- Yesterday was my son’s high school graduation, and instead of going to a restaurant I pre-prepared a meal that could be shared with lots of family. It was simple but there were no complaints. It worked out especially well since we ended up having a fairly short period of time between his ceremony and his high school’s “all night party.”
- My son needed to bring his swimsuit to the party, but when I pulled them from the swim bag I was met with that awful “scritch” sound that only comes from spent elastic. (Seriously, I think that sound is worse than fingernails against a chalkboard!) There wasn’t time to begin a search for a new/used suit, so I called my mom and asked her to bring some elastic to the graduation ceremony. She then threaded new elastic through the swim trunks and my son was rewarded a perfectly serviceable suit. Thanks, mom!
- I had to stay up to go fetch my son at the crack of dawn, so I used the time to finish writing up a Clark Howard article.
- The leftovers from last night will serve as road trip food, as we are driving down on Friday to pick our older son up from college.
- I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Packed my lunch.
2. Have been making dinner every day.
3. Menu planned to make above dinners.
4. Resisted a quick stop at Dollar General to “pick up a few things”.
5. Going to cheap beach on my day off with son.
There was a squirrel in my kitchen when I woke up the other morning so here’s a half truth / half FICTIONAL account of my 5 frugal things for this week:
1. Chased squirrel around kitchen = free exercise!
2. Tried to convince squirrel to pay rent = potential income property
3. New holes in window screens allow for more ventilation of my apartment = more fresh air, healthy!
4. Cooked squirrel stew for dinner using only the ingredients I had on hand = economical!
5. Made squirrel slippers = cozy!
In reality, I found a penny this week. That’s about it.
ROTFLOL!
You win “five frugal things!”
Woohooo!
Hahahs
Omg…..I am dying…..this is great.
OMG hilarious!
Thanks for the laugh, lauren. Much needed!
And, semi-seriously, older editions of The Joy of Cooking include directions for skinning and cooking squirrel. So if you’re ever *really* hungry…
No Problemo 🙂
As for the recipe.. I’m going to stick with non-consuming that squirrel… for now! hahahaha
😀
1. We signed a lease on a new apartment that costs $350/month less than our current place. Fiance will be able to walk/bike to work, which means that he won’t have to take on the expenses of buying a car or paying for public transportation.
2. I updated my address with my car insurance company and will be refunded $200+ after the move.
3. Wore a $5 thrifted dress as my bridesmaid dress in a wedding this weekend.
4. There were boxes of leftover pizza in the teachers’ lounge after a university came and gave a presentation on furthering our educations. I took a box home for my fiance and me to eat for dinner.
5. I got free under-bed storage units from my local Buy Nothing group.
Free food!
1. Monday was my quilt group day, and I was able to use only supplies on hand to start and finish a new project.
2. So far this week has been about eating up leftovers or cooking from groceries on hand.
3.Can’t do without a/c in our part of the country, but we are leaving the thermostat alone and implementing strategic use of ceiling fans.
4. Staying home reading borrowed books and scratching chores off of the old to-do list.
5. Had some freelance writing opportunities come my way. Not a fortune, but it’s something…and it’s interesting and working out the gray matter…and really nice to be asked!
spent + elastic = splastic
(1) My husband has frequent meetings at hotels. He brings home the pens and paper.I have some in each car. I “gift” them when someone asks for a pen . Last week I left some with a group I belong to holding a raffle.
(2) Bought two packages of strawberries 30% off. Picked out the couple of soft ones, trimmed and ate those . One package went to a potluck and was inhaled. The other went to a sharing table at a sport windup for one of my kids and came home for us to use with a good amount left.
Friend gifted me a bag with (3) magazines for one daughter to use in her classrooms,(4) a large amount of individual tea bags, these I have divided into a box my staff chooses from to make tea at meetings and a portion that I am gifting
To a friends group I meet with periodically. In this bag she also gave two good sized unopened tins of lemongrass tea. She bought them to support someones tea business. I gifted them to two of my staff. (5) she also gifted 4 sleeves of crackers that her husband would “cough” every time he ate them. I took these to another sport activity , that had a sharing table. I made a dip with sour cream that I needed to use, an on sale dry vegetable soup and the last of a jar of mayo. People were asking for the recipe ?as they inhaled the crackers.
