- The screws on my garbage picked toilet seat kept coming out, and although we tried refilling the holes with wood putty, they continued to loosen themselves. So yesterday my husband drilled out the area and refilled it with wood plugs. The screws now fit nice and tight again and our toilet seat will continue to live another day. We already owned all the supplies, so this DIY project cost us zero-point-zero dollars.
- My son and I bought brand new hairbrushes in December after our adventure in Liceland. I threw mine away in the kitchen garbage, but he dropped his into his bedroom wastebasket. (I didn’t get lice, but my son did use my hairbrush.) I later read that hairbrushes can be saved by putting them in the freezer for 24+ hours. I was emptying his garbage the other day and came across the hairbrush. I popped it into the freezer for a few days and then gave it a good scrub. I’ve now taken ownership of his old brush, as I truly loathe my new one. (It’s tearing my hair out!) I may be the cheapest person in America at this point.
- I’ve been fighting a cold and dedicated yesterday to laying in bed and doing nothing whatsoever. My husband boiled up a $1.99 bag of frozen pierogis for dinner and called it good. And it was. Good.
- I came across a vintage Air France travel bag on my back porch that my sister left behind last summer. It was filled with old knitting needles and bits of mildewy smelling yarn. I tossed the yarn and then gave the knitting needles to my friend Lise, who teaches art classes. I then put the bag on the corner for someone to take for free. The bag was immediately nabbed and I have one less piece of useless clutter in my home.
- My father gave me a loaf of homemade bread, my husband has a non-profit board meeting tonight which includes dinner and 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.”
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Ugh, lice. Been there, done that. Unless it’s a natural bristle brush, you can also run your hairbrushes and combs through the dishwasher to sterilize (something I learned when our kids had lice). And for getting ride of the lice, nothing beat the RobiComb, an electronic comb that zaps both lice and their nits. Worth every penny we paid for it and no icky chemicals (I think it was less than all the special shampoos, combs, etc. would have cost for three kids).
Our main assault was to coat my son’s long hair in cheap condition under a shower cap overnight. Then comb, comb, comb.
I am a nurse and when I worked at a state mental hospital we had an outbreak of lice. All the patients got their hair coated in cooking oil then a shower cap. Also, anything that you can fit in a plastic bag and seal tightly will kill lice because they have to have a host to live. Seal for 2 weeks. Worked for us!
Ahhhh… lice, yuck!
My 2 girls and I had them – twice!! – last december. What a nightmare!!
The secret to getting rid of the nits (once the adults are killed) is putting a thick white conditioner in the hair and combing it with The Terminator lice comb in 6 different directions (as the hair is 6-sided). I do this for at least a week (or two! every day!) until I am convinced there are no nits left. Most people don’t do this, and it can take a few weeks for a nit to get big enough to see, so new ones keep hatching and people have endless lice…
ok Im now itching my head, Im a nurse in an ED and when ever someone comes in with lice we all itch whether we have been near the patient or not, and if for some reason I have to hold a baby or child I check their head first,,, gotta go comb my hair now to get over it
1. Working on a big pot of chili I made Friday with from dry black beans. Man, I love chili!
2. Got my check for jury duty and am depositing it in my savings account with my mobile Credit Union app.
3. Went for a long walk today in the woods which was completely free (and completely priceless!).
4. Am making homemade pizza tonight to watch during the Oscars.
5. Used gift cards from our wedding shower to buy allergy meds, fill our prescriptions, and get insulin needles for the cat.
I know it’s super practical to spend your gifts card on things you need, and I would do the same. But it makes me laugh to imagine you opening what you actually bought at your bridal shower. “Cat insulin needles! Just what we WANTED!”
LOL! Right?
I am making a HUGE pot of chili as we speak, too!
I am making enough for Monday’s lunch, Tuesday’s dinner + freezing enough for 2 dinners. So easy to pull out and have dinner ready when I have a long day at work.
Me three! Made a large crockpot chili today to last for a few meals this week!
