@ Buy Nothing Project
- My older son had his four wisdom teeth out yesterday, which was quite the experience. Luckily he seems to be doing well so far. How is this frugal? The office staff had given us an estimate of $900-$1000 for the procedure after insurance, and it ended up only costing $190. You know I paid that bill on the spot!
- I picked up two-and-a-half gallons of milk from someone in my buy-nothing group yesterday. I brought her a bouquet of hydrangeas from the garden as a thank you, which she seemed to really appreciate.
- I needed to have very soft food for my son to eat yesterday. I hadn’t prepared anything ahead of time, so I bought small containers of macaroni-and-cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy from the deli. But I also bought the ingredients to make larger quantities from scratch, which made it much cheaper, (and frankly better) than if I’d purchased enough for the whole family.
- My husband was given a $10 Safeway gift card as a thank you for working an overtime shift.
- My friend Lise sewed a cool laptop sleeve for my older son and won’t accept any money for it. She is soon to be the recipient of some homemade jam and future goodies!
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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{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
Glad all went well with the teeth extractions and wow! for the insurance kicking in big-time. When my son broke his jaw last summer and had to have all his meals through a straw, I made up what we called “pizza soup,” which was rigatoni, marinara sauce, some cooked ground sausage and a little mozzarella thinned with water and whizzed up in the blender. It kept my pizza-loving kid pretty happy and was reasonably balanced nutrition.
For the frugal things:
1. Am wearing my favorite thrift store blouse, which I used my mad sewing skills to convert to short-sleeved and shorten so that it now fits perfectly.
2. DH has been going off to job interviews looking very spiffy in the nice wool blazer and silk tie we got at the Salvation Army ($12 total) and the dress shoes we bought on sale and used shopping points to get 20 percent off.
3. Have clipped some coupons to take to a sale at Dollar General tomorrow.
4. Had to have fasting blood work done late yesterday afternoon, and put an apple in my handbag to eat afterward instead of getting a drive-through burger.
5. Am glad we took our older dog to the vet right away when she developed a lump under her ear. It turned out to be an ear infection that would have gotten much worse if we had waited to see if the lump would go away. She’s a tough little rascal and was not showing any other signs of illness.
That “pizza soup” sounds disgusting, but I don’t exactly have the palate of a boy.
When my husband had his jaw broken and was wired shut for 6 weeks, he had to have 3600 calories a day in liquid form. While it sounds like milkshakes and other sweets would do the trick, he actually was sick of that in about two days so we had to become adventurous with our foods. Pizza in the blender was one of his favorites.
My son also liked mac and cheese in the blender, thinned with whole milk and whizzed until it could go through a straw. He got sick of sweet things in just a few days too, and wound up losing 19 pounds in six weeks.
1. Bought some cherry tomatoes from a neighbor’s farm stand, for tonight’s dinner salad.
2. Picked up some more books and a DVD from the library and dropped off several bags of plastic grocery bags that they use for customers’ book stacks if asked. (Also went to a papercraft class they gave last week, with a friend, where I made a card for a sick friend who needed cheering up and was given two Secret Garden postcards to take home for later coloring. They alos had cookies and iced tea. Free evening, refreshments, and time spent with a friend = score!)
3. Shopped at Dollar Tree for care package stuff for our neighbor’s daughter who is a midshipman at the Naval Academy. Got almost everything she wanted, plus two items at CVS; whole package contents came to $10. Then bought myself a Coke and a bag of energy blend snacks for $2, instead of going through the drive-through at Burger King.
4. Went to a women’s wellness event last night with a friend – it was free and we were gifted scented candles (which I will use as a stocking stuffer for my daughters) and had some lovely refreshments as well as Biggby coffee (I got to try Vermont Maple for free – yum!) and had my BP checked for free. There’s another event come up which will offer a lot of other free tests, and I’ve already signed up.
5. Was gifted two lemons at work yesterday, which pleased my husband, since he’s been wanting some for his iced tea but didn’t want to buy some, since they’re pricey right now.
Wow, you are a frugal dynamo!
Hope your son continues to do well. I was supposed to have knee replacement surgery on Monday, but it has been postponed so my Dr. Can run some more tests. I can only take Tylenol and it doesn’t help the pain much. So can’t walk much. Staying out of the stores saves money!
1. Took frozen veggies out of the freezer and added some ground beef, canned tomatoes, spices and we had vegetable soup. I always save small amounts of leftover veggies for this.