Took advantage of a starbucks coffee deal ($5 gift certificate if you buy 3 bags), used two coupons, total around $4 a bag.
I have been using only cold to wash my clothes after years of thinking it was warm or nothing. I can’t tell the difference!
Sold an unused thing on Craigslist for $30.
Cooking up chicken bones in the slow cooker right now for broth. Free nutrition!
Said “no” to fast food requests this week from kids. Although, did cave and spent $5 on popsicles at the pool from the ice cream truck. Because summer. 🙂
I love that you splurged on the popsicles at the pool. Kids grow up way too fast and they will remember those summer popsicles way longer than the time that you will miss the $5.
1. Did my budget on Every Dollar for June earlier this week, a little late but better late then never! Reality also set in as I realized we had been spending a little to much already on food. Also was able to cut back in some areas as my paychecks will be smaller.
2. Submitted medical bills for my Health Flex account I had held off on so I would have money for my summer leaner months.
3. Attended a meeting tonight for my daughter about the upcoming class trip to Washington D.C. next year. Very glad we started fundraising and saving over two years ago!!! Expensive but so worth the expense. Trying to figure out if I could swing going as a chaperon, will have to see.
4. Used coupon to get strawberries for 59 cents and used another to buy ice cream with and with the sale on ice cream paid $2 for it.
5. Worked unplanned hours this week which will bring in extra cash.
6. Save but not save – saw Groupon post for $25 concert tickets for Five Seconds Of Summer with no surcharges. My daughter has never been to a concert before but has always wanted to go to one so I decided to splurge and surprise her.
1. Found 42 cents in the last 4 days, 10 of it while on my walk–I love to get paid to exercise!
2. Friends are using our backyard for their daughters wedding so they sent their son over to help with yard work, saving us from hiring some of it out.
3. Took some of DH’s work out clothes to Platos Closet. Turns out they like Nike and Under Armor.
4. Purchased NWT baby outfit at Goodwill for a gift for my niece. I have already bought her a gift, so that helped make it very reasonable. (Can’t leave out the mama!)
5. Checked receipts from stores when I returned from errands noticing they had not applied coupons or sale prices. Called and arranged to get them corrected “upon next visit”. I won’t make a special trip. So irritating, but glad I checked because the total was over $3.
I find checking receipts to be so necessary. But it is hard with two toddlers to supervise them in the checkout area and watch the register. I just know some stuff is getting passed me now.
1. Took a defensive driving course on line ($20) that gave me a $140 annual savings on my car insurance
2.Thrift shopped a bedspread for my sister’s house (she’s staging it to sell)
3. Set a/c to 80 degrees between 2-7pm; or turn off, depending on temp outside
4. Made my own liquid laundry detergent
5. Found a great pair of rain boots at Goodwill; lady in line loved them more than me….I gave them to her.
Wow! That was a great return on the defensive driving course! And that was ind of you regarding the boots.
1. Traveling for work for 2 days, so made sure to eat when it was payed for by the company, saving grocery money from the household budget.
2. Leftovers from recent camping trip have been consumed.
3. Following up on outstanding invoices to make sure I get paid more promptly
4. Called my travel credit card to ask a question and found out they no longer charge foreign transaction fees, so now I can rack up miles on vacation (we never carry a balance or pay interest).
5. Negotiated down the price of an outing we wanted to do on our vacation by 25%!
1. made 2 refreshments for my class one from a brownie mix and one from rice krispies and marshmallos.I’m trying to use up ingredients onhand before I move in a couple of weeks.
2. Roasted a chicken that was bought on sale and from the freezer for multiple meals this week.
3. Made my niece and nephew banana bread (one gluten free with chocolate chips and walnuts, the other just banana) and macaroni and cheese with ingredients from pantry and freezer.
