- I took a double sheet of stickers from a college solicitation mailing and cut one each out individually. I then mixed them in with the candy for trick-or-treaters. I hate getting non-recyclable junk mail.
- I put a couple cups of dry pinto beans into the crock pot this morning and was able to scoop them out as needed for hefty bean and cheese quesadillas throughout the day. Our day was busy with soccer games and Halloween events, so these simple yet healthy meals worked out perfectly. (Hopefully they balanced out the insane number of tiny chocolate bars that we ended up eating.)
- I found an unused free-slice-of-Whole-Foods-pizza coupon in my recently gifted Chinook coupon book that was expiring today. I was able to use it to get my son a hot slice of pizza after his soccer game today. Mmm . . . free pizza!
- My younger son and I completed his college application for early admission today. We even submitted it a day early, which makes me feel like the most organized mother in the world. Now . . . let’s see if having two kids in college at the same time will prompt the financial aid department to throw some financial aid our way. Please?
- I sold the curbside Ikea rug for a sweet thirty bucks. Which yes, goes straight into the college fund.
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.”
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Pinterest.
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Made a delicious pasta bake from ingredients that needed to be used up in the fridge. That means that aside from the pasta, dinner was free.
2. Made lunch boxes for three of us ready for tomorrow. Mine included some of tonight’s pasta bake.
3. My husband is cleaning up the garden of our house so we can plant in a few months. We just moved here six months ago and the garden is very overgrown.
4. Bought a sewing machine for my daughter for $20.
5. Studied hard!
My son and I are attempting a No Spend November challenge…that is spending nothing except for food and basic essentials. I’m returning an unused product today for refund, making The Frugal Girl’s fluffy hamburger rolls, working on a baby quilt and hopefully enjoying the outdoors if the weather clears. I’m also saving cereal box cardboard to make large 3D letters for a Christmas display.
Living Large on Little.
1) Enjoyed a beautiful fall morning at the beach walking and looking for shark’s teeth.
2) Added baby kale that was no longer crisp to breakfast smoothies, so it would not go to waste. Nutritious,delicious and thrifty!
3) Weeded my herb garden.
4) I have started planning for Christmas as I thrift and go to estate sales. I found an ice cream maker for my daughter who loves to cook. It was unused and still in the box for $10. I also picked up a few very expensive soy candles with wooden wicks for hostess gifts for $4 each, and 10 rolls of fabric ribbon for $0.25 each.
5) Sipping my Sunday morning coffee at home with a sleeping kitty on my lap and listening to the birds sing through an open window. Much nicer than a noisy coffee shop!
What
I put a whole bag of beans in the crock pot yesterday so they would be ready for my chili today.
Feeling very fortunate to have had all my children fed hotdogs last night for free by the local townspeople while trick or trunking.
Realizing that I never washed my child’s face or made sure she brushed her teeth last night when she came into my bedroom this morning with bits of what sorta resembled hello kitty still painted on her face, ugh!
Dreading doing laundry but glad I figured out that I can use less than half the amount of detergent I used to use and my clothes get equally as clean.
Feeling glad to have this quiet rainy day at home
We rarely get trick or treaters so we turned out the porch light and didn’t buy candy this year. We spent the evening watching Criminal Minds on Netflix. A frugal evening for us!
On Friday night I babysat, which really meant I slept on someone’s couch for 6 hours. It was 45 minutes of work and the rest was pretty much free money. I’ll take it!
That’s about all I’ve got, considering our other activities of late include getting my hair done (every other month splurge with babysitting money) and replacing my husband’s 14 year old car (our 2nd new car in 2 months…my 13 year old car went first).
Ha. We never get any trick or treaters either. Well, except this year. We were unloading a car full or groceries when 5 kiddos showed up out of nowhere. We felt so bad as we had no candy. I definitely did not want to offer carrots!
No trick or treaters and didn’t go to any Halloween events so it was a zero expense event.
Took an old fall wreath that was given to me apart to use the parts that are still good to decorate tables for our music club this month. Going to use the grapevine it was mounted on to make a new wreath from things I already have.
Bought a linen shower curtain for fifty cents that I am using to make an apron for my mom pillow cases and bed pillows and who knows what else. It’s a lot of material.
Just joined inbox dollars to see if I can earn through it. Trying to develop hobbies that make money like you do!
No Spend November….I am going to do this too.
I’ve actually been struggling with spending creep lately. It’s insidious! I need to get back on track. Recent “oops” to “hmmmm” include buying sale yarn for a sweater project (I do not need yarn), buying pastries to take to a friend’s house on an out of town visit, because I was hungry, and joining the local Y as a way to get my teen son to exercise more ( didn’t work). I really like the Y, and use it, so there are health benefits….but I know full well there are ways to exercise that don’t cost money. Ideas?
