casual shirts.
2. Every month Discover offers a $10 Kohls coupon. Used mine yesterday to buy an Adidas climalite shirt for my son. Paid $1.93.
3. Listed three old shovels on Freecycle and they were picked up within hours.
4. Replaced the missing bricks on our fireplace using bricks we already had on hand. Bag of mortar $5, whitewashed the whole thing using paint I had on hand. Really and truly transformed the look of the entire room. Lighter, brighter, cleaner.
5. Cleaned out part of my closet, and started a new donation box. I sell a lot of stuff on local FB boards, but never have much luck with clothing.

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Becky @ Becky's Place July 17, 2016 at 10:01 am

Where do they offer the Kohl’s discount? Is it on Discover’s site? Thanks!

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Becky @ Becky's Place July 17, 2016 at 10:06 am

I have only seen $10 off of $30.

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Bettypants July 17, 2016 at 12:56 pm

It is the $10 off a $30 purchase coupon on the Discover site. But you don’t have to spend $30, like it says. It just works like having $10 of Kohl’s cash. If you spend less than $10, the item is free.

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Jennifer July 18, 2016 at 7:08 am

Do you print it off and use it in the store? Do they ever question the fact that it says $30?

Krystal July 17, 2016 at 7:30 am

1. We were craving dessert, so I made a half batch of cookies from ingredients in hand, rather than running out for frozen yogurt, which was our first idea.
2. Stayed in both nights this weekend and watched movies & played games.
3. Had a date afternoon during a happy hour at a local restaurant. 2 beers and an appetizer was $17 with tip. Not inherently frugal, but frugal for dining out!
4. Made French onion soup with our homegrown onions.
5. Filled up with gas at the cheapest place in town. I had a .10/gallon discount, and didn’t need a full tank. I saved it and will remember to use nearly this full tank before I fill up again to maximize savings.

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Bee July 17, 2016 at 3:54 pm

Have you ever tried the recipes that yield just 2 – 6 cookies depending on the size — the perfect dessert for two?

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Ruby July 17, 2016 at 7:35 am

That is an amazing find on the doll clothes. Just imagine how much some parent or grandparent paid retail for the contents of that bag — wow!

FFT:
1. After our ancient cat’s vet visit on Friday, we were allowed to take him off the very expensive canned food he’d been eating and he can now eat the same thing the other cats do. This will save about $14 a week — yay!
2. My husband needed a travel soap dish for his gym bag. The drugstore employee who helped him find it gave him a sackful of samples from the cosmetics department, so I have lots of tiny containers free shampoo, lotion, face and body wash.
3. Rather than buying a cake for my birthday, my husband successfully baked us cupcakes. He is cooking-impaired, but did a great job on this.
4. I found some not-expensive but very comfortable panty hose at the drug store and will be going back to get more with a high-value coupon. My department at work has to dress up a bit because we meet clients, and playing pantyhose roulette to find good ones can get expensive.
5. Picked a huge bowl of cherry tomatoes off the plant in our container garden. The regular-size plant fell victim to a windstorm, but the cherry plant is producing like crazy. It regularly churns out a couple of dollars worth of yummy little drops of sunshine.
And a frugal fail: I completely overlooked a bowl of strawberries in the fridge until they became too gross to eat. Ugh.

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Marion July 17, 2016 at 9:36 am

Still laughing over the “pantyhose roulette”. Yup, been there, done that.

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Mand01 July 17, 2016 at 2:19 pm

I find that cherry tomatoes generally grow much better than full sized tomato plants.

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Teri July 18, 2016 at 9:34 am

same here

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Amy July 17, 2016 at 8:10 am

I love seeing your thrift in finds!

1. Homemade pizza night and Redbox movie that we got for free with a code.

2. My husband and I went for a walk downtown for a date after pizza & movie night wit the kids. Our olest wI’ll bemail 16 next month and watched the othersame for us.

