Five Frugal Things -- A "New" Used Phone!
1. I finally replaced my iPhone 7 that we ran over while in Albuquerque last month. Oddly, it still mostly worked, but was getting glitchier and glitchier by the day.
Luckily there's a small business not far away that sells used phones. I've bought two from them through the years and have had zero issues, so I had no decision paralysis when it came to figuring out how to approach the issue.
I'm now $450 poorer, but own a functional iPhone 14 Pro that came with a charger and a free case of my choice. Additionally the owner also put a free protective glass screen on my husband's phone.
2. The store owner also gave me a free box of yummy bubble wrap for my eBay business.
3. We invited the kids over for a proper dinner last night and although we splurged on a nice salmon fillet, it was still cheaper than the Chinese takeout from last week.
I've started a weekly "Tuesday Night Dinner" at the house for my nuclear family, as I'm nostalgic about the thousands of hours we shared around the dining room table. Last night was only week two and I'm already planning what we'll serve next week. We see the kids here and there for short periods of time, but apparently we're now at that stage of life where we have to put a plan into place for actual quality time.
4. My neighbors were once again out of town, so I brought in their mail and wheeled their bins back into place. They do the same for us whenever we skip town.
These practices keep our street safer and all of us tighter as a community.
5. I was going to decline a plastic carrier bag for the free bubble wrap, but then saw that it was the perfect size to line our kitchen garbage.
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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Love the Tuesday family dinner plan. A bright spot in the week for all!
Who doesn't love a nice meal?
My phone is starting to act up, so I’ll consider looking at a used iPhone store when the time comes.
My exciting frugal win of the day is that I found some free range chicken drumsticks for 50 cents per pound. I’ll oven fry them. Luckily, my kids fight for the drumsticks.
Tillamook ice cream has gotten ridiculously expensive. $6.99 for a half gallon (which is really 1.5 quarts, so 3/8 of a gallon) and it has so much air whipped into it that I can scoop it with the flimsiest of plastic spoons. I only buy it when Fred Meyer has a “buy one get one” deal on it. Guess what? Instead of “buy one get one”, this week’s special is “2 for $12”. Ugh! I need to start making my own.
I found a forgotten onion in one of the carts in the cart corral outside the store. Every bit counts!
1. We came home from Arizona to two issues: our home's heat pump had gone out within a couple weeks of our return (thank goodness our backup furnace turned on) and our garage door opener unit was beeping because it needed a new backup battery. Our 2-year-old HVAC system is still under warranty, so the company came out free of charge to determine the problem and will return in a few days with the part to fix it. For the garage opener, we simply removed the nonfunctional backup battery rather than replace it since we didn't want to spend $20 as our ancient opener will likely need to be replaced entirely sooner than later.
2. Went out to lunch at a local restaurant with my sister and used a $20 voucher that I received back in December when I bought a $100 gift card.
3. Husband found a used 2023 truck with only 10,000 miles on it in excellent condition. He spent a lot of time researching and we're as content as we can be for this major purchase. Our first two oil changes will be free, as will a free car wash once winter is over. While at the dealership, we took advantage of their snack bar.
4. Husband went to a sporting event and was given a free ticket by someone who couldn't use it. Saved $30.
5. Friend gave us a jar of super spicy pickles. Best in small doses so we ate a few each day to use them up. Then repurposed the jar to store leftovers.
I don't remember I posted this or not, so please bear with me. I'll call this somewhat of a victory...a few weeks ago, our car started jerking to the left mostly, but occasionally to the right. We took it to the garage Monday night to have it looked at. Come to find out that the tie rods and bearings the garage recently put on our car were defective. Fortunately, they are under warranty. As a result of faulty parts we also need 2 new tires and alignment. We had just purchased the tires mid-December. Although we did buy the road hazard warranty, the damage doesn't qualify for free replacement. The tires are going to cost us about $350. The tie rods, ball joints, and alignment are all being done for free. When we had the work done the first time, it cost about $1,500. I'll take a $350 bill over a $1,500 bill any day.
DH and I just ate a baked sweet potato and a dish of canned peaches for supper. Simple and not a lot of dishes. My kind of meal.
I suffer with depression and anxiety. In July 2024, I spent 8 days in in-patient psychiatry. I definitely needed it. Other than going to group therapy sessions, I could just "be." No responsibilites, no chores, no running to-and-fro. I could pretty much do what I wanted when I wanted, and nobody hounded me. I don't ever want to have to go there again. I'm starting to really feel overwhelmed again, so I bit the bullet and found a place for us to take a 2-night trip over Memorial Day weekend that isn't a "tourist trap." There are a few things related to the Civil War, but it isn't a place like Gettysburg where it's a big "to do." DH will enjoy the history aspect - I'm not interested. The "big attraction," if you will, is a state park. I just wanted to find a simple place where I can just "be." I have to re-learn to be "in the moment." I came across the following article and, it fits me to a "T." (Except for the fact that I'm only 62.) Somewhere along my way in life, I forgot what real joy and happiness is. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist today and she thinks it's a great idea to help me help myself. We have a budget and plan to stick to it by taking our own food and snacks. It's a room at an AirBnB that allows us kitchen access. We plan to primarily take sandwich fixings and some fruit and veggies to live on for 3 days. Breakfast is included in our lodging. Here is the article in case anyone is interested: https://geediting.com/gen-bt-im-73-and-i-finally-understand-that-ive-never-actually-been-happy-ive-been-busy-useful-appreciated-and-exhausted-but-i-genuinely-cant-remember-the-last-time-i-felt-joy-that-didnt-come-with-an-a/
I used the public library free facilities to locate and identify the jerk who owns the fly by night moving company that caused all the property damage at my house. Ordered a background report on him.