I don’t remember the lice thing – how did you get lice? that’s scary!!! or at least it freaks me out
My son came home from college with it. Luckily, we caught it super early.
1. On Friday it was a cold and windy day so I ran errands. I picked up cheap produce at ALDI (Mandarin oranges, Gala apples, bananas) and the Asian market ($.99 strawberries, $.39/# zucchini, $.49/# ginormous golden delicious apples, and $.20 kiwis).
2. I made Paleo Chocolate Zucchini bread last weekend and loved it. After scoring the cheap zucchini I wanted to make more but only had one small-ish loaf pan (purchased at a thrift store). I wanted to make more than one small loaf. Yesterday while we were in the area I stopped at the same thrift store and they had two Wilton mini loaves pans (6 loaves per unit) for $2.90. I quadrupled the recipe and make 12 small loaves. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I’m sure I’ll use the pans many times.
3. I listed stuff on freecycle today. Items we’re not going to use are finding new homes. Good for the environment and our home.
4. It was warm and sunny today. DH and I went for a long walk. It felt great and it was fun to see so many people out.
5. I completed our federal and state tax returns. We’ll get a refund from both. I’m trying to decide if I should adjust withholding so we get smaller refunds next year.
I say yes to the adjustments to withholding. I look at it as loaning the government money for free when I get a return. I won’t have any big changes in employment this year, I think, so I am going to adjust mine too depending on how big my return is.
1. Did one dog walk after work. Tried to use a Qdoba coupon for a buy one get one free entree for dinner – could not find parking! All this after driving home to get the coupon and back to the restaurant. By that time it was 7 PM and we ended up going to dinner at our local Coney Island. I don’t like leaving a tip but was craving fish and fries and a church fish fry would have been even pricier. Was able to stretch my meal to the next day splitting the side salad I never ate with my daughter and the piece of fish I took home.
2. Took one for the team and we had leftovers for dinner yesterday. The salad and fish I mentioned in #1, leftover potato oven fries, and chicken soup I had made for our Thursday snow day.
3. Ended up skipping lunch today and yesterday as daughter and I had breakfast so late saving a meal cost. Currently have bbq country ribs and baked potatoes in the oven, our before the awards dinner.
4. Yesterday volunteered at the library bookstore and re-stocked it after. Brought snacks from home as well as water. Daughter didn’t want them (who doesn’t want a cheese stick and veggie straws?) and bought herself a candy bar with her own money. Her financial choice I guess. Did not buy any books or movies. Did check out the Pride and Prejudice Zombies book. Not impressed, going to turn it back in. Not sure if I want to go see the movie now, will wait for Redbox.
5. Daughter had a soccer game. Took time to heat up some coffee to take with me, indoor soccer is chilly. Also had daughter bring tennis shoes so we could grocery shop after and not make an extra trip home. Took advantage of the Meijer 5% off grocery day by using my Meijer credit card. Also redeemed the $7 reward I had coming to me I had earned and used my lunch hour Friday to go over all the MPerks coupons and store ad in order to maximize all our purchases.
6. Reviewed my credit card statement and was miffed that my Amazon Prime membership renewed without receiving an email notice although I am sure there is a clause that said it would automatically renew. I had gotten it for $72 and it renewed at $104 which seems pricey. Purposely watched it last night and am now not so upset as I am hooked on Mozart in the Jungle and The Crimson Field which I missed this summer on PBS. Watching Mozart turned into a marathon of the first season, worth watching!
7. Air drying laundry as I type and Swagbucks at the same time on another computer. Just received my February $25 Paypal card by Swagbucking, going into the braces/car repair fund.
8. Contemplating for March and future months cutting out going out to eat budget to help fund some much needed home updates i.e. painting. Going to miss it as going out to eat once or twice a week is our one thing I look forward to, I budget $25 a week so we could save $100 a month.
1. When I gave away all my maternity clothing, I kept 5 shirts that were good brands, that looked nearly new. Sold them on ebay this week.