2. Turned down an invitation from friends to go out to dinner with friends then go to a play. The play ticket is $16, plus dinner. My husband and I are going out tonight using an Applebees gift card. Then I will meet one of my friends for lunch on Monday.
3. Gathering up books to read while recovering from surgery. Have borrowed from friends, the library, and only spent a small amount at thrift shops.
4. Walgreeens had school supplies on sale, many for only .20, so I bought pencils, notebooks, stickers for the grandkids Christmas packages.
5. Went to the cheap theater to see a movie. Ticket price was $1, filling our reusable popcorn was $4, and the coke was $4.50. So an outing to the movies for less than $10. I do not get manicures, pedicures, or buy lots of clothes, but I do love movies!
1) I live across an alley from a mortuary, and they regularly get rid of wooden easels from flower wreaths. I pick them up and am collecting them for garden stakes for this spring. They’re really nice wood, so they work well, and I’m saving them from the landfill.
2) I’m making meat stock from the bones of cheap Costco rotisserie chickens and veggie scraps.
3) I often get small containers of lotion from co-workers and family for Christmas and other holidays. I usually don’t like the scent enough to use them as actual lotion, so I put them in the shower and use them instead of shaving cream. Saves money and uses something I wouldn’t otherwise use. I just used up yet another bottle.
4) Dinners this week have been all about using up bits and pieces of things in the refrigerator. Planning another leftover makeover dinner tonight.
5) I needed a few Serano peppers for a batch of salsa. I had a choice to either buy a handful of loose peppers or buy a huge bag for just a few cents more. I chose the huge back and strung up the leftovers in my laundry room to dry over the next few weeks. Once dry, I’ll make a batch of green chili powder.
Ella, your #1 made me smile: Definitely offbeat, plus it reminded DH fondly of the long-distant days when he taught English to the students of a “school of embalming and mortuary science” here in our Upstate NY city. (DH has definitely done some weird things in his day.) What other kinds of stuff does the mortuary put in the alley?? Inquiring minds want to know.
That’s too funny. My father taught English at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science back in the day.
Hey, even undertakers have to know how to write!
Well, I only see the things they leave next to their giant trash bins, so who knows what goes into those! 🙂 They do tend to toss office furniture with startling regularity. And they’re not just upgrading; what they throw out is usually trashed. No idea what goes on in their office. They do occasionally leave boxes that flowers came in, usually full of that foam packing material. It’s super clean, so it’s useful to me since I ship a lot of things for my etsy shop. They also once tossed a giant bouquet of flowers out there that were still fresh (I guess the family didn’t want to take them home or to the cemetery) so I definitely brought those inside to enjoy! 🙂
Glad your son is doing well. N
Bonus that the cost was much less than expected!
Tell me how you freeze ( and defrost) milk. Do you pour a little out to give it headroom? Do you defrost it in the fridge or on the counter?
I do pour out a bit to make room for expansion. However, this milk doesn’t expire until October 1st, so I simply stuck it in the back of the fridge. I have defrosted milk in the fridge, although it takes a few days that way.
Kim, I work at a food bank and we freeze milk all the time when we have an oversupply. We never pour any off for obvious reasons. I don’t think you will have a problem. Although others might want to weight in.
“weigh” in. Blast!
I freeze mine in their plastic containers and I never pour any out. I never have any problems. I leave mine to defrost on the counter in a bowl to catch the water. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll put water in the bowl too, because a gallon of milk takes longer than a day to completely defrost!
I freeze milk all the time. Here in Canada it mostly comes in bags so can’t pour out a little. With bags you have to be extra careful that the plastic doesn’t get punctured because when it defrosts it can make a big mess. I always defrost my milk in a container of cold water. I take it out of freezer put it in water and it is completely defrosted in a few hours. Do not pour out milk before completely defrosted or you will have very watery milk. If you are using the plastic containers you should try to pour a little out before freezing because the combination of cold and expansion can cause the plastic to crack. Lastly my mom defrosts her milk in the microwave with some success when she is in a hurry.
patiently waited until a book I’ve wanted for years (Gwyneth Paltrow’s FIRST cookbook, the second one sucked) came to Paperbackswap and nabbed a free copy.
bought my 5 year old’s entire winter wardrobe in two lots on eBay. Got a ton of super nice, new looking clothing for around $2 apiece.
made a huge dent in my food waste (a work in progress!)
1. Yesterday’s grocery shopping : saved 33% with sales and coupons.
2. Last week’s grocery shopping: forgot to figure it out and receipt was still in my purse: saved 33% exactly. Two weeks in a row is not bad. (Usually 25 % -35% as a general rule, depending on what I need to buy.)
