Five Frugal Photos
by Katy on April 23, 2025 · 57 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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{ 57 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!
The crackers are really good! When I need to bring a little sometime to a party. I bring those crackers and make homemade hummus, which is super cheap.
Validation!!
I had the same experience with Poshmark and I am waiting to get a payment from a shirt that finally sold before I close out my account. I also have no patience for Thred Up, which gives such a scant profit that it cost me money to list things there.
Okay, maybe I need to stick with eBay!
I’m here for frugal tips and cracker recommendations!
There are so many Julias in your commentariat.
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.
I’ve never used Mercari either, but think maybe I should stick with eBay.
Or…..find a local upscale consignment shop and see if it sells. I would avoid Clothes Mentor or Style Encore or a “chain” consignment shop that pays upfront – the amount they pay is insulting. Find a nice consignment shop who would recognize the brand.
I like that idea as well.
Ime cashmere sells exceptionally well on eBay. The real seller advantage with Poshmark is the 3-day approval period.
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.
“Every penny saved makes a difference in the long run.” <-- This!
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.
Yeah, I saw that and WTH? NOPE.
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.
Yes, they’re perfectly fine and it’s good to have crackers on hand.
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.)
Ugh, moths! So sorry!
Ditto on the pantry moths. Infestation trauma to this day! Hope you have good luck ridding the house.
That is a beautiful sweater! Hopefully you can find a good home for it.
1) Sold something on eBay, after a very long dry spell. Didn’t make much, but shoes out of the house that no one was using.
2) Gave away all of the leftover letters/numbers that I used for DS18’s two sports senior nights. (You can use the adhesive letters & numbers for posters.) I posted them on BN, with the caveat of DS18’s first name, as those were the letters that were missing. A couple of other moms were able to cobble together enough letters for their graduates. Waste not, want not! It’s always nice to help someone else avoid an expensive purchase.
3) Even though we were late getting home from DS18’s tennis senior night on Monday, we didn’t get takeout. Honestly, it was tempting. Instead, we came home & I poked around in the freezer & found a partial bag of coconut shrimp, and the last few egg rolls. Baked them up & served them with a salad.
4) Continued to interview, prep for interviews, network & do all of the un fun things necessary to (eventually?!) get a job.
5) Ate leftovers for dinner 2x this week. We ran out of rice with our Sunday dinner (we hosted a big group of teens), so DH made a second pan of Persian rice (yum) to go with our leftover beef kebabs.
Sending good luck for your interviews!
1. DH and I went to the movies on Regal’s Discount Tuesday to score cheap tickets for “The Amatuer.” We brought our own cans of flavored water with us. I was going to spend with wild abandon to procure a half price bag of small or medium popcorn. The helpful cashier advised that I had enough points in my Regal account to get a free large popcorn, so of course I took that option.
2. There is a Freddy’s fast food place very close to the movie theatre. I recently joined their loyalty program and got a free ice cream concrete. It was more like a BOGO, since we had to spend $5 to get the freebie, but it was a lower cost treat for me and DH. Since I was still full from the free movie popcorn, I popped my concrete into the freezer and enjoyed it several nights later. DH did not exhibit the same restraint.
3. Our local grocery store offered a $10 off coupon good on your next order if you bought a $50 gift card. It was good for almost any type of gift card, so I bought one related to a future expenditure that we would be making anyway. I also had a coupon for a free bag of meatballs from a regional manufacturer. After combining the $10 off coupon and the free meatball coupon with sale prices. I was able to get a 3 pound pork tenderloin, a bag of fresh green beans and the bag of meatballs for 7 cents.
4. I met up with a friend and did a 2 1/2 mile hike (free) with a friend via our local county parks system. We are lucky to have 2 full-time park naturalists who are amazing, She showed us plants on the wooded trail which I never would have noticed otherwise.
5. I signed up for a few apps which track your daily steps and award gift cards for reaching certain milestones. I have a new goal of walking outside every day, and have already cashed in for a $5 Amazon gift card. Like Hawaii Planner, I am also a fan of Prolific surveys and cashed out some funds from that.
Wow, you are a coupon wizard!