2. Watching the new series “Love” on Netflix and liking it.
3. Several people commented on items I had listed on local FB sale boards and I collected $61 over the weekend. I find it endlessly rewarding to collect cash for things that are cluttering up my house. And people buying my things means they aren’t buying new, which is great.
4. Bought a pair of Nike boots from the local FB board for $5. They look close to brand new and I think will easily sell on ebay.
5. Made tacos for dinner, using up some salsa that had been languishing in the fridge. I think I will throw together a taco salad to take for lunch tomorrow.
Not so frugal this week, definitely don’t have five. Well maybe.
Let’s see:
1. Our local hospice was having its first annual donated art sale, so DH and I went. Lots of fabulous art at great prices. We got 5 pieces for $120.00. Good deal, and a wonderful cause to support.
2. One of the art pieces had a horrible frame so we popped out the canvas, put the frame on the curb, and voila! It magically disappeared in no time.
3. Made veggie chili which I love, and DH tolerates. Had it with his homemade bread, and there’s enough for dinner tonight.
4. I’m running my full dishwasher on the express cycle, with only a teaspoon of soap. Dishes are totally clean, less energy and water used.
5. Hanging laundry to dry.
Wow, 5 it is! I’m very inspired by all of you. Thanks.
Your comment makes me realize I’m sure I use more soap than necessary in the dishwasher. I’m going to try using less. Thanks!
When I buy Finish for the dishwasher I make sure I buy the tablets so I can cut them in half. And my dishes always come out clean.
When I first used the whole tablet the dishes smelled soapy. And some seemed slick, like a thin layer of soap was still on them.
I thought I was so smart to think of this. I was reading a blog and someone wrote the same exact thing I just wrote. I guess what happens to me happens to others.
Wow, impressive accomplishments from you all today. The weather here has been beautiful so I skipped all the indoor tasks that I planned to do. Not sure I have much since I have been just enjoying watching the kids play outdoors but I will try.
1. I just put a custard pie in the oven. Using those wonderfully cheap eggs I got a few weeks ago. My great grandma used to make these so I am feeling sentimental today.
2. Made reservations at the hotel where we will stay for my husband’s birthday/kid’s spring break. I put in my dates on my desktop PC while doing the same thing on my phone to find the best price. It was amazing to me that the prices were so different within a few seconds of each other! Of course, it goes without saying that I chose the lowest.
3. Grabbed 2 loaves of Nature’s Own bread for $1 at the Dollar Tree. I don’t bake my bread so for me this is a great price. It’s over $3 at the grocery store and they have all kinds of the better brands of bread. I will put one loaf in the freezer.
4. I made homemade pie crust again for my custard pie. It’s that no-roll easy crust I have mentioned here before. I reduced all the ingredients slightly because I have a small pie pan and I don’t want any leftover crust to try to do something else with. Easiest…crust…ever
5. Still haven’t cut or colored my hair. I watched Sandra Bullock’ new movie from redbox, which was just ok to me, and noticed she has long roots like mine. So I gues I’m on trend, lol
1-cleaned out my freezer and made a birthday dinner for my mother, full turkey dinner. Yum!
2-went to the thrift store the other day with my daughter. I had one thing I wasn’t sure about, my daughter said would you pay double for it($4 instead of 2) if not you don’t really want it. Put it back, she was right!
3-long walk today in beautiful weather for free!
4- went to a college basketball game but went for the family pack. Way cheaper, free parking, and being family tickets it was in the alcohol free zone, so hubby saved some money there!
5- took my mom shopping for her birthday. Showed her that if we hit clearance racks at nice stores, clothes are nicer than Walmart, and the same price or even a little less. Also shared a meal out while we were there!
1. We have an old record collection, but we haven’t played any of the records in years. I don’t know why we have been hanging on to them. On Saturday, I finally gathered some of them up and took them to a record store in north Portland where I got $40 for 10 records. It seems there is currently a fad for old vinyl records so it is a good time to sell them.
