- I took the kale from an Edible Arrangement that my mother received as a birthday gift and mixed up a small batch of kale pesto. This leafy green normally just serves to cover up the floral foam, so I felt good actually turning it back into usable food. Plus I saved all the stuff needed to make my own arrangement in the future. (Maybe a goofy April Fool’s one.)
- I brought home this
Flarben BlöopValby Ruta Ikea rug that someone had put out in front of their house. I’ll shampoo it and then list it on Craigslist. Gotta keep that college fund nice and plump! - My friend gave me her Chinook coupon book which was about to expire. I used one $3-off-$25 Grocery Outlet coupon, gave another to a woman in line with me, and have plans tomorrow to meet a friend for coffee using a coupon for a free latté. Very excited about this!
- We had too many open packets of deli meat in the fridge, so I baked up two loaves of The Frugal Girl’s French bread and made tonight’s dinner a “sandwich buffet.” We avoided food waste and enjoyed a delicious meal. It didn’t hurt that I already had a small wheel of Grocery Outlet brie to add to the mix! I have such fond memories of the ham and brie French bread sandwiches I used to buy in London.
- I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
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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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome save on the kale! I’ll bet 99.9% of the kale in those arrangements gets wasted. The other .1% gets turned into pesto by Katy!
Picked assorted greens from my Earthboxes/containers for lunch and dinner.
It included swiss chard, napa cabbage, red cabbage, tat soi, beet greens, mizuna, collards and kale.
Laid the last flattened cardboard box topped with mown grass, from the community owned greenway beyond our property line, making our back property line a mulched ready to garden in late winter garden. Right now we have 7 citrus trees, 2 moringas and a sea grape growing there.
Harvested 2 Persian limes to use in our water – harvest 2 every day
Collected 2 cups worm juice to use as fertilizer for our veggie containers – husband has a worm farm just for that purpose
Rained for one of the last times until next summer – besides almost filling our 5 rain barrels I set out 5 5-gallon buckets to collect more rain water from dripping areas of our lanai
Gave another customer a coupon for a haircut and was told by the manager NOT to do that as it cut into their profits – when my cut was finished I told him I’d not return, would report it to the company as it’s a franchise and if the company didn’t want the coupons to be used they shouldn’t print them – it was in a newspaper insert, not sent specifically to me.
I had the same thing happening to me. Received multiple free access passes for a woman show, so I was giving a couple of them close to the entrance and the woman at the front desk flipped out on me. Whatever! Hey, if you don’t want them used, then don’t send them out!!
Oh my goodness! What a nerve that manager had! I would probably make it a point to gather all of the coupons possible and hand them out on the street. 😉 I agree with you—-don’t print them if you don’t want them circulated. Our Dollar General Store provides a $5 off $25 purchase at the end of register receipts when you buy throughout the week. I always share with other shoppers if I don’t need all that I have. –Not that I always have them…– I’ve found that the check out clerks actually accept/save back any that people don’t want or offer to them and then offer to customers buying at least $25 of merchandise. Idk what management thinks of it, but it sure helps those of us on a tight budget! I usually buy a $10 package of TP and a $5 pkg of paper towels or other item…..so the $5 is free. This really helps and I’m so glad the clerks are cool with it!
I have never heard of Kale used in arrangements before! Over here in the UK we use moss – which ridiculously we buy, even though it grows on every log and dry stone wall in the wetter regions. I have lots of arrangements planned for Christmas, will give the Kale a try!
1. I had a batch of coupons for my favorite department store, so I drove there planning to buy some warm clothes for this winter. As usual, the store puts the coupons so they cannot be used for incredible values or door busters. So I wound up spending nothing there. I’d buy a new coat for 50% off, but I will not pay full price. My old coat will do with new buttons (from a thrifted coat) and I will knit a new scarf (from wool I salvaged from an old sweater).
2. I am so sick of cable TV, so I yanked all but the basic. Savings over $100 a month!
3. As a retired teacher, I can go to high school events for free and take a friend. I have seen some good plays, heard some good music, and enjoyed sporting events.
