Four Frugal Things -- Raspberries & Thrift Mistakes
1) My raspberries are starting to ripen, so I'm getting half a handful most days. I'm even remembering to water them so they can start to grow a bit bigger.
I planted them from some canes that a neighbor set out for free at least ten years ago and they just keep coming back. My kind of gardening!
2) I'm working my way through a stack of Terence Conran library books for ideas and inspiration. I used to love the Habitat/Conran's store in London back in the day, (I spent a few years in London as a kid, plus an additional semester in college) and enjoyed browsing their NYC Astor Place store later in life.
I once even splurged on a pair of their drinking glasses, back when a $10 purchase was a big decision.
Looking at the pretty interiors photos won't me unhappy with my actual home, (no FOMO here!) but they might spark an idea or two or even further hone my eye for thrifting.
After all, I already knew to recognize the above Philippe Starck juicer when I came across one at Goodwill a couple months ago.
That was a fun thrift find!
3) I once again repaired my yard debris wheelie bin, as my last repair job wasn't exactly one for the ages. This time I used heavy duty zip ties and zero duct tape. We already had these zip ties from some mysterious past project, so zero dollars were spent on this project.
My husband asked why I don't just get a replacement one from the garbage company, but I reminded him that we don't have an account as we share pickup services with a neighbor. This saves us a ton of money and I don't want to draw attention to our little arrangement. Plus I'd prefer to not send a huge hunk of plastic to the landfill.
4) My friend Lise wanted to hit Goodwill to look for a blanket to protect her couch from her boisterous new puppy. Don't let her cuteness distract you from her ability for destruction.
I was tempted to buy this $24.99 Le Creuset Dutch oven, but wasn't loving the price. I probably should've though as even used ones can sell for a lot of money. The interior was in excellent condition, so I really botched this one.
Oh well, I'll chalk this up to "live and learn."
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
As I tell my students - you're allowed to make a mistake!
Thank you.
Pinching a penny until it screams. Leaving for a dog judging assignment on Thursday in Tampa, Florida. I’ll pack as many snacks as possible along with my travel water bottle. I’ll have to buy my own meals on Thursday and Friday. I’ll be home mid day on Saturday
Upside I’m meeting a friend and his wife on Friday. We met in 1999 during a training class.
1. Hubby sold his 1988 corvette for more then we paid for it 5+ years ago.
2. We planted everything we bought from the 2 garden centers that we went to. We used pots, fencing and hoses that we already owned many of which were garbage picked. Looking forward to lots of fruits and veggies.
3. My daughter and SIL are back from their vacation and staying with us tonight. We made chicken souvlaki, a huge salad, hummus and pitas for dinner. My other 2 kids came over too. It would have been expensive if we had ordered it as takeout. Plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.
4. I bought 2 packs of orange peppers from the reduced rack. I will slice them up and freeze for fajitas and sausage and peppers. Future me will be thankful. I found 11 cents at the store.
5. I bought extra cucumbers. My son buys pickles from the Farmers Market. I heated up the brine and added the sliced cucumbers to it. I will let it sit for 2 weeks and see how they come out. I'm sure they will be good.
6. I did order 2 bagel orders on TooGoodToGo. Each order was $5.99 verses $18. We aren't picky on bagels. My daughter will take most of them home with her.
1. I invited my mom and sister for dinner yesterday. I made a creamy bacon and mushroom tagliatelle. It was delicious. Afterwards I treated them to ice cream at our favorite place. This was much less expensive than eating out. They've fed me a few meals recently so it was nice to return the favor.
2. I have my granddog for the weekend. My daughter and her husband are celebrating their anniversary. They watch my dog for me whenever I'm out of town.
3. I listed a few items on Ebay. I cleaned and priced a few more garage sale items also.
4. I made split pea soup. A little late since summer doesn't feel like soup weather. I used the ham bone and mirepoix taking up space in my freezer. I'll share with family since it's too much for me. I'll freeze some since I now have room in my freezer. Funny how that works.
5. I gave myself a pedicure. All the money saved over the years...
Oh my goodness, that puppy is almost cute enough to make me want one! We travel too much for that to be reality, but we do sometimes pet sit for a friend, who has a very well behaved pooch.
I'm traveling for work, so I will attempt to be creative for this one.
1) Grabbed a free "lunch" a the lounge, as I didn't have time to eat before we left the house & didn't want to buy food at the airport. Technically, could have likely expensed it, but this is less paperwork for me. Ate the insides from two mini chicken tacos & a bit of salad. Also filled my water bottle at the lounge, vs buying plastic.
2) Used Uber credit for the ride from the airport to the hotel. I bought the Uber credit on a deal at the grocery store a ways back, earning free grocery money. I will be reimbursed, which makes the grocery money "free".
3) Made sure to activate my hotel loyalty account (I had an old one, but hadn't used it in years) for this stay, as I'll get points & maybe we will have a use for them some day.
4) Put the hotel stay on my travel credit card, where I will earn points to use for personal travel.
5) Digging deep here, because who wants to be at a work event on a Sunday... used my Southwest account for booking the airline flight,so I'll earn a few points towards a future trip.
I've exhausted the good options, so the rest of the days should get interesting with my attempts at frugality. 😉