Five Frugal Things -- $1 Bread & Jefferies Tubes!
1) Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, so I got my tuchus over to the Franz Bakery Outlet to take advantage of their once-a-month $1 bread deal. I came home seven dollars poorer. For reference, a single loaf of their Naked Organic Minimalist Wheat costs $4.99 at Fred Meyer. It would cost $34 to buy all these items at Fred Meyer.
Good thing I have a freezer!
2) I then motored over to the nearest Goodwill, where I bought this collectible Blazers glass, as I recently learn these hold value.
It took a quick minute to check eBay "completed listings" and learn I was right on that matter. There are currently zero listings for this player, so I listed mine on eBay for $60. I did pay up at $3.99, but rationalized it as being $1.99 less, as I brought in a $1.99 iPhone case to return on the same visit.
I also bought this address bracket, as it's the classic Portland design and I know that the reproductions are kind of expensive. (All Portland houses were switched to this design in 1931 to standardize the city.) This set was obviously never installed, which makes it even better.
Hippo Hardware sells these number tiles for $20 apiece, so $6.99 for the four numbers, (plus the $28 bracket!) was worth the gamble. I noticed that the store is actually out of all numbers except for zero, so I called them up to ask if they'd buy this back. (The store sells mostly used hardware supplies.) The answer was they'd give me "fifty to sixty bucks in store credit," which I think I'll accept.
Might be fun to see how I can turn this $6.99 purchase into something fun for my 1914 house.
3) I went for a long evening walk, ostensibly to scout garage sale leftover piles, but instead turned it into a flower appreciation event. So many people in my established neighborhood have old rhododendron bushes that are likely multiple decades old. Gorgeous!
I did come across this pile of restaurant drainage mats, which would've been next to impossible to carry home. Although it's always been my secret dream to turn my narrow upstairs hallway into my own Jefferies Tube, like on the Starship Enterprise.
My youngest and I visited a Star Trek exhibit at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture in 2017, complete with a Jefferies Tube, open for people to crawl through. I noticed that it was lined with standard restaurant mats, which led me to notice how they actually use them for this purpose on the newer Star Trek shows.
Instead I came home with a single plastic water bottle to return for the 10¢ deposit.
4) I started listening to The Unmaking of June Farrow audiobook by Adrienne Young. It didn't come recommended by anyone, it was simply available for immediate download.
Needless to say, I used the library's free Libby app.
5) I sold the American Girl doll that I thrifted less than a week ago. I accepted an offer for just $42.50, as sometimes I'd rather move something along than wait for a higher offer. I paid $6.99 for it.
Click HERE to see the listing.
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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This blog post includes an eBay referral link.
1. I spent yesterday at a large neighborhood garage sale. I picked up a few items to sell on Ebay including a free Douglas brand stuffed animal. I parked my car and walked from sale to sale which gave me some free exercise and saved gas.
2. I checked out some bulk trash piles near my mom's house. Her city does once yearly bulk trash pick up. There's a map with dates for each neighborhood. I picked up a hand vac for my daughter who's been wanting one and a couple things to sell on Ebay.
3. My sister and I stopped into McDonald's to use the bathroom and get some lunch. I used the app for a free order of large fries to share and they gave my sister a free drink since she didn't order one.
4. I enjoyed one of the free donuts being given away at one of the garage sales.
5. I mowed my own lawn.
Cool finds and a great sale. Kudos Katy!
Feeling frugal. 😉
I just returned from an out of town theology conference. Drove both ways. Gas prices were rough but I watched the areas as I drove and did my best to fill in reasonable areas.
Stopped in three discount grocery stores on the way and also packed some essentials from home. I bought $0 dollars of food at the food trucks and ate WAY more healthfully. While it was frugal, my primary goal was to eat well and not spend a ton of time in line waiting to eat! I did buy 2 coffees at the local cafe as I needed extra caffeine to power through. Brought my own water otherwise and made coffee in my room. There was a mini fridge and a mini microwave in my room. Huge blessing.
Used points for the hotel so spent only the cost of the room tip.
I was unable to attend last year as expected and they were kind enough to roll my registration forward so no out of pocket this year.
Last night, I waited until I got home to have dinner and today, all meals/drinks are from home.
I’ll be planted a cutting later that was gifted by a friend. I have soil and a pot.
Sitting on my (roadside pile)porch set, enjoying the weather and the birdsong.
So grateful.
Planting! Not planted.
Nice quick turn on your eBay sale!
I was getting DS19 moved out of his dorm, so all related to that:
1) Free parking was waived at the Hyatt, using a free night awards. It's $25 per day, so it was a great deal.
2) Grabbed a free coffee before I worked remotely in the morning from the hotel room. I mostly did it to help out a coworker who needed coverage in the morning, but it also saves 1/2 of a vacation day.
3) Helped DS19 & his roommate moved out of their dorm. Cleaned their room up a bit while they loaded the car, saving $300 over the post move out cleaning/damage fee. (I also think it helped that they were friends with their RA, because I think the room state was... moderately okay, at best ;-)). The dorm is being torn down in a few months, so charging any of the kids damage/cleaning fees seemed like extortion anyway.
4) DS19 is storing his stuff in my best friend's garage over the summer, because she is awesome.
5) I got two free checked bags with my United status, which means I paid for zero baggage fees on the flight home. (Three backpacks, three roller bags to get everything home for the summer.)
I know the subject of college move out has come up on this blog before, so I tried to observe how everything worked. The dorms had donations for basically everything*, and the kids were working hard to hand off anything they didn't need. They accepted food, furniture, hangers, mirrors, toiletries, clothes, towels, etc.
*The only things that really looked like they were getting tossed but would have a useful life were bedding items. I'm assuming that's for sanitary reasons, but it did seem strange that they accepted everything else. I also saw wise incoming freshman meeting people at the dorm to purchase some of their set up, and thought of all of you & the frugal folks passing things on.
1. My word and goal for the year is less. I have been very strict about not buying things I don't truly need, and it's paying off, literally. I have saved close to $2500 so far this year by just saying no to wants, and using up what is around the property.
2. In addition to not buying much, I have been listing and selling on eBay and Posh. So far so good. I had 5 sales last week, and 3 more over the weekend.
3. My mom and sister's birthdays are just a day a part, so I took them out to a restaurant of their choice to celebrate. While out I bundled all my errands, so as not to waste gas, since it's up to $4.99 a gallon near me.
4. Resolved to only get basic groceries from GFS this week, and continue to eat from the pantry and the freezer. The garden is producing some lettuce now which also helps.
5. I have volunteer tomatoes up, and I decided instead of purchasing any tomato plants from the store I will transplant the volunteers. Of course the variety will be a mystery, but that's kind of fun.