Three Frugal Things -- I Succumb to Viral Consumerism
- I succumbed to the latest viral consumerism trend and picked up one of the Trader Joe's $2.99 micro tote bags, but only because it's perfectly scaled for my childhood Sasha doll. I mean . . . come on!
I promise that I'll be back to only buying used tomorrow.
At least I didn't go full viral and buy a Labubu Stanley cup or the Starbucks bearista cup!
2. I pulled a container of my sautéed mirpoix, (carrots, onion and celery) from the freezer and plopped it into a pan with diced potato and bits off a Costco rotisserie chicken. I then added water and boiled everything together, lastly adding a package of S&B Golden Curry Mix cubes. Served over rice, a perfect meal.
These curry cubes came onto my radar in 2006 when my family hosted a Japanese exchange teacher for the school year. She prepared this dish for us and explained that every Japanese woman keeps a box in her cupboard for inevitable busy nights that require a quick meal solution. I loved this and have kept a box in my pantry ever since, especially since it costs around $3.50 for enough for an entire pot.
3. I spied this $99 antique dresser at Goodwill and it made this think about how although that's a high price for a piece of thrift store furniture, it's still cheaper than its' low quality counterpart. Like this Ikea Hemnes dresser, priced at a mere $399.99.
One of these pieces will last another hundred years, while the other one will inevitably become wobbly within a decade or so.
Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?
I would absolutely love that dresser! Totally work $100, IMO.
It was in excellent condition!
I bought the TJ mini totes too for this year's Christmas giving tree at our farm. Each kid (25 of them) get a prepaid card of their choosing a small personal item and this year a roll of 2025 pennies.
Your doll is stylin'.
Your comment on ikea furniture made me chuckle as I keep picking up pieces for free at the move out piles at the local universities. They work great in my shop and tack room.
People treat Ikea furniture like it's a temporary possesion, which I think is why you see it abandoned and people have no issue with it being such low quality.
Of course, some of their products are amazing. My husband and I bought a piece of their butcher block at least ten years ago and it's been amazing!
https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/my-island-dreams-dont-involve-balmy-breezes/
Sadly, all of IKEA’s butcher block worktops are now veneer over particleboard.
That's terrible! The whole point of butcher block is that you can sand it down when you need to refresh the surface!
Yes, we were so sad when we discovered this during our kitchen facelift. They have a cheesy excuse about how veneer is better. (Eyeroll.) Luckily, maple butcher block is affordable to source elsewhere.
Yesterday I walked to the closest grocery store to buy a $.50 lime to use in making Chicken Tortilla soup. I found $.11 in the liquor store parking lot. The soup was made from the broth and chicken on the bones from a $4.98 rotisserie chicken, canned black beans that were $.05 of grocery store rewards, various peppers people gave me this summer, canned tomatoes bought for cheap at Grocery Outlet, and brown rice bought on clearance. There were a few other ingredients. The soup is served with tortilla chip shards.It made enough for leftovers for a couple of days.
This morning I walked to the drug store to pick up an Rx for DH. It was covered 100% by our insurance. I then walked across the street to the grocery to pick up on sale sweet potatoes and avocados and also the items that were "free" for redeeming rewards points: 2 #s brown sugar for $1 worth of points, a red grapefruit for $.05 worth of points, a can of sliced beets for $.05 worth of points, and a can of soup for $.25 worth of points. I found $.21 in the parking lot.
I stopped to see a friend that is undergoing chemo treatments and not going out to gatherings. We had a nice visit. I encouraged her to join a couple other friends and me next week, if she's feeling up for it, as we would be happy to wear masks.
Okay, I just realized that I have all the ingredients for your soup and it's been years since I've made this style of soup. Thank you for the reminder!
You sound like a good friend.
That tiny TJ's tote is too good. I have no need for one, but I can appreciate your doll's stylishness. 🙂
Let's see, frugal things this week?
1. Made a "lazy lasagna" dinner last night with mostly pantry and fridge items, though I did buy a $3.99 1-lb package of Italian sausage and some cheese. It was well received by our 3 teens and my husband, plus we have leftovers, which is always a win.
2. I organized a food drive through a local food pantry nearly 2 weeks ago by requesting a couple of food donation barrels for our porch. I tacked a flyer (made via Canva's free trial) on our little library, and our neighbors have really showed up! We have filled up 1.5 barrels thus far and I'm just so pleased we can do something to help our broader community. No one should go hungry in a land of such abundance.
3. I made my Nana's "big soft ginger cookie" recipe yesterday. All the cookies are gone today (reference our 3 teenagers above). I call that a success!