3. Went to the zoo yesterday and bought their adventure pass. It gets us admission, carousel rides and train rides for the next year. In 3 more visits it will start saving us a lot of money. Since our 2016-2017 school year is the year of the animals we plan to go once a week once it stops being so hot & humid.

4. We packed lunch, snacks and lots of cold water bottles for the zoo trip. We refilled the bottles at the zoo with cold drinking fountain water twice.

5. Today we are going to an art museum because it’s one of their free admission days and they have art stations setup for kids. We get to see art and use their ac instead of ours! We will pack the cooler again with snacks, lunch and water bottles which we will refill there as necessary.

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Amy July 17, 2016 at 8:13 am

Autocorrect on this device makes no sense to me! That should be with and oldest will be on #2…

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Lucy July 17, 2016 at 11:55 am

You aren’t the only one! However, I enjoy the brain exercise figuring out the original meanings!

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Gina in Ky July 17, 2016 at 12:59 pm

Your post about Redbox made me realize I haven’t received a texted code in months! Thanks!

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tonya parham July 18, 2016 at 8:45 am

I haven’t had a code in forever, either! I’m in the mood for a movie, too!

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tonya parham July 17, 2016 at 8:43 am

I’ve not had the most frugal month– since moving, it’s been a struggle. Still, maybe I can think of 5 things.

1. Went and did my presentation for work and had to use a credit card to pay for the expenses. I used a reward card and will use the check they sent me to pay it off when the bill comes in. (This is a dangerous thing, but since the entity paying me is so slow that I am just now getting the FIRST of these checks from April, I am strapped for the cash to pay expenses to finish this project. I’m determined, though, to pay it off when the bill comes so I don’t pay any interest.)

2. While staying in Nashville, I ate meals from the grocery store (sub sandwich, popcorn, and cherries) instead of going out.

3. Am trading some cornbread and a peach cobbler for garden fresh veggies with a lady from work. I’m a baker who hates to garden and she is a biology professor who loves to garden. (hopefully she hates to garden so we can keep up this bartering!)

4.Stayed in last night and watched tv rather than going out to the movies and to eat.

5. Am going to meal plan for the coming week and cook a few meals ahead of time so I’m not tempted to eat out. I’ve eaten out too much this month! WAY TOO MUCH!

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Jennifer July 17, 2016 at 10:00 am

1. I purchased a bag of bananas for my husband a couple days ago and accidentally left them in the car. It has been 95 degrees here so they basically got cooked in my car. Today, I am making 2 maybe 3 loaves of banana strawberry bread. Have a few strawberries in the freezer. Not exactly what I had in mind but will be great for snacks or breakfast next week.
2. I found my daughter 2 big bags of Dr. Brown’s baby bottles with spare parts at a yardsale for $10. They look brand new and the guy threw in a Dr. Brown’s steam sterilizer, pregnancy book, and a dish drainer for free. If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Brown’s bottles they are really good for babies with stomach issues to reduce the air that goes in babies tummy but are pricey. My daughter and her hubby struggle financially so I keep my eyes out for things to help.
3. I am really proud of myself for drinking 90% water for the past couple of months. I have gout and I truly believe that water decreases the attacks. I am quite addicted to soft drinks so I occasionally splurge on one. I was glad to pick up Kroger’s free Friday download of an 8 pack of soft drinks but will pass them along to my brother. He doesn’t have a job so he will be thrilled.
4. Tomorrow I will go for my dental cleaning and a root canal, lucky me. It’s $76 for a cleaning at my new dentist. I have been avoiding cleanings at my old dentist because they were $256 there! Of course if I would have paid for the cleaning I might not be getting this root canal so I guess technically this one is a frugal fail**sigh.
5. I am making hamburger steaks with some reduced meat from the freezer for my family. I have a jar of Vegemite that I ordered kind of as a fun novelty for my husband and I. People in the U.S. don’t really eat Vegemite but I have learned to love it on toast. However, it is not good for gout(neither is hamburger meat but I will eat something else). I learned from someone on this blog, I think, that it can be used in gravy. I tried it and it is delicious so I will be slowly using it each time I make brown gravy.

