Five Frugal Things -- Free Movie Tickets & a Sewing Bee
1. I went onto the Multnomah County Library's website to see if they had any new "cultural passes" and lucked out. Normally passes are only available at the beginning of the month, but they actually had a few to choose from.
I was able to score a pair of free passes to a screening of Project Hail Mary, which'll be a fun diversion. It's not until next week, but it's something to look forward to. (I can't remember when I last saw a movie in a theater!) What best is that that it's at a theater with loads of free parking, which is the cherry on top of my free sundae.
2. My friend Lise recommended the show The Great British Sewing Bee, which enjoyably streams for free on the ROKU channel. The first season is just four episodes, so I'm already on the second one. I don't really sew, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy watching people exercise their creative muscle while being polite with one another.
3. I started listening to Destroy This House through the library's free Libby app. I don't remember who recommended it, but I think I'm going to enjoy it.
4. My husband and I are attending a birthday dinner for a friend this weekend and have started a conversation about how we'll clarify the check ahead of time. Of course we'll chip in to cover the birthday boy's bill, but will request a separate check for ourselves. We're not the type to order appetizers, multiple drinks and desserts that inflate the cost, and don't want to ruin the evening by falling into an awkward "let's split the bill" scenario with people who do.
Communication and a plan are key to a successful meal out with friends.
5. I thought we were getting low on bread and considered heading over to the Franz Bakery Outlet. Luckily I thought to have a dig through our basement chest freezer, where I found another loaf of sliced multi-grain bread, as well as a sleeve on English muffins. I paid a buck apiece for them, which makes this extra satisfying.
Thank you, past Katy!
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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I would love to hear more about how you handle the bill for your friend's birthday dinner. It is one area of frugal living that can be hard (for me) to navigate, seeing that it involves lots of people and a potentially awkward situation.
I'll let you know afterwards, it does the potential to go sideways as I don't know anyone at this dinner.
Not necessarily
frugal for me but for a younger coworker who is new in town: I let him in on all the good secondhand furniture places and the best thrift stores around here. Also recommended he frequent the same, and also drive around campus housing and apt. complexes and rental houses in neighborhoods around campus, from now until mid summer. That's because many wealthy, spoiled and over-privileged college kids simply toss this year's furnishings and start from scratch next fall. Some donate to charities but others just leave stuff at the curb or dumpster. He couldn't believe anyone would be so wasteful, but I told him the kids and their wealthy parents don't want to be bothered bringing a truck to our city and carting away/ storing all that stuff. They have so much dough they just buy anew. Personally, I'm eagerly awaiting Hippie Christmas, as someone called it, to find new-to-me household goodies extra cheap if not free. Lamps, curtains, trash cans, office supplies, rugs, clothes, pretty flower pots...all kinds of useful stuff.
I am spending another day inside, as the Windy City is very windy indeed today, and according to the forecast, it will continue late into night. No spending, no gas usage.
I had a lovely phone conversation this morning with my unemployed son. He has had a few interviews -- at last -- and he seems to be keeping himself in good spirits. I sent him some gas money -- so I guess I did do some spending! Nah, more like sharing.
I am reading Dan Brown's latest. Two more holds have come in at the library. I'll pick them up tomorrow.
I spent nothing on groceries this past week. I'm starting a list of things to buy, but so far it's pretty small. May shop tomorrow or Sunday. I plan to keep it down to necessities.
Yesterday I had a long phone conversation with my BFF, who lives in another state. I took a moment to appreciate the fact that we used to have to pay through the nose for long distance! But on the other hand, phones used to be essentially free, since they belonged to the phone company. Different times.
1. I harvested an exceptional amount of Swiss chard. I kept a bunch for myself and took a bunch over to a friend. I chopped the greens from my bunch, then looked up recipes to use the stems. I ended up making a modified 'benas and greens" recipe with the stems. It used navy beans which I'd already cooked from dry and stored in the freezer, and homemade tomato sauce made at home from tomatoes I grew. I even grew the herbs that went in it, so out of pocket for that dish was the cost of salt and pepper. Perhaps a penny?
2. Dried a load of laundry on the line each day. Laundry is washed in cold water and I recently put a measuring spoon with the laundry liquid so that certain people in the house were more careful about how mutch they used!
3. The friend who received my chard gave me a bag of lemons and three items for me to sell and keep the money. I definitely lucked out on that exchange. She loves chard and hers doesn't grow well. I don't love chard and mine grows prolifically. But clearly it is a good currency for barter!
4. Reordered the laundry liquid, I want to keep good stock on hand right now. I also want to restock bike tire inner tubes.
5. Thank you for the sewing bee recommendation on Roku
Today, I've done 2 loads of laundry and hung them out to dry.
Yesterday I made 3 meatloaves. I'll freeze 1 for later.
My focus is on reducing our electric bill and shifting to off-peak use. Our last 3 bills have been painful!
