- I cleaned one of my mother’s guest cottages last night and brought home two bags of their leftover food. This included eggs, potatoes, broccoli, beer, milk, almond milk, tequila, lemons, deli meat and cream cheese.
- I finally listed my thrifted Sasha doll on eBay, as well as my recently purchased antique oak table on Craigslist. The eBay listing doesn’t start until tonight, although the Craigslist one was immediate. No interest so far, but it only takes one interested buyer. I’ve found that it often takes a week or so to sell things through Craigslist, so it’s an opportunity to practice being patient.
- I was able to use my clotheslines yesterday, even though I didn’t get the laundry on the line until 2 P.M. It’s good to be windy!
- I work three days this week, which is an extremely rare occurrence for me. Sadly, the shifts are all back to back, which I already know is going to kill me. (I’m a labor and delivery nurse, which can be a very physical job.) However, I’ll get a super amazingly terrific great paycheck, especially since the 4th will be time-and-a-half, so I’m trying to focus on that.
- I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
* Saved 80$ on groceries yesterday with price matching, coupons, exchange of PC Points and mistakes on prices (refunded = free products).
* Found a vintage (1950-ish) Wagner cast iron skillet at Value Village for 20$. It’s not such a good price for a cast iron skillet in general BUT I think it’s pretty great for a vintage Wagner. This is a birthday gift for hubby, cool and practical!
* Birthday dinner for hubby : BBQ (chicken on sale, beef cube, mushrooms and tomatoes on sale, peppers, potatoes). And homemade cake. Keeping it simple. Got him a game at Goodwill for 5$ (worth about 50$), a specialty chocolate bar (3,50$) and a ticket for a show (20$). The cast iron skillet is from my mom. The kids made homemade gifts.
* Went for an outside walk+weight training at home for exercise today.
* Used Scene Points to get a free movie ticket
* Filling the car at this gas station 3 times = 10$ rebate. So my next 3 fills wil be there.
Have a great frugal day!
1. My garden is in full production, so we are eating pretty much exclusively out of the garden, buying only milk and meat.
2. Traded garden produce (cukes, tomatoes and basil) for salmon, enough for three meals.
3. I have a bad back from an accident on the job years ago so usually ignore money on the ground. However, I felt pretty good the other day and picked up a dime and a nickel off the sidewalk.
4. Filled two boxes with clothing and household items we no longer use and took them to Salvation Army and remembered to get my tax deduction receipt.
5. Wanted to buy a canoe. Rented one for a day instead and husband and I spent the day lazing about on a local stream. Cheaper than buying.
1. I took my daughter out shopping and bought only a coffee myself. Over two hours in our biggest mall, that’s not too bad
2. We had leftover homemade pizza for dinner and I’m taking it again for lunch today
3. We are teaching our eldest daughter to write a budget and manage her money. She has an income for the first time.
4. Made all our bread this weekend
That’s all
1. took my nieces to the library to see the butterfly man. He was very interesting and we all got to touch butterflies. We had spent the week prior reading a library book about butterflies before the event. We learned that butterflies taste with their feet. On the way to the library we were talking about the book and I asked the girls how butterflies taste and a little voice from the backseat says “Not good.” Best laugh I had all day!
2. I promised to take one of my nieces to see “Finding Dory” because her big sister got to see it without her. I took her on $5.00 movie day so it was less expensive. It was her first time at a movie theatre so when she wanted popcorn I though I’d treat her. When we got to the front of the line she changed her mind and picked a bag of candy instead. There were no prices on anything and they have it set up so that all the candy is child eye level – ugh! I can only imagine the look on my face when I was told that a 2oz bag of candy was almost $4.00!! Her enjoyment of it all was worth it though and we had water and juice from home.
3. We spent the rest of that day doing free things like the playground and the splash park.
4. I sold 3 articles of clothing that were given to me and no longer fit. I made $35.00
5. Used the $35.00 to grocery shop at Aldi and was able to get everything we need to feed a bunch of people for the 4th.
1. Stayed home this holiday weekend and beside saving money saving gas and sitting in traffic – especially if we went to the Jersey Shore.