4. Turned the air conditioner off.
5. Requested some books from the library.
1. I’ve been listening to audiobooks on my way to work. Last week it was ‘A Greedy Man in a Hungry World’ by Jay Rayner (which I recommend) – about the conflict between food ethics and food security, and this week ‘Cleaving’ by Julie Powell. I have only just discovered audiobooks and am now a convert. I am also reading a History of Drinking Water in the evenings, which is also proving interesting. Of course, all books borrowed from the library.
2. Just had my lunch – homemade soup made over the weekend with my husband, and a homemade cheese and bacon roll pulled out of the freezer. The soup was roast capsicum and sweet potato, from vegies that were on their last legs, and from vegie stock made from scraps. So in my view the soup was essentially free.
3. Made more stock from a roast pork bone and vegie scraps. It went in the slow cooker and cooked away from Sunday to Wednesday, and is now the colour of vegemite. My husband, an ex-chef, was extolling its glory before I left for work this morning. We extol simple things in our house.
4. Took a pair of boots to be re-heeled, will pick them up tomorrow. Paying the princely sum of $15.
5. I have increased my retirement contributions earlier this year (Baby Step 4) and went in to look at it last night. I was shocked to see how just that one action of increasing my contributions has made such a difference in just a short time.
6. Made muffins last night from a frozen banana, some leftover apple juice, and some leftover grated carrot from dinner. Almost was a frugal fail, as I left them cooking and forgot about them when I was watching – ironically – MasterChef on TV. It was only the mention of cinnamon on the TV that reminded me. Just saved them in the nick of time.
I’d love the recipe for the cheese and bacon roll – or the instructions if it’s more of a method.
1. A free appetizer offer from Chili’s was in my inbox. I chose the loaded boneless chicken wings. So good! I tried them then gave them to my husband. I didn’t have to cook! Last week Chili’s offered a free dessert; my daughter loves cheesecake. It’s so easy to run in the “to go” door and pick up a free item! Love their rewards program now that I know I can order items to go.
3. I printed a cute, free checklist for grandson of items to look for during our nature walks.
4. I was thirsty when finishing my shopping, but just waited 10 minutes to get home instead of buying a drink.
5. I caught a bag sale at a thrift store and got lots of tops and some much needed sleep pants. They came out to about .50 each.
6. I met a friend for coffee instead of lunch.
1. Shopped the annual library book sale, picked up 3 books for $7 – used $ from entertainment budget.
2. Packing lunch each day, resisting the urge to eat out (SO difficult some days).
3. Love a specialty tea offered at a high end coffee shop across from my office ($3.50 for a tiny cup), took notice of the box they pulled the tea pouch from, did a search and found it online. Now I steep my own for 60¢ a large cup!
4. Did my own yard work including a rather large landscaping project – saved paying a service & got a great workout from the digging, pulling, lifting, etc.
5. Took car in for oil change, tire rotation & software update – their computer went down when it was time to pay so they told me “no charge” – so nice!
1. Went to pick up free food a couple of times (supermarket leftover that get thrown away otherwise)
2. Found two cereal bowls that neighbors left in the hallway when moving out
3.took home leftover sweets at a staff meeting
4. Played in the yard with my niece (free exercise and fun)
5. Bought a new bike computer (5 bucks! Including batteries), a book, rimband, two perfectly fine games for my students and silly bathroom decoration on a flea market. Spent 12€ total instead of 40 for the bike computer only if bought new.
1. Jam packed a day of networking around an appoinment in the city. Saves travel costs and wear and tear on me as round trip it will be almost four hours.
2. Packing a sandwich to eat on the train on the way home to minimize out of pocket expenses today. Will still have to pay for lunch out and two coffees during networking meetings but will choose wisely.
3. A family member is an elementary school teacher and her school is changing math and science curricula. They will be getting new student and teacher manipulatives to go with the new curricula and need to move the now out dated stuff out of their closet. She asked if we wanted anything and I said “all of it!” Can’t wait to see what my preschoolers will be getting to play with!
4. Carefully tracking receipts from a work trip yesterday so I can get reimbursed promptly. Always amazes me when colleagues can’t be bothered to submit for mileage, parking and tolls. That money matters to me!
5. Finished eating a batch of soup from the freezer. It didn’t freeze well (maybe the tofu?) so I won’t make it again. Definitely took one for the team to finish that one.
