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I finally sold my set of refurbished vintage shell chairs that I’d had up on Craigslist for weeks. Although I’d received multiple inquiries about them, it took awhile for someone to follow through. I also sold a violin case that I’d picked up at Goodwill and a Cuisinart lid on eBay that I’d pulled from an estate sale “free” box. All of this while working at the hospital both Saturday and Sunday.
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I delivered two grocery bags full of wonderful infant clothes to a friend that’s soon to welcome her first baby. Although everything was stuff that I picked up from a garage sale free box, it was all in excellent condition and delightfully gender neutral. I was able to snip a bouquet of hydrangeas from my backyard to gift to her as well. Although this time of year you’d have to hide from me to avoid being on the receiving end of a bouquet of hydrangeas. Seriously, I kind of over-planted hydrangeas back in the day.
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I’d offered my eBay Cuisinart lid as “free shipping” for some mysterious reason. However, the buyer lived right here in Portland, so I drove the package over to his house and saved myself a couple of bucks. It was a neighborhood that I’d never been to before, and I enjoyed exploring in my own city. I then photographed and listed a big ol’ pile of stuff on eBay, most of which I’d gotten for free.
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I defrosted some pumpkin puree from last year’s jack-o-lanterns for pumpkin bread. A number of my friends are having babies or going through family crises right now, so I thought I’d put together some baked goods. I’m going to try this recipe from my friend’s blog.
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated partment 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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{ 106 comments… read them below or add one }
You can never have too many hydrangeas… they smell heavenly!
Hmm . . . Mine have no discernible scent.
I bend down the branch on a hydrangea into the dirt and secure it with a rock. Give it some time to grow roots. I do it to make more plants for myself, but you can then chop it off from the mother plant and give it away to a friend or sell it to a stranger.
1. Sold a set of throw pillow and a lamp on the FB boards. I also sold a baby playard for my brother. It cracks me up when people ask if I will take less when others have commented interested after them. We both know there’s a line of people wanting my item, who in their right mind would lower the price?
2. I removed the glass doors from my fireplace, scrubbed and spray painted them. Filthy, rusty brass to a dark metallic bronze.
3. The other pair of Lularoe leggings I bought for $10 sold on ebay.
4. Picked up two wooden Adirondack chairs for free. They need sanding and repainting. I put them in my backyard until I can get to working on them – I can see their potential when I squint.
5. Moved my new-to-me china cabinet into the dining room, and shuffled around some cabinets. I think this gave me a way to display my vintage Pyrex. We moved to a smaller house and I’m still working out the kinks.
Your fireplace door project sounds like the perfect feature for my pretend blog which I’ve named “The Inoffensive Decorator!”
I’d read that….
I would say they ask under the theory that it rarely hurts to ask (politely). For example, I recently learned that Panera gives a 50% discount to a group that I am a member of.
I know they do, because some actually say “It doesn’t hurt to ask.” I don’t understand the point of asking when it is apparent other people are willing to pay that price. “The next person will pay $40, but sure, I’ll take $30 from you.”
WilliamB, how do you go about asking? Obviously, in a polite manner, but something along the lines of “may I ask, do you offer a discount to (fill in the organization of choice) members?”…? Just curious. I’ve never really thought to ask, but perhaps I should.
That’s interesting as my DH works in corporate Operations (IT) for one of the largest Panera franchises in the country, with over 55 cafes in 3 states. He’s been with them 14 years. The only discounts that I am aware of are fire, police and EMS in uniform get 25% and non-management employees get 50%. I don’t even get a discount if I’m not with my DH.
LizB: I do just ask “Hey, do you have [type] discount?” If they say no, I thank them anyway. For a larger item, such as hotel says or (ahem) replacing the furnace, I ask what discounts they have and pick the best from the list. If they can’t/won’t list all the discounts, I’ll prompt them with ideas: “Do you offer discounts for union membership, AAA, AARP, student, EMS…”
Kim: that’s really interesting. It sounds like someone cut me a break. I’d been wondering because 50% is a lot.
Bettypants: in some cases, one’s organization has negotiated a discount with the provider – say, the union with a hotel chain. In other cases, the provider wants to give a break to groups perceived to be social goods, such as EMS or students. Speaking as an economist, I’ll point out that just because the thing is worth $40 to the person next to me, doesn’t mean that the thing is worth $40 to me; and the provider can choose between a lower profit and no profit at all (from selling it to me).
I had a lot of success using grill spray paint to paint my brass fireplace doors. Fours years later, it is still in great shape.
I spray-painted all the air duct grilles, outlet covers and light switch plates in our 1952 house a couple of years ago. They were all hideous or mis-matched to the wall colors (some fool put white outlet covers on natural mahogany paneling) and the house looks so much better. It was a little time consuming, but for less than $10, it was an amazing home decor fix.
1. We are celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary tomorrow, NCA style, by not giving gifts. It won’t exactly be frugal though because in a couple of weeks we are spending a weekend in a schwanky hotel – but it’s an experience, not buying stuff. And we got a good deal on the room. We don’t need to buy each other anything- time together is what we want.
2. I spent yesterday gardening in the winter sunshine. I trimmed strawberry runners. From four original plants I now have 30 strawberry plants in my patch. Looking forward to a bumper spring crop. I also thinned carrots, weeded soursobs, planted kohlrabi seeds and boysenberry canes, and dug potato trenches. I’m excited about a potato crop this year. Gardening is semi-frugal: it costs money but you can eat the results and I get a lot of enjoyment and healthy exercise out of it. I’d say I recoup 50% of my costs directly in food crops and then receive other benefits that are less tangible. I don’t think it’s necessarily the money saver some people say it is. But I’ll always do it.
3. I treated my daughter and my friend to Spider-Man: Homecoming on cheap night at the cinema. For the three of us plus drinks it was $36, which in Australia is a cheap night at the movies. Also it was a good movie if you like superhero movies, which we do. I was not expecting to get out of it with change from fifty bucks so I was pretty happy.
4. I made a hummingbird cake with a pineapple that needed using and bananas I had frozen. It was really delicious.
5. I am being reimbursed for some travel costs, unexpectedly, putting several hundred dollars back in my bank account.
Happy anniversary! Time spent together and experiences instead of stuff are great ways to celebrate an anniversary – and other occasions, too!