4. I've had a rash of eBay and Poshmark sales lately. Nothing earth shattering, but nice to keep things moving along. I used the profits to buy some special shoes I've had my eye on for the last year. They're actually made in Oregon to order! Not cheap though. 🙂
5. My husband and I are gearing up for a kitchen remodel (not frugal), and have struggled with how to update our layout that lacks flow and space. I asked my friend Natasha if she'd take a look and give us any tips, as she was a practicing architect for many years before founding another business, and we lack a clear vision. After showing her our space and talking through our goals (as non-invasive remodel as possible), she drew up plans and recommended a builder to help us out. In trade, I'm helping her with marketing her business and filled in for her at a local open house this week.
I love that you're reigning in your kitchen remodel and how you're swapping expertise with a friend.
1. Cut husband's hair, which had finally recovered from the inadvertent bald spot I gave him in the back of his head. He was totally unperturbed: "I don't see it, so I don't care."
2. Husband fixed my leg brace again, since insurance won't pay for a new one even though I have used it for 15 years now. Duct tape and Velcro to the rescue, saving me over $1000 that a new brace would cost.
3. We harvested many pounds of carrots this year and one of the varieties is not keeping well. So, I finely chopped about 10 pounds worth and have been adding them to the dog kibble. I also made my version of mirpoix, which is onions and carrots minus celery (whose merits have always escaped me), and froze it in ice cube trays until they could be popped out and all placed in a large freezer bag so they take up less room. The rest of the carrots are not wilting so I think we avoided a lot of waste by checking the stored root vegetables weekly.
4. a friend who is a butcher dropped off beef bones for the dogs. Unfortunately, our Dane would crush those bones and swallow the shards. Instead I added a small amount of balsamic vinegar to the water and boiled the bejebbers out of the bones for 24 hours and made excellent bone broth, probably to put on the kibble of both dogs and humans.
5. Baked two loaves of no-knead artisan bread to be turned into stuffing. They have already been chopped up and spiced and dried and are sitting in the fridge waiting for the turkey to be stuffed.
6. Sent off Christmas gifts to siblings for free, by doing four USPS mystery shops
Lindsey,
Curses on that insurance company that is not willing to replace your 15-year-old brace! After 15 years and many, many miles, even the sturdiest of medical equipment would be all worn out. Who runs that company, Ebeneezer Scrooge?
Please tell us the name of the stingy insurance company, so we can all avoid signing up with them during Open Enrollment. They deserve every bit of embarrassing publicity you can give them.
And, IMHO, you deserve a brand new, top-of-the-line, fully functioning brace at their expense! They, not you, should pay 100% of the cost after 15 years!Have you tried reaching out to your state insurance commission? To the local TV stations that put on consumer help features? To your congressional representative? This is absolutely outrageous!
Hear, hear!
So smart to figure out a way to make best use of those butcher bones!
What Fru-gal Lisa said about the brace. However, if even you (with your documented expertise at dealing with insurance companies) can't get a new brace out of those hearts of stone, it probably isn't do-able. All the more reason to give the husband a round of applause for his ingenuity.
And I also applaud the bone broth--but I'm eagerly looking forward to the recipe for human kibble. 😛
Is it just me or do those LaBubus look like something from a nightmare?
We bought an unfinished writing desk this week to replace an antique desk that was just too small for what we needed, after a year of trying to make it work. I stained and finished the new desk and we took the old one to a thrift store run by an organization that gets women and children out of homelessness.
Made a meat loaf entirely of discounted meats. Helped out future me by whizzing all the frozen bread bits into a baggie of bread crumbs. Washed my car out on the driveway, as the weather has improved, and saved $19, which is what the cheap car wash is charging for a basic wash. Made a gluten-free blackberry cobbler by picking the blackberries out of a bag of frozen mixed fruits. The seeds won't whiz up in a smoothie, so this was a better use for the berries.
Such a smart and delicious way to use up the blackberries!
Love the dresser. From back when things were made out of real wood, not pressed partical board. A real steal at $99!!
1. Even though I am on vacation I walked to a local farmers market and then stopped at the grocery on the way back. Six plus miles round trip, but the temperature was mild and the skies were blue. I saw so much more walking than just driving by too.
2. Enjoying lounging on the beach with free books I brought from home.
3. Purchased snacks to take on flight home, so I am not forced to pay airport prices for lousy food.
4. While browsing an outlet store I found 4 Riedel red wine glasses that cost me less than $8 after tax!! Not sure how I will get them home since I travel with just a backpack and my purse .
5. Shopped a local collective for souvenirs. While not cheap, I like supporting local artisans.
Vacations always seem to involve a lot of walking, which is never a slog because you're getting to explore and see something new.