2. Made one of my favorite simple frugal dinners on Friday – an omelet. It was an easy way to use some leftover odds and ends in the refrigerator – bits of green pepper, onion, cheese, salsa, sour cream. It was tasty too.
3. Finally cancelled our Netflix subscription. We just were not watching many of their offerings so it made no sense for us.
4. Scheduled a medical test which I have been putting off for years! The cost is covered by my insurance, so I have no excuse. I am counting this as “frugal” since it means I am not passing up something which has been paid for as part of my insurance plan, i.e. I’m getting my money’s worth from my insurance plan.
5. Stopped by the library on Saturday just as they were putting out the new March issues of various magazines in the reading room. This meant some of the February issues were now available to be checked out and I did get 3 of my favorites to read this week.
Thank you for #4. I promised myself that I would schedule and keep up on all my medical appointments this year. I manage to make sure that everyone else’s needs are met, but lately I have been lazy. It’s almost March and I still am dragging my feet. There is no excuse for me as 100 percent is covered through insurance, including alternative health care and massages. Thank you for reminding me to get with the program.
What genre of records are they buying?
Most of my records are from the ’70s and ’80s. They said they were great records, but they already had a lot of them. The 10 records they bought were also from the same decades, but just ones they didn’t have in stock. So, no particular genre, just what they happened to be needing right now.
1. We had to clean out our camper yesterday as it has been “totaled” by the insurance company due to extensive damage. I am so happy we had insurance as they are giving us quite a large check for our 12 year old camper which we hope to apply to a “new” one that fits our family lifestyle better (meaning one for our retirement vs. when we had a young son and his friends along).
2. We had nearly a whole room full of stuff in that camper because I furnished it with household items that I had here at home (college sheets and towels from 40 years ago!) or found at thrift stores and yard sales. I never used paper products or plastic ware -we had dishes, silverware, towels, dishcloths, etc.
3. While at Camping World (where the camper had been taken), we were invited to eat a free hot dog lunch including beverage and chips. We initially declined because we did not feel we were “customers” but they insisted so we did and enjoyed our “dining out” meal.
4. Today we helped our church package meals for the hungry and were rewarded with a free chili lunch provided by the women of the church. We sampled about 20 different kinds of chili so we were quite stuffed – no dinner tonight!! That makes 3 meals over the weekend that did not require $$. I think I will put the savings into our “new camper” fund.
5. My husband won the Valentine’s basket at work which included a gift card to the movies and five Redbox codes. We used the first code last night and will be watching the Academy Awards to make a list of new movies to see.
Katy, I suddenly realized last year that my hair wasn’t thin due to middle age or thyroid problems, but because my cheap, worn-out hairbrush was breaking off my hair. After splurging 16 bucks on a German-made natural bristle brush, it’s like the amount of hair I have has doubled.
Four frugal things and a frugal fail:
1. Made homemade bread (three loaves), soup and brownies Friday.
2. Only spending this weekend was a trip to buy some winter blankets on end of season clearance at the discount liquidator store. $40 instead of the $120 they would have originally cost is an excellent price. 🙂
3. Cleaned out and reorganized some closets, reusing storage baskets from other places in the house.
4. Did lots of frugal stuff around the house this weekend, including enjoying the sight of the tiny Eastern spring beauties blooming in the grass in the back yard. They’re a sure sign that spring is right around the corner.
The fail: I totally fouled-up an alteration job on an inexpensive lightweight coat. It’s not often I bite off more than I can chew with sewing, but I realized after working at it most of the day that the coat was never going to fit right. My ancient cat took a shine to the soft fabric, though, so I think it can easily be turned into a cozy bed for him.
1. Went to the food bank today. Took a friend. She’s a widow and can really use the help.
2. Went to a couple free piles advertised online yesterday. I brought home a standing fan, a scanner, a white board with markers, some Mason jars, a half bottle of lotion, a half bottle of aftershave, a framed picture, white labels, a few books, two extension cords, a big quad paper pad, a space heater, and a big bag of men’s clothes. And a few other little things. My brother-in-law will look through the clothes. Whatever my family won’t let me keep or doesn’t need I’ll either give a way or sell.