Happy Anniversary and many more! Question: What are soursobs?
Thank you!
Re soursobs – they are a weed. I don’t know another name. They were introduced to Australia from South Africa, where I believe they were a garden plant, but here they are a noxious pest. Every winter we fight a soursob war. They have small yellow flowers.
Happy anniversary! I think your plans sound great. I really threw my hubby a curve ball this past Mothers Day by asking for an “experience” gift….I’m planning on taking a weekend canning class some time soon, from a local purveyor of fine handmade jams and jellies. (I know a little bit about canning, but want to know more!).
And I agree about gardening….it may or may not be frugal. If you start plants from seed, it can be very frugal. Personally, I find it good for my mental health.:-)
Please don’t tell me you eat hummingbirds in Australia! (You’d have to slay a huge flock for a whole cake, right?) Visiting your beautiful country years ago, I was quite shocked that you eat kangaroos. It was explained in a reasonable fashion, but still . . . .
Su Mama, Hummingbird cake contains no hummingbirds. It was originally printed in Feb 1978 Southern Living Magazine. It is very popular in the US South but is originally from Jamaica.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_cake
I hope that puts your mind at ease!
We do eat kangaroo, emu and crocodile, although I’ve only tasted kangaroo. My husband has cooked and eaten all of these meats. He says crocodile is quite tasty. Colleagues of mine also hunt and catch wombat as part of their traditional diet, but I’ve never tasted it as I’m not Aboriginal. Apparently it’s very similar to pork. Kangaroo is delicious and a very healthy meat – low in fat. We don’t eat it often but it’s good in stir fries and any Asian dishes.
Hummingbird cake has no Hummingbirds nor meat in it…it is a cake that is cooked in the deep South U.S….
And occasionally in the Deep South of Australia when I have a pineapple to use up.
Yes to how good gardening is for you! There’s some science showing that coming in contact with a specific beneficial bacteria in the soil causes feelings of well being in gardeners. Now to keep the neighbors’ cats out of the beds.
Our approach to growing our own food cost-effectively is to focus on highly nutritious foods that are expensive to purchase, and to plant perennial food crops as we can. So we grow berrries, for example, and lots of greens and specialty peppers, which are very cheap to start from seed. We planted more fruit trees this year, but not the usual things for this area because we can buy those cheaply from local farmers. We have had some start up costs as we get established for four-season harvesting (in our snowy winters climate).
We follow similar principles. I plant vegetables that are expensive and hard to buy in the shops, or vegetables tat taste much better when homegrown even if cheap to buy, like tomatoes and carrots. A homegrown carrot tastes amazing. Plus I love it when my little niece and nephew pick them straight out of the dirt (and rinse them off) and crunch them up. The look of wonder on their little faces is worth it!
I have just planted apples and boysenberry canes. Planning on an avocado and a cherry once we finish our backyard- not as incongruous as it sounds- both grow well in our area if you plant the right variety.
1. Batched trips/errands to save on gas.
2. A little uncomfortable but leaving air off.
3. Cleaning out freezer and using up old food.
4. Went through coupons and store ads to make up this weeks shopping list yesterday.
5.Bananas ripened fast while we were away a couple of days, dog loves them though. 😉 Also used some in banana pancakes and will use rest today to make banana bread.
Forgot to mention and I’m really excited about this, have you heard about hoopla? I love it! My library just added it, it’s a free app where you can check out books, Music, movies, etc. and they are all free! The best thing is if you see a book you want to check out it’s available right then and there you don’t have to make a hold or wait for it. I am currently listening to hidden figures, You are a bad ass (self help book), The wonder woman music soundtrack, and a course under the great courses series. The only thing I am disappointed with is my library has limited check out to five per month, but will use my daughters library account to get another five. 😉
Wow!! Hoopla sounds AWESOME. I’m gonna check if my library has it – they already offer a ton of great stuff!
1. My family had a “go through donation stuff” evening. We put all the items we had for donations on the floor, sorted them out, and entered them on a tax donation form. We have five big trash bags, and will get $339 off our 2017 taxes! And I have a date on the calendar for next week to have it all picked up at the curb. Two of my favorite things — getting rid of things and saving money.
2. I came across one item in the donation pile that I thought might be worth money, so inspired by Katy, Bettypants, and others here, I asked my husband to look it up on eBay. He said that similar items had sold for ~$22. It’s a pretty teacup and saucer set tied in a dainty ribbon. It’s beautiful, but I’m just not a “stuff” person. He put it in his “things to sell on eBay” area.
3. One day when I checked my credit union balances online, there was a $10 credit card charge from the hotel where my family stayed for a short vacation last week. I called right away and was told it was an “incidentals” charge that would be removed in a few days. I don’t really understand that, but I kept an eye on it until it went away a couple of days later.
4. I have five DVDs checked out of the library so I’m being extra careful with renewing them on time. They’re $1/day rather than 25 cents/day (the fine for books).
5. Enjoying using my newest glass 9×13 pan that I got at Goodwill. It’s even more satisfying because I’d had it on my shopping list for months and waited to find a used one. It’s in perfect condition, and having a third baking pan that size is coming in so handy.
That IS super satisfying to find an item second hand that you had on your needed list. Good eye on the teacup and saucer set!
1. I have sold 3 items this week left over from stock from when I was with a direct sales company. Happy to get them out of the house after FOUR (!) years of just taking up space.
2. Taking my kids to a movie today- the 11:15 matinee which is the least expensively priced show of the day. Using a Fandango gift card that 100% covered the cost that had been gifted to my son for his birthday. The theater is located next to my #3 item-
3. “Batching” errands by picking up two items from Walmart using gift cards I was given. One is a light board for my classroom, the other a hot food thermos that my son will use for lunches hopefully for years to come. $0 out of pocket and not making a special trip. Also see my #5.
4. I baked some delicious buttermilk chocolate chip muffins sunday using up items I had on hand.
5. NOT shopping for anything on Prime Day because we don’t need anything. As a matter of fact, the two things that I was thinking of purchasing, I found cheaper (and I had gift cards) at WalMart, and I did order on line with store pickup to save even more.
My prime day shopping consisted of only dog food. Great price in my pup’s food.