1. En route home, I stopped by my favorite thrift store to look for Harvard t-shirts. (No luck.) Sadly, I found that it was having a going-out-of-business sale. There were a bunch of bins full of leftover/slightly damaged stuff. I got an armful of toilet paper at 50 cents a roll; around town, it’s mostly sold for at least a dollar per roll. (I figure with this tariff thing, I better stock up as some of it is from Canada).
2. Also got a large bottle of baby wash (I use it in the shower) that was damaged; the plastic bottle had been squashed and was bent funny. Took it home, got out an old plastic bottle and a funnel and voila! it’s now in a good bottle, ready to be used. I lucked out: the damaged bottle was 27.5 ounces and my empty bottle was 28 ounces so it all fit in there. Not bad for a dollar! (Online, that amount sells for anywhere from about 3 to 9 dollars.)
3. Other buys: a big dented box of XL floor wipes for a Swiffer for 50 cents; a multipack of the OTC allergy pills I take for $2 and a new, still-in-the-package giant remote control (you can program it for any type of TV) for $4 (it sells for $19.99 on Amazon.) My old remote is on the fritz, but I will use its batteries in the new one.
4. Heated up leftover coffee and took that to work as my morning drink.
5. My breakfast was a “welcome back” cake in the teacher’s lounge for the employee who’s back from maternity leave.
Those are great finds!
Cake for breakfast? I’m in!
Lovely sweater, Katy; at that price, you shouldn’t have any trouble selling it for a tidy profit somewhere or other.
And advice from an experienced tomato grower: Move one of the two tomato starts into its own pot. Tomatoes like their space.
Now, FFT, Mostly Gardening Edition:
(1) I’m planning to convert two shop-vac tubs (found in the back of the woodshed holding kindling) into large planters. As shop-vac tubs, they’ve already got drainage holes, so no need to drill holes. And I’ve got one trashpicked fire-pit screen lid that will fit over one of these (as critter prevention), and will be keeping an eye out for another one. I’ll probably put lettuce in one and carrots in the other.
(2) I’ve planted a mix of seeds for spinach and other early greens in my old Easy Washer copper tub (a find from one of DH’s rental properties long ago, and a “we used to manufacture it here” relic). A fire-pit lid goes over this tub too.
(3) I’ve already moved my “Cut and Come Again” zinnia seedlings out to my little greenhouse, and will be doing the same shortly with my oregano and mini basil seedlings. I no longer start my own tomato seedlings, but have arranged to purchase three from a Master Gardener colleague of Dr. Bestest Neighbor. Two of these will go in pots behind NDN’s 8-foot chain-link fence, and the third (aptly named “Sweetheart of the Patio”) will go in a pot up on my deck. Unless the deer and woodchucks figure out how to get up on the deck, it should be safe there.
(4) I’ve spent some time this week raking off/cutting back perennials (herbs and flowers). I think I can now safely say that the broken rib has completely healed.
(5) And I drove out this afternoon for a long-overdue visit to the friends on whose country property DH’s ashes are buried. We had a lengthy catch-up, exchanged LONG-overdue holiday gifts, and then walked out to where DH is resting next to his good llama friend Tilly. He seems to have settled in nicely, and, once again, my gratitude to these friends for this privilege knows no bounds.
You couldn’t ask for better friends!
My plan is to transplant one of the smaller tomatoes once it grows a bit, but maybe I should just do it now.
I love that your DH and his llama friend are buried next to each other. May they rest in peace.
Did the crackers perform a song and dance number for you?
I like the fancy assorted crackers at Trader Joe’s that come 4 sleeves to a box for $3.99.
My husband called me a few days ago to say that he was stopping by Costco for gas on his way home from work, and did I need anything. Of course, I asked that he get a $4.99 chicken! I can make so many meals from one of those chickens!
My Winco $1.99 tomatoes have been repotted and are getting huge! Sadly, I missed out on the free potting soil. Next year.
I found a serious sewing machine at an estate sale. It has dual feed, an overlock foot, and was manufactured in West Germany. My plan is to start altering and refashioning estate sale and bins clothing that are too big for me. Some of the vintage items have such nice, high quality fabric. Nicer than I can find in a store, and the price is right!
