Five Frugal Things -- A Cheap Date
1) To learn that I am a "cheap date" should surprise absolutely no one on this green earth. Yesterday was yucky hot in Portland, (97 degrees Fahrenheit!) so my husband and I decided to get out of the house.
Did we go to the movies? Nope! We went to Ikea.
My choice -- a $1.40 fully loaded veggie hotdog, which I bought at the downstairs kiosk and carried to their upstairs "Swedish Restaurant and Bistro." My husband? Less of a cheap date. He chose a meatball platter, which set him back a whopping $9.99. At least there's no tipping.
2) My beverage was a freebie iced coffee, as coffee is always free when you scan your Ikea Family card. I brought an insulated travel mug from home for this express purpose.
Free ice + free coffee + free milk + free sugar = a halfway decent iced coffee.
3) As always I had my trusty deck of cards, so my husband and I played three hands of gin rummy. You can see that he also enjoyed an iced coffee, although he didn't think to bring a travel mug.
It would be a total dick move to play cards for an extended period of time in a normal restaurant, but Ikea is far from a "normal restaurant." Plus, there were dozens of empty tables.
My husband absolutely obliterated me in gin rummy, which destroyed my ego. I might not be as smart as I think I am.
4) I noticed this signage about their Buy Back Program on our way out and took a photo to do some later research. I'm constantly finding abandoned Ikea furniture on Portland's curbs, and it would be simple to start picking it up to sell back to Ikea.
Unfortunately they don't accept broken down furniture, which is a shame as it would be enjoyable to make them take responsibility for some of their lower quality items that are designed for the landfill.
It does seem to be a simple process though and even a "lightly scratched" Lack side table, (the most common abandoned Ikea item in my area) can earn you six bucks!
Here are the guidelines:
I'll give this a try and report back.
5) The last leg of our "cheap date" was to stop into the nearby Costco to grab a couple items. Of course we enjoyed some tapas to round out our gourmet adventures.
Are you a cheap date? I love figuring out free and almost free things to do about town. Often they're outdoors activities, but a 97 degree day called for some creativity.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
My DH is going through a cancer "journey" so we are looking for field trips that he can enjoy from the passenger seat of the car. Today we are heading to a venue with lavender fields in a small town nearby. No cost to us if we don't buy anything in the gift shop. We've been playing a lot of Rummikub, eating leftovers, and I read library books and old magazines while he naps. One day at a time! Your posts are a highlight.
Sending healing thoughts to your husband. What a lovely idea to find adventures that he can enjoy from the passenger seat.
Thank you!
I second this. Lesley, I'm sorry you and your husband are on a journey that no one wants to be on. The lavender fields sound lovely.
Sadly, we don’t live close enough to IKEA to take advantage of it. And, in all fairness, we do have AC.
Several years ago, before they remodeled our Fred Meyer to increase the aisle space to allow for the online shopper carts to traverse side-by-side, the furniture section ended up towards the back of the store in a not frequently traveled section. I was on my way to the garden section, when I noticed a lady (not an employee) calmly sitting on one of the couches, drinking her fountain drink (from Fred Meyer), and reading a book. At the time, I hoped she didn’t spill! And, she wasn’t on a phone. Perhaps, the book was from Fred Meyer, too. Who knows!
We love a cheap date in our house. Usually it involves bringing our own snacks or combining errands with a little treat (with or without the kids). Today we had a "family date" and walked with the kids from where we are staying at (on vacation in Europe) to a bakery and then next doors to a cafe for a loaf of bread, a donut for each of the kids, an eclair for my husband, and then he and I each got a cappuccino. It was probably the best coffee I've ever had!
We sat at a small table in the shade and people watched and admired the architecture for a while. We then walked to a package pickup location before heading back to our (very quirky) rented apartment. We brought drinks for the kids in our bag and when we got home I had a snack since the bakery didn't have any dairy free pastries and the cafe had already sold out of their vegan item. I made a pb sandwich out of the bread we bought and it was delicious.
It's the little things in life.
1. Our library has free lunches for kids during the summer, so my kids enjoyed make-your-own pizzas, carrots, apples, and milk.
2. Afterwards my kids played at the library and I got to read my new book for an hour, uninterrupted! It's called "The Amish Greenhouse Mysteries." I picked it up at the local pharmacy, as it was sitting in a pile under a sign that said "Take as many as you want." They were all books the employees had read and wanted to share with others. I took a few books!
3. I hung the wash outside to dry and made it home in time to save it from the rainstorm.
4. I am currently doing one of my favorite things- snuggling under a blanket and listening to the rain.
5. My friends bought a new vacuum and are bringing me their old (but perfectly good!) one tonight. I needed one so this is a blessing. They won't accept money, so I'm feeding them dessert when they come by.
We also are having 90 degree weather here in Central Texas; we consider that cooler than normal! Folks here have AC and if they don't, lots of them visit the public library all afternoon.
1. I found the giant print study Bible I wanted on eBay, and I got free shipping. Thanks to Central Calif. Artist Jana on Frugal Girl's blog for suggesting eBay. Although it's a used book, I paid only $34 for a Bible that originally sells for $100 or so. (Much better than the $27 offer on Amazon, where the third-party seller wanted to slap me with a $73 shipping charge; I wonder if he planned to deliver it via a limousine, a Rolls Royce at that. What am I, a Rockefeller?)