I want to clean out and unplug one of our deep freezers.
Dh received two, good sized, union stickers. They will go on our mailbox, probably via a placard of some sort.
Gas is 2.99 so I filled the car and the 4 wheeler while I was in town for other errands. I suspect fuel will get higher but at least im full for now.
I hope the universe sends me a suitable compost bucket when I take the recycling in. Ours blew away, I think???!!!
Hopefully, tomorrow, I will make it to the cheapo grocery store after I check cows.
There are no new calves to report. The current ones are doing very well.
Katy, will you update on how "will request a separate check for ourselves" part went? This isn't taken very well with groups usually, and you'll likely be labeled stingy and may not be invited for group events in the future. How do you feel about this risk?
I loved the Project Hail Mary book, I hope the movie is good!
1) Going to a beach cleanup this weekend. The kids think it’s so fun plus it’s free and helps our environment.
2) The kids don’t have school today but I had to go into the office. My husband works at home today so they are with him but he often has back to back meetings so they are somewhat on their own. I let them know I made two bean burritos this morning that I left in the fridge that they could microwave and moved the jam to a lower fridge shelf and loosened the lid so they could make pb&j. My husband did end up coming out at lunch time and told them he was going to take them out to lunch. They responded “no, mom left us some burritos in the fridge and we want those for lunch” Frugal kids in training, choosing food at home over takeout.
3) I went to Safeway on my lunch break today, a snack my kids really like was on the clearance shelf. Unfortunately I walked there from work and it was in a large box so I could only buy one as I couldn’t carry more than that. Better than nothing though!
4) I stopped shopping at Target over a year ago now. I hop between various other shops to get what I used to buy at Target. Recently I’ve been trying to figure out CVS. Their prices seem a bit high on some things but they also offer a lot of money off coupons in the app. I had about $9 off through various coupons so I was able to buy some candy for Easter Baskets.
5) I’m going to my parents this weekend (an hour drive). My husband isn’t coming but I’m going to drive his car since it’s electric. I usually always drive mine even if his is available, but I think it makes sense to use his as much as possible now (I mean it probably would have made sense even before the latest gas price increases but now there’s even more incentive to use his)
There are lots of coupon masters who share their secrets for CVS. I follow Torok Coupon Hunter on FB AND IG, and she details the transactions out perfectly.
I enjoyed Destroy This House immensely. The family had an interesting if not unusual way of life.
1. Not frugal at all except it encourages me to not use more heat or hot water than I have to, it being we got an oil delivery yesterday to the tune of $4.66 a gallon. It has been a particularly cold winter here in New England and we are on a 12 month budget plan but I told DH when it renews in May it will probably go up between the cold winter and the war.
2. I watched one of my favorite old movies on TCM last night which I still love but have decided I dislike the character Stanley Kowalski more than ever. Abusive to everyone around him including his wife. If I were Stella, the New Orleans police would have been called...often.
3. I have a lot of overripe bananas and a free day tomorrow during which I am not leaving the house since it's supposed to be cold and windy. When I have this many bananas (7), I double my banana bread recipe, spread it in a 9 × 13 pan, bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes and frost it after it cools. I call it Banana Cake.
4. The cat has shredded the ends of our couch but we won't buy a replacement as long as we have him because he will just do it again. I still love him though!
5. Batching errands, cooking at home, eating leftovers, wearing warm clothes around the house to keep the heat down, driving under 65 using cruise control, keeping up with oil changes for our one car, shutting lights off...all the usual.
I get into cold sweats about splitting the bill. I don't order drinks, desserts or appetizers. I once went to dinner with college friends and we split the bill, my share was $84 for a $24 meal. Good grief! Could I afford it? Yes. Did I ever do that again? Nope. Now we buy or pack lunches and meet at the Arboretum.
I did go to the bakery outlet this week. I had a list for family and neighbors, plus they had $1 boxes of maple doughnuts, mom's favorite. I spent $20 for everything on the list and it filled 2 large canvas bags. I picked out 2 gluten free breads for the freezer from the free rack.
I cleaned and conditioned the ancient leather furniture in the family room. I steam cleaned the showers.
My childhood friend and I watch Project Runway together when it airs, we'll have to try the Sewing Bee!
I haven't watched The Great British Sewing Bee, but I definitely recommend a book by one of the hosts (Patrick Grant)! Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish: How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier. It was so great. It talks about how low quality our stuff has become, and how you used to get quality with brand names, but now you are just paying for the name.
1. I walked an hour this evening in my neighborhood.
2. I packed my breakfast and lunch to work and ate lentil casserole for supper.
3. I filled up with gas at the cheapest gas station for $3.24 a gallon, which still bites me but it is what it is. I drive two hours a day to and from work.
4. I just realized I didn’t eat out at all in February and so far in March. I can’t remember about January but I am thinking not.
5. I intend to go to bed early bc I am exhausted.