2. Eating at home. Dh got me a lobster today for supper. Much less expensive than going out for lobster.
3. Took a bag of stuff to Goodwill and got the tax deduction.
4. Dh and I will go see free fireworks tonight. We’ll look for a place far from the crowd.
5. Keeping the AC at a decent temp as it’s not as humid and hot. I have bad allergies so opening the windows is a no no for me.
That table looks a lot like the one I inherited from my mom after she died. No wheels on hers, but otherwise very much the same.
1. Our extended family is having a BBQ and get-together tomorrow to celebrate the Fourth. I am in charge of desserts and made brownies, cherry pie and apple crisp, all very easy and with stuff in-season or in the cupboard. The crisp is incorporating some leftover homemade apple pie filling from Christmas that was in the freezer.
2. Noticed that the dogs’ monthly flea treatment is a size that goes up to their combined weight, so I split one tube between them. It seems to be working fine.
3. Did all our weekly shopping early so as not to have to deal with grocery store madness today.
4. Used some stuff around the house and $4 for a deep steel bowl and a plastic tray from the dollar store to construct a watering tray the our youngest cat cannot turn over. She was ruining our laminate floor flipping over the bowl before.
5. Used some Dollar Tree degreaser to clean the woven steel filters on the kitchen stove vents after soaking them in hot water and detergent didn’t make a dent in the crud.
Can I come for dessert? That sounds like my perfect day – a spread of yummy, homemade desserts!
#4. Our cat does that too! She is 3 1/2 years old and she works hard at it. You have inspired me to find a solution before we replace the flooring!
1. I made it to yoga five times this week. It’s the end of the month for my membership so I paid less then $7/class. If you walked in it would be $18/class. Yoga is good for my physical and mental health.
2. I just redeemed Bing points for an Amazon gift card. Searching through Bing seems to be worthwhile.
3. I haven’t spent any money today.
4. Yard work was a source for fresh air and free exercise this afternoon.
5. I took a survey about dishwasher detergent and I’ll be using samples sent to me for the next four weeks. That’s free and I should earn points for doing the follow-up survey, which I’ll redeem for airline miles,
Thank you for working the 4th Katy! My son was born at 11:46 on the 4th of July..after being at L and D allllll day…
1. Had leftovers for supper last night and also for lunch today.
2. Baked 2 whole chickens – several meals for just the 2 of us – some will go into the freezer for future quick meals.
3. Had mushrooms left after slicing some for salads – made mushroom and onion soup base & froze it – this will be excellent when it gets cold this winter.
4. Cleaned out our closet and dresser drawers – have a big load of stuff to take to Goodwill. I am trying to tame the clutter one room at a time.
5. Repurposed an old bookcase as shoe storage for my closet. Vacuum sealed my extra bedding so it takes up less space.
Our youngest daughter just got word that she made the Dean’s List in her culinary program! Will celebrate with her when our schedules allow it. I have all the ingredients for her favorite “Mom made it” meal in the freezer and pantry, all bought on sale of course.
That is a beautiful table. What a great find.
We’re trying to enjoy a frugal holiday weekend at the beach.
My husband and I shared a breakfast at our favorite restaurant.
We shared a 12 inch sub from Subway for lunch.
I picked up some change laying on the ground at Subway.
Took a nap in the sunshine on the back of our boat instead of walking through town and spending money.
Drank coffee at the house instead of going for a latte this morning.
Trying to make choices that keep more money in my wallet 🙂
Sounds like you’ve been frugal in ways that still allow you to maximize the joy in the weekend!
1.Used a Local grocery store coupon to buy Eddys ice cream for 99 cents -score! All kinds of flavors and daughter picks out plain chocolates, still really yummy
2. Made an extra $300plus dollars this weekend watching two dogs. We had a relaxing job with minimal duties. Sometimes I feel guilty they are paying me to stay in this amazing home. It’s like going to a bed and breakfast.
3.Each night the local neighbors set off amazing fireworks that we watched from our private balcony in pjs.
4.Only ate out one night getting pizza and crazy bread, the rest of the $60 tip was able to treat daughter for money for the zoo, got groceries and put $10 away for her trip to Washington DC. She has saved over $300 from her earnings helping with the dog walks and sits.
