Five Frugal Things -- Repair Cafe, Apples & Bread
1. I took a bedroom lamp to the Repair PDX clinic, as a recent houseguest informed me that that the lamp was running hot. The volunteer wasn't able to identify a specific issue, but he did tighten up a few things and adjusted a connection piece.
I also brought in my primary kitchen knife for some of that schweet free professional blade sharpening, but it wasn't available as that the library asked them to not offer this service. I guess they didn't want people bringing knives into the library. I get that.
2. My neighbor gifted me a huge bags of apples from her tree, which is perfect timing. I'd already planned on teaching my youngest how to bake pies later in the week, as their partner's birthday is coming up and they prefer pie over cake.
3. I got myself across town to take advantage of the Franz Bakery outlet's monthly $1 bread sale. I hadn't planned on buying such a large amount, but it was buy-ten-get-one-free and what's the point of having a deep freezer if it isn't crammed absolutely full?!
I plan on using the mini-slider buns for lil' salmon burgers, which I think would be a big hit!
4. My husband and I went to his work's Christmas party, which included a white elephant gift exchange with a $20 limit. We brought a $19 bag of Portland Coffee Roasters beans, plus an additional Oregon lottery scratch-off ticket. I really didn't want to purchase a manufactured item, but figured something consumable would be welcome in any household. Sadly the lottery ticket only won $2, but the coffee beans were a hit!
We came home with a two-pack of fancy hot sauce, which I consider a win as I really didn't want to be the recipient of some random cluttery item.
5. I didn't come home from the gift exchange with a Lear Jet.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
How ingenious to take the coffee! I avoid gift exchanges but that's a great idea if I ever choose to participate.
I haven't commented in forever, but read every post. I'm at the end of the semester so I haven't had time to do almost nothing. My one biggest frugal thing is doing homework and assuring I pass all my classes because I literally paid just shy of $10K for this semester.
I'll try to comment more frequently once the semester is over next week.
Passing one's classes is THE frugal thing for any college student. One of my sons had to retake two classes to replace his poor grades (as he admitted, he was being lazy and not focusing, but he did much better the 2nd time around), and it's been a huge motivator for him to do better moving forward. We've also impressed on our kids that there is no shame in getting tutoring help or even just having a family member or friend go over papers and written assignments.
Yes, passing your college classes is the most frugal thing you can do!
1. A neighbor left a large box of oranges near their curb. I grabbed a few when I walked by. There were still a lot the next day so I grabbed a few more. They were small navels and fine for eating.
2. I baked two dozen GF muffins, most of which went into the freezer for future breakfasts. I then baked GF cornbread for lunch. While the cornbread was in the oven I also oven roasted honey nut squash I'd bought at a marked down price.
3. We put up our holiday tree. It is a skinny artificial tree that we've had for several years. It is fun to see the ornaments we made and were given over the years. No new ornaments or decorations were purchased.
4. A friend told me about community solar. She said they are going to save 25% on their electric bills. I don't know if it is true but I will look into it. If we can support solar farms and save money at the same time that sounds like a win-win.
5. I didn't shop anywhere but the grocery store yesterday.
I wish our tree was "skinny," instead it had a huge footprint and takes up too much room.
"Seek and you shall find!" I am sure you will pick up the perfect tree.
1. I spent the whole day yesterday at home. I finished a library book that I had just started. All my holds have come in at once and I'm trying to keep up.
2. I sold the Cutco knife that I just listed. Money in, crap out. Since I just sold the same model knife less than a month ago, listing was super easy and I made a nice profit.
3. I made chili for dinner last night using sale ground beef from the freezer and tomatoes and beans from the grocery outlet. A cheap meal I will be eating all week. I also added some diced tomatoes leftover from a taco night. These were going to go bad soon, so I avoided a little food waste.
4. Last week I bought a gift card at Meijer for Chipotle. We were going for dinner on our weekly girls night with my sister, mom and now the only daughter in town. Meijer was offering $10 in rewards points for one $50 card purchase. I will be using rewards dollars to help pay for the Christmas dinner rib roast.