2. Telephoned the IRS and at long last got a real live intelligent human being on the phone. Mrs. Garcia in West Virginia. She could not have been any nicer or more helpful! Turns out the amended return has not yet been processed, and she fixed it so my required payment is delayed until it is. So I don't have to write out the big fat check, at least not yet. Might not have to pay it at all because the amended return just might be approved. Thank you, Mrs. G.! (But... Before I got her on the phone, I wanted to throw something at their AI robot call answering system; it was totally horrendous.)
3. Thought Snuggles had eaten a cardboard container from a microwave supper last night. Very happy to report he only hid it under the kitchen table! No vet bills, no sick puppy-dog. And he ate his (leftover Shepherd's pie residue) supper!
4. Got some old dried coffee grounds and sprinkled them over the roses; put the coffee filter in the yard waste recycling can.
5. Hardboiled some of those 89 cents a dozen eggs in the microwave => no heated up kitchen, deviled eggs for snacks.
I have noticed over the years that when you actually get a person at the IRS they are inevitably friendly and helpful.
West Virginians have a reputation for being friendly - I am glad you were on the receiving end of our niceness!
1. I truly miss the free concerts in the park we had when we lived in Southern California. I’ve yet to find anything near us in Central Oklahoma.
2. We are enjoying watching tv outside under the pergola we had built a couple of months ago
3. As I work a part time job it’s hard for us to take advantage of actual bargain movies at the theater
I am looking forward to your report on the IKEA sellback.
1. We made our most recent outing cheaper by only buying movie tickets and no concessions. We live in a small town and to see a movie in 3-D is $8.75 each so not terrible for two of us. We saw the Mandalorian movie and enjoyed it.
2. I placed an order for vitamins with iHerb using Rakuten (10% back), on a credit card that had an offer (10%), and because I ordered $60 worth, I got 10% off the top of the order. I'm very happy with my 30% off total.
3. I went by the library today and picked up a book for myself and one for my husband. I got the 2nd Thursday Murder Club book and my husband got the newest Dresden Files novella.
4. At Kroger I was able to get maitake mushrooms and orange bell peppers on clearance. The mushrooms will go in a greens dish I'm making today and the peppers will be chopped and frozen for future chili. I also saw my husband's Private Selections tea bags were 50% off so I bought the last 3 boxes they had and will hope they are just changing the box design and not discontinuing the product.
5. I used GoodRx to get a med that's not covered under insurance for about 35% off. It's still expensive, but I'm glad for the discount. Btw, if anyone has thought of using Cost Plus Drugs (the Mark Cuban company) but thinks it must not be real because it's so much cheaper, it is legit. My mom needed a cancer drug, the VA said nope they wouldn't cover it, and the cash price for one month was $19,000. (Not a typo.) At Cost Plus she got it for $300. Exact same medication. (My husband is a clinical pharmacist and is appalled just like everyone else at the prices of meds.)
I got a callback from a different Astound employee and finished the arrangement to switch over to them for wifi from Xfinity. It will be so much cheaper. And I will get free installation and a $200 gift card. I don't think I will miss cable too much.
I slept very poorly last night, but I pulled myself together enough this morning to drop off an eBay package to the post office. I found a free parking place, too.
In the alley (our version of the free pile) I found two sofa pillows which I will probably donate, a vinyl picnic blanket, some remodeling hardware (brackets?), unused in the bag, and a vinyl tote bag big enough to tote laundry.
The weather continues to be cool enough to leave the air conditioners off, always a win at this time of the year. Looks like a storm is brewing, so a free car wash is in the offing
My grandson has returned from his West Coast college. I was pleased to learn that the belongings he couldn't fly home, he donated to a program that allows incoming students to shop for free.
I love Costco for a cheap date.
Hit day frugal entertainment is challenging.
We go hiking/fishing & pack a picnic
Going to a large library. Exploring new releases.
Botanical gardens
Photography with subject prompts. We do this as a family.
Pioneer Living. No electricity.
Test drive a fun car.
My favorite is detailing the car together. Get wet, have fun and have a clean vehicle at the end.
Would you rather Jenga (we wrote questions on each stick)
Bowling or Darts.
Corn hole in the shade
I have taken curb picked items to Ikea for the sell back program and it was super easy. Sadly we don't have an Ikea close by, so I have to plan my trip more carefully.
1. Cut a massive amount of Kale. Added veggie fertilizer and free compost to my tomato plants. I have a few ripe tomatoes already, which is a full 2 weeks earlier than I've ever experienced.
2. I attended yet another appointment with my mother, but by video, saving me a total of 4 hours and a lot of gas.
3. Friend gave me tomato and corn salad, and some dates. So yummy.
4. Enjoying the World Cup with my free trial of Youtube TV. I have 2 different school email addresses so I'll sign up for another free trial once this one is over.
One of my favorite dates is to gather books from my house that I no longer want, and my hubby drives me around to all the little free libraries in our town.