I was really tempted by the Texture subscription deal – digital access to 200+ magazines, $4.99/month after a 30 day free trial. I guess the usual subscription is $14.99/month…? I have a magaxine addiction – seriously, I’ve got it bad – but I decided I have plenty to read already, and I can always gets magazines from the library.
I love hydrangeas! It is lovely that you share bouquets of these beautiful flowers with others, Katy.
This week I have–
1) Purchased a pair of summer pajama bottoms with the tags still on them at my favorite thrift store for $3. They are really cute!
2) The seam holding on the shoulder strap on my AT-hiking son’s backpack split making it unusable. After figuring out how to fix it temporarily, he was able to get to a spot with decent phone reception where he sent me photos and the specs on the pack. I called the manufacturer and emailed the photos to them. Granite Gear graciously agreed to replace it free of charge within just a few days. It took a while to work out the logistics, but these packs are expensive! Besides I would hate for something like this to derail his journey!
3) I bought a birthday gift for DD at an estate sale this past weekend. As a scientist, she loves antique scientific drawings. It was only $4 and it’s framed. She will love it. I also bought a really cool midcentury lamp for resale and several books. The grand total was $20!
4) I continue to enjoy the bounty of the season. We are eating summer fruits and veggies. I am also making an effort to process and freeze items for later use. I roasted chili peppers, cut up a watermelon, and froze berries.
5) I worked a little side job close to home with know additional expenses. It didn’t pay a great deal, but it was easy money. Money is money!
Have you visited with your son yet? I can’t wait to hear about that!
That’s a great sounding company that just bought themselves a customer for life. I’m loving the updates on your son’s journey, thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for all the interest and good wishes. I will be meeting my son tomorrow, and I can’t wait! Katy, you are right ; Granite Gear (made in Minnesota) does have a customer for life. They deserve a shout out for being helpful, efficient and courteous.:-)
It’s great that Granite Gear is replacing your son’s pack. Things get so worn when you are hiking the AT. My daughter used a lot of duct tape on her hike.
Where are you going to see him and enjoy the visit. Hopefully he’ll have a shower before you meet him but if not open all the car windows 🙂
We moved into our new place, which means:
1. I started composting! Yay to having a less stinky garbage and making use of those scraps.
2. My husband rigged up a simple swing for the kids with stuff we already had on hand and hung it from a sturdy tree branch.
3. One of the showers was leaking, so I put a basin under it and used the dripping water for mopping.
4. Then today my husband fixed the leak.
5. I picked some spinach which I used in our lunch today.
We’re de-uglifying our bathroom after 18 years, so it’s not totally cheap. But we’re being creative and that is keeping the price down.
1. Because of the way the builder installed the plumbing I can’t put in the pedestal sink I wanted. Since I already bought the sink I will be able to recoup my cost by selling it on Craigslist. We’ll paint the old vanity and replace the ugly tile instead.
2. We’ll use up some scrap lumber to make a shelf under the mirror, to hold toothbrushes and such, instead of buying new lumber.
3. I am looking for mirrors on Craigslist and the thrift shop, instead of taking the easy option and buying new. My husband would prefer the easy option, until I find a cheap option.
4. I found a taker for the free felted wool sweaters I had listed on Craigslist. I listed them for free, but I’m glad to have them out of the house and useful, not wasted because I stopped making stuff.
5. We’ve mostly been keeping the AC off, even though it’s been hot and humid. I’m done with this weather!
I love the term “de-uglifying” – I may have to borrow it – and totally identify with the concept. We’ve been doing a lot of de-uglifying since we bought our current house (which I not so fondly named “That 70’s House”) six years ago. I think every awful design trend of that decade – and there were a lot of them – presented itself somewhere in this house.
And how great that you’re reusing what you have! We used scrap lumber a lot, too. So much cheaper…well, free actually. And it keeps perfectly good wood out of the burn pile or landfill.
Roberta, do you have Everything But The House (www.ebth.com) in your area? It’s an online estate sale company – they sell everything from furniture to jewelry to household goods and collectibles. If you’re looking for a decorative (possibly vintage) mirror, you might find one there. (I don’t work for them, no financial interest, etc etc – just a satisfied customer).
Thanks for the tip — I’ll look into it.
I love tip #5–ha ha! It helps to keep a sense of humor in these trying times. I didn’t buy anything vulgar this week either.
I love the idea of selling things on eBay, but haven’t done so yet. My daughter has sold a few of her belongings that way so I should ask for her help. My other daughter tried a yard sale for the first time recently, and made a little money for summer fun.
1. My SO fixed the shower valve to switch between the shower head and the handheld. It had developed a significant leak. We already had the part from his old house. While he was doing that, he replaced the shower head with a low-flow shower head that we received free from the utility company.
2. My 15 year old washer finally gave out. It needs a new belt which we will replace ourselves. However, SO had his washer from his old place. It is a front load, energy efficient washer. We swapped out the washers. The old washer will go out to the shop for the icky shop rags and floor blankets.
3. We replaced the tail light on my van. The lens had fallen off while driving on the interstate. I bought a new tail light off Ebay for a lot cheaper than the automotive stores and we replaced it ourselves.
4. SO changed the oil on his pickup. We had to buy oil and a filter, but saved $20 in labor.
5. The garden is coming along nicely and I hope to start harvesting from that in the next week. We should have peas and summer squash ready very soon!
1. Inspired by Katy, I bought a CAbi blouse at rummage sale for $1. Sold it on eBay for $20
2. Sold a $50 gift card to a restaurant we don’t eat at for $40.
3. Mailed 4 birthday cards I bought for .25/card out.
4. Sent some succulent clippings to my sister.
5. Used $40 kohls cash to buy new undies.
Hooray for your 2000% profit!!!
Wow! What an excellent deal! 🙂
My hydrangea bushes have not bloomed in about 5 years and are still very small. I love hydrangeas so much. Maybe I planted them too close to big trees.
1. I have been staying out of the stores lately so no money spent there.
2. I’m going today to find a few things to wear. I truly have nothing after shopping my closet so it’s time to pick up a few pieces. I will go to the thrift stores first and hopefully score there.
3. I’m still painting, and I am tired of it. I’m still going to keep plugging on through because I don’t want to pay someone for something I can do myself. It is going to take me a lot longer than I thought. I have popcorn ceilings, which I hate, but I don’t have the energy to try to change those so I am painting over them bright white and doing some repairs from a roof leak. I think I am going to mix a can of white paint into a bucket of gray paint that I already have to stretch it further and lighten it up a bit for the rest of the house.
4. The upside to all this painting is I think I lost a little weight. I’m not getting on the scale though, just in case I haven’t, I don’t want to be disappointed. So weight loss is good for my health and is free.
5. My kids are going to vacation bible school this week. My husband and I get alone time each night for a couple hours. Also, they feed the kids at VBS so I don’t have to worry about that. My husband and I are eating sandwiches so very cheap eats.
Jennifer, sometimes hydrangeas don’t bloom if you cut them at the wrong time of the year. Some types bloom on old wood from the previous year.
My hydrangea bushes did not do well planted under a tree. I think the tree was fighting with them for space and water. I moved them this spring and they are thriving. Although they are blooming, they are not big yet.
I have found that hydrangeas don’t like to be in too shady of an area. Also, mine can be temperamental. One of mine that’s about 5 years old and has bloomed every year, decided it just wasn’t going to this year. All of my others were happy to produce flowers so I guess it’s throwing a tantrum.
I’m having a similar issue with my passion fruit vine. It’s a lush freeloader right now. I’m giving it extra feeds of potash – banana peels, light feeds of ash from our fire place and a fruit and flower dynamic lifter, to encourage it to flower. If I don’t get flowers this spring I will be seriously displeased.
I purchased 6 hydrangea bushes about 6 or 7 years ago. I can’t remember the name but I paid more money for a specific type that is supposed to have bigger prettier flowers. The first year they bloomed beautiful blooms, yet pretty small, and never bloomed again. They also have not really grown much. Maybe it’s too shady and the tree starves them out. I should probably move them. I had visions of big lush bushes with huge blooms by now. Kinda feels like there growth has been stunted.
1. Stopped at the grocery store and picked up my weekly freebie item (baked beans) and a pint of Halo Top ice cream (free with a coupon I’d gotten the previous week). Baked beans were in a small 8 ounce can, which is perfect since I am the only one in my immediate and/or extended family that likes baked beans.
2. We’ll be cleaning off a rarely used patio set today. It was purchased with the deck in mind, but the mosquitoes make deck sitting a rarity. Once the set is cleaned, we’ll move it into the screen room (where we do spend a lot of time in summer). The tiny antique table that normally lives in the screen room (it was my grandmother’s table and I love it) will be moved into the kitchenette area of the lower level family room space. I’ve wanted a table there for two years. Using things we already own but in different ways is my kind of (re)decorating.
3. Went through the refrigerator on a rescue mission, and froze up a bunch of strawberries that wouldn’t get used up before they’d go bad. I use frozen fruit instead of ice cubes in water and iced tea in summer.
4. Summer seems to have finally arrived. We don’t have air conditioning anymore, but the windows are all open to catch the cooler morning air. As the sun starts hitting parts of the house, I’ll close windows/pull thermal curtains, close doors, etc. We added a bunch of insulation when we bought the house, and any replacement windows were of a much more energy efficient type. No matter how hot it gets outside, the indoor temperature almost never goes above 78 degrees. Which happens to be the temperature we’d keep the central air set at in our last house. And on those rare occasions it does get hotter in the house – the lower level is always about 10 degrees cooler. We just move down there for the duration of the “heat wave”.
5. For the 3rd day in a row, the cars will remain in the garage. The nearest store would be a 9 mile round trip walk, and definitely not worth it so it’s pretty safe to say no money will be spent shopping today.
1. I discovered I had $25 worth of cashback rebates at Top Cash Back. I didn’t want to link my bank account so I redeemed for an Amazon gift card, receiving a 3% bonus.
2. My husband used some sticky marshmallows and a chocolate rice cereal to make “Rice Krispie” treats. Very delicious, but no nutritional value.
3. On my way home yesterday I stopped at Safeway. Not only did I have a save $4 on a $25 order offer on my card but they had Halo “ice cream” but one, get one free. Since I had a coupon for a free carton I received two free cartons. I think free is about the right price for the product, it is very over-priced. Of course I only bought items on sale, the everyday prices are outrageous.
4. We will take a short vacation out west at the end of the summer. Since my brothers live in the area we were invited by both of them to stay with them. They are excited we are coming so I believe we’ll be taken to see the sights. It should be fun and I love the price of the lodging, as well as the chance to visit family.
5. We had a great time hiking with a local group for the first time. We met a lot of nice people and hiked in an area we never would have known about otherwise.
Good Morning! Happy Tuesday!
1) Amazon Prime Day- which means I am NOT buying anything off of Amazon Prime. Ha!
2) Paid my bills and cancelled a couple of forgotten subscriptions.
3) Attended both Ten Tiny Dances in Beaverton AND the Mississippi Street Fair. Great fun to be introduced to great dance troupes right here in the metro area AND wonderful to see local businesses and nonprofits turn up and show their stuff. Guys, the after party on Mississippi was LIT. For two people with non alcoholic drinks (too hot for cocktails) snacks and buying some nifty street art it was about $30.
4) Brunch the following Sunday was at my house-coffee+ bagel sandwiches (egg, avocado and smoked salmon)+ green smoothies= $10 for 4 people; my guest bought $3 each and really liked not paying $13 for an equivalent brunch EACH. I got to show off my interior decor ( not one gold plated ANYTHING, Y’ALL) and we all went hiking along Rocky Butte!
5) Bought self learning classes to improve my skills and learn new ones. It’s good to keep the brain busy.
6) BONUS: Have decided to sell my old Monocle Magazines.
1) My husband needed to order new Pantone books for a while for our graphic design business. He put it off as long as he could, but today was the day to pull the trigger. Luckily he found a 10% online coupon by googling.
2) I discovered a simple and delicious recipe from http://nutritiontofit.com/. You assemble a pile of veggies, toss with olive oil and spices, and roast at 450 for 20 minutes. I’m finding that it is a wonderful way to use up what I have in fridge. Last night I roasted the rest of a jar of artichoke hearts, a couple of tomatoes, the last two potatoes, a handful of leftover chickpeas, some asparagus whose days were numbered, and some corn. Then I layered the veggies in a jar with dressing, chicken, and greens for my lunch today. No waste and a delicious and healthy lunch!
3) I sold a book on Amazon.
4) I submitted a claim with our property insurance for the repairs for a leak that happened last fall. I should only have to pay the $500 deductible for $1K worth of repair and painting.
5) Frugal fail: I have a library book out, that is out of renewals, that I still can’t find. I have torn both houses apart looking for it.
Since you can’t find the book I would ask the library to do a search for it. It may have been put back without going through the check in system or have been misplace in the workroom.
1. Yesterday was a no-spend day for me but not for other family members. I loaned my car to my son while his ancient but still good car was in the shop for expensive repairs. He has a long commute so we are looking for a replacement – BUT- waiting for the right deal to come along.
2. Shopped at a big-box store this AM – don’t like their policies so try to limit my purchases. Picked up loss leaders and a few staples – should be good for another six months of non-shopping.
3. Got a $15 gift certificate from an upscale restaurant my family frequents for special occasions. Husband and I will use it toward their well priced luncheon buffet. This restaurant donates to Feed My Starving Children program for those who join their “Bread Club.”
4. Still no AC this summer. We are using fans. An old fashioned cool-down method is to have a cold wet cloth handy – I remembered seeing my grandmother using this trick and it works!
5. Our state has reinstituted the $100 per couple cash back for those who donate to a state- level candidate. You donate, the candidate affirms the contribution with a receipt and you send it in for a rebate up to $100. The candidate must agree to certain $$ spending limits in their campaigns in order to participate. Free donations!
1) Stopped at Costco for tp, onions, and dishwasher detergent and bought tp, onions, and dishwasher detergent.
2) A bag of broccoli was rotting in the fridge, but I washed it off, picked through it, and managed to salvage enough to make dinner with leftovers for a couple of lunches. Grouchy that it rotted so quickly, though.
3) Still making do with the car that’s only sort of working. It’s kind of frugal because we’re avoiding errands to avoid driving it. This is not a long-term solution, though.
4) Middle son got a tentative job offer – they’d hire him here IF the franchise in his college town would take him in September, because otherwise it wasn’t worth the trouble of training him. With some gentle (ahem) encouragement from his mama, he called the manager in the college town rather than waiting for the manager here to do so. Managers all around were impressed with his initiative, and he starts work this afternoon. This further complicates the car situation, but it’s definitely worth it in the long run.
5) No vulgar gold-plated anything. . .
1. More family in town: bought most of the groceries, but they cooked one night and took us out one night.
2. Got my BIL to fix the wire setup on a stereo system component that came with the house. I’d thought the component was broken, but it was just set up wrong. Now its perfect.
3. Spent our anniversary at home watching an old movie, eating local seafood, resting up from the company, appreciating a night at home just the two of us.
4. SIL gave me a LOT of clothes, so I shared some with a visiting relative.
5. Found some hair ties in a parking lot, washed them for cat toys. Seriously, I have no more hair ties anymore, my cat keeps stealing them.
1. More of the usual:
– brought healthy snacks to work;
– harvested envelopes from mailings;
– used the address labels that come with donation solicitations;
– watering my wall of plants, all of which were free (jade plants, spider plants, pothos, etc, all root easily from cuttings or leaves);
– eating what I have;
– programmable thermostat means house is warmer when empty.
2. Checked Amazon Prime sale for the pressure washer I want. Not there, so not buying yet.
3. Saved money while shooting with friend: he bought the ammo at a big box store rather than at the range, we used his account to get member’s price rather than my guest’s price, he loaned me his weapons rather than renting from the range.
4. Eating the chocolate given to my group by a very happy customer/colleague.
5. Rooting plants for a co-worker, from trimmings I’d otherwise throw away. Will give them to her in a bottle taken from the recycling bin.
Ah, WilliamB, I see that you are an even more committed member of the Never Buy Houseplants at Retail Price tribe than I am. Looking around my little conservatory (the tiny sun porch on the south side of our house), I can see only one plant I bought for full retail–and I confess it’s a little hard to find potted lime trees here in Upstate NY by my methods. The others are all either freebies, descendants of freebies (I have some wax peperomias descended from a plant I acquired for free 39 years ago, when DH and I first moved in together!), or plants purchased at garage/charity sales. My most recent finds are two African violets from the eye surgery clinic where DH just had his cataracts done. It’s the clinic’s pleasant custom to give an African violet to each patient for each procedure.
One reason why I don’t buy plants is that I’m no good at keeping them alive. I’ve found that if they root easily, they’re probably hardy enough to survive my stewardship. It’s a short list.
1. Took the aluminum cans and wire to the recycler. DH works as a an IT specialist and replaces a lot of cable. It used to be thrown in the trash but awhile back I convinced him to bring it home. Received $18.40.
2. Mending Monday- Noticed seam starting to come out of a vintage pillowcase when I changed the sheets. Only about an inch so sewed by hand rather than using the machine. The shower curtain was dragging the ground on one end and discovered hem was coming out. Also mended it by hand since it was only about 24 inches. Plus to get it off the rod and then back on was too much work when you’re only 5 feet tall! Bonus they both needed the same color of thread.
3. Picked up a bag of unopened M&Ms from a Freecycle friend that she couldn’t use. She and I have known each other for years and I was happy to help her out. LOL! I’ll use in cookies when it’s a little cooler. Also got an underbed box from another Freecycler for DS#2 to use at college.
4. Been finding used lottery scratch offs at the Coinstar machines and on the ground. My husband saw some on my desk and after assuring him I didn’t have a gambling problem I explained that I’m entering them in the Lottery website second chance drawing. Figured somebody has to win and why not me! If nothing else I’m cleaning up litter and properly recycling it.
5. Really enjoying the mint syrup I made in my home brewed ice tea. Summer in a glass.
Kim – Re: your #4. I have been doing the same exact thing for about the last year with the same thoughts about it. It would be so fun if we both won!
Fingers crossed for us both! The funny thing is after I posted that, I went to do a merchandising job at a grocery store. I spotted salted caramel brownie mix on sale for 1/2 price and I love everything salted caramel. I grabbed a box and what was behind it but a used $5 scratch off ticket. I admit I laughed out loud!
1. Attended my quilting group yesterday. Free time spent with friends. I use my 40 year old machine instead of buying a fancy new one. (One of the ladies had just taken hers for annual maintenance at the tune of $500+. No thank you!)
2. Planning a vacation in the fall (first one in years). Have started researching routes and stops so that I can decide on most frugal lodging/food choices.
3. Dear hubs worked 3 extra days this week and has a plan to work some more extra days to help pay for the fall vacation.
4. Doing chores/repairs around the house instead of paying others to do them.
5. Childhood friend coming to visit this week. Cooking at home for her. I’ll be driving her to her family in a large city about an 1 1/2 hours away. I’ve been saving up some errands till then that I can take care of after I drop her off.
1. Picked the first cucumber from the garden today. Everything is coming along nicely especially since I planted late while waiting on dirt for the new raised beds.
2. Husband worked at home all last week and today so no money spent driving. An extra nice bonus is having him here to do a few extras like taking things upstairs when he comes down for lunch or coffee.
3. Stopped at Krogers after church on Sunday to get groceries we needed. Found 3 red peppers in the marked down section for .99. Used them for shish kabobs for dinner the last two days along with zucchini and onions. Yum!
4. Project Potting Bench is coming along. Using two trash picked doors, a trash picked enamelware table and a trash picked rectangular enamelware pan and some left behind by old owners white paint, all I needed to buy was some lovely blue chalkpaint for the front. Excited to see if it looks as nice as I hope!
5. Borrowed the neighbor’s dolly to move the huge bird bath the old owners left behind to the side of the house. My husband painted it with masonry paint he had and as soon as the rain lets up, I’ll fill it with succulents and thrift shop/garage sale finds to make a fairy garden.
I love making our home look wonderful without walking into a store!
Your potting bench sounds wonderful! Perhaps you could somehow post a picture when it’s finished?
Thank you, Carolyn! I’ll do that! If it looks like a potting bench and not some cobbled together trash finds!
Right now everything is gardening, gardening, gardening. Work in the garden, eat from the garden, process maturing vegetables and fruits by canning, freezing and dehydrating so we can feed ourselves from the garden long into the winter. I weigh everything I harvest so that at the end of the season I can price out what it would have cost me to buy the food, and I subtract all garden expenses, so I know how much a garden saves us each year. So far it seems like a banner year.
We don’t need anything so have not been into a store for over a week, although husband did go once and bought only milk.
Despite temptations I am not going to our local wool shop to see their new arrivals. I have enough yarn and I absolutely cannot window shop so it is best if I just avert my eyes when we drive by…
Other than that, just the usual stuff of not eating out, recycling, composting, not using household paper products except for toilet paper. Boring but effective.
About a year ago I bought a few books at one of our two used book stores. I never got around to reading them until this week. I opened one and there was a $20 bill that someone appears to have been using as a book mark!
Lindsey, your five all rock, especially the first and last. I’ve never been methodical enough to measure everything out the way you do, but I admire your thoroughness. And I wish I could find bookmarks like yours!
1. The Mister wanted to go out to eat Sunday, but I declined and we ate at home, where we had plenty of yummy food.
2. My darling boss wanted to go to eat for lunch yesterday, but I declined (brought my lunch and had a lot of work to do), so dodged that bullet again.
3. After reading a blog about refashioning clothes, I was inspired to fix several tops that I rarely wore because the floppy necklines annoyed me. They fit great now. Also sewed a button back on one of DH’s shirts.
4. Froze the leftovers from our July 4th meal and have been enjoying them in small portions for lunch.
5. Using supplies we had on hand, I repaired a hole in the slate tile in our kitchen floor and stained it to match with some leftover wood stain. Although the floor is pretty, the tiles flake off pieces — and sometimes entire chunks — and I’m always having to fix spots. It’s on our long-term to-do list to have it removed and vinyl flooring put in.
Ruby, could you share the name of the refashioning blog? Sounds cool!
Thanks.
It is called Accidental Seamstress.
1. Eating lettuce, beans, and portulaca out of garden.and made dinner with items from garden and from birthday party leftovers. The portulaca (aka “pursulane” was featured in a foraging book I just read, and grows as a weed in my garden. If you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em!
2. Washed out containers to start seedlings for fall crops. Will be using some heirloom seeds from kale and beans grown in the garden this summer, as well as other seeds on hand.
3. Decorated for DH’s 60th with flowers from my garden-a talented sister-in-law cut and arranged them. They look beautiful. Relatives all pitched in to “self-cater” the party, and I learned some pretty nice new ways to arrange my patio furniture. I borrowed chairs, tables, etc, rather than renting them.
4. After emptying out spare room for some of said relatives to sleep in during their visit, I have a nice new room to make art, do sewing, etc. I am going to mend a sheet that has a small tear in it. As long as I am figuring out how to set up machine (it’s been awhile!) I am going to repair a shirt I really like.
5. Finishing up some library books and ordered some nice new ones for when I return these.
Have a great week everyone.
It’s high tide for purslane in my garden too. I routinely throw it into stir-fries and gumbos (it’s a pretty good okra substitute till the okra comes in).
I hadn’t thought of putting in stir fries, but now I will! Thank you A. Marie!
Lots of things similar to what I do every week.
1. Books from the library both print and electronic.
2. Attended a 75 minute yoga class offered 2x a week in my community for $5 a session.
3. Returned shoes that didn’t fit with free returns from Amazon.
4. Attended a talk by the local canine search and rescue team. I did make a donation but the talk was fascinating.
5. Continue to find plenty to wear among my existing wardrobe.
1. Used leftover homemade dinner rolls to make 2 stratas with ham from the freezer. We will use one for breakfasts and the other went io the freezer.
2. Made my own pasta sauce with tomatoes from the canning cupboard (last year’s that need to be used up).
3. Picked tomatoes and zucchini from the garden for salad and vegetables.
4. No grocery shopping this past week. We are eating out of the garden, the pantry and the freezer.
5. Paying bills online this week and saving the postage.
do you have a recipe to share for your pasta sauce? I have some tomatoes I canned last year that need using up as well.
You are so kind to bake for others. When I need a host gift or potluck contribution, I always make hummus (I volunteer at a foodbank and they always have too many cans — I’ve offered up my time to teach foodbank people how to make it so they can use it) and no-knead-3 ingredient artisan bread. I bought a bunch of fabric at an auction (30 boxes for $30) and always sew a bread bag too and add a little ribbon (thrifted from another gift).
When I shower, I put the plug in and use the water to flush our toilet. I figure I’m saving up to $20 a month and I don’t have to feel so bad about having a longer shower (one of my vices).
I’m a new follower to your blog and look forward to reading your posts and the great comments that you get.
I love that you gave flowers to your friends, too! I’m sure they appreciate the added cheer, at no expense to your pocketbook, no less.
This week:
1. I made homemade ice cream with leftover cherries that were in my fridge.
2. I pre-cooked most of the meals for this week, which means we’re MUCH less likely to eat out.
3. Yesterday I dropped the ball planning lunch. Instead of panicking, I ate a freezer meal I had on hand. Win!
4. I used cucumbers fromt he garden with dinner today.
5. I dried clothes outside today instead of in my dryer.
Having recently moved to central Texas:
1) Used flattened moving boxes as first layer around plants being put into backyard food forest which is still my dream.
2) Did laundry after 9:00pm so drier wouldn’t cost. (Don’t yet have a clothesline.) Minimized ac use.
3) Stayed home; no gas spent, no shopping. Wore thrifted clothing.
4) Rehydrated some shredded zucchini and made bread in solar oven. (Don’t yet have my food forest going, so no fresh zukes.)
5) Was notified that I will be a participant in a graduate study at UT. It will pay me well.
1. My husband brought home scrap wood from his construction site for our sons’ fort project. We may still have to purchase dimensional lumber, but the estimate is now $30 instead of $300!
2) Made pineapple-strawberry freezer pops from the overripe fruit in my frig. The kids will love them!
3) Posted a garden bench that my kids have outgrown on Craigslist and FB.
4) Got permission to cut stonecrop from the neighbor for starts. (He asked me to trim up his heather in exchange.) My sister-in-law has been admiring this variety, so I’ll grow these sedum into a gift for her.
5) Borrowed 5 e-books from the library, a savings of around $40.
I did do Amazon Prime. I needed a tablet to store study books for something new I just started. Amazon had a 7 inch Kindle Fire on sale for $29.00 and it has all the specs I need for downloading my study material. So much cheaper than all the other tablets I looked at.
1. Went to see an art exhibit on Saturday with my cousin. she is a member so it was free to us.
2. Friends were away and gave me there CSA share. I have been having lovely vegetables all week and shared bok choy with a friend.
3. Bought some pork tenderloins on sale and froze them. They are so good and easy to grill when people come over for dinner.
4. I bought gas for $2.14 a gallon
5. Tonight is the first night I put the air con on in awhile. Only a couple of hours will keep it cool all night.
1. Must be “plumbing week” for FFT: husband fixed leaky bath tub faucet with only one trip to Home Depot (it is very close to our home, thank goodness).
2. Had all my children home for their yearly summer week–so fun, but $$ due to water and air conditioner use. Back to higher temp indoors this week!
3. Prepared several meals ahead of time and put in freezer. I’d rather play with the grandchildren than fix dinner!
4. Cleaning the bedrooms I found lots of change. Texted the children and told them it was going in my “found $$ jar”.
5. For our one dinner out during the week we took adults on a “taco crawl” on $1 taco night at 3 restaurants. $45 for 8 adults dinner and soda is not bad!
1. I spent some time on Friday returning items that hadn’t worked out for me, which put about $90 back in my pocket and got me a $120 store credit gift card for the store where I buy all my shoes. The card won’t expire, so in a year or two I can still use it to replace a worn-out pair of shoes.
2. I handed off a bunch of those air pocket packing thingies to the UPS Store for reuse.
3. I handed off an old cat carrier and an old dehumidifier to people from Craigslist. Next up: the old stereo cabinet.
4. I shredded three trash bags full of old files.
5. I donated a big bag of clothes to my favorite thrift store and put a smaller bag of worn-out clothes into the clothing bin. I do need to replace some things that developed holes or stains, so I’ve been thrift shopping a bit too.
6. I spent about 90 minutes in a public library doing work on my laptop rather than going to a Starbucks and having to spend money to make up for occupying a table. While I was at it, I checked out a book.
7. In the past several weeks, I’ve been making it a project to clear out my apartment of all the dead technology. Y’all, it is the Land of the Dead Computers in here, built up over 20 years of marriage to an uber-geek. (Also, I may possibly be a huge geek myself.) So far, I have taken to the e-waste facility:
2 laptops (1 with a bulging case that probably meant an exploded battery… yikes)
1 iMac
2 monitors
1 old wifi hub
1 very old DSL (!!!) hub
an assortment of small items that are broken, obsolete, or otherwise useless
So yeah… it’s been a busy summer.
8. Oh — I forgot one. A while back I bought a t-shirt that had since shrunk so much that it was uncomfortable to wear, even though I was following the laundering instructions. I wrote to the company and they immediately ordered me a replacement. Politely complaining works.
Elizabeth B: I still have a zip drive hanging about!!
We are also slowly cleaning out “old tech”. Our attic could probably qualify as a tech museum – wonder if I could charge admittance ?? Now, on to persuading husband to get rid of old tech books……
It’s archaeology! 😉
I didn’t know UPS would take those air pack shipping things – thanks. I did know they take other packing materials.
Elizabeth B., I know your pain! We were able to get rid of a ton of old tech at an e-recycling event a few months ago….AND a summer camp at our local Y accepted some non-toxic tech stuff (lcd monitor that mo longer works, etc) for their Take It Apart camp. Hubs is a tech geek.
1. Dh went on a golf outing/business trip. He drove the company’s car and stayed overnight (free!) He also visited some company distributers.
2. While he was gone I ate out of the freezer/fridge.
3. He got home today and gave me the golf freebies. They were an umbrella, golf shirt for dh, golf towel for dh, golf tees and a ball marker, a pad of paper and pen (mine) and a grocery bag/back pack. That will be going to Goodwill.