5. Applying for a scholarship for daughter to go to volleyball camp and play soccer this fall, will help out a lot if we get it again.
1. Not using A/C this summer – not even window units – offsets high heating bills in winter months in this drafty old house! House is noticeably warmer since 200 yr. old tree was cut down by city because they are removing ash trees.
2. Negotiated a lower cost for new glasses today.
3. Planning a stay-at-home 4th of July (not including going to a friend’s house for their annual brunch) – park across the street is neighborhood headquarters for celebration and we can see and hear just fine from 0ur yard.
4. Made large pasta salad and potato-broccoli soup today which lasted through two meals.
5. Have a large bag ready to go to rag- recycle pickup this week – slowly cleaning out my closet of old and raggedy clothes.
Why is your city cutting down trees? Is there a blight?
Ash trees were hit hard by an invasive exotic beetle called Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Midwest and northern USA. It spread quickly over the last decade due to firewood movement and natural means. The trees hit are now dead or dying and cities are removing them so they don’t fall in streets or houses. One way we can all help is by planting now and planting a diverse urban forest in our areas (I work in this field and it is sad to see all the changes our native forests are going through due to climate change, global economy and just general movement of things).
The city is anticipating ash borer invasion and is cutting down trees. It was suspected that our tree, which was located on city owned boulevard ,was infected because of woodpeckers in tree and some dead branches. They also required us to cut down two trees on our property. This is a controversial decision- some scientists believe that this doesn’t help the problem and that some hardy trees will survive as they did with the Dutch Elm invasion of a few years ago. In any case, we didn’t have a choice – but we miss that tree almost as much as if it were a member of the family!
Trees are so under-estimated for the benefits they give us. Not only do they help offset heating/cooling bills, but help with water runoff and even increase health benefits in neighborhoods that have ample tree canopy. I helped with the creation of a tree planting program in the inner-city neighborhoods where I live and we hope to see the benefits in a few years. We were hit hard by EAB/ash tree removal too.
I didn’t realize that was happening. It is very sad to lose a 200 year-old tree. Our city has a tree sale every spring. Large trees are sold at minimal costs. This has been successful. Gardeners wait in line to buy these inexpensive trees. They regularly sell out. Many cities in our area also have strict tree laws on the books, but sadly some do not. The coastal maritime forest is disappearing quickly.
the tree loss is so terrible! We don’t have any ash trees, but we just lost a boulevard elm to Dutch Elm, and two years ago we lost 3 trees – including a Dutch Elm resistant Siberian Elm that shaded our entire lot – to a straight-line wind storm that took out trees (and some houses) all around our neighborhood.
We’ve replanted one future shade tree (from the Tree Trust sale similar to the one Bee describes) and have been nursing along a volunteer elm that is doing really well, but the interior heat of our un-airconditioned house and the terrible lack of shade in our backyard is noticeable. We’ll ask the city for a new boulevard tree for next spring, too – it’s gotten into the dry season here so a new sapling is hard to take care of right now.
Some of the houses that were flipped in the foreclosure crisis have planted new trees to replace the ones flippers cut down to make sales photos more enticing, but most haven’t. The new owners don’t even realize that their lots were full of mature trees a few years ago.
This week:
1. I am making homemade pizza dough tomorrow for a margherita pizza instead of buying the dough at the store.
2. We ate at home today with a FANTASTIC impromptu meal of spaghetti squash lo mein with a soft boiled egg. Out of this world and cheap.
3. We remembered to go through our pantry this week before grocery shopping, so we’re saving money as well as cutting down on food waste. Aww yissss.
4. I waited two weeks to buy a new cardigan for work. I tried to repair my current one, but the holes in the elbows were just too awkward to fix with the fabric. I tried to get the highest quality replacement cardigan that I could, since my previous one lasted over two years. We’ll see how it goes!
5. We’ve made too much homemade stock for us to eat or store in our small apartment. We plan to give the excess away to Mr. Picky Pincher’s sister to share the wealth and prevent waste.
My three year old was just asking what spaghetti squash is. Maybe we should try your pad Thai version. Do you have a recipe you could share?