I’ve started reading “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”, which I somehow never read before, and… Oh my, it’s right up my alley with all the details of frugal living!
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of my favorites. Somehow I ended up with an old paperback copy which I’ve returned to twice to reread. I hadn’t thought about the frugality aspect of it though. Maybe another rereading is in my near future.
I’m not very far into the book, but I can relate to scrounging for junk to sell for pennies, and then agonizing about how to spend those pennies!
I love that book too!
Sing, dance and act — these crackers are a triple threat!
I reread “A Tree Brows in Brooklyn” last summer, always a favorite!
I also ‘make over’ clothes, either ones I already own or thrift/free pile pieces. I have lovely linen from a free short that will be cute shorts for my baby granddaughter.
There’s a clothes swap (all free) in 2 weeks and I’m very excited about both the clothes I might find and the clothes-to-be-used-for-their-fabric.
I’m so excited to finally have a good sewing machine! I’m going to (re)make some cute summer skirts.
Here is my melancholy book review. I may be an outlier, but A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was a depressing read for me. I know all literature does not have to be rainbows & butterflies. However, the alcoholic father, the deprived family, and the family’s living conditions was sad to me. I finished the book but felt the theme was one of unrelenting poverty & bad luck. The book’s title gives me the mental image of a poor person looking out the dirty window of a tenement to view a lone scraggly tree in the midst of a large, crowded, dirty city. (I know the family’s future improved at the end of the story, but the gloomy theme (for me) remained. Maybe I have worked around mental health patients too long!
As I get farther into the book, I realize that the reason my family of book-loving people never recommended it to my younger self, is because some of the sad things are too close to home. For example, the charming drunk Irishman father, and the poverty.
Same. Not just frugality, but the false economies of poverty. I never forget how desperately my grandmother’s (second) generation wanted out, and how hard it was to climb despite their intelligence, creativity and initiative – at least until the VA Bill transformed their husbands’ prospects. To our knowledge, my grandmother cried twice in her life: when her daughter died, and when she saw our firewood in an antique copper boiler and reeled from the memory of her mother’s suffering as she labored over rich women’s laundry with scalded arms and bloodshot eyes in the punishing New York heat.
I read it in Jr. High and still have vivid memories of its impact on me. Reread it in my 20’s. Good book, powerful story. Keep a box of tissues or several hankies close by.
Good deal on oatmeal! I feel like the price of oatmeal has sky rocketed!
1. Packed a lunch for my husband who’s working all day in another town.
2. Saved some of my cooking water to water plants.
3. Packaged another ebay item, again using all re-purposed free materials.
4. Made homemade bread and rolls.
5. Soaking beans to cook in the slow cooker.
Voice of experience: Do not use broccoli water to water plants. It will smell cabbagey forever. Carrot or other water is fine. It’s just those cole crops that are sulfuric in odor.
1. I worked today filling in for someone at the deli. Extra $$$.
2. My boss sent me home with a large sandwich and a soda. No cooking for me tonight…DH and I split the sandwich for supper.
3. We’ve hit the sweet spot of the change in seasons: no heat nor air conditioning needed. Just open windows.
4. DH and I walk the neighborhood. I enjoy seeing what other people are planting in their yards and getting new ideas for my own garden. It’s nice to chat with neighbors too after the long New England winter.
5. A couple of my birthday gifts were second hand…a table runner from a friend and two vases which were new from my DS and DIL but were filled with second hand dried flowers. I am so glad that my family and friends know that I am happy with already loved items.
“Already loved items” – I love that phrase!
I picked up a planter on the side of the road. A couple months later an asparagus shoot popped out. Yum. It just puts out an occasional sprout but I also have a patch in my yard. The little things make me happy.
Okay, this is amazing!
A few years ago I had an anise hyssop plant that smelled absolutely amazing. It died back and did not return. I always dump old soil into other containers and top it off with fresh soil. This year a random pot had 2 anise hyssop starts in it! A full 2 years after the original had died and the soil had been transferred probably 10 times!
