Five More Frugal Things -- Slippers & Albuquerque
1. I mended the LL Bean slippers that I bought off eBay last year, as they'd busted out on the side. It was giving "disheveled old man chic," when my preferred aesthetic is actually "sheveled middle-aged woman chic!"
I put off this task for weeks and in the end it took maybe twenty minutes. Tops! Including getting out the supplies and putting them away.
Better, right?
2. I listened to The Sweetest Revenge, by Lizzy Dent. which was the perfect lighthearted distraction from the atrocities of the world. Of course I used the library's free Libby app, as that Schmeff Schmezos guy is nothing but garbage human. No need to use Audible and fund his morally bankrupt expenditures.
3. I did buy a couple items for myself at the Goodwill bins the other day, although I paid apart from the $100 gift card. $3.01 total for a brand new three-pack of socks, a sweater for my childhood Sasha doll and seven vintage spun-aluminum spice jars. These match my sister's kitchen canisters, so she gets first dibs!
4. I noticed that our internet bill went up, so I called Xfinity and got them to refund the extra $17 that we'd been charged. I'd hoped to bring our bill down even further while I had them on the phone, but the customer service employee wasn't budging. I did get our bill reduced a whopping $2.20/month, which I suppose is better than nothing.
It was an annoying task, but I multi-tasked while I was on hold and got the front porch swept.
5. My husband and I are planning a short trip down to Albuquerque later in the year, as we haven't been back since the two of us graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1994. (Go Lobos!) Obviously things will have changed, so we're looking for advice and suggestions on things to do and places to see. We'll for sure do a day trip up to Santa Fe via scenic I-25, but otherwise will stay down in Albuquerque.
My husband had to cancel his flight down to Las Vegas for a baseball tournament when he got hit by a car, so our flights are basically free due to that airline credit.
I'll take any and all suggestions, thanks!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
1. I used a discounted gift card to pay for my lunch yesterday.
2. I took rolls home from my large lunch and ate them for dinner.
3. I found 50+ Euros my husband had stashed in his drawer. I can use these on a future trip.
4. I gave my sister a pair of wool socks I didn't need. She works outside at the school and gets very cold feet. I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal on warmer boots for her.
5. I split the cost of an 8 pack of apple turnovers with my mom and sister. I will give half of mine to my daughter and son-in-law. This is a cheap treat and nobody ends up with more than they can eat.
1. Ventured out in the cold and snow yesterday to go to the gym. I asked a trainer about why I was getting a pain in my shoulder, and he directed me to stretch more, and showed me how to use the stretching cage, which I loved. Gym is free for me, and doing a better job of working out just makes it better.
2. While out, I took the opportunity to fill up my tank. I was halfway down, it's cold, and price was low.
3. I used up some old hamburger buns (frozen) and celery and onions to make stuffing. The buns are the wrong texture, and it was too wet. Still, it was edible. More to eat today.
4. I combined leftover spaghetti with veggies and broth to make spaghetti soup.
5. My Oura ring has arrived. I had to charge it, but didn't have the right size of charger plug. I went to Walgreens, mainly because it was on the way, and our nearby Best Buy has closed. The thing I needed was way more expensive than I thought it would be, but with the help of a sales clerk I located one that was half the price, and it worked fine.
My next step with the Oura is to make a phone appointment to learn how to use it, and most importantly, to learn how to sign onto the app without paying for the subscription, since my Medicare Advantage plan is supposed to be doing that.
1. I have made to day 17 of my no buy January. My main thing has been not giving in to clothes and shoes. I buy mostly second hand, but there's so much of it available and tempting me! The cookies this internet collects on you, knows just what to throw at you! It's been tough but I have avoided temptation so far. I am hoping this builds a permanent habit.
2. Took a free yoga class at the library.
3. Making great progress on using food from the freezers and pantry. The free air fryer I was gifted sure makes it easy to use up the frozen fish.
4. I sold a pair of shoes on Posh. Yay, $30 for me!
5. The temps are in the single digits with wind so my plan is to mostly stay in and read (library books) and maybe take a trip to a mall or big box store to walk inside.
Excellent mending on the slippers. My husband had a pair like that that I mended several times before we had to give up on them.
I'm having a low-spend January, but yesterday finally managed -- after four and a half months are wrangling -- to get an accurate invoice for a medical bill and pay it. This saved me around $750. Also renewed my out-of-district library card for $50. It's worth many times that.
The biggest savings this month (possibly ever!) came from my husband calling around after getting an outrageous quote on some plumbing repair work and discovering the work is entirely covered through a program with the waste water department.
I am about to sew a set of slipcovers for a daybed, using discounted fabric from eBay, thread from a neighbor, and a long, heavy-duty zipper salvaged from a coat. Made a dozen chocolate chip muffins last night for about the cost of a candy bar. Made a dozen banana-walnut bran muffins for breakfasts using discounted ripe bananas from the grocery and walnuts from Aldi.
1) Returned an item I didn't need yesterday. It was a gift, so I ended up with a store credit, but I will use it, so all ends well. Just need to track it.
2) DH & I had a date night at a place that is part of my credit card cash back, so that was basically free.
3) Used part of my $500 Southwest credit card cash back to book a flight to go to Las Vegas (one night) + St George/Zion on a hiking trip with friends.
4) Used a promotional offer to score a free night in Las Vegas.
5) Rather than renting a car or flying in/out of St. George, which was significantly more expensive, I booked a $50 shuttle service that will get me back to the airport.
Katy, what was your technique on such a great looking shoe repair? Looks perfect!
FFT, January Blahs Edition:
(1) I've been following your Goodwill "bin shopping for charity" posts with great interest. Not only is it good to have $$ going so ingeniously to a worthy cause, but I've been enjoying shopping vicariously through you. With our Central NY weather being what it's been ever since Black Friday, I haven't had nearly the thrifting opportunities I'd been hoping for.
(2) On the other hand, I haven't been spending much $$, either. Always a frugal thing.
(3) I continue to do the usual boring but ultimately frugal things: rack-dry laundry, clean out the fridge and freezer, etc., etc.
(4) The Element gave me an oil warning message plus another idiot light or two, so I'm taking it to my regular shop today to get these things taken care of. Driving with insufficient oil = hugely unfrugal. (And I admire all you folks who do oil changes yourselves--but I'm not one of those, and I also want to get the other issues checked out.)
(5) And I haven't all but declared war on assorted formerly friendly nations and US cities.
1. Husband and I enjoyed a free movie at the library and ate a free donut while there.
2. Eating all the leftovers, sometimes with the dogs' help. That still counts, since it saves on dogfood.
3. Stopped into a new thrift store. They had boxes of bread products free for shoppers. I gave a $1 donation for a loaf of French bread. We have had garlic bread twice from that loaf and put the rest in the freezer.
4. Shortened husband's new pants.