3. Went grocery shopping with my sister yesterday. Got some great prices on produce.
4. A lady is giving away homemade kefir. Will swing by after work tomorrow (close to there, acroos the valley) to get some in my own jar. Zero waste!
5. Attended a free dance at a university 40 minutes away. It was kinda lame, but I did get a few dances in. My best friend drove and I carpooled with him.
6. Hung out at a friend’s family’s house last night. As I prepared dinner, they messaged me and after talking to my mom we went to visit. They cooked us a lovely dinner. I saved what I had been cooking and we had that for lunch today.
7. Went to visit someone from church a little while ago and offered help with her wedding a few months away from now. I enjoyed planning my sister’s wedding last time, and it’s always nice to do a good deed.
2. You got some great stuff!
Yeah! I got lucky! I did miss a Blu-ray player just because I didn’t know what it was, but I’m really happy with what I got. 🙂
Re: the lice — by now anything on the hairbrush would have been long dead even without doing anything to it. Lice and their eggs can only survive off a mammalian host for a very short period of time. But should you ever have this issue again, both the freezer and boiling water will kill the suckers. My daughter has had lice 3 times over the years and I have thrown nothing away.
Agreed. I think it is more a mental thing. We feel we have to do something “just in case” one is still there, lol.
1. Made tasty hummus from the 3+ year old chickpeas someone left in the break room.
2. Made Smoky Chicken Soup from happy-ish chicken that was on sale at Whole Paycheck, cheap frozen spinach, 5 year old split peas, and chicken stock made from supermarket roast chickens. Those supermarket roast chickens were half price at the end of the day and were ~terrible~ to eat (cottonly, over salted, greasy) but they made nice stock.
3. Made Farmhouse Soup from fresh chard, other veggies hanging around in the fridge (such as half a potato, the other half having gone to an equally frugal use, that of getting the last bits of meat out of the grinder) and canned beans bought on sale.
(Items #1-3 brought to you by “I have no frozen food to take for lunch.”)
4. Bought individual cups of yogurt rather than a 32 oz container since – with sale and coupons – it was half the usual price.
5. Continuing with the insurance theme: started on the pile of insurance claim responses, to cross-check for accuracy and deposit the checks. Double-checking that my insurance company hasn’t, yet again, tried to screw me out of money is my least favorite part of my overall least favorite household chore (i.e., going through paper).
6. Trying to get my energy together enough to start on my mending pile. The pile includes 8 year old flannel PJs and cheap cotton athletic socks.
7. Checked out new books from the library. If I like them, I buy my own copies. If not, no harm done. As a result I recommend Ann Leckie’s “Ancillary” trilogy to experienced SF readers. I wouldn’t recommend it to new or would-be SF readers – the plot and the background are both very complicated and take at half the first book to become clear. New SF readers will spend too much time being confused and lost.
Frugal Fail: my hairbrush broke along the plastic back. I tried fixing it with superglue, then shugru (sp?). Neither worked and into the trash it had to go. Fortunately I have a backup: an older broken plastic hairbrush; this one missing its handle.
4. I always buy the individual cups when they are marked down instead of the big container even though it’s less money. I have found that if I buy a big container my family won’t eat it as much as they do when it’s in a simple cup. I don’t like that those cups are causing extra garbage but wasting food is bad too.
I agree, I’d rather not waste the food + money. But it’s a bit painful nonetheless.
* Daughter is going to a march break camp starting tommorow and we forgot to bring the running shoes from school…. We had a pair at home but it was pretty dirty. I tried cleaning them yesterday with stain remover and a brush, without much success. So I went to Walmart and found a 15$ pair. Came back home to hubby telling me he washed the running shoes (again!) and they are now ok. Will return the new pair, saving 15$.
