Five Frugal Things

by Katy on August 25, 2016 · 57 comments

Catherine Holm listing

  1. I sold two items that I’d gleaned from garage sale leftover piles. (A cloth diapering kit for $15 and a glider rocking chair for $50.)
  2. I listed a garage sale leftover pair of figure skates on Craigslist, as well as a Goodwill saucepan on eBay.
  3. I helped my mother finish cleaning one of her guest cottages.
  4. I had nine people at my dinner table last night, which increased to twelve for dessert. My sister and I made a huge pot of chili using black beans cooked in the slow cooker. We then put bowls of fun toppings out for people to customize their meal. The day was pretty hot, so I put my crock pot on the front porch in order to avoid heating up the house. (Today I’m cooking garbanzo beans on the front porch, which is probably starting to confuse my mail carrier.)
  5. I picked up a prescription at Walgreen’s last night and remembered to use my HSA Visa card. Because I used the drive through, there was zero temptation to pick up any impulse items.

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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{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }

amanda August 25, 2016 at 11:38 am

1. My daughter’s 10th birthday was Tuesday and we wanted to do something fun. We took her to Skibowl, buying the tickets online, saving $5/person. It was a great day of activities and a birthday she’ll never forget. Overall, it was spendy, but not much more than our other daughter’s party at Chuck E. Cheese, but MUCH more enjoyable! We treated them with ‘birthday donuts’ on the ride there and wish we had packed lunches instead of buying them there, but we ate late, so only had to purchase 1 meals rather than 2.

2. Had to go to the big city the next day, so we invited my sister-in-law to meet up for dinner. She grabbed the bill before I could, so free dinner!

3.Took the leftovers the next day for lunch. It was still yummy.

4.A sales person stopped in at work and brought cookies. She really overestimated the number of employees (6) at our location and brought 3 trays of 36 cookies each! I wrapped up a bunch and took them home to the kids.

5. Our garden is still producing well. While the kids picked, I trimmed, cut, blanched and packaged over 8 quarts of green beans for the freezer. We had some dried beans that were overlooked, so I had my youngest pop them open to save the seeds for next year.

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PaperCraneFarm August 25, 2016 at 4:31 pm

I would be in cookie heaven!

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JD August 25, 2016 at 11:53 am

That’s such a cute pan.
1. I walked into the break room at work to get my brought-from-home drink out of the fridge and discovered a co-worker had put a hot crock pot full of boiled peanuts out to share! Free snack, and one I really like. This little item may not have much appeal outside the Southeast, but….
2. I found another penny. It’s slow, slow going but I am at least finding a little money now.
3. I just got my electric bill — by drying clothes on racks or a line, keeping the a/c at 78, and trying not to run a lot of hot water, I kept my August bill at the exact same level as last year, even though we had a worse heat wave this year. Whew!
4. I’m studying my little “walk-in” closet in the master bedroom to reorganize it without hiring an organizer or buying closet systems and fancy organizers. It’s under a sloped roof on one side, has a door to the bedroom plus a second door to the air handler closet behind it, and is about 4′ x 6′ at its widest points. It’s going to be a challenge, but my husband’s closet is even smaller, and I tore his shelving and rod out and re-used the materials to make it much better to use. Surely I can do this, too! I’m drawing up plans now.
5. I’m stopping by the library after work — they now have a book I’ve been wanting to read. I almost bought it until I realized I had lost my frugal mind and put it back.

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Bee August 25, 2016 at 1:50 pm

1) Boiled peanuts and football are signs that Fall will soon be here. Do you know if your coworker cooked them solely in the crock pot? If so, do you know any of the particulars? I would love to find an easier way to make them. They are a family favorite.

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JD August 26, 2016 at 5:23 am

They were already cooked, and had been frozen — one of my co-workers is a member of a farming family and they make big batches of boiled peanuts then freeze them. He heated water in the crock pot, then added the thawed peanuts to that and let them get hot. They were originally cooked in a big pot the usual way. We cook stock pots of them on our stove, and it can get messy, but they are so good. I never thought about cooking them only in a crock pot — hm, might be worth it to try a few that way!