3. Had more tomatoes than I could eat so stewed up the excess–made a Cool Whip 8 oz container full, which I froze to add to something later.
4. Tonight’s dinner will be a roasted chicken (99 cent a lb this week) with low sodium yellow rice (coupon) and probably frozen green beans ($1 for 16 oz on sale–will take 2 nights to eat that many.) Hoping to find time to make a dessert tonight also.
5. Husband answered a call from DishTV offering us HBO for $10 a month. They ended up taking $20 a month off our current bill, or so they claim. Said we were paying $10 a month for Dish Movies. Have never used it or been aware we were paying it. Also took off the HD charge (another $10 a month) because we were early getting HD and I’m not sure–do they not charge extra any more? ANYHOW, will see when the next bill comes if it goes down–and all because I told him to say “don’t want HBO but we sure could use a discount on what we’re paying already.” Maybe a ploy to get us to remain customers since so many are leaving. Who knows? $20 bucks is $20 bucks.
I am glad your son is recovering well and that the cost was manageable. I am rebuilding my wardrobe and have been delighted this week to find the following things that were on my list either at a consignment store or on sale at discount stores – 2 scarves, fall jacket with hood, cardigan, dressy top, bracelet. Now to get 1 or 2 pairs of super comfy shoes and I’ll be set until winter.
1. Found Fage greek yogurts marked down to $2 for four at Kroger, so I loaded up.
2. A woman on my local FB board posts really nice Coach purses. They are always in excellent condition, so I keep an eye out for her posts. I do a bit of spot cleaning and sell them on ebay. Bought a tote from her this morning for $40. Retail is supposedly $298, so I feel certain there is profit there.
3. Bought a very large box of craft wreaths at a garage sale a couple years ago with good crafty intentions. Sold the box this week. I admit defeat. Though I did make about $25, so it wasn’t a fail.
1. I visited the Grocery Outlet that just opened and was not too impressed but did pick up a few canned things. Most of the prices were comparable to regular sale prices at standard grocery stores or can be found cheaper at Aldi. I doubt I will make a trip to go there again but will stop if I am going by.
2. This week I coordinated the food for the homeless families we host at our church on a regular basis. I am trying to keep food waste at a minimum so I have already made a delivery to another shelter with our leftovers. Sometimes I freeze items to use in casseroles or soups the next go ’round but one night we had a lot of extra fried chicken, green beans, and two large pans of rolls so I passed them along.
3. I do not cook the week I have to work with them as it is too late when I get home. Some of our garden is coming back in so I made sure to process the food each morning and get it in our freezer so it won’t go bad.
4. Reading a knitting book from the library and the author mentioned a web site that has a lot of free patterns. Found some that will make great Christmas gifts.
5. I am trying to use up my fabric and yarn before I buy any more. This could take years. LOL
The Grocery Outlets are all individually owned, so I’m guessing there’s a fair amount of difference between the stores.
Check out http://www.ravelry.com for free patterns (they have paid ones as well). But be careful you might spend a lot of time there!!
1. I made soup with the remains of a rotisserie carcass. There was enough for three meals. I included Roma tomatoes I had been gifted earlier in the week.
2. I stopped at the grocery on the last day of their weekly sale. I only bought sale items, that I mostly had coupons for.
3. I shared newspaper coupon inserts with a fellow volunteer. He is living on a fixed income (Social Security and a tiny bit of work). He was able to cut cat food and other coupons. There rest will be passed on the someone I “met” on freecycle a few years ago.
4. A friend that is downsizing brought some items to a group gathering yesterday. I took the unclaimed items home and listed them on freecycle. They are now history.
5. I had a head of cauliflower languishing in the refrigerator. I cooked, mashed, and seasoned it. Some people swear you can use it like mashed potatoes, I’m going to give it a try.
Katy, that’s great news about your dental coverage being so much more than estimated. I love it when that happens.
1. I used up various things which we had in our refrigerator (a piece of green pepper, a piece of onion and some shredded cheese) by making an omelette for dinner last night. It was yummy and I felt virtuous for using leftovers.
2. Volunteered to take on some additional projects at work in order to get more hours than my normal 20 hours per week. So far, no response from above.
3. Continued some of my routine frugal activities — driving my nearly 14-year old car; walking several miles daily with a neighborhood group; relying on the library for books, magazines and videos.
That was a nice final price for the dental work! I like surprises like that. We have been going to the same dentist for almost 30 years, and they kindly accept monthly payments, without interest, for those big bills for crowns, root canals. We do have dental insurance, but it doesn’t cover much of the bill.