1) Today is our department’s Spring picnic. Free food and fun, plus I get to hang out with one of my co-worker/friends this afternoon and I can go on home after 3 pm.
2) I dropped in at the vet’s office yesterday to buy a Trifexus for my dog. I decided to buy two and save myself a trip.
3) We have our annual family reunion, for my paternal side, this Saturday. It’s potluck, so I’m heading to Big Lots this evening to pick up the ingredients for a pasta dish.
4) I picked up 4 audiobooks I had on hold at the Library on Tuesday. Those should keep me entertained, during my commute, for a few weeks.
5) I needed to replace one of our fold-up lawn chairs. They had them on sale for 8.99 at the Tribal grocers last weekend, so I picked one up in a pretty lavender color.
1. Continued with thrifty habit of packing husband’s lunch – leftover roast beef, homemade chocolate cake etc.
2. Resurrected a very tough piece of roast beef by putting it in the slow cooker which reduced it to tenderness – but not the medium rare stuff we prefer!
3. Drank a free soda at a meeting last night at a meeting last night realizing that although I love the stuff, it is not healthy and costs $$. Will serve iced tea, lemonade and arnold palmers this weekend when the temperatures are predicted for 90 degrees F.
4. no a/c – relying on ceiling, window and floor fans to cool us down – also plan to store the flannel sheets which are wonderful for cold nights but not too good when summer rolls around!
5. Going to order free tickets for baseball game through our realtor who treats her clients every year.
1. Posted a large, rickety cabinet on freecycle that has been sitting in my garage unused for the past 10 years, and was picked up the very next day. Also gave two long poles and an old hose to my neighbor.
2. Sold 13 items on local FB sale boards this week for a total of $71. Two ladies each bought multiple items from me, and the third bought a peony.
3. A friend gave me an unwanted Qdoba coupon for buy one, get one free. Qdoba is such a treat for me.
4. Walked over to the library to pick up a couple holds, and also left with a stack of magazines. Strongly prefer borrowing magazines to owning them.
5. I bought an item off a local FB board last week that wasn’t as nice I had imagined it to be. But I had driven all the way there, so I bought it anyway. Painted it and sold it today for $10 more than I had paid.
1. Getting married in about a week, and got a dress on killer sale…the tailoring cost more than the dress itself.
2. Continuing to take all my coffee at home instead of buying it when I’m out.
3. Wearing jewelry for the wedding that my fiance got me a long time ago instead of buying new stuff. Cheaper and more sentimental.
That’s all I got–haven’t been that frugal lately! I’ll get back into the swing of things after the wedding.
YAH! Congratulations!
1. Hubby’s company picnic held at baseball stadium this year; food was so-so, but meant I didn’t have to cook (score!) and the game got rained out, but we can use the tickets for another game.
2. Working this week and resisted going out for lunch, drove home instead (2 blocks away), made myself a sandwich, and did some dishes while I cooled off.
3. Several teacher are retiring or moving this year, so the halls have been filled with “help yourself” piles. Scored a bunch of Cd-ROM games which will go into the library collection, two boxes of reusable “ice cubes”, an unopened DVD which I’ll send to a friend that needs a laugh, a Dr. Seuss hat (I’ve always wanted one, to wear on his birthday), a computer version of Scrabble, and a box of magnetic letter and numbers to gift to my 4 yo granddaughter.
4. Finally figured out how to make sure I get the Friday Freebie at Kroger each week: I cut out the little note about it and put it on my computer to remind me to download it on Friday, then I move the note to my grocery list clipboard, to remind me to pick it up! And if it isn’t something we want, I use it as part of a care package to a neighbor’s military daughter, or I donate it to the food pantry.
5. Making meals from stockpiled pantry and freezer items, which is saving me grocery money.
And last but not least, used the last 2 cups of frozen shredded zucchini (from the monster a friend brought us back from her Amish country vacay – 23 cups of shredded zuke!) to make zucchini bread, which the family LOVES!!
Great idea on the Freebie. I forget it almost every single Friday.
Re Kroger Free Friday download – you can sign up for an email alert. It arrives at 5 am Friday morning with a little button you click and it automatically downloads to your card.