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Marcia July 17, 2016 at 2:54 pm

I don’t think cleanings keep you from having root canals. My husband does all the right things and he’s had about 8 or 10 root canals. Very expensive stuff, but we did have some meager dental insurance when he had most of them done. I have the insurance coverage for both of us, and it’s excellent–it’s a good thing, because he has had a detached retina twice, has two hearing aids, and we both have had a load of dental work. I just had both cataracts off in the past six months also. Most of that stuff is not covered by our medical insurance. If we had to pay for all that AND regular medical insurance, we would be pinching pennies even more enthusiastically! I am really stunned by the medical expenses we’ve encountered since retirement, and we’re basically both in fairly good health. His doctor calls him his “model patient.”

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Emily July 17, 2016 at 4:59 pm

Root canals are necessary when damage is done to the nerve supplying a tooth. If a cavity is ignored for too long, it may require a root canal. So yes, if you assume regular cleanings result in less cavities then they can lessen your risk for having a root canal in the end.

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Jennifer July 17, 2016 at 6:00 pm

I’m pretty sure getting regular cleanings won’t prevent every root canal but maybe I can catch a few things before they get so far advanced. The particular
tooth that needs the root canal is one that a filling broke and it is decayed above the filling so that may have happened no matter what I did. Thank you both for your insight!

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Isabelle July 18, 2016 at 4:37 am

I agree with Jennifer. I had to have a root canal because of a cavity under a cracked filling that was NOT seen by the dentist, so nothing to do with cleaning. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!! WHY so expensive???!?

JD July 18, 2016 at 5:08 am

I ended up with three root canals for no obvious reason and couldn’t figure out why. Then I read that trauma to the tooth can also be a culprit in causing nerve damage, and my dentist was a big ham-fisted guy who could be a little rough. I switched to a different dentist who is extremely gentle (and has little hands), and ta-da, haven’t had a root canal in years!

Kim July 17, 2016 at 10:38 am

1. Did 3 mystery shops yesterday. I always combine these with my errands and check the clearance racks for anything we need or that I can sell for profit. At the first store, I found Revell Star Wars model kits for 75% off, so I bought 3 to sell on Amazon. I will list them later today when I pack the pattern I sold on Amazon yesterday. College fund!
2. Yesterday at the second mystery shop I found large containers of Quaker Oats on the clearance rack for 75% off, so $1.09. Best if used by date of 10/2017. Bought 3 and when I went to self checkout, I found someone had left a $2 off your order Catalina that expired today so I paid $1.27 for almost 8 lbs. of oatmeal. Lots of oatmeal bread in our future. I will never understand why someone wouldn’t use the $2 Catalina coupon but $2 in free money for me!
3. DH wanted a “mini-shed” in order to keep all the pool chemicals. We have one that we store our generator in that I got from Freecycle a few years back. Friday night someone on our FB yard sale group posted they were having a yard sale Saturday with several pictures. I spotted a “mini-shed” so I emailed her and she said it was $20. She held it for us and DH went and got it first thing I the morning. She said many people contacted her about it after me and she was surprised how many people wanted it. The great thing is it is like new since they used it for kids outdoor toys.
4. Went to Lowes to check out the markdown plants. Got 3 ever bearing strawberry, 2 grape and 1 kiwi plant for $18. Original price $70. DH has been building a trellis since I wanted to grow grapes. I thought I wouldn’t be able to find any grapes this time of year so now I can start to get them established 8 months sooner than I planned.
5. DH found Ralph Lauren white paint with primer marked down to $2/qt. at Home Depot. Bought 4 cans as it is exactly what we need to paint the trellis.

