- I assembled my older son’s new bed for him. This includes the frame, (which we already owned) a full-size mattress and box spring that a friend was getting rid of and a brand new set of sheets that I was gifted through my local buy nothing group. (His duvet was already a full-queen size.) So yes, I was able to transition my son’s twin bed to a full-size bed without spending a penny!
- I stopped at Fred Meyer this morning after dropping my son at school. I noticed that a number of the 1% gallons of milk had hit their mark-down date, so I found an employee who confirmed the date and marked them down to $1.39 per gallon. I also picked up the last couple of Friday Freebie deals which were a Marie Callender chicken pot pie and a Lindt chocolate egg.
- I noticed that my Japanese exchange student was scheduled to spend the day at the elementary school that’s visible from my house. However, the host family paperwork instructed us to drop him at the high school across town, in order to take a bus back with his classmates. I e-mailed the exchange director and asked if instead I could simply walk him to and from the elementary school. I still had to drive the morning leg for my son, but he’ll take the city bus home, which scratches an unnecessary drive from my afternoon schedule.
- I plan to send Kentaro back to Japan with a few gifts for his family, but want to avoid cluttery new purchases and wasted money. I realized that we have a few new looking Portland Timbers pennants, plus I’ll bake up a batch of my famous ginger snaps, which travel well. I’ll also print up pictures from our time together and put them in a small photo album which we already own. (Maybe . . . we’ll see if I actually get around to this.)
- My husband had a pass to the Adidas employee store for yesterday which was a perfect tourist attraction for Kentaro. He bought himself a pair of high top sneakers for $45, (everything is half-price) and was able to take a photo with two of the Portland Timbers soccer players who were signing autographs. We then walked across the street and posed for pictures with the enormous Adidas shoes. Cost to us? Zero.
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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* I made myself available for extra afternoons shifts from time to time (I only work mornings). Will see if this goes anywhere
* Working on emptying the chest freezer in order to have space for organic chickens from Costco (will go with the inlaws in April, using their membership) and possibly a quarter of a cow this summer. So we are saving on groceries at the moment.
* Coming back for the dentist with daughter. Happy about our 90% coverage from our private insurances!
* Going to the movies tonight using a coupon and a gift card.
* Date night with hubby tommorow. Don’t know yet what we are doing (appart from going grocery shopping… What can I say, I lead an exciting life, ahah! But, for real, we both enjoy grocery shopping). Babysitting will be free (sister in law).
Have a great frugal day!
1. I used my sister’s car today for batched errands. I am a SAHM ordinarily without a car during the day. (We gave our older car to college-aged daughter and DH uses our other car for his work. Went to the scrapyard with saved cans and got paid $7. Went to Half-Price Books and got $16 for books we no longer wanted. Went to Aldi for a few essentials and pet store for food on sale. Will pick my sister up at the airport tomorrow as per the arrangement we have for me borrowing the car.
2. Made homemade potoato soup with shriveled potatoes and banana bread with overripe bananas. Delicious!
3. Sent St. Patrick’s Day greetings over FB rather than greeting cards through the mail as I used to do.
4. I turned off the furnace today as it is mild and sunny here in Ohio today. The forsythia branches I cut a few days ago are blooming now in a vase….free fresh forsythia flowers! (Say that five times fast!)
5. Have beer chilling in fridge for Happy Hour with DH….will add my own green food coloring to the frosted mugs for all the fun of the pub-at home!
1. Did all the frugal usuals: packed lunches and drinks from home, no spending to and from work, did laundry and hung it on the drying rack, baked bread and other treats from scratch.
2. Returned a couple of items I’d ordered that didn’t work out: a pair of reading glasses and a different name brand of bra than I usually wear. It took a few minutes time, but I got $34 back for making the effort.
3. Used up the last of the frozen fruit in the freezer (it had been in there since last summer) making muffins, smoothies and cereal toppings.
4. Did price comparisons between the urban Aldi near my house and the suburban one that’s about 15 minutes away over the state line that verified my gut feeling that the one farther away is definitely much cheaper.
5. Recycled a mailing envelope and got some free packaging material from work to return the stuff in #2.
#4 is interesting. I thought that chain stores had generally the same prices. Are the stores in different counties? Is there more competition in the suburban area? This makes me wonder about our local, chain market.
They’re in different states. We live about five minutes from the state line. I can only assume that the other state (Georgia) has some kind of price supports for milk and eggs that makes them less expensive, but some other things are less expensive there as well, like pork breakfast sausage. The sales tax is much lower there too.