1. All the usual frugal things happened this week: packed lunches and tea from home, wore thrifted outfits, coaxed my husband back into making his lunches, drove under the speed limit to save gas, and didn’t spend any money except $74 for the dog’s trip to the vet on Monday when she was so miserable with an allergy flare-up.
2. Found 81 cents in the dryer. Mine now! 😀
3. Tried to get a partial refund on a work parking pass I had to buy and could not use because of lack of parking spaces. That was a no go, but at least I tried, and maybe if enough people complain, they’ll start giving refunds.
4. Made a big pot of quinoa on Sunday that seems to be the never-ending dish, so it’s going into the freezer in single-serve containers tonight.
5. Picked the first tomatoes from our container garden today.
I am not looking forward to our dog’s anticipated trip to the vet. The bill is creeping up to around $200 – and never under $100 for our elderly little pooch.
Is pet insurance a possibility for your pooch? We got one month free when we adopted our dog as a puppy through the shelter and used it so much that first month, we opted to enroll. We have a PetPlan policy. She is now 7 and it has paid for itself every year. It has also allowed us to have a surgery to repair her leg which we would not otherwise have been able to afford.
It gets tough when they’re elderly or have something odd go wrong. All of ours are rescues and we’ve taken great care of them, but several of them were not blessed with great health and it can make for some expensive months.
Thanks for the insurance advice. I don ‘t think they will want our 12+ dog but if we get another one, it sounds like a good deal.
1. Another week of work travel. I am really spread thin at work being the last left after a massive retirement purge over the last couple of years. However, this has meant more travel and more per diem. I bring my own food, reusable water bottle and fill coffee thermos at hotel in morning.
2. Speaking of coffee thermos, I thrifted a great French press coffee travel mug. It is made by Starbucks and had the plunger built into the lid. I love it. It set me back $1.
3. Reading library books. All of my holds came in at once, so it’s been my entertainment for the past week.
4. Laundry went on the line tonight when I came home from work.
5. Found a (much) cheaper pre-made eggrolls (actually springrolls) at the Dollar Tree. I guess you know the price! They come ten to a pack and taste ok! BF loves the Changs brand which is excpensive and only has four in a pack. Next, I plan to learn to make them, but for now this is a great, cheap alternative.
Still laughing at the squirrel post!
1) Used a $20 credit from a survey on Tiny Prints to make my God daughter’s birthday present. Extra bonus is that I am a whole month ahead!
2) Lots of long road trips recently, including this weekend to dear spouse’s college reunion in another state. Trying to pack as many snacks, lunches, and drinks as possible for this trip. Planned to make pumpkin muffins as a travel option with pumpkin in freezer, only to realize it was actually peach puree. Made the recipe as written anyway and called them “spice muffins”. The 5 year old ate one with delight at dinner (not a peach fan).
3) DS was gifted a name brand jean jacket in excellent shape by my aunt during one of her adventures at Savers. She is one of my frugal inspirations. I think it cost her more to send it to us than to purchase it!
4) Picked up my inter library loan book this week. What an amazing system – it came all the way from FL to our little VT library. Also registered DS for the free library summer reading program and ordered him a dvd via inter library loan.
5) Had to buy a new fridge for our rental unit. (Old one was circa 1986 and didn’t owe us anything.) Dear spouse got a more energy efficient one on sale, had it delivered for free and then, when the delivery guys informed us it had a dent, she negotiated another $50 off the total with the retailer. The dent will not affect performance and it is hidden by the counter. I’ll take it!
1. I’ve kept bringing my lunch from home to work, supplemented by work snacks and drinks, as well as lunch provided by my employer. They got us lunch yesterday, today and will get us lunch tomorrow as well. I saved my Olive Garden today and brought it home for my mom. I had brought much for two days on Wednesday (made from leftovers I gathered up from the fridge), so I just froze them.
2. I was late ten minutes today, so I stayed ten minutes to recoup.
3. I worked a food demonstration gig on Saturday and I needed a white button down shirt. I went to DI and got one for $4. Made 10 times that, more than payed off!
