Five Frugal Things -- Chocolate Cake & Reading Logs
1) I dropped my husband at the airport for his Las Vegas baseball tournament and immediately drove the five minutes to Ikea.
Hello, $1.40 veggie dog with pickle-y crunchy toppings! Their coffee carafes were empty, so I pivoted with a free cup of tea. Yes, I'm #cheapaf and no, I don't let that stop me from treating myself!
Make way for the "Subaru Ambassador!"
2) Next stop was Costco. Normally I'd steer clear on a Sunday, but the store is easy to navigate when you're not pushing an enormous cart. Obviously, I enjoyed some free snacks!
Free food is my love language.
My goal was this Hi-Chew Halloween candy. These treats accomplish two very important goals:
1) The kids love them!
2) I think they're foul -- both the waxy texture and the exaggerated fruit flavors. Zero temptation for me.
$7.99 per bag after an instant rebate -- so I'm set for the 31st at just $15.98. I'll also purchase a ten pound bag of Winco potatoes, as this was a huge hit with last year's trick-or-treaters!
"Mom, this lady is handing out potatoes!"
Very few kids actually chose the potato over candy, but every kid was excited to have the choice.
I checked and the candy was up a dollar from last year.
3) Of course I had to hit the Goodwill at 122nd and Halsey on my way home, where I grabbed three items.
A vintage Pier 1 wooden candlestick that reminded me of the iconic Eames stools, which sell for $1400+ apiece:
Mine was $3.99. I'll keep it as an object d'art, at least for now.
I also bought this winkled denim shirt for $6.99. I immediately threw it in the wash and hung it on the clothesline, at which point noticing that one of the snap halves is torn off. It's "snapped" onto its better half, so both parts are present, but Goodwill clothing can only be returned when you haven't removed the tag.
I'll put some research into fixing it, but am annoyed. I was looking forward to doing some embroidery, but won't put in the effort until the shirt is fixed. This is on me for not doing my due diligence while in the store.
I was tempted to buy this hand painted ceramic lamp, but it was priced at $14.99 and I find that lamps can be slow to sell.
This one on eBay was priced at $115:
And this one actually sold for $75:
Maybe I should've bought it, but I simply wasn't feeling lampy.
My last purchase was a $1.99 blank book. I started using my annual planners to track my reading in 2019, but recently decided that I'd like to consolidate everything into a single book. I knew it would have to be bigger than my planners and this one checked all boxes.
Right size, right price, used.
It had a bit of writing from the previous owner, but it was in pencil and easily erased.
You can see how I cut the first page from my current planner and used a glue stick to attach it to the page. I'll likely do something to decorate the cover, but for now I'm good with the olive green.
I'm weirdly excited to have a singular spot to track my reading.
4) I used the last of my Red Cross Chipotle gift card on a kid's meal. I paid $2.35 out of pocket for two soft tacos, which served as my dinner. Chicken + corn salsa + fajita veggies + Diet Coke + tangerine hit the spot!
5) I was later craving a slice of cake, so I baked up a Depression Era Wacky Cake to scratch that itch. This cake recipe is fantasticly cheap, as it doesn't contain butter or eggs.
I had a little bit of leftover chocolate frosting in the fridge, which I microwaved and poured over the still warm cake. (After poking holes so it could absorb better.) I then opened a new can of frosting!
My 98¢ "Funfetti" frosting from a few months ago.
I then cut three slabs of cake and walked them over to my friend Lise's house. Because there's nothing better than surprise dessert delivery!
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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1) My MIL gave us about 30 apples from her trees (Granny Smith so a bit tart but my kids like eating them at least) and about 10 purple Japanese sweet potatoes she had grown in her garden, which I was very excited about! My produce delivery box offers them as an option but since they are about $1.50 more per pound than regular sweet potatoes, I never get them so I was very excited to receive so many free ones.
2) I did finish my audiobook copy of The Calamity Club before the return date, I really enjoyed it! I’m now listening to another book from the library, My Friends by Fredrik Backman.
3) I remembered to use some Kohls cash I had and was able to use it almost exactly (just 4 cents under) so got some new pillows for free (although not really free since I had earned the kohls cash by spending money there!)