I used to work 1-1/2 hrs from home (different counties, same state) and there were definitely price differences with Target near the city/work and Target near home/suburbs. It was so convenient to knock out a shopping errand during my lunch break that sometimes I just did it! The difference may have only been a few cents at times, but I noticed on items I regularly purchased.
Yes, Georgia has complex and varying sales tax. Some food items are taxed but others aren’t. Each county and city sets their own tax rate on top of the state rate. I live near both county and city lines and can spend different amounts within walking distance. I never thought to compare though but I will be looking into it.
We have noticeable differences in shelf prices at Aldi and Target in the city itself versus suburbs (both are in the same county and same state). If leaving the city anyway (about 15 miles, takes about 30-45 minutes) I try to stock up.
1. I joined with five of my co-workers to create a team in a weight loss challenge sponsored by our work. We will have a lot of company-wide competition, of course, but it’s free, and the winning teams with best combined weight loss percentages in each division get $500 per team member, paid directly to the individuals! Worth the effort of eating a little less!
2. My found change challenge is falling flat so far. I’ve only found 12 cents, but it’s something. I found the dime this week.
3. Thursday seems to be “eat out” day here at work. I resisted and ate here; leftovers, naturally.
4. I was looking for a non-poisonous way to get rid of fire ants. The diatomaceous earth didn’t do it, nor did borax. I found a university website that suggested citrus oil for mound treatment, so I looked for it on the web, but the shipping costs were atrocious on every site — $15 to $30 shipping for a single gallon. I called my local Ace Hardware — they actually carry it online for a couple of dollars more per gallon, but they’ll get it shipped to the store at no freight charge to me. I’ll have it next Tuesday.
5. I’m wearing a Goodwill shirt (in green, of course, for St. Patrick’s Day), hand-me-up jeans, a found ponytail holder, six year old shoes and older socks. No one gasped or pointed fingers; in fact, I always get compliments on this shirt.
I wore a lovely green blouse from the Salvation Army today with a pair of ancient Land’s End slacks that I recently revitalized by re-dying them black. (They had faded some over time, but are holding up great otherwise, so $4 for a bottle of dye was a wise investment.) Nobody pointed fingers at me either. 😀
I don’t have experience with fire ants, but I used cinnamon to get rid of my variety. I found where they were coming in, squashed the ants I could see, then sprinkled cinnamon liberally on the path they were taking. After a few days, I did not see them coming in anymore so I vacuumed up the cinnamon and didn’t have a problem again.
I, too, have used cinnamon with great success with ants. (this is after using terminex and spending all that money didn’t work.) I purchased the safer brand ant killer and mixed it liberally with cinnamon — and voila! Ants gone. Additional bonus that my cats hate the smell of cinnamon and they would stay away from the ant poison. Again, they weren’t fire ants, but cinnamon is cheap if you use the Kirkland brand at Costco.
1) I have a corned beef in the crock pot, Guinness in the frig, potatoes and carrots in the oven, and cabbage on the stove. We will have a St Patty’s day celebration at home for my half Irish husband.
2) I went thrifting with my daughter who is home for spring break. We added to her spring wardrobe for very little $$$$$. I also bought a very nice white cotton blouse for myself.
3) I stopped by the service desk at the grocery store and turned in the coupons that my hubby forgot on his last visit. I was gifted with $0.75. Not much really, but I added it to my found change jar.
4) I picked up the “Rich Dad”educational series complete with CDs, workbook and DVDs. The cost was $3 at a moving sale. I have read much about this program online. I hope to learn something new and be motivated to stay on budget.
5) Of course, we have been doing all the usual things. Enjoying low-cost activities, eating mostly at home, and bringing water with me when going out.
1. My friend gave me some small padded envelopes for selling small items on ebay, and I gave her a stack of medium sized boxes and some large mailing bags. I like having someone to trade with.
2. The weather has been nice here and I’ve been able to take a nice walk on my lunch hour nearly every day this week.
3. Someone on a local FB board posted a really nice Pottery Barn playhouse for $25. I was first commenter and picked it up immediately. I believe it can be packed small enough to list on ebay.
4. My friend emailed me a coupon for a free week of meals from Hello Fresh. Regular price for the week is $79. I just have to cancel my subscription after the initial free week.
5. Sold a $3 DVD on the local FB board. Not much, but better than nothing.
1. Have been sick since Tuesday. Took cold medicine, ibuprofen and cough drops bought on sale. Went to a community clinic yesterday. Payment was $15, plus $8 for the antibiotics. I feel considerably better today. The doctor allowed for a refill as well.