Love that table-we have one from my wife’s grandparents that looks similar.
Just moved to our 1860’s farmhouse 5 weeks ago and amazed at how we continue to find ways to be frugal.
1) Hanging the laundry to dry each and every load
2) No AC. We close the windows and drapes all day then open them out for the breeze at night
3) I got my annual summer free haircut–shaved my head!
4) Local farmers rent many of our 140 acres and we are allowed to pick whatever we want–this week-peas, beans, strawberries and radishes-all free
5)Free entertainment–walking to our pond, fishing, watching fireflies at night, looking at the stars, neighbors who put on a beautiful 2 hour fireworks show for Canada Day
6-Bonus) Continuing to gratefully accept plants and flowers from family and friends to plant in our friendship garden and send them home with lilly of the valley and hostas-which we have an abundance!
Yeah for your new frugal, bountiful, and special home. It sounds delightful!
1. Wanted Chinese takeout but made pasta for dinner instead.
2. Brought more bags of stuff to savers.
3. No air conditioning as the breeze is delightful with the door and slider open.
4. Having a 4th of July bbq here tomorrow with hot dogs and italian sausages bought on sale. The hamburgers were not but guest bringing ice cream for dessert and my mother is making her fabulous hot fudge.
5. Will make blondies with chocolate chips for dessert sundaes, all from ingredients I already have.
1. Have two huge stacks of library books. Half are on gardening, the other half mostly Bill Bryson (travel/humor) with a bit of fiction thrown in. Just found out today that throughout July, library patrons of all ages can read down fines ($1 for every 10 minutes you read @the library). This is usually offered only for kids. My fines are small, but I love reading them away.
2. Received a surprise $40 check in the mail. A deposit of some sort at my son’s high school. I guess once they graduate, the school refunds the deposit. Both that and our state tax refund (which finally arrived) were deposited at the credit union, but will go toward our vacation at the Oregon coast.
3. Got to eat out for lunch today. Husband had a gig at a cafe and their meals are comped w/ gift cards. Husband usually accumulates the cards so free meals for both of us.
4. Doing tons of gardening/yard work. Yesterday I transplanted an ornamental grass (given to me by a friend to rehabilitate) to a sunnier spot on our parking strip. In its place, I moved a clump of aspens that needed more shade. Both are doing well despite the heat. I also happened on an amazing sale at the nursery. All veggies & herbs were marked down to $1, regardless of size of pot. I scored a ton of great plants including gallon size asparagus, gallon size artichokes, and even a gallon potted bay tree. For a dollar each!!
5. Short, but intense rain storm today. Temps were a bit lower, but humidity was high (27%, but I’m in one of the most arid states in the US). Finally able to turn off the AC and open the windows for the night.
You found some great items at the garden shop! At $1 a plant or tree even for perennials, I would have bought lots!
Where are you at, Cathy?
1. Went to the grocery store and bought discounted bread, discounted english muffins, discounted mushrooms, discounted cheese, and discounted cucumbers.
2. Made paninis for supper with the discounted bread, cheese, mushrooms, and cucumbers and added some leftover from parties spinach and cream cheese. Also some homemade pepper jam. Used a george foreman grill we bought at a tag sale a decade ago as the panini press.
3. Took the kids to the local sprinkler park on Saturday. They loved it.
4. Watered the big toddler as I watered the garden. The hose just kept slipping and she’d suddenly get wet. She laughed a lot but stayed cool on a hot day.
5. Having friends over for a quiet afternoon with babies and toddlers. No need for big expensive adventures when a quiet day will work fine and be a better match for our tired bodies and souls today.
1. I made meatloaf out of reduced meat and eggs, spices, and a couple of hamburger buns from the freezer.
2. I was gifted some squash from a friend so we will eat on that all week.
3. I have been researching all the different dentists in my area to see who has the best prices and good reviews. I have a dentist I have been seeing but after the last tooth I had crowned I decided I would find a new one. He is just too expensive. He costs more than any of the dentists I have researched. I do like his work but I don’t have insurance so I committed to finding a new one after my last visit. I have had a bad dentist before so I am cautiously making this change.