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HeatherS July 17, 2016 at 11:14 am

Wow! That is an amazing find on Molly and all those clothes! Molly is retired so you should do well when selling her. You probably already know this, but the outfit in the first picture of the second row looks to be Molly’s clothes that she comes with when you buy her. She also came with the glasses, handkerchief and the red purse (if you purchase the accessory pack with her). There is also a blue beret, but I don’t see that in your pics. The red school bag and school supplies also look to be Molly’s but did not come with the doll. – Mom of a 10 year old AG fan who actually cried when they retired Molly.

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Emily July 17, 2016 at 5:02 pm

Not to mention after Matel bought out American girl , the quality went down significantly. Any dolls made pre Matel also are more valuable.

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Amanda July 17, 2016 at 12:05 pm

1. The horse hobbles my co-worker gave me sold on ebay for full price.
2. The scrapbooking stuff I have had on ebay is slowly selling, just sold 3 items to a lady in the UK. Shipping was a little tricky, but she paid full price and it’s OUT OF MY HOUSE!
3. Vended this weekend at our farmer’s market and the cookie girl gave my kids all her remaining cookies at the end of the day. It’s starting to warm up here (finally) so no need to turn on the oven to bake goodies.
4. Another co-worker lent me his dog training collar a few weeks back so I’m giving him my youngest daughter’s BOG boots that she grew out of. I could sell them, but one good turn deserves another.
5. I had a float in a parade last weekend and all our candy (over 50 pounds!!!!) was free after couponing.
6. A different co-worker visited a huge blueberry patch and brought back about 200 pounds to share. We also went cherry picking and brought home 30 pounds of cherries for 40 cents/pound. My garden is starting to produce, so we’ve had raspberries, peas, and zucchini.

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Gina in Ky July 17, 2016 at 12:46 pm

I think I could compile a much bigger “Frugal Fail” list (seems to be trend this summer much to my chagrin). However, I think there are always a few to mention.

1. These are givens: line drying my clothes (I don’t have a dryer), taking a water bottle to work with me on most days, checking out books from library.

2. I took my boys to the local (big!) art museum which is free on Sundays. We lasted through 2.5 exhibits before their bickering frayed my nerves. I swear for 9 and 13, they acted so much better in public when they were 3 & 4, but that’s a story for a parenting blog, I guess. I’m sure my mom would laugh her head off if I said this to her).

3. Last night, we hung out on a neighbor’s porch to watch fireworks. Conversation and friendship are free. As a side note, I met this woman through a city official who felt we would match as great friends and we did! She bought an abandoned home in our neighborhood the same month I did and we have shared our house frugal house rehabbing journeys.

4. I made black beans in the thrifted $4 electric pressure cooker. I cannot stress enough how much I heart this thing! I have mentioned this here before, but as a vegetarian who subsists on a lot of beans and rice, this thing is one consumer item I would probably have paid full price. I guess that is why it is so super sweet I found one at a thrift store. OK, back to non-consumerism…

5. The black beans will be made into many homemade meals to cut down on eating out. I already made killer Cuban beans and rice last night and both my picky eaters gobbled them up and had *seconds* (unheard of as they are meat and three kids at their dad’s). I plan to make burritos tonight and this will use up all the misc veggies in the refrigerator and hopefully fulfill a few summer camp lunches for the week ahead.

Guess that is all. Great find on the AG Molly. As always, love reading all of the frugal adventures here.

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Gina in Ky July 17, 2016 at 1:07 pm

UGH!! Right after I posted this, I remembered I bought some guacamole on clearance from the deli on Friday night. It was a great buy and I planned to use it on the burritos tonight. Well, after searching for it in the refrig, I realized it never made it out of the backseat. *sniff*

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Jennifer July 17, 2016 at 1:47 pm

Made me think of my bananas that cooked in the backseat of my car that are currently cooking in the oven as banana bread. Hate when that stuff happens.