4. I got a call today from another demo agency to work in July and August. I’ll ask how much they pay, and if they pay more than the gig I’m already scheduled for in July, I’ll choose that one. I was at work and my break was over, but I’ll call tomorrow before work.
5. My mom made flan from marked-down milk with flan packets on sale as well that I got. She was supposed to use 4 for the recipe in a half liter of milk. She misread the directions so she used half the packets with twice as much milk, so that flan cost $0.56. We must have gotten six servings out of each batch she made. And it was really good!
6. I took food to work: cereal, chia seeds, tuna packets, slivered almonds, cashew butter, jam, English muffins, almond milk, bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and milk kefir. All of this was bought on clearance or with coupons. Definitely won’t be needing to buy stuff to eat even if I forget to bring lunch or breakfast.
7. My family complains that the toaster I got my mom a couple years ago burns bread. I think it works just fine, so I’ll take it to work, since we don’t have one there.
8. The ladies at work wanted to do Plant Nite. It seemed interesting, but I really don’t want to pay $20-30 for a little terrarium. The price ended up being $35 after a coupon per person, so we decided to buy stuff and do it at the lady who will be out on bed rest’s home while she’s recuperating.
9. Called my manager at my old job and confirmed a temporary leave, with possibility of working sporadically. I’ll work on Saturday and pick up my check from the previous fortnight. Will also get to eat for free there and I’ll bring home a few cream packets for Italian soda at home.
1) Went to my monthly meeting of a board I volunteer for. My friend took me out for a beer afterward.
2) Enjoyed a free concert in the park. It was 80s music and I knew the words to EVERY song. Hello, high school. It cracked me up to see many teens singing along loudly to “Living on a Prayer”. An enduring classic!!
3)Am working a few extra hours this month at my old job and enjoying the change of pace. It’s a great chance to see friends I used to work with.
4) Office mates and I have been walking daily during our lunch break. Free exercise and a good chance to get to know each other better.
5) Used a coupon to eat lunch out with a friend.
1. My husband retired today and his going away party was on Wednesday afternoon. He opted for Dilly Bars and timed it so everyone could attend – we came home with about 8 extra ice cream treats just in time to share them with our niece and nephews who are with us this weekend.
2. He received a generous gift card from his co-workers o the University bookstore which is where we will purchase our next computer – saving about 1/2 the cost.
3. Found a $1 bill on the ground while walking the dog this AM.
4. Have food on hand for all the meals we will serve our family here for the weekend.
5. Reading library books – both borrowed from the library and purchase for pennies from the library book sale.
5.
1. Vended at a huge fair last weekend, 3 hours from home. Weather was so hot & the crowd was much smaller than expected & I didn’t sell as much as I had hoped. I had packed water and snacks, stayed with my girlfriend & her family. She provided breakfast & dinner, plus gave us fruit for snacks. I brought home leftovers & had them for lunch at work. I borrowed an audiobook for my daughterand I to listen to on the trip. I will have enough inventory for the whole summer’s farmers markets, so all my preparation was not wasted.
2. Found a dime and a penny on the ground.
3. Packed lunches of salad from my garden hardboiled eggs from my hens & took my usual quart jar of tea to work every day.
4. Sold 8 baby goats, then had 2 more born!
5. Hubby drove a tractor for our friend cutting hay, with hich he will be paid.
got pretty off track last month with a major licensing exam, and ate mostly frozen food, and did a little therapeutic shopping (2/3 were second hand, but still). also got the bill for some car repairs, and then my car was almost towed (.
hopefully this month will shape up better.
1. battered and fried some chicken breasts from the freezer, made salmon into gravlax, and made biscuits. next up is fried plantains, cheesecake to bring to friends’, and homemade bread.
2. keeping on with tracking expenses with youneedabudget.
3.made my own iced espresso at home this morning for a weekend treat.
4. went hiking with my boyfriend and bought a parsley plant from a garden/bait shop near there. the lady there gave us each half a dozen free seed packets that were passed their sell-by date, including scallions, chives, and nasturtiums. will plant some now and see what happens and save the rest for next spring.
5. went to a potluck with friends, and cooked my contribution from food i already had- home fried potatoes with garden rosemary.