2. Ended up staying an hour over at work on Monday.
3. Made some delicious oven-baked nachos for lunch from stuff we already had.
4. My parents had the honest handyman clean and teach my dad how to clean the furnance’s air filter. Only $125 for three hours of work.
5. My sister and brother in law are sick as well so they’ve been taking advantage of the things I bought on sale.
I knew I’d forgotten something!
6. Did an over the phone survey with The Washington Post yesterday morning. They gave me $50 in Amazon gift cards for about 45 minutes of my time. Should definitely help with my school books.
Would love to post my FFT but I am vacationing with my family. Trying to not be looking down at my phone much. So will catch up next time, lol!
1. Printed a gazillion free birthday freebies for my daughter and myself, will be lots of fun! Hip to Save had a great link on Facebook earlier in the week for great bday freebies.
2. Swallowed my pride and called about getting another scholarship for summer camp for my daughter, sounds like we will get awarded it. Picked up the app today.
3. Doing a house/doggie vacation sit this weekend earning extra money. Its a fabulous house to stay in and we turn it into a fun weekend with lots of doggie fun time. Using a lot of our bday freebies and daughter will use some of her gift cards she got for her birthday to go shopping. Will save on utilities, enjoy their cable, pack some of our food/eat some of theirs, win win!
4. Doing Swagbucks and the St. Patrick’s Day Team Challenge, go Polished Pennies!
5. Not frugal 5th item – saw my first centipede this morning and had to immediately flush the awful thing wasting 2-3 gallons of water, so worth it!!!
1. Found .76 cents in change at local Jamba Juice. Imagine my excitement!
2. Used a gift card to treat my boys to a small Jamba.
3. Went out with my sisters for a drink at Starbucks. Used a gift card, and got free refills since I’m a gold member.
4. Heated up leftovers for dinner. My kids don’t complain much about leftovers.
5. Picked up a beautiful Armiore from our Foster Family group. Someone was
giving it away free. Now my daughter has somewhere to put her thrifted and gifted clothes.
Got a free workout by turning the compost pile, and adding compost to the raised beds. Fiqure that’s frugal, and great for the abs.
Went to the bread store, and scored 8 loaves of bread for $4.
I also went to the senior thrift store. It is the cutiest and most organized thrift store I’ve ever been in, I’ve been on the hunt for a butter dish, and they must be popular, because I never find one. Well, this was my day. I found a Royale dinnerware by Branchell butter dish. It was .25. They sell on e-bay for about $8, but this one will be used daily by us.
On the way out the door, they have a free table, and scored 8 eggcartons. As I sell egg, I always need more!
Do you get rats in your compost?
I’ve read about other people attracting rats with their compost. It must depend on your area. We get deer and the occasional opossum, but never rats.
1. Made corned beef and cabbage for today using a recipe that called for a 12 oz. bottle of Guiness. Since the only people in the house who drink it are my sons (who can damn well buy their *own* beer), I was tickled to find a single bottle at Meijer for $1.59, instead of having to buy a 6 pack.
2. Was sent an invite to tour a local assisted living facility (I guess because I’m an AARP member?) and was given a $25 prepaid Visa card for my effort. 20 min. of asking questions and walking around for $25? Yes, please! (And since the facility is nearly $5,000 a month, there’s noooo way….)
3. Continuing to stretch my favorite expensive tea bags by using one in the filter of my designated-for-tea-olny 4 cup coffee maker. Makes 2 perfect mugs of tea, so bags last twice as long!
4. Son starts new job tomorrow as a waiter and needs to wear a black shirt (which he has), tie (which they gave him), black non-slip shoes (which he also has) and black pants (which he could not find). Took him to Goodwill, and in 5 min, he found a perfect pair of Haggar slacks for $4. Score!
5. Purchased 20 CD-Rom study guides for our school library, which came in crappy, half-broken plastic cases. Was going to just throw them away and buy some better ones, but first, thought I should talk to the company. They sent me 20 replacement cases, with the paper inserts explaining what was in each guide, for free, the same exact kind I was going to buy. NCA win for the school librarian!!
1. Went out to eat with friends to celebrate a birthday. Ordered the special and saved 1/2 for lunch tomorrow.
2. Took home what was left of the shared sides.
3. Stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few items, saw a dime on the floor. Looked up and saw a man loading change into the Coinstar machine, so I gave it to him, it was probably his.
4. Honesty paid off! As I was leaving, swiped my hand in the change return of Coinstar and came out with over 2.00 change! No one was around to claim it, so I kept it. Thanks for the tip, Katy! I guess some people don’t know to keep checking and loading what comes out until its all deposited.