My recent frugal accomplishments:
1. Cancelled the collision on my husband’s vehicle. We cancelled the collision on mine earlier this year.
2. Bought our flight tickets for Christmas going through the ebates site. It was pricey, even reserving this early, and ebates offers 7% back.
3. at Aldi I pointed out that I had been charged for two packages of green peppers last week when I only bought one, and they gave me a refund.
4. Instead of having a photo book made, I ordered photos from Snapfish, with a promotional discount code, to make a little memory book of our visit with our grandson as a gift to him.
5. I’ve scooped up a few returnable bottles that people toss into the trash at work, and turned them in for deposit.
Right now nothing comes to mind except eating less this week, so not as expensive I guess…. and better for me.
Not frugal : got a 43$ parking ticket while shopping at Goodwill… darn!
Re: Isabelle’s parking ticket: I feel your pain. I once got an $80 speeding ticket for doing 47 in a 30 mph zone on my way to catch a sale at one of our local Salvation Army stores. Definitely not frugal.
I meant to ask this when you mentioned the milk in your other post. Why was someone giving away that much milk?
I didn’t ask.
My friend uses a milk delivery service. Occasionally She give me her extra milk. They order X gallons each delivery but sometimes they just aren’t using it as fast as predicted so they end up with a surplus. Something like that may be the case for the buy nothing person too.
Maybe someone discovered he is lactose intolerant…
When my husband figured out he was intolerant to wheat, and after we read Wheat Belly, we gave soooooo much breads and pasta!!
We freeze milk and do not pour any out. It remains sealed and we have never had one burst.
Oh, boy, Wisdom teeth. Yes, I remember those. Ugh. I hope he feels better soon! And yay for unexpected insurance bonanza.
1. Dropped off a library book on time. I’m bad about library overdue fines. I’m trying to reform.
2. My oldest DD used up some plums to make a dessert. She’s also using up some pears for a cobbler tomorrow.
3. Sold something on eBay.
4. Convinced (at least I think I did) DH we didn’t need to upgrade our Chromecast when the current one works just fine. I don’t care if it beeps, whistles, glows in the dark, does the dishes and washes the dog. We don’t need it.
5. Discovered one of cars needs new back tires after driving in the rain. Not immediately but soon. Usually we get hit with these types of things at the last minute with no time to shop around or save money.
1) I had been collecting free cardboard boxes from Save A Lot and saving our boxes from packages that we received, as well as empty cereal boxes. Yesterday and today I used them as weed barrier around my vegetable garden, and covered them with mulch.
2) One of my potted vincas had reseeded itself on the ground around the pot. Since it was one of the areas I was mulching, I carefully picked all the little seedlings and transplanted them into garden planters that I had bought at the Dollar Tree several years ago.
3) My husband worked from home for the 2nd time this week. Since he usually commutes 1 hour each way on toll roads, it saves us about $20 per day worked from home.
4) I wasn’t planning on driving anywhere today but ended up going to Save A Lot to stock up on meat: $0.97/lb chicken breasts (with bones, awesome to make stock, I bought a little over 17 lbs), $1.69/lb boneless pork loin (I bought almost 10 lbs), and also a few more items. Since I was going out, I also stopped by Publix to get the SavingStar freebie of the weekend before they were all claimed, and another jar of Lindsay Naturals olives for free after coupon. Lastly, I went to the local Racetrac gas station and gassed up my husband truck, obtained a new receipt with a survey that will give me a free roller grill item, and redeemed a past survey reward code for a free hot dog that will be my son’s lunch tomorrow.
5) My local Burger King’s manager comped me a whole extra large meal to apologize for their receipt not printing a survey code that I needed to fill out a customer satisfaction survey that would have given me a free sandwich with the purchase of a drink and fries. That was very good customer service and very much appreciated!
I read that gallon milk jugs are designed to be frozen. The inward depressions on the sides pop out once frozen and the hug doesn’t burst.
1. Made food for potluck from items completely on hand including a giant zucchini and tomatoes that I bpught from tje “scratch and dent” section of the farm stand
2. Went th the children consignment sale. Many thingx were way overpricec imo,but I only bought $2 long sleeved shirts amd pjs for my oldest,
3. Got a great deal on drum sticks. $1.50 a pair. (the kind you play with…i teach kids to play percussion)
4. borrowed infant toys from the library
5. Found a muxh more inexpensive source for essential oils. So far the smell and quality seem to be as good or better for some than the popular MLM essential oil brands.