4. I went through my make up, decided I didn’t use much of it any more, and discarded everything that was out of date. I think we older ladies look better with less.
5. Ditto with my clothing. I had read that when you organize your closet, put the hangars in the wrong way. When you wear something, put it back in the right way. I found at least 50% of my clothes I hadn’t worn in months. Instead of giving or selling them, I decided to pack them away. I can go shopping in my own extra closet when I need something new.
1. I worked the concession stand last night for the high school’s last home football game. As a result, I scored free dinner and also salvaged 5 huge, sturdy, disposable aluminum pans that I scoured and put away to use at some point in the future. Can’t believe what people are willing to throw away.
2. Served breakfast for dinner (eggs and pancakes).
3. Wore my thrifted clothing to my second job, which I’m working to cover college tuition for my kiddos.
4. Drove my old granny boat to said job, which was one of those driven-once-weekly-by-a-senior-citizen perfect used cars that Dave Ramsey is always saying to buy. I did it, Dave.
5. Received and shared hand-me-down magazines from a neighbor … why buy new when there are so many circulating out there?! Love it.
I LOVE all of your thrifty ventures! I, too, scored some great second hand magazines from a “local/sustainable” store. Expensive magazines for $1/copy and I get TONS of info from them!
**Stopped at Goodwill to find an old football jersey for my son’s halloween costume. Came out with 2 jerseys (Tim Tebow/Broncos & Ben Rothlesberger/Pittsburg), a Underarmor brand underarmor (for under his baseball jersey) and a Nike dri-weave short sleeve shirt all for $9.00. He’ll use one of the jerseys for his costume and keep the other to wear or play in.
**Have brought my lunch and snacks to work all week
**Avoided take out last night by reheating the leftover fried chicken my son brought home from work the other night, made some mashed potatoes & gravy and some broccoli to go with it. That freed up some room in my very cramped fridge and only took me about 1/2 hour to fix. We have church on Wed. nights so there isn’t a whole lot of time to cook in between getting home from work and when I have to be at church.
**Walked to & from church last night (2.5 miles total) – saved gas and got in some good exercise.
**Not planning on grocery shopping for the next week. Planning all my meals on what I have in my super crowded freezers and pantry. There are some good sales but I don’t have any room to store anything else until some of this stuff gets used up. And honestly, other than maybe a couple of pieces of meat, I may not have to shop again the following week. Except for maybe bread & milk.
**Spent $4.23 on my son’s halloween costume. He’s going to be a “Zombie Football Player” I bought the jersey for about $2.25, he’ll use his own shoulder pads, helmet and football pants and I spent $1.98 on zombie makeup. He’ll be a super adorable zombie, lol and I’m out of pocket less than $5.00!
Just found this blog, and already love it! Who doesn’t need encouragement to keep up their frugal ways?
This past week we had a serious kitty illness strike our house, with major vet bills. Ouch. So economizing is especially important.
1. I had already decided to knit scarves for several friends’ Christmas gifts, but was planning to buy yarn. Kitty quarantine required cat-proofing my studio in preparation for some residents, and high on the list was removing every speck of fabric, yarn, or fiber from their reach. In the process, I found the perfect yarn (well, near-perfect) for each of my friends. It’s all good yarn, too, not cheap acrylic, purchased from sale or clearance bins at local yarn stores. I don’t even have to buy needles, since I have the right sizes! Yay!
2. I picked out a beautiful book about Tokyo for my best friend’s daughter for Christmas. (She’s nuts about Japan!) Fortunately, I found a coupon, and I’m using a gift card I received. AND I remembered to buy it before my coupon expired!
3. Unfortunately, we have to get rid of our sofa due to cumulative kitty damage. We’ve had it for years, and it came from Salvation Army originally. So we’re shopping for a “new” one from Salvation Army, too. Way cheaper, and it gives new life to something that might have been tossed otherwise. (Wish ours had enough life left to pass along, but if it did, we’d be keeping it, because it was a very nice sofa!)