5. I received $5 cash back from my credit card for a Chewy purchase.
I know that my library system lets you take a step back in line for when a hold comes in, which lets the second person get first dibs and you just get your hold a bit later.
I'm laughing as I mistakenly read your note about teaching your youngest how to make pie bc their "parent's" birthday is coming up and they prefer pie to cake. Not their 'partner's" I thought that is exceedingly wise of you!
Luckily I like both pie and cake!
I think you did well at the gift exchange! You'll be able to use the fancy hot sauce for a long time!
I made crepes this morning, totally by accident. Some time I froze a concoction of sour milk, butter and eggs because I got that far into the pancake recipe before realizing I was out of flour. So I froze it with a note about what to add. This morning I thawed it, but even though I now have flour, I thought, well, why not use this funnel cake mix that I got for free? My experiment resulted in some lovely crepes. There is a lot of batter left, so I'm investigating suggestions for crepe fillings.
I don't really have any other frugal stories today -- just doing the usual.
I like crepe/blintzes, adding a bit of powdered sugar to cottage cheese for the filling and topping with jam.
I have been using your tip to cut lotion tubes/bottles in half, so I can scoop out the last drops. It’s really surprising how many more days of lotion you can get out of this frugal hack. I shared the tip with my extended frugal family too! Thank you!
Yay, this makes me so happy to have spread this information!
1. I bought two muffin pans for $1.25 each from Dollar Tree. I wanted to replace the old ones with scratched nonstick coatings. These are plain steel pans with no coating, which I prefer. I wasn't sure the quality would be good, but they seem sturdy enough and did well with their first baking yesterday, so I think this was a good deal.
2. I also bought snacks and canned goods from Dollar Tree. They have surprisingly good cookies and chips for the price.
3. My mother offered to pick up a few groceries for me when she went shopping. I got eggs, bread, and lunch meat for free.
4. I cooked dry pinto beans and made a meatless chili with them, which I served over rice for a very cheap meal. I froze some for an easy meal at a later date.
5. I put up the same decorations and artificial Christmas tree I use every year.
6. I stocked up on Aldi's seasonal gluten free, dairy free donuts. They are made by Katz gluten free bakery, but Aldi sells them cheaper. They only carry them in December, though, so I bought several boxes to keep in the freezer.
Another reason why I'm bummed not to have Aldi here in Oregon, as I like to have gluten-free treats for my daughter at hand.
I just bought my white elephant gift for myself & DH. We went with a wine vacuum sealer & bottles of wine (each of us picking up a bottle that fit the price point remaining on the white elephants, as they were different amounts. For someone who drinks wine, this helps the bottle last much longer, so hopefully it will find the right recipient.
1) Made a chicken fajita rice one dish recipe for dinner. It used rotisserie chicken & broth made from the same chicken (both in the freezer). Rather than buying a can of Chiles or the cilantro the recipe called for, I subbed with two jalapenos from the garden (almost all dead now, but I did find a few) & green onions we've replanted a million times. The dish is delicious & easy, and this was a more frugal way to make it work.
2) We do almost all of our charitable giving through corporate donations, and plan to move to a more tax efficient Donor Advised Fund this year. However, I like to keep a bit out for direct donations. I hadn't really been looking for 2025, and had my budget mostly leftover, and yesterday stumbled across a friend of a friend who had: the death of a parent, a major health issue & the birth of a premature baby, leading to big medical bills & unpaid time off of work. It also allowed for an anonymous contribution, which I prefer. I know the scaled giving is more efficient, but I also love being able to know there's a direct impact to a family who is struggling.
3) Bought a couple of gift cards I needed yesterday, and earned a $20 grocery store gift card for another time.
4) Today I will do two social meet ups, both free. The first is a virtual chat (video call) that my BFF & sister & I started during COVID. We are planning a trip, and it's so fun to be able to all talk together to plan everything. I'm also meeting another friend for a hike at the nature preserve that's behind our house.