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Lucy August 27, 2016 at 4:51 am

The mention of boiled peanuts makes me homesick; I haven’t been back home to Bama in 20 years.

Good luck on your crazy-sounding closet.

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Linda M August 25, 2016 at 12:14 pm

Since I am retired from the postal service, I think I can speak for your carrier….we’be seen it all….a crockpot simmering away on your porch is mild!

1. Made batches of peach cobbler filling to freeze from our abund
ant crop. Will taste yummy this winte
2. Drying Basil for packets to put in Christmas gift baskets.
3. Made jalapeno pepper jelly tot the previously noted baskets.
4. Eating corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes nightly….bumper crop….taste awesome…and it will so long before next summer’s crop….best enjoy them while we can.

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tonya parham August 25, 2016 at 12:57 pm

Oh! Fascinating!

What’s the craziest thing you saw?

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Jill A August 25, 2016 at 12:45 pm

1. Mentioned to my mother that I needed to get a button to sew on a pair of shorts that broke. She had the exact size and color I needed. So no extra gas to stop at the store and a free button.
2. Did laundry and it’s currently hanging on my two drying racks I own. One belonged to my Grandma.
3. Eating the last of the ground beef I bought on sale in tacos tonight. Using the last of some lettuce that was on it’s last legs. Avoided a trip to the grocery store by cutting up cherry tomatoes I already had. Made taco seasoning from a copycat taco bell seasoning recipe I found online.
4. Stayed home all day. No money spent.

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Vickie August 25, 2016 at 12:59 pm

1) I stuck with my oatmeal, fruit and nuts for breakfast with the coffee provided here at work.
2) I heated & ate 4 taquitos from the box I have in the freezer at work for lunch.
3) I dropped off two boxes of clothes and household items at the shelter today. Yay for more decluttering! I finally remembered to put them in the car last night.
4) I picked up dog food and a bag of hip & joint bones for the dogs at the Farm & Ranch store today and avoided buying anything else.
5) I finally remembered to bathe the two chihuahuas Sunday evening with Dawn. Even though I’d used flea & tick meds on them at the first of the month, they kept scratching. The cheap solution must have worked they quit scratching. I did NOT want to buy flea shampoo and I knew Dawn would work.

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Lucy August 27, 2016 at 4:53 am

Dawn for fleas?!? Very good to know! Thanks!

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Gina August 27, 2016 at 1:43 pm

Yes, Dawn dish soap (the “Pure” formula – it’s clear with no added dyes, etc. )
The fleas will jump in the water to escape it. I used it on rescued kittens that were full of fleas. I felt good knowing the Dawn wasn’t harmful to them since they were just a few weeks old.

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tonya August 25, 2016 at 1:11 pm

1) Ate leftovers for lunch at work today.
2) Shopped at the discount grocery store on my way home from work. Picked up cheese, pork chops, bananas, limes, cucumbers and milk and spent only $24. I love the Mexican grocery store!!
3) Used a couple of coupons for items that I will buy anyway(detergent and cereal).
4) Have chicken going in the crockpot for tonight’s dinner.
5) Snuggled up on the couch in this unseasonably cools, rainy weather, reading a library mystery.

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tonya parham August 25, 2016 at 1:11 pm

1. Went and did groceries and only went to Aldi. I find I just can’t go to Kroger or Wal-Mart (or even Sam’s) because the stores are so big and full of stuff that I just get overwhelmed and buy too much. I don’t know when the store got 7,000 kinds of yogurt but it’s just too much for me. I do better with limited choices. I’ve known this for a while but I’ve just tried to go to all the stores so I can get the lowest price on everything or certain things that are only at one store. I’ve just decided to stick with Aldi and if they don’t have it there, I just am not going to get it. (With the exception of Builder’s Tea. I may have to just stop at Kroger for that once a month, send the Missus, or order it from Amazon!)

2. Didn’t leave home today. No money spent.

3. Finally found an offer for $50 off Blue Apron and am trying it next week. When I told the Missus about it, she said it sounded fun and that perhaps we might put part of our grocery budget and eat out money toward it and cook the three meals for dinner on the weekend instead of going out. I kinda like the idea. I love to cook and love to cook together and I think they have some fancier stuff than even things you can get at restaurants here. We shall see!