4) I bought a new phone (that my work reimbursed me for) and it came with 3 free months of Apple TV so we’ve been watching the new Ted Lasso season. Considering Widows Bay next, I don’t like horror but I do like comedy and I’ve heard this show is both so still debating.
5) Hosting book club on Friday, my friend had given me a small wheel of brie not knowing I don’t eat dairy anymore so I’ll serve it at book club. I also have an unopened package of cookies that were being given away at another meeting I attended. I’ve been hosting this book club for a few years now so I’ve gotten pretty good at low cost/no cost hosting.
Hooray for "no cost/low cost" hosting!
1. I walked to our city hall this morning and placed our ballots in the ballot box. Maybe not everyone knows this but, according to a bit of research I just did, the boxes are enormously secure. Embedded in cement, built extremely tough, a mechanism inside to prevent fire, and cameras.
2. For fun we did a lovely fall hike. We saw a raven, a mother coyote and her teenage pup, and an enormous orange mushroom. At the head of the trail is a small farm market. I bought 2 organic heirloom tomatoes for $3.99 a pound. Expensive but they are $5.99 a pound in the stores.
3. In the parking lot of our food coop I found two quarters. Unusual because I rarely see coins on the ground anymore. I guess because everyone in using plastic.
4. Unbeknownst to us our food coop was having a food sample day. Probably because the holidays are coming up. There were over a dozen vendors with all sorts of delicious treats like London Fog ice cream, a healthy type of Oreo cookie, etc etc… They were also giving a free gift of a heavy duty dough scrapper (like the kind that would be $15 at a kitchen store) to all members so, of course, I took one.
5. Entertained myself by starting a new book,”Skylark”, which I got from the library and seems good so far.
Did a NYT crossword puzzle. I am still working on the Monday easy ones:)
I really like Chocolate Wacky Cake even without frosting. The spice cake version is good too - more like a coffee cake.
1. We are preparing our house for rainy season. Sump pump test and basin clean out, sandbags strategically placed, etc. Glad we (mostly Hubby) are still able to do these things. Preventive maintenance is frugal.
2. Reading a lot from the library. I should keep a log like you are - it would be fun to see what I read in a year without buying books.
3. Watching shows on PBS on demand. We are members for much less cost than streaming services and I love the content.
4. Made a big pot of chicken & vegetable soup that will provide a number of meals for low cost.
5. Keeping an even keel emotionally by not following the news except for a brief time in the morning.
I took the train to the library this morning to return a book. It was very early and the library wasn't open yet, so I just returned it in the outside bin. Then I went to CVS, where I bought some MiraFiber with my MA flex benefits card, so nothing out of pocket.
When I took out my garbage, I saw that someone had thrown away a new-looking Aldi tote, and they nicely left the receipt inside. I appropriated it, of course. Later I scanned it and three other receipts I have found recently to Fetch.
I did a load of laundry, and I saw that someone had tossed a pair of shoes in the laundry room wastecan. They were men's casual loafers, Cole-Haan, in good condition except for a small hole in one sole, which I didn't see until I was cleaning them up. Still, I think I will donate them -- it looks like something that can be easily repaired. I think they are too good for the landfill.
We are up on the North Shore of Lake Superior for a week at a simple cabin we rent each year. Frugal things:
-- We followed our packing list so we didn't have to run out and buy something we forgot.
-- Brought most of our own food, including coffee for the car ride.
-- Brought CDs to play in the car (love that my 2018 Subaru has a CD player).
-- Drove at or below the speed limit 99 percent of the time.
-- Stopped at one rest area and didn't buy any snacks as we had raisins and nuts in the car.
-- Gassed up before we left using our discount card.
-- Rolled up the slippery rag rugs when we got to the cabin to avoid a fall and hospital bill.
-- Brought lots of free reading material, including the manual to our new oven - I know, riveting! - because our new oven is more complicated than our previous one and I hadn't gotten around to learning the new features. So, I'm reading the manual and here's one of the first tips: "Never attempt to dry a pet in the oven." My mind boggles.