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Mariana July 17, 2016 at 2:11 pm

Good find (The american girl clothing). They will sell for a nice profit I am sure. 🙂
I got some nice freebies this past week such as Coldplay concert ticket and a 100 count box of nespresso pods.
I also did the usual frugal things such as cooking all lunches and dinner. This is a part of my routine now and it much of an ‘accomplishment’ any more though.
I also got some super cheap baby clothing at 75-90% at Children’s Place. My sister is pregnant again and I am preparing a package to sent before the baby comes

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Emily July 17, 2016 at 5:05 pm

How did you get free nespresso pods!?!?

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Sarah July 17, 2016 at 2:28 pm

1. Used 3 of my free coupons for Quaker products (steel cut oats, granola bars) that I got in a mail-in promo.
2. Cooked every meal at home this week!
3. Got discounted movie passes at Costco for a special day out with the kids we had been planning.
4. Went back to cashier when a coupon wasn’t processed properly ($1.99)
5. Got a like new queen bed and frame for FREE for my guestroom from my local PayItForward Group!

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Marcia July 17, 2016 at 3:14 pm

5 Frugals for me:
1. Cleaned out the $#%! freezer in the basement this week. It was a very hot day and husband and I got at it first thing in the morning. This results in my not needing to buy any meat for the next several weeks, He usually puts the food in the freezer after I package it up and he stuffs it in anywhere. Now I have a clear picture of what is in there, and space for more things as the harvest continues. It is my LEAST favorite job.
2. Cooked most things from scratch, as I usually do, but managed to NOT bake anything for desserts this week. I have gained about 5# recently and I owe it all to chocolate, I believe! I do have to make husband some pie with all the good fruit coming in, but I won’t eat as much pie as I have been eating chocolate. We had cherries, fresh pineapple, and plums this week for dessert. Along with a little ice cream, but I mean a LITTLE. Skinny husband dishes up desserts and snacks according to his idea of serving size–SMALL. Good thing he’s around or I’d be twice my current size.
3. Have managed three weeks on one tank of gas by not going much of anywhere. We have tried to stick to home due to the excessive heat, and have managed to do some weeding in the yard during the few cool hours we’ve had.
4. Did a walk-through at Goodwill this week without finding anything good, so didn’t spend any money there at all.
5. Ordered 10# of already pitted sour cherries to freeze for pies. Price was not too frugal at $26, but they pies are fabulous. WORTH not having to pit them all–just bag and freeze. They will arrive on Tuesday. That will last at least a year. I pick them up at the farm around the corner–very handy.

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susan keene July 17, 2016 at 3:14 pm

Wow! You hit the AG motherlode. Congrats and good luck with the ebay. Just a quick note of thanks to you. I always look forward to your blog. It keeps me on track in my frugal adventures and your writing is just plain humorous. 🙂

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Katy July 17, 2016 at 3:44 pm

Thank you, that’s very sweet of you.

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Teri July 18, 2016 at 9:46 am

ditto

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Teri July 18, 2016 at 9:48 am

ditto to susan keene, not katy…

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Kim in Los Alamitos July 17, 2016 at 3:24 pm

I am so very inspired by all the frugal folks out there!
Except for the usual daily scrimping, and trying to cook at home I really only
have one EPIC win!
It is our habit to eat Sunday breakfast out, and after twice reminding my 14yr old
son to put his retainers in his backpack and not leave them rapped up in a napkin
on the table, we left. We got 2 blocks away and I asked him if he remembered
his retainers. Of course not. Long story short, a wonderful employee carefully sorted through the trash and we found the soggy mess. This saved us about
$500 or so. I was so relieved I hugged this nice man, and promptly started to cry. I’m sure there are parents out there who can relate to this.

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Katy July 17, 2016 at 3:43 pm

Oh, that would be me. I never plan on crying, yet there it is . . .