Ah, thanks for the milk freezing tips!
I never find it in sale in PA, but do like to freeze to prevent waste if we’ll be away for a few days.
1. I came to possess some free packets of instant organic oatmeal. I used the apple-cinnamon flavor to make oatmeal cookies and a plain packet to stretch half a pound of organic ground beef ( bought near “expiration” for $2.99/lb) to make into sliders for dinner.
2. I cleaned the second teak chaise lounge from my wonderful outdoor teak furniture score from two weeks ago. ( I did NOT, as a friend suggested, pay to have it done.)
3. I saved a hole-y pare of black socks to cut up for tomato ties next season.
4. I used two large containers of veggie leavings and some chicken bones to make stock.
5. Today and tomorrow I will make the coming week’s (frugal) dinners.
Great saving at the dentist. Best of healing to your son
Five Frugal Things:
1) picked up last weeks and this weeks freebies at the store along with ground beef @$1.50 off and $1 bag of French fries
2) came home for a quick dinner of corn dogs (bought at Costco, bigger and cheaper than the market) and the above mentioned fries. $.75 for corn dog & fries.
3) Last nights dinner was Leapin’ Lentils soup from a gifted mix, free tomatoes I froze then thawed (instead of using canned), and a ham steak. 12 servings for $2.99!
4) I combined errands each morning with my drive to work last week to save fuel
5) I discovered a $30 check in my wallet today… And cashed it. Now, how to spend it frugally…?
Good to hear your kid survived the dreaded wisdom teeth removal.
My five:
1. Having an awesome week thrifting. Got a pair of sweat pants with the tags still on for $1.00. Found some nice dress pants for work, an almost new pair of jeans in the brand and style I love, an excellent tee to go with said jeans, a cute stylish blouse, women’s swim trunks, also with the tags still on, a book I’ve been on the hunt for (Girl on a Train, too long a wait at the library) everything for around $24.00 including tax 🙂
2. Hung all my laundry this week
3. This required a purchase but I think it will be thrifty in the long run, I bought one of those hand crank Wonder Washers. It just came today so I don’t know how well it works but reviews were good.
4.Canceled my Netflix DVD subscription
5. Packed lunches yesterday and filled a big jug thing with ice water for our day on the lake yesterday.
1. Stuck to my shortened menu plan and grubbed through the freezer and frig to round it out.
2.Stuck to my grocery budget.
3. Scraped the pot of black beans and end of package of cheese into a tortilla and took it for lunch.
4. Shredded a large, free zucchini and froze.
5. Found new crop apples at a fruit stand for .69lb.
1. I made juice today from leftover farmer’s market carrots and apples that had been left behind at my fiances work. Great way to use produce, but it struck me today that juicers are wasteful in more ways than one. You’re getting rid of all the fiber, for one, but two, it takes a lot of rinsing to totally clean the press basket.
2. Will make a pear cake for breakfasts this week, also from fruit left over at my fiances work.
3. Walked to the farmer’s market today instead of taking the bus or driving. Saved money, and free exercise!
4. I have been enjoying little patches of purslane, an edible weed, that I find here and there, and eating them plain or in a salad. Tastes like spinach, but more delicious. Added benefit of live food! I know a lot of you grow your own veggies, so you have a lot of live food, but I live in an apartment and have none. 🙁
5. Enjoying the library…a lot. Just finished The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Yes, I know the book is 15 years old, but I tend to be late at reading books. It was excellent, and I read it in four days.
I wish your son a quick recovery. I was doing volunteer work for a year in an orphanage in Brazil when one of my wisdom teeth became infected. Bad timing and being young and broke and maybe stupid I had no health insurance. I ended up going at a locals recommendation to a dentist who took all my wisdom teeth out for $100. There were no complications and in hindsight I thought it was actually good timing.
Must have been scary at the time though!
1. Helped host a birthday party — it wasn’t all that frugal, because ingredients and a gift had to be bought, but we used real plates and silverware, cloth napkins, and the food was all prepared at home, including the pies I made from scratch. So much cheaper — and better — than the flimsy paper goods and store bought food and cake.
2. The weather looked iffy, so I hung a load of laundry on my drying rack instead of using the dryer.
3. Ate just veggies last night, a good bit of them from our garden. I had enough for leftovers today. We eat meat, but we have no problem with meatless meals on occasion.
4. Breakfast was oatmeal made from bulk organic oatmeal found on sale at 20% off the bulk bin price.
5. We used a set of sheets for so long that the fabric finally disintegrated in the wash. I think we got our money’s worth out of them!