* Made a commitment with myself about no restaurants this week. I have plenty of food at home! And also, no snacking, no second helping and no sweets.
* Daughter is having to practice exercises given by speech therapist and she’s not trilled about it. So I took out a sheet of paper and made a quick “calendar” where she gets to put stickers every time she does the exercises (she’s 3, it works great!) Just got a bunch of old stickers I already had at home. Bribery with stickers is pretty inexpensive!
* We need to go to Costco about 2-3 times a year only, so there is no point for us to buy a membership. So we usually wait for the in-laws to be in town and we go with them (they are members). They pay and we pay them back. Last time we bought gift cards as well, this way we can go without (being or going with) a member and use those to pay. And our Costco restaurant is open to anyone, which is great if I want to swing by for a 1.50$ hotdog.
* We are receiving the money from the sale of the old house tommorow, which mean we will be able to clear both credit lines and put a good amount of extra money on our current mortgage. Awesome!!
Have a great frugal day!
You may know this already but Costco and Sam’s club pharmacy is also available to people without memberships. I don’t have a Costco nearby but Sam’s club frequently has better deals on medications than my local pharmacies. I know this is kinda unrelated to your topic but I thought I would throw it in since some people may not know. Those hot dogs are awesome!! Every time I eat one,, I sit there and think about how I can buy a whole pack of weiners and buns for almost the same price as a Sam’s club one, lol.
Ok, here goes…first time posting!!
1. Gave my 4 year old son and hubby haircuts
2. Waxed hubby’s unibrow with wax strip kit obtained free with mail in rebate
3. Had 2 people pick up items sold on Craigslist for $110. Yay!!
4. Ate yummy banana bread for breakfast made from 5 super ripe bananas. (2 loaves made)
5. Cleaned tub/shower with the best ever shower cleaner: equal parts vinegar and dish soap. Works great!!!!
Love all the ideas! Thanks everyone!!
RE: #5 — Any idea what the ratio would be if using the concentrated dish soap? I tried this once before and just ended with soap scum on my shower because of the high concentration of soap. 🙁
1. Very long story with my health insurance but they said I owed them $300 (which I didn’t). I persevered and finally talked to an insurance rep (after many times), and he finally saw their error.
2. I made taco soup with some left over taco meat.
3. I detailed and hand washed my car and my husbands.
4. I got a great buy on boneless chicken breast and veggies and stocked up.
5. Were given free eggs from our neighbor.
1. Washed both the dogs. They have some allergies and keeping them clean cuts down on the need for treatment.
2. I did the dumbest thing–I made scratch chicken pot pies and when they were cooling I found the cut up chicken in the refrigerator! I had put in veggies and gravy but forgot the chicken. I opened up the little pies, scraped out the filling into a pie plate and added some white sauce then rolled out the last dab of pie crust dough that I had saved for later and managed to get a crust top for the pie. I was giving this to someone, or I wouldn’t have worried about it.
3. We stopped along the road on our way to town and picked up a big trash can with a small piece broken out of the top that was laying in the ditch. We needed a can for our porch and this will do.
4. Our neighbor is tearing down a house on property he bought behind us. The house isn’t salvageable but an old seven sisters rose bush was in the yard. My husband asked if we could have it and yesterday our neighbor brought it to us and dug a hole with his bucket on his tractor and planted it. It never hurts to ask!
5. My granddaughter loves to play school and I found some more free lessons online that I printed out for her. She loves it and it costs me next to nothing.
2. I made an old fashioned custard pie last night and I put the milk into the eggs while it was a little too hot so basically it was a scrambled egg pie. It tasted like crambled eggs with sugar on them in a really good pie crust, blegh! I don’t like it but my kids ate it with some fruit for breakfast.
Ouch, that sounds like one of my tricks. Don’t you hate that? Sweet scrambled eggs…. no thanks!
1. Washed my towels this week with white vinegar because they were starting to smell a bit sour to me. It appears to have worked well–they passed the sniff test after drying.