* Hubby and I are eating gluten-free (not the kids. Health reasons). As we all know, gluten-free products are expensive and often not really healthy, so we try to stick to cheap alternative like eggs, in season veggies, rice, fruits, beans, cheaper cuts of meat, etc. I do buy gluten-free pasta and bread but only when reduced price.
* Halloween yesterday = free treats for the kids for the whole year (they are allowed one every 2 or 3 days, so it goes a long way!)
* Free date night with hubby since I was given free movie tickets and will bring my own popcorn from home (yeah, sue me…). Grandma will babysit for free.
* Free Halloween activity for the kids = free face painting, 2 small free pumpkins, free treats. And while at the store I bought 2 loafs of organic bread for the kids and all purpose gluten-free flour, all for half-price.
* With Netflix (8$/month), borrowing books and magazines and winning free movies tickets, my entertainment budget has been almost nil lately.
Have a great frugal day!
I used to bring movie treats in, rather than buy them from the concession stand, too. Then one day I took my 15 year old daughter to her favorite Asian all you can eat buffet and saw her sliding her absolute favorite beef pieces from her plate into a plastic bag to take home and then going back to get more to eat. I admonished her for cheating the owner and she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Well, you cheat the owners of the movies all the time when you sneak in treats instead of buying them. What’s the difference? Cheating is cheating so I think it is pretty hypocritical of you to call me out for it.”
I would not be buying a popcorn at the movie on that night, so me bringing one from home versus not and then not buying one there, the owner is not losing money. The end result for him is still 0$ eighter way.
Plus, I owe the owner what, please explain? To buy junk from his stand because I’m going there to watch a movie? Hmm… no.
I owe to pay my movie ticket (when I don’t receive them for free) and to keep it clean after I leave, period.
Plus, believe me, as a compulsive eater I gave more than my fair share of money to movie’s concession stands in the past so, no, I do not feel like “I’m cheating the owner” of anything.
Katy, the one year our kids overlapped in college was the year our freshman son got work-study aid in his package. He got a job on-campus which required some training (lighting for the performing arts building which had 5 venues) and was guaranteed a job for the last three years since he was already trained! (but no longer qualified for work-study) Point being, if your son’s get work-study, it’s Federal money and they can work pretty much anywhere on campus since it doesn’t cost the college anything. Use it wisely and it can turn into quite a resume booster.
That’s a good way to use stickers and I know the youngest kids always love stickers. My frugal weekend included:
1. My favorite frugal dinner – a loaded baked potato. (A baked potato loaded with left-overs and topped with shredded cheese and/or sour cream).
2. A trip to the library to read what Consumer Reports had to say about cell phone plans. I think we are paying too much for cell phone service and I am Looking into switching to another service provider.
3. Walking 3 miles in the morning with a group of neighbors.
4. A trip to Winco to stock up on toilet paper, laundry detergent, Kleenex, dish detergent and a few other staples.
5. Watching videos of “Corner Gas” which we got from the library.
1. There must be something in the air as I too am doing a no-spend November. I did one for the month of September and it was a great success.
2. Hung a load of laundry on a drying rack as it was rainy this morning. I have not used the dryer since May.
3. Was able to finish my Christmas shopping way earlier this year. My children expressed concern over the number of gifts their children received last year and asked if we would limit present giving to just one,(All the grandchildren are 3 and younger)with the exception being books. I stockpile used books all year long and have compiled a nice collection for each. I will also make a donation to a local charity in their names.
4. I am going back to my vegan diet. Unfortunately lately some eggs and milk have made their way back in, but spent the morning doing some bulk cooking and meal planning, so hopefully I will able to stick to it. I am using a lot of scratch recipes that should eliminate the need for vegan convenience foods (boca burgers, etc..) that are pretty pricey.
5. Hanging out at home today, puttering around, awaiting the birth of my 4th granddaughter due any day now.
Have a rest of the day!
1. it’s been pretty much a non-NCA week, since our two grown sons have returned home for an indeterminate time and require feeding. However, for the last four days, dinner has been made from stuff we already had in the house, and tonight’s was partly leftovers given to us by a no-carb family after they entertained carb eaters.
2. Almost bought a FitBit (have been wanting one for a while) but dodged at the last minute.
3. Bought some gorgeous yarn on sale, to make myself a new winter hat. (I don’t really need a new one, but…. OK, not really NCA, except I’m making it…)
4. Brought home several Operation Christmas Child boxes to fill, and the contents are all things we’ve bought on sale since last year!