4. I am still drinking tons of water. Much better than the copious amounts of Dt. Dew I used to chug down daily.
5. We live on a lake and they are having a fireworks show tonight so we will enjoy that for free tonite. Although, I’m pretty sure the association dues I pay each month contributes to this.
I have also had bad dentists. Unfortunately, you don’t really know until you’re getting the work done. Good luck!
1. We have been enjoying some cooler mornings which has allowed us to delay turning the AC on each day, and one day we never turned it on.
2. On the first of the month I did the major shopping in one well- planned loop of 9 stops, saving fuel. Thank goodness for coolers and ice packs!
3. Stocked up on the snacky foods and condiments that were loss leaders for the 4th. Our grandson stays with us workdays and crackers are a must!
4. Have finally gotten hubby to turn stuff off to save electricity! It only took 33 years.
5. We need a gate for a farm project. I found one on clearance and also had a 10% off coupon for that store that was good on even clearance items, so got the gate for 45% of the original $120 price.
House Projects Edition:
1. I took two boxes of books into Half-Price Books and received $40.75 (most books were thrifted to begin with and I was amazed I received so much!) Basically, I was paid to get rid of the guilt of books I probably will never read (or have already read).
2. Worked on a house project this weekend. I purchased a historic, abandoned house some time ago for less than $10K and it is a huge work-in-progress. Since I live there too, it makes it hard to rotate projects, so I do things in stages. I have moved on to the front room…again. Over a year ago, I removed an ugly drop ceiling put in some time ago by previous owners which gave me an extra two feet of ceiling height. However, it also exposed missing plaster (which I guess explains why they put in the drop ceiling), so I removed all the 115+ year old lath and prepped the area for dry wall. I am hoping this will cut down on the heating bills come wintertime.
3. I saved the better of the lath pieces to use for a Pinterest-inspired project in the near future.
4. I spied full drywall sheets at the near-by Habitat Restore for $3. I didn’t buy them, but went back the following day. Unfortunately, it was closed until Wednesday, so I will wait to finish drywall project until I can see if they are still there.
5. Boyfriend spied a new-to-me old cemetery outside the city that also houses a Confederate soldiers section (I live in the South). I am a taphophile (i.e. cemetery enthusiast) and so we took a short road trip where I was able to capture some really lovely photos of old tombstones on a rainy afternoon. I love the peacefulness of an old cemetery and it’s an almost free hobby (after camera purchase, of course, and fuel for the road trip).
Happy 4th if you are in USA!!
All of us in my family love going to the cemetery. We have an annual Halloween picnic at the biggest one in our city. 🙂
I had a few frugal fails in the last few days. I hope that one day I eliminate some of these failures. In the meantime, I have tried to balance it out with a bit of frugality. My FFT consist of many of the usual things , but these frugal habits keep the cost of living down overall. So here it goes:
1) I did my grocery shopping. I took advantage of many of the BOGO offers and sale items. I also used a $5 store coupon that I received in the mail.
2) We ate out Saturday night (frugal fail). I did get back on track and cooked all 3 meals yesterday. I made plans for the remainder of the week to use up some items in the frig. My son is thrilled, because this includes making banana cream pie!
3) My husband and I spent a little time at the beach — our free entertainment. It was so incredibly hot. We cut the day short and headed home. We did manage to take the dog for his evening mile, but we mostly enjoyed the AC. (Frugal Fail)
4) I am working my way through the bag of books that I bought at the Friends of the Library Book Sale. I am currently reading Kerouac’s Big Sur. It is funny in parts, and I am able to experience the majesty of Big Sur — the mountains and sea. However, it is really depressing. The undercurrent of alcoholism doesn’t make for light summer reading.
5) I am looking forward to free fireworks and a picnic supper.
Happy 4th of July!
That’s a beautiful table.
1. I went to a couple yard sales in town on Thursday. Bought a large double matted framed print, a full length silk dress, and a like-new Columbia jacket. Paid $2 for all. Keeping the print and already listed the other two items on ebay.
2. Stopped at the church rummage barn near my house and dug out an adorable Ikea hook and a play ball for 75 cents total. My son has played with that ball for hours already.