4. Just did yoga in my “yoga room.” I’m loving that we have a room dedicated solely to yoga at our new house. I’ve not done it every day, but I’m doing it more.

5. I’m listening to Padma Lakshmi’s _Love, Loss, and What We Ate_ on my library Overdrive account. I think she’s just such a lovely woman and I knew nothing about her. I’m about 1/3 done (listened today while cleaning) and am looking forward to listening to more!

Bonus: Will make dinner at home tonight, Probably tacos. I love tacos. Life is good with more tacos!

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tonya August 25, 2016 at 1:14 pm

Tacos are life!!

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Susie's Daughter August 25, 2016 at 1:43 pm

Tonyas (plural) – Do you already know about the kids book “Dragons Love Tacos”? So great and a lovely read for taco fans of all ages…

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Practically Waste Free August 25, 2016 at 3:01 pm

Pantloads of tacos!

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Seetonya August 25, 2016 at 4:48 pm

Awesome! I will check for it at the library.

Vickie August 26, 2016 at 8:08 am

ALL kinds of tacos!! YES!! 🙂

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Mand01 August 25, 2016 at 1:45 pm

1. I attended training in the city for two days. While everyone else went out for lunch, I brought mine and ate it while writing a blog post during the lunch break. Saved at least $20.
2. We got out early on the first day so I stopped by an op shop
(thrift store) for a browse. I found three like new items, one half price. When I went to pay I had $13 in points on my membership card, bringing the total cost down to $8.60. Then my mum gave me a Veronika Maine (Australian designer) blazer that she found for me at another shop for $2.75. Score!
3. Dinner was a pasta sauce made in the crock pot from previously poached chicken, white beans, and sale sauce and zucchini and was yum.
4. My training was company-paid software training that I’ve wanted to do for ages. Very expensive, very valuable to my career, and my time was paid for as well.
5. My husband and I continue our nightly workouts in our home gym with our secondhand equipment, watching DVDs we already own. Last night I was on the treadmill for an hour. The benefits I’ve noticed immediately are that my previously very sore back is much stronger and my low grade depression (unmedicated) – sort of a general sense of ennui and grumpiness- that I’ve had all year has lifted.

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Krystal August 25, 2016 at 2:05 pm

1. Batched errands yesterday to and met a friend for coffee. I planned it carefully so it was within my budget, and brought my own cup for the cup discount.
2. Picked up a new book at the library.
3. A local pizza chain had 2 free slices for lunch yesterday, so I stopped there for lunch, and didn’t buy a drink.
4. While I was enjoying free pizza, the consignment store next door was processing my drop off. They took almost everything, and I used my $9.50 credit to buy an $11.79 new shirt–versatile for work and play and good for fall! Only paid a little over $2 out of pocket.
5. I have been watching Rachel Cruze’s Budget Makeover videos for a little work break relief. I was sharing some of these stories with my friend on WhatsApp in the meantime and realized I spend A TON on groceries. The couple on the TV spent literally 1/4 of what we did this month, and we are just two people as well. We never go out of bounds or into debt or anything due to our groceries, but we might be too generous with our grocery budget proportionally to our incomes and other spending. I just needed some free motivation to save a couple hundred more next month!

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Bee August 25, 2016 at 2:22 pm

I have been busy all week, but not particularly productive. I have a few items that I can’t seem to remove from my to do list. Here are my frugal five:
1) I cooked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Tonight, however, leftovers are on the menu.
2) I went to my favorite thrift store yesterday to buy new glasses for the kitchen. I found a nice set for $3. I also bought a book and a pair of jeans for fall.
3) I took a friend out to lunch for her birthday, and I was able to use a $15 coupon.
4) I went by the library to vote (early voting in our state for August 30th primary) and I took the time to check out the DVDs.
5) I am drinking water, making coffee at home, tracking my spending, and cooking from scratch.