4. We went to the coffee shop this morning, but it was actually rather cheap, since my husband used his “free coffee drink for your birthday” coupon for my fancy drink. We only had to pay for a regular cup of coffee (which he prefers anyway).
5. This was also flea treatment week. We use a topical flea treatment for our cats. Buying the individual kitty doses is expensive, so we buy the “extra large dog” version, then squeeze them into a glass vial and use a syringe to measure out and dispense the correct dose for each cat. My brother-in-law is a vet, and told us about it; it’s how many vets and vet techs treat their own animals. Talk to your vet to make sure you buy the right stuff – some types of dog flea treatments can be fatal to cats! I can’t stress this enough!
6. I didn’t buy a Lear jet, either.
* Saved 9$ by parking in the street, a 3 minutes walk from the hospital, instead of on the lot (medical appointment)
* Date night with my mom yesterday. Rôtisserie chicken take out with a coupon and free movie (free passes) = 7$. I did buy a popcorn though…
* My only pair of jeans ripped. Instead of going out to buy a new (used) pair, I’ve dugged out my one-size-too-small pair and motivating myself to lose the weight
* Halloween is just around the corner. Decorated the house with stuff we already had, and the kids are reusing old costumes. Not spending a cent on Halloween this year.
* My daughter got invited to join a friend and her mom to a play. The ticket is 22.50$. We decided to buy it for her, but will give it to her as part of her birthday gifts. I prefer to offer experiences than toys, so this works out great. The rest of the gifts will be cheap : a roll-on suitcase I got for free, hair extensions (3$) and 2 notes books at 0.75$ each. She’s turning 6, that’s more than enough.
Have a great frugal day
Kale is a great vegetable, I planted some back in May and I’m still picking it from my garden. I had a woodchuck get into my fenced area and chew it off 🙁 But the after I picked off the chewed leaves, it recovered and I am getting new growth even after a hard freeze last weekend. It is very cold hardy and just keeps growing. I had parsley last winter until Jauary when the snow covered it and killed it. There are a number of vegetables that are cold hardy and they continue to save me money providing food for my family. Well worth planting and harvesting. I have two small raised beds and they are good producers for the space they take up.
1.Found a ham bone in the back of the freezer. Made northern bean soup, enough for 3 days, the onions, and garlic were from the garden, and already had the beans.
2. Nuts are crazy expensive all of a sudden. $16 lb for pecans, and even walnuts are $7lb. Have a relative that has family that has a hazelnut orchard. Mentioned how much I love hazelnuts, and they gave a 5lb bag of already shelled nuts. Now all I have to do is roast them, and freeze.! Yay.
3.Still slow cooking pumpkins to freeze. Noticed canned pumpkin at the store is over $2 for a can.
4. Going through clothes that don’t fit, or wore out terribly. Time to purge before the holidays
5.only 4!
Yum, I love split pea soup with ham!
I do too. Husband not so much!
Saving water by placing containers around garden and inside! Interested if this will show on next water bill!
Making savings on careful use of electricity!
Thinking before I buy any article of clothing……will it get at least two seasons of wear from me…..and is it good quality!
Using Library and alert to tendency to buy too many ebooks on iPad because convenient! Have just received 2 preordered ones!
Like another poster intend to thrift in own wardrobe and weed out own things for charity shop.
Have planted more potato peelings in container and have more containers waiting for vegetables! Love the fresh vegetables I grow! Look nice among the flowers!
Stretching out shopping days and very little or no waste of food!
1. A favorite pair of thrift store jeans has developed a zipper malfunction in which the zipper doesn’t want to stay zipped, so I dug around in our junk drawer for a tiny ball and snap chain (like is used on cheap key chains), ran it through the hole in the zipper tab, snapped it shut, and hooked the chain loop over the button before buttoning up. Staying decent with no money spent!
2. Combined a store sale and a coupon to buy some very good canned cat food for our very old cat who has lost weight. Saved $2 on the cost.