5. Our older son loves coffee, so I brought home one of the airpots from church this morning, filled with leftover coffee from coffeetime. I’ll wash it out and return it when I go to work Tu.
Katy, can you share how you make quesadillas? I’ve never made them before but would like to.
I’m going to track all food expenses for this month (which means keeping the receipts). This idea came to me last night and I just thought now – shoot, I forgot to keep today’s receipts. Then I just realized, I didn’t go anywhere today, so no money was spent!! Win-win.
I simply warm two tortillas in a cast iron skillet and spread one with beans cheese and then sear each side.
I know nobody asked me, BUT …. ha ha. I cook chicken breasts in the crock pot with spicy seasonings, then shred. For quesadillas: one flour tortilla laid flat, add black beans, shredded chicken, previously sauteed peppers & onions, shredded mozz or cheddar cheese, and homemade salsa. Top with another flour tortilla and fry both sides.
But … how do you flip it without all the fillings falling out?
Basically, when the cheese melts, it works like glue to keep the fillings in. I do mine on a cookie sheet in the oven. Since my family likes their tortillas a little softer, I don’t bother to flip.
I can’t seem to flip a whole one without making a mess, so I use one tortilla abandonment over. I warm the tortilla in the pan, until it starts to puff, flip it over, put my filling on one half, fold it over, heat for a few and then flip to crisp the other side.
I hate the autocorrect on this Kindle. I meant I use one tortilla folded over. How the check does it get abandonment out of A tHAT?
1. climbed a ladder during a down pour to reattach the down spout
2. drank tea to warm up, no furnace yet this fall
3. went for a walk, found a cool thing in a dumpster. Hopefully it will work to hold my bird feeding station.
4. turned a $6 king sized flat sheet into a double bed fitted sheet to replace worn out bottom sheet
5. bought a nice scarf at Goodwill
We did our grocery shopping today and picked up a nice basket of fresh seasonal produce for less than $15. That’ll be enjoyed all week with homemade pork roasts and that chicken pot pie I’m plotting.
I remembered that I have a Marvel Unlimited subscription so I can read hundreds of comic books that are otherwise inaccessible so, for now, that collection of Terry Pratchett books I was wanting to treat myself to will just have to wait as I make the most of this gift that I haven’t had time for since the baby was born.
Our schools were closed for half-term last week (I’m in England), so we enjoyed a mostly frugal week on staycation;
1) Sold our old sofa for £150. We were given it for free, so this was a welcome contribution to the cost of our new one (we couldn’t fit the old one into our new house – 600 year old cottages have tiny doors and low ceilings!)
2) Listed a number of light fittings on online garage sale sites – the aforementioned low ceilings do not allow for dangly lights!
3) Enjoyed the fact that we now live really rurally in a national park and took long walks in the lovely autumn sun without starting up the car to get there.
4) My partner perfected his bread-making skills and is now happy to keep the family in bread rather than buying it.
5) We tried the jam we made using damsons and figs from our garden and are really pleased with them, so they will make great gifts and keep us in jam until next year when we will be here for the strawberry and raspberry harvest.
6) We took the girls out to a stately home and gardens yesterday (Petworth House). It’s a National Trust property and it was going to cost us £35 for family admission, or we could get NT membership for £104 for a year. This gives us free entry and parking to over 575 stately homes, museums, parks, beaches etc across the UK, so we bit the bullet and joined. We’re now planning how to make the most of our membership!
7) We went to a Day of the Dead festival on Friday and took littlest out trick or treating on Saturday. Outfits and make-up for both were made from items we already owned, and kids were really pleased to be amongst the fanciest people we saw 🙂
600 year old cottages????
Hi Isabelle
Yes, we just moved into a cottage that was originally built in the 15th century, and was added to in the 17th and 19th centuries. TBH, from the outside it looks totally 16th/17th and it’s just our internal walls, beams and some brick/stone which is original. The first house on the site was apparently built in around 1325 for Edward II’s Lord Chancellor as a hunting lodge but there isn’t anything left of that. Our neighbours either side have properties of similar ages. I can’t figure out how to show you a pic!
Just realised the first post on my blog (click on my name) has a photo with our house in the background if you want to have a peek!
Whoa, this is too cool!!!!! I love old houses!
1. Tried a new muffin recipe, which was a hit. We ate the entire batch and I made another the next day, but added apple and applesauce. Definitely a keeper both ways.
2. The irritating seller from ebay never would acknowledge she sent the wrong necklace, but at least she did send a label so I can mail it back.