2. Made my daughter a birthday cake this week from scratch and put peanut butter icing on it. She wanted a “surprise” and she agreed she was surprised. Total cost $1.88 for store brand peanut butter on sale, and only used half or less of the small jar. (We use extra crunchy and her husband can’t eat it with his dentures.)
3. While doing laundry on Saturday, I also made a double batch of granola and a single batch of French salad dressing in between visits to the basement.
4. Was treated to lunch on Friday by an old friend—we are renewing a very old friendship over the past six months or so. We attended the same church as teenagers and have run into each other extremely rarely since then. He has lost several siblings (including his twin) and both parents since those days, and appreciates a little socializing with lunch.
5. Confined our own “eating out” to one and a half subs from the local take out place, and had a $1 coupon off those! That served as Saturday’s supper as we were tired from other tasks done on Saturday.
6. Husband managed to find an empty picture frame that exactly fit his magazine cover — his car made the cover of the magazine, and he wanted to frame it to preserve it. Done at zero cost.
1) Free wine tasting date today (we left a tip of course). We are in a wine club (which just commits us to buying a certain amount of bottles a year-less than we would buy regularly. Tastings are free all year long as a perk!
2) Spend the big Saturday Night in with a homemade flatbread and video games.
3) Cooked all week, and came in at the end of our month at 33 cents under our grocery budget!
4) Cancelling a trip to San Francisco at the end of the month. We almost never say no to a trip, but our friends have a family emergency the need to tend to over that Spring Break. We will have to pay a cancellation fee for our tickets, but we will save hundreds which we can apply toward upcoming savings goals. Kind of not frugal, but better reflects our current needs than still going on the trip and having to find another place to stay (likely not for free!)
5) Setting our monthly budget for March and staying on top of our savings goals.
1) My favorite eyeliner pencil vanished after a trip last Thanksgiving and I’ve procrastinated in buying another – even though I missed it I didn’t want to pay to buy another. I cleaned out all the bathroom cabinets yesterday and found my pencil!
2) We went to buy a coffee table off Craigslist, and paid for it. My husband noticed how damaged it was when he got it out to the truck and asked for our money back. He normally doesn’t like to do stuff like this so I’m proud of him for not just taking the table anyhow! So we didn’t get a table but we still have our money!
3) When I was cleaning out the bathroom I rounded up all the shampoo bottles and will use those for quite a while. I am almost “out” of the stuff I normally use but there is plenty in the bathroom to use up!
4) My sister gave me a pump bottle of lotion and it was my favorite! There was a teeny tiny amount left but I couldn’t get to it so I put some coconut oil in it, heated it in the microwave and then emptied everything into a different container.
5) I did my own cleaning – the cleaning lady will have to look for a different job. 😉 (There is no cleaning lady…)
A question, then I’ll see how many frugalities I can come up with. Katy, I followed the link to your riveting tale of the toilet seat and remembered the door, but not if it ever became a headboard. Did it work out as hoped?
1. Made your black bean burgers tonight and got full family approval. Hooray! Used one can of black beans from Costco and one bag of organic frozen black-eyed peas from the 99 Only Store. Also used up some stale crackers in place of part of the bread crumbs.
2. Served them on whole wheat buns, with french fries from my freezer, both via the 99 Only Store. Trying to eat down the freezer, as it needs to be defrosted.
3. Had 4 boxes of random supplies from cleaning out two houses. Unloaded everything and got organized. Four partial cans of cleanser were consolidated into one, for example. Cleaned, restocked and reorganized supplies in kitchen, laundry and bathroom for zero dollars, plus got four boxes out of the garage. For the first time ever, cut off top of lotion bottles and used a spatula to squeegee them clean. Could not believe how much product remained after the pump would no longer draw. Wow, just wow!
4. Ushered at the theater on Friday, so, free show.
5. Not quite a Lear Jet, but our low ball offer on what we hoped would be our next fixer/rental property was rejected without a counter offer, so we didn’t spend $230k this week, lol!