3. Turned a piece of an old egg crate foam mattress topper into a bed for our younger cats, with the cover made from an old fleece throw they were already sleeping on.
4. Trawled the racks at the local huge semi-annual consignment sale for shirts for my son. Came home with seven for $12.50, which is about half the cost of the Salvation Army.
5. Got a food spill on a not-washable fabric handbag and cleaned it with an old damp washcloth and a little Fels Naptha bar soap. It came up good as new.
I love your zipper hack!
1. Have meal idea burn-out. (Husband and I are retired and therefore eat all three meals a day at home.) Stuck my head in the frig/freezer and made a list of already frozen items and new to be fixed items. Sat down and made a list of these with meal ideas. So, now I won’t be tempted to run to town for something easy….besides I just don’t do that! But sometimes I have to give myself a good talking to about why it is more economical and healthy to eat at home:)
2. Still using lettuce, radishes, broccoli, carrots and cabbage that is fresh! Already had a frost but not a killing freeze. These all taste so good….but already miss that yummy fresh corn on the cob.
3. Cleaning out the pantry and listing older things that I want to use up before the holidays….and to make room for items I will be storing this winter for baking that goes on sale this time of the year.
4. Had a hankering for cinnamon rolls….made some….craving satisfied.
5. Went through my tote that holds items I get on sale that will be used for gifts. I now know what I can use as Christmas gifts and areas I am short on and can begin to look at thrift stores for items or craft bazaars. I like supporting local crafters….local, unique and supporting someone face to face really appeals to me.
I’m happy that I found a source for some local honey near where I live to help my children with their allergies. I am proud of myself for taking a chance on calling the owner of the bee farm and asking if I could bring him my jars to refill instead of buying new jars(and fancy labels) offsetting some of the cost.
Impressed that no one in my house noticed I switched from ground beef to ground turkey in our tacos last night. My kids raved about how delicious they were. I even put some beans in with the meat to stretch it a little farther! Since ground turkey was marked down last week I bought a ton and put in the freezer. My husband has told me in the past he hated ground turkey and to never buy it again so this is truly impressive.Apparently my marriage will not suffer because of my risky behavior…this time.
I’m still on an egg buying strike that has lasted for 2 months now because eggs continue to be priced over $3 per dozen in my area. Apparently because of sick chickens. However, the chicken is on sale this week??!! Makes no sense. I have learned many new egg free recipes that I truly can’t tell the eggs are missing. I highly recommend trying them. I have made delicious egg free banana bread and pumpkin bread so this egg shortage in my home has been a good thing.
Thinking since I have already got many of my Christmas gifts already that I can relax and enjoy the month of December. Although, I am a little nervous for Thanksgiving because when I was shopping for meat last week an elderly gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and told me I better be saving my money for my turkey because the ” poultry sickness” is going to make the cost of turkeys go up! Was this a frugal angel in disguise? I guess we will just have ham, lol.
Smiling because my little girls turned some old gourds I have had for a few years into cute painted ghost and jack o lantern decorations to sit by the front door that we can enjoy for years to come. I love to watch them do fun projects. I love this one because it only took some paint I had leftover from another project and a small bottle of paint that I got at Joann’s with a 60% off coupon.Basically, this fun cost under a $1. I painted the date on the bottom and will enjoy them for years to come.I also don’t have to stress this time about my small children attempting to carve pumpkins.
The breed of chicken used to produce Eggs is unlikely the same breed used to produce meat (for regular human consumption anyway), so the meat chickens may be a lot less vulnerable to whatever disease is effecting the egg chickens. Also, considering how cramped and dirty battery farms are, it’s likely egg chickens are just much more vulnerable to disease than the meat chickens.
Easy egg replacement : 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds mixed in 3 tablespoons of water, let sit for 5 min. Use to replace one egg.
Another substitute for eggs, in baking, is one heaping tablespoon soy flour and two tablespoons of water for each egg. I learned that in The Tightwad Gazette, many years ago.
Meat chickens reach slaughter size more quickly than egg chickens reach laying age, so the chicken meat supply has replenished sooner than the egg supply.