3. Sold two items on a local FB site for $20. One offered me half my asking price, but it was a large framed item that I really wanted to gone, so I accepted.
4. Tried the french bread from The Frugal Girl (linked here). Although I didn’t think the flavor was as good as my other bread recipe, it slices perfectly and makes excellent grilled cheese sandwiches. I will try it again.
5. Listed two stacks of fabric on freecycle, which is being picked up today. Man, it feels good to admit I’m not going to use something and just be rid of it.
I made the frugal girl recipe for french bread a couple nights ago also. I even forgot to knead it and it still turned out good so it seems to be very forgiving. We ate it hot with a yummy homemade honey butter and cinnamon spread while watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Glad you mentioned grilled cheese as that’s my next trial. For those who haven’t tried it yet it really makes sense to go on and make enough for 2 loaves as Frugal girl does because you are gonna need another loaf, trust me. Plus you can always freeze it.
Yes, having 2 children in college increases your chances of free financial aid. If you take any classes, you are also a college student, and it will help (at least it used to). The free Federal financial aid is the same amount no matter where a student attends college. Attending a good yet less expensive college is a great way to extend the value of those free dollars. And if you’re not looking already, look for scholarships. The financial aid office at the college should have a link in their financial aid page to take you to FREE scholarship searches.
My best suggestion, if it hasn’t already been done, is to write a MASTER SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION LETTER and save it on the hard drive. And for each scholarship, revise the master letter to be directed towards the specifics in the scholarship application application. Save the revised one by the college name (you’re probably already doing this). And go for every little scholarship, every big scholarship. I used to be a student recruiter for our local community college and I learned so much from the financial aid advisers. We had one student who applied for everything and anything and scholarships from $50 and up, and she got enough money to pay her to go to school. It was hard work. It is like a part-time job for students and parents but so worth it when something comes through. Good luck.
Another part of the Federal financial aid package, if your sons get the aid, is Federal Work Study Programs. Many colleges will only hire student workers who are part of the Work Study Program.
I’ve been following your blog and your adventures in “not buying a Lear jet” for several months. I’m not sure how I found you. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to send you the information that I just wrote in this comment, just in case the financial aid department at the college hasn’t already told you. This is the link for our community college financial aid: https://coconino.edu/scholarship-information. Look at the bottom of the page for great information.
Hope the financial aid gods love you more than they loved us….two kids currently in college and no financial aid 🙁 But on the bright side, I so appreciate all of the great information that you share with us. Although we have always lived frugally, a few of your great ideas have made the “two kids in college” situation a bit easier! Thank you!!!
1. Yesterday my neighbor across the street was cutting down his Aspen in the front yard. I went over and chatted with him and asked him what he was doing with the wood. His son took a small pickup load but the rest came to me! (he even delivered it to my backyard with the bucketloader). I figure it’s about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cord once split and YAY, i don’t have to buy wood this year for the first time!
2. Making fire starters with dryer lint and toilet paper tubes.
3. Eating free snacks at work today (apple and pretzels)
4. Brought leftovers for lunch and a mason jar of apple cider to enjoy with my lunch.
5. ordered another free magnet (actually, a set of 4) from shutterfly for Christmas gifts. We only give a small sibling gift and these 2×2 magnets will be perfect to include!
1. Living in the countryside can be cheap in some way and expensive other ways, but it means I never, ever have trick or treaters at my door so my candy expense is nil. I like the sticker idea!
2. For Halloween, instead of spending money, I put on an unadvertised yard sale at my daughter’s house in town. The ad would have cost me $5.00. I put up signs which I’d bought for previous sales and saved, and set up my stuff on tables we already own. My daughter threw in a few things of hers as well. We sold most of it, and although it was a very small sale, we cleared nearly $100, plus clutter was removed from my house.
3. It was tempting to buy something for lunch after being on my feet all morning at the yard sale, but I resisted and ate what we had at home for lunch instead. Why sell things for cash just to waste it on fast food?
4. My husband gave me two of his belts to put in the yard sale, but when I looked them over, I realized they had removable buckles, and the buckles were the only thing messed up on them. I can find nice buckles on used belts. These are really good leather belts, so it’s worth it to me to fix them. I’m thinking about contacting the manufacturer of one of them, in fact — the buckle’s silver finish is flaking, and it isn’t a cheap belt. It was a gift, of course.
5. Eating leftovers for lunch, as I almost always do!
I have been doing the junk mail sticker givaway for several years – the kids seem to enjoy getting them with their candy! Also give away little freebies I’ve picked up over the year like key chains, toy rings, puzzles, etc. I store them in my cauldron!