A good thing about anise hyssop is that although it tends to be fairly short-lived as perennials go, it’s also a rampant self-seeder.
1. Frugal fail/win: I bought Taco Bell – a taco and a drink for each of us. $10. The win? I didn’t buy full meals. We came home and I made dinner out of leftover potatoes, asparagus, pork roast and an orange that we split. (We are kind of fools for TB. Working on it.)
2. I am pulling weeds and feeding them to my new chickens. They are confused by fresh greens every time because they had been raised on pellets only. But they are learning, and my yard is getting cleaned up (dandelion, grass, clover and native lettuce. It’s all very healthy, no pesticides, etc.).
3. I sold something on Poshmark, on Etsy, on ThredUp, and on eBay in the past week. It’s the EGOT of reselling (the PETE?). All packaged and sent in reused materials. (As soon as I get my $$, I am off both TU and PM. They are not great; eBay is the best, Etsy is good for handmade or vintage only.)
4. I finished writing my 20 voter postcards and sent them off, and it made me want to send additional letters. I have one to my daughter, another to a friend, in progress. It’s only the cost of a stamp and my very inexpensive secondhand stationery from Goodwill.
5. I will be volunteering at the upcoming Celtic Festival for two days beforehand (12 hours), so I will get two tickets to see the bands all weekend. The hours also count toward my annual volunteer (25) hours for my DAR group. I love an Irish fiddle and Scottish bagpipes.
What a fun event! Enjoy. If the music and the mood so moves you, please dance a little jig for me. (too much arthritis & not enough balance anymore)
1. Was able to get this month’s Book Club book at the library.
2. Deposited checks from medical reimbursements. I let them accumulate for a little while, as the bank is kind of a hassle. Wouldn’t you know when I got home from depositing them, another one had arrived in that day’s mail. 🙂
3. I cleaned out the garage at the end of last summer. I am still thanking myself for getting it done, as I loving being able to park inside, especially with the spring thunderstorms we’ve been having with possibilities of hail.
4. Reminding myself to drink more water as it starts to heat up here.
5. Our tomato plants are looking a little sickly. Hubs talked to a more experienced gardener, and trying to bring them back.
It’s been a spendy week – some frugal, some not so.
1) I got a screw in my front tire and took it to our local $10 tire patch place – bare bones, fast, meticulous, and honest. The guy said that patching it might not buy me much time due to the location, but I went ahead with it hoping to be able to drive to the tire place, and of course he was right. It turns out our Costco road hazard insurance is absolutely worthless because it requires all four to be replaced if the car is AWD, and my rear tires have almost no wear. I used our $3/mo roadside service for a free tow to a local place and got a better deal *and* a better warranty to replace two. Unfortunately, this follows on nearly $2000 for brakes and oxygen sensors for me and $800 in new tires for DH after a disastrous pothole.
2) Our annual state liquor control board sale is on. We rarely drink alcohol, but do like an occasional cocktail and to have special bottles on hand as gifts. I researched everything that looked good, made a careful list and we’re set for
3) At the Buy Nothing swap, found a pizelle maker, a handwarmer mug and a large framed photo with a $98 price tag. I’m collecting matching black frames for DH’s diplomas for his new office, but the photo is beautiful and I may hang it as is. The pizelle maker is exciting because 1) I love them and 2) GF pizzelles are htf and spendy.
4) Frugal fail, minimal regret: went to a midweek movie with a friend I hadn’t seen in too long (Sinners; vampire movies are our thing). I have a Moviepass membership but couldn’t find the card, and paid full price for both tickets, ouch. But the movie was great, and I feel I got my money’s worth while supporting our local independent chain. The occasional full on movie theater experience for something I really want to see makes the usual wait for free streaming easier.
5) DH had to have an angioplasty. I set him up with a free audiobook from his favorite author to pass the long hours and brought snacks and magazines I’ve been waiting to catch up on (can’t focus on a book when he’s not well).
6) I didn’t give billionaires trillions in noncompetitive bids and tax breaks on the backs of the poor and working class.
Thank you for #6!
I assume your husband did well with the procedure, big virtual hug!
Good to know, thanks!