I wasn’t feeling particularly frugal. I had spent a little money this weekend for household repairs and projects. However, when I stopped and thought about it, I realized that I still had FFT. Thrifty habits truly become ingrained over time.
1) We ate leftovers for lunch. It was quite the smorgasbord! I probably wouldn’t recommend eating spaghetti with meat sauce and shrimp stir-fry at the same meal. Everyone was still satisfied and nothing was wasted. Some leftover mashed potatoes and a baked potato from the night before became Sunday morning breakfast hash.
2) I bought two, new-to-me chairs at an estate sale. It was love at first sight. I will sell the two that theses replaced to help pay for them.
3) I did some redecorating with what I had. I moved things around. I painted the front door with paint in the garage, etc. I splurged on a $1.49 bouquet of daffodils at TJ’s. The warmer weather makes want to feather my nest.
4). I borrowed a party table from a friend for an event at my house rather than buying one.
5) I have a side business which was previously cash only. I purchased a Square and downloaded the app. I can now take debit and credit cards. The actual cost was $0, because the company rebate the cost of the actual Square when you register online . I hope that the convenience will increase sales.
1. Took advantage of an inventory sale at our local grocery store. I have enough coffee and pasta to last at least 6 months now. Living in a vacation spot, it pays to stock up before tourist season when the prices go way up.
2. Used enough coupons and bought only sale items, saved so much at the store the cashier had to get an override (spent less than I saved).
3. Ate the rest of our free tuna given by a local fisherman who had extra.
4. Took a long walk.
5. Bought no wine at all, going on a hiatus for losing weight, saving money, and feeling better.
1) I cooked two leg & thigh quarters in the crock-pot yesterday and cut 6 flour tortillas into strips, with the pizza cutter, to use as noodles/dumplings. 3-4 of them were getting stale, so it was a good way to use them up. Dinner was delish!
I use chicken leg quarters a lot, since I can get them on sale for about $6 for 10 lbs – which I think is 6 leg quarters. I separate them into bags of two each. I can make so many good meals from them.
2) I bought a 9 lb bag of Pinol powdered laundry detergent yesterday at the grocers for a little over $8. I only use about a 1/4 cup for each load and we only do about 4 loads per week, they are small to medium loads, so this will last for most of the year. It’s bio-degradable, since we have a septic system.
3) I bought a gallon bottle of white vinegar to use as a stain remover, odor neutralizer and also as a fabric softener, which is usually $2-3 per large bottle. It will last me for about two-months
4) I used my favorite card to shop at the Library on Saturday. I picked up a DVD, a book and another audio-book.
5) I’m running out of some of the ingredients for my breakfast mix of berries & nuts, so I plan to head to Aldi’s today to restock.
1. Realized I forgot to use a 10% coupon on Saturday while running errands. The store is on my way home from work, so I will stop today and see if they will credit the difference.
2. I am trying to delay grocery shopping as long as possible by eating down the food I have at home already. I found enough things in the freezer to last me at least until tomorrow night, even if the meal combinations are strange.
3. Used my first Swagbucks gift card this weekend. It felt great to get some much needed items for the house without spending much money!
4. A movie that my mom and I both want to see is finally coming to Redbox tomorrow. We missed seeing it in the theater due to busy schedules, but we’ll save money this way too!
5. Frugal fail: I tried sending some photos via email to the woman who sold me my house. I must not have had the correct email address, because it kept bouncing back. I decided to just have the photos printed and send them via mail to her new address. She’s had some health issues, so I hope the photos will cheer her up a bit.
Hope you feel better Katie!
This week I….
1) Did not buy some magnificent sale yarn that I did not need (why should that be so hard? But it is)
2) Planned out meals for the week, and made the long haul trip out to the discount grocery store this weekend
3) Downgraded our family YMCA member ship to a single adult one, since I’m the only one currently using it
4) Brought snacks to and lunch to work each day
5) Got a bunch of movies from the library for entertainment