5. Walked every day this week, what beautiful weather.
1. Went for a walk at lunch to get fresh air and more exercise.
2. Called the insurance company for the correct form to get reimbursed $150 for the eyeglasses I just purchased. (Prescription changed, was having hard time with eyestrain). $150 is about 1/3 of the price, but it is better than nothing!
3. Craving a chicken caesar wrap at a local restaurant for dinner, came home and ate leftovers instead.
4. Walked with a friend after work. We walk twice a week together to keep ourselves motivated to exercise. Saves gym fees.
5. Going to suck it up and learn how to sell something on craigs list. (I know!) I just have a fear factor of the unknown — who is going to show up at my house, etc. I have two things I really want to sell though and they would give me a nice amount to put in my investment account. I have to push past the fear and just try it.
If you would rather not have people coming to your house to do the transaction, I know a LOT of police departments are now designating areas at their stations to do this! Don’t know if they are in your area, but it’s worth a call to ask! Good luck on your CraigList adventure!
I would rather not have people coming to my house either. When I sell on CL, I ask people to meet me at the library. There is a nice lobby area just outside of the library-proper and it is a good place to transact a sale. Another great thing about our library! I have friends who sell on CL and meet with buyers at Starbucks,miso that’s another option.
The problem with my Craigs List sale is it is a desk…a rather large oak desk. I can’t move it. It’s solid oak, made in the 1880s. That’s why I’ve been so scared to list it….people have to come to the house. I’ve exhausted all other avenues…contacting antique stores, putting word out to friends, etc. It’s just sitting in my garage and it’s beautiful — leather top, solid oak, lots of storage.
The good news is the desk is in your garage. You can meet them in the driveway with an open garage door and not have them walking through your house up to a bedroom or other room. Make sure someone else is home. If you can’t, make sure to reference your “husband” so they know you are not alone. I sold some furniture on CL and it made me very uneasy to have strangers in the house. 98% of the people were nice and non-serial killer like. However, I had two men stop in separately that had very sketchy behavior and were very “rough” seeming, I did not trust them at all. They asked lots of questions about my home and living arrangements that had nothing to do with the items they were purchasing. It felt like they were scoping out the place for a future visit or plans for that visit. Both left without purchasing the items. Go with your gut if you feel Uncomfortable about anyone. All of the other people who seemed normal purchased the items without all of the creepy questions and were on their way. Some shard their stories – one couple getting married and the sofa was their first furniture purchase, etc.
I have sold several large items on CL, and had people come to the house. I am always apprehensive too, but everyone that has come has been nice and normal.
1. Made banana bread from the overripe bananas on the bench. The kids went crazy for it.
2. Brought leftover nachos for lunch.
3. Had budgeted a coffee for myself out of my blow money today but was so busy I didn’t go out to get it, so I still have it.
4. Heard on the radio that petrol was about to go up so I stopped into a station on the way to work and filled up. Sure enough by the time I headed home it had gone up.
5. Today’s work outfit was brought to me today by several local thrift stores, lol.
1) given 2boxes of chocolates , 2 packets of potato chips and a kilo of plums by my mother from some left overs of their church’s food bank
2) finally got a better deal for fixing my roof , the price started at $18,000., they brought it down to $14,000 , then $13,000, finally after I said it was just too much they sent out one of their managers and it’s going to cost me $10,000 for a full roof restoration, guttering , gutter shield and some spare paint …yippeeeee I can manage that even though it’s still a lot
3) my parents bought me a new washing machine when mine died, I told them I will pay them back…they won’t let me……I feel guilty but also very grateful
4) frozen a pile of over ripe bananas to use in my yonana to make banana icecream
Finally not using the airconditioning as the cool change has arrived ahhhhh
Woops forgot to number my number 5
1. I asked a friend about getting together today. She asked me to come to her house this afternoon for tea. Since she’ll be working today I’ll bake something to contribute.
2. I did not go to the Giant, one of my usual weekly grocery store stops, this last ad cycle. We just didn’t need anything they had on sale.
3. I’ll stop by/walk to the Asian market today, they often have weekend specials, starting on Friday.
4. I joined a group of fellow volunteers for lunch yesterday. We were honoring two volunteers for several decades of service. I ordered the lunch special for $5 (entree, two sides, and a drink) and resisted the urge to get cookies.
5. I saw an article by Michelle Singletary, of the Washington Post, that included this quote: “Rich people stay rich by living like they’re broke. Broke people stay broke by living like they’re rich”. I know it’s not that simple but it’s something to remember.
-I returned a purchase and got $26 credited to my account.
-I called about a charge on my card that I didn’t recognize. Got it reversed.
-I made a frugal dinner of potato soup, grilled cheese, and green salad. It’s snowing here so it was warm and filling.
