- I’ve had a crazy couple of days, as Portland was gifted with a foot of snow that essentially shut down our quirky city. However, as a hospital based labor and delivery nurse my workplace can’t exactly put up a “closed for inclement weather” sign. All of this added up to me working my scheduled Wednesday and Thursday 12-hour shifts, but having to sleep in an empty patient room with the knowledge that I might get kicked out in the middle of the night. (Luckily, I kept my squatter’s rights and slept well.) I brought extra food, plus was given a $5 cafeteria voucher which covered a hearty breakfast. A library book kept me busy, and my ever present travel mug enjoyed multiple cups of the free tea. I was happy to collapse into my own bed last night, but I slept well knowing I’d spent no extra money. And I may or may not have set myself up in stirrups to send a photo to my sister. What can I say? You can’t be in my particular job without a wacky sense of humor!
- I called to confirm that all was on track to receive my $1.25/hour bonus for working over 800 hours in 2016. I spoke with a human resources rep who told me that I’d worked 934 hours and would be enjoying the money in my next paycheck. Schweet!
- My husband has a work banquet tomorrow night that includes a fancy meal. I’ll be enjoying the free food, but booze will be self-pay, so we’ve already discussed that we’ll pre-func to enjoy beers in the parking lot together as the very cheapest of dates before we enter the hotel. Yeah, you know you’re jealous of my glamorous life!
- I helped my mother clean one of her guest cottages the evening that it started snowing. The snowflakes were just starting to drift down from the sky when I left the house so I stopped into Trader Joe’s for milk, butter, eggs, cereal, bananas, hummus, flatbread, tortillas and chips. I spent just $23, and I left for work knowing that the essentials for covered. My mother paid me a bit extra, which she referred to a “combat pay” as there was already six inches of snow on the ground by the time I drove home. Thanks, mom!
- I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar 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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{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
Great job with all of those frugal activities! The snow sucks, but hey, babies don’t care about the weather. 🙂
This week:
1. I worked from home on Monday when I was sick instead of taking an unpaid day off.
2. I gave my cat an old pill bottle filled with beans as a toy instead of buying him one.
3. My husband got a reimbursement from his company, which was a sweet $20 check.
4. We had a very nice steak dinner for date night on Thursday, and it was free thanks to a Christmas gift card.
5. We’ve been eating out of our freezer stockpile so we haven’t spent a lot of money on eating out, which is awesome!
I bet you’ve been missing your old Subaru 🙂
So much! Sniff . . .
Well done on all counts, Katy!!
(1) Frugal fail: Celebrated the end of my 3-month-long soul-sucking project at telecommuting work by going down to our local Ollie’s with DH and buying Harry and David’s peppermint bark and other treats. So much for low-spend January. But, hey, at least I didn’t pay full retail price. (Far from it, actually.)
(2) We also stopped into our local Barnes & Noble and spent the $50 gift card I received from my supervisor for Xmas. No complaints whatever about my work situation (my employers are the best), only the actual work. 🙂
(3) The cabbage, apple, and kale salad mentioned in my previous comment has only just now been finished. Lasted almost a full week and was just as good today as on Sunday. “When found, make a note of,” as Lord Peter Wimsey says.
(4) Doing a major decluttering of books and DVDs. One of our local thrift chains is offering a $5 coupon for every 5 DVDs donated, and we’re planning to find out tomorrow how far we can take this. As for books, well, the book churn is an ongoing event around here.
(5) Looking forward to an entirely unencumbered 3-day holiday weekend. Time is money!!
And (6) Google “Don’s Johns.” Don’t ask questions. Just do it. LMAO.
Heh. “Book churn” – exactly!
I’ve been hearing about the snow storm from my family that lives in PDX. Sounds crazy!
Here’s a link to the frugal things we’ve been doing lately as liveaboards on our sailboat saving up to go cruising to the Bahamas. Gorilla Tape is the key – a cheapskate’s best friend. http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.com/2017/01/five-frugal-things-gorilla-tape-edition.html
The temperatures have been hovering around -15F around here. I have taken the opportunity to stay home and have no spend days.
1. Finally ventured out today to the grocery stores stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables – visited the produce store for less than perfect stuff. Very good bargains on mushrooms, apples and limes.
2. Cooking from pantry and freezer has yielded some great forgotten fresh frozen apple cider. (We are suffering from head colds so this really helps us feel better.
3. My husband is commuting these days instead of taking public transportation so our gas bills have increased. He is buying his gas at Costco and another local station which is near his workplace. They both are cheaper than our neighborhood station. I am also trying to drive less to make up the difference.
4. I am reading “Those Angry Days” which details the conflicts between the isolationists and interventionists in the days leading up to World War II. (Think Roosevelt versus Lindberg). Just as many scoundrels as seem to inhabit the political scenery today. Bought the book at half-priced book with part of a gift certificate for $2. I really like the feeling of owning my books.
5. As a political junkie, I watched and listened to President Obama’s Farewell Address and Pres.-elect Trump’s first press conference. Interesting times we are living through. Both activities were free……..
-15F!!! I live in western Oregon too–not Portland–but when we had our “big ice storm” and 3-4 inches of snow last week, with ongoing temps in the low 20s, it’s been a big deal for people in my city. In the back of my mind has been the fact that this would be extremely moderate winter weather for people living in lots of other places. How warm do you keep your home?
This is Minnesota. We try to keep the house no higher than67-68 during the day and lower at night, My husband likes a warm house. Temperatures are slowly climbing though.
We are looking forward next week to temperatures up to 30 F+(!) accompanied by ice and snow . It is really beautiful with a little winter sunlight.
I love the feel of owning books too! I will never purge all my books. If you don’t mind curse words and a little color, google the great quote about books by John Waters. 😉
1. Brought breakfast and lunch and snacks to work today.
2. No dinner expense. My wonderful Mom and Dad are hosting all of us for dinner and cake for my Birthday.
3. Husband to change oil in my Corolla tomorrow. The “free” from the dealer changes are done.
4. Dropped off items at a thrift store then bought 4 shirts and some pajama bottoms for 5$.
5. Contributed to our 6 month San Fran trip savings fund today. Goal is $1000 by June 20th, our 25th anniversary. This will be our spending money.
Re your #5: Our 25th anniversary is June 21st! And we keep talking about taking a long-weekend trip to the SF and the Bay Area–just the 2 of us 🙂
We’re in Florida, so it’s a pretty ambitious trip for us!
Been there and it’s worth it!~
I left my heart in that beautiful city many years ago as my father did before me. He was a Berkley grad (1950) and never quit missing the romance and energy of the Bay area. Since DH and I are unable to live there, I return every year. It has always felt like home. I hope you have a wonderful time and don’t forget your jacket!
That would be Berkeley. 🙂 Spell check.never seems to catch my typos when I need it tto. Sigh!
I love SF, also. I took a RN travel assignment there a few years ago and became extremely attached to the area. I stayed in the Walnut Creek area and worked in the ER there. Every spare moment I would go out and explore everything that SF has to offer. Every since I have taken a trip there every couple years or so. Just a beautiful, interesting place!
San Francis is the best! While there, check to see if any of the museums have free admission days-some do. Also, check out the Ferry Marketplace on Saturday for a great farmer’s market and the occasional free sample. There is also Off the Grid food truck events weekly-the last time we were there, we went to the Fuday night one at Fort Mason, which was great-good, interesting food and libations at less than restaurant prices.
Thanks for all these great tips!
1) Was about to buy something from Amazon, but decided to see if I really needed to or if I had them in the house somewhere. After several minutes of rummaging through my stockpile of vintage stuff for etsy, I found what I needed. (I was looking for those plastic cocktail swords for a project.)
2) Defrosting some pasta dough I made earlier for some more raviolis tonight.
3) Fiance and I are cleaning out his garage tomorrow. There is furniture in there we don’t need, so it’s going to go on Craigslist as soon as I can get it cleaned up.
4) Fiance and I are combining phone plans to save quite a bit of money per month. Adding his phone to my T-Mobile plan.
5) I had to switch health insurance plans, and how they price prescriptions is sort of a mystery to me. They are usually $5-10/bottle depending on the number of pills. Somehow my two month supply of migraine meds was free this time. Yay!
I am glad you made it through the storm. I watched the video of a young polar bear at the Portland Zoo frolic in the snow. He was very cute, and there was a lot of snow!
I try to stay organized, but this week my skills seemed to disappear. It was the kind of week where I made a to-do list, then proceeded to lose the list. So I have had a few frugal fails:
I had to pay a library fine. I chipped a piece of Vaseline glass that I had brought for resale. I accidently rented a movie that I didn’t want to see. I made two, 15-mile trips to town, because I mislaid my checkbook. I forgot to renew my passport early and had to pay to have it expedited ….
Grrrr …. but all was not lost. I had some frugal successes, my FFT:
1) I have been tracking my monthly expenses for my low spend January. I have even accounted for my $3.25 library fine. So far, things are going fairly well I hope to cut my monthly expenditures by 30%. I also paid bills using my bank’s bill-pay app and updated my budget. I am thinking about going to a cash system like Tonya and others.
2) I received a $15 rebate check for my dogs flea meds and a small check for the overpayment of my escrow account. I took a little side job this week and next. I also found a penny. Money to offset my frugal fails.
3) I am learning to cook with my new Instant Pot. I certainly will never buy canned beans again. It is so quick and easy with the pressure cooker function. Next week, I am going to try to make yogurt. The IP was a Christmas gift from one of my children who knew that I had been checking out all my secondhand sources looking for one.
4) Inspired by Mrs. Picky Pincher, I rooted two sweet onions. I am going to plant them over the weekend in my herb garden. I hope that I will have a few onions come spring.
5) I have also done the usual things this week. I continue to cook from scratch eating from the pantry and freezer. I picked up books from the library to read over the weekend. I am wearing mostly thrifted clothing. I am drinking water and coffee from home. I am using coupons when possible. I am listing things on eBay. Frugality is good.
Oh, I love Vaseline glass! I have collected a few peices over time. Shame about the chip but it sure is easy to do. You can still probably make money on it with the chip, just not as much.
I love five frugal things! We had a speedy holiday season so it’s good to be back.
1) Made bean soup from the hambone.
2) Picked up the loss leaders at my local grocery store- $22 for cereal, berries, avocado, yogurts and milk.
3) Baked cornbread muffins.
4) Did a free online workout.
5) Read frugal blogs to get ideas.
1. I found $.32 on Wednesday while taking a walk in my neighborhood. It was kind of slick so i really watched my step. Breaking/spraining anything is not frugal.
2. I returned an exercise top that was a Christmas gift, it came with a Target gift receipt. I used the gift card I received for the return to buy large cans of pumpkin on clearance. I was able to get 14 cans for only $.08 out of pocket.
3. I found $.49 and an old Italian coin in the Coin Star. My husband loves to collect foreign currency without leaving home. I also broke my No Spend January attempt to pick up clearance winter hats for $1.29 each and decks of UNO cards for $2.00 each. The hats will be given to the less fortunate and the UNO decks will be given to a holiday toy drive.
4. It was about 70 degrees yesterday. A friend and I took a long walk and caught up on our lives. Not to worry, we’re to have freezing stuff tomorrow.
5. I finished a huge batch of soup (the recipe said it made 4-6 servings but I think it made over a gallon) by eating it twice a day before it went bad.
I keep hearing about this adorable polar bear at the zoo. Does anybody have a link?
Here’s one video. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/watch-oregon-zoo-animals-even-an-asian-elephant-frolic-in-snow-dumped-on-portland/
1. I sold two items on the FB sale boards, $5 each.
2. Someone listed a set of new Urban Decay eyeliners for $2, and I was first to comment. The set retails for $30. I was going to sell them on ebay, but decided to treat myself and keep them instead.
3. I bought one pair of Farm to Feet merino wool socks at TJ Maxx several months ago and was kicking myself for not buying more. I stopped this week and found three pairs on clearance.
4. Used two Kohl’s coupons (from the Discover card) to buy a pair of Muk Luks slippers, for which I paid 74 cents.
5. My office provided a pizza lunch for us one day this week, which was a nice surprise.
I love the name “Farm to Feet”! Funny anecdote: I’m a knitter, and a friend gave me a “Farm to Needle” button with a picture of a sheep, along with some beautiful local wool from where she lives. When I showed the button to my work colleague, a fellow public health nurse, she was initially baffled. Her mind went right to the type of needles we use, or want people to exchange rather than share….it’s all about the context!
I also love the name. I have heard Darn Tough socks are also supposed to be quite good.
1. Eating vegan all week
2. Eating down the pantry!
3. Still can’t get out much due to sprained ankle, subsisting on the groceries my minions bring me. 100% impulse shopping free zone, but I don’t recommend this method if you can help it.
4. Needed gifts for 9 people to celebrate some accomplishes. Rather than doing it alone, invited to then tire group to contribute to gift baskets in a completely voluntary and anonymous basis. Invited friend with a gift for glamour to help me assemble them and they are amazing!!
5. For above gift baskets, created sets of cards for each person using 100% supplies on hand, adorable free printables, and ink from a printer that we are almost ready to abandon. So fun and totally adorable!
Frugal fail: horse stepped on a nail, $450 vet bill and $150 in supplies to keep her safe/clean. (Believe it or not, this feels Frugal because had the nail entered in a different direction, it could have been much worse.) I’m going to pay my son and nephew to walk the entire property with their metal detector to figure out where these are coming from and stop the madness.
So sorry about the nail, and so glad it didn’t penetrate any of those important structures inside the hoof. We had one that went into the coffin joint. Long story short – we gave the horse back to her breeder and she spent over $12,000 treating it to end up with an almost sound but neurotic horse (she didn’t deal well with the treatments and such).
That is the kind of story that gives me pause and makes me wonder what we were thinking when we got them!!!! 😉
Hate to have a pricetag on love, but….
Good idea with the metal detector!
We have a horse and I can empathize on the vet bill. Glad it didn’t end up a serious problem.
Thanks Vickie, me too!!!
Tractor supply sells a particularly good rolling magnet. My dad bought one and we helped him rid his barn of lots of nails for this very reason. I think it was about $25. Hate buying one-use thing but in this case could be a good investment!
That would be a great thing to share with horse-owning friends!
Will have to look into that!!!
1. Finally finished a big pot of soup that I’ve been eating for close to two weeks! I have added things to it to change it up a bit, but I can’t say I’m sorry it’s gone.
2. Mostly been using “active transport” to get to and from work instead of asking my husband to drive me (we are a one-car family). 8/10 trips this week isn’t bad. Progress not perfection!
3. Sneakily turning the heat down all week–though last night one of my kids turned the thermostat back up, so I must have reached their comfort limit.
4. My younger son asked me to stop on my way home and pick him up “sesame snaps or something sweet”, but was happy with the offer of homemade snicker doodles instead. Must get baking.
5. Not buying any wine or treats this month.
6. I got “How to start a book group” book from my great local library, AND found out they have “Book Groups in a Box” to loan out!
Love the pic and your positive attitude for being stuck at work during the storm!
Dont think I have 5 notable points, but I can say the only money I’ve spent this week was to gas up my beloved old Audi. Challenged myself to have no restaurant food for January and haven’t had any problems with that. (Last Jan I challenged myself to not use a microwave for a month. Never went back because the counter space is worth so much more than the convenience for me.) Obama’s farewell speech was beautiful. I’ve since taken all of my fears, aggression, nervousness and general confusion out on the body of a 1964 Karmann Ghia. It’s looking nice and will be ready for paint this coming week. That’s all I’ve got to report.
1. Found 2 quarters and a dime yesterday.
2. Husband fixed light switch with (you guessed it) only 1 trip to Home Depot. Good thing it is very close to our home…
3. Took all my coins I found last year to the bank they have a coin machine and did it for free. Also, picked up free cookies while there.
4. Put together a good dinner from frozen veggies and chicken along w/ some teriyaki sauce. No going out on Friday’s for us.
5. Used my $10 off $10 purchase from Penney’s for a new bra, OOP was less than $1.
Whether we like it or not, Donald Trump will be our next president. I am praying for him to be a good one.
1. Been wanting to hear a friend’s son play guitar, but no desire to spend money to go to the bar he plays at. Tonight she did a live FB post of him playing. He’s good – and it was free!
2. Been slowly using up stuff from the freezer and pantry, trying to only buy produce and other stuff needed to be able to make meals out of what we have on hand. Made an Italian pot roast in the crockpot that was awesome!
3. Trying to decide on what gym to join and talked one into a free trial week, to see if I’d really use it. Went 4 out of 5 days, and also discovered a gym closer and cheaper that my hubby and I can both join for the cost of one membership at the place I was trying out. Yeah, I could just run up and down stairs at home and use hand weights here, but I know me and I won’t. But if I pay…. I will get my money’s worth!!
4. Packed away almost all of the Xmas stuff and went through each bin, pulling out stuff we no longer like/need/use, to go to either GW or a box for the school’s annual Xmas sale.
5. Went to Kroger after the gym today (which is a HUGE deal, since it’s the first day I haven’t needed a nap after!!) and was able to skip lunch, due to the nice array of samples they had out.
Our oldest (12 now) was born after a big storm and the day I labored at home we had -30 to -40 degree windchill. With no garage we had to park on the street so my husb kept running outside to start the car in between contractions because he was afraid that the car wouldnt start when we needed to go to the hospital.
That’s a sweet story! Has your 12-year-old heard it?
Bless his heart, I bet he was as exhausted as he was nervous by the time it was all over. Good idea though!
1. I’ve reduced our grocery budget by 1/3 this fortnight to help us to pay for a big electricity bill and our car registration. We have a full freezer so it is doable. I just went grocery shopping and there was no problem doing a full shop with less money.
2. I have planned meals using the food we have in our freezer and garden.
3. I taught my daughter to make a mixed mushroom spaghetti using mushrooms I got on sale (shiitake, enoki and straw), herbs and some leftover cream. She’s a vegetarian and now has another recipe in her repertoire. She’s only 12 but I was cooking dinner at her age.
4. I’m making pea and ham soup with the Christmas ham bone today, along with homemade rolls.
5. While I was out shopping my husband cleaned the house so now we have a nice clean house ready for the week ahead. We have a big house but we do not employ a cleaner even though we both work full time. Our daughter has a disability and seems to constantly make a mess – I can’t really see the point in paying someone to clean when it will be messy soon after. We just keep on top of it as best we can and promise never to say the fateful words ‘but I just cleaned that!!’
5. It’s seems that I will clean one room then move on to the next one then once I get that one clean the kids have already messed up the first one. Of course, I make them clean it up but it’s just exhausting. Two steps forward then three steps back. This too, shall pass….
I remember those days, and noticed that on days that I was a great mother was correlated to the house being a disaster, but when my house was in order it meant I’d stuck the kids in front of the TV. I never figured out the balance, the kids simply grew up.
Cut yourself some slack, you’re not alone.
This!
My daughter has 3 and the youngest (6) seems to be the worst about leaving things on the floor. She gets exhausted trying to keep up. The only way I could control it when she’s at our house – I got a small plastic wagon that her baby doll and toys fit in and asked her to put her toys in it when she’s done. She loves pulling that wagon around. I think it cost me a couple of dollars at Goodwill. If she does leave it in the LR, when they go home, I can easily pitch the toys in it and take it back to the playroom.
My daughter is 17!
She is getting better but she just doesn’t notice that she’s leaving a mess behind her. If I got her to clean it up I’d never stop nagging her so I choose not to do that. She’s 17 but more like 8 developmentally. I’m a naturally neat person so this has been my learning experience, haha.
Wow, kudos for supporting your daughter’s dietary choice! I was about 12 when I wanted to go vegetarian (this was in the 80’s) and my parents thought I would be unhealthy, so wouldn’t support it. I finally stopped meat around 16 for good and, fortunately, by then there was so much more information around about it. My late father even began experimenting with making our favorite American ‘comfort’ foods with alternative things like mushrooms and I will always have that in my heart that he cared about me so much to find ways to make my favorite meals without meat! <3
She has been making noises about being vegetarian since she was about 8 years old so I knew it was not a fad. She’s been vegetarian for a year now. I wouldn’t let her do it until she expanded her diet to include beans and lentils. Once she started eating those then I was happy to support her choice.
My list is as boring as ever. I am on no spend January and I am doing all things frugal
– cooking all meals myself
– collecting all the leftovers after work’s sponsored lunch (I snatched 5 boxed salads on Monday). My work has a teeny tiny fridge and they all would have landed in trash end of day id I had not taken them. Crazy I know.
– found a book at work and took it home. Really enjoyed it and feel inspired to bring more awareness and #happiness to my life
– fixed a hole in my gloves
I periodically bring home free food from work that no one else wants, and it makes me crazy happy!
1. I cleaned out the dog’s kennel today. The bed that I made him has held up fabulously (knock on wood it stays that way) unlike the store-bought one that he tore to pieces in no time.
2. I bathed the dog myself and saved the grooming fee.
3. I continue to keep my hair long to avoid regular cuts, but I am really missing the ease of washing short hair.
4. Ate leftovers for supper.
5. I still haven’t replaced the car.
I find if I put my hair in a simple bun or pony tail in the morning it keeps hair maintenance easy.
I wear my hair in a ponytail or bun almost all the time to cut down on haircuts. I really think it is causing my hair to thin, though, Ugh!
I wear my hair short and it is expensive to maintain but I just do not suit longer hair.
I totally understand about the long hair issue. I kept mine long and avoided cuts for several years, but finally cut mine a few inches below the ear after my Mom passed away. It was so much easier to take care of, I decided I didn’t want it long again.
I can’t afford a haircut very often ($35 per cut), so I get it cut about once every 3-4 months. It stays shorter that way and I can save up for the cut in the mean time.
I fired the salons several years ago. My husband cuts my hair for me. Does it as I like, not as the stylist decides they think my hair should be cut. I always wanter my hair long after wearing it short for years. I look younger, my hair is far less work, short hair required 45 minutes to make it look good before work each morning. I have so many more styling options and i get compliments on my hair all the time. I like getting my haircuts for free, and he does my color for me as well with henna. Hair color can be very expensive, i know people who have spent over $300 for color and highlights in one salon visit. I cannot fathom spending that insane amount of money in one visit. I spend less for my henna for one year, about $75 dollars than some spend just for one haircut. And my husband has never given me a bad haircut, I felt happy to get two in a row I was happy with when I had to go to the salon, and I dreaded the experience as well as the high cost. I went home and cried more times than I care to think about.
1. I spent last week in Las Vegas for work and only spent $40 of my own money! This is *huge* for Vegas and me.
2. Walked to and from my volunteer position yesterday.
3. Didn’t get emotional at the vet and order unnecessary tests For my sweet dog(unnecessary by the vets standards!) Brought my cat in for a free weighing and my vet consulted on his diet without a separate charge.
4. I use Open Table for work mostly, and cashed in points on a $50 gift certificate for a date night later this month.
5. Sold a bookcase on Craigslist for $60.
Snow can be a pain in the a** but it sure is beautiful. 😉
1. Resisted the urge to purchase an entire birthday cake for my birthday and instead and enjoyed a $1.- hot fudge sundae from McD’s and it was perfect.
2. Worked extra subbing shifts every day this week. Put me behind on the home front but will catch up this weekend.
3. Did not purchase fast food on Friday which is something we usually do for a treat every Friday. Normally purchase from dollar menus or split Chinese takeout.
4. Did not buy anything that was not needed.
5. Ran errands between subbing assignments – time and gas saved!
BONUS – Downloaded an audible book (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up) for free on Amazon because I am a PRIME member.
Have a great weekend!
Do you sub in a school system? Considering doing that but wondered what you thought of it? Do they kids treat you well?!
1. Stayed at home all day
2. Did a few minutes gardening and housework. Kept it simple as I have a virus.
3. Plenty of napping due to virus=no spending as too tired
4. Staying in touch with friends far away via email, between napping
5. Cat on my lap = no electric Eco lap heater 😀
Nothing better than a kitty on your lap! Both of you are warm and happy.
1. Eating pretty boring things at home when I’d really rather go out for dinner.
2. Used a $5 off coupon on my favorite coffee yesterday.
3. Seeking out free/almost free activities for hobbies.
4. I needed new contacts plus some new glasses for backup. I primarily wear contacts, and saw no need to invest a lot of money in glasses I may wear a dozen days a year. So I chose $9 frames for my glasses.
5. Being very selective about the school fundraisers we participate in, as most of them require significant money out of our own pocket up front.
1. Sold two things on ebay. One was a candlestick that I loved and used a lot when I was younger, but haven’t used in at least 8 years. Makes me smile to think of someone else enjoying it.
2. Using a rain check to get stew beef to make freezer/leftover stew.
3. Learning how to cook dried beans. For some reason it intimidates me. Looking for an efficient way to do it so I’ll make it a regular habit.
4. Determined to learn how to use the pressure cooker gifted to me. Another intimidating thing: memories of mom’s whistling pressure cooker are on my mind!
5. Went out to dinner (haven’t done that in ages!), ordered a side salad and split a crabcake with DH to put on top.
Not frugal? considering a massage, I’m in more pain than ever with this pinched nerve, and refuse to take any narcotics.
Massage is one of the best things for areas like that. If you ask for a 1/2 hour deep tissue massage, it’s usually cheaper and help alleviate your pain.
Beans are scary, but I’m learning to master them too. All that sorting and soaking…
Yay, us!! 😉
1. Decided to declutter and list on EBay. I have a stash of old Gourmet and Bon Appetit mags from the 90s and listed 12. We’ll see if they sell.
2. Asked for and received approval to go to a conference in San Francisco in June. The conference is right before July 4th, so I will use hotel points to extend our stay.
3. Started cashing in my birthday freebies for my upcoming birthday this week. Stopped in at Brio and got a lunch size pasta with rolls that will serve as our dinner with a big salad after work one night this week.
4. Will go shopping today with my $5 Kohl’s birthday reward and 30 per cent off coupon, as well as my $5 DSW coupon. Clearance racks here I come! Will treat myself to my free Red Robin burger and Then will drive down the street toZinburger for a free milkshake.
5. Went to a blogging event at our local Home Show. For being part of a local blogging group, I got free tickets for two, free ravioli, bruschetta and sausage from a local restaurant,and a glass of wine. Also got a swag bag that included a men’s winter hat and one of those portable chargers.
With that much snow, I bet it was an adventure for your patients to get to you!
It sure was.
1. Over last 5 days, only $4.45 in discretionary spending (had a work meeting at Starbucks so ordered my only latte of the week). Only other spending was work parking twice ($12/pop, used transit other days).
2. Ate at home all nights except last night. Leftovers for dinner Wednesday night.
3. Last night was family dinner (pizza) with my in laws. I offered to bring guacamole, salsa and chips as I had everything on hand and needed to use ripe avocados.
4. Tracking spending and bank accounts daily, sticking to new budget so far in 2017.
5. Had a lunch date scheduled with a friend this past but we had to reschedule due to Portland’s snow, ate food from home at my desk instead.
1. All the usual this week: Packed lunches and drinks from home to work; wore outfits mostly composed of thrifted/second-hand clothes, shoes and handbag; used the drying rack for heavier items and delicates; drove with a very light foot (looks like I will get slightly more than a month out of one tank of gas.)
2. Had eight days of absolutely no spending this month so far.
3. Having a no/low spend January: Have bought only food, medicine, cat litter and a few small items needed for household fix-its this month. Used $24 in coupons for food and hardware store items.
4. Thanks to reining in spending like whoa (we didn’t spend much in December either), the Mister was able to pay of $700 in medical bills owed from his outpatient heart procedures in November. We still have about $1,000 to go on that, and hope to be out of the debt to the hospital in February. Obviously, we will be having a no/low spend February too to accomplish this.
5. Discovered that our DVD player has kicked the bucket. Instead of replacing it, our adult son has graciously lent us his video game player to watch some gifted DVDs on.
1. Got an extra shift at work. I love those.
2. A friend (coworker) told me about a new consignment store close to where we work. She said it’s where the rich people in town take their clothes when they’re done with them! She also said she finds that the prices there are sometimes better than at Goodwill. I checked it out and didn’t buy anything, but at least now I know about it.
3. My sister-in-law cut my son’s hair. (I’ve been having a bunch of haircut FFTs lately!)
4. At the grocery store, there was a tub of free cake slices. I got one and it was delicious.
5. Also at the grocery store, I was buying vegetable oil, and noticed that the level to which the bottles were filled was noticeably different from bottle to bottle. Most people wouldn’t care, but they’re not cheap like me!
5. We buy packages of frozen salmon and I have learned to feel the packages because sometimes the salmon fillets are thinner slices so I try to make sure I get the ones with biggest peices. Seems like everything has less and less actual product in it. When I get to last bit of oil in the bottom of the oil bottle I turn it upside in my cabinet and leave it until next time I need it. There is usally a nice little of puddle that will drain down into the lid that is just enough for sautéing veggies.
I do the same with packages and liquid levels. I’m all about getting the most for my money. Every penny counts!!
LOL!! Loved the photo description, that’s hilarious. Gotta love people with a good sense of humor!!
1) We had an ice storm on the way, but it was dry going to work yesterday and I was signed up to work the Academic Tech Expo from 3 -5 pm. They sent us home at 3:30, so I get 1 1/2 hours of Admin Leave, plus I scored a USB port/pencil holder techie gift for working thirty minutes at the expo and helping the coordinator box things up before leaving. I got home, fed everyone, including myself and took a nice nap before hubby got home. The free tech gift will likely be re-gifted to someone else for a birthday or Christmas gift.
2) Today is my birthday, so I got up treated myself to Irish Creme Coffee and a homemade egg, cheese & bacon tortilla for breakfast.
3) If the streets are clear this evening we may use our Cracker Barrel gift certificate from Christmas to eat dinner out. Either way, we’re covered, because I have a nice roast I can put in the oven, if we have to wait until tomorrow night for dinner out. I picked up food for the weekend at Smart Saver and they had a 12 pack of toilet paper on sale for 4.50. Food & toilet paper – I think we’re covered if the weather gets too bad!
4) I saved chicken & turkey fat in the fridge and I’ve been adding it to the food I give our farm dogs. It helps keep the weight on them, so they stay warmer and healthier during the Winter months.
5) I found an extra windshield scraper, when looking for my work gloves in the laundry room the other night. That saved me from buying another one, since I left the good one in the Toyota, which my daughter is driving at right now. I truly need to get that room organized again. No telling what else I’ll find in there!
1. Saw 5 clients today
2. Pulled ground turkey from the freezer to make a turkey meatloaf tomorrow.
3. Staying in to watch the football game tonight. Go Pats!!!!!!
4. Made soup in the crockpot yesterday and will make some lentil soup in it tomorrow. Trying to keep soup in the freezer for quick dinners after work.
5. Putting off a haircut for a couple of weeks to save some $$.