Cool, thanks for that, I never knew!
Wow, just realized what a long wordy post I just sent. Note to self..drink less caffeine.
1. Husband drove me to grocery store (I had cataract off on Monday, and husband is replacing brakes on my car while I’m not driving it.) Fast trip–stuck to my list, as my cupboards are full anyhow,and just got what I needed, used coupons, and done! Saved time and money.
2. Have cooked except for day of surgery, so tonight and tomorrow look like leftover smorgasbord nights!! More time for me to do other things.
3. Weather has been wet and windy so staying inside has been no sacrifice. Am ahead on laundry this week, as I have to do SOMETHING while I “rest.”
4. Catching up on my reading of newspapers, catalogs, and magazines–making sure I’m not wasting what is already coming in to the house. Also recycling as I go, so it goes out almost as quickly as it’s coming in.
5. Feeling quite lazy and thinking maybe I should be cleaning a few more things while I am stuck in the house. Nah, I’ll be stuck in the house all winter–plenty of time to clean then!!
I’ve eaten the Edible Arrangements kale too! It was my favorite part. 🙂
See? I’m not such a weirdo!
1. I have been enjoying The Hummingbird e-book, borrowed from the public library.
2. A friend and I were going to meet for lunch yesterday at the local restaurant we usually patronize. It was a rainy day and parking there can be difficult, I also have not been impressed with the food there my past two visits. I asked her to come to my house instead. I made soup and cornbread, which she loved, and there was plenty of time for conversation.To top it off she was able to park in our garage so she didn’t get wet coming and going.
3. I stopped at SAM’S Club to pick up frozen blueberries, prodded by comments the other day.
4. I stopped at the grocery store to buy a few loss leaders. They had pork loin marked down. I paid $2.56 for just over 2-1/2 pounds. It is now in the crock pot, becoming pulled pork.
5. Gas was $1.95/gallon at SAM’S Club this morning. I only needed 8 gallons but filled up anyway, just because.
Lots of free goodies
1. On Monday I grabbed free Vichy samples from CVS (5-6 pockets)
2. Today we had a meeting at a renal office and I scooped
– 5 really nice pens / 3 pencils / 5 notebooks (that my colleagues did not care to take with them)
– lots of snacks (we paid for them ahead of time and only 10% got eaten). Instead of leaving them I scooped 15-20 pieces of granola bars, chia bars and other tasty treats
– 2 fancy bottles of water
3. 2 t-shirts from work
4. Found packing tape by recycling bin when walking to a bus. It was almost brand new.
5. Ate breakfast and lunch on work’s dime today (at the above mentioned meeting)
1. All meals at home since back from vacation 10/22 except for pre-scheduled lunch meeting
2. Jeans that fit great on sale
3. Needed short socks for sneakers; went into Tuesday Morning since I was nearby and found 6 pairs for $7 – happy feet
4. Saving vegetable peels and cooking water for future veggie broth.
5. Found a penny – people in Atlanta do drop money after all but I did better in NYC on vacation where I found a dime LOL.
I’m using “farben bloop” for ikea names from now on! Genius!
You forgot the umlaut!
Awesome! This month we’ve been decluttering and selling unused items on eBay. It’s been a great way to simplify AND turn unused items into cash.
Hello! This is my first comment – I actually think I have five good things this time 🙂
1. My mom was going away for a bit so she brought me the last bunches of kale from her garden so I made your kale pesto with the half pack of slivered almonds I had left over from something else. Super delicious – I actually did a happy dance while microwaving the leftovers the next day!
2. After not finding any khaki pants at my local Goodwill thrift for months I decided to check a different one when I was visiting a friend in the area. I need to supply my own khaki pants for work and they get pretty beat up. Not only did I find 4 in my size but it was also 50% off clothing day and I didn’t even know that. Now I’m stocked up for at least a year for only $12
3. I sent my son to daycare today in his “new” thrift store winter jacket, shirt and pants.
4. I took my son to the library after daycare as a treat since he can play on their iPad for 20 minutes and we don’t own one so he loves it. We also picked up some books and the Lego movie – to watch AGAIN
5. I have somewhat recently found your blog and have been working my way through ALL of your archives. I might need to call in sick just to spend some more time reading. I think I’m addicted and I’m definitely inspired.
