Three Frugal Things — Broccoli Potatoes & a Verizon Discount Failure
1) We still have a few leftover Costco potatoes from the “baked potato night” we hosted a few weeks back, so I threw a couple into the oven for the perfect early dinner. We also have entirely too much broccoli, (leftover from my mother’s birthday) so I did a rough chop and a quick sear in the wok.
The result? An absolutely perfect comfort meal that may or may not (absolutely will) show up again tonight!
Transformed leftovers for the win!
2) I tried a social media hack to lower our Verizon cell phone bill. Unfortunately it prompted nothing more than offers for discounted services we neither need nor want, but others have reported success. There was zero risk and it took just a few minutes, so I’m glad that I tried.
My best guess is that we already enjoy a discounted rate through my husband being a first responder.
I saw in the comments that it worked for T-Mobile customers as well, so please let me know if it works for you.
3) My husband mentioned that he was making a haircut appointment, so reminded him that he’s been wearing his hair longer and that I can do a trim.
Bam — $35 saved!
Yes, this photo is old, but it’s the only picture I could find to illustrate $35.
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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We lost power today, so we haven’t even spent anything on electricity! It’s sometimes good to have a storm and a power cut early in the season. Tests our preparedness, without the outside temps being too bad.
I really love broccoli potatoes. When I was diagnosed it was pre-diabetic so the years ago, I had to give up potatoes as they did serious damage to my blood sugar. And broccoli potatoes with cottage cheese was my go-to dinner all the time.
Processed roasted tomatoes into tomato sauce and frozen it.
Roasted chicken, potatoes, butternut squash ($2.49 for a whopper at Trader Joe’s), and a pan of flapjacks. Great use of a hot oven!
Spread free compost and $1.25/lb cover crop seeds. A really cheap way to enrich the soil for next year’s veggies. Planted arugula seeds.
Listed a free-to-us microwave on fb marketplace. Listed a bunch of bits from our daughter on Buy Nothing. Sold 3 books (from same bundle from our daughter) on Vinted within hours of listing them.
Now I’m taking the rest of the day off. My sore foot is telling me it’s time.
1. First, the frugal fail. DH and I drove 1 1/2 hours north to New Hampshire to attend a wedding. As we were unloading the car at the hotel, DH discovered he had forgotten to pack our wedding clothes. They were still laying out on the bed at home and we had two hours until the wedding. I thought he was playing a prank on me until I realized it actually happened. Panic set in. We contemplated wearing the dungarees we drove up in when the clerk at the hotel suggested we drive to a nearby mall for new outfits. This we did, spent $76 on new clothes and made it to the wedding on time.
2. The bride’s mother had a breakfast at her home about ten minutes away from the hotel. Delicious food and it was nice to see a lot of the same folks we danced and partied with last night. This is the second wedding I’ve been to where there has been a hosted breakfast the morning after the wedding. Is this a new thing? I don’t go to many weddings so I’m curious. I remember back when my friends and family were getting married in to 70s and 80s, the parents of the bride threw a second party at their home immediately AFTER the actual wedding celebration was over at the venue or restaurant. Talk about an 8 hour or longer party. What a lot of work.
3. We’re away for the rest of the week for a much needed saved up for vacation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We packed all our own water, soft drinks, wine and snacks. We’re drinking the hotel’s free coffee and tea. We had some of those packed snacks and drinks for lunch. Restaurant tonight for supper. Hiking and the free ski museum tomorrow.
Raining a good amount today. A sweet boyfriend of youngest daughter made a fire in the woodstove. Heated mulled cider on the stove smelling up the house.
Made a small batch of humming bird food. We have 4 that stay year round.
Made a batch of brown sugar.
Daughter brought her down comforter home for me to patch as a friend’s puppy chewed a hole in it. I took one of my English Paper pieced grandmother Hexi flowers and a few leaves to cover the area. She was pleased. It kept me very warm as I appliqued the patch. Reminded me that I have to find a hand quilting project to work on.
Second day at my friend’s house. We went to another Goodwill today, where I bought two pairs of joggers. I actually bought three, but one pair was too big. (They don’t have dressing rooms). I’ll have to return that pair tomorrow. My friend reminded me that even with keeping the tags on and bringing in the receipt, they will only give me store credit. That doesn’t seem fair, when they don’t let you try them on.
I also bought a mouse, new in package, for my laptop, because my current mouse is old and may give out soon.
We also went to Kroger’s, where I bought some food for myself while I’m here. Our dietary habits are very different. I spent $18 out of pocket after using a $20 gift card. Indiana gas may be cheaper, but their food prices are as bad as ours.
We went to see Sense and Sensibility, getting senior admission for a matinee — still, it was $8.50. But a movie outing is a pretty rare occasion for me. I do like to keep up on new renditions of Jane Austen’s novels.
You have to try & not all deals work. But, you won’t know until you try!
1) Finally went to my workout class. I don’t get charged if I miss, but I do lose a class, which hurts, as they are expensive. I did 50 minutes of a 60 minute class, and took it easy. It felt good to get out again.
2) Re-ran our 2027 budget numbers, and combed through all of our 2026 tracking to make sure everything was properly tracked. It wasn’t. Adjusting that helped me get a more accurate track on our spending for the year, which helps me plan for the year ahead.
3) Did a video call with DS19, which is free. I remember how expensive my phone bills were in college, so it’s not something I take for granted! We chatted major selection, summer plans, housing for next year, and studying.
4) About to prep dinner, which uses up: chicken broth (freezer use it up item) & orzo (pantry use it up item). I did buy a few things to make this recipe, but hopefully it will be worth it. It’s a butternut squash orzo dish with kale from BudgetBytes.
5) Checked my sister’s ticket category for a trip we’re taking on Thursday & let her know not to check a bag (she would need to pay). She’s fine to carry hers on, but was going to check, as she’s with my parents, who will definitely check a bag. This will save her money.
Regarding hosting a meal after the wedding: We had dinners left over from our daughter’s reception at a hotel. They boxed everything up for us and we turned them into dinner the next night for our out-of-town guests. It made for an easy dinner party. There was even leftover cake. Everything was delicious, in fact I think I enjoyed it even more than the first time.