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pattilou August 25, 2016 at 3:01 pm

1. I’m back to work after a two month lay off. Yeah!
2. a friend treated me to dinner and I treated my co-worker to lunch on our first day back. I had left-overs from both.
3. Unfortunately, I had to throw away some open food after discovering that the person who broke into my house helped themselves to food. I also am using a ton of water and electicity and clorox wipes to wash everything (bedding, dishes, clothes) because they went thru literally every drawer and cupboard in the house. I was going to originally pay someone to clean but I have been doing it myself so hopefully that savings evens things out. By the way, I learned that windex is the way to get finger print dust off!
4. I returned a toy to Amazon that didn’t work when I put it together. I had bought two of the same thing for two different nieces at the same time. Because of this there was a mix up with the return. I returned the one that didn’t work and they sent me two more. Because they made the mistake they gave me the extra toy. I, in turn, gave it to my other niece to us as a baby shower gift.
5. I have found about 60 cents in the last few days. I need to find a lot of change to add up to the amount of change taken from my house!

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Susie's Daughter August 25, 2016 at 4:56 pm

Congrats on being back to work and for reclaiming your space bravely. Woohoo for Windex!

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shillingsaver August 25, 2016 at 3:30 pm

1. Car pooled to work twice

2. Listed some items on ebay, have sold three baby items so far, making ~$15

3. Made white bean soup in the crock pot with homemade chicken stock

4. Co worker shared cucumbers and another friend green beans, going to pickle and freeze them

5. passed along some too small baby clothes. A frugal thing for a friend 🙂

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Delorise August 25, 2016 at 4:17 pm

1. Picked up prescriptions and got a $2.00 coupon off any purchase on back of one of the paperwork.
2. Checked the clearance buggies at Kroger and got 2 packs of 500 count swabs for 99 cents each, 6 packs of 10 count pencils for 29 cents each and several other cheap items– love the clearance section.
3. Picked up more 25 cents ( after BOGO and coupon) a jar Skippy peanut butter at Publix.
4. Went to our Last Chance Goodwill and got some 50 cents (really nice) clothes.
5. Washed clothes after 6:00 pm and hung them outside-since our electric bill was higher this month -it’s really hot here in Middle Ga.-am trying to be more diligent about our electric use.

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rebecca August 25, 2016 at 4:31 pm

1. A friend brought dinner over last night and I contributed a bottle of wine. 2.Brought a bag of stuff over to thrift sisters/humane society.
3. My wonderful and talented mother gifted me 2 needlepoint pillows for my new house. They are beautiful mom originals. I love them and feel so blessed.
Frugal fails everywhere else…….ugh!

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PaperCraneFarm August 25, 2016 at 4:45 pm

I’ve come to realize I’m just not cut out to sell stuff on craigslist. I’ve had some stuff on for over a year without a nibble even when I lowered and lowered prices. So, I decided that decluttering physically and mentally was better than stressing over it.

1) I packed up kids clothes to pass along to younger nieces and nephews. I then put together…
2) eight bags of additional hand-me-down kids clothes and arranged for them to be dropped off at Goodwill.
3) I cooked veggies sausage (discount!) and mushrooms last week in the crock pot. Maybe it was the brand of sausage. Maybe it was the 3lbs of discount mushrooms I cooked it with. But, man, it tastes like mushrooms (said by the the mushroom non-lover). I’ve been slowly disguising it in various meals this week (mexican style, soup, sandwiches) but I feel like I’m mushroomed out. Next time, I’ll try cooking it without mushrooms!
4) Our summer squash from the garden has the thickest rind this year (think winter squash thick), perhaps from the drought. I struggled through peeling two today and then steamed them. They were at least edible this way.
5) I cut and froze some tomatoes from the garden that weren’t getting eaten. They’ll get incorporated into soups or sauces this fall and winter. We’ve had such a tough garden season that I don’t want to let anything go to waste.

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Susie's Daughter August 25, 2016 at 5:13 pm

Maybe it is my post Olympic mindset, but boy howdy there are some nights when I feel like one should get a medal for cooking dinner. Tonight was one of those!

1) Had the aforementioned dinner at home with a friend who just lost her job. We were happy to provide food and company. Not tacos, but burritos. 🙂 Leftover steak from the freezer, rice and beans and extra for lunch this week.

2) Spent the afternoon and early evening taking down the zucchini onslaught. 4 loaves of zucchini bread, 24 chocolate zucchini cupcakes, a savory zucchini parmesan casserole, and a package of sliced zucchini for freezer.