5) DH & I hiked 13 miles yesterday (prepping for a hiking trip) & we feel so lucky that we can walk to the nature preserve from our house. No driving required, no additional time beyond the nearly 4 hours it took us to hike. We are super blessed not to have to travel, pay admission fees, etc. We could have hiked for at least another 10 miles, given the huge variety of trails, but let's just say we were tuckered out after our 13.
How amazing to have a nature preserve that's walkable from your house!
We are super lucky - it's a great neighborhood, and the nature preserve to boot! There are currently piglets on the farm that's a mile or so into the preserve (it's run by the county, I think, largely as an educational site?) The baby piglets are also hilarious to watch. Baby goat in the spring, and all year long there are a ton of deer/elk & wild turkey. Sometimes you see a fox or a coyote as well. It's amazing & we feel so lucky to have access to all of this, plus good weather most of the year to enjoy it!
Use an LED bulb in the lamp, they use so much less power, they should not get hot. If one does, try a fresh one to troubleshoot.
It was a LED bulb, but I'm going to switch it out just in case.
1. I made tuna salad, lemon chicken, deviled eggs, potato salad, Baba Ghanoush ( I actually made that yesterday as well as spinach dip) and I am finishing up the creamy winter soup I made earlier (pumpkin, carrots, potatoes). The only thing I bought was the eggplant because I already had everything else. I feel like I eat healthier at home, and I am not plagued by indigestion with my own food.
2. I started walking again this weekend after having to be on a cane most of the week bc of both an aggravated old back injury, and an UTI. Free exercise is always good.
3. I plan on cutting my own hair this afternoon.
4. I plan on cleaning my house this afternoon.
5. It is the weekend and I have a busy week next week so I hope I get a nap this afternoon. I so look forward to weekend naps since I am up at 4 am every morning during the week and at work by 6 am. I need to relax and just “be”.
I love your Sunday plans that include "nap!"
1. Local grocery store had a deal: buy $150 and get $40 back. I had some gift cards I had been given and various electronic coupons, and by the time I had layered coupons I spent $70 for $150 worth of groceries.
2. We are dog sitting for a week and before they left the people asked if we wanted to take advantage of their $40 coupon, too. We bought $150 worth of dog food for $110 after the $40 automatic rebate. Our Dane eats more than that in a month, so this was a great deal for us. Their dog is on kangaroo food for about a thousand allergies and that is not sold in this store.
3. Husband stopped in at a different store for milk a few days later and found a deal--buy a rotisserie chicken and get a 12 pack of pop for free. We do not buy pop anymore, but I will take free!
4. We play the Holiday convenience store December game and so far between us the husband and I have won 2 bottles of water, a free Mountain Dew that we won't drink but our teen helper does when he comes to shovel the driveway, and a fountain drink.
5. Sold two books.
6. Sent the books with two more post office mystery shops, so kept more of the sale price in our pockets, plus got paid for doing the shops.
6. Husband is off to do another post office shop today so we can mail a Christmas gift for free.
That is some impressive grocery shopping! Blue ribbon and gold star!
Taking one for the team (does that count when I AM the team, since I live alone?) Anyway, I've been making my way through a pot of very indifferent white bean soup which I created from dibs and dabs from the freezer and refrigerator, along with some rather old beans, and homemade stock. Usually this method makes for great soup but this one is just meh. I've resisted trying to further doctor it up in fear that the soup will just keep growing and I'll be doomed to eat it until 2026.
I have Christmas with my brother and his wife and her father. We decided several years ago to only exchange stocking gifts, which makes things fun and avoids (most) waste. I'm almost finished shopping and have only purchased gifts from the thrift store and grocery aisles. (They are on board with this.) I will spring for new socks for my brother--he always gets socks/ a true "stocking gift"! He wears a size 13 and it's beyond rare to find new or like new socks in his size at the thrift store!
As the early dark closes in I'm roasting a chicken with carrots, potatoes and onions. It smells wonderful and consoles me greatly for the disappointing soup lunch.