A few savings here –
1. My husband replaced a kitchen cabinet hinge. They are prone to breaking and no longer used by the manufacturer but I found a source online and bought some to have on hand.
2. Decided to stick with my very much non-smart cell phone for another year and bought 365 days of minutes for $102. I rarely use my cell phone where we now live.
3. Moved the last bail of pine straw out of the shed and spread it. Don’t want it to provide winter nesting for critters in the shed.
4. Decided on a clothes shopping 30 day fast except for shoes which I am in the process of replacing. I usually shop at consignment/thrift stores but have challenged myself to see if I can come up with 30 days of outfits without
repeating any this month just using what I have.
5. Read books and ebooks borrowed from the library.
1. My office had a Halloween luncheon last Friday, and there was a ton of the main dish (chicken and rice) leftover. One of the admins packaged it up and gave me a huge bag of it to take home. Didn’t eat it all this weekend, so packed it up and brought it in for lunch today!
2. Called our Internet company to ask about any promotions they have going on, and was able to lower our bill by $10 a month by switching to the plan with FASTER Internet.
3. I participated in a mailing study a little while back, where they send you envelopes that are pre-addressed and stamped and you just have to put a bundle in your mailbox every weekday for two weeks. The top of each bundle had the date written on the envelope rather than an address, but the envelope was still stamped. I saved the 10 top envelopes, and have been using them to mail in for a free $10 Victoria’s Secret gift code. I’ll then use the codes to get free undies for Christmas stockings!
4. Left a recipe and ingredients on the counter for my husband to make crockpot lasagna for dinner tonight (he is a stay at home dad).
5. Signed up for a coupon for a free peanut butter cup. Will use it as a stocking stuffer! (My husband doesn’t know, but I get his stocking stuffers all year long, and end up getting 90% of them for free!)
1. I had a very long long-distance call with my sister. Luckily long-distance is part our phone plan.
2. Dinner will be a leftover chicken dinner. I’ll boil the carcass and use the resulting broth/meat to make soup.
3. I did several load of laundry. A couple of them are hanging outside, despite the cool, non-sunny day.
4. I made more fruit sauce, using apples, pears that had seen better days, a bit of frozen pawpaw (free from a friend) and some frozen blueberries. It is delicious.
5. Tonight a monthly knitting group is meeting. It is a cheap, social event.
1. Line dried some hats and gloves to use this winter. Found them in our trunk where we stashed them last winter for emergencies.
2. Stopped in at a local deli, bought expensive corned beef and gourmet bread which was much cheaper than treating family members to a meal in their restaurant.
3. Will try a no-spend month – catalogues are arriving with much temptation within their pages!
4. Made lentil soup from scratch from lentils gifted me by a friend.
5.Plan to make applesauce cake with homemade applesauce.
I keep a stash of hats, gloves and scarves in my trunk, too. Texas winters are generally mild, but unpredictable, and it’s come in handy! I once ran a 5k with a scarf wrapped around my face and head after I forgot my ski mask. Certainly wasn’t going to win any fashion awards, but stayed warm.
1. My parents took us out to brunch for a belated birthday/upcoming anniversary. They also gave us 2 bags of coffee they were given but couldn’t use due to a lack of a coffee bean grinder.
2. Sold 3 things on Swap. Money is going toward high school senior year expenses.
3. Used a large mailer leftover from a USPS order as a trash bag for shredded paper.
4. Sending in another box of items to Swap & dropping off things at a local consignment store this week.
5. Adding an extra $50 to our monthly car payment to get the loan paid off sooner.
1. Sorted 2 huge bags of hand me downs from neighbors, and passed on what I can’t use to another neighbor. Tons of pretty dresses that looked brand new that my little tomboy won’t wear, and the neighbor said they will be Christmas gifts for her girls. Non consumer win.
2. Thanks to the NCA Facebook group I now know the location of the nearest textile recycling drop off bin and have 2 bags of worn out kid clothes in my trunk for when I go by there tomorrow.
3. Trying to figure out how to use up the rest of the meatloaf I made this weekend. Was outside playing with kids and left it in too long, so it gets even dryer when reheated. Thinking crumble it up with bbq sauce and put it on a bun. Or spaghetti sauce. Any advice?
4. Planned 2 after school play dates at new (to us) parks this week to take advantage of the good weather. Taking the initiative by inviting friends on frugal outings makes it a lot easier for me to decline more expensive ones.
5. Making a list of all the free holiday celebrations in the area so I can start adding them to the calendar. There’s always more than we could ever attend but I like knowing my options.
That’s a really funny autocorrect!