3) Recycled deposit cans from recent renters and my roadside finds for another $3.25 in the family movie budget.

4) Loving watching the Little League World Series. Dear wife’s hometown team is the MidAtlantic team and they keep winning!

5) Cut open the nearly empty toothpaste for a few more days worth and combining two facial scrubs to make it last longer. I am trying to figure out how long it takes for us to use a tube of toothpaste.

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janine August 25, 2016 at 5:46 pm

I feel the same way about cooking right now. End of summer blues – no creative energy?
Good for you though for having your friend who lost her job over for dinner – I’m sure that gesture was much appreciated.

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janine August 25, 2016 at 5:22 pm

My husband and I always try to attend our state fair on the first day. (today) (1)used the free park and ride, and(2)had lunch at a local church’s dining hall which donates profits to a food program. This was not terribly cheap, but OK for a good cause.
3,4,5+++ – Crop art, 4H displays, and information about soil and seed types are always interesting exhibits. Of particular interest was the historical exhibit showing uses for flour sacks including clothing. All of these exhibits were free and included in the entrance price.

People watching with a special interest in themed T-shirts and wild looking sandals – (pink?) priceless.

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Lazyretirementgirl September 1, 2016 at 7:58 pm

I grew up wearing clothes, and sleeping under quilts, my mom’s mom made out of feed sacks. Totally cute, and I am glad to hear of the fair honoring the thrifty farm wife ladies!

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Linda August 25, 2016 at 5:40 pm

1. Bought a pack of mixed salad, special offer tomatoes, a french stick and an organic roasted chicken on the day we moved into our new home, and made them stretch to 4 meals for 2 people. The carcass is in the freezer for making chicken soup.

2. Found out the recycling schedule in our area and recycled the majority of the packing boxes and packing paper.

3. Called Habitat Restore and made an appointment for them to collect all the furniture and decorative items that won’t fit into our new house. There’s some good stuff and I hope it makes other people happy.

4. Googled and found a $50 coupon off the printer we need to replace the one we had to leave in the UK – who knew you couldn’t ship a printer in airfreight?

5. Shopped at Aldi (so pleased to find one relatively near to our new home) for store cupboard items, and will return tomorrow for fresh vegetables, fruit and protein. Saved big bucks and remained sane, there are enough things to think about at the moment without visiting a large, unfamiliar and expensive grocery store.

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rebecca August 26, 2016 at 6:59 am

That is so awesome to do that with your boxes. I don’t where you live but I’ve had great luck posting “free boxes” on craigslist and/or local facebook page. People snap them up and I get so excited the boxes aren’t going to landfill.

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Brenda August 25, 2016 at 6:07 pm

1-had a school shopping day with one daughter. Got a few things, all were on a great sale, had another 15% off coupon as well. Anything else she want or needs, she can ask for her birthday as it is a couple weeks after school starts.
2-since we had some time alone, I wanted to take her out to eat, so we did brunch at a cheap diner we hadn’t been to before. It’s known for huge portions and has been on the food network, she only ate about 1/4 of her giant pancake so she has breakfast for another couple of days.
3-husband got free tix to the local minor league baseball game, it’s dollar night so dinner was $1 hot dogs, $1 fries, and $1 sodas.
4-other daughter was invited to trampoline park with her friend, I offered to pay but the other mom said no, but did let me provide them each with a water bottle so they didn’t have to buy it there.
5- wanted to do something for someone ill who used to work with me, so a bunch of us went in on a gift basket. Nice to split the cost and still do something nice for someone.
Was a very, very busy day!! It was a fun day but thank goodness every day isn’t like this!