Thank you for everything Katy!
1. I am still eating from the freezer and pantry to save grocery $$ to send to flood victims. Because of planning, we are eating better than usual!!
2. I timed myself last night as I prepared our beef stew in the crockpot. It took me 9 minutes to put it together including peeling all the veggies and chopping them. It was put in the refrigerator ready to go and all I had to do today was plug it in! This will provide three meals – one tonight, one on Halloween and one in the freezer.
3. We borrowed some items to make our Halloween costumes for a party Friday night. My husband is going as Bob Ross and I am going as his tree (Pinterest idea). Free party and free food because I am taking a dish made from items I already had on hand. (It is potluck).
4. We have a tremendous amount of trick-or-treaters (some homes in our neighborhood get 1500 or so). I bought all of our candy with coupons/ECBs at CVS and saved $25.00 from my usual budget of $75.
5. We decorated using our Halloween decorations that were in a box I bought at a yard sale 16 years ago. I bet we have the only Richard and Pat Nixon face masks still around! Maybe I should sell these on eBay or Craigslist??
1. I leafed through some of my cookbooks for new recipes to try, wanting to only use ingredients I already had on hand. I made our last two dinners this way, which was nice because I have been in a recipe rut but didn’t really need to go shopping.
2. Onion, carrot, and leek trimmings from these dinners went into my freezer jar for vegetable stock, which was full so I’ve got a pot of veggie stock simmering on the stove tonight.
3. I was out of several herbs and spices (cinnamon, thyme, ground ginger). In the grocery bulk section, I bought just enough of each one to refill my empty spice jars, which ended up costing pennies per spice.
4. Lately hummus has a favorite snack for both my daughters. I had been buying plastic tubs of it, then I realized that I have canned chickpeas and tahini at home. It was one of those “duh” moments! Homemade hummus = cheaper and less plastic packaging. I’m going to make it tomorrow.
5. I downloaded a series of free podcasts for learning Spanish, which I’m so looking forward to listening to that I decided I will only listen to them when I am cleaning. I am actually looking forward to housework!
1. My husband’s making his own Halloween costume, spending on $2 on paint (paid for using a gift card I bought for 90% face value).
2. I returned a pile of gifts that I’d never use to Michael’s. Even without the gift receipt, I got $36 back. I spent only $6 of that (after a 50% coupon and a 60% off sale) on gift ribbon and 2 pie pans ($1.50 each!) with which I’ll make us some nice dinner pies.
3. Dinner was the second half of a pork roast I made earlier this week. That roast was only 1/4 of a pork loin log we bought from Costco for $16, and it’ll make at least 8 more meals!
4. Oh and we didn’t buy our Lear Jet (aka 1.5M house). 😉
1. Just set out a roll of homemade cookie dough to thaw, bake, and deliver as a thank you to someone tomorrow.
2. Went to the movies tonight with hubs. Remembered that I had a 2-year-old theater gift card in my purse, so used it, and cooked dinner at home first, so no concession stop. Free night out!
3. Dinner was tuna casserole…all from pantry staples. Leftovers made two dinners in freezer containers for hubs to take to work with him.
4. Tomorrow’s dinner ready to put in slow cooker tomorrow morning.
5. Bought a soft drink out today…during half-price happy hour…and with another gift card. Milking those gift cards for all they’re worth. 🙂
