Finicky Frugal Maneuvers

by Katy on December 28, 2011 · 14 comments

My younger son and I spent yesterday afternoon running errands, which were so infused with frugality, I just had to share our day:

  • We stopped at the credit union to deposit a BlogHer check I had received from doing a paid review of the Deepak Choprah Leela video game. I swept a hand under the change counting machine a immediately came up with $1.10 in quarters, dimes and nickels.
  • We ran into Grand Central Bakery, mentioned their Tweets for Treats program and were rewarded with a free loaf of lovely bread. I left a $1.10 tip.
  • Shopped for birthday present socks for my mother-in-law at Sock Dreams, making sure to bring my $5 off Chinook Book coupon. I also had them enter my Supportland card info, which will eventually get me some free stuff.
  • Brought home three bags of day-old bagels from Kettleman’s Bagels, as they are always buy-two-get-one-free.
  • Walked to Fred Meyer to buy cream cheese and a few general food items. (Buying cream cheese from bagel places is always cr-azy expensive!)
  • Received a review copy of Crunchy Chicken’s The Non-Toxic Avenger: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, by Deanna Duke.
  • Used my Christmas bonus “Free Turkey or Ham” gift certificate at Safeway to get a 10-lb spiral-cut ham. We’ll use the ham for sandwiches, and probably freeze a fair amount of it. Also bought two bags of BOGO pistachios. I had a $1 off coupon, which I doubled.
  • Today we leave for a complimentary stay at Great Wolf Lodge, and we’ll bring our own food to keep it as cheap as possible. It’s free because we had an odd incident happen when we were there in August, (I won’t go into it) and Great Wolf gave us a voucher as their way of an apology. The Grand Bear Suite that we’ll be staying in normally costs $500, so needless to say, we’re uber excited!

Have a great and frugal day, we are out of here!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.

Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }

Kristen@TheFrugalGirl December 28, 2011 at 10:04 am

Oh, that sounds delightful. Have a fun time away!

Reply

Dogs or Dollars December 28, 2011 at 10:11 am

I admit I am curious about the ‘odd incident’, but happy they are comping you a stay.

Also, I lurve me some Chinook book coupons. $5 off to shop local! Suhweet!

Reply

Rachel in Portland December 28, 2011 at 10:24 am

With all those bagels, you might try Cash and Carry for their giant tubs of whipped cream cheese. Yummy. Cheaper.

Reply

Katy December 28, 2011 at 11:17 am

I bought two rectangles of cream cheese, which cost $1.25 apiece. Being able to walk to buy them saved me both gas money and pain-in-the-tuchus factor of not driving across town.

However, I should check out Cash and Carry.

Katy

Reply

Rachel in Portland December 30, 2011 at 7:49 pm

It’s just down the street from Kettleman’s, at SE 7th and Stephens. Still, not everyone needs a giant tub of whipped cream cheese.

Reply

Leslie K. December 28, 2011 at 11:03 am

Okay, yeah, I’m curious about the August incident as well…

Reply

Melissa December 28, 2011 at 1:23 pm

All that sounds so normal (and not extreme-cheapskate-y at all) that it’s inspirational. I’m glad the odd incident at that lodge wasn’t odd enough to make you never go there again. I was just looking into that place, but it’s so expensive, and our kids are just little enough to make it worth waiting a few years for. Thanks for all the great ideas!

Reply

Poor to Rich a Day at a Time December 28, 2011 at 3:42 pm

Sounds like a wonderful day and enjoy the complimentary stay! Have a great time!

Reply

ruthie December 28, 2011 at 5:19 pm

Umm… you have left us to imagine the worst! Was it Hot Tub Time Machine -esque?

Reply

Laura's Last Ditch--Adventures in Thrift Land December 28, 2011 at 9:30 pm

I didn’t know Great Wolf Lodge is a chain. We have it here, too. Never been there, but I did get several free passes to a pool that has a really nice water park feel to it, which I gave as Christmas gifts.

Reply

Madeline December 29, 2011 at 9:39 am

Oh Katy–enjoy your wonderful trip! You deserve it! Happy New Year to you and your family.You’re an inspiration!!

Reply

Megg December 29, 2011 at 4:33 pm

Yay! Love those errands!

Reply

Cynthia December 29, 2011 at 6:58 pm

That’s really a fruitful day! As a online shopper, I do understand the feeling of shopping and saving. I tend to collect coupons & deals and make a shopping list before shopping. However, I only get coupons from sites I trust,such as RetailMeNot, CouponSnapshot,etc and I only shop things I do need. Under the tough economy climate, to be a frugal person is very important.

Reply

Jennifer January 1, 2012 at 1:33 pm

I am very curious what happened at Great Wolf. I few years ago I was very excited to take the family. Going in I was perfectly fine. Coming out I had injured my finger. The tip around the nail bed was red, swollen and sore. I figured I must have bumped it. It ended up being a horrible infection that resulted in 3 surgeries and a hospital stay. I am leary of going back to any waterpark after that.

Reply

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: