- My husband I accidentally both defrosted some nice roast beef, so I decided to serve French dip for dinner. Unfortunately we were out of yeast, so I texted my friend/neighbor Lise to ask if she had some I could borrow. I normally pay $6 for a 2-lb bag of yeast from Costco, so it’s financially painful to fork out the bucks for the expensive little packets. Not only was I able to delay this purchase, but it also kept me from having to venture out too far into the snowy abyss that is Portland, Oregon.
- Although I’m not doing an official no-buy January, I’ve yet to buy anything other than groceries. I did indulge in a big shop at my local Fred Meyer (Kroger) yesterday to stock up before the storm, but only spent $30, even though I bought three full bags of groceries. (Bread, milk, butter, apples, tangerines, onions, ketchup, hamburger, marshmallows, yogurt, cereal and chips.)
- I finished one library book and started another.
- My husband drove our older son the 5-1/2 hours to college and then turned right back around to drive the 5-1/2 hours home. We normally get a hotel room when we do this trip, but the impending winter weather put a damper on this plan. So . . . we saved the cost of a motel room! Luckily my husband had a free coffee credit on his Starbucks account, so he ordered a venti latte with two extra shots for his solo drive home!
- I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a gold plated apartment in the sky.
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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{ 96 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Had one extra teenager for the weekend, so made a big pot of chili and cornbread for lunch and sloppy joes or dinner.
2. Made up a batch of my ” tide clone” laundry detergent.
3. Trying to do the pantry principle. Was able to whip up not from a box brownies because I had everything on hand. 17, 17, and 15 year olds are HUNGRY.
4. My dryer broke but my packrat husband was able to pull an older one up from our barn to get us through until repair man can come. I have a warranty, that I’m not sure was a good deal…… until now!
5. Have .69 chicken thighs in crockpot. Will debone and make soup and have chicken to make 2 more casserole-y meals.
Frugality in the snowstorm:
1. Found out stew meat was 1/2 price at our HT, but the trucks didn’t make it because of the storm so they were out of it. Got a rain check.
2. Tried on everything in season in my dresser, getting rid of too tight tights and leggings. Leggings, for some reason, are hard to fit on me. They look so good on everyone else!
3. Taking candy canes to work, some colleagues have horses and I heard they like them. (think I read it on here?)
4. Went through all of my ebay listings and tweaked to cross promote. My traffic went way up, so I’m hopeful things will sell!
5. Stayed in and made a pot roast. Roasts were on sale 1/2 price, so I found a bigger one and had the butcher cut it in half. Froze 1/2, cooked 1/2. Used potatoes from the re-wrap shelf ($1.50 a bag). I love that re-wrap shelf.
I know that the snow and the rain are an inconvenience, but I am glad that drought conditions on the West Coast are easing. Your husband is a champ to make such a long drive in one day! Here are my FFT:
1) I took advantage of the cold, wet weather in the Southeast and spent the day doing some batch cooking. The goal was to use some pantry items and fill the freezer with easy fix meals. I baked, glazed, sliced, and divided a 9-pound ham into smaller servings and froze. I also frozen the bone for future use. I made a large batch of spaghetti sauce. I baked brownies and biscuits. I have white beans soaking to make a triple batch of chicken chili today.
2) I sold an unuseable gift card through giftcardgranny.com. The money was deposited into my paypal account today. The whole transaction took less than a week. Thank you for the info, Katy.
3) I sold an item on eBay and have several items to list.
4) I signed up for the Uber Frugal January. Although I don’t foresee a no-spend January, I am hoping for a low-spend month. I am being mindful of every dollar spent. I am re-reading financial info, setting goals and retrenching. December is a hard month for me.
5) I tended to my garden yesterday. I covered my herbs, flowers, and young fruit trees hoping to give them some protection from the cold.
#1 – Everything sounds delicious! What night are you having us all over for dinner? 🙂
I wish that I could do that. I am sure that we would have a good time!
1. Still not drinking anything that contains alcohol. Going to give it up for a whole year. Maybe indefinitely. Got tired of the $$ that comes with it.
2. Went out to eat to celebrate my dad’s retirement last night. My in-laws paid for my entire household’s dinner.
3. Cutting way back on eating out. This is such a challenge. We all enjoy it so much.
4. My son now eats the free lunches provided by his school instead of me having to pack him a lunch each day.
5. My kids got lots of new clothes for Christmas. That helps our clothing budget a lot.
1. My office gave us a gift box from Omaha Steaks. I used the hamburger patties and some aging onions to make patty melts for dinner. They were so good, we had the same thing the next night.
2. I stocked up on chicken breasts on sale at $1.69 pound in the family packs. Cut it all up and froze in smaller portions. At the same store, I grabbed 6 large empty boxes for moving.
3. Bought a DS game for $5 and sold it on ebay for $21. Also sold two random household items for $17, and a more expensive item for my mom.
4. Posted two big items on the FB sale boards and the people picked up. We’re getting close to our move date, so selling unwanted large items is a huge win. Also sold a stack of board games and a stack of books.
5. Dragged our old working pool filter to the curb for free, which someone picked up that night.
Oh Katy my daughter attended SOU her freshman year and I did the down-and-back-in-the-same-day just once, it’s a killer! So please tell my hubby he has my sympathy… and admiration!
1. For my 2017 budget my grocery budget is $150/week (family of 7, youngest 13, but only 5 of us usually live at home). Yesterday I did a HUGE shop with a list and spent $150 and change. I had 7+ bags of groceries and will only have to do a light shop next weekend.
2. Made chicken and dumplings yesterday with stock/meat from a chicken carcass I’d cooked down in slow cooker. Made dumplings from scratch after briefly considering purchasing Bisquick. So easy and so much tastier from scratch.
3. Am making my youngest who turns 13 tomorrow an ice cream cake. Ingredients to date = $3.25, need to buy one more thing for about $2.50 so anticipating total cost of under $8 for 9″ x 13″ which Baskin and Robbins (what I would have bought previously) sells for over $40 — crossing fingers it turns out!
4. Took advantage of snow day yesterday to make a pot of ham and bean soup using leftover ham bone from holidays (had thrown in freezer) and some leftover fresh rosemary. Yum!
5. Except for groceries, spent NO money yesterday, woo hoo! Today anticipate another near no spend day, except for final ingredient for ice cream cake.
Cold and snowy here too – mostly just frigid cold now. Which sets me up for frugality as I won’t venture out to shop – even for groceries.
1) Eating from fridge/freezer/pantry. My kitchen is stocked well so this is not a sacrifice, more an exercise in discipline – forcing me to cook on nights I’d rather not. I don’t buy any convenience foods anymore so it’s taken time to get used to cooking from scratch again. Tastes a million times better – just need to get used to the time it takes to cook (and clean up). This is one of my New Year resolutions anyway, so yay!
2) Been using my birthday treats from restaurants. The last two weeks had Friday lunch with free birthday meals + dessert @one. Within block from my office so a quick walk on snowy days for a nice treat. Also claimed my Starbucks drink for a nice start to the morning. Will use my Panera Bakery treat and one more restaurant lunch next week.
3) Free Friday lunches have also satisfied my longing to eat out on the weekend – so money saved. And neither restaurant meal tasted as good as the meals I’ve been making -so that kept me out of restaurants on the weekends too.
4) Last month finally took advantage of Lenscrafters Rx sunglasses birthday offer. They pay for the lenses if you buy frames. I always think about doing it but miss the deal and then regret it when summer rolls around. Saved nearly $300 on the lenses…expensive frames but same price as non-Rx which I have purchased in the past. They will be ready next week -yay! This purchase will keep me from buying anything the rest of the month.
5) Cleaning my house this weekend, rearranging & repurposing some things. Brought up some items from storage in the basement. I love shopping in my own house. Cleaning and caring for my house is not only frugal but gives me a deep appreciation and connection to my house and the things I have worked hard for. I have friends that pay someone to clean their homes and although it sounds like a wonderful luxury it also seems like it would disconnect you from your home and it’s needs. I always find things I want to clean deeper or something I want to repair or move or change when I’m cleaning.
I love to clean my home too. When it is clean, it feels like a palace.
I really like what you said in #5!
I love your take on house cleaning. I had not thought about it that way, but I think you are right.
About sunglasses. Do you know about Zennioptical.com? I bought prescription sunglasses for $12.
Jessica – Thanks for the link. I had not heard of it. I will check if out – perhaps for a back up pair this summer!
1. Cooked up three pounds of ground beef to use in the batch of spaghetti sauce – and by “batch” I mean two gallons of sauce. Then I thought that since we still have some of the meatballs I’d made in the freezer, I could use less meat for the sauce. I kept a pound of the cooked beef out and throw some taco seasoning into it for other meals. The spaghetti sauce was plenty thick using less meat, and I portioned off the taco meat into individual servings for the freezer. That way we can just pull a small amount of the cooked meat out to use in quick meals.
2. Did the same “less meat” thing with chicken breasts. I’d grabbed the smallest package for making a spicy chicken dish but it still seemed like too much chicken. Sliced up and sauteed some of it for the freezer for future chicken caesar salad meals. Still had enough spicy chicken for two dinners apiece and a leftovers-lunch. Watching the meat portions is going to be a huge money saver – and good for us, too.
3. While I was having my cook-a-thon, I made a batch of taco sauce for the freezer. I freeze this in old ice cube trays (that are stained beyond recognition from freezing pesto cubes). That way I can take out whatever amount is needed.
4. I’ve been doing a daily refrigerator inventory after reading about it on another site. Things have a tendency to get pushed to the back of the fridge – and forgotten. A quart container of yogurt (unopened, but approaching its sell-by date), a partial jar of kimchi, and a bag with half a dozen clementines have been moved up to the front of the top shelf, and will continue to be rotated up there if they go back into hiding. As will any other perishable or short-dated item that I find.
5. After making our last car payment 13 years ago, I started putting the amount of the car payment in a separate account each month. Over the years it’s allowed us to pay cash for another car (and we’ll have enough to pay cash outright for our next vehicle, which we’ll be buying this year). It also comes in handy with unexpected car expenses. As it did this past week, when a “check engine” light resulted in a $300 repair bill.
Ooh…a daily refrigerator inventory? That sounds like a great idea!
1. Drinking Free crappy coffee (but good! Creamer) at the hospital this weekend. Brought my own cup filled at home and my RTIC glass for water.
2. Went home and ate dinner after work, rather than picking something up.
3. Brought my lunch today and yesterday to work!
4. We are eating down the freezer and pantry this week and next. Haven’t been anywhere other than Sams Club for grocery items.
5. Running the humidifier helps us to keep the thermostat lower.
1. All cooking is a home cooking, no exceptions in January
2. Absolutely $0 spent on things other than bills and groceries
3. Repurposed a few tankers into rugs
4. This morning I signed up for a trial free week at yet another gym
5. Watched a movie on Amazon prime for free.
(Amazon prime acccount through my work) the movie otherwise cost $9.99
1. Had new friends over to dinner last night. Made a simple supper of black bean soup, salad and cornbread. Only bought grape tomatoes “extra,” everything else was something we would have had anyway. My 14 year old son ate four bowls of soup! Also made cobbler out of frozen cherries and undesirable apples that cooked up fine.
2. Went shopping yesterday. Won’t do that again for a week.
3. Froze the leftover black eye peas. I will defrost them and add them to dinner later this week, but they were getting old and would go to waste before I get a chance to use them if I didn’t freeze them.
4.Was able to hang most of my clothes on the clothesline yesterday. The few that are still damp will dry in the house, instead of the dryer.
Tomorrow my daughter has an appointment with the orthodontist. I hope it’s cheaper than the last quote!
Oh, the orthodontist. We’ve been through it with one child (well, we’re all paid up but she’s still got the braces) and are starting in 2018 with the other. I know they need it but it goes against my frugal nature!
It’s been a real bummer of a week, I’m trying not to hold it against 2017.
1. Stepped wrong on Sunday and sprained my ankle. Took the time to drive all the way to a dr compatible with my insurance rather than going to a local rapid care. Accepted the brace and crutches to get me through.
2 Two days later, accepted an appointment with a podiatrist who told me two ligaments are ruptured. Accepted the free foot brace boot instructions that they gave me. We had planned to go to the $5 movie afterwards wasn’t really feeling it so we just got groceries and came home. My parents searched the local thrift stores and found me a second “boot brace” to wear when I go out, so my at home one can stay clean. They also found a shoe leveller for my other foot so I don’t throw my back out. I was able to cancel the $20 one I have just ordered from amazon. Cost: $2.50 and a little pride. Ecause they are UGLY.
3. Found out that a friend had been killed riding his bicycle to work. Emotionally I wanted to send flowers to the family, but waited for the memorial and give cash to the family member who is probably paying for the unexpected expenses.
4. Cooked dinner for the family every day even though some of it I have to do while sitting.
5. Letting friends and family bring me just when I need from the grocery store which saves on impulse purchases.
So sorry to hear about your friend. And how thoughtful of you to support the family with cash.
Danielle, so sorry about your friend. The support with cash is very nice. Even with insurance, extra expences often come up. From my own experience I also was so grateful to family and friends for bringing us food. Cooking is the last thing you want to do but you really need to eat.
Wow, Danielle, what a week. Condolences on the leg problems from a fellow sufferer, and sympathy to you and the family of the friend who died.
Decided not to post regular FFT and just to send support on various levels to other folks instead. Re: the weather, we’ve got another lake effect snow blast here in Upstate NY, but we may be more used to it than a lot of you on the East and West Coasts may be. So cheers to all who are cranking up the stew pots/slow cookers and using up what they have on hand instead of going out.
And Katy’s DH definitely deserves the “Iron Pants” driving award for his total of 11 hours on the road!
I am so sorry to hear about your friend. You are a lovely person for your compassion and care you gave the family. <3
1. Listed an expensive calculator on Amazon. Hopefully the start of a new semester will bring an interest.
2. It snowed a bit yesterday. We stayed home (we did take a nice walk as the snow was starting) and accomplished a lot of tasks around the house.
3. I made a big pot of Tumeric Turkey No Noodle soup. It will be lunch for about five days.
4. Entertainment has been DVDs borrowed from the library and I am also reading The Whistler on my Kindle (borrowed from the library).
5. The roads are still a little slick today. We went for a walk early, before the wind kicked up. We are still working on getting things done around the house.
1) Spent a ridiculous amount of time in bed, using the bitter weather and a lingering cold as my excuse. The house didn’t clean itself, alas, but the head cold does seem to have finally packed its bags.
2) Read a library book. I’ve sent a couple dozen back unread over the past few months, which feels like not getting my $s worth, even with no $ involved.
3) Waiting patiently (not so patiently . . . ) while my hubs closes out the 2016 spreadsheets. I do the monthly bills and the forward-looking planning; he closes each month out and makes sure it’s appropriately categorized for taxes and such. It works well – he’s not really a planner but will follow a plan if I make it, and I don’t have the temperament to account for every penny – but we got behind on the monthly close-outs. So I’m sitting on my hands until I can plot out 2017 and pay the January bills. By noon today is his goal. This is frugal because starting the year without a plan (and with shocking amounts of tuition ahead of us this year) could really hurt.
4) Found a $50 bill tucked in a secret pocket in my laptop bag. I squirrel away large bills when I’m traveling, but usually I pull it all back out once I’m home. This is a terrific gift from past me to broke, tuition-paying, car-repair-shocked me. It and the couple bucks of change rattling around on my dresser will be our grocery budget this month.
5) Made delicious creamy pasta for dinner last night, and have rib steaks thawing for tonight. Sometimes when we’re this broke I have trouble using the items we have, feeling like we’re in beans-and-rice mode. We are! But it doesn’t save any money if the stuff in the fridge (heavy cream and odd veggies leftover from Christmas and NYE) and pantry (some potatoes going soft, so using for baked potatoes with the steaks) spoil. Plus – we have almost an entire cow in our freezers. No sense not eating it, even if it’s hard on my brain to reconcile fancy cuts of beef with total brokeness.
5)
I feel your pain on the college tuition-car repair whammy. Wiped out the college account a few weeks ago to pay spring tuition. Wiped out the car repair account over the past couple of weeks on various things. Only to have my kids’ car’s wheel and axel completely fall off this week. It isn’t worth repairing it. ugh!
Exciting you found a $50 bill!
So sorry you’re in the same boat! We’re down actually to zero in both of those accounts – can’t remember the last time that was the case. I’m terrified to drive in the slush and ice this week . . . can’t really stomach (or afford) another car issue just now!
1. I ventured out into the frigid weather (11′ when I went out) and did my errands. I spent 2.14 at my favorite thrift store for a brand new Bodum coffee press (may resell) and an almost new tervis tumbler with lid. I got 3 free panera bagels for my daughter and a box of entemens chocolate donuts for me.
2. I went Kroger and got 3 weeks worth of friday freebies (for my daughter, i wasnt interested in any if them), some mark downs and a few sale items.
3. I borrowed my daughter’s $2 from a garage sale 10 years ago crockpot to make chili for a work carry in tonight.
4. I went up to the Emporium (flea market store a mile from my house) to look at vintage fabric. I decided against the bundle that was $8 but bought a crewel kit intact at 50c, a holly hobby embroidery kit, also intact for a gift for $1, and some premium blue colored aida cloth for $1. I will ignore the pattern of the crewel kit and make my own design on the linen, using the wool yarn to stitch it.
5. I mended my beat up faded scrubs to eek out some more use from them.
Entemann’s chocolate donuts are God’s answer to depression days in my opinion. I have eaten them for decades. I open a box and eat until I’m kind of sick, then I wait a few hours to feel better, then start in again.
Well, I never claimed to be smart, or even mature. 😀
LOL
Agreed Anne!
1. Made a ham and lentil soup yesterday with leftover ham bone in my used crockpot for dinner. My husband declared it Amazing. Having leftovers for lunch today.
2. Made oatmeal cookies last night from scratch. Helped heat the house since we got 5 inches of snow yesterday.
3. My husband and son did our driveway, our neighbor’s driveway and his dad’s driveway with a snow blower we got free 5 years ago. We have put about $35 into it and it works great and doesn’t break my husbands back.
4. Listed 10 items on EBay that have been laying around for a while. First time doing it. Hope something sells. Free listings so it doesn’t cost me to try.
5. Made pancakes from scratch for breakfast and made extra for easy breakfasts for the kids this week.
6. My husband received ravioli makers for Christmas. He is trying them out for tonight dinner.
7. My friend is running a Chinese auction next month and needs empty baskets. I went through everything and came up with 37. I couldn’t believe I had that many throughout the house. My husband loves that I am decluttering.
what is a Chinese auction?
There are two kinds that I have seen before:
One is that you buy tickets, then each prize/basket has a jar and you put in as many tickets as you’re willing to “bid”. The winner is drawn. So the more tickets you put in (and more money you spend) the greater the likelihood that you’ll get the prize.
The other kind I’ve seen is that you write your name and address and bid, but it’s kept secret, then the highest bidder gets the prize. But you don’t know what other people bid, so it’s different from a traditional auction where you can always bid higher than the last person.
1. Got up a little early yesterday to do a few extra tasks to make the next few days easier. I baked a loaf of no-salt bread and rolls. I put a pork roast in the crockpot to make a healthier version of pork sliders. The yeast I used was free samples I had received in the mail 2 years ago but, luckily, they were still very alive. It was worth the early start to keep me from having to buy more groceries just yet.
2. I picked up my free Friday download from Kroger which was organic tortilla chips. These should pair with with some leftover chili and cheese for a yummy quick meal later today.
3. I just now took my Christmas tree down. My oldest daughter is on bed rest due to pre-eclampsia so my house has been neglected. I almost threw away my artificial tree because it has so many broken parts and then I thought about how really nice it looked this year. I never know what next Christmas may be like so I’m just gonna keep the damn tree… Again.
4. My youngest daughter had a growth spurt so I am going shopping in the closet. I find deals at yardsales and thrift stores throughout the year so I pretty much always have at least some clothes a few sizes bigger for each child. She also has an older sister so that helps some. However, they are built very different so they hasn’t worked out as well as I had hoped it would.
5. This may sound gross to some but I am not showering daily right now. It’s super cold here and I am not doing very much to get really dirty so a simple wash down with a wash cloth is fine for me. Also, my skin is super dry and since I love hot showers I need to keep them to a minimum.
I will occasionally skip a shower and just wash at the sink when my skin is extra dry or when I’m in a big hurry. It does no harm, and it does keep the skin from getting way too dry. Especially when the weather is as cold as it is here this weekend (below zero wind chills.) It’s not as if I’ve been out digging in the garden and gotten really dirty at this time of year.
Not gross at all! We generally bathe/shower every other day unless there’s a reason… like if we’re dirty or sweaty, or wearing bug spray or sunscreen. We all have super sensitive skin, so it cuts down on product exposure as well as product usage. It also saves me a lot of time (each of the babies gets bathed separately for now until they are big enough for the situation to be safe).
And obviously sink washing as needed.
Boy do I wish we had a Kroger. The free downloads are so much better than our grocery store offers.
1. shoveled snow for myself and my neighbor = free exercise
2. made another cat house with materials I got from work for the little feral one that hangs out around my house. The first one I made didn’t hold up. This one is much sturdier.
3. Had to go to a work event where they provided food – that was my “dinner out”.
4. made muffins and scones to take to work right after making dinner so the oven was warm already and it helped heat the house.
5. It is absolutely freezing here too. I am only going out when I need. Unfortunately the furnace at work can’t keep up with the cold (we are woking in a big old drafty building for a few days) so I am freezing and work is usually where I come to get warmed up!
1. Cleaned out my daughter’s closet and sold three pairs of her now-too-small shoes for $15. I have an envelope that I save the money in from selling her old clothes and shoes to buy new-to-us things in the next sizes. By shopping at local thrift stores and taking care to keep her things in great condition, I’m often able to resell for what I paid or more!
2. Have been eating out of the fridge and freezer all weekend in an effort to use up as many leftovers from Christmas as possible. The strawberries that were a day or two from going bad tasted great in our crepes for breakfast!
3. Used the $25 gift card I received as a holiday gift from work to buy diapers (on sale, with coupons of course!) Not a super exciting way to spend it, but that covers us on diapers for a month or two!
4. Just finished doing our budget for 2017. It helps keep us on track for the year, and it’s nice to see how much savings and net worth have increased over time. Our two kids are young (3 years and 9 months) but college will be here before we know it!
5. Got mystery shops to mail my dad and grandparent’s birthday gifts out. Covers the postage on them, plus the payment fee covers most of what I spent on the gifts!
1. Found a pink leather Coach wallet at Goodwill for .59! It’s in great shape and will replace mine that is falling apart after several years of use.
2. Used a $20.00 gift card to a local coffee shop that a student gave to me for Christmas to buy 2 pounds of coffee beans. I got an assortment of 4 flavors, 1/2 lb. each.
3. More coffee…Our local United had the 10 oz. 2016 Starbucks Holiday coffee for .99/bag in the bargain cart at the back of the store. I bought 5 bags. They have a March 2017 expiration date. I should have enough coffee to last the rest of the school year.
4. I bought a light blue cashmere sweater from Goodwill for my twenty year old son. I researched it, and it is on sale for $198 at Neiman Marcus right now. I paid $3.59.
5. We are making it just fine on our new $266.00/month grocery budget! There are only two of us at home; my son is at college.
So envious of the Coach wallet find!
Fabulous scores on the coffee and the sweater!!
Wished I could have joined the January no-spend project, but need to do some fairly necessary spending this month. I will use it as a goal as opposed to an absolute.
1. Stopped at Walgreens yesterday for cough drops and phone minutes so also did a quick check of their clearance aisles. Found Hallmark wrapping paper and a nice gift – all for 70% off. Glad I am almost out of the Target cheapie paper inherited from my son when he decided it was un-usable! At the time I couldn’t bear to throw it out and I have been struggling with it ever since.
However, the crappy stuff was free and did get used.
2. Made a chicken casserole from leftovers for lunch and pancakes for breakfast. This is not extraordinary but really am tired of chicken and don’t feel like cooking. Wanted to dump the whole thing and freezer shop for some better tasting stuff.
3. Next week has been designated ‘winter cleaning week’. Don’t have much on my schedule and will be channeling other NCAs in hopefully fostering a good feeling about cleaning my house and getting rid of stuff we no long need. Not my favorite activity.
4. Did some closet shopping and unearthed an old pair of slippers to keep my feet warm . They have never been worn and can be considered almost new.
5. Lots of bills including taxes and retirement account funding looming in the foreground, so no -no to a new Lear Jet and gold plated apartments in the sky.
EXTRA: Glad and thankful we have funds to pay taxes and add to a retirement account!
1. We have been hit by the same winter storm (a little further south, Katy) so staying HOME and having frugal fun. Not too much different from our norm, but feeling slightly housebound. Pulling out the unfinished jigsaw puzzle, unfinished knitting projects, less-desirable library movies.
2. Baking a lot to make staying home in the ice storm feel more cozy. Zucchini muffins with freezer zucchini, chocolate chip cookies, and then eating warm homemade tomato bean veggie soup.
3. I am trying to do the “Uber Frugal January Challenge”. This isn’t much different from my norm, but small changes add up to big savings over time. It’s good to hit the “reset” button, and the budget tends to get a little looser around the holidays at my house. (Not extravagant, but…)
4. Started my own blog to record the process of these daily frugal choices (and spending) daily for the month, keeping myself honest.
5. Working on the mindset of gratitude (like Janine, thankful to make retirement contributions and also have next term’s college payment done), creativity (so far the new blog has been fun, and Pussyhat Project, anyone?), and abundance. The ice storm brings home just how lucky we are to have a roof over our head and kitchen full of food. ALso, I’m glad the power didn’t go out!
*Love* the Pussyhat Project! Makes me wish I’d learned to knit!
1–Sewed a hole in a rug that my darling puppy bit through. It looks pretty good!
2–Took an inventory of the fridge and pantry before venturing out to the store.
3–Working on gathering things for donation. My goal is to take a carload next Sat.
4–Listing things on eBay. Hope to get rid of many things!
5–Sewing scraps of flannel/other fabric together to make cleaning cloths.
1. I remembered to use my bonus card at a grocery store I don’t usually go to, but at the self-checkout the card wasn’t accepted. I was able to back out of the checkout process enough to retry the card, the machine did accept it, and I saved 75 cents.
2. I cut my husband’s hair. I’m supposed to be turning that job over to my daughter, but she was at a friend’s house that day.
3. Continuing to pack everyone’s lunches. This isn’t my favorite task, but one I need to carve out time for every evening (or the following morning, if I’m just too tired the night before).
4. I made your rosemary white bean soup for the first time, Katy, and my family really liked it.
5. There was a bin of free cookies at the grocery store and I took one. It tasted even better because of what it cost!
I had a free cookie this week too and it was AMAZING! 😉
1. My only non-food expenditure this month so far was 58 cents for two packages of Christmas tissue paper marked down to 90 percent off at CVS. Otherwise, I’ve only bought medicine and food for us and the critters.
2. This was a make do and mend weekend for us: The Mister and I did a lot of small repairs to things in the bathroom and to a piece of furniture using stuff we had on hand. I did a lot of sewing, turning some too long curtains into a set suitable for an odd-sized window and a thrift-shop flannel sheet and a fluffy throw into bedding for the puppy. Also trimmed and hemmed a spare flannel pillowcase into a small towel just for twisting up my wet hair. The Mister “Frankensteined” an extra-long curtain rod for me out of parts of others. Total spent was $2.99 for a set of cabinet pulls.
3. Inspected the trash can under the coupon printer at the grocery store and found a 50 cent off jelly or jam coupon that was doubled at the register. A free dollar is nice!
4. Ordered some more dog food online, taking advantage of a sale and no tax that saved me $10, plus the shipping is free.
5. Accidentally overbought breakfast sausage at Christmas due to shopping while under the influence of a massive head cold. Today I am cooking some of it up and will season it a bit and use it in a pasta dish.
1) Our entertainment this weekend was going to see the Alchemy exhibit at the Getty, which is free aside from parking. We ate before we went to avoid the ridiculously expensive museum food. In all, we spend five hours there, which worked out to $3/hour for parking. Not too bad. I really hope that someday there is a Metro line up the 405 so public transportation is a viable option.
2) Made another loaf of bread. This is the second this year. I am not a baker, but I’m trying to get into bread making this year.
3) Meeting a friend for dinner in a bit; she is flying back to Ireland this week (she is currently living there). Eating leftovers now so I can order just an appetizer. Mostly I just want to enjoy being with her for a few more hours!
4) “Splurged” (meaning I paid 99 cents as opposed to just getting the free version) on the better translation of War and Peace for my Kindle. It’s the first book on my list I’m tackling this year. The better translation is worth the dollar. 🙂
5) It’s nice and sunny today (but by tonight the “atmospheric river” is supposed to hit) so the windows are open, no heating necessary.
“War and Peace” translations were an eye-opener for me too. Remember going from reading one version in high school to a college humanities class with an entirely different version as required reading. Should dig out my
(very) old copy and re-read it. Wonderful book.
OMF! The Ghetty! <3 *_*
1) I decided to make quesadillas for dinner tonight, using the leftover chicken fajita meat. I could eat Mexican food at least 4 days a week.
2) I found gas for $2.23 per gallon on the way home this morning, so I filled up and that should last me for the work week. I’m hoping we get another snow day next Friday. We get the following Monday off for MLK day and that would give me a four day weekend at home.
3) My youngest granddaughter got hurt Friday in a sledding accident. She’s okay but received stitches in her leg and they didn’t want her walking on it, so I went to my daughter’s house to keep the kids and ended up not using the food I bought to feed them. It looks like that will last us for another week, so no big grocery purchases this week.
4) I called the phone/internet provider to ask about the cost of increasing the streaming speed. They were able to up it for free for the next two months and then it will be $10 more per month after that. I’m good with that, since I’ve been able to cut some other monthly costs.
5) I didn’t buy a Lear Jet and wasn’t able to convince hubby we need a Condo downtown. Big save! 🙂
Great stuff, friends!
1. Made applegate’s is sweet potato and bacon sheet breakfast recipe with ingredients on hand for dinner
2. Stopped house cleaning service ($170 a month toward debt!)
3. Used dryel on wool work pants instead of paying the dry cleaner
4. Stayed home and watched movies on Amazon last night because Manchester by the Sea was sold out
5. Completed 2017 budget with DH and planned for travel, savings, debt reduction. No one cried.
1) Day 8 of the No Buy January – Spent zero dollars!
2) Made dinner tonight out of bit of this and bit of that – resulted in a delish chicken macaroni salad.
3) Walked in my neighborhood today instead of driving to our local mall to walk. BRRRRRR.
4) Packed my lunch every day for work this past week!
5) Sold two pieces of furniture from my basement on a facebook garage sale website. Net gain of $150!!
You might want to look at the Fred Meyer app. They have a free item posted in the coupon section each Friday. So far I’ve gotten, a box of cake mix, a large bag of organic tortilla chips and a bottle of sports drink at no cost. This is in Seattle, could be different in Portland.
Nope, T; at least on those items, Portland — and farther south in Salem — had the same Friday Freebie offers!
1. Back to work today after three weeks of holidays. I spent yesterday baking and cooking lunchbox meals for all of us while we are at work and vacation care.
2. While I was doing that my husband ironed all our work clothes so we are all ready to go.
3. Reading a book from the library called The Dorito Effect about artificial flavours. It’s fascinating.
4. Planned a menu for the week based on what is in the pantry and freezer and will be doing a similar pantry challenge next wt. we have a number of large bills.
5. Normally I buy a new pair of work shoes at the post Christmas sales each year but I’ve decided the shoes I have can last longer.
I just read the summary for The Dorito Effect and added it to my reading list.
Trying to do the not buying anything new thing for January. Already semi-failed! Dh has been in need of new undershirts but is very picky about the style. I happened upon a 4 pack for $9.97 at Costco and snapped them up. $2.50 per shirt isn’t bad and considering it has been 10 years since I last bought them I figure it isn’t that bad.
Ways I have saved:
1. Cooking up some black beans and made homemade hamburger buns today as well.
2. Grocery shopped and bought less than what was on my list because my list was too much money.
3. Planned my menu for the week based around a plethora of leftovers I have ended up with after 3 days of cooking large dinner meals.
4. Turned my heat down to 63 last night and 65 today – not sure why it was higher, I think one of the kids bumped it up. So glad I noticed!
5. My son went back to college. Which means my food bill will go down and my electric bill should plummet based on the number of electronic items he used and/or left on or plugged in each day. And we should all have hot water again too.
#5 My son just went back to college too…he ate us out of house and home! He said he gained 8 pounds while home on holiday!
1. I decided to just budget my food, gas. cat litter, home supplies into one lump sum per week until the end of February to see how it goes. It’s proving successful. The first week, out of $150, I saved $60 and this week, it’s looking like I’ll have $40 left over. This is really excellent. Oh, and it’s it CASH. I get it once a week. So far, so good.
2. Haven’t left the house since Tuesday. So, no money spent. Since it snowed Thursday night, I’ve not been tempted to run out to the store for everything that pops in my head.
3. Earlier, I wanted chicken salad but remembered we had canned tuna. Had that instead and made enough for the next few days. Wanted potato chips but instead of leaving and getting them, I found some tortilla chips and had them with hummus.
4. We did decide to go to NM for our summer vacation. We found a place on AirBnB that was a little casita with kitchenette for $57 a night. It’s about 20 minutes outside Sante Fe which is fine because I want to go all around that general area. Since they had a discount for a week, we got a whole week for less than four nights in a place in Santa Fe for half that time!
5. Am reading a library book on my kindle and have about 5 checked out on there. After watching Everest, I decided to finally read Into Thin Air. Jon Kraukauer (sp?) is such a great writer…
Unfortunately, I do have books I need to return that are overdue. I will probably owe about $3 in fees but I don’t stress over this too much since I figure even if I did this every month (I don’t) it’s less than a new book and it helps to buy new books for other readers.
Oh– and I misspoke, it’s not $150 a week, it’s $125! So, even better work!
Into Thin Air is SO good. Jon Krakauer is one of my favorite authors.
Ditto! I read this book many years ago and enjoyed it very much. The power of nature is greater than any one person.
can you renew your library books online or over the phone? i’ve done it before!
#1 I decided to lump all of those things into one sum per week, also. It’s easier to keep up with it!
#4 You will love Santa Fe! It’s one of my favorite places to visit. If you get a chance, travel over to Rancho De Chimayo for lunch or dinner. It’s not far, is a cool drive, and the food/atmosphere is excellent!
Blogged about my day to keep me honest.
Sent my kid to camp which means less food eaten…teenagers and their appetites.
Sit in darkness each night, love it.
Shopped my kitchen cupboards.
Shopped my wardrobe for a pair of needed shorts, I knew I had some somewhere…just had to find them.
Oh wowww, that’s a crappy drive for your husband. I’m glad he made it back safely!
This week was quite frugal for us!.
1. I’ve had allergies for the last two weeks and I’m sick of buying so many damn tissues. Today I made handkerchiefs from fabric leftovers instead of using throw-away tissues.
2. I made s’mores cupcakes this weekend to use up ingredients we had on hand; we gave half to my SIL and her family.
3. Instead of letting a head of cauliflower go to waste, I turned it into a white cheddar and beer cauliflower soup. I froze it in pint storage jars for later eating.
4. We didn’t eat out once this weekend. We relied on food we had in our pantry and our freezer meals. That’s a big win!
5. Mr. Picky Pincher raked leaves in the yard and used them in our compost bins.
1. Since I “batch” my oven usage I baked several items today then left the door ajar to let the rest of the heat escape into the (chilly 60 degree) kitchen.
2. Started the year off with a big find of 5 cents :).
3. We’ve had a startling (lovely) amount of snow fall for our area and I haven’t left the house for 2 days–no $$ spent or gas used.
4. Decided to join in on the “No spend January”, unless I discover something I need for a super price.
5. Slowly cleaning out drawers and closets: 2 bags for Platos and one bag for Goodwill so far.
1. The weather did indeed turn cold so soup from the freezer has been good.
2. Since the house needed to be warmed. I cleaned the oven on the clean cycle which really heats up the kitchen. I only clean it in the winter for that reason. That’s my excuse anyway.
3. I hung laundry out in the cold. Brr.
4. I cleaned and restarted my 2 kombucha brewers. They save me so much money on kombucha, which in turns saves me money on G-I medication.
5. I was on year two of searching for a stainless flat bottomed stock pot that could double as a small water bath canner. The new ones are 50-100 dollars. I found a perfect Vollrath at Goodwill for $14.99 today!
As a fellow Floridian, I never clean my oven in the summer either. It makes the kitchen which faces west unbearably hot.
Oh dear! My kitchen faces the east — it would really be miserable cooking in the summer if it faced the west. I admire you for being able to do that!
I have been struggling to not spend money this week.-gave my newly college graduate, looking for a “real”job, uber driving nephew $25 this morning because I remember when I was right out of college and also in grad school and people would give me a $ it was such a relief. It will at least buy some groceries or gas. My sister had a seizure Friday night and brought chinese take out for us yesterday.
Some frugal things-
1. Found 5 cents yesterday
2. Brought tea bags to keep in my desk. Green tea helps A LOT on 8 client days.
3. Returned and picked up library books today. I only owed 30 cents in late fees.
4. Bought only sale items at grocery store today.
5. Had Chinese food leftovers and visit with my sister today and visited with my nephew who was there as well.
1. My fav thrift store had Christmas stuff 90 percent off. Picked up a bunch of packages of standard size paper that had “holiday” borders (I think it is for people printing out a letter to send with their cards or something) for literally pennies. My little artist goes through a lot of paper so this will be put to good use.
2. Same thrift trip, got a brand new and much needed Ralph Lauren leather tote that will fit my laptop for $5.
3. My second fav thrift store delivered big time when I need some clothes for my new size and getting back into professional work. 2 jackets, 2 blouses, 1 sweater, 2 dresses for less than $30.
4. Finally baked the giant pumpkin from Halloween for puree. Elderly dog has pumpkin added to her regular food, this saved us from having to use at least 4 or 5 of the big cans of store-bought puree.
5. Using lots of super cheap bananas from the clearance section to bake various kinds of breads and muffins as well as to make smoothies.
Great deal on the Ralph Lauren tote!
I feed my dog pumpkin too. Its so good for them,
1. We spent $0 and never left the house all weekend.
2. Mercifully daycare opened today despite the blizzard, so we saved the $100 we would have paid a babysitter to watch the kids while we worked.
3. Planned meals for this week and went shopping today. I spent $88 at Aldi, which seems like a lot considering we are also cleaning out the freezer. But we are feeding three hungry kids these days who get hungrier as they grow.
4. Renewed my library books online to avoid fees.
5. Dressed the kids up this weekend in snow suits that are a combination of pieces bought at Goodwill and pieces gifted or handed down to them. The hats were outright purchases I made. We seem like we can always use little kid stocking hats, so they are a regular Christmas gift, which means they came out of the gift funds and not the clothing funds.
1. We got snowed in this past weekend so we stayed in all weekend and watched football. No driving and no spending.
2. I didn’t really plan a no spend January either, but I’ve only purchased groceries too.
3. Over the weekend I did a lot of meal prepping for this weeks meals.
4. Spent Saturday with Dave Ramsey setting up the 2017 every dollar budget. (Well not him in person, his website 😉 )
5. Made the first deposit of 2017 in to the pickle jar, still breathing fresh air.
Love Dave Ramsey. We are on Baby Step 3. Good luck!
1. Meal prepped for all four of my work lunches. No buying lunch for me.
2. Asked neighbor for a box to return defective Christmas gift to Amazon rather than buy one from UPS store.
3. Hung all sheets and pillow cases rather than using dryer. Put the cases on hangers with clothes pins.
4. Took pics of our weather tech floor mats that we removed from our jeep when we sold it. I will attempt eBay for the first time to get some cash.
5. My daughter only uses name brand tamping so I clipped a coupon and will go get them before it expires.
I hope the Jeep mats sell quickly for you! I am getting ready to sell my VW Jetta TDI back to VW and I plan to keep the expensive weather mats and the retractable cover that hides cargo in the back of the wagon (I have no idea what these are called). This way if I get another VW wagon I won’t have to pay for the upgrades or, if I don’t, maybe I can sell them!
1. Stayed home all weekend except to volunteer at the library where I returned books on time and picked up some holds.
2. All meals at home and planned ahead for this week. My husband has both a dinner and lunch planned out this week – wish he could limit himself to once a week but feel like I’m being his “mom” when I ask him to restrict meals out.