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meg August 25, 2016 at 6:46 pm

1. Fun day at at free splash pad in the city…found close street parking too.
2. Reading ebooks from library…don’t have to go as often and can get a new one 24/7.
3. Also been using the library streaming music service . Been so blah about my collection lately, so it’s good to enjoy some different stuff without buying anything.
4. Have been halving the amount of meat in most meals recently, so it lasts 2x as long. But my husband has been saying he is feeling too hungry…so I don’t know if I’ll be able to sustain this. (He eats very minimal grains and beans are hard for him too).
5. Taking out less cash @ATM. It really does help me to not spend just a dollar or two here and there, which is adding up, I think

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Alison August 26, 2016 at 7:38 am

1. DH and I had to take a ferry to visit a relative in hospital in another city. Didn’t take the car, but walked on, took bus, the subway, then walked a couple of blocks. Didn’t take any longer, but saved $$. It was a beautiful day for a ferry ride, and the bonus was we saw a pod of killer whales on the way home.
2. Coincidentally, another relative is in the same hospital,. Visited him as well.
Not really NCA, and I wish he wasn’t there, but it gave us a chance to see him, and wish him well.
3. We’re on a tight budget (or at least trying to be) for a few months after our trip to NYC last month. I had planned to replace our entrance doors, but the contractor who we wanted to help us is so busy, he wouldnt be able to do it until next spring. So I guess I’ll save money by not doing it for now.
4. DH leaned that his mid life crisis car needed new brakes. Yikes! But the dealer, who does all the work on it says that the warranty will cover it.
5. Didn’t buy a Lear jet.

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Carol August 27, 2016 at 10:15 am

I love public transportation. So much less stressful than cars!

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Isabelle August 26, 2016 at 7:40 am

* I picked apples from the ground, about 8 pounds, and after cleaning and cutting the bad parts I was able to get 8 Mason jars of apple sauce out of it. Free organic apple sauce, yay!
* I shredded all our past-prime zucchinis and was able to freeze 10 small baggies, or about 16 cups. I put them in spaghetti sauce or soups. I also saved 7 corn on the cob.
* Got free lunch at work yesterday
* Really working on eating all the food in the pantry, freezers and garden (because there’s too much of it at the moment), so groceries will be minimal this next month or so.
* Going to buy Ecco shoes this week. I have an ankle problem and need good supportive shoes as I am working on my feet all day. Those are really working for me but they are really expensive, so I will go get a new pair while they are on sale (70$ instead of 130$).

Have a great frugal day!

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Bethany August 26, 2016 at 9:56 am

Katy, how do you cook beans in the sun? Is there anything particular you do? I’ve seen instructions for constructing sun ovens, but it looks like you’re just setting your crockpot outside? I really want to try this!

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Tina S. August 26, 2016 at 1:51 pm

I think what Katy meant is that she used her crock pot to cook beans as she normally does (it was plugged in), but just put it outside on the front porch so it wouldn’t heat up the house.

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Bethany August 26, 2016 at 4:57 pm

aha! Well that makes more sense! Thanks!

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Gina in Ky August 26, 2016 at 3:05 pm

Foodie edition:
1.Friend and I canned 28 pints of applesauce in a marathon canning session at her house. I supplied the already stockpiled jars and she supplied the chef style gas range (bought on Craigslist. It’s her Frugal find, but I love it).
2. I planted some fall crops at my community garden plot.
3. The heirloom pumpkin ice had in my kitchen finally got a bad spot, so I cut the good parts off and roasted it. I have two large freezer bags full. I plan to make pumpkin butter and leave the rest for winter soup and curry.
4. Stopped in the grocery outlet store for coffee and found several different types of grains (Cous Cous, quinoa, and five grain) for 50c a bag.
5. I made a killer tabbouleh using said Cous Cous, tomatoes and onions from my CSA share, a cucumber gifted from a friends garden and mint from mine. I took it to my A-sauce friend’s house.

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Mand01 August 27, 2016 at 8:11 pm

I always roast the pumpkin seeds as well. My family eats them almost as soon as they are out of the oven!

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Gina in KY August 28, 2016 at 5:47 am

Oh, yes! I love roasted pumpkin seeds! I normally would as well, but I have to admit I threw them out this time due to time constraints. 🙁 Such a waste!

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Gina in KY August 28, 2016 at 5:47 am

Threw them out = to the compost so not totally wasted.

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Lazyretirementgirl September 1, 2016 at 8:03 pm

How do you clean them? I am always so discouraged by the stringy scunge on the seeds I end up tossing them, even though I find them tasty from, um, the store.

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Mand01 September 2, 2016 at 2:00 am

I rinse them in a sieve

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Marty August 26, 2016 at 5:37 pm

I have a friend that works for the library, and I let her know I was interested in the Kon Mari book about organizing. They had a copy used for the summer reading program that they let me have for free!

