Five Frugal Things -- Homemade Sushi & a Buy Nothing Score!
1) I stopped into the main Goodwill to kill a few minutes and spent a full 40¢ on this cute Bonne Maman jar. I'd already been thinking that I could use an extra one and the blue lid won my heart.
Why 40¢? It was senior discount day, which brought the price down 10%, plus they no longer give pennies in change and I paid with a one dollar bill.
2) I took my daughter to run an errand and we drove through Taco Bell afterwards. I told her to ask for some extra hot sauces for the house and holy crap did they deliver!
Am I now . . . a prepper?
3) I went to H Mart to grab a few Asian grocery essentials, (gluten-free soy sauce, furikaki, nori sheets) and grabbed a few avocados as 68¢ is a screaming good deal in Oregon. They weren't exactly the height of ripeness, but I stand by my theory that buying avocados is an act of faith in the future.
4) Someone in my Buy Nothing group is moving and offered up this cute side table. Luckily I was at my computer when she posted it, as I've been keeping an eye out for a small bedside table for my daughter's old bedroom.
Look how perfectly it'll match with the spindles! What we currently have is too bulky and meant more as a living room end table. I'll pay it forward and offer it up on Buy Nothing to continue the chain of gifting.
Remember when I got that rug from a garage sale leftovers pile? I still love it!
5) My daughter was talking about how she's been craving sushi, so I brought over supplies and the two of us filled our sushi-loving tummies without emptying our wallets. Homemade sushi is extremely easy and should be on everyone's frugal roster.
I got a takeout order of just pickled ginger on my way to her house. This ends up being both cheaper and higher quality that what I would've found in a grocery store. We experimented with putting ginger in the sushi, which was a delicious success!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
How exciting, I’m the first poster today!
Congrats on the CUTE table.
Love those jars! I use mine all the time. I have three sizes and they are the best.
Great idea for takeout ginger and putting it in your sushi. Yum. Do you have a sushi rolling kit? I would happily make my own, but it seems fiddly.
Today is a frugal day. Coffee and a cruffin at home. My discount store had 12 frozen ones for $1.99. That beats a coffee shop and I ate it on my lovely deck in my pajamas with bird song as a background.
Working out at home and walking my dog.
Having dinner with family. I will contribute cookies from the discount store and homemade cookies using leftover Reese candy and MM’s. We are going to support my niece in her theatre performance. Happy to spend $12 on a ticket.
Will walk to her performance (if weather holds) as it is just up the street.
I did buy a pair of summer pants on eBay today, but I have a few things to list that should more than compensate for the purchase price and it is still better than the $98 price tag for a new pair-which I would not pay. They are quality pants made with organic cotton, but I have my limits!
All you need to make sushi is a cheap sushi rolling mat. It's as easy as making a burrito.
Katy, any chance of you posting a sushi tutorial?
1. We went out of town for #1 grandson's college graduation. My husband used points for half our hotel stay.
2. I saved $24 on groceries with store coupons.
3. I cashed out Fetch points for a $50 Chewy's card. The dogs eat like horses.
4. I am making rice packs for my daughter and #2 grandson . These are just fabric bags filled with rice and stitched up. Microwave for 2-3 min and apply to aches. The fabric I used is plaid flannel cut off the bottom of husband's too long pajama pants.
5. I sold a board game my daughter gave me. She had it listed first with no results and I had it listed for quite a while too but it is on its way now to a new home.
Ginger and soy sauce are crucial to good sushi.
Does anyone know of a pickled ginger brand that does NOT have aspartame in it?
I can always taste that, and it is nasty to me.
That jar would have been at least $2.99 at my GW. And never a senior discount to be had!
1. I needed gas, as I fill up when it gets to the halfway point. I went by H-E-B and it was a$4.75. Thought I could maybe do a bit better so I drove around. A conv. store where it usually is sky high was charging only $3.97 for regular unleaded. Even cheaper than the lowest price on GasBuddy. I filled up fast, before they changed their minds!
2. Was able to fix two pairs of scissors that had rust on them. I saw this on the internet: you stick the blades in an onion, wait 5 minutes, and then the rust will wipe right off. I tried it last night using a big onion I never got around to cooking with. It worked OK. Nothing too spectacular. But I should have tossed the onion in the outside garbage can. Woke up this morning to a strong onion smell wafting throughout my house! Oh, and the scissor blades smell of onion, too.
3. Frugal fail: this is a bad one! I stuck a gallon jug in the big freezer last night. Today, I went into the laundry room and noticed a puddle on the floor. The freezer door had not closed all the way. (I have an upright freezer, not a chest freezer.) I have (raw) meat that is soggy. Can't cook and eat all of it in time. It will have to be thrown out. However, one of the big containers of meat is super old and was probably purchased during the quarantine, so it should have been used long before now. These days if I eat meat, it's usually a Jr. Whopper.
4. Took Snuggles to the groomers because I can't wash him myself. They were giving out freebies: a little container he can wear on his collar that is a holder for plastic bags. So that we can clean up any messes he makes on the go. Not that I can walk him: coming out of the business, he lunged on his leash and almost knocked me down. I'm glad I didn't fall; I could've broken my hip.
5. Stopped by a garage sale and got some flower pots for 50 cents each. They had a lot of history books so I phoned my friend whose daughter's boyfriend is going to teach history. Thought they'd be interested in picking him up some teaching materials. Esp. since it's one of those sales where they let you make an offer, they just want to get rid of everything; I figure my friend perhaps could load up a box and pay them a few dollars for the whole thing.
I’ve made sushi at home, and I find that my silpat makes a perfectly good roller! I haven’t done it in a while, and your post has given me a new dinner idea. I tend to get stuck in a rut.
I haven’t noticed that Goodwill prices anything under $1, but I guess your little jar was 50 cents? Or maybe it was half price day?
I haven’t had a particularly frugal week. I’ve been hanging out in the country again, and there’s little to tempt me, so maybe that’s a frugal move.
1. I asked for, and received, an under bed storage box from buy nothing. I put my stored water jugs in the tub and slid it under the guest bed. That way I won't worry about leaks.
I rotate the stored water in the summer, emptying the old water onto thirsty plants and refilling the storage jugs.
2. Picked up the freebie at Lucky- 3 mini ice cream sandwiches which normally sell for $7.99!!!!!! I would not even for a split second consider paying half that.
Also got the eggs on sale for $1.99 for 18. Walked to do this errand.
3. Continued my fb marketplace selling streak and the house is noticeably emptier. And I am happy about that.
4. Planted Swiss chard among my flowers. In my opinion if there's (paid) water flowing there should be food growing. This way I can get food and flowers.
5. Emailed doctor regarding sinus infection, he put in a prescription, and dh will be at that facility later today so he can pick it up. No copay to see the doctor, no time or gas spent to go to an appointment. I'm so thankful.