1. After finding a lot of expired canned goods, I decided to use them anyway, as they can keep for years beyond the "use by" or "sell by" date. Today's lunch was canned jalapeno black eyed peas (circa 2022) and fresh corn bread. It was delicious, and I have enough left over for a 2nd meal.
2. The hired man cut a lot of brush from around my air conditioner condenser. It was looking like a jungle back there! To avoid paying to haul it to the dump, I stuffed a 96- gallon city yard waste can full of limbs and leaves. I have 2 other equally large cans to fill up, which I'm doing bit by bit. It'll be done by trash collection day. They'll also let me fill up 20 large paper yard waste bags each time for them to pick up free. It will take several weeks to get rid of it all. But it won't cost me anything extra (other than what I pay for regular trash pickup) -- I'll save at least $60. In the meantime, the brush pile is in the back yard and it's not hurting anything.
3. Yesterday, I used my Ollie's Outlet tabletop-sized oven (a real oven, not a microwave) and was able to bake a salmon dinner. A culinary success -- and a frugal win! Even if my regular oven wasn't broken, using this oven will save me $$ because it is big enough to cook a meal for one or two people, but small enough not to use oodles of electricity or heat up the kitchen during hot weather.
4. Shopped our store's clearance aisle and got some items for half price. But I compared the prices -- and therefore did NOT get the "organic" artificial sweetener. Even half off, 30 packets of that were about the same price as 50 packets of (full-priced) Splenda.
5. Discovered my almost-empty bottle of Himalayan Pink Salt, which has a grinder top, can be refilled. (Hadn't realized the top screws off, despite its grinding mechanism.) Will buy the Himalayan Pink Salt that's packaged in a bag (much cheaper) and refill the bottle.
I know that Dollar Tree sells (or at least used to sell) Himalayan sea salt bags for $1.25.
1. Friend gave us a pint of homemade maple syrup. Liquid gold!
2. Received a lot of magazines from Buy Nothing. Will save them for our winter stay in Arizona.
3. My sister treated us to hot hoagie takeout sandwiches. Used $5 off coupon.
4. Tried giving away various lightbulbs on Buy Nothing. No takers, so I will bring them to the county Environmental Center where they will go in the Reuse Room.
5. Steamed broccoli and added the water to the pot for boiling pasta.
That's such a good idea to bring magazines on vacation, which you can then leave for other vacationers.
Yikes! I was afraid I was going to find out that you’ve purchased a Labubu!
1. I went out for a walk and found 22 cents in change. One of the coins was in a crosswalk and is barely recognizable as a dime.
2. I went to Fred Meyer and bought a dozen eggs for $1.49, half price ground beef, and clearance produce bags containing mangos.
3. I sometimes find empty “MXD” cans that people don’t pick up because they’re presented as cocktails, and Oregon doesn’t accept “spirits” in its can deposit program. I did some research and discovered that MXD drinks are actually malt liquor with cocktail flavoring. (Yuck.) Since they don’t contain spirits, I can return the cans for 10 cents. Good to know!
4. For dinner, I’m making a pizza out of fridge and freezer odds and ends.
5. I’m reading Virginia Guiffre’s book on the Libby app, and I’d like to say that Epstein and his friends (and Virginia’s family) are disgusting, and I hope there’s a irrefutable smoking gun in the Epstein files. What a sad book!
Even if that can isn't a 10¢ deposit can, it's still good to have picked it up and gotten it into the recycling stream.
I always picked them up, but wondered whether I was getting credit. I think the professional canners leave them. More for me!
Beautiful dresser. I want it! Our Goodwill doesn't even accept or sell furniture anymore.
I was at Goodwill this morning. I walked there while Midas was changing my oil and doing a close inspection of my car. I found four items worth buying: a brand new hoodie in an aqua shade that I love, a Christmas tin, a Santa figurine, and a Steve Madden backpack. It's a small one. My recent plane trip made me realize I needed a backpack that would fit under the seat. Total spending was $30, so there were no great bargains, but I'm still pleased with what I got. The backpack alone was worth twice that.
Midas told me my car was in good shape and that I could ignore my Toyota dealer's pleas to come in for scheduled maintenance. I did spring for new wipers. I could have gone to AutoZone and put them on myself, but I am not very handy in that way.
Yesterday I thawed some blueberry pancake batter, cooked up a serving, and then made the rest into waffles, which I froze for another day.
I found a bag of mini candy bars on a bench, apparently abandoned. I looked them over thoroughly. They were all sealed, so I took them home.
I sent cash electronically to two of my grandkids for their birthdays. I didn't buy cards, as I usually do. They are old enough not to be thrilled by snail mail, and cards are beginning to seem like a waste of money. Even the cheap ones.