1. Scored an extra shift at work this week ($34)
2. Got free lunch at work 3x lunches and 1x dinner plus fee scones and jam!
3. Spent $20 less on groceries
4. Sold $40 worth of unused toys and clothes
5. Pulled out my 2 yo’s baby clothes for my stepson
6. Didn’t buy takeaway this week ($20 saving)
7. Pulled out steaks, muffins, kebabs, sausages and croissants from the freezer for lunches/ dinners this week
8. Paid my friend who is a hairdresser to cut mine and my daughters hair (saving of $10)
9. Kept the air con to a minimum 2 hours per day on low
10. 5 minute showers
Pulled out a hand-me-down Halloween costume for my 2 yr old – she’s going to be a lion. Will do her makeup with stuff around the house (my makeup, maybe some stuff from the kitchen cabinet?). We made a “spooky” wreath from some old clothing scraps from my mom’s tailoring business, so no cost there. Ate at home, with a free meal from my mother-in-law’s house. We recycle and compost at home, so we don’t have enough household trash to pay for town trash pickup (recycling is not included w/trash pickup here, and there’s a greenbox less than a mile from the house), but the town does offer two pickup days a year where everyone can put out appliances, limbs, leaves, etc., for no cost, so we took advantage of that and trimmed a whole bunch of trees and bushes in the yard. Sauteed some mixed salad greens that were getting wilty w/leftover beans, rice, and cheese for a tasty burrito for lunch yesterday. And found out at work that I’m getting a bonus this year – $500! not bad for part-time work.
Baby lion! We wanted to make LB a lion this year, instead we have photos of hir sobbing as ze fought the costume off. Hah ah well. Saved us $16.
Our nearly-vintage front-loading washer died again, this time due to a caput door-latch. I dug out the parts list and ordered a replacement part from Amazon for $40. Last night, my daughter happily helped me install it. She learned the value of fix-rather-than-replace, and now the washer is good as new! I told her she was probably the only person in her high school class who knows how to replace the door latch mechanism on a Kenmore Elite front-loading washer.
You’ve taught her a valuable lesson!
1. called my oil company, since i need oil delivered and spoke with office manager. thought the oil price was high and she told me about their other company which is a ‘pay as you need’ company and saved me 0.25/gallon! much better price!
2. washing laundry with free laundry soap from work (Perk of working for a large company)
3. got a free cup of coffee from the local convenience store/gas station (it’s good coffee too)
4. used my $5 off $5 coupon at the local hardware store to buy O’Keeffes’ hand cream. only paid $2.
5. stopped at the grocery store to pick up loss-leader 18oz tomatoes, hot dogs and milk. got a yellow pepper and a bagel for free. (total oop – $7) also got a $1 off coupon for my next shopping trip. will go back in this weekend to get 2 more 28oz cans of tomatoes!
bonus: hubby went to a free movie (earned the pass from work and is home since he dislocated his shoulder). since i am wfh today, i needed to get him out of the house!
in case you are wondering how mean i am, hubby has been home for 2 weeks – which is 2 weeks longer than HE wants to be home. He’s going out of his mind and instead of him asking me what i am doing (working!) every 10 minutes and since he can drive AND has a free movie pass, it was a win-win for both of us!
1. In a rare Connecticut equivalent to Portland’s free piles, a notice on Freecycle announced leftover pickings from a nearby church rummage sale. I picked up a microwaveable rice heating pad, which we needed (our grown children having seemingly disappeared with those in the house), 2 jar candles, a stack of new envelopes, and about half a ream of high quality paper.
2. I defrosted marked down organic ground turkey from the deep freezer, and combined it with dried, soaked and boiled kidney beans for a big batch of chili.
3. I carefully drove our house guests to the airport in the greater NY area, and got 58.9 MPGs.
4. I used seriously marked down ($1.17/pound) organic chicken drumsticks, combined with three cups raw basmati rice (from a South Asian market) to make wonderful chicken biryani that will last all week.
5. I made 2 quarts of yogurt. One I turned into Greek yogurt, and I used the resulting whey, with leftover frozen whey, in the chicken biryani in the place of yogurt.
Great list!
I wanted SO bad to run out and buy a pizza for dinner last night. Instead I scrounged through the freezer/pantry and pulled together a delicious dinner of chicken, veggie and rice enchiladas. They were better and more nutritious than that pizza anyway!
This is the biggest frugal thing you can do.
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