Five Frugal Photos
by Katy on April 23, 2025 · 7 comments
1) These surprisingly good Dollar Tree crackers are a bargain at just $1.25. Fred Meyer’s version sells for $4.29! Plus they answer the age old question of “So, what do you do for entertainment?”
2) Two free “Buy Nothing” tomato starts that’ll hopefully provide us with enough tomatoes for the summer months. Planted in a curb picked planter, which is filled with free potting soil!
3) Costco’s classic $4.99 rotisserie chicken, which today came with free samples of Dole whip, fancy fudgsicle, cheese, some kind of spread on a crostini and dessert ball thingies. Plus the use of a clean bathroom.
4) This Goodwill $9.99 MaxMara cashmere sweater that would normally sell for around $800. Sadly it doesn’t fit, but I may use this as an opportunity to try selling on Poshmark.
5) Winco bulk oatmeal at 70¢/pound, even though I remember when it was 33¢/pound. Still an incredible bargain!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the recommendation on the crackers. I love a few fancy crackers with homemade soup.
I used to shop on Poshmark until it tried a while back to pass a service fee to buyers on top of shipping. That got rolled back but then a barrage of scam emails started up that purported to be from Poshmark. I deleted my account. Ain’t got the patience for all that.
I will be looking for those crackers, too!
Thank you for the cracker recommendation… I love to serve crackers with homemade cowboy caviar and whipped cream cheese to guests and even the regional-store-brand version here is several dollars.
I used to sell clothes on Mercari. It became a costly enterprise. I think about reselling books on eBay… but I don’t know if I will have the time forever and ever to try it out.
1. Local Mennonite Market recently held a “flash sale” on chicken parts (boneless/skinless breasts; boneless/skinless thighs; leg quarters and wings). All cases are 40 lb, regardless of cut. We didn’t order this time as we still have chicken left from the last time we ordered; however, we always get the breasts when we buy. This recent sale, the price for boneless/skinless chicken breasts was $3.05/lb ($122.00/40 lb case). The breasts are HUGE (ladies, think FF cup)! When we cook one, we butterfly 1 breasts and it feeds both of us – and there is usually a little left over for the next day for 1 of us. Last time we got, we bought 80 lb and ended up with 60 lb as my brother-in-law took 10 lb and a friend of ours took the other 10 lb. I canned 20 lb and froze 40 lb. It was my first time canning meat, so I didn’t want to go crazy until we found out if we liked it canned. Still a great deal!
2. We have a friend (and his son) who LOVE to go hunting. Turkey and deer. Occasionally they will give us a wild turkey breast and leg/thigh pieces. We still have a couple of breasts in the freezer. Had one recently and used it to make turkey noodle soup. When deer season comes – we really score! Both our friend and his son by every tag issued in the state (archery, muzzleloader, buck, doe, you name it). They also do the same in a couple of neighboring states. Once they get what they want for their family of 3, they share the remaining meat with friends who are struggling financially (we’re on that friend list). This past hunting season, we got 2 deer from them. They take it for the processing and only ask that we reimburse the cost of the processing. That’s only fair…they’re doing all the work, paying $$$ for the tags, etc. We always ask that ours be processed into burger and tenderloin as those are the most versatile for us and you don’t have to deal with bones like in steaks, chops, or roasts. The processing per deer this past season was $65. We ended up with about 154 lb of meat. Calculated out, that makes the meat a cost (to us) of about $1.18/lb. You can’t get any meat, let alone good, organic meat, for $1.18/lb! Great to have such wonderful friends.
3. I grew up in a poor family and we used bar soap for both bathing and washing hair. While my husband still uses shampoo and body wash (it’s his money; I won’t pay for it), I use good old bar soap. I’ve never used conditioner on my hair anyway. Works just as well, is much cheaper, and lasts longer than those expensive shampoo and body wash products.
4. Speaking of hair…my husband and I both sport “buzz cuts”. We have a pair of hair clippers. He cuts mine, I cut his. Salon /Barber money saved!
5. Money saving apps: I use the following apps: Trunow (gas only); Upside (gas and restaurants); Ibotta, Fetch, Frisbee, Coinout; Receipt Pal, Receipt Hog and Receipt Jar. I just let the money keep accumulating until I need it for something (some apps I can get cash, others I get an Amazon gift card). Sometimes you only get a few cents, other times, you get a fairly decent return. Every penny saved makes a difference in the long run.
I sold on Poshmark once. Never again. The site advised me to wrap my sale like a present with a ribbon and enclose a personal thank you note. No. Not just no but eff no.
Then after the recipient is happy and indicates so do you get paid.
I can’t always find the Monet crackers at Dollar Tree, but when they are available I usually buy a couple of boxes. They are delicious and nice to have on hand for when I entertain.
1. Made a pot of crockpot chili of an amalgamation of leftover ingredients. Ground turkey, leftover homemade salsa, 1/2 of an onion rescued from the veg drawer, 1 can of vegetarian chili w/ beans, wilted celery, etc. Not really chili weather but we Texans will eat it anyway.
2. Found a can of generic Lysol spray w/o the plastic tip that allows it to spray. I found one that fits at home from an almost empty spray can.
3. Was out of the quick dry nail polish oil. Filled my bottle w/ some body oil. (I’ve also used baby oil.) Works fine for my at home pedis & mani.
4. Went to pick up a used storm door w/ husband’s help. It needs a new handle but these can be bought at Home Depot cheaply. The door is beige which will match the brick on the new home.
5. Pantry moths got into the box of grits. Instead I cooked some rice w/ raisins to eat for breakfast. I topped it with some milk. A “Make Do” hot breakfast cereal. (After I made the rice I found the packets of the oatmeal I misplaced. Will eat these on another day.)