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JD July 18, 2016 at 5:16 am

As a parent who once sifted through the filthy trash barrels at KMart for my daughter’s retainer at the store’s closing time, and found it, I can totally relate to this post!

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meg July 17, 2016 at 3:32 pm

WOW! What a find. My daughter has the Samatha doll and clothes and furniture to sell. I can’t believe someone donated those items to goodwill. You really did
get lucky today.

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Kim July 17, 2016 at 5:06 pm

FFT….
1. Cut our grass and neighbors….push mower…got some exercise, made $25 from neighbor and saved $25 by cutting my own grass. Very productive hour…I should start a side hustle.
2. Cooked and baked some goodies this weekend…yummy breakfasts, coffee cake, granola bars, everything in the skillet dinner meal…cleaned out the cupboard and the fridge. Had all ingredients or made it up as I went along.
3. Listed and sold my Lane hope chest on our local Facebook page within 30 minutes. Had it for 29 years, nowhere to put it and it needed a new home to be loved again.
4. Cleaned out the garage and found a bunch of stuff that I can use…multiple cans of different color spray paint, which I will use to paint my beat up patio table and chairs some fun, funky colors.
5. Didn’t buy a villa in St. Maarten.

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Bee July 18, 2016 at 4:17 am

I read your #1 , and It could be a great idea. There are two woman in my town who started a lawn care and landscaping business two years ago. They plant the most beautiful, artistic flower beds. Because of this, their services are in great demand. It started as a side hustle, and they now have four people working for them.

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Kim July 18, 2016 at 4:09 pm

Wow…good for the two ladies. I figured it up yesterday…just cutting all the neighbors grass (5 yards) would add up quickly. Might even be a great little business for my son.

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Isabelle July 18, 2016 at 4:56 am

* I bought a too small winter coat (as a * stupid * weight loss incentive that did not work) about 4 years ago. The tag was still on and this store has a “never too late to return” policy. So I finally brought it back after coming to term with my weight loss failure. Because I didn’t have the receipt anymore they could only give me back a 17$ gift card (I paid about 50$ for it) Fine by me. It’s out of my face (nagging me!) and 17$ is 17$. It would probably have ended up at Goodwill anyways.
* My chest freezer is super duper full and we will need space to freeze the garden’s bounty in a couple of months (weeks?), so I am working at emptying it instead of pilling more food in there. With this food and what the garden is producing, cheaper groceries ahead.
* Exchanged PC Points for 20$ of free grocery.
* Found a new looking Thermos lunch box for 3.50$ at Value Village. Needed it for my daughter, and she loves it. Did not buy anything else.
* Skipped the take-out this week-end
* Thinking on going back on casual to have more shifts (I have a permanence but only work 18.75 hours per week on a 5 days per week schedule, so not very convenient)

Have a great frugal day!

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JD July 18, 2016 at 5:40 am

I am amazed that someone just gave away that much American Girl stuff. What a good find!
1. Temptation was strong, but we ate at home all week, even on Sunday after church when we were grocery shopping (our church is in a much larger town so the grocery shopping is WAY better there) and were getting hungry.
2. At these stores I go to after church, I can bulk buy, which I can’t at home. This time I got beans and nuts for less than the pre-bagged versions. The beans are in the crock pot right now.
3. I had the cutest pair of sandals I can no longer wear for very long, due to a bone spur that I’m fighting, so I gave them to my daughter. In return, she gave me two quart bags of blackberries she picked locally, and a bag of cleaned scallops, as she and her boyfriend have been out scalloping lately. Yay!
4. I trimmed my bangs again. They grow pretty fast, so it is at least once a month that I save $10-$15 dollars by trimming them myself.
5. I cleaned my house this weekend as usual, using microfiber cloths and mop pads that are several years old, and home-mixed cleaners. I found Mrs. Meyer’s concentrated all-purpose cleaner on clearance and mix it in a recycled spray bottle with water. I also mix Dr. Bronner’s with water to make a spray cleaner, and mix Dr. Bronners, baking soda and water for my scrubbing paste. I haven’t bought paper towels for the home in nearly a year now, and my husband is finally accepting it. 🙂 I used to use them when cleaning until I started reading frugal blogs and realized how wasteful and expensive that was. The used cleaning cloths and mop pads have been washed in hot water and are hanging in the hot sunshine right now.

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Emily July 18, 2016 at 7:08 am

What do you use for cleaning mirrors? When I use cloth instead of paper towels I always get the lint fiber residue

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Megan July 18, 2016 at 9:15 am

I love to use old newspaper to clean mirrors and windows. They work really well and you have no lint or streaks.

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JD July 18, 2016 at 10:10 am

I use the microfiber cloths. Sometimes I get a tiny bit of lint, but usually I don’t. I use the kind called “star fiber” cloths. The Cleaning Center and Mighty Nest both sell them, perhaps other places as well. They are pricier, but they are better, in my experience. I’ve yet to find them used, so I had to buy new. Before I stopped getting the newspaper, I used to use newspapers, too.
I don’t use cleaner on my mirrors anymore; I dampen one corner of the cloth with water, wipe the mirror down, getting any spots, then go back over it with the dry section. Takes a few seconds and done.

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Emily July 18, 2016 at 6:59 am

1. I stopped in Harris teeter Saturday to grab the 2 free items I had loaded on my card, as well as a killer deal on Cheerios. 2 boxes for 2.00, and got 1.00 back on saving star.

2. My boyfriends younger brother is coming in later this week. Managed to grab 2lb of ground beef high quality 3.25 and a few lbs of high quality chicken breast for 2.43 lb. love meat mark downs!

3. Need to find a suit for my bf. Instead of meeting him at the mall after he is done with class today, I brought a book and tagged along. Sitting on campus using the wifi and people watching. Oh how I miss college *sniffle*

4. Opened capital one savings account. Love that you can open up to 20 under one account and give them different names. Trying to pay off my student loans and fund a trip to Spain in the next calendar year!

5. Getting ready for back to school; I started to buy things here and there for my students (I’m a speech therapist), but decided I am going to hit a few yard sales for possible “new” games and books, and use teachers pay teachers “free” items for other materials. As much as I love my students and to spoil them, until my loans are paid off I don’t think I should spend any more on my career. I don’t get reimbursed for materials, so I have to be careful not to get spendy In this area!

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Rowen G. July 18, 2016 at 9:25 am

1.-5. A combination of frugal-good and frugal-fail: the fridge died last Tuesday. (It would have cost more to repair than replace.) When I realized what was happening, I grabbed all the best things from the freezer (wild-caught salmon! grass-fed beef!) and ran a couple of bags-full over to a friend who has a chest-freezer, where they have been safe. For the rest, I lost a fair bit, but honestly some of it needed to go away anyway. I made jam from some of the berries I’d had in the freezer, and put the fresh blackberries in a jar with honey and Irish whiskey to make a liqueur. (After I ate quite a few.) Milk and eggs and cheese and such lived in the big camp-cooler, with plenty of ice, while most of the veg and butter and bread stayed in metal baskets in the tub (moved at night so I could shower), with damp towels draped over them for evaporative cooling. In the mean time, I obtained a re-conditioned GE from a local company – they’ve been in business almost 50 years – which came with a warrantee, plus delivery and pick-up of the old one. (If they can’t do anything else with it, they’ll part it out and recycle.) The new-to-me fridge arrived this morning, so now I can put things in, and finish the clean-up. Incidentally, although I am an omnivore, I followed my usual camping practice of following a vegetarian diet this past week, as the food-safety issues are for the most part less serious.
I’ll be glad if this week is less “exciting.”