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Carol August 27, 2016 at 10:00 am

Lucky! I had to buy that book brand new.

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Gina in KY August 28, 2016 at 5:48 am

Funny thing: I just saw one for the first time at the local GW. Just a matter of time now before many show up! 🙂

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Lucy August 27, 2016 at 5:09 am

1. Inventoried our office supplies and replenished with only 3 items bought at back-to-school sales.
2. Got bulbs for free from a friend, but need to get them in the ground still.
3. Resisted temptation and no eating out. Made use of the cool spell we are having to make a few fall/winter dishes. Kind of a preview!
4. Explored the new grocery store in the area and bought only items that were a good buy with the coupons they sent out. I checked the prices against my price book throughout the store and decided that while the coupon items were okay for cherry-picking, overall their prices are quite high for our area.
5. Got a free horse grooming block with a coupon the manufacturer sent me.

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Carol August 27, 2016 at 9:58 am

1. Got the rare temptation to buy Starbucks the other day, even though I usually don’t have coffee after breakfast (which I make at home). Decided to skip Starbucks and have coffee at home (I was coming home early), and by the time I got home, I didn’t even want any!
2. Using the dryer in my building which only costs 25 cents. The rest cost $1.50, and this one’s a mistake. It’s always in high demand, and I can’t always get it, so I’m doing it on a Saturday, when I’m the only one.
3. Did my regular liver cleanse a couple weeks ago, which requires drinking a lot of apple juice for a week. I discovered that apple cider vinegar is another option. So instead of spending all that money on apple juice, I used apple cider vinegar I already had on hand.
4. We haven’t gotten around to ordering any wedding photos. Well, our photographer sent some, compliments of the house. We will use mostly these for an album, and maybe just buy one or two to hang on the wall.
5. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to sub on Thursday, because I had a tutoring appointment at 2:30, and subbing wouldn’t get done until 3:00. However, I found a half-day morning assignment, which ended at 11:45. Yay! Extra money for me.

Frugal fail: let a jicama go moldy in the fridge, when we were going to make a delicious jicama orange salad. How is it that vegetables are so easy to neglect?

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Gina in KY August 28, 2016 at 5:52 am

I feel your pain on the vegetables question! I have had to compost almost 3/4 of my CSA share. And, I am a vegetarian! It pains me to waste so much goodness!

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Carol August 28, 2016 at 8:45 am

I’m vegetarian, too. It’s so easy to go to a can of beans or a bagel instead of putting together vegetable dishes. Next time I’ll get it!

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sarah m August 27, 2016 at 10:00 am

1. took my boyfriend to the baltimore bike party as a free date, and he had the time of his life (we did spend $7 on beer and tostones from the food trucks at the end.) we will definitely do this one again!
2. submitted paperwork for a drug reimbursal program. annoying paperwork, but significant refund. i do think our whole system of drug pricing is pretty corrupt in this country.
3. working on my library books (ebooks and audiobooks via overdrive). especially liking the audiobooks for driving, cooking, and doing dishes.
4. made coffee at home and packed a lunch each day. getting better at packing a snack each day too. hoping to stop making frequent $1-2 trips to the 7-11 across the street.
5. still getting produce delivered via hungry harvest. consistantly 40% cheaper than the supermarket, and its making me eat more fruit and veggies. I’m getting a bit of a backlog, may take a break next week to use things up. also, i have enough meat and grains etc from previous weeks that I’ll skip any other shopping (except coffee creamer.)
6. ate a random but healthy assortment of leftovers for breakfast: 2 tostones, 1/2 grapefruit, and some avocado, and the last of last week’s gazpacho.

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Julie August 27, 2016 at 10:58 am

1-Hanging laundry on the line. It’s takes a bit longer but so worth it.
2-rode my bike to a meeting in the next town over, save gas and free exercise.
3-shredded and froze the huge zucchini my garden produced
4-reading books I had on hand with the intent to declutter them
5-drinking water as my only beverage (other then coffee of course). I quit soda this year and don’t miss it. Sometimes I will make iced tea for a change

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