-Got a free protein bar at work from a break area (people often use the are by the microwave to leave leftovers or not wanted foods).
-A local fast food restaurant is doing free breakfast coffee for the month of March and I’ll swing by today on my way to the gym.
We’ve enjoyed the nice weather here. I’ve ignored the lure of all the seed and flower catalogs and have just spent time in my garden moving around flowers and plants I already have. I started tomatoes, cole crops and peppers from seed. I shared some extra seeds with my father-in-law and he gave us some extra broccoli and cabbage plants to put in my own garden. I’ve worked some extra shifts at one of my part-time jobs. My daughter’s birthday is in a couple weeks, and for convenience’s sake, we’ve decided to combine the party with my in-laws’ Easter dinner. Which will save me on food and just the busyness of cleaning/getting the house ready for company. Then just the usual suspects – library books, eating at home, using what I have.
1) I bought supplies to make Shepherd’s pie for dinner tonight, since my daughter and the grandkids are coming for the night. Easy to fix and the potatoes were on sale for 99 cents a bag.
2) I used the leftover Manwich mix from Wednesday night’s dinner, mixed in some diced tomatoes and made spaghetti for last night’s dinner. Used some bread that was getting stale to make garlic toast.
3) We’re eating at the church tomorrow, so I’m going to make mac & cheese to take. The kids always eat that and I won’t have to spend a lot of time fixing it. We usually have a lot of main dishes, so side dishes are cheap and good to take.
4) I’m looking forward to having a relaxing Sunday at home, doing some housework and reading. I have a few library books I need to finish.
5) I didn’t buy a Yacht or a Lear jet.
Did some bartering with a friend, I love bartering, especially when both parties are excited and pleased with the outcome. I bartered a few items around the house that were collecting dust for me, but things my friend could get great use out of…. she bartered about 30lbs of grass fed beef. SO EXCITED!!! As far as red meat we are predominately a venison household, but I can’t wait for some awesome burgers on the grill this summer! Now, I need to figure out what to do with the beef heart she threw in, but don’t worry, I’ll figure out something that is magically delicious.
Balanced my cash envelopes and returned one of my milk jugs which netted me $2, but I purchased $7.50 in fresh dairy, so now my balance is $4.50 which I’m not gonna lie is causing me a bit of anxiety. Next week I will have 3 milk jugs to return and that will net me $6 and will bump me back up to $10.50 Woo Hoo living high on that hog!
Took and inventory of the pantry to determine what we need to focus on in the gardens this year. Green beans for sure. Always need tomatoes, and I think I’m gonna try putting up peas and carrots this year. And yes, that did remind me of Forest, Forest Gump. Like peas and carrots….. All my seeds should arrive in the next few days and I’ve already got my soil and recycled toilet paper and paper towel rolls ready.
Used up the last of the squeezed, flattened, rolled and clipped toothpaste tube last night. I think I actually heard it moaning from all the squeezing and twisting. I always get a warm frugal feeling when I do that, I mean why waste it?
Also snagged an antique shelf unit in the barter process, which is so pretty that I hope to get it set up in the kitchen / dinning / pantry area this weekend…. I have no idea where it’s going to go yet, but I’ll love it I know that.
It occurred to me that I haven’t been including my most proud frugal activity in my frugal five. Quitting smoking! April 23rd is the Z Man’s 1 year smoke free anniversary and I have been smoke free since January 4th. This is not only saving us money, but saving our life…. you know provided we don’t get hit by a bus or something. 🙂
Congratulations!
It’s a very big deal, congratulations!
1. Treated by son to restaurant lunch on St. Pat’s day at non-crowded Chinese place! Then…..cooked traditional corned beef and cabbage at home that evening. Exciting afternoon was spent taking the dog along to pet shop for dog treats that taste good to her and includes glucosamine which is supposed to help arthritis.
2. Semi frugal category – got Easter Lily on sale
3. Attended memorial service this morning – sad occasion but good to see old friends for lunch and conversation.
4. Husband fixed my computer which has a mind of it’s own and often crashes – no cost at all!
5. No Lear Jet or too much squandering of $$.
I hope this comment isn’t too late, but I want to say, as someone who was an exchange student way back when, my absolute, most beloved farewell gift from my host family was a small photo album with pictures they had taken during my visit. On behalf of your student, I do hope you have time to put one together. I carried mine with me on my moves to college, then around four different countries as work sent me various places. (I still have it; I keep it safely with the album my parents made before I went to college.)
Thank you so much for your input, I will put this front and center on my to-do list! I’ve been making sure to take lots of photos.