Five Frugal Things
You may have noticed that the blog took a leap back in time over the weekend, transforming into the above 2010 version of The Non-Consumer Advocate. This was a result of attempting to provide a "subscribe" link for readers and frankly, I'm still confused as to how this even happened. Seriously, WTF?!
Anyway, we're back on track, (although still confused why the subscription link doesn't work) so please enjoy a classic "Five Frugal Things" blog post!
1. I went to a Buy Nothing meetup and brought home this free cat toy. "Mama's Little Meatball" has been visiting for an extended period, as our youngest's apartment has been undergoing extensive never starting ending repairs.
It's been a huge hit!
2. My friend and I drove to Ikea to work on blog issues and enjoyed their free coffee, as well as a baggie of Dollar Tree ginger snaps from home. We splurged on a pair of their veggie dogs, which have risen in price from $1.15 to $1.40 apiece! The horrors!
3. I sold a Rogue Brewery Christmas sweater on eBay, likely prompted by the news that they abruptly shuttered all locations. It took me a hot minute to find the sweater, having forgotten that I store some hanging garments in my daughter's old bedroom. It did give me the opportunity to tidy up my eBay storage, which is always a plus!
4. I turned a used poly mailer inside out to package up the Rogue Brewery sweater, no need to prompt the manufacture of a new item whenever possible. Hopefully someone who chooses to source used items on eBay won't be persnickety about such things.
5. I've been a real homebody lately, which is always a frugal endeavor. I guess people who indulge in online shopping can do serious financial damage from the comforts of home, but that's just not me.
I'm so glad you're back.
1. I sold a pair of boots on Facebook Marketplace. Money in, crap out.
2. I watched my daughter and son-in-law's dog for them while they were gone for the day. I'm so glad we can trade dogs back and forth. It saves us so much money.
3. My youngest came home for the weekend. She helped me carry my heavy rocking chairs to the shed for the winter. I've had these chairs for over 20 years and they are still going strong.
4. It was a busy weekend for Ebay. I packaged up 6 items and the post office will be picking them up today.
5. I had my mower deck swapped out for the snow thrower on my husbands garden tractor. I'm all ready for winter. No more mowing or weeding for a while. Doing these things myself is a huge money savings.
Glad you're back! I missed you.
1. Attended a lovely community choir concert with my sister. We each donated $5 to the freewill offering. Came back to my house for dinner (see #2).
2. Received a ginormous Costco cheese pizza from Buy Nothing. It was left over from a gathering. It has provided so many meals, even after freezing four slices.
3. Received a mitre box from Buy Nothing. We're going to use it for a small project and then pass it on to another BN member who expressed interest.
4. Opened up Nielsen junk mail and found two crisp $1 bills! I wonder how many people will just throw this money away.
5. Needed one cup of cashews for a cashew chili recipe. Had about ½ cup of cashews on hand and found another ½ cup by picking through the mixed nuts we had left over from a gathering.
Used Arthur Schwartz's book "What to Cook When You Think There's Nothing in the House to Eat" to make brownies last night, using some baking cocoa bought last year at Dollar Tree. They are delicious.
The refilled bottle of bleach I use in the bathrooms had the spray mechanism fail, so I unscrewed the top and poured the remainder of the bottle into the washer with a load of dirty cleaning rags.
Made up a grocery list for later in the week divided by which store has the best deal. Repaired the cover of a thrifted 32-year-old paperback book bought for book club. Used a free sticky tape roller on all the lamp shades while cleaning the house, which works a treat to remove cat hair. (My cars love to rub their cheeks on the edge of the shades.)
FFT, Yay, Katy's Back! Edition:
(1) First, I'm greatly relieved (as the rest of the Commentariat is, I'm sure) that you were able to bring the blog back from the Twilight Zone. But you must be the most relieved of us all. Having the NCA restored = definitely frugal.
(2) I went to the next city west on Saturday for our JASNA region's "JA's 250th Birthday Open House" at the Barnes & Noble where we meet. I did a poster on Jane Austen's family and friends (which didn't cost me a cent, since I had all necessary materials on hand). The artistic director and three of the actors from a local theatre's production of "Persuasion" did a Q&A, and JASNA friends ran a raffle, did a presentation on JA's importance to the novel, led a demo of English country dancing, and showed how to tie a cravat! All free fun.
(3) I did NOT enjoy the drive home, during which the heavens opened up on me: rain like Niagara Falls, plus thunder, lightning, and small hail. Worst weather I've ever encountered on the NY State Thruway. I drove for the second half of the trip in the right lane at 50 mph with my emergency flashers going! But Nellybelle the Element and I did make it safely home. Surviving is also definitely frugal.
(4) My JASNA friend who works at a Panera gave me two big bags of bread and pastries, which I have shared with the Bestest Neighbors, NDN1, and my two Sunday morning walking buddies. (I know that some Paneras do give day-old stuff to local food pantries, but evidently this isn't one of them. Seems almost criminal in this day and age. But at least my friend is doing what she can to prevent waste.)
(5) And since we have another winter weather advisory today, I'm staying home, commenting here and on The Frugal Girl, doing laundry, and doing a bird count for Cornell's Project FeederWatch. Glad I ran all necessary errands yesterday.
Whew! All is right again! What a relief!
I have enjoyed another weekend of volleyball -- watching my grandson play, that is. The tournaments were long. I haven't totalled up yet what I spent on commissary food. It isn't pretty, but at least this venue was not as expensive as some others. And I did manage to sneak in a sandwich and an apple.
I was planning on driving to the venue on Sunday, but my DIL wanted to borrow my car and my SIL drove. I did treat her to lunch. This particular venue was more than an hour away.
I picked up a book on hold for me at the library, the latest Elizabeth George mystery -- she's one of my favorites.
I have found a number of receipts -- 5 or 6 -- to scan to Fetch in addition to my own buys.