4. Turning up the AC during the day and then down at night to sleep good.
5. Haven’t taken my car out in 2 days. I really need the oil changed.
I decided to clean out the freezer in the house and discovered quite a few packages of various frozen meats (ham, deli roast beef and turkey). I had assumed that I’d remember what they were and so hadn’t labled them . Whoops!
In order to use them up before they went bad after defrosting, I made:
Ham, carmelized onion and spinach quiche
Philly cheesteak calzones (though I substituted grated Mexican cheese because I have it on hand and used the grilled onions, bell pepper and mushrooms leftover from dinner tonight as the veg)
Turkey and cheese calzones
I’m giving my son’s trundle bed to a friend with two children. She’s moving into an apartment on campus and needed something small and good for 2 kids. Not frugal for me but very frugal for her and she deserves it.
Just picked our first tomatoes of the summer. Yum.
1. My nieces were visiting from California. They are 4 and 7 so we took them to Northwest Trek. Using Chinook book coupons and Prime discounts we were able to the kids in for free or reduced tickets. Considering that we arrived at 10am and stayed until 4pm it was money well spent.
2. My nieces had never been blueberry picking so we took them to Bryant Farm in Arlington. I like this farm because there are tons of free things for the kiddos to do once they get bored with picking. We stayed for several hours and I picked two pounds of blueberries which cost us a grand total of 5.00 dollars.
3. After blueberry picking we went to downtown Arlington for their Summer Festival. The arts council had set up a big free art booth so all the kiddos got face painted, then painted rocks, decorated ceramic tiles, and painted cardboard masterpieces. Also, the thrift store there was giving away one free book to every child, so they each got to pick a free book to take home.
4. Made vegetable spaghetti tonight, a household favorite thanks to Daniel Tiger. Still trying to do a least one meatless dinner a week and so far it has been a success.
5. My friend was looking for a travel stroller but it wasn’t in her budget. I was looking on my Buy Nothing and a woman was cleaning out her garage and posted everything as Flash Gives, including a Maclaren Volo stroller. Maclaren makes really good strollers and the Volo is their lightweight 100 dollar stroller. I posted that I would like to for my friend and the woman replied if I came immediately I could have it. Even though it was evening and I was in my pajamas I quickly got dressed and picked it up. I gave the stroller to my friend the next day and she was beyond thrilled.
What a kind and thoughtful friend you are!
* Went to a craft night with a friend. For 40$ (each) we got a nice girl’s night out, 2.5 hours of teaching and came back home with 6 pairs of earings for myself and 8 pairs for her. Pretty cheap for new earings+class.
* Packing food for the upcoming plane ride
* Using Airbnb while vacationing in BC. Same price, or cheaper, than hotels and we get a full condo/house. Will also be sleeping at a friend’s house for 3 nights.
* Hoping to use a Uber to get to and from the airport instead of paying the parking there. And since it’s both our 1st time (hubby and I), I heard that it will be free…. Need to look into this.
* A friend offered to check on the house, feed the fish and water our garden while we are gone
Have a great frugal day!
A bouquet a flowers AND free baby clothes – you are a wonderfully, thoughtful friend Katy!
1) I had four bananas getting overly ripe, so I made a big bowl of banana pudding. Hubby has enjoyed that!
2) I’ve been eating leftovers from the weekend. I’m sure hubby will finish them off today, since he’s off for the next two.
3) My youngest granddaughter wants a Princess Tea Party for her 7th birthday. My daughter still has tea cups & a tea pot from when the oldest granddaughter turned 7, so I picked up some Disney Princess party stuff at the Thrift Store yesterday for 99 cents. We can make it a cute, but frugal party without spending big bucks.
4) I needed a new pair of comfy sandals I can wear to work and I found a nice pair at the Thrift Store yesterday that are comfortable, yet dressy enough to wear to work.
5) My brother and his 5 year old grandson are staying here in town with a friend for a week or two. I suggested we use my Zoo pass and have a picnic at the Zoo this weekend. No cost since we can pack food and no one has to pay to enter. I also sent a list of all the free things they can do while here in town – Splashpad, Park, Library Kids room, etc. We can have Frugal Fun without anyone having to spend money.
It’s been a spendy week, with possibly more spending on the horizon….but I’m trying to find silver linings wherever I can find them.
1) One of our cats threw up on our bedspread, which is a cream and slate blue toile fabric quilt (given to me by my mom). It’s too big to wash in our home washing machine, so I had to go to our local coin laundry. A necessary expense. Silver lining: our local coin laundry has A/C, and free wi-fi; I brought my own laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and cool beverage, as well as a pile of recipes to go through and store digitally (whyyyyy do I collect so many recipes, and then don’t bother to try them??). So, made good use of my time, worked on paper decluttering, and my quilt is clean.
2) Our upright chest freezer decided to stop working. Sigh. Not sure if it just had an ice dam, or if it’s gone to the place where dead appliances go. Silver lining: I was able to salvage most of the pricier items (meat, mostly), and stash them in my smaller freezer. I have used up almost all of the meat that had thawed, or partially thawed in our meals so far this week (I caught it early enough that it was still usable). I made a delicious blueberry pie, using thawed frozen blueberries and thawed pre-made crust. I made blueberry bread that I shared with co-workers. Hey, eating pie is hard work, but someone’s gotta do it.:-) I did have to throw away some wayward leftovers, dead bananas that were liquidy, and some ancient and freezer burned meat (from 2015. Ugh!). Not sure yet if we will be getting a new (or new to me) freezer.
3) Our washing machine started to make a loud noise, and the wash drum won’t rotate properly. I googled the model number to see about possible diy repairs; the information was not encouraging. Not sure yet how much it will cost to be repaired; I have already checked local fb sell sites for washers, just in case. No real silver lining here.
4) Went shopping for swim goggles for my son. Found a three-pack at Krogers for $6.49 (50% off). Went to TJMaxx first, did not find swim goggles, but did find two tops for me on clearance…I decided not to buy them. Yay me for not spending money on stuff I don’t really need in the first place.
5) Bought no gauche, gold-plated or otherwise vulgar items or apartments.
I forgot to mention, I found a penny on the floor at Krogers. Every little bit helps!
What’s your criteria for deciding whether to list an item on Ebay or Craigslist??
I’ve been wondering the same thing…..?? Anyone??