My DH wears a 13 EEE shoe. We joke about the need to "hollow out 2 cows" to make shoes for him. DH often has trouble FINDING shoes because of his size. The only shoes/sneakers/boots we can find in his size that are more durable than the "also expensive but poor quality" shoes at Wal-Mart (his size is rare there, too), is at Shoe Dept. They're expensive, but they seem to be more durable and last longer.
I understand not wanting to create a “new” pot non-so-tasty soup. However, trying a bowl with a dash of soy sauce or miso could redeem one bowl.
I often try to spice/jazz up white bean soup and NEVER think to just tackle it a bowl at a time vs the whole crock pot... where a poor seasoning choice is hard to overcome. Thank you for this reminder. Why do I never think of that??
You are welcome to try what I do when my meal is seriously lacking in flavor…soy sauce, or catsup, or hoisin sauce(kind of like molasses Chinese style). Condiment depends on my mood.
1. I went to our local gift away swap. I took two bags to donate and came home with a dozen page protectors, a package of index cards, 2 lift the flap books, eight cans of cat food and various pieces of clothing which I will upcycle. Also four pairs of shoes. All for free!
2. I also brought home a three cup of coffee for my husband and a slice of cake..
3. I rinsed out the compostable paper cups and we'll use them to start seedlings in the spring.
4. I have the clothes in the washing machine right now, and will put them on the line too dry.
5. My husband borrowed our Realtors car ramp thingies, to make a zip tie repair to a non-essential item that was flapping under our car. Now I won't get stopped at traffic lights with people telling me there's something flapping under the car.
Spent most of my day in the kitchen preparing for the week.
1. Made a new recipe of butternut squash soup, from a book titled French from the Market. It's my carry-in for my book club holiday party. Every December we pick a cook book as our book for the month and bring a dish from it to share. I chose this recipe because I have squash and onions left from my garden and the rest of the ingredients were already on hand too.
2. Made a roast and veggies in the Insta-pot to have for dinner for the rest of the week. I am usually tired when I get in so it's nice to have the pre-made meals on hand. The roast was a clearance find at Kroger, so it needed cooked up quickly.
3. Chopped up lettuce and miscellaneous veggies for salads. I pack a salad most days for my lunch.
4. Sold a pair of boots on Poshmark. I packed them up, and will post them on my way to work tomorrow.
5. Upcycled a vintage copy of Little House in the Big Woods. The inside was in poor condition, so I replaced it with blank pages turning it into a journal for a friend who loves that book.
I wish I could be your friend for a lovely gift like that!! How did you attached the pages inside the book, if I may ask?
1. Spent a satisfying hour improving a jacket I received on Buy Nothing. Used Dawn to remove a stain, used a fabric shaver around the cloth edges, clipped off many stray threads, and mended a sleeve.
2. Finished a clever and delightful library book, Ella Minnow Pea. Thanks to the person who recommended it!
3. Attempting to DIY a leaky faucet. Luckily we live near a plumbing supply company that helped us identify the right parts to order. Fingers crossed that the overseas part arrives and is correct.
4. Hired a local, female-owned home watch service to come to our home every two weeks while we're gone this winter. Surprisingly reasonably priced for a very comprehensive service. We view it as insurance for our issue-prone home, and the peace of mind is well worth it. We also have alerts set up with the electric company for outages and heating system for temperature drops.
5. Husband decided to sell his truck before we leave for the winter. When we return, he plans to purchase a used truck for his work responsibilities for at least two more years. Then I'm hoping we can go down to one car (mine - I love my 2018 Subaru!). And my husband is just as in love with having a truck so we'll see what happens.
1. Co-worker has been friendly with the folks at the nearby donut shop. They gifted her with boxes of kolaches (Czech sausage wrapped in a bun) and donut holes. She already had a lot, more than her family could eat, so she gave me some to take home. Had a kolache for supper and will have some more of this free food for future meals.
2. Using old holiday decorations instead of buying anything new.
3. Ditto, gift wrapping items. The fronts of old Xmas cards are serving as package decorations, too.
4. Delivering neighbors' Xmas cards by hand instead of mailing them.
5. Items bought on final clearance or thrifted throughout the year are what I'm giving out for presents.