3. Checked the Noosa yogurt section at Kroger, and found four packs of Tart Cherry (my favorite flavor) on clearance. Bought all 6.
4. Our basement walls are stained and mildewed (from the years before we bought a dehumidifier). $20 for a gallon of Kilz and it looks like a new basement.
5. Sold a lot of flower pots, a cookbook, and a board game on local FB boards for a total of $18.
1. Still on our roadtrip. Most days I don’t have soda, but I’ve indulged a couple times since we’re on vacation. Bought a 12 oz. can of orange soda twice from the gas station instead of the larger plastic bottle. 59 cents. Cheaper, healthier, and more environmental.
2. Today we’re staying with my aunt. She had Subway for us for dinner–the big sandwiches that feed a lot of people. When it was time to clean up, I convinced her to let me use the plastic wrap that it came in, rather than new stuff, even though it was slightly tangled up. A couple extra minutes is all it takes.
3. Our travel of choice for our trip is my husband’s Honda Insight, which he got secondhand. It’s a hybrid. He gets just over 40 miles to the gallon, so less gas stops for us.
4. Stopped by a Salvation Army in Omaha. Found lots of good books, many priced under $1. Bought a few that I will read, but also some that I will resell for store credit in Los Angeles. If I bought it for 50 cents, I can get a credit of $1 or $2. Enough credit, and I can buy a Christmas present for my dad for free.
5. Needed stamps for postcards, but they only had whole books of letter stamps at Walgreens. Instead, I went next door to the grocery store, where they sold them individually. They still didn’t have postcard stamps, but 3 letter stamps wastes less cash than 20 letter stamps.
1. Ate fried egg sandwiches with great dill pickles instead of going out for lunch (on vacation)
2. Bought a dozen bagels + cream cheese; 6 breakfasts for the same price as maybe 1 at a cafe
3. Rode bike to the grocery store; saved gas and bought less since it had to fit in bike basket
4. Got up my courage to ask where the advertised cheap Prosecco was (hidden!!) at the liquor store 😉
5. Wearing my 4 year old swimsuit – it was athleta clearance then, good quality and still almost fits well (think that snugness has anything to do with 1-4??)
Happy 4th!
1. Went to a pparty at our adopted daughter’s for the fireworks, had fun watching her daughter and a friend’s son playing with bubble solution, snap n’pops and sparklers, ate potluck dinner (we took deviled eggs made with sale eggs from Aldi – took 40, came home with zero), then crossed the street and set up chairs to watch the fireworks. Tab bought a bucket full of glowsticks and we all made necklaces, tiaras, and frisbees with them while we waited. Fun! And all the toys were from the Dollar Tree.
2. Had extra deviled egg filling left, so used it on a ham & cheese sandwich today – had mayo and mustard in it, why not?
3. Tonight’s entertainment/dinner was my husband experimenting with making pizza on the grill, using a pizza stone he bought at a rummage sale for 50 cents, two tubes of dough, and assorted toppings. It was messy, fun, and got our younger chef son involved.
4. Unearthed the rest of my summer wardrobe today, ran it rhough the dryer with a wet towel to steam out the wrinkles, and hung it all up. All set for the rest of the season!
5. Husband has spent several weeks now working on his brick walkway; he’s almost done, short 20 bricks, but instead of buying some (the rest were recycled from a local street upheaval), he’s going to design something different for the last little bit. It’s looking awesone!!
Oh, yeah, forgot this – put together two boxes of discarded/unwanted books, to take to the used book store for credit. Right now I have $125+ – I don’t think I’ve paid cash for a book there since they opened!
1. I worked 55 hours this past week.
2. I got hired at the tutoring job, and started today. I was supposed to be there for two hours, but one of the kids was out with the dad. The mom had me stay 1.5 hours with the girl. Since it’s 25 minutes away from home, I called up my restaurant boss and asked if she needed me early in the day. She did and scheduled me 7AM-12 PM. I offered to stay one more hour for less waiting time before tutoring, and I did. The jobs are far from my house, but close to each other, so it was a triple win.