3. I started a duvet cover for my daughter nearly 3 years ago. Spent time yesterday adjusting so the quilt top and the flannel backing were the same size. Will finish it this week – need to make sure I have velcro to close it or else I will have to spend some time trying to figure out how to make buttonholes on my machine – just need to read the book!
4. Made a lunch for a group at church – was asked to bring food for 23-25. It was a super cold day and there were only 14 for lunch. They sent the rest home with me – pulled chicken off the bone for chicken salad and some for the freezer for soup, put rice in 2 cup packages in the the freezer, eating up the black beans and fruit.
5. Have a catering job for this weekend – pays somewhat more than my typical kitchen salary and will get a good meal!
1. Changed the pantyhose stocking on my washing machine. I don’t wear them anymore and they work perfect for filtering the water and last a lot longer than the filters You can buy. Bonus, my mom gave me a bag of them for free!
2. Went to the library to pick up The Circle I had requested and DD got several others.
3. Made way to many mashed potatoes so found a recipe online to turn them into potato cakes, turned out really well.Love allrecipes.com!
4. Went and bought liquid plumber, trying that route before calling a plumber.
5. Used GasBuddy.com to find cheapest local ⛽️.
1. Booked hotel for work through our work’s travel system because my usual hotel I use in this area was sold out. I found one with a kitchenette and brought food from home.*
2. I found two pennies in the parking lot of the hotel!
3. Brought my library books to read instead of going out shopping during the day (working nights).
4. After a tiny rough start on the first of the month, I am now doing well on No Spend, Uber-frugal January. I have only paid bills (two of which came out WAY higher than I was expecting, so I am also part of the broke club this month).
5. Went to the 2nd run movies with bf on Thursday (total $4). I used a five dollar bill I found in a coat I hadn’t worn yet this season (and he bought us a popcorn). The movie was OK. I love movies and look forward to seeing ones I hear about, but the past two I have gone to have not been as good as I thought they would be. I do want to see “Hidden Figures” (incredible women!) and I may splurge on it later this month. However, I think I am going to take a hiatus from the theater for a few months.
*I have to note I will never use this hotel again as the first room I they gave me had dirty sheets (yuck!). I’m a biologist and always look for bedbugs. They graciously changed my room and I did another search and it passed, but ewww. And, thank goodness I brought yogurt and microwave meals because there are no dishes, coffee maker or coffee! It’s really bare bones! End Rant from a spoiled gov worker! 😉
We just stayed at a suites hotel that promotes its kitchenettes. I knew in advance that only meant coffee maker, mini fridge, and microwave, but still had issues. We took plenty of food for kid w/ allergies, but the fridge was more like a cooler. No freezer inside meant it didn’t get cold enough. Since it worked more like a cooler, we treated it that way. Got a stainless pan from kitchen and kept it filled with ice and it helped immensely. But such a pain in the behind. Other issues with the hotel (though, thankfully no bugs). Next time I’ll track down an airbnb, rather than stay at the “convenient” hotel recommended by relatives.
I have found that Homewood Suites usually have full kitchens with full size refrigerators and are set up well for families. They usually include breakfast, coffee 24/7, and transportation. I stayed at one in Savannah that also did a happy hour with a buffet. Since they are part of the Hilton Chain, they are typically clean. Although they are not extremely economical, I find that they are a good value and great for a slightly longer stay.
Bee,
That’s good to know. Our family booked a block of rooms at Embassy Suites, which is also Hilton. The staff was great, the hotel less so. I’m familiar with Homewood, just didn’t think we’d need a more complete kitchen this trip since it was just a couple days.
1. Instead of going out for date night, my husband and I got take out with a coupon and used a movie code on amazon to watch a movie. I had a dollar credit from Amazon Prime for choosing the slow shipping, so the movie was free.
2. My daughters birthday is today. We had grandparents over on Sunday for dinner. Grilled steaks given to my husband for Christmas and made a carrot cake from scratch. Used up green beans, dinner rolls and potatoes bought at Christmas. Delicious and inexpensive dinner.
3. Kids are back to school today. Packed my youngest daughters lunch. I have packed her lunch every day for the past twelve years. Wonder how much I’ve saved.
4. Planning a cheap dinner of stroganoff tonights as requested by my daughter. Thawing ground beef bought on sale.
5. Ate leftovers last night for dinner and some ham given to us by my mother. She had too much and also gave me the ham bone, which I’ll use for split pea soup.
Frugal fail: My headlight is out and the previous owner installed a custom HID kit, so I had to order a special headlight online, but found a good mechanic to install them.
1. Needed to add some winter and work-appropriate clothes to my wardrobe, but also wanted to reduce boredom-based thrift store trips. I found that actually needing items, and limiting myself to $1 items on sale days, prevented me from taking unecessary trips and impulse-buying things! It also makes getting good deals much more fulfilling.
2. Decided to snack on almonds instead of stopping at the gas station for chips.
3. Worked out the youtube FittnessBlender channel. They have low-impact videos for people with joint pain.
4. Brought breakfast to work instead of buying a biscuit sandwich.
5. Scored a microphone and bluetooth from the Buy Nothing Project, which will be great for my return to online teaching!
Frugal fail: got this totally cute magnetic chore chart for my toddler (chores including things like “go potty” and “brush my teeth” etc.). Tot then proceeds to throw magnets across room, whence dog promptly eats them.
*sigh*
Total lifespan of chart: 6 minutes.
🙁
Is your dog ok?
Yes, he is. Thank you!
Mostly he chewed all the magnets up and left them strewn about the house. He ate some shreds, but we’re hoping he won’t have magnetic poo in the days to come!!
$30 on three bags of groceries? RESPECT. Just discovered your blog, I’m really into the idea of minimizing our environmental impact by consuming mindfully and reusing whatever we can. I try to thrift most of my clothes and home goods (more of that here: http://voyageofvintage.com). Happy to find someone else of a similar mindset =]