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JD July 18, 2016 at 10:19 am

Wow, sorry about your frig, but good deal on finding the re-conditioned one! Thanks for the idea about the liqueur. That sounds delicious and I foresee making something like that.
When we had the “year of the hurricanes” a few years ago, I lost all of my refrigerator contents twice out of four hurricanes. I ran out of time to make enough ice to pack coolers, and the stores were sold out and stayed sold out after the first two storms — there were four hurricanes in a six-week period, so there was little time to re-stock. Re-filling a refrigerator is expensive. I’m glad you were able to save as much as you did.

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Mrs. Picky Pincher July 18, 2016 at 10:34 am

We had a pretty good weekend!

1. Mr. Picky Pincher brewed some peach kombucha, which I just got to enjoy during my lunch break. It’s a delicious, cheap, healthy alternative to soda. 🙂

2. I baked a MONSTER loaf of ciabatta bread, which we have affectionately named Ciabatta the Hut. It’s reminiscent of a flounder in my opinion, because of how flat, weird, and huge it is. We’ll have bread for a while.

3. I made some homemade lotion that’s absolutely divine, using only ingredients I had around the house. It was just coconut oil and vitamin E oil. My legs look shiny and goddess-like, so I’m a happy camper!

4. I made a batch of yogurt, since Mr. Picky Pincher has turned into quite the dairy-eater!

5. We went to the library on Sunday and got five new movies to watch over the coming weeks. I also scored a few cool cookbooks–one on raw vegan meals and one on traditional (paleo-ish) meals. It’s funny how both books take completely opposite stances on food and nutrition. I like to balance a bit of both, myself.

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Chris July 18, 2016 at 2:26 pm

1. We were in DC for the weekend visiting family – including our 10 month old grandson – free entertainment watching him knock over towers, dance to music, clap all the time and wave to himself while my husband made a selfie video.
2. We know from previous visits that we will cover costs of meals out – had cash to cover those expenses. Used leftover dinner for lunches, made breakfast at home all the days, made a big dinner the last night so they have meals for lunch at work for at least the first few days of this week.
3. Stayed with family saving hotel costs. We had thought about getting a room for the final night so the baby could swim in the pool but after reading reviews of the hotel, realized that pool use was super limited. Instead we went to a city park that had a water feature perfect for all of us.
4. Our daughter and husband stayed at our house and we paid them what we would have paid for boarding – they made some $$ and the dog was comfortable in his own home.
5. Came home to pay bills via our bank’s bill pay – saving postage. And will eat from home all this week to offset the weekend’s expenses.

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Teri July 18, 2016 at 9:35 pm

1. Daughter is a buyer for cosmetics and fragrances brought home lots of free lip balm, make up, lotion, etc. Will keep me stocked for quite awhile.
2. Eating tomatoes from my 3 potted plants–does anyone know why the larger ones are “mealie”. Its irritating. Only the cherry tomatoes have good texture and flavor!
3. Took family to dinner at a food truck- portions were large so everyone shared a dinner.
4. Used left over all beef hot dogs for dinner tonight, just popped them back on the grill. They were delicious. Left over buns from the freezer.
5. Using construction scraps of wood for fire pit, for free!

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BJS July 19, 2016 at 12:33 pm

1. Reading a great library book (a biography of Vivian Vance – I just love her!).

2. Having leftover pizza tonight for dinner. Our local pizza place has $5 large pizzas, which are delicious.

3. Planning frugal events this summer – mostly get-togethers for my kids and their friends to play and spend time together.

4. Realizing my family eats out less than we used to. This is one weak area for me. But reading all of these five frugal things posts and comments is helping me to have more meals at home. Thanks, everyone!

5. We’ll get $39 back from our electric company for reducing our usage one day last week when they were having an energy-savings day. The house was a little warmer that afternoon than I’d have liked it, but the $39 makes it worth it! 🙂

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Katy July 19, 2016 at 4:30 pm

We eat out less as well.

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