3. I found 27 cents walking into my event job on Sunday.
4. I had free breakfast and lunch at work today. We also had pizza for free lunch at work on Friday.
5. My sister made pizza from scratch. The only thing she bought was pepperoni for her husband. She also made pizzetas for the week and left them in the freezer. She also used a super old key lime pie kit I had bought for dessert.
6. We had leftover pizza sauce and rice for dinner.
7. Didn’t buy lunch out all week. I even ate protein bars that we’ve had for forever during my weekend job.
8. Had a potluck birthday tango party on Saturday. I took some chips and hummus we already had at home. Had a lovely evening with friends for the cost of those things.
9. I felt out of it today, being tired from working so much, so I didn’t go to tango practice tonight nor blues dancing either. Saved the $5 for the practice plus anything I might have bought at the blues bar.
Improve:
1. Tailor my resume for event promo jobs.
2. Sign up for summer classes this week to find good textbook prices.
3. Make business cards for my mom (house cleaning).
4. Post clothes online to sell.
1.went on two day trips last weekend. First to the mountains and went on a hike (free) and went to the Sierra Nevada brewery. We bought lunch and drinks, but it was planned for and we spent about 4.5 hours there waking around and playing the corn hole games and other outdoor things. It was a great time.
2. Went to the beach to visit friends. We brought our air mattress and had no expenses while we were there. Packed snacks and drinks for the drive.
3. Decided I’m only buying produce this week for geoceries (and milk) , but the rest we will have to pull from the freezer or do without.
4. Babysitting a bunch this week, including today. Free lunch and dinner. Sometimes I can’t find much to eat , but I make it work.
5. I don’t work my SLP job in the summer, so am living off of savings however it is hard to pull money I saved so hard for. I’m really trying to just use the cash from babysitting and other odd jobs for all my expenses so maybe at the end of the summer I’ll have money left and can put it all toward my student loans.
6. Already planning a no drive and no spend day for tomorrow! I’m babysitting the rest of the days this week so I have to drive. I’ve been spending money a little wrecklessly lately, so I want to get back on track!
In honor of Independence Day, here are some frugal things I did over the long weekend…
1. Spent lots of time at the pool on Saturday and Sunday, reading books I’d borrowed from the library.
2. Raided the fridge for a dinner of leftovers on Friday night (v. ordering or picking up take-out.
3. Packed a picnic dinner for our Fourth of July celebration at the local city park. The only expense was treating ourselves to a shaved ice (for me) and a fresh lemonade (for my husband).
4. Made birthday cards for three friends using scrapbooking leftovers.
5. Used our AMC Rewards card to save money on Saturday night’s movie tickets and snacks. Also, we brought our own candy to go with the popcorn and drink we bought.
6. Took advantage of the mild, dry weather to keep the windows open for most of the weekend, only turning on the A/C in the later afternoon when the sun streams into our living room full-on.
1. Excited about the bounty in our garden this year, we have raspberries, onions, carrots, fennel and parsley read at the moment, with many others on the way. Spent little to nothing on the seeds and water!
2. I left my phone in a cab. In Belgrade. And I don’t mean Montana. Assuming the worst, I asked a Serbian-speaking friend if he could track down the cab info and he did, and he is going to pick up my phone and send it to me! Problem is, that’s 2 weeks without my WORK PHONE, and we have no landline. Good news is my husband’s phone is on his last legs. While I’ll get a new work phone (and write it off !), he will gleefully accept my hand me down when it arrives on my doorstep! Always worth a shot in the dark to ask. The $30 in shipping is WAY better than two new phones, one not deductible.
3. Dropping off my library books TODAY so I don’t get a late fee.
4. Worked 2 hours to review budget post vacation and plan for the rest of our month, write checks to our house sitters, etc. Found out that I had an outstanding invoice due to me of $200! Now, if I could just get my clients to pay me on time. Budgeting and planning and double-checking not only found me $200, it keeps me so focused on spending behavior. I monitored it all trip and we returned from our vacation with 25% of our travel savings left over! We definitely didn’t skimp on fun either!
5. Savoring the leftovers our house sitter left us. She’s a good friend and said she was happy to leave a few things behind for us to return to!